# Petty Vents



## Alix

*Venting*

I closed down the old venting thread. It was getting pretty cumbersome for any new reader. Lets try to keep this one to just petty stuff. If you really need support or prayers please start a new thread so it can get the attention it deserves. 

My petty little snotty vent is just that I got yelled at for nothing. I run a yoga program out of our community hall and today the floor was really gross. So after the class I called the person responsible for hall rentals and reported it. (Sounds logical so far right?) Well instead of saying thanks for the info I'll handle it, I got a blast about people blaming her and telling her what to do about the mess etc etc. I kept my cool, and asked her why she was yelling at me? She ranted some more. I told her I was not responsible for her upset, and had merely been doing what I thought she WANTED me to do and apologized for trying to be helpful. To her credit she backed down and apologized. She told me that I was just "in the line of fire". I responded by accepting the apology and letting her know I'd found her very rude.

I'm trying very hard to take the high road and just accept that apology and move on. I'm still TICKED OFF though. LOL. The venting has helped. Thanks for listening guys. Sometimes it just helps to get it out.


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## Saphellae

Some people are just like that Alix.. they have a bad day and take it out on the first person who irks them a smidge.  I can't understand it myself...  but if she realized her mistake and that you weren't willing to take it from her, it likely won't happen again.  Good for you on being the bigger person!

I have been taking WAYYY too long to finish our bathroom... I finally finished most of the bathtub tiling tonight, now I"m just waiting for the plaster to harden on one area and I can put the last few... then grout late tomorrow night.. and we can shower on Tuesday morning - or maybe night.. I am so excited... to shower in my own home again.. we've been going to the gym down the road where we have a membership.  

SOOO it's been a year and a half since my mother left my father, and the divorce was "official" about seven months ago.. and my mother is already engaged and getting married in the fall.  This bothers me quite a bit.. and she has been extremely insensitive to how I felt in the past, so I have just stopped saying anything... she announced the engagement on Christmas day in front of a dozen other people.  I seriously wish she had told me in private...  It was horrible to have a shock like that thrown on me.  To my credit not many people said much, but I wonder if they already knew.  

I honestly don't know what her hurry is to get married.. in the same year?  I feel as if she isn't taking marriage seriously - like it's a game to her.  The way she has been acting you would think she is 18 again... it's disconcerting.  Good for her for feeling young.. but some of the things she has been doing are just inconsiderate.  

Now I feel like a terrible daughter.  She asked me to go to a bridal show with her a couple of weeks ago and I said I was busy.  I knew that it would be ALL about her, and she would likely barely mention MY wedding next year.  That's just how she has been since she left my dad.. self centered.  Her fiance is a great guy and all.. but he's a pushover.. and he even said after she announced the engagement, "It's what she wanted, so I gave it to her!" and she agreed, saying she had been bugging him for a long time about it... WHAT?!   How can you BUG someone about marrying you, especially after knowing them for only a scant six months??  I really don't get it.  

SO here I am.. stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Desperately wanting to ask her what she is thinking, to ask her if she even cares to ASK how I feel about it (which she did NOT)... and not being able to talk to her about it, because she would just get defensive and completely ignore what I feel.  AND not to mention how HIS kids feel about a strange woman living with them only after knowing their father for a few months (she moved in about 3 months after they met), and then marrying him!  Hah.

I just don't know what to think anymore.  So, the day after I found out, I started destroying tiles in the bathroom with a hammer, and hence the bathroom reno commenced. 

And so my story TILES together...


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## kadesma

Saphellae said:


> Some people are just like that Alix.. they have a bad day and take it out on the first person who irks them a smidge.  I can't understand it myself...  but if she realized her mistake and that you weren't willing to take it from her, it likely won't happen again.  Good for you on being the bigger person!
> 
> I have been taking WAYYY too long to finish our bathroom... I finally finished most of the bathtub tiling tonight, now I"m just waiting for the plaster to harden on one area and I can put the last few... then grout late tomorrow night.. and we can shower on Tuesday morning - or maybe night.. I am so excited... to shower in my own home again.. we've been going to the gym down the road where we have a membership.
> 
> SOOO it's been a year and a half since my mother left my father, and the divorce was "official" about seven months ago.. and my mother is already engaged and getting married in the fall.  This bothers me quite a bit.. and she has been extremely insensitive to how I felt in the past, so I have just stopped saying anything... she announced the engagement on Christmas day in front of a dozen other people.  I seriously wish she had told me in private...  It was horrible to have a shock like that thrown on me.  To my credit not many people said much, but I wonder if they already knew.
> 
> I honestly don't know what her hurry is to get married.. in the same year?  I feel as if she isn't taking marriage seriously - like it's a game to her.  The way she has been acting you would think she is 18 again... it's disconcerting.  Good for her for feeling young.. but some of the things she has been doing are just inconsiderate.
> 
> Now I feel like a terrible daughter.  She asked me to go to a bridal show with her a couple of weeks ago and I said I was busy.  I knew that it would be ALL about her, and she would likely barely mention MY wedding next year.  That's just how she has been since she left my dad.. self centered.  Her fiance is a great guy and all.. but he's a pushover.. and he even said after she announced the engagement, "It's what she wanted, so I gave it to her!" and she agreed, saying she had been bugging him for a long time about it... WHAT?!   How can you BUG someone about marrying you, especially after knowing them for only a scant six months??  I really don't get it.
> 
> SO here I am.. stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Desperately wanting to ask her what she is thinking, to ask her if she even cares to ASK how I feel about it (which she did NOT)... and not being able to talk to her about it, because she would just get defensive and completely ignore what I feel.  AND not to mention how HIS kids feel about a strange woman living with them only after knowing their father for a few months (she moved in about 3 months after they met), and then marrying him!  Hah.
> 
> I just don't know what to think anymore.  So, the day after I found out, I started destroying tiles in the bathroom with a hammer, and hence the bathroom reno commenced.
> 
> And so my story TILES together...


Sweetie,
your mom is going to do what she wants to do. In her defense, I'd not want my children deciding what I can and cannot do, they have their own lives and I don't interfere. It's not my right. I your defense I can understand the hurt. But you have to realize there is a lot that goes on we don't let on to you, it's private. Don't let you mothers inconsiderate way make you unhappy. Just take joy in your coming wedding  and let her be.I'd have gone to her shower and let her glory in the attention. Mom's do need that some times and to have their children be a part of it. It makes up for a lot of inattention when you were young and  were the center of everything. We bask in this yes our kids come first, but at times we need it to. I think you are special and your turn will come. Be ready you will be a beautiful bride. Let it all go and just concentrate on YOU.
kades


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## Saphellae

It isn't really the whole story... she took my father for everything he had, and now he's struggling to pay his bills (he has no vehicle now.. had to sell it) while she has all of this money... she bartered with him for house appliances knowing full well she was going to sell them..took the house... she has just turned ruthless Kades.... I am seeing my dad in the poorhouse because of what happened, and she is prospering from it.  It's hard to look away from that and be happy when she won't even talk to me .. I mean REALLY talk to me.. not just day to day how are you fluff... I understand she is her own person and that is absolutely not what this is about at all.. I just want to understand!  She has changed 100% completely since last year.   

I guess I am just having a hard time getting over something she refuses to talk sensibly about.  So I am having a hard time feeling happy for her when it has been at the expense of my father.  Kades it's been so bad he's been the hospital... I have only spoken to Nick about these things, so it's difficult to put it into the proper words I mean to get across.

(It wasn't a shower - it was just a bridal trade show with booths.. nothing special) I would certainly go to a shower if she had one and act as the happy daughter.  The other reason I have not spoken to her about this is because I realize there is nothing I can or will do to keep her from having what she wants, but that doesn't mean I have to be 100% happy about it.  She took my dad to the cleaners and is reaping the benefits while he is barely paying his mortgage and getting to work - so my MAIN problem is that I have slowly been starting to lose respect for her.  That's tough to deal with when it's my own mother.  It seriously takes ALOT to lose respect from me - but when someone is inconsiderate that REALLY gets me.


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## kadesma

Oh honey of course it is. I think I'd just let her go and devote my love and respect to my dad. He has had a hard time and you can give him some support and love. My good thoughts to you and your dad and may some of it inch in and wake your mom up. I'd be miserable if I lost any of my children. She is being really foolish. I pray she wakes up and soon.
kadesma


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## Saphellae

I don't see that happening Kades... She is going through some sort of midlife crisis.. or has completely reinvented herself.. my dad and I suggested she go for some therapy about a year before she left him... 

My mother and I are complete opposites, because I don't understand how someone could do all of the awful things she's done to people who get in her way.  I sometimes think she has no conscience in the back of her mind at all.. "hey, shouldn't we be thinking about that other person?".  It just doesn't occur to her.

*sigh*  I am dealing with it the best I can (destroying bathrooms for reno's far and wide), and sometimes I can pretend she's the same person, until she says something that completely makes you go, "What??!!?"  She has this idealistic view of what life "should be like" - all of her friends are like that too.  I don't think she cares who gets in her way - she'll get what she wants.  I have told her before that I have considered not contacting her any more, and for a few days it was better - but it went downhill again.  I can't understand how someone can change so drastically.  

Enough with my venting.. sorry for taking up a full page!!!   I must go try to sleep now... work comes early.. night!


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## Alix

Saphellae, your story is not unique I am afraid. I've heard versions of it from two other close friends this year. It seems women do the midlife crisis thing in this way. Boy does that suck! And the fact that she seems to be relegating you to the periphery sucks too. It almost sounds like she knows what you might say to her and so she is avoiding any opportunity for that to occur. 

You can't take sides, and yet you feel forced to do so. Blech. Support your Dad Saph. If your Mom complains at all, that will open the door to a conversation I think you both need. If the door opens, take a DEEP breath and say a prayer that you will stay calm and your words will be gentle enough to be heard. 

Sending you hugs from afar.


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## babetoo

can i say, there are always two versions of events between two people. you may not know why she left in the first place. 

your dad agreed to the terms of divorce that he is now living with. 

i am sorry your mom is hurting you and that is what you should talk to her about. 
the rest of the situation is between the two of them.


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## kadesma

Just got off the phone with my son, who is driving home from a Jr. rodeo with his girls. I am so glad we didn't go watch. Both my gran daughters ride and have done so since about 18 months old..The youngest today was almost hurt very badly, her horse fell she lost the reins and the horse took of taking her along. Good thing she has been riding all this time as she managed to grab the reins and finally stop the horse..Know what? her other gramps big  tough cowboy that he is  told her don't you dare cry. Yuppers...I am so angry with him I could kick from here to next week...ARGGGGG
kades


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## babetoo

really wish i know why i am feeling so crummy today. woke up cranky, stayed cranky and got nothing done. then took a nap. i am sad , depressed, angry enough to bite the head of first person that crosses me. abel would be wise to stay away. he left a big mess in kitchen. i let him stay, cause of rain on sat. and he had a tooth ache. he is homeless now and not doing much about it. maybe that is part of it. 

 thank goodness  i am old enough to know, that it will pass. in meantime, no one had better knock on door tonight.


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## JamesS

Every time I see this topic, I expect to see a discussion of range hoods.


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## kadesma

JamesS said:


> Every time I see this topic, I expect to see a discussion of range hoods.


Now there's an idea Copper or SS?
kadesma


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## babetoo

*Venting redux*

i am still shaking i am so angry. some of you may recall my problems with the handyman. well he did it again today. let him stay over night ( so could get an early start on painting.) also fed him and his buddy. they are homeless, and don't seem to be doing anything about it. only has a bike for transportation. all of this is his own doing. 

i have let him and friend stay before, especially with the rain. this time he showed on fri. supposed to be here tues. let it go once more, i sorta limit how lo ng  he can stay at anyone time. 

he left today to be gone an hour. that was at noon, got here about seven. same old bull, this happened, that happened and of course he did not phone. 

i told him i do not want him in my life at all anymore. he had stuff in my laundry room , told him to get it out and leave. 

i will do the painting myself. will take me longer but no bull from him. stretching out the sleeping here nights. i have dealt with him for three years and my patience is gone. three months ago his cousin threw him out, he asked to put stuff in my driveway for a week. it is still there. i told him out by the 31st or will have it hauled away. i believe i have been more that kind to him. and have paid him so he can treat me badly. well this little old lady is done.done.done. thanks for the vent. 

babe


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## Claire

You are being taken advantage of.  No way should any worker spend the night at your house unless he is a relative.  Yes, helping the homeless sounds like a good idea, but NO.  No, NO, no.  You are putting yourself at risk to get a cheaper job?  NO.  Just say NO.  I don't want to be seeing you on CNN next week.


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## babetoo

he was back a little while ago and was sanding on a bookcase in my driveway. told him to leave, he did not. told him again to leave or i would call my son . my son is a really big guy and appears to be a scary guy. not so, a pussy cat actually. but don't be mean to his mom. i think he is gone now, gonna check in a few min.


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## babetoo

are there no good  handymen anywhere, went on line to an agency , guy called this am , made an appointment to give me estimates on furniture painting job. appointment was at 3:30. is now 4:00. if and when he shows up will simply send him away. if he can't be on time or call in order to make the sale, think how he would be for the project. i just got rid of one like that (see above)  maybe they just don't like little old ladies. lol


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## justplainbill

*State Incime Taxes*

Over the course of nearly a half century I have paid my state many many tens of thousands of dollars of income tax.  I've always filed a paper return on forms and using instructions which up until last year were mailed to me by the state.  In addition for the last several years I have been making mandatory quarterly estimated state income tax payments.  

Two years ago the state discontinued mailing the required forms and applicable instructions to prior year tax payers.  It's bad enough to have one's pocket picked by the taxing authorities and have to dig one's own grave by putting in considerabl time to arrive at one's tax liability.  The discontinuation of mailing required forms to taxpayers adds insult to injury.

Are any of you old school folks, in states other than New York, also having to scrounge for state income tax forms and instructions?


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## Linda123

justplainbill - can't you get the forms online? I see states struggling to pay teacher's salaries and many of the forms that are mailed (an expense right there) are just thrown out (another expense). 

I understand this is a venting thread, but am just trying to help!


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## Andy M.

I don't know if my state, MA, mails forms anymore.  It wouldn't surprise me at all.  They have been cutting back in some bizarre ways.

For the past half dozen years or so, I have been using TurboTax to do my state and federal returns.  I got tired of keeping up with the tax laws and figuring out the impact of what I did with my investments, etc.  

Now with TT, I just key in some numbers and the software does the rest.  If you want, it will even go to your broker's site and download the cost basis and capital gains info for you to calculate gains or losses on sales.  It also includes electronic filing.


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## justplainbill

Linda123 said:


> justplainbill - can't you get the forms online? I see states struggling to pay teacher's salaries and many of the forms that are mailed (an expense right there) are just thrown out (another expense).
> 
> I understand this is a venting thread, but am just trying to help!


Thanks for the response, Linda.  
That HP ink aint too cheap and I burn up enough of it printing out my backup (as filed copies) as well as the output from H&R Block's program.  To boot, I'm saddled with needing to pay for a high speed internet connection to facilitate the acquisition of tax preparation software and those marvelous taxing authority forms that are 'readily' available online. 
 I'm convinced that  big bro would like to be able to stick a needle in every taxPAYER'S arm so that they could perorm transfusions at will to our country's  'NEEDY' (NONTAXpayers & freeloaders).


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## babetoo

it has been "one of those days". everything i tried to do i screwed up. was almost done with blanket for great granddaughter. the bobbin ran out, when i tried to fell it, the needle came unthreaded. i tried for fifteen mins. to thread, and gave up. my eyes just aren't so good anymore. 

was making applesauce muffins. stuck the pan in oven just in time to realize that i hadn't put in baking soda or baking pwd. hauled them out , scraped into the bowl, added leavenings. and put back in. they seem to be ok. 

was cooking my dinner and burnt the fried okra. i am afraid to do anything else, would probably set myself on fire. 

definitely not my day, lol


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## Mimizkitchen

babetoo said:


> it has been "one of those days". everything i tried to do i screwed up. was almost done with blanket for great granddaughter. the bobbin ran out, when i tried to fell it, the needle came unthreaded. i tried for fifteen mins. to thread, and gave up. my eyes just aren't so good anymore.
> 
> was making applesauce muffins. stuck the pan in oven just in time to realize that i hadn't put in baking soda or baking pwd. hauled them out , scraped into the bowl, added leavenings. and put back in. they seem to be ok.
> 
> was cooking my dinner and burnt the fried okra. i am afraid to do anything else, would probably set myself on fire.
> 
> definitely not my day, lol



Babe open your eyes sleepy head it's going to be a beautiful day for you today... Everything you touch will turn to gold, and yesterday, well it will just be yesterday... BIG HUGS from the other coast...


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## babetoo

so far it has been a really good day. i decided to take the day off and just be lazy. no baking, no sewing, no cleaning or laundry. and i don't even feel guilty. 
thanks.


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## DaveSoMD

We all need to take a break now and then.  You deserve it!


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## missM

My new kitchen is almost finished and ready for action, and beautiful it is - white on white
The dream was to accessorise in chocolate and turquoise, but it seems that that colour scheme is "OUT!" and red and black is "IN".  Not one kitchen store, not even Target or KMart have  choc/turq. or even aqua which would have done at a pinch just red, red and more red.
ARRRGH!!!


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## Andy M.

I know what you mean!  You have your heart set on those colors and no dice!  That stinks.  

Maybe you should consider either black to contrast the white on white or white to carry on the theme.


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## ThaiTeaGal

*Microsoft Word 2007*

Today my boyfriend's mom and I got frustrated with Microsoft Word 2007. Last week her boss put in new computers in the office that has Windows 7 and Word 2007. It took her almost the whole week to adjust to Word 2007. I have Word 2007 on my laptop, but I don't use it often, only when I type out essays for school. She wanted to know how to use autotext on Word '07. I have no idea so we researched on the internet to figure out how to use autotext. It took us 2 hours to find out that autotext is no longer available on Word '07 and that it's now called building blocks. She got mad because she depended on autotext when she was using Word 2003 at her office. Overall I don't like Word '07. I miss using Word 2003. The new changes are confusing. Does anyone else who have used Word '07 felt frustrated like me?


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## missM

Andy M. said:


> I know what you mean!  You have your heart set on those colors and no dice!  That stinks.
> 
> Maybe you should consider either black to contrast the white on white or white to carry on the theme.


Thanks Andy for the advice.   I looked around and thought, 'well yes the espresso machine is black, and so is the body of the spice carosel, but, beautiful as it is, the whole thing needs a lift.  Maybe I will wait until I get the floors done."
So today... and here comes another rant... I had two guys come to give me quotes on the flooring,for both kitchen and living areas.  
First one brought so many samples that the half the living room floor was covered with them.  He was polite, and cooperative; listened to me when I explained my budget considerations.   (I think he has got the job.)
The second guy brought only one type of carpet sample... dreadully cheap and nasty and one lot of vinyl - shockingly expensive.  
He really p....d me off.  He said that prehaps they might be able to to a better price than he was quoting.   Me, "Mate, I asked you for your best price...you don't get a second chance.  Am not coming back next week and telling you that ABC flooring gave me this price, what can you do?"
That didn't seem to sink in.  "Well just come down (1.5hrs drive away) and have a look around and we will see what we can do."   ***&&^% My spouse has already been to the store and outlined both our budget and what we require and that certanly bore no resemblence to the samples presented today. 

Honestly, don't these people understand English.  And do they not realise that there is competition out there.

Sigh!!
missM


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## babetoo

looks like i have been venting all over the site. so many  negative comments. i will try to do better tomorrow,. so tired i am giddy.


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## Mimizkitchen

babetoo said:


> looks like i have been venting all over the site. so many  negative comments. i will try to do better tomorrow,. so tired i am giddy.



Babe Sweetie there have been no negative comments, just words to uplift you... We all have days where nothing seems to go right, and the worlds gonna end if the brownies don't turn out just right... Everyone here just wants you to know that it's ok to have one of those days, and we will still be here for you...XOXO


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## kadesma

babe, this is why this thread  is here. When you feel bd, we feel bad and if we can help by just listening, we will. Remember you are part of the DC family and we do care about you. So if you feel like it, lay down on the floor, kick you feet and yell to high heaven, then sit up and know we love you.
kades


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## Barbara L

kadesma said:


> babe, this is why this thread  is here. When you feel bd, we feel bad and if we can help by just listening, we will. Remember you are part of the DC family and we do care about you. So if you feel like it, lay down on the floor, kick you feet and yell to high heaven, then sit up and know we love you.
> kades


I second that!  We're here for you Babe. I know I've done my fair share of venting, and that is because I can.  I feel comfortable sharing my woes with you all because you are family.  

Barbara


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## babetoo

thanks guys, i know i can count on you.


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## bethzaring

for the past two weeks, my internet provider basically has not been working for much of the day....I can get a connection in the early mornings and early evenings....either it is too cloudy, too sunny, too windy, too dark, too rainy or too pretty, to get all the lights on the tower to stay lit.  We have Hughes.net.  I see that dh has put on his calendar to check out a cell phone service for our internet connection when he gets back...it's been kinda rough not having use of the computer for much of the time..


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## babetoo

wow, i would be upset about that beth. mine is at&t. very little trouble over the years and their tech support is wonderful.


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## Wyogal

A local chain restaurant (you know the one, the one with the fruit and insect in its name, which is already horrible, IMO), just got themselves on a lot of folk's "never go there again" list.
Friends had recently taken their two young children there to celebrate the youngest's birthday. She was soooo looking forward to the staff singing "Happy Birthday" to her. Guess what? The staff refused, saying they were only a party of four and they only sing for parties of 6 or more.
The girl was broken hearted. She also has autism.
This was cruel on the part of that staff, IMO. I've only eaten there a few times, and the food and service were never good. Now I have even more reason to never step foot in there again.


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## Alix

Fruit and insect? I actually don't know which one that is, PM me if you don't want to post it so I don't inadvertently visit one.


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## licia

bethzaring said:


> for the past two weeks, my internet provider basically has not been working for much of the day....I can get a connection in the early mornings and early evenings....either it is too cloudy, too sunny, too windy, too dark, too rainy or too pretty, to get all the lights on the tower to stay lit. We have Hughes.net. I see that dh has put on his calendar to check out a cell phone service for our internet connection when he gets back...it's been kinda rough not having use of the computer for much of the time..


 
We have been having computer problems - I was on the phone quite a while and really didn't get things going right. Sometimes I get thru and other times everything seems to hang. Not fun at all.


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## Wyogal

not orange
honey ___

We eat at one in a neighboring town (over 2 hours away), and it's always enjoyable.


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## Andy M.

Applebee's


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## babetoo

this a good vent. i finally found a painter to do my bedroom furniture. he showed up on time and went right to work . he is a whiz. only been working 6 hours and is 3/4 of the way through. he is an older man, a retired engineer. that furniture has been sitting primed for three months. at least part of it i primed. then i got sick. then one painter never showed up and another made a bid for three hundred dollars without ever seeing the stuff. this guy is doing it for ten dollars and hour. i couldn't be more please. it is going to be lovely and my bedroom will be redone. nice to have a good vent once in a while.


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## LPBeier

Andy M. said:


> Applebee's



We have two of them here in all of BC and I am not sure they are in Alix's province!


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## mollyanne

Wyogal said:


> ...The staff refused, saying they were only a party of four and they only sing for parties of 6 or more.
> The girl was broken hearted. She also has autism.
> This was cruel on the part of that staff, IMO...


 I'm sorry to hear that Wyogal, some staff are so focused on following the rules that they don't remember they can "color outside the lines" when it comes to customer service. A birthday song takes so little yet would have meant so much.


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## Alix

LPBeier said:


> We have two of them here in all of BC and I am not sure they are in Alix's province!



Wow am I dense. Can't believe I didn't pick up on Applebee's! LOL!!! We don't eat there anyway as Ken's two nastiest gallbladder attacks happened after eating there, but this gives me more reason not to do so. 

My vent is really tiny and insignificant. I'd really like to be zit free sometime in my 40's. Didn't happen in my 30's so I'm moving up a decade. Sigh!


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## mollyanne

Try "Proactive", Alix, it really works for my 3 daughters...bigtime.

As for the above aforementioned restaurant...they should use this sign in their window:


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## Alix

Seriously Mollyanne? I generally ignore those ads as so much bunk. I'm not all that bad really, but I am never without at least one zit somewhere! Its frustrating because I never had ANY til I had kids of my own. My dr has offered any number of remedies, none of which work. We could go the antibiotic route but since I'm allergic to so many it doesn't make sense to mess with that for something cosmetic. I recently got a tip from my niece to use baking soda as a scrub on my face. Now I have two tips! Thanks!!


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## mollyanne

Seriously Alix. It's expensive but you don't need "all" of their products that they claim all work together as part of the plan. My girls just get two items...the Cleanser and the Repair. I think they skip the Toner and other superfulous items to save money. I think I read that the sun-affect is stronger when using the product so be careful or wear sunscreen. And check with your doc about your allergies before purchasing. But for my girls...it starts working right away...not "bunk". They offer a 60-day money back guarantee so keep your receipt!

Here's a link for online purchasing that seems like a good price but I couldn't find how long that will last you (i think it lasts my girls 3 months? They're in their 20's now and scattered from Calif to Belize so I can't ask them right now):
Proactiv® - Order Your Custom System


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## Alix

WHOA! Did you check the difference in US and Canadian funds? The $20 system becomes $70! Yeesh. I think I'll ask my friend in MN to order it and send it up here to me. Thanks for the tip!


----------



## babetoo

after an hour i am still shaking with anger. i phoned a prescription in on friday, was told it would be delivered on tues. as they were closed on Monday. tuesday didn't come. i said ok they are probably really busy from being closed. no meds on tues or wed.  this morning i called and was told out for delivery. no show. called was told be out tomorrow. then i lost it. i spoke to the owner and pharmacist after waiting an hour for him to call me back. the upshot is someone blew it on even putting the order in. he wanted to know who i talked to. how would i know, he has more than one employee. wanted to know if had heavy accent like him. no the person didn't and neither the one i talked to this am that said it was coming out. he said was sorry. big deal! no way to run a business. over a barrel, most don't deliver or charge for it. i told him glitches have been happening  for about six months. he said he would get on it. also said would make sure was given to the driver himself. i don't drive and deliveries save me a lot of trouble as i have many medications and they are not all due for refill at the same time. 

i hardly ever get this angry anymore, but this really threw me. if it had been one of the acute need ones, guess i would just be up a creek and most likely sick again. 

there i feel better, a little anyway.


----------



## CharlieD

I went to this restaurant ones and it was, well at best mediocre and the service was if not rude than at least, gosh, not sure about a word in English to use. Well, they were talking to me, like as if I was an idiot. I did not leave a tip and left. But that is not what I am venting about right now. I just stumbled on the chef’s, I think he also is an owner, site. And he has a bunch of videos with recipes. Oh, my gosh. No wonder his stuff talked to me the way they did. The presentation he makes is exactly the same. He talks to audience like as we are a bunch of idiots. I had to scream at the computer. There is no way I am ever going back to that place. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


----------



## missM

I guess the old saying goes here, Charlie.  "If you like it tell your friends. If you don't then tell me." 
Tell 'em!!!  You don't have to go back, but you'll feel better for having said your piece.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> ... gosh, not sure about a word in English to use. Well, they were talking to me, like as if I was an idiot.


 
The English word is, "condescending," 
 
con·de·scend·ing/ˌkändəˈsendiNG/Adjective</I>
1. Acting in a way that betrays a feeling of patronizing superiority.
2. (of an action) Demonstrating such an attitude. From dictionary.com,
 
I wouldn't go back, either, Charlie.  Sounds like a miserable place to try and enjoy a meal.


----------



## kadesma

To heck with them Charlie, we all care here and you don't deserve that kind of treatment.
kadesma


----------



## Claire

My latest is that we saved up to buy a new car.  We traded in the old vehicle for this new one.  No big deal; to be honest with you, buying a new car has become easier, since you can do all the research on line until you narrow it down to a couple of vehicles.  

Well, then came insurance.  I insure with a large, major insurer.  We wanted the car to be insured as soon as we took possession.  We've done this many times.  But the women who answered the phone ... well, you'd swear no one in the history of the company ever traded in a vehicle.  We kept getting statements for the old truck rather than the new car.  When questioned they kept talking about the truck, long after it was gone.  THEN the state got involved.  It doesn't help that our registration became due at about the same time.  But I DO NOT want to pay for whoever owns that truck now.  I'm being reassured that it couldn't happen.  But my experiences with the state of Illinois are such that I really want the paperwork to all be correct.  It's been a couple of months and I'm very frustrated.  Now that I think of it, it may be the first time I've done a trade-in rather than selling the older vehicle myself.  Is it always this much of a hassle?


----------



## CharlieD

No way, it shouyld nothave been hassle at all. I used to sell cars and I know it is  supposed to be very easy. All you do is give your insurance new info and done.


----------



## DaveSoMD

We have traded in cars before and it should be quite simple, just give your insurance the information on the new vehical and you are done.  I think someone at your insurance office dropped the ball on this.


----------



## Zhizara

*Non-Removable Labels*

I just read a new thread about stuck on labels on wooden bowls, and it got me started on one of my very biggest pet peeves.

For just one example, I bought a package of baby wipes recently and it came in a really pretty pearliized container. I thought, great, I can collect a few of these for items like hair ties and scrunchies. BUT NOOOO. The labels were impossible to remove, even by slow and painstaking fingernail. Goo Gone would have ruined the plastic so I ended up just throwing it out. My new brand pulls through a small opening on the top, is cheaper, and comes with more wipes, but the container is just plain ugly white and I can't think of any use for it when it is empty. More plastic in our landfills.

I wish there were some way to get these manufacturers on the Green bandwagon. I have looked and looked for a site where I get my opinion out there. It is a real shame. I like to reuse/repurpose things and when I couldn't reuse that pretty pearlized container, I also felt gypped.

I think this Thread is a great idea. Venting is a healty outlet for anger, and just posting this made me feel so much better having gotten it off my chest. Thank you!


----------



## Alix

Zhizara, sorry you couldn't reuse that container. Does your city not have a recycling program? Any plastic container we use can be put in our recycling. That might make you feel better about things.


----------



## Zhizara

No, but I wish they did too.  I live in the outskirts of New Orleans, and if they have recycling they don't have it where I live.


----------



## Zhizara

I love this thread.  Irking me right now is Internet Explorer 8.  I HATE it.  It crashes constantly.  I was starting a new thread about reinventing old recipes.  I was almost done when I wanted to refer to the name of someone who had given me an idea.  I opened a new tab and CRASH.  Apparently if you move your cursor while it is downloading all the ads it crashes and then blames the website.  IE8 is the problem.  Anyway after I got the name I was looking for I went back to the post and of course it was blank.

Anyway, I love this thread because now that I've vented I feel so much better.  It's too early in the day (5AM) to feel angry.  Venting is theraputic.


----------



## Alix

Zhizara, I can fix that irksome browser problem for you. Download Mozilla Firefox as your browser and you will never look back. I hemmed and hawed for YEARS when GB tried to convince me, once I finally did it I gave my forehead a slap. Its far better to work with, and the add ons are fantastic! Adblocker is especially lovely. Although colorful tabs is fun too. 

I meant to suggest for your little recycling issue, have you ever considered buying a bunch of little baby washcloths? Saves on lots and lots of baby wipes and the containers. (Also if your little one has sensitive skin it saves on chemicals touching their butts!) I used them exclusively unless we were travelling and I tell you, it was easy peasy. Just had a bucket in the change room for those cloths and did a special washload with them.


----------



## babetoo

hired a gal to come in, clean out the fridge and put groceries away. she never showed. no phone call either. i seem to have the worst luck with cleaning people. doesn't anyone show up and on time. a phone call would have helped.


----------



## Andy M.

I will also strongly recommend Firefox.  It's better than IE.  You won't be sorry for an instant.


----------



## Zhizara

Alix said:


> Zhizara, I can fix that irksome browser problem for you. Download Mozilla Firefox as your browser and you will never look back. I hemmed and hawed for YEARS when GB tried to convince me, once I finally did it I gave my forehead a slap. Its far better to work with, and the add ons are fantastic! Adblocker is especially lovely. Although colorful tabs is fun too.
> 
> I meant to suggest for your little recycling issue, have you ever considered buying a bunch of little baby washcloths? Saves on lots and lots of baby wipes and the containers. (Also if your little one has sensitive skin it saves on chemicals touching their butts!) I used them exclusively unless we were travelling and I tell you, it was easy peasy. Just had a bucket in the change room for those cloths and did a special washload with them.


 
Hi Alix: Thank you for your reply. I may have to try Firefox again. The problem I had when I tried Firefox before was the magnification. My eyesight is not great and when I find a website that has tiny print, I like the way I can just click on the little zoom in the bottom right corner of the screen, until I get it large enough to read.

 Back then, with firefox I had to go to a menu first, then find a magnification I thought would work and click on that. If it wasn't easy enough to read I had to go through it all again. But now, with IE8 it might be the better trade off. If anyone out there has IE7 DON'T UPGRADE. You'll hate it, and guess what? You can no longer download IE7. If it says it's IE7 and you try to download it you get IE8. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!


About the baby wipes, I'm 64 y/o. The wipes are for me. I prefer something damp w/no alchohol for quick and easy cleanup and aloe for moisturizing.

Anyway, I really appreciate your reply and I will try Firefox again, like right now. I'll let you know how I like it. It's been several years so I'm sure it's improved.


----------



## justplainbill

Use Ctrl + to make text larger with Firefox


----------



## justplainbill

Just bought  an HP laptop from the HP online store.  The HP receipt lists the names of the components, features and accessories but does not list their part numbers; for example, I ordered the 9 cell battery but have no assurance that it is a MU09, HP part: WD549AA#ABB             UPC: 8 84962 73415 5.  To boot the machine is being shipped from Shanghai.


----------



## roadfix

I need to demolish about 20 feet of a concrete planter along my driveway because it does not meet current code.  Well, it met code 30 years ago when the house was built.   We're requesting permit for a completely unrelated part of the property and unless we demolish the planter they will not proceed.  WTF's wrong with these people who work for this city?


----------



## Alix

Zhizara said:


> About the baby wipes, I'm 64 y/o. The wipes are for me. I prefer something damp w/no alchohol for quick and easy cleanup and aloe for moisturizing.



BWA HA HA HA HA! Well my goodness, you certainly sound younger than 64!  Jokes on me! 

Hope the Firefox works out better for you this time.


----------



## Zhizara

I'm so glad you got a laugh out of it.  So did I when I read "little one"!

I installed Firefox and I'm sure I'm going to love it.  I found the easy to use zoom and it's just fine!  I also added weather and reminders and Tabberwocky.  I like the colorful tabs and think I got them set that they will stay the same for each site.  I'm still trying to get rid of the @$##@%^^### Adobe add-on banner.  I've been through their runaround for years.  I already had the add ons and they get regular updates.  If you already have it it will just run you around in circles.  The other thing I haven't yet figured out how to tell which tab is open.  

Especially when I'm running around the DC forums, I'll have several tabs open, but since Firefox shows all the close Xs I'm stumped at times.

Thank you for relieving me of that constant crashing aggravation in IE8.  It was happening constantly and my blood pressure doesn't need it.  

Sally


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> I need to demolish about 20 feet of a concrete planter along my driveway because it does not meet current code. Well, it met code 30 years ago when the house was built. We're requesting permit for a completely unrelated part of the property and unless we demolish the planter they will not proceed. WTF's wrong with these people who work for this city?


 
They get to charge you more for demolition and building permits.  Sounds familiar!


----------



## roadfix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They get to charge you more for demolition and building permits.  Sounds familiar!



I thought it was all about money since the city is broke and run by an idiot mayor who has single handedly turned L.A. into a 3rd-world country.
Well, but that's not the case.  All they need to see are before and after pictures of my driveway, no permit.  Heck, if I know for sure they're not going to send an inspector out I'll just photoshop my driveway and get done with it.
I'm doing the demolition and clean-up.


----------



## Zhizara

Thank you Alix for turning me onto Firefox, you too, Andy M for the recommendation.

I found how to turn the plug in banner off.  It was just the Adobe loop that never ends.  I googled disable, and quoted the blurb.  For anyone interested, the site that gave the instructions is:


Disable Additional Plugins are Required to Display all the Media on this Page Bar - plugindefaultplugin, Firefox, Plugins, Flash, Takes, Double - Zhacks

This was supposed to be the http:// I copied from the address bar, but it should take you there.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> I'm doing the demolition and clean-up.


 
Have fun!  Sounds like a job my Dad would save for me on my vacation. I once dug a 25' long, 4' wide, 2' deep trench for him...only to fill it back in 10 years later.


----------



## Alix

Zhizara, did you add the Adblocker yet? I LOVE that one! You don't get any more annoying ads ANYWHERE! Glad its working for you.


----------



## Chef Munky

roadfix said:


> I thought it was all about money since the city is broke and run by an idiot mayor who has single handedly turned L.A. into a 3rd-world country.
> Well, but that's not the case.  All they need to see are before and after pictures of my driveway, no permit.  Heck, if I know for sure they're not going to send an inspector out I'll just photoshop my driveway and get done with it.
> I'm doing the demolition and clean-up.



You and I must have the same idiot Mayor. We have to get a permit just to have a yard sale. And they send the police your home. You have to have everything cleared back inside out of sight by 5pm. If the permits NOT clearly visible from the street it's a ticket. But they do nothing about the neighbors eyesore of a motor home that's blocking the city sidewalk, you can't walk on it and their cars block my driveway. That's not including the one rotting in the backyard. Ahhh California the land of aggravation..


----------



## TATTRAT

Alix said:


> Zhizara, did you add the Adblocker yet? I LOVE that one! You don't get any more annoying ads ANYWHERE! Glad its working for you.



Alix, who banned me(by accident), lol?  I was like wth is this?? Glad it was just a hiccup.


----------



## Zhizara

Alix said:


> Zhizara, did you add the Adblocker yet? I LOVE that one! You don't get any more annoying ads ANYWHERE! Glad its working for you.



I'm not sure.  I spent the day yesterday playing with Firefox.  I really hate bookmarks.  This morning, I put IE and Firefox side by side and dragged each bookmark I made yesterday into a tab on IE and saved it to Favorites.  then I organized them in my favorites, renaming and putting them into the proper folders.  I just finished importing into Firefox and restarted it.  Hopefully everything will be there until I have to do it again.  I really need my Favorites, but I really love most of Firefox.  

What I didn't like besides bookmarks is the Help.  Instead of just telling me where something is when I ask for help, I get support forums that tend to run me around.  The improvements to regular IE are wonderful, but room for improvement in others.

I found the AdBlocker and am getting ready to download now.  Thanks.  If there are any other goodies I should look for or look out for I'd appreciate more of your wonderful help.  At least here I can converse with someone who uses Firefox and knows what she is talking about.

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sally


----------



## Zhizara

Alix I'm really sad to say that my idea of importing my updated Favorites didn't work.  It says it has, but nothing is changed.  If I really have to, I guess I can always uninstall Firefox and  reinstall it.  It means a lot of work, but most of the day yesterday was spent running around in circles that I've learned to avoid and I did save the site that told me how to get rid of that Adobe plug in banner.  This time I'll make sure to make a list of all the add ons.  

I don't want to spend the entire day on it though, because after shopping yesterday, I have 3 things to make.

I'm making a Cuban for lunch, squash with shrimp for dinner, and  a new made up dessert, Banana cream pie with bananas, banana pudding mix, with a gingersnap crust maybe with some peanut butter in it somewhere.


----------



## Zhizara

Hey, I want to keep this thread alive.  I can hardly believe no one has had the need to vent since my last post a couple of weeks ago.

Well here goes.  AGAIN, I wrote out what was a pretty lengthy reply to a new post, then saw the POST REPLY button and was given a new blank sheet to write on.  Of course my lengthy reply was lost, and I know I should know better by now that I have to scroll down to post my reply, but D***mit!

My slipped disc (disk?) is hurting so I'm extra grouchy, but I still love this thread.  I always feel better letting it out.


----------



## Alix

Zhizara, I'll vent with you! I have been doing some rather physical training the last 3 days and I ACHE! LOL! My left knee is swollen and a bit dodgy, my right glute is screaming and my shoulders...well don't get me started! Getting older sucks! 

Ahhhhh! Thats better!

Hope your back feels better soon. I know how nasty THAT is! And I totally missed your post about importing your favorites. Did you get it worked out? I think when I did it I just manually did it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I can no longer take Ibuprofen (or any of it's cousins) for my osetoarthritis.  The Doc gave me one of the lower tier narcotics, combined with acetominophen (Tylenol).  Which means, when I am really hurting, I can't take my long-acting Tylenol, which gives me relief for 8 hours.  I've got to get him to order me the narc without tylenol!!!

I think shoulder pain is the worst...but then, I haven't experienced knee pain, yet!


----------



## Zhizara

*Copying recipes to edit & I HATE HP.*

There was a topic recently about how we all save recipes we find on line.  Of course I can't find it now!  I was and still am having a problem with being able to copy and paste some recipes to a document page so I can adjust the font and font size into something I can read.  Someone told me how to do it, but of course, I didn't write it down and can't find the post.  Can someone help?

Many receipes copy and paste to a blank document just fine, but lots don't.  I just printed out a Bisquick recipe from their newsletter.  I'd need a magnifying glass to read it.

About that HP.  I printed out LPB's recipe and it came out beautiful, nice and sharp.  Now HP said my ink was low and refused to print the Bisquick recipe.  I KNOW there's still ink in there.  I'm used to using my ink up until it becomes so faint you can't read it.  They are stealing my money by making me get more ink when I don't need it yet.  I have other issues with them because of all the add ons and popups that come with installing their printers.  

Fortunately I had a spare set of new cartridges.

There!  I feel better.


----------



## Andy M.

Sometimes when I copy and paste recipe to a MS Word document, the recipe pastes as a table rather than text.  You see lines around the outside of the text.  The text is in a "box".

If that's your problem, here's how I fix it:

When I want to copy a recipe from a recipe site, I first click on the PRINT RECIPE button.  This allows you to avoid having to deal with the rest of the stuff in the window.  On the new window, I highlight the recipe and use the COPY command.  Then I go to a blank WORD document and use the PASTE command.

After you paste the recipe into WORD, click on the text anywhere then go to the Menu Bar and click on TABLE then SELECT then TABLE.  The whole table will be highlighted.

Click on TABLE again then CONVERT then TABLE TO TEXT.  A small window will open.  Don't worry about what to select.  Just click on OK.

That should do the trick.  Now you can treat it any way you want to change font, type size, etc.

Hope that helped.


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks, Andy, but what happens is the Works stops working, and gives me a message to that effect.  I'll copy your instructions, though because I have run into that before.  fortunately this site lets me copy and paste with no problem.  Handy for copying recipes I like.

Thanks for your help.


----------



## Andy M.

I didn't realize it stopped working.  I'm not sure why.  If you are using WORKS word processing rather than WORD, the commands/steps I listed may not be the same for you.


----------



## sarah

OMG,OMG, OMGGG...My own kids are driving me crazy alll the time these days,it seems they are screaming and shouting at the top of their voices all the time,plus the fighting,pinching,biting each other,its driving me completely insane,sure they are cute and i love them etc etc,but sometimes this is just too much for me,i long for a moment of peace which is becoming harder and harder to get when they are home from school.i'm almost numb and weirdly lethargic from the yelling and fighting right now!i just wanna run and hide somewhere for like only half an hourrrrrr....that will recharge me for the next round...:


----------



## sarah

ohhhhh,that was like a splash of cold water onto my burning heart...


----------



## Alix

Sarah, oh I have been there! Fear not, this too shall pass! (Usually at bedtime!) And they will return to being the angels you have always thought they were.


----------



## sarah

yeah Alix that much is true,i always forget about my frustration and anger once they fall asleep at night,they sure do look like innocent angels,and i almost feel sorry for being mad and strict with them,but then when they wake up the next day...it starts all over again...


----------



## Alix

I found that turning the radio up REALLY LOUD often had the desired effect both of drowning them out, and cluing them in to their irritating behaviour. LOL!


----------



## sarah

Alix said:


> I found that turning the radio up REALLY LOUD often had the desired effect both of drowning them out, and cluing them in to their irritating behaviour. LOL!


 i will try that next time,u know i'm ready to try out ANYTHING as long as it has the desired effect on them,and theres something else i need,i think i need a weekend without kids


----------



## Alix

If you can put them in different rooms for a while sometimes that helps too. I used to impose "quiet time" on my kids. They didn't need to nap, but *I* needed one hour of sanity during the day!


----------



## sarah

but *I* needed one hour of sanity during the day![/FONT][/QUOTE]

Tell me about itttt....


----------



## kadesma

Sarsh. I had four kids all close in age.Like the commercial says my kids were so sweet Icould have eaten them up and at time I wish I had I did learn  stop NOW. When things started to get to the point of no return they got separated NOW one went to the couch and sat period, another was sent to her bunk bed no toys, the baby was put in my room in a crib and my second son was set to doing the choirs he kept putting off. At dinner time they had to clean their plates and then the table and now tell dad how their day went. Did they like it? Nope but after going to bed early they learned when asked for quiet and to be kind to each other..Yep and if they wnated to play fair they could sit and litsten to a story.
kades


----------



## sarah

kadesma said:


> Sarsh. I had four kids all close in age.Like the commercial says my kids were so sweet Icould have eaten them up and at time I wish I had I did learn  stop NOW. When things started to get to the point of no return they got separated NOW one went to the couch and sat period, another was sent to her bunk bed no toys, the baby was put in my room in a crib and my second son was set to doing the choirs he kept putting off. At dinner time they had to clean their plates and then the table and now tell dad how their day went. Did they like it? Nope but after going to bed early they learned when asked for quiet and to be kind to each other..Yep and if they wnated to play fair they could sit and litsten to a story.
> kades



wow 4 kids sure are hard to handle,as i have 3.They are close in age too,eldest daughter being only 5,2nd number son 3-1/2 and the youngest son is gonna be 2 in dec.You know Kades i actually have tried this trick many times,when they have crossed their limits,and i get frustrated to death,i sometimes seperate them,one is made to sit in the living room,the other is given his coloring book and crayons,and i strictly ask them not to talk to each other unless i allow them to,but what happens next is,they start visiting each other and trying to talk in small sentences and in a low voice o i cant hear,and i keep tellin them to sit in their assigned places and not to move but it doesnt work.They just dont listen to me at all,untill i spank them as my last option,and then i leave them crying in their rooms for a while,but then it hurts me so much that i cry too,in my room,and feel very helpless.My hubby is a cardiac surgeon who does a lot of private cases too and comes home very late,if ever.So i'm pretty much all they have most of the time,they do go out and play and visit their friends and cousins too,but i think they miss their dad a lot..and i guess thats one of the reasons for their being so wild and out of control too...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

No kids of my own, but once when my brother was really getting on my nerves, I sent him for a rope and a bandana.  He took off and it took him a good 30 minutes to find what I wanted.  He handed them to me and sat for about another 20 minutes when his curiosity got the better of him.  He asked me what they were for, I told him the next time he started running and screaming I was going to tie him up, gag him and throw him in the closet...he's 39 now and I still don't have any problems with him...LOL!


----------



## sarah

PrincessFiona60 said:


> No kids of my own, but once when my brother was really getting on my nerves, I sent him for a rope and a bandana.  He took off and it took him a good 30 minutes to find what I wanted.  He handed them to me and sat for about another 20 minutes when his curiosity got the better of him.  He asked me what they were for, I told him the next time he started running and screaming I was going to tie him up, gag him and throw him in the closet...he's 39 now and I still don't have any problems with him...LOL!



LOL...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Do I detect a laugh???  Good, my work is done!


----------



## licia

It seems to me that the thing missing here is consistency and that is one of the most important things in raising children. It won't be easy for you to gain control of the situation but the only way to do so is to let your kids know that what you say WILL be what they do. If you don't get a handle on it now, it will only get worse as they grow older. I see so many kids these days that seem to have their parents afraid to correct them. The kids are more resilient than we think and must be shown how to act. That is our job as parents.


----------



## kadesma

Sarah,
I understaand I use to cry at times/ Let me tell you mine were put in sepreate room where they couldnt talk and there were no toys unless it was something to read. If they couldnt read they just sat times depending on ages. If I had to bed time was at 6 after dinner. If they were still after each other at dinner well bed came sooner. Those kids love you but they have your number and like licia says do it now and work something out with daddy if you feel he is waht is wrong in there lives. After all He had a hand in this.Give lots of love but hold you ground
cj


----------



## Alix

Holy crap sarah! 3 toddlers???? No WONDER you need to vent. They'd drive a saint to drink! I know what you mean, it hurts your heart when the little poops get your goat. Take heart, and find rooms with doors that close. That might not be easy sometimes, but give it a go. I also found (if you have a high tolerance for mess) that some of the simplest things will help everyone get along. 

1. Make cookies together. Give everyone hunk of sugar cookie dough to cut shapes out of. 
2. Make playdough and give everyone some cookie cutters to play with. 
3. Try funky stuff like sucking jello up through a straw
3. Make finger paint with liquid dish soap and tempra paint and let them paint a window with it. BONUS: When you finally wash off their artwork all you need is water! Soap is already there!
4. And finally, come visit often! There's lots of us Mom's who've been exactly where you are and will offer you virtual hugs when you need them. Many is the time I've come here for comfort when I felt like the meanest mom in history. This place is family, and we're here to be your sanity break. {{{{{{sarah}}}}}}

Edit: sarah, check out this thread starting on page 32, post 315 and on for a page or so. You'll see what I mean.


----------



## Alix

OK, here's my vent. I got up this morning (earlier than I needed to, thanks once again to the alarm cat that hasn't recognized the time change) and upon wandering into the kitchen, discovered the mat in front of my back door was SOAKED. I was quite puzzled because none of our animals have accidents - ever. I turned on the light and lifted up the rug. There is no way any one animal could have a bladder THAT big anyway. I took the rug out, and started mop up. I discovered that my DISHWASHER had blown something in the night and had leaked underneath and around a cabinet. *sigh* I turned off the water valve to the dishwasher and put down a ShamWow to suck up anything still oozing. 

THERE'S A LOT STILL OOZING!!! Since the dishwasher is empty, I can only guess that there is a lovely little pool under the cabinet still making its way out. Grrr! Its far too early to start calling my repair guy, and guess what? Its a very busy week for me this week. Its a six day stretch of work! I've got an afternoon teaching gig today, all day teaching tomorrow, day shift Wed and Thurs, and evening shift Friday! ARGH!

If you were a mind reader, you'd be running and screaming right now at the horrible words being screamed in my head. 

Thanks for letting me vent. I'm still grumpy, but I feel marginally better. Now just to count down the minutes til I can call for help!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sounds like the alarm cat woke you up early for a reason..."Danger Mom! My world it not right!"

My alarm cat wouldn't let me sleep this morning, either...there was a cat outside trying to claw it's way in through the screen.  It was raining most of the night and the poor thing was soaked.  I took a box and blanket outside for it and we all went back to sleep for a bit.

I'll see if he is still there in a bit and take some food out.


----------



## Alix

Alarm cat goes off at 630am regardless of the reason. Since the time change its been 530. Little bugger. If I can get a hold of him I stuff him under the covers to snuggle for a bit. He's a wily one though, doesn't get close enough to grab, stays juuuuust outside my reach. 

Only 3 more minutes til I can try calling the repair guy. Please God, let them open at 8 and not 9.


----------



## DaveSoMD

I had the alarm-dog go off at 4 AM which set of the other dog which then set off the 3rd.  Luckily the 4th likes to sleep and didn't respond to any of them.


----------



## Barbara L

Oh Alix, that's awful! I hope it does not cost too much to have fixed, and I hope that it hasn't caused any lasting damage.  

Barbara


----------



## Alix

Thanks Barbara, I hope so too! My appliance guy is pretty good so I'm hoping he will be able to fix it all. I'm trying NOT to be uber cranky but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I've got such a busy week and this just started it off with a bang...or rather a squelch.


----------



## Barbara L

Mini-disasters seem to usually occur at the worst possible moments!

Barbara


----------



## Alix

Yep. Happy Monday to me!


----------



## Barbara L

Well, think about it this way, would you rather get it out of the way, or would you rather it happen in the middle of your busy week?  Or as everything is starting to wind down and you are looking forward to relaxing?  Of course you would rather it hadn't happened at all, but it could be worse! 

Barbara


----------



## Alix

I'm not sure there would have been a good day for this to happen. I'm taking it as a sign from the gods to mark my stupid papers.


----------



## Barbara L

LOL  I know, there really is no good time. My inner-Pollyanna just wouldn't shut up and had to have her say. 

Barbara


----------



## PattY1

Zhizara said:


> I just read a new thread about stuck on labels on wooden bowls, and it got me started on one of my very biggest pet peeves.
> 
> For just one example, I bought a package of baby wipes recently and it came in a really pretty pearliized container. I thought, great, I can collect a few of these for items like hair ties and scrunchies. BUT NOOOO. The labels were impossible to remove, even by slow and painstaking fingernail. Goo Gone would have ruined the plastic so I ended up just throwing it out. My new brand pulls through a small opening on the top, is cheaper, and comes with more wipes, but the container is just plain ugly white and I can't think of any use for it when it is empty. More plastic in our landfills.
> 
> I wish there were some way to get these manufacturers on the Green bandwagon. I have looked and looked for a site where I get my opinion out there. It is a real shame. I like to reuse/repurpose things and when I couldn't reuse that pretty pearlized container, I also felt gypped.
> 
> I think this Thread is a great idea. Venting is a healty outlet for anger, and just posting this made me feel so much better having gotten it off my chest. Thank you!



  Did you think about gluing some contact or craft paper to cover up the label?


----------



## PattY1

Zhizara said:


> About the baby wipes, I'm 64 y/o. The wipes are for me. I prefer something damp w/no alchohol for quick and easy cleanup and aloe for moisturizing.



They are great for when you are "otherwise" clean (after bathing), to feel fresh.


----------



## Zhizara

PattY1 said:


> Did you think about gluing some contact or craft paper to cover up the label?



No, Patty1, I really wanted that pearlized container.  It was so pretty.  I don't buy that kind any more as my new brand is much cheaper and has a lot more (140 vs. 80) sheets.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Since when is it okay for cashiers to decide you do not want your pennies back at checkout.  I had one keep my penny and got weird when I asked for it, she had already closed the drawer.  And another who asked me if I wanted my two pennies.

First of all, one penny is not much, I'll concede that...but it's MY penny.  Second, when I was cashiering, it never occured to me to keep the pennies, it would have made my till off.  

Anyway...I should not have been let out of the house without adult supervision today.  One mess up and brainless act after another.  

Ever eat scrambled eggs with your fingers because you failed to pick up a plastic fork?  And I only took my wallet today, means I left my purse at home with it's hideout utensils.

Had an arguement about what time it was, because I forgot to change the clock in the car.  And a run-in with the owner of the wet cat from last night.  She accused me of trying to steal her cat...I told her I'd keep feeding him when he shows up in the middle of the night cold and wet.

I'm going to take a nap and hit my reset button.


----------



## babetoo

can't take a nap right now, and i really need one. vons guy delivered an order i placed yesterday. few things for thanksgiving and a free turkey. a whole bunch of stuff is missing. enough to fill one of the milk crates they put the bags in. think he just missed one. called customer service, asked to call me back and tell me what was happening. they didn't. called back. said would be here between 2 and 3. so have to wait up for him. i am very tired and wish he would hurry up. i scheduled the time 11 to 1 so i could take a nap. balderdash, that is mild for what i want to say.


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Since when is it okay for cashiers to decide you do not want your pennies back at checkout.  I had one keep my penny and got weird when I asked for it, she had already closed the drawer.  And another who asked me if I wanted my two pennies.
> 
> First of all, one penny is not much, I'll concede that...but it's MY penny.  Second, when I was cashiering, it never occured to me to keep the pennies, it would have made my till off...


I have had this same conversation before! I returned something to a store years ago. I was supposed to get back something like $5.05. The girl at the exchange desk handed me $5.00 and called the next person up.  I said something about not getting all of my money, and she said, "Oh, it's just a nickel."  I said, "Yes, but it's MY nickel."  Sheesh!  I'm not a cheapskate by any means. I say "Keep the change" fairly often. But when it is my money, it should be my option to tell them to keep it.  My dad was supposed to get a pretty sizable amount of money back in change from one place. The girl took his money and acted like she was done. When he didn't leave, she said, "Oh, did you want your change?"  He said, "YES, I want my change!"  LOL  It was something like $7.00, and she was just going to keep it.

Barbara


----------



## Alix

Oh that would gripe me too! Not just the money, but the no nap thing! Grrrr!

Update: Dishwasher is completely dead, new dishwasher is in the garage waiting until Wed pm to be installed. Sigh. That seems like a long time, but at least I still have a dishwasher!


----------



## PattY1

Barbara L said:


> I have had this same conversation before! I returned something to a store years ago. I was supposed to get back something like $5.05. The girl at the exchange desk handed me $5.00 and called the next person up.  I said something about not getting all of my money, and she said, "Oh, it's just a nickel."  I said, "Yes, but it's MY nickel."  Sheesh!  I'm not a cheapskate by any means. I say "Keep the change" fairly often. But when it is my money, it should be my option to tell them to keep it.  My dad was supposed to get a pretty sizable amount of money back in change from one place. The girl took his money and acted like she was done. When he didn't leave, she said, "Oh, did you want your change?"  He said, "YES, I want my change!"  LOL  It was something like $7.00, and she was just going to keep it.
> 
> Barbara



That brings up my pet peeve. When wait staff take your money to the cashier and ask if you want your change. The first time this happened to me was in Charleston SC. The deal with my fellow diners was I would buy dinner and they would leave the tip. I told them not to, they did anyway. That girl was asking for a 35.00$ tip FCS!!! It is now my personal practice that if I get asked that I leave no tip at all. And I let them know why.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Oh that would gripe me too! Not just the money, but the no nap thing! Grrrr!
> 
> Update: Dishwasher is completely dead, new dishwasher is in the garage waiting until Wed pm to be installed. Sigh. That seems like a long time, but at least I still have a dishwasher!


 
My dishwasher is not working...he's watching law and Order...


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My dishwasher is not working...he's watching law and Order...


----------



## PattY1

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My dishwasher is not working...he's watching law and Order...



I post here with my dishwasher.


----------



## Barbara L

*Sigh*  You know that song, "I'm my own Grandpa?"  Well, I'm my own dishwasher. 

Barbara


----------



## Zhizara

Thank kind of behavior is enough to ruin your good mood.  I really hate it when people seem to go out of their way to do that.  I think that kind of behavior warrants a letter to the owner or manager.


----------



## sarah

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Do I detect a laugh???  Good, my work is done!



Thanks sweetie


----------



## sarah

Thanks Licia and Kades for your advices,you know they mean a lot to me...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

sarah said:


> Thanks sweetie


 

You are so welcome...making you laugh is my goal, keeps me in good spirits all day!


----------



## sarah

Alix said:


> Holy crap sarah! 3 toddlers???? No WONDER you need to vent. They'd drive a saint to drink! I know what you mean, it hurts your heart when the little poops get your goat. Take heart, and find rooms with doors that close. That might not be easy sometimes, but give it a go. I also found (if you have a high tolerance for mess) that some of the simplest things will help everyone get along.
> 
> 1. Make cookies together. Give everyone hunk of sugar cookie dough to cut shapes out of.
> 2. Make playdough and give everyone some cookie cutters to play with.
> 3. Try funky stuff like sucking jello up through a straw
> 3. Make finger paint with liquid dish soap and tempra paint and let them paint a window with it. BONUS: When you finally wash off their artwork all you need is water! Soap is already there!
> 4. And finally, come visit often! There's lots of us Mom's who've been exactly where you are and will offer you virtual hugs when you need them. Many is the time I've come here for comfort when I felt like the meanest mom in history. This place is family, and we're here to be your sanity break. {{{{{{sarah}}}}}}
> 
> Edit: sarah, check out this thread starting on page 32, post 315 and on for a page or so. You'll see what I mean.





Awwww Alix...thanks for being so kind and understanding,it really really makes u feel like u r not alone when u see other moms telling similar stories about their kids and offering great advice,u r right,i really did feel those virtual hugs from u guys and guess what,they make me feel so much better,Thanks for all the support and yeah i know whenever i feel like the world is falling apart,this is the place to visit...
You know i do make cookies with them quite often,although it does make cleaning the kitchen later all the more difficult,but i guess its worth it...and i'm planning on going for that funky trick u told me about,with them.It sounds just like something they would love to do,who knows it might take their little evil minds off some mischief for some time....


----------



## Alix

Hope it helps sarah! I've worked with kids of all ages for some time and honestly the trick is to keep them BUSY til its time to crash. LOL! 

Anytime you need a hug, come on over!


----------



## sarah

oh and sorry about your dishwasher Alix! hope the new one gets installed soon,how did your busy week go?


----------



## Barbara L

sarah said:


> oh and sorry about your dishwasher Alix! hope the new one gets installed soon,how did your busy week go?


Every week is a busy week for Alix!


----------



## Zhizara

Did you treat yourself to takeout after your day yesterday?


----------



## Alix

Zhizara said:


> Did you treat yourself to takeout after your day yesterday?


 
As a matter of fact, my husband took me out for Chinese!



Barbara L said:


> Every week is a busy week for Alix!


 
True dat!  


sarah said:


> oh and sorry about your dishwasher Alix! hope the new one gets installed soon,how did your busy week go?


 
And nope, only a short way through the week. I'm currently at the teaching job at the college, on my lunch. Tomorrow and Friday are at two different mental health facilities. Dishwasher gets installed at 4pm tomorrow!


----------



## Zhizara

How about good venting?  I've had an excellent day so far.  I had food stamps ($52) and only two items I needed because I had stocked up on my own last month, so I was able to splurge on all kinds of cheeses, including the makings for lasagna that I've been craving.

My back feels fine today, quite a relief.  I feel human.

There.  It does feel good to express good feelings, just as it really helps being able to vent the bad ones.  I love this thread and all of you too.


----------



## Barbara L

Zhizara said:


> How about good venting?  I've had an excellent day so far.  I had food stamps ($52) and only two items I needed because I had stocked up on my own last month, so I was able to splurge on all kinds of cheeses, including the makings for lasagna that I've been craving.
> 
> My back feels fine today, quite a relief.  I feel human.
> 
> There.  It does feel good to express good feelings, just as it really helps being able to vent the bad ones.  I love this thread and all of you too.


I wasn't able to have my regular birthday dinner on my birthday, so Sunday I bought groceries (used all but $7 of our food stamps) and got plenty of stuff to make lasagna.  So we will have my "Birthday" dinner Friday when James comes home.  My birthday dinner is always either homemade lasagna or homemade pizza, German chocolate cake, and ice cream. 

Enjoy your lasagna!  I'm glad your back feels fine. 

Barbara


----------



## kadesma

Zhizara said:


> How about good venting?  I've had an excellent day so far.  I had food stamps ($52) and only two items I needed because I had stocked up on my own last month, so I was able to splurge on all kinds of cheeses, including the makings for lasagna that I've been craving.
> 
> My back feels fine today, quite a relief.  I feel human.
> 
> There.  It does feel good to express good feelings, just as it really helps being able to vent the bad ones.  I love this thread and all of you too.


z, how about starting a happy vent thread. It seem like a great idea....
kades


----------



## Zhizara

kadesma said:


> z, how about starting a happy vent thread. It seem like a great idea....
> kades



I was thinking that too, but I did get that wonderful feeling that I get when I vent bad stuff.  What could we call it?  

Anyone have suggestions ideas?  Happy Venting?


----------



## Barbara L

Zhizara said:


> I was thinking that too, but I did get that wonderful feeling that I get when I vent bad stuff.  What could we call it?
> 
> Anyone have suggestions ideas?  Happy Venting?


Happy Venting sounds good.  

Barbara


----------



## Zhizara

I don't know, I started to make a new thread, but I could think of so many other places to post what I had to say.  The venting thread seems to be where we air our upsets, and how they get solved.  Why not let people know that venting is not always a bad thing?  I'm still thinking.

I just finished my toasted 12 grain slice of bread with some Gruyere and some Brie too.  My stomach is in MMMMMMmmmmmm mode right now.


----------



## kadesma

Zhizara said:


> I was thinking that too, but I did get that wonderful feeling that I get when I vent bad stuff.  What could we call it?
> 
> Anyone have suggestions ideas?  Happy Venting?


Happy venting sounds just perfect
kades


----------



## Alix

There is an old thread I started called "Celebrations" for just such occasions, we could dig that one up.


----------



## Zhizara

I like it too.  I just want to to be where we all know to go when feeling that exhilirating feeling we want to share.

I'm having such a great day today because my back doesn't hurt, and that I'm finally able to splurge after a long miserable time in my life.  Celebrations does sound good.  

Let's try it.  If you'll bring it up, I'll post, and I'm sure BarbaraL and PrincessFiona will help us get it restarted.  We do have some more interesting members who will have something to add.

Z.


----------



## Zhizara

Okay, I did it.  I wanted to make sure that venting was in the name because good venting still is venting and feels just as good.  Thanks for helping.  I just felt it was important.  XOXOX  S.


----------



## Alix

Sorry, I was driving home from work. WOW. It was crazy today.


----------



## kadesma

Alix said:


> Sorry, I was driving home from work. WOW. It was crazy today.


y
ou sound so tired Alix have a hot bath, a cuppa and take it easy.
kades


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> Hope it helps sarah! I've worked with kids of all ages for some time and honestly the trick is to keep them BUSY til its time to crash. LOL!
> 
> Anytime you need a hug, come on over!



Wish I had thought of that with my first husband. No, on second thought, then I might not be married to the fabulous guy I'm with now.


----------



## taxlady

Barbara L said:


> *Sigh*  You know that song, "I'm my own Grandpa?"  Well, I'm my own dishwasher.
> 
> Barbara



Oh, I hope that new dishwasher gets installed on schedule. But, you know, you will appreciate it more after a couple of days of hand dishwashing.


----------



## Alix

kadesma, got my feet up now, and have had two cups of hot honey/lemon. I'm feeling quite a bit happier now. 

taxlady, the dishwasher is going to make my girls VERY happy. I suspect the complaints about loading and unloading the dishwasher will be much less frequent now.


----------



## taxlady

One of my pet peeves is pennies. Why do they make them any more? It costs more than a penny to make a penny. There is less than a penny's worth of copper in a penny, but once you add in the manufacturing cost...

But, until we don't have them any more, yes please, I will take all of my change, thank you very much.


----------



## Zhizara

kadesma said:


> Happy venting sounds just perfect
> kades



                   	                   	                   	                   		                   		                                      		                   		                   			                   			Alix Quote  There is an old thread I started called "Celebrations" for just such occasions, we could dig that one up.  Quote.

Thanks for the encouragement.  I posted Venting on a Happy Note at 6:15 or so last evening, and there are already 8 posts.


----------



## Barbara L

I am so mad at myself! I have been getting the pumpkins done slowly but surely.  I got the 4th one done this evening.  I had been saving the seeds, but I decided to go ahead and roast the ones I had now and do the rest later.  I had a lot of really nice looking pumpkin seeds.  Yes, I said "had."

I saw two pans sitting there, one a regular metal pan and the other a disposable one. I decided to use the disposable one. I went to put them in the oven, and suddenly the disposable pan collapsed and almost all the pumpkin seeds dumped all over the bottom of the oven. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  The oven needs cleaning, and my knees and back hurt tonight, so I couldn't spend a lot of time cleaning them out, so I decided to count it a loss and use the vacuum cleaner to clean them out.  To add insult to injury I accidentally attached the hose to the blower side and blew half of the seeds to the back of the oven.  

The rest of the pumpkin seeds will definitely be done in a regular metal pan!

Barbara


----------



## taxlady

Barbara L said:


> I am so mad at myself! I have been getting the pumpkins done slowly but surely.  I got the 4th one done this evening.  I had been saving the seeds, but I decided to go ahead and roast the ones I had now and do the rest later.  I had a lot of really nice looking pumpkin seeds.  Yes, I said "had."
> 
> I saw two pans sitting there, one a regular metal pan and the other a disposable one. I decided to use the disposable one. I went to put them in the oven, and suddenly the disposable pan collapsed and almost all the pumpkin seeds dumped all over the bottom of the oven. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  The oven needs cleaning, and my knees and back hurt tonight, so I couldn't spend a lot of time cleaning them out, so I decided to count it a loss and use the vacuum cleaner to clean them out.  To add insult to injury I accidentally attached the hose to the blower side and blew half of the seeds to the back of the oven.
> 
> The rest of the pumpkin seeds will definitely be done in a regular metal pan!
> 
> Barbara



Oh no!

(((hugs)))


----------



## Barbara L

taxlady said:


> Oh no!
> 
> (((hugs)))


I'm already laughing about it, but it was irritating!  

Barbara


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> I am so mad at myself! I have been getting the pumpkins done slowly but surely. I got the 4th one done this evening. I had been saving the seeds, but I decided to go ahead and roast the ones I had now and do the rest later. I had a lot of really nice looking pumpkin seeds. Yes, I said "had."
> 
> I saw two pans sitting there, one a regular metal pan and the other a disposable one. I decided to use the disposable one. I went to put them in the oven, and suddenly the disposable pan collapsed and almost all the pumpkin seeds dumped all over the bottom of the oven. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. The oven needs cleaning, and my knees and back hurt tonight, so I couldn't spend a lot of time cleaning them out, so I decided to count it a loss and use the vacuum cleaner to clean them out. To add insult to injury I accidentally attached the hose to the blower side and blew half of the seeds to the back of the oven.
> 
> The rest of the pumpkin seeds will definitely be done in a regular metal pan!
> 
> Barbara


 

Arrrrgh!  I'm glad you are laughing about it now...but when it happens


----------



## Zhizara

That D@#$%^ Murphy, and to get the double whammy of blowing them all over!  At least you can laugh about it and probably will from now on every time you think or hear about pumpkin seeds.

Big hugs coming your way. Poor baby.


----------



## sarah

Barbara L said:


> I am so mad at myself! I have been getting the pumpkins done slowly but surely.  I got the 4th one done this evening.  I had been saving the seeds, but I decided to go ahead and roast the ones I had now and do the rest later.  I had a lot of really nice looking pumpkin seeds.  Yes, I said "had."
> 
> I saw two pans sitting there, one a regular metal pan and the other a disposable one. I decided to use the disposable one. I went to put them in the oven, and suddenly the disposable pan collapsed and almost all the pumpkin seeds dumped all over the bottom of the oven. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  The oven needs cleaning, and my knees and back hurt tonight, so I couldn't spend a lot of time cleaning them out, so I decided to count it a loss and use the vacuum cleaner to clean them out.  To add insult to injury I accidentally attached the hose to the blower side and blew half of the seeds to the back of the oven.
> 
> The rest of the pumpkin seeds will definitely be done in a regular metal pan!
> 
> Barbara




Ohh poor you,really sorry to hear about your fiasco with pumpkin seeds but glad u r over it already,and good luck with the rest of the seeds.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I wonder what Murphy Slaw, tastes like?


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks Princess.  That was my belly laugh for the morning!


----------



## sarah

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wonder what Murphy Slaw, tastes like?



Buahhahahaha....


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wonder what Murphy Slaw, tastes like?


You could create it and let us know!  That could become the Official April Fool's Day Salad!

Barbara


----------



## Zhizara

Barbara L said:


> You could create it and let us know!  That could become the Official April Fool's Day Salad!
> 
> Barbara



Great idea!  I second the motion.  See what you let yourself in for Princess. XOX


----------



## kadesma

Good lord I'm so angry!!!! DH is making me nuts, I have a way Julia Child of cooking prime rib. Yes and now he has decided it has to be don with a probe good lord  he is in there making pasta and he is driving me crazy. I don't know what to do next, he's started on the spinach and cream sauce and I really feel lost. The arguing is awful today. HELP do I ignore it and do it my way what next
kades


----------



## Zhizara

Just let him cook dinner.  Hang out here with us.  You are sure to find some laughs to keep your spirits up. {{{{{{{HUG}}}}}}}}.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> You could create it and let us know! That could become the Official April Fool's Day Salad!
> 
> Barbara


 

Good Idea, I'll think about it and report back...you know something will mess it up! I wrote it down to remind myself.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Good lord I'm so angry!!!! DH is making me nuts, I have a way Julia Child of cooking prime rib. Yes and now he has decided it has to be don with a probe good lord he is in there making pasta and he is driving me crazy. I don't know what to do next, he's started on the spinach and cream sauce and I really feel lost. The arguing is awful today. HELP do I ignore it and do it my way what next
> kades


 
Very simple, you hand the kitchen over and put your feet up.  Nice cup of tea and a book.  Tell him to call you when dinner is ready.  Of course, peppermint schnapps in the tea will be way more relaxing.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> Just let him cook dinner.  Hang out here with us.  You are sure to find some laughs to keep your spirits up. {{{{{{{HUG}}}}}}}}.





PrincessFiona60 said:


> Very simple, you hand the kitchen over and put your feet up.  Nice cup of tea and a book.  Tell him to call you when dinner is ready.  Of course, peppermint schnapps in the tea will be way more relaxing.



I agree.

But, peppermint schnapps!   Bleh.

But do put something you like in your tea


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I agree.
> 
> But, peppermint schnapps!   Bleh.
> 
> But do put something you like in your tea


 
I've been stirring my cocoa with candy canes  It's the only reason I buy them!


----------



## sarah

kadesma said:


> Good lord I'm so angry!!!! DH is making me nuts, I have a way Julia Child of cooking prime rib. Yes and now he has decided it has to be don with a probe good lord  he is in there making pasta and he is driving me crazy. I don't know what to do next, he's started on the spinach and cream sauce and I really feel lost. The arguing is awful today. HELP do I ignore it and do it my way what next
> kades




Kades! i'll tell u a way of making this irritating inicident a happy one 4 ya,imagine me getting jealous of you right now that u have a hubby who likes to cook for you,no matter what he cooks ,or whether or not he is a better cook than u...at least u have a husband who knows how to cook and does it for u!!!! now let that anger pass and be happy about this fact
i long for my hubby to make dinner sometimes or at least join me in the kitchen,but i cant entirely blame the poor soul as i know he hardly gets time to eat his dinner ,let alone cook it.


----------



## kadesma

Zhizara said:


> Just let him cook dinner.  Hang out here with us.  You are sure to find some laughs to keep your spirits up. {{{{{{{HUG}}}}}}}}.


Thanks those hugs felt so good.
kades


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Very simple, you hand the kitchen over and put your feet up.  Nice cup of tea and a book.  Tell him to call you when dinner is ready.  Of course, peppermint schnapps in the tea will be way more relaxing.


I did and i'm over it Thanks
kades


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I've been stirring my cocoa with candy canes  It's the only reason I buy them!


I do too!  James and I both do that.

CJ, I'm glad everything is ok now.  

Barbara


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> I do too! James and I both do that.
> 
> CJ, I'm glad everything is ok now.
> 
> Barbara


 
Yep we are sisters from other mothers.  


Kades!  I'm so glad everything has cooled down for you!


----------



## CharlieD

I just have to scream. I had a third garage built. This guy promissed me 2-3 weks and it would be finished. The garage is standing and looks finished, but roof is leeking (or is it licking sp?) there is water inside, and now we have about 10 inches of snow on the roof and I have no idea when or even how this bustard is going to finish/fix the roof, grrrrr


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> I just have to scream. I had a third garage built. This guy promissed me 2-3 weks and it would be finished. The garage is standing and looks finished, but roof is leeking (or is it licking sp?) there is water inside, and now we have about 10 inches of snow on the roof and I have no idea when or even how this bustard is going to finish/fix the roof, grrrrr


 
So sorry about this, Charlie! and it's "leaking".  Looks to me like he owes you a new roof.


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you. I did not mention he promissed me 2-3 weeks in the middle of June. I am actually surprised that he did what he did. I mean, the fact that he actually finished it. For a while I thought he would never finish. Well leaky roof cannot be considered fineshed, but at least there is a garage there. I hate contractors.


----------



## mudbug

*Let The Dogs In, Let The Dogs Out*

I am so over this game.


----------



## Barbara L

mudbug said:


> I am so over this game.


My cats hate closed doors.  They think that whatever is on the other side of a closed door has to be better than the side they are on!  The dog likes to play "You can't catch me" when he doesn't feel like coming in.

Barbara


----------



## mudbug

There is a variation on our game.  It's called "throw."  The bone/ball/whatever is thrown once and our younger dog goes racing after it and brings it back and never wants to release it.

Only HH will play this game.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Latte' (kitteh) has taken to sitting out side the bathroom door, when I'm getting ready for work, and yelling for me at the top of her lungs.  I haven't heard this cry from her for at least 4 years, "MeOW me, MeOW me"  Luckily she has thawed enought towards Shrek, she will let him calm her.

Makes me feel guilty for leaving her.


----------



## Zhizara

I'm so frustrated.  My pre-owned TV that I've had over a year just turned itself off.  Apparently for good.  It had worked perfectly with a nice perfect picture.

A few days ago, it turned itself off, but came right back on when turned on with a remote or at the set.  The only thing strange was that the closed captioning had to be turned on again.  No real problem.  I guessed maybe someone in our building had a remote that affected it.  I think this happened about 3 times over an evening.

Tonight I was just waiting for the last few minutes to pass before Lie To Me came on.  I hadn't changed the channel yet, nor had I even touched the remote when it just clicked off.  However, this time it won't turn back on either way.  The power light blinks red, sometimes twice, but no picture.

Fortunately I still have some money left, but not enough to buy a new set.  I got this one for $45 at a pawn shop, and paid $10 for another resident to take me to find one.  

Unfortunately, she has been gone for several days and I doubt she will be back until after Thanksgiving.  

I guess I can read, but I don't have decent lighting without undoing the philodendron vine I have climbing up my tall lamp, and moving it over to the recliner's new location.

RATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> I'm so frustrated.  My pre-owned TV that I've had over a year just turned itself off.  Apparently for good.  It had worked perfectly with a nice perfect picture.
> 
> A few days ago, it turned itself off, but came right back on when turned on with a remote or at the set.  The only thing strange was that the closed captioning had to be turned on again.  No real problem.  I guessed maybe someone in our building had a remote that affected it.  I think this happened about 3 times over an evening.
> 
> Tonight I was just waiting for the last few minutes to pass before Lie To Me came on.  I hadn't changed the channel yet, nor had I even touched the remote when it just clicked off.  However, this time it won't turn back on either way.  The power light blinks red, sometimes twice, but no picture.
> 
> Fortunately I still have some money left, but not enough to buy a new set.  I got this one for $45 at a pawn shop, and paid $10 for another resident to take me to find one.
> 
> Unfortunately, she has been gone for several days and I doubt she will be back until after Thanksgiving.
> 
> I guess I can read, but I don't have decent lighting without undoing the philodendron vine I have climbing up my tall lamp, and moving it over to the recliner's new location.
> 
> RATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Do you have high speed internet? You should be able to find lots of stuff online.


----------



## Zhizara

I have internet, but after looking around I don't see where I can actually watch what is on right now.  

Two other problems.  I like to be able to watch TV and be online too, and the other problem is that the laptop speakers are high pitched and grate on my nerves.

I found that I could not sit in my office chair at my desk for more than a few minutes at a time without setting off a gradually increasing pain in the pinched nerve.  I had started to move the laptop over to my recliner and use it in my lap.  I finally decided my pinched nerve wasn't going to miraculously heal overnight, so I rearranged the furniture so that when I'm not online, I can just put the laptop back on my desk next to my recliner and not have to look at cords strung all across the room.  It gets uncomfortable in my lap after awhile.

I do appreciate your trying to help, TaxLady.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh that stinks, Sally.  I'm sorry!  I know how important entertainment is.


----------



## Zhizara

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh that stinks, Sally.  I'm sorry!  I know how important entertainment is.



At least I have Harry Potter.  I moved the lamp and read until my back started nagging, then went to bed.

I woke up to my phone ringing and spent an hour talking with my BF.  She asked me about making creamed spinach, so I told her to sign up with DC.  She's a pip.  Witty, funny, and a great cook too.  She'll fit right in.


----------



## Selkie

One quick and sometimes successful trick is to unplug the TV from the wall, let it set for about 30 seconds, plug it back in and then try turning it back on. What that does is resets the default settings and MAY reset the problem temporarily. I would give you a 60/40 chance of it not working, but a little chance is better than none.


----------



## Rocklobster

What's up with Grape Nuts? No Grapes. No Nuts.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> What's up with Grape Nuts? No Grapes. No Nuts.


 
  Just add some raisins!  Then they'll be half right!


----------



## Zhizara

I should probably move this to Venting on a Happy Note.  I saw my go to maintenance guy today, and 7AM tomorrow morning he is bringing me a TV that is larger than this little one.  $20!

He is the same one that found me this really great recliner and the twin bed I wanted.  It took about a month to get the recliner, but the bed I got the same day I asked him.  Each was $20.

Many people move out (or die) and leave furniture behind.  Brian gives them to whoever needs them most and only charges a little.  It is worth it because he finds it, and delivers it.  Whew!

You are right Princess, entertainment is important, especially when you are retired and live alone.  I'll be half way through The Goblet of Fire tonight, and it's a thick one.


----------



## Barbara L

Some people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was just checking out a Columbia TV news Facebook page and saw that a funeral home in Columbia is giving out free turkeys this evening.  I could not believe some of the stupid and disrespectful things people were saying.  Of course there were a few jokes ("I wonder if they embalmed the turkeys?", etc.), but most of what was said were not jokes. Some assumed that they are storing the turkeys in the coolers where they keep bodies. Some said that there are a lot of other places giving away free turkeys, so no one should be "desperate" enough to get a turkey there. 

What is wrong with people?  Like I said, in response to what they said, it is a building.  There is nothing spooky about it.  I think it is great that they are making such a generous offer.

I don't fume very often, but I'm fuming now!  At least there were a couple people who responded rationally, but the others were just ridiculous.  I have noticed that there are a lot of very real superstitions about death down here. 

Sheesh.  Barbara


----------



## PattY1

I am "Hot enough to *&^%!!!
I put my Stuffed Ham Sandwich plus a pound of it in the refrigerator at work today. When I went to eat my lunch, someone had opened my sandwich and didn't even bother to wrap it back up!!! I am real picky about that so I did not eat it and am getting rid of the extra pound I had bought. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??? Boy did I go off. It will be a miracle if I don't get fired for all the &#^%^ words I was using before I get laid off next Tuesday. I am sure the whole third floor could hear me. Some asked if I had my name on the bag???WTF Why? so who ever would know who's lunch they were violating???? I drilled into my son's head while he was growing up "if it is not yours, DON'T TOUCH IT!!". And this is susposed to be a professional organization........:stillshakingmyhead:


----------



## Barbara L

PattY1 said:


> I am "Hot enough to *&^%!!!
> I put my Stuffed Ham Sandwich plus a pound of it in the refrigerator at work today. When I went to eat my lunch, someone had opened my sandwich and didn't even bother to wrap it back up!!! I am real picky about that so I did not eat it and am getting rid of the extra pound I had bought. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??? Boy did I go off. It will be a miracle if I don't get fired for all the &#^%^ words I was using before I get laid off next Tuesday. I am sure the whole third floor could hear me. Some asked if I had my name on the bag???WTF Why? so who ever would know who's lunch they were violating???? I drilled into my son's head while he was growing up "if it is not yours, DON'T TOUCH IT!!". And this is susposed to be a professional organization........:stillshakingmyhead:


I agree with you completely.  James won't bring anything to school and put it in the refrigerator because people take things.  There is even a commercial on TV where a man takes a woman's frozen meal, cooks it, and eats it. She is mad that he took it, but the commercial makes it sound like you should expect others to take your food because it is so good.  Nothing in the commercial even hints at the fact that it is *stealing*.

Barbara


----------



## PattY1

Barbara L said:


> I agree with you completely.  James won't bring anything to school and put it in the refrigerator because people take things.  There is even a commercial on TV where a man takes a woman's frozen meal, cooks it, and eats it. She is mad that he took it, but the commercial makes it sound like you should expect others to take your food because it is so good.  Nothing in the commercial even hints at the fact that it is *stealing*.
> 
> Barbara


  They didn't steal it. Just opened it and who knows what else. At least it was left (wrapped in foil) open to warn me that it was messed with.


----------



## Barbara L

PattY1 said:


> They steal it. Just opened it and who knows what else. At least it was left (wrapped in foil) open to warn me that it was messed with.


Yeah that's weird, and gross.


----------



## babetoo

Barbara L said:


> I agree with you completely. James won't bring anything to school and put it in the refrigerator because people take things. There is even a commercial on TV where a man takes a woman's frozen meal, cooks it, and eats it. She is mad that he took it, but the commercial makes it sound like you should expect others to take your food because it is so good. Nothing in the commercial even hints at the fact that it is *stealing*.
> 
> Barbara


 
this is one for the books. when i was in the re-hab place my son brought me a huge sub. sandwich from my favorite italian place. it was so big that i ate it for two nights. had saved a piece of it for my last night there. it was in the staff fridge. had my name on it and someone took it. just about par for the course at that place. stealing is stealing.


----------



## Rocklobster

I would make a huge beautiful sandwhich with wholesome bread, fresh green leaf lettuce and canned dog food.  Plant that in the fridge and let the thief have a big ol' bite of that!


----------



## Zhizara

Barbara L said:


> I agree with you completely.  James won't bring anything to school and put it in the refrigerator because people take things.  There is even a commercial on TV where a man takes a woman's frozen meal, cooks it, and eats it. She is mad that he took it, but the commercial makes it sound like you should expect others to take your food because it is so good.  Nothing in the commercial even hints at the fact that it is *stealing*.
> 
> Barbara



I'm noticing several commercials like that.  It is disturbing to know kids are seeing them.  The one with the lady moving the divider on the grocery conveyor is just as bad- it encourages sneakiness and disrespect for others and their things.  I just don't understand how anyone could let this get this far.  You can protect your kids from shows you don't want them watching, but commercials are everywhere.


----------



## Zhizara

I guess this is a vent.  I just received my wireless mouse.  It works pretty good - mostly.  It does have a tendency to wander or occasionally do the jitterbug.  Mostly, when I go to point at something, it goes where I want it, but it's a bit unnerving at times.

I hope that if I can break my habit of following my reading with the pointer, it will settle down.  I really need it.  Because of the bad back, I have to use my laptop in my lap and the mouse on the arm of the recliner.  Not having that cord crossing the computer is so much nicer, and when I move the computer to my desk, I can just leave the mouse where it is or put it on the table next to my right hand.

Like I said, not much of a vent, but it still feels good to express aggravations too.


----------



## babetoo

i am having a hard time tonight not being angry with some people in my family. mostly about the dinner on thurs. at my granddaughter. first they are coming , then they aren't or they don't know how many in their family are coming with them. if it is making me crazy think of how my granddaughter is feeling. one just couldn't come at the announced time tomorrow at my other granddaughter's house. so everything has been moved an hour to suit them. agrrrrrrrrrrr.


----------



## Rocklobster

babetoo said:


> i am having a hard time tonight not being angry with some people in my family. mostly about the dinner on thurs. at my granddaughter. first they are coming , then they aren't or they don't know how many in their family are coming with them. if it is making me crazy think of how my granddaughter is feeling. one just couldn't come at the announced time tomorrow at my other granddaughter's house. so everything has been moved an hour to suit them. agrrrrrrrrrrr.


 
I love my son dearly, but I've pretty much stopped relying on his word.  We can't make plans with him because they are always changed multiple times, or never confirmed, or he will be late. I've told him that from now on, we are planning things and he is always invited and we want him to be there, sbut we're going ahead and it is up to him to make it.  If not, maybe next time.  He understands.  He is a busy guy and so are we.


----------



## Zhizara

This wireless mouse is definitely weird.  First thing this morning while trying to catch up with new posts on DC, it was acting just like a fly trying to get out a window.  It did everything except buzz.  

Not what I want to deal with before I've finished my first cup of coffee in the morning.

Now it is acting like a mouse should.  I guess I'll just have to see the humor in it or I'll go nuts.  It did look kinda cute trying to get out the window.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> This wireless mouse is definitely weird.  First thing this morning while trying to catch up with new posts on DC, it was acting just like a fly trying to get out a window.  It did everything except buzz.
> 
> ...





I have a touch pad on my laptop. Sometimes it acts like a grasshopper - I try to point and the cursor jumps somewhere random.


----------



## Zhizara

taxlady said:


> I have a touch pad on my laptop. Sometimes it acts like a grasshopper - I try to point and the cursor jumps somewhere random.



I don't use a touch pad if I have any alternative.  It gets brushed or touched when I type and moves around that way.  The mouse I had before was one of those retractable ones.  The cord was too short even when extended all the way.  I read up on reviews before I bought this one.  Apparently it is a common problem.

If I just give it a little slap, it behaves!  I can't get over how, this morning when it went haywire, it looked just like a house fly trying to get out a window.  (Window, get it?)  I understand jitterbug other than just a dance.  The whole thing gave me giggles which is amazing since I hadn't finished my first cup of coffee yet.


----------



## Chef Munky

I hope my morally disgusting in laws just rot in a fiery pit of lava!

My husband found out last night that his dad passed away. In 2008.

Nobody bothered to contact him about it. I feel very bad for him, and know how it feels. I wasn't contacted by anyone when my dad died, until 9 months after the fact. No were weren't and hadn't been in contact with any of them for many years. But seriously I would have thought one of the ghoul sisters would have had some kind of morals. Do the right thing!

I'm just livid!


----------



## Rocklobster

Chef Munky said:


> I hope my morally disgusting in laws just rot in a fiery pit of lava!
> 
> My husband found out last night that his dad passed away. In 2008.
> 
> Nobody bothered to contact him about it. I feel very bad for him, and know how it feels. I wasn't contacted by anyone when my dad died, until 9 months after the fact. No were weren't and hadn't been in contact with any of them for many years. But seriously I would have thought one of the ghoul sisters would have had some kind of morals. Do the right thing!
> 
> I'm just livid!


 
That is harsh. I don't know how people can live like that.  I really don't.


----------



## Barbara L

Chef Munky said:


> I hope my morally disgusting in laws just rot in a fiery pit of lava!
> 
> My husband found out last night that his dad passed away. In 2008.
> 
> Nobody bothered to contact him about it. I feel very bad for him, and know how it feels. I wasn't contacted by anyone when my dad died, until 9 months after the fact. No were weren't and hadn't been in contact with any of them for many years. But seriously I would have thought one of the ghoul sisters would have had some kind of morals. Do the right thing!
> 
> I'm just livid!


That's horrible. I'm so sorry to hear that he just found out. With family like that, you two are fortunate to have each other. 

Barbara


----------



## Rocklobster

I think I may lose my job. The couple who owns the place is going to get divorced and he is trying to force her in to bankrupcy.  He is a @*##@!. It is running well and making a buck.  You wouldn't believe the drama every day. Oh well, I have over 25 years experience in this trade and will be working soon enough. It sucks, because I like this job.


----------



## Chef Munky

Rocklobster said:


> That is harsh. I don't know how people can live like that.  I really don't.



Harsh? Me and my opinions of them. Or what the ghoul sisters did?

The hurt him deeply. That's unforgivable.


----------



## Chef Munky

Barbara L said:


> That's horrible. I'm so sorry to hear that he just found out. With family like that, you two are fortunate to have each other.
> 
> Barbara



Yes we are. I'll take good care of him. Just like always.


----------



## LPBeier

Munky, I am sending big hugs for both you and your DH.  I can't imagine how people can be so cruel.   Even if you have not been in touch for whatever reason, you have a right to know.  

Rock, I feel for you as well.  But if you can find work elsewhere, at least you don't have to put up with what's going on in their personal lives.


----------



## Chef Munky

Rocklobster said:


> I think I may lose my job. The couple who owns the place is going to get divorced and he is trying to force her in to bankrupcy.  He is a @*##@!. It is running well and making a buck.  You wouldn't believe the drama every day. Oh well, I have over 25 years experience in this trade and will be working soon enough. It sucks, because I like this job.



Where one door closes a better one opens up. Good luck I hope it all works out.

Munky.


----------



## Barbara L

Rocklobster, I hope all goes well with your job situation. 

Barbara


----------



## PattY1

Chef Munky said:


> Where one door closes a better one opens up. Good luck I hope it all works out.
> 
> Munky.




I certainly hope so. I am laid off as of tomorrow myself.


----------



## LPBeier

PattY1 said:


> I certainly hope so. I am laid off as of tomorrow myself.



I am so sorry to hear that, Patty.  I send you hugs and prayers that you will find something else soon.


----------



## Chef Munky

PattY1 said:


> I certainly hope so. I am laid off as of tomorrow myself.



Sorry to hear that.. Hopefully it will just be a mini vacation for you.
Good luck.


----------



## PattY1

Thanks, I knew it was coming. I just have not found another job yet. I am kinda hoping for a mini vacation. Much needed after working at that place for over 5 years!!! I just hope I can get by on unemployment.

I stocked: the freezer with meat and veggies and Butter. Also canned and dried beans. Rice and Pasta. Cooking oils. Canned veggies and broth. (some I had to store under my bed hehehe) Flours and Sugars.


----------



## licia

Chef Munky said:


> I hope my morally disgusting in laws just rot in a fiery pit of lava!
> 
> My husband found out last night that his dad passed away. In 2008.
> 
> Nobody bothered to contact him about it. I feel very bad for him, and know how it feels. I wasn't contacted by anyone when my dad died, until 9 months after the fact. No were weren't and hadn't been in contact with any of them for many years. But seriously I would have thought one of the ghoul sisters would have had some kind of morals. Do the right thing!
> 
> I'm just livid!



Perhaps they thought you were not interested if you haven't spoken in years. I don't think I'd be so upset if that was the case. I don't see being told about a death would matter if the family wasn't in contact for years.


----------



## Chef Munky

It matters when it all comes down to doing the right thing. They chose not to tell him. They denied him the chance of saying good bye to his dad. It's not that hard of a thing to do to pick up a phone and at least inform him dad's sick. He's a grown man now not a child and can make up his own mind.

What they did was inexcusable.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> I hope my morally disgusting in laws just rot in a fiery pit of lava!
> 
> My husband found out last night that his dad passed away. In 2008.
> 
> Nobody bothered to contact him about it. I feel very bad for him, and know how it feels. I wasn't contacted by anyone when my dad died, until 9 months after the fact. No were weren't and hadn't been in contact with any of them for many years. But seriously I would have thought one of the ghoul sisters would have had some kind of morals. Do the right thing!
> 
> I'm just livid!


 
Oh Munky!  I am so sorry and sorry for DH's hurt.  What his sisters did is not right!  Hugs for you both!

PF


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> I think I may lose my job. The couple who owns the place is going to get divorced and he is trying to force her in to bankrupcy. He is a @*##@!. It is running well and making a buck. You wouldn't believe the drama every day. Oh well, I have over 25 years experience in this trade and will be working soon enough. It sucks, because I like this job.


 
Yes, that really sucks!  Sorry!  Hope something opens up for you soon!


----------



## Rocklobster

licia said:


> Perhaps they thought you were not interested if you haven't spoken in years. I don't think I'd be so upset if that was the case. I don't see being told about a death would matter if the family wasn't in contact for years.


 
I agree. Why should they be responsible for your husband's relationship with his father?  Why didn't he keep in touch enough to know that this happened?  Peace, Munky.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

PattY1 said:


> Thanks, I knew it was coming. I just have not found another job yet. I am kinda hoping for a mini vacation. Much needed after working at that place for over 5 years!!! I just hope I can get by on unemployment.
> 
> I stocked: the freezer with meat and veggies and Butter. Also canned and dried beans. Rice and Pasta. Cooking oils. Canned veggies and broth. (some I had to store under my bed hehehe) Flours and Sugars.


 
Having a chance to plan sure helps!  I hope it is just a mini vacation.


----------



## Chef Munky

Rocklobster said:


> I agree. Why should they be responsible for your husband's relationship with his father?  Why didn't he keep in touch enough to know that this happened?  Peace, Munky.



I understand the 2 way street. For safety reasons I can't answer that question entirely. My husbands job won't allow that. But I can say after they had a blow up my husband tried many times to contact them, through anyone. And directly. His dad blew him off every time. 

He's very hurt that the sisters that he loves dearly treated him this way.
Little by little every time he'd try and keep in contact they to dissed him.

They took sides. Made the choices. We might have moved, but my husband has been working at the same place for well over 20 years.


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

Rocklobster said:


> I think I may lose my job. The couple who owns the place is going to get divorced and he is trying to force her in to bankrupcy. He is a @*##@!. It is running well and making a buck. You wouldn't believe the drama every day. Oh well, I have over 25 years experience in this trade and will be working soon enough. It sucks, because I like this job.


Rock mate wait till the last moment and buy it.


----------



## CharlieD

I am sorry Monky, but I do not understand this. I don't know. Sounds strage to me. How is it possible? I cannot imagine not beeng in contact with my parents so I cannot possibly put my self in your or your husband shoes. I call my parents if not every day, for sure every other day. Sorry. Very strange.


----------



## Alix

CharlieD said:


> I am sorry Monky, but I do not understand this. I don't know. Sounds strage to me. How is it possible? I cannot imagine not beeng in contact with my parents so I cannot possibly put my self in your or your husband shoes. I call my parents if not every day, for sure every other day. Sorry. Very strange.



Charlie, you are very lucky. Not everyone has good relationships with their parents. That doesn't mean they don't love them, it just means being together, or talking is hard. My own personal experience is that although my Mom and I have always been close, since she was diagnosed with dementia she is not the person she used to be. There was a period of 8 months this year when we didn't speak because she was so nasty to me. I refuse to be treated badly and so refused to call her. Since that time, she has called to apologize and we have a tentative truce, but it is not the close relationship we once had. Cherish what you have Charlie, but know that not everyone is as blessed as you are. 

Munky, I feel for you and your husband. That is very hard. 

Rocklobster, I hope you don't spend too much time off work. I sort of like Bolas's idea though!


----------



## Kayelle

Monkey, I'm sorry you and your husband are so hurt by this.  Most problems are caused by a lack of communication with a family, it's sad really, because there always comes a day when it's too late.  If your husband never expressed an interest in his father, how can it be assumed that the sisters would report "how Dad is doing" when the question wasn't asked?  Perhaps they thought it best to not bring the subject up, and that's assuming your husband and his sisters had some kind of regular contact. I always say, the telephone rings both ways. Again, I'm sorry for his hurt, but sometimes outsiders can see the picture more clearly.  I wish you and your husband peace, Monkey.


----------



## Rocklobster

Bolas De Fraile said:


> Rock mate wait till the last moment and buy it.


I took that trip twice. Once for 2 and another for 13 years and am glad to be rid of it. I just want to finish off my career as a working stiff. I'm involved more than enough as a hourly paid manager. A bit of time off would be good. Its just too bad that they wouldn't close the place in the summer so I could enjoy the weather.


----------



## CharlieD

Alix said:


> Charlie, you are very lucky. Not everyone has good relationships with their parents. That doesn't mean they don't love them, it just means being together, or talking is hard. My own personal experience is that although my Mom and I have always been close, since she was diagnosed with dementia she is not the person she used to be. There was a period of 8 months this year when we didn't speak because she was so nasty to me. I refuse to be treated badly and so refused to call her. Since that time, she has called to apologize and we have a tentative truce, but it is not the close relationship we once had. Cherish what you have Charlie, but know that not everyone is as blessed as you are.
> 
> Munky, I feel for you and your husband. That is very hard.
> 
> Rocklobster, I hope you don't spend too much time off work. I sort of like Bolas's idea though!


 

I am not that lucky, believe me. i hate my father, that obusive son of a gun, the moment my mom is gone, may she live to be 180 and be healthy i would not have anything to do with him, well, I will still call see if he is still there. As a son I have responsibility. and believe me, though I love my mom, she drives me plenty crazy. But a s a good book says we have to respect and obey our parents and I intend to do so.


----------



## taxlady

Ooh, losing jobs - not fun. I hope that Rocklobster and PattY1 find wonderful jobs very quickly, with an opportunity for a bit of time of if you want it.

Family, grrr. Chef Munky, I'm so sorry that your husband's sisters showed so little understanding. I would be loathe to judge them, because, for all I know, they thought they had good reasons.

My own family didn't tell me how ill my dad was before he died. They thought they were saving me from worry.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm sitting here watching this all unfold, all of the valid reasons for calling and not calling family members when there is a death in the family. I have been within the storm with family members when these things happen. I've taken the phone call from the son who doesn't speak to his sister~~ This son had visited his Mother last on Mother's Day, she died two weeks later and it was Mother's Day again...I had to tell him his Mother died a year ago. Imagine the grief and anger I had to deal with at the time.

That being said, there is absolutely no reason on this earth, that illness and/or death of a parent can not be reported by the family members involved to those who are apart or in bad graces. This is a wound that will never heal. However, it could heal if there is _some_ communication. I'm not saying there has to be a long drawn out conversation, a simple, "Mom died an hour ago." is all the information that needs to be passed. Denying a person their right to comfort an ill parent or grieve their death is not acceptable.


----------



## Alix

Amen Princess Fiona. And lets also remember what this venting thread is for. We don't have to agree with everyone, but lets allow everyone to vent freely. I don't think I'd be feeling any better for venting if I were in Munky's shoes. We can't understand everyone, so just accept, say "that sucks" or nothing at all and move on. Let's keep DC safe for everyone.


----------



## Zhizara

Alix said:


> Amen Princess Fiona. And lets also remember what this venting thread is for. We don't have to agree with everyone, but lets allow everyone to vent freely. I don't think I'd be feeling any better for venting if I were in Munky's shoes. We can't understand everyone, so just accept, say "that sucks" or nothing at all and move on. Let's keep DC safe for everyone.



Well put.  The thing I love about this thread is the fact that when I'm p.o.ed about something I can let it all out here and that feels so good.  

What feels even better is that someone always comes back with at the least some sympathy or like when I was so frustrated with IE8, you came back with the solution (thanks again) that ended my frustration.


----------



## Barbara L

Alix said:


> Amen Princess Fiona. And lets also remember what this venting thread is for. We don't have to agree with everyone, but lets allow everyone to vent freely. I don't think I'd be feeling any better for venting if I were in Munky's shoes. We can't understand everyone, so just accept, say "that sucks" or nothing at all and move on. Let's keep DC safe for everyone.


Amen.


----------



## mudbug

*I hate proposals - Part 3,217*

Once again, at the end of the work day, I am waiting on a proposal to edit that I should have had first thing Monday morning.  I am crazy busy with another sucky editing job (about 100 pages longer than promised) that I have to have done by Friday.

If this one goes like the others from the same source, it will not only be very late but also MUCH longer than expected.  GRRRRRRRRR


----------



## Rocklobster

Barbara L said:


> Amen.


 You are right.  I shouldn't have judged.  My apologies. 
Roch


----------



## roadfix

I'm ready to shoot my business landlord as I just found out this morning that the new pizzeria next door to us has been paying 30% less in rent for an identical 1,200 sq/ft space.  I am pissed as hell.  I found this out as I've been negotiating with the landlord for a rent reduction due to lack of business and for the fact that I felt our recent rent increases have been out of line when our last lease expired.  I've been flushing money down the toilet the last 5 years of the 15 years or so I've been at this location.  This ticks me off like there's no tomorrow.


----------



## taxlady

I'm really ticked off with my boss. She has been neglecting work and responsibility. Now she is in a tizzy and is having a hard time getting anything done because of this. 

BTW, I'm self-employed.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks Fiona and Alix.  What you said is so true.  We can not put ourselves in another person's shoes and say we would do it differently.  Munky, I have been and will continue to keep you, your DH AND his family in my thoughts and prayers.


----------



## babetoo

has anyone noticed the good venting thread died a natural death? wonder what that says about us, as people.


----------



## taxlady

babetoo said:


> has anyone noticed the good venting thread died a natural death? wonder what that says about us, as people.



Short attention span.


----------



## PattY1

babetoo said:


> has anyone noticed the good venting thread died a natural death? wonder what that says about us, as people.




Nope, it hasn't died yet. I am just getting around to venting!!!!

I went to write out my check for my rent last night(the only bill I pay by check anymore), and guess what, I didn't have any checks!!! Nothing ever runs smooth for me! I had to drive down to the bank today to withdraw the money, money orders are now $5.00. So I just got cash. Now that I am unemployed I think I will probably keep this thread alive all by myself.


----------



## Barbara L

Not a big vent, just releasing a little frustration.   I saw on the news that a new company will be opening nearby. I looked it up immediately (as a job possibility for James) and found out they won't be hiring until early 2012. It is still something to keep an eye on, but it has been 6 1/2 years--I hope he doesn't have to wait over another year.

Barbara


----------



## Zhizara

babetoo said:


> has anyone noticed the good venting thread died a natural death? wonder what that says about us, as people.




Good point, Barbara.  I've got one so I'll revive it.


----------



## Barbara L

Zhizara said:


> Good point, Barbara.  I've got one so I'll revive it.


That was Babe's good point.


----------



## Zhizara

Sorry, Babe.  I got excited about having something happy to post I didn't check carefully enough.  I'll be more careful, as I know it is important to give credit where credit is due.  
{{{{{{BIG SORRY HUG}}}}  

Thanks for the heads up, Barbara.
{{{{{{BIG THANK YOU HUG}}}}}}


----------



## taxlady

Barbara L said:


> Not a big vent, just releasing a little frustration.   I saw on the news that a new company will be opening nearby. I looked it up immediately (as a job possibility for James) and found out they won't be hiring until early 2012. It is still something to keep an eye on, but it has been 6 1/2 years--I hope he doesn't have to wait over another year.
> 
> Barbara



(((Hugs))) Barbara. I have a pretty good idea how that feels. My DH hasn't had a steady job since some time in 2003. He had a job for 3 months in 2005 and he had a 3 month contract in 2008. Then the stock market crashed, so  they didn't renew it. I'll wish some good luck.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> has anyone noticed the good venting thread died a natural death? wonder what that says about us, as people.


 
That the most aggravating time of the year is upon us.  I'd rather see us getting our Vents out here than unloading them on a poor unsuspecting cashier in the store.

But, I'm heading over there now, I had a good, productive day.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I'm really ticked off with my boss. She has been neglecting work and responsibility. Now she is in a tizzy and is having a hard time getting anything done because of this.
> 
> BTW, I'm self-employed.


 
I was working un-supervised today, I got more work done on my own than when everyone else is around bossing me.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I was working un-supervised today, I got more work done on my own than when everyone else is around bossing me.



I used to do just fine on my own. Well, maybe I worked too much. But, I keep remembering the quote about getting old isn't for sissies. It's time for me to quit being a sissy.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I used to do just fine on my own. Well, maybe I worked too much. But, I keep remembering the quote about getting old isn't for sissies. It's time for me to quit being a sissy.


 

My supervisor and another co-worker keep trying to get me to do things "Their" way...their way means spending alot of time goofing off or wandering around aimlessly.  I can't work that way, well unless I'm supposed to clean house...


----------



## Barbara L

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs))) Barbara. I have a pretty good idea how that feels. My DH hasn't had a steady job since some time in 2003. He had a job for 3 months in 2005 and he had a 3 month contract in 2008. Then the stock market crashed, so  they didn't renew it. I'll wish some good luck.


Thanks!  I hope your husband can find something steady as well.  

Barbara


----------



## babetoo

my darn kitchen  sink is still plugged up. guy came last night, will be back about four or four-thirty this afternoon. finally had to do some dishes in the bathroom sink, from company dinner on sat. night. 

what a mess. had to do to clear table. small grocery order this evening and need room for the bags. 

i am a little ticked off at handy man. should have known what needed doing when he was here on saturday. men don't realize how vital a kitchen sink is in preparing food. well some men anyway. guys here that cook would know. he acts like it is no big deal. grrrrrrrrrr


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> my darn kitchen sink is still plugged up. guy came last night, will be back about four or four-thirty this afternoon. finally had to do some dishes in the bathroom sink, from company dinner on sat. night.
> 
> what a mess. had to do to clear table. small grocery order this evening and need room for the bags.
> 
> i am a little ticked off at handy man. should have known what needed doing when he was here on saturday. men don't realize how vital a kitchen sink is in preparing food. well some men anyway. guys here that cook would know. he acts like it is no big deal. grrrrrrrrrr


 
Wish I was there, I could have had it fixed in no time!  And I would have helped you wash the dishes


----------



## roadfix

I always carry a pipe wrench and a snake in my tool box.  There's no excuse for not having the right tools and essential parts at all times.


----------



## Zhizara

I'd been having problems with my tub not draining.  The built in stopper is not removable, and I know it was clogged with my long hair, so I bought a small cheap plunger and kept using it as I'd take my shower.  It worked pretty well, bringing up some hair so I was able to pull some of it out.  

You have my sympathy with your kitchen sink.  It's so necessary.  I hope he isn't going to charge you extra for two visits.


----------



## roadfix

Zhizara said:


> and I know it was clogged with my long hair, so I bought a small cheap plunger and kept using it as I'd take my shower.


An occasional liquid bleach down the drain should keep it clear from hair build up.


----------



## Zhizara

roadfix said:


> An occasional liquid bleach down the drain should keep it clear from hair build up.



Thanks, RoadFix.  I'll try that.  Bleach is cheap, and I don't think I should have to buy Liquid Plumb'r because of something that's not my fault.  If the built in drain plug was removable, I'd keep it clear myself.


----------



## babetoo

noise noise. the handyman is here working on sink. he has been sawing with a power saw. driving me nuts. but hopefully it will get it fixed.


----------



## babetoo

babetoo said:


> noise noise. the handyman is here working on sink. he has been sawing with a power saw. driving me nuts. but hopefully it will get it fixed.


 

sink still not fixed. need a longer snake i guess. he will try to borrow one at work. if not, i am just going to buy one. won't be in this position again if i can help it. such a mess. i am going to bed and read.


----------



## taxlady

babetoo said:


> sink still not fixed. need a longer snake i guess. he will try to borrow one at work. if not, i am just going to buy one. won't be in this position again if i can help it. such a mess. i am going to bed and read.



Oh no!

(((hugs)))

I understand too well about blocked sink. Ours freezes up when it gets cold enough. We have a portable dishwasher and hooked it up in the washroom one winter


----------



## roadfix

babetoo said:


> sink still not fixed. need a longer snake i guess.


Geez.  How long was his snake?


----------



## babetoo

roadfix said:


> Geez. How long was his snake?


 
only 25  he said. need a 50 . it isn't to bad of a price. then it will be available to family.


----------



## babetoo

the sink is unplugged. it cost me $150. lord knows what the handyman will charge or his futile attempt. i know i paid a lot but four days with dirty dishes on counter was just to much.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> the sink is unplugged. it cost me $150. lord knows what the handyman will charge or his futile attempt. i know i paid a lot but four days with dirty dishes on counter was just to much.


 
That stinks!  Especially if you have to pay him for not fixing it.


----------



## babetoo

babetoo said:


> the sink is unplugged. it cost me $150. lord knows what the handyman will charge for his futile attempt. i know i paid a lot but four days with dirty dishes on counter was just to much.


 

finona , i think it stinks to pay for something that didn't work. people have no pride (some people) in their work. what can we do about it?  i would hate to piss him off, a single woman needs a handyman and they are hard to find. unlike the last one, this one does show up on time.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> finona , i think it stinks to pay for something that didn't work. people have no pride (some people) in their work. what can we do about it? i would hate to piss him off, a single woman needs a handyman and they are hard to find. unlike the last one, this one does show up on time.


 
True, you do need to have a handyman.  But, it still stinks!


----------



## Zhizara

What was the cause of the plug up?  If it's tree or bush roots, you can help prevent future repeats by pouring a container of salt down the drain every 3 months or so.  My Mom kept having this kind of problem until we figured out that it was the roots of a Brazilian Pepper causing the problem.  We finally dug it out and killed the stump which solved the problem, but the salt trick worked until we got rid of the plant.


----------



## roadfix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> True, you do need to have a handyman.  But, it still stinks!


If he stunk, the house call should have been free.  (according to the local major plumbing radio ad).....lol...


----------



## babetoo

roadfix said:


> If he stunk, the house call should have been free. (according to the local major plumbing radio ad).....lol...


 
how funny, actually he did stink. he is starting to bug me by invading my private space. especially bugs me when he smells. what is it about a man that makes him think is irresistible to women. believe me this guy is resit able. Lol


----------



## Zhizara

Reminds me of those guys that think they look great with grunge look beards.  It makes me think that if they didn't take the time to shave, they probably didn't take the time to shower.  Very resistable.


----------



## babetoo

darn and double darn. i am coming down with a head cold. i am really going to take it easy, lots of vit. c and fluids. my history this past year, seems to go to the serious almost instantly. all my blood work was good so maybe not this time. keep your fingers crossed for me please.


----------



## taxlady

babetoo said:


> darn and double darn. i am coming down with a head cold. i am really going to take it easy, lots of vit. c and fluids. my history this past year, seems to go to the serious almost instantly. all my blood work was good so maybe not this time. keep your fingers crossed for me please.



(((hugs))) Healing vibes being sent in your direction.


----------



## Zhizara

taxlady said:


> (((hugs))) Healing vibes being sent in your direction.



Me too.  {{{{{HEALING HUGS}}}}}}

Chicken soup time.


----------



## babetoo

thanks so much, you two.


----------



## Rocklobster

babetoo said:


> finally had to do some dishes in the bathroom sink, from company dinner on sat. night.
> 
> . grrrrrrrrrr


 
I just take the dishes in the bathtub with me. why waste perfectly good hot water?  We all have to do our part for the green initiative, you know.


----------



## babetoo

Rocklobster said:


> I just take the dishes in the bathtub with me. why waste perfectly good hot water? We all have to do our part for the green initiative, you know.


 
you are to funny. gotta admit though, that was a pain in the #.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> darn and double darn. i am coming down with a head cold. i am really going to take it easy, lots of vit. c and fluids. my history this past year, seems to go to the serious almost instantly. all my blood work was good so maybe not this time. keep your fingers crossed for me please.


 
Fingers, toes, eyes...all crossed. Hugs and good thoughts going your way!!! Take care of yourself!

Deep breathe and cough, keep your lungs clear!


----------



## babetoo

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Fingers, toes, eyes...all crossed. Hugs and good thoughts going your way!!! Take care of yourself!
> 
> Deep breathe and cough, keep your lungs clear!


 
no coughing as of yet just bad head ache and plugged up nose. just a tad achy in bones. took theraflue last night and slept like a baby. thanks for good thoughts.


----------



## CharlieD

almost 20" of snow in one day. where is it global worming when you need one.


----------



## roadfix

Our old record of 86 degrees will probably be broken today for downtown L.A.  This is way to hot for my liking for this time of the year.


----------



## babetoo

sorry roadfix, i am enjoying the heat. sick and tired of being cold. speaking of sick, this cold is making me very unhappy. i need all my energy to do things for the holidays. stopping and starting so i can rest, sucks.


----------



## Rocklobster

heavy wet stuff here. I'm buying a snowblower tomorrow.


----------



## taxlady

Rocklobster said:


> heavy wet stuff here. I'm buying a snowblower tomorrow.



Thank you for reminding me of one of the few advantages to living in a condo. The condo association hires a company to deal with the snow. The other advantage is underground parking, even though we have a townhouse.


----------



## Rocklobster

taxlady said:


> Thank you for reminding me of one of the few advantages to living in a condo. The condo association hires a company to deal with the snow. The other advantage is underground parking, even though we have a townhouse.


I notice you are in Southern Quebec. We're getting the same storm.  I'm in the Ottawa Valley. As I said before, my house used to be my restaurant, so I have a large parking lot and the house is back from the road about 60 feet. I have to make room for three vehicles so that is a lot of shovelling. There was a time when I used to like doing it, but that time is gone, I'm afraid.


----------



## Chef Munky

*Repair Bill*

The good news is my oven is back up and running.
It took this long to get a repairman out to look at it. They only service the area once a month.

The ignitor  went on it. The fist part he quoted it would cost $189.00. #2 was $108.00 #3 from some kind of kit was $89.30. His labor and service charge of $144.00. Plus tax on the part. Total $240.00. Ouch! He was here not even an hour.
They seem to keep the bill just under the cost of just replacing it. I didn't want it fixed. I was doing just fine without it. Could have saved my pennies and bought  a better one. Now I have cook something in it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> The good news is my oven is back up and running.
> It took this long to get a repairman out to look at it. They only service the area once a month.
> 
> The ignitor went on it. The fist part he quoted it would cost $189.00. #2 was $108.00 #3 from some kind of kit was $89.30. His labor and service charge of $144.00. Plus tax on the part. Total $240.00. Ouch! He was here not even an hour.
> They seem to keep the bill just under the cost of just replacing it. I didn't want it fixed. I was doing just fine without it. Could have saved my pennies and bought a better one. Now I have cook something in it.


 
Pretty much extortion! Dang!

My vent! For over three years my Director of Nursing has been asking the same therapist for the total count of patients getting any kind of therapy. She delegated the task of filling out the paperwork and told me exactly who to talk to to get the information we need. I approached the exact same therapist and she acted like she had no clue what I was talking about and I had to reapproach her 4 times before she got it done.

I got all of the assorted information on patients, activity levels, certain medications, diets, toileting habits, etc in the space of 3 hours the day before, toiling through 45 pages of printout to get the information, it took her 4 hours to bring me one number that was printed out for her. ARRRGH!

This happens to me alot in this job, people acting like they never heard of it, just because I am the one doing the asking, they are pretty quick about it when I get the Director or my supervisor involved. Good thing I am enjoying myself playing with paperwork.


----------



## babetoo

ah choo


----------



## Zhizara

I figure I'd better get this vented before I explode.  I got a letter this week from Social Security that since there was no inflation (?) there would be so cost of living increase in my social security.

Don't these people buy groceries?  Is it just Louisiana that prices have gone up some much because of Katrina?  I do not get it.

My SS has been the same for two years now.  I do live in low income housing, so my rent is not affected, but groceries have skyrocketed in the year and a half I've lived here.  

I'll stop here.  I don't like feeling angry, and there's nothing I can do about it anyway.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> I figure I'd better get this vented before I explode. I got a letter this week from Social Security that since there was no inflation (?) there would be so cost of living increase in my social security.
> 
> Don't these people buy groceries? Is it just Louisiana that prices have gone up some much because of Katrina? I do not get it.
> 
> My SS has been the same for two years now. I do live in low income housing, so my rent is not affected, but groceries have skyrocketed in the year and a half I've lived here.
> 
> I'll stop here. I don't like feeling angry, and there's nothing I can do about it anyway.


 
Shrek got the same letter with the added fun of paying for his Medicare subtracted...he was indignant, I told him he didn't get it for free!  It's much lower than the $400 I was paying a month for his health insurance on my policy.


----------



## Zhizara

Nothing I can do about it anyway.  I'll be fine.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Nothing I can do about it anyway. I'll be fine.


 
It still stinks!


----------



## Andy M.

I got the same letter.  I also have medicare deducted AND have to pay for additional insurance to fill the gaps in Medicare.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I got the same letter. I also have medicare deducted AND have to pay for additional insurance to fill the gaps in Medicare.


 
Yes, we are looking at the gap fillers now, too!  So confusing!  And I do the Medicare paperwork in my job, I still don't know what to do!


----------



## taxlady

Just curious, is the amount one pays for medicare based on income?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Just curious, is the amount one pays for medicare based on income?


 
I don't think so, otherwise like everyone else, they would have told Shrek I make too much money.  I'm the reason he can't get the VA benefits he is entitled to.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, we are looking at the gap fillers now, too!  So confusing!  And I do the Medicare paperwork in my job, I still don't know what to do!



It sure is confusing.  I had to select a new insurance this year because last year's plan was canceled.  You get tons of mail from insurance companies then you have to decide which of the plans for each company is the best for you.  

Then there's Rx coverage...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> It sure is confusing. I had to select a new insurance this year because last year's plan was canceled. You get tons of mail from insurance companies then you have to decide which of the plans for each company is the best for you.
> 
> Then there's Rx coverage...


 
I've never been on this end of the fiasco.  I deal with making sure people are within the guidelines to continue receiving their Medicare benefits and I go all out to make sure they are getting it. I'm really good at picking the nits to get them the benefits.  Many have to go to their Part B benefits, because they just cannot Rehab as fast as the government wants them to.


----------



## Zhizara

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I've never been on this end of the fiasco.  I deal with making sure people are within the guidelines to continue receiving their Medicare benefits and I go all out to make sure they are getting it. I'm really good at picking the nits to get them the benefits.  Many have to go to their Part B benefits, because they just cannot Rehab as fast as the government wants them to.



Could you do a favor and find out how someone like me is going to get medical help and doesn't have it?

I'm on social security, but for now $100 a month is out of the question.

I will need medical care in the next few years.  Transportation at my age is a problem too.  How will I pay for medication?

If my body will just hold up, I'm at a great place with my life.  I don't really want to go through any of the above.  My motto is stress free living.  

If I were to find out I had cancer and that I could extend my life by going through chemotherapy?

Forget it.  Chemo doesn't work all the time, so your last few years are stressful, painful to you and those who love you.  It isn't fair to them to have to watch you suffer.  They suffer with you.

They shoot horses, don't they?

Okay, Princess Fiona, your Majestic Ogressness, you got me to talk about it.  Good Job.  Thanks XOX ((((HUGE HUG}}}}}}} Z


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Could you do a favor and find out how someone like me is going to get medical help and doesn't have it?
> 
> I'm on social security, but for now $100 a month is out of the question.
> 
> I will need medical care in the next few years. Transportation at my age is a problem too. How will I pay for medication?
> 
> If my body will just hold up, I'm at a great place with my life. I don't really want to go through any of the above. My motto is stress free living.
> 
> If I were to find out I had cancer and that I could extend my life by going through chemotherapy?
> 
> Forget it. Chemo doesn't work all the time, so your last few years are stressful, painful to you and those who love you. It isn't fair to them to have to watch you suffer. They suffer with you.
> 
> They shoot horses, don't they?
> 
> Okay, Princess Fiona, your Majestic Ogressness, you got me to talk about it. Good Job. Thanks XOX ((((HUGE HUG}}}}}}} Z


 
Make an appointment with Aging Services in your area, after the New year, they are swamped right now with Open enrollment.  Get yourself on the Medicaid Rolls ASAP.  If not now, you will have to be filling out paperwork when you end up in the hospital and that is not the best place to be making these types of decisions.  How long have you lived in NOLA, now?  If it's been over a year you should not have any problems.

Use Aging Services, it's what they are there for!  I know SS doesn't pay well, have you applied for disability?  Becuase you sure as shooting cannot work with the way your back is.  That should give you the extra so you can afford Medicare and the GAP/Prescription coverages.  Shrek is back to what he was getting prior to applying for disability after the GAP and RX are taken out.

He finally got himself signed up, through the AARP services.  Did it while I was at work, so I'm still a bit befuddled about what actually took place, but he is happy with his choices...that makes me happy.

At 50, I know I have some time before I have to really worry, but lately 15 years goes by awful fast!  Shrek will be 65 next month...just in time, so I didn't have to keep him on my insurance for another year.  Gave my the option to get some life insurance so I can make my brother rich...

Anyway, I know Z. that you would be eligible for Medicare A coverage in the hospital if you are over 65, which is no small thing, they take care of a lot.

On my end, in Montana, Med A pays completely for the first 20 days in a rehab, after that you pay a co-pay for the next 80 days.  I am just learning right now, how much is paid for certain cares in the facility, depending on the type of care and what you actually need in the way of supplies, nursing hours and therapy.  So, I am not the authority on this subject, but at least I know where to look.

And it depends on the Cancer you get...some treatments are livable and easily treated with a high success rate.  BTW...my Mom's life was saved by Breast Cancer...if they hadn't caught it when they did they never would have found her Ovarian cancer until it was too late.


----------



## Zhizara

Oh boy, where do I start.

Transportation.
I'm 64.

It's your Anniversary tonight, Princess.  It's a good topic. But you, my dear, have a Shrek to cuddle.

More on this later.  I know you'll come up with some good resources as I'm sure others of us who are getting to be:

a.  Old
b.  Crochety
c.  Geezers
d.  Coots
e.  All of the above


----------



## Zhizara

*I Hate My Mouse*

I hate my computer mouse.

I changed from a retractable cord (?) to an optical wireless.  It eats batteries.

There isn't much that's as aggravating as getting all nice and comfortable with your laptop on your lap, ready to check in with the other DCers and see what there're up to, and 

Suddenly, your mouse doesn't work.  Nope, nada, Pfffft.  First you've got to get up, stash the laptop . CARefully, and go get batteries.  OR...

you can go get out the old optical retractable cord and attach it to the free USP extension cord ... never mind.

Okay, I opted to get out the old retractable.

BTW, I did order and am waiting on a plain optical with a cord.  

In the meantime, having gotten used to the wireless mouse, I keep forgetting and every time I get up to do something, bang, clatter, there goes the mouse on the floor.

I'll get over this, it should only be a couple of days before my newest victim arrives.  But I just had to vent.  

I love this thread.  

I feel better already.


----------



## sparrowgrass

Zhizara, a couple pages back you posted about your drain being clogged with hair.  (At least, I think it was you.)

I bought a thingie at Lowes--a long white strip of semi-flexible plastic, less than half an inch wide, with barbs cut into the sides.  You run it down into the drain, push it in and out a couple times, and it brings up the most amazingly disgusting, smelly, big, slimey wads of hair, which you pull off and toss into the trash.  Et voila!  A clean, free running drain.

I would think you could make one out of a bleach bottle--cut around and around the bottle til you have a strip about 18 inches long, then cut the barbs along the sides.

The Lowe's thingie is meant to be disposable, but I wash it and use it over and over.


----------



## CharlieD

I am so mad at my self, I got speeding ticket last night. all my fault, I just want to scream at my self and my stupidity.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Oh boy, where do I start.
> 
> Transportation.
> I'm 64.
> 
> It's your Anniversary tonight, Princess. It's a good topic. But you, my dear, have a Shrek to cuddle.
> 
> More on this later. I know you'll come up with some good resources as I'm sure others of us who are getting to be:
> 
> a. Old
> b. Crochety
> c. Geezers
> d. Coots
> e. All of the above


 
I am not sure of the transportation availability in NOLA, unless the Senior center has a bus.

Are you on disability?  I know Medicare can kick in early if you are disabled.  Otherwise you are in the Medicaid system, but you have to sign up for it, they don't come find you.  It's why I suggested Aging Services, they can help you get what you are eligible for.


----------



## CharlieD

Do we have any laweyrs here? Can somebody give me advise what to do about this to avoid getting in on my record? Or other stuff I have no clue about it?


----------



## Zhizara

sparrowgrass said:


> Zhizara, a couple pages back you posted about your drain being clogged with hair.  (At least, I think it was you.)
> 
> I bought a thingie at Lowes--a long white strip of semi-flexible plastic, less than half an inch wide, with barbs cut into the sides.  You run it down into the drain, push it in and out a couple times, and it brings up the most amazingly disgusting, smelly, big, slimey wads of hair, which you pull off and toss into the trash.  Et voila!  A clean, free running drain.
> 
> I would think you could make one out of a bleach bottle--cut around and around the bottle til you have a strip about 18 inches long, then cut the barbs along the sides.
> 
> The Lowe's thingie is meant to be disposable, but I wash it and use it over and over.



Yes, that was me.  A friend made me one once with a wire coat hanger with a little hook on the end.  I am on the lookout for something with some flexibility to use as you can't remove the stopper.  It raises up about 3/8" to drain so I don't have much room.  The plunger works for draining purposes, but did bring up a hunk of hair once and I pulled out as much as possible.  Someone also suggested bleach.  I had to buy more bleach, but still haven't gotten around to using it on the drain.  Maybe this will have been enough of a reminder for me to get it out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.

I'll look around Walmart and see if they have something like you describe.

Thanks for the input.


----------



## CharlieD

The best thing for plugged drain is concentrated sulfuric acid; it is sold as "drain opener" in hardware stores, including Home Depot. But they will first recommend all kind of junk that doesn't work at all, like "draino". One must insist on sulfuric acid, works miracle.


----------



## Chef Munky

CharlieD said:


> I am so mad at my self, I got speeding ticket last night. all my fault, I just want to scream at my self and my stupidity.



We were pulled over not long ago by the Highway Patrol.
That guy tagged us from the opposite direction. They've really gone out of their way looking for minor infractions.

This guy went well out of his way to get across the center divider and catch up with us. He jerked open my door so fast I almost fell out of my seat. Good thing I was buckled in or I would have. His reason for pulling us over? Speeding. said we were doing 82, our speedometer said 65. He was extremely rude, borderline nut case. He let us off with a warning.. Nice of him, really.. It was an unnecessary pull over. We were going with the flow of traffic. Why don't they enforce the law when people DON'T pull over when they see emergency vehicles lights on?


----------



## Zhizara

*I Hate Mice Part II*

I ordered another mouse because the wireless mouse eats batteries and it's annoying to be interrupted.

I checked the order tracking yesterday and it said had been forwarded, BY ME!

I found the original confirmation from Walmart, and replied to customer service that I did not forward it and to please have it delivered.

They sent me a generic answer that had nothing at all to do with the topic so I checked the tracking and it reads as if it is out for delivery.  The notations were changed so maybe I'll get it today.

My old backup mouse quit working.  I often had to bang on it to get it started, plus it has a retractable cord, very short.

I got an extension cord with the wireless mouse so I was able to have a working mouse.  It kept getting knocked to the floor and finally died completely.

If the batteries go on this one, I'll have to use the one on the laptop.  I really, really hate that because I always brush it while I'm typing.

Thanks.  It does feel better to get it out.


----------



## tinlizzie

*Medicare Costs*

The whole health care subject makes my stomach hurt. When I moved to FL a couple of years ago, I had a Medicare Advantage plan with no - zero $ - premiums. Found out the doctor I was assigned down here was in another county with no local hospital privileges. So, signed up for the AARP Medicare Supplement plan with a hefty monthly premium. Just got a letter from them that it will be increased by around $7 a month starting Jan., so was considering signing up with a premium-free plan that has become available, before the open enrollment ends Dec. 31. But asking around, I found that the plans with no premium aren't accepted everywhere and don't do that well if you really become sick. So I decided to just swallow hard and leave things as they are and pay the stupid increase. Shall I hope I get something serious wrong with me to make my decision look smart? 

The older I get the more impatient I am with lots of things and people. Used to give it/them the benefit of the doubt, but am getting pretty tired of that.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> The whole health care subject makes my stomach hurt. When I moved to FL a couple of years ago, I had a Medicare Advantage plan with no - zero $ - premiums. Found out the doctor I was assigned down here was in another county with no local hospital privileges. So, signed up for the AARP Medicare Supplement plan with a hefty monthly premium. Just got a letter from them that it will be increased by around $7 a month starting Jan., so was considering signing up with a premium-free plan that has become available, before the open enrollment ends Dec. 31. But asking around, I found that the plans with no premium aren't accepted everywhere and don't do that well if you really become sick. So I decided to just swallow hard and leave things as they are and pay the stupid increase. Shall I hope I get something serious wrong with me to make my decision look smart?
> 
> The older I get the more impatient I am with lots of things and people. Used to give it/them the benefit of the doubt, but am getting pretty tired of that.



Is there any good reason not to sign up for the no premium plan and keep the AARP Medicare Supplement plan?


----------



## roadfix

Being in my age group and self-employed, it sucks to have to pay for HMO insurance premiums.  Our premium increases have averaged 15% yearly for as far as I can remember.  
It'll eventually come to a point where it'll be more cost effective for me to seek a new career, working for someone else, regardless of pay, which offers good medical/dental plan for me and my wife.

Currently, our insurance premium is our single most expensive monthly payment we make and that doesn't cover dental.  We pay cash for dental work when needed.


----------



## Zhizara

*I Hate Mice Part III*

On one good note, the mouse I ordered from Walmart was in my mailbox today.

It works just fine, the plain old cheap-o.  

HOWEVER:  What's going on with the sizes?  Mice used to be one size.  

The one I got with the computer, was smaller than "normal".  I really enjoyed the way it fit my hand.  That's the one with the short retractable cord Grrrr.

The next one I got had the wrong plug.  They show a picture of it when you order it, showing that it has a cord, but doesn't show the plug end.  Took it back, Grrrrr.

The third one I decided to go wireless.  It eats batteries and not only was larger, but with two AA batteries, much heavier to push around.  Grrrrr.

My newest has a cord so I don't have to buy batteries by the busload, I can deal with the cord since it is long enough, but this one is huge.  It is the size of a rat!  Grrr.

I know I'll get used to it, but just had to get that last Grrr out.


----------



## tinlizzie

taxlady said:


> Is there any good reason not to sign up for the no premium plan and keep the AARP Medicare Supplement plan?


 
Sorry, Taxlady - I don't understand what would be the purpose of having both, and I'm not even sure they'll let you belong to more than one.  Is there some advantage?  I've missed the window for this year, but if it would make sense, perhaps I'll try again next Fall if it's a good move.  Thanks.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> Sorry, Taxlady - I don't understand what would be the purpose of having both, and I'm not even sure they'll let you belong to more than one.  Is there some advantage?  I've missed the window for this year, but if it would make sense, perhaps I'll try again next Fall if it's a good move.  Thanks.



I figured you could get a proper feel for the no premium plan that way, without risking being left without adequate coverage.


----------



## luvs

they won't cover an incredibly pertinent item 4 me. aw, well.....i found 
loopholes & got the item w/out $$.


----------



## Chef Munky

*DMV Is Frustrating*

4 hours and I'm still waiting to make an appointment to renew my license. My Insurance company just notified me that if I don't renew by the 11th of this month I won't be covered anymore. I revert back to a newbie driver. I will have to pay double to be reinstated. 

It takes 6 weeks to receive the new license and they wait until the lat minute to tell me.

I don't think I want one now. I'll walk!

Munky.


----------



## PattY1

Chef Munky said:


> 4 hours and I'm still waiting to make an appointment to renew my license. My Insurance company just notified me that if I don't renew by the 11th of this month I won't be covered anymore. I revert back to a newbie driver. I will have to pay double to be reinstated.
> 
> It takes 6 weeks to receive the new license and they wait until the lat minute to tell me.
> 
> I don't think I want one now. I'll walk!
> 
> Munky.



Are you in California?? Six weeks to receive a new one??? That's


----------



## roadfix

State workers....especially at the DMV.....figures....


----------



## Chef Munky

DMV's automated voice just annoyed me. " I'm sorry can you repeat your request?" I gave them the answer that they told me to give! What a run around. The local office has no # to call and talk with a real human.

The earliest I could get in by appointment would be Feb 4th. I'm going to take the chance and go as a walk in on Thursday. It's a definite 6 to 8 week turn around time. New laws. That doesn't help me now.

Well fine called my agent. He told me not to sweat it. Send him a faxed copy of my renewed license and he'd make sure that I'm not dropped. But did let me know because it was past the 30 expiration date ( April ) that I lost my good driver status. That's an additional $120.00 a year. Nobody told me anything. It's just as well though. I wasn't able to drive in April anyways. No way could I have been able to get to DMV to renew.


----------



## Claire

Funny, for the past year, no mice.  No pet food (no pets), no mice.

My latest is the frustration of being everyone's confident.  I love these friends and relatives, I really do.  I know it is flattering that they feel able to tell me their problems.  I have wide shoulders (literally and figuratively), but for some reason they come in waves.  I know they confide in me because their problems won't go further than my front door (a biggie when you live in a small town).  Every once in awhile I can do or say something to help, but mostly I'm just a listening ear.  Still, there is a certain emotional weight to being "dear Abby".  Once in awhile someone "confides" something to me that they've also confided to 15 of their other closest personal friends.  WHen it becomes common gossip; they're mad at ME.  Huh?  Heck, I don't even know someone interested in this, sure as heck didn't sit there talking about it.  Recently it was a sib.  I told them that if it was someone in our family, I really do not want to know.  I'm tired of being in trouble because I know peoples' secrets.  It was the downside of my holidays.  Everyone needs someone to talk to, and yes, I appreciate that they think I'm a good person to talk to.  But every once in awhile (it seems to come in waves), I feel I should have had a sex change and become a priest.  Can I set up a confessional in my back yard?


----------



## Alix

Claire, start charging psychologist rates and I bet you will have peace and quiet in no time!


----------



## Zhizara

Alix said:


> Claire, start charging psychologist rates and I bet you will have peace and quiet in no time!



You could hang a sign in your backyard like Lucy in Peanuts, "Psychiatry 5¢" or around your neck.  Maybe they would get the idea.  Nah.  They're so wrapped up in their problems they don't care how you feel.  

You could always try, "I don't want to hear about it."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> 4 hours and I'm still waiting to make an appointment to renew my license. My Insurance company just notified me that if I don't renew by the 11th of this month I won't be covered anymore. I revert back to a newbie driver. I will have to pay double to be reinstated.
> 
> It takes 6 weeks to receive the new license and they wait until the lat minute to tell me.
> 
> I don't think I want one now. I'll walk!
> 
> Munky.


 
Well, you made me look at my license...I have until October of 2015...


----------



## Barbara L

This isn't an angry vent, more of a concerned one. He's ok, but James fell at school last night or this morning. He has been getting up too fast and getting dizzy. I keep telling him he needs to get up more slowly (a few of our medicines will do that to us), but he keeps doing that lately. He didn't make it all the way to standing, but fell on his knees. He said his knees don't hurt but he twisted his back pretty bad (trying to catch himself) and has some bad muscle aches. The nurse at school put a heat patch on it after class today. Maybe NOW he will listen when I tell him not to get up so fast.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> This isn't an angry vent, more of a concerned one. He's ok, but James fell at school last night or this morning. He has been getting up too fast and getting dizzy. I keep telling him he needs to get up more slowly (a few of our medicines will do that to us), but he keeps doing that lately. He didn't make it all the way to standing, but fell on his knees. He said his knees don't hurt but he twisted his back pretty bad (trying to catch himself) and has some bad muscle aches. The nurse at school put a heat patch on it after class today. Maybe NOW he will listen when I tell him not to get up so fast.


 
Ouch!  I hate catching myself and knowing if I had just let myself fall, I might not hurt so much.  Luckily for me huh my knees won't let me stand up fast.

Stop standing up so fast James!


----------



## babetoo

barbara, please get james to a doctor. this is how my leg problems began. especially if he is taking a cholesterol drug. it is really a good idea. if this is the problem, it will only get worse.


----------



## Rocklobster

Claire said:


> Funny, for the past year, no mice. No pet food (no pets), no mice.
> 
> ?


 
A few years ago, my wife and I went away for a couple of weeks in the winter. We left our dog with her parents while we were gone. A day or two after we returned I turned the propane range on to bake something and within a few minutes, the kitchen was full of smoke and there were flames shooting out of our oven. It was coming from under the floor plate of the oven where the burners are. Once I got the plate off and distinguished the flames, we noticed that it was dog kibble. While we were gone, we had dropped the house temp very low and I guess the mice moved in. They stored the kibble, which was in the corner of the summer kitchen,  in under the range where the pilot light was.


----------



## taxlady

Rocklobster said:


> A few years ago, my wife and I went away for a couple of weeks in the winter. We left our dog with her parents while we were gone. A day or two after we returned I turned the propane range on to bake something and within a few minutes, the kitchen was full of smoke and there were flames shooting out of our oven. It was coming from under the floor plate of the oven where the burners are. Once I got the plate off and distinguished the flames, we noticed that it was dog kibble. While we were gone, we had dropped the house temp very low and I guess the mice moved in. They stored the kibble, which was in the corner of the summer kitchen,  in under the range where the pilot light was.



You were feeding them and heating their new home.


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Ouch!  I hate catching myself and knowing if I had just let myself fall, I might not hurt so much.  Luckily for me huh my knees won't let me stand up fast.
> 
> Stop standing up so fast James!





babetoo said:


> barbara, please get james to a doctor. this is how my leg problems began. especially if he is taking a cholesterol drug. it is really a good idea. if this is the problem, it will only get worse.


Thanks! He actually started to get dizzy before even standing. I get dizzy as well if I sit up or stand up too quickly. It is a side effect of our blood pressure medicines and maybe our cholesterol medicine.


----------



## Alix

OK, I'm visiting cranky town right now. I heard the dog bark so I went to investigate and there was a UPS truck in front of my house. YAY! My new phone arrived as scheduled! Happy happy! BOO! As I opened the door the freaking truck drove AWAY!!! I ran out (barefoot I might add) waving at the driver but either he didn't see me or he was late for his next stop and kept going. The sticky note says next delivery attempt will be Monday. *#&$&*^*&!!!!! I am working all day Monday!!! I phoned the service line and tried to get them to turn the dude around but to no avail. I just know I'm not going to see that phone for a week or more. I'm CHOKED! My doorbell never even rang, I checked it too to make sure it was working and it was. Jerk. I am NOT happy with UPS. This is not the first time I've had issues with them. Fedex is going to get all *my* business.


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> OK, I'm visiting cranky town right now. I heard the dog bark so I went to investigate and there was a UPS truck in front of my house. YAY! My new phone arrived as scheduled! Happy happy! BOO! As I opened the door the freaking truck drove AWAY!!! I ran out (barefoot I might add) waving at the driver but either he didn't see me or he was late for his next stop and kept going. The sticky note says next delivery attempt will be Monday. *#&$&*^*&!!!!! I am working all day Monday!!! I phoned the service line and tried to get them to turn the dude around but to no avail. I just know I'm not going to see that phone for a week or more. I'm CHOKED! My doorbell never even rang, I checked it too to make sure it was working and it was. Jerk. I am NOT happy with UPS. This is not the first time I've had issues with them. Fedex is going to get all *my* business.



There's a reason they are called UPS (oops)


----------



## Alix

Clearly! I didn't have a choice this time about how they sent the item, but oh boy you can bet people are hearing about this! UPS called me a couple of times and HOPEFULLY my DH will be able to pick up my package at their depot tonight. Otherwise the next time they would be able to "deliver" would be Monday and I'm working a day shift on Monday. ARGH! They were apologetic, and they told me the driver will be reprimanded. Big whoop! That doesn't help me get my package. If he'd rung my doorbell he could have saved himself a lot of aggravation. Meh! I'm calling the company who used them too and let them know how poor the service is. I think it reflects badly on a company that has an incompetent agency handling their customer service. 

OK, done venting now. I sure was mad this afternoon! LOL!


----------



## Zhizara

I completely agree with you, Alix.  I've had to chase down a package too.  Kmart had my account open, all they had to do was keep my address the same as it was, but she copied down what I told her and my apartment # did not get on there.  I, did not have authorization to get them to change it!  

At one point they wanted me to come pick it up.  I don't have transportation to do that.  I paid for it to be delivered to my apartment, and I finally did get it delivered, but it frazzles you.


----------



## Alix

Zhizara said:


> I completely agree with you, Alix. I've had to chase down a package too. Kmart had my account open, all they had to do was keep my address the same as it was, but she copied down what I told her and my apartment # did not get on there. I, did not have authorization to get them to change it!
> 
> At one point they wanted me to come pick it up. I don't have transportation to do that. I paid for it to be delivered to my apartment, and I finally did get it delivered, but it frazzles you.


 
Yep. We're in the middle of a blizzard now too, so my DH is driving in this crap. It was clear as a bell when that moron stuck that note to my door.


----------



## Zhizara

I amazes me that he had stuck the note on your door, but couldn't be bothered ringing your doorbell.

I hope your hubby stays safe.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> OK, I'm visiting cranky town right now. I heard the dog bark so I went to investigate and there was a UPS truck in front of my house. YAY! My new phone arrived as scheduled! Happy happy! BOO! As I opened the door the freaking truck drove AWAY!!! I ran out (barefoot I might add) waving at the driver but either he didn't see me or he was late for his next stop and kept going. The sticky note says next delivery attempt will be Monday. *#&$&*^*&!!!!! I am working all day Monday!!! I phoned the service line and tried to get them to turn the dude around but to no avail. I just know I'm not going to see that phone for a week or more. I'm CHOKED! My doorbell never even rang, I checked it too to make sure it was working and it was. Jerk. I am NOT happy with UPS. This is not the first time I've had issues with them. Fedex is going to get all *my* business.


 
Have had this happen several times.  Maddening!  Shrek and I had ordered several things and after being home all day, I opened the door to take some trash out, there were four packages just sitting on the doorstep...nobody had rung the doorbell.  The next time I was expecting a delivery from UPS, I stood outside waiting around the delivery time and caught the guy.  I told him the next time he left my packages sitting on the doorstep, he would be reported for negligence...ring the bell...someone is most certainly home!

What with package tracking, I make sure one of us is home when a delivery is due.


----------



## babetoo

here they give on knock on the back door or one ring of bell on the front door. then they just leave the package. watch guy deliver to my next door neighbor yesterday. he threw package on porch. hit the door once with his clipboard and left. but then the postman does the same thing with something to big for box. guess you are supposed to just wander out and find them.


----------



## Zhizara

babetoo said:


> here they give on knock on the back door or one ring of bell on the front door. then they just leave the package. watch guy deliver to my next door neighbor yesterday. he threw package on porch. hit the door once with his clipboard and left. but then the postman does the same thing with something to big for box. guess you are supposed to just wander out and find them.



All we can do is keep reporting them.  It's a big business.  None of them can afford a bad reputation.

Maybe it's time for a new company.  One that will go the extra to make sure I get what I ordered delivered on time.

One of the things about these people is that they get the stuff here earlier than forecast.  Maybe they could be more precise about arrival times.


----------



## PattY1

babetoo said:


> here they give on knock on the back door or one ring of bell on the front door. then they just leave the package. watch guy deliver to my next door neighbor yesterday. he threw package on porch. hit the door once with his clipboard and left. but then the postman does the same thing with something to big for box. guess you are supposed to just wander out and find them.



I have problems with this. They are too lazy to deliver so they leave a notice of delivery in the mail box. I always call the post office and tell them that IF I WANTED TO COME DOWN THERE TO PICK MY PACKAGE UP, I WOULDN'T PAY FOR MY PACKAGE TO BE DELIVERED!!! Ok, I am done. Feel better.


----------



## Zhizara

It's okay Patty1.  That's why this thread is my very favorite.  Once vented there is that moment of relief.  It's also good for relating to others.

I'll never forget my first post about the constant stress of IE8 crashing constantly.  Not only did I feel good after venting, Alix and Andy (Alix & Andy?  sounds like an old radio show)  wrote back and convinced me that I needed to get Firefox with Ad Blocker, which resolved my daily frustrations for good.


----------



## Rocklobster

I had been sleeping for a couple of hours until I was awaken by my daughter shrieking. She had gone into the summer kithen to grab a bag of potato chips, when she was totally freaked out by a mouse that had gotten its hind leg caught in a trap. Our Malamute quickly darted out from behind her and grabbed the mouse only to somehow fling it behind some boxes. I had to come down in my pj's, and fish this poor live mouse out of the corner with a hockey stick, get it into a bucket, get it outside and somehow free it from the trap because my daughter didn't want me to bash it with the hockey stick. . It took a long time.  Here I sit wide awake, have to be up at 5 am, while my daughter and the dog are sound asleep, now.  I need a drink.


----------



## Zhizara

Rocklobster said:


> I had been sleeping for a couple of hours until I was awaken by my daughter shrieking. She had gone into the summer kithen to grab a bag of potato chips, when she was totally freaked out by a mouse that had gotten its hind leg caught in a trap. Our Malamute quickly darted out from behind her and grabbed the mouse only to somehow fling it behind some boxes. I had to come down in my pj's, and fish this poor live mouse out of the corner with a hockey stick, get it into a bucket, get it outside and somehow free it from the trap because my daughter didn't want me to bash it with the hockey stick. . It took a long time.  Here I sit wide awake, have to be up at 5 am, while my daughter and the dog are sound asleep, now.  I need a drink.



Do you ever get the feeling you're the star in a cartoon?

Thanks for the mental pictures.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> I had been sleeping for a couple of hours until I was awaken by my daughter shrieking. She had gone into the summer kithen to grab a bag of potato chips, when she was totally freaked out by a mouse that had gotten its hind leg caught in a trap. Our Malamute quickly darted out from behind her and grabbed the mouse only to somehow fling it behind some boxes. I had to come down in my pj's, and fish this poor live mouse out of the corner with a hockey stick, get it into a bucket, get it outside and somehow free it from the trap because my daughter didn't want me to bash it with the hockey stick. . It took a long time. Here I sit wide awake, have to be up at 5 am, while my daughter and the dog are sound asleep, now. I need a drink.


 
So...where's the mouse?  I hope your daughter doesn't want to see it in the morning!


----------



## Rocklobster

PrincessFiona60 said:


> So...where's the mouse? I hope your daughter doesn't want to see it in the morning!


Funny thing is, she was freaked and long gone by the time the whole operation was completed.  I don't think she could care less at this point.  But, I gave her my word I wasn't going to kill the mouse.


----------



## Rocklobster

Zhizara said:


> Do you ever get the feeling you're the star in a cartoon?
> 
> Thanks for the mental pictures.


My neighbor saw me out in the snow, -15 degrees Celcius, in my pj's, workboots, gloves, hockey stick and no jacket, at 11 pm. He has seen a few odd things over this way before. He just waved. Just another night in paradise.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> My neighbor saw me out in the snow in my pj's, workboots, gloves, hockey stick and no jacket, at 11 pm. He has seen a few odd things over this way before. He just waved. Just another night in paradise.


----------



## Zhizara

Rocklobster said:


> My neighbor saw me out in the snow, -15 degrees Celcius, in my pj's, workboots, gloves, hockey stick and no jacket, at 11 pm. He has seen a few odd things over this way before. He just waved. Just another night in paradise.



What I picture!  I don't draw much, but I see this cartoon of you, with your hockey stick.  Very Tom & Jerry.


----------



## Rocklobster

PrincessFiona60 said:


>


OH, and I forgot to mention that I was carrying a bucket


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> OH, and I forgot to mention that I was carrying a bucket


----------



## taxlady

The hubster watched an AB video on making sawmill gravy. Oh dear. 2 Tblsps of fat to 1/4 cup of flour? Not with whole grain flour at any rate.

I heard distressed noises from the kitchen. I went over to the stove to see if I could help. I have never seen so many lumps in a gravy. I told him to add some more milk and try to smash the lumps with the back of a wooden spoon. It was working, but there were just too many, so I told him to turn off the heat and he would squish them through a sieve (the little one with the tight mesh). I had to show him because he didn't believe it would work. His mum always used a sieve, but her gravy was always lumpy. 

I helped him get the gravy off the pan and into the sieve and left him to play with it. He was frustrated and cranky and broadcasting bad vibes all over the place.

When I went in the kitchen to make supper, it was a disaster area. Big blobs of goopy gravy here and there. He hadn't washed anything he had used. Oh joy, wash some dishes so I can cook and clean up goop. All the while I'm still picking up the bad vibes. Well, he calmed down and we had supper. But, by then I was kinda stressed. That's probably why I stupidly burned myself (it's much better now).

Then this evening I got a craving for a salty snack. My DH made me popcorn, even though he didn't want any 

So, though I had a fairly stressful evening, cursing gravy lumps, it turned out okay.


----------



## Zhizara

Rocklobster said:


> OH, and I forgot to mention that I was carrying a bucket



Okay, RL, what was the bucket for, the dead mouse?  You're not kidding are you?  How were you going to pick up this poor mouse, in your bear hands?  Ewww.

Short story aside:   

While my Mom was away on vacation, a friend had bought a white mouse for his snake, only his snake died and I ended up with the white mouse.  

Of course, The mouse had gotten loose in the house before mom got home.  She arrived with her sisters and we're all sitting around the living room, when Mousie goes scurrying by.  I said, "Oh, by the way, Mom, we have a pet mouse."  The silence was deafening.

Mousie become family, of course.  I caught Mom putting down pop corn seeds and bits of bread.  When I finally caught him and threw him outside, getting nicely bitten in the process, it was peaceful for a while, but Mousie liked being treated so nicely and broke back into the house where he knew he would never starve.


----------



## Rocklobster

Zhizara said:


> Okay, RL, what was the bucket for, the dead mouse? You're not kidding are you? How were you going to pick up this poor mouse, in your bear hands? Ewww.
> 
> .


The mouse was alive. I first grabbed the hocey stick to try and reach and scoop the mouse out of the corner where the boxes were piled. Then my big plan was to flick it into a bucket, which was there in the room already. After succeeding at that, I went outside with both the bucket(containing said mouse) and hockey stick to release the mouse. That is where the work gloves come in. I don't know what I was thinking! I had just woken up a few minutes ago. I put both items in the shed before coming back inside. That is when I said hello to my neighbor.


----------



## Zhizara

Rocklobster said:


> The mouse was alive. I first grabbed the hocey stick to try and reach and scoop the mouse out of the corner where the boxes were piled. Then my big plan was to flick it into a bucket, which was there in the room already. After succeeding at that, I went outside with both the bucket(containing said mouse) and hockey stick to release the mouse. That is where the work gloves come in. I don't know what I was thinking! I had just woken up a few minutes ago. I put both items in the shed before coming back inside. That is when I said hello to my neighbor.



Well, I'm really glad you didn't traumatize your daughter, but I also really wish your neighbor had a camera.

In any case, he will have a picture in his mind that will always make him laugh!  Me too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Well, I'm really glad you didn't traumatize your daughter, but I also really wish your neighbor had a camera.
> 
> In any case, he will have a picture in his mind that will always make him laugh! Me too.


 
I'm about dead from laughing...Thanks RL!


----------



## babetoo

once more a cleaning person has not shown up. i registered with heart to heart caregivers for someone one to do light housekeeping. vacuuming, moping, the stuff that wears me out. last week was first appointment. no show and no call. called to complain. the woman in charge called me back. said she had missed a message from the care giver. she was at the e.r. with her aunt.

ok that is a very valid excuse. appointment for today, no show and no phone call either. i called and left a message to forget it and that i would find someone more reliable. no call back.

i don't know why people can't just do what they say they will. it is not like this was a free service. i can't tell you how much it ticks me off. if i was late to pay, they would certainly be johnny on the spot to let me know. good thing i had not paid in advance. so back to the hunt. in meantime will just have to do it myself.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> once more a cleaning person has not shown up. i registered with heart to heart caregivers for someone one to do light housekeeping. vacuuming, moping, the stuff that wears me out. last week was first appointment. no show and no call. called to complain. the woman in charge called me back. said she had missed a message from the care giver. she was at the e.r. with her aunt.
> 
> ok that is a very valid excuse. appointment for today, no show and no phone call either. i called and left a message to forget it and that i would find someone more reliable. no call back.
> 
> i don't know why people can't just do what they say they will. it is not like this was a free service. i can't tell you how much it ticks me off. if i was late to pay, they would certainly be johnny on the spot to let me know. good thing i had not paid in advance. so back to the hunt. in meantime will just have to do it myself.


 
That really stinks, Babe!  Call Aging Services and see if they have any recommendations.
*San Diego County Aging Services - 1255 Imperial Avenue, San Diego - (619) 338-2558*


----------



## babetoo

thanks your highness. i will certainly give it a try. merry maids are reliable but very expensive. $100 for two hours. i really can't afford that much. you are a sweetie.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> thanks your highness. i will certainly give it a try. merry maids are reliable but very expensive. $100 for two hours. i really can't afford that much. you are a sweetie.


 
Hopefully, they know of people who are reliable and won't charge you an arm and a leg.

Maybe I should become a Merry Maid...they make way more than I do an hour!


----------



## Chef Munky

Babe,

Do you have any reliable neighbors that have kids/ grand kids that would like to earn some spending money?

College kids have books and tuition due now! I just spent a bundle..

Your Manager might know someone who could help you.
Leave a note on the bulletin board. Let them know what you need done and preferences.

When I was a kid my Mom would send us over to help a neighbor. If we came home with money we were in big trouble!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Babe,
> 
> Do you have any reliable neighbors that have kids/ grand kids that would like to earn some spending money?
> 
> College kids have books and tuition due now! I just spent a bundle..
> 
> Your Manager might know someone who could help you.
> Leave a note on the bulletin board. Let them know what you need done and preferences.
> 
> When I was a kid my Mom would send us over to help a neighbor. If we came home with money we were in big trouble!


 
I was sitting here wishing I could run over and help her out.


----------



## Chef Munky

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I was sitting here wishing I could run over and help her out.



Me to. I can't mow my own lawns or vacuum, mop the floors anymore. I make my kids earn that home cooked dinner. My younger days, I've sent my boys over to mow the neighbors lawn, take out the cans on trash night. If they weren't feeling good or just had knee surgery. The same rules applied to them as well.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Me to. I can't mow my own lawns or vacuum, mop the floors anymore. I make my kids earn that home cooked dinner. My younger days, I've sent my boys over to mow the neighbors lawn, take out the cans on trash night. If they weren't feeling good or just had knee surgery. The same rules applied to them as well.


 
I used to take Greyhound to Cheyenne every two weeks to do those things for my Great Grandmother...it was worth it for me just to be with her for the weekend.  

And my Uncle Vernon used to take me to a fantastic buffet for breakfast


----------



## tinlizzie

Is there a reason for paint not being available by the half gallon?  And the price of two quarts is nearly as much as a gallon, so you buy a gallon and have a bunch left over.   I know there's a place to take the leftover paint so it won't go to waste, but still... phooey.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Is there a reason for paint not being available by the half gallon? And the price of two quarts is nearly as much as a gallon, so you buy a gallon and have a bunch left over. I know there's a place to take the leftover paint so it won't go to waste, but still... phooey.


 
I plan painting projects with a friend...over the years our bathrooms have been painted the same color, just different decorations.  Same with our kitchens.


----------



## blissful

I was reading some of the posts about people working for friends and neighbors and sometimes helping out someone in need and it reminded me of a work situation a number of years ago.

There was this guy John, I worked with, he was the most selfish person I have seen in years. Every decision was based on how it could help him financially or work related, never on how he could help his employer or business. He'd have me do his work, and spend his time talking with his manager about how he would do this or that and see if his manager would give him goods or services for his own benefit. It made me sick, you know that sick feeling in your stomach that comes from being uncomfortable and not knowing why you are uncomfortable?

I wondered where do these people come from? People that take advantage of others.  I didn't figure it out until John told his manager this story, in my presence.

He said his son wanted some money, he was around 8 years old. So it happened that their neighbor grandfatherly age man died of a heart attack leaving the grandmotherly aged woman alone. He encouraged his child to 'take advantage' of the situation by offering to mow her lawn now for $30 for a postage sized lot because she could not do it. 

Essentially, he said: take advantage of this older lady for your own benefit. It taught me that people like this are not born, they are trained. And, the child was only 8!

I'm not against a fair wage for fair work, but, I'm certainly not for taking advantage of the elderly either. It's a different story for someone to help a neighbor in need for $5-8/hour when the homeowner has a $20/hour job and they'd like to farm out some yardwork so they can continue their better paying job. And sometimes, the person in need of help, can't afford the help, so helping a neighbor for free, is right, just because is the right thing to do.

I noticed no one here has said anything this corrupt, or nasty...I'm not sure what word to use. It made me glad to be part of this forum.

Thanks for reminding me, it was the first time I have talked about it since it happened. It taught me a lesson, careless thoughtless selfish people are trained and not born that way. Most of them anyways. 

Hoping, the apparent kindness we have for each other, will continue.


----------



## Zhizara

Thank you, Blissful.  I know you feel better getting that off your chest.  Greedy people suck!

I think one of the reasons this is such a helpful and successful site is that we think in terms of we, and us.  If I find a recipe trick that works, I want to share it with people who share their great ideas with me.


----------



## luvs

greed makes me shudder- i luv 2 give, while managing my own finaces, too


----------



## blissful

Z and L--


----------



## Zhizara

blissful said:


> Z and L--



Thanks!


----------



## Rocklobster

Grrr. No good deed goes unpunished.

Sometimes, something happens that makes you wonder about this "Karma" thing and if it isn't a bunch of hooey, balderdash, or just plain ol' BS. 
I just got in from snowblowing my parking lot, and while I was doing so, a guy I know from down the street drove by in his truck with a plough blade on it. He offered to push my snowbanks back and I told him to go ahead. While he was doing that, I decided to go next door and clean my neighbors entrance out whith my blower. I looked up to see him backing into my shed. AAAAAAAHHHHH! It is one of those red barn tin sheds, which I just put up last summer. Anyway it has a good sized dent in the corner of it now, which just happens to be the corner which faces the street so now I have a new dented shed to have to look at for the next 10 years. 

So, tell me this, Karma lovers, how could I be doing my neighbor a good deed and my other neighbor doing me a solid, only to have it turn out bad? What's up with that? Did one good deed cancel out the other? 
I'm going to butt in line infront of somebody or or something more dispicable and see what happens. Maybe this new Zodiac/astrology/earth shifting on its axis thing has changed the nature of things.....


----------



## Zhizara

Maybe it's a test to see if you'll butt in front of somebody or do something despicable.


----------



## Rocklobster

Zhizara said:


> Maybe it's a test to see if you'll butt in front of somebody or do something despicable.



Maybe. No, I may be loud, obnoxious, and generally offensive, but one thing I'm not is rude.


----------



## Zhizara

Rocklobster said:


> Maybe. No, I may be loud, obnoxious, and generally offensive, but one thing I'm not is rude.



So then, you passed the test.  Too bad you'll have to look at the dent though.  I don't suppose there is anything you could put in front of it?


----------



## blissful

Well, let's test it out Rock and Z.
Go ahead and say something dispicable about me, be rude to make it stick, really try hard and hurt my feelings and then let us know what good things come of it. Cause you never know until you try. You have my permission.

What happened to you was unfair, it was you doing the labor of love for one neighbor, your other neighbor helping you had a small accident, and left you with a scar-dent.  Everytime you look at it, you'll be reminded of a random act of kindness in what he did for you and what you did for your neighbor.

I don't know if Karma is true--it might make a good new thread.


----------



## Rocklobster

Zhizara said:


> So then, you passed the test. Too bad you'll have to look at the dent though. I don't suppose there is anything you could put in front of it?


 
Possibly. One problem is that it is on a gravel laneway. Maybe I can let the weeds grow up and cover it this summer.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> Grrr. No good deed goes unpunished.
> 
> Sometimes, something happens that makes you wonder about this "Karma" thing and if it isn't a bunch of hooey, balderdash, or just plain ol' BS.
> I just got in from snowblowing my parking lot, and while I was doing so, a guy I know from down the street drove by in his truck with a plough blade on it. He offered to push my snowbanks back and I told him to go ahead. While he was doing that, I decided to go next door and clean my neighbors entrance out whith my blower. I looked up to see him backing into my shed. AAAAAAAHHHHH! It is one of those red barn tin sheds, which I just put up last summer. Anyway it has a good sized dent in the corner of it now, which just happens to be the corner which faces the street so now I have a new dented shed to have to look at for the next 10 years.
> 
> So, tell me this, Karma lovers, how could I be doing my neighbor a good deed and my other neighbor doing me a solid, only to have it turn out bad? What's up with that? Did one good deed cancel out the other?
> I'm going to butt in line infront of somebody or or something more dispicable and see what happens. Maybe this new Zodiac/astrology/earth shifting on its axis thing has changed the nature of things.....


 
Thank Karma you decided to go next door.  It could have been you and not the shed.

It shows the Universe does have a sense of the absurd and humor...often at our expense.


----------



## Rocklobster

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thank Karma you decided to go next door. It could have been you and not the shed.
> 
> It shows the Universe does have a sense of the absurd and humor...often at our expense.


 
Ahhh! Don't be getting all sensible and logical on me right now. I'm in no mood


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> Ahhh! Don't be getting all sensible and logical on me right now. I'm in no mood


 
Think about it...Good Karma sent you next door to do your good deed...instead of hanging out in the lot watching the snow pushing, shed denting fun.

SOMEthing was going to get dented.


----------



## Zhizara

Rocklobster said:


> Possibly. One problem is that it is on a gravel laneway. Maybe I can let the weeds grow up and cover it this summer.



I was thinking more of a potted shrub or small tree, but it sound like there's not much room.


----------



## Alix

I'm crabby (and so I'm going to sign off soon so I don't inadvertently moderate out of my grumpiness!) because the furnace in my Mom's house stopped working sometime Saturday night and its STILL not fixed. I had a guy out Sunday who told me they needed a special part ($800!!!) that they would order Monday. Well great and wonderful! In the meantime the house is 6C (42F)!!! I've got space heaters going in a couple of places and the gas fireplace is running but its still freaking freezing in there. I'm worried about a pipe bursting. There isn't much else I can do unfortunately but wait. 

I'm mostly irritated because if I don't work, I don't get paid. I'm a casual employee and have no leave with pay. I've had to take yesterday off work and I might have to take tonight off as well. I feel guilty about taking time off because the place I'm supposed to be working is already running short because of all the colds/flus that are running rampant at the moment. BAH! Murphy's Law sucks!

I'm ticked at a cab company too. My oldest daughter went downtown for a school program yesterday after school and was supposed to be cabbed back to the school. The cab never showed. When the girls called to get a second cab dispatched that one never showed either. My husband went downtown (he'd just come home from there!) and picked up both girls. What kind of ignorant driver leaves two teenaged girls stranded alone downtown in the middle of winter???? Called cab company - complained. Big whoop. They won't do anything, they have pretty close to a monopoly in town here. 

Grump grump grump. I'm signing off before I depress all of you. I'll go have some chocolate and come back happier.


----------



## tinlizzie

Same problems down here would be no biggie -- but up where 'freezing' is literally freezing!  What's wrong with those people?!?  I have no dog in the fight, but am in high dudgeon on your behalf, whatever that's worth.  Cleopatra or somebody like that used to take a bath in donkey milk - maybe a chocolate soak would be helpful.

'Scuse me now - I'm going to go look for another cliche' to use.


----------



## Andy M.

Just sitting here trying to picture a row of donkeys being milked by as many Egyptians and wondering how many donkeys have to be milked to fill Cleopatra's bathtub.


----------



## Alix

Thanks for the support tinlizzie. And thanks for the smile Andy.


----------



## tinlizzie

Andy M. said:


> Just sitting here trying to picture a row of donkeys being milked by as many Egyptians and wondering how many donkeys have to be milked to fill Cleopatra's bathtub.


 
You bet your donkey it would take a bunch.  Now, how do we get a tubful of chocolate - Hershey's syrup?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> You bet your donkey it would take a bunch. Now, how do we get a tubful of chocolate - Hershey's syrup?


 
Find a chocolate cow?

I'm thinking Dove Dark, I'll donate a couple of bags.


----------



## Claire

OK, anyone have this frustration?  I've got few choices in town for buying products of any type, and Wal-Mart is the major one.  How about having to buy sizes larger than you need, then  having the dispenser fail when you've only used half or so of the product.  I've got a half-can of hairspray, half of spray starch, half of a spray cleaning product, and half of heavy duty skin lotion  all in dispensers that render the stuff somewhere between unusable or difficult.  In my lifetime the size of the average U.S. family has decreased considerably, but the packaging has gotten more and more and more.  I'm constantly throwing half of something away because the pump or spray just doesn't work any more and I get frustrated with it!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> OK, anyone have this frustration? I've got few choices in town for buying products of any type, and Wal-Mart is the major one. How about having to buy sizes larger than you need, then having the dispenser fail when you've only used half or so of the product. I've got a half-can of hairspray, half of spray starch, half of a spray cleaning product, and half of heavy duty skin lotion all in dispensers that render the stuff somewhere between unusable or difficult. In my lifetime the size of the average U.S. family has decreased considerably, but the packaging has gotten more and more and more. I'm constantly throwing half of something away because the pump or spray just doesn't work any more and I get frustrated with it!


 
Have you tried clearing the nozzles by holding the cans upside down and spraying until there is just air coming out?  Or soaking the nozzles in hot water in case they are clogged?

I don't buy aerosol cans, so nope, I don't have that frustration.  I can always put something in a different container if the pump breaks.  

Wait, I do have a trial size can of hairspray that is aerosol...I use it to kill bees and wasps if they get in the apartment. If that quits on me, I just get another.


----------



## Claire

Yeah, I've tried that with some success.  I'll put the lotion dispenser in a bowl of hot water and try it again tomorrow. The hairspray and spray starch I'll just toss and buy new.  But there are more and more two person households (like ours) so why don't .... well, you get the picture.  Heck, half my friends are single, for that matter.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> Yeah, I've tried that with some success. I'll put the lotion dispenser in a bowl of hot water and try it again tomorrow. The hairspray and spray starch I'll just toss and buy new. But there are more and more two person households (like ours) so why don't .... well, you get the picture. Heck, half my friends are single, for that matter.


 
Is the lotion a pump?  If so, remove it from the bottle and screw it onto another bottle (that fits) and filled with hot water, pump like crazy, let it sit a bit and pump again.  It should clear out easy.

I like to get small squeeze bottles and put the tail end of lotions into those, put them in my work bag.  I always have a bottle somewhere that is upside down, waiting for the last drops.  Drives Shrek nuts!


----------



## tinlizzie

It's annoying when the spray paint quits spraying in the middle of a job and you can hear the paint sloshing around in there.  Grrr.


----------



## Skittle68

So the other day, when I spent my day driving my bf to work, going to the grocery store for ingredients, and then cooking a meal that would be hot and ready when he got home from work (at which point I was at my own job), I came home to find he had left my stuffed manicotti I spent hours on, sitting on the counter for 4 hours.  I had called him at work and told him all he had to do was put it in the fridge, but he couldn't be bothered. He said he was tired and took a nap. So I spent my entire day doing stuff for him, and he couldn't take 5 minutes to put some leftovers away. 

Also, he doesn't sleep well so sometimes he gets up in the middle of the night and goes and lays on the couch. It's bad enough that I don't get to wake up with him in the morning, my phone is our alarm, and even though I've told him several times to bring it with him if he gets up, he never does. So I get to jump out of bed at 8 in the morning even though I don't work til 5. Oh, but first I get to drive 25 min to bring him to work because he's procrastinated for over a week now getting his car fixed. I suggested taking the bus but I think he thought I was joking... Then last night when I filled my tank he looked surprised when I asked for gas money! 3/4 of my tank probably went to driving him around!! Grr. Ok, I think I'm done now. Gotta get up now and tell him the alarm went off 1/2 and hour ago


----------



## babetoo

someone hacked my email. it was turned off . i had to get another account with all the mess that goes with that. really pis============== me off. spent three hours on phone with at&t. so far can't find any of my files. hopefully i will be able to figure it out. no one notified me from either yahoo or att.


----------



## babetoo

is everyone as sick of charlie sheen as i am. enough already! i bet he is the one that hacked my e-mail account roflmao


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> someone hacked my email. it was turned off . i had to get another account with all the mess that goes with that. really pis============== me off. spent three hours on phone with at&t. so far can't find any of my files. hopefully i will be able to figure it out. no one notified me from either yahoo or att.


 
Oh that stinks!  Shrek was saying a bunch of his archived stuff is missing...good thing I have copies of all of it.

Yeah, it was Charlie Sheen...


----------



## Barbara L

It was definitely Charlie Sheen! You should sue CBS! 

Sorry you got hacked!

Barbara


----------



## babetoo

thanks barbara. i sure hope i can find the files. at least six have many pictures, that are precious to me. however i think i have them on shutter fly site. can't even remember what is in the rest.


----------



## Zhizara

babetoo said:


> thanks barbara. i sure hope i can find the files. at least six have many pictures, that are precious to me. however i think i have them on shutter fly site. can't even remember what is in the rest.



I know you're really angry right now, but when you feel like it I'd like to hear the details about what having your email hacked means. 

I'm concerned with identity theft and would like to know if my  McAfee is protection enough.


----------



## babetoo

Zhizara said:


> I know you're really angry right now, but when you feel like it I'd like to hear the details about what having your email hacked means.
> 
> I'm concerned with identity theft and would like to know if my McAfee is protection enough.


 
i will run it past you tomorrow. i am pooped right now. the album wore me out. i am more resigned now than angry.


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks, BT.

I have a vent too.  The tooth is officially hurting.  This one won't go away either.  Osteoporosis is taking another one.  I have to wait it out too.  I don't dare go to a dentist.  I'm afraid my jaw would break.  If the jaw can't hold on to the tooth, them I don't want anyone breaking the tooth out of my jaw.

Yesterday I did get some relief from OTC analgesics, but even eating soft ramen type noodles and imitation Krab soup would get the pain woke up and yelling.  

So, although my back pain is so much better, everyone will have to deal with me whining about the pain.  Sorry about that in advance.


----------



## Barbara L

Note to self: The Tabasco goes in the soup, not in the eye. Ouch!

Barbara


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> Note to self: The Tabasco goes in the soup, not in the eye. Ouch!
> 
> Barbara


 
Owie!!!

I was making Emeril's Essence one night and Smudge was sitting under the cutting board I had pulled out.  Cayenne fell off the board and dropped in her eye...I felt like a total...you know what!  She wasn't too happy with me washing her eye out, either.


----------



## LPBeier

I am venting at myself.  Last night I was tired and sick and trying to do some work here at DC and got distracted.  I let the dogs out and I guess when I opened the sliding glass door I caught the screen door and it closed too.  DH built in a dog door flap into the screen and in the summer we leave that open so they can go in and out.  I didn't realize until last night that they can really see that and rely on it.

I went back to the computer and heard a horrid thud behind me.  I looked and there was Violet, visibly shaken at the door.  She saw the flap and was bouncing in as she always does after being out.  With it being dark she didn't see the door.

I called the emergency line at our vet's and was told to watch for concussion signs and just check on her once in awhile and then bring her in this morning.  I did and she has a mild concussion.  This is the sweetest dog you could ever meet.  When I am sick or upset she comes up to console me.  She is so forgiving and here I give her a concussion that they can't do much for.  She will be fine, but we have to keep her quiet for 5 days.  Not an easy thing with Violet.

I know she forgives me but I am having a hard time forgiving myself.  Our two dogs are our only children.


----------



## Barbara L

Poor Violet, and poor you! It was just an accident, so you do need to forgive yourself. I know you would never hurt Violet for the world. I'm glad she's going to be ok. 

Barbara


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, Barbara.  I knew you would understand.  I have just been so unfocused these days and am doing stupid or silly things.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> Thanks, Barbara.  I knew you would understand.  I have just been so unfocused these days and am doing stupid or silly things.


I love you even when you do stupid or silly things--we all do them you know.  I'm on my way to bed in a few minutes, but come on and talk tomorrow afternoon or whenever we both happen to be online. We can be stupid and silly together.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Gee, I wish I could be silly and stupid today, too.  But, I gotta go to work.  Hugs for Laurie and Barbara.


----------



## Alix

Poor little Violet! And poor you Laurie, that would make me feel awful too. Big hugs to you both.


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Gee, I wish I could be silly and stupid today, too.  But, I gotta go to work.  Hugs for Laurie and Barbara.


I never let work stop me.   Of course, I worked with 4th graders!  Thanks for the hug! Lots of hugs back.  

In fact, hugs all around!  If you have read this, consider yourself hugged!

Barbara


----------



## DaveSoMD

{{{HUGS}}}  to you {{{HUGS}}} 

and  {{{{HUGS}}} to Violet from the kids here


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> I never let work stop me.  Of course, I worked with 4th graders! Thanks for the hug! Lots of hugs back.
> 
> In fact, hugs all around! If you have read this, consider yourself hugged!
> 
> Barbara


 
Easy to be stupid filling out guv'mint paperwork...hard to be silly. I got the stupid part down.

And we started our organizing for Relay for Life today.


----------



## Zhizara

What's the Relay For Life, Princess?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> What's the Relay For Life, Princess?


 
National Fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

Welcome to the Relay Nation | RelayForLife.org

I will be pulling a nightshift run the day of the Relay.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, everyone.  Violet is doing much better and so is "Mom".  She never holds a grudge and so I have forgiven myself as well.

Thanks for the pictures, Dave.  She loved them....Honestly, she licked the monitor!


----------



## DaveSoMD

LPBeier said:


> Thanks, everyone.  Violet is doing much better and so is "Mom".  She never holds a grudge and so I have forgiven myself as well.
> 
> Thanks for the pictures, Dave.  She loved them....Honestly, she licked the monitor!



LOL!!!  You mean like this???? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3DLniy-MeE&feature=related


----------



## Barbara L

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  What has me growling? Rude, stupid kids who should have been taught better and who are old enough to know  how to be respectful.

My grandson Andrew had posted a picture of him with a huge bacon cheeseburger on Facebook (the one I posted in the thread about my grandkids). I commented on it, asking how he fit that huge thing in his mouth. 

Today one of his (I assume) school friends made a rude comment in response to mine, with sexual connotations (about Andrew). He probably didn't know I am Andrew's grandmother, but it probably wouldn't have mattered to him (my picture was enough to let him know I wasn't a kid). My daughter had a few things to say to him (She was MAD!) and she deleted his comment.

I am so thankful that not all kids are rude, but the ones who are sure do irk me!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. What has me growling? Rude, stupid kids who should have been taught better and who are old enough to know how to be respectful.
> 
> My grandson Andrew had posted a picture of him with a huge bacon cheeseburger on Facebook (the one I posted in the thread about my grandkids). I commented on it, asking how he fit that huge thing in his mouth.
> 
> Today one of his (I assume) school friends made a rude comment in response to mine, with sexual connotations (about Andrew). He probably didn't know I am Andrew's grandmother, but it probably wouldn't have mattered to him (my picture was enough to let him know I wasn't a kid). My daughter had a few things to say to him (She was MAD!) and she deleted his comment.
> 
> I am so thankful that not all kids are rude, but the ones who are sure do irk me!


 
I had the same type of problem when I would comment on my nephews pages.  I finally told the bouys to call me or e-mail me if they wanted to keep in touch, I wouldn't subject myself to their pages and friends anymore.


----------



## Barbara L

Fortunately most of his friends are ok. Also, Nancy keeps an eye on both of the kids' FB accounts to make sure everyone is playing nice. I let people know that I won't tolerate bad stuff on my page either, since my grandkids can see my page, plus I don't want to see that stuff either. 

My main irritation with this whole thing is that a 12 or 13 year old kid would think it is acceptable to talk to an adult that way. I have heard kids even younger than that saying things like that to an adult's face. Too many kids today are being raised with no "filters," and with no sense of wrongdoing. It made me absolutely sick to see Roseanne Barr on a show not long ago, saying that we need to let kids do whatever they want to do and to not discipline them, then laughing about her 5-year-old grandson asking her fiancée if he really wanted to "have sex with an old lady like my grandma." She thought that was cute, and so did all the others on the show.

Aaargh! I'm going to raise my blood pressure if I think about stupidity like that. I will never understand some people!


----------



## Kayelle

Barbara, I'm so sorry such a cute picture of your grandboy caused such a ruckus.  My vent is about Facebook in general, and both kids and adults throwing away any good sense with the written word.  I've made it a point to stay far away from the garbage that goes on there, or I'd be madder than a wet hen all the time.  "Social Network" my foot!!  Grrrrrrrr


----------



## Barbara L

Kayelle said:


> Barbara, I'm so sorry such a cute picture of your grandboy caused such a ruckus.  My vent is about Facebook in general, and both kids and adults throwing away any good sense with the written word.  I've made it a point to stay far away from the garbage that goes on there, or I'd be madder than a wet hen all the time.  "Social Network" my foot!!  Grrrrrrrr


I love Facebook and probably spend way too much time there, but I do agree that it is not necessarily a good thing.  Too many people seem not to realize that everything they put out there is there for good. They say things they would never say to someone in person. Some people are hurting their chances for good jobs, etc. in the future because of their lack of discretion now.

FB is one of the main ways I have of keeping in touch with my daughter and grandkids (I can't make long distance calls but can take them, and they do call now and then), and I am able to chat with several of my cousins with whom I had kind of lost touch. We do have to be careful on there though because there are a lot of nuts out there, as well as a lot of kids who apparently have nothing better to do all day than stir things up at FB and other sites.

Barbara


----------



## Somebunny

Barbara,  I love Facebook too!  I keep in touch with my whole dysfunctional extended family thru Facebook,  it has made us a little more functional.  . I also keep in touch with my (totally functional). Lol! daughter.  I love getting up to date pics of my granddaughter!  But..... People need to think about what they are saying before they say it,  I mean there are just some things I don't care to know!  Parents definitely need to monitor their children's use.  But the parents need to monitor their children period..... A big problem these days IMO.  ;-)

Sent from my iPhone using Cooking


----------



## Alix

Somebunny said:


> Barbara, I love Facebook too! I keep in touch with my whole dysfunctional extended family thru Facebook, it has made us a little more functional. . I also keep in touch with my (totally functional). Lol! daughter. I love getting up to date pics of my granddaughter! But..... People need to think about what they are saying before they say it, I mean there are just some things I don't care to know! Parents definitely need to monitor their children's use. But the parents need to monitor their children period..... A big problem these days IMO. ;-)
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Cooking


DING DING DING DING!!! Right on the money Somebunny!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

*Finally!!!!*

Shrek and I purchased a new mattress and platform (with deep drawers) two weeks ago with the understanding it would be delivered and set up last weekend and they would haul our old mattress and boxsprings away.  There was a $75 delivery charge.

Things went wonky last weekend, apparently one of the guys didn't follow through and we didn't make the delivery list.  Okay, no problem, stuff happens.  I don't know why it didn't happen during the week.

Shrek had to call yesterday and find out what time today it would be delivered. Once again, we had been left off the list for today, Shrek got a little verbal about it and we were added to the list.  Time window from 1-3 PM.  We were all set...with them finally showing up at 2:45.

As they were bringing in the last piece of the platform, I told them that it was for a king size bed, not the queen we ordered.  The main guy told me I was mistaken, "they always look smaller in the showroom."  I disagreed and once again told him it was the wrong size and mentioned it to the second fella, too.  This occured outside, before they got it down the steps.

They went ahead and got it into the living room and around the corner (a hairpin turn) and set it down.  I said, "That takes up the whole room, that is for a king bed." "Nope, just wait till we get it put together, it'll be fine."

Long story short, it was for a king, luckily they had not finished getting it all together!  The main guy wanted to finish and swap it out later, like on Monday.  I told him that was silly.  Why finish building it to take it apart in a couple of days and haul it out?  Just bring the boxsprings back and put the new mattress on that.  

Nope, they hauled the king piece out and told us they'd be back with the queen.  They'd give us a call before they got back.  Three 1/2 hours later, they still hadn't called...we hadn't eaten and it was getting late.  Shrek called the store and they told him the guys had picked up the piece three hours before.  Right about then the truck pulled up and I had to herd cats into the office again.  (They usually want in there, this time I had to force them. CATS!)

It got done.  After lending them a saw to make the slats the right length and chasing them down to give them their drill back.

A nice new memory foam mattress and a platform with lots of drawers to put t-shirts in!


----------



## Somebunny

Congrats Fi...,,after that Aggravating day you deserve to sleep like a baby in your new  bed!

Sent from my iPhone using Cooking


----------



## taxlady

Barbara L said:


> I love Facebook and probably spend way too much time there, but I do agree that it is not necessarily a good thing.  Too many people seem not to realize that everything they put out there is there for good. They say things they would never say to someone in person. Some people are hurting their chances for good jobs, etc. in the future because of their lack of discretion now.
> 
> FB is one of the main ways I have of keeping in touch with my daughter and grandkids (I can't make long distance calls but can take them, and they do call now and then), and I am able to chat with several of my cousins with whom I had kind of lost touch. We do have to be careful on there though because there are a lot of nuts out there, as well as a lot of kids who apparently have nothing better to do all day than stir things up at FB and other sites.
> 
> Barbara



Do you have a headset for your computer? You can make free calls to anywhere in the US and Canada for free with Google. You could get a Skype account and talk on that for free, even with video. I think the google thingee has video too.


----------



## Barbara L

Somebunny said:


> Barbara,  I love Facebook too!  I keep in touch with my whole dysfunctional extended family thru Facebook,  it has made us a little more functional.  . I also keep in touch with my (totally functional). Lol! daughter.  I love getting up to date pics of my granddaughter!  But..... People need to think about what they are saying before they say it,  I mean there are just some things I don't care to know!  Parents definitely need to monitor their children's use.  But the parents need to monitor their children period..... A big problem these days IMO.  ;-)
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Cooking





Alix said:


> DING DING DING DING!!! Right on the money Somebunny!


Yep, I agree!



taxlady said:


> Do you have a headset for your computer? You can make free calls to anywhere in the US and Canada for free with Google. You could get a Skype account and talk on that for free, even with video. I think the google thingee has video too.


I don't have a headset, but I talk to James when he is away during the week, and sometimes Nancy, through Yahoo. Sometimes we use the webcams and sometimes we don't--depends on what else we are doing at the time. It is nice to be able to hear their voices, and as you said, it is free.


----------



## Barbara L

I'm sorry the bed was such a hassle Princess Fee, but I'm glad you finally have it all straightened out!  I hate the lengths some people will go to just to avoid looking like they made a mistake!

Barbara


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> I'm sorry the bed was such a hassle Princess Fee, but I'm glad you finally have it all straightened out! I hate the lengths some people will go to just to avoid looking like they made a mistake!
> 
> Barbara


 
What's funny is, it wasn't even his mistake, it was the mistake of the guy who placed the order.  A King size was ordered, but not by us.  A miss-key or whatever.  Shrek was livid over the entire thing, I was just tired, hungry and wanted it over with.


----------



## Claire

What a hassle!  For me right now it is THANK HEAVEN FEBRUARY IS OVER!!!  I know part of it may be self-fulfilling prophecy, but anything that ever happens that is bad in our almost 30 years of marriage, happens in February.  I used to blame it on the weather causing depression, but in fact, when we lived in Hawaii and when we lived in Florida, still bad things happened to us in February.  This year it was the heat.  THE HEAT.  It went out when it was 17 degrees (that's the high of the days, and I might add, not with wind chill).  This was after having a preventive maintenance visit, losing heat, having a *&^%^&^% replaced, then more service.  I stayed up all night last Sunday running the washing machine, boiling water on the stove, running the self-clean cycle of the stove, and every half-hour running hot water in the shower to keep the back end of the house warm.  They showed on Monday (when I asked them to, I knew I could keep the house warm enough not to have to pay for a weekend, middle of the night, emergency call) and replaced the *&@!$$^&* and we're warm, hopefully for the rest of the year.  I swear, if February had 31 days, I would not be alive today; I'd have committed suicide decades ago!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> What a hassle! For me right now it is THANK HEAVEN FEBRUARY IS OVER!!! I know part of it may be self-fulfilling prophecy, but anything that ever happens that is bad in our almost 30 years of marriage, happens in February. I used to blame it on the weather causing depression, but in fact, when we lived in Hawaii and when we lived in Florida, still bad things happened to us in February. This year it was the heat. THE HEAT. It went out when it was 17 degrees (that's the high of the days, and I might add, not with wind chill). This was after having a preventive maintenance visit, losing heat, having a *&^%^&^% replaced, then more service. I stayed up all night last Sunday running the washing machine, boiling water on the stove, running the self-clean cycle of the stove, and every half-hour running hot water in the shower to keep the back end of the house warm. They showed on Monday (when I asked them to, I knew I could keep the house warm enough not to have to pay for a weekend, middle of the night, emergency call) and replaced the *&@!$$^&* and we're warm, hopefully for the rest of the year. I swear, if February had 31 days, I would not be alive today; I'd have committed suicide decades ago!


 
I hate heating problems, they blow up everything else out of proportion!  And they are expensive, always.  Glad it's over for you!


----------



## taxlady

Claire,

Shouldn't the company that did preventive maintenance have come for free on the weekend? That would be fair. It was them that didn't discover the problem or didn't fix it.

Glad you have your heat back


----------



## babetoo

some of you may remember me mentioning "the house guest from hell" well, went to get cheese for my burger and found she had eaten an entire package of provolone slices. the day she left went into pantry for something. discovered  she had eaten an entire box of pop tarts. put empty box in pantry. an entire box of the little bags of 100 calorie cookies. i swear i fed her. she did all this while i was sleeping, i guess. no manners at all. she had come hoping i could help with a crisis she was in. gave advice because i was asked, guess she didn't like it cause she didn't do any of it. involves a son in trouble with the law and non payment of rent. 

she called me a week ago today and asked again. i told her to do this and that and call me with the outcome. she didn't, i called sheriff in her county and did a well check. she was out dancing. it involved her son that is violent. and i was worried. called me finally and eleven thirty and woke me up. i thought about it for a few days and then told her not to call me again in this life or any other. i counted up the calls and she had called me 24 times in three days. i don't need the stress or blood pressure rise. i have know her for 25 years and she has always been a flake. i think she is a sociopath. i feel petty but felt i needed to get rid of a big source of stress.


----------



## tinlizzie

babetoo said:


> some of you may remember me mentioning "the house guest from hell" well, went to get cheese for my burger and found she had eaten an entire package of provolone slices. the day she left went into pantry for something. discovered she had eaten an entire box of pop tarts. put empty box in pantry. an entire box of the little bags of 100 calorie cookies. i swear i fed her. she did all this while i was sleeping, i guess. no manners at all. she had come hoping i could help with a crisis she was in. gave advice because i was asked, guess she didn't like it cause she didn't do any of it. involves a son in trouble with the law and non payment of rent.
> 
> she called me a week ago today and asked again. i told her to do this and that and call me with the outcome. she didn't, i called sheriff in her county and did a well check. she was out dancing. it involved her son that is violent. and i was worried. called me finally and eleven thirty and woke me up. i thought about it for a few days and then told her not to call me again in this life or any other. i counted up the calls and she had called me 24 times in three days. i don't need the stress or blood pressure rise. i have know her for 25 years and she has always been a flake. i think she is a sociopath. i feel petty but felt i needed to get rid of a big source of stress.


 
Just think of it as a kind of 'spring cleaning' in the closet of life, which really _is_ too short to ________  (here you can fill in the blank).


----------



## Zhizara

I have a neighbor who used to use me as her place to take an "emotional dump".  After the last incident which lasted about 5 hours, I woke up the next morning upset that again she had done this to me, getting me all upset about the "fact" that her boyfriend was sponging off of her (I doubt it now).

She came by again the next day and I told her off.  I told her that I was not going to let her treat me that way.  I'd given her the same advice, never taken, many times before.

I had realized that she used her visit with me to make him angry and the things she told me were quite probably not really true.  I said she was welcome to visit, but that she had 5 minutes to talk about him then either we could go on to have a nice visit, or she could go home.

Through all this she was grinning!  She was getting attention.

Don't let people like this keep using you.  It drains and upsets you.  Your emotional health is more important.  

I'm proud of you for telling her off.  People like this will suck you dry as long as you let them.


----------



## babetoo

thank you both. life is to short to "suffer fools"


----------



## taxlady

babetoo said:


> thank you both. life is to short to "suffer fools"



I think that's the best attitude. (((hugs)))


----------



## Saphellae

OK, I am venting that I haven't been here in so long and I'm mad at myself !!!!!


----------



## Alix

Saphellae said:


> OK, I am venting that I haven't been here in so long and I'm mad at myself !!!!!



Saphellae!!! {{{{{HUGS}}}}}


----------



## Saphellae

Poke poke poke hi Alix !!!!   

To keep on topic... ahem.

well.. nothing to vent about!!! 

*poof*


----------



## blissful

Lent a car to a friend to go to work, who's car was in the shop.
It was totalled this morning, friend is okay.
It's just a car, right? the light post? the stress on the relationship. UGH!


----------



## babetoo

oh my goodness, glad friend not hurt. cars can be replaced. was the accident your friends fault?


----------



## tinlizzie

Much as I dislike the term, it seems to fit here -- that sucks.


----------



## blissful

babetoo said:


> oh my goodness, glad friend not hurt. cars can be replaced. was the accident your friends fault?


 
Yes, no other drivers, hit curb, broke tie rod, hit light post. He doesn't know if tie rod broke first, then curb, or the other way around. Hardly matters.
I'm still waiting for his truck to get fixed so we can go and junk the totalled car. OR $25/day on that. Bluck Bluck Bluck.


----------



## Zhizara

I'm really glad your friend wasn't hurt.  Maybe you'll end up with a better car.  Sorry, Bliss.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sorry, Bliss...that is lousy!


----------



## blissful

Well...thanks for caring. When I read through the last page of venting, it just showed me how much I have to be thankful for in my life.

I didn't carry coll/comp, just liability, but remember it's a really old car '92, so it's a calculated trade off I'll bear. It's a little harder to bear right now because I'm unemployed (hopefully temporarily).

What I learned: insurance goes by the car, not the driver. The driver had liability/comp and collision insurance. (I think I knew that at some point earlier in life.) Exception--if you have liability/comp/coll, rent a car, your insurance will cover the rental--always check that with your insurer before you rent.

Insurance trivia not related to today's accident: did you know that in WI and I believe FL, if you are hit by a car, and the car's driver has a heart attack prior to losing control (so he's dead), his insurance does not have to pay. The reasoning is that the insurance only covers living drivers. I checked this with the Insurance commissioner of our state, and this is true. We went through this years ago.

So in trying to remain cheerful in the face of this--don't lend out your car unless you are willing to lose it if it isn't fully insured--and don't get hit by a dead driver.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

blissful said:


> Well...thanks for caring. When I read through the last page of venting, it just showed me how much I have to be thankful for in my life.
> 
> I didn't carry coll/comp, just liability, but remember it's a really old car '92, so it's a calculated trade off I'll bear. It's a little harder to bear right now because I'm unemployed (hopefully temporarily).
> 
> What I learned: insurance goes by the car, not the driver. The driver had liability/comp and collision insurance. (I think I knew that at some point earlier in life.) Exception--if you have liability/comp/coll, rent a car, your insurance will cover the rental--always check that with your insurer before you rent.
> 
> _Insurance trivia not related to today's accident: did you know that in WI and I believe FL, if you are hit by a car, and the car's driver has a heart attack prior to losing control (so he's dead), his insurance does not have to pay. The reasoning is that the insurance only covers living drivers. I checked this with the Insurance commissioner of our state, and this is true. We went through this years ago._
> 
> So in trying to remain cheerful in the face of this--don't lend out your car unless you are willing to lose it if it isn't fully insured--and don't get hit by a dead driver.


 
The Monkey Wrench Gang, by Edward Abbey.  If anyone knows what I'm talking about!


----------



## taxlady

Whether the insurance goes by the car or by the driver, depends - maybe on location or maybe on the insurance company. Before I went to visit my sister, I phoned my insurance company and they told me that my insurance would cover my sister's car while I was driving it.


----------



## blissful

taxlady said:


> Whether the insurance goes by the car or by the driver, depends - maybe on location or maybe on the insurance company. Before I went to visit my sister, I phoned my insurance company and they told me that my insurance would cover my sister's car while I was driving it.


 I guess, not here, not with these companies, not on a claim. I understand you are in a different location, different company, different situation--do you ever wonder if you need to get everything in writing, just in case?
Things will get better. (Stuff's getting better--President Starkey)


----------



## Claire

OK, that was a serious one.  How about a small, annoying one?  What is it with everyone adding prepositions at the end of a sentence, just for the heck of it?  Do you really reduce things down?  Reduce.  Period.  Stir it up?  Stir it, enough.  Saute it around?  Build it up?  Stuff it in?  

I tried to tutor a 3rd grader a couple of years ago in grammar, and it was virtually impossible.  Cooking shows aside, even if your kid never sees a cooking show (the worst when it comes to PREpositions (yes, pre meaning before, not after)), even if you only allow them to watch PBS and listen to NPR, if your kid ever gets a passing grade in grammar, I would consider it a miracle.  Since even our so-called experts in communication can't seem to string words together to get a sentence that would pass a third grade grammar class, how can we expect anything better from children?


----------



## tinlizzie

This one is so small as to be nearly invisible.  At first it seemed like a great idea -- plastic bag reclosable seals. They either won't reseal without several tries, or sometimes just won't reseal at all.  Then there are those seals on commercial products that you can hardly get open.  Bad news for older fingers.

Need I mention the "its" "it's" thing?


----------



## blissful

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The Monkey Wrench Gang, by Edward Abbey. If anyone knows what I'm talking about!


 
I did google the Monkey Wrench Gang and it sounds like a good read.

Vent: How about 'to', 'too', 'two' and 'they're', 'their', 'there'? And what about using apostrophes instead of quote marks?


----------



## Zhizara

I just downloaded Firefox 4.  It's not at all bad except for one thing.  The tabs that are not in use are printed in black on charcoal gray and is impossible to read easily.

I tried to change back to my original Firefox, but only ended up reinstalling Firefox 4.  That's the same thing that Internet Explorer did with IE8.  It wouldn't let you go back to IE7 no matter what it said on the download site.

It also makes my Discuss Cooking site look weird.  Grrrrrrrrrrr!


----------



## Alix

Download the add on "Colorful tabs"


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks.  I had tried before, but only found sites that said it wasn't compatible, but in checking before posting, I found a site that is compatible.  Much better.

Thanks again!


----------



## taxlady

blissful said:


> I did google the Monkey Wrench Gang and it sounds like a good read.
> 
> Vent: How about 'to', 'too', 'two' and 'they're', 'their', 'there'? And what about using apostrophes instead of quote marks?



Oh, "to", "too", "two" and "they"re", "their", "there" thing drives me bonkers. People don't seem to realize that when they use the wrong one, I often have to read what they wrote several times before I notice that it's a mistake and then I can understand it.

I sometimes forget the second "o" in "too".


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> I just downloaded Firefox 4.  It's not at all bad except for one thing.  The tabs that are not in use are printed in black on charcoal gray and is impossible to read easily.
> 
> I tried to change back to my original Firefox, but only ended up reinstalling Firefox 4.  That's the same thing that Internet Explorer did with IE8.  It wouldn't let you go back to IE7 no matter what it said on the download site.
> 
> It also makes my Discuss Cooking site look weird.  Grrrrrrrrrrr!



Try Chrome: Google Chrome - Get a fast new browser. For PC, Mac, and Linux


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks, TL.  I got the color tabs and it works fine now.  I would like to figure out how to get the same sites to keep the same colors, but I can deal with it.


----------



## Alix

Zhizara said:


> Thanks, TL.  I got the color tabs and it works fine now.  I would like to figure out how to get the same sites to keep the same colors, but I can deal with it.



If you right click on a tab, and scroll down to the Colorful Tabs thingy you can set the color for particular sites.


----------



## babetoo

i know everyone has bad days. yesterday was a really bad day. everything i touched went south. was sewing a pillow case. now i have probably made two dozen before. was doing envelope style. twice, i sewed the stupid seam wrong and had to rip out. first time, didn't have all layers together. have no clue what happened second time. then it turned out almost to small, had to really wrestle the pillow in it. my bobbin ran out and i sewed a half a seam without it. while filling bobbin the little thing that holds thread onto machine went flying across the room. of course it screwed up the bobbin. started it over, started to sew, heard a loud sound al la sewing over big pin. bent the needle . new one on and finally got the blasted thing done. 

today almost went the same way. carefully squeezed 1/3 cup of lemon juice. the knocked the cup over. luckily i had more lemons. i am almost afraid to move. oh yeah i spilled an entire cup of coffee in the sunroom.   

scary huh, bet someone here has had days like that, at least i hope so, would hate to think i am the only one.


----------



## Barbara L

Don't worry Babe, you're definitely not the only one! I'm sorry you had to go through it though!

I'm right there with you on the sewing, with the breaking needles, flying bobbins, etc.  I learned a long time ago that if I am not in the mood to put a zipper in, I won't even try because if I do, I will surely be taking it out (which is miserable) and redoing it!

Hopefully that is behind you now and things are going more smoothly!


----------



## Zhizara

Don't feel bad, Babe.  It happens to all of us.  

I find that if I make two mistakes in a row, while sewing, I stop.  I'm just not having a good sewing day.  I'll try again tomorrow.


----------



## taxlady

I've mentioned before that I had stuff that I inherited from my mother shipped from Copenhagen. It's here in Montreal, in a warehouse.

I phoned customs and made sure to speak to someone in Montreal. They told me I needed copies of: a death certificate, will (or confirmation from a probate court, since my mum didn't have a will), bill of lading, and inventory signed by the executor. I asked if plain copies would be good enough or if I needed certified copies. I was told plain was okay. Much better for me, since my sister is the executor and she lives in California.

I went to customs today to get my stuff released. Now they tell me that I need certified true copies of the death certificate and confirmation from the court. Wasted trip. 60 km round trip and gas costs me $1.369/litre (my car needs the high octane stuff). I also fed the parking meter $2.75. It took three hours of my time. It's "tax season". I don't have time to waste. It didn't help that I slipped on ice and barely managed not to fall by grabbing my car. Gave me a real scare. I have osteoporosis. I broke my kneecap last year during tax season. That was a real nuisance. You can't drive with a broken right kneecap. Heck, you can hardly sit on a chair wearing the brace.


----------



## Barbara L

taxlady said:


> I've mentioned before that I had stuff that I inherited from my mother shipped from Copenhagen. It's here in Montreal, in a warehouse.
> 
> I phoned customs and made sure to speak to someone in Montreal. They told me I needed copies of: a death certificate, will (or confirmation from a probate court, since my mum didn't have a will), bill of lading, and inventory signed by the executor. I asked if plain copies would be good enough or if I needed certified copies. I was told plain was okay. Much better for me, since my sister is the executor and she lives in California.
> 
> I went to customs today to get my stuff released. Now they tell me that I need certified true copies of the death certificate and confirmation from the court. Wasted trip. 60 km round trip and gas costs me $1.369/litre (my car needs the high octane stuff). I also fed the parking meter $2.75. It took three hours of my time. It's "tax season". I don't have time to waste. It didn't help that I slipped on ice and barely managed not to fall by grabbing my car. Gave me a real scare. I have osteoporosis. I broke my kneecap last year during tax season. That was a real nuisance. You can't drive with a broken right kneecap. Heck, you can hardly sit on a chair wearing the brace.


Oh no! I'm so sorry you got the run-around like that. And I'm so thankful you didn't hurt yourself again when you slipped. 

Hopefully all this mess will be taken care of soon and you will be able to get all your stuff.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> i know everyone has bad days. yesterday was a really bad day. everything i touched went south. was sewing a pillow case. now i have probably made two dozen before. was doing envelope style. twice, i sewed the stupid seam wrong and had to rip out. first time, didn't have all layers together. have no clue what happened second time. then it turned out almost to small, had to really wrestle the pillow in it. my bobbin ran out and i sewed a half a seam without it. while filling bobbin the little thing that holds thread onto machine went flying across the room. of course it screwed up the bobbin. started it over, started to sew, heard a loud sound al la sewing over big pin. bent the needle . new one on and finally got the blasted thing done.
> 
> today almost went the same way. carefully squeezed 1/3 cup of lemon juice. the knocked the cup over. luckily i had more lemons. i am almost afraid to move. oh yeah i spilled an entire cup of coffee in the sunroom.
> 
> scary huh, bet someone here has had days like that, at least i hope so, would hate to think i am the only one.


 
Sorry, Babe!  I had one of those days, too.

I spent alot of time looking for the Hidden camera and waiting for Allan Funt to show up.

Taxlady, I'm glad you didn't get hurt.


----------



## Katie H

I don't think I can actually say I'm venting but, at the moment, I'm just plain old hurting.  

Yesterday I took a short drive to Paris (Tennessee, that is) to scope out the shopping there.  It's kind of a small and quaint area that Glenn and I have gone to a number of times on the motorcycle.  It's also where the best barbecue can be found.  Gotta have our priorities.

At any rate, I had just made my first stop (at the barbecue place) to buy a rack of ribs.  The last time we were there on the bike, Glenn commented on how good they looked.  Since I was going to Paris yesterday, it only seemed reasonable that I should stop and get some ribs for supper.

I got out of the car and walked the few feet to the building, didn't see a rise in the concrete, and tripped and fell.  Hard, full forward on both my knees, palms and stomach.  There was NOTHING to grab to stop the fall.

Now, I have a very bad right knee and hit it the hardest.  Fortunately I was wearing heavy sneakers and jeans, so there was no real broken skin, etc.  Although, my right knee did get sort of a rug burn and a heck of a bump because that's what hit first.  Swelled up such that my jeans felt like a tourniquet.

One of the employees saw me fall and came out to help me up and assist in gathering up my keys and purse.  There was a bench nearby and he helped me there to sit for a minute to gather my thoughts.  I felt pretty well, but was hugely sick to my stomach from hitting the ground so hard.  It was all concrete/asphalt.

So...I bought the ribs and went on my way.  Finished my tour of Paris and drove home.

By the time I arrived home, my knees were throbbing (especially the right one) and the swelling had continued.  I could bend everything, so I felt assured that nothing was broken.  Did notice that, when I fell, I must've stubbed my toes on my left foot because the nail on the big toe is almost off.  Well, crap, just in time for sandal weather.

Had a pretty miserable night last night in spite of my doses of Excedrin and ice packs.  Today's so-so and the swelling is going down, but the technicolor is beginning to show itself.

I've stayed off my feet since arriving home yesterday and will continue to do so well into tomorrow.  I'll determine what I do tomorrow based on how tonight goes and how I feel in the morning.  We have nothing pressing to do, so I can be a lazy slug if I want.  It's rainy, cold and crappy outside and I'm not eager to spend time there.  If it were sunny and nice, that'd be another story.

Anywho...guess this is what happens when one officially becomes a senior citizen.  At least that's what Glenn says since I signed up on Tuesday for social security.  He must have been feeling sorry for me because he turned down the bed and had everything ready for me before I came to bed.  I can see there are some advantages to this "helpless" thing.

On the bright side, maybe I'll audition for a part in a TV western.  Glenn keeps calling me "Chester."


----------



## Barbara L

Oh Katie, that was an awful fall! I hope you feel better soon.  You may not believe this, but when I read your description of your fall I literally had pain shoot through my knees. The same thing happens if I see people jump off of high places--My back tightens up and I get a quick pain.

Take it easy today and let yourself heal.

Barbara


----------



## Alix

Holy moly Katie! OUCH! I hear a stiff shot of bourbon or gin is just the thing for aches of that kind.  Feel better soon. 

My vents are petty and minor but I need to scream a bit. Everything electronic that I've touched today has died. (Pray that the laptop survives this post!) My watch died (probably the battery), my phone died (or next to it) I can't talk and be heard by anyone - AAAAAAAAAAAUGH! Now that is a HUGE issue for me as if my phone doesn't work, I can't get calls for my various jobs. So off I'll go to my store AGAIN. I probably did something stupid to it. The microwave screamed at me. I am afraid to touch anything else!


----------



## Barbara L

Alix said:


> Holy moly Katie! OUCH! I hear a stiff shot of bourbon or gin is just the thing for aches of that kind.  Feel better soon.
> 
> My vents are petty and minor but I need to scream a bit. Everything electronic that I've touched today has died. (Pray that the laptop survives this post!) My watch died (probably the battery), my phone died (or next to it) I can't talk and be heard by anyone - AAAAAAAAAAAUGH! Now that is a HUGE issue for me as if my phone doesn't work, I can't get calls for my various jobs. So off I'll go to my store AGAIN. I probably did something stupid to it. The microwave screamed at me. I am afraid to touch anything else!


Maybe you should take the bus?


----------



## Alix

Barbara L said:


> Maybe you should take the bus?



What? And mess up 30 other people's days?


----------



## kadesma

Katie Iread about your fall, but didn't write you yesterday. I can understand the pain sweetie. I'm hurting as well but from surgery wednesday to remove the pd Cath. See tha blasted surgeon next week to see if I'm healing. The man I hope is prepared for an outraged old lady. another story I'll spil the beans at a later date. But I'll ask One question. What would you do to handle anyone who lied to you about how they would sedate YOU for this surgery?
See ya sweetie, feel better and let Glenn get you through thiskades


----------



## Katie H

Alix said:


> Holy moly Katie! OUCH! I hear a stiff shot of bourbon or gin is just the thing for aches of that kind.  Feel better soon.



Yeah!  For medicinal purposes only, of course.  Glenn and I have had a couple of sessions with Henry McKenna (bourbon) and I believe things are beginning to look up.  I may have to go to bed with Glenn and Henry tonight.  The aches are beginning to be a little more severe  after 24 hours.  Not sure why.  Should lessen by now.

My biggest challenges are trying to get up from bed, chair, potty, etc.   My palms and wrists are so sore and bruised that I'm getting quite creative and frustrated.  I'm confident that tomorrow will be more positive.

Oh, Alix, you must feel as though you have something less than the Midas touch.  Just hang on and look for coal-fired or gas-powered (not currently cost effective) appliances, etc.  

Hang in there.  Things WILL get better.


----------



## Rocklobster

taxlady said:


> I've mentioned before that I had stuff that I inherited from my mother shipped from Copenhagen. It's here in Montreal, in a warehouse.
> 
> I phoned customs and made sure to speak to someone in Montreal. They told me I needed copies of: a death certificate, will (or confirmation from a probate court, since my mum didn't have a will), bill of lading, and inventory signed by the executor. I asked if plain copies would be good enough or if I needed certified copies. I was told plain was okay. Much better for me, since my sister is the executor and she lives in California.
> 
> I went to customs today to get my stuff released. Now they tell me that I need certified true copies of the death certificate and confirmation from the court. Wasted trip. 60 km round trip and gas costs me $1.369/litre (my car needs the high octane stuff). I also fed the parking meter $2.75. It took three hours of my time. It's "tax season". I don't have time to waste. It didn't help that I slipped on ice and barely managed not to fall by grabbing my car. Gave me a real scare. I have osteoporosis. I broke my kneecap last year during tax season. That was a real nuisance. You can't drive with a broken right kneecap. Heck, you can hardly sit on a chair wearing the brace.


 
Hang in there. Things will get better.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Katie Iread about your fall, but didn't write you yesterday. I can understand the pain sweetie. I'm hurting as well but from surgery wednesday to remove the pd Cath. See tha blasted surgeon next week to see if I'm healing. The man I hope is prepared for an outraged old lady. another story I'll spil the beans at a later date. But I'll ask One question. What would you do to handle anyone who lied to you about how they would sedate YOU for this surgery?
> See ya sweetie, feel better and let Glenn get you through thiskades


 
I'd make darn sure my Insurance didn't pay for any sedation or pain control.  I might even take up knitting, but then...I can be vindictive.  And if he has a website, or you want to rate him on Angie's List...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Katie!  I'm so sorry to hear about your fall!  If you can tolerate it, Ibuprofen can help.


----------



## babetoo

oh katie, sounds so very painful. as you know i have fallen several times this past year. trust me you will find more places that hurt, places you didn't even know you had. just sit yourself down and stay there. whatever makes the pain go away , do it. keep an eye on all your spots that hurt . if swelling doesn't start to go down, go see dr. one of my falls i fractured my foot. it didn't even hurt, so keep an eye out for swelling that lasts to long i can truly say, i feel your pain. or rather i did . hugs and kisses
babe


----------



## SugarShall

I have a number of food allergies and sensitivities, which make creative cooking so hard.  There are foods I used to love which I now can't eat.  It can make things so difficult.  And on top of that my partner is one of the fussiest eaters I've ever come across.  Heaps I'd love to try he flat out refuses to try and I feel it's pointless cooking for one.


----------



## tinlizzie

Whoa, folks!  What a rough couple of days it has been out there.  I do believe I'll just pick up a book and creep over to the chair and park.  No sense pushing my luck.

I remember a Peanuts cartoon a long time ago -- I think it was Linus & Lucy, where Linus had gotten a boo-boo.  Lucy said, You don't mind a little pain, do you?  Linus said, Sure I do - pain hurts!

Hope all the aches & pains are letting up this morning.  Someone tell me when it's safe to venture out again.


----------



## Alix

OK, whining works. After I posted about all my mechanical failures I set about trying to fix my phone. (I'm a bit stubborn) I fussed and fiddled and finally got irritated and walked away from it for a while. I came back and it worked. Go figure. Same thing with the watch...I picked it up, and set it to the correct time and danged if it didn't start running again! Daughter used the microwave...no problem. WEIRD!!! Not arguing, just saying, whining sometimes works!


----------



## Katie H

babetoo said:


> oh katie, sounds so very painful. as you know i have fallen several times this past year. trust me you will find more places that hurt, places you didn't even know you had. just sit yourself down and stay there. whatever makes the pain go away , do it. keep an eye on all your spots that hurt . if swelling doesn't start to go down, go see dr. one of my falls i fractured my foot. it didn't even hurt, so keep an eye out for swelling that lasts to long i can truly say, i feel your pain. or rather i did . hugs and kisses
> babe



Thanks, babe, for your input.  It IS painful, but the swelling is going down very nicely.  I've been staying off my feet since it happened and I'm seeing the benefit of that.  I rested much more comfortably last night.  Didn't even have to take any Excedrin.

Still going to keep low today.  Probably sit in the recliner, with legs elevated, and read or knit.  Glenn's been sweet and has been doing a lot of extra "stuff" to help out.  Turned the bed down again last night and helped me get comfortable.

Today I'm trying some pain creme from Tylenol called Precise.  Slathered a bunch of it on after my morning shower.  So far I think I'm feeling some relief.  BUT...I'm going to be very, very careful the next several days.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.  I'm still kicking...but not as high.


Alix, I'm glad you have the electronics gremlins at bay.  Maybe it was sunspots!!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> OK, whining works. After I posted about all my mechanical failures I set about trying to fix my phone. (I'm a bit stubborn) I fussed and fiddled and finally got irritated and walked away from it for a while. I came back and it worked. Go figure. Same thing with the watch...I picked it up, and set it to the correct time and danged if it didn't start running again! Daughter used the microwave...no problem. WEIRD!!! Not arguing, just saying, whining sometimes works!


 
They could see that red gleem in your eye as you walked away.


----------



## joesfolk

I took it very easy with dinner tonight.  Salad from a bag, pre-breaded frozen deep fried shrimp, rice-a- roni, canned corn.  In other words garbage.  My family raved about it. Loved every bite.  Went back for seconds.  Very complimentary.  Real food is wasted on them.  GRRRRR!!!!


----------



## babetoo

has anyone else ever had a "get nothing done" week. boy i sure have. i am usually very goal oriented. this week i started a bunch of things and have finished none of them. new dishes still in dishwasher. need to pack up old ones before i can put away. sewing not finished. didn't clean the sun room. etc, etc, etc. hopefully next week will be better and i will actually get something done.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> has anyone else ever had a "get nothing done" week. boy i sure have. i am usually very goal oriented. this week i started a bunch of things and have finished none of them. new dishes still in dishwasher. need to pack up old ones before i can put away. sewing not finished. didn't clean the sun room. etc, etc, etc. hopefully next week will be better and i will actually get something done.


 
That seems to me to be the retired person's version of "Vacation."  Hope you had a relaxing week!


----------



## Zhizara

babetoo said:


> has anyone else ever had a "get nothing done" week. boy i sure have. i am usually very goal oriented. this week i started a bunch of things and have finished none of them. new dishes still in dishwasher. need to pack up old ones before i can put away. sewing not finished. didn't clean the sun room. etc, etc, etc. hopefully next week will be better and i will actually get something done.



Sounds like a classic case of spring fever!


----------



## taxlady

Barbara L said:


> Oh no! I'm so sorry you got the run-around like that. And I'm so thankful you didn't hurt yourself again when you slipped.
> 
> Hopefully all this mess will be taken care of soon and you will be able to get all your stuff.



Thank you for the flowers.

I got lucky. My sister was working from home on Friday and managed to get the certified true copies. If she had been at work, she wouldn't have been near the right court house. She sent it by Fedex yesterday and I looked at the tracking and it is at the airport, here in QC. w00t!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Thank you for the flowers.
> 
> I got lucky. My sister was working from home on Friday and managed to get the certified true copies. If she had been at work, she wouldn't have been near the right court house. She sent it by Fedex yesterday and I looked at the tracking and it is at the airport, here in QC. w00t!


 
Geeze, hardly even enough time to generate enough steam for a really good rant!


----------



## taxlady

Katie H said:


> Thanks, babe, for your input.  It IS painful, but the swelling is going down very nicely.  I've been staying off my feet since it happened and I'm seeing the benefit of that.  I rested much more comfortably last night.  Didn't even have to take any Excedrin.
> 
> Still going to keep low today.  Probably sit in the recliner, with legs elevated, and read or knit.  Glenn's been sweet and has been doing a lot of extra "stuff" to help out.  Turned the bed down again last night and helped me get comfortable.
> 
> Today I'm trying some pain creme from Tylenol called Precise.  Slathered a bunch of it on after my morning shower.  So far I think I'm feeling some relief.  BUT...I'm going to be very, very careful the next several days.
> 
> Thanks everyone for your kind comments.  I'm still kicking...but not as high.
> 
> 
> Alix, I'm glad you have the electronics gremlins at bay.  Maybe it was sunspots!!!!



I'm glad to hear the swelling is going down. Being careful is a good idea.

If it hurts, don't do it. Mother Nature wasn't being a meany when she invented pain. She invented pain to tell us, "Don't do that! If you do, you will make it worse."


----------



## Barbara L

Alix said:


> OK, whining works. After I posted about all my mechanical failures I set about trying to fix my phone. (I'm a bit stubborn) I fussed and fiddled and finally got irritated and walked away from it for a while. I came back and it worked. Go figure. Same thing with the watch...I picked it up, and set it to the correct time and danged if it didn't start running again! Daughter used the microwave...no problem. WEIRD!!! Not arguing, just saying, whining sometimes works!


I know what's going on here!  I watch movies!  You walked temporarily into another dimension.  You thought you were in your own home, but in that dimension things do not work like they do in ours.  I hear that your alter-ego came into our dimension and was up in arms because everything was working.  Bwuahahaha!


----------



## tinlizzie

Barbara L said:


> I know what's going on here! I watch movies! You walked temporarily into another dimension. You thought you were in your own home, but in that dimension things do not work like they do in ours. I hear that your alter-ego came into our dimension and was up in arms because everything was working. Bwuahahaha!


 
 Son of a Gun, Barbara!  I think you've got it! That would explain a whole bunch of unexplainables.  Yes, it's all becoming clear......

I'll be back in a minute -- I need to put on my protective tinfoil hat.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Son of a Gun, Barbara! I think you've got it! That would explain a whole bunch of unexplainables. Yes, it's all becoming clear......
> 
> I'll be back in a minute -- I need to put on my protective tinfoil hat.


 
Stock in Reynold's wrap just went up!


----------



## Alix

I pulled a Katie! I just wiped out huge and landed full force on my knees. OW! I was picking up a cheque for our yoga instructor, and missed a step. Holy moses does that hurt. I'm sitting here looking at all my booboos and shaking my head. I'm scraped on both knees, one palm, and the top of my right foot. How weird is that? My knees and hand are very bruised. Thank goodness for ice packs. I don't think I'm going to be able to do yoga tonight.


----------



## licia

Alix, I hope you won't be in much pain. That sounds like something I would do. One day this week I was cleaning a cabinet and stood up quickly and completely slipped down a wall. I thought I would have bruises all over my arm and side, but I suppose my well-cushioned body was enough to prevent that. I'm glad there isn't a bruise since it would be very hard to explain how I slid down the wall.


----------



## Alix

Thanks licia. We are a couple of klutzes aren't we? Hope you're ok.


----------



## Katie H

Alix said:


> Thanks licia. We are a couple of klutzes aren't we? Hope you're ok.



Way to go, Alix!!  Maybe we should bet matching monogrammed ice packs.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alright, I'm buying some Sumo Suits...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paNyqN2qxJU&feature=related


----------



## tinlizzie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Alright, I'm buying some Sumo Suits...
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paNyqN2qxJU&feature=related


 
Okay, the TV is on and there is some guy delivering a scholarly paper on zombies, and here go the Sumo Suits on my computer screen.  Time to cue the Twilight Zone music.    

I am definitely a stranger in a ver-r-y strange land.


----------



## Alix

Katie H said:


> Way to go, Alix!!  Maybe we should bet matching monogrammed ice packs.



I have Spongebob bandaids too, want some?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> I have Spongebob bandaids too, want some?


 
I recommend Bacon Bandaids!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Okay, the TV is on and there is some guy delivering a scholarly paper on zombies, and here go the Sumo Suits on my computer screen. Time to cue the Twilight Zone music.
> 
> I am definitely a stranger in a ver-r-y strange land.


 
What channel has the Zombie lecture?


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> I pulled a Katie! I just wiped out huge and landed full force on my knees. OW! I was picking up a cheque for our yoga instructor, and missed a step. Holy moses does that hurt. I'm sitting here looking at all my booboos and shaking my head. I'm scraped on both knees, one palm, and the top of my right foot. How weird is that? My knees and hand are very bruised. Thank goodness for ice packs. I don't think I'm going to be able to do yoga tonight.



Oh no! (((hugs)))


----------



## babetoo

Alix said:


> I pulled a Katie! I just wiped out huge and landed full force on my knees. OW! I was picking up a cheque for our yoga instructor, and missed a step. Holy moses does that hurt. I'm sitting here looking at all my booboos and shaking my head. I'm scraped on both knees, one palm, and the top of my right foot. How weird is that? My knees and hand are very bruised. Thank goodness for ice packs. I don't think I'm going to be able to do yoga tonight.


 

sure hope nothing is broken . all the advice i gave katie, goes for you too.


----------



## Barbara L

Alix said:


> Thanks licia. We are a couple of klutzes aren't we? Hope you're ok.


Now you two can join my Facebook group, "I Trip Over My Own Shadow and on Flat Surfaces!"


----------



## Alix

I'm in!


----------



## Barbara L

WooHoo!


----------



## LPBeier

I am in too.  Katie and Alix, I decided to make it three!

At my workout last week I hit the wrong button on the treadmill to start it and instead of starting at a speed of 1.5 I started at 5, which is base jogging speed and way to fast for my level!  I couldn't release the emergency cord and flipped over backwards.  The guy beside me finally got the cord release and another woman got a trainer.  But I sat up, checked all my parts for anything super painful, shook off my pride and hopped back on for my 20 minute warm-up.  I have a few bruises but otherwise am fine.  If it had been even a month ago, I think I would have been taken out on a stretcher, but because I have been working out, specially water walking 300 - 450 kms at a time, I am stronger.


----------



## taxlady

LPBeier said:


> I am in too.  Katie and Alix, I decided to make it three!
> 
> At my workout last week I hit the wrong button on the treadmill to start it and instead of starting at a speed of 1.5 I started at 5, which is base jogging speed and way to fast for my level!  I couldn't release the emergency cord and flipped over backwards.  The guy beside me finally got the cord release and another woman got a trainer.  But I sat up, checked all my parts for anything super painful, shook off my pride and hopped back on for my 20 minute warm-up.  I have a few bruises but otherwise am fine.  If it had been even a month ago, I think I would have been taken out on a stretcher, but because I have been working out, specially water walking 300 - 450 kms at a time, I am stronger.



 That's further than Montreal to Quebec City!


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> That's further than Montreal to Quebec City!



Oops!  I meant meters!  It has been a long day.  Thanks Taxlady for making me spit club soda all over my compouter


----------



## tinlizzie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> What channel has the Zombie lecture?


 
Sorry, Princess.  I left my computer and didn't see your question until this morning.  I know enquiring minds need to see these things.  The zombie thing was on a C-Span book program (I think that's what it was, anyway); this guy had written a book about international politics and zombies.  One of the last questions from the audience was asking why he didn't write about vampires.    I _*am*_ sorry I didn't get an answer for you in a timely way.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Sorry, Princess. I left my computer and didn't see your question until this morning. I know enquiring minds need to see these things. The zombie thing was on a C-Span book program (I think that's what it was, anyway); this guy had written a book about international politics and zombies. One of the last questions from the audience was asking why he didn't write about vampires.  I _*am*_ sorry I didn't get an answer for you in a timely way.


 
That's okay, I was able to catch a lecture on Werewolves and their role in the Culling of Politicians at the State level.  Those Vampire kids are all, "Me, me, ,me!"  Thanks, anyway!


----------



## tinlizzie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's okay, I was able to catch a lecture on Werewolves and their role in the Culling of Politicians at the State level. Those Vampire kids are all, "Me, me, ,me!" Thanks, anyway!


----------



## Alix

Wow, I'm back venting again. Seems like I go forever without needing it then WHAM. 

My vent today is petty, but really, that's what venting is for! I went for an appointment at the Dr's today. (Nothing serious, just follow up) and when I arrived I was informed that my appointment was for 1pm not 215pm. I KNOW that was not my error, I wouldn't make an appt for 1pm when I teach til 2. I offered to make another appt, but was told they would fit me in. I waited for nearly an hour (did I mention my daughter was in the car waiting for me because I was only supposed to be in and out?) and then politely asked to make a new appointment as I had another appointment to get to. I won't bore you with the details, but there were 3 ladies behind the desk and they were all rude as can be. They made me feel like I was a low grade moron and there was never even the slightest acknowledgment that this could have been a clerical error on their part. 

I think I was so frosted because I take some pride in being highly organized and scheduled. I color code my freaking daytimer for goodness sakes. In 13 years, I've never missed or been late for an appt there, and yet...my fault. Grrr. 

OK, better now. Thanks for letting me get that out of my system.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Wow, I'm back venting again. Seems like I go forever without needing it then WHAM.
> 
> My vent today is petty, but really, that's what venting is for! I went for an appointment at the Dr's today. (Nothing serious, just follow up) and when I arrived I was informed that my appointment was for 1pm not 215pm. I KNOW that was not my error, I wouldn't make an appt for 1pm when I teach til 2. I offered to make another appt, but was told they would fit me in. I waited for nearly an hour (did I mention my daughter was in the car waiting for me because I was only supposed to be in and out?) and then politely asked to make a new appointment as I had another appointment to get to. I won't bore you with the details, but there were 3 ladies behind the desk and they were all rude as can be. They made me feel like I was a low grade moron and there was never even the slightest acknowledgment that this could have been a clerical error on their part.
> 
> I think I was so frosted because I take some pride in being highly organized and scheduled. I color code my freaking daytimer for goodness sakes. In 13 years, I've never missed or been late for an appt there, and yet...my fault. Grrr.
> 
> OK, better now. Thanks for letting me get that out of my system.


 
Sounds quite familiar!  Last week's stress test was supposed to be today...according to their records I was a week early.  The apponitment card said last week...it was done least week...LOL!


----------



## Alix

But was it your fault?  Seriously, clerical errors happen all the time, and I am more than happy to acknowledge when I've made the error. Next time I'm going to make them give me an appt card. Unfortunately, I made the appt over the phone last time.


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> But was it your fault?  Seriously, clerical errors happen all the time, and I am more than happy to acknowledge when I've made the error. Next time I'm going to make them give me an appt card. Unfortunately, I made the appt over the phone last time.



You could call and confirm the day before the appointment.


----------



## Alix

taxlady said:


> You could call and confirm the day before the appointment.


Why would I do that?


----------



## kadesma

Alix said:


> Why would I do that?


Right why do that? They should have called you.
Kades


----------



## taxlady

Oh phooie, I just remembered my appointment. I have glaucoma, so I am supposed to have a visual field test every year. I mentioned to the doctor that the reception staff have gone home by the time I leave, so I have to phone for an appointment. They hardly ever answer the phone and they don't respond to voice mail (it's at a hospital). So, she had them make an appointment for me.

I got the appointment slip in the mail. It was for 08:00. Jeez Louise, I live in the 'burbs. I would have to drive an hour in rush hour (20 kms) or an hour to an hour and twenty minutes by public transportation. Problem with public transportation is that I have osteoporosis and I refuse to take public transportation during rush hour. I don't want to stand up on a moving bus, especially a crowded one with people occasionally falling into you.

I eventually got the appointment moved to 10:30 27 January.  I forgot all about it because I had to rush off to Copenhagen. Now I have to make another appointment. Phooey. Remember, I said they hardly ever answer the phone or voice mail


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> Why would I do that?



Though I agree that they should phone you and confirm, it would save you the trip.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I usually get a phone call the day before...but the appointment had been made on Friday for Monday...They bent over backwards to get me in last Monday at another facility that had an opening.

At the time, it was very important that I have the test ASAP...why would I have agreed to a week later?

So no, their fault and I think Alix's missed appointment was "their" fault, too...for the reason's she stated.  Too bad the reception and appointment help are too rude to accept they made a mistake.  I bet Alix wouldn't have had to vent if they had just said, "Sorry" and helped her rearrange a time better for her.


----------



## taxlady

I have the clearance papers for my stuff from Denmark. I arranged for a mover for tomorrow. I'll let you all know how it goes. Looks like the patio door option is getting easier. I can actually see the ground in places. The snow is vanishing.


----------



## LPBeier

Most of the appointments I am getting lately for specialists or tests want me to call them a week before to confirm the appointment.  They say they don't have the manpower to call everyone and if you don't confirm and something happens it is your fault.

I finally have my MRI tomorrow at 8:15 pm after almost a year and a half and I called a week ago having to leave a message.  Their recorded message said if the appointment was okay, they wouldn't call back, which they didn't.  If something happens and I am bumped I won't be a happy camper!


----------



## Katie H

Alix said:


> Wow, I'm back venting again. Seems like I go forever without needing it then WHAM.
> 
> My vent today is petty, but really, that's what venting is for! I went for an appointment at the Dr's today. (Nothing serious, just follow up) and when I arrived I was informed that my appointment was for 1pm not 215pm. I KNOW that was not my error, I wouldn't make an appt for 1pm when I teach til 2. I offered to make another appt, but was told they would fit me in. I waited for nearly an hour (did I mention my daughter was in the car waiting for me because I was only supposed to be in and out?) and then politely asked to make a new appointment as I had another appointment to get to. I won't bore you with the details, but there were 3 ladies behind the desk and they were all rude as can be. They made me feel like I was a low grade moron and there was never even the slightest acknowledgment that this could have been a clerical error on their part.
> 
> I think I was so frosted because I take some pride in being highly organized and scheduled. I color code my freaking daytimer for goodness sakes. In 13 years, I've never missed or been late for an appt there, and yet...my fault. Grrr.
> 
> OK, better now. Thanks for letting me get that out of my system.




Yep, Alix. I have no idea who is running the show.  I have to go to my doc every 3 months for a cortisone shot in my knee.  Each appointment is set up at the end of the appointment before it.  Can you say "every 3 months!"

They give me an appointment card (with the date time, etc.) written on it like I'm a three-year-old.  I take the card, write the date on my calendar and make sure there are no conflicts.  God forbid that should be the case.

Now, and they know this, I live more than an hour away from their office.  *Remember I said this.*

Several days before my appointment I get an email reminding me of the appointment.  That's fine, but the email asks me to "confirm" by clicking on the "confirm appointment" link, *which I DO*.

Then, get this, as I am driving to the appointment, usually about 20 minutes before my appointment, I get a voice message on my cell phone.  This message is a reminder that I should show up for my appointment.  They say, NOW, that if I don't cancel/reschedule the appointment more than 24 hours in ADVANCE, I'll be charged for the appointment.  HUH!!

Well, now, isn't this an impossibility?

After 3 times of this, I called the doc's office and asked to speak to the scheduling person.  He told me that he couldn't help me because the scheduling office was in a place 2 states away.  Well, crap and a half.

I called THAT office, gave them my comments/predicament/dilemma and was told that I would have to talk to the doctor the next time I had an appointment with him.

This is a classic "no win" situation!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Katie H said:


> Yep, Alix. I have no idea who is running the show. I have to go to my doc every 3 months for a cortisone shot in my knee. Each appointment is set up at the end of the appointment before it. Can you say "every 3 months!"
> 
> They give me an appointment card (with the date time, etc.) written on it like I'm a three-year-old. I take the card, write the date on my calendar and make sure there are no conflicts. God forbid that should be the case.
> 
> Now, and they know this, I live more than an hour away from their office. *Remember I said this.*
> 
> Several days before my appointment I get an email reminding me of the appointment. That's fine, but the email asks me to "confirm" by clicking on the "confirm appointment" link, *which I DO*.
> 
> Then, get this, as I am driving to the appointment, usually about 20 minutes before my appointment, I get a voice message on my cell phone. This message is a reminder that I should show up for my appointment. They say, NOW, that if I don't cancel/reschedule the appointment more than 24 hours in ADVANCE, I'll be charged for the appointment. HUH!!
> 
> Well, now, isn't this an impossibility?
> 
> After 3 times of this, I called the doc's office and asked to speak to the scheduling person. He told me that he couldn't help me because the scheduling office was in a place 2 states away. Well, crap and a half.
> 
> I called THAT office, gave them my comments/predicament/dilemma and was told that I would have to talk to the doctor the next time I had an appointment with him.
> 
> This is a classic "no win" situation!!!


 
Try being a nurse, trying to get ahold of a doctor or his office, for the needs of a patient...and all I can get is an answering machine or a receptionist.  It's an absolute nightmare at times!


----------



## Rocklobster

100 lb dog with porcupine quills in his paw. I'm going in. Wish me luck.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> 100 lb dog with porcupine quills in his paw. I'm going in. Wish me luck.


 
Oh no!  Good Luck!


----------



## Zhizara

Good luck, Rock!  Keep us posted.


----------



## babetoo

i hate that my doctors office calls me a week before the appt. couple days before would be just fine.


----------



## LPBeier

Rock, how did it go?


----------



## Rocklobster

We got one. I think there are at least two more in there. But, he won't let us near him anymore. I guess the first one hurt him too much. He can't use that foot. Looks like I will be spending my day off at the vet.
Which leads me to another vent. lol. I have to wait until the propane technician comes to fix our tank. Seems we have had a leak for quite a while. Three 900 dollar fill ups since Christmas. I am going to have to fight for some kind of credit. It probably has been leaking for months.


----------



## Alix

Holy geez Rock! Hoping things get better in a hurry for you!

PF, Re: saying sorry about that and making another appt, yep! I didn't need them to admit it was their mistake, I don't really care. What p!ssed me off to no end was the implication by ALL the desk staff that this was MY error and their snotty attitude. Really, has all common courtesy disappeared? When I deal with people (and I do it all day everyday) I am polite and pleasant until someone is rude to me. Its not that tough a thing to do. And I don't take out my irritation with one client on the next!

Katie, geez louise! What an organizational nightmare. Take those little appt cards though, they are your "proof" if any clerical staff make an error! 

LP, you have to call THEM to confirm? Weird. Admittedly, I don't see specialists often so I am not a reliable source, but all my interactions with them have been very smooth. 

And honestly, I'm an adult...so are they, neither of us should need to make a call and confirm an appointment. If an error is made, lets not point fingers, lets just move along and fix things. 

Rock, give your poor puppy a hug from me when he will let you. Would he let you soak his paw in some warm water with epsom salts in it? That might help get the quill out.


----------



## Rocklobster

Things are better. The Propane Tech came by and found a major leak in the tank gauge. He said we should get a big credit. The dog is starting to use his paw a bit. I never had a chance to go to the vet today, so we will see what he is like tomorrow. He is dragging his toys out of the box, so he can't be too bad. lol


----------



## kadesma

Rocklobster said:


> Things are better. The Propane Tech came by and found a major leak in the tank gauge. He said we should get a big credit. The dog is starting to use his paw a bit. I never had a chance to go to the vet today, so we will see what he is like tomorrow. He is dragging his toys out of the box, so he can't be too bad. lol


What a beautiful Pup. Hope he gets better soon. Those quills can be nasty.
kadesma


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## taxlady

Glad to hear things are going better Rock. Yes, that is one beautiful doggie. Dogs and porcupines, what a PITA. Is it his first run-in?


----------



## roadfix

We've got so much frozen crap in our two refrigerators the freezer doors don't close properly.  This was like the third night in a row that I've come home to discover both freezer doors ajar.  I dumped out a third of the frozen goods out of each fridge onto the kitchen counter.  My wife buys them and stuffs them to the max.  Next week I'll get to the non freezer portion of the fridge and also the pantry.  Talk about hoarding crap.  At the end we end up throwing out have of what she buys.  I'm fuming tonight.  My wife will come home from work in a few minutes and see about 30 lbs of frozen stuff dumped on the kitchen counter.


----------



## buckytom

that same thing just happened to me, roadfix. the freezer door was open just a bit, but it was like that for days. everything inside the freezer had a layer of frost on it.

and my wife wastes food the same way. she thinks it's ok to buy stuff, freeze it "before it goes bad", then throw it away when we need more room to continue the cycle.

btw, don't put defrosting things on the counter. put them in the sink or you'll get water and blood all over the place.


----------



## roadfix

I just cannot believe how much food we end up throwing out......especially produce.  I asked my wife last night to please not buy any food for a month.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> I just cannot believe how much food we end up throwing out......especially produce. I asked my wife last night to please not buy any food for a month.


 
I am doing much better, throwing away less, saving money and have room on the freezer for unexpected bargains, by shopping by the week.  It's been working for me and I am saving enough that I can purchase better quality.  I also buy bananas every other day...they have a very small wondow of when I can tolerate their flavor and sweetness.

It does help that the grocery store is on the way home from work!


----------



## roadfix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It does help that the grocery store is on the way home from work!



Well, for my wife that makes it too easy for her to stop off and buy unneeded groceries.  There are a couple of supermarkets, a Trader Joe's, and a Costco on her route back....That's not good....


----------



## CWS4322

I get accused of hoarding food in the freezers as well. I have a new rule for buying anything fresh (produce/fruit). I have to eat it within 2 days and until I eat it, I can't buy anything else. Right now I'm working on a pineapple...bought three on special before I remembered the juicer was in the "shop." I juice stuff--oranges, limes, apples, spinach, carrots, etc., and put the juices in the freezer...that way, I don't through out produce and fruit <g>. And, then I have juice for breakfast or lunch.


----------



## Rocklobster

taxlady said:


> Glad to hear things are going better Rock. Yes, that is one beautiful doggie. Dogs and porcupines, what a PITA. Is it his first run-in?


 
This is his first run in with a porcupine. He, I should say we, went a couple of rounds with a tough old Muskrat a couple of summers ago, which left him with a good scar on his lip. That's a good story.


----------



## kadesma

CWS4322 said:


> I get accused of hoarding food in the freezers as well. I have a new rule for buying anything fresh (produce/fruit). I have to eat it within 2 days and until I eat it, I can't buy anything else. Right now I'm working on a pineapple...bought three on special before I remembered the juicer was in the "shop." I juice stuff--oranges, limes, apples, spinach, carrots, etc., and put the juices in the freezer...that way, I don't through out produce and fruit <g>. And, then I have juice for breakfast or lunch.


I'm having fun trying to convince my husband who thinks he is Chef Tell that food stored in the freezer will not spoil!!!! He cleaned my house freezer of all the frozen garlic,basil,parsley I picked up at Trader Joes, bless his heart. Now I get to buy more plus he tossed the chicken I was going to roast tomorrow.Blah, bleep, boo, the Man has a very hard head. He feels he knows it all
kadesma


----------



## roadfix

When we finally got rid of the chest freezer last fall we found several packaged meat dated at least 2 years old buried at the bottom of the freezer.  
I never understood my wife's logic in keeping fully stocked to the max two full sized refrigerators and a large chest freezer in a 2 person household.


----------



## Rocklobster

I hoard meat in my freezer also. What I do to try and control the inventory is I store different meats in their own crates. I use milk crates for chicken(I have different packs like whole, half, pieces, breasts), one plastic container for assorted fish, another milk crate for beef products, and a larger container for my pork products(this one needs to be longer to accomodate the rediculous amount of ribs I somehow feel I need). I try and label everything with a piece of masking tape and a sharpie with the date that it went in there. Every so often I pull a container out and rummage through it , bringing the old stock to the top and refamiliarizing myself with what exactly I have.


----------



## Zhizara

Rocklobster said:


> This is his first run in with a porcupine. He, I should say we, went a couple of rounds with a tough old Muskrat a couple of summers ago, which left him with a good scar on his lip. That's a good story.



We love stories.  Who won, your pup or the muskrat?


----------



## Rocklobster

Zhizara said:


> We love stories. Who won, your pup or the muskrat?


I came home from a gig early one morning, about 2:30. I usually let the dog out for a quick pee while I load my gear in and get ready for bed. While he was outside I took off my clothes and threw them down the basement stairs where the laundry room is. So, just then, I heard my dog barking. I was emmediatley scared because Malamutes rarely bark. It was only the second time I every heard him bark. I ran out back to see that he had this hissing muskrat on our deck. The Muskrat was the aggressor because he ran at our dog and latched on to his snout. My dog was spinning and yelping and this muskrat was hanging on for dear life with his teeth, going round and round. I ran in the house and grabbed the first thing I could, which was a cheap broom. Anyway, back out to the deck I went in nothing but my boxers. The Muskrat had let go, and he was about 10 feet from me and started to run at me. I was wacking at it like crazy and ened up breaking the broom handle in half, jumping up and down so he wouldn't bite my feet. My dog grabbed him by the back with his teeth and whipped him off of the deck. He then ran and lunged off of the deck, body slamming the Muskrat. I ran back in to grab something else and found a shovel. My dog had backed away and the Muskrat lay motionless. I figured he had knocked him out. I quicly unhooked my dog and led him in the house. I went back out to finish off the muskrat with the shovel and when I got there, it was gone. When I headed back to the deck stairs, the damn thing came at me again from under the deck. It was dark and I couldn't really see well, and I was pretty scared by then, so I turned and ran out of my yard and into the street. In my boxer shorts. With a shovel. Anyway, the thing ended up running away and I never saw it again. It took a decent chunk of flesh out of my dogs mouth, which he recovered fine from, but still has a scar. Me, well, I'm just glad that nobody was up to see me running around in my back yard and the street in nothing but my underwear and socks.


----------



## Zhizara

Rocklobster said:


> I came home from a gig early one morning, about 2:30. I usually let the dog out for a quick pee while I load my gear in and get ready for bed. While he was outside I took off my clothes and threw them down the basement stairs where the laundry room is. So, just then, I heard my dog barking. I was emmediatley scared because Malamutes rarely bark. It was only the second time I every heard him bark. I ran out back to see that he had this hissing muskrat on our deck. The Muskrat was the aggressor because he ran at our dog and latched on to his snout. My dog was spinning and yelping and this muskrat was hanging on for dear life with his teeth, going round and round. I ran in the house and grabbed the first thing I could, which was a cheap broom. Anyway, back out to the deck I went in nothing but my boxers. The Muskrat had let go, and he was about 10 feet from me and started to run at me. I was wacking at it like crazy and ened up breaking the broom handle in half, jumping up and down so he wouldn't bite my feet. My dog grabbed him by the back with his teeth and whipped him off of the deck. He then ran and lunged off of the deck, body slamming the Muskrat. I ran back in to grab something else and found a shovel. My dog had backed away and the Muskrat lay motionless. I figured he had knocked him out. I quicly unhooked my dog and led him in the house. I went back out to finish off the muskrat with the shovel and when I got there, it was gone. When I headed back to the deck stairs, the damn thing came at me again from under the deck. It was dark and I couldn't really see well, and I was pretty scared by then, so I turned and ran out of my yard and into the street. In my boxer shorts. With a shovel. Anyway, the thing ended up running away and I never saw it again. It took a decent chunk of flesh out of my dogs mouth, which he recovered fine from, but still has a scar. Me, well, I'm just glad that nobody was up to see me running around in my back yard and the street in nothing but my underwear and socks.



Especially swinging a broom or shovel..  Thanks for the story and the laugh.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> Especially swinging a broom or shovel..  Thanks for the story and the laugh.



Yes, thank you for the good laugh Rock.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> I came home from a gig early one morning, about 2:30. I usually let the dog out for a quick pee while I load my gear in and get ready for bed. ...Me, well, I'm just glad that nobody was up to see me running around in my back yard and the street in nothing but my underwear and socks.


 
Okay, I need a new keybaord, one without root beer all over it!

Thanks for the laugh!


----------



## DaveSoMD

Do they normally attack like that?   As mad as he seemed to be and the fact that he kept coming back, I'd have been worried that he might have rabies.


----------



## Rocklobster

DaveSoMD said:


> Do they normally attack like that?   As mad as he seemed to be and the fact that he kept coming back, I'd have been worried that he might have rabies.


This is what I initialy thought, also. We called the vet the next morning and she told us that she was almost positive that there were no rabies. Before rabies shows up in larger mammals of a certain area, it is detected long before in the bat population of that region. There hadn't been any rabies detected in our area in quite a while, so she was confident that this muskrat had no rabies. She told us to keep an eye on him and bring  him in emmediately if we saw any odd behaviour. Which, we did and time passed and everything turned out fine.


----------



## CWS4322

Too funny (the chasing the muskrat with a shovel...), not that he attacked your dog. I haven't heard of muskrats attacking domestic pets...or people.


----------



## Alix

Must be my week. My students (3) informed me at 840am that they weren't coming to my 900am class today. I was already in my office and reading my email. Grrrr! I wouldn't have minded not coming in today and staying home with my kids. (Spring Break for my kids, but not for my college classes)

I'm going to take a deep breath, look at the bright side of things, (like getting paid for posting at DC ) and then head home. Lordy I can't wait for this week to be over. Its been a fun one.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Must be my week. My students (3) informed me at 840am that they weren't coming to my 900am class today. I was already in my office and reading my email. Grrrr! I wouldn't have minded not coming in today and staying home with my kids. (Spring Break for my kids, but not for my college classes)
> 
> I'm going to take a deep breath, look at the bright side of things, (like getting paid for posting at DC ) and then head home. Lordy I can't wait for this week to be over. Its been a fun one.


 
I am on my way to work...see if there is anything for me to do today! Although it is kinda fun to float from place to place, helping put out little fires here and there.


----------



## Rocklobster

CWS4322 said:


> Too funny (the chasing the muskrat with a shovel...), not that he attacked your dog. I haven't heard of muskrats attacking domestic pets...or people.



Yeah, I agree. I'm thinking somehow the muskrat got up on the deck without seeing the dog, who has a long rope and can reach around the corner of the house. Maybe whent he dog came around he cornered the muskrat and it was acting out of self defence. I had just used my smoker that day and had yet to clean it, so it was probably smelling pretty good. Maybe that is why the thing came up in the first place to check it out.


----------



## Zhizara

I really doubt he'll be back.


----------



## Barbara L

Alix said:


> Must be my week. My students (3) informed me at 840am that they weren't coming to my 900am class today. I was already in my office and reading my email. Grrrr! I wouldn't have minded not coming in today and staying home with my kids. (Spring Break for my kids, but not for my college classes)
> 
> I'm going to take a deep breath, look at the bright side of things, (like getting paid for posting at DC ) and then head home. Lordy I can't wait for this week to be over. Its been a fun one.


I keep waiting for someone to pay me to post at DC, but so far no luck.


----------



## DaveSoMD

Alix said:


> Must be my week. My students (3) informed me at 840am that they weren't coming to my 900am class today. I was already in my office and reading my email. Grrrr! I wouldn't have minded not coming in today and staying home with my kids. (Spring Break for my kids, but not for my college classes)
> 
> I'm going to take a deep breath, look at the bright side of things, (like getting paid for posting at DC ) and then head home. Lordy I can't wait for this week to be over. Its been a fun one.



When my students would come to me and say "I'm not going to be in class today, is that okay?"  I would respond.  "That's fine. I get paid whether you are in class or not."  You should have seen the look on their faces.


----------



## babetoo

was in a fabric store today. my granddaughter and great granddaughter were with me. the granddaughter was on the floor playing with some pamphlets. a man ( in a wheelchair) called it to my granddaughter's attention. we knew what she was doing and there was no harm in it. so we left her alone. the man said, if she had been in my store, when i had it. i would have charged for those. pamphlets no less. it really frosted me, i said " well how wonderful for you" i was still angry. granddaughter said let it go. he should have minded his own business. if she were playing with stuff that was for sale, we would have stopped her. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> was in a fabric store today. my granddaughter and great granddaughter were with me. the granddaughter was on the floor playing with some pamphlets. a man ( in a wheelchair) called it to my granddaughter's attention. we knew what she was doing and there was no harm in it. so we left her alone. the man said, if she had been in my store, when i had it. i would have charged for those. pamphlets no less. it really frosted me, i said " well how wonderful for you" i was still angry. granddaughter said let it go. he should have minded his own business. if she were playing with stuff that was for sale, we would have stopped her. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.


 
Some people just don't know how to let little kids be little kids.


----------



## LPBeier

Babe, I totally agree with you being mad, and with Princess Fiona's comment.  Obviously it wasn't bothering the store staff!

I bought a dog toy awhile back with some Christmas money my Dad gave for his "Granddogs".  It was fake fur in the shape of an elongated fox and instead of stuffing had an empty water bottle in it.  Well success!  finally a toy they loved and weren't ripping the stuffing out of it for the squeaker.  Also, you can put a new bottle in it (on our second).  

Well, the other day they had smaller ones on sale (that take stubby bottles - a raccoon and a skunk) so Joie, our little dog could have his own.  They both ended up with a little one and loved them.  Until I saw blood on the nose of one of the toys.  We checked and he had two small slits in his gums.  I opened up the toy to find they hadn't taken the cap off the bottle.  The cap is hard plastic and when he bit he cracked it.

I went back to the store, where they know us well, and told her about it.  I wasn't asking for money back, just wanted to make her aware of the situation for future customers.  We opened one up and she took the cap off, thanked me very much and said she was going to take all the caps off.  As I was walking out I could hear her pulling the velcro open again (probably putting the cap back on).  As I got in the car, we watched her put it back on the shelf and walk away.

I know I did my part, but I really don't think I can go back to that store (the only supplier of our Buffalo bones).  I know I did my best and it is up to her, but I hate anything that might hurt an animal.  Joie was okay because we caught it, and we keep an eye on them when they have a new toy.  But other dogs might not be so lucky.


----------



## Zhizara

LPBeier said:


> Babe, I totally agree with you being mad, and with Princess Fiona's comment.  Obviously it wasn't bothering the store staff!
> 
> I bought a dog toy awhile back with some Christmas money my Dad gave for his "Granddogs".  It was fake fur in the shape of an elongated fox and instead of stuffing had an empty water bottle in it.  Well success!  finally a toy they loved and weren't ripping the stuffing out of it for the squeaker.  Also, you can put a new bottle in it (on our second).
> 
> Well, the other day they had smaller ones on sale (that take stubby bottles - a raccoon and a skunk) so Joie, our little dog could have his own.  They both ended up with a little one and loved them.  Until I saw blood on the nose of one of the toys.  We checked and he had two small slits in his gums.  I opened up the toy to find they hadn't taken the cap off the bottle.  The cap is hard plastic and when he bit he cracked it.
> 
> I went back to the store, where they know us well, and told her about it.  I wasn't asking for money back, just wanted to make her aware of the situation for future customers.  We opened one up and she took the cap off, thanked me very much and said she was going to take all the caps off.  As I was walking out I could hear her pulling the velcro open again (probably putting the cap back on).  As I got in the car, we watched her put it back on the shelf and walk away.
> 
> I know I did my part, but I really don't think I can go back to that store (the only supplier of our Buffalo bones).  I know I did my best and it is up to her, but I hate anything that might hurt an animal.  Joie was okay because we caught it, and we keep an eye on them when they have a new toy.  But other dogs might not be so lucky.



Is there manufacturer tag to get a way to complain to them?  They are the ones really at fault here.  

It is a shame the clerk didn't do it, but maybe you could contact the manager and tell him about the problem so maybe the ones on the shelves would get taken care of.


----------



## Sprout

Aaaargh! While I was in the kitchen today, my beautiful 19-month-old daughter pulled down my purse, unzipped it, pulled out an eye shadow quad featuring vibrant blue & green & subdued green & brown colors, crushed/dug out the color with her fingernails & dumped it out on our light-colored carpet. I already have a faint pink lipstick stain in one spot that I couldn't quite get all the way out after hours of working on it. Now we'll have blue one to match. 

Apparently I have to either lock up my purse or my daughter any time I want to get something done. We're definitely going to get charged to replace the carpet in this place when we move out. Part of it's poor planning on their part. Who puts light beige carpet in a dining area? But seriously, I can't watch my child every single second of every single day. She is a magnet for messes! 

Sorry, I love my daughter. She brings much more joy to my life then frustration, but some days...


----------



## LPBeier

Zhizara said:


> Is there manufacturer tag to get a way to complain to them?  They are the ones really at fault here.
> 
> It is a shame the clerk didn't do it, but maybe you could contact the manager and tell him about the problem so maybe the ones on the shelves would get taken care of.



Yeah, I think I have one of the tags and should write the manufacturer.  Thanks for suggestion.

The person I was dealing with WAS the manager/owner!!!  go Figure.


----------



## blissful

Sprout said:


> Aaaargh! While I was in the kitchen today, my beautiful 19-month-old daughter pulled down my purse, unzipped it, pulled out an eye shadow quad featuring vibrant blue & green & subdued green & brown colors, crushed/dug out the color with her fingernails & dumped it out on our light-colored carpet. I already have a faint pink lipstick stain in one spot that I couldn't quite get all the way out after hours of working on it. Now we'll have blue one to match.
> 
> Apparently I have to either lock up my purse or my daughter any time I want to get something done. We're definitely going to get charged to replace the carpet in this place when we move out. Part of it's poor planning on their part. Who puts light beige carpet in a dining area? But seriously, I can't watch my child every single second of every single day. She is a magnet for messes!
> 
> Sorry, I love my daughter. She brings much more joy to my life then frustration, but some days...


 
Sproutster. You could try to use paper towel, with brown sack paper over it, then iron it pretty hot. The waxes and oils will absorb into the paper towel and the brown sack. If you see the oils/waxes/colors on the paper, you'll know it's working. You might have to try new paper many times until it all comes out. I've had really good luck with this method. HTH


----------



## taxlady

Sprout said:


> Aaaargh! While I was in the kitchen today, my beautiful 19-month-old daughter pulled down my purse, unzipped it, pulled out an eye shadow quad featuring vibrant blue & green & subdued green & brown colors, crushed/dug out the color with her fingernails & dumped it out on our light-colored carpet. I already have a faint pink lipstick stain in one spot that I couldn't quite get all the way out after hours of working on it. Now we'll have blue one to match.
> 
> Apparently I have to either lock up my purse or my daughter any time I want to get something done. We're definitely going to get charged to replace the carpet in this place when we move out. Part of it's poor planning on their part. Who puts light beige carpet in a dining area? But seriously, I can't watch my child every single second of every single day. She is a magnet for messes!
> 
> Sorry, I love my daughter. She brings much more joy to my life then frustration, but some days...



If you are going to get charged to replace the carpet, have you thought about buying a steam cleaner. Here's one for $99.99 that can also be used for steaming your clothes (Yay! No more ironing.) Steamfast - 3-in-1 Upright Steam Cleaner - Blue - SF-292

I haven't tried it, but I've been wanting something like that for a long time.


----------



## taxlady

I got my crate from Copenhagen delivered to my house on Wednesday. details and photos here.


----------



## tinlizzie

Could you maybe add a purse hook by the hook where you put your car keys so that it's out of reach of your little girl?  Of course, that's assuming you have a hook for the keys and assuming there's a strap on the purse.  Hope those stains come out.

How come stuff disappears even when you're living alone??  My favorite frying pan is nowhere to be found.  Criminy.  I think the dog hid it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> Aaaargh! While I was in the kitchen today, my beautiful 19-month-old daughter pulled down my purse, unzipped it, pulled out an eye shadow quad featuring vibrant blue & green & subdued green & brown colors, crushed/dug out the color with her fingernails & dumped it out on our light-colored carpet. I already have a faint pink lipstick stain in one spot that I couldn't quite get all the way out after hours of working on it. Now we'll have blue one to match.
> 
> Apparently I have to either lock up my purse or my daughter any time I want to get something done. We're definitely going to get charged to replace the carpet in this place when we move out. Part of it's poor planning on their part. Who puts light beige carpet in a dining area? But seriously, I can't watch my child every single second of every single day. She is a magnet for messes!
> 
> Sorry, I love my daughter. She brings much more joy to my life then frustration, but some days...


 
Do you have a closet carpeted with the same carpet?  I ended up using the carpet from a closet to replace a ruined portion of carpet and simply purchased some nice slate tiles and tiled the closet.  I was able to fix the carpet and leave a nice (inexpensive) closet floor.


----------



## buckytom

but what'll hide the cutout in the floor in the closet? 

you know, where you keep the guns and money?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

buckytom said:


> but what'll hide the cutout in the floor in the closet?
> 
> you know, where you keep the guns and money?


 

Shhhh!  Why do you do that?  Nobody knew about them until you blerted it out!


----------



## buckytom

aww, c'mon. everyone does that here in jersey. in fact, when house hunting the real eastate agents show how much closet space a house might have, and the caliber it can hold...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

buckytom said:


> aww, c'mon. everyone does that here in jersey. in fact, when house hunting the real eastate agents show how much closet space a house might have, and the caliber it can hold...


 
The guns are okay, but you just had to mention the money....now all my relatives will be wanting a cut!


----------



## Sprout

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try the paper towel/bag/iron trick as soon as I can pick up some paper bags. We plan on renting a steam cleaner soon, we just have to get through this semester first. The purse hook is a great idea. the door to our utility closet is right next to the front door, maybe I'll just pick up one of those over-the-door hooks. I hadn't thought of that. We have a key hook in our tiny coat closet, but there's barely enough room for our coats. No room to hang a purse. PF, unfortunately since we're renting we're not allowed to make big changes like that. It's a great idea to keep in mind when we own someday though!


----------



## medtran49

Zhizara said:


> We love stories. Who won, your pup or the muskrat?


 
How about a story about a cockatiel and our dogs? At the time, we had 5 dogs, 4 pugs of various sizes and a 90+ pound golden retriever/malamute mix girl. I'm upstairs in the shower in the back of the house, Craig is out front doing something and the dogs are out back in our fenced yard. I get out of the shower and all HE// is breaking loose outside, all the dogs are barking and having a fit and there's another strange noise in the mix. So, I wrap the bath towel (a big one) around me and run downstairs, yelling for Craig as I go flying past the garage door into the house on my way to the sliding glass door. Get the door open, don't see the dogs and they won't come in with me just calling them. 

Okay, out I go, now remember I'm wrapped in a towel and I wasn't what you'd call a small person even back then, so it's not covering me totally and we live on a lake that a bunch of other houses back up to. I go around the corner of the family room and the dogs have formed a semi-circle around a poor little cockatiel they had backed up to the house and are all barking their fool heads off at it. It's all puffed up and squacking back at them. I finally get them to back off a little but, of course, they won't go back too much because they are too interested in this strange creature they found in THEIR yard. Craig still hasn't made an appearance and I really only have one hand to use because the other one is holding onto the towel for dear life so I don't put on a show for anybody that might be looking toward our house. I finally decide I am going to have to pick the poor little thing up to get it away from the dogs so I'm trying to reach down to catch it with both hands but trying to keep the towel in place. The poor little thing is so scared though that it jumped onto my hand and grabbed hold of my finger. I had almost made it back around to the door when Craig finally puts in an appearance and took the bird so I could go get dressed. 

Kind of sad ending though, we took it for a ride around the neighborhood because we thought we knew the general vicinity of where it lived as we had heard a bird previously in one of the houses across the lake. Went to a couple of houses with it holding on to my finger and then at the third house when I opened the gate it just flew away and wouldn't come back to me. I've always hoped that was its house and its people found it when they came home. 

But, while it wasn't funny at the time, the image of that little bird in a stand-off with the 1 big dog and the 4 little dogs with me wrapped in nothing but a towel and barefoot trying to save it brings a smile and a chuckle. 

Karen


----------



## tinlizzie

I'd like to join Zhizara in saying "we love stories" and this was a goodie - thanks for the laugh.


----------



## Selkie

tinlizzie said:


> I'd like to join Zhizara in saying "we love stories" and this was a goodie - thanks for the laugh.



Ditto! That was fun and you're a good storyteller!


----------



## taxlady

There have been cases of E. coli here in Quebec. Nine people are ill and one person died. Two people are ill in New Brunswick and two in Ontario. They are saying it is likely from raw walnuts, so we should stick them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 F. I did. They are almost all burnt. Phooey. At least I didn't put a lot of walnuts in the oven.


----------



## Alix

I need to whine for a few minutes. We got back from an amazing holiday Tuesday night. Wednesday I ran around like a crazy lady getting groceries, doing laundry etc etc. Thursday I puttered around the house and tried to fight off a headache, today I woke up early with a raging headache. UGH! I haven't done anything weird or different, and I have a fair bit to do today as I'm taking my daughter and her best friend to a dance competition about 4 hours out of town. Blech. I want to go back on holiday.


----------



## blissful

Alix, some people get headaches when the stress finally gets better--less stress, like their heads/bodies hold off on a headache until they have time for it.  Sorry you're hurting.


----------



## Alix

Thanks Bliss. I am just sick of taking pills, and there is just no other option when my headache is this bad. Lets hope the stupid thing goes away before I have to drive!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Thanks Bliss. I am just sick of taking pills, and there is just no other option when my headache is this bad. Lets hope the stupid thing goes away before I have to drive!


 
Sorry you are feeling icky!  How was your holiday?


----------



## LPBeier

Life is not fair.  I mean it.  It is just not fair. 

Today I was at the YMCA meeting with my fitness coach to set up a training program for the next four months to meet my goal of walking in the Terry Fox Run in late September.  She and I get along famously and she actually accidentally booked me on a day when her kids were on a pro-d day but wanted to keep the appointment because (as she told them when they were whining about being at the Y again) "I am going to help this really courageous lady who 2 months ago came to see me with a cane and now leaves it at home and has set a great goal for herself" (I choked up at this by the way).  We had a great meeting and I got Dad from his COPD class there and we went for lunch.  We each talked about our successes, got haircuts and came home.  Life at that moment was good.

Then at 8:00 pm my Dad started coughing.  He stopped around 8:42.  This is after trying everything that we normally do to get his cough stopped and his breathing back to normal.  DH got home about 8:31 and was going to call the ambulance but Dad said no.  He says he wants to die.  He says he doesn't want to be a burden to me any more and doesn't want to be in pain or discomfort any more.  He is sleeping now, but I keep going in to check on him, not knowing what I am hoping to find.

Here I am all excited because MY unhealthy body is finally turning around and I am getting excited about smaller clothes and walking for charity.  And here is my 85 year old father wanting to die so he won't be a burden and I can get on with my life.

I feel so selfish.....and sad....and helpless.  I want my Dad to live but is it for me or him?

LIFE IS NOT FAIR!!!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> Life is not fair. I mean it. It is just not fair.
> 
> Today I was at the YMCA meeting with my fitness coach to set up a training program for the next four months to meet my goal of walking in the Terry Fox Run in late September. She and I get along famously and she actually accidentally booked me on a day when her kids were on a pro-d day but wanted to keep the appointment because (as she told them when they were whining about being at the Y again) "I am going to help this really courageous lady who 2 months ago came to see me with a cane and now leaves it at home and has set a great goal for herself" (I choked up at this by the way). We had a great meeting and I got Dad from his COPD class there and we went for lunch. We each talked about our successes, got haircuts and came home. Life at that moment was good.
> 
> Then at 8:00 pm my Dad started coughing. He stopped around 8:42. This is after trying everything that we normally do to get his cough stopped and his breathing back to normal. DH got home about 8:31 and was going to call the ambulance but Dad said no. He says he wants to die. He says he doesn't want to be a burden to me any more and doesn't want to be in pain or discomfort any more. He is sleeping now, but I keep going in to check on him, not knowing what I am hoping to find.
> 
> Here I am all excited because MY unhealthy body is finally turning around and I am getting excited about smaller clothes and walking for charity. And here is my 85 year old father wanting to die so he won't be a burden and I can get on with my life.
> 
> I feel so selfish.....and sad....and helpless. I want my Dad to live but is it for me or him?
> 
> LIFE IS NOT FAIR!!!!!


 
He knows when it's time.  Nope, life isn't fair...just continue to encourage your Dad to go to his classes and if he doesn't want to...you keep going to yours.  It's something you need to do for you.  And if you need anything, I mean anything, you know where I am.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, your Ogreness.  You just did all I needed!


----------



## kadesma

Laurie,
right now your dad feels awful and the thought of the hospital is making him so unhappy that he thinks he wants to die. His rationale is he's doing it for you. I know been there done that myself It gets to be an awful place to be when you're down in the dumps. You can tell him how miserable you would be without him and really get him with it. We parents feel at times we are in the way when those we love are scurrying around doing for us.I know you are worried about his cough and pneumonia, just let him do what he wants. You have no idea how much anger i had being put in that hospital and spending over a month there. The constant here take this here do that lets work out and then everyone would get ready to leave and I'd wait then cry because I had to stay. He will decide what he needs he is after all your daddy,
Let him be that and enjoy your time together.
ma


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Laurie,
> right now your dad feels awful and the thought of the hospital is making him so unhappy that he thinks he wants to die. His rationale is he's doing it for you. I know been there done that myself It gets to be an awful place to be when you're down in the dumps. You can tell him how miserable you would be without him and really get him with it. We parents feel at times we are in the way when those we love are scurrying around doing for us.I know you are worried about his cough and pneumonia, just let him do what he wants. You have no idea how much anger i had being put in that hospital and spending over a month there. The constant here take this here do that lets work out and then everyone would get ready to leave and I'd wait then cry because I had to stay. He will decide what he needs he is after all your daddy,
> Let him be that and enjoy your time together.
> ma


 
I agree with Kades, too.  Right now he's sick and down.  You are doing everything you can, now it's up to him.  But, now is a good time to get Hospice involved, let them talk to him and tell him what to expect from them and future treatments or no treatments.  I've known many people who go on Hospice or come to our facility for Comfort Care and they end up going off Hospice or home.  They do so much better off all the meds except those for comfort that they find themselves enjoying life.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, Ladies.  I do appreciate all your love and help.  I re-read my original post and agree with everything you have said.

I think my "Life is not fair" was mostly directed at the fact that I am getting a new lease on life thanks to Dad's inspiration about how he is doing with his classes, and he is at the (totally understandable considering his circumstances) "giving up" stage.  I wasn't complaining that he is taking me away from my workout time nor am I upset that this is his choice.  I am growing stronger is so many ways through all of this.  I just wish he felt better - that's why life isn't fair.  But I also know that he is 85 and this is what happens.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> Life is not fair.  I mean it.  It is just not fair.
> 
> Today I was at the YMCA meeting with my fitness coach to set up a training program for the next four months to meet my goal of walking in the Terry Fox Run in late September.  She and I get along famously and she actually accidentally booked me on a day when her kids were on a pro-d day but wanted to keep the appointment because (as she told them when they were whining about being at the Y again) "I am going to help this really courageous lady who 2 months ago came to see me with a cane and now leaves it at home and has set a great goal for herself" (I choked up at this by the way).  We had a great meeting and I got Dad from his COPD class there and we went for lunch.  We each talked about our successes, got haircuts and came home.  Life at that moment was good.
> 
> Then at 8:00 pm my Dad started coughing.  He stopped around 8:42.  This is after trying everything that we normally do to get his cough stopped and his breathing back to normal.  DH got home about 8:31 and was going to call the ambulance but Dad said no.  He says he wants to die.  He says he doesn't want to be a burden to me any more and doesn't want to be in pain or discomfort any more.  He is sleeping now, but I keep going in to check on him, not knowing what I am hoping to find.
> 
> Here I am all excited because MY unhealthy body is finally turning around and I am getting excited about smaller clothes and walking for charity.  And here is my 85 year old father wanting to die so he won't be a burden and I can get on with my life.
> 
> I feel so selfish.....and sad....and helpless.  I want my Dad to live but is it for me or him?
> 
> LIFE IS NOT FAIR!!!!!





PrincessFiona60 said:


> He knows when it's time.  Nope, life isn't fair...just continue to encourage your Dad to go to his classes and if he doesn't want to...you keep going to yours.  It's something you need to do for you.  And if you need anything, I mean anything, you know where I am.





kadesma said:


> Laurie,
> right now your dad feels awful and the thought of the hospital is making him so unhappy that he thinks he wants to die. His rationale is he's doing it for you. I know been there done that myself It gets to be an awful place to be when you're down in the dumps. You can tell him how miserable you would be without him and really get him with it. We parents feel at times we are in the way when those we love are scurrying around doing for us.I know you are worried about his cough and pneumonia, just let him do what he wants. You have no idea how much anger i had being put in that hospital and spending over a month there. The constant here take this here do that lets work out and then everyone would get ready to leave and I'd wait then cry because I had to stay. He will decide what he needs he is after all your daddy,
> Let him be that and enjoy your time together.
> ma


I'm right there with you sweetie, and I know what you mean.  Lots of love and hugs to you, DH, and your dad.  We love you guys. All I am able to do right now is pray and try to be encouraging, but I know how much I rely on those two things from all of you, so I know it's not small potatoes.  We will be gone most of the day and night, but you know where to find me most of the time.


----------



## dcSaute

LP -

my mother was standing at the door of the retirement community, passed out & fell down.
off to the hospital - her CO2 was like 115 and she was still coherent.  so on and on, COPD was the culprit, and as the doctors were talking "release" they started in on "you should get Hospice involved."

that floored me - we went thru the Hospice drill with my grandmother and my father - everyone in the room "knew" what Hospice meant - this is likely to be a short term situation . . . 

she was in Hospice care for almost five years - and four of the last I was the primary care giver.

COPD can be a non-stop burden - I heard the same from my mother on bad days - "I just want to go to sleep and not wake up."  there were no issues with being a burden "on me" - but the disease is sufficient all of its own.

ref the coughing and "immediate need" spells - check on an Rx for morphine sulfate with the doctors/etc.  one drop under the tongue provides immediate relief - like in seconds.  no one has an explanation - but it does work.


----------



## taxlady

LP, I have no words. (((hugs)))

I'm glad the other ladies did have words.


----------



## taxlady

It's Mother's Day, again, sigh. I have issues with Mother's Day. At least it isn't on my birthday this year.

My mother made it into a duty. We seldom managed to live up to her expectations. Now I regret resenting Mother's Day. I can't even apologize to her. This is the second Mother's Day since she died. It's about 10 years since she would have understood.

The other reason I don't like Mother's Day is that it reminds me of the stillborn son who would have made me a mother. I try not to think about that too often. It usually makes me maudlin. I play _Tears in Heaven_ by Eric Clapton, usually repeatedly. It came out the same year. "It's all bad." as the expression goes.


----------



## kadesma

taxlady said:


> It's Mother's Day, again, sigh. I have issues with Mother's Day. At least it isn't on my birthday this year.
> 
> My mother made it into a duty. We seldom managed to live up to her expectations. Now I regret resenting Mother's Day. I can't even apologize to her. This is the second Mother's Day since she died. It's about 10 years since she would have understood.
> 
> The other reason I don't like Mother's Day is that it reminds me of the stillborn son who would have made me a mother. I try not to think about that too often. It usually makes me maudlin. I play _Tears in Heaven_ by Eric Clapton, usually repeatedly. It came out the same year. "It's all bad." as the expression goes.


I'm sorry Mother's day is a burden for you. I can understand how you feel my m-i-l always left me feeling as if I was in the way, that my DH had to share his time with me. In my mind you are a wonderful kind daughter and I know your mother would tell you that now. We sometimmes take our children for granted, that's wrong I know but in the end we who act that way are the losers and our kids come out stronger for our thoughtflessness . And you are a mother and don't feel you aen't YOU ARE!!! Do what helps sooth you if it means listening to certain music than do it. You deserve ggod things and  I just wish I could help you attain them. Be proud, be aware of just how special you are.
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> It's Mother's Day, again, sigh. I have issues with Mother's Day. At least it isn't on my birthday this year.
> 
> My mother made it into a duty. We seldom managed to live up to her expectations. Now I regret resenting Mother's Day. I can't even apologize to her. This is the second Mother's Day since she died. It's about 10 years since she would have understood.
> 
> The other reason I don't like Mother's Day is that it reminds me of the stillborn son who would have made me a mother. I try not to think about that too often. It usually makes me maudlin. I play _Tears in Heaven_ by Eric Clapton, usually repeatedly. It came out the same year. "It's all bad." as the expression goes.


 
I am sorry Mother's Day is so hard on you.  I understand the feeling of a lost child, but I also know that I would not be the woman I am today if life had turned out different.

You are a fantastic woman and I value our online friendship.


----------



## blissful

taxlady said:


> It's Mother's Day, again, sigh. I have issues with Mother's Day. At least it isn't on my birthday this year.
> 
> My mother made it into a duty. We seldom managed to live up to her expectations. Now I regret resenting Mother's Day. I can't even apologize to her. This is the second Mother's Day since she died. It's about 10 years since she would have understood.
> 
> The other reason I don't like Mother's Day is that it reminds me of the stillborn son who would have made me a mother. I try not to think about that too often. It usually makes me maudlin. I play _Tears in Heaven_ by Eric Clapton, usually repeatedly. It came out the same year. "It's all bad." as the expression goes.


 
I'm sorry about your son. 

I'm with you on Mother's Day, I can't choke out a thank you to my mom for the consistent hurt she brings me, and it's purposeful on her part and it only makes me cry.

Remember.....friends are God's apology for family. You are loved.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I am sorry Mother's Day is so hard on you.  I understand the feeling of a lost child, but I also know that I would not be the woman I am today if life had turned out different.
> 
> You are a fantastic woman and I value our online friendship.



Ain't that the truth! I might not have gotten together with Stirling if that hadn't happened. He had been a friend for almost 10 years, but more my ex's friend. When he heard what happened, he went out of his way to get in touch with me and offer support. I'm still happily married to Stirling and still thank my lucky stars that I "caught" him.  We've been sweeties for 17 years and married almost 14 of those years.

Thank you Kades and Princess. I really appreciate the kind words.

And (((hugs))) Blissful.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh noes, it's here!

I Hate Mondays! - Cheezburger.com


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh noes, it's here!
> 
> I Hate Mondays! - Cheezburger.com


Love it!  

I love this one too:
MONDAYS - Cheezburger.com


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> Love it!
> 
> I love this one too:
> MONDAYS - Cheezburger.com



That's a good one, too...but you created the other one and I made a comment!


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's a good one, too...but you created the other one and I made a comment!


LOL I forgot I created it!  D'oh!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> LOL I forgot I created it!  D'oh!


----------



## buckytom

lp, dc, bliss, and taxy, my heart goes out to you guys.

taxy, my mom spoke today of how her mom always hated mother's day since she lost her first child actually on that day. she never got over it. i'm glad to see you've come to find blessings in such a bad thing.

today wasn't such a good day in our house either as dw still misses her (deceased) mom something awful.

her mom felt the same near then end as your dad lp. we just had our son, and she had been very sick for many years. dw did a saint's job of taking care of her mom's every need literally for 2 decades, but once we had the baby, she felt she was too much of a burden and started to not take her array of meds, effectively ending her life.

all i can say is i would do anything to bring her back for just one moment to allow dw to be with her once more, and for me to tell her i loved her and to say goodbye. two things i mever got to do since i was watching the baby while dw was with her mom the last few days when she passed. i won't bother to tell of the anger i feel for my bil and sil, either of whom could have helped me out and watched the baby so i could go to the hospital for even just a minute to say goodbye. i hope i never see them again.

all lives come to an end, but while you have each other cherish every second no matter how difficult it is. the alternative is heartache and regret.

 ok, well, except for cherishing shitty in laws.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, DcSaute and Taxlady, re my Dad's situation.  

Taxlady, I totally understand regarding Mother's Day.  I lost my Mom to Cancer 16 years ago and when she was alive we had a bit of a falling out.  Her attitude about Mother's Day was quite the opposite.  "If you can't love me and show it to me the other 364 days in the year, I don't want you making a big deal out of it on the one.  It is just a way for card companies to make money".  

Also, I never became a biological mother either (my condolences on your still birth).  Then I took in a teenager when her parents "didn't want her around anymore" and she stayed with us on and off into her mid twenties.  But she had a few issues and when she married and we took them both in, we ended up having to initiate tough-love and kick them out.  She is expecting her second child soon, and while I have seen her with her first once, there is no chance for reconciliation.  I do have hundreds of others who have called me "Mom" at times in their lives and I love them all dearly, but it isn't the same.  So I do understand completely.

This year, with my Dad so sick, Mother's Day was even harder, but I got through it.  A few of my Kids called or left emails or FaceBook notes wishing me a Happy Mother's Day which did help a lot.

I so totally agree with the words others have given you.  You are a great person and we are who we are because of what has happened in our lives.  It molds us and makes us stronger.  Thank you so much for sharing.


----------



## babetoo

this has been a grrrrrrr day. had everything out to make low calorie oatmeal cookies. opened the oatmeal. it was alive with pantry moths. opened second one, same thing. so scratched that idea. 

my daughter left some curtains for me to shorten. searched a half an hour for the safety pin that she said was to mark what needed to be cut off. tiny little pin. by then sick of the curtains. 

my order from target didn't come. 

the mail sucked except for the calorie counting book i had ordered. 

with all the delays, didn't get a single thing done, time to go to bed i think. sure hope tomorrow is a better day.


----------



## Zhizara

babetoo said:


> this has been a grrrrrrr day. had everything out to make low calorie oatmeal cookies. opened the oatmeal. it was alive with pantry moths. opened second one, same thing. so scratched that idea.
> 
> my daughter left some curtains for me to shorten. searched a half an hour for the safety pin that she said was to mark what needed to be cut off. tiny little pin. by then sick of the curtains.
> 
> my order from target didn't come.
> 
> the mail sucked except for the calorie counting book i had ordered.
> 
> with all the delays, didn't get a single thing done, time to go to bed i think. sure hope tomorrow is a better day.




Sounds like you got all the bad stuff out of the way today.  Tomorrow should be smooth sailing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> this has been a grrrrrrr day. had everything out to make low calorie oatmeal cookies. opened the oatmeal. it was alive with pantry moths. opened second one, same thing. so scratched that idea.
> 
> my daughter left some curtains for me to shorten. searched a half an hour for the safety pin that she said was to mark what needed to be cut off. tiny little pin. by then sick of the curtains.
> 
> my order from target didn't come.
> 
> the mail sucked except for the calorie counting book i had ordered.
> 
> with all the delays, didn't get a single thing done, time to go to bed i think. sure hope tomorrow is a better day.



Yep, time to reboot...tomorrow will be better.


----------



## tinlizzie

According to the website this morning, today, May 11, is "Eat What You Want Day."  Unfortunately, my morning will be spent at the dentist's office, getting prep work for another crown, replacing an ancient old molar filling.  At my age (my favorite saying these days) I expect pieces to keep dropping off in the road as I travel along, but it's a nuisance (not to mention expensive) to fix and replace things.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> According to the website this morning, today, May 11, is "Eat What You Want Day."  Unfortunately, my morning will be spent at the dentist's office, getting prep work for another crown, replacing an ancient old molar filling.  At my age (my favorite saying these days) I expect pieces to keep dropping off in the road as I travel along, but it's a nuisance (not to mention expensive) to fix and replace things.



It's true, they don't run specials on Titanium Parts...and then there's the recovery time.  Now THAT's a "Lost Weekend."


----------



## tinlizzie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It's true, they don't run specials on Titanium Parts...and then there's the recovery time. Now THAT's a "Lost Weekend."


 
Hey - didn't one of the news reports say that an attack dog present at the bin Laden deal had Titanium teeth?  Wonder if I could get the name of his dentist.

I'll bet the Six Million Dollar Man's parts would cost him into the trillions these days.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Hey - didn't one of the news reports say that an attack dog present at the bin Laden deal had Titanium teeth?  Wonder if I could get the name of his dentist.
> 
> I'll bet the Six Million Dollar Man's parts would cost him into the trillions these days.



Oh definitely!  My teeny, tiny titanium part was $30,000.  I'm not sure what a knee costs these days.


----------



## tinlizzie

Princess, I'm probably the only one who doesn't know what part; if it's not too personal, do you mind saying....?  Inquiring minds (aka nosy rosies)...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Princess, I'm probably the only one who doesn't know what part; if it's not too personal, do you mind saying....?  Inquiring minds (aka nosy rosies)...



Oh, sorry Lizzie...the stent in my heart, it's titanium.  I had a heart attack in January.  I'm good now, all fixed!


----------



## Somebunny

tinlizzie said:
			
		

> Princess, I'm probably the only one who doesn't know what part; if it's not too personal, do you mind saying....?  Inquiring minds (aka nosy rosies)...



Lizzie,  I didn't know what part either!  I appreciate  your being the " nosey Rosie" 
Because now I know too!

Btw, Fiona, I have a teeny tiny titanium part too!  In the form of a screw in my knee.


----------



## tinlizzie

How cool!  You guys take a lickin' & keep on tickin'.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> How cool!  You guys take a lickin' & keep on tickin'.



I had to fight to go back to work...


----------



## Sprout

What the heck? I called at the beginning of the month to pay on a medical bill for an ultrasound. We were a little short on cash at the time so I only paid $50. My bank account was charged for 7.41, then charged for 42.59. I thought it was strange, but figured it adds up to 50, so whatever. I called to pay the rest today. They said only $7.41 posted to my account. I told her that $42.59 had also been paid from my bank account to their company on the same day, which adds up to the $50 that they should have taken out. "Oh, we probably just have to give the second payment time to post to your account, but we can go ahead and take your payment for the rest." Is this woman crazy? I'm not giving them another dime until I see my full payment reflected! And what second payment? There only should have been one payment, for $50! Fine, lady, if your company wants to pay the charges for running 2 debit card payments instead of 1, go for it, but make sure they both post to my account. Thanks. Clearly someone processed the payment for the wrong amount and then processed another for the rest, but they both came out of my bank account on the same day, and the woman said the $7.41 posted to my account with them a week ago. I'm already angry that I'm paying this bill in the first place because the individual performing the procedure only performed a couple minutes before telling me she "couldn't find the baby." She performed half a procedure. I got charged full price. I challenged it, and they said that they don't charge partial cost for partial procedures, and too much of the procedure was done for me to not get charged at all. Is this standard for most medical establishments? It certainly wasn't the way we did things at the physical therapy office I worked at. Until this company shows me that they have at least one competent employee, they're not getting another cent.           
Sorry, I know the woman I spoke to wasn't the one who made either of the mistakes, which is why I was polite to her on the phone. I just can't believe she expected me to still want to pay them more money before I know what happened to last money I paid.


----------



## CWS4322

The only piece of titanium (sp) I have is that which was taken out of Norman's knee--the Saint our group took in from "a well known Hollywood actress" who did not respond when we asked for a donation when that very expensive piece of metal had to be taken out his knee and replaced because the first surgeon used the wrong screws (I have those too). Do I need mention I had to have him crated/gated in my LR for 5 months--not an inconvenience to me to squinch around the crate when I wanted to get to the light switch... Let me think...yeah, total, it was $5K, but we did transfer the insurance she had on him to our group so we only had to pay it and wait a month to get 80% back. But there was about 15 hours/week of rehab (guess who had to do that). Give me all your unwanted dogs as gifts--right. I can do without those kinds of gifts.


----------



## taxlady

Sprout said:


> What the heck? I called at the beginning of the month to pay on a medical bill for an ultrasound. We were a little short on cash at the time so I only paid $50. My bank account was charged for 7.41, then charged for 42.59. I thought it was strange, but figured it adds up to 50, so whatever. I called to pay the rest today. They said only $7.41 posted to my account. I told her that $42.59 had also been paid from my bank account to their company on the same day, which adds up to the $50 that they should have taken out. "Oh, we probably just have to give the second payment time to post to your account, but we can go ahead and take your payment for the rest." Is this woman crazy? I'm not giving them another dime until I see my full payment reflected! And what second payment? There only should have been one payment, for $50! Fine, lady, if your company wants to pay the charges for running 2 debit card payments instead of 1, go for it, but make sure they both post to my account. Thanks. Clearly someone processed the payment for the wrong amount and then processed another for the rest, but they both came out of my bank account on the same day, and the woman said the $7.41 posted to my account with them a week ago. I'm already angry that I'm paying this bill in the first place because the individual performing the procedure only performed a couple minutes before telling me she "couldn't find the baby." She performed half a procedure. I got charged full price. I challenged it, and they said that they don't charge partial cost for partial procedures, and too much of the procedure was done for me to not get charged at all. Is this standard for most medical establishments? It certainly wasn't the way we did things at the physical therapy office I worked at. Until this company shows me that they have at least one competent employee, they're not getting another cent.
> Sorry, I know the woman I spoke to wasn't the one who made either of the mistakes, which is why I was polite to her on the phone. I just can't believe she expected me to still want to pay them more money before I know what happened to last money I paid.



I don't know how debit cards work in the US, but don't you have to enter your PIN every time they make a charge? You do in Canada. I would be concerned about *how* two payments were charged. In Canada it would mean that my card had been swiped, then I entered my PIN and then the whole procedure done again. Or, it would mean that someone had duplicated my card and stolen my PIN.


----------



## CWS4322

I'd have to swipe and enter my PIN for each...I don't even know how I'd ever use my card without me being present and swiping it...can that be done in Canada?


----------



## Sprout

taxlady said:


> I don't know how debit cards work in the US, but don't you have to enter your PIN every time they make a charge? You do in Canada. I would be concerned about *how* two payments were charged. In Canada it would mean that my card had been swiped, then I entered my PIN and then the whole procedure done again. Or, it would mean that someone had duplicated my card and stolen my PIN.



It was a payment made over the phone, not in person. Their offices don't take payments. You have to call their payment line or send a check, so they had all of my card information. In the US at least, they typically run debit cards in situations like these as a credit card. As long as they have a major credit card logo, it's possible, and very common. I pay bills over the phone and online all the time and I'm never asked for my pin. Just the card number, expiration date, billing zip code, and 3-digit security code on the back of the card. If you've ever paid a bill at a restaurant with your debit card to the server, and they didn't have a portable machine in hand that allowed you to enter your pin, the payment was processed as a credit card. The CC companies typically charge the business a few cents more for each transaction run as credit instead of debit, and it takes an extra day to post to your bank account, but it works pretty much the same, sans pin. That's why you have to sign a slip at a restaurant. You don't have to sign anything if you use your pin and it's run as a debit card.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> I'd have to swipe and enter my PIN for each...I don't even know how I'd ever use my card without me being present and swiping it...can that be done in Canada?



To the best of my knowledge, it cannot be done in Canada.


----------



## Aunt Bea

If the card has a Mastercard, Visa etc brand the merchant does not know it is a debit card and no pin should be needed.


----------



## Sprout

taxlady said:


> To the best of my knowledge, it cannot be done in Canada.



In some ways, that would be a huge pain in my butt. I buy several things of my regular houshold items online and I would hate not being able to use my debit card to do it. If you shop online in Canada you have to use a credit card then? I guess it wouldn't be that bad, as long as you make sure you transfer the funds from your checking account to the credit card as soon as it posts, but still, it would be a pain.


----------



## taxlady

Sprout said:


> In some ways, that would be a huge pain in my butt. I buy several things of my regular houshold items online and I would hate not being able to use my debit card to do it. If you shop online in Canada you have to use a credit card then? I guess it wouldn't be that bad, as long as you make sure you transfer the funds from your checking account to the credit card as soon as it posts, but still, it would be a pain.



It is a bit of a PITA. But, I feel a lot more comfortable that way. I'm not giving strangers access to my bank account. The CC companies are pretty good about reversing charges that you tell them you didn't make, I hear.


----------



## Zhizara

When I place an order online for several items from say KMart, the total amount is authorized, but each item gets deducted as it ships, up to the total amount I authorized.  No pin is required for these charges to my debit card when made online.


----------



## Selkie

I use a credit card specifically for on-line use. It has $300 limit which allows me to purchase most anything I can normally afford, yet if the info falls into the wrong hands, the damage is limited until I can get it straightened out with the credit card company.

I also keep close track of all purchases a couple times a week on all of my accounts.


----------



## taxlady

Selkie said:


> I use a credit card specifically for on-line use. It has $300 limit which allows me to purchase most anything I can normally afford, yet if the info falls into the wrong hands, the damage is limited until I can get it straightened out with the credit card company.
> 
> I also keep close track of all purchases a couple times a week on all of my accounts.



Very reasonable way to be careful.


----------



## CWS4322

My most recently issued bank card has "debit" and "visa" on it. I have no idea how to use the "visa" side of it since I have a separate visa card. I keep meaning to ask my bank about that "feature" but keep forgetting. I buy prepaid visas for Internet transactions or use my paypal account (funds in that are from work I do and have been paid by paypal).


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> My most recently issued bank card has "debit" and "visa" on it. I have no idea how to use the "visa" side of it since I have a separate visa card. I keep meaning to ask my bank about that "feature" but keep forgetting. I buy prepaid visas for Internet transactions or use my paypal account (funds in that are from work I do and have been paid by paypal).



Let us know when you find out. Neither of my recently issued bank cards has Visa on them. Which bank?

I have to laugh at Canadian Tire MC. They have arrangements with some internet sites that you have to give your password to do a transaction with your CT MC. But, they put PayPass on the card without asking. That can be read by some scam artist while it's in your wallet.


----------



## CWS4322

CIBC. My TD bank card doesn't have the two either.


----------



## CWS4322

BTW, it is a chip card and I have to enter the PIN whenever I use it. It was rejected several times at stores when I was in the States because the POS reader could not read it. PITA for me.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> BTW, it is a chip card and I have to enter the PIN whenever I use it. It was rejected several times at stores when I was in the States because the POS reader could not read it. PITA for me.



Well, if it's a debit card, of course you have to enter your PIN. My RBC debit card has a chip too.


----------



## CWS4322

I still don't get the visa part of it--my visa pin is not the same one as my bank card...on my "to do" list (ask the bank to explain that to me) next time I go to C'wall.


----------



## Andy M.

CWS4322 said:


> My most recently issued bank card has "debit" and "visa" on it. I have no idea how to use the "visa" side of it since I have a separate visa card. I keep meaning to ask my bank about that "feature" but keep forgetting. I buy prepaid visas for Internet transactions or use my paypal account (funds in that are from work I do and have been paid by paypal).




What you have is a Debit or Check card managed by VISA for your bank.  Most stores will take it as a debit card and ask you to enter your PIN.  The store can also process it as a credit card and it automatically corrects and switches to a debit on your checking account.

At least that's the way it works around here.


----------



## babetoo

that's the way mine works as well. only asked for pin in groceries store,. i keep a different password for them. i buy tons and tons of stuff on line, works as a credit card for that,


----------



## DaveSoMD

CWS4322 said:


> BTW, it is a chip card and I have to enter the PIN whenever I use it. It was rejected several times at stores when I was in the States because the POS reader could not read it. PITA for me.



That is because US cards do not have a chip in them so the readers here use the magnetic strip alone.  Canada and most of Europe have cards with chips but the US has yet to make the switch.


----------



## Sprout

I know discussion is still going about my last vent, and I hate to sound like whiner, but this is really not my week. DH took the car in to get a front end alignment and an oil change. Turns out we also need 2 new tires, a new ball joint and control arm. Total is going to cost us almost $600. As a result, we have to cancel our family getaway to the ocean next weekend. I'm so bummed. I've still never seen the Atlantic ocean, and at this rate, I never will, since we'll probably be leaving the East coast next summer. Oh yeah, and we need new rotors soon, too, because with his crazy school schedule, DH didn't have time to replace our brake pads until a month after they started making noise and unfortunately, my big pregnant belly prevented me from doing it. I'm praying he can replace them himself, too.

We are also looking for a second vehicle, since are car is getting up there in mileage (hence all the repairs). We were planning on getting a motorcycle or scooter for the fuel economy, since we each drive 50 miles round trip to work. From the research I've been able to do, it's pretty much impossible for either of us to drive a scooter to work, since it's illegal to drive one over 30mph. Really? Requires same protective gear, and they make scooters that can drive up to highway speeds and this state (I'm guessing it's not alone) decided that it's unsafe to drive them over 30mph. Basically, unless you live in the city or are in the country but only need to cover a distance that you could easily cover on a bicycle or on foot (since anywhere further requires use of a highway, which scooters aren't allowed on), you're out of luck. I knew they weren't allowed on freeways, but really? Then I decided to see what the state requirements are for a motorcycle endorsement in this state. The MVA website couldn't be more confusing, of course. I would prefer that DH took the course before driving a motorcycle, even though it will cost us and extra $200. Well, I looked up courses that are offered. I can only find one that lists the actual class schedule. Everything other listing requires you to fill out the application form, including a fair amount of personal information, like your drivers' license number, before you can even view the class schedule. No, I'm not giving some community college all of my husband's personal information just to see if he can even take the freaking class! He works slightly odd hours, and because of our religious beliefs, we don't believe in working or making others work on Sundays, so I guess we're out of luck. All of this to try to get a vehicle that weighs a fraction of a car, is much more unsafe, and still usually only manages to get 10-20 mpg better than my car. I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories. Frankly, they usually annoy  me, but it's hard to ignore how difficult our state and national laws make it to decrease our dependency on petroleum. We're trying to be responsible; we're trying not to fall into the trap of consumer debt, but for heavens' sake!


----------



## taxlady

(((hugs))) Sprout


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> I know discussion is still going about my last vent, and I hate to sound like whiner, but this is really not my week. ...



It has been one of those weeks.  Here's hoping next week will be better.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It has been one of those weeks.  Here's hoping next week will be better.


Me too PF. Got another chest infection, barking like a dog all night. Only good thing i have two kids to play with, So we will try the currant bars bab posted they will love them. Then it's back to painting hats to wear  for me Livi and Ethan baseball caps of course, But I really feel like crawling in bed and sawing logs. But I can't just pray for the night to come.
kades


----------



## tinlizzie

taxlady said:


> (((hugs))) Sprout


 
Not whining, just the understandable reaction to life's unavoidable absurdities. 

And, if I may, second what taxlady said.


----------



## DaveSoMD

Sprout, depending on where you are in MD, a day trip to the Eastern Shore will get you to the Atlantic.  Just leave EARLY in the morning, the traffic over the Annapolis bridge can be murder.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Me too PF. Got another chest infection, barking like a dog all night. Only good thing i have two kids to play with, So we will try the currant bars bab posted they will love them. Then it's back to painting hats to wear  for me Livi and Ethan baseball caps of course, But I really feel like crawling in bed and sawing logs. But I can't just pray for the night to come.
> kades



I'm sorry you aren't feeling well, Kades!  Sounds like a Vick's night!  Play with the kiddos and then eat a good dinner, then off to bed!  Hugs!


----------



## Claire

One of those little ones that I know has been brought up before.  But darned it all!!  I was baking something that required the use of no cutting blades at all.  Then I went to open an easy-open, re-sealable plastic bag and no amount of muscle would rip the opening where it said to tear.  So into the drawer and pull out a paring knife.  It still wouldn't open correctly .... and I cut my finger.  Just a very small cut, but it hit a spot on my finger that bled profusely.  The next time someone gives me Amish Friendship Bread batter, I swear, straight into the trash!


----------



## Zhizara

Claire said:


> One of those little ones that I know has been brought up before.  But darned it all!!  I was baking something that required the use of no cutting blades at all.  Then I went to open an easy-open, re-sealable plastic bag and no amount of muscle would rip the opening where it said to tear.  So into the drawer and pull out a paring knife.  It still wouldn't open correctly .... and I cut my finger.  Just a very small cut, but it hit a spot on my finger that bled profusely.  The next time someone gives me Amish Friendship Bread batter, I swear, straight into the trash!



Claire, those "tear here" packages only tear sometimes and the resealable ones rarely do.  I just always use my kitchen shears.  Paring knives are made for cutting fingers.

Sorry about your boo boo.  {{{KISS}}}}  There, all better.


----------



## DaveSoMD

My vent for the day.. inconsiderate people at the grocery store check out!!! Arrrggggg!!! 

I usually use the self-checkout at the one local store I shop at.  Today I ended up behind this person who kept stopping to answer her text messages while she was scanning her items and then stopped completely to take a call.  I know it wasn't an important call because what I heard was" ..Hello.. nothin just shoopping you? ..yeah.. so what you doin this afternoon?" ARRRGGGGGG! Is it that hard to not answer a text or not take a call??? 

Then, yes, there is still more. 

As I was bagging my groceries, another person came in behind me and instead of waiting until I finished bagging, started scanning and sending their groceries into mine.  Did they not think the cans of soup or the cantaloupe were not going to roll down into my stuff?!?!!?


----------



## kadesma

DaveSoMD said:


> My vent for the day.. inconsiderate people at the grocery store check out!!! Arrrggggg!!!
> 
> I usually use the self-checkout at the one local store I shop at.  Today I ended up behind this person who kept stopping to answer her text messages while she was scanning her items and then stopped completely to take a call.  I know it wasn't an important call because what I heard was" ..Hello.. nothin just shoopping you? ..yeah.. so what you doin this afternoon?" ARRRGGGGGG! Is it that hard to not answer a text or not take a call???
> 
> Then, yes, there is still more.
> 
> As I was bagging my groceries, another person came in behind me and instead of waiting until I finished bagging, started scanning and sending their groceries into mine.  Did they not think the cans of soup or the cantaloupe were not going to roll down into my stuff?!?!!?


Sorry Dave, that goes on all the time. I make DH angry when I stop turn around and nicely ask, want me to put this all back so YOU con go home 2 min sooner? He feels you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
kades


----------



## kadesma

Yesterday I went to a store that carries paints, jewels and things I need to make shirts and hats for me and the kids.  I was in line paying by check for my purchases when this woman dressed to the nines pushed in beside me I stumbled and DH grabbed me because he was afraid I'd fall. Now I understand being in a hurry but I was using my walker because i had been ill and was a little wobbley , All I got from this woman was  Sorry I'm in a hurry, party you know. WELL lady I didn't know but I hope you had fun. Both my grand kids had big eyes at this behavior. So we sat down in the truck and talked about it. They know to wait your turn and be polite. Ahhh life sometime isn't fair. What would you say to this person? I said nothing picked up my things and walked out with my kids and DH and hearing her say Well, she could of at least said it's ok
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Sorry Dave, that goes on all the time. I make DH angry when I stop turn around and nicely ask, want me to put this all back so YOU con go home 2 min sooner? He feels you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
> kades



Yes, true...but you get more satisfaction with Sarcasm...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Yesterday I went to a store that carries paints, jewels and things I need to make shirts and hats for me and the kids.  I was in line paying by check for my purchases when this woman dressed to the nines pushed in beside me I stumbled and DH grabbed me because he was afraid I'd fall. Now I understand being in a hurry but I was using my walker because i had been ill and was a little wobbley , All I got from this woman was  Sorry I'm in a hurry, party you know. WELL lady I didn't know but I hope you had fun. Both my grand kids had big eyes at this behavior. So we sat down in the truck and talked about it. They know to wait your turn and be polite. Ahhh life sometime isn't fair. What would you say to this person? I said nothing picked up my things and walked out with my kids and DH and hearing her say Well, she could of at least said it's ok
> kades



Happens all the time.  Someone else causes a problem and they try to fix the blame for it on you and make you out to be the bad guy.  I'm sure I would have said something about  being sorry about being in her VIP space and breathing the same air...but then, I am not a nice person.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Happens all the time.  Someone else causes a problem and they try to fix the blame for it on you and make you out to be the bad guy.  I'm sure I would have said something about  being sorry about being in her VIP space and breathing the same air...but then, I am not a nice person.


Thanks for the Idea sweetie, I needed a new go get em phrase I was angry but didn't want to be a fool in font of the kids,
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Thanks for the Idea sweetie, I needed a new go get em phrase I was angry but didn't want to be a fool in font of the kids,
> kades



Boy, rude people wouldn't stand a chance around the two of us...


----------



## Selkie

I would have rolled or positioned the walker across her foot, letting her know in no uncertain terms that she was invading my space! But as P.F. said, "I'm not a very nice person..." particularly when it comes to letting people know they're being rude!


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Boy, rude people wouldn't stand a chance around the two of us...


True 
all we'd see would be their backs dissapearing.
kades


----------



## Andy M.

I have a real problem with people who feel entitled and that the rules don't apply to them.  Kades, I could teach you some words that will ensure they will back off and give you some space.  Of course, you're too nice to use them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

As a cashier I saw many liberties taken in which I was not allowed to respond...but as a customer, there are no barriers and I gladly use them.  If I am affronted or the cashier is being browbeaten, I'm not afraid to step in and let the rude so-and-so have it.


----------



## Claire

Yeah, I know better, I really do, and why walking across the room to get the shears didn't come first to mind is beyond my powers of conscious thought.  Just grabbed nearest implement at hand.  And, notice, most of them don't re-seal very well either!

The latest is that I finally, after much shopping, found an old-fashioned wooden office chair that looked acceptable ... and this is shopping on line and at every store in Dubuque and Galena.  I even looked into having one custom made by an Amish community and couldn't get an estimate and gave up (probably wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway).  Finally found one that was acceptable and ordered it.  Arrived with a crushed caster.  Can't figure out how to remove it to see if I can replace it, so the whole chair has to go back.  I'd even made a point of opening the box in the parking lot to make sure it was the correct color and style, but didn't assemble it, stupid me.  I'll return and re-order, but the next time I'll not only open it in the parking lot, I'll assemble it there as well.  Heck, let them dispose of the box and foam packing!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> Yeah, I know better, I really do, and why walking across the room to get the shears didn't come first to mind is beyond my powers of conscious thought.  Just grabbed nearest implement at hand.  And, notice, most of them don't re-seal very well either!
> 
> The latest is that I finally, after much shopping, found an old-fashioned wooden office chair that looked acceptable ... and this is shopping on line and at every store in Dubuque and Galena.  I even looked into having one custom made by an Amish community and couldn't get an estimate and gave up (probably wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway).  Finally found one that was acceptable and ordered it.  Arrived with a crushed caster.  Can't figure out how to remove it to see if I can replace it, so the whole chair has to go back.  I'd even made a point of opening the box in the parking lot to make sure it was the correct color and style, but didn't assemble it, stupid me.  I'll return and re-order, but the next time I'll not only open it in the parking lot, I'll assemble it there as well.  Heck, let them dispose of the box and foam packing!



I used a paring knife the other day to open a box...because I couldn't find my box cutter.  The paring knife was impossible to control through the cardboard and now my jeans have a hole in the knee...at least my knee doesn't have a corresponding hole!


----------



## Claire

PrincessFiona60 said:


> As a cashier I saw many liberties taken in which I was not allowed to respond...but as a customer, there are no barriers and I gladly use them.  If I am affronted or the cashier is being browbeaten, I'm not afraid to step in and let the rude so-and-so have it.



Once I was in a grocery store, waiting at the deli counter, and could hear the deli department manager yelling at and berating one of her employees.  I just went to the front of the store with my other purchases (not buying from the deli) and stopped at the service desk to talk to the store manager.  Told him an employee, no matter how wrong, should not be yelled at in front of customers, period, ever.  No one wants that as part of their shopping experience.  If the employee needs to be fired, OK, do it.  If s/he needs to be corrected, OK.  But your customers don't need to have inter-employee fights as part of their shopping experience, and the next time I hear it, I'll leave my full shopping basket in the middle of the store with a short note explaining why.  Control your managers.


----------



## taxlady

kadesma said:


> Yesterday I went to a store that carries paints, jewels and things I need to make shirts and hats for me and the kids.  I was in line paying by check for my purchases when this woman dressed to the nines pushed in beside me I stumbled and DH grabbed me because he was afraid I'd fall. Now I understand being in a hurry but I was using my walker because i had been ill and was a little wobbley , All I got from this woman was  Sorry I'm in a hurry, party you know. WELL lady I didn't know but I hope you had fun. Both my grand kids had big eyes at this behavior. So we sat down in the truck and talked about it. They know to wait your turn and be polite. Ahhh life sometime isn't fair. What would you say to this person? I said nothing picked up my things and walked out with my kids and DH and hearing her say Well, she could of at least said it's ok
> kades



I might not have said anything to her either if it were me (okay, I probably would have, but some days it doesn't seem worth the effort), but at the point when she thought that I should have said it was okay, I would have turned around and blasted her.

For goodness sakes, couldn't she see the walker? I'm outraged. If I had seen it happen, I would probably have given her an earful.


----------



## kadesma

Selkie said:


> I would have rolled or positioned the walker across her foot, letting her know in no uncertain terms that she was invading my space! But as P.F. said, "I'm not a very nice person..." particularly when it comes to letting people know they're being rude!


That's an idea Selkie I think your a very nice person. I'm trying not to have to use that blasted walker but I'd have had to get up off the ground if i'd not had it. Geez I hope I get stronger faster.
kades


----------



## kadesma

taxlady said:


> I might not have said anything to her either if it were me (okay, I probably would have, but some days it doesn't seem worth the effort), but at the point when she thought that I should have said it was okay, I would have turned around and blasted her.
> 
> For goodness sakes, couldn't she see the walker? I'm outraged. If I had seen it happen, I would probably have given her an earful.


Well for once I made no response, but I did give her what the kids call Ma' look That helped a lot

kades


----------



## kadesma

Andy M. said:


> I have a real problem with people who feel entitled and that the rules don't apply to them.  Kades, I could teach you some words that will ensure they will back off and give you some space.  Of course, you're too nice to use them.


Thanks Andy, I most likely wouldnt use them but they would be running helter kelter through my little mind Thanks for thinking of me
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Well for once I made no response, but I did give her what the kids call Ma' look That helped a lot
> 
> kades



My favorite response is to tell rude people to "grow up".


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I have a real problem with people who feel entitled and that the rules don't apply to them.  Kades, I could teach you some words that will ensure they will back off and give you some space.  Of course, you're too nice to use them.



I'm not too nice, but I bet I know most of them already


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My favorite response is to tell rude people to "grow up".


That's a good one PF, I'll remember that one
kades


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My favorite response is to tell rude people to "grow up".



I think the best response I have heard is, "Are you having a bad day?" asked with genuine concern.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I think the best response I have heard is, "Are you having a bad day?" asked with genuine concern.



LOL!  That's a good one for lighter infractions.


----------



## Aunt Bea

When these situations come up I always assume that these people were sent to test me.  

Sometimes I pass and sometimes I fail.  

I must admit that I have more fun when I fail but, I keep trying.


----------



## Sprout

kadesma said:


> Well for once I made no response, but I did give her what the kids call Ma' look That helped a lot
> 
> kades




My default expression in situations like these has become a look of  intense confusion. After years of waitressing I've become very non  confrontational, but even at work I can get away with a look of  confusion. They may interpret my confusion however they want,  but in my mind, I have the satisfaction of knowing that it means "how  have you managed to live so long in this world without learning any  manners?" or "is there something wrong with you that makes you think  it's ok to act like a child?"


----------



## Zhizara

I like that, Sprout!


----------



## Sprout

Oh, and thanks for the compassion and hugs, all! Dave, it would take us about 3 1/2 to 4 hours, depending on traffic, of just drive time to get to the shore, add in the fun of a toddler and restroom breaks every hour for pregnant me, and a day trip just isn't worth 8-9 hours of driving. We'll just have to wait until after the baby comes and try again. Thanks for the idea, though!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> My default expression in situations like these has become a look of  intense confusion. After years of waitressing I've become very non  confrontational, but even at work I can get away with a look of  confusion. They may interpret my confusion however they want,  but in my mind, I have the satisfaction of knowing that it means "how  have you managed to live so long in this world without learning any  manners?" or "is there something wrong with you that makes you think  it's ok to act like a child?"



I wonder if I can manage a convincing look of confusion...


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wonder if I can manage a convincing look of confusion...




Isn't that your usual expression???


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Isn't that your usual expression???



No, that's my...just had a visit from the Brain Sucker expression...


----------



## kadesma

Sprout said:


> My default expression in situations like these has become a look of  intense confusion. After years of waitressing I've become very non  confrontational, but even at work I can get away with a look of  confusion. They may interpret my confusion however they want,  but in my mind, I have the satisfaction of knowing that it means "how  have you managed to live so long in this world without learning any  manners?" or "is there something wrong with you that makes you think  it's ok to act like a child?"


I'll work on that expression and thanks
kades


----------



## PattY1

Zhizara said:


> Claire, those "tear here" packages only tear sometimes and the resealable ones rarely do.  I just always use my kitchen shears.  Paring knives are made for cutting fingers.
> 
> Sorry about your boo boo.  {{{KISS}}}}  There, all better.



I keep a separate pair of scissors in the kitchen for packages and only use my "kitchen shears" for food.


----------



## PattY1

DaveSoMD said:


> My vent for the day.. inconsiderate people at the grocery store check out!!! Arrrggggg!!!
> 
> I usually use the self-checkout at the one local store I shop at.  Today I ended up behind this person who kept stopping to answer her text messages while she was scanning her items and then stopped completely to take a call.  I know it wasn't an important call because what I heard was" ..Hello.. nothin just shoopping you? ..yeah.. so what you doin this afternoon?" ARRRGGGGGG! Is it that hard to not answer a text or not take a call???
> 
> Then, yes, there is still more.
> 
> As I was bagging my groceries, another person came in behind me and instead of waiting until I finished bagging, started scanning and sending their groceries into mine.  Did they not think the cans of soup or the cantaloupe were not going to roll down into my stuff?!?!!?



I would have bagged it with mine, said thank you and left.  I bet next time that person shopped they would be more considerate.


----------



## PattY1

kadesma said:


> Yesterday I went to a store that carries paints, jewels and things I need to make shirts and hats for me and the kids.  I was in line paying by check for my purchases when this woman dressed to the nines pushed in beside me I stumbled and DH grabbed me because he was afraid I'd fall. Now I understand being in a hurry but I was using my walker because i had been ill and was a little wobbley , All I got from this woman was  Sorry I'm in a hurry, party you know. WELL lady I didn't know but I hope you had fun. Both my grand kids had big eyes at this behavior. So we sat down in the truck and talked about it. They know to wait your turn and be polite. Ahhh life sometime isn't fair. What would you say to this person? I said nothing picked up my things and walked out with my kids and DH and hearing her say Well, she could of at least said it's ok
> kades




She just wanted to justify her behavior and for you to excuse it. That way in her mind she did nothing wrong.


----------



## PattY1

Sprout said:


> My default expression in situations like these has become a look of  intense confusion. After years of waitressing I've become very non  confrontational, but even at work I can get away with a look of  confusion. They may interpret my confusion however they want,  but in my mind, I have the satisfaction of knowing that it means "how  have you managed to live so long in this world without learning any  manners?" or "is there something wrong with you that makes you think  it's ok to act like a child?"




Here I would be thinking, I did not tolerate that from my "child" so what makes you think I would tolerate it from an "adult"?


----------



## kadesma

PattY1 said:


> Here I would be thinking, I did not tolerate that from my "child" so what makes you think I would tolerate it from an "adult"?


Ahhh you are a lot like me. I will put up with just so much then I blow!!!!! Like I said earlier the kids giggle when I give someone the Ma's look Kids say it scares them in to being good
kades


----------



## buckytom

women can give a look that men just can't seem to master. i remember my mom giving that look that made you know you were in trouble.

i apparently have a booming voice that has the same effect. i don't mean to laugh about it, but when my son or the scouts get out of hand, i use a bone rattling voice (sort of like the old guy in the movie "the dresser") that makes the little guys physically jump as if scared to death. then they behave.

for a few minutes. lol.


----------



## taxlady

PattY1 said:


> I keep a separate pair of scissors in the kitchen for packages and only use my "kitchen shears" for food.



Me too. There's a hook inside one of my cabinet doors where I hang the scissors.


----------



## Selkie

Scissors!?

I have one pair in the pen cup on my computer desk, one on the craft work table, one pair in the bathroom, one regular pair and a pair of kitchen shears in the kitchen gadget drawer, another pair on the microwave, and two in the center drawer in the roll-top desk.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

buckytom said:


> women can give a look that men just can't seem to master. i remember my mom giving that look that made you know you were in trouble.
> 
> i apparently have a booming voice that has the same effect. i don't mean to laugh about it, but when my son or the scouts get out of hand, i use a bone rattling voice (sort of like the old guy in the movie "the dresser") that makes the little guys physically jump as if scared to death. then they behave.
> 
> for a few minutes. lol.



I remember my Dad just had to clear his throat in public...no talking, no yelling...you knew you just stepped over the line.  People always commented on how well behaved we were...they must not have heard Dad.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Selkie said:


> Scissors!?
> 
> I have one pair in the pen cup on my computer desk, one on the craft work table, one pair in the bathroom, one regular pair and a pair of kitchen shears in the kitchen gadget drawer, another pair on the microwave, and two in the center drawer in the roll-top desk.



And in my purse, in the car, in the camera bag...


----------



## babetoo

you guys sound like me. i have them everywhere. sun room, bedroom, bathroom, computer room and of course in the kitchen and almost forgot five or so in sewing room. kitchen has two pair of the sturdy kind and one pair of regular. same with pens, not the bathroom but everywhere else. i hated hunting for either one. also my need to organize everything  shows it's ugly face.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I just have scissors everywhere...I didn't say I could always find them...


----------



## LPBeier

Today was an incredibly stressful day today at the hospital trying to track down doctors and specialists and keep my Dad's health care going in the direction and we (including Dad) want.

So, half way through the day I go out to plug the parking meter.  Something tells me to go visit my car and I do.  Now my receipt is up at 2:26 and I arrive at the car at 2:15.  There is a ticket on my windshield stamped at 2:11 with the right Date, parking stall number and a "fee not paid" note.

I tried to find the attendant but couldn't so phoned the office....after 15 minutes on hold I get through to someone.  I explain everything, and give him all the information on the ticket and receipt.  He apologizes, says that the ticket was issued incorrectly and gives me a confirmation number that it is cancelled.

I go to security to get through to where my Dad is and the guard (who has gotten to know me well!) said he noticed the ticket in my hand and was everything all right.  I told him what happened and he said that this is happening a lot and can't figure out what is going on.  He said there are people that never pay and get away with it and others, like me, who are very honest and get ripped off.  This is run by a private company and not the hospital.

The worst of it is I was waiting to see several people to find out Dad's condition and get somethings straightened out and they all came while I was gone.  Thankfully they all were still around, but Dad still got needlessly stressed by the whole thing.

There, I vented and feel better.


----------



## Somebunny

So sorry you had a crummy day LP. You nor your dad needed that extra stress.  I had never heard of pay parking at a hospital until several years ago when my mother-in- law was in hospital, had to make sure I had Loonies on me all time.  Crazy!  If your dad happens to be in Langley Hospital, I can advise you on some free parking.  Just guessing, he might be, because I can't remember if White Rock has a pay lot or just street parking.  Anyway hope tomorrow is a better day.  Stay strong!


----------



## Zhizara

I'm so sorry you had such a rotten day, Laurie.  Spill it all here, you'll feel better.  You're doing great as always.{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}


----------



## Selkie

I pray you'll have a better day today. Try to take a deep breath and remember who's really in charge.


----------



## Sprout

I'm sorry you & your dad had to deal with extra stress! Our bodies, minds and spirits respond to stress by becoming stronger, though, so think how strong you must be by now! Hang in there! And I hope you get a break before your strength is tested again!


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, everyone.  Dad got moved to a ward finally, which take a humungous amount of stress on me.  When he was in emergency I needed to be there most of the day and my sister until 9 or 10 when they got him settled for the night.  Now the nurses can give him much more attention and I basically need to be there to feed him lunch and meet with the doctor(s).

I met with the head of parking yesterday (who I know from being there all summer last year) and showed him the ticket and receipt.  I told him it was taken care of but he might like to see it.  He was really ticked off and thanked me for letting him know.  I hate getting someone in trouble, but I want to save other people the same aggravation.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> Thanks, everyone.  Dad got moved to a ward finally, which take a humungous amount of stress on me.  When he was in emergency I needed to be there most of the day and my sister until 9 or 10 when they got him settled for the night.  Now the nurses can give him much more attention and I basically need to be there to feed him lunch and meet with the doctor(s).
> 
> I met with the head of parking yesterday (who I know from being there all summer last year) and showed him the ticket and receipt.  I told him it was taken care of but he might like to see it.  He was really ticked off and thanked me for letting him know.  I hate getting someone in trouble, but I want to save other people the same aggravation.



I'm glad you are able to relax a bit and not spend so much time at the hospital.    Go get your hair done or something.


----------



## Zhizara

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm glad you are able to relax a bit and not spend so much time at the hospital.    Go get your hair done or something.



What you said.  Or, a pedicure.  Having a foot massage, etc., does wonders.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, ladies, but I will settle for getting my piles of laundry folded, the mountain of recycling sorted and taken out, and some healthy cookies made for DH and my lunches!  Getting all that out of the way will be a huge relief.   

Oh, and I am getting caught up on my food network shows while folding!


----------



## babetoo

i am sick, sick, sick, of this gloomy cloudy wet weather. it's california for heaven sakes in may. through the week-end they say. all i want to do is nap or read when it is like this. not good for chores. having to force myself. isn't it curious how the weather can affect our moods?


----------



## CWS4322

Oh you should come to SE Ontario--we've had the coldest and wettest spring...and this whole week the forecast is rain...so far, the weatherman was right. My garden will NEVER get planted if it doesn't stop raining--only one of the gardens was dry enough to rototill before this week of rain arrived...not having the bounty of veggies would be heartbreaking...not to mention add quite a bit to the food budget.


----------



## CWS4322

Since 2007, I've been going through finacial hell. I was accustomed to making a 6 figure plus income. The economy tanked and my business partner took me to court to get out of our partnership. I fought back (and won) but it cost me over 20K in legal fees. Then my mom got sick and I had to take care of her--I spent all my IRA savings for me to go home and take care of my mom. For those of you struggling, I know it is hard--been there, done that, still there, but nose to the grindstone. It can be done. I am paying off my legal bills on June 30th. And then, I can start paying back my family for helping me. It is tough--and it is depressing--it wakes you up at night. But, keep plugging at it. Supposedly, it does get better, and you have learned to be more frugal than you ever were (oh, goody).


----------



## Zhizara

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!  I'm so mad at myself.  I was at the end of a lengthy recipe for au gratin potatoes, when I went to insert the degree sign ° without making sure the keypad was on numbers.

It gives me the degree sign, then takes me to my homepage.   By the time I get back to my original post, it's blank.  All Gone!

Thanks.  I just needed to vent.  I'll go back now and rewrite my recipe in Works and cut & paste to the forum.


----------



## joesfolk

CWS4322 said:


> Since 2007, I've been going through finacial hell. I was accustomed to making a 6 figure plus income. The economy tanked and my business partner took me to court to get out of our partnership. I fought back (and won) but it cost me over 20K in legal fees. Then my mom got sick and I had to take care of her--I spent all my IRA savings for me to go home and take care of my mom. For those of you struggling, I know it is hard--been there, done that, still there, but nose to the grindstone. It can be done. I am paying off my legal bills on June 30th. And then, I can start paying back my family for helping me. It is tough--and it is depressing--it wakes you up at night. But, keep plugging at it. Supposedly, it does get better, and you have learned to be more frugal than you ever were (oh, goody).


 

Been there although not at the 6 fiqure mark or even close.  Once you get solvent again you may find that it's hard to ever go back to the way you lived before.  In those times that I am feeling flush I still can't make myself spend money in ways that I won't do when I am feeling stretched thin.  Frugality becomes a way of life.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!  I'm so mad at myself.  I was at the end of a lengthy recipe for au gratin potatoes, when I went to insert the degree sign ° without making sure the keypad was on numbers.
> 
> It gives me the degree sign, then takes me to my homepage.   By the time I get back to my original post, it's blank.  All Gone!
> 
> Thanks.  I just needed to vent.  I'll go back now and rewrite my recipe in Works and cut & paste to the forum.



Oh, I hate it when that happens...


----------



## Zhizara

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh, I hate it when that happens...




I know better.  It's always better to do it in a document first, and then I can save that for a backup copy.  I also know better about the degree sign, it's not the first time I've made that mistake, just one of the longer posts I was writing.

I rewrote it, I'm almost over it, and next time I'll be more careful.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> I know better.  It's always better to do it in a document first, and then I can save that for a backup copy.  I also know better about the degree sign, it's not the first time I've made that mistake, just one of the longer posts I was writing.
> 
> I rewrote it, I'm almost over it, and next time I'll be more careful.



That's when I jump up and dance around the room, scaring the cats...let's the stress go right out of me...and I'm glad I live in the basement.


----------



## Dawgluver

My Cradlepoint router quit!  I am so used to accessing DC and everything else from my IPad, was totally freaking out yesterday!  AAARRGGHH!  I have emailed Cradlepoint support, and they are usually helpful, but are prob on vaca like the rest of us.  Driving me nuts!  Luckily Verizon guided me through some basics, so am able to connect thru my PC.  No Ipad!  Sucks!!


----------



## Selkie

Dawgluver said:


> My Cradlepoint router quit!  I am so used to accessing DC and everything else from my IPad, was totally freaking out yesterday!  AAARRGGHH!  I have emailed Cradlepoint support, and they are usually helpful, but are prob on vaca like the rest of us.  Driving me nuts!  Luckily Verizon guided me through some basics, so am able to connect thru my PC.  No Ipad!  Sucks!!



Of course it quit... during a weekend, or a holiday, and most especially a holiday weekend!!! What better time for things to go wrong! Been there, experienced that a number of times through the years. I feel for you!

I had a starter in my car go out - while I was 70 miles away from home... at night... in the rain... no money... dead cell phone battery. It was a nightmare UNTIL God blessed me that evening with a kind young man with a AAA account who towed and dropped off my car at my own mechanic's shop, and even took me to my front door... all at no cost or hassle. Things can go terribly wrong, and yet turn out right at the same time.


----------



## Dawgluver

Selkie said:


> Of course it quit... during a weekend, or a holiday, and most especially a holiday weekend!!! What better time for things to go wrong! Been there, experienced that a number of times through the years. I feel for you!
> 
> I had a starter in my car go out - while I was 70 miles away from home... at night... in the rain... no money... dead cell phone battery. It was a nightmare UNTIL God blessed me that evening with a kind young man with a AAA account who towed and dropped off my car at my own mechanic's shop, and even took me to my front door... all at no cost or hassle. Things can go terribly wrong, and yet turn out right at the same time.


You are right, Selkie.  Need to keep things in perspective.  Thinking about those poor folks ravaged by the tornadoes.

However, still ripping out handfuls of hair and screaming to the Computer Gods...


----------



## Claire

buckytom said:


> women can give a look that men just can't seem to master. i remember my mom giving that look that made you know you were in trouble.
> 
> i apparently have a booming voice that has the same effect. i don't mean to laugh about it, but when my son or the scouts get out of hand, i use a bone rattling voice (sort of like the old guy in the movie "the dresser") that makes the little guys physically jump as if scared to death. then they behave.
> 
> for a few minutes. lol.



I had to laugh at this.  Been in the military?  It is called "command voice" and I learned it.  I thought I'd lost the knack, but then last year I was walking to town to meet my husband, and saw him two blocks away and a little down hill from me.  I just called his name, didn't think I was yelling, and he looked behind himself and was surprised to see I was a couple of blocks away.  He later told me that he thought I had snuck up behind him, it sounded like I was right there.  but when you do use it, it really does catch your attention!


----------



## Barbara L

3 little letters: AIM

Not necessarily in that order.


----------



## CWS4322

I'm not venting--I'm crying. I've been involved with dog rescue since 1998. I've held more dogs in my arms as they've left this world than the average person. I lost my dear canine companion of 13 years in October. Tomorrow, I will say good-bye to yet another dear canine companion. She has a tumor on her spleen. She's 11. I can't afford the surgery (and even if I could, I don't know that I'd have it done on a Giant her age). I will miss her so. She talks--I kid you not. I make a noise, she makes almost the same noise back. She is what I call an "old soul." She is my "Barbie dog" (she loves to wear bandanas...she would wait for me to finish sewing one and then prance around the house...oh--I'll miss her). I moved my office this weekend upstairs because she can't do stairs anymore. I knew I wouldn't be able to work without her behind my chair and I knew our days were numbered--but I didn't think they were this numbered. At least now I have the money to pay the vet--last time, a friend had to loan me the money. And, I can let her go with dignity and respect in the arms of the person who loved her most.


----------



## Stubbs

Well I think we all have something to vent about. It a part of life I think lol. Im just trying not to let myself get all upset with my ADHD child. Any suggestions?


----------



## medtran49

I'm so sorry for you both CWS4322.  We've had to do that several times and are looking at more in the next few years as we have 4 seniors.  The only good thing about it is at least we are able to give that kindness to our fur kids when it's too much bad stuff to continue to live.


----------



## kadesma

CWS4322 said:


> I'm not venting--I'm crying. I've been involved with dog rescue since 1998. I've held more dogs in my arms as they've left this world than the average person. I lost my dear canine companion of 13 years in October. Tomorrow, I will say good-bye to yet another dear canine companion. She has a tumor on her spleen. She's 11. I can't afford the surgery (and even if I could, I don't know that I'd have it done on a Giant her age). I will miss her so. She talks--I kid you not. I make a noise, she makes almost the same noise back. She is what I call an "old soul." She is my "Barbie dog" (she loves to wear bandanas...she would wait for me to finish sewing one and then prance around the house...oh--I'll miss her). I moved my office this weekend upstairs because she can't do stairs anymore. I knew I wouldn't be able to work without her behind my chair and I knew our days were numbered--but I didn't think they were this numbered. At least now I have the money to pay the vet--last time, a friend had to loan me the money. And, I can let her go with dignity and respect in the arms of the person who loved her most.


CS,
I know how you're hueting,please know what you are going to do is th sweetest kindest thing you could do for your baby. I had to do it with my  maggie  the hurt is still there and it's been 5 years. I loved that dog  to pieces and she loved only me.Time will soften the pain make it bearable and you will have dear memories to remember your baby. Be brave fill your heart with love take a picture and remember love will give you the courage to go forth.
kadesma


----------



## CWS4322

It's just I've done this so many times (I have more urns of ashes of rescue dogs...I've picked out hers...and made her chicken breast, broccoli, mushroom, cheese, tomatoes, and turkey gravy and pasta for her last supper...). It never gets easier. It is the greatest act of love to let her go--bleeding out is a very painful death and an image that remains with you. I've had two rescue dogs die that way while in the emerg clinic. I don't ever want to experience that again. My dear friend who is our rescue vet almost quit being a vet after the 2nd one.


----------



## Stubbs

I don't think it will ever get easier. But that wht makes u the person u are for u care so much. Im praying!


----------



## Selkie

I spilled half a dozen different things (coffee grounds, coffee, milk, water, cat food, detergent) the first hour I was up this morning, which was a portent of things to come.

Less than two hours later the computer monitor died a quick but painful death (to the tune of $173.62 to purchase a replacement), my prescription medicine wasn't ready at the pharmacy in spite of five days advance notice, and I then recieved a telephone call from a very close childhood friend reporting his mother had just passed away.

I've had better days!


----------



## Stubbs

Oh im so sorry to hear about your day. But the good news is it can only get better.


----------



## Zhizara

Selkie said:


> I spilled half a dozen different things (coffee grounds, coffee, milk, water, cat food, detergent) the first hour I was up this morning, which was a portent of things to come.
> 
> Less than two hours later the computer monitor died a quick but painful death (to the tune of $173.62 to purchase a replacement), my prescription medicine wasn't ready at the pharmacy in spite of five days advance notice, and I then recieved a telephone call from a very close childhood friend reporting his mother had just passed away.
> 
> I've had better days!



Sorry about your bad day, Selkie.  Hopefully you got it all on the one day and tomorrow will be wonderful.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Boy, what a day for folks.  

CWS, {{{{hugs}}}}

Selkie, {{{{hugs}}}}


----------



## babetoo

grrr. sewing bodice to skirt and it wouldn't fit. expert seamstress (lol) that i am i made it fit. seems i had  the skirt piece going the wrong way. ripped it out and will do today. not sure why i did that, and making it fit was crazy!!!  there is a reason they call it seam" stress."


----------



## tinlizzie

babetoo said:


> grrr. sewing bodice to skirt and it wouldn't fit. expert seamstress (lol) that i am i made it fit. seems i had the skirt piece going the wrong way. ripped it out and will do today. not sure why i did that, and making it fit was crazy!!! there is a reason they call it seam" stress."


 
  Good one, babetoo.


----------



## Zhizara

babetoo said:


> grrr. sewing bodice to skirt and it wouldn't fit. expert seamstress (lol) that i am i made it fit. seems i had  the skirt piece going the wrong way. ripped it out and will do today. not sure why i did that, and making it fit was crazy!!!  there is a reason they call it seam" stress."



I'd never heard of that before, but I sure know what it's like!


----------



## Somebunny

babetoo said:
			
		

> grrr. sewing bodice to skirt and it wouldn't fit. expert seamstress (lol) that i am i made it fit. seems i had  the skirt piece going the wrong way. ripped it out and will do today. not sure why i did that, and making it fit was crazy!!!  there is a reason they call it seam" stress."



Oh Babe!  I feel you!  I hate having to rip out stitches. When I was making my granddaughters sun-dress While sewing on the appliqué I happened to catch some of the skirt fabric and had to rip it all out. irritating :-(


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Somebunny said:


> Oh Babe!  I feel you!  I hate having to rip out stitches. When I was making my granddaughters sun-dress While sewing on the appliqué I happened to catch some of the skirt fabric and had to rip it all out. irritating :-(



The first applique' I ever did was on a bib for my baby brother.  I managed to sew the applique' to the bib and the nightgown I was wearing...


----------



## Somebunny

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> The first applique' I ever did was on a bib for my baby brother.  I managed to sew the applique' to the bib and the nightgown I was wearing...



Rofl!!! Fi......that's hilarious! Ehrmm....sorry:-(. Teehee


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Somebunny said:


> Rofl!!! Fi......that's hilarious! Ehrmm....sorry:-(. Teehee



Well, it's funny NOW!!!  Baby brother will be 41 this week, I've had time to get over it!

And he did get his bib, complete with bunny applique', I think Mom has it stashed in a box somewhere.


----------



## CWS4322

The first time I tried to sew (on a treadle sewing machine my mother had--I was 4), I managed to put the needle through my index finger...I've gotten a bit better at sewing since then, but not much! At least I don't sew my finger to the item I'm sewing these days.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> The first time I tried to sew (on a treadle sewing machine my mother had--I was 4), I managed to put the needle through my index finger...I've gotten a bit better at sewing since then, but not much! At least I don't sew my finger to the item I'm sewing these days.




OW!


----------



## CWS4322

Especially since I was told not to touch the sewing machine while my mother went to answer the phone--gives you an idea of what kind of child I was! It happened so fast, it didn't hurt--I was "sewing" my apron <g>. But I was stuck there until my mom came back--I didn't dare treadle it back up. Good thing she was a nurse.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Especially since I was told not to touch the sewing machine while my mother went to answer the phone--gives you an idea of what kind of child I was! It happened so fast, it didn't hurt--I was "sewing" my apron <g>. But I was stuck there until my mom came back--I didn't dare treadle it back up. Good thing she was a nurse.



Okay, I'm a nurse, but finding a 4 year old "sewn" to her apron would have me on the floor in a swoon.  I don't deal well with injuries and illness in children...


----------



## Stubbs

Im trying so hard to keep kids busy with playing outside, taking walks, only hr TV, coloring, art projects, & educational worksheets to help them with head start to nxt school yr. But you still have to cook clean and wash clothes. It nerve wracking when u vacuuming the floor and u have kids screaming cause one did this or that. Oh I want to scream. On top of that ADHD child.


----------



## CWS4322

Oh, but PF, I was "one of those children" (the ones they call gifted now). That was one of the "least" of the things I did. My parents had wanted five children, but after me, they quit at 3.


----------



## buckytom

sewing issues affect men just the same.

dw can't sew due to severe carpal tunnel in both wrists, so it's up to me to do any sewing type repairs on everything from zippers, to rips in favored sweaters, handbags, and so on.

but when my son joined the scouts, i took on the task of sewing all of those damn patches on his uniform.

twice i sewed pockets shut, and once i sewed the patch right through the shirt and onto my pants leg. i had to carefully pull the stitches out and redo everything. this time much like the way porcupines make love. lol.

i got better the more patches i sewed, however. the first one ended up looking like bacon, with the edges of the patch all curly. but the last ones would make a caveman proud.


----------



## Andy M.

I understand, BT.  As a bachelor for several years, I had to learn to sew a number of things.  I did pretty well, all told.  Buttons are a snap.  They come with a template.  Fallen pants cuffs or hems can be stapled in place until you get to a needle and thread.

What ever happened to Jiffy Sew?


----------



## CWS4322

When I was in MN, I "helped" my mom pack for our Easter trip...well, one of the pairs of slacks she wanted to take had a loose button. She said if I threaded the needle, she'd sew on the button. Because of her dementia, I do try to let her do as much as she can. She sewed the button on, but managed to also sew it to the top of her panties (she was trying on the slacks to make sure they still fit). Needless to say, I ended up sewing the button on (after cutting the thread and getting her to take off the slacks).


----------



## tinlizzie

and a sad one for CWS

You guys are a hoot!


----------



## CWS4322

Actually, we laughed. My mother has enough of her mind left to know when she's done something "silly' and we laughed as I cut the thread (I had started the button for her, but she didn't go back in first, she went over and under, so it was real mess). I'm learning to find humor in some of the things that she does...not all, but some. But yes, having a loved one disintegrate mentally is very, very hard. The person becomes a stranger. So when you can grab a window of the person the person once was, you need to rejoice in that moment. This is one of those life's lessons I didn't know I'd learn.


----------



## CWS4322

And now, I might as well post about my Rosalie. I made the appointment, I slept curled up on the floor with her, I sat with her outside on a blanket and told her all the things I loved about her, all the memories I could muster up, took her to the vet. Waited while they re-shot the x-rays...inconclusive. The vet couldn't tell me it was definitely a tumor/mass. So, after a discussion with the vet, we brought her HOME AGAIN (did bloodwork, etc.). We are on bonus time now. We were on bonus time after she turned 10. She turned 11 today. Her birthday supper is pasta, ground beef, veggies. If today ends up being her last day, you always want "just one more day." I got that one more day (and hopefully more).


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> And now, I might as well post about my Rosalie. I made the appointment, I slept curled up on the floor with her, I sat with her outside on a blanket and told her all the things I loved about her, all the memories I could muster up, took her to the vet. Waited while they re-shot the x-rays...inconclusive. The vet couldn't tell me it was definitely a tumor/mass. So, after a discussion with the vet, we brought her HOME AGAIN (did bloodwork, etc.). We are on bonus time now. We were on bonus time after she turned 10. She turned 11 today. Her birthday supper is pasta, ground beef, veggies. If today ends up being her last day, you always want "just one more day." I got that one more day (and hopefully more).



Hardest thing in the world.  I have had to put down 5 dogs due to old age.  Dogs just don't live long enough.  God should give them an extension.    Rosalie is so lucky being so loved.


----------



## CWS4322

Dawgluver said:


> Hardest thing in the world. I have had to put down 7 dogs due to old age. Dogs just don't live long enough. God should give them an extension. Rosalie is so lucky being so loved.


 
It is always hard--but when you know you can't do anything and you don't want the dog to suffer, you find the courage and strength to say goodbye. We don't have to wait for them to die in pain or agony, or with a lose of dignity.

I had to know that the possible mass had grown...it hasn't. I could do an ultrasound, but it could show nothing. And, given her age and breed, I wouldn't do anything any way. So that would be for me. She gets so stressed going for a ride and then at the vet, I just can't put her through that for me. The x-ray confirmed she has an odd-shaped stomach. She is old, but yesterday was not her day. I was so organized (urn picked out, some rose petals, a toy, bandana, all my rituals)--I wasn't prepared for there to be any options, so I was a bit shocked to bring her home (happy, but shocked). It is bittersweet--I know the time is not long, but I'll take it one day at a time.


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> It is always hard--but when you know you can't do anything and you don't want the dog to suffer, you find the courage and strength to say goodbye. We don't have to wait for them to die in pain or agony, or with a lose of dignity.
> 
> I had to know that the possible mass had grown...it hasn't. I could do an ultrasound, but it could show nothing. And, given her age and breed, I wouldn't do anything any way. So that would be for me. She gets so stressed going for a ride and then at the vet, I just can't put her through that for me. The x-ray confirmed she has an odd-shaped stomach. She is old, but yesterday was not her day. I was so organized (urn picked out, some rose petals, a toy, bandana, all my rituals)--I wasn't prepared for there to be any options, so I was a bit shocked to bring her home (happy, but shocked). It is bittersweet--I know the time is not long, but I'll take it one day at a time.



How is Rosalie doing?  And you?


----------



## CWS4322

She's fussing at me--but she's always the talker...she is doing much better now that the humidex doesn't have our weather at 40C. Not eating as well as I'd like...working on that.


----------



## medtran49

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Okay, I'm a nurse, but finding a 4 year old "sewn" to her apron would have me on the floor in a swoon. I don't deal well with injuries and illness in children...


 
Craig and our early teen daughter (she's in early 30s now) were rough housing one afternoon while I got ready so we could go out on a shopping trip. He had on his gold chain with the anchor charm, that had arrowhead-shaped sharp pointy tips. I'm pretty much ready when he yells to come here. I walk out to the living room and he's kind of bent over with DD hugged up against him tight as can be and isn't letting her go. I get over to them and the anchor is attached to her eyelid, which she has closed, and the sharp pointy tip is sticking out 1/8 to 1/4 inch or so away from where it went in. She's crying of course, he's telling her to keep her eye closed cause A) we don't know if it's in the eye or not. B) if it's not in the eye, we don't want her eyeball damaged. We quickly decide that it has to come out because he basically can't move without tearing the flap of skin holding it besides the fact that she was getting a bit hysterical. So, I very, very gently maneuver the pointy around so I can slide it back under and out, all the while telling her to be absolutely still and not move. Well it comes out very easily actually and I tell her to keep her eye shut. He scoops her up, tells me to get the car keys, I grab an ice bag for her eye to stop/slow down any swelling, he gets in the car holding her in his arms and off we go to the ER. 

Happy ending. No eye damage at all and all they did was butterfly the skin flap. You really have to look hard to even see the scars. 

The ER doc was more worried about me and Craig than her because I dropped them off at the entrance and he went running in there with her in his arms and didn't want to let her go and I parked the car and came running back as fast as I could go. We were both terribly upset because we were scared to death it had punctured her eye. 

To this day, I'm still amazed I was able to slide that thing out besides the fact that she didn't even have a scratch on her eyeball.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Actually, I am incredibly cool and level-headed while an emergency is going on with a child...afterwards, I tend to get hysterical and do odd things like pass out from hyperventilating or have a crying jag.

I'd much rather deal with an adult who has stopped breathing or is bleeding profusely.  That I can handle.  I spent my Pediatric Rotation in nursing school in tears every night.


----------



## kadesma

With 4 kids I  learned to be calm and cool while the incident was in progress, then the doctor would tell us everything was fine and to go home. The minute we pulled into the driveway and got in the door I'd sit down and the tears would come and I'd end a mess with the kids telling me it's okay mommy don't cry please.
kades'


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> With 4 kids I  learned to be calm and cool while the incident was in progress, then the doctor would tell us everything was fine and to go home. The minute we pulled into the driveway and got in the door I'd sit down and the tears would come and I'd end a mess with the kids telling me it's okay mommy don't cry please.
> kades'



My sisters and brother tell me they wish I was around when their kids were sick or hurt and my nephew, now 22, still asks for me when he is sick or hurt.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My sisters and brother tell me they wish I was around when their kids were sick or hurt and my nephew, now 22, still asks for me when he is sick or hurt.


They know they can count on you. Loving care to kids is tough at times but they remember it and you for  a life time.
kades


----------



## babetoo

i went to joann fabric because of the pattern sale. 1.99 each. i had called in the middle of week,  on sale til today. when i got there the sale was over, bogus info. really ticked me off. i had waited till my  50% coupon was valid only because they told me that. luckily mccalls is always 40% off. also found a 2.99 pattern section. i wish employees would be more careful with their info. won't throw the ad away again til i have covered all the sales. i can't afford to sew for the grandkids if i have to pay full price. did get enough fabric for four dresses. one being 40% off and the other 50% off . i am still a bit annoyed.


----------



## Zhizara

It used to be we sewed clothes to save money.  I can't believe the prices for patterns.


----------



## babetoo

it really is crazy, most are over 10.00 dollars. can't buy many at that price. i try to buy ones that have both sizes i need. however once i cut the smallest one out, then will always be for lilly. still that saves me some money. not saving money but they love em and it keeps me out of the bars. lol


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> it really is crazy, most are over 10.00 dollars. can't buy many at that price. i try to buy ones that have both sizes i need. however once i cut the smallest one out, then will always be for lilly. still that saves me some money. not saving money but they love em and it keeps me out of the bars. lol



Cut the large pattern out of brown craft paper or newspaper, first...then you have the large pattern.  Then cut out the little one.


----------



## Zhizara

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Cut the large pattern out of brown craft paper or newspaper, first...then you have the large pattern.  Then cut out the little one.



You're a genius, Princess!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> You're a genius, Princess!



Not really, there were three of us girls and one pattern.  It was Dad's idea.  They were lucky to get two sizes out of a pattern and Dad would then use his drafting tools to make the smallest pattern for my little sister.


----------



## Rocklobster

Well, looks like I may be out of a job,soon. The restaurant I work at could possibly be closing.  Terrible battle going on between the owners. Court litigation and everything. Buisness and family don't mix sometimes.  If the current owner leaves, I don't want to stay on, so I may request a lay off.  Not that big of problem, though. I have been trying to get out of kitchens for a few years, but they keep dragging me back in. If I do get laid off, I will qualify for retraining. I may look into that. My drumming jobs won't pay the bills over the long term.  Looking forward to having the summer off, though.  Can always go back to cooking if nothing better comes along..


----------



## Stubbs

That is a great attitude to have. God will provide.


----------



## tinlizzie

Rocklobster said:


> Well, looks like I may be out of a job,soon. The restaurant I work at could possibly be closing. Terrible battle going on between the owners. Court litigation and everything. Buisness and family don't mix sometimes. If the current owner leaves, I don't want to stay on, so I may request a lay off. Not that big of problem, though. I have been trying to get out of kitchens for a few years, but they keep dragging me back in. If I do get laid off, I will qualify for retraining. I may look into that. My drumming jobs won't pay the bills over the long term. Looking forward to having the summer off, though. Can always go back to cooking if nothing better comes along..


 
My D-I-L is working under nearly the same conditions at her place.  She does billing, insurance, etc. -- Owners of the small business used to be a couple; not any more.  Very fractious atmosphere and not sure if the business will survive.  She's just going in every day and hoping for the best.  That's really tough on employees even in the best of times, let alone these days.

Best of luck, Rocklobster.


----------



## Rocklobster

Thanks, Stubbs.

I am the only employee who knows anything of the current situation. Everything is up in the air right now. It is a bit stressful, not knowing what exactly I will be doing a few weeks from now. I can't really make any plans because I don't really know exactly how things are going to shake down. Part of me will welcome a lay off, but then again, who wants to be unemployed? I don't want to cook or manage a kitchen anymore if I can help it. Thankfully, I have enough experience to get a job fairly quickly if I really have to.  I have plenty of renovation projects around the house to keep me busy, but that takes money, so its catch 22.


----------



## Stubbs

Yes my husband has been unemployed for 2 yrs. He gets interview but not hired. So he went to school to get CDL hope he gets something soon. But I have faith in God that he will provide for my family. Bad part is I need t be home with my ADHD child right now. Then again don't want to pay for daycare either.


----------



## CWS4322

*Rosalie 2000-06-02 to 2011-06-08*

I bid Rosalie goodbye yesterday at 1:00 p.m. The last thing we did was clean out the fridge...her most favorite thing. Then she wanted to go out, we went out, she did her business, settled under the elm tree...I spooned her, and then, about 3 minutes later, she gave a big sigh, and died in my arms--the person who loved her most. I can't think of a better way to go than in the arms of someone who loves you and with dignity and respect. I'll miss her so.


----------



## Stubbs

Im so sorry. She was Lucky to have you!


----------



## Dawgluver

Rosalie was so loved, and a very lucky girl to have had you.  My deepest sympathies.  I am so glad you had a chance to spend your time with her, and that she didn't suffer.  RIP, beautiful Rosalie.


----------



## CWS4322

I'm going to say thank you now, to each of you. She was very special--she was my "Barbie Dog." I have a lavender rose bush and a pink rose shrub to plant this weekend in her memory. We always plant a tree or a perenial in memory of our dogs. And, I have some of her fur to put in the bottom of the "holes" and cast in the wind. I don't scatter the ashes. The urns stay with me.

I've done this enough times that I would never have let her suffer. She had salmon and rice for breakfast and cottage cheese on pita while we were cleaning out the fridge. And, I had my dear friend who is a vet on stand-by if I needed her. I knew this was coming--I just treasured every extra day and didn't want her to suffer. If I thought she was suffering, we would've gone the other route. She enjoyed life until the end.


----------



## CWS4322

Rocklobster said:


> Thanks, Stubbs.
> 
> I am the only employee who knows anything of the current situation. Everything is up in the air right now. It is a bit stressful, not knowing what exactly I will be doing a few weeks from now. I can't really make any plans because I don't really know exactly how things are going to shake down. Part of me will welcome a lay off, but then again, who wants to be unemployed? I don't want to cook or manage a kitchen anymore if I can help it. Thankfully, I have enough experience to get a job fairly quickly if I really have to. I have plenty of renovation projects around the house to keep me busy, but that takes money, so its catch 22.


Rock--I'm sorry to hear that. The recipes you post are always ones I cut and paste. As you get older, it is harder to find work...renovation projects not only take money, but they always seem to "grow" into bigger projects than what you were first planning...best of luck to you. Hang in there.


----------



## kadesma

CWS4322 said:


> I bid Rosalie goodbye yesterday at 1:00 p.m. The last thing we did was clean out the fridge...her most favorite thing. Then she wanted to go out, we went out, she did her business, settled under the elm tree...I spooned her, and then, about 3 minutes later, she gave a big sigh, and died in my arms--the person who loved her most. I can't think of a better way to go than in the arms of someone who loves you and with dignity and respect. I'll miss her so.


I'm so sorry to hear about our Rosalie. I know the love you gave her was the most beautiful she could get any place. I know how much you  loved her and she loved you. Be glad you were able to have her as long as you did. She is ina conderful place now no pain just peace.
kadesma


----------



## babetoo

my heart is breaking for you. pets are so unselfish and give so much. it is hard to let them go. it took me three months to stop thinking i had to feed the cat "kahlua" he was twelve years old and the love of my life. still we get another one. right now i have two cats, charlie and thomas. thomas is eight years old and charlie is one. i will probably out live thomas but not charlie and that is a worry. they are so attached to me. i'm not saying to get another dog, you need to grieve first. people that don't have pets don't have a clue to how hard it is to lose one. all sympathy to you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> I bid Rosalie goodbye yesterday at 1:00 p.m. The last thing we did was clean out the fridge...her most favorite thing. Then she wanted to go out, we went out, she did her business, settled under the elm tree...I spooned her, and then, about 3 minutes later, she gave a big sigh, and died in my arms--the person who loved her most. I can't think of a better way to go than in the arms of someone who loves you and with dignity and respect. I'll miss her so.



Your post caught me at work and I burst into tears at my desk.  I am so sorry for the loss you feel, but gladness that Rosalie was at home with her person when it was time.  Hugs!  I know there's a couple of good dogs and a few cats over the Bridge, waiting for her.


----------



## medtran49

I'm so sad for you but glad that she passed in the arms of the person who loved her.  I can't think of anyway better to go either.  Tears for you both.


----------



## Stubbs

Well I didn't get much sleep for my kids were up in middle of night. At 2am I woke to the nosie of playing, told them to go back to bed. Derek was the only one to listen. The other 2 still were up @ 4am & got into food. Lets say im very upset today. So they got all things like to do taken away & extra chores. And if I stay up all say with no nap so will they. This is so frustrating.


----------



## Rocklobster

CWS4322 said:


> Rock--I'm sorry to hear that. The recipes you post are always ones I cut and paste. As you get older, it is harder to find work...renovation projects not only take money, but they always seem to "grow" into bigger projects than what you were first planning...best of luck to you. Hang in there.



Thanks CW. Sorry to hear of your loss. It's never easy. 

I have a 111 year old house. The work is never done. It's easier to get used to it, than do anything about it.
Hang in there, yourself.


----------



## chopper

Stubbs said:
			
		

> Well I didn't get much sleep for my kids were up in middle of night. At 2am I woke to the nosie of playing, told them to go back to bed. Derek was the only one to listen. The other 2 still were up @ 4am & got into food. Lets say im very upset today. So they got all things like to do taken away & extra chores. And if I stay up all say with no nap so will they. This is so frustrating.



It is hard when things happen, but this too shall pass. Being a parent can be so stressful at times, but so rewarding at others. My hope is that one day when you are a grandparent to grandkids just like their parents you can look back and laugh.   My oldest grandson is just like his Daddy, and I just love it!  My son is never too happy when he calls me upset, and I laugh, but it is easier now that he is the dad. I am much more patient with grand kids too. Like I said, this too shall pass, but I do feel for you right now.


----------



## chopper

CWS, my sympathy in the loss of your dear dog. She had your love until the very end, and really did pass with dignity.  I will think of you today as I clean out the fridge(something I dread doing).


----------



## Stubbs

Chopper- thanks trust me I know it hard being a parent wouldn't change a min of being a mom just get overwhelmed at times when these things happen


----------



## chopper

Maybe we should start an off topic thread on stupid things our kids do that makes us mad.


----------



## Stubbs

That funny! I got alot of stuff lol ADHD child there is alot!


----------



## babetoo

decided to bake raisin bars , have made at least six times. could not figure what they were taking so long to bake. the minimum times was always right on. when i went to put the timer on five minutes for the third, i discovered the problem. set the oven temp 100 degrees to low. grrrrrrrrrr. made me feel super stupid.


----------



## Somebunny

CWS,  I've been thinking about you and Rosalie. What a wonderful relationship you had with your faithful pet. I am so sorry she had to leave you, but I am glad she was able to be home with you in that peaceful and serene place under the tree and to feel your love for her to the very end.  I wish you peace my dear.


----------



## buckytom

cws, i'm deeply sorry for the loss of rosalie. i can't add anything to all of the nice things everyone has said, except that she'll always be with you in your heart, and you'll see her again someday.


----------



## CWS4322

Thank you, everyone. Roz-ma-taz will be in my heart forever--she wrapped her paw around my heart the moment I met her. I miss the sounds she made--she talked to me--and I talked to her. I miss her weight on the bed--she'd snuggle up against me, and, if she'd had her way, she would have slept on top of me. That I miss. I've had a lot of dogs share my life, but Roz was the cuddliest dog I've ever known. She'd get up on the couch with me and "purr" -- she was an old soul and most likely a cat in another life.She was a fretter--when my Missy lost her hearing, Roz took on the responsibility of being Missy's interpreter. She'd fuss and get me to check on Missy. I miss Roz in the kitchen. She was a great sous chef. And, yes, I am grateful that she left me peacefully...today I'm making bread. She loved home-made bread. I guess Missy didn't get her hearing back at Rainbow Bridge and called Roz to come and be her interpreter. And Steve, you got my girls, take care of them.


----------



## babetoo

yesterday was a day fro he double l. first could not find my cell phone. since i don't know the number tried to find my account at att. after many searches i found a phone number. reached a person. many security questions, she gave me the number. called it twice but could not hear it ring. tried once more walking around the house. under the covers on my bed. how stupid i felt, even went through trash to make sure i had not thrown it out. 

baked raisins bar. darned things would not get done. i had set the temp. 100 degrees to low.

made a beginner mistake on dress i am sewing. rip out time.

after hair cut and market, called cab for ride home. they couldn't give a time they would be there and the guy was very rude.  called my granddaughter, she said about twenty min. ended up being an hour. was sitting at tables out front with the sun blazing in my face. i had purchased cold beer. and broke one out and drank it, while reading my purse book. that was the only good part of the day. senior citizens moments all day. whew! i feel better.


----------



## kadesma

babetoo said:


> yesterday was a day fro he double l. first could not find my cell phone. since i don't know the number tried to find my account at att. after many searches i found a phone number. reached a person. many security questions, she gave me the number. called it twice but could not hear it ring. tried once more walking around the house. under the covers on my bed. how stupid i felt, even went through trash to make sure i had not thrown it out.
> 
> baked raisins bar. darned things would not get done. i had set the temp. 100 degrees to low.
> 
> made a beginner mistake on dress i am sewing. rip out time.
> 
> after hair cut and market, called cab for ride home. they couldn't give a time they would be there and the guy was very rude.  called my granddaughter, she said about twenty min. ended up being an hour. was sitting at tables out front with the sun blazing in my face. i had purchased cold beer. and broke one out and drank it, while reading my purse book. that was the only good part of the day. senior citizens moments all day. whew! i feel better.


Oh babe I understand. It's time for me to start driving again and DH is a pain in the butt. He feels he must go everyplace with me and it drives me nuts.Having to wait for family, cabs, buses is so wretched. I hate it. makes you want to hide. Feel better sweetie you are a good soul.
kades


----------



## CWS4322

I'm a pretty laid-back person--I don't let too many things get my hair up. BUT, I live 1400 miles from my parents (and am the only daughter). My mom has dementia and heart issues. My dad is 80. He also is on heart meds (and bitching about how hard it is to take over cooking). So I called him tonight to discuss a grant proposal I'm writing for him for a project he did...and I'd like to see as a documentary (all that aside). The first thing he tells me is that he forgot to give my mom her heart meds since Thursday....I lost my mind...I asked him if he was trying to kill her and if so, then I'd take him to court to get power of attorney. And then he whined about the fact she can't cook anymore and he's having such a hard time with that...I put my brother on notice too. I am so not interested in hearing about how my dad forgets to give my mom her meds.  I ended the conversation with my dad by saying that he obviously was busy cooking dinner and we could talk tomorrow. Oh. I am so not happy with him.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> I'm a pretty laid-back person--I don't let too many things get my hair up. BUT, I live 1400 miles from my parents (and am the only daughter). My mom has dementia and heart issues. My dad is 80. He also is on heart meds (and bitching about how hard it is to take over cooking). So I called him tonight to discuss a grant proposal I'm writing for him for a project he did...and I'd like to see as a documentary (all that aside). The first thing he tells me is that he forgot to give my mom her heart meds since Thursday....I lost my mind...I asked him if he was trying to kill her and if so, then I'd take him to court to get power of attorney. And then he whined about the fact she can't cook anymore and he's having such a hard time with that...I put my brother on notice too. I am so not interested in hearing about how my dad forgets to give my mom her meds.  I ended the conversation with my dad by saying that he obviously was busy cooking dinner and we could talk tomorrow. Oh. I am so not happy with him.



Not his fault, not her fault, not your brother's fault and not your fault.  You may as well yell at the sky for being blue as rage against our parents getting old and sick and in your mother's case...demented.  Couple of days, no pills...it's not the end of the world.

We just need to find a system that helps your father.  If you feel overwhelmed, how do you think he feels?  And now his daughter is upset and he's starting to forget things.

I know it's tough, but you have to be careful how you react to what he tells you or he'll stop telling you when things really go haywire.  Now that we see the problem, let's work on a way to help you help them.  Hugs!!!!!


----------



## CWS4322

Yeah--that's why I told him I'd call him tomorrow...and when mom said "this isn't working, we need to do something" I told her I'd think about that. And why I told my brother when I talked to him (we've only been on the phone about 3 hours today) that when he gets the weekly call from dad tomorrow (I don't--I guess my dad knows better--I'd read him the riot act) my brother might want to suggest a few things...e.g., that dad put mom's evening pills on the table when they eat supper...or, maybe set a timer, or that dad adjust his schedule to match mom's (dad stays up until 11:30--mom goes to bed when the sun sets down). I don't know what else we can do...it took three years to get them to use pill trays...we're both too far away to be there to make sure she's taken her pills.


----------



## Stubbs

First I must say it good to hear that you care so much. I know it must be overwhelming. And working as a CNA(in the past) know what the demintia is all about it not easy. Keep ur head up & everything will work out but no matter just know that im praying for you. Take care!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Yeah--that's why I told him I'd call him tomorrow...and when mom said "this isn't working, we need to do something" I told her I'd think about that. And why I told my brother when I talked to him (we've only been on the phone about 3 hours today) that when he gets the weekly call from dad tomorrow (I don't--I guess my dad knows better--I'd read him the riot act) my brother might want to suggest a few things...e.g., that dad put mom's evening pills on the table when they eat supper...or, maybe set a timer, or that dad adjust his schedule to match mom's (dad stays up until 11:30--mom goes to bed when the sun sets down). I don't know what else we can do...it took three years to get them to use pill trays...we're both too far away to be there to make sure she's taken her pills.



Medication Talking Clock!

Amazon.com: MedCenter 4 Alarm Talking Reminder Clock (White) (2.75"H x 5"W x 1.75"D): Home & Garden


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> I'm a pretty laid-back person--I don't let too many things get my hair up. BUT, I live 1400 miles from my parents (and am the only daughter). My mom has dementia and heart issues. My dad is 80. He also is on heart meds (and bitching about how hard it is to take over cooking). So I called him tonight to discuss a grant proposal I'm writing for him for a project he did...and I'd like to see as a documentary (all that aside). The first thing he tells me is that he forgot to give my mom her heart meds since Thursday....I lost my mind...I asked him if he was trying to kill her and if so, then I'd take him to court to get power of attorney. And then he whined about the fact she can't cook anymore and he's having such a hard time with that...I put my brother on notice too. I am so not interested in hearing about how my dad forgets to give my mom her meds.  I ended the conversation with my dad by saying that he obviously was busy cooking dinner and we could talk tomorrow. Oh. I am so not happy with him.



Damn.  I am so, so sorry.  Of all the other stuff that has happened to you, iceing on the cake.  Like you need this.  

Taking care of elderly parents, especially long distance, is so hard.  My mom refuses to learn how to use a cell phone, and gets upset when I call the neighbors who call the EMTs when she doesn't answer after a few days.  

Thoughts are with you, CWS.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Damn.  I am so, so sorry.  Of all the other stuff that has happened to you, iceing on the cake.  Like you need this.
> 
> Taking care of elderly parents, especially long distance, is so hard.  My mom refuses to learn how to use a cell phone, and gets upset when I call the neighbors who call the EMTs when she doesn't answer after a few days.
> 
> Thoughts are with you, CWS.



You can just call the sheriff or police dept for a "wellness" check when your Mom doesn't answer.  No need for the EMT's.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> You can just call the sheriff or police dept for a "wellness" check when your Mom doesn't answer.  No need for the EMT's.



Actually, her neighbor called the sheriff.  She lives in a very small town, and the police, sheriff, and EMTs are pretty much the same folks!

She was pissed as the cop had to break through her screen door. And then he shone a light in her face while she was in bed.  I got to hear all about it once her phone service was restored!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Actually, her neighbor called the sheriff.  She lives in a very small town, and the police, sheriff, and EMTs are pretty much the same folks!
> 
> She was pissed as the cop had to break through her screen door. And then he shone a light in her face while she was in bed.  I got to hear all about it once her phone service was restored!



Oh no!!!   LOL  Your poor Mom!  Trying to keep tabs on our parents can give us grey hair!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Oh no!!!   LOL  Your poor Mom!  Trying to keep tabs on our parents can give us grey hair!



Actually, my poor neighbor, he just turned 92.  I have him on speed dial.  Am about 80% gray.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Actually, my poor neighbor, he just turned 92.  I have him on speed dial.  Am about 80% gray.



I have a scattergun approach for my folks...e-mail, phone, cell phone... there are 4 computers, 4 cell phone and a landline...someone always answers.  Because they know I will call the sheriff.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I have a scattergun approach for my folks...e-mail, phone, cell phone... there are 4 computers, 4 cell phone and a landline...someone always answers.  Because they know I will call the sheriff.



I keep trying to teach my mom how to use a cell phone, she refuses.  She thinks the lifeline neck thing is stupid and refuses to even think about it.  Totally computer illiterate.  ARGHH!

Thanks


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I keep trying to teach my mom how to use a cell phone, she refuses.  She thinks the lifeline neck thing is stupid and refuses to even think about it.  Totally computer illiterate.  ARGHH!
> 
> Thanks


I'll try to think of a strategy for that one.  Sometimes it takes a fall and fracture to convince a parent.


----------



## babetoo

Dawgluver said:


> I keep trying to teach my mom how to use a cell phone, she refuses. She thinks the lifeline neck thing is stupid and refuses to even think about it. Totally computer illiterate. ARGHH!
> 
> Thanks


 

tell your mom to give me a call. i have life alert. push the button hanging round my neck and a person calls me. asks what is wrong? so far i have only been testing. if i didn't answer (don't actually don't have to be on the phone" it is set to alert at the sound of what would be a fall. they can hear me from any room in my house. if no answer at all they immediately call 911, then they call my kids. 

as you all may recall, i had three bad falls last year. couldn't get to the phone for a very long time. (two occasions had to pull myself along on the floor ) to get to the phone. if she had to work for four hours on hands and knees, she would see the value. i have a cell phone i take when i leave home. hopefully if something happened while out and about i could call. i am 73 years old. they just need to face the fact that they need help. even from a device they consider silly.


----------



## Dawgluver

babetoo said:
			
		

> tell your mom to give me a call. i have life alert. push the button hanging round my neck and a person calls me. asks what is wrong? so far i have only been testing. if i didn't answer (don't actually don't have to be on the phone" it is set to alert at the sound of what would be a fall. they can hear me from any room in my house. if no answer at all they immediately call 911, then they call my kids.
> 
> as you all may recall, i had three bad falls last year. couldn't get to the phone for a very long time. (two occasions had to pull myself along on the floor ) to get to the phone. if she had to work for four hours on hands and knees, she would see the value. i have a cell phone i take when i leave home. hopefully if something happened while out and about i could call. i am 73 years old. they just need to face the fact that they need help. even from a device they consider silly.



Babe, I will show her your message, as I will see her next week.  Along with my brother and sister, we may be able to convince her.  She's 75 and extremely stubborn!  

Amazing, did not post to vent, but I so appreciate all the support from Fiona and Babe!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Babe, I will show her your message, as I will see her next week.  Along with my brother and sister, we may be able to convince her.  She's 75 and extremely stubborn!
> 
> Amazing, did not post to vent, but I so appreciate all the support from Fiona and Babe!



I take care of people your Mom's age, some of them have fallen and been unable to reach help for a couple of days.  For every day they spend on the floor, it takes a week of recovery time.  For every day in the hospital, it takes a week of recovery time.  This is a fact.

Actually I shouldn't complain, those folks keep me in a job.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I take care of people your Mom's age, some of them have fallen and been unable to reach help for a couple of days.  For every day they spend on the floor, it takes a week of recovery time.  For every day in the hospital, it takes a week of recovery time.  This is a fact.
> 
> Actually I shouldn't complain, those folks keep me in a job.



LOL!  I really appreciate your advice and wisdom!  Thanks so much, Princess!


----------



## DaveSoMD

I know it is frustrating. I went through the same thing with my Mom this past fall/winter.  It was hard being 500+ miles away and my Sister lives in the same town and see's my Mom at least once a week.  Mom just didn't want to tell anyone was was going on. It was by luck that we found out abut things. 

We had to start looking at it like taking care of a child. Yelling doesn't help, as much as it  makes us feel better, and talking reason is a 50/50 proposition.  

We started "double teaming" her after her surgery.. are you doing this?  Did you take that.  Asking lots of questions and making sure she we WE were talking to each other and she wasn't going to get away with anything this time.


----------



## medtran49

Dawgluver said:


> I keep trying to teach my mom how to use a cell phone, she refuses. She thinks the lifeline neck thing is stupid and refuses to even think about it. Totally computer illiterate. ARGHH!
> 
> Thanks


 
Have you looked into one of those Jitterbug phones?  They are supposed to be extremely simple to use and are made for seniors.  Don't have the bells and whistles regular cell phones do and have BIG #s so they are easy to see.


----------



## Stubbs

Its frustrating when your kids don't learn from what wrong they've done. For they did it again this morning.


----------



## CWS4322

We got my mother one of those lifeline devices. She kept it for two months and then cancelled the contract (my father didn't like it). That was three years ago. I love the medication alarm! I am going to order one and have it sent to their house (schedule it to arrive when I'm doing my rotation of eldercare in August). My father is complaining about having to do all the things my mom used to do...cooking, groceries, balancing the chequebook. She still does the laundry. Slowly, he's coming to realize that it isn't going to get easier, it will get harder. He may revisit his refusal to do Meals on Wheels if he has to keep cooking...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> We got my mother one of those lifeline devices. She kept it for two months and then cancelled the contract (my father didn't like it). That was three years ago. I love the medication alarm! I am going to order one and have it sent to their house (schedule it to arrive when I'm doing my rotation of eldercare in August). My father is complaining about having to do all the things my mom used to do...cooking, groceries, balancing the chequebook. She still does the laundry. Slowly, he's coming to realize that it isn't going to get easier, it will get harder. He may revisit his refusal to do Meals on Wheels if he has to keep cooking...



It's important that he sees these as tools to use, not charity or "babysitting"...he is much more likely to use them.  I know he really hates the idea of Meals on Wheels, but it's a tool for HIS convenience.

I'm glad I remembered the Med Clock.  Here is a link to other catalogs: Activities of Daily Living Products: All Types / Family Village


----------



## PrincessFiona60

DaveSoMD said:


> I know it is frustrating. I went through the same thing with my Mom this past fall/winter.  It was hard being 500+ miles away and my Sister lives in the same town and see's my Mom at least once a week.  Mom just didn't want to tell anyone was was going on. It was by luck that we found out abut things.
> 
> We had to start looking at it like taking care of a child. Yelling doesn't help, as much as it  makes us feel better, and talking reason is a 50/50 proposition.
> 
> We started "double teaming" her after her surgery.. are you doing this?  Did you take that.  Asking lots of questions and making sure she we WE were talking to each other and she wasn't going to get away with anything this time.



It took my Grandmother being arrested for reckless driving before we found out how bad she was.  And her daughters (Mom and my Aunts) saw her on a weekly basis.  Turns out grandma knew how to get to work, the gas station and the grocery store, she couldn't get across town to renew her drivers license or car plates.  She had also forgotten how to pay bills, all the envelopes had checks in them, addressed and stamped, but she couldn't find the outgoing mailbox.


----------



## Dawgluver

Yikes!  That is so sad.  My mom has all her marbles, but is so feeble.  I told her to get in her car and drive to her mailbox (about 20 feet from the garage) in the winter to pick up her mail, rather than risk her walking to it and having another fall.  I have offered the Jitterbug, she refuses.  Will look into getting her new phone landlines, as the problem was with landlines not working and not being able to get ahold of her.

Blessings to all of you who work with the elderly!  Sucks getting old!


----------



## kadesma

My mom had dementia it came on slowly but it was so hard to not get angry with the constatnt repeating of asking a question, the calling on the phone for me and leaving the same message over andover. She missed my dad so much they were so close and as one that she became dazed with missing him. I miss them both so much but I know they are together and the love is still going strong.Bless all of you who are dealing with parents who are slipping, enjoy the time you have left with them knowing you
kadesma


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dementia is a thief, it steals memories, it steals our parents from us and worst of all it steals us from them. We get angry, because it scares us and we wonder if it will happen to us.

I hate seeing what it does to families.  But, I love my job and I can't imagine doing anything else.


----------



## Stubbs

Princess I agree not only have I had to deal with it with my great-grandpa plus with working as a CNA for awhile. So I pray for all those who deal with this.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Dementia is a thief, it steals memories, it steals our parents from us and worst of all it steals us from them. We get angry, because it scares us and we wonder if it will happen to us.
> 
> I hate seeing what it does to families.  But, I love my job and I can't imagine doing anything else.


It is a thief. My grandfather  fell to it the night my grandmother passed. He just shut down and got worse till he passed as well. It was so scary to see him just change before my eyes. Then mama got it at 88 and never rgained her right mind. Will it happen to me as well? The thought terrifies me. But with all the other things I have to endure I guess I should not let it bother me, but it does.
kadesl


----------



## chopper

First of all, I bought a Jitterbug for my parents, and it is easy to use. Second, my dad was that man who complained about having to do some household chores when my mom was unable. He even gave away some of her pots and pans saying that she would never use them again. Mom was of sound mind, and for that I am thankful, but my dad drove her crazy sometimes!  Anyway, Mom passed away in December of last year and Dad realizes (too late) that he didn't appreciate what he had until she was gone.  It is really sad. He is a lonely, angry old man. I hope he gets better.


----------



## buckytom

he will, chopper. while the world may seem cold; faith is a way to reconcile those things. whether anyone believes anything or not, it's a natural thing to want and it certainly helps. 

my mil had dementia. it made the last 20 years really tough, mostly for dw. it has affected our entire lives even 7 years past.

but they were better than not having her here with us.


----------



## Claire

Chopper, my heart goes out to you.  In fact, he may never realize what a gem he had.  Looking at my in-laws, I don't think my FIL ever appreciated how much my MIL did for him, and I think he was actually peeved at her for getting sick.  On the other hand, when Mom got sick, Dad learned to be grateful for all he'd been given over the years.  So you never know.


----------



## Stubbs

Right now I feel like a failure as a mom. And I am married, but they my kids so he feels it not his place to do anything. 2 of my kids have been getting up middle of night or b4 I do at least getting into food. It'd been every other day. Im getting into a depression state cause I've displined them in every way (extra chores, no TV, no playing outside) they still do it. I don't know what else to do.


----------



## kadesma

Stubbs said:


> Right now I feel like a failure as a mom. And I am married, but they my kids so he feels it not his place to do anything. 2 of my kids have been getting up middle of night or b4 I do at least getting into food. It'd been every other day. Im getting into a depression state cause I've displined them in every way (extra chores, no TV, no playing outside) they still do it. I don't know what else to do.


if thry were mine Id'tell them that from now on it's eat before bed a small snack and that's it. If they do this again I'd not buy any  godies they like and continued sneaking for will result in their having to pay for it I know kids have botttomless pits but there is no reason to do this. Are they afraind of not getting their share? I'd really impress on them that they are really stealing and we dont do this in our home we sharee.If they are like mine it will stop in time you just have to be on them all the time. I wish you the best/
kadesma


----------



## Barbara L

Stubbs said:


> Right now I feel like a failure as a mom. And I am married, but they my kids so he feels it not his place to do anything. 2 of my kids have been getting up middle of night or b4 I do at least getting into food. It'd been every other day. Im getting into a depression state cause I've displined them in every way (extra chores, no TV, no playing outside) they still do it. I don't know what else to do.





kadesma said:


> if thry were mine Id'tell them that from now on it's eat before bed a small snack and that's it. If they do this again I'd not buy any  godies they like and continued sneaking for will result in their having to pay for it I know kids have botttomless pits but there is no reason to do this. Are they afraind of not getting their share? I'd really impress on them that they are really stealing and we dont do this in our home we sharee.If they are like mine it will stop in time you just have to be on them all the time. I wish you the best/
> kadesma


How old are your kids?

It kind of sounds like a control issue.  Maybe if you had one shelf/bin in the pantry and/or refrigerator that had "free" foods that the kids are welcomed to eat from whenever they want, the sneaking food will stop.  My daughter did this (not for the same reason) and kept healthy snacks, including raw vegetables and fruit, and now and then she would put a special treat (candy, etc.) in there.


----------



## Stubbs

Well my kids are 3 & 4. I do healthly snacks for my oldest is ADHD. I do 3 meals a day and 2 snacks.


----------



## kadesma

Stubbs said:


> Well my kids are 3 & 4. I do healthly snacks for my oldest is ADHD. I do 3 meals a day and 2 snacks.


The children need to understand, food is NOT free andneeds to be accounted for.
kadesma


----------



## Stubbs

Ya I talked to them about it asked them if they knew what stealing meant & what happens to ppl that steal. They could answer the questions plus told me that they should be asking for it. Even told them they will have 3 meals a day& at least 2 snacks a day (before bed) but they will be punished every time. And til they understand & stop they wont get any homemade bake goods or any other goodies to eat til they stop!


----------



## Alix

Maybe I don't clearly understand the situation, but why is it a bad thing that your kids are getting food for themselves? Are they eating crap? Are they leaving a mess? Is it causing financial distress? 

Food is NOT something to create issues of power and control around. Kids have so many things they don't control that often food becomes the one thing they CAN control. This can lead to lots of unhealthy things. 

Barbara has made an excellent suggestion in having a shelf or two of "free" food. Kids need to have limits, yes, but if they are hungry they need to eat. 3 meals and 2 snack would not have been CLOSE to enough for my kids. Madeleine would take recess snacks to school and come home for lunch and after school crying because she was so hungry. She just needed to "graze" all day to manage. 

I know we don't necessarily have the same ideas about things, so please don't be offended by my questions, I'm merely trying to understand. How is a young child getting food out of their home's pantry "stealing"? If they are hungry, and you aren't up to feed them, then isn't it something praiseworthy that they are independent enough to feed themselves?


----------



## Dawgluver

Stubbs said:
			
		

> Ya I talked to them about it asked them if they knew what stealing meant & what happens to ppl that steal. They could answer the questions plus told me that they should be asking for it. Even told them they will have 3 meals a day& at least 2 snacks a day (before bed) but they will be punished every time. And til they understand & stop they wont get any homemade bake goods or any other goodies to eat til they stop!



They are pretty young.  They aren't going to understand a long lecture or punishment.  Have you tried some positives?  A sticker chart on the fridge, earning points for a reward?  Like whoever stays in bed the longest gets a treat/toy/privilege. Praise when they do something they should.  Lock up the stuff they shouldn't get in to.  Your pediatrician might have some other ideas.  They might be missing something in their diet.


----------



## CWS4322

Maybe we need two new venting forums--dealing with kids, and the other, caring for ageing parents...


----------



## chopper

Thanks for your kind words BuckyTom and Claire. Aging parents are tough, but it is even tougher when they are gone. I sure miss my mom!


----------



## CWS4322

chopper said:


> Thanks for your kind words BuckyTom and Claire. Aging parents are tough, but it is even tougher when they are gone. I sure miss my mom!


 
Aww...sorry. I miss my mom--she's not physically gone, but she's not my mom anymore...I know it will be harder when she is actually physically gone...We only have one mom. We can have more than one spouse, but we can't ever go out and find another mom...or dad.


----------



## CWS4322

Stubbs--I'm not a parent, so take this with a grain of salt. But I would definiitely talk with their doctor. My biological clock wakes me at 4:00 a.m. almost every day. I'm not hungry, but I'm wide awake. I've been this way my whole life. I drove my parents crazy--I sometimes would play quietly in my room--but I was on high alert when others got up. I still am. I drive my DH crazy. 

Maybe trying to shift their sleep schedule would help (the old you set the alarm for an hour  before they wake up, get them up, give them a snack, put them back to bed--you didn't say if they sleep in the same room--if they do, maybe separate them), and move that time forward in 5-10 minute increments over several weeks (so do it for 3-4 days, change the time). This is what we've done when housebreaking puppies that wake up at 4:00 a.m. I know, kids aren't puppies, but a consistent routine and waking them instead of letting them determine when they get up might help. I'm guessing there is a reason they are waking up at that hour and that changing the schedule of when they eat, what they eat at each meal, and when they go to bed might be in order. A specialist probably would be the best person to consult. Maybe they need "sleep inducing" foods later in the day...


----------



## Stubbs

Dif ppl have their own options about things. And its all about not asking... I have no problem with feeding my kids if they are hungry but what you dnt understand is one of my kids no matter how much he eats he says he hungry he can just have 2 servings of food at dinner still say he is hungry.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The waking them up to eat and back to bed mentioned above is work, but it would work...resetting their body clocks is what needs to be done.  Also, many kids benefit from many small meals throughout the day.


----------



## Stubbs

All im saying is it strange they nev really have woke up like this. Now all of a sudden they do. I know our life about to change husband got a new job to where he will be traveling


----------



## CWS4322

Stubbs--that would have me talking with their doctor--that this is new behaviour. It may be that the waking up at 4:00 a.m. hungry is unrelated. It may be that they answer that they are hungry (they are very young) is a patterned response to a question posed, but may not be true. 

Your kids' doctor is probably your better bet to arrive at a workable solution to this behaviour than any of us here can offer. Please contact their doctor and discuss this so that you can figure out an approach to resolve this issue. They may well outgrow it, but you may go insane before that happens. Good luck.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Stubbs--that would have me talking with their doctor--that this is new behaviour. It may be that the waking up at 4:00 a.m. hungry is unrelated. It may be that they answer that they are hungry (they are very young) is a patterned response to a question posed, but may not be true.
> 
> Your kids' doctor is probably your better bet to arrive at a workable solution to this behaviour than any of us here can offer. Please contact their doctor and discuss this so that you can figure out an approach to resolve this issue. They may well outgrow it, but you may go insane before that happens. Good luck.



Considering you are proficient with puppies and hens and I am good with Geriatrics and kittens...we probably aren't the best people to answer this question


----------



## medtran49

My cousin has a child also who will eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and still say he is hungry, is morbidly obese because of his eating, and also has ADHD, as well as other issues, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, although he is able to function normally when he wants something.  He was a preemie that at the time he was born was on the border of where the docs are able to keep them alive.  His issues have gotten worse and worse as he has gotten older, to the point that as a young teen my cousin was unable to handle him, violence was even threatened.  He needs an extremely structured environment and has had to be placed in a facility dealing with teens with eating disorders, behavioral problems, etc.  He came home for a few years, did really well at first, but has recently been placed back in such a facility.  Frankly, I don't know what she is going to do because he will be 18 soon.  

I write this not to frighten you but to reinforce the advice given to you regarding talking to your doctor.  My cousin and my aunt, mostly my aunt, his grandmother, kept saying for years it's just a phase, he'll grow out of it, he's just being a boy, etc.  Well, he didn't grow out of it and it's only gotten worse.  Please take them to see their doctor. 

With the above said though, my grand-daughters are 4 and 8.  For the last few years, the 8-year-old has been going thru periods where she can eat third helpings and be hungry again shortly after.  This will go on for several weeks and then taper off for a few months, then start again.  She's tall for her age and has a good body weight for her height.  One of those cycles is just ending.  When I was there about a month ago, she was eating everything she could get her hands on (and getting up in the middle of the night and eating - driving her mother nuts), yet when I went this past weekend, she is nearly back to eating normal amounts.  It's obviously a growth phase she is going thru so please consider that as well.  

A month ago when I was there, I talked to her about eating in the middle of the night because it was driving her mother and father nuts since she was taking food in her bedroom and leaving wrappers, crumbs, etc that were drawing bugs (South Florida too just several hours away from us).  She was defensive at first because her mother and father had been fussing at her so much and punishing her over it.  Once I got her to realize I wasn't going to fuss at her, she told me she couldn't help it, that she'd wake up so hungry she couldn't go back to sleep and she just had to have something to eat.  The younger one would usually wake up and tag along on the kitchen raids too.  

So, please take the kids to the doctor and find out if there is a problem before fussing at them or punishing them.


----------



## Stubbs

Problem is my youngest boy is the one that concerns me with the food for he always wants food no matter how much food he gets he wants more & more I've talked to the doctor bout that wad b4 they started to do this in middle of night. All she said was it might be he eating too fast or needs more fatty foods


----------



## Stubbs

So you telling me I shouldn't say anything let em do it


----------



## medtran49

That young, yes I would, although I'd provide a special shelf or one of the bottom drawers they can take from like was suggested earlier.  Is the youngest eating a balanced diet or is he like some kids that age that will only eat certain things?


----------



## Stubbs

I have to do the balanced diet my oldest is on special diet he is ADHD. And I don't knw wht to do for my husband thinks they need to sit in room til they stop. And it gonna be a fight.


----------



## Stubbs

And it always the foods they not allowed to have like chocolate tht they get into


----------



## Claire

Stubbs said:


> Right now I feel like a failure as a mom. And I am married, but they my kids so he feels it not his place to do anything. 2 of my kids have been getting up middle of night or b4 I do at least getting into food. It'd been every other day. Im getting into a depression state cause I've displined them in every way (extra chores, no TV, no playing outside) they still do it. I don't know what else to do.



Stubbs, is the food they are getting into junk food or real, nutritious food?  If it is the former, then just do not buy it for awhile.  If it is the latter, then make a nutritious snack for them a half hour or so before bed.  But the fact is that kids can be insomniacs (I was one) and stay in bed and read a book.


----------



## Claire

Oh, dear, some other answers appeared just before mine.  Seriously, can't you and your husband do without chocolate for a few weeks to help break the pattern?


----------



## medtran49

A child that young is responding to what his body is telling him. He's not doing it to be a thorn in your side or to cause trouble. You and your husband need to understand that. He's obviously either not getting enough to eat or not enough of the right kind of food (i.e. fatty as your doc suggested). 

I know it's hard when you have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis as my daughter and her husband have shown but when you're a grandparent and can take a step back and look at the issue from a different point and, more importantly, talk to the child without them being defensive from being fussed at and/or punished you sometimes find out more. After I talked to my granddaughter and then with my daughter, they worked out a compromise that when she's hungry at night, she's allowed certain foods and is to sit at the kitchen table long enough to eat and then go straight back to bed. If she gets caught playing or having food in her room, she understands she will be punished. And if she wakes her sister up, she's responsible for getting her back to bed too unless she absolutely won't cooperate and then she's to go wake up mom. 

Even at 3 and 4, yours should be old enough to be told you can have food from this box or this drawer but nothing else. Short of locking up the fridge and pantry, there's not much else you can do. If you continue to punish them over food that one or both of them obviously needs, that will spill over and cause other issues.

ETA:  If they are eating "forbidden" things like chocolate, either don't buy it like Claire wrote or put it up where they can't reach it, or keep it in a plastic bag or box in your bedroom.


----------



## CWS4322

Stubbs--I work weird hours (4 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m.). I eat protein for breakfast (a couple of hard boiled eggs fill me up). Maybe mixing up the evening snacks to include protein--deviled eggs, hardboiled eggs, egg on toast, as the bedtime snack would be helpful? Quinoa is another food that fills me up. It is gluten free but an excellent source of vegetable protein and amino acids. I don't have a problem switching my sleep hours, but my "belly" has had a real problem adjusting to the change in the time of day that I'm actually up and working. 

Can your doctor refer you to a dietician/nutritionist? Maybe a dietician/nutritionist can help you determine what foods might help fill your son up? I assume there is no other medical condition that makes him hungry all the time?


----------



## Alix

Stubbs, I* do* work with kids and you've had lots of great advice here. If its the crappy food they're getting into then either don't buy/make it or put it somewhere inaccessible to them. 

It sounds like you have two issues going on. One being that they get up, and the other being they are eating what you don't want them to eat. 

If it is not a financial burden, then make the food that is accessible to the kids healthy stuff. Put a veggie platter or a fruit plate in the fridge perhaps. Try putting healthy cereals down low, or crackers that you don't mind them eating. Keep everything that they SHOULDN'T have up high or put child locks on the cupboards. Limit how much you put down on the lower shelves to smaller amounts. Refill the shelves when its necessary, but don't be in a huge rush to do it. 

I don't know how easy it is for you to access a dietician, but a nutritionist or dietician has training and knowledge about how best to address overeating issues. 

Also, you have mentioned your child is ADHD, is he/she on any medication? If NOT then don't be surprised by how much food he needs. ADHD is like having your cars motor running really fast all the time, it requires more fuel than an engine idling normally. If your child is on medication, do not be surprised if their appetite diminishes or disappears altogether. Every medication is different. 

I'm not a big help on the sleep issue. Retraining kids to a different sleep schedule is a lot of work and I've never done it. Sorry about that!


----------



## buckytom

just a quick side rant: i weeded my entire garden this past week, producing 4 large bags of weeds.(i would have composted it, but that's another story).

i put them out with the garbage, but the garbage men just tore them open trying to pick them up one handed, spilling them into the street. my wife saw this and asked the garbage men if they were going to clean it up, but they just said " too heavy lady. too heavy", and they drove on.

too heavy. are they milktoasts? pantywaists? a bunch o' marys?

i carried two bags out to the corner at a time! yeah they were heavy, but gimme a break. i'm not superman.

i can't wait 'till saturday. i'm gonna break the bags of weeds down into little food shopping bags, and bring out an old dress for the garbage men to see if they might fit in it. lol.

should be fun.


----------



## kadesma

buckytom said:


> just a quick side rant: i weeded my entire garden this past week, producing 4 large bags of weeds.(i would have composted it, but that's another story).
> 
> i put them out with the garbage, but the garbage men just tore them open trying to pick them up one handed, spilling them into the street. my wife saw this and asked the garbage men if they were going to clean it up, but they just said " too heavy lady. too heavy", and they drove on.
> 
> too heavy. are they milktoasts? pantywaists? a bunch o' marys?
> 
> i carried two bags out to the corner at a time! yeah they were heavy, but gimme a break. i'm not superman.
> 
> i can't wait 'till saturday. i'm gonna break the bags of weeds down into little food shopping bags, and bring out an old dress for the garbage men to see if they might fit in it. lol.
> 
> should be fun.


Don't let them get to you BT that's the pits to have to put up with lazy fannies. Our use to give us that crap  now they can't they have a truck that lifts and empties the garbage cans the only time they get out of that truck is to pick and take bags of apples or peaches. Talk about nerve!!!!
kades


----------



## medtran49

kadesma said:


> they get out of that truck is to pick and take bags of apples or peaches. Talk about nerve!!!!
> kades


 
I'd be having something to say to their employer about that.  Get the number off the truck and call it in.  Our homeowner association landscapers have probably now gotten the association involved in a lawsuit and public relations nightmare because they couldn't keep their hands off mangoes and avocados that belonged to a homeowner.  And, to top that one off, we've had more homeowners come forward with complaints about them picking their fruit.


----------



## LPBeier

Many might think my vent today is about the fact my beloved hockey team lost the Stanley Cup last night; however, this is not the case.  I am so proud of them for all they accomplished this year and will keep cheering for them no matter what.  Boston beat them fair and square - it was a battle of the goalies and Tim Thomas was by far the victor.

My vent is for what happened after.  17 years ago we lost the cup to the New York Rangers (in New York) and riots occurred all over Vancouver.  Police cars (and others) were turned over and set on fire, stores were looted, people were hurt and so on.

The City officials this time around put two plans in motion - if we won they were planning a parade for Friday, if we lost they had a riot strategy all set. 

 No one was prepared for what really went down.  Literally minutes after the game ended the 100,000 people gather on the City streets turned ugly.  Again cars were set on fire as were garbage cans and molitof cocktails (clearly premeditated) were thrown into the crowds and at buildings.  Fences which had been set up as barricades became weapons as people were literally throwing them at each other.  People were trampled, stabbed and one was even pushed off a viaduct onto the road below.

My best friend's husband, a police officer with the canine squad was off duty but felt the need to go in, as did several of his squad teammates.  They were set up on perimeters with the dogs to try and guide people out of the area.  He was out until 1:30 am and got home around 3, still caught in a sea of people and cars.  Their 13 year-old son couldn't get to sleep until after midnight because he was so afraid for his Dad.

The one good thing was that is was evident in the second period we would not win and so parents started leaving the area with their young children then.  I would hate to have seen what would have happened if they remained.  

I know that this happens elsewhere but that doesn't make it any better. I am very embarrassed that Vancouver fans are getting a reputation of being "sore losers".  One news person from the states (won't mention where) went so far as to say that we should be better at taking losses as the Canucks have been practicing it for 40 years.  

I am very proud of our hockey team, but not my fellow fans.


----------



## dcSaute

perhaps the city should impose a $1000 surcharge on each home game tickets to cover the damages.

should work - either the fans shape up or the team goes bankrupt - problem solved.


----------



## LPBeier

dcSaute said:


> perhaps the city should impose a $1000 surcharge on each home game tickets to cover the damages.
> 
> should work - either the fans shape up or the team goes bankrupt - problem solved.



It wasn't so much the fans INSIDE the arena (who already forked out a lot for the tickets).  There was an estimated 100,000 people on the streets of Vancouver watching the games on Jumbo-trons located in two cordoned off areas of the downtown area. The action started before the arena fans even got out of their seats (they actually stayed a bit to pay respect to the winners and goodbye to their team).  

There is talk that should we make it to the final next year they will just completely block off the downtown area and only allow ticket holders (or people who need to be there for work reasons) in before, during and after the games.  The whole reason for putting the giant screens up this year was to try and localize and control the people.

The main problem is that no matter how hard they tried to stop people from bringing in liquor, they did anyway (some even said they were having more fun hiding it than drinking it).


----------



## Andy M.

I understand your feelings.  I saw it last night on the news and was saddened that such an ugly thing was happening in such a beautiful city.  Similar things have happened here.  The Boston riot police were out in force last night to keep the peace.  People were not allowed to gather.  They were kept moving.

That newscaster you mentioned was a poor sport and classless.  I feel the same about all the Boston sports talk show people I've been listening to who were childish in some of their comments.

If the opposing hockey players can be gracious to each other, we should all take a lesson form that.

I watched an exciting series.  Both teams played well.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, Andy, and congratulations to you and your team.  It was a well played series for sure.

I just heard that the man who was pushed off the viaduct has died from his injuries and the person who did it has turned himself in.  That doesn't make up for what he did, but at least he showed some remorse.


----------



## joesfolk

As an American I tend to think of Canadians as more civilized, more well mannered than we are.  So the post really surprised me.  I know those things tend to happen when any Detroit team (my home state team) loses but I was amazed to hear of that sort of thing happening in Canada.  I guess we are all fallible human beings.  Just wish we could all be more civilized.


----------



## Andy M.

Agreed


----------



## dcSaute

I wonder,,,,  after the gore in the coliseum, did the Romans riot?

perhaps it should be played as "hockey-finals-to-the-death"?


----------



## LPBeier

joesfolk said:


> As an American I tend to think of Canadians as more civilized, more well mannered than we are.  So the post really surprised me.  I know those things tend to happen when any Detroit team (my home state team) loses but I was amazed to hear of that sort of thing happening in Canada.*  I guess we are all fallible human beings.* * Just wish we could all be more civilized.*



It was a group of people who had planned this all out ahead of time and didn't care if the Canucks won or lost.  That is the sad part - they ruined it for everyone who was genuine.

But your last statement there is sadly true.



dcSaute said:


> I wonder,,,,  after the gore in the coliseum, did the Romans riot? perhaps it should be played as "hockey-finals-to-the-death"?



With some of the injuries that hockey players are receiving these days it is too close to that for comfort already.


----------



## babetoo

grrr another bummer of a day sewing. makes me nuts!!


----------



## tinlizzie

babetoo said:


> grrr another bummer of a day sewing. makes me nuts!!


 
And yet, Babetoo, if someone came and took away all your sewing supplies & your machine, you would no doubt long to have them again, frustrations and all.

You're an inspiration with your many projects, and I hope you'll be able to post photos one of these days.


----------



## Dawgluver

Elderly opinionated mother + horrid evil sister who despises same + self-centered/scattered SIL + clueless brother + clueless DH  + adorable 3 yr old niece with boundless energy + extremely tolerant and well-behaved dog + 6 hour drive through big city traffic = Shriek!!!  Scream!!!  Ripping out of hair!!!  Looking for nearest bridge to leap from for a merciful release.  Family reunions ( at least mine) totally suck!!!

Finally arrived home following another 6 hour drive through big city traffic.  Dog and I are no longer shaking.  Horrible weekend.  Never again!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Elderly opinionated mother + horrid evil sister who despises same + self-centered/scattered SIL + clueless brother + clueless DH  + adorable 3 yr old niece with boundless energy + extremely tolerant and well-behaved dog + 6 hour drive through big city traffic = Shriek!!!  Scream!!!  Ripping out of hair!!!  Looking for nearest bridge to leap from for a merciful release.  Family reunions ( at least mine) totally suck!!!
> 
> Finally arrived home following another 6 hour drive through big city traffic.  Dog and I are no longer shaking.  Horrible weekend.  Never again!



Sounds like you, Dog and Niece should take a second car next time.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Sounds like you, Dog and Niece should take a second car next time.



Yeah.  My right eye is still twitching.  We all descended to visit said niece who lives in the city along with bro and SIL.  Had to import the rest of us.

Quoth the raven: Nevermore.  Good grief, it was horrid.


----------



## Rocklobster

I was laid off as a kitchen manager on Sunday. My boss has finally decided to throw in the towel.  She is being hounded by her former partners over money, shares, etc.. She tried very hard to make things go this past year. I don't blame her one bit, and believe that she will be better off without the stress. I hope her nothing but the best. 

I can pick up some drumming jobs that I used to pass up because of cooking.  Musician and cook isn't a good combination. One job has me getting home at 2 a.m. while the other has me up at 5 a.m.  Plus, I already have a message on my machine from a guy I know who owns a meat shop deli type place. He asked me to come and work for him before, but I was just getting going with this last restaurant. 
Oh, well, I will enjoy sitting in my boxers drinking coffee until 10 a.m. as long as I can.


----------



## Andy M.

Rocklobster said:


> I was laid off as a kitchen manager on Sunday. My boss has finally decided to throw in the towel.  She is being hounded by her former partners over money, shares, etc.. She tried very hard to make things go this past year. I don't blame her one bit, and believe that she will be better off without the stress. I hope her nothing but the best.
> 
> I can pick up some drumming jobs that I used to pass up because of cooking.  Musician and cook isn't a good combination. One job has me getting home at 2 a.m. while the other has me up at 5 a.m.  Plus, I already have a message on my machine from a guy I know who owns a meat shop deli type place. He asked me to come and work for him before, but I was just getting going with this last restaurant.
> Oh, well, I will enjoy sitting in my boxers drinking coffee until 10 a.m. as long as I can.




That stinks for both of you.  Sounds like you have some options available that will keep the wolf from the door.  I wish you luck in finding the right situation.


----------



## Alix

RL, I'm sorry that happened. Hope you are able to enjoy your "boxer time" without too much stress. The right work will come to you when you are ready.


----------



## Rocklobster

Thanks, Andy. One thing about being a cook, is that it isn't great money, but there is always work. So far, anyway.

Thanks, Alix. Part of me would like to take some summer time off, but I don't want to get too comfortable. And, I never want to pass up potential employment. You never know when, or if, there will be another offer.


----------



## LPBeier

Rock, I am very sorry to hear this and have been thinking about you since you mentioned it might be a possibility awhile ago.  I will continue those thoughts for you and your ex-boss as you both head into your next phases.  I know you don't want to get complacent but do try to enjoy a little down time too.  I am sure you need it!


----------



## CWS4322

Awww--sorry to hear that. And, I've made a note not to drop in before 10:00 a.m.


----------



## LPBeier

CWS4322 said:


> Awww--sorry to hear that. And, I've made a note not to drop in before 10:00 a.m.


----------



## Zhizara

I am furious!  I got an email from Firefox telling me to download the newest version 5.0.  I did so.  All my Favorites are GONE!  I don't do Bookmark.  I still have a file of favorites because I still use them in IE8, which I still have to have because Firefox 4.0 upgrade doesn't support yahoo!

I even did a system restore to a couple of days ago to get back on the Firefox 4.0 I had before, but NOOOooooo.  It's gone for good too.  Just like when they put out IE8 and you can't revert back to the good old IE7 which actually worked!  It also took my colorful tabs - Not Compatible.  Now I have the grayed out tabs that you cannot read.

Don't upgrade!!!!!!!!!!  I thought that any upgrade would at least fix the problems with the previous upgrade, but not so.

I found "Tidy Favorites" add-on which is supposed to be compatible.  Even though I unloaded it, it won't tell me how to set it up.  AAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH  (to quote Alix).


----------



## Dawgluver

Zhizara said:
			
		

> I am furious!  I got an email from Firefox telling me to download the newest version 5.0.  I did so.  All my Favorites are GONE!  I don't do Bookmark.  I still have a file of favorites because I still use them in IE8, which I still have to have because Firefox 4.0 upgrade doesn't support yahoo!
> 
> I even did a system restore to a couple of days ago to get back on the Firefox 4.0 I had before, but NOOOooooo.  It's gone for good too.  Just like when they put out IE8 and you can't revert back to the good old IE7 which actually worked!  It also took my colorful tabs - Not Compatible.  Now I have the grayed out tabs that you cannot read.
> 
> Don't upgrade!!!!!!!!!!  I thought that any upgrade would at least fix the problems with the previous upgrade, but not so.
> 
> I found "Tidy Favorites" add-on which is supposed to be compatible.  Even though I unloaded it, it won't tell me how to set it up.  AAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH  (to quote Alix).



Zhizara, I feel your pain!  AOL and Firefox did the same thing to me, and I hate it!  Went online for solutions, and there is apparently nothing we can do.  Did system restore, etc, nada.

Creeps.


----------



## Alix

Holy moly. I am so sorry to hear that! Thank you though for saving me from upgrading! Yikes! I'd have been one unhappy camper without my bookmarks!


----------



## LPBeier

Alix, I upgraded successfully before this.  I did not lose anything but I think Z is saying she doesn't use bookmarks.  I am finding the new version okay on my XP, but haven't switched yet on my netbook which has Windows 7.

Z, I do feel your pain.  I have had things like that happen to me that make you feel sick all over.  I had two hard drive crashes and in between them our sophisticated backup system wasn't working and we didn't know.  I lost my entire family tree....thankfully much of it was printed as well.


----------



## Barbara L

I have read recently that a lot of people are having problems with the Firefox upgrade.


----------



## Barbara L

A few months ago I started having little twinges in my side (in the back around where I assume my kidney is) when I rolled over in bed. Instead of going away, they got a little worse, and I started having them if I moved certain ways when I was up as well.  I didn't say anything when I saw the doctor because it still wasn't much of a problem, and I really just forgot about it.

Now, however, the pain is getting much worse. It kept me awake much of the night last night, and it woke me up a few times. The pain has gotten really bad, like someone is trying to give my kidney an "Indian Burn" (twisting it both ways with their hands). I'm not having any other of the signs I have read about kidney problems, and my kidney stones (which I haven't had for awhile) never originated in my kidneys. The pain usually hits in such a way that I cry out, so James knows it isn't "nothing." I have a very high tolerance to pain (which is probably why I am usually in need of surgery or hospitalization when I finally go to the doctor for something painful! LOL).

Anyway...

I'm just griping about the pain for now, but yes I am going to see the doctor about it. I have an appointment for Thursday morning. I just needed to complain for a minute.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> A few months ago I started having little twinges in my side (in the back around where I assume my kidney is) when I rolled over in bed. Instead of going away, they got a little worse, and I started having them if I moved certain ways when I was up as well.  I didn't say anything when I saw the doctor because it still wasn't much of a problem, and I really just forgot about it.
> 
> Now, however, the pain is getting much worse. It kept me awake much of the night last night, and it woke me up a few times. The pain has gotten really bad, like someone is trying to give my kidney an "Indian Burn" (twisting it both ways with their hands). I'm not having any other of the signs I have read about kidney problems, and my kidney stones (which I haven't had for awhile) never originated in my kidneys. The pain usually hits in such a way that I cry out, so James knows it isn't "nothing." I have a very high tolerance to pain (which is probably why I am usually in need of surgery or hospitalization when I finally go to the doctor for something painful! LOL).
> 
> Anyway...
> 
> I'm just griping about the pain for now, but yes I am going to see the doctor about it. I have an appointment for Thursday morning. I just needed to complain for a minute.



I thought my elbow was getting better until I leaned on it today...I hope you figure it out, Barbara.


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I thought my elbow was getting better until I leaned on it today...I hope you figure it out, Barbara.


If it is just some kind of muscle spasms I can learn to live with them, but I just don't need any other health issues right now! I don't feel sick, so that's a good thing.

You obviously haven't been listening to the song. It does not say, "Lean on your elbow when you're not strong."  It says, "Lean on me!"    Take care of your arm!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> If it is just some kind of muscle spasms I can learn to live with them, but I just don't need any other health issues right now! I don't feel sick, so that's a good thing.
> 
> You obviously haven't been listening to the song. It does not say, "Lean on your elbow when you're not strong."  It says, "Lean on me!"    Take care of your arm!




I...can't...reach...you...!!!  Want a ride on my bike?  I'll let you ring the bell!


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I...can't...reach...you...!!!  Want a ride on my bike?  I'll let you ring the bell!


Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!  *ring ring!*  Ooof!  Ow


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!  *ring ring!*  Ooof!  Ow



I guess I should put training wheels on...


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I guess I should put training wheels on...


Goof!

Hey, did you read my last blog entry to see what a STUPID thing I did last week?  Sheesh! I'm not sure if it was more old age or tiredness, but I'm sure they both played a part!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> Goof!
> 
> Hey, did you read my last blog entry to see what a STUPID thing I did last week?  Sheesh! I'm not sure if it was more old age or tiredness, but I'm sure they both played a part!



Just now read it!  Be careful!


----------



## LPBeier

I will have to go read it too.  I get so remiss about that!  I am starting mine back up soon so at least I will be in the neighbourhood.

My wimpy vent - I am loosing the nail off my thumb.  I have no idea why, what I did or even when it started.  But nothing we have tried will stop it.  There is an area that looks like there might be a sliver in it, but there isn't - or maybe it is infected.  Now, the cuticle which is still far from the problem is starting to discolour and hurt, and there are tiny scratches on the skin beneath the cuticle which are red and sore.  

DH keeps saying I should see about it but between ER trips for my asthma, going to visit my Dad and dealing with his doctors, I don't have the time or inclination to add any more to the mix.  But I don't want to lose my nail.  And you don't realize how much you use your thumb until you can't.  

Told you it was wimpy, but I feel better for getting it out.


----------



## Zhizara

I was able to copy my Favorites file to the bookmarks.  It's awkward, but usable.  

It just think it was really irresponsible to offer an upgrade that didn't fix what was wrong with the previous version.


----------



## Andy M.

Zhizara said:


> I was able to copy my Favorites file to the bookmarks.  It's awkward, but usable.
> 
> It just think it was really irresponsible to offer an upgrade that didn't fix what was wrong with the previous version.




I'm sorry to hear of your problems.  That's a new one.  I just upgraded to FF 5 on my SO's PC and my MAC with no problems.  There may have been an underlying issue that caused your losing your bookmarks.


----------



## Zhizara

Andy M. said:


> I'm sorry to hear of your problems.  That's a new one.  I just upgraded to FF 5 on my SO's PC and my MAC with no problems.  There may have been an underlying issue that caused your losing your bookmarks.



Favorites aren't bookmarks.  It works similarly, but it much easier to use and organize.  I had an add on "sameoldfavorites" that allowed me to keep using it.

Bookmarks doesn't sort things the way I want them, has a ton of junk that automatically comes up so that I have to wade through it all to find a favorite link, like DC Power User.

Adding a new Favorite adds it to my Favorites wherever I use it, FF, IE, etc.  The order I put them in stays the way I set it up too.  

I almost didn't go with Firefox because of that flaw.

To solve it, I copied my Favorites file, and bookmarked it.  It shows up at the bottom of the Bookmark files list of junk.  When I click on it I get a whole listing of the files, and they link just fine.  

I'm really burnt about the tabs.  When they upgraded to 4.0 it turned my unused tabs a darkish gray.  It's almost impossible to read.  

I had that solved with the "colorful tabs" add on, that is now not supported by 5.0.


----------



## Selkie

I don't know why it's different for you, but "favorites" and "Bookmarks" are identical on my computer (Windows XP3) are are quite editable and manageable. Whenever I change one, the other is changed also. I've deleted all of the pre-loaded "garbage" links, and created folders for my personal form of organization (Art, Photography, Food & Drink, etc.) plus sub-folders. The problem you're having is one reason I don't use add-ons that aren't completely supported by the primary program. It's too easy to lose important information.

My "colorful tabs" works just fine. I only had one out of eight add-ons that no longer works, and it wasn't important.

I suggest you go into your control panel, delete Mozilla Firefox 5, and then, using Internet Explorer, download a clean copy of the Mozilla Firefox 5 installation program and run it. Your "favorites" shouldn't be affected.


----------



## LPBeier

My techie life "ended" about 10 years ago now, but this is basically what I know. Bookmarks (Firefox) and Favourites (IE) have the same function; however, they belong to different browsers/companies and so have different programming.  I use them both separately in their browsers.  However, I was aware that there are applications which will allow you to access the same links on both but don't know anything about these.  Z, you seem to do your homework on stuff like that so would know more than me.


----------



## Selkie

LPBeier said:


> My techie life "ended" about 10 years ago now, but this is basically what I know. Bookmarks (Firefox) and Favourites (IE) have the same function; however, they belong to different browsers/companies and so have different programming.  I use them both separately in their browsers.  However, I was aware that there are applications which will allow you to access the same links on both but don't know anything about these.  Z, you seem to do your homework on stuff like that so would know more than me.



LP, "favorites" isn't a function of Internet Explorer nor Firefox. Its a function of Windows, and all browsers draw information from this same file, so that whenever you change its information, such as adding a new bookmark, it is reflected by all programs that draw "favorites" information.

_(My computer support information began in 1970 - with government mainframes; I worked for American Freightways Trucking Co. as a Computer Tech Support Operator during the 1990s, and I passed the Microsoft Technical Support Course in 1996 - not that I remember anything these days... I swear I'm going senile!  - so take my advice with a grain of salt.)_


----------



## Zhizara

Selkie said:


> I don't know why it's different for you, but "favorites" and "Bookmarks" are identical on my computer (Windows XP3) are are quite editable and manageable. Whenever I change one, the other is changed also. I've deleted all of the pre-loaded "garbage" links, and created folders for my personal form of organization (Art, Photography, Food & Drink, etc.) plus sub-folders. The problem you're having is one reason I don't use add-ons that aren't completely supported by the primary program. It's too easy to lose important information.
> 
> My "colorful tabs" works just fine. I only had one out of eight add-ons that no longer works, and it wasn't important.
> 
> I suggest you go into your control panel, delete Mozilla Firefox 5, and then, using Internet Explorer, download a clean copy of the Mozilla Firefox 5 installation program and run it. Your "favorites" shouldn't be affected.



It must be because I have Windows 7.  Don't upgrade.  I haven't had one that was any improvement, and mostly they take away things I do like.

When FF 5.0 installed, it notified me that 3 of my add ons were no longer supported including "same old favorites" and "colorful tabs"  I didn't catch the name of the other one because I was already livid by that time.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, Selkie for the correction.  My hubby or "know-it-all-computer-geek" as I lovingly referred to when I first met him  peaked over my shoulder as he was kissing me goodbye and corrected me as well.  Didn't have time to correct myself here.  And I do remember that he has connected the file for me to my browsers when I have changed them or when I got my new netbook.


----------



## Andy M.

Zhizara said:


> ...When FF 5.0 installed, it notified me that 3 of my add ons were no longer supported including "same old favorites" and "colorful tabs"  I didn't catch the name of the other one because I was already livid by that time.




I lost the reader add-on when I installed FF5.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> I will have to go read it too.  I get so remiss about that!  I am starting mine back up soon so at least I will be in the neighbourhood.
> 
> My wimpy vent - I am loosing the nail off my thumb.  I have no idea why, what I did or even when it started.  But nothing we have tried will stop it.  There is an area that looks like there might be a sliver in it, but there isn't - or maybe it is infected.  Now, the cuticle which is still far from the problem is starting to discolour and hurt, and there are tiny scratches on the skin beneath the cuticle which are red and sore.
> 
> DH keeps saying I should see about it but between ER trips for my asthma, going to visit my Dad and dealing with his doctors, I don't have the time or inclination to add any more to the mix.  But I don't want to lose my nail.  And you don't realize how much you use your thumb until you can't.
> 
> Told you it was wimpy, but I feel better for getting it out.


That's not wimpy! You really should have it checked out, especially since there is pain and redness.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> That's not wimpy! You really should have it checked out, especially since there is pain and redness.



I agree...you need to get it checked LP!!!


----------



## Aunt Bea

I have been dieting seriously for the last three months and today I went to the Doctor for a quarterly checkup.  The scale in her office indicates that I only lost seven pounds.  I was sure that it would show at least a twenty pound drop.  I take up much less space now than I did three months ago, my clothes fit better and my A1C showed a drop of two full points but, that @#*X@ scale is making me crazy.  It is strange how a number can rule your entire life!


----------



## LPBeier

Aunt Bea said:


> I have been dieting seriously for the last three months and today I went to the Doctor for a quarterly checkup.  The scale in her office indicates that I only lost seven pounds.  I was sure that it would show at least a twenty pound drop.  I take up much less space now than I did three months ago, my clothes fit better and my A1C showed a drop of two full points but, that @#*X@ scale is making me crazy.  It is strange how a number can rule your entire life!


Are you exercising along with your diet Aunt Bea?  Because I find my poundage is going slow but my dress sizes are falling like crazy and it is because I am also working out and building muscle (which is not light).  Also, fluid makes for a thinner body but doesn't always show as much on the scales.

Don't let the numbers get you too down (though I totally relate to you in every way here), as long as you are looking and physically feeling better.  And hey, 7 pounds is still good - the longer it takes to take it off sometimes the easier it is to keep it off!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> I have been dieting seriously for the last three months and today I went to the Doctor for a quarterly checkup.  The scale in her office indicates that I only lost seven pounds.  I was sure that it would show at least a twenty pound drop.  I take up much less space now than I did three months ago, my clothes fit better and my A1C showed a drop of two full points but, that @#*X@ scale is making me crazy.  It is strange how a number can rule your entire life!



I ignore the scale at the Doctor's office.  Unless you are dressed exactly the same, it's the same time of day and 700 people haven't already been on that scale before you...it's not accurate.

Your scale at home...much more reliable, just make sure you are weighing at the same time of day.  I pick right after waking up and using the bathroom.  If I sleep in...I don't weigh myself that day.


----------



## Selkie

Aunt Bea said:


> I have been dieting seriously for the last three months and today I went to the Doctor for a quarterly checkup.  The scale in her office indicates that I only lost seven pounds.  I was sure that it would show at least a twenty pound drop.  I take up much less space now than I did three months ago, my clothes fit better and my A1C showed a drop of two full points but, that @#*X@ scale is making me crazy.  It is strange how a number can rule your entire life!



Well, if you're going crazy, you're not alone! I check my weight most mornings while wearing the same things, and my scale creeps down a pound or two over the course of a week, then zooms back up in a single day! Ugh!! And I don't need a blasted scale to tell me I've gained weight. I can see it in my face in the mirror. Does anyone know where I can get one of those fun-house mirrors that make you skinny?


----------



## Dawgluver

Seven pounds is still wonderful!  Congrats, Aunt Bea!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Thank you all for your words of support.  

The adult that lives in my head agrees with you.

The child that lives in my head  is still rolling around on the floor kicking and screaming!

If the brat does not stop soon I may have to get a bucket of cold water!

I will be glad when that kid can move out and get a head if its own.

Thanks again B


----------



## Dawgluver

I saw this somewhere: get seven pounds of butter, hamburger, or potatoes.  Put on countertop.  Look at it.  Congratulate self.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Dawgluver said:


> I saw this somewhere: get seven pounds of butter, hamburger, or potatoes. Put on countertop. Look at it. Congratulate self.


 

If I looked at it long enough I would probably decide to make Mama's cottage pie


----------



## Dawgluver

Aunt Bea said:
			
		

> If I looked at it long enough I would probably decide to make Mama's cottage pie



LOL!  Sounds good!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> If I looked at it long enough I would probably decide to make Mama's cottage pie



I got in trouble in the Nutrition class with that attitude.  The instructor put 10 pounds of potatoes on the table so everyone could see how much weight it was...she then asked what we thought of that and I said it looked like a good start to a meal...I got applause, laughter and a dunce cap...


----------



## Dawgluver

:snicker:


----------



## Zhizara

*tee-hee*


----------



## Zhizara

Addendum to my vent of FF5.  I just got my colorful tabs back!  They installed it.


----------



## Zhizara

The colorful tabs still won't keep a color for the same site, though, but at least I can read them.

If they would just fix that, my Favorites, and be able to access Yahoo, I'd be happy.

Bookmarks works, but doesn't give me the option of putting things where I want on my list.  It's strictly alphabetical.

Having to use IE for Yahoo stinks.  There is no ad blocker.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I got in trouble in the Nutrition class with that attitude. The instructor put 10 pounds of potatoes on the table so everyone could see how much weight it was...she then asked what we thought of that and I said it looked like a good start to a meal...I got applause, laughter and a dunce cap...


 
My immediate thought was "10 pounds of potatoes is the amount needed for a big patch of perogies..." does this mean I'd get a dunce cap too?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> My immediate thought was "10 pounds of potatoes is the amount needed for a big patch of perogies..." does this mean I'd get a dunce cap too?



Probably, if you were sitting next to me in class... and said it out loud.


----------



## Andy M.

Zhizara said:


> The colorful tabs still won't keep a color for the same site, though, but at least I can read them.
> 
> If they would just fix that, my Favorites, and be able to access Yahoo, I'd be happy.
> 
> Bookmarks works, but doesn't give me the option of putting things where I want on my list.  It's strictly alphabetical.
> 
> Having to use IE for Yahoo stinks.  There is no ad blocker.



You can modify your bookmarks to have any titles you want and sort them alphabetically.  You can also create folders in the bookmarks to group similar links.  For example, I have a folder for recipe sites.

I have no issue accessing Yahoo via FF.  It may be a problem specific to your computer.


----------



## CookingMamaof2

Aunt Bea said:


> I have been dieting seriously for the last three months and today I went to the Doctor for a quarterly checkup. The scale in her office indicates that I only lost seven pounds. I was sure that it would show at least a twenty pound drop. I take up much less space now than I did three months ago, my clothes fit better and my A1C showed a drop of two full points but, that @#*X@ scale is making me crazy. It is strange how a number can rule your entire life!


 
Take measurements and you'll see a difference.  It will make you feel better when the scale numbers don't move.  I've been running long distances for a while now and haven't lost a single pound (or inch for that matter).  So frustrating.


----------



## chopper

CookingMamaof2 said:


> Take measurements and you'll see a difference. It will make you feel better when the scale numbers don't move. I've been running long distances for a while now and haven't lost a single pound (or inch for that matter). So frustrating.


 I went for a long time without loosing, and found that at that time I needed to change the exercise.  If you are running, try adding in a bike ride a week or playing soccer twice a week, etc.  It is like our bodies need some sort of jump start again!  I'm not sure why it works, but it does.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It's the magic of the human body...do you know that if you get dehydrated enough, your thirst mechanism fails and you can't tell you are thirsty.  So if you should be thirsty...and you don't want to drink...you are already dehydrated and dangerously close to heat stroke.   Lots and lots of water...besides nurses are not happy unless you are running to the bathroom all day!


----------



## CWS4322

I don't know about people, but I know dogs can't reach a point of being 15 % dehydrated. If they do, the organs start shutting down and they die--actually, 10% is hard to bring them back. Probably why I've got four gallons of "waterers" for seven chickens--I don't want them to become dehydrated. Saint Bernards need 3-5 liters of water / day to remain hydrated. I imagine we need about the same amount...


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It's the magic of the human body...do you know that if you get dehydrated enough, your thirst mechanism fails and you can't tell you are thirsty. So if you should be thirsty...and you don't want to drink...you are already dehydrated and dangerously close to heat stroke. Lots and lots of water...besides nurses are not happy unless you are running to the bathroom all day!


 
 Yes...flush that fat!!!


----------



## Robert Barnett

So for being late. Chopper your dad isn't alone. Me and my dad never got along. When he died in 2003 it was only then that I realized how much I loved him and needed him.

It is just me and my mom now. She is blind and has been on dialysis going 5 days a week for 4 years. I take care of her, the house work, shopping, driving, etc. It isn't easy since I have suffered from severe depression since I was 5, tried to kill my self over a dozen times so far and was diagnosed schizophrenia when I was 17. I hear 5 distinct voices 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is like having 5 radios going on medium volume each tuned to a different station. It just takes so much out of me to keep... Sane.

Robert


----------



## Dawgluver

Robert Barnett said:
			
		

> So for being late. Chopper your dad isn't alone. Me and my dad never got along. When he died in 2003 it was only then that I realized how much I loved him and needed him.
> 
> It is just me and my mom now. She is blind and has been on dialysis going 5 days a week for 4 years. I take care of her, the house work, shopping, driving, etc. It isn't easy since I have suffered from severe depression since I was 5, tried to kill my self over a dozen times so far and was diagnosed schizophrenia when I was 17. I hear 5 distinct voices 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is like having 5 radios going on medium volume each tuned to a different station. It just takes so much out of me to keep... Sane.
> 
> Robert



Wow, Robert.  Glad you're hanging in there.  You have been to Hell and back.

I have a beloved cousin, diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression as a teen, who has probably the best sense of humor I have ever heard. On a lot of meds, that really seem to help.  I think that is key.  

Cooking is so therapeutic.  You will find lots of support here from very good people.  Just don't give up!


----------



## Dawgluver

OMG.  Baby Bro just posted a pic of my mom on Facebook that would put Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger as the Joker to shame in any Batman movie.  

I plan to crucify him.  Have already sent him a scathing email.


----------



## Zhizara

Happy venting.  I just signed in and my Favorites are back!  Now if they will fix it so I can access Yahoo email so I can stop having to use IE, I'll be satisfied.

I got an email from Yahoo yesterday.  They want me to upgrade!  At least they told me I wouldn't be able to get my old version back.  I deleted the email.  Enough with upgrades you can't check out and can't go back!


----------



## CWS4322

Robert--my brother has schizophrenia. Stay on your meds and know that there are people who care. You and your mom are lucky to have each other. I suspect that your dad couldn't handle the schizophrenia because he couldn't fix it--and felt that he had failed. This didn't mean he didn't love you, he most likely loved you more than life itself and couldn't handle that he couldn't make things better for you--I know my dad can't handle my brother's.


----------



## Robert Barnett

Know one new I had it until last year. Shocked the hell out of my mom, but she said it explained a lot. Right now I am not on meeds as I can't be out of commission which is what I am afraid would happen. I have to be able to take care of my mom. I just deal, it isn't easy but I manage.

I made the mistake of never letting my dad know that even though we didn't get along that I loved him. I am trying very hard to make sure my mom knows. Appreciate your family while you have them.

Robert


----------



## Dawgluver

Robert Barnett said:
			
		

> Know one new I had it until last year. Shocked the hell out of my mom, but she said it explained a lot. Right now I am not on meeds as I can't be out of commission which is what I am afraid would happen. I have to be able to take care of my mom. I just deal, it isn't easy but I manage.
> 
> I made the mistake of never letting my dad know that even though we didn't get along that I loved him. I am trying very hard to make sure my mom knows. Appreciate your family while you have them.
> 
> Robert



Oh boy.  My cousin functions great with his meds, is able to work and drive, and has a great time with life.  He is definitely not out of commission.  Meds make all the difference for him.

I'm sure CW and others can vouch for meds.  Are you getting any mental health assistance?


----------



## Robert Barnett

My doctor and I have tried 20 different drugs and they have all have had bad side effects. So for now I am dealing with it on my own.

Robert


----------



## Dawgluver

Robert Barnett said:
			
		

> My doctor and I have tried 20 different drugs and they have all have had bad side effects. So for now I am dealing with it on my own.
> 
> Robert



I work with special needs kids, many with the same diagnoses, along with ADHD.  The meds change daily.  My cousin is on Risperdol, along with other stuff, with the major side effect being weight gain for him.  What kind of side effects do you have?    Am wondering if there is something new for you?  You might want to check with another doc.

Gack!  I feel really bad for you.


----------



## justplainbill

Beware of FedEx SmartPost service.
Unfortunately many online vendors do not tell you they will be using Smartpost.  Following is the routing info for a purchase I made from WeberStephens.  Weber said they will re-ship using a different shipping service.  FedEx has not provided a meaningful explanation in response to our telephone inquiries.

All shipment travel activity is displayed in local time for the location

Date/Time                         Activity                  Location                             
Jun 29, 2011 5:22 AM    Departed FedEx location    FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
Jun 29, 2011 12:25 AM   Arrived at FedEx location  FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
Jun 25, 2011 7:46 AM    Departed FedEx location    HOLBROOK, NY
Jun 25, 2011 7:44 AM    Arrived at FedEx location  HOLBROOK, NY
Jun 25, 2011 4:45 AM    Departed FedEx location    KEASBEY, NJ
Jun 24, 2011 10:09 PM   Arrived at FedEx location  KEASBEY, NJ
Jun 24, 2011 7:57 PM    Departed FedEx location    FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
Jun 24, 2011 2:58 PM    Arrived at FedEx location  FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
Jun 24, 2011 4:54 AM    Departed FedEx location    HOLBROOK, NY
Jun 24, 2011 4:35 AM    Arrived at FedEx location  HOLBROOK, NY
Jun 24, 2011 1:07 AM    Departed FedEx location    KEASBEY, NJ
Jun 23, 2011 9:12 PM    Arrived at FedEx location  KEASBEY, NJ
Jun 23, 2011 8:26 PM    Departed FedEx location    FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
Jun 23, 2011 5:54 PM    Arrived at FedEx location  FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
Jun 23, 2011 7:27 AM    Departed FedEx location    FEDEX SMARTPOST NEW BERLIN, WI
Jun 23, 2011 12:00 AM   Shipment information sent to U.S. Postal Service
Jun 22, 2011 2:10 AM    Arrived at FedEx location  FEDEX SMARTPOST NEW BERLIN, WI
Jun 21, 2011 1:45 PM    Shipment information sent to FedEx


----------



## Barbara L

justplainbill said:


> Beware of FedEx SmartPost service.
> Unfortunately many online vendors do not tell you they will be using Smartpost.  Following is the routing info for a purchase I made from WeberStephens.  Weber said they will re-ship using a different shipping service.  FedEx has not provided a meaningful explanation in response to our telephone inquiries.
> 
> All shipment travel activity is displayed in local time for the location
> 
> Date/Time                         Activity                  Location
> Jun 29, 2011 5:22 AM    Departed FedEx location    FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
> Jun 29, 2011 12:25 AM   Arrived at FedEx location  FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
> Jun 25, 2011 7:46 AM    Departed FedEx location    HOLBROOK, NY
> Jun 25, 2011 7:44 AM    Arrived at FedEx location  HOLBROOK, NY
> Jun 25, 2011 4:45 AM    Departed FedEx location    KEASBEY, NJ
> Jun 24, 2011 10:09 PM   Arrived at FedEx location  KEASBEY, NJ
> Jun 24, 2011 7:57 PM    Departed FedEx location    FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
> Jun 24, 2011 2:58 PM    Arrived at FedEx location  FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
> Jun 24, 2011 4:54 AM    Departed FedEx location    HOLBROOK, NY
> Jun 24, 2011 4:35 AM    Arrived at FedEx location  HOLBROOK, NY
> Jun 24, 2011 1:07 AM    Departed FedEx location    KEASBEY, NJ
> Jun 23, 2011 9:12 PM    Arrived at FedEx location  KEASBEY, NJ
> Jun 23, 2011 8:26 PM    Departed FedEx location    FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
> Jun 23, 2011 5:54 PM    Arrived at FedEx location  FEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
> Jun 23, 2011 7:27 AM    Departed FedEx location    FEDEX SMARTPOST NEW BERLIN, WI
> Jun 23, 2011 12:00 AM   Shipment information sent to U.S. Postal Service
> Jun 22, 2011 2:10 AM    Arrived at FedEx location  FEDEX SMARTPOST NEW BERLIN, WI
> Jun 21, 2011 1:45 PM    Shipment information sent to FedEx


Yikes! It's kind of like sitting at center court and watching a tennis game! It would be easier to understand if it at least kept moving toward the final destination, and not back and forth.  Ridiculous!


----------



## Dawgluver

Smartpost ain't too smart.  Yikes!  What a waste!


----------



## Andy M.

justplainbill said:


> Beware of FedEx SmartPost service.
> Unfortunately many online vendors do not tell you they will be using Smartpost.  Following is the routing info for a purchase I made from WeberStephens.  Weber said they will re-ship using a different shipping service.  FedEx has not provided a meaningful explanation in response to our telephone inquiries...




It must have been a spherical package because it keeps going around and around...


----------



## dcSaute

somebody at the post office apparently didn't get the memo USPS is now delivering Fedex packages . . .


----------



## justplainbill

dcSaute said:


> somebody at the post office apparently didn't get the memo USPS is now delivering Fedex packages . . .



Following is an example of a "Successful"  FedEx delivery
I've sold my FedEx stock and bought more UPS.

May 12, 2011 5:57 AMDeparted FedEx locationHOLBROOK, NY
May 12, 2011 5:53 AMArrived at FedEx locationHOLBROOK, NY
May 12, 2011 12:42 AMDeparted FedEx locationKEASBEY, NJ
May 11, 2011 9:42 PMArrived at FedEx locationKEASBEY, NJ
May 11, 2011 7:59 PMDeparted FedEx locationFEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
May 11, 2011 12:35 AMArrived at FedEx locationFEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
May 10, 2011 11:07 PMDeparted FedEx locationKEASBEY, NJ
May 10, 2011 9:59 PMArrived at FedEx locationKEASBEY, NJ
May 10, 2011 8:23 PMDeparted FedEx locationFEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
May 10, 2011 12:00 AMShipment information sent to U.S. Postal Service
May 9, 2011 8:06 PMArrived at FedEx locationFEDEX SMARTPOST EDISON, NJ
May 7, 2011 4:17 AMDeparted FedEx locationFEDEX SMARTPOST GROVE CITY, OH
May 6, 2011 8:46 PMArrived at FedEx locationFEDEX SMARTPOST GROVE CITY, OH
May 6, 2011 1:27 AMDeparted FedEx locationFEDEX SMARTPOST SOUTHAVEN, MS
May 6, 2011 12:14 AMArrived at FedEx locationFEDEX SMARTPOST SOUTHAVEN, MS
May 5, 2011 8:04 PMShipment information sent to FedEx


----------



## babetoo

well, here i am once again, all ready to go shopping. the mom of the little girl i am buying for called. they will be later, on way to costco. now we set the time yesterday for one p.m. i make it a point to be ready to go at the time stated. apparently no one thinks my time is valuable. this isn't the first time. gotta say it really ticks me off. will i say anything, probably not. she knows it is bad manners and doesn't seem to care. one day she put it off several times and then i just told her, to tired to go. she said "oh now i feel bad" evidently not bad enough as she repeats this behavior. 

wow, now i feel better. young people sometimes think only of themselves.


----------



## Zhizara

I'm still steaming about my computer ink purchase.  I checked for HP 60, and grabbed the two-pack, but when I got home, I found I had two color cartridges.  Sneaky HP.  Now I have to go back and purchase a black cartridge. (or two).

At least the printer runs with only one cartridge, but now my recipes are printed in green.


----------



## LPBeier

I adore my next door neighbour and her family.  While we were away, we, as usual, let her use our parking spot right out front for any of her visitors.  A nephew with a 5 ton parked in the spot but when he was leaving he accidentally backed into a tree across the street.  This is the beautiful ball cedar that I always photograph each season to show the snow, sun, etc. and have put in threads here.

It was an accident, plain and simple.  She went to the office and reported it saying she would pay any expenses.  She feels terrible and I feel bad for her.

My vent is that I loved that bush and I cried when they chopped up today but I didn't want my neighbour to see because she feels bad enough.  I am angry that the tree is gone, but am also concerned with her because other neighbours are not being so nice and I feel the need to defend her.

I know it is only a tree and I shouldn't get worked up about it.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> I adore my next door neighbour and her family.  While we were away, we, as usual, let her use our parking spot right out front for any of her visitors.  A nephew with a 5 ton parked in the spot but when he was leaving he accidentally backed into a tree across the street.  This is the beautiful ball cedar that I always photograph each season to show the snow, sun, etc. and have put in threads here.
> 
> It was an accident, plain and simple.  She went to the office and reported it saying she would pay any expenses.  She feels terrible and I feel bad for her.
> 
> My vent is that I loved that bush and I cried when they chopped up today but I didn't want my neighbour to see because she feels bad enough.  I am angry that the tree is gone, but am also concerned with her because other neighbours are not being so nice and I feel the need to defend her.
> 
> I know it is only a tree and I shouldn't get worked up about it.


There is nothing wrong with crying over a tree (as long as it doesn't turn into an ongoing thing)!  I feel bad for you, but you at least have pictures (I loved your tree too!).  I feel bad for your neighbor, that the others are not being very nice about it.  They need to remember that it was a tree, not a child or pet, and get over it.


----------



## babetoo

my vent is a plugged up kitchen sink. you can envision the mess and all that.


----------



## babetoo

it got worse today, i had a plumber scheduled to unplug the kitchen sink. when i got up, had no power. i remembered the office said they would be working on it today. supposed to be back on at eleven, didn't come back on til 2 pm. i rescheduled the plumber till tomorrow.

it was very very hot in here with no a.c. my kitties really were suffering. me too. it is still 83 here at 6 pm. the air has had a hard time catching up. 

at least my sewing went well once the power was back on. going out to water plants, then a shower. maybe that will cool me off. 

i am hoping for a better day tomorrow. being hot makes me cranky.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> it got worse today, i had a plumber scheduled to unplug the kitchen sink. when i got up, had no power. i remembered the office said they would be working on it today. supposed to be back on at eleven, didn't come back on til 2 pm. i rescheduled the plumber till tomorrow.
> 
> it was very very hot in here with no a.c. my kitties really were suffering. me too. it is still 83 here at 6 pm. the air has had a hard time catching up.
> 
> at least my sewing went well once the power was back on. going out to water plants, then a shower. maybe that will cool me off.
> 
> i am hoping for a better day tomorrow. being hot makes me cranky.



Do you want my "Hot Grandma" t-shirt???


----------



## Barbara L

babetoo said:


> it got worse today, i had a plumber scheduled to unplug the kitchen sink. when i got up, had no power. i remembered the office said they would be working on it today. supposed to be back on at eleven, didn't come back on til 2 pm. i rescheduled the plumber till tomorrow.
> 
> it was very very hot in here with no a.c. my kitties really were suffering. me too. it is still 83 here at 6 pm. the air has had a hard time catching up.
> 
> at least my sewing went well once the power was back on. going out to water plants, then a shower. maybe that will cool me off.
> 
> i am hoping for a better day tomorrow. being hot makes me cranky.


I hope today is a much better day for you!  I know what you mean about heat making you cranky.  The heat and humidity here have me cranky too!


----------



## tinlizzie

babetoo said:


> my vent is a plugged up kitchen sink. you can envision the mess and all that.


 
Sorry to hear about your sink drain.  What a pain.  Although it's not always possible to tell when a plug-up will strike, I try to notice if the drain starts acting sluggish.  When it get too slow, I get some of that drain cleaner with the charming name of "foaming pipe snake"     and that has worked so far, fingers crossed.


----------



## Rocklobster

I get so frustrated with our system sometimes. I bought an old truck off of a friend last week. Had some work done on it, got the safety check, and now it is in pretty good shape. Today I went into town to get the ownership changed over and the plates changed. Well, due to the fact that it is over 20 years old, I have to go and pay$35 for a separate appraisal so they can tax me on the value. Then, the old plates I had on a vehicle can't be transferred because they are not truck plates, so I need to cancel them, then wait for a refund in the mail for the remaining cost I paid for the sticker. Then I need to buy new stickers for the old truck. She offered me a temporary permit for 15 dollars. I said no thanks. The truck is still under my friends name and insurance so thankfully I can drive it anothe 35 miles to get an apprasal at a certified apraiser. You know, the one that is going to cost me 35 dollars so they can calculate how much tax I have to pay on a 20 year old vehicle.

Man! I hate the bs sometimes! OK, I hate the BS all of the time.


----------



## roadfix

I don't like my new Whirpool clothes washer.  It's load sensing gizmo takes too long to do its thing.  By the time the wash cycle begins my old washer would have been done with its entire load, ready for the dryer.  This sucks.


----------



## Rocklobster

roadfix said:


> I don't like my new Whirpool clothes washer. It's load sensing gizmo takes too long to do its thing. By the time the wash cycle begins my old washer would have been done with its entire load, ready for the dryer. This sucks.


 
Of course. And you probably had to pay extra for a feature that does less. Like a dehumidifier I bought a while ago. Twice the price and features as the old one, but does half the job.

OK. I should step away from the computer for a while.


----------



## roadfix

Rocklobster said:


> Of course. And you probably had to pay extra for a feature that does less. Like a dehumidifier I bought a while ago. Twice the price and features as the old one, but does half the job.



Actually no.  I got it at Lowes and paid $339 on sale ($159 off) over the holiday weekend so I got a really good deal on a large capacity washer.
All these new energy saver appliances come with these stupid time-wasting, water-saving devices.  I can't even set my own water level.  I can't even open the lid in the middle of the wash.  
Had I known this I would have looked for a washer with the traditional mechanical dial type switch on the console....if they still made one.


----------



## tinlizzie

A lady across town is getting hassled by the powers that be because she has chickens in her back yard, and it turns out that there is an ordinance against it.  She doesn't have a rooster, just laying hens, for the eggs.  This isn't in the city - it's a residential neighborhood.  The County has backed off and has taken the situation under consideration, so she still has her hens, but geez!


----------



## babetoo

still waiting for the plumber , sink still stopped up. sick of the heat.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Rocklobster said:


> I get so frustrated with our system sometimes. I bought an old truck off of a friend last week. Had some work done on it, got the safety check, and now it is in pretty good shape. Today I went into town to get the ownership changed over and the plates changed. Well, due to the fact that it is over 20 years old, I have to go and pay$35 for a separate appraisal so they can tax me on the value. Then, the old plates I had on a vehicle can't be transferred because they are not truck plates, so I need to cancel them, then wait for a refund in the mail for the remaining cost I paid for the sticker. Then I need to buy new stickers for the old truck. She offered me a temporary permit for 15 dollars. I said no thanks. The truck is still under my friends name and insurance so thankfully I can drive it anothe 35 miles to get an apprasal at a certified apraiser. You know, the one that is going to cost me 35 dollars so they can calculate how much tax I have to pay on a 20 year old vehicle.
> 
> Man! I hate the bs sometimes! OK, I hate the BS all of the time.



It is the same on this side.  The only kind thing I can say is that it creates jobs.


----------



## Rocklobster

Aunt Bea said:


> It is the same on this side. The only kind thing I can say is that it creates jobs.


 
Well, in a way, I have to agree with you. But will do so reluctantly.  
I just got back from my trip to get it apraised and the guy looked at me and said "really"?. They want an apraisal on a 20 year old truck? He appraised it for exactly what the reciept said. What makes me mad is that it is at my expense. Basically, they think your guilty until you prove your innocence. And, you have to hand over payola to get them to do the job. Organized crime, if you ask me.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Rocklobster said:


> Well, in a way, I have to agree with you. But will do so reluctantly.
> I just got back from my trip to get it apraised and the guy looked at me and said "really"?. They want an apraisal on a 20 year old truck? He appraised it for exactly what the reciept said. What makes me mad is that it is at my expense. Basically, they think your guilty until you prove your innocence. And, you have to hand over payola to get them to do the job. Organized crime, if you ask me.




Grease is the word


----------



## joesfolk

I am totally ticked.  My desktop won't let me send e-mail because I keep getting a message that says I have to put in my user name and password.  But it won't accept it.  So in trying to fix it now I can't send e-mail.  Thankfully I can still do it using the laptop but I can't scan anything into it.


----------



## CWS4322

Rock--my parents have offered me my mom's car (she can't drive anymore, it is in good condition, has less than 100,000 miles on it). The problem is the car is in MN and I'm getting the run-around from customs and DMV on what I have to do to be able to drive it back in to Canada when I return. My mom's insurance would still be on it, but it is the plate transfer issue....my parents want to give it to me, in the States, it would be a "gift" for $1. But because they are in the States, that rule seems to not apply here in Canada. If I have time tomorrow, I'll make yet another call to find out how to do this. I'd like the car (and I'd like that it was not available should my mom find the keys and decide she can drive...she can't. She got lost the last time she drove. Fortunately she didn't hurt anyone and she did find her way back home after 5 hours of wandering). Why is the gift of a car different from a set of dishes? You tell me.


----------



## Alix

Mosquitos!!! AAAAAAA!!! I can't go out to my garden, to the BBQ or ANYWHERE without being eaten alive. One more week they keep telling me..."normal level" for the first time in 5 years...blah blah blah. I've not been so snacked upon since Cuba. GRRR!


----------



## LPBeier

tinlizzie said:


> A lady across town is getting hassled by the powers that be because she has chickens in her back yard, and it turns out that there is an ordinance against it.  She doesn't have a rooster, just laying hens, for the eggs.  This isn't in the city - it's a residential neighborhood.  The County has backed off and has taken the situation under consideration, so she still has her hens, but geez!


TL, we have several places here in Surrey where you will find a piece of land on a main road that has cows, horses, whatever on it.  No one complains, in fact it is quite a conversation starter.  "Did you know there are cows grazing just down the street?".  Of course!

There was a guy who didn't want to sell his land but it was in the heart of one of our fastest growing communities (actually where DH grew up).  It was wanted for prime commercial property but was not used for anything.  He was really stubborn and holding out as long as he could.  If the land was unused, they could force him to sell, so he bought a bunch of horses and let them graze.  Nothing anyone could do.  Finally he was offered $10 million and sold.  The horses were sold for $500 each.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Mosquitos!!! AAAAAAA!!! I can't go out to my garden, to the BBQ or ANYWHERE without being eaten alive. One more week they keep telling me..."normal level" for the first time in 5 years...blah blah blah. I've not been so snacked upon since Cuba. GRRR!



They won't even touch me...I haven't had a mosquito bite since I was a teen.


----------



## babetoo

they never bite me either, neither do fleas.

would you believe the sink was draining fine while guy was here. we both agree that maybe the liquid plumber finally worked. i had let the hot water run last night into sink. it took a very long time before it backed up. he said we should get enzymes from home depot, same as used for septic tanks and do it for couple or three months. he also said the older pipes sometimes get a build up just from rinsing dishes. only good thing was no charge. i was glad but did feel a bit stupid. it sure was plugged up and even backed into the dishwasher. oh well, we shall see.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> they never bite me either, neither do fleas.
> 
> would you believe the sink was draining fine while guy was here. we both agree that maybe the liquid plumber finally worked. i had let the hot water run last night into sink. it took a very long time before it backed up. he said we should get enzymes from home depot, same as used for septic tanks and do it for couple or three months. he also said the older pipes sometimes get a build up just from rinsing dishes. only good thing was no charge. i was glad but did feel a bit stupid. it sure was plugged up and even backed into the dishwasher. oh well, we shall see.




Don't feel stupid...that kind of thing happens all the time.  My computer at work does it daily, the dumb thing is trying to make me look bad.


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They won't even touch me...I haven't had a mosquito bite since I was a teen.


Do you take anything that keeps them from biting, or do they just not like you?    When I took B-Complex vitamins they never bit me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> Do you take anything that keeps them from biting, or do they just not like you?    When I took B-Complex vitamins they never bit me.



I take Super B-Complex and I eat lots of garlic. But the B-Complex has only been about three years.  They think my sister is a banquet.


----------



## justplainbill

Rocklobster said:


> I get so frustrated with our system sometimes. I bought an old truck off of a friend last week. Had some work done on it, got the safety check, and now it is in pretty good shape. Today I went into town to get the ownership changed over and the plates changed. Well, due to the fact that it is over 20 years old, I have to go and pay$35 for a separate appraisal so they can tax me on the value. Then, the old plates I had on a vehicle can't be transferred because they are not truck plates, so I need to cancel them, then wait for a refund in the mail for the remaining cost I paid for the sticker. Then I need to buy new stickers for the old truck. She offered me a temporary permit for 15 dollars. I said no thanks. The truck is still under my friends name and insurance so thankfully I can drive it anothe 35 miles to get an apprasal at a certified apraiser. You know, the one that is going to cost me 35 dollars so they can calculate how much tax I have to pay on a 20 year old vehicle.
> 
> Man! I hate the bs sometimes! OK, I hate the BS all of the time.


Perhaps the day will come when everything we own will require licensing (registration) and insurance. Such red tape might be foisted upon us under the guise of being for the greater good and as a counter terrorism measure. Bicycles and personal computers (and even chickens) could be likely candidates for more regulation and taxation.


----------



## DaveSoMD

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They won't even touch me...I haven't had a mosquito bite since I was a teen.



Same here. I used to get bitten all the time and then suddenly nothing.  We can be out in the yard and I'm "Huh? What mosquitoes???"


----------



## CWS4322

Mosquitos love me...always have. I hate mosquitos.


----------



## Zhizara

Eat lots of thyme and rosemary for a natural insect repellent.  Honest!


----------



## tinlizzie

babetoo said:


> they never bite me either, neither do fleas.
> 
> would you believe the sink was draining fine while guy was here. we both agree that maybe the liquid plumber finally worked. i had let the hot water run last night into sink. it took a very long time before it backed up. he said we should get enzymes from home depot, same as used for septic tanks and do it for couple or three months. he also said the older pipes sometimes get a build up just from rinsing dishes. only good thing was no charge. i was glad but did feel a bit stupid. it sure was plugged up and even backed into the dishwasher. oh well, we shall see.


 
Hooray!  Free-running drain and no plumber's charge!  I wonder if his no-charge was his Random Act of Kindness; if so, hooray for him, too.  

There be reason to celebrate.  Have you heard that it's National Chocolate with Almonds day here in the States?


----------



## Alix

Zhizara said:


> Eat lots of thyme and rosemary for a natural insect repellent.  Honest!



I'll believe you. I won't eat rosemary though. I hate it. 



CWS4322 said:


> Mosquitos love me...always have. I hate mosquitos.



Me too. Do you know your blood type? I read that they prefer type O. 



DaveSoMD said:


> Same here. I used to get bitten all the time and then suddenly nothing.  We can be out in the yard and I'm "Huh? What mosquitoes???"



Lucky bugger! They've ALWAYS loved me.



PrincessFiona60 said:


> I take Super B-Complex and I eat lots of garlic. But the B-Complex has only been about three years.  They think my sister is a banquet.



Well if garlic repels them they would NEVER bite me!  Seriously though, I think anyone would get chomped here this week. We've had so much wet weather the water table has risen and hatched eggs that have been dormant for up to 5 years. These little buggers are HUNGRY. You literally cannot go outside without repellent and even with it, you will still get swarmed. You just might not get bitten if you are wearing your repellent. Walking the dog is a nightmare.


----------



## CookingMamaof2

Alix said:


> Me too. Do you know your blood type? I read that they prefer type O.


 
I'm pretty sure that's true.  I'm O neg and am currently eaten alive by mosqitos.


----------



## chopper

My blood is A- .  They must like that too, because if a mosquito is around, it finds me. Funny story, when my son was on chemo therapy for a year he didn't get bit. They would land on him without biting and then just fly over to me for a meal!


----------



## CWS4322

I'm A+. My husband is 0- (too bad he faints at the sight of blood, he should be a blood donor). They don't bite him like they bite me. I have bites the size of chocolate chips on my arms, my legs, and my back. I have deer fly "welts" on my feet. I am a magnet for biting/stinging insects, and I take vit B complex! I hate, hate, hate these critters!


----------



## Alix

I'm O- and they freaking LOVE me.


----------



## CWS4322

Why don't people get their cats spayed! I went to the village today to get a couple of things. On the way back, there was a tiny kitten on the road. At first I thought it might be a baby fisher...two other vehicles stopped--one was going to take it to the local dog catcher (he shoots unclaimed dogs after 3 days...I hear the shots). Even though I can't have a kitten (the DH's dog has high prey-drive), I said I'd take it to kitten rescue (rather than have the poundkeeper drown it--doubt he'd "waste" a bullet on it). Its eyes are open, but it fits in the palm of my hand. A friend does kitten rescue, but he's 1.5 hours away and can't meet me 1/2 way--he's busy (like I'm not). It's hot, I don't want to get in the van and drive for 3 hours (I have work to finish for deliverables tomorrow at 3:00 a.m.). I don't have a kitten bottle--there isn't anyplace I can buy one to bottle feed the kitten, or the "mix" that one should feed a kitten...Why do I have to spend 3 hours on the road in 34C heat delivering a kitten to kitten rescue!!!! If you let your cat outside, and it isn't spayed, please consider doing so. There are far too many unwanted pets in the world. Now that I've got that off my chest, I'd better finish working so I can hit the road.


----------



## Dawgluver

That is so kind of you, CWS.  Unweaned kittens can be very hard to care for.  Poor little thing.

Wish folks would remember to neuter their males too.  Seems to be a macho thing for some.

I remember a show or something where someone used a rubber glove as a bottle, with a small hole in one of the fingers.  They say no cow's milk or syringes.

Best of luck, so nice of you to care!


----------



## CWS4322

My husband is driving out from the City to pick up the kitten and take it to kitten rescue. Poor thing. I have puppy esbiliac (I figure a little of this wouldn't hurt--not ideal), but no bottle...a bit scared about using a syringe...I tried a wet wash cloth to get some water in the poor thing...it didn't suckle it. I just hope the DH gets here soon. I have about 5 hours of work that I have to have done by 3:00 a.m. and don't have time to be a kitten rescue person! Yeah--neuter the males too. I saw a cat about a month ago on the property--I said--she's pregnant. Guess I was right...


----------



## joesfolk

maybe you guys can help me with this.  i have never been a great typist though I get by.  but I have a problem with capitals especially at the beginning of sentences or with the letter I.  Even though I depress the shift key most of the time i end up with a lower case letter.  Then I have to go back and correct all of my mistakes or leave it and look like a moron. It drives me up a wall and it happens no matter what I am typing on.  There must be a keyboarding teacher out there or maybe a super typist who knows an exercise or a tip that will train me to depress the shift key harder though practice just doesn't seem to do the trick.   I am leaving in some of the mistakes so that you can get the idea. i'll look forward to any replies.


----------



## babetoo

i only type in lower case. makes me crazy to do the caps. so i just don't. it is a privilege of old age.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> i only type in lower case. makes me crazy to do the caps. so i just don't. it is a privilege of old age.



I'll remember that one when it's time!


----------



## joesfolk

Unfortunately in my business i occasionally have to type stuff that the clients will see so of course we are encouraged to get it right.  And since we have to type word for word as someone speaks it , well, going back to correct the mistakes really slows me down.  Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## chopper

joesfolk said:
			
		

> maybe you guys can help me with this.  i have never been a great typist though I get by.  but I have a problem with capitals especially at the beginning of sentences or with the letter I.  Even though I depress the shift key most of the time i end up with a lower case letter.  Then I have to go back and correct all of my mistakes or leave it and look like a moron. It drives me up a wall and it happens no matter what I am typing on.  There must be a keyboarding teacher out there or maybe a super typist who knows an exercise or a tip that will train me to depress the shift key harder though practice just doesn't seem to do the trick.   I am leaving in some of the mistakes so that you can get the idea. i'll look forward to any replies.



All you need to do is to get an iPhone or iPad. It automatically capitalizes the first word of a sentence, and will change the I to a Capitol too!!!  May make you lazy though. It does me.


----------



## buckytom

joesfolk, that sounds like a job my dad did for the associated press many years ago. he was a teletype operator back in the '60's, and one of his jobs was to listen to the radio announcer's play by play of yankees games from the press box, and type it in to the "wire" at around 125 words a minute, without mistakes.
to this day, if you ask him how to spell something, he spits it out really fast.

ok, i have a rant. doesn't it piss you off when you order a full rack of ribs and they bring you a slab with only 8 or 9 bones? this is the 3rd or 4th time that this has happened to me recently.

we went to a pricey  joint the other night after a day on the beach, and i was solidly dissapointed on my entire dinner.

we ate at the inlet cafe in atlantic highlands, n.j., for our first and last time. it was recommended to us by locals ( with a warning about the cost), but i can say for sure we'll never go back.

it's a decent place on the water, but it's only a run of the mill bayside restaurant with pedantic outdoor and indoor seating, basic wood tables and chairs, no linen. i don't know why they charge ridiculous prices for what you get. the average appy was $9, entree $28, for less than great food.

we ordered cups of new england clam chowder to start, which tasted like improperly reconstituted condensed canned clam chowder. it was extremely salty, not particularly hot, and it was a weird brownish colour with no discernable chunks of clams. and carrots and red peppers in white clam chowder??? 5 bucks for about a half cup.

fortunately, dw's and my boy's dinners were just ok - not unlike what you could get in any diner ( (@ $30 each), but they brought me a 9 bone "full rack" of bbq babybacks, along with a soggy, mealy ear of corn on the cob, and a baked potato that had grit inside the foil around the skin. don't they wash their spuds?
the worst part was my miserable entree was $25, served on a dented aluminum pizza tray that spun around every time i tried to take a forkful of the food.

i rarely complain in restaurants, but i had to on this one. the heretofore barely existant waitress apologized and had the servers bring out a 12 bone rack just about the time we all were done eating, so i reluctantly ate a bit and asked her to wrap the rest to go. even that sucked because now i look like an ass complaining about more food than i really wanted. but at those prices and with the poor nature of the sides, i got over that quickly.

i decided to give the waitress a %15 percent tip because it wasn't her fault and she tried to correct tbings albeit late.

suffice it to say we won't go back. if you're ever near sandy hook, n.j., find somewhere else to eat.


----------



## dcSaute

Microsoft Word has the ability to grammar check - including capitals/proper case and punctuation.

it's not 'perfect' - but it does catch a lot.


----------



## CWS4322

Joesfolk--If you are using Word, you can set up "Autocorrect" so that you can enter common words that you typically mistype. I have used it to set up "autoexpand" my own version of shorthand, e.g., I'll enter space tt space, the autocorrection is that. bcz becomes because, space eg space is autocorrected to be for example,. I guess you can't wait to go back when you're done? I have Acrobat 9 Extended. Sometimes I use it to proofread my writing by creating a pdf and then I turn on the autoread feature and have the file read back to me. I find the little errors that my eyes automatically fix that way. 

I don't trust MS Word's grammar check or spell check...with spell check, it won't catch when you transpose letters, e.g., form instead of from...There, I vented <g>.


----------



## Zhizara

*ARRRRRRRGFGG+++HHH1po2i....#$%^&*()_!*

I'm having a problem with a couple of online vendors who aren't taking my new replacement card.

It worked fine in an ATM and in stores, as well as one repeat vendor and one new vendor.

Both of the stores are repeat vendors so I have to call their customer service centers to talk to a real person.  

ARRRRRRRGFGG+++HHH1po2i....#$%^&*()_!


----------



## LPBeier

Zhizara, I totally relate to that one.  I have one vendor I use for my cake supplies (have for years) and I called yesterday to find out where my latest shipment was.  They told me that my card didn't work so they were withholding the package.  Excuse me?  The system said the card was good AND the bank added the charges to my online statement.  And why couldn't they contact me about it before making me wait.  Thankfully I order well ahead of the date I need it for, but still.  I hope you can get this worked out without too much fuss.

Today is my "day off" as Dad is at his senior's program and DH doesn't get home for lunch on Thursdays.  So, with me being able to do anything I want, I am on day 5 of a serious sinus migraine and it is radiating into my gums, teeth (even phantom pains in a tooth I don't have) and my jaw.  So I don't feel like doing anything.

I have some shopping to do but other than that it is R&R.  I so wanted to sew but even the faint sound of my new machine hurts the head.


----------



## Zhizara

Sorry you have to spend your "day off" in pain. LPB.  At least you won't have to try and function.  Take it easy and feel better soon!


----------



## Sprout

buckytom said:


> i rarely complain in restaurants, but i had to on this one.
> 
> suffice it to say we won't go back. if you're ever near sandy hook, n.j., find somewhere else to eat.




That stinks! It's one thing if you try a new restaurant and you just don't like their food, but it's another when they serve you garbage, especially with a price tag like that!


----------



## Sprout

Now my vent:

Aaaaaaaah! Just had to get that out. I'm now 8 months pregnant and am getting to know our local hospital a little too well. I went in about a month ago for monitoring because I hadn't felt the baby move in several hours, through what's usually her most active time. Of course she she started moving just as they were hooking up the monitors. 

   Then 2 weeks ago I went in because I was having sudden lower back pain, nausea, and contractions. Turns out I wasn't in pre-term labor, but I was contracting at regular intervals, albeit very mildly, (about 3 minutes apart). We found out that I had a mild infection and was badly dehydrated, even though I average 65-96 oz of water a day, (I keep track with a graded water bottle) plus some milk and occasionally juice. They said the heat and the infection were likely to blame for the dehydration. After 5 hours (bringing DH to nearly 24 hours without sleep, since he works early mornings), 2 IV bags, and a narcotic pain-killer with really unpleasant side-effects to stop the contractions, we were able to go home. 

    My third (and hopefully final visit until I'm having the baby) came this morning, and had absolutely nothing to do with my pregnancy. Last night around 8pm I was at work at the very clean, lovely restaurant that employs me when my ankle started to itch, I checked it out and saw a red bump. I figured I must have already had a bug bite and my sock must have irritated it. A few minutes later my other ankle started to itch & i discovered another bite. By the time I left work I had another on my calf. I'm sorry to say I was a little slow on the uptake and it wasn't until a couple hours later, when suddenly  my legs started itching, that I took off the pants I was wearing and discovered 8 or 9 itchy red bumps. I checked my legs for any signs of a insect, decided they could be hives, took Benadryl, and threw my pants in a hot wash just in case something was lurking therein. The Benadryl stopped the itching and the larger ones even started to shrink, so I thought maybe it was just an allergic reaction. A strange allergic reaction, as it was on my legs instead of the trunk of my body, but I was tired and figured if it was something biting me, I'd be able to see it or it would be in my pants that were in the middle of a scalding wash. I had no trouble through the night, but woke up this morning with nearly 20 red lumps on both of my legs, all from the knee down. I called my OB, because as I'm pregnant, I run everything by them first. They told me to get to the ER. I was in and out of the ER astonishingly quickly, in about 35 minutes. They said either I got a couple of bites & am having an allergic reaction to them, or I brought whatever was biting me home with me, most likely the second. Aaaah! The nurse said it looks like fleas. FLEAS!? I have no pets and I picked up fleas at a restaurant frequented by middle-aged to elderly upper-middle-class/lower-upper-class customers? Is nowhere safe? I stripped the bed, and am keeping DD out of our bedroom DH comes home in an hour and can vacuum everything, including the bed. DH slept next to me all night and has no bites, so I'm hopeful, but I have these horrible visions of treating a house infested with fleas, or something even worse. I keep imagining having to find a place to stay for a couple days while we bomb the place, then having to rewash every article of clothing since I'm pregnant and not supposed to be anywhere near chemicals like that. I just finished washing and organizing all of the new baby's clothes, as well as reorganizing all of my daughter's to make room for everything. Am I going to have to re-wash everything in the drawers, too? We're going to have a newborn in this place in about a month!  All this is going through my brain of course as I try to exert every ounce of will-power not to itch my legs. As if I wasn't uncomfortable enough already! The prescription they gave me takes the edge off the itch, but it's still there. Deep breaths, deeeeep breaths... Sorry for the novel. I am GW's daughter, after all, and it was this or bury myself in a huge bowl of ice cream and let the tears flow.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Sprout said:


> Now my vent:
> 
> I picked up fleas at a restaurant frequented by middle-aged to elderly upper-middle-class/lower-upper-class customers? Is nowhere safe? I stripped the bed, and am keeping DD out of our bedroom DH comes home in an hour and can vacuum everything, including the bed. DH slept next to me all night and has no bites, so I'm hopeful, but I have these horrible visions of treating a house infested with fleas, or something even worse. I keep imagining having to find a place to stay for a couple days while we bomb the place, then having to rewash every article of clothing since I'm pregnant and not supposed to be anywhere near chemicals like that. I just finished washing and organizing all of the new baby's clothes, as well as reorganizing all of my daughter's to make room for everything. Am I going to have to re-wash




Sprout
If you do have fleas borax is helpful in getting rid of them.  I have never used it on elderly upper middle class fleas but, I have had good results on young working class fleas.
Good luck and don't worry about them.  This will make a good story to tell the baby in years to come.


----------



## Dawgluver

Wow, Sprout, what an ordeal!

Last year, after returning from a wedding in Joisey, I awoke to find itchy red bumps all over my legs and arms.  DH did not have any.  Fearing the worst, I researched bedbugs, stripped the bed and boiled the sheets, vacuumed the bed and everything else, vaselined the bed feet, and called Pest Control.  The owner, a former colleague, came out and inspected everything.  He ruled out both bedbugs and fleas (btw, he said to wear white socks if you suspect fleas, they show up on white socks as blood specks.)  Then he asked if I had been doing yard work.  I had, and had not showered immediately afterward.  Have not had a problem since.

You might try the white sock trick, and have a pest inspector come out to take a look.  If they don't have to treat, it won't cost you (I wasn't charged.)

Good luck!


----------



## LPBeier

Zhizara said:


> Sorry you have to spend your "day off" in pain. LPB.  At least you won't have to try and function.  Take it easy and feel better soon!


Thanks, Z.  I did do a few errands because I had to, and ended up getting a homeopathic remedy from our Organic Store.  Wow, within an hour the pain was better and I took a couple in the night and while it was still not perfect, got a better sleep than I have had for nights.  The pain and swelling are still there, but this is far better than any prescription or over the counter medication I could ever get.


----------



## kadesma

LPBeier said:


> Thanks, Z.  I did do a few errands because I had to, and ended up getting a homeopathic remedy from our Organic Store.  Wow, within an hour the pain was better and I took a couple in the night and while it was still not perfect, got a better sleep than I have had for nights.  The pain and swelling are still there, but this is far better than any prescription or over the counter medication I could ever get.


Glad it helped sweetie. I'm pretty sore too. My arm from wrist to shoulder is the most beautiful purple ever. Sore you bet, hand is still numb but getting better. How is dad doing? Take care feel better
ma


----------



## LPBeier

Oh, Ma, you take care of yourself.  Purple is my favourite colour, but not on your skin!

I am this weird person who has watched everyone I know get selected for jury duty (some went and some didn't) and secretly I always wished it was me.  So, I get this letter that I have been selected for a Coroner's Inquest......now that would be super interesting!   But because I am my Dad's primary care giver, I am ineligible.  Even if I want to I can't.  I am not blaming my Dad of course, but I am disappointed.

I told you I was weird!


----------



## Dawgluver

kadesma said:
			
		

> Glad it helped sweetie. I'm pretty sore too. My arm from wrist to shoulder is the most beautiful purple ever. Sore you bet, hand is still numb but getting better. How is dad doing? Take care feel better
> ma



Oh my.  What did you do?  Get better soon, Kades!


----------



## PattY1

Sprout said:


> Now my vent:
> or bury myself in a huge bowl of ice cream and let the tears flow.



Go for the Ice Cream, you deserve it!!


----------



## joesfolk

Sprout, just out of curiosity how do you know where you got the fleas?


----------



## kadesma

Dawgluver said:


> Oh my.  What did you do?  Get better soon, Kades!


I had an access put in for dialysis. It takes about 2-6 weeks to get big enough to use. The surgery was on the 21st. and I'm still very sore. but it will get better and the brusing will lessen. The only think is the access will look really ugly in several years. But it has to be so I can live. right now I have an access in my chest near my collar bone. Not pretty but it works. I'm praying this one works. So far the pulse is working great. Fingers crossed it keeps on. Geez I think I gave you more infor than you asked for
kades


----------



## joesfolk

joesfolk said:


> Sprout, just out of curiosity how do you know where you got the fleas?


 oh, never mind, I found your post.


----------



## Dawgluver

kadesma said:
			
		

> I had an access put in for dialysis. It takes about 2-6 weeks to get big enough to use. The surgery was on the 21st. and I'm still very sore. but it will get better and the brusing will lessen. The only think is the access will look really ugly in several years. But it has to be so I can live. right now I have an access in my chest near my collar bone. Not pretty but it works. I'm praying this one works. So far the pulse is working great. Fingers crossed it keeps on. Geez I think I gave you more infor than you asked for
> kades



Good gravy!  :hugs:  I pray this works for you too!  Wow, the stuff they do to you.  Hope it makes you feel better. Thinking of you!


----------



## kadesma

Dawgluver said:


> Good gravy!  :hugs:  I pray this works for you too!  Wow, the stuff they do to you.  Hope it makes you feel better. Thinking of you!


Thank you sweetie. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Thank you sweetie. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
> kades



Just one more thing for nurses to poke sharp things at...  Glad it's still working.  Be horrible if it failed at this point.  Love ya, Kades!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> Oh, Ma, you take care of yourself.  Purple is my favourite colour, but not on your skin!
> 
> I am this weird person who has watched everyone I know get selected for jury duty (some went and some didn't) and secretly I always wished it was me.  So, I get this letter that I have been selected for a Coroner's Inquest......now that would be super interesting!   But because I am my Dad's primary care giver, I am ineligible.  Even if I want to I can't.  I am not blaming my Dad of course, but I am disappointed.
> 
> I told you I was weird!



You are so weird.  I got a letter for jury duty during finals week...um, DUH!  That would have been a waste of my tuition, missing finals.  You wouldn't believe the hoops I had to jump to get out of it.  Now that I could do it, I never get a letter.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just one more thing for nurses to poke sharp things at...  Glad it's still working.  Be horrible if it failed at this point.  Love ya, Kades!


Thank you. that means the world to me.
kades


----------



## licia

> "I am this weird person who has watched everyone I know get selected for jury duty (some went and some didn't) and secretly I always wished it was me.  So, I get this letter that I have been selected for a Coroner's Inquest......now that would be super interesting!   But because I am my Dad's primary care giver, I am ineligible.  Even if I want to I can't.  I am not blaming my Dad of course, but I am disappointed.
> 
> I told you I was weird!



What does one do at a Coroner's inquest?  I'd say I haven't been called for jury duty in a while, but I'd probably receive one in the mailbox asap. So I didn't really say that.


----------



## licia

CJ, I turn blue all over too when I'm stuck.  Adding to that, my veins literally disappear the moment they know we are heading for blood work.   A time or two back they took it from the top of my left hand and it looked as though it would never heal and stayed blue for well into the second month. After that, my doctor told me to always drink a 12 oz glass of water before going for blood work. It seemed to help. I think I'm the one who gets the new person to practice on.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

licia said:


> CJ, I turn blue all over too when I'm stuck.  Adding to that, my veins literally disappear the moment they know we are heading for blood work.   A time or two back they took it from the top of my left hand and it looked as though it would never heal and stayed blue for well into the second month. After that, my doctor told me to always drink a 12 oz glass of water before going for blood work. It seemed to help. I think I'm the one who gets the new person to practice on.



I tell them exactly where to poke me to get blood and they always pick somewhere else to start first.  Four pokes later they finally use the site I told them to use in the first place.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I tell them exactly where to poke me to get blood and they always pick somewhere else to start first.  Four pokes later they finally use the site I told them to use in the first place.



I too have disappearing veins.  Poke, poke, poke.  Once they had to call a guy in off the golf course to come in and find a vein after several others failed.  I hope he washed his hands first.  The only ones who get it right are through our wellness program at work.


----------



## Kayelle

licia said:


> CJ, I turn blue all over too when I'm stuck.  Adding to that, my veins literally disappear the moment they know we are heading for blood work.   A time or two back they took it from the top of my left hand and it looked as though it would never heal and stayed blue for well into the second month. After that, my doctor told me to always drink a 12 oz glass of water before going for blood work. It seemed to help. I think I'm the one who gets the new person to practice on.



Getting in the lousy vein line.....ack.   I *insist *they use the back of my hand now with a* butterfly needle*. "They" think it hurts more there, and how *wrong* they are because but they aren't me!   Licia, if you apply pressure to the butterfly needle spot for several minutes, it works like a charm with no bruising.


----------



## kadesma

licia said:


> CJ, I turn blue all over too when I'm stuck.  Adding to that, my veins literally disappear the moment they know we are heading for blood work.   A time or two back they took it from the top of my left hand and it looked as though it would never heal and stayed blue for well into the second month. After that, my doctor told me to always drink a 12 oz glass of water before going for blood work. It seemed to help. I think I'm the one who gets the new person to practice on.


licia,
 i turn purple  because I'm an easy bruser but because I have to take asprin that makes the brusing worse. This bruise I was talking about was from surgery on my arm to place an access \for dialysis. Fun wheeeee but it's purple now and starting to heal.  and I'll be the old kades in no tome.
kades


----------



## Timothy

licia said:


> What does one do at a Coroner's inquest?


 
Coroner; "Here, hold this kidney for a second...hey, whatcha on the floor for? Get up here and help me. This is no time for napping!"


----------



## Timothy

My venting is about drivers. What in the world has happened to road courtesy and normal politeness? Have they been erased from our world?

I was taught that on a normal road with two lanes in each direction, that one lane is for turns and passing, the other for long term driving. This way, anyone in a hurry for whatever reason, can move over and pass the slower vehicles. 

Well, it seems now-a-days, that half the people on the highway want to just glide along in BOTH lanes, usually right beside one-another, so NO ONE can get past either of them! 

In the last 5 years, I've noticed this all over the USA. I wonder if it's the same in other countries? People just don't think of being polite on the road any longer it seems.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was taught this was a courtesy rule for highway driving.  In town it is necessary for slow traffic to be in the left lane so they can make their left hand turns.  Also, if the highway is running through a city that has left hand exits, the cars taking those exits need to be able to be in that lane.


----------



## Timothy

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I was taught this was a courtesy rule for highway driving. In town it is necessary for slow traffic to be in the left lane so they can make their left hand turns. Also, if the highway is running through a city that has left hand exits, the cars taking those exits need to be able to be in that lane.


 
Yes, in town, where there are lots of turns. I can see that. However, out on the open highway, (in the USA), the right lane is where everyone should be unless they have an imminent left turn approaching or while passing another vehicle.

Right?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Timothy said:


> Yes, in town, where there are lots of turns. I can see that. However, out on the open highway, (in the USA), the right lane is where everyone should be unless they have an imminent turn approaching or while passing another vehicle.
> 
> Right?



p'zactly!


----------



## Timothy

Timothy said:


> Yes, in town, where there are lots of turns. I can see that. However, out on the open highway, (in the USA), the right lane is where everyone should be unless they have an imminent left turn approaching or while passing another vehicle.
> 
> Right?


 


PrincessFiona60 said:


> p'zactly!


 
Sometimes, like yesterday..., I wish I had a big pair of grabbers on my roof. Then I could pick up the rude person who is pacing the car next to them for 50 miles, 20 mph UNDER the limit, and move them into the right lane.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Timothy said:


> Sometimes, like yesterday..., I wish I had a big pair of grabbers on my roof. Then I could pick up the rude person who is pacing the car next to them for 50 miles, 20 mph UNDER the limit, and move them into the right lane.



What?!?  You don't have front mount .50 caliber guns?

You need to move to Montana!


----------



## Timothy

PrincessFiona60 said:


> What?!? You don't have front mount .50 caliber guns?
> 
> You need to move to Montana!


 
OMG, , you made me laugh so hard it made my shoulder hurt! Owwwww! Whaaaaaaaaaa, Whaaaaaaaa


----------



## LPBeier

licia said:


> What does one do at a Coroner's inquest?  I'd say I haven't been called for jury duty in a while, but I'd probably receive one in the mailbox asap. So I didn't really say that.





Timothy said:


> Coroner; "Here, hold this kidney for a second...hey, whatcha on the floor for? Get up here and help me. This is no time for napping!"



Cute, Timothy!  

Licia, a coroners inquest is done to confirm cause of death.  Witnesses and professionals are called, but if there are suspects they do not attend.  The jury takes all the evidence from the coroner's findings, witness accounts and any other pertinent information and makes a ruling on cause of death.  Since I love shows like CSI, Law & Order, Etc. I would love to be in on this.  Also, my sister is a civilian employee in the local RCMP Ident/Forensics department so it runs in the family!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Timothy said:


> OMG, , you made me laugh so hard it made my shoulder hurt! Owwwww! Whaaaaaaaaaa, Whaaaaaaaa




I have a vivid fantasy life, makes dealing with idiots a lot easier.


----------



## babetoo

awful, unproductive day. trying to sew and also order groceries on line. 

sewing, trying to sew on netting. not hard except has decorative bumps that don't like my machine. it kept hitting the bumps and then the bobbin twisted up. gave up and made ruffle out of the smooth fabric. the over skirts are made with the netting. guess i will figure out what to do when i get there. sure would hate to have to sew it all by hand.

the site for vons groceries on line was wacky all day. i fought it anyway as i wanted the delivery time, i had picked out. finally got it done, and was not the pleasure i usually find.

tomorrow will be better, it has to be.


----------



## Claire

I'm going to regress and vent about "improvements" in technology.  Last weekend I was so frustrated I wanted to scream.  Every single friggin' "advance" in technology leaves me unable to do basic stuff I used to be able to do.  And the instructions are always written by someone who does not speak English as their first language.  I mean, really, why don't you at least hire an English speaker who has actually set the stuff up to write the instructions?  There always seems to be one step missing.  I finally managed to fix a couple of problems (one with my cell phone, one with a new TV remote), but, I swear, it was only after I kicked husband out of the house so I could have some peace and quiet while I did it, and it still took over an hour because of really, really poor instructions and people answering the help line who had accents so thick I could not understand them (and I'm generally good with accents, I really am).


----------



## Claire

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You are so weird.  I got a letter for jury duty during finals week...um, DUH!  That would have been a waste of my tuition, missing finals.  You wouldn't believe the hoops I had to jump to get out of it.  Now that I could do it, I never get a letter.



this is weird.  I have never been called for jury duty.  Everywhere I've lived, I've registered to vote and voted (you're part of the solution or part of the problem; if you don't vote, don't complain).  I'm told that is where they get the jury lists.  I've lived, as a registered voter, in Florida, North Dakota, Virginia, Hawaii, and here in Illinois, and never been called for jury duty.  I'm 56, and it strikes me as odd.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LOL!!!  I have to send Shrek away, too!  Otherwise he might be taking care of a new piercing...


----------



## Timothy

Claire said:


> this is weird. I have never been called for jury duty. Everywhere I've lived, I've registered to vote and voted (you're part of the solution or part of the problem; if you don't vote, don't complain). I'm told that is where they get the jury lists. I've lived, as a registered voter, in Florida, North Dakota, Virginia, Hawaii, and here in Illinois, and never been called for jury duty. I'm 56, and it strikes me as odd.


 
Man, I hate to jinx it, but it's the same with me. I've never been called for jury duty. I'm 58 and have registered and voted in every election since I was 18. 

Claire...are we defective? Are our opinions not wanted? Are we to be cast aside? Outcasts of jury duty...


----------



## Aunt Bea

Timothy said:


> Man, I hate to jinx it, but it's the same with me. I've never been called for jury duty. I'm 58 and have registered and voted in every election since I was 18.
> 
> Claire...are we defective? Are our opinions not wanted? Are we to be cast aside? Outcasts of jury duty...




I was not called for the first time until I was 57.  In my area it seems to tie in with the Motor Vehicles Department database.  I also think they rely on retired people to the extent possible because they do not have to pay the jury stipend.  Just my opinion.


----------



## LPBeier

Actually here, seniors don't have to serve if they don't want to - the rest of us have to have an excuse!


----------



## Claire

Timothy said:


> Man, I hate to jinx it, but it's the same with me. I've never been called for jury duty. I'm 58 and have registered and voted in every election since I was 18.
> 
> Claire...are we defective? Are our opinions not wanted? Are we to be cast aside? Outcasts of jury duty...



Actually, we might be.    My husband has been called up, and they asked him what business he was retired from.  He told them he's a retired Army officer.  The defense jumped up and more or less said "no way".  When he tells the story, people laugh, and those in the know around here say he never has to worry about doing jury duty in this town because everyone has pre-conceived notions of what an Army officer will hold for opinions!  They never got past asking his background to find out what he might think or know about the issue.  I might be in the same predjudicial boat with him!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Timothy said:


> My venting is about drivers. What in the world  has happened to road courtesy and normal politeness? Have they been  erased from our world?
> 
> I was taught that on a normal road with two lanes in each direction,  that one lane is for turns and passing, the other for long term driving.  This way, anyone in a hurry for whatever reason, can move over and pass  the slower vehicles.
> 
> Well, it seems now-a-days, that half the people on the highway want to  just glide along in BOTH lanes, usually right beside one-another, so NO  ONE can get past either of them!
> 
> In the last 5 years, I've noticed this all over the USA. I wonder if  it's the same in other countries? People just don't think of being  polite on the road any longer it seems.



Yeah, not going to touch this one. I'd be here all day writing my response and then decide not to post it because it just sounded to rant like. I'll just say there is a reason I prefer driving late at night and leave it at that.



LPBeier said:


> Actually here, seniors don't have to serve if they don't want to - the rest of us have to have an excuse!



That's the way it is here too. When I got called to jury duty there was an elderly gentleman who said he volunteered for jury duty as often as he could, even though he didn't have to serve even if his name was selected. He was retired and said he figured if he was on the jury then it was one less still working individual having his or her life disrupted and being deprived of important income (jury stipends are not the same as a wage). I got to talk to him after all was over and he was just a really cool guy in general, the type that you can't help but respect within minutes of meeting him.



Claire said:


> Actually, we might be.     My husband has been called up, and they asked him what business he was  retired from.  He told them he's a retired Army officer.  The defense  jumped up and more or less said "no way".  When he tells the story,  people laugh, and those in the know around here say he never has to  worry about doing jury duty in this town because everyone has  pre-conceived notions of what an Army officer will hold for opinions!   They never got past asking his background to find out what he might  think or know about the issue.  I might be in the same predjudicial boat  with him!



I'm just the opposite. During selection they asked the potential jurors if the defendant not testifying would make him look guilty to them and if we could think of a legitimate reason why an innocent person might not want to speak on the stand. I gave a very logical answer that had the judge and every lawyer in the room nodding in agreement. When they asked what my profession was and I said network tech, that pretty much sealed it. I'm pretty sure if my name gets pulled again and I make it to the questioning stage, if even one person that was involved that time is present I'll be on the jury again.


----------



## Rocklobster

I got stung by bees yesterday. I think it is 6 or 7 in total, but I don't really know. 4 or 5 of them are on my ankle. It is a cankle today. If anybody happened to glance in my backyard yesterday they would have thought I was crazy. I had just reached in under a bush with the lawnmower and it started. Once I realized what was happening, I was feeling the stings on my ankle, upper arm and back of my neck. I didn't really know how many bees there were, so I started running around my back yard shedding everything I could. By the time I was done I only had my shorts on. Boots, socks, t-shirt, hat, sunglasses, were all spread over the back lawn. No fun. Second bee sting episode this summer...


----------



## Dawgluver

Rocklobster said:
			
		

> I got stung by bees yesterday. I think it is 6 or 7 in total, but I don't really know. 4 or 5 of them are on my ankle. It is a cankle today. If anybody happened to glance in my backyard yesterday they would have thought I was crazy. I had just reached in under a bush with the lawnmower and it started. Once I realized what was happening, I was feeling the stings on my ankle, upper arm and back of my neck. I didn't really know how many bees there were, so I started running around my back yard shedding everything I could. By the time I was done I only had my shorts on. Boots, socks, t-shirt, hat, sunglasses, were all spread over the back lawn. No fun. Second bee sting episode this summer...



They hurt!  Once, when I was mowing, I ran over an underground hornet nest.  They flew up my shorts legs and stung like crazy!  The stings hurt for weeks!  Didn't have time to shed anything.  The neighbors were grateful.


----------



## Claire

> I'm just the opposite. During selection they asked the potential jurors if the defendant not testifying would make him look guilty to them and if we could think of a legitimate reason why an innocent person might not want to speak on the stand. I gave a very logical answer that had the judge and every lawyer in the room nodding in agreement. When they asked what my profession was and I said network tech, that pretty much sealed it. I'm pretty sure if my name gets pulled again and I make it to the questioning stage, if even one person that was involved that time is present I'll be on the jury again.



Now there's a new one.  You're logical, so you're stuck!  I love it!  At least it makes sense.  I'd agree that there are probably dozens of reasons people wouldn't want to speak on the stand.  I, for one, get so nervous when required to do public speaking that I sweat and shake.  I'm sure I'd be condemned on the spot!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I had to testify in front of the Nursing Board, not even a jury trial and I was freaked out.  The lawyers are sharks and they don't allow you to clarify your thoughts.


----------



## Rocklobster

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I had to testify in front of the Nursing Board, not even a jury trial and I was freaked out. The lawyers are sharks and they don't allow you to clarify your thoughts.


 
Of course. They have an agenda. They get you to say what they want you to say. Or, say it in a way that they can interpret it to their advantage.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> Of course. They have an agenda. They get you to say what they want you to say. Or, say it in a way that they can interpret it to their advantage.



Cleaning up what I do on a daily basis at work is a much more Noble Profession.


----------



## Timothy

Rocklobster said:


> Of course. They have an agenda. They get you to say what they want you to say. Or, say it in a way that they can interpret it to their advantage.


 
As much as  I dislike lawyers, I have to direct the blame to the real reason for most legal dissatisfaction; the system itself.

No, it is not the best one, no one system is the best in every way, and no, it's not perfect or anywhere near it. The systems of the entire world each have their good and bad parts. Why can't the powers that be pick and choose among those parts of world systems that work and incorporate each of them into one entire system that would work?

Sticking to a system that, as a whole, doesn't work, but staying with the framework out of stubbornness instead of logic. Habit instead of intelligence.

The global waste of resources has always been my one huge sore spot in the makeup of humankind. As a species, we say one thing and do another.

Ha!  don't get me started....


----------



## Rocklobster

Timothy said:


> As much as I dislike lawyers, I have to direct the blame to the real reason for most legal dissatisfaction; the system itself.
> 
> No, it is not the best one, no one system is the best in every way, and no, it's not perfect or anywhere near it. The systems of the entire world each have their good and bad parts. Why can't the powers that be pick and choose among those parts of world systems that work and incorporate each of them into one entire system that would work?
> 
> Sticking to a system that, as a whole, doesn't work, but staying with the framework out of stubbornness instead of logic. Habit instead of intelligence.
> 
> The global waste of resources has always been my one huge sore spot in the makeup of humankind. As a species, we say one thing and do another.
> 
> Ha!  don't get me started....


 
Yes, I agreee that is it the best we have. Which, to me, is a poor excuse to accept it for what it is. I will never stop being critical of it. Just like the government. But, that talk will get my posts deleted.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Rocklobster said:


> I got stung by bees yesterday. I think it is 6 or 7 in total, but I don't really know. 4 or 5 of them are on my ankle. It is a cankle today. If anybody happened to glance in my backyard yesterday they would have thought I was crazy. I had just reached in under a bush with the lawnmower and it started. Once I realized what was happening, I was feeling the stings on my ankle, upper arm and back of my neck. I didn't really know how many bees there were, so I started running around my back yard shedding everything I could. By the time I was done I only had my shorts on. Boots, socks, t-shirt, hat, sunglasses, were all spread over the back lawn. No fun. Second bee sting episode this summer...



Oh, not fun.  When I was kid my mom used to make a paste our of meat tenderizer and put it on the stings. It actually helped quite a bit. If they were bee stings she'd also make sure the stinger wasn't still in the skin. Here are a couple links about home remedies for stings.

How to Treat a Bee Sting with Meat Tenderizer | eHow.com
Bee stings: Lifestyle and home remedies - MayoClinic.com

I don't know how quickly they need to be applied in order to work. Hopefully the stings will heal quickly. Hmm, couldn't find a sympathy smiley so here, have some guaranteed bee free flowers.


----------



## Sprout

I know it was a couple days ago and several pages back, but I haven't been able to get on since then, so I just wanted to say thanks for the sympathy & suggestions for my last rant! It's now 3 days later and I have no new bites and DH and DD are bite free, so we're hopeful! We're still super-cleaning everything as a precaution, but while that's time-consuming, with a new baby coming it's a good idea anyway!


----------



## Zhizara

Sprout said:


> I know it was a couple days ago and several pages back, but I haven't been able to get on since then, so I just wanted to say thanks for the sympathy & suggestions for my last rant! It's now 3 days later and I have no new bites and DH and DD are bite free, so we're hopeful! We're still super-cleaning everything as a precaution, but while that's time-consuming, with a new baby coming it's a good idea anyway!



Glad to hear it!


----------



## babetoo

another useless day sewing. suffice to say machine problems. wasted several hours and sewed one thing. 

my nights and days are screwed up, maybe that is the cause of all these mishaps. didn't get to sleep til 3 am, this morning. slept til almost one. the rhythm of the day is all off. has been this way for almost a week. wish my body would just stabilize so i can function like a normal person. part of the sleeping problem seems to be my ptsd.if it doesn't let up will have to go see the old head doctor. i had really hoped i had put all of this behind me. these thoughts are not pleasant but seem to be uncontrollable. wish me luck.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> another useless day sewing. suffice to say machine problems. wasted several hours and sewed one thing.
> 
> my nights and days are screwed up, maybe that is the cause of all these mishaps. didn't get to sleep til 3 am, this morning. slept til almost one. the rhythm of the day is all off. has been this way for almost a week. wish my body would just stabilize so i can function like a normal person. part of the sleeping problem seems to be my ptsd.if it doesn't let up will have to go see the old head doctor. i had really hoped i had put all of this behind me. these thoughts are not pleasant but seem to be uncontrollable. wish me luck.



I do hope you are feeling better soon, Babe.  The hot weather is probably the biggest culprit.  Hugs and Sweet Dreams!


----------



## joesfolk

I am so angry with myself.   I said something to a friend of thirty years that obviously upset her though the effect was uninteneded.  I would not hurt her for the world and though my words were true I did not anticipate that she would take it in an unflattering light.  The sad part is that we have become much less close in the last 10  years due to the circumstances of life,  a situation that I lament.  I pray that this gaff does not cause a rift between us.  I sent her an e-mail to apologize and. yes, I know that a call is probably more appropriate.  But it is early in the day and her family doesn't get started till late in the morning and I don't want to wait until the day gets busy as I might forget.  Sheeesh, won't my mouth ever stop getting me in trouble?


----------



## Selkie

You might also try a handwritten note. An apology is sometimes better served by something more personal than an electronic blip on a screen.

I do hope your friendship mends!


----------



## licia

Losing a friend as an adult seems to hurt much more than when I was a child. If the friend is someone you truly want to keep in your life, I'd make the call after sending the note. Perhaps your friend will be in a more mellow mood after receiving your apology. I've only lost one friend as an adult and it was thru no fault of mine, but I still think of her - not that I would ever be close again after seeing that someone else's word was taken over mine. We used to vacation together, spent holidays together and our children were good friends.  I count it as maybe she wasn't the good friend that she portrayed so to me that is untrustworthy.  I'm over it - but remember.


----------



## joesfolk

Thanks Selkie, under normal circumstances I would totally agree with you but in this case the friend has a quirky aversion to people sending her notes.  She thinks it's a strange thing to do.  I know that makes her sound a little nutty and nothing could be further from the truth.  She is the most totally grounded and straight thinking person that I know and I value her friendship and her advice, which I could use now to know how to handle this situation!


----------



## joesfolk

Licia, thanks for your input.   This friend is a lovely woman who is very straight forward but feels that folks consider her less than sympathetic because of it.   That could not be further from the truth.  She is a kind and loving person.  Unfortunately my mouth stepped on that sensitive spot.  Maybe I'll try to see if we can get together for a little lunch or something.


----------



## Rocklobster

I would be sincere and honest. That's all you can do. Nobody is perfect.


----------



## tinlizzie

licia said:


> What does one do at a Coroner's inquest? I'd say I haven't been called for jury duty in a while, but I'd probably receive one in the mailbox asap. So I didn't really say that.


 
I hope it's not too late here to mention the TV series DaVinci's Inquest, a Canadian production (I think) of several years ago.  I thought it was very good  -- don't know how factually accurate it was, but the story lines seemed very realistic in re the coroner and his inquests.


----------



## Aunt Bea

joesfolk said:


> I am so angry with myself.   I said something to a friend of thirty years that obviously upset her though the effect was uninteneded.  I would not hurt her for the world and though my words were true I did not anticipate that she would take it in an unflattering light.  The sad part is that we have become much less close in the last 10  years due to the circumstances of life,  a situation that I lament.  I pray that this gaff does not cause a rift between us.  I sent her an e-mail to apologize and. yes, I know that a call is probably more appropriate.  But it is early in the day and her family doesn't get started till late in the morning and I don't want to wait until the day gets busy as I might forget.  Sheeesh, won't my mouth ever stop getting me in trouble?



When I get into similar situations I always think of my mother.  She was quite outspoken and I am sadly the same way. 

 Her standard prayer was: 
*Lord, Keep Your Arm Around My Shoulder and Your Hand Over My Mouth *


Like Rock says all you can do is make a sincere apology.

Good Luck 
B


----------



## CWS4322

So, I decided to go with a MiFi while I'm in MN rather than pay the roaming charges on my device (which, by the way, works in Northern MN). I left it at home (should've listened to my gut, but the DH wanted to use it...). So yesterday, I went MiFi shopping. The best deal was Virgin. So, I bought that, charged it, tried to connect...no signal. WHAT? They said their was coverage...on the phone with tech support--oh, we can boost your signal...you can try this, you can try that, if it doesn't work, you can return it. There is signal 1/8 of a mile north of you, and 1/8 of a mile south of you. Having worked in the telecommunications industry as long as I have and having been married to an RF R&D engineer as long as I have, I've learned a thing or two about how signals are transmitted. Not to be defeated, I loaded the device and the laptop in the car and headed down the road. Yup, the device locked onto a signal. I raced home, ran in the house, sat down to finish configuring the account and to put time on the device. I got to the "State" blank for my CC card. Nothing there for Canada. I called support. "We don't accept anything other than U.S. credit cards." How dumb is that, the device is for people on the move. What better way for a tourist/visitor to take the Internet with them. I had to go back to the store to get the top up cards. Finally, at 11:00 p.m., I'm back in the car, in the dark, trying to enter my top up cards. The PINs are so small--I couldn't read them in the dark. Finally, got everything done, and the BATTERY on the computer shut down before I could finish! Grrr...so, this morning, I went to the library to configure the darned thing. Besides refusing to sew after dark, I now refuse to try and lock onto a signal not only after dark, but I also refuse to do that in a car after dark.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grrr. Curse my easily distracted brain. I came on the forum to find my vegetable soup recipe so I can pick up the ingredients for it. I figured it would be quicker than digging through my recipes since I know exactly where it is. I wasn't even going to sign in! And then I got curious about a post. And another. And then I signed in. And then I started reading and responding to posts. And then my head started to hurt and I was like, "What the heck? Why does it feel like my blood sugar is low?" I looked at the clock. It's been three hours. I haven't eaten since three this morning, I still haven't made my grocery list, I still haven't done my grocery shopping. And I have homework I need to work on tonight. Grrrr.


----------



## kadesma

joesfolk said:


> I am so angry with myself.   I said something to a friend of thirty years that obviously upset her though the effect was uninteneded.  I would not hurt her for the world and though my words were true I did not anticipate that she would take it in an unflattering light.  The sad part is that we have become much less close in the last 10  years due to the circumstances of life,  a situation that I lament.  I pray that this gaff does not cause a rift between us.  I sent her an e-mail to apologize and. yes, I know that a call is probably more appropriate.  But it is early in the day and her family doesn't get started till late in the morning and I don't want to wait until the day gets busy as I might forget.  Sheeesh, won't my mouth ever stop getting me in trouble?


Sweetie,
 I've done just what you did and I was hurt, she was really wounded from my stupid mouth. I would make a meal she loves pack it up and just show up at her door. Hand her the food. Tell her you love her and feel like a darn fool with a stupid mouth you don't know how to control. Tell her you're sorry and hope with her help to learn to have more control. Life is short and right now I'm losing a dear friend who has cancer and hasn't been told just how sick he is. I'd like to wring his wife's neck but realize she is doing what she feels is best. so my big mouth has duct tape over it. All you can hope for is that she loves you as you love her, You seem to know her best hold out you hand with love in it. I wish you luck.
kades


----------



## joesfolk

She sent me a return e-mail saying she understood what was happening and understood my reaction and was not offended.  (Though really that is not what the look on her face said at the time.)  We have scheduled a lunch and a tour of the new house on Friday.   Hopefully all is well.  We have such a long and loving past together that I would be broken hearted if I destroyed that.


----------



## Selkie

That's wonderful! I'm so glad for you!


----------



## Dawgluver

Yay!


----------



## kadesma

joesfolk said:


> She sent me a return e-mail saying she understood what was happening and understood my reaction and was not offended.  (Though really that is not what the look on her face said at the time.)  We have scheduled a lunch and a tour of the new house on Friday.   Hopefully all is well.  We have such a long and loving past together that I would be broken hearted if I destroyed that.


See her love for you is as great as you'res is Wonderful news.
kades


----------



## Timothy

joesfolk said:


> She sent me a return e-mail saying she understood what was happening and understood my reaction and was not offended. (Though really that is not what the look on her face said at the time.) We have scheduled a lunch and a tour of the new house on Friday. Hopefully all is well. We have such a long and loving past together that I would be broken hearted if I destroyed that.


 
I was holding my breath for you and didn't even realize it. When I saw your post, it made me very happy for you. I'm sure glad things worked out.

Friendship is like a bridge. Complicated, difficult to build but made to last a lifetime. When one spot becomes worn from use, you fix it and the bridge is as good as new again! Maybe even better!

Good luck to you and your friend.


Tim


----------



## Claire

I can really sympathize with this one.  I have a tendency to brush off things people say to me when it comes to something I could take offense at or take with a grain of salt.  But often I find myself in the position of having acquaintances who are easily offended at something I did not mean to be offensive.  It just seems some friends only want friends who believe and think and hold the same opinions as them.  I don't _want_ my friends to be just like me, but sometimes I learn too late that other people want friend who are exactly like them.  Oh, well.


----------



## babetoo

way to often i say things that family takes offense to. i speak my mind but most of what they get upset with , i don't see why. it is the truth but perhaps not their truth. case in point, new great granddaughter. her dad was visiting me in the hospital .i asked what the new babies name was. he replied Evangeline Roosevelt. i am afraid i started laughing. he took offense but did not tell me but every one else in family was told. then they were all mad at me. i said i was sorry but i don't think they believed me, oh well. i did not mean to be unkind. think of that poor little girl with that name.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> way to often i say things that family takes offense to. i speak my mind but most of what they get upset with , i don't see why. it is the truth but perhaps not their truth. case in point, new great granddaughter. her dad was visiting me in the hospital .i asked what the new babies name was. he replied Evangeline Roosevelt. i am afraid i started laughing. he took offense but did not tell me but every one else in family was told. then they were all mad at me. i said i was sorry but i don't think they believed me, oh well. i did not mean to be unkind. think of that poor little girl with that name.



I waited until my nephew was 6 years old before I told my sister that he looked like E.T. when he was born...she was not amused.  She told me I never had to look at him again.  I will never try to joke with her about her kids again


----------



## licia

I think it was after my children were older that I understood that it is entirely possible to think things that don't have to be said no matter how true they are. It comes with maturity and I see signs in some of the younger ones in our family who don't seem to learn and consequently repeat the errors over and over - then wonder why the relationships aren't what they would like.  I have a sister-in-law who almost always found ways to either lie to me about what some said or say mean things on her on.  I decided to use something I had heard much earlier "I will evict those from my life who make me feel bad about myself". This doesn't mean that we should evict anyone who doesn't agree with us but if someone is a constant problem with no reason, it may be a good thing to cut off the relationship or minimize it.


----------



## Kayelle

babetoo said:


> way to often i say things that family takes offense to. i speak my mind but most of what they get upset with , i don't see why. it is the truth but perhaps not their truth. case in point, new great granddaughter. her dad was visiting me in the hospital .i asked what the new babies name was. he replied Evangeline Roosevelt. i am afraid i started laughing. he took offense but did not tell me but every one else in family was told. then they were all mad at me. i said i was sorry but i don't think they believed me, oh well. i did not mean to be unkind. think of that poor little girl with that name.



You just laughed Babe!!  You could have said what the #@$^%& were you thinking!  Don't feel too bad, I have a niece who was named "Plum Blossom"......what I said to that turned the air blue.


----------



## snickerdoodle

Kayelle said:


> You just laughed Babe!! You could have said what the #@$^%& were you thinking! Don't feel too bad, I have a niece who was named "Plum Blossom"......what I said to that turned the air blue.


 
Well the good news is that these young children with "different" names are definitely not alone in their name situation so you don't necessarily have to feel bad for these kids.  I think it's almost a contest for some parents to come up with the most unique name.  They think they are being different but the ironic part is that it's the trend, so they really aren't being that different when they name their child Haven Winter (my nephew).  All that being said, I should probably throw out there that my younger 2 daughters do in fact have unique names (Isis & Mira).


----------



## Selkie

My daughter has a unique name... no one else in the world has it...

*Chehalis*.

A Saskatchewan indian word meaning "shifting sands." It's also a small town in Washington state.

She's 34 years old and to her friends she's called Shay.


----------



## Kayelle

Selkie said:


> My daughter has a unique name... no one else in the world has it...
> 
> *Chehalis*.
> 
> A Saskatchewan indian word meaning "shifting sands." It's also a small town in Washington state.
> 
> She's 34 years old and to her friends she's called Shay.



How is her name pronounced, Selkie??  I like what her friends call her......Shay is my son's middle name.

"Plumb Blossom" is now grown and she uses the name Sunny.......she was a product of a Hippy commune in northern Calif. in the '60's. 

You're right, Snickerdoodle, strange names are the norm now days but I love your little girls names.


----------



## Selkie

Kayelle said:


> How is her name pronounced, Selkie??  I like what her friends call her......Shay is my son's middle name....



Chehalis is pronounced - _she_ (short form "e" as in *she*lter) _hay liss_

Her family still refers to her as Chehalis. Family... friends... two different worlds, two different names.

Her middle name is Rae.


----------



## babetoo

i have a granddaughter named saige. she is thirty years old. when she was named i thought, oh dear, a hippy name. now no big deal and it suits her.


----------



## joesfolk

Timothy said:


> I was holding my breath for you and didn't even realize it. When I saw your post, it made me very happy for you. I'm sure glad things worked out.
> 
> Friendship is like a bridge. Complicated, difficult to build but made to last a lifetime. When one spot becomes worn from use, you fix it and the bridge is as good as new again! Maybe even better!
> 
> Good luck to you and your friend.
> 
> 
> Tim


 

Thought you guys would like to know...I got together with my friend today, lunch and convesation. It turns out she is struggling with a decision that is close to her heart. Several times this supremely intelligent,together, and stoic woman broke down in tears in a public place. I pray that my words contained for her a modicum of the wisdom that she has shared with me over the years. 
Thanks guys, for encouraging me in this matter.


----------



## Timothy

joesfolk said:


> Thought you guys would like to know...I got together with my friend today, lunch and convesation. It turns out she is struggling with a decision that is close to her heart. Several times this supremely intelligent,together, and stoic woman broke down in tears in a public place. I pray that my words contained for her a modicum of the wisdom that she has shared with me over the years.
> Thanks guys, for encouraging me in this matter.


 

It sounds like your relationship with your friend has healed.

I'm glad for you both.

Good luck to you.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Sitting at work, alone, the only one in the basement office of an empty  building wishing the phone would ring so I could hear a human voice. Got  booted out of my office for tonight and tomorrow night because of  construction. My office is in a building that has people so I can leave  it for a few minutes a couple times a night and get to visit with  people. The main MIS office is where I'm at now. Bleh. Been a long night  and it's not even half over. Wouldn't be so bad if I had more to keep  me busy, but it's a slow night.


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

For the first time in a long time I lost it yesterday, I agreed that the field at the bottom of my garden could be converted into an adults league soccer pitch, I warned them that if a ball gets into the garden and I'm not there not to try to retrieve it as Max will have them. Luckily I just came out as this xxxx(a supporter of the visiting team) was getting over the fence, Max attacks silently and he was moving like a bullet, I screamed down Max and the xxxx dropped.The xxxx ran to rejion his friends
I put Max on the lead and went out to bollock them, I then realised there was no ball in the garden and the xxxx was getting in to steal, Max held his friends at bay as I admonished the xxxxxxx.
My wife gave Max my steak and sentenced  me to sleep in the dog house, the xxxxx would not share his blanket.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Awwww, what a cute picture. That sucks that you had to deal with lousy people. Maybe after seeing that you weren't just kidding about Max they won't be so eager to sneak into the garden. You should get a sign that says "Big dog. Intruders will get eaten." Then no one can say they weren't warned.


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

My neighbor suggested I put a sign up saying Danger big dog who eats the owner leftovers above this photo.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

That would certainly keep me out.


----------



## Claire

On the names subject ... one thing that you have to remember, and then teach your kids .... if they have "unique" names or names with just unusual spellings, the they are going to spend their entire lives explaining, spelling, etc.  I love my name, and it isn't very unusual -- now.  When I was young, no one heard of the name.  I gave up.  All southerners managed to put four syllables into a one syllable name (Kah-lay-er-ah).  Even into my twenties, because I have a last name that is often a man's first name, my hospital or personnel records got mis-filed.  Trying to get people to put both an I and an E into the spelling was a chore.  (Clair, actually a man's name, and Clare)

It's nice to want your kid to be unique, and once they're adults they will love it (no, not always, I have friends who have hated their names so much they changed them).


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> On the names subject ... one thing that you have to remember, and then teach your kids .... if they have "unique" names or names with just unusual spellings, the they are going to spend their entire lives explaining, spelling, etc.  I love my name, and it isn't very unusual -- now.  When I was young, no one heard of the name.  I gave up.  All southerners managed to put four syllables into a one syllable name (Kah-lay-er-ah).  Even into my twenties, because I have a last name that is often a man's first name, my hospital or personnel records got mis-filed.  Trying to get people to put both an I and an E into the spelling was a chore.  (Clair, actually a man's name, and Clare)
> 
> It's nice to want your kid to be unique, and once they're adults they will love it (no, not always, I have friends who have hated their names so much they changed them).




I have a traditional name (IRL) and it's darn near impossible to get people to use it.  They keep coming up with nicknames, most of which I hate.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Bolas De Fraile said:


> For the first time in a long time I lost it yesterday, I agreed that the field at the bottom of my garden could be converted into an adults league soccer pitch, I warned them that if a ball gets into the garden and I'm not there not to try to retrieve it as Max will have them. Luckily I just came out as this xxxx(a supporter of the visiting team) was getting over the fence, Max attacks silently and he was moving like a bullet, I screamed down Max and the xxxx dropped.The xxxx ran to rejion his friends
> I put Max on the lead and went out to bollock them, I then realised there was no ball in the garden and the xxxx was getting in to steal, Max held his friends at bay as I admonished the xxxxxxx.
> My wife gave Max my steak and sentenced  me to sleep in the dog house, the xxxxx would not share his blanket.



Good Boy!  Max!  But, sorry there was no Screaming Trespasser for dessert.  Why didn't you bring your own blanket?  Bet he would have traded you

"Do not climb fence or you won't know what hit you!"


----------



## Rocklobster

Well, I'm a little upset. Not sure what to think. Last week, a local guy came to my door and asked me if I wanted to sell my old truck. It is over 20 years old and has been siting in my parking lot since last fall, it runs, smokes and needs some exhaust work, but is liscenced, and still insured. Good body, and most parts are good. I told him I was thinking of giving it to my father inlaw who has a bushlot and would use it for transporting firewood. He offered me what I said I would want for it and bought the truck on Thursday. I came home last night at about 2:30 a.m. to find the truck in my driveway with the keys on the seat. He had left a message on my machine to call him regarding the truck. I am assuming he wants his money back. I have since returned the plates for a partial refund on the validation sticker and taken the insurance off, and given him a reciept for the truck. Done deal. I never misinformed him of the condition of the truck. Hhe drove it home after it started with one crank. What does he want for 500 bucks?

I was calculating how much it would cost me to take the truck back and return it to the same status as before and with an appraisal, which is mandatory for vehicles over 20 years old, sales tax(technically I would have to buy it back off of him), plates, and a valid sticker, and a safety check to get it back on the road. This would far exceed 500 dollars. NO WAY I should be out a penny. I just walked my dog past his place, which I do everyday, and he is not home right now, and it is starting to get me extremely perturbed. I'm not sure how this is going to play out.

I bargained in good faith and told him it was a fixer upper. I don't want to be hard to deal with, and am sorry for his buyers remorse. Am I wrong to feel that it really isn't my problem?


----------



## Andy M.

You ARE right.  It shouldn't be your problem.  I just sold a car and used a bill of sale that identified the sale in "as is" condition with no written or implied warranties.  Call him and tell him to get his truck out of your driveway.


----------



## Rocklobster

We forgot to right "as is" on the reciept. But, I read on our Provincial Liscencing Office website, that a car sold without a valid warranty is sold as an "as is" vehicle.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> We forgot to right "as is" on the reciept. But, I read on our Provincial Liscencing Office website, that a car sold without a valid warranty is sold as an "as is" vehicle.



Andy is right and so are you.  Tell him to get his truck out of your driveway or you will have it towed.  Leave the keys right where they are, you don't want to be accused of theft.  If it gets stolen...not your fault.


----------



## Dawgluver

Judge Joe Brown, Judge Judy, and Judge Mathis would concur.


----------



## Rocklobster

Yeah. I agree, with you all. I actually like this guy, he is a brother of a good friend of mine and was my sons hockey coach for a season. Small village, see him passing by on a regular basis. I just want to make sure I'm not the unreasonable one, here.

Thanks, everybody.


----------



## Timothy

If he raises a stink, I would tell him, (with a witness who knows you), that if he wants you to take the truck back, this is what it would cost you to restore it to the conditions prior to the sale. Add the original sale price and every cent you would have to spend, plus a reasonable wage for you for the hours that you spend doing it.

I would explain all of that in writing, make two copies and have both of your sigs and the witnesses sig on both originals. Give him one after he pays you that much.

If he refuses to pay you that much, then tell him you'll have to get the police involved to settle it.

I would call the police and discuss it with them first. They've already seen and done it a hundred times.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Rocklobster said:


> Yeah. I agree, with you all. I actually like this guy, he is a brother of a good friend of mine and was my sons hockey coach for a season. Small village, see him passing by on a regular basis. I just want to make sure I'm not the unreasonable one, here.
> 
> Thanks, everybody.




Wait until you talk to him, I have a feeling his Sweetie put her foot down and said get that thing out of my yard

I would explain your position and see where it goes but, I would not be the loser in this thing small town or not.  After all he is the one who knocked on your door.


----------



## Dawgluver

Aunt Bea said:
			
		

> Wait until you talk to him, I have a feeling his Sweetie put her foot down and said get that thing out of my yard
> 
> I would explain your position and see where it goes but, I would not be the loser in this thing small town or not.  After all he is the one who knocked on your door.



My thoughts too, AB.


----------



## Rocklobster

I hear you AB. My wife and I had a chukle about that also. It boils down to principle for me. I was minding my own buisness, and I have my rights.


----------



## Sprout

Tomorrow, friday the 12th I will officially be 37 weeks pregnant. I will have finally made it to my "safe date," and this pregnancy will be considered full term. Tomorrow I will also go to my OB office to find out if I'm going to have to continue the activity limitaions (basically bed rest) that they put me on today. Some may think "why on earth would they put a woman whose pregnancy is considered full term on such limitations?" I strained (pulled, if you prefer) the lowest segment of my rectus abdominus muscle (the muscle that makes "6-pack abs) and the tendon that attaches it to my pelvis. These, along with the other abdominal muscles, are what a woman flexes when she pushes in labor to help her uterus push the baby out. If they determine that I did enough damage, they'll limit my activity to give the muscles rest and allow them to heal, and to try to convince my body not to go into labor before they've had enough time to do so. So here I am, in what should be the home stretch, and I have to pray that I *don't *go into labor any time soon. They won't try to stop labor if it starts, of course, as the risks of intervention would be much greater than the risks of letting my body do its job, but if I do go into labor soon I'll likely do more damage to the injury and my recovery will be even more fun! Thank goodness my toddler is so loveable, because I already have many offers to take care of her while DH is at work so I can rest (we have no family in the area to help). Just when I'm ready to be done this pops up! Well, it won't kill me, so I just have to assume I'll be stronger once I make it out the other side.


----------



## Sprout

Oh yeah, and how did I manage to injure myself? I must have been pushing myself too hard or doing something stupid, right? Nope. My pants started to fall down, I had something in my hands, so I couldn't pull them up, I tripped on my pant leg, and stumbled. I didn't even come close to falling. It was such a minor stumble that if someone was watching, they probably wouldn't have even asked if I was ok, just averted their eyes and chuckled. Well, at least until they saw me drop what I was carrying and double over clutching my crotch...


----------



## Dawgluver

Sprout said:
			
		

> Oh yeah, and how did I manage to injure myself? I must have been pushing myself too hard or doing something stupid, right? Nope. My pants started to fall down, I had something in my hands, so I couldn't pull them up, I tripped on my pant leg, and stumbled. I didn't even come close to falling. It was such a minor stumble that if someone was watching, they probably wouldn't have even asked if I was ok, just averted their eyes and chuckled. Well, at least until they saw me drop what I was carrying and double over clutching my crotch...



Oh crap, Sprout.  Sure hope everything works out.


----------



## kadesma

Sprout said:


> Tomorrow, friday the 12th I will officially be 37 weeks pregnant. I will have finally made it to my "safe date," and this pregnancy will be considered full term. Tomorrow I will also go to my OB office to find out if I'm going to have to continue the activity limitaions (basically bed rest) that they put me on today. Some may think "why on earth would they put a woman whose pregnancy is considered full term on such limitations?" I strained (pulled, if you prefer) the lowest segment of my rectus abdominus muscle (the muscle that makes "6-pack abs) and the tendon that attaches it to my pelvis. These, along with the other abdominal muscles, are what a woman flexes when she pushes in labor to help her uterus push the baby out. If they determine that I did enough damage, they'll limit my activity to give the muscles rest and allow them to heal, and to try to convince my body not to go into labor before they've had enough time to do so. So here I am, in what should be the home stretch, and I have to pray that I *don't *go into labor any time soon. They won't try to stop labor if it starts, of course, as the risks of intervention would be much greater than the risks of letting my body do its job, but if I do go into labor soon I'll likely do more damage to the injury and my recovery will be even more fun! Thank goodness my toddler is so loveable, because I already have many offers to take care of her while DH is at work so I can rest (we have no family in the area to help). Just when I'm ready to be done this pops up! Well, it won't kill me, so I just have to assume I'll be stronger once I make it out the other side.


You have my good thoughts and prayers. Hope all goes well for you.
kadesma


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Take it easy, buy some suspenders...get some rest.  I have you in my thoughts and prayers.


----------



## Sprout

Thanks, guys. I went to the doc today and I'm severely limited activity until wednesday, but the good news is that she said it shouldn't interfere with labor, even if I were to go into labor right now. Basically, if I had chosen to injure an abdominal muscle, I could have chosen better, since the area I damaged is used least when pushing. That's a huge relief. I'm trying to go natural this time (had some complications last time that may have been prevented if I hadn't been induced or had the epidural) and was worried that this injury would cause me to need intervention, but my doc said it's actually a good thing I'm trying to avoid the epidural, because it's harder to be sure you're contracting the correct muscles with it, so I could injure it further that way, or, since pushing typically takes longer with an epidural, the chances of the other muscles becoming fatigued & my trying to compensate by using these ones are a lot higher. So basically, I'm in a fair amount of pain when I do have to get up/walk/reach for things and I have some pretty boring days ahead of me, but it's the weekend, so DH will be around to help for the next couple days. In terms of my labor, it actually gives me more incentive to stick to my natural birth plan, so maybe it's a blessing in disguise!


----------



## Dawgluver

Much better news, Sprout!  Take good care of yourself!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> Thanks, guys. I went to the doc today and I'm severely limited activity until wednesday, but the good news is that she said it shouldn't interfere with labor, even if I were to go into labor right now. Basically, if I had chosen to injure an abdominal muscle, I could have chosen better, since the area I damaged is used least when pushing. That's a huge relief. I'm trying to go natural this time (had some complications last time that may have been prevented if I hadn't been induced or had the epidural) and was worried that this injury would cause me to need intervention, but my doc said it's actually a good thing I'm trying to avoid the epidural, because it's harder to be sure you're contracting the correct muscles with it, so I could injure it further that way, or, since pushing typically takes longer with an epidural, the chances of the other muscles becoming fatigued & my trying to compensate by using these ones are a lot higher. So basically, I'm in a fair amount of pain when I do have to get up/walk/reach for things and I have some pretty boring days ahead of me, but it's the weekend, so DH will be around to help for the next couple days. In terms of my labor, it actually gives me more incentive to stick to my natural birth plan, so maybe it's a blessing in disguise!



So, it's not time for me to run in circles yelling, "Boil some water?"  

I'm the only person who got sedation when my nephew was born...


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> So, it's not time for me to run in circles yelling, "Boil some water?"
> 
> I'm the only person who got sedation when my nephew was born...



Wait a second!  You're supposed to be the calm and confident medical professional who's clam demeanor helps everyone else weather the storm.

...another bubble burst!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Wait a second!  You're supposed to be the calm and confident medical professional who's clam demeanor helps everyone else weather the storm.
> 
> ...another bubble burst!



Calm and confident only with my Old folks...you should feel safe, Andy!

New baby anything...squeeeeeeeeee!!!!


----------



## Dawgluver

Okay.  Let's think about this rationally.  So if Australia, Wales, Spain, Italy, France, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, Michigan, Florida, Louisiana, South Dakota, Iowa,  and all the other places on DC send you hot towels and boiling water, Sprout, you should feel pretty safe.  We are watching your back.  You may thank us later.

:Wub:  Best to you, hope you can get comfortable!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> Okay.  Let's think about this rationally.  So if Australia, Wales, Spain, Italy, France, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, Michigan, Florida, Louisiana, South Dakota, Iowa,  and all the other places on DC send you hot towels and boiling water, Sprout, you should feel pretty safe.  We are watching your back.  You may thank us later.
> 
> :Wub:  Best to you, hope you can get comfortable!



That's a lot of towls and boiling water. Do you have her back or are you planing an invasion. Hmm, invading the baby sister's... Oh, or create a turkish bath!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

P.S. Thanks you guys for being supportive of my sister.


----------



## Sprout

PF, I'll make sure to only inform you after the baby has safely arrived.  
Andy, I don't think you should take that comment from PF lying down. (Just be careful trying to get up. If you're as old as PF makes it sound, we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself.)

Thanks all for the support and well-wishes!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> P.S. Thanks you guys for being supportive of my sister.



It's only because I want to be a babysitter choice...



Sprout said:


> PF, I'll make sure to only inform you after the baby has safely arrived.
> Andy, I don't think you should take that comment from PF lying down. (Just be careful trying to get up. If you're as old as PF makes it sound, we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself.)
> 
> Thanks all for the support and well-wishes!



After the baby arrives safely is when I fall apart.  Nephew was born in the back seat of Grandma's car in the middle of a corn field.  I got him and his Mom to the ER (20 miles away) and once I got everyone notified and they were safe, I started laughing and couldn't stop.


----------



## kadesma

Now waych out PF and I are tossing coins to see who goes to baby sit first. Hint hint I have 6 grand kids and know both ends of any kid well
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The best thing about Grandkids...you can send them home...when they are tired, dirty and hungry.


----------



## Timothy

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The best thing about Grandkids...you can send them home...when they are tired, dirty and hungry.


 
That's what *I* always said! The best end to a visit is standing on the front porch waving good-bye! Spoil em rotten and send em home!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Timothy said:


> That's what *I* always said! The best end to a visit is standing on the front porch waving good-bye! Spoil em rotten and send em home!



I am a natural sedative for babies of any species.  I bore them to sleep, I get the pleasure of watching them and holding them while they sleep.  Their parents think I am insane when I tell them about the nice time we had.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The best thing about Grandkids...you can send them home...when they are tired, dirty and hungry.



Funny, that's the best thing about nieces and nephews too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Funny, that's the best thing about nieces and nephews too.



Absolutely!


----------



## Saphellae

> After the baby arrives safely is when I fall apart.  Nephew was born in  the back seat of Grandma's car in the middle of a corn field.  I got him  and his Mom to the ER (20 miles away) and once I got everyone notified  and they were safe, I started laughing and couldn't stop.


LOL !! What a story!  A friend of mine was in labor and made her driver stop at Tim Hortons for coffee lol.  Wow.


I'm here to complain lol. I had wisdom teeth pulled last night, got home at 8, slept off the anesthesia.  I have swelling and two big holes in my mouth.  I did puree some avgolemono.. it actually turned out good lol.  I licked that off my spoon for breakfast.  I think I'll be taking some ibuprofen soon, though. /end complain


----------



## CharlieD

Dealing with insurance, trying to get them to pay for medical bils. It's been more than a year. They still have not payed.


----------



## Timothy

Saphellae said:


> LOL !! What a story! A friend of mine was in labor and made her driver stop at Tim Hortons for coffee lol. Wow.
> 
> 
> I'm here to complain lol. I had wisdom teeth pulled last night, got home at 8, slept off the anesthesia. I have swelling and two big holes in my mouth. I did puree some avgolemono.. it actually turned out good lol. I licked that off my spoon for breakfast. I think I'll be taking some ibuprofen soon, though. /end complain


 
Oh my, Saphellae, I remember getting my wisdom teeth out. Be careful to NOT use a straw to drink with and you must not make that clot come out of the tooth hole.  Try to zone your mind out to a nice place and just sleep as much as you can for a couple days. 

Good luck with your recovery! I hope it goes fast and well for you!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Saphellae said:
			
		

> LOL !! What a story!  A friend of mine was in labor and made her driver stop at Tim Hortons for coffee lol.  Wow.
> 
> I'm here to complain lol. I had wisdom teeth pulled last night, got home at 8, slept off the anesthesia.  I have swelling and two big holes in my mouth.  I did puree some avgolemono.. it actually turned out good lol.  I licked that off my spoon for breakfast.  I think I'll be taking some ibuprofen soon, though. /end complain



When I had mine removed I found that camphor and menthol rubbed onto my gums helped with the pain better than the Tylenol 3 they gave me. Also warm (not hot) clear liquids seemed to help. I liked pepperment tea, chicken broth and even jus warm water.


----------



## Saphellae

Tim, it totally grosses me out that there are clots up there LOL !!!  BLECHHHH...  I was told not to use a straw... I pureed my chicken lemon soup (homemade).. I've been full up on that!  Otherwise I feel fine. The upper ones were what I had pulled - the bottoms I had out 10 years ago - and uppers are 90% better than the lowers !!!!!!!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Saphellae said:
			
		

> Tim, it totally grosses me out that there are clots up there LOL !!!  BLECHHHH...  I was told not to use a straw... I pureed my chicken lemon soup (homemade).. I've been full up on that!  Otherwise I feel fine. The upper ones were what I had pulled - the bottoms I had out 10 years ago - and uppers are 90% better than the lowers !!!!!!!



Agreed!


----------



## Timothy

Saphellae said:


> Tim, it totally grosses me out that there are clots up there LOL !!! BLECHHHH... I was told not to use a straw... I pureed my chicken lemon soup (homemade).. I've been full up on that! Otherwise I feel fine. The upper ones were what I had pulled - the bottoms I had out 10 years ago - and uppers are 90% better than the lowers !!!!!!!


 
I'm so glad you're feeling fine. Ha! Don't be grossed out! It's a normal part of healing.


----------



## babetoo

clamp down on a wet tea bag. keep it there as long as you can , then do another on.

trust me you don't want a dry socket.


----------



## LPBeier

Saph, I remember having my wisdom teeth out.  I had three of them.  I had a ton of problems including a piece of bone sticking out of one of the stitched up sockets.  I had dry socket as well.  

I am glad you are feeling better. (I owe you a recipe - it is getting to the top of my list of to do's!).


----------



## Snip 13

I used turmeric. Had all 4 my wisdom teeth cut out at the same time and the turmeric helped the healing drastically. It's a natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. I mix a little with water and rub on infected area.
I even used this after I had my children to heal my c-section wounds. I had an emergency c-section the first time and my uterus ruptured the second time. Been gutted like a fish and you can hardly see my scars lol! You can also just add some to your soups.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Snip 13 said:
			
		

> I used turmeric. Had all 4 my wisdom teeth cut out at the same time and the turmeric helped the healing drastically. It's a natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. I mix a little with water and rub on infected area.
> I even used this after I had my children to heal my c-section wounds. I had an emergency c-section the first time and my uterus ruptured the second time. Been gutted like a fish and you can hardly see my scars lol! You can also just add some to your soups.



Wish I'd known about that when I had mine out. They did my right side top and bottom and then my left side top and bottom. They didn't want to do all four at once because they had to cut into my gums and then grind away part of my lower jaw bone to get at the tooth. Even then they still had to break the tooth to get it out. Caused massive swelling. Top was much easier, they just had to make a small incision and break the tooth. Then they were able to pull it in pieces. Top healed way more quickly than the bottom. The right side bottom was the worst though because it got infected. Not only did it take the longest to heal but it was really disgusting when it finally decided to drain.


----------



## Snip 13

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Wish I'd known about that when I had mine out. They did my right side top and bottom and then my left side top and bottom. They didn't want to do all four at once because they had to cut into my gums and then grind away part of my lower jaw bone to get at the tooth. Even then they still had to break the tooth to get it out. Caused massive swelling. Top was much easier, they just had to make a small incision and break the tooth. Then they were able to pull it in pieces. Top healed way more quickly than the bottom. The right side bottom was the worst though because it got infected. Not only did it take the longest to heal but it was really disgusting when it finally decided to drain.


 

Do yourself a favour and next time you have a cut, graze, oven burn, mouth ulcer etc. try it! Just take a tsp of turmeric and mix with a tot of water and apply to the problem area. My gynae actually suggests it to patients when they have wound problems after seeing what it did for mine. It will stain you yellow for a while but it's worth it! Nature is the best medicine cabinet 
You can also drink it 3 times a day when you feel a cold coming on, it tastes awful but works like a charm!


----------



## tinlizzie

Snip 13 said:


> Do yourself a favour and next time you have a cut, graze, oven burn, mouth ulcer etc. try it! Just take a tsp of turmeric and mix with a tot of water and apply to the problem area. My gynae actually suggests it to patients when they have wound problems after seeing what it did for mine. It will stain you yellow for a while but it's worth it! Nature is the best medicine cabinet
> You can also drink it 3 times a day when you feel a cold coming on, it tastes awful but works like a charm!


 
A question about turmeric, Snip.  I have some that's several years old, stored in a glass jar.  Do you think it is still useful, or should it just be pitched?  I tend to keep exotic/expensive spices that I don't use often for too long, but I just hate throwing things out.


----------



## Snip 13

tinlizzie said:


> A question about turmeric, Snip.  I have some that's several years old, stored in a glass jar.  Do you think it is still useful, or should it just be pitched?  I tend to keep exotic/expensive spices that I don't use often for too long, but I just hate throwing things out.



Throw it out, turmeric shouldn't be kept longer than 6 months. It's cheap enough to replace and if you're not going to use it often by from a spice shop where you can buy buy weight. Just buy the quantity you would use.


----------



## tinlizzie

Snip 13 said:


> Throw it out, turmeric shouldn't be kept longer than 6 months. It's cheap enough to replace and if you're not going to use it often by from a spice shop where you can buy buy weight. Just buy the quantity you would use.


 
Thanks, Snip.  I'll spring for some fresh turmeric, but will have to wait until my ship comes in (it's in drydock at present) to replace all the outdated spices I'm continuing to use.  The food critic at my house is -- me, so I'm not expecting any complaints about the food.  The cook (me) wouldn't listen anyway....


----------



## Snip 13

tinlizzie said:


> Thanks, Snip.  I'll spring for some fresh turmeric, but will have to wait until my ship comes in (it's in drydock at present) to replace all the outdated spices I'm continuing to use.  The food critic at my house is -- me, so I'm not expecting any complaints about the food.  The cook (me) wouldn't listen anyway....



Pleasure 

I know what you mean about budgets though. I've managed to cut our food bill almost in half by shopping wisely. It took some time to figure out where and what to buy but it was worth it.
I buy fruit and veg at our Horticultural market (they supply the supermarkets), meat at the Supermarket supplier and I buy in bulk and package the meat myself into portions and spices are always cheaper at spice specialist or Indian spice shops. I just buy what I need and refill bottles when needed.
I also buy bulk veggies then peel chop and freeze excess and cook large quantities of dried beans and pulses the freeze in Ziplock bags etc.
I wasn't prepared to buy inferior quality foods since I love cooking so much so I just put a little more work into preparing foods myself and not using convenience items.
Gosh this is turning into a book, sorry


----------



## tinlizzie

Snip 13 said:


> Pleasure
> 
> I know what you mean about budgets though. I've managed to cut our food bill almost in half by shopping wisely. It took some time to figure out where and what to buy but it was worth it.
> I buy fruit and veg at our Horticultural market (they supply the supermarkets), meat at the Supermarket supplier and I buy in bulk and package the meat myself into portions and spices are always cheaper at spice specialist or Indian spice shops. I just buy what I need and refill bottles when needed.
> I also buy bulk veggies then peel chop and freeze excess and cook large quantities of dried beans and pulses the freeze in Ziplock bags etc.
> I wasn't prepared to buy inferior quality foods since I love cooking so much so I just put a little more work into preparing foods myself and not using convenience items.
> Gosh this is turning into a book, sorry


 
On the contrary -- it's refreshing and rather reassuring to hear that young people such as yourself are learning habits of thrift and practicing good Home Economics (that was the name of a class they gave us young ladies way back when).  At this time of the year, however, in hurricane territory where power can be disrupted for unknown periods of time, it's tempting fate to keep my refrigerator freezer full.  I try to keep it as empty as possible until storm season is over.  As far as convenience foods, I find myself more and more shopping the perimeter of the grocery store -- produce, meats, dairy -- and seldom go down the "prepared food" aisles any more.


----------



## Snip 13

tinlizzie said:


> On the contrary -- it's refreshing and rather reassuring to hear that young people such as yourself are learning habits of thrift and practicing good Home Economics (that was the name of a class they gave us young ladies way back when).  At this time of the year, however, in hurricane territory where power can be disrupted for unknown periods of time, it's tempting fate to keep my refrigerator freezer full.  I try to keep it as empty as possible until storm season is over.  As far as convenience foods, I find myself more and more shopping the perimeter of the grocery store -- produce, meats, dairy -- and seldom go down the "prepared food" aisles any more.



I've grown up very old fashioned I guess. I don't regret it and even if given the choice I won't change the way I live.
We did Home Economics at school too 
I love shopping for good foods and making sure my family get decent meals even if my budget has been reduced. My children love learning how to grow their own vegetables and herbs and enjoy picking, eating and preparing meals from what they have grown. 
I don't want my children to grow up thinking that junk food is the norm. They eat fresh fruits and veggies daily and have candy as a rare treat. Luckily they have grown up this way so they love healthy foods. I took my kids with me to the supermarket today and gave them each a bit of money to buy whatever they wanted and they came home with 6 Persimmons, 2 yogurts with stewed fruit and a packet of baby carrots 
I'm very proud of my 4 and 9yr old


----------



## Timothy

Snip 13 said:


> I took my kids with me to the supermarket today and gave them each a bit of money to buy whatever they wanted and they came home with 6 Persimmons, 2 yogurts with stewed fruit and a packet of baby carrots
> I'm very proud of my 4 and 9yr old


 
That is so awesome! You should be proud of them!  

To many kids would bring back an arm-full of candy.


----------



## Snip 13

Timothy said:


> That is so awesome! You should be proud of them!
> 
> To many kids would bring back an arm-full of candy.



I am 
They have been raised very differently from other kids though, their friends are junk food junkies. When I take them out for dinner the servers think I'm punishing them and try to get them to order junk 
Caitlin usually goes for the Salmon salad with caper dressing and still mineral water and Daniel almost always orders chicken with veggies. You should see the looks we get!
Sleepovers at our house don't happen often, I don't have chicken nuggets or Coco Pops


----------



## Sprout

PF an Kadesma, you're more than welcome to stop by & see the baby any time you'd like.  Well, once she's born, that is. Just drive on over!


----------



## Sprout

CharlieD said:


> Dealing with insurance, trying to get them to pay for medical bils. It's been more than a year. They still have not payed.



Good luck! I hope they pony up soon. That's so stressful! Deep breaths.


----------



## babetoo

no water in the park again. working on pipes. all the times they have  done this, they could have put an all new system. it is really the pits. i put some water in buckets for the toilet and made sure i had bottled water in the fridge. it is a big pain in the you know what. oh, and water plants in yard last night. grrrrrrr.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> PF an Kadesma, you're more than welcome to stop by & see the baby any time you'd like.  Well, once she's born, that is. Just drive on over!



Yippee!!!!


----------



## Sprout

Last night I enjoyed 8 hours of regular contractions. I spent 4 hours tossing and turning, with a few minutes of sleep here and there. Around 2 am the contractions peaked at about 7 minutes apart, but I was very tired by that point and even though they were pretty uncomfortable, I was finally able to fall asleep. I figured I'd get as much rest as possible until they were too intense to allow me to. I woke up 2 hours later and they had stopped. Today just back to sporadic Braxton-Hicks. Grrrrrr. I still have a week and a half before my due date, so it's not like I'm in any hurry, but really, was that necessary? It was probably dehydration since I was sweating like crazy during work last night, but I drank a ton of water to try to prevent that! I honestly am being very patient most of the time, but nights like that make me just want to be done.


----------



## Timothy

Sprout said:


> Last night I enjoyed 8 hours of regular contractions. I spent 4 hours tossing and turning, with a few minutes of sleep here and there. Around 2 am the contractions peaked at about 7 minutes apart, but I was very tired by that point and even though they were pretty uncomfortable, I was finally able to fall asleep. I figured I'd get as much rest as possible until they were too intense to allow me to. I woke up 2 hours later and they had stopped. Today just back to sporadic Braxton-Hicks. Grrrrrr. I still have a week and a half before my due date, so it's not like I'm in any hurry, but really, was that necessary? It was probably dehydration since I was sweating like crazy during work last night, but I drank a ton of water to try to prevent that! I honestly am being very patient most of the time, but nights like that make me just want to be done.


 
Sometimes I really, really like being a guy. 

Good luck to you Sprout.You have all my best wishesfor a perfect delivery with as little discomfort as possible!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> Last night I enjoyed 8 hours of regular contractions. I spent 4 hours tossing and turning, with a few minutes of sleep here and there. Around 2 am the contractions peaked at about 7 minutes apart, but I was very tired by that point and even though they were pretty uncomfortable, I was finally able to fall asleep. I figured I'd get as much rest as possible until they were too intense to allow me to. I woke up 2 hours later and they had stopped. Today just back to sporadic Braxton-Hicks. Grrrrrr. I still have a week and a half before my due date, so it's not like I'm in any hurry, but really, was that necessary? It was probably dehydration since I was sweating like crazy during work last night, but I drank a ton of water to try to prevent that! I honestly am being very patient most of the time, but nights like that make me just want to be done.



Thanks for keeping us updated.  Wish I could be there.


----------



## Sprout

Thanks, guys!


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, Baby!  

We are all anxiously awaiting the delivery!

Hope you can get comfortable, Sprout.


----------



## CharlieD

So I am applying for this job. PCA, the home care to help an elderly person. The company says they only hire people with minimum 6 month experience, however if I answer questions of the test properly it will be consider as if I had those 6 month experience. The company doesn't provide the training. How am i supposed to answer the questions? Some of them are really simple common since kind of stuff, but some are totally stupid or very specific. It's just weird.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> So I am applying for this job. PCA, the home care to help an elderly person. The company says they only hire people with minimum 6 month experience, however if I answer questions of the test properly it will be consider as if I had those 6 month experience. The company doesn't provide the training. How am i supposed to answer the questions? Some of them are really simple common since kind of stuff, but some are totally stupid or very specific. It's just weird.



There are places that will give you the training, if you work for them for a certain amount of time.

I firmly believe you need this training before you start caring for the elderly.  But, that's just me.  Answering questions on a test does not prepare you for what the job entails...or keep you and your self safe.


----------



## CharlieD

I understand, but in the mean time I really need this particular job at this particular place and some questions are just stupid.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> I understand, but in the mean time I really need this particular job at this particular place and some questions are just stupid.



Of course they are, they are questions about people.  PM me the questions and I will see if I can help.  Since I take care of the Elderly on a daily basis and have been Licensed or Certified to do so for about 20 years, I think I may be able to help.


----------



## chopper

Venting here!!!  Allergies are in full swing!  Sneezing and watery eyes all day. Can't breathe at night!  Waiting for that first frost that kills those nasty weeds!  Clariton helps a little, but it is still miserable at times.


----------



## Josie1945

chopper said:


> Venting here!!!  Allergies are in full swing!  Sneezing and watery eyes all day. Can't breathe at night!  Waiting for that first frost that kills those nasty weeds!  Clariton helps a little, but it is still miserable at times.



Chopper, Sorry you are feeling bad, Hope you get better soon.

Josie


----------



## CharlieD

As if dealing with one insurance was not enough, now I also have to deal with my home insurance. My neighbore had simular, but smaller roof damage and he had his whole roof replaced and payed for by State farm. Me, they are offering to fix damaged area, basically patch few spots. How do I deal with this? Who can I complain? It is unbeliavable.


----------



## babetoo

i hate being sick! i feel sick! i am sick! i have to much to do to be sick! this is how it started this time last year. sore throat, slight cough and stuffed up and running at the same time nose. if not better or if worse tomorrow will have to see dr. can't end up in hospital again. don't know how i get sick , i hardly leave the house. maybe my great grandkids brought it to me from kindergarten. it sucks!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> i hate being sick! i feel sick! i am sick! i have to much to do to be sick! this is how it started this time last year. sore throat, slight cough and stuffed up and running at the same time nose. if not better or if worse tomorrow will have to see dr. can't end up in hospital again. don't know how i get sick , i hardly leave the house. maybe my great grandkids brought it to me from kindergarten. it sucks!!



I'm suggesting fluids...like chicken broth, water, ginger ale...  No more p-neumonias...I mean it!  Any fever or just the congestion?


----------



## Dawgluver

babetoo said:
			
		

> i hate being sick! i feel sick! i am sick! i have to much to do to be sick! this is how it started this time last year. sore throat, slight cough and stuffed up and running at the same time nose. if not better or if worse tomorrow will have to see dr. can't end up in hospital again. don't know how i get sick , i hardly leave the house. maybe my great grandkids brought it to me from kindergarten. it sucks!!



Oh, Babe, so hoping you feel better soon!  Hugs!


----------



## Timothy

babetoo said:


> i hate being sick! i feel sick! i am sick! i have to much to do to be sick! this is how it started this time last year. sore throat, slight cough and stuffed up and running at the same time nose. if not better or if worse tomorrow will have to see dr. can't end up in hospital again. don't know how i get sick , i hardly leave the house. maybe my great grandkids brought it to me from kindergarten. it sucks!!


 
I must have given it to you in one of my posts! I'm just now getting over exactly what you just described. The clogged up ears is the last remaining problem.

Good luck and hang in there! It took a full week on me so far. Having the glands under the neck swell up like tennis balls was the worst. I tried to sleep about 16 hours a day. 

Soup. Lots of soup. Lots of liquids. Sleep and rest.

Make two DC posts and PM me in the morning.


----------



## Selkie

Being hermit-like has its advantages...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I hate my fear of spiders. My husband is down state and I'm supposed to put the trash cans out because they are full. They are covered in spider webs and there are multiple larger spiders on them. I took the spray out and sprayed everything but every time I'd think about reaching for the handle of one of the cans another spider would appear. I started to feel sick and lightheaded. I couldn't get closer than two feet from the cans without things starting to go dark and I'd have to back away. I had to give up when I started to hyperventilate. 

Our spiders up here aren't even poisonous. I hate being paralyzed by something that I should be able to just squash or brush aside and be done with. It shouldn't be something that gets in the way of things I need to do. I can't even touch a photo of a spider. My hand shakes and I feel sick and can't physically force myself to actually make contact with the spider in the photo. There is a fake spider on the desk of a coworker. I tried three times to touch it and finally gave up when I made myself sick and almost passed out. 

It's beyond frustrating and I feel stupid because I know it's completely irrational. No matter how much logic I throw at it or how mentally tough I try to be I just can't get past it. And I'm terrified that I'll be watching one of my nieces or nephews and there will be a spider on them and I won't be able to do anything. I should be able to protect them from anything if they are in my care but I wouldn't be able to to protect them from a spider.

I know there is treatment but I also know that treatment entails coming into contact with the thing I fear. That terrifies me to no end. And even if I'm "cured" I know it's possible to relapse. There also isn't anyone up here I'd trust for treatment so I feel stuck, trapped and angry with myself for not being able to fix it.


----------



## tinlizzie

CharlieD said:


> As if dealing with one insurance was not enough, now I also have to deal with my home insurance. My neighbore had simular, but smaller roof damage and he had his whole roof replaced and payed for by State farm. Me, they are offering to fix damaged area, basically patch few spots. How do I deal with this? Who can I complain? It is unbeliavable.


 
I wish I could help, CharlieD.  I wonder if there was some structural problem with your neighbor's roof that was not visible from plain view.

There are lots of things about insurance that I just don't understand.  For example, can anyone tell me why flood damage requires a separate policy from the regular homeowner's?  What makes it any different from damage from fire or wind...  It seems reasonable to me that flooding would be covered anywhere it rains.  How did it become a separate category??

And just try reading through a homeowner's policy to find out exactly what it covers.  Gobbledegook.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I hate my fear of spiders. My husband is down state and I'm supposed to put the trash cans out because they are full. They are covered in spider webs and there are multiple larger spiders on them. I took the spray out and sprayed everything but every time I'd think about reaching for the handle of one of the cans another spider would appear. I started to feel sick and lightheaded. I couldn't get closer than two feet from the cans without things starting to go dark and I'd have to back away. I had to give up when I started to hyperventilate.
> 
> Our spiders up here aren't even poisonous. I hate being paralyzed by something that I should be able to just squash or brush aside and be done with. It shouldn't be something that gets in the way of things I need to do. I can't even touch a photo of a spider. My hand shakes and I feel sick and can't physically force myself to actually make contact with the spider in the photo. There is a fake spider on the desk of a coworker. I tried three times to touch it and finally gave up when I made myself sick and almost passed out.
> 
> It's beyond frustrating and I feel stupid because I know it's completely irrational. No matter how much logic I throw at it or how mentally tough I try to be I just can't get past it. And I'm terrified that I'll be watching one of my nieces or nephews and there will be a spider on them and I won't be able to do anything. I should be able to protect them from anything if they are in my care but I wouldn't be able to to protect them from a spider.
> 
> I know there is treatment but I also know that treatment entails coming into contact with the thing I fear. That terrifies me to no end. And even if I'm "cured" I know it's possible to relapse. There also isn't anyone up here I'd trust for treatment so I feel stuck, trapped and angry with myself for not being able to fix it.



Sorry this afflicts you so badly, I got over my fear of spiders by studying them.  In books...  Now I can escort them outside, quickly.


----------



## Timothy

babetoo said:


> i hate being sick! i feel sick! i am sick! i have to much to do to be sick! this is how it started this time last year. sore throat, slight cough and stuffed up and running at the same time nose. if not better or if worse tomorrow will have to see dr. can't end up in hospital again. don't know how i get sick , i hardly leave the house. maybe my great grandkids brought it to me from kindergarten. it sucks!!


 


Timothy said:


> I must have given it to you in one of my posts! I'm just now getting over exactly what you just described. The clogged up ears is the last remaining problem.
> 
> Good luck and hang in there! It took a full week on me so far. Having the glands under the neck swell up like tennis balls was the worst. I tried to sleep about 16 hours a day.
> 
> Soup. Lots of soup. Lots of liquids. Sleep and rest.
> 
> Make two DC posts and PM me in the morning.


 


Selkie said:


> Being hermit-like has its advantages...


 
And disadvantages...I'm definitely a "hermit". I have almost no contact with other people, except when I go to the grocery store. The problem with that is that my immune system isn't as strong as those who are around others all day, every day.

Today I woke and the bug has me down for the count again. A hard relapse. I feel like someone should shovel some dirt over me and end this misery.

I have chicken/vegetable soup for the day, (if I start feeling like food will stay put). Two gallons of juice in the fridge and will stay in bed most of the day.

Oh man, I just want to hibernate until this nasty goes away.


----------



## jusnikki

Timothy said:


> And disadvantages...I'm definitely a "hermit". I have almost no contact with other people, except when I go to the grocery store. The problem with that is that my immune system isn't as strong as those who are around others all day, every day.
> 
> Today I woke and the bug has me down for the count again. A hard relapse. I feel like someone should shovel some dirt over me and end this misery.
> 
> I have chicken/vegetable soup for the day, (if I start feeling like food will stay put). Two gallons of juice in the fridge and will stay in bed most of the day.
> 
> Oh man, I just want to hibernate until this nasty goes away.


 

Sorry you're not feeling well, hope you feel better soon. You need to get out more often, lol. Why don't you like people?? LOL


----------



## Timothy

jusnikki said:


> Sorry you're not feeling well, hope you feel better soon. You need to get out more often, lol. Why don't you like people?? LOL


It's not that I don't like people, it's that I enjoy working at home and in my yard. 

Thanks! I hope this stuff goes away real soon!

Since I retired, I have so many home projects, that I rarely have any time or reason to go off my acre of earth.

I do go out to eat more often than most. I'm a real good cook, but with my projects, I don't cook as much as I should to save money. Sometimes it's 8pm before I'll realize I haven't eaten all day and I just go out to get it done quickly.

I'll never understand how anyone can get bored in retirement!

Little Dinky, (my cat), is right here next to me. He knows I feel like ^$$#^#$%^ and he's staying closer to me than normal. If he was any closer, he'd be a hat.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Sorry this afflicts you so badly, I got over my fear of spiders by studying them.  In books...  Now I can escort them outside, quickly.



Thanks PF. I have studied them and I find them facinating. I love the look of their webs and some varieties of spiders are very pretty. Recognizing their beauty at an artistic/intellectual level doesn't help though. I'd love to be able to draw them, but that would require touching a likeness of them. I'm hoping maybe once we get down state I can find someone who's good at treating phobias.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Timothy said:
			
		

> It's not that I don't like people, it's that I enjoy working at home and in my yard.
> 
> Thanks! I hope this stuff goes away real soon!
> 
> Since I retired, I have so many home projects, that I rarely have any time or reason to go off my acre of earth.
> 
> I do go out to eat more often than most. I'm a real good cook, but with my projects, I don't cook as much as I should to save money. Sometimes it's 8pm before I'll realize I haven't eaten all day and I just go out to get it done quickly.
> 
> I'll never understand how anyone can get bored in retirement!
> 
> Little Dinky, (my cat), is right here next to me. He knows I feel like ^$$#^#$%^ and he's staying closer to me than normal. If he was any closer, he'd be a hat.



Hmmm, not eating anything all day until 8pm can't be healthy. Anyway, hope you feel better soon. If you haven't already been to the doctor and it lasts too much longer make sure you get checked to make sure it's nothing too bad.


----------



## jusnikki

Timothy said:


> It's not that I don't like people, it's that I enjoy working at home and in my yard.
> 
> Thanks! I hope this stuff goes away real soon!
> 
> Since I retired, I have so many home projects, that I rarely have any time or reason to go off my acre of earth.
> 
> I do go out to eat more often than most. I'm a real good cook, but with my projects, I don't cook as much as I should to save money. Sometimes it's 8pm before I'll realize I haven't eaten all day and I just go out to get it done quickly.
> 
> I'll never understand how anyone can get bored in retirement!
> 
> Little Dinky, (my cat), is right here next to me. He knows I feel like ^$$#^#$%^ and he's staying closer to me than normal. If he was any closer, he'd be a hat.


 
Yes, I can't wait to get to retire but I'm afraid I have a ways to go.... must be nice (envious)lol.


----------



## Timothy

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Hmmm, not eating anything all day until 8pm can't be healthy. Anyway, hope you feel better soon. If you haven't already been to the doctor and it lasts too much longer make sure you get checked to make sure it's nothing too bad.


 
Hey PAG, it's the way I've lived for the last 10 years. I eat once a day, usually in the evening. Right now, it's whatever this bug is that is hammering me. I ate some rotisserie chicken last night and after chewing it for about 30 seconds, it was like it was growing in my mouth. Bleh! I have veggie soup laid out today. I'll put some cut up chicken in it and call that supper.

I don't go to Doctors much. I can stay home and drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest without a Doc charging me $60 to say it. 



jusnikki said:


> Yes, I can't wait to get to retire but I'm afraid I have a ways to go.... must be nice (envious)lol.


 
At first, retirement scared the heck outta me. I was so worried about not having enough money and no income.

Now, I do a couple database jobs a month and that gives me enough money to "pad" my retirement funds and make me feel a bit better in my head.

Next year, I plan on quiting the databases completely and I'll be growing hydroponic veggies and selling them at the local farmers market.

My plan is $1 per/pound for everything I'll sell. This is quite a price lowering for most of it and I hope that will enable me to sell out every weekend.


----------



## jusnikki

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I hate my fear of spiders. My husband is down state and I'm supposed to put the trash cans out because they are full. They are covered in spider webs and there are multiple larger spiders on them. I took the spray out and sprayed everything but every time I'd think about reaching for the handle of one of the cans another spider would appear. I started to feel sick and lightheaded. I couldn't get closer than two feet from the cans without things starting to go dark and I'd have to back away. I had to give up when I started to hyperventilate.
> 
> Our spiders up here aren't even poisonous. I hate being paralyzed by something that I should be able to just squash or brush aside and be done with. It shouldn't be something that gets in the way of things I need to do. I can't even touch a photo of a spider. My hand shakes and I feel sick and can't physically force myself to actually make contact with the spider in the photo. There is a fake spider on the desk of a coworker. I tried three times to touch it and finally gave up when I made myself sick and almost passed out.
> 
> It's beyond frustrating and I feel stupid because I know it's completely irrational. No matter how much logic I throw at it or how mentally tough I try to be I just can't get past it. And I'm terrified that I'll be watching one of my nieces or nephews and there will be a spider on them and I won't be able to do anything. I should be able to protect them from anything if they are in my care but I wouldn't be able to to protect them from a spider.
> 
> I know there is treatment but I also know that treatment entails coming into contact with the thing I fear. That terrifies me to no end. And even if I'm "cured" I know it's possible to relapse. There also isn't anyone up here I'd trust for treatment so I feel stuck, trapped and angry with myself for not being able to fix it.


 
I feel your pain... I have left my house because of one. I can kill them when they're small. But the bigger ones I can't even get close too. I can can deal with just about anything other than a spider. I'd even rather see a snake then a spider. 

My husbands brother had a tarantula. He kept it in a glass cage. They knew I was coming one day and they thought it'd be funny to sit it next to the couch in the cage. I sat there unaware for a while until somebody said did you see that next to the couch...Well needless to say I acted a fool. Nearly turned the couch over backwards trying to get up, ran into the glass coffee table in front of me, knock it off. Luckily it didn't break. Hurt my knee trying to run out of the room. I didn't think it was the least funny. I didn't go back for months....


----------



## jusnikki

Timothy said:


> Hey PAG, it's the way I've lived for the last 10 years. I eat once a day, usually in the evening. Right now, it's whatever this bug is that is hammering me. I ate some rotisserie chicken last night and after chewing it for about 30 seconds, it was like it was growing in my mouth. Bleh! I have veggie soup laid out today. I'll put some cut up chicken in it and call that supper.
> 
> I don't go to Doctors much. I can stay home and drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest without a Doc charging me $60 to say it.
> 
> 
> 
> At first, retirement scared the heck outta me. I was so worried about not having enough money and no income.
> 
> Now, I do a couple database jobs a month and that gives me enough money to "pad" my retirement funds and make me feel a bit better in my head.
> 
> Next year, I plan on quiting the databases completely and I'll be growing hydroponic veggies and selling them at the local farmers market.
> 
> My plan is $1 per/pound for everything I'll sell. This is quite a price lowering for most of it and I hope that will enable me to sell out every weekend.


 

Hydroponic?? How are they grown?


----------



## Timothy

jusnikki said:


> Hydroponic?? How are they grown?


 Hydroponic means literally; "Working Water" and the way it works is the plants are placed into a non-soil medium like gravel and nutrients are pumped around the roots. The plant roots attach to the gravel and that gives them support.

The veggies generally have about 10 times the nutrients than soil grown veggies. Some organic growers can match hydroponic quality, but IMO, hydroponic gardening is easier than organic gardening.

If you've ever had questions about what hydroponic gardening is, and would like to visit my hydroponic site and ask some questions, please do so. It's like DC, and totally "G" rated.

(Mods: If the last paragraph is considered spam here, please delete it. The site is totally free and I make no money with it. Strictly an educational site)


----------



## Snip 13

Hi all my DC friends. Didn't know where to post this and there are just to many of you to PM all. I'm moving from Botswana back to South Africa in 2 days and won't be online often anymore  Not sure for how long so I just wanted to say bye for now. I'll miss you all like crazy and hopefully I'll have internet access a day or 2 per weeks to come and pop in for a few minutes.


----------



## Timothy

Snip 13 said:


> Hi all my DC friends. Didn't know where to post this and there are just to many of you to PM all. I'm moving from Botswana back to South Africa in 2 days and won't be online often anymore  Not sure for how long so I just wanted to say bye for now. I'll miss you all like crazy and hopefully I'll have internet access a day or 2 per weeks to come and pop in for a few minutes.


 
Good luck on your move, Odette! When you get online, type fast! 

Message to all drivers on the freeway; Run for your lives! Here comes Odette!


----------



## tinlizzie

Snip 13 said:


> Hi all my DC friends. Didn't know where to post this and there are just to many of you to PM all. I'm moving from Botswana back to South Africa in 2 days and won't be online often anymore  Not sure for how long so I just wanted to say bye for now. I'll miss you all like crazy and hopefully I'll have internet access a day or 2 per weeks to come and pop in for a few minutes.


 
Come back, Little Snipper, as soon as you can.  Good luck with your move.


----------



## jusnikki

Snip 13 said:


> Hi all my DC friends. Didn't know where to post this and there are just to many of you to PM all. I'm moving from Botswana back to South Africa in 2 days and won't be online often anymore  Not sure for how long so I just wanted to say bye for now. I'll miss you all like crazy and hopefully I'll have internet access a day or 2 per weeks to come and pop in for a few minutes.


 

I hadn't been here long but you were one of the first people I connected with. I hope you'll be able to get online as much as possible. I'd surely miss you. I hope everything goes well with the move.


----------



## kadesma

Odette.
please know how much you will be missed. All of your DC family and friends wish you the best and we all will be thinking and watching for you. Take care my friend.
kades


----------



## Selkie

I'm going to miss you, Odette!!!! And I'm going to worry about you while you're in SA! Be watchful.


----------



## Snip 13

Timothy said:


> Good luck on your move, Odette! When you get online, type fast!
> 
> Message to all drivers on the freeway; Run for your lives! Here comes Odette!



I just came to have a quick cuppa, can't sleep!!!! 
You have no idea how badly I want to say some PG13 words right now, don't joke I'm absolutely terrified! Just hoping there won't be an article in Saturdays newspaper about the little messed up Volvo wrapped around a sign post 
The kids are not driving with me thank goodness, think the 4 hour drive might take twice as long  
I pull off the road when I see trucks!!!! Well my friend I still have 24 hours before I leave so rest assured I'll check in before I go. Have a great day further 
Here goes nothing, round 2 of tossing and turning here we come!


----------



## Dawgluver

We will miss you, Odette!  Please take care and drive safely!


----------



## Snip 13

Thank you all for the kind words  I'll miss you all dearly and I still have 1 more day before I go so I should be able to check in from time to time tomorrow. 
Best I go and attempt to sleep a bit so I can be functional when I finish the packing!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Snip 13 said:
			
		

> Thank you all for the kind words  I'll miss you all dearly and I still have 1 more day before I go so I should be able to check in from time to time tomorrow.
> Best I go and attempt to sleep a bit so I can be functional when I finish the packing!



I will miss you so much my new sister. BT is going to have to pick up some serious sibling slack. I hope your move goes well and that you all end up safely in your new location. And of course, I hope you get the internet back soon! I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.


----------



## babetoo

oh my, i will miss you. get back on soon, o.k.?


----------



## Sprout

Take care and good luck with your move! Check in when you can and let us know you made it safely. (Wow, and I've only been a mom for 2 years...) Hope to hear from you soon!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'll miss you Odette, come back soon!


----------



## Dawgluver

OK, so I went to the USPS website to print a postage and mailing label to return a product in a small padded envelope that it came in.    I have done this many times before.  Weight was 8.3 ounces.  The USPS website had to download a new program to my computer, fine.  However, now the only options are either send stuff in their Priority Mail boxes and envelopes, or to stand in line at the post office and ship it from there!  No more options for just printing and sticking a label on a very small package and shipping it from home!  Some of the options were $25+!  I am really PO'ed about this!  Anyone have any insight?  I have searched online for the changes and have come up with nothing so far.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grrrr, my 5 minute drive to work took 15+ minutes tonight because people are stupid. First it was a group of people wearing all dark colors standing in the middle of the road apparently just hanging out. I'm a big proponent of pedestriens having the right of way but really? I mean what makes this scenario seem like a good idea. "Oh, I know what would be fun. Let's all put on dark clothes so we're difficult to see at night, then pick the darkest part of the road and stand around chatting until we get hit by a car. Yeah, that's a great idea." I so wanted to ask them their names and tell them that when they inevitably get hit by a car I'd make sure to nominate them for a darwin award.

And then I finally get them to move so I can get through and have to slam on my breaks to keep from hitting some moron that decides not to stop at the stop sign before him and pull out in front of me instead. Then I get to follow said moron all the way to work going 10 miles under the speed limit which happens to be 25 miles an hour. 15 miles an hour all the way to work. I'm like, seriously? You can dart out in front of me causing me to slam on my breaks to keep from hitting you but 25 miles an hour is too fast for you?

Then I finally get to work and there's like 3 parking spots available and there are people standing in all of them chatting. I finally ask one group if they could please move so I can park and get "OMG your such a b****." Really? I sat patiently waiting for several minutes, apologized for interupting and politely asked if you could please move and I'm a b? Well pardon me for making you walk 5 steps so I can go punch in for the job that I'm now late for because apparently it's stupid, inconsiderate people day so you've all decided to come out and perform in a manner befitting your unpleasant natures. Gah.

I am so hiding in my office away from people as much as possible tonight.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Grrrr, my 5 minute drive to work took 15+ minutes tonight because people are stupid. First it was a group of people wearing all dark colors standing in the middle of the road apparently just hanging out. I'm a big proponent of pedestriens having the right of way but really? I mean what makes this scenario seem like a good idea. "Oh, I know what would be fun. Let's all put on dark clothes so we're difficult to see at night, then pick the darkest part of the road and stand around chatting until we get hit by a car. Yeah, that's a great idea." I so wanted to ask them their names and tell them that when they inevitably get hit by a car I'd make sure to nominate them for a darwin award.
> 
> And then I finally get them to move so I can get through and have to slam on my breaks to keep from hitting some moron that decides not to stop at the stop sign before him and pull out in front of me instead. Then I get to follow said moron all the way to work going 10 miles under the speed limit which happens to be 25 miles an hour. 15 miles an hour all the way to work. I'm like, seriously? You can dart out in front of me causing me to slam on my breaks to keep from hitting you but 25 miles an hour is too fast for you?
> 
> Then I finally get to work and there's like 3 parking spots available and there are people standing in all of them chatting. I finally ask one group if they could please move so I can park and get "OMG your such a b****." Really? I sat patiently waiting for several minutes, apologized for interupting and politely asked if you could please move and I'm a b? Well pardon me for making you walk 5 steps so I can go punch in for the job that I'm now late for because apparently it's stupid, inconsiderate people day so you've all decided to come out and perform in a manner befitting your unpleasant natures. Gah.
> 
> I am so hiding in my office away from people as much as possible tonight.



<scritch, scritch, scritch> can i come in and hide too?


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> <scritch, scritch, scritch> can i come in and hide too?



I would love that. I can sneak down to the delli real quick and get us some ice cream. Oh, and the break room has root beer and orange soda so we could even do floats.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I would love that. I can sneak down to the delli real quick and get us some ice cream. Oh, and the break room has root beer and orange soda so we could even do floats.



Perfect!  This has been a bad week.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Aww, hugs to you.


----------



## LPBeier

I agree on the bad week.  DH has been told his temp regular bus route (mat leave) is up three weeks earlier than  normal, and with the route picks just two weeks away he is now back to casual and no longer on the seniority list for routes (the casuals get to apply for the few shifts left and most are out of our area and/or temporary and/or part time).  This wouldn't be bad except his care aide job has also seen cutbacks and rather than increasing his one day a week, he is no longer even guaranteed that!

I applied for two four hour shifts a week at a new Michael's opening up; however I have finally gotten into a chronic pain management program after a 2 year waiting list - this is actually just a preliminary workshop of six sessions and I am still on the wait list for the main program so I have chosen to concentrate on this and withdrew my application (before DH got his news).

Yesterday our upstairs neighbour had a heart attack and died and I was really unnerved by it because I have lost a friend and because all the emergency vehicles were too close to home i.e. going through it three times in one year with Dad.  Also, it was hard on Dad because he was remembering my Mom.

Today I woke up to our little dog, Joie, badly limping.  We have had so many vet bills lately and this is causing tension between DH and I.

Finally, I just realized today that Snip hadn't been around and I checked her posts to find that she had left for South Africa and I didn't even notice.  I didn't get to say goodbye and also realize that I am just so out of touch.

Also, a friend got some bad news and I hurt for her.

Okay, my whine is done - think I will go get some cheese.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Hugs to you too LP. I hope things get better for you and your husband. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, PAG.  Hugs to your sister - I am praying for that baby to make a proper entrance sooner than later!


----------



## Timothy

LPBeier said:


> I agree on the bad week.
> 
> Okay, my whine is done - think I will go get some cheese.


 
Wow! It must be going in weeks. My bad one was last week. The flu had me ground into dust.

Hey LPB, Odette (Snip), told me in a PM that she would let us know as soon as possible after she and her hubby were safely in SA.

I sure hope your next week is better than your last. Keep your spirits up! Especially if they happen to have ice cubes floating in them!


----------



## babetoo

o.k. hope i can vent this without blowing a gasket. i made a time call for 3.30 pm for a taxi to the hair dresser. he showed up on time. surprise? as soon as i got into the cab he went off on me. he said , "don't make a time call next time,( i have done this for years) he said dispatcher held me for a half an hour for your call. i was only going a short distance. he said for a lousy five dollar call. needless to say we had words. he said , i need to make money, and proceeded to tell, me his woes. leasing prices, gas cost, etc. i said well you need to take it up with your dispatcher. he said, "now i know who you are and i will refuse your call" by this time we are at my hair dressers. i handed him my credit card. then he really went off on me. he says" and credit too" i lost it and said how bout if i just get out and don't pay you at all. he says " go ahead , i don't want your money"" i got out , slammed the door and left without paying him. i told him to call a cop if he didn't like it. he sped off. i asked for his card, no deal. i called the co. and when i stated my business, they gave me a recording. i will pursue this on monday. if i don't get an apology, i will report to the better business bureau. it was difficult to deal with him, i kept saying "i beg your pardon" he did not speak english very well. i am a bit disturbed that he knows where i live. we are a captive audience here, only one cab company. would not have wanted to know my blood pressure after this encounter. i was still shaking an hour later. i will follow through on this.


----------



## Claire

Grrrrr....  After working with our pound dog for a few months, we got everything just fine.  She never was a house-training problem (oh, accidents on occaision which were human fault, not doggie), crate trained when we got her (she was a dog who probably never had a home .... was found on the side of the road, from what I see, probably someone literally dropped a litter off, how cruel can people be?) .  Shuttled from one humane society (who were going to have to put her down) to another (a no-kill facility).  We could see the good in her and worked hard and disciplined ourselves to train her (as I've said before, most dog training problems are really human training ones, hubby and I worked at it together).  

Now, after several months of good behavior ... I loved someone who said, "you expect 100% from your dog?  Do you get that from your teenaged kid?  If you get 90%, go into the business!  I'm paraphrasing.  

Anyway, point being, in the last few days she's taken to potty-ing in inappropriate places.  She seldom has an accident in the house, and when she does we know it is our fault (I wish I could get her to make a noise, but she just stares at us in a certain way.  So if distracted, we can miss it.  Even so, her inside accidents in the 6 mos we've had her have been negligible).  

Well, long story even longer is that in the past week she's taken to doing her thing on the back porch rather then the yard.  I actually can live with that, although I'm discouraging it.  But not by much.  When we have two feet of snow, that's where she'll have to go, anyway.  

My husband wanted her to sleep on the bed rather than downstairs in her crate.  I caved and it worked well for 4 mos (the first 2 she slept in her crate).  Now, twice in a few days, she peed on the bed.

OK, I'd arranged for her annual to be in September (she really isn't due until November/December) because I'm taking her to Florida next month.  I was going to have a full workup on her anyway.  I'll talk to the vet.  The last time we had this problem it was our beloved, geriatric JR terrier, and she had kidney disease.  So I do want to rule out a medical problem.

I also keep telling hubby that just before we go to bed, we need to take her outside and stay out there with her until she does something.  But neither of us follow through.

I'm not sure who I'm more peeved at, me or hubby.  Cannot bring myself to be angry at Rosebud, because I'm pretty sure it is either us or medical, not even a discipline problem.

Oh, by the way ... Rosebud doesn't even spend 6 hours a week in her crate.  We're both retired and although we have activities separate, she's not home alone very often, and that's the only time we crate her.  She loves her crate and goes in there to just lie down if she feels a little stressed. 

It is just frustrating to have come this far and now I'm laundering sheets and blankets every day (in spite of having a good sized house, because of the house's age, I only have an apartment-sized over-under washer/dryer system)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> o.k. hope i can vent this without blowing a gasket. i made a time call for 3.30 pm for a taxi to the hair dresser. he showed up on time. surprise? as soon as i got into the cab he went off on me. he said , "don't make a time call next time,( i have done this for years) he said dispatcher held me for a half an hour for your call. i was only going a short distance. he said for a lousy five dollar call. needless to say we had words. he said , i need to make money, and proceeded to tell, me his woes. leasing prices, gas cost, etc. i said well you need to take it up with your dispatcher. he said, "now i know who you are and i will refuse your call" by this time we are at my hair dressers. i handed him my credit card. then he really went off on me. he says" and credit too" i lost it and said how bout if i just get out and don't pay you at all. he says " go ahead , i don't want your money"" i got out , slammed the door and left without paying him. i told him to call a cop if he didn't like it. he sped off. i asked for his card, no deal. i called the co. and when i stated my business, they gave me a recording. i will pursue this on monday. if i don't get an apology, i will report to the better business bureau. it was difficult to deal with him, i kept saying "i beg your pardon" he did not speak english very well. i am a bit disturbed that he knows where i live. we are a captive audience here, only one cab company. would not have wanted to know my blood pressure after this encounter. i was still shaking an hour later. i will follow through on this.



I'm spoiling for a fight, want me to come over and back you up???  Sorry this happened to you Babe.  You'll need to pursue it on Tuesday, the boss won't be in on Monday, Labor day.


----------



## babetoo

you bet, come on over. i will call on tuesday, forgot about the holiday. i know there had to be a supervisor of some kind on the week-end. after being put on hold three times, i was just to angry to speak. the guy was a jerk, thanks for the kind words.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> you bet, come on over. i will call on tuesday, forgot about the holiday. i know there had to be a supervisor of some kind on the week-end. after being put on hold three times, i was just to angry to speak. the guy was a jerk, thanks for the kind words.



I truly despise rudeness, especially over something such as this.  He needs to lose his taxi license.


----------



## Claire

Babetoo, I feel your pain.  There simply is not enough good, reliable, affordable public transportation in our country.  So a cab driver can get away with this crap.  It just isn't worth his time to do short runs?  I'm going back to re-read, but can you call the management of the company and arrange for a regular pick-up, drop-off?  

WHen people won't accept your credit card, when it is company policy TO accept it, it means they are trying to cheat the company and the IRS.  So think of calling the company, asking for regular pick-ups and drop-offs, and see if they can bill you every month.  

Reporting him to the company may be being a big favor for them, because he's cheating someone.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Great suggestions, Claire!

Wish I had good ones for Rosebud!


----------



## Zhizara

A friend of mine is a cab driver and I used to ask for him especially, until he asked me _nicely_ not to do that as he could lose a good trip (like an airport run), just to give me a short ride.

The dispatcher is the person at fault here, the driver had no business taking his anger out on you.

Do let the cab company know, but wait until you're calmer.


----------



## Kayelle

I'd be madder than a wet hen, Babe!!

I'd print out what you just told us it so you can remember exactly what he said to you. That way you can give an accurate report to his boss.
If you're anything like me, in the heat of the conversation I'd draw a blank.
Good luck Babe, and we'll be needing a report ok?


----------



## babetoo

these days i generally only take one cab ride a month. just for haircut. i will follow through on this on tuesday. my neighbor said she would be glad to take me if she was at home. so that may just be a way. or will just make when my granddaughter is available. she would have taken me yesterday but she had a wedding. i am much calmer about it today and certainly did not lose any sleep over it. i do not get that mad often, probably a good thing, lol. thanks to all for the sympathy.


----------



## Andy M.

babetoo said:


> you bet, come on over. i will call on tuesday, forgot about the holiday. i know there had to be a supervisor of some kind on the week-end. after being put on hold three times, i was just to angry to speak. the guy was a jerk, thanks for the kind words.



I think you should also file a complaint with the government department that grants taxi licenses.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Babe,
If you don't get it squared away with the cab company contact the credit card company.  It is against Mastercard/Visa association rules for a business to refuse the card as payment even on small transactions.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Doctors who don't pay attention to what their patients and the family members are saying.  I am so mad right now I can barely stand it!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Doctors who don't pay attention to what their patients and the family members are saying.  I am so mad right now I can barely stand it!



Hear ya.  My sister and my aunt, both nurses, have similar opinions.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Doctors who don't pay attention to what their patients and the family members are saying.  I am so mad right now I can barely stand it!



I feel that one. Doctors are supposed to be there to help people, not collect a paycheck and congratulate themselves on how great and smart they are. They can't help people if they don't listen.


----------



## Kayelle

Speaking of Doctors who don't listen, have you all seen "The Doctor" a '91 film with Wm. Hurt?  If you haven't,  rent it.  
I think every medical student should be required to see it before they ever see their first patient.
When will so many doctors finally understand they are *employees, *and get off that high horse attitude?


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Neighbors that don't watch how they open their door.  I just had my car partially painted and would not be happy with new door-dings.


----------



## CharlieD

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Grrrr......


 

I so hear you. that is why i have no gun, i'd be shutting bastards left and right.


----------



## CWS4322

Oh--I'm heading back to Ontario on Friday. I've been with my folks for almost 8 weeks. In that time, I've had to clean my mother's butt (something I never thought I'd do--and more times than I'd like to recount--sorry--TMI), remind her to put on pants because she dressed for "town" in a top and panties, remade my parents bed because she couldn't find the queen-sized sheets and pinned (with big safety pins) double-sized sheets on the bed, taken a chunk of chocolate out of the linen drawer, kept her from jumping out of the boat 10 miles from shore when we went to the Lake...washed and set her hair, hugged her, and took her to the safety-deposit box to take out the cash she had stashed there because my dad has taken all her money out of her checking account and she likes having some money and screamed at my dad "this can't go on--I can't keep coming here and she can't continue to live like this." "She's fine when you're not here, it is only because you are here--" oh, please, give me a break!) I also have taken her "rollerboard" suitcase back in the house after she has packed it in preparation to "run away" or to come home with me three times now. Needless to say, I am heartbroken about leaving her. I am ANGRY at my father and at her doctor for not recognizing she needs more support (actually, she needs to be in a home or home with me, but short of taking the matter to court and having the rest of my family never speak to me again, I can't do that), I'm at my wits' end. Why is it so hard to get help for seniors? Why is it that the doctors won't help??????? How do you get the other person to stop being in denial? Why do I feel so awful about "enabling" my father when I'm only trying to make things easier for my mom? Where are my brothers? Is it too late for me to get a sex change? I want to be a son instead of the "good daughter" (never mind that I am the only daughter...). Word of advice--work out the care for your family members while they are all still mentally capable. Don't wait until one is no longer able to make decisions and the one who is "in charge" won't. Do I feel better now that I've vented? No. But thanks for reading this.


----------



## tinlizzie

Oh, CWS.  This really hits home in my house, as I'm sure it will in others.  You are certainly in an unenviable position, between that rock and hard place.  You have done so much.  My mother died from Alzheimer's, but it was my older brother, being the closest nearby, who carried the heaviest burden; I am forever in his debt.

I don't know if I will develop this horrible disease, but whenever I read accounts like yours, I think of my Mom and her many irrational acts, beyond her control.  At least she was unaware of her condition -- the only particle of mind's ease to be had.  As I approach the age when her illness took hold, I wonder how I can avoid worrying about it, since there's no preventive that I know of.

So sad...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Oh--I'm heading back to Ontario on Friday. I've been with my folks for almost 8 weeks. In that time, I've had to clean my mother's butt (something I never thought I'd do--and more times than I'd like to recount--sorry--TMI), remind her to put on pants because she dressed for "town" in a top and panties, remade my parents bed because she couldn't find the queen-sized sheets and pinned (with big safety pins) double-sized sheets on the bed, taken a chunk of chocolate out of the linen drawer, kept her from jumping out of the boat 10 miles from shore when we went to the Lake...washed and set her hair, hugged her, and took her to the safety-deposit box to take out the cash she had stashed there because my dad has taken all her money out of her checking account and she likes having some money and screamed at my dad "this can't go on--I can't keep coming here and she can't continue to live like this." "She's fine when you're not here, it is only because you are here--" oh, please, give me a break!) I also have taken her "rollerboard" suitcase back in the house after she has packed it in preparation to "run away" or to come home with me three times now. Needless to say, I am heartbroken about leaving her. I am ANGRY at my father and at her doctor for not recognizing she needs more support (actually, she needs to be in a home or home with me, but short of taking the matter to court and having the rest of my family never speak to me again, I can't do that), I'm at my wits' end. Why is it so hard to get help for seniors? Why is it that the doctors won't help??????? How do you get the other person to stop being in denial? Why do I feel so awful about "enabling" my father when I'm only trying to make things easier for my mom? Where are my brothers? Is it too late for me to get a sex change? I want to be a son instead of the "good daughter" (never mind that I am the only daughter...). Word of advice--work out the care for your family members while they are all still mentally capable. Don't wait until one is no longer able to make decisions and the one who is "in charge" won't. Do I feel better now that I've vented? No. But thanks for reading this.



Well, short of knocking her down to break a hip and getting her in the system that way...not much.  You have to call the state Elder Abuse line, report the conditions in her living situation and alienate the rest of your family to take care of your mother.  Your are NOT reporting your Father for abuse, but rather for being unable to take appropriate care for your Mom.

This is NOT a failure...it's life for the elderly.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grrr. I was helping the hubby move some of the heavier stuff from our house to storage. He was moving something into the storage lot and I decided to be helpful and save time by moving the mattress into the lot since it's light enough for me to move by myself. Except I tripped while moving it and landed elbow first with my arm straight onto the arm of a chair. I felt my elbow bend backwords a little and then pain. Elbow isn't broken but I did over-extend it and it's soar enough that I can't lift anything very heavy or even reach around behind me to undo my own bra  Not happy. So it's wrapped and I'm icing and elevating and resting while the hubby is still working. Took some ibuprofen and if it's still really bad or starts to swell or gets worse I'll get it checked. For now I'm just pouting a little because there is so much to get done and it's really not fair if the hubby ends up having to do most of it because I'm a clutz.


----------



## Alix

Ooooo! Sucks! Been there. I couldn't even brush my teeth. Turned out I tore the fascia around my elbow joint. It was a bit ugly. Took me WEEKS to heal up.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's nasty, PAG.  Hope there's a speedy recovery!  Did you get an X-ray?


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

No, didn't get it checked. I've sprained it before and it feels the same as that time. It's not swelling at all and is fealing only a little achey (maybe a 3 out of 10) so long as I don't bend it too far, straighten until it's locked or twist it. My elbows are a little odd and bend backwards a little just naturally so I'm pretty sure I just over-extended it. And it's a little better than it was when I first hurt it so I'm thinking (hoping) I lucked out and it's just minor.


----------



## Dawgluver

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> No, didn't get it checked. I've sprained it before and it feels the same as that time. It's not swelling at all and is fealing only a little achey (maybe a 3 out of 10) so long as I don't bend it too far, straighten until it's locked or twist it. My elbows are a little odd and bend backwards a little just naturally so I'm pretty sure I just over-extended it. And it's a little better than it was when I first hurt it so I'm thinking (hoping) I lucked out and it's just minor.



You still may want to check it.  I broke both 5th metatarsals, one on each foot, on 2 separate occasions, and since I had no pain, swelling or bruising, put off x-rays for both.  Finally went in, and after bone doc looked at the x-rays, he said, both times, "You broke that sucker!".   I am such a clutz.

Just sayin'.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I've over-extended both elbows...not fun.  And with the compressed ulnar nerve in my left elbow...I'm lucky I can hold a pen, let alone anything else.

Sorry you are hurting Jess.  Hugs!!!


----------



## tinlizzie

What could be worse than an alien giraffe with a sore elbow??  Take it easy, and stay purple.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I'm happy to report it's doing better today. Still need to take it easy but should be fine in a few days.


----------



## Zhizara

No more putting elbows on the table, huh, PAG?  Get better soon.  Sorry you got hurt.


----------



## babetoo

getting old is the pits. i had several things scheduled for today, clean sheets , etc. i unloaded the dishwasher. then i said "self" i really don't have the energy for all this today. so i have done nothing. makes me feel guilty. i am sure i will have more of these days as i get older. gotta learn to live with the guilt.


----------



## Zhizara

babetoo said:


> getting old is the pits. i had several things scheduled for today, clean sheets , etc. i unloaded the dishwasher. then i said "self" i really don't have the energy for all this today. so i have done nothing. makes me feel guilty. i am sure i will have more of these days as i get older. gotta learn to live with the guilt.



I used to have the same problem with the guilt.  I had to keep reminding myself I'm retired.  The only person I have to answer to is myself.  

Feeling guilty about something like that is not being nice to yourself.  Stop that, my friend!


----------



## Dawgluver

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> I'm happy to report it's doing better today. Still need to take it easy but should be fine in a few days.



So glad to hear that!

Babe, you have earned the right to do nothing!  No reason to feel guilty.  You have been so productive with your sewing, you need a vacation!


----------



## Zhizara

Dawgluver said:


> So glad to hear that!
> 
> Babe, you have earned the right to do nothing!  No reason to feel guilty.  You have been so productive with your sewing, you need a vacation!



Exactly.  A vacation, NOT a guilt trip!


----------



## vitauta

babetoo said:


> getting old is the pits. i had several things scheduled for today, clean sheets , etc. i unloaded the dishwasher. then i said "self" i really don't have the energy for all this today. so i have done nothing. makes me feel guilty. i am sure i will have more of these days as i get older. gotta learn to live with the guilt.



babe, you were a much happier girl when you were pouring your time and energies into that huge dressmaking project of these past few months.  you've not had sufficient time to readjust physically and emotionally to your former daily routine.  recognize this "down" feeling for what it is, a temporary hitch, and you'll soon regain the healthy outlook of your base.  is there another outfit that's just begging for your dressmaking skills and attentions in the near future, by any chance?  please forgive me if i come across as pedantic--it's my social worker background....


----------



## Timothy

babetoo said:


> getting old is the pits. i had several things scheduled for today, clean sheets , etc. i unloaded the dishwasher. then i said "self" i really don't have the energy for all this today. so i have done nothing. makes me feel guilty. i am sure i will have more of these days as i get older. gotta learn to live with the guilt.


 
The first thing you need to get rid of is the guilt. Guilt is pointless. It accomplishes absolutely nothing! It just ruins part of your life.

Getting old sure beats the heck outta the alternative. I don't care what is wrong, it beats pushing up daisies in the cemetery!

In my retirement, I do nothing I don't feel like doing. I don't have a moments regret and wouldn't know guilt if it bit me in the butt!

Relax Babe! Ease your mind, kick back some and enjoy doing nothing but breathing! It's good for you!!!!

You should see my yard! I haven't mowed it in 3 weeks. I think I saw a Giraffe's head out there above the grass! I couldn't care less! I'll mow it when I feel like mowing it and not a moment sooner!


----------



## Zhizara

Timothy said:


> The first thing you need to get rid of is the guilt. Guilt is pointless. It accomplishes absolutely nothing! It just ruins part of your life.
> 
> Getting old sure beats the heck outta the alternative. I don't care what is wrong, it beats pushing up daisies in the cemetery!
> 
> In my retirement, I do nothing I don't feel like doing. I don't have a moments regret and wouldn't know guilt if it bit me in the butt!
> 
> Relax Babe! Ease your mind, kick back some and enjoy doing nothing but breathing! It's good for you!!!!
> 
> You should see my yard! I haven't mowed it in 3 weeks. I think I saw a Giraffe's head out there above the grass! I couldn't care less! I'll mow it when I feel like mowing it and not a moment sooner!



Was it purple?


----------



## Timothy

Timothy said:


> I think I saw a Giraffe's head out there above the grass!


 


Zhizara said:


> Was it purple?


 
Now that you mention it, it did look just a tad alien to me!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Timothy said:
			
		

> Now that you mention it, it did look just a tad alien to me!



I have a twin!? It must be an imposter. Catch it and tickle it until it reveals it's true form. (Now that creates an interesting mental image.)


----------



## Timothy

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I have a twin!? It must be an imposter. Catch it and tickle it until it reveals it's true form. (Now that creates an interesting mental image.)


 
Imma fraid to go out there in that grass. There's lions and tigers and bears...oh my!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I have a twin!? It must be an imposter. Catch it and tickle it until it reveals it's true form. (Now that creates an interesting mental image.)



This made me spit coffee at work...on the venusian blinds.


----------



## Zhizara

I just downloaded a new puzzle game I purchased.  After about 5 minutes, I started hearing audio only ads.  Has anyone had that happen?

I restarted my computer and turned the sound back on and haven't heard one since, but that really rattled my cage.  Audio Spam????????  NOoooooooo!

My other vent involves the puzzle games.  

I've have Super Collapse Puzzle Gallery 2, 3, 4 and 5.  After reaching each million I had been able to post my score and it is ranked with global scores by other players over the last 24 hours.  It's been fun comparing my scores with others'.

A couple of days ago I stopped getting the Global scores.  I contacted GameHouse Support, (twice), but they weren't able to help.

I hadn't made changes to my computer recently, so I:

Changed my virus protection program
Re-installed one of the games
Did a System Restore to before the problem with the games as well as before the last two automatic updates

Nothing worked.  I finally tried the GameHouse forum and posted a question about it, but I have my doubts about getting an answer.  The forums aren't very busy.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, I feel a little better.


----------



## roadfix

The 7 shade trees I received for free from the city all came in 5 gallon containers.  I was expecting larger trees in 15 gallon containers.  I'll be dead by the time these trees mature and provide enough shade to my house.


----------



## vitauta

roadfix said:


> The 7 shade trees I received for free from the city all came in 5 gallon containers.  I was expecting larger trees in 15 gallon containers.  I'll be dead by the time these trees mature and provide enough shade to my house.




well, rf, looks like you're simply going to have to live longer than you'd previously planned on....


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Where has 2011 gone? Wasn't summer just starting yesterday? How can September be almost over already and why didn't I realize that much time was passing? Seriously, time can slow down a little if it wants. I won't complain.


----------



## Claire

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Where has 2011 gone? Wasn't summer just starting yesterday? How can September be almost over already and why didn't I realize that much time was passing? Seriously, time can slow down a little if it wants. I won't complain.


I know what you mean.  After a rough winter, a record-breaking spring (for snow, heat, cold, rain, you name it, all within a couple of months!), I'm hoping for a long, nice autumn.  It's been pretty much beautiful, but I was writing checks for bills and went, IT CANNOT BE!  September cannot be ending.  Where did it go?  I want fall to last for at least 6 months!


----------



## Timothy

Stores that stop serving you so they can check your money with thier little pen, before finishing the transaction.

Lets break it down to purpose and intent.

Excuse me, I have to check your money to see if you are a thief.

1. If the money is counterfeit, they want YOU to have to eat it, plus, YOU will have to wait until some cop questions you about it while everyone you know goes by in the store and looks at you like a criminal.

2. The store obviously doesn't care if you like it or not. This shows their real "love for their customers", or I should say, the lack of caring.

Here's my cure. Use $10 bills to pay for everything at each of those stores.

I'm going to try $10 bills. See if the two places that do that every time will check them. If not, I'll use them. They check $20's now. Gimme a break! 

I've even thought of taking my own pen to the store to check THIER money when they give me change. Hold their line up until I've made sure THEIR money is good. I wonder how they would like that!

What's next, leaving a urine sample? 

Between xrays and crotch feelies at that airport, (soon to be done at bus stations and trains), and police cars being every third car on the highway, we're becoming a police state.

Reminds me of the old Cheech and Chong skit: "Show me you papers Old Man!"


----------



## babetoo

stymied on sewing, seems the pattern i was using was for a knit. which my fabric is not. so , since top is almost made, will fit on lilly tomorrow. i will be babysitting her. if it fits will finish. if not will make top from another dress pattern, not for knits. skirt should be fine. just not paying attention i guess. ticks me off , when i do that.


----------



## CWS4322

I could kill my brother. I called him today to ask if he'd like to hitch a ride to Syracuse and catch the train in October (I'm driving down to see my best friend in CT). "I really don't want to go spend any time with them." And, last night, at 11:00 p.m. my phone rang. I was up because I was still working--I knew it wasn't "Poland" calling, but I have to admit, my heart skipped a beat. People who know me, know that I usually am in bed by 8:00 p.m., latest 9:00 p.m. I can't stay up later than that if I hope to get up by 1:30 or 2:00 to start my work day. It was my mother. Apparently, a package was sent to them and they didn't receive it. So now I'm also responsible for flaws in the US Postal system. There's a whole history behind the sender of the package and if it had arrived while I was there and picking up the mail, I might have been tempted to return it to the sender, but it did not arrive when I was there and I don't like being suspected of doing something with it. 

And, I still want to kill my brother (figuratively speaking--I love him dearly, but I am so ANNOYED that my two brothers are putting the burden of caring for OUR parents on my shoulders). HELLO! I can't do this alone boys. And I'm the baby of the family--why is it my "job"? Last one "out" has to take care of the parents? Where was rule ever written?

Oh, I feel better. I best go get the hens bedded down for the night.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> I could kill my brother. I called him today to ask if he'd like to hitch a ride to Syracuse and catch the train in October (I'm driving down to see my best friend in CT). "I really don't want to go spend any time with them." And, last night, at 11:00 p.m. my phone rang. I was up because I was still working--I knew it wasn't "Poland" calling, but I have to admit, my heart skipped a beat. People who know me, know that I usually am in bed by 8:00 p.m., latest 9:00 p.m. I can't stay up later than that if I hope to get up by 1:30 or 2:00 to start my work day. It was my mother. Apparently, a package was sent to them and they didn't receive it. So now I'm also responsible for flaws in the US Postal system. There's a whole history behind the sender of the package and if it had arrived while I was there and picking up the mail, I might have been tempted to return it to the sender, but it did not arrive when I was there and I don't like being suspected of doing something with it.
> 
> And, I still want to kill my brother (figuratively speaking--I love him dearly, but I am so ANNOYED that my two brothers are putting the burden of caring for OUR parents on my shoulders). HELLO! I can't do this alone boys. And I'm the baby of the family--why is it my "job"? Last one "out" has to take care of the parents? Where was rule ever written?
> 
> Oh, I feel better. I best go get the hens bedded down for the night.



Sending you prayers and warm thoughts. Wish I could do more.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> I could kill my brother. I called him today to ask if he'd like to hitch a ride to Syracuse and catch the train in October (I'm driving down to see my best friend in CT). "I really don't want to go spend any time with them." And, last night, at 11:00 p.m. my phone rang. I was up because I was still working--I knew it wasn't "Poland" calling, but I have to admit, my heart skipped a beat. People who know me, know that I usually am in bed by 8:00 p.m., latest 9:00 p.m. I can't stay up later than that if I hope to get up by 1:30 or 2:00 to start my work day. It was my mother. Apparently, a package was sent to them and they didn't receive it. So now I'm also responsible for flaws in the US Postal system. There's a whole history behind the sender of the package and if it had arrived while I was there and picking up the mail, I might have been tempted to return it to the sender, but it did not arrive when I was there and I don't like being suspected of doing something with it.
> 
> And, I still want to kill my brother (figuratively speaking--I love him dearly, but I am so ANNOYED that my two brothers are putting the burden of caring for OUR parents on my shoulders). HELLO! I can't do this alone boys. And I'm the baby of the family--why is it my "job"? Last one "out" has to take care of the parents? Where was rule ever written?
> 
> Oh, I feel better. I best go get the hens bedded down for the night.



It's cuz you're the gurl-child...your job... that's why.  Sorry, CWS, I wish there was an easy fix for your parents, but like they say, getting old isn't for sissies, or their children.  Love and Hugs!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Timothy said:


> Stores that stop serving you so they can check your money with thier little pen, before finishing the transaction.
> 
> Lets break it down to purpose and intent.
> 
> Excuse me, I have to check your money to see if you are a thief.
> 
> 1. If the money is counterfeit, they want YOU to have to eat it, plus, YOU will have to wait until some cop questions you about it while everyone you know goes by in the store and looks at you like a criminal.
> 
> 2. The store obviously doesn't care if you like it or not. This shows their real "love for their customers", or I should say, the lack of caring.
> 
> Here's my cure. Use $10 bills to pay for everything at each of those stores.
> 
> I'm going to try $10 bills. See if the two places that do that every time will check them. If not, I'll use them. They check $20's now. Gimme a break!
> 
> I've even thought of taking my own pen to the store to check THIER money when they give me change. Hold their line up until I've made sure THEIR money is good. I wonder how they would like that!
> 
> What's next, leaving a urine sample?
> 
> Between xrays and crotch feelies at that airport, (soon to be done at bus stations and trains), and police cars being every third car on the highway, we're becoming a police state.
> 
> Reminds me of the old Cheech and Chong skit: "Show me you papers Old Man!"



I like the thought of taking your own pen...that could be fun.


----------



## Claire

CWS4322 said:


> I could kill my brother. I called him today to ask if he'd like to hitch a ride to Syracuse and catch the train in October (I'm driving down to see my best friend in CT). "I really don't want to go spend any time with them." And, last night, at 11:00 p.m. my phone rang. I was up because I was still working--I knew it wasn't "Poland" calling, but I have to admit, my heart skipped a beat. People who know me, know that I usually am in bed by 8:00 p.m., latest 9:00 p.m. I can't stay up later than that if I hope to get up by 1:30 or 2:00 to start my work day. It was my mother. Apparently, a package was sent to them and they didn't receive it. So now I'm also responsible for flaws in the US Postal system. There's a whole history behind the sender of the package and if it had arrived while I was there and picking up the mail, I might have been tempted to return it to the sender, but it did not arrive when I was there and I don't like being suspected of doing something with it.
> 
> And, I still want to kill my brother (figuratively speaking--I love him dearly, but I am so ANNOYED that my two brothers are putting the burden of caring for OUR parents on my shoulders). HELLO! I can't do this alone boys. And I'm the baby of the family--why is it my "job"? Last one "out" has to take care of the parents? Where was rule ever written?
> 
> Oh, I feel better. I best go get the hens bedded down for the night.



I agree with Fiona that the girl child gets stuck.  I've known daughters-in-law and girl second cousins who will take care of the parent before their own son will.  Luckily, I'm from an all-girl family, so we share.  And luckily the parental unit can still care for themselves 95% of the time, even though they're right around 80.


----------



## CWS4322

Thanks. My BF's hubby got an earful last night--she wasn't home, so he got to hear all about my frustrations. And, I have to say, he has been one of my "rocks" for years. I love him dearly. He is so insightful and has been down this road as well. And has spent time with my parents so he knows them. When I go down for Cdn Thanksgiving, I might ask him to write a letter to my dad--he's written to them before--and was a key person to intercede and help me reconcile with them. I have forgiven them for the hurt--that is not to say I've forgotten, but I've been able to "rise above" the pain. In a large part, he's responsible for me being able to do that. Don't you just hate s/one who serves a lovely meal and then brings up tough topics as "dinnertime conversation"? 

BTW, as if I wanted to spend 7 weeks with my parents. My mom still thinks I'm on a trip and asks when I'm coming home. I'm home in my heart every hour of every day. But I can't live there.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grrr. Sick. Don't want to be sick. Sinuses congested, ears hurt, throat hurts. Tongue, jaw and roof of my mouth ache. Neck muscles are achey and the achey fealing is moving down into my back. Head hurts. I don't have time to be sick.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Grrr. Sick. Don't want to be sick. Sinuses congested, ears hurt, throat hurts. Tongue, jaw and roof of my mouth ache. Neck muscles are achey and the achey fealing is moving down into my back. Head hurts. I don't have time to be sick.



Yeah, I wish I had spoken up earlier today and screamed for pain relief...I do have a couple of days to tolerate Shrek until his new meds balance out.  He is so angry with me right now for bringing it up in front of his doctor that the Chantix makes him mean.  He really had an outburst about my behavior, I had changed clothes so I would be decently dressed to pay the food delivery guy,When he asked me why I had changed clothes, apparently I had the wrong look on ,my face...I was looking at him, I'm not sure what he saw but is was enough to set him off yelling about how he is the mean one.

I just have to get through the next couple of days...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Yeah, I wish I had spoken up earlier today and screamed for pain relief...I do have a couple of days to tolerate Shrek until his new meds balance out.  He is so angry with me right now for bringing it up in front of his doctor that the Chantix makes him mean.  He really had an outburst about my behavior, I had changed clothes so I would be decently dressed to pay the food delivery guy,When he asked me why I had changed clothes, apparently I had the wrong look on ,my face...I was looking at him, I'm not sure what he saw but is was enough to set him off yelling about how he is the mean one.
> 
> I just have to get through the next couple of days...



I hope they pass quickly for you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I hope they pass quickly for you.



I'm just glad his doctor saw it and agreed with me and did some switching of the meds. Shrek is quite angry by what he feels is a betrayal...something he won't  even consider in a few days, he'll actually be upset with himsel by then...it's just getting there without using pillow therapy.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I'm just glad his doctor saw it and agreed with me and did some switching of the meds. Shrek is quite angry by what he feels is a betrayal...something he won't  even consider in a few days, he'll actually be upset with himsel by then...it's just getting there without using pillow therapy.



Deep breaths and cold water over the shower curtain. He's already cranky, might as well have fun with it. Kidding, I know that would only legitemize his crankyness.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I'm just glad his doctor saw it and agreed with me and did some switching of the meds. Shrek is quite angry by what he feels is a betrayal...something he won't  even consider in a few days, he'll actually be upset with himsel by then...it's just getting there without using pillow therapy.



Wow, that's rough, PF.  Sure hope things get better soon!  Funny what some meds can do.

Hope you're feeling better, Pag!


----------



## Timothy

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ...it's just getting there without using pillow therapy.


 
Ha! The only pillow therapy I've known of is:

1. Using one after bypass surgery when coughing, so the alien can't get out of your chest.

2. Using one as a silencer to quiet the firing of a pistol.

3. Using one to suffocate someone who is being a PITA.

Which type are you using?  ......run Shrek, RUN!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Timothy said:


> Ha! The only pillow therapy I've known of is:
> 
> 1. Using one after bypass surgery when coughing, so the alien can't get out of your chest.
> 
> 2. Using one as a silencer to quiet the firing of a pistol.
> 
> 3. Using one to suffocate someone who is being a PITA.
> 
> Which type are you using?  ......run Shrek, RUN!



#3...but, now I'm considering taking a weekend off from home...


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> #3...but, now I'm considering taking a weekend off from home...




Maybe it's time for a little Chihuahua therapy or even a shot of Patron!


----------



## CWS4322

Aunt Bea said:


> Maybe it's time for a little Chihuahua therapy or even a shot of Patron!


 
Running away for a long weekend has always worked for me, especially when it has included shopping therapy and generous glasses of white wine. The other option is to consider a duplex. You can live in one half, Shrek the other. Just make sure the locks are on your side and you have all the keys. There is definitely something to be said for having more than one piece of real estate...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> Maybe it's time for a little Chihuahua therapy or even a shot of Patron!




Nah!  if I have a drink I can't leave the house.  Chihuahua therapy would be fun, but he's in Spokane for the weekend with his Mom.  The Medical record pups are Yorkie/Chihuahua mix...but they take the weekend off, too!

Shopping therapy...I might just wander Costco for a couple of hours and sample everything.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Nah!  if I have a drink I can't leave the house.  Chihuahua therapy would be fun, but he's in Spokane for the weekend with his Mom.  The Medical record pups are Yorkie/Chihuahua mix...but they take the weekend off, too!
> 
> Shopping therapy...I might just wander Costco for a couple of hours and sample everything.



Would that we had a Costco.  Snacking Walmart and the Dollar Store is just not the same.

PF, you need to get a lawyer and file for Auntie Rights.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Would that we had a Costco.  Snacking Walmart and the Dollar Store is just not the same.
> 
> PF, you need to get a lawyer and file for Auntie Rights.



I get him one weekend a month and he's frequently at work...


----------



## CWS4322

PF-Can you say "online shopping?" Repeat it 3 times as you enter URLs on the keyboard...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> PF-Can you say "online shopping?" Repeat it 3 times as you enter URLs on the keyboard...



Not unless I ditch the credit card first...


----------



## CharlieD

Had a juge argument with my father, kind of feel bad for my mom, how did she ever put up with him? He asked me for some thing and I said that I was bussy making dinner and he went off on me that my wife should be making the dinner and if his wife did not make dinner he would, well I am not even going to repeat what he said. How said that man used to be like that. I love cooking. I think I could not stand not beeng able to be in the kitchen.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

CharlieD said:
			
		

> Had a juge argument with my father, kind of feel bad for my mom, how did she ever put up with him? He asked me for some thing and I said that I was bussy making dinner and he went off on me that my wife should be making the dinner and if his wife did not make dinner he would, well I am not even going to repeat what he said. How said that man used to be like that. I love cooking. I think I could not stand not beeng able to be in the kitchen.



I'm glad you chose not to follow your father's example in this respect.


----------



## Timothy

Holy green bananas Batman!

My handy man was over a couple hours ago and while discussing the new shelf system he's building for me, he says "What's that noise I'm hearing?".

Well, for various reasons, I have very little hearing and didn't hear anything. He says; "It sounds like it's coming from your floor vent". He opens the vent and it has water standing in it. 

He went outside and looked under the house and told me "There's a LOT of water under there. You have something leaking. He estimated the distances and said it has to be under your laundry room.

He cut out part of the flooring, and yep, a water line had cracked and was spraying like crazy. The well pump is pretty far from the house and I didn't hear it running until we opened the well-house door. The well pump was just running and running and running.....Yikes!

Well, he's off to buy parts and wood for the flooring. The water is shut off at the well and 10 gallons of water is in the tub in 2 gallon jugs for using the toilet.

I'm so lucky to have a handy man that really knows his stuff. This guy knows everything that is to know about houses.

He's a heck of a good friend also. Sometimes, I have to make sure he is "on-the-clock" when he does stuff around here. He's such a nice person that he'll do things without even mentioning them to me. I never want to take advantage of his friendship. When it's work, it deserves pay.

When it's not work, it's friends and I have a great one! 

Well, they say it happens in threes. That's two.

OMG, what's next!?


----------



## chopper

So glad your friend/handyman has good hearing!  Hope is all fixed quickly!


----------



## Andy M.

You're lucky to have a friend like him.


----------



## Timothy

chopper said:


> So glad your friend/handyman has good hearing! Hope is all fixed quickly!


 
Me too, chopper! I sure didn't hear it. After opening the floor up, he said it looks like it's been leaking for MONTHS.

Imagine how much water and electricity it wasted!

He just came back and ONE part was wrong. He has to drive the same 20 miles again just to get one little part right. What a drag!

The water should be back on by about 6pm.

This months billing cycle is over on the 7th, so it won't reflect the difference until the 7th of November. It'll be interesting to see how much difference it makes.

I have a 40 gallon reserve/pressure/bladder tank, so it was cycling every time it was about 90% empty, 24/7/365. OMG! 

A 1/2" line running full-bore, all that time! It's a wonder it didn't burn up my well pump!



Andy M. said:


> You're lucky to have a friend like him.


 
You've got THAT right! I'm gonna think up a nice gift for him. He really saved the day this time!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

A bad sound from the Vent...in the Venting thread...can you get anymore on topic than that?  LOL!

I'm glad the problem was found!


----------



## Timothy

PrincessFiona60 said:


> A bad sound from the Vent...in the Venting thread...can you get anymore on topic than that? LOL!
> 
> I'm glad the problem was found!


 
Ha! 

I hadn't thought of it in that context! How funny that is!

I've been venting a vent problem!

It turns out that the spraying water was finding a way inside the duct. I'll ask my friend to check the integrity of the duct itself also.

It's a tiny bit of water in the low end of the vent, so it may have just came in around a join in the line somehow.


----------



## Andy M.

I took a whole chicken out of the freezer Friday for dinner tonight.  It was in a heavy plastic vacuum packed bag.  That was in one of the courtesy plastic bags the market provides for messy and loose items.  SO insists we put any packaged meats into one of those bags.

I just took the chicken in the bag, in the bag out of the fridge to prep it for dinner and it had leaked all over the bottom shelf of the fridge, and onto the floor when I took it out.

Now I have to clean and sanitize the fridge and the vegetable bin under the shelf and toss some food that may have been contaminated.

All this is complicated by the fact that the fridge is in a corner so I can't open the door beyond 90º to facilitate shelf removal.

You have no idea how PO'd I am.  (feel free to substitute the words I really wanted to say here.)


----------



## chopper

Timothy said:


> Ha!
> 
> I hadn't thought of it in that context! How funny that is!
> 
> I've been venting a vent problem!
> 
> It turns out that the spraying water was finding a way inside the duct. I'll ask my friend to check the integrity of the duct itself also.
> 
> It's a tiny bit of water in the low end of the vent, so it may have just came in around a join in the line somehow.


So glad that you discovered this before the cold weather sat in!
I could have been a lot more problematic than that!


----------



## chopper

Andy M. said:


> I took a whole chicken out of the freezer Friday for dinner tonight. It was in a heavy plastic vacuum packed bag. That was in one of the courtesy plastic bags the market provides for messy and loose items. SO insists we put any packaged meats into one of those bags.
> 
> I just took the chicken in the bag, in the bag out of the fridge to prep it for dinner and it had leaked all over the bottom shelf of the fridge, and onto the floor when I took it out.
> 
> Now I have to clean and sanitize the fridge and the vegetable bin under the shelf and toss some food that may have been contaminated.
> 
> All this is complicated by the fact that the fridge is in a corner so I can't open the door beyond 90º to facilitate shelf removal.
> 
> You have no idea how PO'd I am. (feel free to substitute the words I really wanted to say here.)


 
OMG what a mess! So sorry you have to deal with this. What a way to ruin your day. I hope all is cleaned up now! My son dropped a coke right in front of the open fridge the other day. Everything got sprayed when the can got a tiny hole. At least he thought quick to open the top to release preassure, but that was not before it had exploded all over the fridge, the ceiling, the floor...


----------



## CWS4322

Oh Andy, I know how PO'd you are. Even though I have LABELED a drawer in the fridge for dog meat, my DH puts it everywhere but. I have to clean the fridge every time after he leaves the farm. And he doesn't understand why that's a problem--I didn't need to spend an hour cleaning the fridge...I have now taken to saying "the dog food goes on the porch, not in the fridge. Animals eat "spoiled" meat all the time otherwise, go back to the City." I guess this is the equivalent of leaving the toilet seat up or squeezing the toothpaste from the middle. I'm ready to kill him over this-good thing he is so talented and has a cute butt.


----------



## chopper

Oh Tim, I forgot that you live in Florida.  Maybe cold weather doesn't set in enough to freeze everything!  How will your handy man dry everything out?


----------



## Timothy

chopper said:


> So glad that you discovered this before the cold weather sat in!
> I could have been a lot more problematic than that!


 


chopper said:


> Oh Tim, I forgot that you live in Florida. Maybe cold weather doesn't set in enough to freeze everything! How will your handy man dry everything out?


 
Me to chopper. He just left. New dryer vent hose also. Floor cutout is back in place, caulked in, Shark-bite fittings used to replace the junk that was there first.

Water is on, no leaks this time and pressure is better now that it's all coming into the house the right way. 

He says it will dry out in the next month.

Most winters here, we get a week or two of freezing temperatures. Some winters we don't.

I'm having a nice ice-cold glass of wine and relaxing before supper.

Thanks everyone for keeping me company during this nightmare!


----------



## Timothy

Andy M. said:


> I took a whole chicken out of the freezer Friday for dinner tonight. It was in a heavy plastic vacuum packed bag. That was in one of the courtesy plastic bags the market provides for messy and loose items. SO insists we put any packaged meats into one of those bags.
> 
> I just took the chicken in the bag, in the bag out of the fridge to prep it for dinner and it had leaked all over the bottom shelf of the fridge, and onto the floor when I took it out.
> 
> Now I have to clean and sanitize the fridge and the vegetable bin under the shelf and toss some food that may have been contaminated.
> 
> All this is complicated by the fact that the fridge is in a corner so I can't open the door beyond 90º to facilitate shelf removal.
> 
> You have no idea how PO'd I am. (feel free to substitute the words I really wanted to say here.)


 
Dang, Andy! I've had that one happen before! What a nasty mess to clean up. 

I hope the rest of your evening turns out well and relaxing for you.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:
			
		

> You have no idea how PO'd I am.  (feel free to substitute the words I really wanted to say here.)



I would be furious!!!  New vocabulary words!!!  NSFW!!!

Sorry, got all worked up thinking about it.  Been there, done that.  What a mess!


----------



## CWS4322

Timothy--
It'll dry out in the next month, how very reassuring. I'd be drinking more than one glass of wine...


----------



## Andy M.

Thanks for the sympathys, guys.


----------



## Timothy

CWS4322 said:


> Timothy--
> It'll dry out in the next month, how very reassuring. I'd be drinking more than one glass of wine...


 
hehe, I'm on my second as I'm heating up leftovers.

About 15 minutes till supper!

Meatloaf, mashed garlic taters and asparagus

Yum city!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I took a whole chicken out of the freezer Friday for dinner tonight.  It was in a heavy plastic vacuum packed bag.  That was in one of the courtesy plastic bags the market provides for messy and loose items.  SO insists we put any packaged meats into one of those bags.
> 
> I just took the chicken in the bag, in the bag out of the fridge to prep it for dinner and it had leaked all over the bottom shelf of the fridge, and onto the floor when I took it out.
> 
> Now I have to clean and sanitize the fridge and the vegetable bin under the shelf and toss some food that may have been contaminated.
> 
> All this is complicated by the fact that the fridge is in a corner so I can't open the door beyond 90º to facilitate shelf removal.
> 
> You have no idea how PO'd I am.  (feel free to substitute the words I really wanted to say here.)



I have a very good scatological vocabulary...I'd be using the choicest, too.

Sorry this happened and no easy fixes.


----------



## CWS4322

I want to KICK my father in the shin. I've been encouraging him to get rid of my mom's car--she can't drive, yadda, yadda, yadda. While I was there for 7 weeks, I drove my mom's car. Before I left, she told me to take it home. I can't just take a car home--there is a border to cross. When I talked with my dad last Sunday, he asked me if I wanted my mom's car. I said yes--my brother could drive it to MN for visits, as could I. I spent HOURS on the phone with CDN customs and my insurance company trying to figure out the logistics. I booked a train ticket, and I spent $195 registering the first paper one has to register to import a car. I called last night--he SOLD the car. I'm out $195. I have a voucher on Amtrak, but I'm soooo mad at him. I called Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday--no mention of having sold the car. BAH! And then he says, "do you want me to get it back?" That's not the point dad. Arggh.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> I want to KICK my father in the shin. I've been encouraging him to get rid of my mom's car--she can't drive, yadda, yadda, yadda. While I was there for 7 weeks, I drove my mom's car. Before I left, she told me to take it home. I can't just take a car home--there is a border to cross. When I talked with my dad last Sunday, he asked me if I wanted my mom's car. I said yes--my brother could drive it to MN for visits, as could I. I spent HOURS on the phone with CDN customs and my insurance company trying to figure out the logistics. I booked a train ticket, and I spent $195 registering the first paper one has to register to import a car. I called last night--he SOLD the car. I'm out $195. I have a voucher on Amtrak, but I'm soooo mad at him. I called Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday--no mention of having sold the car. BAH! And then he says, "do you want me to get it back?" That's not the point dad. Arggh.



Sorry, I'm really trying not to laugh, but aside form the loss of money...it is kinda funny...you know, that laugh so you don't cry thing...Hugs!


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> I want to KICK my father in the shin. I've been encouraging him to get rid of my mom's car--she can't drive, yadda, yadda, yadda. While I was there for 7 weeks, I drove my mom's car. Before I left, she told me to take it home. I can't just take a car home--there is a border to cross. When I talked with my dad last Sunday, he asked me if I wanted my mom's car. I said yes--my brother could drive it to MN for visits, as could I. I spent HOURS on the phone with CDN customs and my insurance company trying to figure out the logistics. I booked a train ticket, and I spent $195 registering the first paper one has to register to import a car. I called last night--he SOLD the car. I'm out $195. I have a voucher on Amtrak, but I'm soooo mad at him. I called Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday--no mention of having sold the car. BAH! And then he says, "do you want me to get it back?" That's not the point dad. Arggh.



So sorry CWS.  All the time and energy spent, I would be tearing my hair out too!  Maybe he SHOULD get the car back.


----------



## CWS4322

It was tempting to tell him to get it back...dealing with elderly parents from a distance can be...trying. And I still want to kick him in the shin.


----------



## Claire

I have so many friends and, of course, my parents, in their late 70s through 90, and this is cracking me up in a totally sympathetic/empathetic way.  You know what kills me?  Room temperature.  It can be -20 out and I'm dressed in a sleeveless blouse and flannel-lined jeans!  Someone will look at me.  Oh, this?  I'm dressed to visit my 79 & 81 year old friends!  My legs need the warmth for the walk from the car to the front door, but I need the summer blouse to keep myself from dying of heat prostration once I take off my parka.  At my parents' house, the first thing we do upon arrival is shut the guest bedroom door and close off the heating vent and try to open the windows.  It really does peeve Mom, but good lord, she has 4 daughters of menopausal or post- age, and we're dying here.


----------



## licia

Claire, my mom keeps her house too warm also. We've had to open a window in the room where we sleep just to breathe. She is 93 and we understand that her circulation may not allow her body to warm up as in the past. We are just glad we still have her. We have 5 generations in our family. Maybe the weather will be great while you are visiting and you can enjoy the outside a lot.


----------



## Claire

Yes, my sisters and I, too, consider ourselves very blessed to have two living, always-been-married, elderly parents.  But night sweats can sure make a visit less pleasant.


----------



## licia

Do you take anything for night sweats?  I saw a product call I-cool advertised but I don't have them so haven't checked it out.  I did have a problem with them right after my surgery.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LOL!  I have Iso-Cool pillows, Iso-Cool mattress pad, I got rid of everything with flannel or pants...I finally had to close the bedroom window last night because I was running out of blankets for Shrek's side of the bed.  I'll be so glad when pre-menopause is done.


----------



## CWS4322

I still haven't taken the window A/C out--and yes, I did use it last week. I've never used my A/C at this time of year before! No night sweats, but I get so hot. The irony is that the bedroom doesn't have a source of supplemental heat, it is on the northside of the house and the window faces west (over which I have a blackout curtain), yet it is always the hottest room in the house. In the winter, when the woodstove is running, the door is shut and the window is open about 4 inches, no matter what the temperature is outside. My DH claims I would probably be very happy sleeping in a refridgerator. He has the metabolism of a hummingbird. I swear his thermal regulation kicks in at 3:00 a.m. It's like sleeping curled up next to a woodstove.


----------



## Somebunny

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> LOL!  I have Iso-Cool pillows, Iso-Cool mattress pad, I got rid of everything with flannel or pants...I finally had to close the bedroom window last night because I was running out of blankets for Shrek's side of the bed.  I'll be so glad when pre-menopause is done.



Fi, be careful what you wish for, I'd be happy to go back to "pre-menopause. I'd get some more blankets for Shrek if I were you cause you are going to want that window OPEN!! Lol!!


----------



## Aunt Bea

This morning I have been riding the Best Buy customer service Merry-Go-Round!

In April I took my computer to Best Buy to have a virus removed and they sold me a two year Tech Support membership.  I was told that the membership would include anti-virus software for the two years.  That is actually why I purchased a two year membership instead of a one year membership.  Now after six months I get an email indicating that the software on my one year subscription has expired and is being renewed.  It has only been six months!  The first person I talked to told me that I was wrong and I only purchased a six month subscription.  The last person I talked to told me my subscription expires in October 2012!  I have a feeling that the Best Buy system has updated to reflect the renewal.  I guess I need to call the bank and see if my credit card has been charged.  If it has I am not sure if I should dispute the charge or just let it go.  I don't really care about the forty bucks as much as I resent the misinformation.  I really have a bad taste in my mouth about Best Buy this morning!


----------



## licia

Do you have paperwork to back your position?  Or where you paid or were charged for the 2 year membership?  
If so, I'd certainly go after them. Can you imagine if they do that to so many people, they get away with murder. Well, not murder, but corruption.


----------



## tinlizzie

This is more of a quibble than a vent.  I get annoyed with the AARP people -- my membership runs from December to December, but I start getting renewal notices in the middle of the summer.  Are they hoping I will renew then and change/back up my renewal date?  Do they just want my money to use (small amount though it is) until December and will keep Dec. as my renewal date?  I just ignore each of their wasteful mailings requesting renewal (and there are several) until December.  

I'm not even sure why I renew at all.  In one of their recent mailings, they advised seniors wanting to lose weight to give up their cookies!  The very idea!


----------



## licia

BH&G is just as bad. I keep getting OFFERS? to renew my subscription that runs out May 2012 for myself and gifts for 2 others? Also, some of those charities that send GIFTS and remind me later that I didn't sent them a donation.  I have enough labels to last me over 100 years and I don't want them or their other gifts.  Some of these charities are worthy causes but we certainly can't support everyone that sends labels.


----------



## Timothy

tinlizzie said:


> This is more of a quibble than a vent. I get annoyed with the AARP people --


 
Here's how I handle mailings.

I pay $100 a year for a box at a "UPS Store" that is one mile from my house. They will weed out and throw away anything that is junk mail and sign for any packages and keep them in a secure, air conditioned room until I pick them up. They email me when a package arrives.

I've changed my mailing address for any mail I wish to receive to that address.

On trash day, I take great pleasure in pulling one of the trash cans up to the street mail box.

I pull all the junk out, (usually about 50 pieces of junk mail), and throw them from the mail box to the trash can. It takes me about 60 seconds to quickly look through it for stuff like tax mailings from the county. They have to send it to the home address.

It's worth the $100 a year to me.


----------



## babetoo

why? oh why? can't the newspaper be printed so the ink does not come off on the hands ? i am annoyed every morning.


----------



## Andy M.

Just got off the phone with the insurance company that covers my car.  I bought a new car the end of July and kept calling them because I never got a bill.  I was concerned I wasn't actually covered.  

Last week I finally got a bill.
Four days later I got another bill for a different (higher) amount
Four days later I got another bill for another different  (higher) amount.

Today I called them to find out what was going on.  Among other things, they had changed my coverages, lowering my deductibles on two different coverage items and increasing my coverage on another.  That all raised my bill by almost $200 per year. They could offer no explanation as to why this might happen.

After some discussion, I changed them to where they should have been.  I will be getting yet another bill for a more appropriate amount in about a week.

I think it's time to look for alternate providers.


----------



## Timothy

Andy M. said:


> Just got off the phone with the insurance company that covers my car.....I think it's time to look for alternate providers.


 
I switched to "Progressive" and had no problems. I've not had to use it yet, but I'll see what happens when and if that happens...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Somebunny said:


> Fi, be careful what you wish for, I'd be happy to go back to "pre-menopause. I'd get some more blankets for Shrek if I were you cause you are going to want that window OPEN!! Lol!!



I just want the temp regulation to get stuck on hot or cool or just right...the back and forth is driving me nuts.  The hot flashes could melt Fairbanks, Alaska in 5 minutes...then my feet get cold...Make up my mind!!!!

Speaking of AARP...I've been a member since I was 40...courtesy of Shrek...now they come to me personally...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

*I lost!*

I lost my battle with keeping my diabetes under control with diet.  Tomorrow morning I start using Metformin (glucophage).  Oh well, it was bound to happen, I've been struggling with it for about 3 years, borderline for 13 years.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I lost my battle with keeping my diabetes under control with diet.  Tomorrow morning I start using Metformin (glucophage).  Oh well, it was bound to happen, I've been struggling with it for about 3 years, borderline for 13 years.


PF,
before kidney problems I used metformin{glucophage) it was wonderful The only prob was 2 weeks ofit bothering me with gas. Which happens to many, I lost a lot of weight using it but I loved it. Good luc and don't let this bother you  yo will be fine.
kades


----------



## tinlizzie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I lost my battle with keeping my diabetes under control with diet. Tomorrow morning I start using Metformin (glucophage). Oh well, it was bound to happen, I've been struggling with it for about 3 years, borderline for 13 years.


 
Well, rats.  That diabetes is a wily foe - glad you have good ammunition on your side .


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> PF,
> before kidney problems I used metformin{glucophage) it was wonderful The only prob was 2 weeks ofit bothering me with gas. Which happens to many, I lost a lot of weight using it but I loved it. Good luc and don't let this bother you  yo will be fine.
> kades



Thanks, Kades.  It was bound to happen sooner or later.  With what I know about diabetes, it was just a matter of time.  Gas is the least of my problems 



tinlizzie said:


> Well, rats.  That diabetes is a wily foe - glad you have good ammunition on your side .



Thanks, Liz.  At least I don't have to learn how to cook for it, just keep carrying on like I have been and take an extra pill in the morning.


----------



## Timothy

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I lost my battle with keeping my diabetes under control with diet. Tomorrow morning I start using Metformin (glucophage). Oh well, it was bound to happen, I've been struggling with it for about 3 years, borderline for 13 years.


 
I take the same med, PF. You may find a couple things that change in your daily habits, but nothing that is much of a problem. It works well to control my blood/sugar levels and I hope it works as well for you.

Good luck with it!


----------



## Aunt Bea

I also use Metformin and Actos in combination.  They have worked well for me.  This whole business of getting old is a pain in the .........................!


----------



## Timothy

Aunt Bea said:


> This whole business of getting old is a pain in the ...!


 
Beats the heck outta the alternative tho'!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Timothy said:


> Beats the heck outta the alternative tho'!




It's ain't the being dead that bothers me, it's the dying!

When I go, I would prefer to use the express checkout!

But, like Doris Day says, Que Sera, Sera,  Whatever will be, will be,  The future's not ours, to see


----------



## babetoo

Aunt Bea said:


> It's ain't the being dead that bothers me, it's the dying!
> 
> When I go, I would prefer to use the express checkout!
> 
> But, like Doris Day says, Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be, The future's not ours, to see


 
that is what i want too aunt bea. had a taste of nursing home while in rehab. not my cup of tea. as a matter of fact, it will not happen again.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I lost my battle with keeping my diabetes under control with diet.  Tomorrow morning I start using Metformin (glucophage).  Oh well, it was bound to happen, I've been struggling with it for about 3 years, borderline for 13 years.




I'm battling the borderline as well.  Doc keeps warning me and I keep trying to lose some weight to slow down the process.


----------



## Zhizara

Aunt Bea said:


> I also use Metformin and Actos in combination.  They have worked well for me.  This whole business of getting old is a pain in the .........................!



That's just it, Aunt Bea - it is a pain - in the back, knees, ankles, hands, shoulders.....


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I lost my battle with keeping my diabetes under control with diet.  Tomorrow morning I start using Metformin (glucophage).  Oh well, it was bound to happen, I've been struggling with it for about 3 years, borderline for 13 years.



Dang, PF.  You have a great attitude.  Hope the meds work for you!

I've been borderline for years too.  I'm not overweight, exercise and eat healthy.  Still like the tobacco, though.  I  have the feeling everyone is  " borderline" something.


----------



## CWS4322

Aw, PF, that sucks. Sorry to hear that.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, everyone.  I've already been doing the diet, so it's not like I'll be making very many changes, just adding another pill.   More water, too.

Babetoo, I already spend all day in the nursing home, I'm just sorry it was lousy for you.  I love my patients and love taking care of them.  Of course, I would have been the nurse you hated...I like to see my patients get better and go home, so I am a bit of a bully.


----------



## MountainMath

Dawgluver said:


> Dang, PF. You have a great attitude. Hope the meds work for you!
> 
> I've been borderline for years too. I'm not overweight, exercise and eat healthy. Still like the tobacco, though. I have the feeling everyone is " borderline" something.


 
Cool!  I love cigars!


----------



## tinlizzie

Aunt Bea said:


> It's ain't the being dead that bothers me, it's the dying!
> 
> When I go, I would prefer to use the express checkout!
> 
> But, like Doris Day says, Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be, The future's not ours, to see


 
I have a DNR "Do Not Resuscitate" notice posted on the inside of my front door.  My kids are pretty much horrified by it - they don't want to think about the subject at all.  When I first put it up I thought it might be an uncomfortable daily reminder; however, strangely enough it gives me a sort of comfort that I at least have that settled.  Chances are it will never get used - with my luck I'll be at Lowe's buying mulch instead of at home.  I just hope I'm not behind the wheel - don't want to take anyone with me.


----------



## vitauta

woody allen once said, "i'm not afraid of dying--i just don't want to be there when it happens."


----------



## Timothy

tinlizzie said:


> I have a DNR "Do Not Resuscitate" notice posted on the inside of my front door. My kids are pretty much horrified by it - they don't want to think about the subject at all. When I first put it up I thought it might be an uncomfortable daily reminder; however, strangely enough it gives me a sort of comfort that I at least have that settled. Chances are it will never get used - with my luck I'll be at Lowe's buying mulch instead of at home. I just hope I'm not behind the wheel - don't want to take anyone with me.


 
I've never understood the "DNR" thing. Does that mean that you don't take any meds either? They are another way of extending life beyond it's norm.

If you choke on food, you don't want anyone to clear your breathing? Just let you choke to death? If a snake bites you, you won't go to the hospital? 

I'm actually being very serious. I don't understand the DNR thing at all. 

I would have to be way more specific. Like; "Don't bother keeping me alive if I'm going to be a stalk of celery laying in a bed until I die of old age, BUT, if I can be brought back to life after a heart attack, (I have), given 5 bypasses, (I have), and can lead a pretty normal life for decades longer, (I have), then why in the holy hell would I want someone to just let me die at step one?

tinlizzie, maybe you can enlighten me. If I'd had a "DNR" on my front door 14 years ago, I wouldn't have enjoyed this last wonderful 14 years, and I sure have.


----------



## vitauta

i'm with timothy.  i don't understand the dnr thing, either.  okay, so you don't want your life prolonged if you are brain dead.  fine.  but doesn't resuscitation need to take place before you find yourself/or not in that situation?  if you say you don't want to be kept alive by artificial means, i think you also need to be specific as to which ones--breathing tube, feeding tube, heart pump, etc....? i say, "resuscitate using any heroic means necessary, THEN we'll see...."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My DNR is just that specific, listing the instances in which I do NOT want to be brought back.  Also, Shrek and my Brother both know all my wishes and I am confident they will follow those wishes.  It's important that you appoint a "Durable Power Of Attorney For Health Care" if you have a DNR.

If I call 911 or make it to the ER on my own, then obviously I want treatment.  If Shrek or my Brother call 911 or get me to the ER, it means they understand that I want treatment in that instance.  Both hospitals and Doctors have copies of our Advance Directives (including our DPOAHC information) and I/we only carry copies of them when we leave town.

DNR's are only useful if  people know about what YOU want.  Emergency personnel, if they don't know what you want, will always opt to save your life and let them figure out the rest in the hospital.


----------



## CWS4322

A dear friend's husband underwent a bone marrow transplant. He had a DNR. Sadly, the intern did not check the chart when my friend coded. They brought him back, moved him to ICU, hooked him up to 24 bags of fluids (he was in DIC). I've had a dog die in my arms from DIC--it was a horrible way to die and horrible for family members to witness. I have a DNR. I don't want to undergo what my friend underwent.


----------



## tinlizzie

Timothy said:


> I've never understood the "DNR" thing. Does that mean that you don't take any meds either? They are another way of extending life beyond it's norm.
> 
> If you choke on food, you don't want anyone to clear your breathing? Just let you choke to death? If a snake bites you, you won't go to the hospital?
> 
> I'm actually being very serious. I don't understand the DNR thing at all.
> 
> I would have to be way more specific. Like; "Don't bother keeping me alive if I'm going to be a stalk of celery laying in a bed until I die of old age, BUT, if I can be brought back to life after a heart attack, (I have), given 5 bypasses, (I have), and can lead a pretty normal life for decades longer, (I have), then why in the holy hell would I want someone to just let me die at step one?
> 
> tinlizzie, maybe you can enlighten me. If I'd had a "DNR" on my front door 14 years ago, I wouldn't have enjoyed this last wonderful 14 years, and I sure have.


 
I'll try, Timothy.  But this as with many other decisions is based on personal preference, based on personal experience.  Several years ago I was away from home when my husband had his heart attack; his visiting brother was with him.  I arrived home to find Emergency responders loading him into the ambulance.  I rode to the hospital up front.  The driver asked me if he/I had a DNR (at the time I never heard of it -- thought DNR meant Dept. of Natural Resources and was baffled) but I was only able to reply, no.  They had restarted his heart 3 times before I got there.  He had several medical conditions at the time, but with a strong constitution was able to "live" for 3 days - at least his body did.  Long story short -- I do not want my family to go through that again.  I think I'm old enough - creeping up on 71 - to hang it up if I want to.  _Some_thing's going to get me, and darned if I wouldn't prefer a heart attack over some lingering something or other.  I know, easy to say; but there you are.  I'm sure not arguing with your reasoning and am happy for your good outcome....but to each his own.


----------



## jusnikki

I manage an office where we provide water to the community. When you don't pay your water bill then you get disconnected. It amazes me how many people get angry at us because "they" didn't pay "their" bill. If people would even pick up a phone and ask me to hold there account for a few days, I even do that (None of the other associations play that). They should do a reality show on how ignorant people act when there services are discontinued for nonpayment. 

The thing that gets me is people tell me that I like doing it. That's more money for me. WRONG!! It's more headache for me and I get no extra pay for it. That reconnect fee goes to the man locking the meters. 


Sometimes you just want to be as ugly to people are they are to you but you can't, lol. Well there's a way to do it....lol. I just wish people wouldn't blame us for their mistakes. 

Just venting a little....... : )


----------



## babetoo

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thanks, everyone. I've already been doing the diet, so it's not like I'll be making very many changes, just adding another pill. More water, too.
> 
> Babetoo, I already spend all day in the nursing home, I'm just sorry it was lousy for you. I love my patients and love taking care of them. Of course, I would have been the nurse you hated...I like to see my patients get better and go home, so I am a bit of a bully.


 
if you had paid attention to me  at all, it would be 100 % better than where i was. it was really hard to get anyone to answer the bell. when you are told to not get up by yourself, it is important that they respond quickly , especially when the bathroom is involved. i had one that paid attention, she was lovely to me. alas she was not a nurse. i 'm sure there are nice places, i didn't just land in one.


----------



## Timothy

tinlizzie said:


> I'll try, Timothy. But this as with many other decisions is based on personal preference, based on personal experience. Several years ago I was away from home when my husband had his heart attack; his visiting brother was with him. I arrived home to find Emergency responders loading him into the ambulance. I rode to the hospital up front. The driver asked me if he/I had a DNR (at the time I never heard of it -- thought DNR meant Dept. of Natural Resources and was baffled) but I was only able to reply, no. They had restarted his heart 3 times before I got there. He had several medical conditions at the time, but with a strong constitution was able to "live" for 3 days - at least his body did. Long story short -- I do not want my family to go through that again. I think I'm old enough - creeping up on 71 - to hang it up if I want to. _Some_thing's going to get me, and darned if I wouldn't prefer a heart attack over some lingering something or other. I know, easy to say; but there you are. I'm sure not arguing with your reasoning and am happy for your good outcome....but to each his own.


 
I understand your reasoning on the issue, tinlizzie, but in terms of my own life, I have a completely different way of looking at the situation. 

I've had 8 times in my life where medical intervention caused me to remain alive. Each time, if I had a DNR, that would have been the end of my life. Since the first one, I have loved, been loved, traveled, seen wondrous things, met fascinating people, done incredibily interesting things, experienced joy, and invented a few things. None of which would have happened if the Docs had backed away from me the first time I was at a turn of Life/Death.

Not to mention that I was 7 years old the first time and would have had a very short life.

No DNR for me. They can jump start me as many times as they wish. If I turn into a carrot, I won't know it anyway. The others in my family will have to deal with Mr. Carrot by ignoring me and letting the machines run if that's what some Doc thinks is best. If I'm truly a carrot, I won't care anyway. If, on day 136, I suddenly come out of it like I did a coma when I was in my 20's, then perhaps I'll have another decade or two or three to enjoy life again.

I've spoken to my family and after watching my life thus far, they understand my reasoning and also understand that if I do happen to become a piece of cabbage, they have my permission to just stay home and enjoy their lives, instead of coming to look at cabbage-man lay there.

Heck, I might be having a great time in a fantastic dream. Who can say?

Lets you and I agree to disagree on this and just enjoy our lives for now. How's that sound to you?

I figure there must be something I'm supposed to accomplish that hasn't been done yet. I keep bouncing back, regardless of the circumstances of my body.

Perhaps, at 71, (12 years from now), I'll think differently, but I doubt it.

Good luck to you. I hope you make it as a happy person and experience wonderful things until you're 120 or more.


----------



## Aunt Bea

The two points of view are exactly the reason that I have not completed a DNR order yet!

If they find me passed out on the floor I want them to wake me up, assess my situation and then kill me if the outlook is not good.  My Doctor has very seriously and sternly assured me that it does not work that way.

Very difficult and personal decision!


----------



## Timothy

Aunt Bea said:


> If they find me passed out on the floor I want them to wake me up, assess my situation and then kill me if the outlook is not good.


 
Aunt Bea, you crack me up! Yep, it's a huge decision. Literally a life and death decision. The only person that must be happy with the choice is person making that choice. 

The DNR is a choice I choose not to make. I might miss something good.


----------



## Dawgluver

I can't believe the massacre of all those beautiful exotic animals in Zanesville, OH.  Bengal tigers are so rare.  I knew it had to be done, but what a nut case owner, to let them go like that.  Sad.


----------



## Alix

#1 - Stupid hot spot on my dog will NOT die! I feel so bad for my poor little beastie!

#2 - Someone threw away a bunch of kittens in a dumpster today! Sweet tiny kittens! Sheesh. I almost brought one home. God was looking after me though, and made it work out differently. Ken would have kicked my bum around the block a few times if I'd done that. Rightly so...but they were so sweet and precious and helpless!

#3 - I can't access the iTunes on the downstairs computer on my laptop! BUMMER! I used to be able to, and now I can't! BAH!


----------



## tinlizzie

Timothy said:


> Lets you and I agree to disagree on this and just enjoy our lives for now. How's that sound to you?


 
 It's a deal.


----------



## Dawgluver

Alix said:
			
		

> #1 - Stupid hot spot on my dog will NOT die! I feel so bad for my poor little beastie!
> 
> #2 - Someone threw away a bunch of kittens in a dumpster today! Sweet tiny kittens! Sheesh. I almost brought one home. God was looking after me though, and made it work out differently. Ken would have kicked my bum around the block a few times if I'd done that. Rightly so...but they were so sweet and precious and helpless!
> 
> #3 - I can't access the iTunes on the downstairs computer on my laptop! BUMMER! I used to be able to, and now I can't! BAH!



What happened to the kittens, Alix?  Were they rescued?

Poor puppy!  Aloe?  Triple antibiotic cream?

Can you delete iTunes, then reinstall?


----------



## Alix

Kittens were found by a friend who is a garbage collector, they all have homes but were taken away from mommy way too early. 

Murray is getting treated with a cocktail that pacanis shared with me. Its just taking an awfully long time for the poor guy to recover. That MIGHT have something to do with going outside and rubbing said hotspot on the dirt etc.  I can't put the cone of shame on him because it rubs on the hot spot. So, we're just being vigilant about the nagging. 

I think the iTunes issue is user error. I'm just tired and cranky and not in the mood to figure out what my problem is. I'll go play with it later.


----------



## Dawgluver

Good job, Alix!  Very frustrating day.  Hopefully the kittens were weaned.  Hope you can get some good sleep!  I am tired and cranky my own self.


----------



## babetoo

Timothy said:


> I understand your reasoning on the issue, tinlizzie, but in terms of my own life, I have a completely different way of looking at the situation.
> 
> I've had 8 times in my life where medical intervention caused me to remain alive. Each time, if I had a DNR, that would have been the end of my life. Since the first one, I have loved, been loved, traveled, seen wondrous things, met fascinating people, done incredibily interesting things, experienced joy, and invented a few things. None of which would have happened if the Docs had backed away from me the first time I was at a turn of Life/Death.
> 
> Not to mention that I was 7 years old the first time and would have had a very short life.
> 
> No DNR for me. They can jump start me as many times as they wish. If I turn into a carrot, I won't know it anyway. The others in my family will have to deal with Mr. Carrot by ignoring me and letting the machines run if that's what some Doc thinks is best. If I'm truly a carrot, I won't care anyway. If, on day 136, I suddenly come out of it like I did a coma when I was in my 20's, then perhaps I'll have another decade or two or three to enjoy life again.
> 
> I've spoken to my family and after watching my life thus far, they understand my reasoning and also understand that if I do happen to become a piece of cabbage, they have my permission to just stay home and enjoy their lives, instead of coming to look at cabbage-man lay there.
> 
> Heck, I might be having a great time in a fantastic dream. Who can say?
> 
> Lets you and I agree to disagree on this and just enjoy our lives for now. How's that sound to you?
> 
> I figure there must be something I'm supposed to accomplish that hasn't been done yet. I keep bouncing back, regardless of the circumstances of my body.
> 
> Perhaps, at 71, (12 years from now), I'll think differently, but I doubt it.
> 
> Good luck to you. I hope you make it as a happy person and experience wonderful things until you're 120 or


 
i am 73 years old, i do not wish to spend the last of my days, in a home. if my brain is gone, i want to be gone as well. i have a friend of forty years that has for all practical  purposes been a veggie for two years. she will never get better, she is not aware of much of anything. only machines are keeping her alive. as well as i knew her and we discussed many times not wanting to end this way. her daughter , who is ignoring reality , is giving her "hello kitty" stuff for christmas. how is that for destroying whatever dignity she might have left. my only hope is that she is not in that fog somewhere, knowing what is going on. it breaks my heart. i do not wish that ending or anything like it for myself. when i am beyond where i know anything, let me go.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> if you had paid attention to me  at all, it would be 100 % better than where i was. it was really hard to get anyone to answer the bell. when you are told to not get up by yourself, it is important that they respond quickly , especially when the bathroom is involved. i had one that paid attention, she was lovely to me. alas she was not a nurse. i 'm sure there are nice places, i didn't just land in one.



I was counting how many Nurses Aides I have encouraged to go to nursing school, because they have the right attitude and love working with the elderly.  Of the 15 nurses on the floor today, 6 were Nurses Aides that worked directly under me and are now nurses.  Makes me proud and a bit humbled.

I wish you had come to me, Babe.  I would have made sure you were treated right.


----------



## Timothy

babetoo said:


> i am 73 years old, i do not wish to spend the last of my days, in a home. if my brain is gone, i want to be gone as well. i have a friend of forty years that has for all practical purposes been a veggie for two years. she will never get better, she is not aware of much of anything. only machines are keeping her alive. as well as i knew her and we discussed many times not wanting to end this way. her daughter , who is ignoring reality , is giving her "hello kitty" stuff for christmas. how is that for destroying whatever dignity she might have left. my only hope is that she is not in that fog somewhere, knowing what is going on. it breaks my heart. i do not wish that ending or anything like it for myself. when i am beyond where i know anything, let me go.


 
A DNR and its limitations are something totally up to you. I would strongly suggest that you speak with your attorney and those who you wish to include in the process that would create this type of decision.

What I'm saying is my own decision. I may change my mind later and I will do so if my thinking changes. I certainly don't want to influence your thinking or anyone else's. It's much too important of a matter than to involve myself in others choices.

You're one of my favorite people here on DC. I hope you see a lively, aware 120 years old! Join me in another couple decades for a space ship ride! Wouldn't that be a hoot?


----------



## Zhizara

Alix said:


> I closed down the old venting thread. It was getting pretty cumbersome for any new reader. Lets try to keep this one to just petty stuff. If you really need support or prayers please start a new thread so it can get the attention it deserves.
> 
> My petty little snotty vent is just that I got yelled at for nothing. I run a yoga program out of our community hall and today the floor was really gross. So after the class I called the person responsible for hall rentals and reported it. (Sounds logical so far right?) Well instead of saying thanks for the info I'll handle it, I got a blast about people blaming her and telling her what to do about the mess etc etc. I kept my cool, and asked her why she was yelling at me? She ranted some more. I told her I was not responsible for her upset, and had merely been doing what I thought she WANTED me to do and apologized for trying to be helpful. To her credit she backed down and apologized. She told me that I was just "in the line of fire". I responded by accepting the apology and letting her know I'd found her very rude.
> 
> I'm trying very hard to take the high road and just accept that apology and move on. I'm still TICKED OFF though. LOL. The venting has helped. Thanks for listening guys. Sometimes it just helps to get it out.



This is exactly why I love this thread.  I had a horrible day today too.  After the early morning checking in with DC, I closed the computer and started doing other stuff.  

When it came time to relax and check in again, all of a sudden Windows wouldn't launch.

Finally, about 12 hours later, I was able to launch Windows.  I'll have a challenge getting all my settings back, but she's working.....for now...


----------



## CWS4322

Because I work nights, Fridays are my "night" to be a human. Well...I still nap between 2-3/4 p.m. (can't later than that, I have to get the hens in). I'd just fallen asleep when I hear this "bang-bang-bang" on the door. Oh crap! I get up, go to the door--it is the neighbor. We used to let him deer hunt on the property when we'd stay in the city most of the time. Last JANUARY we told him that we didn't want him hunting on the property this year--last year, he drove his ATV all over, made ruts (which made it DIFFICULT at best to gather maple sap--I was almost swimming to get the sap because of the ruts), let his buddies hunt on the property w/out him, left a carcass by the barn, came through to bait almost every day (bow hunters but we had said "no baiting"). Anyhow, he came over to beg again to hunt on the property. We've said NO three times. I said "ummm...it's not my call...I'll have to run that by the DH again." 

So I talked with my dad tonight, and he advised that if we let the neighbor hunt (he has 4 tags) that we get 1/2 of the first deer on our property, no ATV except to go get the deer, no carcass left on the property, and no transfer of the hunting (that is illegal in ON FWIW). I hate it when one says "no" others don't take that for an answer. In the past, he has plowed the driveway (1x) and brought us 6 sausages. As my dad said, a package of sausage is what you bring the invalid old lady down the road...I really don't like other people on the property and I really don't like others treating the property as if it is their own...am I being a pain?

When I wasn't staying at the farm, it was nice to have s/one going through to show "life" at the farm, but now I am here and I have the chickens. There is life at the farm and we don't need s/one to show "life" here. Yes, I'm probably a pain--my dad said not to burn bridges with the neighbor, but it's our land, not his.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I think your objections are right on and the neighbor should abide by any rules and restrictions you have made.  Since he has already proven to not be trustworthy...no hunting.  Besides, it would upset the girls!


----------



## CWS4322

PF--the girls were my primary concern. My other concern was that he'd let others hunt here--got the p*ss scared out of me last year when I looked out and there was a truck parked by the barn. And, as my dad said, it isn't as if it is a field/bush lot--there is a house and s/one living in it. Hunters tend to go out EARLY in the a.m. I am usually up working at 2:00 a.m., but on weekends, I usually sleep until I wake up. Cliff, the one Saint that is always here with me, will BARK if s/one drives up the driveway--day or night. That wakes me up. That's what woke me up that morning when the pickup drove in. My dad said "No Sunday hunting." In part, because the DH is usually here on Sundays and we like to take the dogs for a walk back in the bush if the weather is nice. That's the other thing, we can't use the back 40 in November and December because we don't know if he's back there hunting.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CWS4322 said:


> Because I work nights, Fridays are my "night" to be a human. Well...I still nap between 2-3/4 p.m. (can't later than that, I have to get the hens in). I'd just fallen asleep when I hear this "bang-bang-bang" on the door. Oh crap! I get up, go to the door--it is the neighbor. We used to let him deer hunt on the property when we'd stay in the city most of the time. Last JANUARY we told him that we didn't want him hunting on the property this year--last year, he drove his ATV all over, made ruts (which made it DIFFICULT at best to gather maple sap--I was almost swimming to get the sap because of the ruts), let his buddies hunt on the property w/out him, left a carcass by the barn, came through to bait almost every day (bow hunters but we had said "no baiting"). Anyhow, he came over to beg again to hunt on the property. We've said NO three times. I said "ummm...it's not my call...I'll have to run that by the DH again."
> 
> So I talked with my dad tonight, and he advised that if we let the neighbor hunt (he has 4 tags) that we get 1/2 of the first deer on our property, no ATV except to go get the deer, no carcass left on the property, and no transfer of the hunting (that is illegal in ON FWIW). I hate it when one says "no" others don't take that for an answer. In the past, he has plowed the driveway (1x) and brought us 6 sausages. As my dad said, a package of sausage is what you bring the invalid old lady down the road...I really don't like other people on the property and I really don't like others treating the property as if it is their own...am I being a pain?
> 
> When I wasn't staying at the farm, it was nice to have s/one going through to show "life" at the farm, but now I am here and I have the chickens. There is life at the farm and we don't need s/one to show "life" here. Yes, I'm probably a pain--my dad said not to burn bridges with the neighbor, but it's our land, not his.



How does he get four tags?  

Is it because of bow/gun and then doe permits on each?


----------



## vitauta

oh man, i just fell for the same ripoff for a second time!  i am so outraged, but most at myself, for being so stupid--again!  i purchased a michael connelly ebook from a barnes & noble listing of "affordable" ebooks.  it only cost $2.99.  it only consisted of exactly 61 pages! augghhh!!!  since it happened to me the first time, i was scrupulously checking a book's page length before making a purchase.  i guess i got sloppy though, cause there were more than half-dozen furious reviews complaining about this very thing.  as i've stated before, i don't buy my books by their length or weight, but this is getting ridiculous.  and besides myself, i don't know who to direct my anger toward--the publisher?  the author, for participating in such a sham?  the bookseller?   well, i think i've got it covered--i'm mad at the whole ****ing world about this crap!!!!!!!!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

vitauta said:
			
		

> oh man, i just fell for the same ripoff for a second time!  i am so outraged, but most at myself, for being so stupid--again!  i purchased a michael connelly ebook from a barnes & noble listing of "affordable" ebooks.  it only cost $2.99.  it only consisted of exactly 61 pages! augghhh!!!  since it happened to me the first time, i was scrupulously checking a book's page length before making a purchase.  i guess i got sloppy though, cause there were more than half-dozen furious reviews complaining about this very thing.  as i've stated before, i don't buy my books by their length or weight, but this is getting ridiculous.  and besides myself, i don't know who to direct my anger toward--the publisher?  the author, for participating in such a sham?  the bookseller?   well, i think i've got it covered--i'm mad at the whole ****ing world about this crap!!!!!!!!



It is pretty ridiculous. The price of books keeps going up, the quality seems to be going down, and it seems to be increasingly difficult to find something that's true to genre. Maybe I was spoiled growing up. It seemed I could always find a decent paperback for $4 or so and at the time we didn't have much of a book store.

On a completely unrelated note, I find it to be a great injustice of the world that I currently have a Brittany Spears song stuck in my head.


----------



## Zhizara

I wasn't feeling so good today.  I slept as much as possible, then started feeling better.  I've spend a lot of time resetting everything on my computer.  I got the more important ones done, like downloading McAfee.  I'll have to add my favorites back one by one.  I had to restore to factory without a backup.  It was my last option.  I'm just so glad it worked.


----------



## Dawgluver

Was stuck in a conference room all afternoon Friday, and among 50 people, 6 were hacking and coughing away.  None of these educators were doing the "Dracula" ( coughing into the sleeve, as is taught at school, and every preschooler can demonstrate it), and none of them covered their coughs. They just let fly.

Thank goodness the snack table was well away from them.


----------



## babetoo

library books at your local library are free. i have read more micheal connelly than i care to in the last month. all free.


----------



## Timothy

babetoo said:


> library books at your local library are free. i have read more micheal connelly than i care to in the last month. all free.


I don't know if other libraries have them or not, but mine offers quite a selection of E-books that are downloadable for free. I haven't purchased a book, (other than cookbooks), in many years. 

Like you, babetoo, I use the local library exclusively. If they don't have a book I want to read, the Inter-Library-Loan, (ILL) service will find it for me at another library.

Why buy the cow when you can get free milk?


----------



## CWS4322

Aunt Bea said:


> How does he get four tags?
> 
> Is it because of bow/gun and then doe permits on each?


 
The deer population is so high in the area, that the number of tags varies based on the deer population. Last year, it was six. Also this is bow hunting--I'm not sure about muzzle-loader season / number of tags. We don't allow muzzle-loader hunting. It could also be his wife has a tag, his dad a tag, and his brother. His dad hunts sometimes with him, but this guy is the avid hunter so they might get the tags and he does the hunting. I used to get a tag when my dad hunted--but I had to be out there with him--and I had to register the deer he shot. Once my tag was filled, I didn't have to go out at 0-dark-hundred and freeze my butt off...The DH capituated--but there are 10 rules, including 1/2 of the first deer. If he only gets one, too bad, 1/2 that venison has my name on it. And, I'm not going to be getting just sausage--I like venison sausage, but I like a good venison roast, steak, stew meat, etc., more than I like sausage. And, I don't like venison burger, so that is stew meat. I don't think I'm up to butchering the 1/2 on the kitchen table...for a number of reasons. Growing up, we did that, but we have a stainless prep table and since my folks had once owned a restaurant, we had all the equipment needed...I don't.  And, I just don't think I want to go there. It was a lot of work, especially deboning the legs for the stew meat...


----------



## Alix

Venting. Literally. The furnace guys are here replacing all my venting. Its pretty loud and scary.


----------



## CWS4322

I have  been fighting with a file for two days now. It works fine until I re-open it, then it is all screwed up. I am so tired of fixing the same formatting problems and the Help desk is NOT helpful. I have opened this file on all three of my computers, I have saved it to new locations under new names, I've run defrag, I've repaired the application, I've reinstalled the application, I'm ready to send it back to my client and say "it works for me until I re-open it...good luck with that..." (I can't do that), but today is one of those days I really don't like being self-employed. Where's the IT person!!!


----------



## Timothy

CWS4322 said:


> I have been fighting with a file for two days now. It works fine until I re-open it, then it is all screwed up.


 

 CWS4322 has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.


----------



## CWS4322

Timothy said:


> CWS4322 has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.


 
Thanks--I've been too busy to check my personal email and also too busy to download and save my PMs I want to keep.


----------



## CWS4322

Well-meaning friends--argh! As some of you know, I'm dealing with elderly parents, more specifically, my mom who has dementia (4/5 stage, sliding into 6). I have two brothers, one who has been estranged from my parents for 4 years (and lives 45 minutes from them), the other lives in SE Ontario as I do. To travel to our parents is difficult. So this well-meaning friend said to me today that the next time my father has to travel, to make him bring my mom to me. Right, that's gonna happen. And if he won't do that, to say "sorry dad, I can't help." And that I shouldn't put my life on "hold" to go there. Right. I want to spend as much time as I can with my mom before she forgets who I am. Family dynamics are difficult. I hate well-meaning friends. Just because she didn't spend time with her dad before he lost his memory, doesn't mean I don't want to spend time with my mom before that happens. I know she will forget who I am before too much more time passes, but I want to grab as much time with her before that happens as I can. If I have to live in her world with her, I can do that. What I can't stand is s/one telling me to let go before she let's go of me.


----------



## Timothy

CWS4322 said:


> Thanks--I've been too busy to check my personal email and also too busy to download and save my PMs I want to keep.


 
I was going to offer help if you wanted it, dealing with your computer problems. If you'd like or want help, just PM me.

Tim


----------



## CWS4322

Thanks Timothy. This is proprietary stuff, so one has to have access to the server, templates, etc. Finally got it to behave, but what a PAIN.


----------



## Timothy

CWS4322 said:


> Thanks Timothy. This is proprietary stuff, so one has to have access to the server, templates, etc. Finally got it to behave, but what a PAIN.


I'm glad it worked out for you. Don't let that machine tell you what to do! Make it behave!


----------



## CWS4322

Is there anyone who would say that they did not want one more day with s/one they loved? I think not. I am willing to put my life on "hold" for one more hour, one more day with my mom. If it means I say no to a contract or a client, well, there are other contracts and clients, but I only have one mom. I can always find one more client, one more contract, but I can't find one more mom. If you haven't called your mom lately, do me a favor, call her. Tell her you love her.


----------



## Timothy

Is it me, or what?

Someone posts a thread here like; "What do you like about "X"?"

It seems to never fail that some naysayer will post in that thread "I hate "X".

I mean, if the thread was "Do you like "X"? or even "What do you think of "X"?, then I could understand their urge to tell everyone they hate it.

But to enter a thread that specifically asks what you LIKE about something and post that you hate it, is to me, just a cry for attention and someone being as negative as they can be.

That's my vent for the day.


----------



## kadesma

Timothy said:


> Is it me, or what?
> 
> Someone posts a thread here like; "What do you like about "X"?"
> 
> It seems to never fail that some naysayer will post in that thread "I hate "X".
> 
> I mean, if the thread was "Do you like "X"? or even "What do you think of "X"?, then I could understand their urge to tell everyone they hate it.
> 
> But to enter a thread that specifically asks what you LIKE about something and post that you hate it, is to me, just a cry for attention and someone being as negative as they can be.
> 
> That's my vent for the day.


Timothy I think we all have a vent now and then and sometimes they really get to us. I find ignore is the best thing to do. I then go make myself a goody either a favorite drink or snack sit down put my feet up and say forget it. it works  for me letting someone  bug you when they really need a chance to get it off their chest and  don't do it in a polite manner is a big YUK.
kades


----------



## Alix

It irritates the heck out of me that people make fun of, or slam others "good naturedly". Its fine to be proud of your stuff, but its not OK to put others down.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grumble grumble have to work through the time change. Bleh.


----------



## babetoo

my phone has gone out two days in a row. phone co. coming tomorrow. only problem my life alert won't work with out phone. 

then my drier went out. what is next?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Grumble grumble have to work through the time change. Bleh.



A 13 hour shift in the Spring and an 11 hour shift in the Fall...PITA!!!  It's amazing how much 1 hour can mess you up!


----------



## Alix

Other way around PF. You work longer if you work tonight.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Yeah, extra hour tonight. Time change is definitely a pain. 

Babe, I hope things get resolved quickly for you and that nothing else goes wrong.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Other way around PF. You work longer if you work tonight.



Oh, yeah...I always get that mixed up...


----------



## Alix

I have shown up for work early before. I was NOT happy with that!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> I have shown up for work early before. I was NOT happy with that!



I'll change the bathroom clock when I go to bed.  I already got the kitchen clocks and will worry about the bedroom clocks tomorrow...oh yeah, I better change the living room clock, too.  It's a pain, I have to run through 23 hours to change it back or the chimes are all messed up.  Luckily I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow.


----------



## tinlizzie

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...in the stores...already.  Crikey.

I know, I know.  Why bother to complain -- no one does anything about it.  Guess I'll try that door down the hall.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

tinlizzie said:
			
		

> It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...in the stores...already.  Crikey.
> 
> I know, I know.  Why bother to complain -- no one does anything about it.  Guess I'll try that door down the hall.



Commersialism at it's peak.


----------



## Timothy

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Commersialism at it's peak.


Next year, to avoid any loss of advertising time, Retailers will start advertising their Christmas sales on December 26th, for the following Christmas.


----------



## babetoo

son called in a.m. said new drier would be delivered today. i waited through the appointed time. called company and they said was for tomorrow. son called later and said he had somehow gotten it wrong. bummer, i postponed a shower waiting for the. i think he had a senior moment.


----------



## vitauta

penn state, priorities, paterno, et al....


----------



## Zhizara

My heat isn't working right.  I had the maintenance guy check it out and it seemed to be working but only at the highest setting.

I turned it on this morning, and it did start getting warm, but 5 minutes later it was only blowing cold air.

I found an outlet near my recliner and plugged my new crockpot in (making split peas).  It may seem a little unconventional, but hey, my feet are getting nice and warm.  How's that for multi-tasking?


----------



## babetoo

babetoo said:


> son called in a.m. said new drier would be delivered today. i waited through the appointed time. called company and they said was for tomorrow. son called later and said he had somehow gotten it wrong. bummer, i postponed a shower waiting for the. i think he had a senior moment.


 

got the new drier this a.m. have a load in as we speak. so guess i will unvent. lol


----------



## chopper

babetoo said:


> got the new drier this a.m. have a load in as we speak. so guess i will unvent. lol


  So happy for you!


----------



## Sprout

I can't log in to my account with my electric company. I have paperless billing, and you have to know the total of your bill to pay it over the phone, so that means I can't pay my bill. I've now been on hold for 30 minutes. Seriously? I've never worked so hard to give someone my money. Now the movie I put on for DD so she would be entertained while I pay this month's bills (it's payday) is almost over and I'm not even halfway done paying bills. The rest I have to pay over the phone & I'm sure the second I try to call on my cell phone to pay a different bill, a service rep from the electric company will immediately be ready to help me. Aaaargh. & this kitschy hold music is about to make me lose my mind.


----------



## Timothy

Sprout said:


> I can't log in to my account with my electric company. I have paperless billing, and you have to know the total of your bill to pay it over the phone, so that means I can't pay my bill. I've now been on hold for 30 minutes. Seriously? I've never worked so hard to give someone my money. Now the movie I put on for DD so she would be entertained while I pay this month's bills (it's payday) is almost over and I'm not even halfway done paying bills. The rest I have to pay over the phone & I'm sure the second I try to call on my cell phone to pay a different bill, a service rep from the electric company will immediately be ready to help me. Aaaargh. & this kitschy hold music is about to make me lose my mind.


 
If you tell me which company it is, maybe I can find the page you need.


----------



## Zhizara

Sprout said:


> I can't log in to my account with my electric company. I have paperless billing, and you have to know the total of your bill to pay it over the phone, so that means I can't pay my bill. I've now been on hold for 30 minutes. Seriously? I've never worked so hard to give someone my money. Now the movie I put on for DD so she would be entertained while I pay this month's bills (it's payday) is almost over and I'm not even halfway done paying bills. The rest I have to pay over the phone & I'm sure the second I try to call on my cell phone to pay a different bill, a service rep from the electric company will immediately be ready to help me. Aaaargh. & this kitschy hold music is about to make me lose my mind.



If you have paperless billing, shouldn't they be sending you an email statement?


----------



## Sprout

It's BGE.

I've never received an email from them, I always just look at my bill when I log in to my account with them.


----------



## Timothy

Sprout said:


> It's BGE.
> 
> I've never received an email from them, I always just look at my bill when I log in to my account with them.


 
I'm guesssing you already tried this page:
https://www.bge.com/myaccount/manage/Pages/default.aspx


----------



## tinlizzie

Yesterday's mail brought a surprise letter from my home-insurance company.  I have been transferred to another insurance company I never heard of because my current insurer is "going into liquidation."  Great.  If it ain't one thing.....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I've had a few days to cool down, but I am still angry over the treatment I got from the lab personnel last Friday when I went for a lab draw.  I think the director needs to know what happened.


----------



## Zhizara

If you can tell us without getting too upset, what happened?


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I've had a few days to cool down, but I am still angry over the treatment I got from the lab personnel last Friday when I went for a lab draw.  I think the director needs to know what happened.


Lab personal, nurses, doctors all need to learn to be kind and attentive just like you PFI don't blame you one bit for being upset. I'd be a raving lunatic and I don't even know what happened, but I can take a guess. Stay as sweet as you are you are a gem.
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> If you can tell us without getting too upset, what happened?





kadesma said:


> Lab personal, nurses, doctors all need to learn to be kind and attentive just like you PFI don't blame you one bit for being upset. I'd be a raving lunatic and I don't even know what happened, but I can take a guess. Stay as sweet as you are you are a gem.
> kades



A month ago, both doctors, Cardiologist and Primary ordered labs for me.  Two different sections; one the hospital, the other the clinic, billed through two different offices.  The Cardio receptionist offered me the copy of the lab orders, even though it is all done by computer and I said sure, I'd take them.  

That allowed me to show my primary what had already been ordered for labs and add to it if he wanted.  I have often gotten to the lab and they have no clue what labs to draw and they never take my word for it and clarify it with the docs.  So it was nice to have the copy.  They are so stupid, they never say to the Doc, "PF is here to have blood drawn, she says she needs this done, is this correct?"  They always ask  the doc what bloods they should draw, like they expect the doctor to remember what he ordered a month ago. The doc always gets it wrong...so I end up getting bloods drawn again the day of my appointment.

I wrote on MY copy of the Cardio order the lab my primary wanted done, so I could remember myself and show them what was ordered.  I was "scolded" by the lab tech for "changing a doctors order."  I tried to again tell him that it was MY copy and I had added what my primary ordered, it should all be in the computer.  It also had the appointment info for both docs.  He disappeared with my copy and I never saw it again, now I have to call and make sure when my appointments are.

I go in for my appointment with  my Primary in the morning and I plan on seeing the cardio to make sure I should still be taking the extra statin.  Since I will already be there, I'm thinking I will be talking to the director of the lab about the tech.  There are two hospitals in this town, I can always decide to use the other lab for my bloodwork.


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks for explaining, PF.  I don't blame you for being upset.


----------



## Claire

It is terrible how insensitive medical personnel can be.  I just last week got a call from my doctor's office.  _I had specifically written that they could give the results to whoever answered the phone_.  There's just me and my husband.  So guess what?  I get to worry through a holiday weekend when it may be nothing (probably is nothing).   So I get to go this morning to the doctor to find out if I have cancer or if it is nothing,  Lovely.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I don't even want to start a vent on medical personnel so instead I'll just say I'm sorry you guys jave had to deal with jerks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> It is terrible how insensitive medical personnel can be.  I just last week got a call from my doctor's office.  _I had specifically written that they could give the results to whoever answered the phone_.  There's just me and my husband.  So guess what?  I get to worry through a holiday weekend when it may be nothing (probably is nothing).   So I get to go this morning to the doctor to find out if I have cancer or if it is nothing,  Lovely.



I know this one, Claire, they do this to me all the time.  They even know Shrek has my DPOA (Durable power of Attorney) and they still won't tell him anything.  He goes with me to all my appointments.  His Doc and nurse are great, I can call and get anything I need for him.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I don't even want to start a vent on medical personnel so instead I'll just say I'm sorry you guys jave had to deal with jerks.



We aren't all bad, even if someone is wrong, I'll at least listen to them and I sure wouldn't argue with them or treat them like a child.  I asked the Mammogram Tech if I could see my results, as I can halfway read them and I've seen enough of mine that I can tell if something is different.  She said, "No, I can't discuss results."  I looked at her and told her that I didn't want or expect to discuss the results I just wanted to look.  She very reluctantly let me look.

I like knowing before I get my letter that everything is okay, otherwise I just worry for the week it takes to get the letter.


----------



## kadesma

Claire said:


> It is terrible how insensitive medical personnel can be.  I just last week got a call from my doctor's office.  _I had specifically written that they could give the results to whoever answered the phone_.  There's just me and my husband.  So guess what?  I get to worry through a holiday weekend when it may be nothing (probably is nothing).   So I get to go this morning to the doctor to find out if I have cancer or if it is nothing,  Lovely.


I understand your frustration Claire. About 10 years ago I had to wait 3 weeks before I found out I didn't have cancer. By that time I was ready to anyone who got in my way serious harm,Don't see that things have changed much but will pray that they do.
kades


----------



## Sprout

Timothy said:


> I'm guesssing you already tried this page:
> https://www.bge.com/myaccount/manage/Pages/default.aspx



Yeah, I did. I got locked out, even though I know absolutely that I was using the correct password. & my Caps Lock was not on. I've been paying my bill this way for a year now and suddenly my password doesn't work. I didn't have time to wait or call back Friday and got all 4 wisdom teeth out yesterday, so I still wasn't up to talking to them on the phone today. Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow. I don't have anywhere to be so I suppose I can just turn on the speaker phone and carry it around with me all day until someone finally answers.


----------



## Timothy

Sprout said:


> Yeah, I did. I got locked out, even though I know absolutely that I was using the correct password. & my Caps Lock was not on. I've been paying my bill this way for a year now and suddenly my password doesn't work. I didn't have time to wait or call back Friday and got all 4 wisdom teeth out yesterday, so I still wasn't up to talking to them on the phone today. Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow. I don't have anywhere to be so I suppose I can just turn on the speaker phone and carry it around with me all day until someone finally answers.


 
OMG, I hope you feel better today! If and when you ever get a live, breathing human being on the phone, ask them to reset your password and send it to you in an email.

Check to make sure they have the correct email for you.

Good luck!


----------



## Claire

I happened to be in the same building where my doctor's office is on Monday, and the call was to let me know my pap and mam were normal.  Why couldn't they tell my husband that when I specifically told them to.


----------



## Timothy

Claire said:


> I happened to be in the same building where my doctor's office is on Monday, and the call was to let me know my pap and mam were normal. Why couldn't they tell my husband that when I specifically told them to.


 
For the life of me, I can't figure out why your Doctor would be checking your parents out and how you got teh only normal parents in the world! <joking>


----------



## vitauta

Claire said:


> I happened to be in the same building where my doctor's office is on Monday, and the call was to let me know my pap and mam were normal.  Why couldn't they tell my husband that when I specifically told them to.




some people will never "get it" until or unless they themselves are left to sit on pins and needles for a long weekend while awaiting their fate.  congrats to you, claire, for your clean bill of gyn health!


----------



## Sprout

Timothy said:


> OMG, I hope you feel better today! If and when you ever get a live, breathing human being on the phone, ask them to reset your password and send it to you in an email.
> 
> Check to make sure they have the correct email for you.
> 
> Good luck!



Thanks! I am feeling better today, but it may still have to wait until tomorrow. I'm more swollen and the last thing I want is to wait on hold for hours to finally get someone on the line and have them hang up on me because they can't understand what I'm saying! I'll take the swelling with the decreased pain, though! The funny thing is, for whatever reason my phone is ringing like crazy this morning. I've gotten more phone calls this morning than I usually do in 3 days. It's not really a bid deal for me, but probably not for for the people trying to understand me! The callers who don't know me probably just assume I'm either drunk or have a speech impediment.


----------



## Timothy

Sprout said:


> Thanks! I am feeling better today, but it may still have to wait until tomorrow. I'm more swollen and the last thing I want is to wait on hold for hours to finally get someone on the line and have them hang up on me because they can't understand what I'm saying! I'll take the swelling with the decreased pain, though! The funny thing is, for whatever reason my phone is ringing like crazy this morning. I've gotten more phone calls this morning than I usually do in 3 days. It's not really a bid deal for me, but probably not for for the people trying to understand me! The callers who don't know me probably just assume I'm either drunk or have a speech impediment.


 
Your typing is clear as a bell!

I understood every word of it!

When I went the route of Dentures, I had an Oral Surgeon remove every remaining tooth in my head and he also removed two tori and ground the jaw bone flat.

I've never been sorry for even a minute. It was pure hell for a week, but now I don't even remember what tooth pain feels like!

spork, I hope your misery passes as quickly as possible! Relax and take it as easy as you can and pamper yourself!


----------



## CWS4322

Why is it that people assume everyone has a cell phone/smart phone, text messaging, Internet access, and other such things? I have a cell phone, but because where I live, the coverage is lousy. It is a pay-as-you-go phone. I use it for road emergencies and an alarm clock. I don't have text messaging. Also, the reason I have a pay-as-you-go phone is because of the proximity of the US border. The roaming charges can be HORRIFIC. If I would forget to turn the other cell I had on to "no roaming" my monthly bill was almost more than my mortgage. But why is it people assume EVERYONE has these things and has the coverage one finds in metropolitan centers?


----------



## Barbara L

My vent is about our visit to the cemetery yesterday. We went and started the arrangements for my dad. Everything went great. Then Nancy and I went out to see my mom's, my grandparents', and my uncle's graves. We had trouble finding my uncle's (that whole section of the cemetery has the flat ground-level headstones). As we looked, we noticed that many of the headstones were partially or even fully covered with thick layers (sometimes several inches) of dirt, and some had been like that so long that grass was growing in the dirt. Nancy had said something about this the last time she went out there (she went down on Mother's Day). We both said something this time. Their excuse was that some of them are old and no one comes to visit them and the staff just hasn't gotten around to it. The personal service there is great. The grave maintenance is horrible.


----------



## chopper

I paid over 6000 dollars in July to get some dental work done which has been a lengthy process. I paid it up front because I then got 10% off the total for paying ahead of time. When I went in today the lady who checked me out said today's total was $900.00. I told her that she must be joking because I paid the bill ahead of time. She told me that she would check with the bookkeeper. Then she said that she would give me the option of paying it now or after talking to the bookkeeper. Boy was I mad. I said I didn't plan on paying at any time. 
Then she offered me a carnation. I should have told her where she could put the darn thing. I know it is a mistake, but it sure did get me mad. It's like she didn't believe me or something.


----------



## Timothy

chopper said:


> I paid over 6000 dollars in July to get some dental work done which has been a lengthy process. I paid it up front because I then got 10% off the total for paying ahead of time. When I went in today the lady who checked me out said today's total was $900.00. I told her that she must be joking because I paid the bill ahead of time. She told me that she would check with the bookkeeper. Then she said that she would give me the option of paying it now or after talking to the bookkeeper. Boy was I mad. I said I didn't plan on paying at any time.
> Then she offered me a carnation. I should have told her where she could put the darn thing. I know it is a mistake, but it sure did get me mad. It's like she didn't believe me or something.


You should have given her the choice of giving you a paid in full receipt or having a talk with your attorney. I assume that you did show her your reciept for the payment in advance.


----------



## chopper

Timothy said:
			
		

> You should have given her the choice of giving you a paid in full receipt or having a talk with your attorney. I assume that you did show her your reciept for the payment in advance.



I didn't have it with me, but I will the next time I go in...or before if need be!


----------



## Zhizara

chopper said:


> I didn't have it with me, but I will the next time I go in...or before if need be!



Be sure to make a photocopy of the document first, just in case it "accidently" disappears.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Facebook, where friends force guilt laden nothings down each other's throats and flood each other with the inane. Choking and drowning in the congestion.


----------



## Timothy

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Facebook, where friends force guilt laden nothings down each other's throats and flood each other with the inane. Choking and drowning in the congestion.


 
That pretty much sums it up for me as well.

sweetness, when applied thickly, sometimes can drown just like water.


----------



## chopper

Zhizara said:
			
		

> Be sure to make a photocopy of the document first, just in case it "accidently" disappears.



Thanks Z, I will do that. There is no way I will pay more money.


----------



## babetoo

some idiot in my neighborhood has decided to share his music with the rest of us. not only loud but repetitive. why do people do that. and insult on insult is the distortion.  it is making me nuts and all my windows are closed. ugh.


----------



## Dawgluver

babetoo said:
			
		

> some idiot in my neighborhood has decided to share his music with the rest of us. not only loud but repetitive. why do people do that. and insult on insult is the distortion.  it is making me nuts and all my windows are closed. ugh.



 Have you asked him to turn it down, Babe?  Barring that, have you called the cops on him?


----------



## Timothy

Dawgluver said:


> Have you asked him to turn it down, Babe? Barring that, have you called the cops on him?


 
People who have music so loud that it can be heard all over their neighborhood KNOW they are doing it and obviously couldn't care less what anyone else thinks about it.

I would go over and politely ask them to turn it down. One time.

Then call the police and explain to them that you've gone over and at what time and ask them to have a patrol car stop by and tell them to adjust the level of the music.

I had a similar problem with a rental next door to me. It turned out that after checking, there is NO noise level restrictions for my area. There was absolutely nothing that the police could do.

I ended up calling the owners of the property at 2am and asking them to stop by and see what they thought.

There has never been another problem since then.

Good luck Babe2. This type of thing can get nasty.


----------



## Alix

Holy heck in a handbasket! We've had some renos done this year and everytime I turn around there are MORE problems. All we had done was replace the deck and put in a patio. When we took the deck off, we realized the furnace exhaust was under the deck and back door. Bad. In getting a quote to fix this problem, it became clear that it would be more cost efficient to just replace the furnace. WELL...in doing THAT we have run into a whole host of issues. The dryer vent...the other vent...the hot water thing...and NOW...there is a gas leak in the furnace and it needs to get fixed ASAP. I am supposed to be going in to work tonight and I've got a jillion things that need doing. This is too important to ignore, so now once again, I'm WAITING for someone to call me, and to come fix something in the house. ARGH! 

Oh, and just to top it all off, my 19 year old kitty is not eating well. Not a huge deal for a regular cat, but she is diabetic so we run a little balancing act. How much insulin can we give her based on how much she has eaten. I can't bear to lose her right now. I hope like heck she eats something today.


----------



## Andy M.

Dealing with contractors can make you crazy!!!!  You have to wonder how some manage to stay in business with their total lack of customer service skills.


----------



## Alix

These guys all seem very pleasant and efficient, it just seems that every little thing that CAN go wrong DOES go wrong!


----------



## Timothy

Alix said:


> Holy heck in a handbasket! We've had some renos done this year and everytime I turn around there are MORE problems. All we had done was replace the deck and put in a patio. When we took the deck off, we realized the furnace exhaust was under the deck and back door. Bad. In getting a quote to fix this problem, it became clear that it would be more cost efficient to just replace the furnace. WELL...in doing THAT we have run into a whole host of issues. The dryer vent...the other vent...the hot water thing...and NOW...there is a gas leak in the furnace and it needs to get fixed ASAP. I am supposed to be going in to work tonight and I've got a jillion things that need doing. This is too important to ignore, so now once again, I'm WAITING for someone to call me, and to come fix something in the house. ARGH!
> 
> Oh, and just to top it all off, my 19 year old kitty is not eating well. Not a huge deal for a regular cat, but she is diabetic so we run a little balancing act. How much insulin can we give her based on how much she has eaten. I can't bear to lose her right now. I hope like heck she eats something today.


 
When my 19 year old cat Bammers was alive, the sure way to get him to eat was to give him a can of human Tuna. OMG, he loved that stuff!

I hope everything goes well with the cat who owns you, and he regains his appetite.


----------



## tinlizzie

Sometimes when home sweet home starts dropping parts and generally causing grief, you have to wonder if having a landlord would be all that bad.  But even with paying taxes, insurance, and fixing stuff (maybe losing value) - it's still pretty nice to have a home to call your own if you can.


----------



## roadfix

^^^  Yeah, even when you own your home free and clear paying prop taxes is like paying rent to the county to live in your own home.


----------



## Alix

This was warranty work so it didn't cost me anything. They were fast, apologetic for the initial error and its all done. Whew. I may actually make it to work on time.


----------



## Timothy

tinlizzie said:


> Sometimes when home sweet home starts dropping parts and generally causing grief, you have to wonder if having a landlord would be all that bad. But even with paying taxes, insurance, and fixing stuff (maybe losing value) - it's still pretty nice to have a home to call your own if you can.


 
That's so odd...I had a moment there...I was literally thinking almost those exact words to myself, just moments ago, while contemplating the upcoming roof replacement. You and I must have crossed the same intersection in the multi verse there for a few seconds. Then, I logged on here to review the new posts and there were my own thoughts just a moment ago, typed right out there in front of me.

I know, I know, "Great minds think alike", right tinlizzie?


----------



## Timothy

*OMG, I did dishes all evening!*

Like 6 loads of dishes!

I kept finding more dishes to wash! Seemed like all I did this evening! Fingernails are nice and clean now!

Kitchen is spiffy.

Counters are empty and clean.

Yeahhhhhh!


----------



## tinlizzie

Timothy said:


> That's so odd...I had a moment there...I was literally thinking almost those exact words to myself, just moments ago, while contemplating the upcoming roof replacement. You and I must have crossed the same intersection in the multi verse there for a few seconds. Then, I logged on here to review the new posts and there were my own thoughts just a moment ago, typed right out there in front of me.
> 
> I know, I know, "Great minds think alike", right tinlizzie?


 
I think we're in a big club, here, Timothy.

multi verse


----------



## babetoo

Timothy said:


> Like 6 loads of dishes!
> 
> I kept finding more dishes to wash! Seemed like all I did this evening! Fingernails are nice and clean now!
> 
> Kitchen is spiffy.
> 
> Counters are empty and clean.
> 
> Yeahhhhhh!


 
always amazing to  me how many dishes there are for just one person. i know i don't always do them right away and then they stack up. that is fairly recent behavior for me. my husband used to say that if i had a broken leg, i would do the dishes before i went to the hospital.


----------



## Claire

Oh, dear; a picture of my immediate future.  There will only be five of us for Thanksgiving, but I don't have a dishwasher and this can mean hours of washing up.


----------



## Claire

Timothy said:


> That's so odd...I had a moment there...I was literally thinking almost those exact words to myself, just moments ago, while contemplating the upcoming roof replacement. You and I must have crossed the same intersection in the multi verse there for a few seconds. Then, I logged on here to review the new posts and there were my own thoughts just a moment ago, typed right out there in front of me.
> 
> I know, I know, "Great minds think alike", right tinlizzie?



I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.  Replaced roof last month, and the gutter cleaner guy is still telling me the garage needs it.  Keeping "rain drops from falling on my head" was a priority, the garage will wait.  But, especially in winter in a 160 year old house, there is always something, and I often remember with fond-ness my old efficiency apartment in DC when I was single.


----------



## Andy M.

*Sometimes It Doesn't Pay To Get Out Of Bed*

I didn't sleep well last night and decided to just get up a little early.  I wanted to make bagels today.  Something I hadn't done in a couple of months as I wanted to take a break.  

I keep my KA mixer in a cabinet in the half bath/laundry room off the kitchen.  I carried it out and started the process.  Kneaded the dough and set it aside to rise.

While that was happening, I cleaned off the mixer and carried it back into the bathroom to put it away.  I set the mixer on the vanity and turned to open the doors so I could just move the mixer right in.  As I turned, I nudged the mixer just enough to tip it.  

It fell head first into the toilet, submerging the front of the mixer in the water and shattering the toilet base.

I called a friend who is a plumber and he sent me to a local plumbing supply to pick out a fixture.  He'll put it in tomorrow. 

I'll deal with the mixer later.

Sometimes It Doesn't Pay To Get Out Of Bed.


----------



## Timothy

Sorry to hear about your dificulties, Andy. That Murphy seems to always be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I hope it didn't make too much of a mess in your bathroom.


----------



## Andy M.

Timothy said:


> Sorry to hear about your dificulties, Andy. That Murphy seems to always be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
> 
> I hope it didn't make too much of a mess in your bathroom.




Thanks.  Not much of a mess.  The fixture is still holding water.  I just have to deal with the expense of the fixture replacement and I still don't know if the mixer is OK.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Oh my gosh Andy, what a terrible thing to happen. I am so sorry.


----------



## Zhizara

I hope you have another bathroom.  Looks like Murphy has it out for you today.  I hope your KA is okay.


----------



## roadfix

It took almost 30 months for my left frozen shoulder to heal and regain almost all range of motion in my arm.  That was almost 2 years ago.  Now I've injured my right shoulder several weeks ago, over-reaching, trying to retrieve my hanging bicycle from the garage rafter.  That shoulder has been going through it's freezing process, slowly limiting my range of motion.  I've been trying to counteract this by forced stretching but it's pretty painful.  I have a feeling I'm going to have to go through this entire shoulder "thawing" process all over again.  Man, I hate getting old.


----------



## Andy M.

JoAnn L. said:


> Oh my gosh Andy, what a terrible thing to happen. I am so sorry.





Zhizara said:


> I hope you have another bathroom.  Looks like Murphy has it out for you today.  I hope your KA is okay.




Thanks, ladies.  We have another bathroom so that's not an issue.  I'll just have to be running up and down stairs all day to use it.

I'm letting the KA dry for a bit before I turn it on.


----------



## tinlizzie

It's about time to run this Murphy person out of town!


----------



## Zhizara

Andy M. said:


> Thanks, ladies.  We have another bathroom so that's not an issue.  I'll just have to be running up and down stairs all day to use it.
> 
> I'm letting the KA dry for a bit before I turn it on.



That's a heck of a way to get more exercise.


----------



## Alix

My petty little vent is that I totally forgot to put baking soda in my oatmeal rhubarb loaf. BAH! It won't make a HUGE difference, but it will make some difference.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sorry Andy!  What a pain!  

Roadfix...Ow!  I feel for you, I'm having tough times with my shoulders now, makes life miserable.


----------



## taxlady

"Getting old isn't for sissies." Bette Davis


----------



## Sprout

Andy M. said:


> It fell head first into the toilet, submerging the front of the mixer in the water and shattering the toilet base.
> 
> I called a friend who is a plumber and he sent me to a local plumbing supply to pick out a fixture.  He'll put it in tomorrow.
> 
> I'll deal with the mixer later.
> 
> Sometimes It Doesn't Pay To Get Out Of Bed.




Your KA mixer *broke your toilet*!? Am I the only one amazed (and, I'm sorry to say it, a little impressed) that this is possible? Maybe you should keep that thing next to your bed at night in case there's ever an intruder. It'd probably do more damage than a baseball bat.
I'm pretty sure this is what I looked like a moment ago, only without the pi, or the pie


----------



## Sprout

Now that I've recovered from that, sorry about your luck! That stinks! I hope your KA is ok and that the replacement goes smoothly!


P.S. If it survives, my plans of one day buying a KA mixer (when I have kitchen larger than a handkerchief) will go from probable to definite.


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

Flintshire has a reputation for producing great soccer players, Ian Rush, Micheal Owen and Gary Speed. Speedo was a consumate professional and family man, he was last year at 42 yrs old appointed Welsh Soccer Manager.
A few yrs ago he turned up un announced with his beautiful wife and two kids to watch our local junior soccer tournament, he was recognized, he spent the afternoon signing autographs ect, I thanked him, he asked me if I had played, I told him I was no good and prefered to Box, I then spent some time with one of his sons who is a gifted amateur boxer.
This great human being killed himself on Sunday, the whole area is bereft. Please google Gary Speed a true gentleman.


----------



## LPBeier

Bolas, I am sorry for your loss.  It is hard when someone who is beloved by so many and is good at what they do but feel something is missing in their lives and feel they need to leave this life.  

Shortly before the NHL season began a former Canuck, Rick Rypien,  whom all fans loved took his own life as well.  He had just been given a contract with the Winnipeg Jets and our Canuck organization had done everything they could to help him sort out his emotional problems.  He was a scrapper - a small guy who would sense a game needed a diversion and would take on the biggest guy on the opposing team....and would often win.  Fans and players alike adored him.  But he couldn't see the good he was doing.

I related in many ways to Rick, and even though I never met him personally, I felt I had lost a friend.  You were able to meet Gary Speed and that memory will be with you forever.  

Even though these men took their own lives, they were victims - Not able to see all the good that others saw and unable (in their minds) to live up to that image.

I hope these words help to ease the pain a little.


----------



## Sprout

2 weeks ago on Monday I got all 4 wisdom teeth out. A week ago I had my follow-up and everything was healing well. Last Wednesday DD accidentally bashed me with her noggin on my lower left jaw. It swelled up a little again, but didn't hurt that much more. Since then, the 3 other areas have stopped hurting. I thought the one area was just hurting still because of the impact & I was still seeing improvement every day. The swelling was almost gone Sunday. Monday it was a tiny bit more swollen, but I figured I must have just rolled over onto it while I slept. Yesterday it started hurting more & by last night it was bad enough to take ibuprofen & I noticed that my top molar on that side rested on the bottom gums when I closed my mouth. The swelling & pain were even worse this morning so I called. I just got back from the office. It's infected. What I thought was swelling along my jaw from DD whacking me was actually a pocket of pus, & the gums on the bottom were filled, too. I'm pretty grossed out and a little annoyed. A friend of mine ate roasted chicken off the bone the day after hers, and was chomping as usual after a couple days. A week and a half of pureed and soft foods and 2 weeks of careful eating, salt water rinses, antibiotics (preventative), and flushing with that plastic syringe thingy and I'm infected. Lame.


----------



## Alix

There's no rhyme nor reason to the infection. My daughter was hypervigilant with the cleaning and still got infected. When I had mine done (long ago!) I was um...less than vigilant and sang in a musical the next day. No issues. You just got the short end of the stick this time.


----------



## Timothy

Sprout said:


> 2 weeks ago on Monday I got all 4 wisdom teeth out. A week ago I had my follow-up and everything was healing well. Last Wednesday DD accidentally bashed me with her noggin on my lower left jaw. It swelled up a little again, but didn't hurt that much more. Since then, the 3 other areas have stopped hurting. I thought the one area was just hurting still because of the impact & I was still seeing improvement every day. The swelling was almost gone Sunday. Monday it was a tiny bit more swollen, but I figured I must have just rolled over onto it while I slept. Yesterday it started hurting more & by last night it was bad enough to take ibuprofen & I noticed that my top molar on that side rested on the bottom gums when I closed my mouth. The swelling & pain were even worse this morning so I called. I just got back from the office. It's infected. What I thought was swelling along my jaw from DD whacking me was actually a pocket of pus, & the gums on the bottom were filled, too. I'm pretty grossed out and a little annoyed. A friend of mine ate roasted chicken off the bone the day after hers, and was chomping as usual after a couple days. A week and a half of pureed and soft foods and 2 weeks of careful eating, salt water rinses, antibiotics (preventative), and flushing with that plastic syringe thingy and I'm infected. Lame.


 
Sorry to hear you've had problems, Sprout! I hope the infection clears fast and you're back to your old self soon!


----------



## LPBeier

Sprout, I really feel for you, and agree with Alix.  Unfortunately all the precautions in the world may not stop an infection.  I learned that big time recently.  I hope and pray that now it has been caught you will start to feel better soon.  {{{{{{{{{{Sprout}}}}}}}}}}


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, Sprout, that truly sucks.  Hope you are disinfected soon!  (guess that's "uninfected").


----------



## PrincessFiona60

So sorry, Sprout!  That hurts!  Get better soon!  Hugs!


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) Sprout. Get well soon.


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

Thanks LPB, I was a bit angry, the coal man was delivering and he mentioned he was in a local pub when he and a few friends were talking about Speedo. They were joined by an Englishman who after a while started asking strange questions. He was a  reporter for the a scum tabloid, it got nasty our coal man delivers 10 x112lb sacks on his back from the lorry to my bunker(50 yrds) without breaking into a sweat.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Bolas De Fraile said:
			
		

> Thanks LPB, I was a bit angry, the coal man was delivering and he mentioned he was in a local pub when he and a few friends were talking about Speedo. They were joined by an Englishman who after a while started asking strange questions. He was a  reporter for the a scum tabloid, it got nasty our coal man delivers 10 x112lb sacks on his back from the lorry to my bunker(50 yrds) without breaking into a sweat.



Hmmm, not someone I'd want to pick a fight with.


----------



## Timothy

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Hmmm, not someone I'd want to pick a fight with.


 
If the guy can carry 10 112lb sacks at once, it would be crazy to try to fight him. He must look like the Hulk.


----------



## vitauta

i am outraged and disgusted at hearing a local story of a married couple recently arrested for animal cruelty.  turns out, not only were they horribly mistreating their many animals and pets, but they were engaged in killing black bears and selling their gall bladders for thousands of dollars each.  apparently, bear gall bladders have very highly regarded medicinal applications, and are sold, primarily to other countries for large sums of money.  this kind of illegal organ selling, human or animal, makes me sick, sick, sick....


----------



## Alix

Bought a Kindle on my account for a friend to give to his wife for Christmas. The total was $208 according to the email I got from Amazon. The charge on my card was $223. Um...what? I ordered from the Canadian site so there shouldn't be any exchange or anything. I'm NOT happy. Amazon is following up, but told me to contact my credit card company. I've done THAT and had the run around. Grrrr.


----------



## bakechef

Forgetting to put your work clothes into the dryer and only reailizing that fact 10 minutes before having to go to work!  It's going to be a damp start to work....  Not the first time that I've done this!


----------



## CWS4322

bakechef said:


> Forgetting to put your work clothes into the dryer and only reailizing that fact 10 minutes before having to go to work! It's going to be a damp start to work.... Not the first time that I've done this!


 Sounds as if JoshuaNY might have another potential client .


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I locked myself out of the apartment for the second time in two days.  Up the steps, check my pockets, no keys.  Woke Shrek up, again!  Maybe I better increase my coffee intake before work.


----------



## Sprout

bakechef said:


> Forgetting to put your work clothes into the dryer and only reailizing that fact 10 minutes before having to go to work!  It's going to be a damp start to work....  Not the first time that I've done this!



Done that so many times!

Thanks for the sympathy, everyone. It actually felt loads better after he drained it. It could have been worse, I could have gotten a dry socket.

Bolas, how are you doing there, man? Sorry about your loss.


----------



## Sprout

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I locked myself out of the apartment for the second time in two days.  Up the steps, check my pockets, no keys.  Woke Shrek up, again!  Maybe I better increase my coffee intake before work.



You need locks on your doors? I thought that's what the "Keep Out. Ogre" signs were for...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> You need locks on your doors? I thought that's what the "Keep Out. Ogre" signs were for...



It's to keep Shrek_ IN_ while I'm at work


----------



## LPBeier

Sprout said:


> You need locks on your doors? I thought that's what the "Keep Out. Ogre" signs were for...


----------



## Sprout

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It's to keep Shrek_ IN_ while I'm at work


----------



## Andy M.

As a follow-up to my earlier mixer/commode vent, the commode has been replaced and the mixer is working as of this morning to make chocolate chip cookies.

Here is what the damage looked like.


----------



## tinlizzie

Wow.  Paper, scissors, rock, KA mixer.


----------



## Timothy

Wow Andy, I would think you be tempted to send those pics, along with a description of the accident to KA and tell them how impressed you are with their product!

Right up there with Timex!

Takes a lickin and keeps on tickin!

It's sure impressed me!


----------



## Andy M.

Timothy said:


> Wow Andy, I would think you be tempted to send those pics, along with a description of the accident to KA and tell them how impressed you are with their product!
> 
> Right up there with Timex!
> 
> Takes a lickin and keeps on tickin!
> 
> It's sure impressed me!




Good idea, Tim!


----------



## msmofet

Timothy said:


> Wow Andy, I would think you be tempted to send those pics, along with a description of the accident to KA and tell them how impressed you are with their product!
> 
> Right up there with Timex!
> 
> *Takes a lickin and keeps on tickin!*
> 
> It's sure impressed me!


 
*Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin mixin'!*

(I'd wash it *REAL* good first!!)


----------



## Andy M.

msmofet said:


> *Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin mixin'!*
> 
> (I'd wash it *REAL* good first!!)



I left it to dry since the incident then cleaned it thoroughly with a bleach solution to sanitize it.  

I just used it to mix s very thick CC cookie batter and it worked normally.


----------



## msmofet

Andy M. said:


> I left it to dry since the incident then cleaned it thoroughly with a bleach solution to sanitize it.
> 
> I just used it to mix s very thick CC cookie batter and it worked normally.


 WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO That's great. I was worried about water damage.


----------



## Andy M.

The plumber told me water damage is more of an issue with electronics and that it usually isn't an issue with electric motors.


----------



## Timothy

Andy M. said:


> The plumber told me water damage is more of an issue with electronics and that it usually isn't an issue with electric motors.


 
Yes, shorting between components is the worry. As long as you dry out the motor well and no water remains caught within the motor, it shouldn't become a problem.

With electronics, very often, there is a slight bit of power on at all times. It may be only a simple EPROM (Erasable/Programmable/Read Only Memory.

Those chips can hold a charge for more than a decade with no power source other then thier own.

When wet, they cause a short between the components in the chip and fry the works.

That's why electronics can be fried even when they aren't plugged in.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Andy M. said:


> As a follow-up to my earlier mixer/commode vent, the commode has been replaced and the mixer is working as of this morning to make chocolate chip cookies.
> 
> Here is what the damage looked like.




All that toilet needs is a little duct tape!


----------



## Andy M.

Aunt Bea said:


> All that toilet needs is a little duct tape!


----------



## CWS4322

I don't know about calling the plumber--I've replaced a toilet (successfully) and I'm a klutz when it comes to DYI projects. It is fairly easy to replace a toilet (if I can do it).


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> All that toilet needs is a little duct tape!



Oh yeah!!! never even notice the difference.


----------



## Somebunny

Yeah but does duct tape come in that fleshy peach color?   Rofl!


----------



## LPBeier

Somebunny said:


> Yeah but does duct tape come in that fleshy peach color?   Rofl!


Michael's "Duck" Tape probably does....but it probably doesn't have the hold of the silver.  Besides, Duct tape NEEDS to be silver....it just gives it that special look.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

I'm going to vent about a neighbor. They live upstairs and have a black lab mix. The girl called me a b-word a couple of days ago, because I have called and complained about the dog's constant barking. It's not the dog's fault. It's kept inside all day long when they're at work. Labs need exercise, and I think it's cruel to keep the dog in a small apartment for that long. They walk the dog, but only so she can go to the bathroom. Then, it's back to the apartment.

I don't know if I have vented about neighbors before.  If I have, I am sorry.  These people get on my nerves.


----------



## Dawgluver

Vanilla Bean said:
			
		

> I'm going to vent about a neighbor. They live upstairs and have a black lab mix. The girl called me a b-word a couple of days ago, because I have called and complained about the dog's constant barking. It's not the dog's fault. It's kept inside all day long when they're at work. Labs need exercise, and I think it's cruel to keep the dog in a small apartment for that long. They walk the dog, but only so she can go to the bathroom. Then, it's back to the apartment.
> 
> I don't know if I have vented about neighbors before.  If I have, I am sorry.  These people get on my nerves.



I hear ya, VB.  There is nothing more annoying, and oh, that poor dog!  Do you have nuisance laws, and could you call the cops or talk to the landlord?


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Dawgluver said:


> I hear ya, VB. There is nothing more annoying, and oh, that poor dog! Do you have nuisance laws, and could you call the cops or talk to the landlord?


I live in an apartment complex, and I had to report it to management.  During off hours, they have a security service.

Like I said, I don't blame the dog.  It's not her fault, and I think she is neglected.  I think someone in the management office has called them, but they don't seem to do anything about it.  There are so many parks around here the dog could run in or be walked.


----------



## Timothy

Vanilla Bean said:


> I live in an apartment complex, and I had to report it to management. During off hours, they have a security service.
> 
> Like I said, I don't blame the dog. It's not her fault, and I think she is neglected. I think someone in the management office has called them, but they don't seem to do anything about it. There are so many parks around here the dog could run in or be walked.


It's a crying shame that lots of people get a dog and then treat it as if it were invisible. Some folks just don't realize that a dog is much like a human in the respect that it needs companionship and love to be truly happy. Treating a dog as if it were a robotic guard will result in a moody, unpredictable animal who doesn't like it's life and that spells trouble for the dog and the owners of it.


----------



## Chef Munky

We had a next door neighbor like that a few years ago. They had a Rottweiler that they kept chained 24/7 in the back yard. They were rarely home so the dog barked all day, all night. It would then set off every dog in the neighborhood. Their back yard and where they had that dog chained was outside my kids bedroom windows. Nobody was getting any sleep.

I bought a dog whistle to no avail. It worked long enough to get the dogs attention then it would just start up again.

One day I was playing with my Golden Retriever in the front yard. Taking a break from some yard work. He started barking as we were playing ball and tug of war.

The neighbors just happened to be having a garage sale going on at the time. All kinds of people were around.One of my sons had complained to me to stop playing and making him bark. They the neighbors, were looking at me annoyed by his barking. I didn't really care. What was the problem? Having trouble concentrating on haggling a microwave with someone? Is my precious getting on YOUR nerves?

To which I said to my son, loud enough for all the neighbors to hear.

 NO!..  If I have to listen to their damn dog barking 24/7 they can listen to MY dog. At least I'M interacting with MY dog! I can't say they would do the same.

That got their attention. More from being embarrassed in public like that. But you know it worked.
After that every time that dog so much as squeaked somebody opened up the door to shush her up. They moved not long after that. Funny how they couldn't answer the door. Ignored notes on the windshields it took some verbal public embarrassment to put an end to it.

I wish you luck.

Munky.


----------



## babetoo

i have vented about this before. today it has ticked me off again. if we can put a man on the moon, why can't we have newsprint that doesn't come off on fingers. after i read the newspaper it looks as though i have been digging in coal dust. yuck!!!!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Chef Munky said:


> We had a next door neighbor like that a few years ago. They had a Rottweiler that they kept chained 24/7 in the back yard. They were rarely home so the dog barked all day, all night. It would then set off every dog in the neighborhood. Their back yard and where they had that dog chained was outside my kids bedroom windows. Nobody was getting any sleep.
> 
> I bought a dog whistle to no avail. It worked long enough to get the dogs attention then it would just start up again.
> 
> One day I was playing with my Golden Retriever in the front yard. Taking a break from some yard work. He started barking as we were playing ball and tug of war.
> 
> The neighbors just happened to be having a garage sale going on at the time. All kinds of people were around.One of my sons had complained to me to stop playing and making him bark. They the neighbors, were looking at me annoyed by his barking. I didn't really care. What was the problem? Having trouble concentrating on haggling a microwave with someone? Is my precious getting on YOUR nerves?
> 
> To which I said to my son, loud enough for all the neighbors to hear.
> 
> NO!.. If I have to listen to their damn dog barking 24/7 they can listen to MY dog. At least I'M interacting with MY dog! I can't say they would do the same.
> 
> That got their attention. More from being embarrassed in public like that. But you know it worked.
> After that every time that dog so much as squeaked somebody opened up the door to shush her up. They moved not long after that. Funny how they couldn't answer the door. Ignored notes on the windshields it took some verbal public embarrassment to put an end to it.
> 
> I wish you luck.
> 
> Munky.


 
Thank you for your post.

I know their apartment is the same size as mine.  It almost sounds like they keep her in a cage when their gone.  I'm not certain of that, though.  Sometimes, I think I should just mind my own business.


----------



## Chef Munky

Vanilla Bean said:


> Thank you for your post.
> 
> I know their apartment is the same size as mine.  It almost sounds like they keep her in a cage when their gone.  I'm not certain of that, though.  Sometimes, I think I should just mind my own business.



I don't think you should have to mind your own business. That dogs being neglected to the point it's diturbing your rights as a tenant. Her rights as well. If you suspect and it's constantly in one location, you bet she's locked up. If not in a bathroom, maybe a crate. I have a Lab mix, she goes insane in confinement. To this day doors have to be left open for her peace of mind. She's a rescue. 

You can call the Manager again. Take notes on the time you do.
If you can't get anywhere with them, call the police. Animal Control. 

You could also, if push comes to shove ask your Landlord if they can afford to lose you as Tenant in this economy? I'm sure if your Landlord put it to them, " Keep Fiffy happy or lose your apmt and deposit." They most likely had to pay a hefty one to have a dog that size, who's coming out the winner? I'm sure they can't afford to move either. Not alot of Apmts around here allow dogs that size.

Or you know if you wanted to play nice. Ignore her comment towards you and take the upper hand.

Ask them if you have the time and could  do it. If while they're at work, offer to dog sit for them. That way everyone's  happy. Hard feeling are forgotten. The Pup has companionship she's wanting during the day.


Munky.


----------



## SharonT

babetoo said:


> i have vented about this before. today it has ticked me off again. if we can put a man on the moon, why can't we have newsprint that doesn't come off on fingers. after i read the newspaper it looks as though i have been digging in coal dust. yuck!!!!



I recently discovered (from watching "Downton Abbey") that servants used to iron papers so that the ink would set and not dirty the fingers of m'lord and m'lady.   (Great series, Downton Abbey.  I think season 2 airs in America in January?)


----------



## babetoo

SharonT said:


> I recently discovered (from watching "Downton Abbey") that servants used to iron papers so that the ink would set and not dirty the fingers of m'lord and m'lady. (Great series, Downton Abbey. I think season 2 airs in America in January?)


 

sure wish i had someone to that for me. guess m'lady will just have to put up with it.


----------



## bakechef

SharonT said:
			
		

> I recently discovered (from watching "Downton Abbey") that servants used to iron papers so that the ink would set and not dirty the fingers of m'lord and m'lady.   (Great series, Downton Abbey.  I think season 2 airs in America in January?)



That's an awesome series, can't wait for season 2!


----------



## Timothy

bakechef said:


> That's an awesome series, can't wait for season 2!


 
Thanks folks! I just added it to my Instant Queue on Netflix.

Apparently, it has 7 episodes. I found no reference to there being any ongoing seasons of the show.


"Exposing the snobbery, backbiting and machinations of a disappearing class system, this seven-part British series chronicles the comings and goings of the upper-crust Crawley family and their assorted servants. Ensconced in their stately manor, the Crawleys delight in their aristocratic life -- until the sinking of the _RMS Titanic_ in 1912 muddles their line of inheritance. Maggie Smith plays the sneering Dowager Countess of Grantham."


----------



## SharonT

Timothy said:


> found no reference to there being any ongoing seasons of the show."



Season 2 continues into the war years.  It's aired in the UK already, and I think it comes to the US in January... not positive about that.


----------



## Timothy

SharonT said:


> Season 2 continues into the war years. It's aired in the UK already, and I think it comes to the US in January... not positive about that.


 
How cool is that? Thank you for that information, Sharon, I read your first post and just forgot that you'd already said that.

My mind is getting dim.

Dim Tim


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Does anyone have a cure for the flu?  I think that's what I've got. I'm all achy, etc. It seems like I had this a couple months ago.  Things are still getting done, just at a slower pace.


----------



## Timothy

Vanilla Bean said:


> Does anyone have a cure for the flu?  I think that's what I've got. I'm all achy, etc. It seems like I had this a couple months ago. Things are still getting done, just at a slower pace.


 
Yes, I have one that works every time: Drink plenty of fluids, eat lots of broths and cooked veggies and sleep about 20 hours a day until you're over it!

Other than that, I think you're stuck with it for awhile. Sorry to hear you're not feeling well.

Get well soon!


----------



## vitauta

Vanilla Bean said:


> Does anyone have a cure for the flu?  I think that's what I've got. I'm all achy, etc. It seems like I had this a couple months ago.  Things are still getting done, just at a slower pace.




sorry you're feeling bad, vb, but i doubt it's the flu you've got--NOTHING would be getting done if it were.  spoon in some hot chicken broth sprinkled w/dill weed....feel better!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Thanks Timothy and vit!  I wish I had all the stuff to make that cauliflower soup I posted.  That sure would taste good.


----------



## Alix

Vanilla Bean said:


> Does anyone have a cure for the flu?  I think that's what I've got. I'm all achy, etc. It seems like I had this a couple months ago.  Things are still getting done, just at a slower pace.



Nothing to be done but rest and fluids unfortunately. If you have chest involvement do not hesitate to see the Dr. Its important!


----------



## tinlizzie

SharonT said:


> Season 2 continues into the war years. It's aired in the UK already, and I think it comes to the US in January... not positive about that.


 
Another Downton fan here.  I also liked the Cranford story very much.  BBC does those period pieces so very well.  And the series Foyle's War, a detective series set in WWII.

This being the Vent thread, I'll complain about the cracked disc I just got from Netflix.  Seems like if I order something very recent or "must-see," there are scratches or other damage.  This one was obviously broken.


----------



## Sprout

I know I'm perpetuating the problem by posting this here, but only sort of since I'm not praising or bashing. I just need to say that I am so sick of hearing about Twilight!!!! Almost daily I see some sort of facebook post or youtube video gone viral bashing the franchise. Most of them are made by adults. Do people really have nothing better to do with their time? I enjoyed the books, but I can certainly agree that the obsession with them got a little out of hand. However, people seem to be forgetting. Obsessing is what teenage girls do! It's practically hardwired into the female DNA to obsess about things when they're that age. (Teenage boys do it, too, btw. Video games, sports, etc.)

Do people realize that by constantly repeating the same that-was-hilarious-the-first-70-times-I-heard-it cracks about the plotline, characters, and movies, they are just fueling the fire? Nothing solidifies a teenage girl's devotion like feeling the need to defend her imaginary character(s) against ridicule. 

Yes, the franchise has some adult fans as well, but no one over the age of 15 is claiming that these stories have any artistic significance. No one is saying that they are intelligent, witty, thought-inspiring works that will become sure classics. No one is placing Twilight among the works of Shakespeare, Hemingway, Bradbury, McCarthy, Wells, or Austen. No one is claiming the movies are the next Shawshank Redemption or even the next Gladiator. They are entertainment, plain and simple. They are the Road Trip, or Super Troupers of their genre, for their audience. They're not meant to inspire, just to entertain and make money. 

They are not even close to worthy of all this backlash.


----------



## Alix

Sprout, eloquently said. And you're completely right.


----------



## Timothy

I may be the only person who has not seen nor read any of the Twilight saga. I like my vampires to be more realistic and traditional with lots of dark night neck biting and such. Turning it into a love story ruins it for me.

But I guess that's the difference between a "chick-flick" and a "Man-movie".

There was a series of books where the lead vampire was a policeman. I think it had about 3 books in all. They were well written and I enjoyed them. Anyone know the ones I'm talking about? The time period was now and there was a lot of "vampire science" in the stories.


----------



## Andy M.

Timothy said:


> I may be the only person who has not seen nor read any of the Twilight saga...




You're not the only one...


----------



## Timothy

Andy M. said:


> You're not the only one...


 Well then, now I don't feel as badly about it. I do have the first CD on my wish list for Netflix. I think it's on the next mailing.


----------



## Alix

My eyelid is twitching! AAAAAAAAAAAA!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> You're not the only one...


 
Ditto here!


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:
			
		

> You're not the only one...



What's Twilight?  (jk)

Give me Anne Rice-style vampires anytime.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Buffy Fan, here!


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

I am proud to be a British. I am proud to be part of Europe.The prime minister of this miss begotten coalition has cast us into the European wilderness.The man is an imbecile


----------



## Claire

Boy, am I out of touch.  What is Twilight?  What does it have to do with the EU?  Duh.


----------



## Timothy

Claire said:


> Boy, am I out of touch. What is Twilight? What does it have to do with the EU? Duh.


 
I have no idea what the EU and this series has in common. Other than Vampire Legends being of European Origin.

The Twilight Saga is a series of supernatural romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four Twilight series novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. The films star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The series has grossed over $2 billion in worldwide receipts and consists, to date, of four motion pictures. The first installment Twilight was released on November 21, 2008. The second installment, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, followed on November 20, 2009, breaking box office records as the biggest midnight screening and opening day in history, grossing an estimated $72.7 million. The third installment, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, was released on June 30, 2010, and is the first Twilight film to be released in IMAX.


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

Claire said:


> Boy, am I out of touch.  What is Twilight?  What does it have to do with the EU?  Duh.


Nothing I was just having a rant. Please carry on.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Buffy Fan, here!



Yeah, well, that was well written. I already knew you liked stuff (Firefly) by Joss Whedon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Yeah, well, that was well written. I already knew you liked stuff (Firefly) by Joss Whedon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



I even have the t-shirts...


----------



## babetoo

tried to watch steven king's bag of bones first half on last night, i won't be watching the second. i appears impossible for hollywood to translate his books to the screen. the only scene that was true to book, was when the bus hit his wife. i actually gasped when i saw it. it was all down hill from there. what was done to "the shining" was just so wrong.


----------



## Aunt Bea

babetoo said:


> tried to watch steven king's bag of bones first half on last night, i won't be watching the second. i appears impossible for hollywood to translate his books to the screen. the only scene that was true to book, was when the bus hit his wife. i actually gasped when i saw it. it was all down hill from there. what was done to "the shining" was just so wrong.



I agree.  

I enjoy Stephen King books but, some of  the movies turn into some sort of cartoonish odd comedies.  For me the movie is always better if I have not read the book first.


----------



## tinlizzie

I've spent the better part of an hour looking in last year's receipts for a particular bill.  Haven't found it yet.  I do save so much paperwork -- receipts, legal docs, and of course tax returns -- and try to file it logically.  Most of the time I find whatever I'm looking for, but often at the cost of time and plain old frustration.  I get so annoyed and wish I could just pitch or shred or burn everything and be done with it, but that would just produce more frustration and time spent trying to recreate or re-document when something comes up.  I don't envy my kids when it falls to them to go through this garbage; but since it probably won't mean anything to them, maybe it won't be so bad.  An oil drum and a match should work nicely.


----------



## roadfix

^^^  An oil drum and a match won't work for me since I live in the city.
Using a shredder, I've shredded thousands of pieces of old receipts and docs over the last couple of years.  Aside from what can't be filed electronically I keep a large 4 drawer file cabinet, but not nearly as full as it used to be.  This is one area which has simplified my life.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> ^^^ An oil drum and a match won't work for me since I live in the city.


I wouldn't let that stop me. Ah, the beauty of seeing a whole block lit up. 

So I go to run an errand in the morning, come home, take a pill. Pill makes me very sleepy. I give in  and go into a deep sleep. Door bell rings. I jump up, or I should say top half of body jumps up. Bottom half like jelly and still asleep. I must report. Muscle relaxers *really* work. Have to get to buzzer to let med guy with new prescription in. Uh, oh. I am in trouble. Body wants to go back to sleep on the floor. Down I go. Had the good sense to lean against the bed as I slid down to the floor. Don't want a broken hip. Med guy had the good sense to walk in when I don't answer the door. He knows I am always home at this hour. Sees me on the floor. Runs to get help. By now I am wide awake, but bottom half of body still like jelly. 

Ah, good ole 911. Paramedics come along with a bunch of residents of the building. Check me out to make sure no broken bones. Pick me up and put me back on my bed where I should have stayed in the first place. All is well. Go back to your own apartments folks. Excitement is all over. So I stay in bed for the next hour. Tea time at six o'clock. Don't want to miss it. So I slowly sit up. Put feet on the floor. Aaah! Jelly body gone. Make it over to scooter. Go to Tea Time in Community Room. Big mistake!!! Have to relate what happened all over again for those who might have missed it. Stayed long enough to be polite. Come back upstairs.

I seemed to have become the Drama Queen of the building. A title I really don't want. Paramedics and I have become good friends and on first name basis. I see more of them than I do my kids. 

*Report*. This city has recognized that the elderly population is on the rise. And they hold seminars for people who come in contact with them on a regular basis. They are taught, that if you suspect that an elderly person might be in trouble, call 911. Don't wait for an invite. Did I feel embarrassed? Not in the least. I am just grateful that my med delivery man knew me well enough to walk in and find me on the floor. (Still fully clothed.) 

HELP!!! I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP! I will never make fun of that ad again. I have a whole city looking out for me. 

Okay. Vent over! Thank you for listening.


----------



## tinlizzie

Good grief, Addie!  I imagine that was a lot more excitement than you expected as the result of taking a pill.  I'm glad that all's well that ends well.

I've not made fun of that slogan since becoming a 'senior.'   But for me these days it's now revised to address electronics:  "Help - I've fallen behind and I can't catch up".  I wonder if I can get away with just ignoring all the gadgetry.  Oh, and where did I leave my buggy whip.


----------



## mudbug

Claire, Bolas was referring (obliquely) to David Cameron, British PM.  Quite a few people in addition to Bolas are very unhappy with him.

Cameron


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I seemed to have become the Drama Queen of the building. A title I really don't want. Paramedics and I have become good friends and on first name basis. I see more of them than I do my kids.



At least they are good folks to be on a first name basis  Be careful, I don't want you to get a broken hip, either.  Nasty things.


----------



## Timothy

Addie, I know exactly how you felt! I went to sleep one time in the Army, with my knees over the railing of the cot I was sleeping on. Well, it must have cut off the circulation to my lower legs, because when I awoke, my legs were totally numb from the knee down. It scared the hell out of me at the time. Everyone else was running out of the building into formation in the front and I'm laying on the floor wallowing around like a fish out of water. The blood flow started again and in 5 minutes, I was up and running.

I'm glad your adventure turned out well.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie,

I'm glad you are all right!

Your story brought back memories of my mother.  She used to be on a first name basis with the paramedics.  I would call to check in on her and she would say the Chipmunks were here last night.  She meant the Chippendales but at 91 it always came out as the Chipmunks!  Those young fellas were her big thrill and I think they got a kick out of her too.


----------



## CharlieD

I cannot stand when people do half - ars job. My DFIL has a plumbing supply store so i asked if he can get me a certain faucet, well guess what he sent me a half of the faucet and fromm a manufacturer that is not compatible with anybody, so I cannot even walk into a store and buy the piece that i need. And the worst part I vcannot even say anything to him, so he would not explode and tell me that I told him the wrong thing. Grrrrrr. I just want to scream.


----------



## CWS4322

So--I live on a dirt road. I went into the village this a.m. to get a few things for the last batches of cookies. I was 1 km from the house (on the dirt road) and all of the sudden the car behind me started flashing blue and red. I was in my "house clothes," my wallet was on the kitchen table because I was cleaning it out to have it ready for my trip to CT tomorrow....the "cop" was very nice. He followed me home and let me go inside and get my wallet, insurance policy (that card was also in my wallet), tried to make friends with Myrtle, and didn't give me a ticket. But geez, is policing such that you pull s/one over on a dirt road for a dirty license plate? No fine, no ticket, but my heart was pounding!


----------



## CharlieD

CW, he must have been prettu biard.


----------



## Timothy

CWS4322 said:


> So--I live on a dirt road. I went into the village this a.m. to get a few things for the last batches of cookies. I was 1 km from the house (on the dirt road) and all of the sudden the car behind me started flashing blue and red. I was in my "house clothes," my wallet was on the kitchen table because I was cleaning it out to have it ready for my trip to CT tomorrow....the "cop" was very nice. He followed me home and let me go inside and get my wallet, insurance policy (that card was also in my wallet), tried to make friends with Myrtle, and didn't give me a ticket. But geez, is policing such that you pull s/one over on a dirt road for a dirty license plate? No fine, no ticket, but my heart was pounding!


 
I understand, CWS, I hate being pulled over by a cop too. It always makes me start stuttering and my hands start shaking. I don't know why I get that reaction, but it's always the same.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> I understand, CWS, I hate being pulled over by a cop too. It always makes me start stuttering and my hands start shaking. I don't know why I get that reaction, but it's always the same.


I hear ya on that one. I don't drive and if the car I am in gets pulled over I am a nervous wreck. How am I going to get home if the cop takes the driver in? All sorts of panic thoughts race through my head. Once my daughter got pulled over. The cop wanted to see who the handicap placard was for. She only displays it when I am in the car. She used it once when I wasn't and sure enough, she got caught. She works for the Registry and could have lost her job. Lesson learned. The cop just confiscated the placard. She got me a new one the next day.


----------



## Claire

God, what an Idiot I am.  I'm usually much more up on things British (or international for that matter) affairs/culture than people I know around here because of my background, but movie references that are modern evade me, and EU politics we don't hear about unless they explode and wind up on BBC/America half-hour broadcast at 6.  Subtleties go over my head, especially if they refer to modern popular culture (now, if it was a ten plus year old TV series, maybe I'd get it!)


----------



## Claire

My latest gripe hasn't quite come to fruition.  Yesterday morning a water main broke near our house.  I wasn't home, and my husband was distracted by some home repairs we have a contractor working on.  We had no water for a couple of hours, and were warned of it, and told that once the water was flowing again we'd be under a "boil drinking water" warning until further notice.  Now, this doesn't aggravate me since this isn't the first 19th century community I've lived in (love the ambience, pay for it in these sorts of things).  But if I'd been home it might have occurred to me to fill pitchers with drinking water and to fill a bucket or two with water to flush the toilet with.  

What I'm wondering is if the city (actually a small town of about 3300) will think to notify me, especially as it is segueing into the weekend, when the "boil water" order is not needed.  I spent the afternoon boiling water, so have a few gallons of drinking water stored, but knowing city hall, I'll probably be boiling water long after the order is rescinded.  I'll try to remember to call them before they close for the weekend today.  As it is, it is only an irritation, not a catastrophe.


----------



## babetoo

not sure this is the right thread for this. it is slowing down my getting christmas stuff finished up. couple days ago , while using grab bar to get out of the shower, i felt something snap, tear, whatever  in my right arm. it really hurt. two days later a baseball size bruise appears. i have never had nor have i ever seen a bruise like this.it is not tender to the touch. by yesterday was finally able to use that arm . couldn't believe how much it limited my motion . doesn't hurt at all anymore. it really ticked me off . i have no clue what happened but think it is o.k. now.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> not sure this is the right thread for this. it is slowing down my getting christmas stuff finished up. couple days ago , while using grab bar to get out of the shower, i felt something snap, tear, whatever  in my right arm. it really hurt. two days later a baseball size bruise appears. i have never had nor have i ever seen a bruise like this.it is not tender to the touch. by yesterday was finally able to use that arm . couldn't believe how much it limited my motion . doesn't hurt at all anymore. it really ticked me off . i have no clue what happened but think it is o.k. now.



No lump or warmth when it happened?  A blood vessel may have broken when you flexed your arm.  Keep an eye on it.  But, if there is no pain now, that is what I guess may have happened.  Anything odd about it or the pain returns, get it checked.


----------



## Timothy

babetoo said:


> not sure this is the right thread for this. it is slowing down my getting christmas stuff finished up. couple days ago , while using grab bar to get out of the shower, i felt something snap, tear, whatever in my right arm. it really hurt. two days later a baseball size bruise appears. i have never had nor have i ever seen a bruise like this.it is not tender to the touch. by yesterday was finally able to use that arm . couldn't believe how much it limited my motion . doesn't hurt at all anymore. it really ticked me off . i have no clue what happened but think it is o.k. now.


 
Easy does it with the break-dancing in the shower, Babe2! Ya can't be bustin a move with all that water and soap on the floor! Be careful, please!


----------



## tinlizzie

babetoo said:


> not sure this is the right thread for this. it is slowing down my getting christmas stuff finished up. couple days ago , while using grab bar to get out of the shower, i felt something snap, tear, whatever in my right arm. it really hurt. two days later a baseball size bruise appears. i have never had nor have i ever seen a bruise like this.it is not tender to the touch. by yesterday was finally able to use that arm . couldn't believe how much it limited my motion . doesn't hurt at all anymore. it really ticked me off . i have no clue what happened but think it is o.k. now.


 
Hope this episode doesn't hinder the raising of the elbow for the holidays!


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> Hope this episode doesn't hinder the raising of the elbow for the holidays!


 
Well, if it hinders her, who gets her share? Can't let good stuff just sit there.


----------



## tinlizzie

Addie said:


> Well, if it hinders her, who gets her share? Can't let good stuff just sit there.


 
Now, now, Addie.  Let's all just simmer down and have a drink.  I think you'd better not be messin' with Babetoo's stuff.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> Now, now, Addie. Let's all just simmer down and have a drink. I think you'd better not be messin' with Babetoo's stuff.


 
HIC


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> HIC


 
What? 

Oh, I thought you were talking to me! "Hic" is my handle on the Distilling Group I belong to. ha!


----------



## tinlizzie

Addie said:


> HIC


 
So I was trying to figure out what the acronym HIC stands for, Addie.  Duh!  Excuse me while I slap my palm to my forehead. I'm developing a callus on my palm.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> So I was trying to figure out what the acronym HIC stands for, Addie. Duh! Excuse me while I slap my palm to my forehead. I'm developing a callus on my palm.


 

And to think I come here voluntarily!


----------



## Rocklobster

Hello. The furnace on my house  died yesterday. I needs a new one. Furnace guy can't get there until next Tuesday or Wednesday.  Fortunately, my daughter and her mother are gone for the holidays so no one is in the house. Except the cat. I am going there everyday to feed him and turn on heaters if necessary. It could be worse. We are having a mild winter so far. But, still, 3,500 balloons at xmas. And me not working full time. Darn!  Thankfully, we have a bit tucked away in a rainy day account. Big bummer. I may have to go and get a real job sooner than planned.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Rocklobster said:


> Hello. The furnace on my house  died yesterday. I needs a new one. Furnace guy can't get there until next Tuesday or Wednesday.  Fortunately, my daughter and her mother are gone for the holidays so no one is in the house. Except the cat. I am going there everyday to feed him and turn on heaters if necessary. It could be worse. We are having a mild winter so far. But, still, 3,500 balloons at xmas. And me not working full time. Darn!  Thankfully, we have a bit tucked away in a rainy day account. Big bummer. I may have to go and get a real job sooner than planned.



Rock,

Your post reminds me of the Delaney sisters.

Papa always told them to save for a rainy day but, he never told them it would rain this hard or this long!

Wishing you the best of luck on this one!


----------



## Addie

Rocklobster said:


> Hello. The furnace on my house died yesterday. I needs a new one. Furnace guy can't get there until next Tuesday or Wednesday. Fortunately, my daughter and her mother are gone for the holidays so no one is in the house. Except the cat. I am going there everyday to feed him and turn on heaters if necessary. It could be worse. We are having a mild winter so far. But, still, 3,500 balloons at xmas. And me not working full time. Darn! Thankfully, we have a bit tucked away in a rainy day account. Big bummer. I may have to go and get a real job sooner than planned.


 
Bad timing!!!


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> Bad timing!!!


 What's wrong with it Rock? I might know s/one who could fix it.


----------



## CWS4322

So I sent Christmas cookies to my parents. I didn't know at the time my brother was flying out (he lives near me--he could've taken the cookies instead of having to send them UPS). I called to make sure the package arrived--my mother is hiding the cookies in the bathroom (dementia is an issue with her) and my brother is complaining about his allergies...wish I was the one celebrating Christmas with my parents. ARGGH!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Rocklobster said:


> Hello. The furnace on my house died yesterday. I needs a new one. Furnace guy can't get there until next Tuesday or Wednesday. Fortunately, my daughter and her mother are gone for the holidays so no one is in the house. Except the cat. I am going there everyday to feed him and turn on heaters if necessary. It could be worse. We are having a mild winter so far. But, still, 3,500 balloons at xmas. And me not working full time. Darn! Thankfully, we have a bit tucked away in a rainy day account. Big bummer. I may have to go and get a real job sooner than planned.


Ughhhh.... I hope it gets sorted out soon! I remember when i lived in NY years ago andt the hot water tank went. I had heat, but no hot water. It's so sweet of you to keep the cat taken care of. My thoughts are with you.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

CWS4322 said:


> So I sent Christmas cookies to my parents. I didn't know at the time my brother was flying out (he lives near me--he could've taken the cookies instead of having to send them UPS). I called to make sure the package arrived*--my mother is hiding the cookies in the bathroom* (dementia is an issue with her) and my brother is complaining about his allergies...wish I was the one celebrating Christmas with my parents. ARGGH!


 
  When I was going to college, I lived with my mom for a bit.  She had a thing for Campbell's broccoli-cheese soup.  I kept the apartment when she moved out.  I was cleaning stuff out one day in the pantry and found a can of that soup hidden in a coffee urn that she forgot to take with her.


----------



## Rocklobster

CWS4322 said:


> What's wrong with it Rock? I might know s/one who could fix it.


Thanks. But it is 20 years old and has served us well. Time for a new one. I knew after last year that it was starting to go. May as well put the money towards a new one and not spend it on repairs that may only give it another season..


----------



## Barbara L

Grrrrrr.  I was trying to help my daughter out and went online and found a VIN search site.  I read everything there carefully, and it said it was $2.95 for one search.  I went ahead and got it.

I checked our bank account out this morning, and not only did they charge us $29.95, they plan to continue to charge that to our card every month unless we cancel.  We called the number to cancel (and give them a piece of our mind) and the number is not legitimate.  We will be closing that check card out and getting a new one (have to wait until I get home the 28th, as I will need the card). I have reported them to our bank, the Better Business Bureau, and an online fraud site.

DO NOT ever do a VIN search at Car VIN Checks | Check Any Car VIN In North America. They are a scam.


----------



## Addie

You should contact your state's Attorney General also and report them along with your Motor Vehicle agency.


----------



## Barbara L

Thanks Addie!


----------



## Rocklobster

Sorry, but I can't help you. I can curse and kick something for you. @#**#*@+#@!!!!!! Boot! Crash!!!!!


----------



## Addie

Oh, my virgin ears!


----------



## taxlady

I quit smoking in July after about 40 years of smoking.

Now I want to see some benefits. It's still hard. I have days when I don't go outside because I know I will accost strangers until I find one willing to sell me a cigarette.

I have gained over 25 pounds.
I don't notice any improvement to my breathing, though it wasn't a problem before I quit.
I have no energy.
It's hard to concentrate.
My sense of smell hasn't really improved. The only thing I can smell more now is stinky cigarettes.
My blood pressure last spring at my annual checkup was 120 over something, which I found shockingly high for me. It's really not too bad for someone 61 years old. I went to a clinic on Xmas Eve for a sore throat and my blood pressure there was 180/105!  

I'm guessing that I should talk to my doctor before embarking on a weight loss diet. I'm thinking of low carb since Atkins worked well for me before.


----------



## Andy M.

Congrats on quitting!  It's among the hardest things I've had to do.

Don't feel bad that you haven't seen significant improvement.  That just means you weren't in terrible shape from smoking yet.  Focus on the fact that you are much healthier now and have greatly reduced your risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke.  Just as you couldn't see the damage smoking was doing internally, you can't see the improvements.

When I successfully lost weight a few years ago, it was by eating less food and starting a daily walking program.  I specifically avoided a low carb diet because I like carbs.  I ate everything I always ate.  I just ate less of it.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Congrats on quitting!  It's among the hardest things I've had to do.
> 
> Don't feel bad that you haven't seen significant improvement.  That just means you weren't in terrible shape from smoking yet.  Focus on the fact that you are much healthier now and have greatly reduced your risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke.  Just as you couldn't see the damage smoking was doing internally, you can't see the improvements.
> 
> When I successfully lost weight a few years ago, it was by eating less food and starting a daily walking program.  I specifically avoided a low carb diet because I like carbs.  I ate everything I always ate.  I just ate less of it.



It's really hard to focus on the fact of being healthier when I feel worse and my blood pressure has skyrocketed. 

How much walking in your daily walking program? I'm not ready to eat less. Not smoking isn't a strong enough habit yet. I am getting really tired of chewing gum.


----------



## Addie

With you BP that high, ask your doctor to refer you to a registered dietician. You may need help and constant encouragement. Some people need a 'buddy' to lose weight with. And congrats of stopping smoking.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> It's really hard to focus on the fact of being healthier when I feel worse and my blood pressure has skyrocketed.
> 
> How much walking in your daily walking program? I'm not ready to eat less. Not smoking isn't a strong enough habit yet. I am getting really tired of chewing gum.



I walked at a moderate pace for 30 minutes a day.  Not speed walking or window shopping pace.  A little faster than I was initially comfortable with.

You should do what you are comfortable with.  Any exercise you can maintain is valuable.  Not only does the excercise itself burn calories, it speeds up your metabolism so you burn more all day long.


----------



## Timothy

Andy M. said:


> I walked at a moderate pace for 30 minutes a day. Not speed walking or window shopping pace. A little faster than I was initially comfortable with.
> 
> You should do what you are comfortable with. Any exercise you can maintain is valuable. Not only does the exercise itself burn calories, it speeds up your metabolism so you burn more all day long.


 
That's what I do on my treadmill each day, Andy. 30 minutes at about 1.5 miles per/hour. I like using the treadmill. I turn on a show on TV and watch it while I walk. Not as boring that way.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> That's what I do on my treadmill each day, Andy. 30 minutes at about 1.5 miles per/hour. I like using the treadmill. I turn on a show on TV and watch it while I walk. Not as boring that way.


 
I have had four heart attacks, so excerise is on my 'do not do' list. I get out of breath very easily. I am supposed to be on oxygen. I am able to still take cre of myself and my home. It just takes me longer. I have to keep sitting down and catch my breath. I miss walk so much. I used to walk everywhere. It never occured to me to take the bus or have someone drive me. Old age has caught up with me. 

But I got a nice Xmas present yesterday. While I was at the theater yesterday seeing Peter Pan, Son #1 (who has had eight heart attacks) cleaned my whole house from top to bottom. Bless his little heart.


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> I have had four heart attacks, so excerise is on my 'do not do' list. I get out of breath very easily. I am supposed to be on oxygen. I am able to still take cre of myself and my home. It just takes me longer. I have to keep sitting down and catch my breath. I miss walk so much. I used to walk everywhere. It never occured to me to take the bus or have someone drive me. Old age has caught up with me.
> 
> But I got a nice Xmas present yesterday. While I was at the theater yesterday seeing Peter Pan, Son #1 (who has had eight heart attacks) cleaned my whole house from top to bottom. Bless his little heart.


 
I hear you, Addie. I had a series of heart attacks in 1998 that culminated with 5 bypasses after a massive attack. I remember the first years afterward clearly. I felt like I was 150 and my body hated me! Slowly but surely, I worked my way into walking. Literally a minute at a time. I walked too far one time and had to sit in the road until I got enough energy back to walk home. Now, I use cinder blocks to get my upper body workout. I move them from one stack to another. Ten of them and I'm done in.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> I hear you, Addie. I had a series of heart attacks in 1998 that culminated with 5 bypasses after a massive attack. I remember the first years afterward clearly. I felt like I was 150 and my body hated me! Slowly but surely, I worked my way into walking. Literally a minute at a time. I walked too far one time and had to sit in the road until I got enough energy back to walk home. Now, I use cinder blocks to get my upper body workout. I move them from one stack to another. Ten of them and I'm done in.


 
There is just too much damage to my heart now. I had a quintuple bypass and five stents put in place. I have a scooter that I ride everywhere. You will often hear, "There she goes. Get out of the way!" I have noticed though that I am able to walk a little further than I could four years ago. I keep pushing myself. But I have arthritis in my hips and spine. So it is more the pain there, than the heart that stops me. Going up a flight of stairs is excruciating. Last night at the play, there was a lot of walking to get to our seats. Most of it on uneven ground. Some of it uphill. No wonder I was exhausted when I got home.


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> There is just too much damage to my heart now. I had a quintuple bypass and five stents put in place. I have a scooter that I ride everywhere. You will often hear, "There she goes. Get out of the way!" I have noticed though that I am able to walk a little further than I could four years ago. I keep pushing myself. But I have arthritis in my hips and spine. So it is more the pain there, than the heart that stops me. Going up a flight of stairs is excruciating. Last night at the play, there was a lot of walking to get to our seats. Most of it on uneven ground. Some of it uphill. No wonder I was exhausted when I got home.


 
It sounds like you're pacing yourself intelligently. No two people in the world have the same tolerances for exercise. I think you're doing wonderfully! Don't push yourself too hard!


----------



## Kayelle

taxlady said:


> I quit smoking in July after about 40 years of smoking.
> 
> Now I want to see some benefits. It's still hard. I have days when I don't go outside because I know I will accost strangers until I find one willing to sell me a cigarette.
> 
> I have gained over 25 pounds.
> I don't notice any improvement to my breathing, though it wasn't a problem before I quit.
> I have no energy.
> It's hard to concentrate.
> My sense of smell hasn't really improved. The only thing I can smell more now is stinky cigarettes.
> My blood pressure last spring at my annual checkup was 120 over something, which I found shockingly high for me. It's really not too bad for someone 61 years old. I went to a clinic on Xmas Eve for a sore throat and my blood pressure there was 180/105!
> 
> I'm guessing that I should talk to my doctor before embarking on a weight loss diet. I'm thinking of low carb since Atkins worked well for me before.



I really feel for you TL, and for myself too.  I havn't had a smoke for nearly three months and I too have been smoking daily for 40 yrs....actually 50 years to tell the truth.  I started out using the NicoDerm patches every day, and now I slap one on occasionally when I feel like crawling the walls. Have you tried them? You are very fortunate to have come to your senses before your breathing was compromised.  I rolled the dice and lost.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> I have had four heart attacks, so excerise is on my 'do not do' list. I get out of breath very easily. I am supposed to be on oxygen. I am able to still take cre of myself and my home. It just takes me longer. I have to keep sitting down and catch my breath. I miss walk so much. I used to walk everywhere. It never occured to me to take the bus or have someone drive me. Old age has caught up with me.
> 
> But I got a nice Xmas present yesterday. While I was at the theater yesterday seeing Peter Pan, Son #1 (who has had eight heart attacks) cleaned my whole house from top to bottom. Bless his little heart.


Addie--my mom (80 yrs) has an artificial valve and many heart issues. Last time I was in MN, I got her doctor to order physiotherapy for her (strength building). One of the exercises, which she could do without getting winded, was to sit on the couch and lift her legs (kind of "walking in place."). Another exercise she could do was to lie on her back in bed and lift her legs. Perhaps your doctor will send you to PT. My mom's was covered by medicare because it was ordered by her doctor. Four months later, she is now able to walk two blocks and able to ride the exercise bike at PT for 10-15 minutes.


----------



## Andy M.

I've been having dishwasher issues.  The top rack wasn't getting clean so I have been limping along using the bottom rack only.   The DW is about 11 years old so I was going buy a new one.  

My frugal side kicked in and I called a repairman instead figuring I could get it fixed for cheap and save some money.  The repairman just left with $90 of my money.  Now I know I need to go buy a new DW.   Grrrr!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Andy M. said:


> I've been having dishwasher issues. The top rack wasn't getting clean so I have been limping along using the bottom rack only. The DW is about 11 years old so I was going buy a new one.
> 
> My frugal side kicked in and I called a repairman instead figuring I could get it fixed for cheap and save some money. The repairman just left with $90 of my money. Now I know I need to go buy a new DW. Grrrr!


 Ouch!  That reminds me of a post that rocklobster made about a week ago.  He said his furnace quit and rather spend the money on a new one than on repairs.  

I hope you find a nice, reasonably-priced dishwasher.


----------



## Andy M.

Vanilla Bean said:


> Ouch!  That reminds me of a post that rocklobster made about a week ago.  He said his furnace quit and rather spend the money on a new one than on repairs.
> 
> I hope you find a nice, reasonably-priced dishwasher.




Thanks.


----------



## babetoo

the drummer is at it again , disturbing my sleep. starts about ten thirty p.m and went to two in the morning. since i don't want to walk about that late at night, i can't figure out where it is coming from so i can call the cops. i am just going to buy some ear plugs. i have enough trouble getting to sleep without that racket. lots of flashbacks kept me awake as well. somehow they break through the drugs. this to will pass when jan. is over, i  hope.


----------



## taxlady

Kayelle said:


> I really feel for you TL, and for myself too.  I havn't had a smoke for nearly three months and I too have been smoking daily for 40 yrs....actually 50 years to tell the truth.  I started out using the NicoDerm patches every day, and now I slap one on occasionally when I feel like crawling the walls. Have you tried them? You are very fortunate to have come to your senses before your breathing was compromised.  I rolled the dice and lost.



Way to go Kayelle.

I tried nicotine patches about six years ago. They gave me a rash that got worse and worse until the pharmacist told me to quit using them.


----------



## bakechef

Rocklobster said:
			
		

> Hello. The furnace on my house  died yesterday. I needs a new one. Furnace guy can't get there until next Tuesday or Wednesday.  Fortunately, my daughter and her mother are gone for the holidays so no one is in the house. Except the cat. I am going there everyday to feed him and turn on heaters if necessary. It could be worse. We are having a mild winter so far. But, still, 3,500 balloons at xmas. And me not working full time. Darn!  Thankfully, we have a bit tucked away in a rainy day account. Big bummer. I may have to go and get a real job sooner than planned.



Our furnace quit a few weeks ago, luckily we live in a townhouse in NC, so space heaters are doing the trick.  Our system is 27 years old and we decided to just tear the whole heat and a/c system out and start new, if you hear a loud sucking noise, that's our bank account draining, lol!


----------



## Addie

Vanilla Bean said:


> Ouch! That reminds me of a post that rocklobster made about a week ago. He said his furnace quit and rather spend the money on a new one than on repairs.
> 
> I hope you find a nice, reasonably-priced dishwasher.


 
I have a dishwasher that never fails or quits. Right on the end of each arm.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I have a dishwasher that never fails or quits. Right on the end of each arm.



Mom always said her dishwashers were broken...Princesses #'s 1, 2 & 3.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

My dishwasher works, but I find that doing it by hand gets the dishes cleaner.


----------



## Addie

Vanilla Bean said:


> My dishwasher works, but I find that doing it by hand gets the dishes cleaner.


 
I told my daughter one day that one thing I had always wanted a dishwasher. But the kids needed things like shoes and clothes more. A few years later for my 50th birthday, she collected money from the other four kids and I had my dishwasher. When it finally gave up the good fight, I never bothered to have it fixed. I gave it to a second hand store for $25.00 so they could take it and fix it for resale. And I went back to what I do best. Washing dishes by hand. I am now careful what I wish for.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Vanilla Bean said:


> My dishwasher works, but I find that doing it by hand gets the dishes cleaner.



I agree with you!

I have always done them by hand and I enjoy it.  I always have felt that it took just as much time to get them into the machine as it did to wash them so I might as well just dive in and do it, job over!

The first time I lived in an apartment with a dishwasher I thought I would give it a try!  I did not have any of the appropriate detergent so I gave it a *good* *squirt* of washing up liquid and hit the button!  In a few minutes I noticed a blob of suds about eight inches high heading towards the living room.    I waded in and shut off the machine, then I began scooping suds into the sink.  This continued each time I turned the machine on for about three days.  I felt like I was trapped in an episode of I Love Lucy.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Aunt Bea said:


> I agree with you!
> 
> I have always done them by hand and I enjoy it. I always have felt that it took just as much time to get them into the machine as it did to wash them so I might as well just dive in and do it, job over!
> 
> The first time I lived in an apartment with a dishwasher I thought I would give it a try! I did not have any of the appropriate detergent so I gave it a *good* *squirt* of washing up liquid and hit the button! In a few minutes I noticed a blob of suds about eight inches high heading towards the living room. I waded in and shut off the machine, then I began scooping suds into the sink. This continued each time I turned the machine on for about three days.* I felt like I was trapped in an episode of I Love Lucy*.


LOL!! Do you know I was born and raised in her hometown?

Speaking of appropriate detergent... I can't seem to find one that doesn't leave a residue. I have tried just about all of them. When I do them by hand, everything is shiny, squeaky clean.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Vanilla Bean said:


> LOL!! Do you know I was born and raised in her hometown?
> 
> Speaking of appropriate detergent... I can't seem to find one that doesn't leave a residue. I have tried just about all of them. When I do them by hand, everything is shiny, squeaky clean.




I have some furniture from Jamestown that is almost as old as she would be!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Aunt Bea said:


> I have some furniture from Jamestown that is almost as old as she would be!


 
Do you know what the brand name is on it.  My grandfather was in the furniture business for ages.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Vanilla Bean said:


> Do you know what the brand name is on it.  My grandfather was in the furniture business for ages.




I don't know the maker but, it is heavy colonial made from cherry.  

It has held its looks over the years better than I have!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

My grandfather made my bedroom dresser and nightstand. My dining room table and chairs are as old as I am. I have to have the table legs redone, thanks to my cat, Lucy.   It's not her fault though.  She is just being a cat.  I bought some sandpaper, and I'm going to do it myself.


----------



## Claire

Tired and old, old and tired.  Do you ever have weeks that make you feel that way?  I'm 56.  All my exercise classes went on hiatus for the couple of weeks.  I'm feeling it.  Yes, I have been doing some workouts on my own.  

But my left leg is aching, my husband is being whiny.  Luckily my dog is being lovable.


----------



## CWS4322

Okay--I shouldn't be bitter...but I spend 3-4 months taking care of my mom every year so my dad can do his things. This is not something I can really afford to do--but I want to spend time with my mom while she still remembers me. I sent a box of Christmas baking. I didn't get a call on Christmas, I didn't get a card. I can't help but being hurt. Why couldn't they pick up the phone and call? The phone works both ways. Am I being petty by being hurt that I didn't get a call telling me the cookies arrived? Or to wish me Merry Christmas? Is that too much to ask (or expect)?


----------



## Vanilla Bean

CWS4322 said:


> Okay--I shouldn't be bitter...but I spend 3-4 months taking care of my mom every year so my dad can do his things. This is not something I can really afford to do--but I want to spend time with my mom while she still remembers me. I sent a box of Christmas baking. I didn't get a call on Christmas, I didn't get a card. I can't help but being hurt. Why couldn't they pick up the phone and call? The phone works both ways. Am I being petty by being hurt that I didn't get a call telling me the cookies arrived? Or to wish me Merry Christmas? Is that too much to ask (or expect)?


I know how you feel. The only family member that always keeps in constant contact with me is my mother. The other person that kept in contact with me all the time was my grandmother... either by phone or letters (not email). I'm usually the one that makes the calls. I don't know if they're scared of the cost, since I live out here in WA or what.

I bet your cookies were yummy, and you're so thoughtful!!  My dad's grandma used to make cookies for Christmas gifts all the time and put them in pretty tins.  That was so long ago.


----------



## CWS4322

Vanilla Bean said:


> I know how you feel. The only family member that always keeps in constant contact with me is my mother. The other person that kept in contact with me all the time was my grandmother... either by phone or letters (not email). I'm usually the one that makes the calls. I don't know if they're scared of the cost, since I live out here in WA or what.
> 
> I bet your cookies were yummy, and you're so thoughtful!!  My dad's grandma used to make cookies for Christmas gifts all the time and put them in pretty tins.  That was so long ago.


 The cookies I held back were good <g>. Ironically, my best friend's company paid for the shipping because I took them (the cookies) to CT. Why is my BGF and her husband more like family than my own?

Is thoughtfulness going to earn me a place in Heaven? Probably not, I haven't been that good...but the hurt is profound. For those who have children that come to visit, send things--please call and thank them--even if your relationship with your children is difficult and doing so is awkward. They probably are hurting that the relationship isn't better and want to make it so, but don't know how. You don't have to send a gift or money--just let them know you love them and that your heart was touched by the gesture. 

My parents made me write "thank you" notes when I received something (even if I didn't like it--the tighty whitey underwear my paternal grandmother gave me when I was five comes to mind--I'm female--wasn't impressed, but then, that's another relationship story), why don't my parents send a thank you card for the things I send or do? Does it mean they don't love me or that they expect me to do these things without having to thank me? I know, I'm being petty--but I'm hurt.


----------



## CWS4322

Claire said:


> Tired and old, old and tired.  Do you ever have weeks that make you feel that way?  I'm 56.  All my exercise classes went on hiatus for the couple of weeks.  I'm feeling it.  Yes, I have been doing some workouts on my own.
> 
> But my left leg is aching, my husband is being whiny.  Luckily my dog is being lovable.


As my 53rd birthday is fast approaching, I feel as if my life has no meaning--I have no kids, my DH wants a divorce, my parents are old and alone, I question the meaning of life and why I would want to live to be the ages of my parents. If life is so empty now, what is it going to be when I hit 80? Do I have to do this?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS, think about who it was that used to call you.  I bet it was your Mom and now she has Dementia.  Call them and ask them how their Christmas was.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> CWS, think about who it was that used to call you.  I bet it was your Mom and now she has Dementia.  Call them and ask them how their Christmas was.


Unfortunately, I always called them. I have a US cell phone that is a local call for them--bought that the last time I was there, put time on it every month just in case--they don't call me on it, even though it is free for them. My brother gets a call every Sunday (which isn't free). I only get called when my mom is in the hospital.


----------



## tinlizzie

CWS4322 said:


> The cookies I held back were good <g>. Ironically, my best friend's company paid for the shipping because I took them (the cookies) to CT. Why is my BGF and her husband more like family than my own?
> 
> Is thoughtfulness going to earn me a place in Heaven? Probably not, I haven't been that good...but the hurt is profound. For those who have children that come to visit, send things--please call and thank them--even if your relationship with your children is difficult and doing so is awkward. They probably are hurting that the relationship isn't better and want to make it so, but don't know how. You don't have to send a gift or money--just let them know you love them and that your heart was touched by the gesture.
> 
> My parents made me write "thank you" notes when I received something (even if I didn't like it--the tighty whitey underwear my paternal grandmother gave me when I was five comes to mind--I'm female--wasn't impressed, but then, that's another relationship story), why don't my parents send a thank you card for the things I send or do? Does it mean they don't love me or that they expect me to do these things without having to thank me? I know, I'm being petty--but I'm hurt.


 
May I join the club?  My grown daughter in her 40's out in the Midwest has not acknowledged the birthday gift I sent her back in November.  I'd be happy with an email.  We used to exchange emails, but that just dropped off the map.  She didn't answer my last groveling plea for a reply.  My usual Christmas gift is a check, but this year I just didn't send it - hoping that would bring some sort of rise.  So far not a durned word.  She visited me for several days last August and everything was wonderful - we had a great time, so I don't think she's angry about anything.  This atmosphere was about the same last spring before she announced her visit, so I'm not really worried about her.  Concerned, but not worried.

To borrow your sentiment:  I know, I'm being petty -- but I'm hurt.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> Okay--I shouldn't be bitter...but I spend 3-4 months taking care of my mom every year so my dad can do his things. This is not something I can really afford to do--but I want to spend time with my mom while she still remembers me. I sent a box of Christmas baking. I didn't get a call on Christmas, I didn't get a card. I can't help but being hurt. Why couldn't they pick up the phone and call? The phone works both ways. Am I being petty by being hurt that I didn't get a call telling me the cookies arrived? Or to wish me Merry Christmas? Is that too much to ask (or expect)?


 
Send them a guilty letter asking if they got the cookies, how were they, etc. Then close with "You don't have to respond if you are too busy with your life." 

They won't forget next year.


----------



## CWS4322

Oh--I haven't gotten a card or call for 6-7 years. It hurts. My uncle (my dad's brother) calls me on Christmas and my birthday, but my parents don't. Yet, when I'm there, I'm "the good daughter" (given I'm the only daughter...). It really hurts. I don't want/need gifts, but a call would be nice. They don't have email. My dad sends letters to third-cousins in Norway, but I don't get any letters and I do send letters to them about 1x per month. It just hurts. I know they are old, but it still hurts.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> Oh--I haven't gotten a card or call for 6-7 years. It hurts. My uncle (my dad's brother) calls me on Christmas and my birthday, but my parents don't. Yet, when I'm there, I'm "the good daughter" (given I'm the only daughter...). It really hurts. I don't want/need gifts, but a call would be nice. They don't have email. My dad sends letters to third-cousins in Norway, but I don't get any letters and I do send letters to them about 1x per month. It just hurts. I know they are old, but it still hurts.


 
Have you ever told them how you feel? Remember nonby is a mindreader.


----------



## Claire

CWS, don't think of your place in heaven ... yeah, that might be nice.  but being a martyr is no fun. Think about when you get up in the morning and you can look at yourself in the mirror and know you're a good person.  I hate to say it, yeah, we might get run over by a truck tomorrow morning, but heaven's a bit of a way off.  At 53 you might still have 40 years to go!  Trudge on through this, looking for the light at the end of a tunnel.  At one point in my life I thought I was going to go from my husband's parents to mine to my husband.  In fact, my husband's passed on, mine are doing fine without me (they miss me, but moving away was the best thing I could do), and my husband's health is good.  So I'm living in the moment.


----------



## Rocklobster

I have less and less contact with my family as the years pass. Nothing has sparked this, it just gradually became this way. I think my mother has become indifferent and I can see that in all areas of her life. So, I don't take it personally. I think she is depressed and doesn't feel well most of the time, so probably lives in a negative state of mind. I love her as always, but I have my own road to hoe, so, I am pre occupied as much as her. I think we all yearn for the days when things were more social and we saw each other in many happier environments. We tend to remember the "good old days" and forget the bad or mediocre memories.  We have to continue to make our own good memories with our friends and family, in whatever form they may be. Because, after all, we will be memories ourselves, soon enough.

Maybe you should give them a call, and after a few minutes I'll bet that all of this anxiety will melt away and you will be having a good old laugh in no time. And, you will feel much better for it.

Be well.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I will put in my two cents on this one!

I grew up in a family that was ruled by my paternal grandmother.  She made all of the plans for family holidays and she rallied the family when anyone had an emergency.  We all loved her, respected her and some feared her but, we all got in line and did our part.  When she passed away our family sort of drifted apart through apathy more than anything else.  Now I only see my brothers and sisters when someone dies.  My sister calls me a couple of times a year and I call her a couple of times.  When my mother was alive she never called me.  She thought that was my responsibility!  I made a point of calling her once a week at the same time so I would not forget and that continued until her death.  I am glad I made the calls.  I also made a point of not missing any chance to assist her with daily living, appointments etc.  Now that she is gone I feel I did my part and I listen to my sister mope about the things she should have said or done.  So all I can tell you is say what you need to say and do what you need to do.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

PrincessFiona60 said:


> CWS, think about who it was that used to call you. I bet it was your Mom and now she has Dementia. Call them and ask them how their Christmas was.


 I think I replied to post about this a week or so ago.  CWS, I thought you were kidding about the cookies in the bathroom.  I'm sooooo sorry.  I feel like a real jerk right now.


----------



## chopper

Aunt Bea said:
			
		

> I will put in my two cents on this one!
> 
> I grew up in a family that was ruled by my paternal grandmother.  She made all of the plans for family holidays and she rallied the family when anyone had an emergency.  We all loved her, respected her and some feared her but, we all got in line and did our part.  When she passed away our family sort of drifted apart through apathy more than anything else.  Now I only see my brothers and sisters when someone dies.  My sister calls me a couple of times a year and I call her a couple of times.  When my mother was alive she never called me.  She thought that was my responsibility!  I made a point of calling her once a week at the same time so I would not forget and that continued until her death.  I am glad I made the calls.  I also made a point of not missing any chance to assist her with daily living, appointments etc.  Now that she is gone I feel I did my part and I listen to my sister mope about the things she should have said or done.  So all I can tell you is say what you need to say and do what you need to do.



I am right there with you Aunt Bea. I have called my dad every Sunday since my mom died. It is not that I always have something to say, but sometimes he has something to say and doesn't call me. This way I know that when I have regrets, not talking to my dad is not one of them. He is one to hold grudges against family members for silly things and I don't ever want to be that way. I just call people when I feel the need for me. I take care of me. It seems to work, and I don't get concerned about wether or not someone calls me-I just call them.


----------



## Claire

I suspect that my sibs and I will drift apart when the parents pass on.  All of them decided to live in Florida.  I tried to, but it just wasn't for us.  All had kids, we're childless by choice.  I thoroughly enjoy their company and love them dearly.  But as the years pass we have less and less in common.  We always have a wonderful time when we get together, but a minimum 3-day trek to Florida isn't going to happen every year the way it is now.  I know that at their ages, we need to get down to see them every year, and every once in awhile it has been health issues and will probably be more so in the future.  But my sibs aren't "pick up the phone and call Claire" types, just to talk.  So it is mostly that I try to time my calls to the folks when my sibs will be there and we all talk together.


----------



## CWS4322

My DH is the only one is his family to ever have gotten a Ph.D. A good friend got hers and was the only person in her family to do the same. Both of them have experienced the "nothing in common" with their families. My family has no idea what I do for a living--I try to do things with them that we did--go to the lake, make lefse, etc. That helps when I'm there--but they still don't call me on my b'day or Christmas.


----------



## CWS4322

Now I feel better--I'm not alone (and yes, my mom has been hiding the Christmas cookies in the bathroom and my brother hasn't done anything re: moving them...sigh).


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> My DH is the only one is his family to ever have gotten a Ph.D. A good friend got hers and was the only person in her family to do the same. Both of them have experienced the "nothing in common" with their families. My family has no idea what I do for a living--I try to do things with them that we did--go to the lake, make lefse, etc. That helps when I'm there--but they still don't call me on my b'day or Christmas.


 
My youngest son, the same, He has two Masters Degrees and graduated from Yale Medical School. So now that he is making a six figure salary, they other three think he should spend his money on them. Where were they when he was living on Ramen Noodles when he was in Paramedic School? My oldest child is constantly trying to figure how he can get me one big present and she can contribute maybe half. And between her and her husband, with no kids at home, three vehicles, and a house that they own, they have a sizeable monthly income.

My oldest son who is disabled and has less income than me, is here everyday to checkup on me. Whereas my daughter who is only 30 seconds away, goes weeks without calling. It is only when my son tells her I am in the hospital again that she calls the phone in my room. My middle son calls a couple of times a week. Sometimes to just chat and sometimes to checkup on me. And if he has a (cab) run to the airport, (just five minutes from my house) he stops by and will give me about $10 out of his tip money. I don't expect as much attention from my youngest son. He works long, long hours in an Emergency Room and I would rather he spend his time off with his wife and son. And I know that if I ever need money to get me to the end of the month, I can call on him without any problem. He just sends money to my PayPal account. But that only happens once or twice a year. 

It's my daughter that I have isues with.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

CWS, I am really sorry that I thought you were joking.


----------



## Addie

So I turned the news on at 5 p.m. For the first ten minutes of the broadcast, it was nothing but people who had died or had a near death accident. 

We buried another fireman killed in the line of duty today. He left behind three small kids. We just buried one two weeks ago. He was scheduled to be married tomorrow. Having a fireman in the family, it is too close to home. And then there was the man who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his car. The car burst into flames, and had it not been for a police officer that came upon the scene he would be dead. He was still passed out and in his seat with flames all around him. He was unaware of the fire and was drunk. He got saved and also arrested for DUI. Then there were the usual other miserable news items. 

What ever happened to happy news? A teacher once told us that "news is when something happens that doesn't happen every day."


----------



## Addie

My middle son called me earlier today. He told me that last night he had a girl he has been dating stay over last night. She got up today, dressed and left. My son found a pill on the floor and asked me to look it up to see what it was. It turned out to be 30g. of oxycodone. He knew it wasn't his so he called her. She denied it, became very defensive and when my son told her that not only me but his son looked it up, she called both of us liars. At that he broke off with her. 

So on with the saga. She started texting him some very explicit nasty messages. He blocked her. So she went to the police and told them he was threatening to kill her. They called my son and asked him to come in to talk to them. He refused unless they had a warrant. So finally the police told him what it was all about. Then my son gave his side and told them he just broke off with her and blocked her on his phone. But he still had the messages on his phone and read some of them to the officer. The officer asked him not to erase them. They may want them for evidence. 

AHA! Now they are going to bring her back in and charge her with filing a false police report. She was foolish enough to sign her name to the report. And they will be searching her to see if she has any more drugs on her. 

Morale of the story? Sorry girls. The police don't automatically take your word just on say so anymore. And don't mess with someone who knows their legal rights. And my son knows his. I am so glad I worked in a law firm.


----------



## Addie

Is it just me or is everyone getting repeats of posts that you have already received yesterday?


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> Is it just me or is everyone getting repeats of posts that you have already received yesterday?


I haven't, Addie. Just the ones that have new replies.


----------



## Claire

CWS, your family is doing good if the spouse is the first in his family to get a PhD.  In my family, my little sister was the first to finish college, period, much less an advanced degree.  Most of my aunts and uncles never finished high school.  Oh, let me back  up on that one, didn't finish in 12 years.  One of my older aunts graduated from high school the same year I did.  

It's really never too late to learn.


----------



## Timothy

Claire said:


> CWS, your family is doing good if the spouse is the first in his family to get a PhD. In my family, my little sister was the first to finish college, period, much less an advanced degree. Most of my aunts and uncles never finished high school. Oh, let me back up on that one, didn't finish in 12 years. One of my older aunts graduated from high school the same year I did.
> 
> It's really never too late to learn.


 
I agree 1000% Claire. My Paternal Grandfather was a Medical Doctor and his wife was a Teacher in the old fashioned "One room school". Sadly, my Dad only completed 8th grade before running off to join the Navy. My Brother is actually proud that he has read only one book in his life, that one being forced upon him in high school. My youngest sister is a CPA and I have studied, informally, my entire life. My sister says I'm weird because I relax by reading Textbooks. I love tackling a new subject of learning!

I tried College on three different occasions and found it too limiting and slow. It seems that I learn at a rate much faster than is commonly taught in any classroom I've been in.

I prefer to buy the textbooks and learn it on my own. My latest adventure in learning is Physics. It seems that I've found a subject that is truly open-ended this time. Physics fascinates me so much that I feel like a kid in a candy shop, slurping up information that is endlessly fascinating.


----------



## chopper

Timothy said:
			
		

> I agree 1000% Claire. My Paternal Grandfather was a Medical Doctor and his wife was a Teacher in the old fashioned "One room school". Sadly, my Dad only completed 8th grade before running off to join the Navy. My Brother is actually proud that he has read only one book in his life, that one being forced upon him in high school. My youngest sister is a CPA and I have studied, informally, my entire life. My sister says I'm weird because I relax by reading Textbooks. I love tackling a new subject of learning!
> 
> I tried College on three different occasions and found it too limiting and slow. It seems that I learn at a rate much faster than is commonly taught in any classroom I've been in.
> 
> I prefer to buy the textbooks and learn it on my own. My latest adventure in learning is Physics. It seems that I've found a subject that is truly open-ended this time. Physics fascinates me so much that I feel like a kid in a candy shop, slurping up information that is endlessly fascinating.



Good for you Tim!  Keep learning. I'm sure you are an inspiration for many!


----------



## Timothy

chopper said:


> Good for you Tim! Keep learning. I'm sure you are an inspiration for many!


 
Thank you for your kind words, chopper.

I just ordered "Physics" by Jay Orear (1979). After reading reviews of "Best first Physics book to start with", in a Physics Forum, the reviews of this book make it sound like a perfect start to an endless subject.

I truly love learning. The more difficult the field of study, the more I enjoy it.

I think this one may be the one where I've met my match.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Timothy said:


> Thank you for your kind words, chopper.
> 
> I just ordered "Physics" by Jay Orear (1979). After reading reviews of "Best first Physics book to start with", in a Physics Forum, the reviews of this book make it sound like a perfect start to an endless subject.
> 
> I truly love learning. The more difficult the field of study, the more I enjoy it.
> 
> I think this one may be the one where I've met my match.


 Me too, Timothy.  I still have my physics books from college.  Mine is by Paul Tippens.


----------



## Zhizara

Timothy said:


> I agree 1000% Claire. My Paternal Grandfather was a Medical Doctor and his wife was a Teacher in the old fashioned "One room school". Sadly, my Dad only completed 8th grade before running off to join the Navy. My Brother is actually proud that he has read only one book in his life, that one being forced upon him in high school. My youngest sister is a CPA and I have studied, informally, my entire life. My sister says I'm weird because I relax by reading Textbooks. I love tackling a new subject of learning!
> 
> I tried College on three different occasions and found it too limiting and slow. It seems that I learn at a rate much faster than is commonly taught in any classroom I've been in.
> 
> I prefer to buy the textbooks and learn it on my own. My latest adventure in learning is Physics. It seems that I've found a subject that is truly open-ended this time. Physics fascinates me so much that I feel like a kid in a candy shop, slurping up information that is endlessly fascinating.



Can you recommend a good physics textbook for a beginner?  Waaaay back in high school they tested us (SAT) and my highest scores were in physics which I've never studied. 

I'd love to have a textbook that I can study at my own pace.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Mine is a text book, but Timothy probably has a better choice.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> Can you recommend a good physics textbook for a beginner? Waaaay back in high school they tested us (SAT) and my highest scores were in physics which I've never studied.
> 
> I'd love to have a textbook that I can study at my own pace.


 
If you have a college near you, you might want to try the college book store and pick up a used copy. A lot less expensive than a new one. Sometimes those notes that a student writes in the margins are very helpful.


----------



## Timothy

Zhizara said:


> Can you recommend a good physics textbook for a beginner? Waaaay back in high school they tested us (SAT) and my highest scores were in physics which I've never studied.
> 
> I'd love to have a textbook that I can study at my own pace.


 
I can only recommend the one I've orderd, unseen.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

My book is the 5th edition, published by Glencoe, and the author is Paul E. Tippens.  It's over ten years old, though.


----------



## Timothy

Vanilla Bean said:


> My book is the 5th edition, published by Glencoe, and the author is Paul E. Tippens. It's over ten years old, though.


 
So, all of you smarty pants pzzzzzzzics people are knowing stuff you haven't shared.....Hmmmmmm, what's up with that?


I mean,... seriously....


----------



## Vanilla Bean

what... do you wanna know that force equals mass times acceleration?

I went to school for electronics, and that was a required course.  I don't remember everything.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> So, all of you smarty pants pzzzzzzzics people are knowing stuff you haven't shared.....Hmmmmmm, what's up with that?
> 
> I mean,... seriously....


 
I have just finished Dick and Jane. Sally and Spot are my best friends.


----------



## Zhizara

Timothy said:


> So, all of you smarty pants pzzzzzzzics people are knowing stuff you haven't shared.....Hmmmmmm, what's up with that?
> 
> 
> I mean,... seriously....



Oh, Timothy...  You are the one I asked first.  Is there a textbook you can recommend (or anyone?) that is like "physics for dummies"?

I'm sure you know more than I do about this subject, but like you, I'm fascinated.


----------



## Timothy

Oh my!

Think of the consequences.....

Is it just me, or what?


----------



## Claire

My mother-in-law and I never really forged a relationship, but I will always keep her in my mind for saying, "Claire is a self-educated woman".  She said it when she didn't know I was listening and with obvious pride.  It gave me a warm fuzzy that we never otherwise achieved.  Oh, I graduated from high school, in my day everyone did, period (draft, Vietnam war.  If you dropped out of anything, you were toast!)


----------



## Chef Munky

Why can't people who are paid to do a job do it!?

Seems like a fair trade off to me. I pay you. You just do the job. Simple enough.
I payed the supposed professionals good money for a job that I had to redo myself by hand. I can't stand to sew period, never have. 

Hubby bought new uniforms. Sure they measured him for it. Not only did it take almost 2 weeks for them to get here, the alterations hadn't been done at all. They were still the same size as the ones he took off the rack.

I spent all weekend ( too many interruptions ) Altering them.

I didn't get mad until tonight. Finally finished them. All I had to do was press and I'd be free. Popped the breaker 5 times just to use my iron. Every time I turned it on. Out went the lights. I wanted to knock that person's lights out!

This is why I got kicked out of Home Ec... Temper, temper...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Why can't people who are paid to do a job do it!?
> 
> Seems like a fair trade off to me. I pay you. You just do the job. Simple enough.
> I payed the supposed professionals good money for a job that I had to redo myself by hand. I can't stand to sew period, never have.
> 
> Hubby bought new uniforms. Sure they measured him for it. Not only did it take almost 2 weeks for them to get here, the alterations hadn't been done at all. They were still the same size as the ones he took off the rack.
> 
> I spent all weekend ( too many interruptions ) Altering them.
> 
> I didn't get mad until tonight. Finally finished them. All I had to do was press and I'd be free. Popped the breaker 5 times just to use my iron. Every time I turned it on. Out went the lights. I wanted to knock that person's lights out!
> 
> This is why I got kicked out of Home Ec... Temper, temper...



Sounds like a call should be placed to management on Monday.  Very frustrating, especially when it's something you can do, but hate doing it.  I think that's when I get the maddest over lack of service, when it's something I could do, but am willing to pay the extra to have someone else do it.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Chef Munky said:


> Why can't people who are paid to do a job do it!?
> 
> Seems like a fair trade off to me. I pay you. You just do the job. Simple enough.
> I payed the supposed professionals good money for a job that I had to redo myself by hand. I can't stand to sew period, never have.
> 
> Hubby bought new uniforms. Sure they measured him for it. Not only did it take almost 2 weeks for them to get here, the alterations hadn't been done at all. They were still the same size as the ones he took off the rack.
> 
> *I spent all weekend ( too many interruptions ) Altering them.*
> 
> I didn't get mad until tonight. Finally finished them. All I had to do was press and I'd be free. Popped the breaker 5 times just to use my iron. Every time I turned it on. Out went the lights. I wanted to knock that person's lights out!
> 
> This is why I got kicked out of Home Ec... Temper, temper...


I wish I had that talent. I don't think I'd have the patience.


----------



## CWS4322

So I called yesterday--all I got was "when you were here, you should've done xxxx". Give me a break. This from my brother who hasn't been there for 2 years. I took my parents to my uncle's for his birthday--to The Lake where my mom spent time with her SIL...and I did clean the cupboards--it's been 6 months!!!


----------



## Aunt Bea

CWS4322 said:


> So I called yesterday--all I got was "when you were here, you should've done xxxx". Give me a break. This from my brother who hasn't been there for 2 years. I took my parents to my uncle's for his birthday--to The Lake where my mom spent time with her SIL...and I did clean the cupboards--it's been 6 months!!!




I am glad you called yesterday!  

New Year ahead, let it go!

Your brother sounds like my sister.  She has always been good about determining what I should do and not quite so good about determining what she should do.  When my parents started to have problems with daily living I had to quietly explain to her that she needed to focus on what she could do to help them and I would do what I felt I could do.  It did not change anything but, it made me feel better.  It still amazes me that my brothers and sisters are exactly the same today as I remember them to be when we were growing up.  Now they are just trapped in old wrinkly bodies.

Keep calling, and do what you can.  It will be important to you in years to come.


----------



## Addie

CW, I can understand your frustration with your siblings. Growing up my sister was always there to take care of me and protect me. As we got older and my mother developed cancer, her attention should have been focused on her. But instead all I got was, "Well you live closer." "I have small kids." "I am too busy." One excuse after another. 

Well, I did live closer and had four kids. She only had three and they were older than mine. And what mother isn't busy. At the funeral she accused of not taking care of my mother better. I held my tongue. I never told her what I was really thinking. And I am glad I did. Years later inside of just a couple of days, she lost her house to a fire on New Years Eve and her son a couple of days later in a horrible car crash along with three other teenagers. But I was there for her. We just never know what the future holds for any of us. My sister and I never had an argument or fight in all our years. Her kids and mine wouldn't believe it if they didn't see it for themselves. 

When I lost my daughter to murder, she was there for me. When she was in the hospital with serious heart problems, I had her husband and by then her four kids move into my house. I took care of them. It was always give and take between us. And neither one of us ever expressed any regrets or kept score. 

Then three years ago, she got very sick and died unexpectedly. I feel so lost without her. I was the one who got the phone call from the hospital. Not one of her children. But I know in my heart I will never have to live with the "If only's." If only I had done this. If only I had said that.  And that is the message I have passed on to my children. Live your life knowing that you will have to live with the "If only's" if you hold a grudge in your heart. I was reminded of that by my son at her funeral. I was on the verge of collapsed and couldn't go up to her casket to say goodbye. My son stayed at my side and told me that I would always regret it if I didn't day goodbye. And he was right. 

Losing her has taught me to never hold a grudge against anyone. It is wasted energy only your part. And the other person probably doesn't even know you are angry or upset with them.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie--I'm so sorry for the loss of your daughter. 

What I get from my brother is "it is so difficult to travel there." Yeah, and? I get there. He makes more $ than I do. There are airplanes/trains/buses/rental cars (he doesn't own a car). My complaint is--don't complain about what I did or did not do while there. I did what I could. And, more recently, my time there is doing things with my mom that she wants to do (out for lunch, shopping, visiting her SIL, etc.). He, on the other hand, wants to empty their house. Yes, we'll have to do that at some point, but they don't want to do it now.


----------



## Rocklobster

Not to sound insensitive, here, but I think family relationships depend a lot on expectations. Not everybody feels the same way about them. Nor, should they have to.  I wish nothing but the best for my siblings, but, honestly, I'm good with a couple of hours' visit every month or so.  If, and when they invite me over or ask for a favour, I'd be there like a shot, no questions asked.  As far as their feelings towards me go, or how they respond towards my feelings,  I don't ask or expect anything.......we just exist in our individual parallel universes, tied together by one common bond....


----------



## vitauta

yes, rock, i agree with you totally--well put.


----------



## chopper

Rocklobster said:


> Not to sound insensitive, here, but I think family relationships depend a lot on expectations. Not everybody feels the same way about them. Nor, should they have to. I wish nothing but the best for my siblings, but, honestly, I'm good with a couple of hours' visit every month or so. If, and when they invite me over or ask for a favour, I'd be there like a shot, no questions asked. As far as their feelings towards me go, or how they respond towards my feelings, I don't ask or expect anything.......we just exist in our individual parallel universes, tied together by one common bond....


 

AMEN!


----------



## Andy M.

I feel like the fates wanted to give me a crushinging ending to 2011.

I've told you all about my stand mixer/commode episode.  

And I've told you about my dishwasher issues.  

Now let me tell you about my car.

Yup, my brand freakin' new car that has less than 3,000 miles on it and is less than six months old.

SO and I decided to have Chinese take-out Friday night and beat the New Years Eve rush at every Chinese restaurant in the East.  I called and gave an order.  

Shortly thereafter (all Chinese take-out is ready in 10 minutes), I got ready to go get it and found my car was completely dead as a doornail.  The remote key wouldn't open the door.  There was no lighting activity at all.  I unlocked the door and tried to start it - not even a whimper.  I thought either something was very wrong or I had left something turned on when I last used the car a couple of days earlier.

Saturday, with the light of day, I checked the car visually and found no problems and nothing I had left on to drain the battery.

SO and I jump-started the car and drove it to the dealership where it sits until tomorrow.

Not the kind of behavior I expect from a new Honda.

I fervently hope the new year gives me some respite from these calamities.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I feel like the fates wanted to give me a crushinging ending to 2011.
> 
> I've told you all about my stand mixer/commode episode.
> 
> And I've told you about my dishwasher issues.
> 
> Now let me tell you about my car.
> 
> Yup, my brand freakin' new car that has less than 3,000 miles on it and is less than six months old.
> 
> SO and I decided to have Chinese take-out Friday night and beat the New Years Eve rush at every Chinese restaurant in the East.  I called and gave an order.
> 
> Shortly thereafter (all Chinese take-out is ready in 10 minutes), I got ready to go get it and found my car was completely dead as a doornail.  The remote key wouldn't open the door.  There was no lighting activity at all.  I unlocked the door and tried to start it - not even a whimper.  I thought either something was very wrong or I had left something turned on when I last used the car a couple of days earlier.
> 
> Saturday, with the light of day, I checked the car visually and found no problems and nothing I had left on to drain the battery.
> 
> SO and I jump-started the car and drove it to the dealership where it sits until tomorrow.
> 
> Not the kind of behavior I expect from a new Honda.
> 
> I fervently hope the new year gives me some respite from these calamities.



I hope so too, Andy!

I'm dreading what the new year has in store for me...


----------



## tinlizzie

Andy M. said:


> I feel like the fates wanted to give me a crushinging ending to 2011.
> 
> I've told you all about my stand mixer/commode episode.
> 
> And I've told you about my dishwasher issues.
> 
> Now let me tell you about my car.
> 
> Yup, my brand freakin' new car that has less than 3,000 miles on it and is less than six months old.
> 
> SO and I decided to have Chinese take-out Friday night and beat the New Years Eve rush at every Chinese restaurant in the East. I called and gave an order.
> 
> Shortly thereafter (all Chinese take-out is ready in 10 minutes), I got ready to go get it and found my car was completely dead as a doornail. The remote key wouldn't open the door. There was no lighting activity at all. I unlocked the door and tried to start it - not even a whimper. I thought either something was very wrong or I had left something turned on when I last used the car a couple of days earlier.
> 
> Saturday, with the light of day, I checked the car visually and found no problems and nothing I had left on to drain the battery.
> 
> SO and I jump-started the car and drove it to the dealership where it sits until tomorrow.
> 
> Not the kind of behavior I expect from a new Honda.
> 
> I fervently hope the new year gives me some respite from these calamities.


 
I'm really disappointed to hear that it was a Honda.  I've driven nothing but H since 1992 and have come to rely of their dependability.  Rats.

I do recall an instance back in 1996 when I could not start my car.  After having it towed away and "fixed" I realized that, acting on an old, moth-eaten habit, I had pumped the gas prior to turning on the key.  At least, I _think_ that's what was wrong. They never found anything wrong with it.  Good luck.  Hope it's a simple fix.


----------



## Dawgluver

Super bummed for you, Andy.  Love my used 2006 Honda Accord.  DH claims it's like driving a sports car.  I don't allow him to have the keys anymore.

Hope everything works out!


----------



## Zhizara

Hopefully, that will make the 3 (bad things that happen) and Murphy will leave you alone for awhile.  

At least your KA is still ticking.  

You should send them a copy of the picture and let them know their product still works.  Maybe you'd get something free.


----------



## Timothy

Dang Andy, I hope your luck changes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Hopefully, that will make the 3 (bad things that happen) and Murphy will leave you alone for awhile.
> 
> At least your KA is still ticking.
> 
> You should send them a copy of the picture and let them know their product still works.  Maybe you'd get something free.



They are going to wonder why he was using the mixer in the bathroom...


----------



## Dawgluver

But he wasn't using it in the Honda.  That may be an issue with the warranty.


----------



## Rocklobster

Bummer, Andy. Hope you get things sorted out. Surely the dealership should make things right.

Today I was driving into town to pick a few things up and my back wheel started to make some noise. It got so bad I had to pull over. After an inspection I noticed that all 4 wheel lugs were loose. I could have lost my wheel doing 65 mph on the Trans Canada Highway.  Now, I have to wonder was it vandals? My girlfriends ex husband? Natural causes? hmmmmmm. Never a dull moment in Lobsterland....


----------



## Andy M.

Rocklobster said:


> Bummer, Andy. Hope you get things sorted out. Surely the dealership should make things right.
> 
> Today I was driving into town to pick a few things up and my back wheel started to make some noise. It got so bad I had to pull over. After an inspection I noticed that all 4 wheel lugs were loose. I could have lost my wheel doing 65 mph on the Trans Canada Highway.  Now, I have to wonder was it vandals? My girlfriends ex husband? Natural causes? hmmmmmm. Never a dull moment in Lobsterland....




That was a close call, rock.  Nice catch.


----------



## Dawgluver

We rented a beater VW convertible in Mexico, as we have for years.  Same nice lady, same nice deal on insurance.  All good.  Same old same old.

UNTIL, we went out for our next morning snorkel trip, and found out someone had stolen our back seat!  From a well lit parking lot!  Thank goodness the battery was still there.

Cost us $100 for a new old back seat.   Apparently times are tough all over.


----------



## Andy M.

Just got my Honda back.  Defective battery.  Replaced free under warranty.


----------



## Alix

Ah! Good news for a change! Yay Andy!


----------



## Andy M.

Thanks Alix.  That was a relief.  I was concerned they were going to blame it on the remote starter I had installed after I bought the car.  They actually tested the remote starter as part of the service process and said it was A-OK.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Just got my Honda back.  Defective battery.  Replaced free under warranty.



Phew.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Just got my Honda back.  Defective battery.  Replaced free under warranty.



Yesss!

Honda makes a great product.  So glad it worked out for you, Andy!


----------



## vitauta

good one, andy!!  i had a new defective battery replaced free last winter for my subaru.  i thought it must be a very rare occurrence at the time....


----------



## CWS4322

Okay, my BGF (I think that is the right acronym for best girl friend?) has offered me her mom's Volvo (I need a new car--well, a different car, her mom is in a nursing home, no one in the family wants the car, rather than sell it, she'd like to give it to me. It has less than 42,000 miles on it--it is in mint condition--I WANT it, I need it). The problem is it is in the US, I'm in Canada (this because my dad traded my mom's car in after telling me I could have it--I love my BGF). I have made no fewer than 12 phone calls (and visited US and Canadian customs) about this. I still don't know if I have to pay duty on this gift. Why? Because the number I was given by Cdn customs told me I had to call this number. Called the number, person called me back, said no, I had to call this number...etc. the last # I got, well the office is closed today. If it is a holiday, why is my TOU electricity not on "holiday" rates? Another rant.

I have gotten confirmation there aren't any open recalls on this VIN. I have gotten confirmation from the organization that has to safety it that it has everything it needs, but no one can tell me if (a) I can accept it as a gift for $1 and not pay HST, or if (b) because it was manufactured in Sweden, I have to pay duty on it and what the rate is. I don't want to pay for any more repairs on my existing vehicle (or have it e-tested next month to re-license it), if I can get this car in at the end of my trip to TX. Why is it so hard to get this information!!! And yes, I've spent hours on the web besides on the phone...it should be easier than this! At least she won't tell me she's traded it/sold it after all of this. She just says "are you sure you want it...her husband has already bought snows/winters for it, rims, and taken it it for a tuneup" YES!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

<stomp, stomp, stomp>  Time to renew my Victoza injections that I understood to be a two month supply, lasted me only a month.  My co-pay was $50 last month.  So I'm in a very grouchy mood wandering into the pharmacy<stomp, stomp, stomp>

My co-pay was $0...I wasted a perfectly good mad...I hate it when that happens.


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> <stomp, stomp, stomp>  Time to renew my Victoza injections that I understood to be a two month supply, lasted me only a month.  My co-pay was $50 last month.  So I'm in a very grouchy mood wandering into the pharmacy<stomp, stomp, stomp>
> 
> My co-pay was $0...I wasted a perfectly good mad...I hate it when that happens.



My partner was "prescribed" fish oil, $65 per month co-pay!  For a standard 1 gram pill!  I put an end to that and got him a big bottle at the club store, 5 months supply for $15, after a bunch of research, I found out that there was nothing special about the prescribed fish oil, it was just plain 'ol fish oil.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> My partner was "prescribed" fish oil, $65 per month co-pay!  For a standard 1 gram pill!  I put an end to that and got him a big bottle at the club store, 5 months supply for $15, after a bunch of research, I found out that there was nothing special about the prescribed fish oil, it was just plain 'ol fish oil.



There are somethings you are better off buying over the counter.  The same thing happened with Shrek's Vit D3, prescription would have been  $35 co-pay.  A bottle from Costco, that supplies both of us for 6 months $13.  He was prescribed, I started taking it because 95% of Americans are thought to be Vit D deficient, especially if they work nights.


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> There are somethings you are better off buying over the counter.  The same thing happened with Shrek's Vit D3, prescription would have been  $35 co-pay.  A bottle from Costco, that supplies both of us for 6 months $13.  He was prescribed, I started taking it because 95% of Americans are thought to be Vit D deficient, especially if they work nights.



He just tries to do the right thing and thought that this must be better because it is prescribed, luckily he has me, I am thrifty and research everything!  Don't even get me started on the price of his Niaspan, if there was an extended release niacin over the counter I would buy it for him, but there isn't and I don't want him looking like a lobster from the flushing!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> He just tries to do the right thing and thought that this must be better because it is prescribed, luckily he has me, I am thrifty and research everything!  Don't even get me started on the price of his Niaspan, if there was an extended release niacin over the counter I would buy it for him, but there isn't and I don't want him looking like a lobster from the flushing!



Helps to know a nurse who will look things up for you if you ask nicely...


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Helps to know a nurse who will look things up for you if you ask nicely...



How very kind!


----------



## Dawgluver

I like Krill Oil, much easier to swallow than fish oil.  Tiny little pills.  I have trouble choking down fish oil.  Also get D3 OTC.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> How very kind!



I don't mind, sometimes a learning experience for you is also a learning experience for me.  I'm an nurse, I like to help...or I'm just deficient in the brains department


----------



## chopper

I have had some sort of cold since the 15th of Dec. Thought I was getting better, but I feel terrible again. Guess it is time to involve the doctor.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:
			
		

> I have had some sort of cold since the 15th of Dec. Thought I was getting better, but I feel terrible again. Guess it is time to involve the doctor.



Aha!  You were the one who sneezed upon me!  

Sorry, Chopper.  Get well soon!  I feel like heck too.  Back to work tomorrow.


----------



## chopper

I started getting sick right before going on the holiday break. Was sick the entire time off. Started getting better when it was time to go back to work. I went back to work on Monday. I guess the School District I work for didn't care about the fact that all other districts had Monday off. Had a presentation to do today and did ok. On the way home I started getting sick again.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, sweetie.  Feel better soon!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yeah, I'm getting something creeping up on me, low grade fever.  No cough, but stuffy, sneezing like crazy.  And just feel icky, not sick enough to stay home.  Steady headache, but not bad enough for a precursor to a migraine.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> Okay, my BGF (I think that is the right acronym for best girl friend?) has offered me her mom's Volvo (I need a new car--well, a different car, her mom is in a nursing home, no one in the family wants the car, rather than sell it, she'd like to give it to me. It has less than 42,000 miles on it--it is in mint condition--I WANT it, I need it). The problem is it is in the US, I'm in Canada (this because my dad traded my mom's car in after telling me I could have it--I love my BGF). I have made no fewer than 12 phone calls (and visited US and Canadian customs) about this. I still don't know if I have to pay duty on this gift. Why? Because the number I was given by Cdn customs told me I had to call this number. Called the number, person called me back, said no, I had to call this number...etc. the last # I got, well the office is closed today. If it is a holiday, why is my TOU electricity not on "holiday" rates? Another rant.
> 
> I have gotten confirmation there aren't any open recalls on this VIN. I have gotten confirmation from the organization that has to safety it that it has everything it needs, but no one can tell me if (a) I can accept it as a gift for $1 and not pay HST, or if (b) because it was manufactured in Sweden, I have to pay duty on it and what the rate is. I don't want to pay for any more repairs on my existing vehicle (or have it e-tested next month to re-license it), if I can get this car in at the end of my trip to TX. Why is it so hard to get this information!!! And yes, I've spent hours on the web besides on the phone...it should be easier than this! At least she won't tell me she's traded it/sold it after all of this. She just says "are you sure you want it...her husband has already bought snows/winters for it, rims, and taken it it for a tuneup" YES!!!



Good luck with the Volvo. What year is it? I will be looking to trade in my 19 year old Volvo for a newer one as soon as I get some money from my mum's estate. The, hopefully final, hearing is in early February.


----------



## CWS4322

It is a 1998, but it only has 42,000 miles (~61K). It is that "little old lady drove it to church" car.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> It is a 1998, but it only has 42,000 miles (~61K). It is that "little old lady drove it to church" car.



Kewl, that's from before Ford bought Volvo.


----------



## CWS4322

Yup--manufactured in Sweden. I loved my other Volvo. I had it forever (about 18 years). I like Volvos. I figure I will have this one for awhile...at least another 130K.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yeah, I'm getting something creeping up on me, low grade fever.  No cough, but stuffy, sneezing like crazy.  And just feel icky, not sick enough to stay home.  Steady headache, but not bad enough for a precursor to a migraine.


Yuck. Hopefully Shrek has made homemade chicken noodle soup for you.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> Yup--manufactured in Sweden. I loved my other Volvo. I had it forever (about 18 years). I like Volvos. I figure I will have this one for awhile...at least another 130K.



They are still making them in Sweden, even though Ford owns the company.

I love Volvos. I was rear ended by a drunk. I was driving my first, beloved Volvo. The police, two lady cops who saw the crash, were surprised that we weren't the least bit injured. They are known for being safe and that crash certainly convinced me. Drunken fool was driving an SUV and plowed into me while I was waiting at a traffic light. The frame on my Volvo got bent, so I got a replacement Volvo - the one I have now.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Yuck. Hopefully Shrek has made homemade chicken noodle soup for you.



Shrek, cook....


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> <stomp, stomp, stomp> Time to renew my Victoza injections that I understood to be a two month supply, lasted me only a month. My co-pay was $50 last month. So I'm in a very grouchy mood wandering into the pharmacy<stomp, stomp, stomp>
> 
> My co-pay was $0...I wasted a perfectly good mad...I hate it when that happens.


 
It is just possible that they didn't have a two month supply on hand when you first got it filled, and they failed to tell you. So your original co-pay was for a two month supply. Next time look on the bottle and check the amount. If it is in pill form, there should be 30 pills. The label has to say how much is in the container. And they should inform you if it is a full prescription as written. Of course if it was a pharmacist aide that handed you your purchase, she would have no way of knowing. 

Next time speak to the pharmacist. Don't take it laying down. It is the only way you can catch any errors that may be made. Open the bag and examine the bottle right there at the counter. Read your rights that should be posted right within sight of the service counter where you either drop off your script or where you pick it up. But I do understand your frustration!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> It is just possible that they didn't have a two month supply on hand when you first got it filled, and they failed to tell you. So your original co-pay was for a two month supply. Next time look on the bottle and check the amount. If it is in pill form, there should be 30 pills. The label has to say how much is in the container. And they should inform you if it is a full prescription as written. Of course if it was a pharmacist aide that handed you your purchase, she would have no way of knowing.
> 
> Next time speak to the pharmacist. Don't take it laying down. It is the only way you can catch any errors that may be made. Open the bag and examine the bottle right there at the counter. Read your rights that should be posted right within sight of the service counter where you either drop off your script or where you pick it up. But I do understand your frustration!



Actually, my vent was that I wasted a perfectly good mad...

The medication is in a pen for injection, first time for me using it, I thought (my bad, should have read the instructions) one pen was one month and I had gotten two pens. Now I know better and I wasn't paying attention to how many pens Shrek was going through a month on his injectable.  Since I am no longer administering medications at work, I hadn't gotten to use any pen injectables except for Novolog and those last forever.  They are cool and the needles are sooo tiny.

I was excited by no co-pay...but you can bet I won't count on it happening again.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Actually, my vent was that I wasted a perfectly good mad...
> 
> The medication is in a pen for injection, first time for me using it, I thought (my bad, should have read the instructions) one pen was one month and I had gotten two pens. Now I know better and I wasn't paying attention to how many pens Shrek was going through a month on his injectable. Since I am no longer administering medications at work, I hadn't gotten to use any pen injectables except for Novolog and those last forever. They are cool and the needles are sooo tiny.
> I was excited by no co-pay...but you can bet I won't count on it happening again.


 
You get a freebee mad next time. Those injectables are so neat. My son carries one with him all summer. Allergic to bee stings.


----------



## Addie

My son took all my whites down to the laundry room and washed and dried them. Bless his heart. I guess I can't have everything. I have to fold everything. There is a pile of towels. There are several sheet towels that are very heavy and thick. I hate folding these. The rest of the towels are of normal size. Those are bad enough to fold. I use to enjoy folding laundry. But not anymore.


----------



## chopper

Being sick really makes me vent!!!  Now today I finally went to the doctor (actually her PA) after being sick for three weeks. I was given a script for nighttime cough medicine, so I may actually get some rest tonight, but...I was also told that it may last another week or so. Now I need to wait a week before taking anything to get better!  Now, I have a massive headache. Guess I will see how tonight goes!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Wow, reading the vents it seams like everyone is getting sick. Me too. I just got over a cold yesterday and today I woke up with a stomach bug. Not at all fun. Fealing better tonight though. Hope everyone else gets better soon.


----------



## Alix

My vent is about weird petty crap. But that's really what this thread is for...petty crap. I'm cranky and feeling a bit petty myself about now. 

I got a "talking to" at work yesterday and I was not responsible for one of the issues, and I'd corrected an oversight I'd made. I explained as much to this supervisor and suggested he do some digging about it. Then I got to thinking about this and realized that he could only have heard about my oversight from another employee who is not my biggest fan. So, I'm a little peeved. I corrected one very minor error, and then have been accused of one LARGER error that could impact my credibility. I'm unhappy and I can't even confront this particular coworker as he is on days off for two more days. Grrrr. In the grand scheme of things this isn't a big issue, but it is irritating.

AND...my eyelid keeps twitching. Its making me NUTS. Been happening off and on now for a month or so and I can't figure out how to stop it!


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> My vent is about weird petty crap. But that's really what this thread is for...petty crap. I'm cranky and feeling a bit petty myself about now.
> 
> I got a "talking to" at work yesterday and I was not responsible for one of the issues, and I'd corrected an oversight I'd made. I explained as much to this supervisor and suggested he do some digging about it. Then I got to thinking about this and realized that he could only have heard about my oversight from another employee who is not my biggest fan. So, I'm a little peeved. I corrected one very minor error, and then have been accused of one LARGER error that could impact my credibility. I'm unhappy and I can't even confront this particular coworker as he is on days off for two more days. Grrrr. In the grand scheme of things this isn't a big issue, but it is irritating.


 
And what is worse, by the time he gets back to work, you will be over your mad. Grrrr!


----------



## Alix

EXACTLY! I hate to waste a good grump! LOL! Thanks Addie.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Alix said:
			
		

> AND...my eyelid keeps twitching. Its making me NUTS. Been happening off and on now for a month or so and I can't figure out how to stop it!



Have you gotten this checked out yet? It could be a sign of something serious. A friend of mine had an eye that kept twitching for an extended amount of time and found out he'd had a small stroke. Not the only thing that can cause persistant muscle twitches but it's worth getting checked out, if for no other reason than to see if the twitching can be relieved.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

5 adults. 3 kids (2 toddlers and a preteen). All sick with a stomach/intestinal virus. Those of us who have had it for a week and ran a fever with it are finally starting to feel better. Those who initially had it at the beginning of the week for only 24 hrs are getting it again and running a fever with it this time. Hopefully it will be gone soon. We're all tired of smelling the nastier parts of this illness and doing mass loads of laundry. And someone is going to have to go get more toilet paper soon. Been a rough week.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sounds bad, Jess.  Anyone feel good enough for a TP run?  Some local stores are willing to deliver when a household is down.  Even the the cab company will do a run if needed.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Rol has been symptom free for over 24 hours so he's going to work this afternoon and will pick some up on his way home. We have enough until then.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Rol has been symptom free for over 24 hours so he's going to work this afternoon and will pick some up on his way home. We have enough until then.



And food and fluids...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

We have lots of rice, bread, jello, broth, applesauce, soda crackers and oatmeal. We need more bananas, some pedialyte for the two toddlers and some more vitamin waters for the adults. And everyone is sipping water and gingerale. We also have lots of herbal peppermint, chamomile, and spearmint chamomile tea that we've all been sipping. 

Hardest part is keeping the two boys entertained. They're so little they don't really understand that they need to rest and take it easy or that Aunt Jessie can't be lifting them over her head and spinning them around. They want to wrestle and play like they normally do and it's just not possible.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yeah, keeping kids busy when you are sick is not fun.


----------



## Addie

So what's with the spinach? My son has been hunting for more than a week for me trying to find fresh spinach. At first I wanted baby spinach. Now I will take any kind. He has hit five different very large supermarkets and they are out of it. One store advertised it for sale this week. He went the day the sale started. No spinach. When he asked, all he could get for an answer was "no spinach." I WANT MY SPINACH!!! Do I have to throw a hissy fit and stomp my feet in the middle of the produce aisle? Or maybe that old feminine wile, tears. Kale, escarole, etc. just will not do. It has to be spinach. I just want to saute' it in lots of butter and then pig out.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I picked up 4 bags of baby last week, tossed three in the freezer.  It was on sale for 75 cents an 8 ounce bag...maybe it all got sent to Montana???


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I picked up 4 bags of baby last week, tossed three in the freezer. It was on sale for 75 cents an 8 ounce bag...maybe it all got sent to Montana???


 
Then I will be there to throw a hissy fit.


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Rol has been symptom free for over 24 hours so he's going to work this afternoon and will pick some up on his way home. We have enough until then.


 
Just be careful. If this virus comes back at you, it does so with a vengence. Make sure he stays hydrated. And keep some bleach wipes on hand to clean counters and bathroom facility handles clean on a regular basis. Hand sanitizer wouldn't hurt either.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yeah, keeping kids busy when you are sick is not fun.


 
Get some old sheets, push some chairs together and make them a tent. I have yet to see a youngster that doesn't like tents. Make a pallet for them to sleep on. Give them their lunch in there. Give them some 'pretending' ideas. And let them take some coloring books or other quiet activity in the tent. If they are boys, the tent can become the parking garage for their trucks. Girls, they can put their babies to sleep in the tent. 

 We remember what we liked as children.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Just be careful. If this virus comes back at you, it does so with a vengence. Make sure he stays hydrated. And keep some bleach wipes on hand to clean counters and bathroom facility handles clean on a regular basis. Hand sanitizer wouldn't hurt either.





Addie said:


> Get some old sheets, push some chairs together and make them a tent. I have yet to see a youngster that doesn't like tents. Make a pallet for them to sleep on. Give them their lunch in there. Give them some 'pretending' ideas. And let them take some coloring books or other quiet activity in the tent. If they are boys, the tent can become the parking garage for their trucks. Girls, they can put their babies to sleep in the tent.
> 
> We remember what we liked as children.




Both excellent ideas, Addie.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Both excellent ideas, Addie.


 
Thank you. Having raised five kids, been there, done that.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Thank you. Having raised five kids, been there, done that.



I raised zero kids, got mine already housebroken and they lived with their Mom.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> Get some old sheets, push some chairs together and make them a tent. I have yet to see a youngster that doesn't like tents. Make a pallet for them to sleep on. Give them their lunch in there. Give them some 'pretending' ideas. And let them take some coloring books or other quiet activity in the tent. If they are boys, the tent can become the parking garage for their trucks. Girls, they can put their babies to sleep in the tent.
> 
> We remember what we liked as children.



My mom used to do that with the dining room table!  We had many indoor camping expeditions when we were kids!  Now I think I would just pop em in the dryer on air only for a few minutes!


----------



## Claire

My younger sisters had bunk beds, and they were perfect for making tents!


----------



## JoAnn L.

On summer nights we used to hang either old sheets or blankets over the wash lines to make tents.


----------



## Alix

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Have you gotten this checked out yet? It could be a sign of something serious. A friend of mine had an eye that kept twitching for an extended amount of time and found out he'd had a small stroke. Not the only thing that can cause persistant muscle twitches but it's worth getting checked out, if for no other reason than to see if the twitching can be relieved.



Nope, I doubt this is anything serious, but thank you for reminding me to be aware. 

I sure hope that bug leaves your house soon. BLECH! It sounds awful!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Thanks for the great ideas. I'm definitely going to have to try the tent. The three y/o will especially like that. Everyone seems a little better tonight so here's hoping. Fortunately everyone has been willing to drink herbal tea, water and watered down juice so we're all staying hydrated. We have disinfectant wipes that we've been using and liquid bleach that we've been adding to water to clean the counters. And we've been washing the clothes in hot water just to make sure they come good and clean.


----------



## Addie

Addie said:


> So what's with the spinach? My son has been hunting for more than a week for me trying to find fresh spinach. At first I wanted baby spinach. Now I will take any kind. He has hit five different very large supermarkets and they are out of it. One store advertised it for sale this week. He went the day the sale started. No spinach. When he asked, all he could get for an answer was "no spinach." I WANT MY SPINACH!!! Do I have to throw a hissy fit and stomp my feet in the middle of the produce aisle? Or maybe that old feminine wile, tears. Kale, escarole, etc. just will not do. It has to be spinach. I just want to saute' it in lots of butter and then pig out.


 
I got my spinach! I got my spinach!!! Yea! Son #1 was working on the North Shore and stopped in one of the major supermarkets up there and got me two big bags of baby spinach. I would tell him I love him, but he just tells me that I will get over it. Or some other smart remark. We have only been hunting every day since the 2nd of the month for it. Now I can go to bed a happy camper. If you look out your window you will see a crazy old lady dancing down the street. That's me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I got my spinach! I got my spinach!!! Yea! Son #1 was working on the North Shore and stopped in one of the major supermarkets up there and got me two big bags of baby spinach. I would tell him I love him, but he just tells me that I will get over it. Or some other smart remark. We have only been hunting every day since the 2nd of the month for it. Now I can go to bed a happy camper. If you look out your window you will see a crazy old lady dancing down the street. That's me.



Yea!!!!!!


----------



## chopper

FYI, feeling much better now!  I started the antibiotics on Sat. and I am feeling great!  It's heck being sick.


----------



## bakechef

Have gotten 2 estimates "proposals" on an entirely new HVAC system $$$$

I am grateful that, #1 this didn't happen with the A/C in the middle of a hot summer and #2 we have options to pay for this without debt, things could be much worse!


----------



## CWS4322

bakechef said:


> Have gotten 2 estimates "proposals" on an entirely new HVAC system $$$$
> 
> I am grateful that, #1 this didn't happen with the A/C in the middle of a hot summer and #2 we have options to pay for this without debt, things could be much worse!


Ouch.


----------



## CWS4322

chopper said:


> FYI, feeling much better now!  I started the antibiotics on Sat. and I am feeling great!  It's heck being sick.


I don't know about people, but with dogs, 48 hours is the time it takes for antibiotics to kick in and for the dog to feel better...must be similar for people. I have a chronic low-grade kidney infection for which I have a script. I only need two doses before the pain goes away--but I do have to take the pills for the entire 10 days. I wish I could get rid of this infection once and for all. Just doesn't seem to want to happen (it has been 7 years).


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> Have gotten 2 estimates "proposals" on an entirely new HVAC system $$$$
> 
> I am grateful that, #1 this didn't happen with the A/C in the middle of a hot summer and #2 we have options to pay for this without debt, things could be much worse!


 
Chin up girl! Things will get better if you believe.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> Chin up girl! Things will get better if you believe.



Thanks!  But I'm a guy!


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:
			
		

> Thanks!  But I'm a guy!



We knew that , Bakechef!


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> I don't know about people, but with dogs, 48 hours is the time it takes for antibiotics to kick in and for the dog to feel better...must be similar for people. I have a chronic low-grade kidney infection for which I have a script. I only need two doses before the pain goes away--but I do have to take the pills for the entire 10 days. I wish I could get rid of this infection once and for all. Just doesn't seem to want to happen (it has been 7 years).


 
Depends upon the antibotic. Kidney infections are not to be fooled with. My yongest daughter developed a serious infection from when she had the measles when she was five years old. Her doctor told me that she would eventually end up on the list for a new kidney. She didn't live long enough. But by the time of her death, the autopsy report stated that one kidney was non-functional. And the other was seriously damaged and scarred from years of infections. I spent more money for her meds than any one else in the family.


----------



## chopper

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> I don't know about people, but with dogs, 48 hours is the time it takes for antibiotics to kick in and for the dog to feel better...must be similar for people. I have a chronic low-grade kidney infection for which I have a script. I only need two doses before the pain goes away--but I do have to take the pills for the entire 10 days. I wish I could get rid of this infection once and for all. Just doesn't seem to want to happen (it has been 7 years).



Seven years?!!!  And I was whining about 4 weeks of being sick. 
My pills are only for five days. I only have one left. I guess they still keep working after that up to 10 days total. Hope your pain goes away quickly.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> Thanks! But I'm a guy!


 
Sorry. But they will still get better.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:
			
		

> Sorry. But they will still get better.



In a little over 2 weeks, I'll be on vacation, it will be much better then!  After that we need to go on a money diet for a while!


----------



## CWS4322

chopper said:


> Seven years?!!!  And I was whining about 4 weeks of being sick.
> My pills are only for five days. I only have one left. I guess they still keep working after that up to 10 days total. Hope your pain goes away quickly.


Yup...thank goodness I can go to the EMERG on OHIP when it is really bad, but I don't understand why they can't culture it and figure out the antibiotic that will make it go away. This is the result of e-coli......which is another story.


----------



## Claire

Grrrr ... frustrated.  I was having one heck of a time staying awake this evening, went up to bed, and my eyes pop open and I am wide awake.  This isn't unusual, it has been the story of my life, insomnia.  But it never fails to aggravate me when it takes this form.  It's partner is that I'm drifting off in my chair in the afternoon (usually around 3).  I'll cat-nap for awhile if hubby and doggie don't bug me.  But do you think I could do as some of my friends do, and simply go upstairs and take a nap?  Not unless I'm quite sick.  As soon as I lie down it's like there's a spring in my eyelids and they bounce open and that's that.


----------



## Alix

I will not be sick, I will not be sick! ARGH! I've been dodging germs at work and at home for weeks and I think one caught me! I'm going to dose myself with honey, lemon and echinacea! (And maybe a shot of brandy later!)


----------



## Timothy

Claire said:


> Grrrr ... frustrated. I was having one heck of a time staying awake this evening, went up to bed, and my eyes pop open and I am wide awake. This isn't unusual, it has been the story of my life, insomnia. But it never fails to aggravate me when it takes this form. It's partner is that I'm drifting off in my chair in the afternoon (usually around 3). I'll cat-nap for awhile if hubby and doggie don't bug me. But do you think I could do as some of my friends do, and simply go upstairs and take a nap? Not unless I'm quite sick. As soon as I lie down it's like there's a spring in my eyelids and they bounce open and that's that.


 
I find that reading for awhile prior to trying to go to sleep, helps me get my mind into a more relaxed state. Then I seem to go to sleep without the "What I did today and will do tomorrow" thoughts taking over.

When I get sleepy in the afternoon, I roll the chair back and give into it. Dinky loves it when I do this, as he can climb up and sleep with me. he loves to lay on my left side and put his head just above my armpit. He purrs so hard that it calms me with it's rhythm. An hour or so in the chair like that and I'm back up for he evening.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> Depends upon the antibotic. Kidney infections are not to be fooled with. My yongest daughter developed a serious infection from when she had the measles when she was five years old. Her doctor told me that she would eventually end up on the list for a new kidney. She didn't live long enough.


So sorry.


----------



## CWS4322

Alix said:


> I will not be sick, I will not be sick! ARGH! I've been dodging germs at work and at home for weeks and I think one caught me! I'm going to dose myself with honey, lemon and echinacea! (And maybe a shot of brandy later!)


Don't you have to wear a mask to avoid AII?


----------



## Alix

CWS4322 said:


> Don't you have to wear a mask to avoid AII?



What's AII? 

And as an update, I think I might have dodged the bug. I dosed myself with chicken soup, tea, etc and just did the necessities around here today. (I did a grocery run, but that's it) I don't feel achy and stuffy anymore. Whew!


----------



## chopper

Timothy said:
			
		

> I find that reading for awhile prior to trying to go to sleep, helps me get my mind into a more relaxed state. Then I seem to go to sleep without the "What I did today and will do tomorrow" thoughts taking over.
> 
> When I get sleepy in the afternoon, I roll the chair back and give into it. Dinky loves it when I do this, as he can climb up and sleep with me. he loves to lay on my left side and put his head just above my armpit. He purrs so hard that it calms me with it's rhythm. An hour or so in the chair like that and I'm back up for he evening.



The reading thing works for me as long as it is not something I am really interested in. A good novel is not something I could read before bed because I would want to read the whole thing. Light reading of a magazine seems to work.


----------



## Timothy

chopper said:


> The reading thing works for me as long as it is not something I am really interested in. A good novel is not something I could read before bed because I would want to read the whole thing. Light reading of a magazine seems to work.


 
I have no restrictions that would make me want to avoid an interesting book. Sometimes I read until I have trouble focusing on the print before finally putting the book down and sleeping.

I wake whenever I happen to wake. My life is totally flexible.

After 45 years of work, I still find it difficult sometimes to realize I can do anything, any time I wish now. It's quite a change in lifestyle.


----------



## Zhizara

chopper said:


> The reading thing works for me as long as it is not something I am really interested in. A good novel is not something I could read before bed because I would want to read the whole thing. Light reading of a magazine seems to work.



This is what works for me.  Years ago, when I was working I had to get the kids up and ready and take them to a sitter, then drive 40 miles to work, each way.  It was important that I get enough sleep to get through another long day.

I had a book, The Source, that would make me sleepy.  I could only last through a couple of pages.  That book lasted me a couple of years, just reading at bedtime.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> I have no restrictions that would make me want to avoid an interesting book. Sometimes I read until I have trouble focusing on the print before finally putting the book down and sleeping.
> 
> I wake whenever I happen to wake. My life is totally flexible.
> 
> After 45 years of work, I still find it difficult sometimes to realize I can do anything, any time I wish now. It's quite a change in lifestyle.


 
You will get used to it and revel in it. The only time I have a problem with the free life style is if I have an appointment and have been up all night. I don't usually get tired until around one p.m. or after. So I make all my appointments in the early morning. One of the benefits of staying up all night is that due to atmospheric pressure most pain will occur during the night hours. So by staying up at night, I find it less painful. 

I read many years ago that most ills are going to be more intense during the night hours due to atmospheric pressure. I forget why, but I find it to be true. All I know is that it works for me. Earaches are less painful if I stay sitting up and keep busy during the night hours.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Reading huge textbooks in bed works, your wrists get tired and the book falls, knocking you out...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Reading huge textbooks in bed works, your wrists get tired and the book falls, knocking you out...


----------



## Addie

*Medicare Choices*

I am of sick of seeing the ads for changing your Medicare choices on TV and getting emails galore. No matter how many I send to spam, there are more out there. That and ads for AARP. They are worse than my cable company. I have started to return all junk mail from my cable company, AARP and any other Medicare choice program that I get in the mail. I cross out the bar code and write "Return to sender" across my name. Why should I clutter up my trash basket with their junk mail. and the post office has been complaining that with the advent of email, they don't have enough work to pay for their costs. 

I am also sick of those loose subscription cards stuck inside magazines falling out to the floor. So I take an envelope with return mail paid, save up a bunch of those cards from any mag, stuff them in the envelope and mail them to whoever has their name on the envelope. Blank of course. 

Don't mess with the crazy little Indian!

I have too much time on my hands.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I am of sick of seeing the ads for changing your Medicare choices on TV and getting emails galore. No matter how many I send to spam, there are more out there. That and ads for AARP. They are worse than my cable company. I have started to return all junk mail from my cable company, AARP and any other Medicare choice program that I get in the mail. I cross out the bar code and write "Return to sender" across my name. Why should I clutter up my trash basket with their junk mail. and the post office has been complaining that with the advent of email, they don't have enough work to pay for their costs.
> 
> I am also sick of those loose subscription cards stuck inside magazines falling out to the floor. So I take an envelope with return mail paid, save up a bunch of those cards from any mag, stuff them in the envelope and mail them to whoever has their name on the envelope. Blank of course.
> 
> Don't mess with the crazy little Indian!
> 
> I have too much time on my hands.



My evil twin sister's name is Addie...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My evil twin sister's name is Addie...


----------



## Zhizara

I got used to the fact that when I hurt at night, I may as well get up.  Now I enjoy it.  I take a nap later.  I coax myself into getting up by thinking about having that first cup of coffee, and I'm right up.

I've trained myself to get up_ before _the pain starts, and stay mostly pain free now.


----------



## Timothy

Zhizara said:


> This is what works for me. Years ago, when I was working I had to get the kids up and ready and take them to a sitter, then drive 40 miles to work, each way. It was important that I get enough sleep to get through another long day.
> 
> I had a book, The Source, that would make me sleepy. I could only last through a couple of pages. That book lasted me a couple of years, just reading at bedtime.


 
"The Source" did that to everyone. I saw James Michener on an interview show once where he apologized for the book. The first half of the book is as fascinating as most of his others, but almost exactly on a single page, it turns to absolute boredom. He said his publisher pushed him into doing a rush job to finish the book and he wrote the last half in a week, after taking many years to write the first half.

I've never finished it. I get to that area where he started rushing to finish and I can go no further. There was one section where he described a bush for 6 pages. Real sleeping material.

His book "Hawaii" was perhaps one of the best books I've ever read in my life. I read that when I was about 10.


----------



## Timothy

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Reading huge textbooks in bed works, your wrists get tired and the book falls, knocking you out...


That's a fact! I have a stack of 2,000 page text books I've read. I call em "door stops".


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


>


I KNEW it--that's why we were separated at birth.


----------



## CWS4322

Alix said:


> What's AII?
> 
> And as an update, I think I might have dodged the bug. I dosed myself with chicken soup, tea, etc and just did the necessities around here today. (I did a grocery run, but that's it) I don't feel achy and stuffy anymore. Whew!


Chicken soup works every time...AII is airborne infectious isolation.


----------



## Timothy

CWS4322 said:


> Chicken soup works every time...AII is airborne infectious isolation.


 
So AII would be the prevention measures taken to avoid AI?


----------



## CWS4322

Timothy said:


> So AII would be the prevention measures taken to avoid AI?


Yup.


----------



## Timothy

CWS4322 said:


> Don't you have to wear a mask to avoid AII?


 


Timothy said:


> So AII would be the prevention measures taken to avoid AI?


 


CWS4322 said:


> Yup.


 
Now I understand that you meant:

Don't you have to wear a mask to avoid AI, (Not AII)?

Thanks!


----------



## CWS4322

AII precautions is how the term is defined in the glossary I edited in December. But yes, a mask is a good idea.


----------



## Alix

CWS4322 said:


> Chicken soup works every time...AII is airborne infectious isolation.



Ah! I get you now, sorry, I wasn't using my brain. 

I do not work in a hospital setting, so no I don't. The several facilities I work in are residential in nature even though my work can be pretty clinical. Mostly when people ask me about my jobs, I describe this one as "parenting other people's kids"

That comes with the usual round of germs though. And then I have to contend with all the germs my own kids bring home from their respective schools, and if I'm teaching myself, the germs from the college. I just wash my hands a LOT, and take echinacea and a crapload of liquids when I feel like something might be trying to take hold. Usually that works.

Going to go out and check on pillows today. I think I've narrowed down my neck issue to the nightguard and the pillow.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> ...Going to go out and check on pillows today. I think I've narrowed down my neck issue to the nightguard and the pillow.




Alix, I had neck issues in bed until I bought two solid foam pillows.  They seem to support my neck better than others and hold their shape where others don't.  Just a thought.


----------



## Alix

Andy M. said:


> Alix, I had neck issues in bed until I bought two solid foam pillows.  They seem to support my neck better than others and hold their shape where others don't.  Just a thought.



My last GOOD pillow was a feather pillow, so I've been trying all different size of feather pillow. I think I'm ready to admit this just ISN'T working. I'm going to look at a memory foam pillow. Do you guys have Sleep Country there? They have pillows for all types of sleeping styles. They guarantee them too. Not cheap, but at this point I'm willing to try anything. 

Solid foam? How thick are they?


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> ...Solid foam? How thick are they?



They're shaped like regular pillows.  One of mine has a thinner profile and the other is slightly fatter.


----------



## CWS4322

I'm partial to down pillows. I usually pay about $80-120 for each. I wash them every 3 months, and replace them every 2-3 years.


----------



## babetoo

Addie said:


> I am of sick of seeing the ads for changing your Medicare choices on TV and getting emails galore. No matter how many I send to spam, there are more out there. That and ads for AARP. They are worse than my cable company. I have started to return all junk mail from my cable company, AARP and any other Medicare choice program that I get in the mail. I cross out the bar code and write "Return to sender" across my name. Why should I clutter up my trash basket with their junk mail. and the post office has been complaining that with the advent of email, they don't have enough work to pay for their costs.
> 
> I am also sick of those loose subscription cards stuck inside magazines falling out to the floor. So I take an envelope with return mail paid, save up a bunch of those cards from any mag, stuff them in the envelope and mail them to whoever has their name on the envelope. Blank of course.
> 
> Don't mess with the crazy little Indian!
> 
> I have too much time on my hands.


 

you have listed a bunch of things, they all annoy me as well. don't know if i would take the time to return, but i do toss before i even get in the house with the mail. what a waste of paper it seems to be. they must get some return on it or they wouldn't do it. keep the faith!!


----------



## Alix

CWS4322 said:


> I'm partial to down pillows. I usually pay about $80-120 for each. I wash them every 3 months, and replace them every 2-3 years.



Are down pillows different from feather pillows?


----------



## Addie

babetoo said:


> you have listed a bunch of things, they all annoy me as well. don't know if i would take the time to return, but i do toss before i even get in the house with the mail. what a waste of paper it seems to be. they must get some return on it or they wouldn't do it. keep the faith!!


 
They have to pay the postage on every one that is returned. Or you can return the cards without even fillinig them out. They have to pay the postage on them also. Save a bunch of them up, and mail them all at the same time. Give the P.O. some work.


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> Are down pillows different from feather pillows?


 
Yes. Feathers could be from chickens, ducks, sparrows, or whatever. Down is the under feathers of geese and other fowl. Down is very fluffy. 

What Is Goose Down?


----------



## Alix

So maybe I've been screwing this up inadvertently. Maybe my last good pillow was a DOWN pillow and I've been buying FEATHER pillows instead? Would that account for the difference?


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> So maybe I've been screwing this up inadvertently. Maybe my last good pillow was a DOWN pillow and I've been buying FEATHER pillows instead? Would that account for the difference?


 
Could be. The quills on a feather pillow are sharp and larger than down. Look at the site I sent you. Read the label. By law, it has to state what the contents are and I think the percentage of a mixed filling.


----------



## Alix

Um...I cut tags off as soon as things get into the house. Oops. I KNOW these are feather pillows though. I've been poked often enough. I am thinking though that the other ones must have been down pillows cuz they never poked me and they were skooshier. Does that make sense?


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> Um...I cut tags off as soon as things get into the house. Oops. I KNOW these are feather pillows though. I've been poked often enough. I am thinking though that the other ones must have been down pillows cuz they never poked me and they were skooshier. Does that make sense?


 
Yup! Sure does. And I am reporting you to the authorities for cutting off thoe tags.


----------



## babetoo

venting---i am sick and tired of being tired. can't get anything done. have to stop and rest every half hour or so. i am eating balanced meals, even though i am dieting. probably eating healthier than before. if it is just old age, not much i can do. dr. has me on iron, twice a day . and i take several other ones as well. wish i could find something to do about it.


----------



## CWS4322

babetoo said:


> venting---i am sick and tired of being tired. can't get anything done. have to stop and rest every half hour or so. i am eating balanced meals, even though i am dieting. probably eating healthier than before. if it is just old age, not much i can do. dr. has me on iron, twice a day . and i take several other ones as well. wish i could find something to do about it.


Has your doctor checked your thyroid?


----------



## babetoo

CWS4322 said:


> Has your doctor checked your thyroid?


 

i don't think so but it certainly sounds like a good idea.


----------



## CWS4322

babetoo said:


> i don't think so but it certainly sounds like a good idea.


The thyroid atrophies as one ages. And, because it is instrumental re: all systems in the body, ruling out low thyroid would be a good place to start. You may also add Vit B12 to your daily pills. My mother is chronically tired--since she's been on Vit B12, her energy level has improved.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> Yup! Sure does. And I am reporting you to the authorities for cutting off thoe tags.


There's a reason you're not supposed to cut the tags off! Down pillows are usually more expensive than ones with higher feather content.


----------



## Addie

babetoo said:


> i don't think so but it certainly sounds like a good idea.


 

I have had thyroid problems all my life. But it wasn't until five years ago that I reached the point where you are now. Tired all the time. If I miss a dose of my thyroid medication, I feel it. Because of my crazy sleep patterns, I sometimes will sleep right past my evening dose which is when I am scheduled for it. Next day when I wake up, I drag all day. I think the only reason mine was caught is because my sister and mother both had goiters that caused *hypo*thyroidism. Underactive thyroid. A thorough history taking caught this fact. It is worth asking your doctor to look into it and make him give you the results with explanations. You HAVE to be your own strong advocate. 

Fortunately, today most of the old time doctors who didn't like having their patients questioning their judgement have go of the wayside. I wouldn't stay with a doctor who doesn't listen to me. You really want to tick me off? Treat me as if I am nothing but some old stupid woman who shouldn't dare question the wisdom of a man. 

When I first joined ESP, my health plan, my doctor had me going to every specialist except ob/gyn. Little by little, we have been determining *together *which ones I need to continue seeing and those I don't. 

Good luck!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

First thing I ever asked a doctor for was for him to check my thyroid function.  My Mother had hyperparathyroidism for many years before if was diagnosed.  I was the one that kept telling her she had a thyroid problem and her doctor at the time said, "I'm the doctor, your daughter is a cashier, who do YOU think is right?"  Turns out I was right.  After surgery Mom's life turned around and she was feeling good for the first time in a long time.

Now I have mine checked yearly, I don't want it to be sprung on me.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> First thing I ever asked a doctor for was for him to check my thyroid function. My Mother had hyperparathyroidism for many years before if was diagnosed. I was the one that kept telling her she had a thyroid problem and her doctor at the time said, "I'm the doctor, your daughter is a cashier, who do YOU think is right?" Turns out I was right. After surgery Mom's life turned around and she was feeling good for the first time in a long time.
> 
> Now I have mine checked yearly, I don't want it to be sprung on me.


 
You should have sent him a big card with one word. CACHING!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> You should have sent him a big card with one word. CACHING!!!



You wouldn't believe how many times that doctor told me that everything was in my head, not real at all.  If he'd had his way I would have been stashed in the nut house a long time ago or dead.


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> Fortunately, today most of the old time doctors who didn't like having their patients questioning their judgement have go of the wayside. I wouldn't stay with a doctor who doesn't listen to me. You really want to tick me off? Treat me as if I am nothing but some old stupid woman who shouldn't dare question the wisdom of a man.


 
It's really not a gender thing, Addie. Some Doctors just think they are so much smarter than anyone else, that they really have no desire to hear squat from anyone about what *they* think. The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville saw me for my hearing. The "assistant" did all the testing and when the Doctor came in, he was the type with the perfectly styled hair, aloof bearing, and immediately talked *down* to me. He didn't even give me an exam, but grabbed my arm, walked me to the door and pointed to the hearing aid booth across the hall and told me "That's who you need to see".

What an Ass. I filed a detailed complaint against him with the Hospital Administrator. I'm not impressed much with the Mayo Clinic. They have awesome resources, but their Doctors all think they're special and treat their patients as something less than they are.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> What an Ass. I filed a detailed complaint against him with the Hospital Administrator. I'm not impressed much with the Mayo Clinic. They have awesome resources, but their Doctors all think they're special and treat their patients as something less than they are.


 
Just wait. It gets worse as you get older. They keep wanting to give you tests to see if dementia has started to set in yet.


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> Just wait. It gets worse as you get older. They keep wanting to give you tests to see if dementia has started to set in yet.


 
You're still as sharp as a tack, Addie. You tell em I said so!


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> You're still as sharp as a tack, Addie. You tell em I said so!


 
Thank you.  Will do!


----------



## Timothy

Man, I was doing some work yesterday and squatted with my left foot in a very cramped spot which caused my left big toe to flex past it's normal limits. I sprained the Dickens out of it and today I can hardly walk on it.

I would like to go a full week without injury. It seems much harder to do than it sounds.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> Man, I was doing some work yesterday and squatted with my left foot in a very cramped spot which caused my left big toe to flex past it's normal limits. I sprained the Dickens out of it and today I can hardly walk on it.
> 
> I would like to go a full week without injury. It seems much harder to do than it sounds.


 
Thank you for the my laugh for the day. 
Just  wait until the day comes when you get tangled in your oxygen hose. Big toe huh?    I can't stop laughing.


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> Thank you for the my laugh for the day.
> Just wait until the day comes when you get tangled in your oxygen hose. Big toe huh?  I can't stop laughing.


 
Hey, it hurts like crazy! It's no laughing matter! I'm walking around like Lurch on the Adams family! (You rang?)


----------



## Zhizara

Kinda hard on your feet, Timothy?  You just got healed up from those nasty blisters.  Take care of yourself.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> Hey, it hurts like crazy! It's no laughing matter! I'm walking around like Lurch on the Adams family! (You rang?)


 
 Still laughing everytime I think of it. You just keep adding fuel.  Tears rolling down!


----------



## Timothy

Zhizara said:


> Kinda hard on your feet, Timothy? You just got healed up from those nasty blisters. Take care of yourself.


 
Blisters? Me? You've lost me there.


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> Still laughing everytime I think of it. You just keep adding fuel.  Tears rolling down!


Oh fine! Here I am walking around with a 30 pound watermelon hanging off my foot and you're finding humor in it...


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> Oh fine! Here I am walking around with a 30 pound watermelon hanging off my foot and you're finding humor in it...


 
 You should see me at funerals!


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> You should see me at funerals!


 
You are SOooooo bad!


----------



## vitauta

Timothy said:


> Oh fine! Here I am walking around with a 30 pound watermelon hanging off my foot and you're finding humor in it...



oh tim, your hilarious hyperbolic humor gifts us with laughter and much needed comic relief on a daily basis.  you are a master at it, and we thank you!!!


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> You are SOooooo bad!


 
True. I have been asked to leave church because I couldn't stop laughing. 

And at funerals, you will not be praying for the soul of the dearly departed, but for more relative to die so you can have more fun and laughs. 

Still laughing!


----------



## vitauta

Timothy said:


> Oh fine! Here I am walking around with a 30 pound watermelon hanging off my foot and you're finding humor in it...




i was prevented from "thanking" you for the above post.  it seems that would have exceeded the "one thank you rule" per thread?  with this new system, i wonder who's counting, and what does it matter?  so tim, i will be sending off a thanks to you in the near future for some obscure thread where you make some lame comment, and only you and i will know that it's Really intended for the watermelon on the toe comment, okay?


----------



## Timothy

vitauta said:


> i was prevented from "thanking" you for the above post. it seems that would have exceeded the "one thank you rule" per thread? with this new system, i wonder who's counting, and what does it matter? so tim, i will be sending off a thanks to you in the near future for some obscure thread where you make some lame comment, and only you and i will know that it's Really intended for the watermelon on the toe comment, okay?


 
Thanks Vitauta! Even with one foot ready for amputation, I can still laugh!


----------



## Timothy

So, here I am in the pantry, moving a table. The table has a fairly large container on it and instead of moving the container, I try to move the table with the container still on it. Long story short; the container fell...and you guessed it, RIGHT ON MY BAD TOE! 

I invented two new words. I can't share them with anyone here, but they were very descriptive of what I think of that table and it's ancestry.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> So, here I am in the pantry, moving a table. The table has a fairly large container on it and instead of moving the container, I try to move the table with the container still on it. Long story short; the container fell...and you guessed it, RIGHT ON MY BAD TOE!
> 
> I invented two new words. I can't share them with anyone here, but they were very descriptive of what I think of that table and it's ancestry.


 
I will be nice. I won't laugh THIS time.


----------



## bakechef

Timothy said:


> So, here I am in the pantry, moving a table. The table has a fairly large container on it and instead of moving the container, I try to move the table with the container still on it. Long story short; the container fell...and you guessed it, RIGHT ON MY BAD TOE!
> 
> I invented two new words. I can't share them with anyone here, but they were very descriptive of what I think of that table and it's ancestry.



My mom makes up some of the most interesting compound curse words!


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> I will be nice. I won't laugh THIS time.


 
I HEARD that snicker!!


----------



## chopper

Timothy said:
			
		

> So, here I am in the pantry, moving a table. The table has a fairly large container on it and instead of moving the container, I try to move the table with the container still on it. Long story short; the container fell...and you guessed it, RIGHT ON MY BAD TOE!
> 
> I invented two new words. I can't share them with anyone here, but they were very descriptive of what I think of that table and it's ancestry.



Perhaps tomorrow you should just stay in bed or something.


----------



## Timothy

chopper said:


> Perhaps tomorrow you should just stay in bed or something.


 
I need a rubber suit that I can inflate on bad days...

Some days, the voices get so loud!


----------



## CWS4322

Timothy said:


> I need a rubber suit that I can inflate on bad days...
> 
> Some days, the voices get so loud!


I think I saw one of those on eBay from Japan...


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> I HEARD that snicker!!


 
Here it is two a.m. and I finally have stopped laughing so hard. Now it is down to a giggle.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> I think I saw one of those on eBay from Japan...


 
He may need one from China.


----------



## Claire

Timothy said:


> So, here I am in the pantry, moving a table. The table has a fairly large container on it and instead of moving the container, I try to move the table with the container still on it. Long story short; the container fell...and you guessed it, RIGHT ON MY BAD TOE!
> 
> I invented two new words. I can't share them with anyone here, but they were very descriptive of what I think of that table and it's ancestry.



When I met my husband he  used to do "inventive" swearing, but now he falls back on the old tried-and-true.  Guess he got tired of me laughing when he was seriously pissed.  

My home repairs guy, when we give him a trying job (remember, 160 year old house, lots of trying jobs, nothing is of a standard size or fit), when we ask how it goes, he says, "I did it, but I had to use a lot of magic words."


----------



## vitauta

"magic words", i like that.  either i'm not imaginative enough to come up with my own magic words, or the need is so instantaneous that only the tnt ones get there in time....


----------



## chopper

Timothy said:
			
		

> I need a rubber suit that I can inflate on bad days...
> 
> Some days, the voices get so loud!



I hope you are careful today. You don't have to listen to those voices!!


----------



## Timothy

chopper said:


> I hope you are careful today. You don't have to listen to those voices!!


 
Thank you chopper. My toe feels much better today. It only hurts now when I bend it, so I'm still walking funny.

The voices get angry when I don't listen to them!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek let me sleep too long and now my whole body aches,  most likely from whatever he had during the week and was feeling off.  Why did it have to hit me on my weekend?


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> Thank you chopper. My toe feels much better today. It only hurts now when I bend it, so I'm still walking funny.
> 
> The voices get angry when I don't listen to them!


 
You silly person, THEN DON'T BEND IT!!  

Gee, I send ya to school, buy you books, even show you pictures. And still I caint larn ya notin'. 

Don't tell anyone I said so, but I am glad your toe is feeling better.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek let me sleep too long and now my whole body aches, most likely from whatever he had during the week and was feeling off. Why did it have to hit me on my weekend?


 
Get some of that Ibuprophen and take a couple. Have a nice cup of coffee and read the newspapeer while you are waiting for it to kick in. Then give the day all you got! Watch out world. Here she comes!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Get some of that Ibuprophen and take a couple. Have a nice cup of coffee and read the newspapeer while you are waiting for it to kick in. Then give the day all you got! Watch out world. Here she comes!!!



I meant to buy some last night...forgot, since I got out of the habit of picking it up.  Even my vicodin (lortab) isn't helping today.  I think I may head back to bed I have a fever and the chills.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I meant to buy some last night...forgot, since I got out of the habit of picking it up. Even my vicodin (lortab) isn't helping today. I think I may head back to bed I have a fever and the chills.


 Uh oh! Watch out world, you blinked and missed her. There she goes. Hope you are feeling better. Doesn't sound good.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I meant to buy some last night...forgot, since I got out of the habit of picking it up.  Even my vicodin (lortab) isn't helping today.  I think I may head back to bed I have a fever and the chills.



Oh, PF.    Hope you feel better soon!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Hope you feel better soon PF.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, Everyone.  Tried laying down, but was not resting, just tossing and turning.  Have myself set up on the couch with everything in reach, including a cat!  I'm ignoring football...


----------



## chopper

Last night I got a pizza from Papa Murphey's. I did not even look at it when I sat the salad on top and brought it home. When I got home, it was wrong. I had ordered a Rancher, which has Canadian bacon, pepperoni, ground beef and mixed onions. I added green peppers to one half for fun. I went to cook it, and it was wrong!!! There were no onions, and no ground beef, and lots and lots of mushrooms!  I wish you fungus eaters were here to eat all of those things I had to pick off of my pizza before cooking it. I guess I should have driven the eight miles back to the pizza joint to complain, but I made do. I will need to make sure before leaving next time that things are right!!!


----------



## Addie

chopper said:


> Last night I got a pizza from Papa Murphey's. I did not even look at it when I sat the salad on top and brought it home. When I got home, it was wrong. I had ordered a Rancher, which has Canadian bacon, pepperoni, ground beef and mixed onions. I added green peppers to one half for fun. I went to cook it, and it was wrong!!! There were no onions, and no ground beef, and lots and lots of mushrooms! I wish you fungus eaters were here to eat all of those things I had to pick off of my pizza before cooking it. I guess I should have driven the eight miles back to the pizza joint to complain, but I made do. I will need to make sure before leaving next time that things are right!!!


 
I hope you at least called them to let them know of their error. And if they suggested that you bring it right back, you would ask if the were going to pay for your gas and time?


----------



## Addie

Venting! Venting! So I go to the eye doctor this morning. I sit not five feet from the TV and I have noticed lately that I find it hard to read anything on the screen. Now about 15 years ago, I was told that I had the start of cataracts developing in the back of my eyes. It seem that they have started to grow and are about ripe for surgery. So next month I get to talk to the surgeon. Oh joy!! Just what I wanted. Another stay in the hospital. I am more ticked off about the hospital than I am about the cataracs. Because of my heart condition, it cannot be a day surgery procedure. 

Second vent! They give you these drops that enlarge your pupils so they can see the back of your eyes and if there is any bleeding. No problem there. But why can't they give you drops to counter effect the enlarging. I am sitting here three hours later and am still having a problem seeing. 

Vent Three. It seems that they will want to do the left eye first. I don't use my left eye. It is a lazy eye. So do the right eye first. Oh nooo! They want to see if the surgery will improve my vision in that eye. I don't really care if it does. I DON'T use that eye. Sometimes I even close that eye so I can concentrate on what I am seeing with my right eye. Otherwise I would see double. 

BIGEST VENT!! They will not be putting me to sleep. It seems they will need my cooperation and will be asking me questions during the surgery. That idea doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form. I really need to think this whole thing over real good. 

Okay. Vent over. Thanks for listening!


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> Venting! Venting! So I go to the eye doctor this morning. I sit not five feet from the TV and I have noticed lately that I find it hard to read anything on the screen. Now about 15 years ago, I was told that I had the start of cataracts developing in the back of my eyes. It seem that they have started to grow and are about ripe for surgery. So next month I get to talk to the surgeon. Oh joy!! Just what I wanted. Another stay in the hospital. I am more ticked off about the hospital than I am about the cataracs. Because of my heart condition, it cannot be a day surgery procedure.
> 
> Second vent! They give you these drops that enlarge your pupils so they can see the back of your eyes and if there is any bleeding. No problem there. But why can't they give you drops to counter effect the enlarging. I am sitting here three hours later and am still having a problem seeing.
> 
> Vent Three. It seems that they will want to do the left eye first. I don't use my left eye. It is a lazy eye. So do the right eye first. Oh nooo! They want to see if the surgery will improve my vision in that eye. I don't really care if it does. I DON'T use that eye. Sometimes I even close that eye so I can concentrate on what I am seeing with my right eye. Otherwise I would see double.
> 
> BIGEST VENT!! They will not be putting me to sleep. It seems they will need my cooperation and will be asking me questions during the surgery. That idea doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form. I really need to think this whole thing over real good.
> 
> Okay. Vent over. Thanks for listening!



I have a lazy right eye and close it to read when not wearing my glasses.  After they did the drops, that eye kept trying to focus and would sink down to my nose, it was really funny seeing people's faces when I did that.

The upside is that this surgery did my grandmother a world of good.  No longer was she buying blue eyeliner pencils to fill in her eyebrows!


----------



## bakechef

I'm stuck in the house all day while my new heating and air conditioning system is being installed.  I'm not used to being home all day, I usually find something to get me out of the house.

That and this is costing me about 1/2 what I paid for my car. Yippie! (NOT)


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> I have a lazy right eye and close it to read when not wearing my glasses. After they did the drops, that eye kept trying to focus and would sink down to my nose, it was really funny seeing people's faces when I did that.
> 
> The upside is that this surgery did my grandmother a world of good. No longer was she buying blue eyeliner pencils to fill in her eyebrows!


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:
			
		

> Venting! Venting! So I go to the eye doctor this morning. I sit not five feet from the TV and I have noticed lately that I find it hard to read anything on the screen. Now about 15 years ago, I was told that I had the start of cataracts developing in the back of my eyes. It seem that they have started to grow and are about ripe for surgery. So next month I get to talk to the surgeon. Oh joy!! Just what I wanted. Another stay in the hospital. I am more ticked off about the hospital than I am about the cataracs. Because of my heart condition, it cannot be a day surgery procedure.
> 
> Second vent! They give you these drops that enlarge your pupils so they can see the back of your eyes and if there is any bleeding. No problem there. But why can't they give you drops to counter effect the enlarging. I am sitting here three hours later and am still having a problem seeing.
> 
> Vent Three. It seems that they will want to do the left eye first. I don't use my left eye. It is a lazy eye. So do the right eye first. Oh nooo! They want to see if the surgery will improve my vision in that eye. I don't really care if it does. I DON'T use that eye. Sometimes I even close that eye so I can concentrate on what I am seeing with my right eye. Otherwise I would see double.
> 
> BIGEST VENT!! They will not be putting me to sleep. It seems they will need my cooperation and will be asking me questions during the surgery. That idea doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form. I really need to think this whole thing over real good.
> 
> Okay. Vent over. Thanks for listening!



No worries, Grasshopper Addie.  Cataract surgery is a cakewalk, no pain whatsoever.  It's an assembly line, and the most painful thing, for me, was the wait prior to surgery.  They give you a relaxant, but you really don't need or want to be asleep.  The whole thing is rather fascinating.

They do like to wait between eyes to make sure everything works.

Good luck!


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:
			
		

> I'm stuck in the house all day while my new heating and air conditioning system is being installed.  I'm not used to being home all day, I usually find something to get me out of the house.
> 
> That and this is costing me about 1/2 what I paid for my car. Yippie! (NOT)



Oh, but think of how nice it will be once it's done, Babe!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> No worries, Grasshopper Addie. Cataract surgery is a cakewalk, no pain whatsoever. It's an assembly line, and the most painful thing, for me, was the wait prior to surgery. They give you a relaxant, but you really don't need or want to be asleep. The whole thing is rather fascinating.
> 
> They do like to wait between eyes to make sure everything works.
> 
> Good luck!


 
I love to watch surgery. Just not my own.


----------



## Suzy

Been having a hard time with my son. He thinks it funny to hurt people feelings. Hopefully I can spend some extra time with and explain how wrong this is.


----------



## Dawgluver

Suzy said:
			
		

> Been having a hard time with my son. He thinks it funny to hurt people feelings. Hopefully I can spend some extra time with and explain how wrong this is.



How old is your son?


----------



## Suzy

He 6


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> Oh, but think of how nice it will be once it's done, Babe!



It's done, and the house is nice and cozy, everywhere, not just where the space heaters are!  Yay!


----------



## Dawgluver

Suzy said:
			
		

> He 6



His teacher and his guidance counselor might be able to help you.  Good luck!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Venting! Venting! So I go to the eye doctor this morning. I sit not five feet from the TV and I have noticed lately that I find it hard to read anything on the screen. Now about 15 years ago, I was told that I had the start of cataracts developing in the back of my eyes. It seem that they have started to grow and are about ripe for surgery. So next month I get to talk to the surgeon. Oh joy!! Just what I wanted. Another stay in the hospital. I am more ticked off about the hospital than I am about the cataracs. Because of my heart condition, it cannot be a day surgery procedure.
> 
> Second vent! They give you these drops that enlarge your pupils so they can see the back of your eyes and if there is any bleeding. No problem there. But why can't they give you drops to counter effect the enlarging. I am sitting here three hours later and am still having a problem seeing.
> 
> Vent Three. It seems that they will want to do the left eye first. I don't use my left eye. It is a lazy eye. So do the right eye first. Oh nooo! They want to see if the surgery will improve my vision in that eye. I don't really care if it does. I DON'T use that eye. Sometimes I even close that eye so I can concentrate on what I am seeing with my right eye. Otherwise I would see double.
> 
> BIGEST VENT!! They will not be putting me to sleep. It seems they will need my cooperation and will be asking me questions during the surgery. That idea doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form. I really need to think this whole thing over real good.
> 
> Okay. Vent over. Thanks for listening!



Dad had to have Detached Retina surgery to get that repaired.  He had to stay face down for 48 hours...and not sleep on his back (his preferred) for three weeks while it healed.  He still has a spot in his vision, which is a tiny bubble of gas (I forget which one) that will eventually be totally absorbed.  

Your surgery will be much faster and the healing time almost nil.  Let them practice on your lazy eye, it will let them gauge how well you can handle the surgery with your cardiac status.


----------



## Claire

I'm furious.  A good friend lives nearby -- maybe a block away.  She lives alone.  We are having a huge snow storm.  We normally have a group that gets together on Fridays at 5 or so.  I emailed everyone in the group, and called an elderly friend to say .. no way.  Then I got an email from this friend saying she didn't think her phone was working.  So tried to call her.  Nothing (two rings and nothing).  Called AT&T (both her carrier and mine) and could not get to a human, was put on eternal hold.  I mean eternal.  Called another friend who lives even closer to her than I do.  Her phone was working.  After much frustration I notified everyone I know who lives closer to her than I and sent an email that if she runs outside and screams, someone dial 911.  But I've been holding on to my land line at a considerable cost, and I cannot call a human being to report this friend's problem (she doesn't have a cell phone).  I'm realizing that I'd get faster service if I slid on my butt in the snow down to the fire station, because I sure a h..... won't be able to get ahold of AT&T.


----------



## Addie

If your friend is elderly, receives food stamps, Medicare or Medicaid, she might be eligible for a free cell phone. No bills, contract or anythig else. FREE. In this state it is called SafeLink. You should look into it for her. It is a program sponsored by the Federal Government. Or is she one of those stubborn ones that never accepts charity?


----------



## Claire

No, she isn't old enough to qualify for anything.  Widowed very young, and not poor.  Not rich, just like us, middle class.  But I seriously am looking at my land line which I've kept for mostly emergency services and wondering if my trac-fone isn't the better way to go.  Luckily, we have a good social network and I've emailed everyone to let them know she's out of service.  But why can I not call AT&T and get ahold of someone?  It is going to be Saturday soon, so it will be less likely that I can call a human.  If all else fails, I may walk over and hand her my cell phone if her problem isn't fixed (today was blizzard day).


----------



## Claire

Oh, Addie, my heart goes out to you.  From my parents' experiences, you should be fine.  My husband and I plan our eye appointments so that one of us can drive the other home after having our eyes dilated.  But it really isn't that big a problem, you can still drive with a good dark pair of sunglasses.  My parents actually plan their cataracts surgeries around each other.  One gets one eye done, then the other, so they both continue to have drivers' licenses.


----------



## Addie

Thank you Claire. I have a list of companies that if you call them and you get the press 1, press 2 etc., the list gives you a phone number that is connected to a human. And if all else fails, they suggest that you keep pressing "0". I have used this ploy a couple of times and it works. Now you know!


----------



## Claire

I have (and did) use the press 0 thing.  Usually it works.  This time I just got cut off.  For anyone reading in on this, usually pressing 0 will actually disconnect you from the recording and get you a human.


----------



## Addie

In this state all telephone operators, personnel, mailcarriers, busdrivers and any other person who serves the public are trained to assist people who are having an emergency. I can't imagine why AT&T should be any different.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Claire said:


> I'm furious.  A good friend lives nearby -- maybe a block away.  She lives alone.  We are having a huge snow storm.  We normally have a group that gets together on Fridays at 5 or so.  I emailed everyone in the group, and called an elderly friend to say .. no way.  Then I got an email from this friend saying she didn't think her phone was working.  So tried to call her.  Nothing (two rings and nothing).  Called AT&T (both her carrier and mine) and could not get to a human, was put on eternal hold.  I mean eternal.  Called another friend who lives even closer to her than I do.  Her phone was working.  After much frustration I notified everyone I know who lives closer to her than I and sent an email that if she runs outside and screams, someone dial 911.  But I've been holding on to my land line at a considerable cost, and I cannot call a human being to report this friend's problem (she doesn't have a cell phone).  I'm realizing that I'd get faster service if I slid on my butt in the snow down to the fire station, because I sure a h..... won't be able to get ahold of AT&T.



It is not just AT&T!  I have Verizon and it is the same thing.  I have been wondering about my land line also.  The only reason I keep it is because I have been told that if I use it to call 911 it can pinpoint my location.  The basic service is about $500.00 per year but, I got a bill the other day and it had a call within the state that was billed at 20 cents per minute.  The drug store trac phone I bought to carry with me in case the car. or I, break down only costs 10 cents per minute for a call to anywhere in the world!  I don't really use the phones for social reasons and it seems like I get more calls on my land line from sales people and survey companies than anything else.  What have the rest of you done about your land lines?


----------



## Claire

My cell phone is a trac fone as well.  But, yes, I've been told that 911 service works best on a land-line.  But given how cheap the trac fone is and I don't need a telephone to do anything but call and receive (I have no interest in voice mail, texting, taking pictures, etc, all the crap that cell phones can do), I'm beginning to wonder.  My basic phone service is about $65/mo, and I absolutely cannot get a human being when I call for service?


----------



## bakechef

I gave up the land line years ago and don't have to deal with sales calles, that right there makes it worth it.

Most phones have a gps chip in them, between that and the cell tower triangulation, 911 shouldn't have a hard time finding you.  Yes a land line is slightly better, but at least with a cell, I don't even have to think about long distance charges.


----------



## bakechef

And I forgot to mention, if you discontinue your landline service, the line should stay "live" meaning that even though you can't make personal calls, there is still a dial tone, and you can still call 911.  They don't usually come and physically disconnect the line anymore, I'm not sure that they are allowed to.


----------



## Addie

Claire said:


> My cell phone is a trac fone as well. But, yes, I've been told that 911 service works best on a land-line. But given how cheap the trac fone is and I don't need a telephone to do anything but call and receive (I have no interest in voice mail, texting, taking pictures, etc, all the crap that cell phones can do), I'm beginning to wonder. My basic phone service is about $65/mo, and I absolutely cannot get a human being when I call for service?


 
My land line is Verizon also. I got rid of all the foolishness that I never use. Call waiting, conference calls, calling ID showing the name, long distance, etc. The only thing I kept was caller ID showing just the phone number. If a call comes in and I don't recognize the number, I just don't answer. And I don't have an answering machine. I do need the land line unfortunately for 911. And I have used it more than once. Otherwise I would get rid of it. You can't place calls inside this building with your cell phone. The walls are thick brick and the cell phones just simply don't work. As a result, my land line phone is only $17.00 a month. I get 60 minutes a month free and they roll over. To show just how much I don't use the cell phone, I now have 1300+ and more than 500 service days. I use it mostly to call my son or daughter to locate them in the store. "I am done shopping, where are you?" This way I don't have to ask the service desk to page them over the PA system. I don't think I have ever made a call longer than 30 seconds. The phone sits in the little pocket on my scooter. That way I always have it when I go out.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> And I forgot to mention, if you discontinue your landline service, the line should stay "live" meaning that even though you can't make personal calls, there is still a dial tone, and you can still call 911. They don't usually come and physically disconnect the line anymore, I'm not sure that they are allowed to.


 
You are right. You can also make 911 calls from a pay phone free. All phones HAVE to have a dial tone for just such purposes. (Federal Law) But pay phones are quickly disappearing. I had a very short career as a 911 dispatcher for the police department in the town I was living in. Too stressful. I didn't last more than three months. I quit.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> You are right. You can also make 911 calls from a pay phone free. All phones HAVE to have a dial tone for just such purposes. (Federal Law) But pay phones are quickly disappearing. I had a very short career as a 911 dispatcher for the police department in the town I was living in. Too stressful. I didn't last more than three months. I quit.



I couldn't do 911.  I would have to leave and go help...


----------



## babetoo

my land line and cell and internet are all with at&t. never had a problem. i have life alert and it has to be on a land line. i use the cell mostly to talk to my daughter, she has the same and we talk for free. when the phone went out because of the life alert. they came the same afternoon. never have waited on hold for very long with at&t. guess it might be different where you guys live.


----------



## Timothy

Aunt Bea said:


> I don't really use the phones for social reasons and it seems like I get more calls on my land line from sales people and survey companies than anything else. What have the rest of you done about your land lines?


 
I use my Android for all my calls now. I have "MagicJack" for my home phone, and it's set to forward all calls to my android.

The MagicJack is USB, through my PC, but my PC stays on 24/7/365 anyway.

I'm paid 5 years ahead on my MagicJack and the android costs me $40 per/month, unlimited data.

It's nice to not worry about huge phone bills any more.


----------



## taxlady

Claire said:


> No, she isn't old enough to qualify for anything.  Widowed very young, and not poor.  Not rich, just like us, middle class.  But I seriously am looking at my land line which I've kept for mostly emergency services and wondering if my trac-fone isn't the better way to go.  Luckily, we have a good social network and I've emailed everyone to let them know she's out of service.  But why can I not call AT&T and get ahold of someone?  It is going to be Saturday soon, so it will be less likely that I can call a human.  If all else fails, I may walk over and hand her my cell phone if her problem isn't fixed (today was blizzard day).



Someone you know must have an old cell phone they don't use any more. Get them to give it to your friend. She doesn't need a plan to have 911 from the cell phone.


----------



## CWS4322

Timothy said:


> I use my Android for all my calls now. I have "MagicJack" for my home phone, and it's set to forward all calls to my android.
> 
> The MagicJack is USB, through my PC, but my PC stays on 24/7/365 anyway.
> 
> I'm paid 5 years ahead on my MagicJack and the android costs me $40 per/month, unlimited data.
> 
> It's nice to not worry about huge phone bills any more.


MagicJack is only a good option if you have unlimited bandwidth. My MagicJack added a LOT of usage to my Internet use--which was more expensive than my LD phone bill because of roaming to the US charges. So no, it is NOT free long distance--it depends on your Internet plan. Also, if you are not in an area with good coverage, the voice quality is iffy. I thought it was the next best thing since sliced bread until I got the first month's bill for my Internet usage after getting my MagicJack. My MagicJack is in a drawer somewhere...


----------



## Andy M.

Calling 9-1-1 from a cell can be risky depending on where you are relative to the nearest tower.  Cell service routes the call to the police dept nearest the tower, not necessarily the police in the town where you live.  Tracking you down by cell tower location can take a lot of time. 

While cell phones now can be located by GPS, many police departments don't have the equipment to do that.  They have to go through the phone company.  If the phone companies react as quickly as they did for Claire, you're in trouble.

I dropped my old Verizon land line a couple of years ago and switched to a Comcast cable bundle for phone, internet and TV.  Because of the deal I got, it was cheaper than keeping Verizon.

My younger daughter has been surviving quite well with only a smartphone.


----------



## Timothy

CWS4322 said:


> MagicJack is only a good option if you have unlimited bandwidth. My MagicJack added a LOT of usage to my Internet use--which was more expensive than my LD phone bill because of roaming to the US charges. So no, it is NOT free long distance--it depends on your Internet plan. Also, if you are not in an area with good coverage, the voice quality is iffy. I thought it was the next best thing since sliced bread until I got the first month's bill for my Internet usage after getting my MagicJack. My MagicJack is in a drawer somewhere...


 
What a drag for you! My Internet bandwidth is unlimited and has acceptable speed. My calls are auto-forwarded to my cell phone and are always crystal clear with no drops.

Sorry you've had such a bad experience with it.


----------



## vitauta

i was enjoying a dish of mar's vanilla w/snickers ice cream or thought i was until i was about halfway through.  the chocolate, caramel and peanuts were all in there and tasting real good.  but the vanilla ice cream itself, i noticed was totally blah.  it wasn't tasting like vanilla--no true vanilla flavor.  it tasted bland--like something i'd call sweet white plain,  without the chocolate, nuts and caramel it was by itself pretty flavorless.  
then i retrieved the ice cream container and read the ingredients label.  and vanilla was not an ingredient anwhere among the forty or so listed.  how can this be?  how can you sell vanilla ice cream without putting the even the tiniest smidgen of vanilla flavoring in it?  this is so disillusioning!  i may have to shell out the extra bucks and buy ben and jerry's ice cream from nor on.  i can't wait to check the ingredients on their product on my next trip to the market.  they are my last hope--please don't let me down, ben and jerry....


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> i was enjoying a dish of mar's vanilla w/snickers ice cream or thought i was until i was about halfway through.  the chocolate, caramel and peanuts were all in there and tasting real good.  but the vanilla ice cream itself, i noticed was totally blah.  it wasn't tasting like vanilla--no true vanilla flavor.  it tasted bland--like something i'd call sweet white plain,  without the chocolate, nuts and caramel it was by itself pretty flavorless.
> then i retrieved the ice cream container and read the ingredients label.  and vanilla was not an ingredient anwhere among the forty or so listed.  how can this be?  how can you sell vanilla ice cream without putting the even the tiniest smidgen of vanilla flavoring in it?  this is so disillusioning!  i may have to shell out the extra bucks and buy ben and jerry's ice cream from nor on.  i can't wait to check the ingredients on their product on my next trip to the market.  they are my last hope--please don't let me down, ben and jerry....



We used to really like Natural Vanilla Ice Cream- Breyers® Original Ice Cream, but they don't sell the all natural one in Canada any more and it just isn't as good tasting with extra stuff in it.


----------



## vitauta

taxlady said:


> We used to really like Natural Vanilla Ice Cream- Breyers® Original Ice Cream, but they don't sell the all natural one in Canada any more and it just isn't as good tasting with extra stuff in it.



breyers natural vanilla is exactly the kind of vanilla ice cream i would like, with its natural vanilla flavors".  taxlady, do you know why it is no longer available where you are?  i used to think that the french vanilla ice cream was richer and with more vanilla flavoring.  i will probably read somewhere tomorrow that the difference was just buttery yellow-colored food dye....


----------



## bakechef

I just got a call from the salesman of the heating and air company that I decided NOT to use.  He copped an attitude.  He thought that I should have followed up with him after he sent me an estimate over e-mail!  That's his job if he wants my business.  

I also told him that the other company did a proper load calculation (he never took out a measuring tape).  I told him that the other company gave me a line by line list of charges, he gave me a 3 line estimate, with no details, so I had no idea if he missed some things or not, and worried that I would get hit with charges at the install, and I didn't feel like chasing him around asking questions.  I finally told him that to be up to code, that the basement would need a cold air return added, there was no mention of that from him (the basement was finished after the house was built)

He didn't inform me that the manufacturer not only had a 10 year parts warranty, but was offering 10 years labor for only $100 more, he was offering me one from his company for $600.

He also not only read an e-mail while I was talking to him, he wrote one back.  That couldn't have waited a few minutes?  

I hope he got the message.

I paid slightly more going with the other company for the same equipment, but there were no surprises.


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> breyers natural vanilla is exactly the kind of vanilla ice cream i would like, with its natural vanilla flavors".  taxlady, do you know why it is no longer available where you are?  i used to think that the french vanilla ice cream was richer and with more vanilla flavoring.  i will probably read somewhere tomorrow that the difference was just buttery yellow-colored food dye....



I don't know why. I've gotten used to the fact that some companies bring out a great tasting, natural product and then when they have a big consumer base, they start making it cheaper and adding more weird stuff. The Breyer's package looks the same. They are just trying to fool us. I have learned to watch for weasel words and keep reading the danged list of ingredients.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> I don't know why. I've gotten used to the fact that some companies bring out a great tasting, natural product and then when they have a big consumer base, they start making it cheaper and adding more weird stuff. The Breyer's package looks the same. They are just trying to fool us. I have learned to watch for weasel words and keep reading the danged list of ingredients.



My favorites are "made with natural ingredients" which means some of the ingredients are natural, but probably not all of them.  Same goes for "made with organic ingredients".  Pancake syrup "natural flavor" which means that it doesn't have natural maple, just a natural ingredient that makes it taste like maple (lots of products are "naturally flavored").  This is how a majority of processed foods are marketed.  People who aren't ingredient label readers probably wouldn't know the difference.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> My favorites are "made with natural ingredients" which means some of the ingredients are natural, but probably not all of them.  Same goes for "made with organic ingredients".  Pancake syrup "natural flavor" which means that it doesn't have natural maple, just a natural ingredient that makes it taste like maple (lots of products are "naturally flavored").  This is how a majority of processed foods are marketed.  People who aren't ingredient label readers probably wouldn't know the difference.



That's the phrase I couldn't remember that's on the Breyer's now.

I can't tell you how many times I have tasted the difference, then checked the label and discovered the changes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> That's the phrase I couldn't remember that's on the Breyer's now.
> 
> I can't tell you how many times I have tasted the difference, then checked the label and discovered the changes.



If you remember that EVERYTHING has a natural flavor...including the litter box...


----------



## Timothy

bakechef said:


> I just got a call from the salesman of the heating and air company that I decided NOT to use. He copped an attitude. He thought that I should have followed up with him after he sent me an estimate over e-mail! That's his job if he wants my business.
> 
> I also told him that the other company did a proper load calculation (he never took out a measuring tape). I told him that the other company gave me a line by line list of charges, he gave me a 3 line estimate, with no details, so I had no idea if he missed some things or not, and worried that I would get hit with charges at the install, and I didn't feel like chasing him around asking questions. I finally told him that to be up to code, that the basement would need a cold air return added, there was no mention of that from him (the basement was finished after the house was built)
> 
> He didn't inform me that the manufacturer not only had a 10 year parts warranty, but was offering 10 years labor for only $100 more, he was offering me one from his company for $600.
> 
> He also not only read an e-mail while I was talking to him, he wrote one back. That couldn't have waited a few minutes?
> 
> I hope he got the message.
> 
> I paid slightly more going with the other company for the same equipment, but there were no surprises.


 
It's weird how some HVAC companies think they have YOU over a barrel and can do or say anything they wish it to you and perform their job with little care or professionalism. I priced an HVAC job a couple years ago and got estimates from $450 to $1200 for the same exact job.

You know I picked the $450 one. They did great work and did it fast. It's been almost 5 years and not any problems with their work.

One has to shop for the work done at your home. Not to will result in paying way too much and sometimes crappy work.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> It's weird how some HVAC companies think they have YOU over a barrel and can do or say anything they wish it to you and perform their job with little care or professionalism. I priced an HVAC job a couple years ago and got estimates from $450 to $1200 for the same exact job.
> 
> You know I picked the $450 one. They did great work and did it fast. It's been almost 5 years and not any problems with their work.
> 
> One has to shop for the work done at your home. Not to will result in paying way too much and sometimes crappy work.


 
Most of my career was as an Engineering Secretary. When an estimate was needed, everything that was going to be done, removed and installed was listed in order of the event and the cost of each action. There is no excuse for shortcuts. A lot of companies just give a price. That is not acceptable. Nine times out of ten, our company got the job.


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> Most of my career was as an Engineering Secretary. When an estimate was needed, everything that was going to be done, removed and installed was listed in order of the event and the cost of each action. There is no excuse for shortcuts. A lot of companies just give a price. That is not acceptable. Nine times out of ten, our company got the job.


I always insist on a detailed estimate. Every company should give one without having to be told to. Some of the businesses out there have no professionalism in the paperwork end of the work. If you have problems later with their work, it becomes a she said/he said thing. If one has a detailed estimate of the work with a price cap on the job, then later, it's no problem protecting yourself. I'll allow for a 10% overrun, no more. If someone can't do that, then they need to learn how to estimate jobs correctly.


----------



## bakechef

I have to trust my gut instinct, it very rarely lets me down.  When I am spending $5400, I have to trust the people that I am hiring.

That call confirmed my gut instinct.


----------



## Addie

Most companies hire for minimum wage, someone to answer the phone and take a message. Hiring a secretary cost more money and are expensive overhead. And the person giving the estimate can barely write a legible estimate. They fail to understand their potential customers.


----------



## tinlizzie

I wish my pets would get their acts together.  They always get fed first thing I do in the morning -- two cat dishes with wet food, one dog bowl with dry food, moistened with a little canned.  Today, dog comes back inside from doing her duty, doesn't go to her bowl, just back to her job, peering out the window. She's usually a _very_ enthusiastic eater.   One cat for some reason isn't interested right now - not even a "no thanks" sniff; the other cat cleans his dish and goes over to the dog bowl for dessert.


----------



## Addie

My son's dog is very tempermental also. Son makes sure his bowl is filled before he settles down for the night. That way if Teddy wants to snack, he can. but no, he doesn't touch it. Instead when he takes his morning walk, he tries his best to pick up every dead bird and any other animal he finds and wants to take it home. But son makes him drop it as they head over to his SILs house. There he eats the same dog food that he has at home, and then heads for the cats dish and cleans it out. Strange dog.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> I wish my pets would get their acts together.  They always get fed first thing I do in the morning -- two cat dishes with wet food, one dog bowl with dry food, moistened with a little canned.  Today, dog comes back inside from doing her duty, doesn't go to her bowl, just back to her job, peering out the window. She's usually a _very_ enthusiastic eater.   One cat for some reason isn't interested right now - not even a "no thanks" sniff; the other cat cleans his dish and goes over to the dog bowl for dessert.



Latté, this morning, was trying to wake me up for at least an hour before I got up...she knows when it's time to eat.  I also get the cats fed before i do anything else, half-blind and stumbling around, I do manage to get their food done.  So, I got it finished and Latté disappears.  Smudge is busily eating, no Latté.  Next time i see her, she is staring at the wet food, then staring at the dry, then she "buried" it and walked away.  She's curled up sleeping.  Must not be hungry...


----------



## Claire

My latest pet thing is that Rosebud was getting bored.  Understandable, winter finally set in and I think everyone, human or animal, is feeling a little dull.  The thing is my little (21 lbs) dog is a voracious, strong chewer.  I buy her a new toy and we're doing good if it lasts an hour.  She loves squeaky toys but has the squeaker torn out within hours of getting the toy.  Anything cloth ... and I've bought stuff labeled for much larger, hard chewing dogs .... not even an hour.  I have one of those hard rubber footballs (come in different shapes) that I stick a milk bone in once a day and she can't destroy that!  Yesterday I stopped by a yuppie puppy shop (what I call them, high end place on Main in our tourism-oriented town) and found a ball made of knotted tough rope, I think that'll do for awhile, and she loves it (some stuff she just shows no interest in).  Husband has a hard time motivating to walk her when it is well below freezing (and yes, it is probably better for both their health if they stay in), so that puts a dent in trying to wear her out.  

If anyone else is having this problem, let me know what toys you find and how to work with them.  For some reason about a month ago, she simply quit playing "fetch", which she used to love and was good for burning off steam.  Now you throw a toy and she looks at you with this expression, as if to say, "I brought you a gift, why are you throwing it away?"

It isn't a big deal, she "ain't misbehavin' " Just obvious she could use a little oomph!

For anyone who hasn't tried them?  Those hard plastic balls that talk are a kick!  I bought her one and the reaction was so great I bought another.  We have a small one that makes farm animal sounds and a medium one that speaks English.  I thought the novelty would wear off, but when she gets bored, she walks up to one or the other and sets it off.


----------



## MrsLMB

We have a Jack Russell that is hard on toys also.  The only thing we've found that holds her interest is a plastic bone by Hartz.  It's called Chew 'n Clean.  They come in 2 sizes.  They are hard on the outside and in the center there are these hard rubber knobby things.  She can chew on those for a very long time without destroying them.  Just for a treat we smear peanut butter on one side in the knobby things .. she is happy as can be for a couple hours with that.  

Until the weather warms and she can get off some of that energy outside we just have to play with her as much as possible.

Hubby found that she loves sitting with him in his chair and watching the Dog Whisperer  LOL  So he has several episodes of that recorded and he puts her in his chair with a blanket and let's her watch tv.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Latté, this morning, was trying to wake me up for at least an hour before I got up...she knows when it's time to eat. I also get the cats fed before i do anything else, half-blind and stumbling around, I do manage to get their food done. So, I got it finished and Latté disappears. Smudge is busily eating, no Latté. Next time i see her, she is staring at the wet food, then staring at the dry, then she "buried" it and walked away. She's curled up sleeping. Must not be hungry...


 
Is there a full moon for animals?


----------



## Claire

MrsLMB said:


> We have a Jack Russell that is hard on toys also.  The only thing we've found that holds her interest is a plastic bone by Hartz.  It's called Chew 'n Clean.  They come in 2 sizes.  They are hard on the outside and in the center there are these hard rubber knobby things.  She can chew on those for a very long time without destroying them.  Just for a treat we smear peanut butter on one side in the knobby things .. she is happy as can be for a couple hours with that.
> 
> Until the weather warms and she can get off some of that energy outside we just have to play with her as much as possible.
> 
> Hubby found that she loves sitting with him in his chair and watching the Dog Whisperer  LOL  So he has several episodes of that recorded and he puts her in his chair with a blanket and let's her watch tv.



My previous two dogs were JR mixes, and had nothing on this dog when it comes to jaws of steele!


----------



## Claire

Addie said:


> Is there a full moon for animals?



My experience working for a vet for several months is, yes, we used to joke that the animals acted up during full moons!


----------



## Claire

We also weren't sure if it was the pets or their nutso owners!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> We also weren't sure if it was the pets or their nutso owners!



So, now I'm a nutso owner...I prefer to think I have a finicky cat, who I cater to and spoil...


----------



## vitauta

i love to hear you guys talking about your pets on these threads--telling funny stories about the hilarious or maddening things your cats and dogs--and even your chickens do--their habits, their idiosyncrasies, and yours.  i derive so much pleasure from reading about your pet's personalities, and their antics--especially so since i'm not able to keep a cat or dog myself.  i miss the special kind of companionship a cat or a dog has to offer--the way they have of brightening a day, a mood, a life....so please keep bringing those wonderful kitty and doggy tales to the forum--they are the source of widespread smiles, much laughter, and contagious good feelings....


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Latté, this morning, was trying to wake me up for at least an hour before I got up...she knows when it's time to eat.  I also get the cats fed before i do anything else, half-blind and stumbling around, I do manage to get their food done.  So, I got it finished and Latté disappears.  Smudge is busily eating, no Latté.  Next time i see her, she is staring at the wet food, then staring at the dry, then she "buried" it and walked away.  She's curled up sleeping.  Must not be hungry...



I nearly peed myself laughing the first time I saw The Beast, my first cat, try to bury a new type of cat food. I thought it was impressive how well he could express what he thought of that flavour, without using any words.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> i love to hear you guys talking about your pets on these threads--telling funny stories about the hilarious or maddening things your cats and dogs--and even your chickens do--their habits, their idiosyncrasies, and yours.  i derive so much pleasure from reading about your pet's personalities, and their antics--especially so since i'm not able to keep a cat or dog myself.  i miss the special kind of companionship a cat or a dog has to offer--the way they have of brightening a day, a mood, a life....so please keep bringing those wonderful kitty and doggy tales to the forum--they are the source of widespread smiles, much laughter, and contagious good feelings....




Just for you, Vit!  Latté, wondering why I'm playing with the camera and not getting my butt to bed.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I nearly peed myself laughing the first time I saw The Beast, my first cat, try to bury a new type of cat food. I thought it was impressive how well he could express what he thought of that flavour, without using any words.



What slays me is, she will only eat two different canned foods.  What she buries today, she will be crawling up my leg to get ready for tomorrow.  I don't think it's a comment on the food, I think she's saving it for later.


----------



## Addie

It is a known fact that elderly people who have pets have a healthier life. And I suspect that the animals are if not more healthier.


----------



## Addie

You know all those nice things I say about my children? WELL FORGET IT!  Son #1 gave me his miserable cold. And I can't take any cold meds because of all the heart meds I am on. I have gone through two boxes of tissues today alone. And what isn't coming out of my nose like a open drain, is going down the back of my throat. So if I am not blowing my nose, I am trying to cough up phlegm. He is out of my will. Fortunately, I don't have a fever and the phlegm is still clear. No infection. !@$%@%^#&^$%&%^(# So there. Stick that in your peace pipe rotten son and smoke it.


----------



## tinlizzie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> What slays me is, she will only eat two different canned foods. What she buries today, she will be crawling up my leg to get ready for tomorrow. I don't think it's a comment on the food, I think she's saving it for later.


 
Bottom line:  cats iz cats.

A relative sent my elderly dog a rubber chew/knotted tug toy for Christmas.  Yawn.  She's just not interested.  I passed it along to my son, whose German Shepherds are notorious toy-killers.  The rubber part lasted a few weeks -- nearly a new record -- now just the fabric tug part is left.  My son says their favorite toy is a rubber basketball or leather soccer ball.  Neither lasts long before it's punctured; then carried around by the teeth, getting the bejeebers shaken out of it.  Yes, those are good guard dogs.


----------



## tinlizzie

Despite perfectly rational information and advice, I'm continuing to feed my cats the canned food instead of switching to the much more convenient dry.  Here's why:   I was using the dry as a treat, but find that one of the cats in particular has developed a serious "habit."  He is beginning to aggressively request the dry, apparently tastier, food.  Non-cat owners may wonder at that, but the cats have their ways of letting you know what they want.  He just bugs the heck out of me until he gets some; I'm slow to give in, just on principle.  Discipline, discipline. Who's in charge here, anyway?   Actually, I think I already know.

I got him and his litter mate as feral kittens about 5 years ago, and still have to watch Larry to keep him from trying to bite -- not a mean, chomping bite, just a slow, "let me see if I can get away with just a nibble this time" testing with his teeth.  I've read on the Web that these are "love bites," but they're not for me, so I do watch him carefully and quickly say, "no bites," at which he will look up innocently with a "who, me?" expression.


----------



## vitauta

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just for you, Vit!  Latté, wondering why I'm playing with the camera and not getting my butt to bed.



well hi there latte, you gorgeous kitty, you!  dontcha just wonder what is up with this little upstart pipsqueak who has taken your place on the dc site?  i know he's cute and all, but seriously, c'moNN!!  later, latte love....(thanks, pf, give latte a little rub on the forehead for me, do)


----------



## Alix

tinlizzie said:


> Despite perfectly rational information and advice, I'm continuing to feed my cats the canned food instead of switching to the much more convenient dry.  Here's why:   I was using the dry as a treat, but find that one of the cats in particular has developed a serious "habit."  He is beginning to aggressively request the dry, apparently tastier, food.  Non-cat owners may wonder at that, but the cats have their ways of letting you know what they want.  He just bugs the heck out of me until he gets some; I'm slow to give in, just on principle.  Discipline, discipline. Who's in charge here, anyway?   Actually, I think I already know.




HAHAHAHA!!!! You made me laugh til I cried with that one. One of our favorite saying in our house comes from a magnet Mom got. It says, "Dogs have owners, Cats have staff"


----------



## taxlady

One day the dog sat and had himself a think.

The big apes feed me.
The big apes groom me.
The big apes put a roof over my.
The big apes must be god.

One day the cat sat and had himself a think.

The big apes feed me.
The big apes groom me.
The big apes put a roof over my.
I must be god.


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> ... "Dogs have owners, Cats have staff"



 so true.


----------



## Addie

I don't know if any of you are aware of this, but we have been having some terrific sun storms. They are playing havoc with the communications satellites. So if your computer is acting up, you can blame it on the sun. It will even affect your cable TV amd telephone. Even if your phone is cable provided. Just another of life's events to keep your life interesting if not aggravated.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I don't know if any of you are aware of this, but we have been having some terrific sun storms. They are playing havoc with the communications satellites. So if your computer is acting up, you can blame it on the sun. It will even affect your cable TV amd telephone. Even if your phone is cable provided. Just another of life's events to keep your life interesting if not aggravated.



So that's why the cat has been zooming around the house and going berserb.


----------



## Claire

I was hoping we'd get some northern lights from it, but no such luck (very overcast and probably too far south, although it isn't unheard of around here).  I've seen them before, but husband hasn't, and I keep hoping he'll be able to see the phenomenon some day.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> So that's why the cat has been zooming around the house and going berserb.



Same here, they act like they are being chased.  Has to be it.


----------



## vitauta

Addie said:


> You know all those nice things I say about my children? WELL FORGET IT!  Son #1 gave me his miserable cold. And I can't take any cold meds because of all the heart meds I am on. I have gone through two boxes of tissues today alone. And what isn't coming out of my nose like a open drain, is going down the back of my throat. So if I am not blowing my nose, I am trying to cough up phlegm. He is out of my will. Fortunately, I don't have a fever and the phlegm is still clear. No infection. !@$%@%^#&^$%&%^(# So there. Stick that in your peace pipe rotten son and smoke it.



sorry about your cold miseries, addie.  puffs w/aloe are so soothing and gentle for a head cold.  i bought a box of puffs for just that purpose, but haven't needed to use them yet.  some years ago i started taking echinacea which is said to have properties that boost your natural immune system. i haven't had a cold in i don't know how many years, and my box of puffs with aloe remains untouched.  
addie.  aren't you being a bit hard on son #1?  he looks out for you, according to your posts, and comes by regularly to help you in various ways.  have some PURELL on hand, addie, and make sure you both use it when son #1 comes to see you when he has a cold.  or else tell him you can't afford to be exposed to his germs....
...and i suspect son #1 is quite used to frequent changes to your will....


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Same here, they act like they are being chased.  Has to be it.



You might have noticed that cats seem to be smarter than can be expected from the size of brain that will fit in a cat's head. They are. The one in their head is only the secondary/backup brain. There's a planet on the other side of the Sun, that we never see, that has all the cat brains. Cats are in constant communication with their full sized brains. When there are sunspots, there can be glitches in the communication with the full sized brain.


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> sorry about your cold miseries, addie. puffs w/aloe are so soothing and gentle for a head cold. i bought a box of puffs for just that purpose, but haven't needed to use them yet. some years ago i started taking echinacea which is said to have properties that boost your natural immune system. i haven't had a cold in i don't know how many years, and my box of puffs with aloe remains untouched.
> addie. aren't you being a bit hard on son #1? he looks out for you, according to your posts, and comes by regularly to help you in various ways. have some PURELL on hand, addie, and make sure you both use it when son #1 comes to see you when he has a cold. or else tell him you can't afford to be exposed to his germs....
> ...and i suspect son #1 is quite used to frequent changes to your will....


 
Son #1 puts up with all my foolishness. Whenever I get really sick, he is the one that comes in a flash to help me. When I had that nasty GI thingy, I filled up every towel, sheet, blanket with some very nasty liquid feces. He is the one who took it all to the laundry for me and washed it all, dried it and folded it. 

As for the will, I think he already has every thing he could want. The Shun knife, electric knife sharpner, and a couple of other things. Since he lives the closest, and has a key he would be the first one here to take what he wants anyhow. And I have four boxes of Puffs w/aloe. Thanks for caring. As the saying goes, if I stay home and treat the cold myself, it will take 14 days. If I go to the doctor it will take two weeks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> You might have noticed that cats seem to be smarter than can be expected from the size of brain that will fit in a cat's head. They are. The one in their head is only the secondary/backup brain. There's a planet on the other side of the Sun, that we never see, that has all the cat brains. Cats are in constant communication with their full sized brains. When there are sunspots, there can be glitches in the communication with the full sized brain.



That makes sense, that's why they go nuts when I put tin foil hats on them...


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> You might have noticed that cats seem to be smarter than can be expected from the size of brain that will fit in a cat's head. They are. The one in their head is only the secondary/backup brain. There's a planet on the other side of the Sun, that we never see, that has all the cat brains. Cats are in constant communication with their full sized brains. When there are sunspots, there can be glitches in the communication with the full sized brain.





PrincessFiona60 said:


> That makes sense, that's why they go nuts when I put tin foil hats on them...




Time for your meds ladies!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> Time for your meds ladies!


 
And time to go behind the locked doors with the caretakers.


----------



## Timothy

taxlady said:


> You might have noticed that cats seem to be smarter than can be expected from the size of brain that will fit in a cat's head. They are. The one in their head is only the secondary/backup brain. There's a planet on the other side of the Sun, that we never see, that has all the cat brains. Cats are in constant communication with their full sized brains. When there are sunspots, there can be glitches in the communication with the full sized brain.


 


PrincessFiona60 said:


> That makes sense, that's why they go nuts when I put tin foil hats on them...


 
Now THAT'S funny!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That makes sense, that's why they go nuts when I put tin foil hats on them...



Never thought of that. Shreddy is giving me funny looks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> As the saying goes, if I stay home and treat the cold myself, it will take 14 days. If I go to the doctor it will take two weeks.



Shrek and Fiona, on the floor!!!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> And time to go behind the locked doors with the caretakers.




Charlie Rich fan?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> Time for your meds ladies!


----------



## Zhizara

I’ve been stalked before, and now I’m getting the feeling it’s happening again.

Robert was originally brought over by Joe, my next door neighbor, who knocked on my door, Robert in tow, and introduced me to this burnt out hippie weirdo dude, saying he thought I’d like meeting him. (!!!!!!!)

I’m a very private person and Joe should know this by now, but it ended up that Robert came back by and I invited him in.

I have NOTHING in common with this weirdo and was able to encourage him to leave.

He came by the next morning at 8 a.m.  I ran him off, telling him it was too early.  

He stopped by again around 4:30 p.m., and I just ignored his knock.

 Abour an hour later, I noticed a sheet of paper on the floor by my door, apologizing and leaving his apartment number.

I ignored it.

Last week, there was a note taped to my door when I returned from shopping, asking me to call him, and gave me the phone number.

I ignored it too.

My problem is that this is weighing on my mind a lot lately.  Just knowing he can knock on my door at any time, even knowing I’ll just ignore it, it upsets me.

If any contact is attempted again, I will go to the management office and make a report.  I’m not looking forward to that, but I should be able to feel that it’s a resolved issue instead of waiting for another attempt.

Wow, did that ever get my blood pressure up, writing about it.  I'm glad I did, though, because it made me realize that I needed to make a report anyway.  There is a lady who works there I feel comfortable talking to.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Zhizara,

 I think you would be wise to report it and also mention it to your neighbor.  The next time you have a chance encounter with Robert I think you should calmly and quietly explain that you have no interest in having any contact.  If that does not work report it to the police.  It is probably harmless but, who needs the stress!


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I've been stalked before, and now I’m getting the feeling it’s happening again.
> 
> Robert was originally brought over by Joe, my next door neighbor, who knocked on my door, Robert in tow, and introduced me to this burnt out hippie weirdo dude, saying he thought I’d like meeting him. (!!!!!!!)
> 
> I’m a very private person and Joe should know this by now, but it ended up that Robert came back by and I invited him in.
> 
> I have NOTHING in common with this weirdo and was able to encourage him to leave.
> 
> He came by the next morning at 8 a.m. I ran him off, telling him it was too early.
> 
> He stopped by again around 4:30 p.m., and I just ignored his knock.
> 
> About an hour later, I noticed a sheet of paper on the floor by my door, apologizing and leaving his apartment number.
> 
> I ignored it.
> 
> Last week, there was a note taped to my door when I returned from shopping, asking me to call him, and gave me the phone number.
> 
> I ignored it too.
> 
> My problem is that this is weighing on my mind a lot lately. Just knowing he can knock on my door at any time, even knowing I’ll just ignore it, it upsets me.
> 
> If any contact is attempted again, I will go to the management office and make a report. I’m not looking forward to that, but I should be able to feel that it’s a resolved issue instead of waiting for another attempt.
> 
> Wow, did that ever get my blood pressure up, writing about it. I'm glad I did, though, because it made me realize that I needed to make a report anyway. There is a lady who works there I feel comfortable talking to.


 
With this post, start keeping a journal. Don't rely on your memory. When you are upset, it can be come faulty. If it gets to the point of a court appearance, it can and will be used for evidence. And definitely go to management. And if it continues, then go to the police or courts to get a restraining order. 

I have been there with my granddaughter. When a restraining order didn't work, it took the fire department to get him off our porch roof with the fire hose, and four police officers to get him in handcuffs. Both hands and feet. Needless to say, we were the talk of the neighborhood. He ended up being committed and was there for five years. By that time we had moved to another city and she had married. He was considered a danger to himself and the public.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie,

The journal is a great idea!

If it is documented you can show a pattern over time and that lends credibility.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea, it is not my intention to be confontational. But I think the best thing she can do is let a disinterested person handle this situation. When you think you are being stalked, as the police will tell you, do not approach this person. Stalkers are considered dangerous. His intentions may be harmless. But it is better to be safe than sorry. 

I apoligize if I am coming across too strong. But my family has been there. And the stalker was only a kid 17 years old who was smitten with my granddaughter.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> Addie,
> 
> The journal is a great idea!
> 
> If it is documented you can show a pattern over time and that lends credibility.


 
Being stalked is terrifying. The journal was used in his court hearing. The judge read only a week of entries. That was all he needed. And I had a couple of months of entries. You become a prisoner in your own home. He was on the porch roof trying to break into my GD's bedroom window. He wanted to kill her so no one else could have her. 

I am shaking just trying to type this. All the horrifying memories come flooding back.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> Aunt Bea, it is not my intention to be confontational. But I think the best thing she can do is let a disinterested person handle this situation. When you think you are being stalked, as the police will tell you, do not approach this person. Stalkers are considered dangerous. His intentions may be harmless. But it is better to be safe than sorry.
> 
> I apoligize if I am coming across too strong. But my family has been there. And the stalker was only a kid 17 years old who was smitten with my granddaughter.




I am confused. 

I thought I was agreeing with you and your good suggestion about a journal.

Sorry, to bother you!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> I am confused.
> 
> I thought I was agreeing with you and your good suggestion about a journal.
> 
> Sorry, to bother you!


 
You were. And I thank you for your support. But your original advice was to talk to Robert if she saw him. That is what I was addressing. 

The next time you have a chance encounter with Robert I think you should calmly and quietly explain that you have no interest in having any contact.

That is the sentence I was addressing. Sorry for the confusion. and it is never a bother to chat with members of DC. I always enjoy reading what they have to say.


----------



## Zhizara

I think I'll just print out the document I made the post from and show it to the lady I mentioned.  Thanks.

You'll never know how much good it did me to get that written down.  I'll feeling much better.

I don't have the exact dates, but these events are all within the last month, so that should be enough.

I too, don't want to have to confront him.  Stalkers can be scary people.  But..., if I do get the chance I plan to give him what for:

I don't like people dropping by unannounced.  Unless you have an invitation from me, don't come here.  I don't know him well enough for him to even know where I live.  He must respect my privacy.  I'll even tell him I'm feeling stalked and that I will report him to management if necessary.

My neighbor got a couple of pieces of my mind.  He'll never do that again!  He's all po'd at me but I couldn't care less.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I think I'll just print out the document I made the post from and show it to the lady I mentioned. Thanks.
> 
> You'll never know how much good it did me to get that written down. I'll feeling much better.
> 
> I don't have the exact dates, but these events are all within the last month, so that should be enough.
> 
> I too, don't want to have to confront him. Stalkers can be scary people. But..., if I do get the chance I plan to give him what for:
> 
> I don't like people dropping by unannounced. Unless you have an invitation from me, don't come here. I don't know him well enough for him to even know where I live. He must respect my privacy. I'll even tell him I'm feeling stalked and that I will report him to management if necessary.
> 
> My neighbor got a couple of pieces of my mind. He'll never do that again! He's all po'd at me but I couldn't care less.


 
My best advice would be to stay away from Robert. You never know what he will do if you confront him. Men do not handle rejection very well. And some can't handle it at all. My GD had never even dated her stalker. She only knew him as a casual friend. And yet he was planning to kill her. 

If after you talk to management and he still continues, then you know you have a bigger problem. If your neighbor told him what you said, you just might have two people po'd at you. But it is the second one I would be concerned with at present. You know your neighbor somewhat, but not Robert. Just be on your guard. And continue to not open your door to him or acknowledge him in any manner. And KEEP A JOURNAL if his behavior continues. Keep us informed. And good luck.


----------



## Addie

*So have all our Fla. members planned on voting?*

The residents of the building I live in are very fortunate. Our polling place is right downstairs in our Community Room. We don't have to brave any nasty weather or go outside at all. It has been there for the past three years. And at every election, primary or general, we have had 100% participation from our building. Even those who are wheelchair bound and have to have someone bring them downstairs. 

Our elected officials and those who are running for office for the first time, know that the biggest block of voters in this city are elderly and newly sworn in citizens. And they cater to us. We have parties thrown for us to get our vote. And we do vote every election. It is our duty.


----------



## taxlady

Aw Zhizara, that really sucks. (((hugs))) The other ladies have given you some good advice. I'll send some good vibes in your direction for a happy resolution.


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks for the support Addie, Aunt Bea and TaxLady.  It's hopefully, probably nothing, but I'll be prepared anyway.  I've been wanting to vent about it, but had been a little rattled.  I feel much better now.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Thanks for the support Addie, Aunt Bea and TaxLady.  It's hopefully, probably nothing, but I'll be prepared anyway.  I've been wanting to vent about it, but had been a little rattled.  I feel much better now.



It has to be a relief to know that we think you are right and it's not all in your head.  That's most of the stress, trying to figure out of you are imagining things or not.  Be careful!


----------



## Zhizara

Follow up:

I spoke to the lady in the office just now, and she told me not to worry about it:  They will take care of it.

I'm still shaking from having to repeat everything, but I'll be okay once I calm down.

Thanks so very much for the emotional support.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> Follow up:
> 
> I spoke to the lady in the office just now, and she told me not to worry about it:  They will take care of it.
> 
> I'm still shaking from having to repeat everything, but I'll be okay once I calm down.
> 
> Thanks so very much for the emotional support.



(((hugs)))

It sounds like it was worrying you more than you realized. I have heard a theory that you should repeat the story until the words no longer have an emotional impact on you.

I'm glad the office is going to take care of it for you.


----------



## Addie

Still keep your guard up, but don't let it ruin your peace. Make sure you do a follow up with the woman in the office in about a week. Call up your inner strengh. And take some deep breaths. Good Luck.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Zhizara said:


> Follow up:
> 
> I spoke to the lady in the office just now, and she told me not to worry about it:  They will take care of it.
> 
> I'm still shaking from having to repeat everything, but I'll be okay once I calm down.
> 
> Thanks so very much for the emotional support.



These things are always unsettling but, you are doing the right thing!

I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said "what one has to do usually can be done"


----------



## Timothy

Zhizara said:


> Follow up:
> 
> I spoke to the lady in the office just now, and she told me not to worry about it: They will take care of it.
> 
> I'm still shaking from having to repeat everything, but I'll be okay once I calm down.
> 
> Thanks so very much for the emotional support.


 
I'm so glad you have reported this thing. Over the years, I've had two times that someone got weird like that on me. Both times, I sat the person down and had a heart to heart talk with them about it. Both times, I never saw the person again. My way only works if you can back it up with physical action. Your way of handling it was the wisest.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> I'm so glad you have reported this thing. Over the years, I've had two times that someone got weird like that on me. Both times, I sat the person down and had a heart to heart talk with them about it. Both times, I never saw the person again. My way only works if you can back it up with physical action. Your way of handling it was the wisest.


 
Wise advice.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Still keep your guard up, but don't let it ruin your peace. Make sure you do a follow up with the woman in the office in about a week. Call up your inner strengh. And take some deep breaths. Good Luck.



Good advice.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Good advice.


 

As I stated before, I have been there, done that. Do not wish to repeat it ever again. And I can still get upset when I hear of someone else going through it. It can take over your whole life. Our stalker is still locked up in a mental institution. My granddaughter was 17 at the time and now in her mid 30's with three children. Even she gets upset when she thiniks about it. This is something that does not leave you.


----------



## Addie

So I am sitting here with the TV on and not paying much attention to what they are showing. And then one of those ads for a new glucometer comes on stating that you no longer have to prick your finger. You can now do it on your arm. These people are just hawking their merchandise. They are not medical folks. Yet they are giving out medical advice. 

I questioned my doctor about this practice of doing it on the arm. He told me, "The nearer the finger, the more accurate the reading." Now I know pricking the finger hurts. So I do mine on the cushions at the bottom of the fingers. One day I decided to test this. So I did a reading from my finger directly. Then I did one on my arm. There was a 15 point difference. And guess which one was lower. You guessed it. The arm. Fifteen points is a big difference. If your finger show 195 and your arm show 180, you are lulled into thinking you are in the safe zone. And you adjust our diet for the day accordingly. 

Why hasn't the FDA picked up on this? They are giving medical advice. One of my pet peeves.


----------



## Timothy

Addie said:


> So I am sitting here with the TV on and not paying much attention to what they are showing. And then one of those ads for a new glucometer comes on stating that you no longer have to prick your finger. You can now do it on your arm. These people are just hawking their merchandise. They are not medical folks. Yet they are giving out medical advice.
> 
> I questioned my doctor about this practice of doing it on the arm. He told me, "The nearer the finger, the more accurate the reading." Now I know pricking the finger hurts. So I do mine on the cushions at the bottom of the fingers. One day I decided to test this. So I did a reading from my finger directly. Then I did one on my arm. There was a 15 point difference. And guess which one was lower. You guessed it. The arm. Fifteen points is a big difference. If your finger show 195 and your arm show 180, you are lulled into thinking you are in the safe zone. And you adjust our diet for the day accordingly.
> 
> Why hasn't the FDA picked up on this? They are giving medical advice. One of my pet peeves.


 
My Doc told me point-blank to not use anything but the finger test. He said the arm tests were notoriously inaccurate.


----------



## Addie

Timothy said:


> My Doc told me point-blank to not use anything but the finger test. He said the arm tests were notoriously inaccurate.


 

Like my doc said, "The nearer the finger, the more accurate the reading." After a while you build up a callous and the pain lessens. My diabetes has affected my blood flow. So I can never get enough for the strip. So I use the cusion at the bottom of the fingers. 

I don't understand how these companies can get away with giving false medical information.


----------



## taxlady

Maybe, when you read the actual instructions, they tell you to rub the skin first. Article on the American Diabetes Association website: Response to Jungheim and Koschinsky

I'm googling some more. I want to understand why.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Maybe, when you read the actual instructions, they tell you to rub the skin first. Article on the American Diabetes Association website: Response to Jungheim and Koschinsky
> 
> I'm googling some more. I want to understand why.


 
It helps bring the blood to the surface. 

BTW, if you drink a full glass of water prior to your testing, it also helps the blood flow. 

I have been a diabetic for 25+ years. I have had my episodes and made my mistakes. Ambulance rides are not my favorite hobby. So I have learned what to do and what not to do. Unfortunately for me, my diabetes is following true to course. It loves to go after your main organs. Heart, kineys, etc. Mine has gone after my heart and circulatory system. But I have learned how to manage it.


----------



## taxlady

I want to understand why blood sugar measurements are different from different parts of the body. I see from various forums that even results from different fingers can vary. I suspect that is mostly due to the accuracy, or lack there of, of the testing equipment.

I'm not diabetic. My mum was. My FIL is. DH and I always get tested when we have a checkup.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I want to understand why blood sugar measurements are different from different parts of the body. I see from various forums that even results from different fingers can vary. I suspect that is mostly due to the accuracy, or lack there of, of the testing equipment.
> 
> I'm not diabetic. My mum was. My FIL is. DH and I always get tested when we have a checkup.


 
It has to do with the blood flow. The closer to the heart, the more accurate the reading. Your little finger is the last finger on your hand to get blood flow. Therefor you will get a lower reading and not accurate. Your middle finger because it is longer, and needs more blood, is the first to get the blood and therefor more accurate.


----------



## Claire

Stalkers and diabetes, oh my.  A good friend has a stalker and it creeps me out just knowing about it.  One night we were sitting around, cozy, husband and me on a very stormy wet night in front of the TV.  She (friend, not stalker) showed up like a drowned rat asking if she could come in.  I gave her a towel and a glass of wine and she explained the situation.  It's only a few blocks, but she knows the guy knows her car and she didn't want to lead him to our house, could she stay a few hours?  I tried to get her to stay the night but once she was warmed inside and out and dry, we bundled her in our car and made a few passes through her neighborhood to see that his car had left.  Then watched 'til she was inside and made sure no  one suspicious was hanging around and called her when we got home.  The guy actually followed her from another city where she'd lived all her life.  What helps her is that we're a small town and everyone knows her and watches out for him.  I guess some mentally unbalanced men actually cannot take no for an answer.

My husband was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, borderline, about 5 years ago.  He went to a dietician who specialized in diabetes control.  I'm so proud of him.  I told him I'd cook whatever he wants, but he has to do the math, I'm terrible at it.  I now do have it in my little walnut brain that for him it is 2 meals a day of 30 grams, one at 60, and several 15 grams snacks spaced throughout the day.  Most -- heck, all -- men I know simply leave it to their wives and then are bitter and resentful to said wife that they can't eat what they want, when they want it.  Husband took control of his own health and his doctor said, "If I hadn't diagnosed you myself I wouldn't believe it."  Since much of his family was diabetic he took the threat seriously.  He assumes the monster will get him some day, but is doing his damndest to put that day off as long as possible.  Meanwhile most of our friends and acquaintances who didn't have to use meds to control it.


----------



## Andy M.

Claire, It's great she has her friends and neighbors looking out for her.  Has she gotten the police involved?  They really should know about it so when she has to call they'll already know the situation.


----------



## Claire

A vent that's probably been aired, but not recently, what is the deal with ginormous (good grief, that's actually a word?) packaging.  I mean even local grocery stores are carrying stuff in sizes you'd normally see at warehouse food clubs.  We are childless, and no longer live near our families.  Sometimes I'll get a taste for something and .... have to buy enough to feed a family of 8.  I know it isn't a family of six, because I was raised cooking for 6 and we didn't buy that much stuff.  Especially junk food, which I generally am not a fan of, but once in awhile I want a few bites.  Luckily my local cheesecake baker has started selling half-size cakes.  Sometimes the local piggly wiggly sells half pies.  But I had a taste for cheese popcorn and will throw 3/4 of the bag away.  Ditto the plain corn chips I bought to make nachos with.  A bag of candy?  Two pieces and the rest of the bag goes into the trash.  When was the last time anyone saw a roll of life-savers?  Now they come in huge bags.


----------



## Claire

Andy M. said:


> Claire, It's great she has her friends and neighbors looking out for her.  Has she gotten the police involved?  They really should know about it so when she has to call they'll already know the situation.



Oh, yes.  I think she calls the police first, then slips away to one of many "safe houses" -- hence, ours that night, until she can ascertain if he's gone away.  But it's one of those typical situations in that I guess he's someone whose never threatened anyone with physical harm.  Just creepy and "out there".


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> Oh, yes.  I think she calls the police first, then slips away to one of many "safe houses" -- hence, ours that night, until she can ascertain if he's gone away.  But it's one of those typical situations in that I guess he's someone whose never threatened anyone with physical harm.  Just creepy and "out there".



He is harming her, it is mental cruelty.  She shouldn't have to wait for releif until he hurts her.  Time for a restraining order and some police action.


----------



## Claire

PrincessFiona60 said:


> He is harming her, it is mental cruelty.  She shouldn't have to wait for releif until he hurts her.  Time for a restraining order and some police action.



Think she already has the restraining order.  He hasn't shown up for a couple of years now, so we're hoping he's gone!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> Think she already has the restraining order.  He hasn't shown up for a couple of years now, so we're hoping he's gone!



Oh!  I thought this was ongoing.


----------



## Addie

*Venting! Venting!* 

I turn the computer on and where the heck is my home page? Comcast has turned everything upside down. All I wanted was to get into my email. No matter what I did, all I got was Comcast trying to sell me all of their services and products. It took me 30 minutes and two phone calls to Customer Service to get where I wanted to go. And then they had the nerve to ask me if I like the new Comcast? I held my tongue. Now I am afraid to shut my computer off. Because I have no idea how I got here. Son #1 is going to have to come and refigure my computer for me.

Now for yesterday. I was sitting on the edge of my bed. Puppy dog had that sorrowful look on his face. I patted the edge of my bed and he jumped up right next to me. The edge of the bed was tilted downward and he started to slide off. He tried to grab my arm and his claws did a number on my arm. Due to old age, I have thin skin. He took a couple of layers off. I thought the bleeding would never stop. He knew I was furious with him. He went into hiding where I couldn't see him. Once I calmed down I realized it was as much as my fault as his. He jumped up right to where I had patted. So I called to him. He came out of hiding real slow. So I patted the bed away from me where it was more stable for him to jump on. Sure enough, that is where is jumped up. He found his way over to me, put his little head on my lap and looked up at me with those sorrowful black button eyes of his. How could I resist. All is well again in doggydom.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> *Venting! Venting!*
> 
> I turn the computer on and where the heck is my home page? Comcast has turned everything upside down. All I wanted was to get into my email. No matter what I did, all I got was Comcast trying to sell me all of their services and products. It took me 30 minutes and two phone calls to Customer Service to get where I wanted to go. And then they had the nerve to ask me if I like the new Comcast? I held my tongue. Now I am afraid to shut my computer off. Because I have no idea how I got here. Son #1 is going to have to come and refigure my computer for me.
> 
> Now for yesterday. I was sitting on the edge of my bed. Puppy dog had that sorrowful look on his face. I patted the edge of my bed and he jumped up right next to me. The edge of the bed was tilted downward and he started to slide off. He tried to grab my arm and his claws did a number on my arm. Due to old age, I have thin skin. He took a couple of layers off. I thought the bleeding would never stop. He knew I was furious with him. He went into hiding where I couldn't see him. Once I calmed down I realized it was as much as my fault as his. He jumped up right to where I had patted. So I called to him. He came out of hiding real slow. So I patted the bed away from me where it was more stable for him to jump on. Sure enough, that is where is jumped up. He found his way over to me, put his little head on my lap and looked up at me with those sorrowful black button eyes of his. How could I resist. All is well again in doggydom.



Addie,

You need to make him some stairs!


----------



## Dawgluver

+1!  Seriously.  My little beagle loves hers.  I built a set from a kit from Drs. Smith and Foster catalog.  Some Walgreens stores carry an inexpensive set, and I think you can get them from the pet stores.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> Addie,
> 
> You need to make him some stairs!


 
I have a small stool that he uses. But it is down at the other end of my bed. This accident was completely my own fault. He can jump up on the bed without any problem, but I pointed to where I wanted him to jump up. And he obeyed me. 

But my arm is one mess. I put some Bacitracin on it. When I went to change the dressing this morning, it was still leaking. But it is now scabbing over. Because I am on two blood thinners, I get those black and blue marks you see on a lot of elderly. He broke two of them with his claws. They are filled with blood and are on top of little capillaries that are weak. Hence a lot of bleeding. 

These black and blue marks are really hideous. In the summer I have to keep them covered when I go outside. The heat of direct sun will cause them to get to the boiling point and very painful. And I LOVE the sun. Whenever one gets accidently broken, there is a lot of bleeding as the blood vessel underneath is still open and seeping blood to the surface. Nothing can be done as I need those blood thinners.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> +1! Seriously. My little beagle loves hers. I built a set from a kit from Drs. Smith and Foster catalog. Some Walgreens stores carry an inexpensive set, and I think you can get them from the pet stores.


 
He has a set a home. He no longer uses them. I have three grandkids that work at Pet Smart. So I can get them at employee discount.


----------



## rozz

I hate my knives. HATE. At some point, I'm going to be using these cumbersome beasts and slice off a digit. I know it. They make me slow and imprecise. I need new knives!! Wahhhhh. Someone better call the waaaaaaaaaaahmbulance.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I have a small stool that he uses. But it is down at the other end of my bed. This accident was completely my own fault. He can jump up on the bed without any problem, but I pointed to where I wanted him to jump up. And he obeyed me.
> 
> But my arm is one mess. I put some Bacitracin on it. When I went to change the dressing this morning, it was still leaking. But it is now scabbing over. Because I am on two blood thinners, I get those black and blue marks you see on a lot of elderly. He broke two of them with his claws. They are filled with blood and are on top of little capillaries that are weak. Hence a lot of bleeding.
> 
> These black and blue marks are really hideous. In the summer I have to keep them covered when I go outside. The heat of direct sun will cause them to get to the boiling point and very painful. And I LOVE the sun. Whenever one gets accidently broken, there is a lot of bleeding as the blood vessel underneath is still open and seeping blood to the surface. Nothing can be done as I need those blood thinners.



Aw what a nuisance with the black and blue marks. Sorry to hear about the scratches. I hope they heal up quickly. (((hugs))) Glad to read that all is well between you and doggie again.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Aw what a nuisance with the black and blue marks. Sorry to hear about the scratches. I hope they heal up quickly. (((hugs))) Glad to read that all is well between you and doggie again.


 
Thank you. I have been having problems with my monitor. Son #1 was going to the store. I thought he was taking an awful long time to just go to the store around the corner. He came back with what I asked him to get plus a brand spanking new monitor that is I think, 22 inches. I have to move my head back and forth to read. I had a LCD. Now I have an LED. What a difference. I have to tilt my head back to see what is at the top. I am stunned. The screen is so bright. I tried to pay him for it, but it is a no go.  The old monitor was a 14 inch. 

I am keeping my eye on my arm. I think it will be all right. It looks ugly with all the scabs on it. But that is a good thing. The scabs will help keep out the infection. Of course being diabetic, I will heal slowly. But I can liv with that.


----------



## Claire

I joke with my friends that when we were young, the sheets had blood stains on the lower half of the sheet.  Now it is on pillow cases and the upper half of the sheet.  I'm not THAT old, 57, but my skin is getting so thin and eczema, bloody noses, and even scratching the odd itch can lead to bleeding.  And yes, my doggie.  

Funniest was that I meet friends for drinks every Friday.  I looked down and a scratch that puppy made on my wrist broke open and started bleeding copiously.  I dabbed at it and couldn't get it to stop.  I asked favorite bartender for a salt shaker.  Dabbed the scratch with spit, then salted it, then dabbed some more.  Stopped immediately.  My friends (and said bartender) just looked at me.  "How did you know to do that?"  You know, I really don't remember where or why I learned to stop bleeding that way.


----------



## Zhizara

Claire said:


> I joke with my friends that when we were young, the sheets had blood stains on the lower half of the sheet.  Now it is on pillow cases and the upper half of the sheet.  I'm not THAT old, 57, but my skin is getting so thin and eczema, bloody noses, and even scratching the odd itch can lead to bleeding.  And yes, my doggie.
> 
> Funniest was that I meet friends for drinks every Friday.  I looked down and a scratch that puppy made on my wrist broke open and started bleeding copiously.  I dabbed at it and couldn't get it to stop.  I asked favorite bartender for a salt shaker.  Dabbed the scratch with spit, then salted it, then dabbed some more.  Stopped immediately.  My friends (and said bartender) just looked at me.  "How did you know to do that?"  You know, I really don't remember where or why I learned to stop bleeding that way.



Bartenders have a wealth of remedies, in my experience.  Nancy, probably my favorite bartender, showed me that when I had a laringitis episode, to drink a shot of butterscotch schnaps.  It was immediate relief, and I was able to sing karaoke later!


----------



## Addie

Claire said:


> Funniest was that I meet friends for drinks every Friday. I looked down and a scratch that puppy made on my wrist broke open and started bleeding copiously. I dabbed at it and couldn't get it to stop. I asked favorite bartender for a salt shaker. Dabbed the scratch with spit, then salted it, then dabbed some more. Stopped immediately. My friends (and said bartender) just looked at me. "How did you know to do that?" You know, I really don't remember where or why I learned to stop bleeding that way.


 
I have never heard of that one with the salt. Did't it sting?


----------



## Claire

Yeah, once upon a time I was a bartender.  That might be where I heard to do it.  Yes, it stings, but not what I'd call real pain.  Just a mild sting.  I'd never bother to do it at home, I'd just clean it (which would sting about the same) and bandage it.  But I really wanted it to stop bleeding.


----------



## babetoo

not to sure about the new cleaning gal. she was very late yesterday, said last job had more for her to do than usual. then the belt broke on her vacuum cleaner. so supposed to be here a half an hour ago. but she is doing a really good job for not as much money as she usually gets. we will see. makes me nuts! people are never on time anymore, it seems.


----------



## Chef Munky

Had a really c..... Day! 
Some man came to my front door early this morning and just laid on the door bell. I mean he wouldn't stop ringing it. I looked out the window to see who was there. Didn't recognized him at all. Saw no car, truck anything parked out front. The way he wouldn't stop ringing the door bell I wasn't about to just open the door. There has been a few home invasions here lately, that it's just not a good idea to do so.

I asked who is it? He answered in Spanish, said a few things. I still wasn't going to open that door.I especially didn't like the tone of my dogs bark. I told him that I didn't speak Spanish. He said in English ok, thanks. I watched him walk away and up the street.
I went back to making my husbands lunch.

Hubby came flying into the kitchen demanding to know who was ringing the door bell like that!? I tried to tell him that I didn't know, didn't recognize the person, refused to open the door. I could barely tell him that, he kept raising his hand up to shush me, cutting me off. That ticked me off! He asked! 
I know he was mad at being woke up like that. Anyone would be, especially me. 

Hubby was tired, so I let him have his rant. When he was still in that mood, but seeing the errors of his ways, his tone didn't change. Line of questioning didn't. What are you making that smells good? I gave him a matter of fact, direct answers.Trust me it took everything I had to keep my mouth shut without going nuclear on him!
He went back to bed for a few hours.

When he got up he met Mrs Freeze.. Not good. His mood had considerably changed. Asked you in a bad mood? No Dear just working. Did you want anything? Ignored him until he remembered his wrong doing. He did apologize. Explained that he didn't like being woke up like that. Which I did say I knew and that's the only reason why your still alive to eat the lunch I got up to make YOU!

As soon as he left for work I went out to the back yard and cut up 2 trees that were knocked down by the high winds a few days ago. 

I think he's going to be stopping on is way home to buy me " Making up flowers".

Ok, my rant is over. Tuckered out. Had my mental and physical workout for the day.


----------



## Zhizara

Dang it!!!  It happened again.  I was looking for a pronunciation on the Free Dictionary and got caught with an audio spam.  I'm upset that my virus protection didn't catch it.

Now, I've got to restore to an earlier time.  I HATE it when that happens.  Grrrrr@!!!!


----------



## vitauta

would someone please describe what is audio spam?  i may have had it without recognizing it....


----------



## Zhizara

I was trying to get the correct pronunciation of a word in Free Dictionary.  It wasn't working, at first.  Finally got it to pronounce the word for me, don't ask me how, but it finally worked.

Suddenly, I was hearing some kind of junk, kind of like a commercial.  There was no way to turn it off.  It happened once before.  It's scary when it happens because you have no way to turn it off.

The McAfee Virus protection didn't catch it either.

Now that I used the system restore, McAfee is telling me I'm vulnerable.  The reason that happens is because it doesn't have the latest updates, and I can't get it to check for updates.  

The only way around _that_ is to turn on Windows Defender.  The McAfee will eventually get it's new updates (whenever it gets DG&R) and will be back in action again, but I will have remember to turn Windows Defender off so that I'm not running two virus protection programs at the same time which is a no no.

I'm not a happy camper right now.  It's a good thing you can't hear the @#$@!#$@#$#%%^^*** going on in my head. 

What a PITA!


----------



## Addie

Have you ever tried to use the Ctl, Alt and Del all at the same time to shut down your computer? Press all three keys at the same time. It allows you to reboot. And it stops the spam in its tracks. 

I have the Norton Security and it catches everything. And it is constantly updating. Sometimes too much. I have to stop what I am doing so they can reboot for me. Drives me crazy.


----------



## Zhizara

No, Addie, I can't remember the last time I used Ctrl, Alt, Del.  Certainly not on my laptops, past or present.  

I'll try that (if I can possibly remember).  It's hard when suddenly your computer goes nuts on you.

I do like the System Restore.  It leaves my files alone, and just goes back to an earlier date, removing any programs that were added in the last couple of days, and any of the junk that often comes with those programs.  I feel more secure knowing that they are no longer there.  

Of course, there are a few glitches that go with that, but I'm used to the rigamarole that I have to do.  Kind of like my printer.  It has a habit of deciding not to print, just makes noises and pretends it will print.  It feels like a magician's spell to get it to print, but I know the routine by heart, and it WILL print when it do the proper spell!

Thanks for the tip, Addie.


----------



## Addie

Ctrl, Alt, Del shuts down your computer instantly. I have had to use it only a couple of times in the past few years.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Ctrl, Alt, Del shuts down your computer instantly. I have had to use it only a couple of times in the past few years.



Doesn't really work with Windog 7.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Doesn't really work with Windog 7.


 
I have Windows 7 and I just tried it. It shut down my computer so fast. And I had five windows open at the same time. One was an excel sheet. Didn't even asked me if I wanted to save any changes.


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks for that, TL, that's my operating system.  

Actually, except for the updating problem, System Restore is a great fix.  As soon as I notice anything acting hinky, I use that.  

I think I'll have to get better virus protection, McAfee comes "free" with my cable connection, but I just don't trust it.  I've had it instead of using Defender for a couple of years now, and it just doesn't catch things like the audio spam.  Not good, in fact, as far as I can tell, Windows Defender works better.

Anyone can jump in here and tell me of a better way.  My computer is so important to me.  If it goes out on me, it will take me a couple of months to get back online at home.  That's not a prospect I want to even think about.

I do, however, have access to computers downstairs, but it's not like being able to sign on anytime I want, like at 1, 2, or 3 a.m.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> Thanks for that, TL, that's my operating system.
> 
> Actually, except for the updating problem, System Restore is a great fix. As soon as I notice anything acting hinky, I use that.
> 
> I think I'll have to get better virus protection, McAfee comes "free" with my cable connection, but I just don't trust it. I've had it instead of using Defender for a couple of years now, and it just doesn't catch things like the audio spam. Not good, in fact, as far as I can tell, Windows Defender works better.
> 
> Anyone can jump in here and tell me of a better way. My computer is so important to me. If it goes out on me, it will take me a couple of months to get back online. That's not a prospect I want to even think about.


 
Norton comes free with our cable. We did have McAffee, but the cable company was getting too many complaints. Since we got Norton, it works great. When it catch a spam or virus it flashes a notice on the screen. My son's laptop is wireless through my computer. He loves to surf the web and often will try to open a site that has a virus. Norton won't let him. I told him the day he gives me a virus, he loses his connection from my computer. Then he will have to get his own account and pay for it. But he is not worried about it because Norton stops him. I love Norton.


----------



## taxlady

I'm the vice president of a club. We asked our treasurer to go to the bank with a couple of members of the executive and tell the bank that we want two signatures and three signing officers. We had not been able to write a cheque while the treasurer was on vacation, since she was the only signing officer. We had several other issues with the way she was handling her position.

Tempers flared. Feelings were hurt. Emails went out to the entire club with innuendos and/or accusations. Also politicking and posturing and attempts to take over the club. Yikes! I don't need this drama.


----------



## Zhizara

Just curious, what kind of club?  

Dramaholics are people to be avoided.  They try so hard to suck you into their game.  Once you get caught up, you're just fodder for their entertainment.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> Just curious, what kind of club?
> 
> Dramaholics are people to be avoided.  They try so hard to suck you into their game.  Once you get caught up, you're just fodder for their entertainment.



I specifically didn't mention what kind of club, because a member could join DC.


----------



## taxlady

Some friends of ours gave us a Samsung colour printer. They had bought it in France. We got the thingee to convert the power to 220V. It has the nice feature that if one colour of ink runs out, you only replace that one colour.

The black ink ran out. We bought a cartridge for $76. It doesn't work. Samsung country codes their ink. I'm furious. It will be a long time before I buy anything made by Samsung. Now DH will have to go find some refilled cartridges.

This country coding has gotten out of hand. I have a friend who buys Danish DVDs, when he is in Denmark. He can only play them because he also bought a Danish DVD player.


----------



## CharlieD

cool, I had no idea about country coding. Will make sure not to buy anything in France, next time I am there. Sorry, I know you are frustrated, but could not help my self.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Zhizara said:
			
		

> Thanks for that, TL, that's my operating system.
> 
> Actually, except for the updating problem, System Restore is a great fix.  As soon as I notice anything acting hinky, I use that.
> 
> I think I'll have to get better virus protection, McAfee comes "free" with my cable connection, but I just don't trust it.  I've had it instead of using Defender for a couple of years now, and it just doesn't catch things like the audio spam.  Not good, in fact, as far as I can tell, Windows Defender works better.
> 
> Anyone can jump in here and tell me of a better way.  My computer is so important to me.  If it goes out on me, it will take me a couple of months to get back online at home.  That's not a prospect I want to even think about.
> 
> I do, however, have access to computers downstairs, but it's not like being able to sign on anytime I want, like at 1, 2, or 3 a.m.



My previous employer used AVG. You can get a free version and it's easy to install. It wotks well but can use up a lot of system resources and slow down older systems.

My hisband and I use Comodo. It's a security suit that includes a firewall and antivirus. It's also free. It works well but is less user friendly. It uses significantly less system resources than AVG though. 

You should also look into Spybot and AddAware. Spybot is completely free and AddAware has a free version. They are both easy to use and target spam ware/add ware/spy ware specifically. You don't want to keep them running but instead do a scan periodically and when you think you have a problem. Just make sure you are only scanning with one program at a time.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I love my husband, really I do. But sometimes I just want to shove a handful of ice cubes down his pants and tell him, "There, now you have a reason to grouch at me!"


----------



## Rocklobster

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I love my husband, really I do. But sometimes I just want to shove a handful of ice cubes down his pants and tell him, "There, now you have a reason to grouch at me!"


Some guys like that....


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I love my husband, really I do. But sometimes I just want to shove a handful of ice cubes down his pants and tell him, "There, now you have a reason to grouch at me!"


 
So what's stopping you?


----------



## rozz

Someone needs to tell the people who design women's clothing that most women have butts and hips and boobs. I'm not built like that. I'm 36-28-40. In any other era, I wouldn't have trouble finding clothing. Designers seem to be under the impression that women are built much like prepubescent boys. Also, this whole shapeless fad needs to die. NOW. It makes me look like a damn cow.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I love my husband, really I do. But sometimes I just want to shove a handful of ice cubes down his pants and tell him, "There, now you have a reason to grouch at me!"



Shrek had a screwdriver and instructions to assemble an over the door towel rack...I know how you feel!  Then the assembly of the shower rack...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Shrek had a screwdriver and instructions to assemble an over the door towel rack...I know how you feel!  Then the assembly of the shower rack...



Rol just woke up grouchy. Mumbled something about not wanting to go shopping today and then grouched about not being able to find any socks (they were in the dryer). Further grouching and mumbling followed until after he'd taken his shower.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

rozz said:


> Someone needs to tell the people who design women's clothing that most women have butts and hips and boobs. I'm not built like that. I'm 36-28-40. In any other era, I wouldn't have trouble finding clothing. Designers seem to be under the impression that women are built much like prepubescent boys. Also, this whole shapeless fad needs to die. NOW. It makes me look like a damn cow.



I look like a stuffed sausage...  I'm 5 foot nothing and have no waist.  I go from boobs to hips, nothing looks good on me, except burlap.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Rol just woke up grouchy. Mumbled something about not wanting to go shopping today and then grouched about not being able to find any socks (they were in the dryer). Further grouching and mumbling followed until after he'd taken his shower.



Mine was upset when I told him that he was putting one of the shelves on upside down...  But, did he want me to go away and leave him to it?


----------



## rozz

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I look like a stuffed sausage... I'm 5 foot nothing and have no waist. I go from boobs to hips, nothing looks good on me, except burlap.


 
A good wide belt can create the illusion of a waist. I have a short torso and I use belts to create a more defined waist. Otherwise, I tend to look rather... large.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

rozz said:


> A good wide belt can create the illusion of a waist. I have a short torso and I use belts to create a more defined waist. Otherwise, I tend to look rather... large.



I wander around all day in scrubs...on my days off, I wear long tops and jeans.  Lately, I've lost 25 pounds and am in transition in my wardrobe.  I have 30 more to go, want to get closer to my target weight before I start buying new duds.


----------



## Greg Who Cooks

Alix said:


> I closed down the old venting thread. It was getting pretty cumbersome for any new reader. Lets try to keep this one to just petty stuff. If you really need support or prayers please start a new thread so it can get the attention it deserves.



Sooo... This thread is 195 pages, 1942 posts, more than 2 years old! I'm amused upon reading the OP.


----------



## Claire

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I look like a stuffed sausage...  I'm 5 foot nothing and have no waist.  I go from boobs to hips, nothing looks good on me, except burlap.


I have the opposite problem.  No waist to speak of .... but am tall.  Pick up a pair of size 12 jeans (I've never been that small) and a size 20.  You'll find that the size 12 are about 3" longer than the 20s.  Gee, to people get shorter as they put on weight?  Thank heaven for LL Bean.


----------



## Margi Cintrano

Interesting thread.

Have a nice Sunday. 

Margaux


----------



## taxlady

Claire said:


> I have the opposite problem.  No waist to speak of .... but am tall.  Pick up a pair of size 12 jeans (I've never been that small) and a size 20.  You'll find that the size 12 are about 3" longer than the 20s.  Gee, to people get shorter as they put on weight?  Thank heaven for LL Bean.



I'm short, with long legs. If I am at my correct weight, jeans are all too long. When I'm fat, like now, jeans are the right length. That makes no sense whatsoever.


----------



## Addie

I am SHORT! And I stay the same weight. I have to shorten everything. Even long sleeves. And the tails on all blouses come down below the hips. My biggest problem is "gapitist." You know. The buttons right in the middle of the blouse gap across the bust line. So I try to buy pull over tops.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have a 29" inseam...and am too big around to fit into boys jeans.  If I can lose down to my target weight, I will be able to buy boys jeans again.  Makes buying dress clothes next to impossible without alterations that cost more than the clothes.  _I don't sew, let's not even go there.

_Dresses that fall to the knee_, _are midi length on me, simple hemming is not effective, the whole design needs to be adjusted so everything falls right.  So, I gave up long ago of ever looking "stylish."  T-shirts and jeans, flannel, pullover tops are what I wear.  Right now I am out of dress pants as the ones I had are now too big  I won't _NEED_ any dress pants till fall, so I'll wait until I need them to go buy them.


----------



## vitauta

i'm 5'7" with a very long waistline.  i remember suffering through belted fashions that hit at my rib cage instead of my natural waist.  when shift dresses or other free-flowing styles were in fashion, i was much happier going beltless or able to cinch my belts to accommodate my low waist.  another problem  with this type figure is the bathing suit that never adequately covers your torso. you find yourself constantly tugging the thing in one direction, then the other, just trying to stay decent at both ends.  when bikinis finally became widely accepted they were my salvation....


----------



## Margi Cintrano

I have enjoyed these threads. The posts have travelled to hiding sins in fashionables and the fit of jeans ... 

I am petite, small naturally and I wear alot of ZARA, a Spanish shop, similar to Limited or Express in the USA. Zara has many shops in the shopping centres throughout the USA now ... I do not have hem probs with jeans because I buy narrow jeans to fit just below the ankle ... I cannot wear wide leg pants, as I look like a " clown in costume " ... I prefer simple, clean lines and fitted without being loose or too tight either. I like mono chromatic, smart professional wearables, ultra modern however, with classic styling --- great jackets with smart trousers, fab boots and sweaters or a stunner shirt / blouse. I do not wear skirts and dresses too often in winter. In dresses or skirts, which I like to wear when warm to hot, I prefer 1950s skirting which work well with flat or low heels and / or very straight lines with medium high heels. The only thing I avoid really are loud colors. I love black and white or beige palette and / or navy with white and a red accessory. A great jean skirt with cowboy boots and a jean jacket --- are fun at wkends. when going out casual.  

Fun to read posts. 
Thanks, Margi.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> i'm 5'7" with a very long waistline.  i remember suffering through belted fashions that hit at my rib cage instead of my natural waist.  when shift dresses or other free-flowing styles were in fashion, i was much happier going beltless or able to cinch my belts to accommodate my low waist.  another problem  with this type figure is the bathing suit that never adequately covers your torso. you find yourself constantly tugging the thing in one direction, then the other, just trying to stay decent at both ends.  when bikinis finally became widely accepted they were my salvation....



So together we would be Mutt and Jeff...my best friend from grade school was tall and thin, I was short and stout...we were the odd couple and still are.  Even though I have lost an inch in height, I'm still taller than I was through high school.  I was 4'10" through school.  Last time I had a waist was when I weighed 99 pounds.  Might be a good weight for me, but I don't feel good at that weight.  I'm shooting for 130 lbs.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> So together we would be Mutt and Jeff...my best friend from grade school was tall and thin, I was short and stout...we were the odd couple and still are. Even though I have lost an inch in height, I'm still taller than I was through high school. I was 4'10" through school. Last time I had a waist was when I weighed 99 pounds. Might be a good weight for me, but I don't feel good at that weight. I'm shooting for 130 lbs.


 
I am only 4"8" and when my weight goes down to low, I feel it. And I don't feel good. I have a hard time keeping my sugar at a comfortable level. Weight loss for me has to be a very slow procedure. So my body can adjust to each loss. I don't like being the weight I am at, but I feel fine health wise.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I'm fortunate that even being overweight I still have natural curves. Aside from just a general lack of clothing in my size that I like (my own fault, I badly need to loose weight), the only problem I really have with clothing fit is that I have really long hips. I have trouble with pants wanting to sit just below my waist and if I try the pants that are made for large hips they are way too big. And most of the high waisted stuff has an elastic waist band and just looks blegh. But I can usually find something, I just have to work a little harder at it.

On another similar note, anyone else ever notice how inconsistantly womens clothing is sized? You have two pairs of pants, same brand, same style, same fabric type, different colors and only one of them fits. Seriously, if the only difference is the color then why on earth do they not both fit?


----------



## rozz

Addie said:


> I am SHORT! And I stay the same weight. I have to shorten everything. Even long sleeves. And the tails on all blouses come down below the hips. My biggest problem is "gapitist." You know. The buttons right in the middle of the blouse gap across the bust line. So I try to buy pull over tops.


 
I have given up on button-up tops. For a good professional top, I wear the Harrison from Pinup Girl, which is fitted, accomodates my boobishness and has a downward zipper halfway up the back. If you're similarly built, It's a darn fine top. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of it.



Margi Cintrano said:


> In dresses or skirts, which I like to wear when warm to hot, I prefer 1950s skirting which work well with flat or low heels and / or very straight lines with medium high heels. The only thing I avoid really are loud colors. I love black and white or beige palette and / or navy with white and a red accessory.


 
I love the 1950s style. The lines were so much more clean and emphasized the female form in a way that was sexy, but not over the top. I love a good swing skirt or pencil skirt. 



purple.alien.giraffe said:


> On another similar note, anyone else ever notice how inconsistantly womens clothing is sized? You have two pairs of pants, same brand, same style, same fabric type, different colors and only one of them fits. Seriously, if the only difference is the color then why on earth do they not both fit?


 
No lie, I bought a pair of jeans (a feat in and of itself), and bought the exact same pair in the exact same wash and they didn't fit. WHO IS DESIGNING THESE THINGS? Why can't I get something that fits my waist, hips and butt? When I get something that fits my waist, there's no way it's going to fit my thighs. When it fits my thighs and/or butt, it's going to be all weird and gappy around my waist. I should not have sizes (that do fit me) ranging from a 2 to a 12 in my closet. That's messed up.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Never having carried a pregnancy to term, I don't have woman hips, womens pants do not fit, they assume curves where I have none.

I think it's funny, as I have lost weight my pants have gotten longer...even my sweatpants are too long now.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Never having carried a pregnancy to term, I don't have woman hips, womens pants do not fit, they assume curves where I have none.
> 
> I think it's funny, as I have lost weight my pants have gotten longer...even my sweatpants are too long now.



Put them in the dryer on hot, but keep an eye on them. It's what I do with crocheted stuff that grows.


----------



## bakechef

As a guy we have it easy.  I do have a complaint about shirts.  Why when you go above medium do most shirts just look like tents when worn?  If I buy a standard polo, my side view looks like I have a huge gut!  My belly isn't flat, but these make me look pregnant!  I have a couple of LL Bean polo that look pretty good, but the rest of my shirts are button up that I layer with colored tee shirts.  I only own one tee shirt that's worn by itself from my recent trip to Disney, it's a classic style mickey shirt and it actually fits well and looks good.  Wearing that shirt for the first time felt weird, I'm not used to wearing a tee by itself, I realize how weird that must sound, but one of my friends commented how he never remembered seeing me in a tee shirt!


----------



## Addie

Both my husbands never were seen in just a T shirt even around the house. Just wasn't done.


----------



## Claire

PrincessFiona60 said:


> So together we would be Mutt and Jeff...my best friend from grade school was tall and thin, I was short and stout...we were the odd couple and still are.  Even though I have lost an inch in height, I'm still taller than I was through high school.  I was 4'10" through school.  Last time I had a waist was when I weighed 99 pounds.  Might be a good weight for me, but I don't feel good at that weight.  I'm shooting for 130 lbs.


My school girlfriends and I were always called Mutt & Jeff.  I'm surprised I'm not stooped over from leaning to hear them talk.  Back then I had it easy in that I just wore men's jeans and mini-skirts/dresses were "in".  It was really the olden days, until I moved to CA in my junior year of high school, pants simply were not allowed in school.  

In order to get clothes that fit, I pretty much order from what used to be the Lane Bryant catalogs (Woman Within and Roman's) or a couple of others that have a tall line of clothing.  Even so, if pants fit my waist they have a butt and thighs on them large enough that I can store another person in there.


----------



## Addie

Since I have to hem everything I buy, my very best friend is the Stitch Witchery bonding tape. I gave my sewing machine to Son #1. It was just gathering dust and taking up space here. I get the heavy duty tape. I loved sewing in Jr. high school. But as I got older I learned to hate it. I am horrified at my daughter's sewing. So I introduced her to the bonding tape. She took sewing in school. But I think they forgot to teach the basics. Like how to hide stitches when hemming. And matching the thread to the color of the material. One time I hemmed a dress for her. She still can't find the stitches and thinks I glued the hem.


----------



## Addie

Claire said:


> In order to get clothes that fit, I pretty much order from what used to be the Lane Bryant catalogs (Woman Within and Roman's) or a couple of others that have a tall line of clothing. Even so, if pants fit my waist they have a butt and thighs on them large enough that I can store another person in there.


 
I order my pants from QVC. I find that they carry a lot of clothing for my size in petite. My size isn't petite, but my height is. Sometimes when I order pants from elsewhere, I end up cutting as much as five inches off before I can put a hem on them. And when you cut that much off, they look like heck. It ruins the line of the leg. The part that would normally be at the calf, is at my shin. Drives me crazy.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Stitch Witchery...you need an iron and ironing board for that, right?

I used to love sewing and grew to hate it, too!  But not as much as I hate ironing.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Stitch Witchery...you need an iron and ironing board for that, right?
> 
> I used to love sewing and grew to hate it, too! But not as much as I hate ironing.


 
I love to iron. I have an old ironing board from the 1940's. It has a wooden top. Paid 69 cents in the thrift store for it. I do have a flat iron that you have to heat on the stove top. No, I use that one for a door stop. But my iron is an Euro Pro. A big steam tank.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I love to iron. I have an old ironing board from the 1940's. It has a wooden top. Paid 69 cents in the thrift store for it. I do have a flat iron that you have to heat on the stove top. No, I use that one for a door stop. But my iron is an Euro Pro. A big steam tank.



As kids we had to iron everything...even my Dad's clothes...When I met Shrek, first thing I told him, I do not iron...he has his own ironing board and iron.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> As kids we had to iron everything...even my Dad's clothes...When I met Shrek, first thing I told him, I do not iron...he has his own ironing board and iron.




When I was a youngster, maybe 10-13 yo, for some reason or another I saw mom ironing a shirt and said it looked easy.  She offered to let me try and I did.  She said I a pretty good job and from now on I could iron my own shirts.  She was true to her words.  She never ironed a shirt for me again.


----------



## Claire

Andy M. said:


> When I was a youngster, maybe 10-13 yo, for some reason or another I saw mom ironing a shirt and said it looked easy.  She offered to let me try and I did.  She said I a pretty good job and from now on I could iron my own shirts.  She was true to her words.  She never ironed a shirt for me again.



My mom taught me to iron almost as soon as I could stand up to the ironing board.  My first lessons were Daddy's handkerchiefs.  Then, as soon as we got old enough, if we had clothes that needed ironing, then it was "here's the iron".  When my husband started collecting social security, I told him my portion was going to be taking things to the laundry for ironing (don't mind washing).


----------



## taxlady

Claire said:


> My mom taught me to iron almost as soon as I could stand up to the ironing board.  My first lessons were Daddy's handkerchiefs.  Then, as soon as we got old enough, if we had clothes that needed ironing, then it was "here's the iron".  When my husband started collecting social security, I told him my portion was going to be taking things to the laundry for ironing (don't mind washing).



Buy a steamer instead. I have a friend who is a seamstress, that's why she still owns an iron. You can't iron a seam open with a steamer. You also need an iron to use any iron on stuff.

I was am weird. As a kid I loved ironing. I did all the ironing at home. I still enjoy it once in a while, but I want a steamer.


----------



## Claire

OK.  Husband went outside and noticed the dog was missing.  She'd only been out a few minutes.  I went out and yelled for her and she came up to the fence immediately.  I reached over the fence (an old-fashioned picket, but with netting under it), grabbed her by the collar, and yelled at hubby to come get her.  She's just heavy enough that I could have picked her up and hauled her over.  But not wise (who needs a back being thrown out).  He went and leashed her and brought her in (she's a heinz 57, about 25 lbs).  Meanwhile I have a few bricks and bricked up where she went under the fence.  I was always afraid she'd jump over the fence when excited by the the chase, and she's never shown any indication of digging under the fence.  Of all the pets I've had, she is the most responsive to her name, and when I went out and yelled her name she was right there.  I asked hubby, did he call her name.  For some reason no.  

People who think animals can't feel human emotions such as guilt don't know Rosebud.  You know the term hang-dog?  She's been moping around since we took her in.  I don't thing she'll get carried away again.  We were concerned because neighbors of ours lost their dog a few weeks ago and now have a pit bull/rottie mix, who could kill my dog in ten seconds or less, so I want Rosebud to say in her fence.  In a few weeks the growth will grow around the fence line, and she'll have a harder time leaving the yard.

I haven't seen the new neighborhood  dog yet.  But I don't want to meet it because it killed mine.  

Two lessons learned.  Found a breach under the fence and fixed that.  Tell husband to call his dog, not panic first and go searching.  She, on the other hand, seems to have had a lesson learned as well, that is to say, stay in your own yard, it's much safer.


----------



## bakechef

Claire said:


> OK.  Husband went outside and noticed the dog was missing.  She'd only been out a few minutes.  I went out and yelled for her and she came up to the fence immediately.  I reached over the fence (an old-fashioned picket, but with netting under it), grabbed her by the collar, and yelled at hubby to come get her.  She's just heavy enough that I could have picked her up and hauled her over.  But not wise (who needs a back being thrown out).  He went and leashed her and brought her in (she's a heinz 57, about 25 lbs).  Meanwhile I have a few bricks and bricked up where she went under the fence.  I was always afraid she'd jump over the fence when excited by the the chase, and she's never shown any indication of digging under the fence.  Of all the pets I've had, she is the most responsive to her name, and when I went out and yelled her name she was right there.  I asked hubby, did he call her name.  For some reason no.
> 
> People who think animals can't feel human emotions such as guilt don't know Rosebud.  You know the term hang-dog?  She's been moping around since we took her in.  I don't thing she'll get carried away again.  We were concerned because neighbors of ours lost their dog a few weeks ago and now have a pit bull/rottie mix, who could kill my dog in ten seconds or less, so I want Rosebud to say in her fence.  In a few weeks the growth will grow around the fence line, and she'll have a harder time leaving the yard.
> 
> I haven't seen the new neighborhood  dog yet.  But I don't want to meet it because it killed mine.
> 
> Two lessons learned.  Found a breach under the fence and fixed that.  Tell husband to call his dog, not panic first and go searching.  She, on the other hand, seems to have had a lesson learned as well, that is to say, stay in your own yard, it's much safer.



My best friend had a dog named Baby, the second you called her name, she'd come running without fail.  She was the most obedient dog that I have ever known.  Anytime she did something bad (which was actually very rare) she would get this very guilty look and mope around.  If she was running toward the road, all you had to do is yell "BABY!" and she would stop in her tracks.  She was such a special dog.  She had a whole range of emotions.  I'm not even a dog person but bonded with this dog.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> When I was a youngster, maybe 10-13 yo, for some reason or another I saw mom ironing a shirt and said it looked easy. She offered to let me try and I did. She said I a pretty good job and from now on I could iron my own shirts. She was true to her words. She never ironed a shirt for me again.


 
Many a hild was so glad when wash and wear came into being.


----------



## Claire

taxlady said:


> Buy a steamer instead. I have a friend who is a seamstress, that's why she still owns an iron. You can't iron a seam open with a steamer. You also need an iron to use any iron on stuff.
> 
> I was am weird. As a kid I loved ironing. I did all the ironing at home. I still enjoy it once in a while, but I want a steamer.


I have a sister who likes to iron.  I mean, she irons jeans.  My sisters and I just hand her our clothes on those rare occasions we're together.  

I avoid spending extra for housecleaning equipment for chores I hate to do anyway.  They sometimes make is slightly less of a p-in-the-a, but rarely worthwhile for the extra expense.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Many a hild was so glad when wash and wear came into being.



Permanent press never looked good enough to me to wear them without ironing.  I had no desire to wash and iron five shirts a week.  I had to dress for work every day so I was glad there was a laundry down the street that did shirts for a reasonable price.  When I started out, a washed and ironed shirt cost $0.25.  When I retired, they were $1.50!


----------



## taxlady

Claire said:


> I have a sister who likes to iron.  I mean, she irons jeans.  My sisters and I just hand her our clothes on those rare occasions we're together.
> 
> I avoid spending extra for housecleaning equipment for chores I hate to do anyway.  They sometimes make is slightly less of a p-in-the-a, but rarely worthwhile for the extra expense.



I understand that, but you wrote "When my husband started collecting social security, I told him my portion was going to be taking things to the laundry for ironing (don't mind washing)." So, I figured the steamer would eventually pay for itself.


----------



## Claire

taxlady said:


> I understand that, but you wrote "When my husband started collecting social security, I told him my portion was going to be taking things to the laundry for ironing (don't mind washing)." So, I figured the steamer would eventually pay for itself.


It probably would!  I bought one when they first came out, and it didn't work great (that was many, many moons ago!), so now I just pay someone to do it.  It isn't a huge amount; almost nothing in the winter (lots of sweaters and jeans, washer, then dryer and back on the bod).  In the summer cotton shirts, 2 or 3 a week in the summer.  Oh, and table cloths.  It isn't like we're gainfully employed and wear suits.  Now THAT was an expense.


----------



## Claire

Andy M. said:


> Permanent press never looked good enough to me to wear them without ironing.  I had no desire to wash and iron five shirts a week.  I had to dress for work every day so I was glad there was a laundry down the street that did shirts for a reasonable price.  When I started out, a washed and ironed shirt cost $0.25.  When I retired, they were $1.50!



I don't remember what it cost at all.  But my father, then me, then my husband were all in the military, and they were, at some point (about when I was in my early 20s) went to "wash and wear."  Unless you were standing at the dryer at the right time, they weren't wear-able.  So ... iron, iron and iron some more.  

We both happen to like cotton shirts in the summer, and I'm happy to be able to afford to take them to the cleaners (I really haven't paid attention to the cost!  I wash them myself and just bring them to be ironed).


----------



## babetoo

Andy M. said:


> When I was a youngster, maybe 10-13 yo, for some reason or another I saw mom ironing a shirt and said it looked easy.  She offered to let me try and I did.  She said I a pretty good job and from now on I could iron my own shirts.  She was true to her words.  She never ironed a shirt for me again.



the only time i iron is when i sew. slightly rumpled clothes are fine with me.


----------



## Addie

Ninety-nine percent of my clothing is cotton. And I don't put them in the dryer. Just another one of my quirks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

99% of mine is cotton, too...I pull it out of the dryer as fast as possible.  If it's too wrinkled because I am slow, it goes back in the dryer with a wet washcloth.


----------



## joesfolk

PrincessFiona60 said:


> 99% of mine is cotton, too...I pull it out of the dryer as fast as possible. If it's too wrinkled because I am slow, it goes back in the dryer with a wet washcloth.


 I guess I must be really old because I don't get this.  My DIL has been married for about 15 years and has three kids...she has never owned and iron.  I get that things are much more casual these days and in fact I rarely iron but still there are times even with dryers that stuff at least needs a little touch up.  At least they do in my wardrobe.  Things sure have changed.  I remember about a million years ago when I was about 5, my mother set the ironing board up to my height and gave me a stack of pillowcases to iron.  Thank God for permanent press!  I can't imagine doing that these days.


----------



## Barbara L

My mom said the worst thing to iron was our dresses when we were toddlers. Tiny, wrinkled 100% cotton dresses with lots of "nooks and crannies."  

My favorite story about ironing has nothing to do with ironing actually. When I was a toddler my mom took in ironing to make a little money. When she went into labor with my sister, she was walking to the car, all doubled up in pain, when the neighbor woman ran over, demanding to know when her ironing would be finished!  Sheesh!


----------



## Addie

joesfolk said:


> I guess I must be really old because I don't get this. My DIL has been married for about 15 years and has three kids...she has never owned and iron. I get that things are much more casual these days and in fact I rarely iron but still there are times even with dryers that stuff at least needs a little touch up. At least they do in my wardrobe. Things sure have changed. I remember about a million years ago when I was about 5, my mother set the ironing board up to my height and gave me a stack of pillowcases to iron. Thank God for permanent press! I can't imagine doing that these days.


 
Smart mother! She was training you for your adult life. Like you said, sometimes things need just a touchup. I went to a summr wedding. One woman had on a cotton sundress. Very pretty. But it sure could have used a touchup with an iron. Pretty hat, pretty summr shoes. But the pretty dress was a mess.


----------



## Addie

Barbara L said:


> *My mom said the worst thing to iron was our dresses when we were toddlers. Tiny, wrinkled 100% cotton dresses with lots of "nooks and crannies."*
> 
> My favorite story about ironing has nothing to do with ironing actually. When I was a toddler my mom took in ironing to make a little money. When she went into labor with my sister, she was walking to the car, all doubled up in pain, when the neighbor woman ran over, demanding to know when her ironing would be finished! Sheesh!


 
I remember those days. But both my girls looked pretty even when they went out to play. I used to iron all their summer tops and shorts also. And the same for the boys. Shirts always got ironed. The hardest thing to iron though were the ruffles on the girls dresses and blouses.


----------



## Claire

Yeah, I grew up in the era when Mom had to iron yards and yards of ruffles and bows (a family of girls) in addition to Dad's uniforms.  The first thing she did (sort of like my social security thing) when she gave up smoking was have someone iron for her with the extra money.  Then as we were entering our teens and unbleached, 100% cotton muslin was in style.  Mom said we could only buy it (actually, we were all pretty much sewing by then) if we ironed it, period.


----------



## Claire

My latest vent is that we had appointment around lunchtime with tax guy.  Husband decides today is the day for finishing up the front porch; windows, shutters, screens.  I have a hose end bottle I like for such jobs, although I wind up drenched when I use it.  

Well I started in, and got to the first shutter and .... wham!  I hit a nest, I think yellow jackets.  Boy were they angry.  Husband is very, very, very allergic to stings.  I yelled at him to get in the house and found a couple of half-cans of hornet, etc., poison and started in.  had to be over 200 of the darned (believe me, I'm being nice compared to what I was thinking).  Managed to kill whatever they were and clean out the nest, get all the dead bodies removed, get the windows, screens and shutters cleaned.  But bottom line is what should have been a small job left me drenched to the skin, head to toe, and of course, husband couldn't help me.  

Then I had to clean up and go do taxes.  Luckily, we're in a situation where that isn't a big deal, and we like and trust tax guy.


----------



## vitauta

the smell of mom's ironing is still one my most enduring/endearing memories....


----------



## Barbara L

vitauta said:


> the smell of mom's ironing is still one my most enduring/endearing memories....


 I know what you mean. A lot of my good memories revolve somehow around my mom ironing.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Remember the thing you stuck in the soda bottle to sprinkle the clothes with.

I have not ironed in at least a year and the ironing board is long gone.  Now when I need to iron I pull out a bath towel and do it on the dining room table or the floor like a starving college kid.  Do they still have starving college kids?


----------



## Barbara L

Aunt Bea said:


> Remember the thing you stuck in the soda bottle to sprinkle the clothes with.
> 
> I have not ironed in at least a year and the ironing board is long gone.  Now when I need to iron I pull out a bath towel and do it on the dining room table or the floor like a starving college kid.  Do they still have starving college kids?


My mom used one of those for years!  Sprinkle a few pieces of clothing, roll them up, iron them, start over.


----------



## bakechef

I have a small ironing board that hangs behind the closet door and folds down when needed.  Very handy!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Aunt Bea said:
			
		

> Remember the thing you stuck in the soda bottle to sprinkle the clothes with.
> 
> I have not ironed in at least a year and the ironing board is long gone.  Now when I need to iron I pull out a bath towel and do it on the dining room table or the floor like a starving college kid.  Do they still have starving college kids?



Yes, in fact most of my university friends survived on ramen, mac and cheese, and if they were health concious, cans of generic brand vegetables.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm 51, I don't iron...had my fill and it's not a chore I enjoy.  I would rather wash dishes and clean the bathroom.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm 51, I don't iron...had my fill and it's not a chore I enjoy.  I would rather wash dishes and clean the bathroom.



Wanna come wash my dishes (I have a dishwasher) and clean my bathroom? I'll be happy to do your ironing.


----------



## vitauta

dancing slow at his neck i remember still the burned smell of pressed shirt....


----------



## Barbara L

The main time I iron is if one of James's shirts needs a little touch-up.  Why I bother, I don't know.  I make sure it is nice and smooth, then I hand it to him and he puts it on the bed in a wad!  I keep telling him that when a man goes out looking a mess, it isn't him people (ok, women) are looking at, but it is the wife.  "What kind of woman lets her husband go out looking like that?!"  One time he was wearing a horribly mismatched outfit (two different prints). Every time we passed someone I said, "He dressed himself!"  He went to the barber to get his hair cut, and when he came out he was laughing (I had waited in the car). He said the barber asked him, "Doesn't your wife dress you better than that?!"


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Barbara L said:


> The main time I iron is if one of James's shirts needs a little touch-up.  Why I bother, I don't know.  I make sure it is nice and smooth, then I hand it to him and he puts it on the bed in a wad!  I keep telling him that when a man goes out looking a mess, it isn't him people (ok, women) are looking at, but it is the wife.  "What kind of woman lets her husband go out looking like that?!"  One time he was wearing a horribly mismatched outfit (two different prints). Every time we passed someone I said, "He dressed himself!"  He went to the barber to get his hair cut, and when he came out he was laughing (I had waited in the car). He said the barber asked him, "Doesn't your wife dress you better than that?!"



 My hubby once got asked why I don't make him wear better shoes with the clothes that make him look nice. Baby steps. I've got him wearing dress clothes when appropriate instead of jeans and a t-shirt regardless of the circumstance and colors other than grey and black. I've made progress. But telling a guy he needs to wear better shoes with his dress clothes is just asking to have him pick apart the number and variety of shoes you own (blah blah blah too many). And for a girl, I don't really have that many.


----------



## taxlady

I ex DH (the self-proclaimed Scottish hooligan), was misbehaving in a restaurant. One of my friends said, "You can dress him up, but you can't take him any where." The waitress (also a friend) chimed in, "From what I hear, you can't dress him up."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Wanna come wash my dishes (I have a dishwasher) and clean my bathroom? I'll be happy to do your ironing.



Let me see if I can rent a Boxcar for the ironing pile, I'll be right there.


----------



## bakechef

I don't enjoy ironing, but there are some of my cotton shirts that just need it, especially along the buttons and button holes, and since I ironed those, I just seem to keep going and do the whole thing.

Having a good iron helps somewhat.  I have a EuroPro Shark and it is really great, you can push down on the steam button, and it will keep going until the tank is empty, one pass over the cloth is all it needs, it really is an easy one to use.  When I'm in a hotel and need to iron, I realize just how bad a cheap iron can be!


----------



## taxlady

I can't remember the last time I used steam. I just spritz clothes with the plant sprayer. It takes out the wrinkles quicker and I don't have to clean the danged iron.

Remember when steam irons needed distilled water?


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> I can't remember the last time I used steam. I just spritz clothes with the plant sprayer. It takes out the wrinkles quicker and I don't have to clean the danged iron.
> 
> Remember when steam irons needed distilled water?



You're supposed to clean an iron? 

Mine is 10 years old and I've never cleaned it.  Hasn't spit out any nasty stuff yet, so maybe I'm safe!


----------



## Barbara L

bakechef said:


> I don't enjoy ironing, but there are some of my cotton shirts that just need it, especially along the buttons and button holes, and since I ironed those, I just seem to keep going and do the whole thing.
> 
> Having a good iron helps somewhat.  I have a EuroPro Shark and it is really great, you can push down on the steam button, and it will keep going until the tank is empty, one pass over the cloth is all it needs, it really is an easy one to use.  When I'm in a hotel and need to iron, I realize just how bad a cheap iron can be!


I have a Shark as well. Even though I don't iron clothes a lot, I do sew, which means a lot of ironing as you go.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> You're supposed to clean an iron?
> 
> Mine is 10 years old and I've never cleaned it.  Hasn't spit out any nasty stuff yet, so maybe I'm safe!



I don't know,  maybe the new ones have continuous clean? I would have to go look what brand mine is, I don't remember. Of course, I bought that iron a long time ago - 1974 or '75. Self-cleaning was a fancy feature back then.

Have a look at your iron and see if it has a super hot setting for cleaning. It isn't just that it might spit out something nasty - unless you have very soft water, it is likely filling up with mineral deposits that will clog up the vents. That's why most steam irons back then required distilled water - no minerals.


----------



## Orryette

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Never having carried a pregnancy to term, I don't have woman hips, womens pants do not fit, they assume curves where I have none.



So does that mean when I have a baby my hips are gonna get even bigger!!!!???? Gulp !!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Orryette said:


> So does that mean when I have a baby my hips are gonna get even bigger!!!!???? Gulp !!



LOL!  There is a certain amount of spread that goes with pregnancy and I don't mean weight gain.  Hips do get a bit wider to accommodate the baby.


----------



## Orryette

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> LOL!  There is a certain amount of spread that goes with pregnancy and I don't mean weight gain.  Hips do get a bit wider to accommodate the baby.



Hmm here's hoping mine are big enough already know extra accommodation needed hahahahaha


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Orryette said:


> Hmm here's hoping mine are big enough already know extra accommodation needed hahahahaha



If I can get down to my ideal weight I can start shopping for my jeans in the boys department again...


----------



## Orryette

Hope you get there my sister in laws just lost 30kg (approx 66 pounds)! Inspirational! I need to do something too, going from sales on my feet constantly into this job siting for 12 hr shifts iv packed it on, my only prob is I HATE getting hot and sweaty lol


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Orryette said:


> Hope you get there my sister in laws just lost 30kg (approx 66 pounds)! Inspirational! I need to do something too, going from sales on my feet constantly into this job siting for 12 hr shifts iv packed it on, my only prob is I HATE getting hot and sweaty lol



I'll never get that low again, too old for it!  I figure 125-130 pounds (57-59 kg) is a good target weight for me.

Congrats to your SIL!


----------



## Orryette

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I'll never get that low again, too old for it!  I figure 125-130 pounds (57-59 kg) is a good target weight for me.
> 
> Congrats to your SIL!



Lol I think 70kg is good for me haha!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Orryette said:


> Lol I think 70kg is good for me haha!



LOL!  I am very short, look like a fireplug...


----------



## Orryette

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> LOL!  I am very short, look like a fireplug...



Haha I'm 5'10, I used to be a dancer and I will always say that all the muscle I have is why I weigh more then most people my height. Sounds convincing too me!


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> If I can get down to my ideal weight I can start shopping for my jeans in the boys department again...




The old boys club?


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> LOL! I am very short, look like a fireplug...


 
I am that fireplug. Just ask Depends!


----------



## taxlady

On Wednesday, I picked up my new, used car: 2005 Volvo S60, turbo, all wheel drive. It's a beautiful car. It's lovely to drive.

Today I went to see a client. Then, on the way to see another client, the car stopped in traffic - on a major street (Boulevard René-Lévesque) in downtown Montréal.   It wouldn't start again. The oil light (I think it was the oil light, it was a picture of an oil can with a drop) was on. I phoned CAA (same as AAA, but Canadian) and had it towed to the garage where I bought it. I am not a happy camper. 

It started for the CAA guy, but I don't dare drive it until it has been checked. Waaaa, I want my new car.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh, I would be fuming, too!  Sorry, Taxlady!


----------



## tinlizzie

taxlady said:


> On Wednesday, I picked up my new, used car: 2005 Volvo S60, turbo, all wheel drive. It's a beautiful car. It's lovely to drive.
> 
> Today I went to see a client. Then, on the way to see another client, the car stopped in traffic - on a major street (Boulevard René-Lévesque) in downtown Montréal.  It wouldn't start again. The oil light (I think it was the oil light, it was a picture of an oil can with a drop) was on. I phoned CAA (same as AAA, but Canadian) and had it towed to the garage where I bought it. I am not a happy camper.
> 
> It started for the CAA guy, but I don't dare drive it until it has been checked. Waaaa, I want my new car.


 
I believe that's called a revoltin' development.  Good luck!


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> On Wednesday, I picked up my new, used car: 2005 Volvo S60, turbo, all wheel drive. It's a beautiful car. It's lovely to drive.
> 
> Today I went to see a client. Then, on the way to see another client, the car stopped in traffic - on a major street (Boulevard René-Lévesque) in downtown Montréal.   It wouldn't start again. The oil light (I think it was the oil light, it was a picture of an oil can with a drop) was on. I phoned CAA (same as AAA, but Canadian) and had it towed to the garage where I bought it. I am not a happy camper.
> 
> It started for the CAA guy, but I don't dare drive it until it has been checked. Waaaa, I want my new car.



My old one did that a couple of times.  It was an oxygen sensor in that prevented oxygen from getting into the fuel mixture and the car stopped.  It usually would start up again if it sat for a half hour or so.  It seems like the garage should fix it, if you just bought the car.  Good luck!


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> My old one did that a couple of times.  It was an oxygen sensor in that prevented oxygen from getting into the fuel mixture and the car stopped.  It usually would start up again if it sat for a half hour or so.  It seems like the garage should fix it, if you just bought the car.  Good luck!



Thanks. They really should fix it. It has a 30 day 1,700 km warranty.


----------



## Claire

Orryette said:


> Haha I'm 5'10, I used to be a dancer and I will always say that all the muscle I have is why I weigh more then most people my height. Sounds convincing too me!


Orry, you are right, in my opinion.  Muscle weighs more than fat.  I'm 5'9", and my sisters and i are very muscular.  No one ever believes it when any of us admit to our weight.  I only weigh in a couple of times a year (don't own a scale), and last month a woman was standing behind me when I stepped on the scale at the fitness center.  I know almost everyone there, but she was new.  She jokingly said, 99 lbs.  I joked, put a 1 in front of that.  She thought I was joking.  I moved the weight over and she just about pooped a clay square.  Yeah, I do weigh that.  She was astonished.  

I'm not saying I'm not overweight, I could stand to lose 30 lbs, easily.  BUT, yes muscles do weigh more.


----------



## taxlady

Muscle weighs more than fat, it's a known fact. When I weighed 130 lbs and there was a lots of muscle, I was thinner than at 115 lbs and not very muscular.


----------



## Orryette

Claire said:
			
		

> Orry, you are right, in my opinion.  Muscle weighs more than fat.  I'm 5'9", and my sisters and i are very muscular.  No one ever believes it when any of us admit to our weight.  I only weigh in a couple of times a year (don't own a scale), and last month a woman was standing behind me when I stepped on the scale at the fitness center.  I know almost everyone there, but she was new.  She jokingly said, 99 lbs.  I joked, put a 1 in front of that.  She thought I was joking.  I moved the weight over and she just about pooped a clay square.  Yeah, I do weigh that.  She was astonished.
> 
> I'm not saying I'm not overweight, I could stand to lose 30 lbs, easily.  BUT, yes muscles do weigh more.



Yay! Here I was thinking it was just me, i used to be really fit from all the dancing no fat any where ... Sniff  ,sorry just remembering the good old days lol and yea weighed 70kg and all my mates being like 50-60 kg. I always thought I was, well, An ogre.

But I had a moment the other day at work, i was bored and was going through old photos on FB of myself and seeing a photo from only 13months ago. That was my reality check. From here in out my life will be lettuce recipes 101! So no more joking around I'm doing it, losing weight that is. I think, well I'm very motivated now anyway! Lol 
I need that photo of myself to look at constantly to keep me going, geez that sounds conceited! 
But it true I get all depressed/ motivated and ill be good for a week but that's it. I'm gonna stick to it this time.... Really


----------



## Addie

Orryette said:


> Yay! Here I was thinking it was just me, i used to be really fit from all the dancing no fat any where ... Sniff  ,sorry just remembering the good old days lol and yea weighed 70kg and all my mates being like 50-60 kg. I always thought I was, well, An ogre.
> 
> But I had a moment the other day at work, i was bored and was going through old photos on FB of myself and seeing a photo from only 13months ago. That was my reality check. From here in out my life will be lettuce recipes 101! So no more joking around I'm doing it, losing weight that is. I think, well I'm very motivated now anyway! Lol
> I need that photo of myself to look at constantly to keep me going, geez that sounds conceited!
> But it true I get all depressed/ motivated and ill be good for a week but that's it. I'm gonna stick to it this time.... Really


 
You have a cheering section right here. So when you feel like you may backslide, drop in and we will help you get back on track. We love success and encourage those who have a goal. And we really do care about being here for anyone who needs support in any endeavor they are pursuing. 

There are several folks here who are trying to lose weight and they are doing good. You mentioned dancing. Are you a fan of Dancing With The Stars?  Well, look at the stars that have lost weight while in training. Try to get back into dancing again in some manner. Or find some activity that will help you reach your goal. Set weekly goals for yourself. Little ones. If you make them big goals and you are not able to reach it, you will get discouraged. If you reach your weekly goal and surpass it, you will have encouragement to continue. And everyone who is trying to lose weight has plateaus. That is your body adjusting to your new weight. Don't get discouraged.

Try to eat a salad about 20 minutes before you eat the main part of your meal. It takes that time for your stomach to realize that you are eating. When you start to eat the main part of your meal, your stomach won't want as much food as you used to eat. You will feel full before you even finish your plate. If you get tired of eating salads, eat an apple, piece of fruit, some nuts, or other food that doesn't require cooking. I used to keep some pieces of celery or carrots in salted water in the fridge for the kids to grab when they were looking for something to munch on while waiting for  supper. It was a good way to tide them over. There are a lot of little tricks to keep you on track. 


Good luck!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Orryette said:


> Yay! Here I was thinking it was just me, i used to be really fit from all the dancing no fat any where ... Sniff  ,sorry just remembering the good old days lol and yea weighed 70kg and all my mates being like 50-60 kg. I always thought I was, well, An ogre.
> 
> But I had a moment the other day at work, i was bored and was going through old photos on FB of myself and seeing a photo from only 13months ago. That was my reality check. From here in out my life will be lettuce recipes 101! So no more joking around I'm doing it, losing weight that is. I think, well I'm very motivated now anyway! Lol
> I need that photo of myself to look at constantly to keep me going, geez that sounds conceited!
> But it true I get all depressed/ motivated and ill be good for a week but that's it. I'm gonna stick to it this time.... Really




Oh yes, like Addie said, we are more than willing to harass encourage you in your weight loss.


----------



## Alix

Its making me mental that every thread I try to read wanders randomly all over the place and bears little resemblance to the thread title.


----------



## vitauta

although it's sometimes the meandering threads that turn out to be most interesting ones of all--and often enjoy a longevity that is lacking in some of the ones that stay true to a very specific topic.


----------



## Alix

Agreed. I'm not talking about those threads. I like those. I just get frustrated about stepping into what I think is going to be a discussion about a particular topic and its morphed off into a debate about something else. I find that a bit disrespectful to the person who has started the thread. I know it irritates me when I ask a question and am looking for specific answers and someone posts something irrelevant that takes the thread into la la land. 

Its my own personal feeling, and I realize its petty and not everyone shares my feeling. That's why I posted here in venting. I needed to vent my petty irritation. I also realize I've likely upset a few folks with my comment. I'm sorry for that. I also post in haste occasionally. Forgive me folks, I did not intend to hurt feelings.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> Agreed. I'm not talking about those threads. I like those. I just get frustrated about stepping into what I think is going to be a discussion about a particular topic and its morphed off into a debate about something else. I find that a bit disrespectful to the person who has started the thread. I know it irritates me when I ask a question and am looking for specific answers and someone posts something irrelevant that takes the thread into la la land.
> 
> Its my own personal feeling, and I realize its petty and not everyone shares my feeling. That's why I posted here in venting. I needed to vent my petty irritation. I also realize I've likely upset a few folks with my comment. I'm sorry for that. I also post in haste occasionally. Forgive me folks, I did not intend to hurt feelings.




I agree with you.  Once a thread goes off topic it often becomes a private (not really) chat room for a few members.  That's when I stop checking the posts on that thread.

I'm also bugged when someone answers a different question from what the OP posted.  It doesn't take a lot of effort the read the OP.


----------



## Orryette

Addie said:
			
		

> You have a cheering section right here. So when you feel like you may backslide, drop in and we will help you get back on track. We love success and encourage those who have a goal. And we really do care about being here for anyone who needs support in any endeavor they are pursuing.






			
				PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Oh yes, like Addie said, we are more than willing to harass encourage you in your weight loss.



Thx guys will keep you posted as too. How I'm going


----------



## joesfolk

Barbara L said:


> My mom used one of those for years! Sprinkle a few pieces of clothing, roll them up, iron them, start over.


 Oh, my gosh, I remember doing that. I ahd to roll them up damp and put  them in the big freezer in the summer till mom decided to iron.  And I too remember the smell of the iron on starched clothing.  I also remember the frustration of having the spray starch bottle clog up and become unuseable kbefore it was half empty or before the ironing was done.  Yes I know the run it under the water thing but it never seemed to work for me. Like I said before, Thank God for permanent press.  What memories you guys invoke.


----------



## Orryette

Hey guys HUGE RANT coming, apologies in advance.

I remember driving home with my mum when i was about 10 from a friends sleep over, just having witnessed my friend being extremely rude to her mother, I told mum that I would never speak to her that way, that I'd never make her feel like an embarrassment or be rude or obnoxious to her. I never have to this day, not only my mum but anyone. I have always prided myself on being someone that always thinks of others and their feelings first. Iv always been that really nice person even when someone's rude to me I bite my lip and let it go. Treat people the way you want to be treated. 

Am I crazy?! Iv really begun to question this trait of mine lately. I'm sick of being treated like dirt and being spoken to, nay yelled at and sworn at and I'm really really over the backstabbers... Anyone needs some sharp knives? Just come on over iv got about 10 firmly implanted in my back. 

I know deep down its just shallow bitter people that have nothing better to do then to make themselves feel better about themselves but hey that DOES NOT make me feel any better. It still hurts me.
 Im not after pity or cuddles I'm just literally venting.
My bf always says just forget it, harden up, have a teaspoon of cement. 
But I can't anymore maybe I'm getting to the last couple of straws that can be safely laid on my back, mayb I'll snap and tell that eye bulging, eat an apple through a tennis racket, bucked tooth Bit......
Sigh (a 1000 silent scream's)....... person to back the bloody truck up! 

But you know what I'll end up feeling bad for doing that.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!?? Somebody seriously slap me now!!!


----------



## buckytom

what irritates me are people who expect open discussions between intelligent people that we supposedly respect to stick to the topic at hand.  (guilty as charged; but maybe not the intelligent part). 

what was the tag line that deadly sushi came up with: discover cooking, discuss life? 

relax and let go folks. why be so wound up?

if you feel yours or a thread you care about is going off course, sheperd it back to where you want (gracefully, of course). don't just shrink away in effete, silent dusgust. that's awfully pompass. but please yourself as you will, i guess.

 you know, just like in real life.

btw, i'm not pointing out certain people that responded in this thread. i happen to really like and respect the folks that i happen to disagree with.

but i posted my _rant_, if you will, for the scores of people who are all in emotionally and sociologically at every turn, but also run from every teeny thing that displeases them.


----------



## Alix

You can disagree all you like BT. Venting is for venting after all. I also apologized for upsetting anyone. I like all the folks who take the threads off topic too and am sorry for hurting feelings. 

Effete shrinking disgust...NICE! No really, THAT would get an A+ on any of my papers. I admire your way with words. 

Vent noted. While I'm no longer annoyed, I stand by my statement that "intelligent people" can still be respectful of the OP. There is a place for rambling, and answering a specific question is not that place. 

Someday BT, we need to meet in person and have a really good go around about something we can sink our teeth into. Religion? Euthanasia? Can't do much with politics as I don't think either of us know enough about the other's political system. Let's see if we can get our arses tossed out of a pub for yelling.


----------



## tinlizzie

My dear, caring son & wife have just presented me with a cell phone.  Aw, man!  I know it makes them feel better to know that I have one, but - do I have to?  Yick.


----------



## Mel!

> I called the person responsible for hall rentals and reported it. (Sounds logical so far right?) Well instead of saying thanks for the info I'll handle it, I got a blast about people blaming her and telling her what to do about the mess etc etc.


That reminds me of a job I used to have as a quality co-ordinator at a company. When I addressed areas of low quality reports, I was accused of things like finger pointing, even though the opinions I was addressing were not my own. 

At least you were able to be cool enough to ask what the backlash was for. I was generally too shocked by the reactions of people to what was me just doing my job that I was tongue tied. 



> I'm trying very hard to take the high road and just accept that apology and move on. I'm still TICKED OFF though.


Yeah, tough one. When somebody flies off on one, it is hard to release the negativity we absorb from them. I am having a few problems with that at the moment too. It is the double edged sword of having to calmly deal with repeated outbursts from somebody and/or continued frustrating behaviour from them, and respond every time as if we are hearing this from them for the first time and truely believe they intend to sort it out, and not just appologise., or else if we ever return the negativity we receive it will escalate into an all out bad scene that will be harder to resolve if not impossible. Negativity is such a snowball!


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> My dear, caring son & wife have just presented me with a cell phone. Aw, man! I know it makes them feel better to know that I have one, but - do I have to? Yick.


 
Yes. If for no other reason that it will give *them* piece of mind. My sister resisted also. Until she ended up in a ditch of a freezing cold night. And she wasn't the driver. She couldn't call AAA fast enough. You may not think you need it until you are with someone out shopping with you and they may need help. 

My son and I do my grocery shoppiing together. He takes one half of the supermarket and I the other half. When one of us is through, we can call the other with "Where are you now? I am all done. I will meet you at checkout number 7." Sure saves hunting the whole store looking for someone. That store is huge.  

I don't keep my phone on all the time. But my kids know when it is on. If I am waiting for them to come pick me up, I turn it on. Sometimes they are running late. If I am sitting outside waiting for them, they let me know and I can go back inside to wait where it is more comfortable. 

I also removed all the extras on my land line. No long distance, call waiting, call conference, caller ID or any of the other stuff I never use. As a result, my monthly land line bill is only $17.00 a month whih is mostly taxes. All those extras that I got rid of are free on my cell phone. I keep the landline for 911 calls only. 

My daughter and I went to a mall. I was in one store, she another. I left the store I was in and called her to let her know. Sure saved time searching the whole mall looking for me. 

And because I am living in elderly housing and on SS, I get my cell phone for free. And I still get all the benefits of folks who are paying $60 or more a month for their cell phone. Well worth putting up with all the "Yucks."


----------



## Somebunny

My first ever Rant......Gotta let off steam! My dearest friend invited me to go on a ski holiday at a resort 5 hours away from home. She has free accommodation at her brothers 3.75M vacation home. Her lawyer son and his girlfriend will be joining us. My friend asked me to drive as I have an all wheel drive vehicle. (I like driving that’s not a problem) She and I were concerned that we might be a little crowded with everyone’s bags, skis, boards, boots etc. but her son “pooh poohed” our fears and insisted that it was silly to take two vehicles, so we decided to take the bare essentials and buy food when we are about an hour away from the mountain. (extra crowded for only an hour is doable) Sonny boy wanted to leave Tuesday night after work, he lives 2 + hours away from us which would have us driving in the dark, not that big of a deal, but his mom said “no way we will leave early Wednesday. That was okay by me. I took Wednesday thru Friday off work, and have been working like the devil to meet deadlines that will occur while I am away. 
This morning I get an email from my friend saying that “Son” has to do a deposition on Wednesday and doesn’t know what time he can get away……Of course she realizes that I have booked the days off and doesn’t want me to waste a day off waiting for him, so she is making it my decision as to whether we wait or go ahead. I feel like I am “damned if I do and damned if I don’t!!  Whew! Now that I have it out I suppose it is trivial........... Thanks for listening


----------



## Andy M.

It shouldn't be your decision. He (lawyer) should have made the automatic decision that you all should go on Wednesday morning and he can come when he's available.  You could lose a whole day of you wait when he doesn't even know how long he will be.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> It shouldn't be your decision. He (lawyer) should have made the automatic decision that you all should go on Wednesday morning and he can come when he's available. You could lose a whole day of you wait when he doesn't even know how long he will be.


 
As a former legal secretary, he could have pleaded a court day and scheduled the deposition for another day. It happens every day.


----------



## Barbara L

Alix said:


> Agreed. I'm not talking about those threads. I like those. I just get frustrated about stepping into what I think is going to be a discussion about a particular topic and its morphed off into a debate about something else. I find that a bit disrespectful to the person who has started the thread. I know it irritates me when I ask a question and am looking for specific answers and someone posts something irrelevant that takes the thread into la la land.
> 
> Its my own personal feeling, and I realize its petty and not everyone shares my feeling. That's why I posted here in venting. I needed to vent my petty irritation. I also realize I've likely upset a few folks with my comment. I'm sorry for that. I also post in haste occasionally. Forgive me folks, I did not intend to hurt feelings.





Alix said:


> Its making me mental that every thread I try to read wanders randomly all over the place and bears little resemblance to the thread title.





Andy M. said:


> I agree with you.  Once a thread goes off topic it often becomes a private (not really) chat room for a few members.  That's when I stop checking the posts on that thread.
> 
> I'm also bugged when someone answers a different question from what the OP posted.  It doesn't take a lot of effort the read the OP.


I'll admit, I have joined in on some off-topic posts in threads, but I usually try to wait until the matter has been resolved, or I try to answer it at the same time.  I do definitely agree though.

Andy, I agree wholeheartedly about the way some OP's questions are responded to.  I see this all the time (obviously this is a made up food and not from a real thread):

OP: What is a good way to cook Brundlebum? The only way I will NOT cook it is fried.

Poster #1: Maybe instead of Brundlebum you should try Bottlebum.

Poster #2: You probably aren't frying it right. Here's my recipe for Fried Brundlebum...

Poster #3: Here is a recipe for a dessert that goes great with Brundlebum...


----------



## buckytom

Alix said:


> You can disagree all you like BT. Venting is for venting after all. I also apologized for upsetting anyone. I like all the folks who take the threads off topic too and am sorry for hurting feelings.
> 
> Effete shrinking disgust...NICE! No really, THAT would get an A+ on any of my papers. I admire your way with words.
> 
> Vent noted. While I'm no longer annoyed, I stand by my statement that "intelligent people" can still be respectful of the OP. There is a place for rambling, and answering a specific question is not that place.
> 
> Someday BT, we need to meet in person and have a really good go around about something we can sink our teetinto. Religion? Euthanasia? Can't do much with politics as I don't think either of us know enough about the other's political system. Let's see if we can get our arses tossed out of a pub for yelling.



lol, absolutely. can i use groucho marx's line about being thrown out of better places?

i think i understand drunk posting somewhat. i don't drink, but i shouldn't post when i'm bored at work in the middle of the night. 

as far as being respectful to the op, what about the people who've taken the subject off topic? they deserve respect as well. so i frequently join in the off topic banter, then post "ok, back on topic..." and then post what the op was discussing. it's simple really, without having to pick bunched panties out of anywhere.


----------



## Barbara L

buckytom said:


> lol, absolutely. can i use groucho marx's line about being thrown out of better places?
> 
> i think i understand drunk posting somewhat. i don't drink, but i shouldn't post when i'm bored at work in the middle of the night.
> 
> as far as being respectful to the op, what about the people who've taken the subject off topic? they deserve respect as well. so i frequently join in the off topic banter, then post "ok, back on topic..." and then post what the op was discussing. it's simple really, without having to pick bunched panties out of anywhere.


All well and good, but how would YOU cook Brundlebum?


----------



## Alix

buckytom said:


> lol, absolutely. can i use groucho marx's line about being thrown out of better places?
> 
> i think i understand drunk posting somewhat. i don't drink, but i shouldn't post when i'm bored at work in the middle of the night.
> 
> as far as being respectful to the op, what about the people who've taken the subject off topic? they deserve respect as well. so i frequently join in the off topic banter, then post "ok, back on topic..." and then post what the op was discussing. it's simple really, without having to pick bunched panties out of anywhere.



Yep, I generally do it much the same way. I'm not saying we shouldn't go off topic (lord knows I do it often enough!) but return to it as well. 

And who says there were any panties to get picked out of anywhere? 

Oh lordy, we would get booted out for sure wouldn't we? Between the raucous laughter and singing and the occasional yelling match there aren't many places that would have us. What's halfway between us? I'm very afraid it will be in the middle of the godforsaken wilderness of Saskatchewan or North Dakota somewhere.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> All well and good, but how would YOU cook Brundlebum?



In a cauldron with HOMEMADE chicken stock and organic vegetables


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Yep, I generally do it much the same way. I'm not saying we shouldn't go off topic (lord knows I do it often enough!) but return to it as well.
> 
> And who says there were any panties to get picked out of anywhere?
> 
> Oh lordy, we would get booted out for sure wouldn't we? Between the raucous laughter and singing and the occasional yelling match there aren't many places that would have us. What's halfway between us? I'm very afraid it will be in the middle of the godforsaken wilderness of Saskatchewan or North Dakota somewhere.



Getting kicked out of North Dakota would be fine...


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> In a cauldron with HOMEMADE chicken stock and organic vegetables


And I thought you knew how to cook! Chicken stock is very close to turkey stock, and EVERYONE knows what happens when you cook Brundlebum in turkey stock!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> In a cauldron with HOMEMADE chicken stock and organic vegetables


 
That sounds like my witches brew. Oh dear, I went off subject again. Sorry!


----------



## Addie

Barbara L said:


> And I thought you knew how to cook! Chicken stock is very close to turkey stock, and EVERYONE knows what happens when you cook Brundlebum in turkey stock!


 
Now you have me hungry for some Brundlebum.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> And I thought you knew how to cook! Chicken stock is very close to turkey stock, and EVERYONE knows what happens when you cook Brundlebum in turkey stock!



I only poisoned that first batch of folks...


----------



## Barbara L

Addie said:


> Now you have me hungry for some Brundlebum.





PrincessFiona60 said:


> I only poisoned that first batch of folks...


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> My dear, caring son & wife have just presented me with a cell phone.  Aw, man!  I know it makes them feel better to know that I have one, but - do I have to?  Yick.



Yes, you do!

I carry one when I leave the house and it has saved me more than once!

Take some time to make up a list of contacts and put the numbers into the phone's memory.  I have things like the towing company, cab dispatcher, apartment lockout number, etc...

I have been stranded a couple of times and one short call has solved the problem but, you have to do a little preparation.

My biggest problem is remembering to keep it charged.

If you are prepared you don't have to tell your son and his wife about your little mishaps just make sure they pay the bill!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Getting kicked out of North Dakota would be fine...


Hey now, wait a minute!  Former NoDak here!  

And I left voluntarily!


----------



## Barbara L

Dawgluver said:


> Hey now, wait a minute!  Former NoDak here!
> 
> And I left voluntarily!


I think what PF meant was that they could get kicked out of North Dakota and go to see her in Montana!


----------



## Chef Munky

tinlizzie said:


> My dear, caring son & wife have just presented me with a cell phone.  Aw, man!  I know it makes them feel better to know that I have one, but - do I have to?  Yick.



Not being one for all these newer technical gadgets they come out with every other month. I can understand why your not really into it, no you don't have to do anything. They love you and want you to be safe.

My Mother has Dementia & heart disease. It's getting worse by the month now. She knows her name, some people, but they have to be in her immediate daily knowing range for her to remember them. That excludes me.

What I found out yesterday was disturbing. My Mother announced that she was going for a walk. My sister said ok. Her usual walk is just up to the corner and back home. She's 82. When she wasn't back in 20 minutes my sister went looking for her. Couldn't find her. She walked 6 blocks and still no sign of Mom.

She came back home, was going to call the police to help find her and met up with her son who was just getting off work. Told him to go look for Grandma. I looked here. You go this way. My Mother had managed to walk through 3 busy intersections, multi lane I might add.

My Nephew found her in an out of the way alley talking with 2 older people. They were trying to help her. She knew her name, but didn't know her address. What she told them was an addy that she hasn't lived at since Dad died. Thankfully she told that man that my Nephew was her grandson, so he didn't get beat up. Thankfully. I appreciated the fact that they weren't going to let her leave with anyone until they had actual proof that she would be ok.

If my Mother had a cell phone that has GPS tracking Mom would have been found sooner, It was dark & cold outside outside by the time she was found. She was just in her own world, acting as though nothing was wrong.
She was 2 miles from home!

I'm going to get her one. Have my sister slip it into her purse, should she go for another stroll make sure it's on.

My sister absolutely refuses to look into a home for Mom.
I can understand that. But for safety's sake I think it would be the best thing. My Mother could have forgotten how to cross a street. God forbid hit by a car. Then it's not just about Mom and us, it's what about the driver? They have to live with it to. Losing one family member this year has been more then enough for me.

Munky.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Hey now, wait a minute!  Former NoDak here!
> 
> And I left voluntarily!



Keywords..."left " & "voluntarily."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Barbara L said:


> I think what PF meant was that they could get kicked out of North Dakota and go to see her in Montana!



That would work, too!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Not being one for all these newer technical gadgets they come out with every other month. I can understand why your not really into it, no you don't have to do anything. They love you and want you to be safe.
> 
> My Mother has Dementia & heart disease. It's getting worse by the month now. She knows her name, some people, but they have to be in her immediate daily knowing range for her to remember them. That excludes me.
> 
> What I found out yesterday was disturbing. My Mother announced that she was going for a walk. My sister said ok. Her usual walk is just up to the corner and back home. She's 82. When she wasn't back in 20 minutes my sister went looking for her. Couldn't find her. She walked 6 blocks and still no sign of Mom.
> 
> She came back home, was going to call the police to help find her and met up with her son who was just getting off work. Told him to go look for Grandma. I looked here. You go this way. My Mother had managed to walk through 3 busy intersections, multi lane I might add.
> 
> My Nephew found her in an out of the way alley talking with 2 older people. They were trying to help her. She knew her name, but didn't know her address. What she told them was an addy that she hasn't lived at since Dad died. Thankfully she told that man that my Nephew was her grandson, so he didn't get beat up. Thankfully. I appreciated the fact that they weren't going to let her leave with anyone until they had actual proof that she would be ok.
> 
> If my Mother had a cell phone that has GPS tracking Mom would have been found sooner, It was dark & cold outside outside by the time she was found. She was just in her own world, acting as though nothing was wrong.
> She was 2 miles from home!
> 
> I'm going to get her one. Have my sister slip it into her purse, should she go for another stroll make sure it's on.
> 
> My sister absolutely refuses to look into a home for Mom.
> I can understand that. But for safety's sake I think it would be the best thing. My Mother could have forgotten how to cross a street. God forbid hit by a car. Then it's not just about Mom and us, it's what about the driver? They have to live with it to. Losing one family member this year has been more then enough for me.
> 
> Munky.



One of our resident's made it across the 4-lane to the department store and called her son, told him to come and get her, she had finally escaped. He called the facility and told us where to find her. Well-meaning visitors had let her leave with them.  All of our doors require a code to open, just for those resident's who would like to go for a wander.  Scary.

She now has a new bracelet...it sets off an alarm when she approaches the door.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> One of our resident's made it across the 4-lane to the department store and called her son, told him to come and get her, she had finally escaped. He called the facility and told us where to find her. Well-meaning visitors had let her leave with them.  All of our doors require a code to open, just for those resident's who would like to go for a wander.  Scary.
> 
> She now has a new bracelet...it sets off an alarm when she approaches the door.



Not good, Munky!  So glad you found her!  The bracelet is a good idea, PF. 

We have a nursing home close by, DH has picked up a resident or two determined to go to a neighboring town, and has delivered them back to the home.  

I remember working as a candy striper in HS,  we had a couple habitual escapees who enjoyed running nekkid through the wheat fields.  Those old gals must have been track stars in their heyday.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> The bracelet is a good idea.
> 
> We have a nursing home close by, DH has picked up a resident or two determined to go to a neighboring town, and has delivered them back to the home.
> 
> I remember working as a candy striper in HS,  we had a couple habitual escapees who enjoyed running nekkid through the wheat fields.  Those old gals must have been track stars in their heyday.



The only doors that do not have a code open onto two courtyards.  We have to put the code numbers in roman numerals...they have Dementia and Alzheimer's, they are NOT stupid.  One of our guys figured out the roman numerals...we had to post them across the hall up high so he couldn't see them to figure them out each time.

For a home situation, I always suggest a hook and eye up high.  When the door won't open they give up.  A picture of a Stop sign is effective sometimes, too!


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The only doors that do not have a code open onto two courtyards.  We have to put the code numbers in roman numerals...they have Dementia and Alzheimer's, they are NOT stupid.  One of our guys figured out the roman numerals...we had to post them across the hall up high so he couldn't see them to figure them out each time.
> 
> For a home situation, I always suggest a hook and eye up high.  When the door won't open they give up.  A picture of a Stop sign is effective sometimes, too!



I think the hook and eye might be useful to restrict access to certain rooms but, I would not advise it on any home exit door, in case of fire.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> I think the hook and eye might be useful to restrict access to certain rooms but, I would not advise it on any home exit door, in case of fire.



It restricts exit for the Alzheimer's victim, by the time a hook and eye are needed they have someone at home with them 24 hours a day.  A good shove by someone able bodied will pop the eye from the door frame in an emergency.


----------



## Addie

At my daycare, you have to buzzed in or out. There are two secretaries that have a full view of the door through a window. There are deliveries being made all the time. People going in and out. When a house patient stands up they are sitting on a pad that has an alarm in it. Immediately, an aide is at their side. For the rest of us, you have to have a good reason to go through that door. I am one of the very few that is allowed to come and go as I please. I go and get coffee for some of them. I know who is not allowed to have sugar and other additives to their diet. And if I don't know, I ask. I often bring food that I have baked. Those go right into the office. Some patients are allergic to nuts. 

You cannot assume that an Alzheimer patient or one with Dementia is no worse today than yesterday. Each day the disease is doing its dirty work. 

Elderly folks are known for losinig their balance very easily. Broken bones are a definite reality. When you are out and about, at least a stranger or medics can look at your phone and see numbers to call. Enter numbers by relation. Daughter, son, doctor, not a name. I have my youngest listed as medical proxy. I also have my name taped on the back. So when someone calls one of my kids, they can give a name. "Hi, do you have a mother named ...." It saves time in an emergency. Every elderly person should carry a cell phone on them. And be grateful that your kids care enough about you to make sure you are safe when away from home.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It restricts exit for the Alzheimer's victim, by the time a hook and eye are needed they have someone at home with them 24 hours a day. A good shove by someone able bodied will pop the eye from the door frame in an emergency.


 
My thoughts exactly. The Alzheimer patient will start to cry before they would pull hard enough on the door for the eye to come out. Alzheimer patients get frustrated very easily and give up quickly.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Keywords..."left " & "voluntarily."



ROFL!!!


----------



## taxlady

I don't gab on the phone a lot. I'm not very worried about missing calls, but I don't go for a short walk without my cell phone. I can't imagine driving any where without it.


----------



## tinlizzie

Thank you all for the several kicks in the pants about the dreaded cell phones.  I'll burn my Luddite member's card and go read the directions on how to operate the little beast.  I scanned the booklet yesterday and find that with all the pre-paid minutes that came with the phone, I can call Albania or Tanzania.  Or maybe play "Gotcha" -- sneak up on Son #2, who has Caller ID.  He'll see my new number and say, "Oh, good.  It's not Mom."  

One Con-Vent:  Happy Spring, All.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Thank you all for the several kicks in the pants about the dreaded cell phones.  I'll burn my Luddite member's card and go read the directions on how to operate the little beast.  I scanned the booklet yesterday and find that with all the pre-paid minutes that came with the phone, I can call Albania or Tanzania.  Or maybe play "Gotcha" -- sneak up on Son #2, who has Caller ID.  He'll see my new number and say, "Oh, good.  It's not Mom."
> 
> One Con-Vent:  Happy Spring, All.



Sometimes you have to see it from your kid's point of view...


----------



## tinlizzie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sometimes you have to see it from your kid's point of view...


 
I have actually made a call on the new phone.  (Me to me -- that really didn't hurt, now, did it?).  My kids are happy, so how can I not be?


----------



## vitauta

the way of the world is not your way.  your new phone will have to bend to your will, tinlizzie--that's your contract....


----------



## tinlizzie

vitauta said:


> the way of the world is not your way. your new phone will have to bend to your will, tinlizzie--that's your contract....


 
However, I do believe the world is too much with us.

PS - A little while ago while watching the noon news on TV, there came a strange, tinkling melody.  Duh.  I didn't reach the phone soon enough and it quit.  There may be a message; I'll broach that subject later today.  One step at a time.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> However, I do believe the world is too much with us.
> 
> PS - A little while ago while watching the noon news on TV, there came a strange, tinkling melody. Duh. I didn't reach the phone soon enough and it quit. There may be a message; I'll broach that subject later today. One step at a time.


 
That was probably one of your children calling you to see how you like the phone. YOu can see who called.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> I have actually made a call on the new phone.  (Me to me -- that really didn't hurt, now, did it?).  My kids are happy, so how can I not be?



I only carry my phone because Shrek tells me to.  He didn't say I have to turn it on...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I only carry my phone because Shrek tells me to. He didn't say I have to turn it on...


 
My kindred sister.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> My kindred sister.



It's charged up, has minutes and in my bag...what else could he want??


----------



## Barbara L

tinlizzie said:


> However, I do believe the world is too much with us.
> 
> PS - A little while ago while watching the noon news on TV, there came a strange, tinkling melody.  Duh.  I didn't reach the phone soon enough and it quit.  There may be a message; I'll broach that subject later today.  One step at a time.


I was just getting used to my cell phone when I flew home to California in November. For my ring-tone I had put the song "Trust in Jesus" on it. I was sitting at the airport and a couple guys sat down near me.  I could see they were fooling around with some electronic device.  As I sat I heard a song start to play. The first thought that came to me was, "Hey, those guys are listening to the song that is on my phone!"  Then I realized it WAS my phone!


----------



## Addie

Barbara L said:


> I was just getting used to my cell phone when I flew home to California in November. For my ring-tone I had put the song "Trust in Jesus" on it. I was sitting at the airport and a couple guys sat down near me. I could see they were fooling around with some electronic device. As I sat I heard a song start to play. The first thought that came to me was, "Hey, those guys are listening to the song that is on my phone!" Then I realized it WAS my phone!


 
I love it when a bunch of folks are together and one phone rings. They all reach for their phone. You really can't tell whose phone is ringing unless you have it on your body and set on ring and vibrate together.


----------



## bakechef

Imagine my surprise when my mom's phone rings and it's Lady Gaga's Poker Face.  That kind of thing will mess with your head!  I think that is the only pop song that she knows the lyrics to.  It came on in the car and she sang it along with the radio, she usually listens to country!


----------



## Aunt Bea

bakechef said:


> Imagine my surprise when my mom's phone rings and it's Lady Gaga's Poker Face.  That kind of thing will mess with your head!  I think that is the only pop song that she knows the lyrics to.  It came on in the car and she sang it along with the radio, she usually listens to country!




The secret lives of moms!


----------



## vitauta

the sweet secrets we keep....


----------



## Addie

I am sitting here calling myself every name I can think of. Wednesday when I went to talk in front of the City Council, I banged my shin bone getting into the van and broke the skin. The cut is fine. But where I banged the bone is extremely painful. On scale of one to ten, the pain is an 11. I cannot walk oni it. I knew early this morning that there was going to be pain. But I refused to take pain pills. I had plans to go get my Peeps. I can forget that idea. I am not sure I will be able to say seated on my scooter. And I sure don't want to fall down and break a hip. I did this to myself. I am always doing stupid things to myself so that I don't put other people out of the way. All I had to do was to ask for help getting into the van. The van was too high for me. I knew that when they first opened the door. "Oh no. I don't need help. I can do it myself. Thank you for asking." What is wrong with that stupid statement that I am constantly making to other people. What hapened to my New Years resolution to stop being so stubborn. I need someone to hit me up side of my head and knock some sense into me Any volunteers?

Vent over!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Code:
	



Addie,

Always let people help, it makes them feel good and that is enough of a reason. 

When you get your Peeps make sure you put one in the microwave and watch the show.  

I hate to eat them but, I love watching them in the microwave.  

Cheep fun ya might say!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> Addie,
> 
> Always let people help, it makes them feel good and that is enough of a reason.
> 
> When you get your Peeps make sure you put one in the microwave and watch the show.
> 
> I hate to eat them but, I love watching them in the microwave.
> 
> Cheep fun ya might say!


 
Cheep Cheep! I will have to buy six. I always eat just four. It is my treat for the year. Cheep Cheep!


----------



## Zhizara

A very elderly lady often joins the group going shopping.  She's quite independent but uses a walker to get around.  She was always so apologetic about asking someone to do something for her until I took the time to explain that she was actually doing the helper a favor by letting them help, and that it made people feel good to do so.

She was quite surprised and thanked me for straightening out her thinking.


----------



## Merlot

A bit of a shock but my Dad had a heart cath today and is scheduled for a triple bypass on Monday afternoon.   Keep me and family in mind when you are sending out your best wishes.


----------



## taxlady

Merlot said:


> A bit of a shock but my Dad had a heart cath today and is scheduled for a triple bypass on Monday afternoon.   Keep me and family in mind when you are sending out your best wishes.



Healthy vibes being sent in your direction.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Merlot said:


> A bit of a shock but my Dad had a heart cath today and is scheduled for a triple bypass on Monday afternoon.   Keep me and family in mind when you are sending out your best wishes.



Of course!


----------



## Andy M.

Merlot said:


> A bit of a shock but my Dad had a heart cath today and is scheduled for a triple bypass on Monday afternoon.   Keep me and family in mind when you are sending out your best wishes.




You guys will be in our thoughts.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I am sitting here calling myself every name I can think of. Wednesday when I went to talk in front of the City Council, I banged my shin bone getting into the van and broke the skin. The cut is fine. But where I banged the bone is extremely painful. On scale of one to ten, the pain is an 11. I cannot walk oni it. I knew early this morning that there was going to be pain. But I refused to take pain pills. I had plans to go get my Peeps. I can forget that idea. I am not sure I will be able to say seated on my scooter. And I sure don't want to fall down and break a hip. I did this to myself. I am always doing stupid things to myself so that I don't put other people out of the way. All I had to do was to ask for help getting into the van. The van was too high for me. I knew that when they first opened the door. "Oh no. I don't need help. I can do it myself. Thank you for asking." What is wrong with that stupid statement that I am constantly making to other people. What hapened to my New Years resolution to stop being so stubborn. I need someone to hit me up side of my head and knock some sense into me Any volunteers?
> 
> Vent over!



I'm still limping on my right knee, I think I hurt myself more trying to not fall on Patron.  Cold and Warm packs alternating.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Merlot, my thoughts and prayers are with you.


----------



## LPBeier

I never thought I would ever hear myself say this but I give up.  I have been working on decorations for wedding cupcakes all week but didn't want to actually bake the cakes until today.  Now I find the fondant circles just don't go on right.  I have tried a little frosting and a lot of frosting and nothing is working.  Half of them are breaking on me.

I got two calls today from people that were owed money for Dad's care before he passed.  One was paid out of the estate but even though I have the receipt from the bank, they haven't received it yet.  The other is furious because the the bank account is frozen (duh) and doesn't want to wait until I meet with the bank again next Friday.  I am sorry, but I am not making the 2 hour round trip (not to mention the time in the bank) every day to satisfy these people.  Plus, the care home where Dad was staying before he went back to the hospital made the cheques out to Dad and not his estate so the bank wants me to get replacements before the Friday meeting but the home says they have never done that before.  

This cake was supposed to be fun.  The teens that were supposed to help me didn't realize it was Spring Break and so they made other plans.  I thought I could handle it on my own but I can't.  And DH has been working double shifts and since tomorrow is his only day off before starting his new full-time driving shift (no more double shifts) so he informed me he is not going to the wedding with me.  So I have set up to do by myself and have to go to the reception alone.  

Finally, I am having to take prednisone again which is not good for my moods or sleep patterns.

I think I will just go to a nearby bakery tomorrow morning and see if they can do me 85 cupcakes in her colours - they won't be vintage, but I just can't do it.  I will set up but won't stay.

Thanks, I just needed to vent.  I don't feel differently but it does help to get it out.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Laurie))) I hope all goes well with the bakery and the wedding.


----------



## Barbara L

Merlot, PF, and Laurie, I am praying for each situation.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Barbara L said:
			
		

> Merlot, PF, and Laurie, I am praying for each situation.



+1
I hope things get better for you guys.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> +1
> I hope things get better for you guys.




Thanks Barbara and Jess.

BF, Bratfink*, is comfortable and they are planning surgery.  Things are going as good as possible right now.


*Bratfink is the one who named me PrincessFiona...


----------



## Dawgluver

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> +1
> I hope things get better for you guys.



+2

My thoughts are with you.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Rusha-frusha-grrr cat. Just because the cupboards are currently empty doesn't mean you can play in them, especially while I'm trying to put stuff in them. And please, for the sake of my sanity, stop trying to sleep on my feet while I'm trying to get stuff done. Also, I know this is a new place but is it really neccessary to race into every closet I open and refuse to get out until you are done sniffing it. Again. I promise, not much has changed since the last time you sniffed it. And just because we don't have a table yet or chairs in here and therefore are sitting on the floor to eat doesn't mean we want your nose in our food. And since we're on the subject of food, a new home doesn't mean a new feeding time, or extra feeding times, or extra food. Furthermore, you may think it's fun to shoot out of all the new hiding places you've found and attack my feet but sooner or later you're going to get trampled and I'm only going to feel a little sorry for you. Finally, I know you love cathcing the spiders that caught a ride on the boxes, and I appreciate that you are killing them off for me, but please please please stop DROPPING THEM AT MY FEET! I get it, your a crazy skilled hunter but I'm an arachnophobe and you're going to give me a flipping heart attack! Just eat them and be done with it. Seriously furball, I love you but you're about to get yourself locked in the bedroom.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Rusha-frusha-grrr cat. Just because the cupboards are currently empty doesn't mean you can play in them, especially while I'm trying to put stuff in them. And please, for the sake of my sanity, stop trying to sleep on my feet while I'm trying to get stuff done. Also, I know this is a new place but is it really neccessary to race into every closet I open and refuse to get out until you are done sniffing it. Again. I promise, not much has changed since the last time you sniffed it. And just because we don't have a table yet or chairs in here and therefore are sitting on the floor to eat doesn't mean we want your nose in our food. And since we're on the subject of food, a new home doesn't mean a new feeding time, or extra feeding times, or extra food. Furthermore, you may think it's fun to shoot out of all the new hiding places you've found and attack my feet but sooner or later you're going to get trampled and I'm only going to feel a little sorry for you. Finally, I know you love cathcing the spiders that caught a ride on the boxes, and I appreciate that you are killing them off for me, but please please please stop DROPPING THEM AT MY FEET! I get it, your a crazy skilled hunter but I'm an arachnophobe and you're going to give me a flipping heart attack! Just eat them and be done with it. Seriously furball, I love you but you're about to get yourself locked in the bedroom.


----------



## Merlot

Thank you all and I am praying for the others


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Laurie))) I hope all goes well with the bakery and the wedding.


 
Ditto here. You have to know when to throw in the towel. Concentrate on one item. The wedding. For those folks who want their money, RIGHT NOW? They are more concerned with closing their books for the month of March than the fact that you are still in the grieving process. Concentrate of happy right now. Weddings are happy. Grieving is sadness. They don't mix very well. Tell everyone else they will have to wait until April. After the wedding take some time for yourself. 

One thing to remember. You are on one end of that telephone. Your telephone. You pay that bill. Not the other person on the other end. Hang up. If you don't feel like talking on it, you don't have to. It is your phone. Rude? Sure. But is the other person being considerate of your feelings at this time in your life? Give yourself some slack. You deserve it.


----------



## Addie

My leg is feeling so much better today. Lesson learned. Ask for help.


----------



## Barbara L

Addie said:


> My leg is feeling so much better today. Lesson learned. Ask for help.


Yay!


----------



## Addie

Barbara L said:


> Yay!


 
Thank you.


----------



## Merlot

Well my dad made it through the bypass but they ended up doing a quad instead of triple and said he has a lot of blockages all throughout that they can not do anything about.  He is in pain (of course) and having difficulty breathing (not sure about this).

It is scary as he is such a healthy eater, he is slim and walks at least an hour a day; that being said, I'm sure he isn't perfect in what he consumes but I know he does well.  (I'm sure genetics play a large factor).  

Other people in the waiting rooms have said they will recommend a vegetarian diet before he leaves.  (My mother has been a vegetarian for years).  On the waiting room part.. that is a hard place to be all night but I wasn't about to leave my mother there alone and she wasn't going anywhere. 

Thanks for the prayers and good wishes.  Hopefully he will be home by the weekend.


----------



## Dawgluver

Merlot said:
			
		

> Well my dad made it through the bypass but they ended up doing a quad instead of triple and said he has a lot of blockages all throughout that they can not do anything about.  He is in pain (of course) and having difficulty breathing (not sure about this).
> 
> It is scary as he is such a healthy eater, he is slim and walks at least an hour a day; that being said, I'm sure he isn't perfect in what he consumes but I know he does well.  (I'm sure genetics play a large factor).
> 
> Other people in the waiting rooms have said they will recommend a vegetarian diet before he leaves.  (My mother has been a vegetarian for years).  On the waiting room part.. that is a hard place to be all night but I wasn't about to leave my mother there alone and she wasn't going anywhere.
> 
> Thanks for the prayers and good wishes.  Hopefully he will be home by the weekend.



Oh, Merlot, thanks for the report.  Continued prayers and good wishes!  Hoping your dad will soon be good as new!


----------



## kadesma

Merlot said:


> Well my dad made it through the bypass but they ended up doing a quad instead of triple and said he has a lot of blockages all throughout that they can not do anything about.  He is in pain (of course) and having difficulty breathing (not sure about this).
> 
> It is scary as he is such a healthy eater, he is slim and walks at least an hour a day; that being said, I'm sure he isn't perfect in what he consumes but I know he does well.  (I'm sure genetics play a large factor).
> 
> Other people in the waiting rooms have said they will recommend a vegetarian diet before he leaves.  (My mother has been a vegetarian for years).  On the waiting room part.. that is a hard place to be all night but I wasn't about to leave my mother there alone and she wasn't going anywhere.
> 
> Thanks for the prayers and good wishes.  Hopefully he will be home by the weekend.


Glad to hear your dad made it thru the bypass. Staying with your mom was a wonderful thing for you to do. hospital waiting rooms are the pits but you pulled through and can be proud of yourself.
kades


----------



## Merlot

Thank you both


----------



## Andy M.

Merlot said:


> Well my dad made it through the bypass but they ended up doing a quad instead of triple...




That's great news!  Glad to hear dad is on his way to recovery.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

His breathing is tough because of the pain.  They should be able to keep him comfortable enough and still be lucid.  Able to function and participate in his therapies.  If he's in so much pain, holler about it.  The medical world knows that if someone is hurting, they are unable to get better in a timely fashion.  Be an advocate for him and rattle the nurses cages.

And, I am happy to hear your Dad came through the surgery!


----------



## taxlady

Pleased to hear that your dad is on the mend. More healing vibes going in his direction.


----------



## Merlot

Thank you Andy, PF and taxlady   I know none of you have known me for very long but it really helps to vent somewhere.  I don't like to post on facebook much, even though it is friends and family....  the way information gets spread out it sounds like a good opportunity for people to see that they are not in their home.

He had a bad evening, but I had to come home to get my child off to school and back to work after I go back to doc myself.  My mom is still with him so she will keep me informed and keep the nurses on their toes!  We are hoping the chest tube can come out today, and his hand is completely numb so the doc is checking into that too.


----------



## CWS4322

Merlot, hoping your dad continues to make progress.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Merlot said:
			
		

> Thank you Andy, PF and taxlady   I know none of you have known me for very long but it really helps to vent somewhere.  I don't like to post on facebook much, even though it is friends and family....  the way information gets spread out it sounds like a good opportunity for people to see that they are not in their home.
> 
> He had a bad evening, but I had to come home to get my child off to school and back to work after I go back to doc myself.  My mom is still with him so she will keep me informed and keep the nurses on their toes!  We are hoping the chest tube can come out today, and his hand is completely numb so the doc is checking into that too.



I hope he gets better and that they can figure out what is causing the numbness.


----------



## Merlot

Thanks to both of you


----------



## taxlady

This is minor, but it really annoyed me.

I live in a condo. We have underground parking. The garage door opens with a remote. Some stupid woman in an SUV was on the driveway down to the garage and couldn't get the door open. This happens. But, she backed out and then blocked the entrance for me. Eventually she decided to let me by. Then, she promptly crowded in behind me. The garage door wouldn't open for me. I asked Stirling to get out of the car and try from closer. He tried a number of times, but the door wouldn't open.

Now the stupid woman wouldn't let me back up off the driveway onto the street. Grrr. Eventually she did and got the one parking space across the street. I had to park almost a block away. I tried the remote as we walked by, and now it worked. 

It's too friggin' nippy outside for me to walk that block and get the car tonight. I'll go get it tomorrow.


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> Thanks to both of you


 
Merlot, your dad is now a member of the exclusive "Zipper Club." As a long standing member, I would like to extend a happy welcome and wishes for Good Health from here on in.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> This is minor, but it really annoyed me.
> 
> I live in a condo. We have underground parking. The garage door opens with a remote. Some stupid woman in an SUV was on the driveway down to the garage and couldn't get the door open. This happens. But, she backed out and then blocked the entrance for me. Eventually she decided to let me by. Then, she promptly crowded in behind me. The garage door wouldn't open for me. I asked Stirling to get out of the car and try from closer. He tried a number of times, but the door wouldn't open.
> 
> Now the stupid woman wouldn't let me back up off the driveway onto the street. Grrr. Eventually she did and got the one parking space across the street. I had to park almost a block away. I tried the remote as we walked by, and now it worked.
> 
> It's too friggin' nippy outside for me to walk that block and get the car tonight. I'll go get it tomorrow.


 
I worked for an overhead door company for a long time. Sometimes the cold will affect your motor or remote. Not an uncommon happening. If only your remote had worked as a zapper on your neighbor. Scottie, beam me up!


----------



## Mel!

Does venting actually work for some people? It just makes me think more about the things that frustrate me, and doesnt make me any less angry about those things.


----------



## Rocklobster

Mel! said:


> Does venting actually work for some people? It just makes me think more about the things that frustrate me, and doesnt make me any less angry about those things.


I think it is just a purging process. You need to let it out of your mouth, or fingers to prevent it from going around and around in your head. Then, after you get a bit of sympathy from whoever, you might feel a bit better.

Like this one. I think I will invite my mechanic over for Easter dinner. With  the two cars I own,  I have been spending more time with him in the last few months than I have been with my own family.
Now, you tell me how you can relate, because you just went through the same thing a while ago, we both agree that it sucks, I pay him for the new starter and we move on to something else that pisses us off. Isn't this fun?


----------



## taxlady

Rocklobster said:


> I think it is just a purging process. You need to let it out of your mouth, or fingers to prevent it from going around and around in your head. Then, after you get a bit of sympathy from whoever, you might feel a bit better.
> 
> Like this one. I think I will invite my mechanic over for Easter dinner. With  the two cars I own,  I have been spending more time with him in the last few months than I have been with my own family.
> Now, you tell me how you can relate, because you just went through the same thing a while ago, we both agree that it sucks, I pay him for the new starter and we move on to something else that pisses us off. Isn't this fun?



egzackilackily


----------



## Zhizara

Mel! said:


> Does venting actually work for some people? It just makes me think more about the things that frustrate me, and doesnt make me any less angry about those things.



It really works for me.  When something really irks me, I feel so much better as soon as I post it.  Like the word, venting, it helps you to blow off steam.  It does also help to get a little sympathy, and sometimes a solution to a bothersome problem.

For instance:  I was having so many problems with Internet Explorer updating and making unwanted changes.  Several members told me to switch to Firefox.  I did, and couldn't be happier with the great features.


----------



## Barbara L

Mel! said:


> Does venting actually work for some people? It just makes me think more about the things that frustrate me, and doesnt make me any less angry about those things.


I think it is more than just "getting it out." I think we all have a desire to know that someone, anyone, is listening.  We can rant and rave here about our problems (large and small) and someone is usually here to offer the proverbial shoulder to cry on and offer some advice, or even just to say, "I'm sorry you're going through that."


----------



## babetoo

venting helps me. today i cut out fabric to cover a chair cushion. forgot to allow for the depth of the cushion. really had a tough time getting it on. now will have to make a gusset for the back in order to cover it. i know better, i have made dozens of pillow covers. makes me feel stupid . but there , i feel better. see venting does help.


----------



## Zhizara

babetoo said:


> venting helps me. today i cut out fabric to cover a chair cushion. forgot to allow for the depth of the cushion. really had a tough time getting it on. now will have to make a gusset for the back in order to cover it. i know better, i have made dozens of pillow covers. makes me feel stupid . but there , i feel better. see venting does help.



Confession is good for the soul.


----------



## Addie

Venting does help. But unfortunately, I am one of those folks who doesn't like to share bad things with others. Not good for the soul. 

When Son #1 was real small he was demonstrating some behavior problems. I joined a group of mothers who also had sons about his age. Each week we would go around the table. When it came my turn, I would be absent that week. Son #1 takes after me. I deal with frustration with humor. And so does he. His father was from England and a typical European. The children were my job. His was to support us. Very little talking.  And he never talked to the kids until they became teens. If I do something really stupid, I may come here to vent. But I mostly just call myself everything but my name.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

For me, there are a variety of factors that determine whether or not venting is helpful. Sometimes it helps me see the humor in a situation. Other times it helps me figure out that I'm over-reacting to something. It can help me see/hear the frustration so I can better determine the cause and therefore figure out a solution. When people respond, it can provide moral support or help put things into a more appropriate, or even just different perspective. And sometimes it just helps to loosen the pressure valve, especially when my logical brain is telling my emotional brain that something really isn't that big a deal. Generally I use venting as a tool for stress management and self analysis.


----------



## rozz

It is not acceptable to attempt to look up a lady's skirt as she descends the stairs. Aside from not being acceptable, it is also stupid, if said lady is wearing a tea-length dress and crinoline. You will see nothing. I will see you. And shame you publicly.


----------



## taxlady

rozz said:


> It is not acceptable to attempt to look up a lady's skirt as she descends the stairs. Aside from not being acceptable, it is also stupid, if said lady is wearing a tea-length dress and crinoline. You will see nothing. I will see you. And shame you publicly.



Was someone looking up your skirt? 

tsk tsk


----------



## rozz

taxlady said:


> Was someone looking up your skirt?
> 
> tsk tsk


 
Yes, until I called him on it by exclaiming "PERVERT, stop looking up my skirt!" and pointing. Pointing is quite effective.


----------



## Dawgluver

rozz said:
			
		

> Yes, until I called him on it by exclaiming "PERVERT, stop looking up my skirt!" and pointing. Pointing is quite effective.



As is screaming "PERVERT".


----------



## taxlady

rozz said:


> Yes, until I called him on it by exclaiming "PERVERT, stop looking up my skirt!" and pointing. Pointing is quite effective.



Good for you. Yes, pointing and speaking loudly can be very effective


----------



## rozz

Dawgluver said:


> As is screaming "PERVERT".


 
Indeed. And produces funny, spluttering denials and then a swift retreat.


----------



## Addie

*Gluten Free?*

I went shopping for my monthly groceries this morning. Up and down the aisles I went. I hadn't made it to the pasta or bread aisles and all I see are "Gluten Free" labels on so many products. Since when did tomatoes have gluten? Or mayo? Or relish? Cheese? Eggs? Milk? Good Grief Charlie Brown. Give me a break!  I am not that stupid.


----------



## Rocklobster

Addie said:


> I went shopping for my monthly groceries this morning. Up and down the aisles I went. I hadn't made it to the pasta or bread aisles and all I see are "Gluten Free" labels on so many products. Since when did tomatoes have gluten? Or mayo? Or relish? Cheese? Eggs? Milk? Good Grief Charlie Brown. Give me a break!  I am not that stupid.


Yeah. I have sympathy for people with alergies, but it's funny how an industry can jump on a trend and try and make money off of it. If you watch carefully you will probably notice that something touted as gluten free will somehow be a bit more expensive than any regular food, even though it naturally contains no or little gluten.....


----------



## Andy M.

I can remember seeing "Cholesterol Free" on a jar of preserves.


----------



## Alix

Andy, that's how I felt when I was on a plane and the package of peanuts I was handed exclaimed in bold print, "CONTAINS NUTS!"


----------



## Katie H

Alix said:


> Andy, that's how I felt when I was on a plane and the package of peanuts I was handed exclaimed in bold print, "*CONTAINS NUTS!*"



R e a l l y!!!!!  Go figure.

Yep, just like on the box of shredded wheat I had for breakfast this morning.  Ingredients:  Wheat.  By golly, isn't that amazing?


----------



## Rocklobster

I have been trying to market empty bottles of "Dehydrated Water". On the instructions I have written,"Just add water".


----------



## Katie H

Rocklobster said:


> I have been trying to market empty bottles of "Dehydrated Water". On the instructions I have written,"Just add water".




Hang in there, Rock.  As Judy Tenuta says, "It could happen!"


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Addie said:
			
		

> I went shopping for my monthly groceries this morning. Up and down the aisles I went. I hadn't made it to the pasta or bread aisles and all I see are "Gluten Free" labels on so many products. Since when did tomatoes have gluten? Or mayo? Or relish? Cheese? Eggs? Milk? Good Grief Charlie Brown. Give me a break!  I am not that stupid.



Lol. I agree. And then you see hard candy labeled as "A Fat Free Food". Duh. It's boiled sugar water with color and flavoring. Still doesn't make it a health food.


----------



## Aunt Bea

It has been all down hill since the advertising business became the marketing business!


----------



## bakechef

So this weekend my car got pelted with hail, leaving little dents on the trunk lid, roof, and hood.  I go out this morning to find the side of my car covered with baked beans....

You can't make this stuff up.  Apparently a can of Bush's baked beans went rogue and rolled under the tire of my neighbor's car.  As he backed out and ran over it, it exploded, onto my car...   Of all the things that I imagined washing off my car, baked beans was very low on the list!

Someone is wondering where their can of baked beans went.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> So this weekend my car got pelted with hail, leaving little dents on the trunk lid, roof, and hood.  I go out this morning to find the side of my car covered with baked beans....
> 
> You can't make this stuff up.  Apparently a can of Bush's baked beans went rogue and rolled under the tire of my neighbor's car.  As he backed out and ran over it, it exploded, onto my car...   Of all the things that I imagined washing off my car, baked beans was very low on the list!
> 
> Someone is wondering where their can of baked beans went.



Aw phooey. The dents are bummer. The baked beans, well I'm just glad you can see the humour.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:
			
		

> Aw phooey. The dents are bummer. The baked beans, well I'm just glad you can see the humour.


The dents were a bummer, but not anything that I could have prevented.  I'm trying to decide if it is worth spending the money on the deductible to get it fixed, being a white car, it isn't as noticeable.  My neighbor has a week old Accord Crosstour that needs to be fixed, the way the fenders curve up as well as the door panels, they got dented too, so almost every body panel will need repair, I guess I got off easy!  Maybe that's why he pelted me with baked beans


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:
			
		

> The dents were a bummer, but not anything that I could have prevented.  I'm trying to decide if it is worth spending the money on the deductible to get it fixed, being a white car, it isn't as noticeable.  My neighbor has a week old Accord Crosstour that needs to be fixed, the way the fenders curve up as well as the door panels, they got dented too, so almost every body panel will need repair, I guess I got off easy!  Maybe that's why he pelted me with baked beans



A friend once told me the car dealers he knew would leave the hail dented cars out in the hot sun, and they would undent themselves.  Haven't tried it myself.

Probably wouldn't work with the beans


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> So this weekend my car got pelted with hail, leaving little dents on the trunk lid, roof, and hood.  I go out this morning to find the side of my car covered with baked beans....
> 
> You can't make this stuff up.  Apparently a can of Bush's baked beans went rogue and rolled under the tire of my neighbor's car.  As he backed out and ran over it, it exploded, onto my car...   Of all the things that I imagined washing off my car, baked beans was very low on the list!
> 
> Someone is wondering where their can of baked beans went.



Shrek says, "Baked beans is even lower on the list than elephant dung..."


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Shrek says, "Baked beans is even lower on the list than elephant dung..."



I expect that next!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> I expect that next!



Stay away from the zoo and parades...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

You guys totally made me giggle.


----------



## Alix

8 inches of snow and still coming.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> 8 inches of snow and still coming.



That stinks!  We have shrubs and trees blooming.  Hang in there.  Your turn will come.


----------



## Alix

Andy M. said:


> That stinks!  We have shrubs and trees blooming.  Hang in there.  Your turn will come.



The worst of it is that we have trees budding and the branches are so laden with snow we are going to lose some. Things are hanging nearly to the ground. I had to push Ken out of the GARAGE this morning.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> ...I had to push Ken out of the GARAGE this morning.




Sometimes a guy just can't motivate himself to get going in the morning.


----------



## Alix

Andy M. said:


> Sometimes a guy just can't motivate himself to get going in the morning.



LOL! So true Andy!

Here is my back deck after I shovelled my way back from the garage. This was about an hour and a half ago. Since then we've had another inch or snow. Check out my poor tree.


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> LOL! So true Andy!
> 
> Here is my back deck after I shovelled my way back from the garage. This was about an hour and a half ago. Since then we've had another inch or snow. Check out my poor tree.



So pretty, but don't ya hate when that happens?

We all know that we might get snow like that in April, but we don't have to like it.


----------



## Andy M.

Late season storms damage a lot of trees and bushes because they are already blooming.  We had a Mother's Day snowstorm years ago that wrecked several trees in my backyard.


----------



## Alix

I'd be less p!ssed if it were the first April snow. We had a dump on the 1st too. This one is significantly worse though. I just HATE trying to negotiate the streets etc when it is this bad. And the parking lot at work is ridiculous.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Alix said:
			
		

> I'd be less p!ssed if it were the first April snow. We had a dump on the 1st too. This one is significantly worse though. I just HATE trying to negotiate the streets etc when it is this bad. And the parking lot at work is ridiculous.



No fun Alix. I hope the storm passes quickly and you guys get warmer weather soon. I hope your trees will be ok. On the bright side, if it was warm enough that the trees were blooming maybe that meams pesky bugs were hatching too. If that's the case then the snow should kill them off and maybe you'll have fewer oesky insects this year.


----------



## Alix

Good point PAG. The trees weren't QUITE blossoming but the leaf buds were visible. It has slowed down now and the trees seem to be shaking the piles off. Saying a prayer that the parking lot at work has been done!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chill breezy all day, but the sun was out.


----------



## babetoo

i am really depressed. don't know why. have been  for several days. do i just go with it.ignore and hope it will go away. sleep it away, start another project. not a clue what to do, just tired of being gloomy.


----------



## taxlady

babetoo said:


> i am really depressed. don't know why. have been  for several days. do i just go with it.ignore and hope it will go away. sleep it away, start another project. not a clue what to do, just tired of being gloomy.



(((hugs)))

Sometimes I feel that way too.


----------



## Dawgluver

babetoo said:
			
		

> i am really depressed. don't know why. have been  for several days. do i just go with it.ignore and hope it will go away. sleep it away, start another project. not a clue what to do, just tired of being gloomy.



Hope you feel better soon, Babe!  Great idea to work on some of your projects.  I think keeping busy really helps.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> i am really depressed. don't know why. have been  for several days. do i just go with it.ignore and hope it will go away. sleep it away, start another project. not a clue what to do, just tired of being gloomy.



I've been there, so many times.  I finally had to have medical help, before I ran away from home.  I wish there was a magic solution for feeling depressed, if I had it, I would give it to you!  Hugs, Babe!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

babetoo said:
			
		

> i am really depressed. don't know why. have been  for several days. do i just go with it.ignore and hope it will go away. sleep it away, start another project. not a clue what to do, just tired of being gloomy.



Stay busy, try to enjoy little things. Look for things that make you happy and try keeping a journal of them. It will help you focus on the good in your life. Also take note of any pessimistic thoughts, loneliness, regret. Try to take note of what you were doing and the train of thought that led you to the negative feelings. There may be something triggering them that you don't realize and if you can find it then it can help you figure out how to get past it. It's also possible that it's something biochemical/hormonal and you may just have to wait it out. Make sure you talk to friends and family. It's impotant not to try to hide what you're feeling. That can make you feel isolated and alone which can make the depression worse. And remember that you have friends here that care deeply for you. If it doesn't pass within a week or two, or if it keeps coming back, talk to your doctor.


----------



## babetoo

thanks everyone, today was better. i decided to just take a day and do whatever i felt like. i read quite a bit. did a few easy chores, made pulled pork sandwiches, and had them with some beer. i think i figured out a  part of it is the ptsd. i have meds for that. got the paint for wall yesterday and am looking forward to having that done. pretty much just keeping on, keeping on. the ptsd is a sneaky devil. it pops up with out me noticing, and then just knocks me out. it will never go away so will just have to do the best i can.


----------



## Dawgluver

babetoo said:
			
		

> thanks everyone, today was better. i decided to just take a day and do whatever i felt like. i read quite a bit. did a few easy chores, made pulled pork sandwiches, and had them with some beer. i think i figured out a  part of it is the ptsd. i have meds for that. got the paint for wall yesterday and am looking forward to having that done. pretty much just keeping on, keeping on. the ptsd is a sneaky devil. it pops up with out me noticing, and then just knocks me out. it will never go away so will just have to do the best i can.



So glad you're feeling better, Babe!  Yes, PTSD is a nasty thing.  At least you have a name for your demon.  Hang in there, sweetie!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> thanks everyone, today was better. i decided to just take a day and do whatever i felt like. i read quite a bit. did a few easy chores, made pulled pork sandwiches, and had them with some beer. i think i figured out a  part of it is the ptsd. i have meds for that. got the paint for wall yesterday and am looking forward to having that done. pretty much just keeping on, keeping on. the ptsd is a sneaky devil. it pops up with out me noticing, and then just knocks me out. it will never go away so will just have to do the best i can.



I'm glad you are feeling better, Babe!  Pm me anytime if you just want to chat.  I may not have the answers but I am a good listener.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I'm glad you are feeling better, Babe!  Pm me anytime if you just want to chat.  I may not have the answers but I am a good listener.



+1
Very glad you are feeling better and I'm also willing to listen if you ever need to chat.


----------



## babetoo

thanks so much everyone, i had a productive day. that does help me feel better


----------



## Oldvine

When I know that any comments are going to put some one on the defense, I try to make sure they know that I realize they might not be at fault but they are my only conduit to some one that can fix the problem.  Sometimes it helps, but not always.  I would have complained about the dirty floor too.


----------



## taxlady

My  new, used car did it again. Twice, on the way home from seeing a new client, it stopped while it was supposed to be going. I am not happy. I'm seriously thinking of exchanging it for a different car. And she's so pretty. 

Also, I don't need this  during income tax season.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> My  new, used car did it again. Twice, on the way home from seeing a new client, it stopped while it was supposed to be going. I am not happy. I'm seriously thinking of exchanging it for a different car. And she's so pretty.
> 
> Also, I don't need this  during income tax season.


 
Sounds like you got a lemon.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Sounds like you got a lemon.


It does sound like it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> It does sound like it.



Now you know why such a pretty car was in the used lot.  Too bad no one thought to tell you!


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> It does sound like it.


 
I don't think you can make lemonade out of it either. Turn it in and get a different car. Cut your losses and run.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Now you know why such a pretty car was in the used lot.  Too bad no one thought to tell you!


They really should have told me. This is the place I always go to get my Volvos serviced. It's not like going to a used car dealership. These are people I trust. If they start giving me grief, I'm going to say, "Quit acting like a used car salesman."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> They really should have told me. This is the place I always go to get my Volvos serviced. It's not like going to a used car dealership. These are people I trust. If they start giving me grief, I'm going to say, "Quit acting like a used car salesman."



Yes, you go!  Don't let them off the hook.  It happens too often and folks think they need to just suck it up.


----------



## vitauta

this morning none of my tv sets work.  there is a message from comcast informing that they have "enhanced" their network, but i must obtain new digital equipment in order to avail myself of these upgrades.  meanwhile, i cannot access even my basic network stations.  this sucks so bad.  i would get on the phone with comcast right this second except that my mouth is so full of bad words that are so ready to spill out and which i would only later regret.  anyone else facing this unannounced cable enhancement?  i am so furious right now i may switch companies today or just go black for a few days til i calm down.  any    helpful suggestions for me out there?


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> this morning none of my tv sets work.  there is a message from comcast informing that they have "enhanced" their network, but i must obtain new digital equipment in order to avail myself of these upgrades.  meanwhile, i cannot access even my basic network stations.  this sucks so bad.  i would get on the phone with comcast right this second except that my mouth is so full of bad words that are so ready to spill out and which i would only later regret.  anyone else facing this unannounced cable enhancement?  i am so furious right now i may switch companies today or just go black for a few days til i calm down.  any    helpful suggestions for me out there?


I don't have cable, so I don't know about this (and I'm in Canada). Is it the switch to HDTV?


----------



## Andy M.

vitauta said:


> this morning none of my tv sets work.  there is a message from comcast informing that they have "enhanced" their network, but i must obtain new digital equipment in order to avail myself of these upgrades.  meanwhile, i cannot access even my basic network stations.  this sucks so bad.  i would get on the phone with comcast right this second except that my mouth is so full of bad words that are so ready to spill out and which i would only later regret.  anyone else facing this unannounced cable enhancement?  i am so furious right now i may switch companies today or just go black for a few days til i calm down.  any    helpful suggestions for me out there?




Sorry to hear your cable is screwed up.  There are few things that anger us as much.  

When Comcast went all digital in my area, it was preceded by lots of ads and notices telling us our options.  Customers here were given two digital converter boxes free so we could continue watching our old style TVs.   Of course those sets were limited to standard channels.

Sounds like someone dropped the ball.


----------



## vitauta

thanks for the calm voices, tl and andy.  i suppose it could be that i have been routinely throwing out comcast cable announcements as unread junk mail for some time.  i've not been aware of any tv ads, however.  i suppose i will eventually get the new cable boxes necessary to operate my tv sets--unless i find that i'm not really missing much of anything anyway....


----------



## Zhizara

Here, HDTV is an option, which I declined.  I can't imagine your upset.  If they forced it on me, I'd not only have to pay for the service, the rent on the box, but I'd have to buy a new TV that could use it.  Good luck.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Sorry to hear your cable is screwed up. There are few things that anger us as much.
> 
> When Comcast went all digital in my area, it was preceded by lots of ads and notices telling us our options. Customers here were given two digital converter boxes free so we could continue watching our old style TVs. Of course those sets were limited to standard channels.
> 
> Sounds like someone dropped the ball.


 
My children bought me a new 42" flat screen TV before they made the change. I got so sick of listening to their TV commercials, that I used to mute the TV when I would see one coming on. It is a Federal edict. Not completely Comcast's fault. There should have been more TV notices. 

I can understand your frustration with all the junk mail they send out. I have been returning the stuff by crossing out the bar code and writing "Return to sender." I sent my bill back accidently. Then I went completely paperless. So now I know that any thing I get from Comcast, is just junk and back it goes. Now I go days where my mailbox is empty. We got our converter boxes for free. I don't know how Comcast does it in your area.


----------



## bakechef

Broadcasting TV takes bandwidth, and the older style analog takes a lot more bandwidth.  Converting the signal to digital saves on bandwidth and allows them to send more "stuff" through your cable line (internet, on demand tv, etc.).  

This has nothing to do with the "digital transition", that only applied to people that get their TV from an antenna, if you had cable or satellite there was no need for a new TV during this transition.

This change only benefits the cable company.  It makes it very inconvenient if all you want is basic cable since now you have to deal with a box from them (even if it's free).  Trust me, they will take this opportunity to get you to "upgrade" to a better digital package.  Time Warner is taking all of the deisirable channels and moving them to "digital" which requires the rental of a box and a more expensive package.  They still offer basic that will plug directly into any 'ol TV.


----------



## vitauta

basic cable is what i have had all along and is all that i need.  i did call comcast about my cable problem, and serendipity was with me.  the comcast rep introduced herself with my daughter's first name, which had an immediate softening effect on me...she did say that all sorts of mailings had been sent out to inform customers of the network changes to come.  i guess to me it all looked like just so much more promotional junk mail from comcast....i will be getting three free cable converter boxes.  if i need help with installation (and i'm virtually certain i will because it involves TWO wires) it will cost me $20.00.  my comcast 'daughter' assures me the installation is a very simple matter that they can walk me through on the phone.  but i know how those walk-throughs go from having tried it several times before with helpful comcast reps and my internet hookups.  in the end, a comcast tech will need to be dispatched to connect my two wires....


----------



## bakechef

It will be easy.  You will take the cable from the wall, plug it in to one spot (often labeled "in from cable" and the other "out to TV" will go to your TV.  Quite simple and I'm sure you will be able to do it no problem!


----------



## vitauta

we'll see, bakechef, and i hope you are right and i am wrong.  but people repeatedly underestimate the range and scope of my technical illiteracy.  they erroneously believe that just because it's so easy that a monkey can do it, it should be manageable for a person such as myself....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Arrrgh!!!   My nice set of dry measure cups is ruined!  The one cup and half cup have been heat warped and consequently will not measure accurately anymore.  I guess I should buy some stainless ones.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Arrrgh!!!   My nice set of dry measure cups is ruined!  The one cup and half cup have been heat warped and consequently will not measure accurately anymore.  I guess I should buy some stainless ones.


Metal ones can get dings. Just sayin'...


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Arrrgh!!!   My nice set of dry measure cups is ruined!  The one cup and half cup have been heat warped and consequently will not measure accurately anymore.  I guess I should buy some stainless ones.


What happened PF? I'm so sorry.
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Metal ones can get dings. Just sayin'...



The ones I am looking at are the same gauge as the older Revereware Pans.  Pricey, but I hope I will never have to buy them again.



kadesma said:


> What happened PF? I'm so sorry.
> kades



They got set on the stove next to the oven vent.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Arrrgh!!! My nice set of dry measure cups is ruined! The one cup and half cup have been heat warped and consequently will not measure accurately anymore. I guess I should buy some stainless ones.


 
I have a set of five. The fifth one is a 2/3 c. measure. More and more sets are adding that fifth one. Look for it when you are looking for new ones.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

This is the set I am looking at:

Measuring Cups - Set of 7


----------



## Andy M.

I have a cool plastic set from Rubbermaid.  It's made up of six cups - 2/3 and 3/4 cup are the 'extras'.  In addition, each cup has a crease in the bowl that is the half way mark.  So in addition to 1, 3/4, 2/3, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, I can measure 1/8, 1/6, 3/8.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The set that got ruined was a Zyliss set of four, perfect for the bins I use for dry ingredients.  I just hope the new ones fit correctly into the bins.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> This is the set I am looking at:
> 
> Measuring Cups - Set of 7


 
Have you seen these? they are from France, not China, seven cups, sturdier and less expensive  Amazon.com: MIU France 7-Piece Stainless Steel Measuring Cup Set: Kitchen & Dining 

Some of the reviews for the ones you are looking at, say the handles bend easier. The reviews for these are pretty good. Take a look.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> This is the set I am looking at:
> 
> Measuring Cups - Set of 7


Do you use dry measuring cups enough to make that worth the money? I thought you had a kitchen scale


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Have you seen these? they are from France, not China, seven cups, sturdier and less expensive  Amazon.com: MIU France 7-Piece Stainless Steel Measuring Cup Set: Kitchen & Dining
> 
> Some of the reviews for the ones you are looking at, say the handles bend easier. The reviews for these are pretty good. Take a look.



The company is in France, they are still made in China.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Do you use dry measuring cups enough to make that worth the money? I thought you had a kitchen scale



I do have a kitchen scale, use it while baking.  For cooking, I like to have them for quick, _accurate_ dips of bisquick, sugar, rice, etc.  The bins I have, I am able to use the top of the opening as a leveler.


----------



## taxlady

I gave the results to a new client and she isn't happy. I'm sorry, I don't write the tax laws. They changed some stuff. Then she said she should have taken it to H&R Block. Grrr. They wouldn't have gotten a better result unless they goofed. This for a 93 year old lady who sounded really nice. Of course, her "extremely simple" tax return includes investment income and capital gains. So, even though I should charge her more, I won't. She couldn't find anyone else to come to her house to get her paper work. I'm a sucker, but I won't be doing hers next year.

Now, I'm waiting for a client to pick up two returns. This is going to be embarrassing. The cat peed on their slips. I scanned everything and printed out clean, non-smelly slips for their file and for the governments. They are getting a "special discount". I'm not putting "discount for cat pee" on their invoice.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

taxlady said:
			
		

> I gave the results to a new client and she isn't happy. I'm sorry, I don't write the tax laws. They changed some stuff. Then she said she should have taken it to H&R Block. Grrr. They wouldn't have gotten a better result unless they goofed. This for a 93 year old lady who sounded really nice. Of course, her "extremely simple" tax return includes investment income and capital gains. So, even though I should charge her more, I won't. She couldn't find anyone else to come to her house to get her paper work. I'm a sucker, but I won't be doing hers next year.
> 
> Now, I'm waiting for a client to pick up two returns. This is going to be embarrassing. The cat peed on their slips. I scanned everything and printed out clean, non-smelly slips for their file and for the governments. They are getting a "special discount". I'm not putting "discount for cat pee" on their invoice.



You could not pay me enough to do your job. I hate my own tax stuff, no way I could do anyone else's.


----------



## taxlady

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> You could not pay me enough to do your job. I hate my own tax stuff, no way I could do anyone else's.


I know, I'm weird. I like doing income tax. Well, I like doing other people's income tax. 

I don't know what possessed me to take H&R Block's income tax course, back in 1984, but I did and was surprised to find out how much I liked it and that I was good at it.


----------



## taxlady

The client with the cat pee on their papers was very nice about it and didn't seem at all upset. phew.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

taxlady said:
			
		

> I know, I'm weird. I like doing income tax. Well, I like doing other people's income tax.
> 
> I don't know what possessed me to take H&R Block's income tax course, back in 1984, but I did and was surprised to find out how much I liked it and that I was good at it.



Eh, we're all weird in some way. Lots of people hate working on computers and find it tedious but I love it. And I knew lots of nurse aides that loved their job, even though it's one of the toughest, grossest jobs out their. 

Also, I'm glad things worked out with the clients whose papers were peed on.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Eh, we're all weird in some way. Lots of people hate working on computers and find it tedious but I love it. And I knew lots of nurse aides that loved their job, even though it's one of the toughest, grossest jobs out their.
> 
> Also, I'm glad things worked out with the clients whose papers were peed on.



And you know at least one nurse aide(if not more) that decided to become a nurse.

I love what I'm doing now, complete assessments of the total person, writing their care plans and then putting all the check marks in the appropriate places for payment.  In essence I am the top nurse in their care, but I only see them once. I do know each and everyone of them.


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> I know, I'm weird. I like doing income tax. Well, I like doing other people's income tax.
> 
> I don't know what possessed me to take H&R Block's income tax course, back in 1984, but I did and was surprised to find out how much I liked it and that I was good at it.



In another life I worked on individual tax returns and enjoyed it very much.  I was amazed how some people with very good incomes lived in misery and how people with small incomes lived very well.  That glimpse into the lives of others helped me to organize my own financial life.  Today it is just too complicated for me so I put the papers in an envelope and send them to the tax guy in Joisey!  This man has done my taxes for almost twenty years and I have never seen him.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> In another life I worked on individual tax returns and enjoyed it very much.  I was amazed how some people with very good incomes lived in misery and how people with small incomes lived very well.  That glimpse into the lives of others helped me to organize my own financial life.  Today it is just too complicated for me so I put the papers in an envelope and send them to the tax guy in Joisey!  This man has done my taxes for almost twenty years and I have never seen him.



I don't mind doing my own income tax, but with trying to figure out federal and state rules for dealing with Social Security, I finally gave up.  H&R Block will now be doing my taxes from now on.  I was fine as long as it was just addition and subtraction...the percentages were making me work too hard.


----------



## kadesma

Well gang,
I suppose this should go in happy venting, but what led up to it has me having panic attacks at night!!!Monday when I went to dialysis I met with one of the women who does the needles!!! She proceded to numb me up I'm a chicken then called over another nurse before long the head nurse came over told her to leave the lowe needle remove the top one and use my perm cath ARGHHHHHH this ticked me off good. I didn't say anything then when the head said stop again  I don't want you to ruin her arm I about went into shock. I was so darn angry I couldnt  believe it. What are they going to do when they remove the permcath. Let me die? The men have no problem hooking me up the women what's with them? But today I got wnother woman!!! Well guy's she did  a wonderful job. I was so happy. Think I'll sleep tonight? I hope so. Thanks for listening.
kades


----------



## Vanilla Bean

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I don't mind doing my own income tax, but with trying to figure out federal and state rules for dealing with Social Security, I finally gave up.* H&R Block* will now be doing my taxes from now on. I was fine as long as it was just addition and subtraction...the percentages were making me work too hard.


 I was going to have them do mine, because I screw things up so easily, but I didn't want to pay their fee.  It's ridiculous!


----------



## Addie

My neighbor upstairs maried a woman who had three children from her first marriage. They then had three of their own. He went to H&R Block  for a number of years. They swore that he could not claim her children even though he was their only support. Hubby #1 paid not a cent. Town drunk. I got so sick of seeing them get screwed. So I showed him te instruction book stating just who he could claim and not claim. He filed papers with IRS to regain all the refund money that he had lost over the years that H&RB did his taxes. H&RB paid a hefty fine and IRS made them pay the money to my neighbor for the lost tax refund. 

I worked for the State Tax Department. Our deductions follow the federal deduction laws pretty closely. The State also went after H&RB for the State refund money that my neighbor was out of over the years. That office was eventually closed down. After a close examination, the IRS found a lot of other people who were ill advised.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> My neighbor upstairs maried a woman who had three children from her first marriage. They then had three of their own. He went to H&R Block  for a number of years. They swore that he could not claim her children even though he was their only support. Hubby #1 paid not a cent. Town drunk. I got so sick of seeing them get screwed. So I showed him te instruction book stating just who he could claim and not claim. He filed papers with IRS to regain all the refund money that he had lost over the years that H&RB did his taxes. H&RB paid a hefty fine and IRS made them pay the money to my neighbor for the lost tax refund.
> 
> I worked for the State Tax Department. Our deductions follow the federal deduction laws pretty closely. The State also went after H&RB for the State refund money that my neighbor was out of over the years. That office was eventually closed down. After a close examination, the IRS found a lot of other people who were ill advised.


I worked for H&R Block for eight years. I was a supervisor and I taught the basic course, an advanced course, and the computer course. I also worked in quality assurance one season. That was an eye opener. I had always wondered how some of the people who worked there could make such good commissions. I found out when I saw the tax returns they did. They weren't out and out wrong, but boy did they miss deductions.

That's why I work for myself. I have higher standards. But, with H&R Block you get the luck of the draw. You might get one of the tax preparers who actually like preparing tax returns and does a great job.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Well gang,
> I suppose this should go in happy venting, but what led up to it has me having panic attacks at night!!!Monday when I went to dialysis I met with one of the women who does the needles!!! She proceded to numb me up I'm a chicken then called over another nurse before long the head nurse came over told her to leave the lowe needle remove the top one and use my perm cath ARGHHHHHH this ticked me off good. I didn't say anything then when the head said stop again  I don't want you to ruin her arm I about went into shock. I was so darn angry I couldnt  believe it. What are they going to do when they remove the permcath. Let me die? The men have no problem hooking me up the women what's with them? But today I got wnother woman!!! Well guy's she did  a wonderful job. I was so happy. Think I'll sleep tonight? I hope so. Thanks for listening.
> kades



What are they doing working in Dialysis if they can't get you hooked up?
I've never worked it and I am not interested, but I would absolutely not work a unit I didn't feel comfortable in.  So sorry this happened, Ma!  Sometimes my fellow nurses embarrass me.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> What are they doing working in Dialysis if they can't get you hooked up?
> I've never worked it and I am not interested, but I would absolutely not work a unit I didn't feel comfortable in.  So sorry this happened, Ma!  Sometimes my fellow nurses embarrass me.


Don't be embarrassed, the gal who did my hook up today breezed right throught it. She was a dream. next time i'll ask for Jen. she needs a hug. and some cookies.I'd trust you PF you're dependable.

ma


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Don't be embarrassed, the gal who did my hook up today breezed right throught it. She was a dream. next time i'll ask for Jen. she needs a hug. and some cookies.I'd trust you PF you're dependable.
> 
> ma



Trust me to sit and hold your hand while they hooked you up...  Tell Jen thanks and a hug from me for taking good care of you!


----------



## Addie

When I lived in Tacoma, the State of Washington had a pilot program allowing patients to be run at home. They came in and took care of the plumbing and all the other things that were necessry to do this. You did have to have  designated room for it. 

Margaret and I used to go out some Friday nights. If she had too much to drink, it would stay in her system until her attendant came in on Monday to run her. Since I didn't drink, I decided to look into becoming an attendant. Margaret was run three times a week. I  passed the exam and she asked for me to be her attendant. I lived close by and since we were friends, why not. The only problem was she thought that since I lived so close by, it gave her license to misbehave more often. So I would get a call  in the middle of the night to come run her. Of her three runs a week, one had to be in the hospital setting. I finally had to report her and stop being her attendant. She was in the hospital for one of her runs, and she took a massive heart attack. Can you imagine how I would have felt if that had happened at home when I was running her?


----------



## Zhizara

I only had one experience with H&RB.  After years of doing our taxes myself, my husband decided we should go to them.  After the agent finished, I told him to include several other deductions that I knew about that he had missed.  What a waste of money.  We never went back.

Every year I bought the current year's tax guide and read it so that I was always up to date.  It's a thick book, but easy to understand, and the cost of the book itself was tax deductible too.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I only had one experience with H&RB. After years of doing our taxes myself, my husband decided we should go to them. After the agent finished, I told him to include several other deductions that I knew about that he had missed. What a waste of money. We never went back.
> 
> Every year I bought the current year's tax guide and read it so that I was always up to date. It's a thick book, but easy to understand, and the cost of the book itself was tax deductible too.


 
If you find that you do need the services of a tax consultant, find a CPA or other professional that takes care of the books for small businesses. The employees of HR&B are only seasonal workers and badly trained. Look for bookkeepng services. They are there all year long. Every day they get updates on IRS changes. My daughter and her husband go to a  person that is right near their home. He was recommended by a friend. He has a small office and doesn't even have a sign outside. When they got hit with the medical bils for his cancer treatment that the insurance didn't cover, they added up and got them a much larger refund than they ever dreamed of. My daughter keeps all receipts and once a month she goes through them and marks what they are for. Then she puts them in an envelope and delivers them to her tax man. Come tax time, he already has 90% of the paper work he needs. They have their taxes filed no later than Feb. 15th. Refund by the end of the month.


----------



## Claire

I just had the last thing I need right now.  Got back from 3 weeks of caring for my parents, getting them back on their feet.  Came home to the death of a friend.  Already knew we had a wedding to go to.  

Last night we were having drinks after supper, sitting on the back porch, and Rosebud had a seizure!  She walked up to us and had a spasm that lasted 3 minutes or so.  She was terrified.  It reminded me of a time my JR terrier ate a box of chocolates.  We just held her and crooned and petted her.  When it was past, she was very subdued for the rest of the night.  My sis (who worked with animals for decades) thought maybe it might be a reaction to the stress of the last month, a one-off.  So my first job this morning is to bring her to the vet (who we talked to last night).


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> I just had the last thing I need right now.  Got back from 3 weeks of caring for my parents, getting them back on their feet.  Came home to the death of a friend.  Already knew we had a wedding to go to.
> 
> Last night we were having drinks after supper, sitting on the back porch, and Rosebud had a seizure!  She walked up to us and had a spasm that lasted 3 minutes or so.  She was terrified.  It reminded me of a time my JR terrier ate a box of chocolates.  We just held her and crooned and petted her.  When it was past, she was very subdued for the rest of the night.  My sis (who worked with animals for decades) thought maybe it might be a reaction to the stress of the last month, a one-off.  So my first job this morning is to bring her to the vet (who we talked to last night).



Sorry on both counts, Claire!  Poor Rosebud, let us know how she is!


----------



## taxlady

Aw, (((Claire)))


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> If you find that you do need the services of a tax consultant, find a CPA or other professional that takes care of the books for small businesses. The employees of HR&B are only seasonal workers and badly trained. Look for bookkeepng services. They are there all year long. Every day they get updates on IRS changes. My daughter and her husband go to a  person that is right near their home. He was recommended by a friend. He has a small office and doesn't even have a sign outside. When they got hit with the medical bils for his cancer treatment that the insurance didn't cover, they added up and got them a much larger refund than they ever dreamed of. My daughter keeps all receipts and once a month she goes through them and marks what they are for. Then she puts them in an envelope and delivers them to her tax man. Come tax time, he already has 90% of the paper work he needs. They have their taxes filed no later than Feb. 15th. Refund by the end of the month.


My advice is to go to someone recommended by someone you trust.

Addie, do you think you could get your daughter to teach that to my clients?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> My advice is to go to someone recommended by someone you trust.
> 
> Addie, do you think you could get your daughter to teach that to my clients?


 
Only for until she retires in five years. It is only common sense. There are folks who swear by H&RB. You need a 2x4 to swipe them across the side of the head to get their attention first.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Only for until she retires in five years. It is only common sense. There are folks who swear by H&RB. You need a 2x4 to swipe them across the side of the head to get their attention first.


Well, as I mentioned before, with H&R it's the luck of the draw. It all depends on getting a good tax preparer and asking for the same one every year.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It was an H&R Block rep that took our letter from the IRS saying we owed $7200 and worked it until the IRS owed us $800, he did this by finding someone who understood Inheritance and Stocks.  He's our new best friend.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It was an H&R Block rep that took our letter from the IRS saying we owed $7200 and worked it until the IRS owed us $800, he did this by finding someone who understood Inheritance and Stocks.  He's our new best friend.


So, be sure to ask for the same guy next year. Hmm, try to get his home phone number


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## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> So, be sure to ask for the same guy next year. Hmm, try to get his home phone number



I have his card!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have his card!


Good, but can you get hold of him outside H&R. Sometimes tax preparers change office or go out on their own.


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## Addie

taxlady said:


> Good, but can you get hold of him outside H&R. Sometimes tax preparers change office or go out on their own.


 
He may be willing to work out of his home doing private returns. A lot of them do. And Congratulations. You got one of the good ones. He is a definite keeper. Develop a rapport with him if possible. Send him a thank you note and a small gift of appreciation. A bottle of wine. One of those fruit baskets that look like flowers.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Good, but can you get hold of him outside H&R. Sometimes tax preparers change office or go out on their own.




His card is HIS card.  He only works for H&R Block from the first of February to the end of march.  The rest of the time he works for himself.   I tend to have my taxes done the day after I get my w-2's...which is the first Tuesday in January.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> His card is HIS card. He only works for H&R Block from the first of February to the end of march. The rest of the time he works for himself. I tend to have my taxes done the day after I get my w-2's...which is the first Tuesday in January.


 
Send him new customers for his own business whenever possible. Make sure you tell them to mention your name.


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## taxlady

It's so cold and humid here that my printer keeps jamming. I don't have time for this. I turned on the space heater, which I was supposed to be away until winter, and aimed it at the printer. It has a fan. It seemed to help on the first batch that came out after I turned it on. Wish me luck.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

taxlady said:
			
		

> It's so cold and humid here that my printer keeps jamming. I don't have time for this. I turned on the space heater, which I was supposed to be away until winter, and aimed it at the printer. It has a fan. It seemed to help on the first batch that came out after I turned it on. Wish me luck.



No fun. I hope the heater lets you get what you need to done.


----------



## taxlady

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> No fun. I hope the heater lets you get what you need to done.


I hate to say this, because I don't want to tempt the Fates, so far so good.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Good Luck TL.


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## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Good Luck TL.


Thanks 

I'm going out tonight. Danish Club of Montreal is celebrating it's 90th anniversary! I'm taking public transit.


----------



## LPBeier

I have been super depressed lately even though some things have been going well.  Tomorrow marks 2 months since we lost Dad and I miss him terribly but haven't really been able to grieve...or not knowing how.  

On top of that, the bank that he dealt with for probably 50 years and put all his investments in, is being a real pain.

They have messed up accounts, sent me on wild goose chases to get cheques redone to say "The Estate of" and they make a regular chequing account in my Dad's name (no "The Estate of") so when I go to deposit the cheques they tell me I can't because this is a personal account and not an estate account....oh, and they are charging us fees on it as well.

My sister has just filed for probate last week and I get a call from an investment councilor this same bank asking how I am doing and do I want to get things started in managing my money when I get it.  I told him in no uncertain terms that a) we will be dealing with OUR bank and while I do have accounts at that bank, I will just be putting some savings there.  I told him that I can't process this now and that I would much sooner have my Dad back than his money so I am not going to talk to anyone about it until it is here.  He said he would call me in a month and I told him that if I needed his services I will call HIM!

That made me feel a little better and writing it all down here helped too, but I know I need some help to deal with my loss or my depression will keep building.  

Tomorrow I have to deal with the Estates Dept. of the bank, the Federal Government on money that is owing to Dad but was locked out of the direct deposit on Dad's account and an insurance company that might still be holding a policy. 

Oh, and first thing I get to go to the dentist about my chipped tooth and gum abscess (Addie will be happy with me! ).  At least I am getting a hair cut so hopefully that is my reward!

Thanks for listening - this was written with a lot of tears and frustration.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

{{Hugs}}
Please find someone to talk to. A support group, a grief counselor, someone with experiance who can listen and help you find the solutions that are right for you to grieve. Remember that their is no right way to grieve, the process is different for each person, and their is no time limit on grieving. Be patient with yourself too. We love you. Please take care of yourself and you're welcome to send me a pm at any time.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> {{Hugs}}
> Please find someone to talk to. A support group, a grief counselor, someone with experiance who can listen and help you find the solutions that are right for you to grieve. Remember that their is no right way to grieve, the process is different for each person, and their is no time limit on grieving. Be patient with yourself too. We love you. Please take care of yourself and you're welcome to send me a pm at any time.



Hi LP...exactly what PAG said!   {{{{{LP}}}}}


----------



## LPBeier

I just got off the phone with the Hospice Society where Dad passed away.  I have been holding onto a letter since the beginning of April offering support.  I wanted to call but couldn't - Dad was only there for 8 hours, it is in the next city, and other stupid excuses.

After I vented here and read PAG's reply I just broke down.  I was going to email so they would make the initial contact (I mean what do I say?).  But I drummed up enough courage to phone and this delightful lady answered.  The grief counselor had left for the day, but this lady kept me talking for about a half hour!  She tried to put my mind at ease about leaving Dad the night he died and many other things.  She has given me information for the Surrey Hospice Society which is only a few block from where we live, so I will try and call there Thursday or Friday (tomorrow is filled with many appointments).  But I think I feel a little better for having reached out.  She believes I need some one on one counseling and I think she is right.

This doesn't mean I am better, it just means I made a first step.  Thanks PAG and PF - your hugs and concern mean a lot.  I am hoping that one day in my life I can come out from under this cloud of depression once and for all.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> I just got off the phone with the Hospice Society where Dad passed away.  I have been holding onto a letter since the beginning of April offering support.  I wanted to call but couldn't - Dad was only there for 8 hours, it is in the next city, and other stupid excuses.
> 
> After I vented here and read PAG's reply I just broke down.  I was going to email so they would make the initial contact (I mean what do I say?).  But I drummed up enough courage to phone and this delightful lady answered.  The grief counselor had left for the day, but this lady kept me talking for about a half hour!  She tried to put my mind at ease about leaving Dad the night he died and many other things.  She has given me information for the Surrey Hospice Society which is only a few block from where we live, so I will try and call there Thursday or Friday (tomorrow is filled with many appointments).  But I think I feel a little better for having reached out.  She believes I need some one on one counseling and I think she is right.
> 
> This doesn't mean I am better, it just means I made a first step.  Thanks PAG and PF - your hugs and concern mean a lot.  I am hoping that one day in my life I can come out from under this cloud of depression once and for all.



Good for you, LP!  That's what Hospice is there for.  I am always willing to sit and talk with any family member who has lost a loved one, especially those families whose parents I took care of.  Not all of us are Ogres, you knowxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo


----------



## taxlady

(((hugs LP))) I'm glad you are going to start taking care of yourself.


----------



## Addie

LP, be patient with yourself. You have had a wound to your soul. Just like a physical wound, it takes time to heal. Reach out for any assitance that is available. Just like you would to a doctor for a physical injury.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

LPBeier said:
			
		

> I just got off the phone with the Hospice Society where Dad passed away.  I have been holding onto a letter since the beginning of April offering support.  I wanted to call but couldn't - Dad was only there for 8 hours, it is in the next city, and other stupid excuses.
> 
> After I vented here and read PAG's reply I just broke down.  I was going to email so they would make the initial contact (I mean what do I say?).  But I drummed up enough courage to phone and this delightful lady answered.  The grief counselor had left for the day, but this lady kept me talking for about a half hour!  She tried to put my mind at ease about leaving Dad the night he died and many other things.  She has given me information for the Surrey Hospice Society which is only a few block from where we live, so I will try and call there Thursday or Friday (tomorrow is filled with many appointments).  But I think I feel a little better for having reached out.  She believes I need some one on one counseling and I think she is right.
> 
> This doesn't mean I am better, it just means I made a first step.  Thanks PAG and PF - your hugs and concern mean a lot.  I am hoping that one day in my life I can come out from under this cloud of depression once and for all.



I'm so glad to hear you are taking steps to help yourself heal.


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I'm so glad to hear you are taking steps to help yourself heal.


 

+1

Take care of yourself before anything else. Take the time to grieve. You deserve it. I am glad to hear that you reached out for help. Imagine how great you are going to feel in a month.


----------



## kadesma

LP,
 you know how I feel about you Tony and dad. I'm so glad you had hospice to ease him through this. They were here for me and my dad too. Lord I'll always be grateful. They got me through a horrible thing that happened I'll tell sometime in PM but I'm still trying to not be angry and hurt about it. I hope I can forgive and forget before it's to late.You also know I love you so if you need me  let me know.
ma


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, everyone.  

I did not make an appointment with hospice today.  I had a lot of other things going on but I have to do it tomorrow.  I was in the store buying a sympathy card for someone who just lost her husband to a pretty rough battle with cancer.  I got to the sympathy card section and had a hard time even looking at the cards.  We got so many for Dad and just seeing them brought back those memories.  But I found a nice very simple card and managed to hold back the tears until I got to my car.  It's funny, it took two months for the tears to come and now they won't stop.

Now another vent:
I went to the dentist about a chipped tooth and an abscess on my gum, and my dentist did a whole examination - I have a ton of work to be done.  Now there is a catch to me having work done on my teeth.  Because I have had a knee replacement (actually two on one knee in a month), I have to take a large dose of antibiotic before I can be worked on, and the visits need to be spaced apart.  For many people you only need to do this for two years, but because there is still problems with the knee I have to do it for life.  So, Monday they booked two hours to work on the abscess and start a root canal on the tooth beside the one that was chipped.  I will be on antibiotics for two weeks for the abscess and then have two more hours.  Then they will decide what to do about all the other little things wrong.  We put off going to the dentist for so long because we didn't have coverage, and now we are both having our share of dental woes.  Good thing our dentist is a long time friend!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> Now another vent:
> I went to the dentist about a chipped tooth and an abscess on my gum, and my dentist did a whole examination - I have a ton of work to be done.  Now there is a catch to me having work done on my teeth.  Because I have had a knee replacement (actually two on one knee in a month), I have to take a large dose of antibiotic before I can be worked on, and the visits need to be spaced apart.  For many people you only need to do this for two years, but because there is still problems with the knee I have to do it for life.  So, Monday they booked two hours to work on the abscess and start a root canal on the tooth beside the one that was chipped.  I will be on antibiotics for two weeks for the abscess and then have two more hours.  Then they will decide what to do about all the other little things wrong.  We put off going to the dentist for so long because we didn't have coverage, and now we are both having our share of dental woes.  Good thing our dentist is a long time friend!



I'm so lucky, now when I have a problem with my teeth I can just drop them off at the dentist, I don't have to stay


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I'm so lucky, now when I have a problem with my teeth I can just drop them off at the dentist, I don't have to stay



OMG!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> OMG!


 
+1


----------



## Addie

So this morning I went to turn on the lamp. I walked toward it and the stool was in the way. You know that middle toe that likes to stick out further than the others? Well I banged that nice healthy toe into the bottom of the wooden part of the stool. Don't worry, I washed my mouth out with soap. I did not break the toe, but darn close to it. I can still bend it. I did drive the nail into the nail bed. The toenail and the tip of the toe are now black. I put my fluffy slippers on. Again I had to wash my mouth out. The toenail go caught on the fluffies. I can wear my shoes but have to walk gingerly and with a decided limp. I swear, I will not die from a heart attack or some other hideous disease. But from my own stupidity. I guess I just hate feeling good and have to screw it up somehow. If I bend over will someone give me a good swift kick?


----------



## LPBeier

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm so lucky, now when I have a problem with my teeth I can just drop them off at the dentist, I don't have to stay


You Brat!


----------



## LPBeier

Addie said:


> So this morning I went to turn on the lamp. I walked toward it and the stool was in the way. You know that middle toe that likes to stick out further than the others? Well I banged that nice healthy toe into the bottom of the wooden part of the stool. Don't worry, I washed my mouth out with soap. I did not break the toe, but darn close to it. I can still bend it. I did drive the nail into the nail bed. The toenail and the tip of the toe are now black. I put my fluffy slippers on. Again I had to wash my mouth out. The toenail go caught on the fluffies. I can wear my shoes but have to walk gingerly and with a decided limp. I swear, I will not die from a heart attack or some other hideous disease. But from my own stupidity. I guess I just hate feeling good and have to screw it up somehow. If I bend over will someone give me a good swift kick?


Addie, we must be related.  I have done stuff like that so many times.  No, I will not give you a swift kick - but all the big hugs you want!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> You Brat!



Muahahahahaha!


----------



## Skittle68

Today I worked a 12 hour serving shift with no break. I was lucky I got to eat a few bites in between my tables. How can my managers think this is a good idea?? I have a pretty good game face, but man, I get so absentminded after the first 8 hours... I don't even ask for breaks anymore because if you insist on a break, they won't schedule you lunch-dinner shifts anymore, and that makes it almost impossible to get 40 hours. :/


----------



## taxlady

Skittle68 said:


> Today I worked a 12 hour serving shift with no break. I was lucky I got to eat a few bites in between my tables. How can my managers think this is a good idea?? I have a pretty good game face, but man, I get so absentminded after the first 8 hours... I don't even ask for breaks anymore because if you insist on a break, they won't schedule you lunch-dinner shifts anymore, and that makes it almost impossible to get 40 hours. :/


What a bummer. It's sad when managers are so short-sighted.

When I worked as a supervisor at H&R Block, my receptionist wanted a lot of overtime hours. My manager phoned me to say he was nixing my schedule. I explained that she had asked for those hours and he said she couldn't have all of them because she would become inefficient.

I think you should document this abuse. I think you should ask/not insist for breaks. When you notice it, document what happens to other employees when they insist on a break. Is there a government agency that protects employees that you could contact?

Is the restaurant a franchise or company owned? I want you to *think about* taking this higher up, but I don't know if it is a good idea to actually rock the boat. If management keeps up this sort of stupidity, you will reach a point that you hate your job. What are your prospects of employment elsewhere in your area? Would the pay, etc. be as good?


----------



## LPBeier

Skittle, I agree totally with TL.

I don't know what it is like in the US, but having grown up working for my father, then being a manager and then a business owner, I have become pretty knowledgeable about labour laws here in Canada.

After 4 hours a staff member is not just entitled to a break, it is law.  At 6 -7 hours you get two 15 minute breaks and at 8 hours you get 1 - 2 15 minutes and 1/2 to 1 hour for lunch/dinner.  The 15 minute breaks are to be paid by the company but the larger break is usually unpaid.

I would seriously look into this, as well as documenting everything.  Don't go to your managers with what you have learned about the labour laws, but ask for breaks and document their answers.  Then take this as high up as you can.


----------



## kadesma

Addie,
I'll give you that KICK!!!! Good grief girl don't you know to wear shores even in the house. First thing I had to learn when they said I had diabetes. I hated it and still don't like it but I have no leg or foot problems. Take care and I was kidding about the kick.
kades


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

LPBeier said:
			
		

> Skittle, I agree totally with TL.
> 
> I don't know what it is like in the US, but having grown up working for my father, then being a manager and then a business owner, I have become pretty knowledgeable about labour laws here in Canada.
> 
> After 4 hours a staff member is not just entitled to a break, it is law.  At 6 -7 hours you get two 15 minute breaks and at 8 hours you get 1 - 2 15 minutes and 1/2 to 1 hour for lunch/dinner.  The 15 minute breaks are to be paid by the company but the larger break is usually unpaid.
> 
> I would seriously look into this, as well as documenting everything.  Don't go to your managers with what you have learned about the labour laws, but ask for breaks and document their answers.  Then take this as high up as you can.



+1


----------



## Skittle68

LPBeier said:
			
		

> Skittle, I agree totally with TL.
> 
> I don't know what it is like in the US, but having grown up working for my father, then being a manager and then a business owner, I have become pretty knowledgeable about labour laws here in Canada.
> 
> After 4 hours a staff member is not just entitled to a break, it is law.  At 6 -7 hours you get two 15 minute breaks and at 8 hours you get 1 - 2 15 minutes and 1/2 to 1 hour for lunch/dinner.  The 15 minute breaks are to be paid by the company but the larger break is usually unpaid.
> 
> I would seriously look into this, as well as documenting everything.  Don't go to your managers with what you have learned about the labour laws, but ask for breaks and document their answers.  Then take this as high up as you can.



The law only says that an employee must be allowed time to go to the bathroom at least every four hours, and if you work longer then 8 hours you must be permitted sufficient time for a meal break.  It is against the law to make you clock out for your meal break if you are not relieved of all your duties. During the slow time when I only had one or two tables I was allowed to stand at a counter and eat, and I snuck in the back a couple times to sit down for two minutes at a time while they were eating.  Being allowed to sit down for ten minutes would have been plenty of time- just to let my legs recover a little before the dinner rush, but like I said, if you complain they won't let you work a lunch and dinner shift in the same day. I would have to work 7 days a week to get the hours I need if I don't work a couple long shifts.  I already hate my job. My managers are all young and inexperienced. It is a corporation, and I could complain to employee relations, but they aren't breaking any laws, they are just being unreasonable. Not to mention stupid, because breaks keep employees at their best. I would have been looking for a different job months ago, but my bf and I have been planning to move to another city, so getting trained in at a new job just to work there for a couple months, then having to do it all over again when we move, and having all that job hopping on my resume... I decided to just stick it out. I will be done there June 16th or 17th.  I'm told the managers at the Red Lobster in the new city are more experienced and better to work with.


----------



## taxlady

(((hugs))) Skittle. Hang in there. I understand about sticking it out for a *limited amount of time*. I don't know if it's your style, but when you get to the new city and job, you might want to say something to the effect of, "I'm so glad to get breaks. They really help my efficiency." if and when you get breaks.


----------



## Skittle68

taxlady said:
			
		

> (((hugs))) Skittle. Hang in there. I understand about sticking it out for a limited amount of time. I don't know if it's your style, but when you get to the new city and job, you might want to say something to the effect of, "I'm so glad to get breaks. They really help my efficiency." if and when you get breaks.



Good idea  I hear the general manager at that store is really nice.  Our managers are nice too, but they have limited manager experience and just don't seem to know the value of treating their employees right. They treat us like robots.


----------



## Sprout

LPBeier said:


> Skittle, I agree totally with TL.
> 
> I don't know what it is like in the US, but having grown up working for my father, then being a manager and then a business owner, I have become pretty knowledgeable about labour laws here in Canada.
> 
> After 4 hours a staff member is not just entitled to a break, it is law.  At 6 -7 hours you get two 15 minute breaks and at 8 hours you get 1 - 2 15 minutes and 1/2 to 1 hour for lunch/dinner.  The 15 minute breaks are to be paid by the company but the larger break is usually unpaid.
> 
> I would seriously look into this, as well as documenting everything.  Don't go to your managers with what you have learned about the labour laws, but ask for breaks and document their answers.  Then take this as high up as you can.



We have similar laws in the US, but most places that I've waited tables at (especially corporate places)  ask you to fill out a form when you are first hired that allows you to opt out of breaks. You can choose to opt out or you can decide not to, but if you do want the formal breaks it's as much of a pain for you as it is for your employer. You have to be taken out of the rotation, wait until your current tables are finished, take your break, and then return to the floor. In a normal single shift, that is a big hassle for the restaurant and other servers and costs the server taking the break quite a few tables and consequently quite a bit of money. However, a 12-hour shift isn't a normal shift and a manager with any sense is going to give someone a break between rushes, or at the very least, an informal break of a few minutes to sit down and grab a bite to eat. Sorry about your rough day, Skittle.


----------



## Addie

The laws in the States vary from state to state. You can register a complaint with the Labor Relations Board in Mass. The law is different for food wait workers. But if you are waiting on a table and the person at the table says something like, "Gee, don't any of you girls ever get a break?" you can be sure it is someone from the Board. They do make spot checks without letting the owners know that they received a complaint or who made it. If you answer, "Yeah, at the end of the shift," they will start looking at their financial numbers and other areas. Before you know it, the Health Department will be paying a visit, IRS, and a host of other State agencies. Having your pay stubs to show against their records is a big help. Been there, done that.


----------



## Sprout

I'm not venting frustration with this one so much as bafflement and disappointment:

Saturday night we had to take Sproutlet #2 to the ER. She wasn't able to sleep for coughing and finally coughed until she vomited just before midnight. She also had a low fever and was wheezing, so we called the on-call at our pediatrician's office and he said to take her in. They tested her for RSV and did a chest x-ray.  They gave her a cool mist while we waited. She was a crack-up with the mist. She loved it! She was happy and smiling the entire time we were there, except for the brief moment while the took the mucous culture for the RSV test. She came back clean on both tests, and the doctor told us it was viral and to follow up on Monday with her pediatrician if there was no improvement. Sure, it was a waste of time if we look at it from one perspective, but she did have the symptoms of pneumonia, and she's still young enough that if she had had it, getting her seen immediately would have been very important, so I just chalk this one up to one of those things you go through when you're a parent. After telling us her illness was viral, the doctor launched into a lengthy explanation of why he wasn't prescribing an antibiotic. I good-naturedly rolled my eyes internally and after he left the room mentioned to my husband that it was sad that doctors still had to explain why they don't prescribe antibiotics for viral infections. If anything needs to be said at all, "It's a virus. Antibiotics are for bacterial infections," should be sufficient. 

Here comes the vent: The nurse came back in the room to go over our discharge paperwork. She stops in the middle, just after reading out loud the part that says it's viral, and says, "Oh, he's not prescribing anything." I said, "Yeah, she's only 8 months, so she's really still too young for cough medicine or decongestants." She stared at the paperwork for a moment more with a puzzled look and then said, "Oh, I see here that you're supposed to follow up with her pediatrician on Monday. He probably just wants her pediatrician to be the one who prescribes the antibiotics. They may want to wait a bit longer anyway since she's so little. Some pediatricians want to wait ten days after a baby catches a virus before giving an antibiotic." What, what, and what??? There are several things wrong with those statements, but I'll only address the most glaringly obvious one. Antibiotics are useless for viruses. Now maybe I understand a little better why the doctor launched into his whole shpiel. This woman is a nurse, a parent, and a human being. To me, those are 3 great reasons why she should know what antibiotics are for. I realize how condescending I sound, and I honestly don't mean to be, I just think it's a shame how little our general populace knows about their bodies, so when a healthcare provider says something like this, it really concerns me. 

She was very sweet, and I don't want to get her in trouble, and she's not a doctor, so she won't be prescribing anything to anyone, but I still keep wondering if I should call the hospital and say something about this. It's one of my pet peeves, so I'm not a good judge on how serious it is to have medical personnel saying stuff like this. Any input? Should I call? Maybe Princess Fiona will weigh in since she's in the medical community. I appreciate anyone's input!


----------



## Skittle68

Sprout said:
			
		

> We have similar laws in the US, but most places that I've waited tables at (especially corporate places)  ask you to fill out a form when you are first hired that allows you to opt out of breaks. You can choose to opt out or you can decide not to, but if you do want the formal breaks it's as much of a pain for you as it is for your employer. You have to be taken out of the rotation, wait until your current tables are finished, take your break, and then return to the floor. In a normal single shift, that is a big hassle for the restaurant and other servers and costs the server taking the break quite a few tables and consequently quite a bit of money. However, a 12-hour shift isn't a normal shift and a manager with any sense is going to give someone a break between rushes, or at the very least, an informal break of a few minutes to sit down and grab a bite to eat. Sorry about your rough day, Skittle.



I agree, during a normal shift I wouldn't want/expect a break but this type of shift is not normal. Most of the time if you work this shift you have to go down to zero tables anyway, because we have two sides of the dining room, and you are rarely on the same side for the dinner shift as you are for the lunch shift. I have been down to zero tables, and asked if they could wait ten minutes before seating me in my night section and was told no, because it was my choice to pick up a dinner shift. My scheduled dinner shift didn't even start for another 5 minutes, so it actually would have only taken away 5 minutes of scheduled time. I swear they like to see us suffer. Can't think of any other logical reason to deny me a break in that situation. 



			
				Addie said:
			
		

> The laws in the States vary from state to state. You can register a complaint with the Labor Relations Board in Mass. The law is different for food wait workers. But if you are waiting on a table and the person at the table says something like, "Gee, don't any of you girls ever get a break?" you can be sure it is someone from the Board. They do make spot checks without letting the owners know that they received a complaint or who made it. If you answer, "Yeah, at the end of the shift," they will start looking at their financial numbers and other areas. Before you know it, the Health Department will be paying a visit, IRS, and a host of other State agencies. Having your pay stubs to show against their records is a big help. Been there, done that.



Unfortunately MN does not have much for laws that protect workers. If you aren't treated right, go get a new job. (which I will have at the end of June, thank god lol)


----------



## Sprout

I feel for you, Skittle. I'm refraining from calling your managers any names, even if they may deserve them. I hope you're able to find a job with more reasonable people!


----------



## Skittle68

Sprout said:
			
		

> I'm not venting frustration with this one so much as bafflement and disappointment:
> 
> Saturday night we had to take Sproutlet #2 to the ER. She wasn't able to sleep for coughing and finally coughed until she vomited just before midnight. She also had a low fever and was wheezing, so we called the on-call at our pediatrician's office and he said to take her in. They tested her for RSV and did a chest x-ray.  They gave her a cool mist while we waited. She was a crack-up with the mist. She loved it! She was happy and smiling the entire time we were there, except for the brief moment while the took the mucous culture for the RSV test. She came back clean on both tests, and the doctor told us it was viral and to follow up on Monday with her pediatrician if there was no improvement. Sure, it was a waste of time if we look at it from one perspective, but she did have the symptoms of pneumonia, and she's still young enough that if she had had it, getting her seen immediately would have been very important, so I just chalk this one up to one of those things you go through when you're a parent. After telling us her illness was viral, the doctor launched into a lengthy explanation of why he wasn't prescribing an antibiotic. I good-naturedly rolled my eyes internally and after he left the room mentioned to my husband that it was sad that doctors still had to explain why they don't prescribe antibiotics for viral infections. If anything needs to be said at all, "It's a virus. Antibiotics are for bacterial infections," should be sufficient.
> 
> Here comes the vent: The nurse came back in the room to go over our discharge paperwork. She stops in the middle, just after reading out loud the part that says it's viral, and says, "Oh, he's not prescribing anything." I said, "Yeah, she's only 8 months, so she's really still too young for cough medicine or decongestants." She stared at the paperwork for a moment more with a puzzled look and then said, "Oh, I see here that you're supposed to follow up with her pediatrician on Monday. He probably just wants her pediatrician to be the one who prescribes the antibiotics. They may want to wait a bit longer anyway since she's so little. Some pediatricians want to wait ten days after a baby catches a virus before giving an antibiotic." What, what, and what??? There are several things wrong with those statements, but I'll only address the most glaringly obvious one. Antibiotics are useless for viruses. Now maybe I understand a little better why the doctor launched into his whole shpiel. This woman is a nurse, a parent, and a human being. To me, those are 3 great reasons why she should know what antibiotics are for. I realize how condescending I sound, and I honestly don't mean to be, I just think it's a shame how little our general populace knows about their bodies, so when a healthcare provider says something like this, it really concerns me.
> 
> She was very sweet, and I don't want to get her in trouble, and she's not a doctor, so she won't be prescribing anything to anyone, but I still keep wondering if I should call the hospital and say something about this. It's one of my pet peeves, so I'm not a good judge on how serious it is to have medical personnel saying stuff like this. Any input? Should I call? Maybe Princess Fiona will weigh in since she's in the medical community. I appreciate anyone's input!



Wow. Just... Wow. This reminds me of my old room mate who was just appalled that I didn't bring my cat to the vet to get antibiotics when my cat had an upper respiratory infection, because the vet gave them to her cat. "He could die! Upper respiratory infections can be fatal to cats!" Yes, they can, and he was very sick and lost a lot of weight, but he didn't have an underlying bacterial infection. If he had green snot he would have gone straight to the vet, but since it was clear the stress of the car ride just wasn't worth it to my sick kitty. The best medicine for him was to keep him hydrated and get some calories in him by making a gruel out of canned cat food and warm water. Anyway, sorry to compare your child to my cat, but he's been my baby for 9 years, so that is just what it reminded me of...


----------



## Addie

I would certainly mention it to your daughter's pediatrician.


----------



## Andy M.

Sprout, that's very upsetting.  I hope your little one feels better soon.   

I would have said something to the nurse and the doctor.  She's a potential danger to patients.  Who's to say what else she doesn't know?!


----------



## Addie

It makes me wonder if she keeps up with her CME.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> Saturday night we had to take Sproutlet #2 to the ER.



Poor Sproulet #2.  Hugs and Kisses for her!



Sprout said:


> Here comes the vent: The nurse came back in the room to go over our discharge paperwork. She stops in the middle, just after reading out loud the part that says it's viral, and says, "Oh, he's not prescribing anything." I said, "Yeah, she's only 8 months, so she's really still too young for cough medicine or decongestants." She stared at the paperwork for a moment more with a puzzled look and then said, "Oh, I see here that you're supposed to follow up with her pediatrician on Monday. He probably just wants her pediatrician to be the one who prescribes the antibiotics. They may want to wait a bit longer anyway since she's so little. Some pediatricians want to wait ten days after a baby catches a virus before giving an antibiotic." What, what, and what??? There are several things wrong with those statements, but I'll only address the most glaringly obvious one. Antibiotics are useless for viruses. Now maybe I understand a little better why the doctor launched into his whole shpiel. This woman is a nurse, a parent, and a human being. To me, those are 3 great reasons why she should know what antibiotics are for. I realize how condescending I sound, and I honestly don't mean to be, I just think it's a shame how little our general populace knows about their bodies, so when a healthcare provider says something like this, it really concerns me.
> 
> She was very sweet, and I don't want to get her in trouble, and she's not a doctor, so she won't be prescribing anything to anyone, but I still keep wondering if I should call the hospital and say something about this. It's one of my pet peeves, so I'm not a good judge on how serious it is to have medical personnel saying stuff like this. Any input? Should I call? Maybe Princess Fiona will weigh in since she's in the medical community. I appreciate anyone's input!



  WHAT?  Obviously she doesn't even read the literature out there _for patients_ explaining why anti-biotics are not given for viral infections.

The house manager of the hospital should know about this.  This is a nurse in serious need of re-training.

More hugs for Sproutlet #2 and some for #1  And a few for you!


----------



## kadesma

What a day this has been. RN who got me ready for dialyzing today did it right this time. Last time several weeks ago he goofed it up so bad that they had to use one needle and the other my perm cath. This bugged me no end but I let it go. I am so anzious to have this thing out wellllll, Today my kidney doctor came in and asked this jackanapes his idea on taking out the perm cath???? Here is what he got for an answer. This from the RN who doesn't like the Doctor who put in my graft. Oh no it's not ready yet, he the doc needs to see it. blah,blah,blah, Here is what I got me who thought wed. another RN was going to call for me for an appointment.My kidney doc wants me to wait 2-3 more weeks. I could just scream...I haven't been able to swim since 07 and now this crap. I've about had it all the way around. Guess I'm being to fussy but need to vent big time.Everything is piling up on me and my patience is about shot.
kades


----------



## Addie

Sprout, I just reread your post. If you weren't knowledgable yourself, and the doctor hadn't explained why no antibiotics, her statement to any other parent who wasn't as knowledgeable, could have left them feeling less than confident in the doctors diagnosis and recommendations. Definitely report her. All she was supposed to do was relay (what you already knew) the doctors recommendations. Her remarks went beyond the scope of her job. Unless she sees something that is potentially life threateninig to a patient, she should not be relaying information that is not on that discharge sheet. And even then, she should speak directly to the doctor if she finds something wrong. And in private. Not to the patient or parent. 

How many times have you asked a nurse a question and she has replied with, "The doctor will speak to you shortly." Or some such thing. It's the doctor's place to dispense such information. And he did. Her remarks were not only wrong, but not in her job description. 

Correct me if I am wrong PF.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Sprout, I just reread your post. If you weren't knowledgable yourself, and the doctor hadn't explained why no antibiotics, her statement to any other parent who wasn't as knowledgeable, could have left them feeling less than confident in the doctors diagnosis and recommendations. Definitely report her. All she was supposed to do was relay (what you already knew) the doctors recommendations. Her remarks went beyond the scope of her job. Unless she sees something that is potentially life threateninig to a patient, she should not be relaying information that is not on that discharge sheet. And even then, she should speak directly to the doctor if she finds something wrong. And in private. Not to the patient or parent.
> 
> How many times have you asked a nurse a question and she has replied with, "The doctor will speak to you shortly." Or some such thing. It's the doctor's place to dispense such information. And he did. Her remarks were not only wrong, but not in her job description.
> 
> Correct me if I am wrong PF.



I agree with you, Addie.  The nurse should never question why, unless it's to voice her misgivings to the doctor. Not the patient.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> What a day this has been. RN who got me ready for dialyzing today did it right this time. Last time several weeks ago he goofed it up so bad that they had to use one needle and the other my perm cath. This bugged me no end but I let it go. I am so anzious to have this thing out wellllll, Today my kidney doctor came in and asked this jackanapes his idea on taking out the perm cath???? Here is what he got for an answer. This from the RN who doesn't like the Doctor who put in my graft. Oh no it's not ready yet, he the doc needs to see it. blah,blah,blah, Here is what I got me who thought wed. another RN was going to call for me for an appointment.My kidney doc wants me to wait 2-3 more weeks. I could just scream...I haven't been able to swim since 07 and now this crap. I've about had it all the way around. Guess I'm being to fussy but need to vent big time.Everything is piling up on me and my patience is about shot.
> kades



Oh, Ma!  I know how much you were hoping to get rid of the cath.  I'm sorry!   More Hugs!


----------



## Dawgluver

So sorry, Ma!  Hoping it works out for you soon!


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh, Ma!  I know how much you were hoping to get rid of the cath.  I'm sorry!   More Hugs!


Thank you, your hugs are the best.
ma


----------



## kadesma

Dawgluver said:


> So sorry, Ma!  Hoping it works out for you soon!


me too, thanks for thinking of me
ma


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grr, I think I'm getting sick. I haven't been in this job long enough to get sick! Stupid germs.


----------



## taxlady

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Grr, I think I'm getting sick. I haven't been in this job long enough to get sick! Stupid germs.


(((hugs))) Drink lots of fluids and take some vitamin C. And think healthy thoughts.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Thanks TL. Will do.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Thanks TL. Will do.



What kind of sick?  Cough and congestion? or Pukey?


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

So far a sore throat and minor body aches. No fever. No congestion.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> So far a sore throat and minor body aches. No fever. No congestion.




I'll add honey-lemon tea to the mix to help coat your throat!  I hope you feel better!  Hugs!


----------



## CWS4322

I contacted Le Crueset Canada a couple of weeks ago to inquire about getting my DO replaced (the interior has pitted). I responded to the last email with the information about how I cared for it (followed manufacturer's instructions for nearly 30 years). I have many other pieces, they are fine. I have not heard anything back, so I have to do the follow up. The first I email I received back indicated I did not need the receipt, even if received as a gift, the lifetime warranty was good. Anyone else had any issues getting a pan replaced?


----------



## Sprout

I just thought I'd update. After playing phone tag for a couple days, I finally spoke to someone from the hospital today. She said they have a meeting next wednesday and they will determine there whether just the nurse in question should be educated or whether they need to do something more widespread. She also assured me that the nurse wouldn't get in any trouble, they would just be sure she knew the proper information so it doesn't happen again. I am very satisfied.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> I just thought I'd update. After playing phone tag for a couple days, I finally spoke to someone from the hospital today. She said they have a meeting next wednesday and they will determine there whether just the nurse in question should be educated or whether they need to do something more widespread. She also assured me that the nurse wouldn't get in any trouble, they would just be sure she knew the proper information so it doesn't happen again. I am very satisfied.




Yay, Sprout!  Thank you so much!  You are a hero for standing up and speaking out!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Sprout said:
			
		

> I just thought I'd update. After playing phone tag for a couple days, I finally spoke to someone from the hospital today. She said they have a meeting next wednesday and they will determine there whether just the nurse in question should be educated or whether they need to do something more widespread. She also assured me that the nurse wouldn't get in any trouble, they would just be sure she knew the proper information so it doesn't happen again. I am very satisfied.



Cool. I'm glad that all worked out.


----------



## Skittle68

Sprout said:
			
		

> I just thought I'd update. After playing phone tag for a couple days, I finally spoke to someone from the hospital today. She said they have a meeting next wednesday and they will determine there whether just the nurse in question should be educated or whether they need to do something more widespread. She also assured me that the nurse wouldn't get in any trouble, they would just be sure she knew the proper information so it doesn't happen again. I am very satisfied.



I'm glad to hear you were concerned about the nurse as well as the patients she could possibly misinform. I often choose not to do surveys or give feedback unless I have something nice to say because I'm so concerned about someone losing their job rather than receiving training.  In this case though, I think something needed to be said. Good job!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> I'm glad to hear you were concerned about the nurse as well as the patients she could possibly misinform. I often choose not to do surveys or give feedback unless I have something nice to say because I'm so concerned about someone losing their job rather than receiving training.  In this case though, I think something needed to be said. Good job!



Survey's...How can they fix it if they don't know it's broke?  Employers need that notice so they can make sure their employees are not driving business away or providing misinformation.  It's your right as a consumer to be treated nicely, fairly and with respect.


----------



## Sprout

Thanks for the encouragement, ladies. 

I may have used up my vet for the week, but I have another one now.  By Sunday night we were all sick with what the baby had and by the Tuesday the girls had pink-eye. By Wednesday DH and I were doing a lot better and the girls seemed to be as well. By yesterday DH and I both felt fit as a fiddle and the girls seemed mostly better. I still decided to take it easy during the day, but felt ok about not cancelling about the friends who were coming over to dinner. We were all feeling better and the girls had been on antibiotics for their eyes for over 24 hours (btw, ever try to put eye drops in a toddler's eyes?). Everything was going well until halfway through dinner I was hit like a ton of bricks with a headache and sore throat, 2 things that were not part of our previous illness. By an hour later I had a fever. The guests left fairly quickly after I started feeling sick. I was all ready to turn in early and then the toddler stayed awake until 10 and the baby fell asleep 15 minutes before bed time, but then woke at 8 and was wide awake until 11:30. I finally fell asleep some time before midnight. The baby woke 3 times during the night (the usual) and then woke for the day at *7:15*. Try as I may, I could not get her back to sleep. I stuck her in the play pen with a couple toys next to my bed and was just drifting off when the toddler woke. I couldn't get her back to sleep in her own bed, but I was feeling a bit desperate so I brought her into bed with me. She was just falling asleep when the baby decided that if big sister was out of bed, she was done with the playpen. Of course once the baby was out, the toddler was wide awake too. I thought kids this age needed 11-12 hours of sleep?! Why are my kids wide awake after 7 1/2 & 9??? On today of all days?? I feel awful and I want to crawl into a hole and hide. Oh yeah, and they're both suddenly coughing again today. I could call DH and ask him to come home early, but he's out of personal days. They restart next week. Perfect timing. To add insult to injury, tonight was supposed to be our date night for our anniversary, which was last night, but DH had to work early this morning so we planned it for tonight. It would have been out fourth date in the past 15 months. I'm irritated.


----------



## taxlady

(((hugs Sprout))) Bummer!

I'm sending good vibes in your direction and healing ones too.


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Survey's...How can they fix it if they don't know it's broke?  Employers need that notice so they can make sure their employees are not driving business away or providing misinformation.  It's your right as a consumer to be treated nicely, fairly and with respect.



I agree, I just know how my managers are and I'd hate to subject someone who is just having a bad day or something to the kind of treatment we get when we make a mistake. My managers made me cry once when a customer complained that it took too long to get their salads. We didn't have any baby shrimp portioned out so I had to go get it from the back, which I explained to the customer and the managers.  Well, they were starving, ready to walk out, wanting a new server, saying that it was the worst experience they've ever had... Because it took an extra couple minutes to get their salads. So anyway, my point is that you don't know what the repercussions will be.  I've offered plenty of constructive criticism on surveys, but I usually only complain if I can do it without naming names, unless that specific person obviously needs to be talked to about something, like in the case of the nurse.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> (((hugs Sprout))) Bummer!
> 
> I'm sending good vibes in your direction and healing ones too.


 
+1. Sprout, vent your heart out. That is what this thread is for. Sounds like you are having a rough time right now. But in a day or two you will pick up that baby of yours, cuddle her and she will fall asleep on your shoulder. The toddler will come up and ask you for a kiss. Then you will know motherhood is so worth all of it. They have a way of taking their tiny hands and squeezing your heart. That is when all the love in the world comes pouring out and fills your very being.   Happy Mother's Day!


----------



## Sprout

Thank you, ladies! I love my girls dearly and didn't want to take my frustration out on them, so I vented here. It really helped!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> Thank you, ladies! I love my girls dearly and didn't want to take my frustration out on them, so I vented here. It really helped!



I got to hold a 4 month old yesterday who was screaming her Mother's ear off.  A few minutes with me and she was sound asleep.  She is so precious.  We got her a bottle done and ready for when she woke up and her Mom had a good 30 minutes of peace.

Wish I was closer Sprout, so I could come over and watch the girls for you for a few hours every once in awhile for some you time.


----------



## babetoo

last night my granddaughter left the back door open. both my cats are gone. we searched for three hours last.night had sightings but could not catch. i had hopes of them coming back this am for food and water. so far, no show. and no sightings at all this am. i can't stumble around and look or i will fall and get hurt. i love those cats so much. i have tried to be kind with the granddaughter, she certainly didn't do it on purpose. just not thinking and she has searched her little heart.out. but i want my babies back , we did poster, humane society, and endless searching. i know the little buggers are hiding somewhere. but they need to come on home now.


----------



## taxlady

babetoo said:


> last night my granddaughter left the back door open. both my cats are gone. we searched for three hours last.night had sightings but could not catch. i had hopes of them coming back this am for food and water. so far, no show. and no sightings at all this am. i can't stumble around and look or i will fall and get hurt. i love those cats so much. i have tried to be kind with the granddaughter, she certainly didn't do it on purpose. just not thinking and she has searched her little heart.out. but i want my babies back , we did poster, humane society, and endless searching. i know the little buggers are hiding somewhere. but they need to come on home now.


Oh no! (((hugs)))

I know what a state I was in when Shreddy got out and I couldn't find him for 24 hours. He was so afraid of outdoors, that he ran when I approached him. I finally found him hiding in the light well for my basement window. I grabbed him and brought him inside. He walked across the floor with his tail in the air and acted like nothing had happened!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you finding them soon.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I got to hold a 4 month old yesterday who was screaming her Mother's ear off.  A few minutes with me and she was sound asleep.  She is so precious.  We got her a bottle done and ready for when she woke up and her Mom had a good 30 minutes of peace.
> 
> Wish I was closer Sprout, so I could come over and watch the girls for you for a few hours every once in awhile for some you time.



I've done that as well.  Makes you a hero.  Sometimes the parent is so tense the child senses it and can't calm down.  

I have a new girlfriend.  A 9-month old little blue-eyed charmer two doors down who breaks into a big grin and gets excited when she sees me coming.  We act silly with each other and both have a ball.  I'm a sucker for little kids.


----------



## CWS4322

Babe--I posted some additional ideas re: searching in the Rescued Pets thread. A long time ago, one of the first Giants I picked up from the shelter was a very, very scared Great Dane. How was I to know she could jump the fence? We hunted for her for hours, couldn't find her (this was winter), came back home, and lo' and behold, she was standing at the patio door looking in. I guess she just needed to go for a run. Another Great Dane (funny how the Danes were the ones that ran) was adopted out. The adopter went to a dog walking park a week or so later, let the dog off leash and away she ran. Five friends and I hunted for her for 5 hours before she came to my dogs--the ones she had lived with in foster care. Is there another cat/dog that the cats know that might get them to come out of hiding? What about leaving an article of your clothing out for them to sniff and find? My dad's dog went off on a toot when they were hunting partridge one year...my dad left his hunting jacket on the ground next to where the car was parked. He went back very early in the morning and the dog was curled up on my dad's hunting jacket sound asleep.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's a good idea, CWS!  One of their blankets or beds they like out on the porch may do it, Babe!  I'm so sorry, they've gone off and hope they come home soon.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I've done that as well.  Makes you a hero.  Sometimes the parent is so tense the child senses it and can't calm down.
> 
> I have a new girlfriend.  A 9-month old little blue-eyed charmer two doors down who breaks into a big grin and gets excited when she sees me coming.  We act silly with each other and both have a ball.  I'm a sucker for little kids.



Little babies Shrek doesn't even know will reach for him out of shopping carts, he has to be careful.  Don't know what it is with him and babies, but they love him and always smile, giggle and reach.

I had a 6 month old little boy this morning...he has soft brown eyes and floppy ears.   His name is Rambo and he's a dachshund. We had a good time running around outside.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I had a 6 month old little boy this morning...


Ouch! We didn't even know you were PG at your age.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Ouch! We didn't even know you were PG at your age.



I know shocked me all to heck, too!


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I know shocked me all to heck, too!


Not to mention Shrek's response!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Not to mention Shrek's response!



He's been wanting a dachshund...

I'm just sorry I didn't get pics...I'll have to bug his Mama to bring him back to work.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's a good idea, CWS!  One of their blankets or beds they like out on the porch may do it, Babe!  I'm so sorry, they've gone off and hope they come home soon.


Years ago, my DH's German Shep took off after a rabbit. The DH left articles of his clothing on every road crossing/in every field for about a 3-mile radius. He also put flyers in the mail boxes (this was rural) and went door-to-door asking for sightings. It took about 3-5 days, but he did find the dog--where? curled up on one of his articles of clothing in a field.


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> Years ago, my DH's German Shep took off after a rabbit. The DH left articles of his clothing on every road crossing/in every field for about a 3-mile radius. He also put flyers in the mail boxes (this was rural) and went door-to-door asking for sightings. It took about 3-5 days, but he did find the dog--where? curled up on one of his articles of clothing in a field.



Many years ago, we had a neighbor watch our 2 cockapoo mutts while we went on vacation.  The son let them out, they took off, and they were gone for many weeks.  We searched in the snow, put out fliers, ads, contacted the radio, newspapers, etc. The male was found by a coyote hunter we happened to know, 3 weeks later, denning in the snow. The female straggled back 2 months later, just before we were going to shut the garage door after offering food, as the coons were eating it.  She was emaciated and filthy, but she made it home!  If only dogs could talk.


----------



## CWS4322

Dawgluver said:


> Many years ago, we had a neighbor watch our 2 cockapoo mutts while we went on vacation.  The son let them out, they took off, and they were gone for many weeks.  We searched in the snow, put out fliers, ads, contacted the radio, newspapers, etc. The male was found by a coyote hunter we happened to know, 3 weeks later, denning in the snow. The female straggled back 2 months later, just before we were going to shut the garage door after offering food, as the coons were eating it.  She was emaciated and filthy, but she made it home!  If only dogs could talk.


+1 There's always hope!


----------



## Addie

We always hear stories of how an animal walked thousands of miles to get back home.


----------



## Skittle68

My grandma fell in her driveway and broke her hip today  poor grandma... I am so sad.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> My grandma fell in her driveway and broke her hip today  poor grandma... I am so sad.



Oh no!  How old is your grandma?  I how she did it while roller skating...


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh no!  How old is your grandma?  I how she did it while roller skating...


No it was on a skate board!!!
ma


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Oh no!  How old is your grandma?  I how she did it while roller skating...



She's 87. Amazingly she recovered from her broken collar bone last year, and was back to dancing twice a week, but since she can't move around like she could with the collar bone I'm really afraid she's going to end wasting away  she practically raised me- she was my day care. I'm so upset and my boyfriend is out of town so I'm all alone at home...


----------



## Skittle68

kadesma said:
			
		

> No it was on a skate board!!!
> ma



Wouldn't put it past my grandma to skateboard to the mail box  She's really upbeat and positive about it, but I wouldn't be surprised if she is just trying to keep us from worrying so much


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> She's 87. Amazingly she recovered from her broken collar bone last year, and was back to dancing twice a week, but since she can't move around like she could with the collar bone I'm really afraid she's going to end wasting away  she practically raised me- she was my day care. I'm so upset and my boyfriend is out of town so I'm all alone at home...



Have they operated on her yet?  If so they will have her on her feet in no time.  Hip fractures are gotten out of bed as soon as possible and started on therapy to get them walking.  

Is she close by so you can visit?


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Have they operated on her yet?  If so they will have her on her feet in no time.  Hip fractures are gotten out of bed as soon as possible and started on therapy to get them walking.
> 
> Is she close by so you can visit?



She has surgery tomorrow. I assumed she would be bed ridden. That's comforting... If she can walk she will be doing laps around her hospital room trying to get back on the dance floor sooner. She usually uses her walker when she walks to the mail box, just in case, but she didn't today. Dang grandma.


----------



## Dawgluver

Skittle68 said:
			
		

> My grandma fell in her driveway and broke her hip today  poor grandma... I am so sad.



So sorry, Skittle.  Sure hope things go well for her.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> She has surgery tomorrow. I assumed she would be bed ridden. That's comforting... If she can walk she will be doing laps around her hospital room trying to get back on the dance floor sooner. She usually uses her walker when she walks to the mail box, just in case, but she didn't today. Dang grandma.



No bedridden patients...unless they refuse to get up!  We get them moving as soon as possible.  She needs to ask for and get the pain meds she needs so she can move.  Pain meds and movement now or crippled for the rest of her life...those are the two choices.  I hope she chooses to get up and at them!


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> No bedridden patients...unless they refuse to get up!  We get them moving as soon as possible.  She needs to ask for and get the pain meds she needs so she can move.  Pain meds and movement now or crippled for the rest of her life...those are the two choices.  I hope she chooses to get up and at them!



Oh she will get up lol. When she broke her collar bone she stayed in her own home and she did laps back and forth in her house to keep her strength up.  I'm glad I said something because it makes me feel so much better that she won't have to lay in bed while she heals.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Oh she will get up lol. When she broke her collar bone she stayed in her own home and she did laps back and forth in her house to keep her strength up.  I'm glad I said something because it makes me feel so much better that she won't have to lay in bed while she heals.



Then the therapists should be getting a workout chasing her up and down the halls.

They'll give her a titanium hip that works the first time.  Her muscles will be sore and she'll have to learn to walk on it again, but she will be in great shape.  I'm a rehab nurse...I love patients like her that are willing to work to get home!


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Then the therapists should be getting a workout chasing her up and down the halls.
> 
> They'll give her a titanium hip that works the first time.  Her muscles will be sore and she'll have to learn to walk on it again, but she will be in great shape.  I'm a rehab nurse...I love patients like her that are willing to work to get home!



Thank you so much- I'm sure she'll give them a run for their money. She had knee replacement surgery ten years ago so she knows the drill.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Thank you so much- I'm sure she'll give them a run for their money. She had knee replacement surgery ten years ago so she knows the drill.



You are very welcome.  Just remember, you may feel alone, but we are always right here or someone is.  Now get some sleep, no fretting into the night. Hugs!


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> You are very welcome.  Just remember, you may feel alone, but we are always right here or someone is.  Now get some sleep, no fretting into the night. Hugs!



Thanks again for making me feel better.  I'm glad you are all here, and my cat is keeping me company too. He is such a good boy. He knows when he's needed.


----------



## taxlady

I'm sending healing vibes in your granny's direction.


----------



## Addie

Skittle68 said:


> Thanks again for making me feel better. I'm glad you are all here, and my cat is keeping me company too. He is such a good boy. He knows when he's needed.


 
Our pets just seem to know. They don't have to say a word. 

There are days when I don't feel good, and when Teddy Bear comes, instead on jumping up on my bed for his back scratch, he lays down on the floor next to me. Just like your cat, he knows. Pets bring us a lot of comfort.


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:
			
		

> Our pets just seem to know. They don't have to say a word.
> 
> There are days when I don't feel good, and when Teddy Bear comes, instead on jumping up on my bed for his back scratch, he lays down on the floor next to me. Just like your cat, he knows. Pets bring us a lot of comfort.



They can definitely sense your mood. I've had Golly since the day he was born 9 years ago. His mom was a stray I rescued. She had that "You are the most amazing person in the world" attitude that a lot of rescues have, which rubbed off on Golly.  He follows me around the house like a puppy. Unfortunately his mom's kidneys failed a couple years ago so I don't have her anymore.  

I talked to my grandma this morning-  she says it's hell getting old, and she wishes she could have some coffee, but she's pretty optimistic. That's my grandma  she laid in the driveway for 40 minutes before she could get her phone out of her pocket. Of course she had to be laying on top of the damn thing. I'm surprised none of the cars driving by noticed a little old lady laying there. Cars drive by on her road every 5 minutes or so- probably more often at that time of day.  Hm.


----------



## kadesma

Skittle68 said:


> Wouldn't put it past my grandma to skateboard to the mail box  She's really upbeat and positive about it, but I wouldn't be surprised if she is just trying to keep us from worrying so much


I'm sure she is trying to ease your mind. That's what Ma's do I'll be thinking of her and have her in my thoughts and prayers.If at all possible call for a few minutes each day that you can. I know she loves you dearly and will be thrilled to hear your voice.
kades


----------



## taxlady

babetoo said:


> last night my granddaughter left the back door open. both my cats are gone. we searched for three hours last.night had sightings but could not catch. i had hopes of them coming back this am for food and water. so far, no show. and no sightings at all this am. i can't stumble around and look or i will fall and get hurt. i love those cats so much. i have tried to be kind with the granddaughter, she certainly didn't do it on purpose. just not thinking and she has searched her little heart.out. but i want my babies back , we did poster, humane society, and endless searching. i know the little buggers are hiding somewhere. but they need to come on home now.


Any sign of those kitties yet? I'm still sending "go home" vibes.


----------



## Skittle68

kadesma said:
			
		

> I'm sure she is trying to ease your mind. That's what Ma's do I'll be thinking of her and have her in my thoughts and prayers.If at all possible call for a few minutes each day that you can. I know she loves you dearly and will be thrilled to hear your voice.
> kades



Thanks everyone. She had her surgery and is awake and doing ok. I talked to her for about ten minutes this morning, but I can't go visit because of course now I am coming down with the flu. I'm glad I started having flu symptoms before going to see her though. That's the last thing she needs. 

I really appreciate all your thoughts, prayers, and support. My grandma means so much to me and it's so hard when things like this happen because I know it means we are just that much closer to losing her. I will be devastated when that happens.


----------



## Skittle68

taxlady said:
			
		

> Any sign of those kitties yet? I'm still sending "go home" vibes.



Me too- was hoping we would have seen a happy update by now :/


----------



## babetoo

thomas just appeared at the door, last night. in the night my granddaughter heard charlie under the house. she crawled under and hauled out charlie. i had given up yesterday afternoon. so relieved and very happy.


----------



## Dawgluver

babetoo said:
			
		

> thomas just appeared at the door, last night. in the night my granddaughter heard charlie under the house. she crawled under and hauled out charlie. i had given up yesterday afternoon. so relieved and very happy.



YAY!!!  Oh, Babe, that's wonderful news!


----------



## kadesma

Babe that is wonderful news. So happy for you.
kades


----------



## Addie

Babe and Skittles, I love a happy ending! 

A couple of months ago, I got a survey from CMS. They are the ones that overlook how Medicare is doing. It got tossed out by mistake before I could fill it out. Well, this week I get a letter with another survey that starts with;

Dear Mrs. Addie, We recently sent you a survey and have not received your response yet. We are enclosing another, blah, blah. We are told that these surveys are anonymous. So how do they know I didn't send it back. There is a window on the back of the survey with a control number in it. Now I am debating on whether to send it back or not. I have filled it out. But it is sitting here waiting a decision.  This particular survey is for patients under the care of complete care facilities like ESP. It determines what ESP can do to improve the care we receive with recommendations from Medicare based upon the answers they receive from the survey. It is the "anonymous" violation that is my hangup. I feel like I am being lied to. 

Do I send it in or not?


----------



## Alix

Send it in Addie. Your anonymity is protected from people who could impact your care but the folks doing the survey are usually a different organization who report back to your caregiver. No feedback means no improvements. 


Babetoo, YAY!!! I am so glad your furries are home safe. Skittle...glad your mom is doing well. 

My petty little vent is - Why do I have two huge, painful, throbbing underground zits right between my eyebrows? Really? I will say again that I think it is patently unfair to have zits and wrinkles at the same time. Mother Nature, please choose one and remove the other, thank you.


----------



## Dawgluver

Yes, Addie, send it in!


----------



## CWS4322

babetoo said:


> thomas just appeared at the door, last night. in the night my granddaughter heard charlie under the house. she crawled under and hauled out charlie. i had given up yesterday afternoon. so relieved and very happy.


Oh, Babe, that is WONDERFUL!!! This is the closest I could find to a Happy Dance emoticon.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> thomas just appeared at the door, last night. in the night my granddaughter heard charlie under the house. she crawled under and hauled out charlie. i had given up yesterday afternoon. so relieved and very happy.



Silly boys!  So glad they finally made it home.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, send in the survey.  Like Alix said, it's anonymous to your cargiving company, CMS can't fix what it doesn't know is broken.


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> Send it in Addie. Your anonymity is protected from people who could impact your care but the folks doing the survey are usually a different organization who report back to your caregiver. No feedback means no improvements.
> 
> 
> Babetoo, YAY!!! I am so glad your furries are home safe. Skittle...glad your mom is doing well.
> 
> My petty little vent is - Why do I have two huge, painful, throbbing underground zits right between my eyebrows? Really? I will say again that I think it is patently unfair to have zits and wrinkles at the same time. Mother Nature, please choose one and remove the other, thank you.


 
I will tell you the same thing I have told all my kids and grandkids over the years and it works. Take a clean facecloth, run it under hot water as hot as you can stand it and put it on the zits. The heat will draw them to a head so that they will break ON THEIR OWN sooner. I promise you in less than six hours they will be gone and you will have no scars as long as you don't try to break them yourself.


----------



## Alix

Thanks Addie. These suckers aren't budging for ANYTHING. I've done the hot facecloth thing and all kinds of other things too. My grump is that I have zits at all at my age! Sheesh!


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> Thanks Addie. These suckers aren't budging for ANYTHING. I've done the hot facecloth thing and all kinds of other things too. My grump is that I have zits at all at my age! Sheesh!


 
Mother Nature just loves to have funnin' with us.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Thanks Addie. These suckers aren't budging for ANYTHING. I've done the hot facecloth thing and all kinds of other things too. My grump is that I have zits at all at my age! Sheesh!



Second childhood, Granny?

<duck and run>


----------



## Alix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Second childhood, Granny?
> 
> <duck and run>



Shaddap.


----------



## kadesma

Alix said:


> Shaddap.


  OK just came in the back door. Who's pickin on Alix now?  Need me to  smack um for ya thar Allie?
kades


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:
			
		

> Babe and Skittles, I love a happy ending!
> 
> A couple of months ago, I got a survey from CMS. They are the ones that overlook how Medicare is doing. It got tossed out by mistake before I could fill it out. Well, this week I get a letter with another survey that starts with;
> 
> Dear Mrs. Addie, We recently sent you a survey and have not received your response yet. We are enclosing another, blah, blah. We are told that these surveys are anonymous. So how do they know I didn't send it back. There is a window on the back of the survey with a control number in it. Now I am debating on whether to send it back or not. I have filled it out. But it is sitting here waiting a decision.  This particular survey is for patients under the care of complete care facilities like ESP. It determines what ESP can do to improve the care we receive with recommendations from Medicare based upon the answers they receive from the survey. It is the "anonymous" violation that is my hangup. I feel like I am being lied to.
> 
> Do I send it in or not?



We've had to take surveys at work about our managers and work environment, and we turn them in to the managers in a sealed envelope. They keep track of who completed the surveys so they know we all did them, but they don't know the results. I'm guessing your situation is somewhat similar. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Like others have said, I don't think your care givers will see anything on your survey.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> OK just came in the back door. Who's pickin on Alix now?  Need me to  smack um for ya thar Allie?
> kades



I'm picking on her...


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm picking on her...


  You little rascal
ma


----------



## Alix

Maaaaaa! PF is being MEAN to me! Take her out back! (You're gonna get it now PF!)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Maaaaaa! PF is being MEAN to me! Take her out back! (You're gonna get it now PF!)



Ya but...she has to come here to get me


----------



## taxlady

babetoo said:


> thomas just appeared at the door, last night. in the night my granddaughter heard charlie under the house. she crawled under and hauled out charlie. i had given up yesterday afternoon. so relieved and very happy.


Phew. Delighted to read that your fur kiddies are home.


----------



## Aunt Bea

babetoo said:


> thomas just appeared at the door, last night. in the night my granddaughter heard charlie under the house. she crawled under and hauled out charlie. i had given up yesterday afternoon. so relieved and very happy.




That is great news!

I hope you gave em a good talking to, a hug and some treats! 

Makes me think of the song by Thin Lizzy! 

"Guess who just got back today? 
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away 
Haven't changed, haven't much to say 
But man, I still think them cats are crazy!"


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> That is great news!
> 
> I hope you gave em a good talking to, a hug and some treats!
> 
> Makes me think of the song by Thin Lizzy!
> 
> "Guess who just got back today?
> Them wild-eyed boys that had been away
> Haven't changed, haven't much to say
> But man, I still think them cats are crazy!"



Excellent song Aunt Bea!  Now I'll be singing it all day!


----------



## Somebunny

I am seeing RED!  Every Saturday we have a FedEx driver racing up and down the lane behind our house, spraying gravel and dust.  The lane dead ends and is accessed from each end off parallel streets, he needs to enter off of the other street to find the address he is looking for (he or another driver have been advised of this by neighbors).  Any of us would be willing to help him find an address if he would just ask......instead of traversing the same route several times at a "high rate of fuel consumption" 
expecting a different outcome!  Pets and cildren beware!! When dh hollered "slow down" a few weeks ago, his response was, "hey buddy, I got work to do!" Well, I've got news for him, I've got work to do too...... And after today's display of road rage, I've had enough and my "work" was calling FedEx and turning his sorry hide in!  Ahhhhh thanks for letting me vent!


----------



## Andy M.

Somebunny said:


> ...and my "work" was calling FedEx and turning his sorry hide in!  Ahhhhh thanks for letting me vent!



That was absolutely the right thing to do.  Report him every time.  If he's running late, it's not your fault.


----------



## Somebunny

Andy M. said:
			
		

> That was absolutely the right thing to do.  Report him every time.  If he's running late, it's not your fault.



You know Andy, a few years ago, I would have done nothing.  With age seems to come less tolerance for bad behavior,  I have been a "public servant" private and government for more than 30 years and I just can't let some things go now! I have had to take a lot of unjustified crap from the public with a big smile on my face because "the customer is always right". Guess its my turn to be the "customer" that's not to say that my turning him in was "unjustified crap".  He had an opportunity to change his behavior .


----------



## Addie

This being an elderly complex, there is a sign, "Shut off your motors." A lot of the residents have open windows and the exhaust fumes come into their windows. A few of the drivers (FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.) have had to learn the hard way. When you have COPD, it is no fun breathing in exhaust fumes. Every resident here will report you in a heartbeat.


----------



## Addie

I am not having a good day. So if I were you, I would stay as far away from me as possible. If I was younger, you would be saying I am having PMS. I get a call from Winthrop confirming my appointment for next Tuesday for my Vascular Doctor. That's okay. I had it marked down. Then I am informed that on Thursday I have an appointment for another appointment to take a look at my carotid artery in my neck. They seem to think there may be more blockage and it is causing my migraine headaches. That means three long uncomfortable hours on that table. At least they have the decency to break it up. Three times I have cancelled it. And yes, I really was sick. The first time was with that dang Norovirus. I guess I can't cancel again. Or else they will tie me down. What I am afraid of is that they will admit me right to the hospital immediately. I have been waiting for four years for the word. Then on top of that I am scheduled for the cataract surgery sometime at the end of this month or the first part of June.

Did I mention that I am not having a good day? 

I finally get the colors of the embroidery thread straightened out. Marked them, and put them in a small sandwich baggie. Then I put the baggie where I would remember where it was. Yeah, sure. I forgot about Senior Moments. Of course it was right where it should have been. In my sewing bag with my other stuff. I only wasted an hour looking for it. Then I am faced with another dilemma. I have reading glasses. I can also use them for sewing. But I can't see the TV with them. Most of the time I just sew without any glasses on. And I need good light to sew. I can sit in the chair my son got me for Christmas. It has good light. But it is as the other end of the room at the farthest point from the TV. Or I can sit on the daybed. It has lousy light. If I put the bigger lamp next to the daybed, the bulb shines right in my eyes when I lay down. But I will have good light and I will be closest to the TV. 

Did I mention that I am not having a good day?

My doctor wants me to take my sugar readings early in the morning and the first thing I do. So what if I don't wake up until noon. Of course I didn't go to bed until 6 a.m. I need a big piece of chocolate right about now. Chocolate cures everything. Even a bad day. Anybody care to visit me today? Wear your armor!


----------



## taxlady

Addy, get some bifocals. They are very handy.


----------



## kadesma

Somebunny said:


> You know Andy, a few years ago, I would have done nothing.  With age seems to come less tolerance for bad behavior,  I have been a "public servant" private and government for more than 30 years and I just can't let some things go now! I have had to take a lot of unjustified crap from the public with a big smile on my face because "the customer is always right". Guess its my turn to be the "customer" that's not to say that my turning him in was "unjustified crap".  He had an opportunity to change his behavior .


Somebunny,
after being blessed with 6 beautiful grand children I'd have turned his fanny in right now. These babies mean more to me than his sorry butt!!! He needs to think how life would feel if he hit a child or a car with a child or children in it. 
so he needs to think and think hard.What a dweeb!!!
kadesma


----------



## kadesma

Addie said:


> I am not having a good day. So if I were you, I would stay as far away from me as possible. If I was younger, you would be saying I am having PMS. I get a call from Winthrop confirming my appointment for next Tuesday for my Vascular Doctor. That's okay. I had it marked down. Then I am informed that on Thursday I have an appointment for another appointment to take a look at my carotid artery in my neck. They seem to think there may be more blockage and it is causing my migraine headaches. That means three long uncomfortable hours on that table. At least they have the decency to break it up. Three times I have cancelled it. And yes, I really was sick. The first time was with that dang Norovirus. I guess I can't cancel again. Or else they will tie me down. What I am afraid of is that they will admit me right to the hospital immediately. I have been waiting for four years for the word. Then on top of that I am scheduled for the cataract surgery sometime at the end of this month or the first part of June.
> 
> Did I mention that I am not having a good day?
> 
> I finally get the colors of the embroidery thread straightened out. Marked them, and put them in a small sandwich baggie. Then I put the baggie where I would remember where it was. Yeah, sure. I forgot about Senior Moments. Of course it was right where it should have been. In my sewing bag with my other stuff. I only wasted an hour looking for it. Then I am faced with another dilemma. I have reading glasses. I can also use them for sewing. But I can't see the TV with them. Most of the time I just sew without any glasses on. And I need good light to sew. I can sit in the chair my son got me for Christmas. It has good light. But it is as the other end of the room at the farthest point from the TV. Or I can sit on the daybed. It has lousy light. If I put the bigger lamp next to the daybed, the bulb shines right in my eyes when I lay down. But I will have good light and I will be closest to the TV.
> 
> Did I mention that I am not having a good day?
> 
> My doctor wants me to take my sugar readings early in the morning and the first thing I do. So what if I don't wake up until noon. Of course I didn't go to bed until 6 a.m. I need a big piece of chocolate right about now. Chocolate cures everything. Even a bad day. Anybody care to visit me today? Wear your armor!


So you're not having a good day HUH? Gottcha, I've had thise tii, Really take the glucose fasting reading doesn't matter the time. You have had nothing to eat during the night have you? So go for it. It will help you start your day. When I wake up and take mine any time it's under 100 I can hurrah and it makes my day. So start tomorrow and be glad at the reading. As to the carotid  I had them the stupid girl how did min didn't look at what she was doing went to rub of the ointment they rubb on my kneck, she then ripped open my  access for dialysis and they in turn had a fit. so I know the bad day crap. You are going to be fine, all the tests will come back saing OK and way to go. I just know it. Prayers and hugs just for you.
kades


----------



## Addie

Well, I decided to do nothing. I am watching Smokey and the Bandit. I need a good laugh and this will do it for me. If I do nothing, then nothing can bother me. I will start again tomorrow.


----------



## JoAnn L.

SIL went to the doctor because she had pain and a swelling on her ankle. He said that she had a spider bite and gave her some sort of pill. This did not solve the problem so she went back and this time he told her she had gout and gave her a diet to follow. She did this for a while and it did not help. When she went back for the third time he took an x-ray and found out that all this time she had a fracture in the ankle. Unbelievable.


----------



## taxlady

JoAnn L. said:


> SIL went to the doctor because she had pain and a swelling on her ankle. He said that she had a spider bite and gave her some sort of pill. This did not solve the problem so she went back and this time he told her she had gout and gave her a diet to follow. She did this for a while and it did not help. When she went back for the third time he took an x-ray and found out that all this time she had a fracture in the ankle. Unbelievable.



I hope he refunded her for the first two visits.


----------



## Bolledeig

I hope she sued!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

JoAnn L. said:


> SIL went to the doctor because she had pain and a swelling on her ankle. He said that she had a spider bite and gave her some sort of pill. This did not solve the problem so she went back and this time he told her she had gout and gave her a diet to follow. She did this for a while and it did not help. When she went back for the third time he took an x-ray and found out that all this time she had a fracture in the ankle. Unbelievable.



Where is this doctor located?  I want to be sure to stay far away from there.


----------



## Dawgluver

JoAnn L. said:
			
		

> SIL went to the doctor because she had pain and a swelling on her ankle. He said that she had a spider bite and gave her some sort of pill. This did not solve the problem so she went back and this time he told her she had gout and gave her a diet to follow. She did this for a while and it did not help. When she went back for the third time he took an x-ray and found out that all this time she had a fracture in the ankle. Unbelievable.



Unbelievable indeed.

Can you spell Medical Malpractice?


----------



## JoAnn L.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Where is this doctor located?  I want to be sure to stay far away from there.



My SIL lives in Colorado. Believe me she will not be going back to him ever again.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

JoAnn L. said:


> My SIL lives in Colorado. Believe me she will not be going back to him ever again.



I'm too close, moving to Alaska...


----------



## Addie

Give me his address. I have been labeled Non-Compliant and can drive a doctor crazy asking questions. I also look on the web for my own answers and then confront the doctor with my knowledge. Dotors who think they are God don't like that. So if your SIL doesn't want to file suit, then I can get even for her. By the time I am through with him, he will quit the medical field or go down to the bowels of the basement in the morgue and perform autopsies.


----------



## Claire

By the way, gout cannot be totally ruled out.  It's a regular test that measures protein levels.  My husband actually did really damage his foot, a sprain, and that disguised the gout thing.  We tried all the dietary stuff with no results and he went on alopurinal (I may have misspelled that).  This doctor sounds terrible, but there are times when one problem can disguise itself in other problems.  Gout is actually a relative, a form of, arthritis.  As a friend of mine said, "well, if this is rich man's disease, when the **** is the money coming in?"


----------



## tinlizzie

Some pea-brain knocked down a tree in my side yard last night -- from the looks of the treadmarks he was driving some kind of swamp buggy or some such (there was fresh mud on the downed trunk).  The tree was flat on the ground with roots sticking up.  My dear son came over in his truck and pulled it back upright, and I have the hose trickling on it right now.  Maybe it will survive.   Grrrrr.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> Some pea-brain knocked down a tree in my side yard last night -- from the looks of the treadmarks he was driving some kind of swamp buggy or some such (there was fresh mud on the downed trunk).  The tree was flat on the ground with roots sticking up.  My dear son came over in his truck and pulled it back upright, and I have the hose trickling on it right now.  Maybe it will survive.   Grrrrr.


Bummer. What a nincompoop. Is that normal where you live? I mean, for people to think it's okay to drive on your property.


----------



## Dawgluver

tinlizzie said:
			
		

> Some pea-brain knocked down a tree in my side yard last night -- from the looks of the treadmarks he was driving some kind of swamp buggy or some such (there was fresh mud on the downed trunk).  The tree was flat on the ground with roots sticking up.  My dear son came over in his truck and pulled it back upright, and I have the hose trickling on it right now.  Maybe it will survive.   Grrrrr.



  It should be OK, may be stressed for awhile.

A couple years ago I had a gorgeous clematis growing around our mailbox pole.  Some idiot ran his car into the whole lot, breaking the mailbox and pole, uprooting the clematis and generally trashing the whole area, and of course took off.  We put in a new mailbox pole, replanted the clematis, and all are well now.  The twit never came forward.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Some pea-brain knocked down a tree in my side yard last night -- from the looks of the treadmarks he was driving some kind of swamp buggy or some such (there was fresh mud on the downed trunk).  The tree was flat on the ground with roots sticking up.  My dear son came over in his truck and pulled it back upright, and I have the hose trickling on it right now.  Maybe it will survive.   Grrrrr.



Pea-brain?  Not sure there was that much involved.  Sorry that happened, hope the tree comes out if it okay.


----------



## Addie

I used to have a neighbor whose house was right on a curve in the road. After several hits from cars taking the curve to fast and taking down his fence, he built all the posts with cement and wrapped them with wood. After a couple of more crashes and some injuries, (enough so that the idiot couldn't take off) the City put a STOP sign just before the curve. It didn't stop all the crashes, but sure did reduce them.

One driver tried to sue him for creating a hazard to driving with the cement posts. It got thrown out of court. He hit the post so hard he totaled his car. He wanted a new car. BTW. all the posts suffered just a little paint damage and the pickets were just fine. He made those posts deep enough that they stood up to the crashes. the cars did not fare so well.


----------



## tinlizzie

taxlady said:


> Bummer. What a nincompoop. Is that normal where you live? I mean, for people to think it's okay to drive on your property.


 
We're semi-rural here - no sidewalks or curbs to go by.  It looks as though he aimed for it, yee-haw style.  Or maybe he was "just" drunk.


----------



## tinlizzie

Dawgluver said:


> It should be OK, may be stressed for awhile.
> 
> A couple years ago I had a gorgeous clematis growing around our mailbox pole. Some idiot ran his car into the whole lot, breaking the mailbox and pole, uprooting the clematis and generally trashing the whole area, and of course took off. We put in a new mailbox pole, replanted the clematis, and all are well now. The twit never came forward.


 
Thanks for the seed of hope -- all I can do now is watch, wait, and hope.  Oh, and water.


----------



## tinlizzie

Addie said:


> I used to have a neighbor whose house was right on a curve in the road. After several hits from cars taking the curve to fast and taking down his fence, he built all the posts with cement and wrapped them with wood. After a couple of more crashes and some injuries, (enough so that the idiot couldn't take off) the City put a STOP sign just before the curve. It didn't stop all the crashes, but sure did reduce them.
> 
> One driver tried to sue him for creating a hazard to driving with the cement posts. It got thrown out of court. He hit the post so hard he totaled his car. He wanted a new car. BTW. all the posts suffered just a little paint damage and the pickets were just fine. He made those posts deep enough that they stood up to the crashes. the cars did not fare so well.


 

Funny thing - two weeks ago a young woman took out two sections of the fence on my son's corner lot (in and then back out).  My son and wife went out to the truck that was sitting in the ditch, pointed out.  Fortunately, no damage done to the driver and little damage to the truck.  She said she had taken off her spurs & put them on the floor and they got stuck under the gas and brake pedals. (???)  Promises were made to supply new fence posts, and they have been delivered.  Sounds like the Wild West out here, doesn't it?

PF, how about numbskull or ding-dong, for printable substitutions?  For either my tree-hitter or his fence-killer...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Funny thing - two weeks ago a young woman took out two sections of the fence on my son's corner lot (in and then back out).  My son and wife went out to the truck that was sitting in the ditch, pointed out.  Fortunately, no damage done to the driver and little damage to the truck.  She said she had taken off her spurs & put them on the floor and they got stuck under the gas and brake pedals. (???)  Promises were made to supply new fence posts, and they have been delivered.  Sounds like the Wild West out here, doesn't it?
> 
> PF, how about numbskull or ding-dong, for printable substitutions?  For either my tree-hitter or his fence-killer...



No-Brained...and you are supposed to put your spurs in the passenger foot well.


----------



## vitauta

for us east coast non-spur folks, could someone please explain detachable spurs?  are they for looks only?  do they get "attached" to anything other than boots?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> for us east coast non-spur folks, could someone please explain detachable spurs?  are they for looks only?  do they get "attached" to anything other than boots?



You should only wear your spurs if you are riding.  They should come off before to enter homes or vehicles.  They are held on to your boots with leather straps.


----------



## vitauta

so, they're more utilitarian than fashion?  you sporting some spurs, pf?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> so, they're more utilitarian than fashion?  you sporting some spurs, pf?



I used to, I hung up my spurs about 30 years ago when I gave up riding competitions.


----------



## vitauta

you sure got a lot of layers to you, pf.  good luck on the job for the weeks to come--you are a born leader, pf, with an individualistic spur!


----------



## tinlizzie

vitauta said:


> you sure got a lot of layers to you, pf. good luck on the job for the weeks to come--you are a born leader, pf, with an individualistic spur!


 
+1


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> you sure got a lot of layers to you, pf.  good luck on the job for the weeks to come--you are a born leader, pf, with an individualistic spur!



I did have fun growing up and parents who let me explore.


----------



## babetoo

i feel like blowing up at&t. i spent an hour trying to get my password reset so i can pay my bill on line. i did it for five years without a hitch. three months ago it went nuts. i would give up and call and pay my bill. last month i told them, forget it send me a paper bill. got a call today, bill over due. never got a paper bill and since i can't access my account on line. i had no bill as far as i was concerned.

then after call today, thought i will try on line again.after several totally inept employees, was told it was reset. here is the kicker, it is not fixed. i could barely understand the techs. and they could not understand me, obviously they didn't understand me since it is not right. 

i am waiting until my impulse to use the f word fades and will try to go higher up the chain. unemployment is high, give them the jobs that are now in other countries. all of this literally gave me heartburn. grrrrrrrr.


----------



## taxlady

I hate when the folks at tech sup or customer service can hardly speak English and you can't understand what they are saying.


----------



## Addie

I no longer feel that I need to be polite to someone in another country doing a job that is needed so desperately in this country. When I get such a person, I tell them immediately that I can't understand a word they are speaking. Then I ask if there is anyone there that can speak American Eglish that I could possibley understand. I refuse to even make an effort to understnd them. Most of these folks are in India. They not only have an Indian accent that you can't understand, but it is a Queen's English mixed in. A carryover from when India was ruled by England. So you are fighting to understand two accents. 

If I can't get results there, I then call the company headquarters in this country. If enough of us call the headquarters and let them know that we can't understnd the people who man their customer support phones, perhaps they will bring back the jobs to this country. I also let headquarters know that I am very unhappy with their customer support and I will never purchase one of their products again.I l will also spread the word to all my friends and fellow employees at work. (They don't need to know I no longer work.) When it comes to customer support in another country, then my days of being polite are done. 

I admit thatI am old and crochety, running short with patience. But I am a American and wish to be served by people who speak my language. American English! Bring the jobs back here where they are so desperately needed and at a living wage. I am a label reader. I look for the "Made in America" label. I am willing to pay a higher price if necessary. And I expect to be served by Americans who can speak English.


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:
			
		

> I no longer feel that I need to be polite to someone in another country doing a job that is needed so desperately in this country. When I get such a person, I tell them immediately that I can't understand a word they are speaking. Then I ask if there is anyone there that can speak American Eglish that I could possibley understand. I refuse to even make an effort to understnd them. Most of these folks are in India. They not only have an Indian accent that you can't understand, but it is a Queen's English mixed in. A carryover from when India was ruled by England. So you are fighting to understand two accents.
> 
> If I can't get results there, I then call the company headquarters in this country. If enough of us call the headquarters and let them know that we can't understnd the people who man their customer support phones, perhaps they will bring back the jobs to this country. I also let headquarters know that I am very unhappy with their customer support and I will never purchase one of their products again.I l will also spread the word to all my friends and fellow employees at work. (They don't need to know I no longer work.) When it comes to customer support in another country, then my days of being polite are done.
> 
> I admit thatI am old and crochety, running short with patience. But I am a American and wish to be served by people who speak my language. American English! Bring the jobs back here where they are so desperately needed and at a living wage. I am a label reader. I look for the "Made in America" label. I am willing to pay a higher price if necessary. And I expect to be served by Americans who can speak English.



I agree. If it was a job picking fruit or something (which most people don't want to do) I wouldn't be so quick to agree, but providing customer service is a decent, usually well paying job. Go Addie!


----------



## Aunt Bea

I get upset by these things also but, I try not to take it out on the Customer Service Representatives, they are just as frustrated as we are.  They work for low wages with cookie cutter scripts that do not accurately address many concerns.  We are in a world where the incentive to do a good job has been removed from the system.  We are becoming like those poor chickens in the egg factories, instead of cages we have padded cubicles.  I am glad that all of that is behind me!


----------



## vitauta

yes, please take our frustrations to management, not the customer service reps for problems arising from foreign language issues.


----------



## taxlady

I nearly lost it when I asked for a rep who could speak English understandably and the rep just insisted that his English was perfect.


----------



## Katie H

I understand the frustration and having been on the "receiving" end of the customer service issue, I can get frustrated beyond measure when it appears I'm dealing with either an incompetent or foreign person...or both.

I spent many hours, speaking American English to customers, as they berated me, shouted at me and called me names.  I didn't work from any sort of a script because I knew inside out and backwards the product my company provided, so I could speak intelligently about nearly any given problem.

I tried not to let the abusive remarks get to me, telling myself that I was the first person the angry customer came in contact with and they were venting as much as they were frustrated/disgusted with whatever they were inquiring about.

But...management/corporate is really who should be alerted about communication issues with their customer service personnel.  The customer service people are the ones who put a "face" on the company and have the power to color the public's view of the entire organization.

Sitting in a penthouse office with views of a city's skyline don't fly with me while the grunts are out in the trenches.


----------



## CWS4322

A lot of the companies here use services in other countries. The system is set up re: auto dial and goes over VoIP. This means there is a delay before you hear a voice after you answer your phone. I got NINE of those calls yesterday. I finally--yelled "if you're not going to say anything, stop calling me!" I sent all the rest of the calls for the day to voice mail. I was busy painting, etc., in the back of the house and had to run to the phone since I haven't moved any of the other phones and the one I moved isn't cordless (hard to believe s/one still has one of those--but I like having a wired line incase the power goes out). I was so annoyed. I did *69 and tracked the #, but it is an outgoing # only, so I couldn't call anyone to complain. I have "telemarketing" blocked, but obviously, this is a random dialer thing and because these services are based off shore, the companies have found a loophole in the "do not call" law.


----------



## roadfix

I just don't understand these people, especially at a workplace, with their constant loud and annoying ringtones.  Can't they just tone them down a bit?
These people for the most part have no etiquette when it comes to cell phones.  They will never be seated at my dining table.
How do you approach or suggest to them about these things?   At least I can place a box of mints for someone with bad breath, for instance, without being up front and blunt.


----------



## taxlady

Stirling just got a letter from Capital One, which runs the HBC (Hudson's Bay Company) Master card. They wanted him to update some info. So, he called. They told him that I needed to talk with them, because I am the primary card holder.

Then, they wanted so much personal info about me that I said I would call back, using the number on a credit card statement. Got it all done and they didn't need to talk to Stirling.  They should have just sent the letter to me in the first place.


----------



## kadesma

I can understand how frustrated it can be dealing with some of these people. I have to have more surgery done plus a perm cath removed in the morning. Both the hospital and the doctors office have called to get all kinds of info and a list of my meds..Right ?  Now were all done right? heck no tomorrow the doctors office will bounce me around asking the same darn questions then the hospital will do the same several different times. Till I'm ready to KILL!!!! Why do they insist on this? beats me   Once should do it I'd think.my dh  falls in line and feels they in their right asking these questions over and over and over. Me I just get  Then he and I end up fighting over teir being the way they are. Hopefully this will be the end of all of them for a while..Please GOD!!!
kades


----------



## Addie

kadesma said:


> I can understand how frustrated it can be dealing with some of these people. I have to have more surgery done plus a perm cath removed in the morning. Both the hospital and the doctors office have called to get all kinds of info and a list of my meds..Right ? Now were all done right? heck no tomorrow the doctors office will bounce me around asking the same darn questions then the hospital will do the same several different times. Till I'm ready to KILL!!!! Why do they insist on this? beats me Once should do it I'd think.my dh falls in line and feels they in their right asking these questions over and over and over. Me I just get  Then he and I end up fighting over teir being the way they are. Hopefully this will be the end of all of them for a while..Please GOD!!!
> kades


 
Fortunately all my information is in their computer. When they start to ask me all these questions, I tell them to look at my record. I get rather blunt and ask them if they have even taken the time to look at my record. I also have a list that Winthrop gives me every time I have an appointment. So I just hand it to them and tell them to compare it to what is in the computer. I make them earn their paycheck. Here I am, in their office not feeling good and they are asking me foolish questions that they can just look up. And I can't even pronounce half of the names. Hang in there Kades, and make them earn their paycheck. It is just laziness on their  part. All your meds are in their computer. Make them look them up.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> I just don't understand these people, especially at a workplace, with their constant loud and annoying ringtones. Can't they just tone them down a bit?
> These people for the most part have no etiquette when it comes to cell phones. They will never be seated at my dining table.
> How do you approach or suggest to them about these things? At least I can place a box of mints for someone with bad breath, for instance, without being up front and blunt.


 
Rude people do not deserve politeness. Tell them point blank to turn their cell phone on vibration. Just tell them that loud ring tones are not allowed in your workplace. Not even by customers.


----------



## bakechef

So today I was testing some recipes and thought that I would calibrate my oven.  I placed the thermometer in the oven and it was reading way too low.  Using the keypad I kept bumping up the temp (in calibration mode), and couldn't get it to go over 300 degrees.  Well I had banana bread batter ready to go and just popped it in.  It baked fine, but came out a bit darker than I would have liked, this oven usually makes everything perfectly golden, so I knew something was up.

I went to Target and got a new thermometer.  Well low and behold, the old one wasn't working properly!  After adjusting it down again (it was probably fine to begin with), for the next hour it maintained 350 with very little movement.  I'm relieved, because I thought there was something wrong with it.  

One of these days, I'll learn to leave well enough alone!


----------



## Sprout

I think I need to just stop reading the comments section on anything. People are so hateful, so mean and so judgmental. Emboldened by semi-anonymity, people leave their sense and manners behind and lash out at anyone for anything. Whether the topic is butterflies or personal tragedy, everyone has an opinion and most share it with the rudest words they can conjure up. Sometimes I'm appalled at how mean kids are to each other. Then I read the comments on any article, video, or blog and remember that they learn it from adults. I know Disney had its flaws, but Thumper sure had it right. If you can't say something nice...


----------



## taxlady

Sprout said:


> I think I need to just stop reading the comments section on anything. People are so hateful, so mean and so judgmental. Emboldened by semi-anonymity, people leave their sense and manners behind and lash out at anyone for anything. Whether the topic is butterflies or personal tragedy, everyone has an opinion and most share it with the rudest words they can conjure up. Sometimes I'm appalled at how mean kids are to each other. Then I read the comments on any article, video, or blog and remember that they learn it from adults. I know Disney had its flaws, but Thumper sure had it right. If you can't say something nice...


I quit reading the comments on articles a while ago for the same reasons as you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> I think I need to just stop reading the comments section on anything. People are so hateful, so mean and so judgmental. Emboldened by semi-anonymity, people leave their sense and manners behind and lash out at anyone for anything. Whether the topic is butterflies or personal tragedy, everyone has an opinion and most share it with the rudest words they can conjure up. Sometimes I'm appalled at how mean kids are to each other. Then I read the comments on any article, video, or blog and remember that they learn it from adults. I know Disney had its flaws, but Thumper sure had it right. If you can't say something nice...



I was glad when Yahoo got rid of it's comments.  It was a horrible war and there are some nasty, mean people out there.


----------



## roadfix

I hate loud noises.  In general, seems like the older I get noise bothers me more.
I'm at my shop today and every 15 minutes there's a vehicle with sirens blaring.  
I need to move outa here to a less populous area.  I need peace and quiet, even when I'm working.


----------



## taxlady

Now I am in a foul mood. I just got email with a link to something very suspicious. I got two of these today from cousins. They apologized. The most recent one is from someone I don't know. It's some sort of virus or hack into Hotmail and Yahoo. It sends out this crap to everyone in your address book.

This stupid cow has sent me email before. She sent me a very irate email about the IRS harassing her and why had I lied about mailing her tax returns.

I replied and explained that she had the wrong email address. I only do Quebec and Canadian tax returns. I get so many of these emails that I have a "canned response" explaining all of this. Most people reply and apologize, not this stupid, inconsiderate cow.

Okay, I feel better now. Thanks for "listening".


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> Now I am in a foul mood. I just got email with a link to something very suspicious. I got two of these today from cousins. They apologized. The most recent one is from someone I don't know. It's some sort of virus or hack into Hotmail and Yahoo. It sends out this crap to everyone in your address book.
> 
> This stupid cow has sent me email before. She sent me a very irate email about the IRS harassing her and why had I lied about mailing her tax returns.
> 
> I replied and explained that she had the wrong email address. I only do Quebec and Canadian tax returns. I get so many of these emails that I have a "canned response" explaining all of this. Most people reply and apologize, not this stupid, inconsiderate cow.
> 
> Okay, I feel better now. Thanks for "listening".


I just had a look at her first email to me. She sent it to someone with my email address with "434" tacked onto it. She CCed me. But, she put her phone number. Mwahaha. I can call her for free  from my phone with Google. No, don't worry, I won't call her now.


----------



## Zhizara

You can always mark her email as SPAM instead of just deleting, TaxLady.  I would definitely do that after receiving emails with dangerous attachments.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> You can always mark her email as SPAM instead of just deleting, TaxLady.  I would definitely do that after receiving emails with dangerous attachments.


Thank you for the suggestion, but that doesn't really work for me. I have to look through my spam folder several times a day to make sure it isn't catching stuff that isn't spam. I put it in a folder labelled "bad email addy".

It was a link, not an attachment. I use Gmail, so I would have to click the link to have a problem. Gmail also scans all incoming attachments for viruses.

She replied to my email. She apologized and thanked me for letting her know that she was sending out this shite to people in her address book. She also wrote that she deleted me from her address book. I'm not nearly so peeved now.


----------



## Zhizara

Okay, TL.  I'm glad you got her sorted out.  My suggestion was to prevent her from continuing to bother you.  I used that to prevent contact from my stalker which worked except for getting friendship requests from him through Facebook.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> I hate loud noises. In general, seems like the older I get noise bothers me more.
> I'm at my shop today and every 15 minutes there's a vehicle with sirens blaring.
> I need to move outa here to a less populous area. I need peace and quiet, even when I'm working.


 
Can't say that I blame you. One of the benefits of living in elderly housing is the quiet. Everyone except me goes to bed at 9 p.m.


----------



## CWS4322

I absolutely hate dealing with my local telephone carrier. I put in an order to cancel the line at the farm (my US cell phone works from there). The order was for the line to be disconnected as of Thursday with a message telling the person to call my city #. Well, what do you think the company did? Disconnect my line in the city as of today! I was not very polite to the person I called to fix that.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Stupid doctor we were forced to use when Shrek got to the facility (his was on vacation) is making my life miserable.  I just keep reminding myself it's only temporary, but dealing with the Village Idiot is making me crazy.


----------



## LPBeier

I'm laying here on the bed very angry at the world right now (the world outside DC that is!).  My leg (the one with the replacement) has swollen to about triple its size and I can barely walk on it with my cane.  When I go to get up I can not put weight on it (bent) and while it is sore all the time it gets worse at certain angles.

On my left side I am still having the flank pain I was having when I did or did not have kidney stones/kidney infection/bladder infection.  It is steady and worse than ever.  

My leg doctor told me that the scar tissue may cause problems with the plastic plate again and if I have troubles before my normal visit in August I should come and see him.  So I decide to start here, but his normally friendly receptionist is matter of fact and says she can't get me in until mid August and will set the appointment but I need to go to my family doctor and get another referral. I try to say the doctor wanted to see me and she said basically "get in line".

Now my family doctor doesn't want to deal with my side pain because she believes we have tried everything and there aren't any more tests to do.

I am not making these pains up.  Quite the opposite.  I am tired of pain and illness.  I am tired of doctors and tests.  I have a chance to get on with my life and the minute I try to stuff happens.

I had to cancel my cake decorating lessons with the youth today (I think they are giving up on me) and going to see some young women I have watched grow up and an older one I have only recently met but have seen blossom get baptized in the ocean tonight.   The thing is if I go ahead and do things I get worse and have to rest even more.  But if I don't do anything I get more frustrated.

Thanks for letting me get that out. I am a little better.  But still in pain.


----------



## Cindercat

LP - how long has it been since your surgery?  My dad had knee replacement last July, was fine through August (was up & back driving sometimes ), then spiked a fever with swelling in the knee Sept. 6. He had resistant staph. Spent 4 months in hospital /rehab.  If you can't get doctor's attention,  go to the ER.


----------



## tinlizzie

LPBeier said:


> I'm laying here on the bed very angry at the world right now (the world outside DC that is!). My leg (the one with the replacement) has swollen to about triple its size and I can barely walk on it with my cane. When I go to get up I can not put weight on it (bent) and while it is sore all the time it gets worse at certain angles.
> 
> On my left side I am still having the flank pain I was having when I did or did not have kidney stones/kidney infection/bladder infection. It is steady and worse than ever.
> 
> My leg doctor told me that the scar tissue may cause problems with the plastic plate again and if I have troubles before my normal visit in August I should come and see him. So I decide to start here, but his normally friendly receptionist is matter of fact and says she can't get me in until mid August and will set the appointment but I need to go to my family doctor and get another referral. I try to say the doctor wanted to see me and she said basically "get in line".
> 
> Now my family doctor doesn't want to deal with my side pain because she believes we have tried everything and there aren't any more tests to do.
> 
> I am not making these pains up. Quite the opposite. I am tired of pain and illness. I am tired of doctors and tests. I have a chance to get on with my life and the minute I try to stuff happens.
> 
> I had to cancel my cake decorating lessons with the youth today (I think they are giving up on me) and going to see some young women I have watched grow up and an older one I have only recently met but have seen blossom get baptized in the ocean tonight.  The thing is if I go ahead and do things I get worse and have to rest even more. But if I don't do anything I get more frustrated.
> 
> Thanks for letting me get that out. I am a little better. But still in pain.


 
Oh, LP - that just stinks.  Wish there were more to offer you than sincere wishes for a better day today - but get ready to receive a big bucketful of them.


----------



## CWS4322

LP--you know that the amount of swelling is not normal. Go to the ER. Do not pass go, go directly to the ER. And, wish there was more that I could do other than send you big hugs!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LP, time for the ER!

Good thoughts and wishes going your way.  Love ya!


----------



## LPBeier

Thank you everyone.  It is nice to go somewhere where there are people willing to listen (and care enough to tell it like it is).  I love you all.

I know I need to go to the ER or my doctor tomorrow.  But I am so sick of doctors!  I am tired of going to the hospital or even the doctor, having a barrage of tests and them saying "there isn't anything wrong".  I have been living with this knee for a long time (my original surgery was 4 years ago this August with a second one on the same knee a month later), dating back to a ski accident when I was 15.  The side pain I have been dealing with forever as well.  But I have also been dealing with stress issues and I am just really tired right now of sitting in an ER for 8 hours to be told go home and take a couple of Tylenol Extra strengths for pain that morphine (which I hate) didn't help.  I don't want pain relief I want answers!

Now that tyraide was NOT directed to any of you who gave me that advice.  It is just how I am feeling right now. I feel all the love and hugs coming my way from you and it makes me at least want to try to get help.


----------



## CWS4322

Oh--LP, here's a little secret: instead of going to one of the ERs in Surrey, make a little drive to a community that has a hospital outside of the Surrey area. That's what we do, we don't go to an ER in Ottawa, no, we go to one in Kemptville or Winchester. Wait times are usually 20-30 minutes, and the doctors aren't rushed.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> Thank you everyone.  It is nice to go somewhere where there are people willing to listen (and care enough to tell it like it is).  I love you all.
> 
> I know I need to go to the ER or my doctor tomorrow.  But I am so sick of doctors!  I am tired of going to the hospital or even the doctor, having a barrage of tests and them saying "there isn't anything wrong".  I have been living with this knee for a long time (my original surgery was 4 years ago this August with a second one on the same knee a month later), dating back to a ski accident when I was 15.  The side pain I have been dealing with forever as well.  But I have also been dealing with stress issues and I am just really tired right now of sitting in an ER for 8 hours to be told go home and take a couple of Tylenol Extra strengths for pain that morphine (which I hate) didn't help.  I don't want pain relief I want answers!
> 
> Now that tyraide was NOT directed to any of you who gave me that advice.  It is just how I am feeling right now. I feel all the love and hugs coming my way from you and it makes me at least want to try to get help.


Aw, sweetie, I am so sorry this has hit you like this. When you hurt, my heart hurts because I know how long you have had to deal with pain on top of pain on top of pain. We love you and are praying for you. I'm glad you are able to come here to vent. And I am glad you are (and hopefully very soon) going to go to the doctor.


----------



## LPBeier

CWS4322 said:


> Oh--LP, here's a little secret: instead of going to one of the ERs in Surrey, make a little drive to a community that has a hospital outside of the Surrey area. That's what we do, we don't go to an ER in Ottawa, no, we go to one in Kemptville or Winchester. Wait times are usually 20-30 minutes, and the doctors aren't rushed.


Thanks, CW.  We do have a community hospital a little ways away - Delta Hospital.  I have been there a few times.  DH wants to take me there.

But I mentioned in another thread my Orthopedist heard from his receptionist has called and has asked for xrays today so that is a step for the knee.


----------



## Barbara L

This is not in direct response to anyone here, it is just something that occurred to me as I was getting ready to make tuna salad (from a can, and with jarred salad dressing and store-bought pickles).

I am so thankful that God blessed me with a forgiving palate. There are so many things going on in my life that are so much more important than whether I stooped so low as to use a "jar of this" or a "can of that" when preparing my meals. My forgiving palate and taste-buds allow me to truly enjoy my food, and not just the organic, picked/butchered 10 minutes ago, took hours to prepare meals that some apparently insist on eating (or they won't eat at all). 

Getting off my soapbox now (store bought soap, I might add).


----------



## LPBeier

Ha ha, Barbara, thanks for that (not for the laugh cause it hurt, but the post that made me laugh!) 

Right now I can't eat much and am not able to prepare a lot of our from scratch meals (from necessity of DH's food intolerances).  So he is fending for himself and I bought 10 for $10 packages of Lipton's noodle/rice/potato sides of which take me under 10 minutes to cook and give me two bowls full!  My chef-instructors would be beside themselves if they knew, but I am getting something to eat and most of them aren't too bad tasting either!


----------



## Skittle68

Sorry you're having such a rough time LP- I hope they figure out what's going on and are able to get you some relief. Being in pain is so frustrating!!


----------



## Cindercat

Hey, I'm just a country girl. Grew up on a small "farm" with a garden just big enough to get us through summer with enough leftover to can a dozen or so jars of beans & tomatoes.  We raised enough chickens, rabbits, guineas, & pigs to keep 2 freezers full. Even with this our cooking "from scratch" often involved store-bought fresh/frozen /canned products.  Some of the things you guys mention,  if I've heard of it, it's only from watching Food Network. If it has too many ingredients or takes hours to make I'm not likely to cook it. I'll leave the "fancy" stuff to my sister. She likes doing that kind of food. That's why she always volunteers to cook for holidays and birthdays. Free food for me & she rarely lets me do dishes either! :grin:


----------



## Barbara L

Cindercat said:


> Hey, I'm just a country girl. Grew up on a small "farm" with a garden just big enough to get us through summer with enough leftover to can a dozen or so jars of beans & tomatoes.  We raised enough chickens, rabbits, guineas, & pigs to keep 2 freezers full. Even with this our cooking "from scratch" often involved store-bought fresh/frozen /canned products.  Some of the things you guys mention,  if I've heard of it, it's only from watching Food Network. If it has too many ingredients or takes hours to make I'm not likely to cook it. I'll leave the "fancy" stuff to my sister. She likes doing that kind of food. That's why she always volunteers to cook for holidays and birthdays. Free food for me & she rarely lets me do dishes either! :grin:


For just a second, I thought you said guinea pigs!  I know they eat them in South America, but I didn't think they ate them in Missouri!


----------



## Dawgluver

Barbara L said:
			
		

> For just a second, I thought you said guinea pigs!  I know they eat them in South America, but I didn't think they ate them in Missouri!



  I thought the same thing!


----------



## Chef Munky

I hear ya LP. Getting ready myself to head out and see the Men in white coats. I'm tired of looking at them. All stoic and such attitudes. Changed clothes twice already. Every blouse I pick is the wrong one. It going to be hot today and I'm stuck wearing long sleeved uncomfortable clothes.

Oh, and to top it off my youngest is driving."No, you can't drive down the center of the freeway!"  Gawd it's chill pill time! 

Good luck.

Munky.


----------



## Cindercat

Dawg & Barbara - If a Guinea pig got too close on butchering day,  you never know what might happen. We have eaten groundhog. By accident.  Brothers shot one in the garden, dressed it & put it in freezer for turtle bait without labeling it. Mom thought it was rabbit & didn't figure it out until she was already frying it for supper. It was too big for rabbit. It was a little greasy,  but it tasted okay. She didn't tell us what it wad until after. You know I have a family of groundhogs in my backyard.   Hmmmmm. . :grin: No, I think I'll pass & stick with store-bought chicken.


----------



## Chef Munky

WOOO- HOOO!

This should be put in the happy vent section.
I've got Sweet Lady Luck on my side today. Dr's office called. My appointment has been changed to next week.

Now I can change.Wipe the war paint off my face and get back to finishing up my sewing table.

Maybe I should buy a Lotto ticket. Bet on the track and see how the rest of my day goes. 

Munky.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Laurie))) I sure hope they figure it out.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Buuuuuurrrrpppppp!!!!!!!

Excuse me...just venting!


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Buuuuuurrrrpppppp!!!!!!!
> 
> Excuse me...just venting!




Well, that's one way to vent...


----------



## taxlady

The downstairs toilet won't flush, because the tank won't fill. The flapper is old and wrinkly. I bought a new flapper, but that hasn't fixed the problem. I bought a case of beer. Stirling was too tired to bring the case in from the car and up the stairs, so I grabbed four of them. I dropped one in the hallway to my basement door. I mopped it up. I picked up and swept glass. I washed the beer spot to get rid of the beer smell. I stepped on glass. I had two teensy, tiny, little pieces of glass in my foot and it was a bugger to get them out. Heck, it was hard to find them. I have air conditioning, but it isn't really keeping up with the heat. It's definitely hotter outside, but it's not wonderfully comfortable inside.

Okay, enough crabbing for now. I feel better.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Well, that's one way to vent...




Just wait a bit longer, I can show you another


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Okay, I thought of a good vent!

NOTHING is sold in glass quart jars anymore.  They are all plastic.  The only glass jars are for pickles and they are 24 ounces or 48 ounces, not 32.    And I don't trust the plastic enough to try to make it sterile.

I lie, I found a jar of local made BBQ sauce in a qt jar...for $9.99...the case of Ball Qt jars was $9.44.  I got the case of Ball jars.  Anyone need 10 new Qt Ball jars with lids???


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Okay, I thought of a good vent!
> 
> NOTHING is sold in glass quart jars anymore.  They are all plastic.  The only glass jars are for pickles and they are 24 ounces or 48 ounces, not 32.    And I don't trust the plastic enough to try to make it sterile.
> 
> I lie, I found a jar of local made BBQ sauce in a qt jar...for $9.99...the case of Ball Qt jars was $9.44.  I got the case of Ball jars.  Anyone need 10 new Qt Ball jars with lids???



Lol I was thinking as I started reading your post, "Can't you just buy quart jars?" but you beat me to it. 

I feel like a prisoner!!! I came to St. Cloud about a week before I'm able to start work, so while my bf is at work I have nothing to do! Laundry is done, house is clean, we don't have any extra money I could use to entertain myself (since I'm not working...) and I don't know anyone here.  Hm. 8 1/2 hrs til bf comes home and I'm already bored. Maybe I'll go disc golfing by myself...


----------



## Addie

Skittle68 said:


> Lol I was thinking as I started reading your post, "Can't you just buy quart jars?" but you beat me to it.
> 
> I feel like a prisoner!!! I came to St. Cloud about a week before I'm able to start work, so while my bf is at work I have nothing to do! Laundry is done, house is clean, we don't have any extra money I could use to entertain myself (since I'm not working...) and I don't know anyone here. Hm. 8 1/2 hrs til bf comes home and I'm already bored. Maybe I'll go disc golfing by myself...


 
Just wondering. How are you doing with all the flooding up your way?


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:
			
		

> Just wondering. How are you doing with all the flooding up your way?



Well, no one in my family was really affected too much, so I haven't heard as much as I would have liked, but I actually moved to St. Cloud the day before it happened. The water is receding, but of course everyone is going to have to deal with all the damage caused by the floods. One blessing is that it should drain off fairly quickly since Duluth is sort of built on a hill.


----------



## Zhizara

Personally I love the plastic jars.  My ceramic tile kitchen floor can't bust them (although it's been known to crack a plastic lid or two).  I use the empties to pour leftover oil into before throwing them away.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Personally I love the plastic jars.  My ceramic tile kitchen floor can't bust them (although it's been known to crack a plastic lid or two).  I use the empties to pour leftover oil into before throwing them away.



But I have to sterilize the jars in high heat...plastic will warp or melt and I have lost the 32 oz capacity I need to make my solution and keep it sterile.   I don't think Shrek wants his saline with mayo...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> But I have to sterilize the jars in high heat...plastic will warp or melt and I have lost the 32 oz capacity I need to make my solution and keep it sterile.   I don't think Shrek wants his saline with mayo...



Yes.  BBQ sauce sounds more his style.  No mayo!


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> But I have to sterilize the jars in high heat...plastic will warp or melt and I have lost the 32 oz capacity I need to make my solution and keep it sterile.   I don't think Shrek wants his saline with mayo...





Dawgluver said:


> Yes.  BBQ sauce sounds more his style.  No mayo!


----------



## Skittle68

Well I basically just got a 50% or more pay cut. Red lobster is doing some restructuring, and I got bumped down from server to "service assistant", along with 6 of the other servers in Duluth. I wonder if my managers gave me a sh***y review because they knew I was going to St. Cloud. I only have to do it for 90 days before I get bumped back up, but I was hoping to save some money this summer for when I go back to school in the fall  this is not helpful. The other awesome aspect of the change, is that it takes everything I don't like about serving and makes that my permanent job (bussing tables, making salads, walking food, drink refills, etc), and takes away the part I enjoy, which is working with the customers. I didn't even ask about it because it doesn't matter at this point, but my review definitely did not reflect the good feedback I've been getting over the last year, not to mention the multiple guest compliments I've gotten, the fact that the managers usually just wave me away and tell me I'm fine when I ask them to check my side work so I can go home (they know they don't need to check), that I've never been written up, I'm never late, help the other servers when they need it...  Now I have to decide if I should just be broke all summer and not have any money saved when I go back to school, or try to work two jobs, so I'll be exhausted all summer, put in all the work of getting a second job and being trained in, and probably not stay there long anyway. This couldn't have come at a worse time. The money my bf and I had to put towards a deposit for a new place went to fix the transmission in his car (which he needed since he moved to st. cloud a month before I did).  Now we have to sell it and get a beater car just so we can get an apartment. Seriously. Why does everything always have to hit the fan at once??


----------



## Dawgluver

That totally stinks, Skittle.  I know how much you enjoy working with customers.  It's a shame you aren't getting the appreciation or paycheck you deserve.

It will get better, most of us have been broke at one time or another.  Glad you're continuing with school!


----------



## Skittle68

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> That totally stinks, Skittle.  I know how much you enjoy working with customers.  It's a shame you aren't getting the appreciation or paycheck you deserve.
> 
> It will get better, most of us have been broke at one time or another.  Glad you're continuing with school!



Lol yeah the program I want to go into has about 150 people trying to get in and they only accept 12. It's not a waiting list, not first come first serve, they pick 12 people. I'm going to a seminar in July that is just to tell us what to do to improve our chances of being accepted, which will hopefully discourage enough people to improve my odds (if I even decide I want to take my chances after that), then I have to take a year of prerequisites before I can even apply. So we will see about that too. Yet another wrench in the gears. Bf says life is never easy, but can you blame me for wanting it to be??


----------



## Skittle68

Skittle68 said:
			
		

> Lol yeah the program I want to go into has about 150 people trying to get in and they only accept 12. It's not a waiting list, not first come first serve, they pick 12 people. I'm going to a seminar in July that is just to tell us what to do to improve our chances of being accepted, which will hopefully discourage enough people to improve my odds (if I even decide I want to take my chances after that), then I have to take a year of prerequisites before I can even apply. So we will see about that too. Yet another wrench in the gears. Bf says life is never easy, but can you blame me for wanting it to be??



I'm hoping being older and more mature will help my chances, rather than that being out of school for 8 years will hurt them ha ha


----------



## Dawgluver

Skittle68 said:
			
		

> I'm hoping being older and more mature will help my chances, rather than that being out of school for 8 years will hurt them ha ha



What program are you looking at?


----------



## Skittle68

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> What program are you looking at?



Sonography. It seems like it would be a good fit for me because you need good people skills, it's interesting and you need to use your brain, and you don't have to deal with blood or needles lol. I'm thinking if I don't get in the first try I will go into x-ray instead, and try again the next year.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Sonography. It seems like it would be a good fit for me because you need good people skills, it's interesting and you need to use your brain, and you don't have to deal with blood or needles lol. I'm thinking if I don't get in the first try I will go into x-ray instead, and try again the next year.



Very good choice.  Good luck!


----------



## Dawgluver

Excellent!  Hope you get in!


----------



## Skittle68

Thanks!! It took me 8 years of putzing around after high school to decide to go back, but not everyone can be grown up at 18 lol. Plus now I don't have to report my parents income for financial aid (which is nice, since they never helped me with anything like that anyway), and I was told by the councelor there are some grants available for people who have been out of school for 7 years. Definitely will have to look into that. Hopefully I won't have to take the ACT's again or anything because it would be nice to use my old score of 31 (out of a total 34)


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> The downstairs toilet won't flush, because the tank won't fill. The flapper is old and wrinkly. I bought a new flapper, but that hasn't fixed the problem. I bought a case of beer. Stirling was too tired to bring the case in from the car and up the stairs, so I grabbed four of them. I dropped one in the hallway to my basement door. I mopped it up. I picked up and swept glass. I washed the beer spot to get rid of the beer smell. I stepped on glass. I had two teensy, tiny, little pieces of glass in my foot and it was a bugger to get them out. Heck, it was hard to find them. I have air conditioning, but it isn't really keeping up with the heat. It's definitely hotter outside, but it's not wonderfully comfortable inside.
> 
> Okay, enough crabbing for now. I feel better.


The downstairs toilet is working. 

I must not have installed the flapper right. I pressed it down a few times and now it holds the water in the tank until I flush. What a relief. I hate plumbing.


----------



## Dawgluver

Sigh.  No good deed goes unpunished.

Called Mom today following our Mpls vacay last week.  She's home now.  We could only stay till Tuesday, Mom was at Baby Bro's till Saturday.

Got an earful about how we abandoned her, went off on our own to Costco without her, we didn't stay long enough at Baby Bro's,  didn't get to the house early enough, left her with the DIL who ignored her, etc. etc.  

I did not remind her of having to clean up the bathroom after she got sick.  She slept through the first couple of days.  I did not remind her of the wheelchairs I got for her, only to have her cancel them, then we had to reorder them.  I booked her the wrong seats on the plane.  Picked her up when she slid on the stairs at Baby Bro's.  Played Step'n'Fetchit when she wanted her milk, toast, Coke, bought and lit her cigs for her, which weren't the right kind, BTW.  

Her blasting really caught me off-guard.  All I could say was, "Sorry you feel that way.". Reminds me of Festevus, and her airing all of her grievances.  I may get her a pole.

Shriek!!!!  Screammmm!!!

Hokay, I feel better now.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Sigh.  No good deed goes unpunished.
> 
> Called Mom today following our Mpls vacay last week.  She's home now.  We could only stay till Tuesday, Mom was at Baby Bro's till Saturday.
> 
> Got an earful about how we abandoned her, went off on our own to Costco without her, we didn't stay long enough at Baby Bro's,  didn't get to the house early enough, left her with the DIL who ignored her, etc. etc.
> 
> I did not remind her of having to clean up the bathroom after she got sick.  She slept through the first couple of days.  I did not remind her of the wheelchairs I got for her, only to have her cancel them, then we had to reorder them.  I booked her the wrong seats on the plane.  Picked her up when she slid on the stairs at Baby Bro's.  Played Step'n'Fetchit when she wanted her milk, toast, Coke, bought and lit her cigs for her, which weren't the right kind, BTW.
> 
> Her blasting really caught me off-guard.  All I could say was, "Sorry you feel that way.". Reminds me of Festevus, and her airing all of her grievances.  I may get her a pole.
> 
> Shriek!!!!  Screammmm!!!
> 
> Hokay, I feel better now.



I'm so glad my parents are reasonable and my MIL was the same, reasonable.  I got lucky!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I'm so glad my parents are reasonable and my MIL was the same, reasonable.  I got lucky!



I will have to hear the story of the normal parents sometime, PF.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I will have to hear the story of the normal parents sometime, PF.



I didn't say normal...reasonable is the word I used...  Mom is just like me only 17 years older, Dad is 18 years older and he's just like me, but is really smart in math.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I didn't say normal...reasonable is the word I used...  Mom is just like me only 17 years older, Dad is 18 years older and he's just like me, but is really smart in math.



So you all grew up together!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> So you all grew up together!



Yup!  I was the prototype...


----------



## Cindercat

Taxlady, did you buy the case of beer because the toilet wouldn't flush? Seems like that had the potential to make the situation a little more desperate after consuming a few of them.


----------



## taxlady

Cindercat said:


> Taxlady, did you buy the case of beer because the toilet wouldn't flush? Seems like that had the potential to make the situation a little more desperate after consuming a few of them.



No, it was on sale and beer can be good in the heat or with hot food. We do have another toilet. We aren't really big beer drinkers, though you wouldn't know that at the moment.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Dawg))) I know a little bit about the demanding, unreasonable mother...


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> (((Hugs Dawg))) I know a little bit about the demanding, unreasonable mother...



Thanks, TL!

I would like to drop her off at the nearest Humane Society, they won't take her, even though she's had all her shots.  She truly is a handful.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks, TL!
> 
> I would like to drop her off at the nearest Humane Society, they won't take her, even though she's had all her shots.  She truly is a handful.


I know she is a PITA, but try to enjoy her as much as possible, while you still have her, the voice of experience.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> I know she is a PITA, but try to enjoy her as much as possible, while you still have her, the voice of experience.



I know, I keep telling myself that.  Don't know what I'll do without her, but she truly drives me nuts!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I know, I keep telling myself that.  Don't know what I'll do without her, but she truly drives me nuts!



I have a sister like that...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I have a sister like that...



Thank goodness, my sister didn't join us.

Oh, the horror....


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Thank goodness, my sister didn't join us.
> 
> Oh, the horror....


My sister is much better, now that my mother is gone.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> My sister is much better, now that my mother is gone.



My sister is SO much worse than my mother.....:nightmares:: scream:

So sorry you lost your Mum, TL.

Dad left us awhile ago, but he was much more user-friendly.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> My sister is SO much worse than my mother.....:nightmares:: scream:
> 
> So sorry you lost your Mum, TL.
> 
> Dad left us awhile ago, but he was much more user-friendly.


Sorry to hear about your dad.

My mum was 95 and it's been 2 1/2 years. As the minister said at her memorial, "We are not relieved that Elisabeth died. We are relieved that she stopped dying." It's been about 10 years since she was compos mentis enough to really be my mum.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> Sorry to hear about your dad.
> 
> My mum was 95 and it's been 2 1/2 years. As the minister said at her memorial, "We are not relieved that Elisabeth died. We are relieved that she stopped dying." It's been about 10 years since she was compos mentis enough to really be my mum.



Thanks, Taxy.  I'm not normally a venter, but this kinda got on my last nerve...


----------



## Addie

PF, I once told my daughter that every 20 years is considered a new generation. I too was 17 when my daughter was born. She thought for a moment and then looked at me. "Don't think you are going to start hanging around with me and my friends." 

"Don't worry daughter, that is the last thing I want to do."


----------



## CrystalWriter

My sister has just called and once again has asked if either me or mum can take her 1yr, whilst she watches her 11yr son in Athletics. And she wants her dropped off at the ice-rink, as my nephew skates. 

How much notice did she get from the school. Surely it doesn't use up two brain cells to think, she may need child-care. 

But then she only does think about herself, which is why I've stopped helping, unless its school or work. But Athletics is after school, that my nephew has stated he doesn't want to do. So in my book doesn't count. 

Vent over with


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks, TL!
> 
> I would like to drop her off at the nearest Humane Society, they won't take her, even though she's had all her shots. She truly is a handful.


 
I'm Sorry!  That is funny.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> PF, I once told my daughter that every 20 years is considered a new generation. I too was 17 when my daughter was born. She thought for a moment and then looked at me. "Don't think you are going to start hanging around with me and my friends."
> 
> "Don't worry daughter, that is the last thing I want to do."



LOL! My parents were always my best friends, except for about 3 weeks when I was 14.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> LOL! My parents were always my best friends, except for about 3 weeks when I was 14.


Not here. My mum was 35 when I was born and my dad was 41 and I'm the oldest. They were also immigrants.

When immigrants leave "the old country", they freeze the culture at the time they left. Made for some very old fashioned ideas. It got some better when my mum started spending some time in "modern" Denmark and a whole lot better when we moved back to Denmark.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Not here. My mum was 35 when I was born and my dad was 41 and I'm the oldest. They were also immigrants.
> 
> When immigrants leave "the old country", they freeze the culture at the time they left. Made for some very old fashioned ideas. It got some better when my mum started spending some time in "modern" Denmark and a whole lot better when we moved back to Denmark.



And Shrek is 15 years older...talk about impressing when you are a baby.  He is also my best friend...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> And Shrek is 15 years older...talk about impressing when you are a baby.  He is also my best friend...



I'm 14.5 years older than Stirling.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> I'm 14.5 years older than Stirling.



Whoohoo, Taxlady!  A boytoy!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Whoohoo, Taxlady!  A boytoy!


Yup. Well, sort of. He's such a good one, I would have taken him at pretty much any age.


----------



## babetoo

i hate that i can only clean for about fifteen minutes. especially vacuuming. then i have to rest for fifteen minutes. it takes forever to get anything done.


----------



## Dawgluver

babetoo said:
			
		

> i hate that i can only clean for about fifteen minutes. especially vacuuming. then i have to rest for fifteen minutes. it takes forever to get anything done.



Can you get a Roomba, Babe?  While Roomba doesn't deep clean, she does a pretty good job with day to day vacuuming.  Plus, she's very entertaining to watch!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> i hate that i can only clean for about fifteen minutes. especially vacuuming. then i have to rest for fifteen minutes. it takes forever to get anything done.



We need to get you a riding vacuum...  I keep thinking a leaf blower would work for dusting...


----------



## justplainbill

I really like dogs and think highly of many dog owners except- for the owners who think it's better to have their pets poop on my lawn instead of theirs.  Any suggestions on how to avoid crumbed up lawnmower blades?


----------



## Dawgluver

justplainbill said:
			
		

> I really like dogs and think highly of many dog owners except- for the owners who think it's better to have their pets poop on my lawn instead of theirs.  Any suggestions on how to avoid crumbed up lawnmower blades?



We always carry a poop bag.  Our dog is always on a leash.  Our neighbor has his orange poop bucket, and goes around picking up after his dog weekly.

My BIL used to have a poop picker upper service (he lives in a big city).

Would spraying the blades with WD 40 or Pam help?  Even baby oil or Vaseline might do it.


----------



## babetoo

PrincessFiona60 said:


> We need to get you a riding vacuum...  I keep thinking a leaf blower would work for dusting...



would you believe i had a picture in my head of blowing cat hair in the living room with a blower. lol


----------



## Dawgluver

babetoo said:
			
		

> would you believe i had a picture in my head of blowing cat hair in the living room with a blower. lol





Y'know, a hair dryer might work too, on a smaller scale....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> would you believe i had a picture in my head of blowing cat hair in the living room with a blower. lol



Hah!  Made you laugh!  

I just turn a fan on for 24 hours and it seems to suck all the cat hair into the back of it...  I just back brushed the cat tower and got a whole other cat out of it.  

Took me 20 minutes to get the A/C in the window by myself, why the heck does it take Shrek 2 hours WITH my help?.


----------



## justplainbill

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Hah!  Made you laugh!
> 
> I just turn a fan on for 24 hours and it seems to suck all the cat hair into the back of it...  I just back brushed the cat tower and got a whole other cat out of it.
> 
> Took me 20 minutes to get the A/C in the window by myself, why the heck does it take Shrek 2 hours WITH my help?.


Perhaps because he ensured that it was properly (pitch and sealing)  installed?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

justplainbill said:


> Perhaps because he ensured that it was properly (pitch and sealing)  installed?



Hah!  proper pitch, sitting in the window, wedged in with boards to fill the window space above.  Duct tape over all the seams between window, boards and machine.  Plug it in.  It's just a small window unit, not a permanent placement.  

Maybe the extra was the time taken for swearing at and cursing the A/C, screwdriver, rubber mallet, window, boards, tape, me...


----------



## Cindercat

Aaaarrg! I think I'm getting poison ivy on my eyelids, ears, mouth & jaw. They itch like crazy. My eyelid is a little red & puffy. My brother cleared some brush with the lawn mower Saturday while I was outside. I know there was poison ivy in it. Hopefully I'm imagining things.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Maybe the extra was the time taken for swearing at and cursing the A/C, screwdriver, rubber mallet, window, boards, tape, me...


 
Bravo, PF!!!

That is THE most important part! 

I find I never quite have the swearing part down right....Sometimes it takes a woman to do a "man's" job.  I do all the tech, electrical, 'puter stuff around here.  My patience limit is apparently a lot longer, and I don't bash the crap out of whatever it is with a hammer, saw it off, or light it on fire.

I am fixer of eye glasses, unclogger of disposals, tweaker of toilets, decrudder of showers and drains....


----------



## Dawgluver

Cindercat said:
			
		

> Aaaarrg! I think I'm getting poison ivy on my eyelids, ears, mouth & jaw. They itch like crazy. My eyelid is a little red & puffy. My brother cleared some brush with the lawn mower Saturday while I was outside. I know there was poison ivy in it. Hopefully I'm imagining things.



Yikes!  Hope not, CC!

Benadryl spray might help.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Bravo, PF!!!
> 
> That is THE most important part!
> 
> I find I never quite have the swearing part down right....Sometimes it takes a woman to do a "man's" job.  I do all the tech, electrical, 'puter stuff around here.  My patience limit is apparently a lot longer, and I don't bash the crap out of whatever it is with a hammer, saw it off, or light it on fire.
> 
> I am fixer of eye glasses, unclogger of disposals, tweaker of toilets, decrudder of showers and drains....


You reminded me of something. For a few months in the 1980's I and my ex were janitors in an apartment building. The owner said that the previous janitor had two tools - a screw driver and a hammer and he preferred the hammer.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> You reminded me of something. For a few months in the 1980's I and my ex were janitors in an apartment building. The owner said that the previous janitor had two tools - a screw driver and a hammer and he preferred the hammer.



  "If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, you treat everything like a nail."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek has no patience, at all...I hate it when he tries to fix something, it means I have to listen to him, then he really gets mad and has to go buy more stuff that doesn't work right.  I'm the fixit person, faster, quieter and cheaper...


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> We need to get you a riding vacuum...  I keep thinking a leaf blower would work for dusting...



A riding vacuum would be awesome.  Seems like I have acres of carpet! As soon as this carpet wears out, the main level will be wood or wood-look laminate!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> A riding vacuum would be awesome.  Seems like I have acres of carpet! As soon as this carpet wears out, the main level will be wood or wood-look laminate!



Oh yeah!  I would rather run a wide dust mop than a vacuum.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh yeah!  I would rather run a wide dust mop than a vacuum.


You mean I'm not the only person who owns such a thing?


----------



## tinlizzie

Dawgluver said:


> "If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, you treat everything like a nail."


 
Somebody on TV also said his hammer was a "percussive persuader."


----------



## Addie

I am off to have two ultra sounds done today. One on my neck to check the blockage on both sides, and one on my tummy to make sure there is no blockage that has been causing my eating problem. 

I HATE ulta sounds. Each one takes at least an hour laying on that most uncomfortable table. And he has to press really hard to get a reading. So when I get home, I will be in a foul mood. So please don't stop by for a visit. I will bite your head off. When I get over my  I will stop by your place. 

What sadistic idiot dreams up these tests?  I have no valid reason to cancel today''s appointment.


----------



## Kylie1969

Addie, hope the ultrasounds results show what is going on 

They sound uncomfortable, hopefully all over for you now


----------



## joesfolk

Sorry that this will sound petty to some of you but...Michigan has just changed it's law as regards fireworks.  With the 4th approaching there is a fireworks tent on every corner.  For days now the explosions have been non-stop.   I don't have a problem with being patriotic... I served my country.  But I am sick of these slobs who think that making as much noise and pollution as they possibly can is somehow patriotic.  If you ask me it's just an excuse to infringe on the peace and quiet of one's neighbors.  Now I enjoy a professional fireworks show as much as the next "guy".  But I can't help but wonder how many kids will get their hands blown off playing with the explosives that their parents purchase to "celebrate."


----------



## Kylie1969

I can totally understand what you are saying Joe...it sounds like they are just getting out of hand and abusing the rights to being allowed to use fireworks!


----------



## Claire

Joesfolk, I'm with you.  My husband, my father, and I are all veterans and don't get the civilian thing of blowing up crap in their yards.  Of course, when you're military, the artillery, the MPs, the firemen, etc, go all out to produced a great fireworks display, often with live military bands, and canon fire (you haven't heard the 1812 overture until you've seen and heard this).  So blowing off your fingers and starting fires is ludicrous and certainly not patriotic.


----------



## luvs

i'm venting as i'm missing the 'works show (a professional show.) another day for that. the stadiums let them flow when we win a game, & the regatta continues through this weekend.


----------



## taxlady

I've gone and done something to my right arm. I don't know what. It started in my wrist at supper. It felt like a repetitive stress injury, like I got from too much stapling. I had to get Stirling to open two jars for me. One of them had already been opened.

It has now spread all the way up to my elbow. It doesn't hurt when I type and I don't use a mouse - I use a touch pad. But, I can't even turn on a faucet with my right hand. If it isn't better by tomorrow, I will go to a nearby clinic. I would rather go see my own doctor, but that's 25 km away. I don't think I can drive and I certainly can't hang on to a pole on the bus and metro.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I've gone and done something to my right arm. I don't know what. It started in my wrist at supper. It felt like a repetitive stress injury, like I got from too much stapling. I had to get Stirling to open two jars for me. One of them had already been opened.
> 
> It has now spread all the way up to my elbow. It doesn't hurt when I type and I don't use a mouse - I use a touch pad. But, I can't even turn on a faucet with my right hand. If it isn't better by tomorrow, I will go to a nearby clinic. I would rather go see my own doctor, but that's 25 km away. I don't think I can drive and I certainly can't hang on to a pole on the bus and metro.



I have computer arm from sitting here for a week playing.  I'll be resting it once I get back to work tomorrow.


----------



## Addie

I just got a call from my vascular doctor. The neck arteries are the same. No change. But the two arteries leading from my stomach are severely clogged. So I agreed and she is going to set up for me to go back in and have them opened with stents if necessary. Not the first time I have been through this. But it means another overnight stay in the hospital. Dang!! It never turns out for just overnight. I always have to stay longer for a blood transfusion. Usually two pints. 

She knows how restless I get waiting to go to the cath lab. So she always schedules me as the first patient of the day. Oh joy! Another stay with the folks that just love to experment on me.


----------



## Bolledeig

That sounds like no fun at all, Addie, but good luck. Bring lots of entertainment for yourself, but you probably already know that better than anyone.


----------



## babetoo

i hate firecrackers. they sound like gun shots. that triggers my p.s.t.d. not  a fun time for me.


----------



## Skittle68

babetoo said:
			
		

> i hate firecrackers. they sound like gun shots. that triggers my p.s.t.d. not  a fun time for me.



+1

I have a friend who had just returned from a tour in Iraq, and someone fired a bottle rocket off over his head with no warning. He threw himself on the ground, and after he realized what it was, he was so angry he tackled the guy, and our other friends had to pull him off. Definitely not an ideal situation. Sort of ruined everyone's night.  I don't mind them so much on the 4th, and maybe even the day before/after since not everyone has a chance to celebrate on the 4th, but people take it way too far. It gets SO annoying. Imagine if someone was shooting for target practice in their back yard in the middle of town. That's what it sounds like, and it gets old fast.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I just got a call from my vascular doctor. The neck arteries are the same. No change. But the two arteries leading from my stomach are severely clogged. So I agreed and she is going to set up for me to go back in and have them opened with stents if necessary. Not the first time I have been through this. But it means another overnight stay in the hospital. Dang!! It never turns out for just overnight. I always have to stay longer for a blood transfusion. Usually two pints.
> 
> She knows how restless I get waiting to go to the cath lab. So she always schedules me as the first patient of the day. Oh joy! Another stay with the folks that just love to experment on me.



I can't behave myself in the cath lab, they give me the joy juice and I go into comedienne mode.  

I hope for a short wait and cute orderlies...I know you still look!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I can't behave myself in the cath lab, they give me the joy juice and I go into comedienne mode.
> 
> I hope for a short wait and cute orderlies...I know you still look!


----------



## Addie

Skittle68 said:


> +1
> 
> I have a friend who had just returned from a tour in Iraq, and someone fired a bottle rocket off over his head with no warning. He threw himself on the ground, and after he realized what it was, he was so angry he tackled the guy, and our other friends had to pull him off. Definitely not an ideal situation. Sort of ruined everyone's night. I don't mind them so much on the 4th, and maybe even the day before/after since not everyone has a chance to celebrate on the 4th, but people take it way too far. It gets SO annoying. Imagine if someone was shooting for target practice in their back yard in the middle of town. That's what it sounds like, and it gets old fast.


 
Yesterday in Pelham NH, they sent seven folks to the hospital. Two babies were badly burnt and air lifted to a hospital in Boston. The stash of firework caught fire and blew up. The explosion was heard more than two miles away. The man who was doing the fireworks is known for the display he puts on every year for the neighborhood. Well now he has something else he will be famous for. A building also caught fire. Fireworks are illegal in Mass. but not NH. Now you know why I am grateful for our laws. Every year there is a state trooper at the border stopping Mass. residents coming back with illegal fireworks bought in NH.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Yesterday in Pelham NH, they sent seven folks to the hospital. Two babies were badly burnt and air lifted to a hospital in Boston. The stash of firework caught fire and blew up. The explosion was heard more than two miles away. The man who was doing the fireworks is known for the display he puts on every year for the neighborhood. Well now he has something else he will be famous for. A building also caught fire. Fireworks are illegal in Mass. but not NH. Now you know why I am grateful for our laws. Every year there is a state trooper at the border stopping Mass. residents coming back with illegal fireworks bought in NH.


That's really sad.

I grew up in Los Angeles County. Total ban on fireworks for ordinary people. There were great fireworks displays put on by the fire department in all the parks. We didn't miss being able to do our own.


----------



## CWS4322

Changing the topic--I get so annoyed with people who leave me a message but don't repeat the phone # twice. I have a digital answering machine--sometimes when people call using cell phone, the person breaks up at some point and all I get is a garbled message. If someone else leaves a message after that one, I can't do *69 to get the last numbered called. Hi name, its garble, garble, garble, can you call me back at garble garble 5555 ext 555? Thanks! When I leave a message using my cell phone, I always repeat the number 2x and I send off an email to confirm that I left a voice message in case the person didn't get it. If a person doesn't call you back, it might be that the message was garbled and the person couldn't get your number. I don't have call display or caller ID, I have just basic phone service as a cost-savings measure.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> Changing the topic--I get so annoyed with people who leave me a message but don't repeat the phone # twice. I have a digital answering machine--sometimes when people call using cell phone, the person breaks up at some point and all I get is a garbled message. If someone else leaves a message after that one, I can't do *69 to get the last numbered called. Hi name, its garble, garble, garble, can you call me back at garble garble 5555 ext 555? Thanks! When I leave a message using my cell phone, I always repeat the number 2x and I send off an email to confirm that I left a voice message in case the person didn't get it. If a person doesn't call you back, it might be that the message was garbled and the person couldn't get your number. I don't have call display or caller ID, I have just basic phone service as a cost-savings measure.


In the same vein, I wish people would say the number slowly. Yes, you know your phone number; yes you have said it a thousand times, but please don't race through it.

I have call answer. I can back up the message and play it slower. I hate doing that seven times to get the phone number.

I always slow down to say my phone number and I say it a second time.


----------



## Dawgluver

+1 to both.

Had to giggle yesterday.  Called Verizon, had a horrible connection.  Could barely understand the lady.  And this was a phone company!

Another call to Charles Schwab made me laugh too.  The "on hold" music was pure static!  It was awful!  I did tell the rep I talked to about it when she asked if there was anything else she could help me with.


----------



## CWS4322

Dawgluver said:


> +1 to both.
> 
> Had to giggle yesterday.  Called Verizon, had a horrible connection.  Could barely understand the lady.  And this was a phone company!


A lot of businesses use VoIP to save money. These connections often break up/drop/have a delay rate that breaks up speech and makes it impossible to understand what the person is saying. I won't go wireless for that reason--a landline is a much better connection and, hard as it is for some to grasp, not everyone lives where there is 4G coverage. Wireless is much more reliable in metropolitan areas--I can guarantee you, that the coverage available where my parents live in northern MN is almost none existent and calls drop all the time.

I can slow down the message, replay it, pause it, but when it is that garbled, I'd have to make a tape of it and take it to a CSI lab for analysis to get rid of the extra noise.


----------



## taxlady

If you have a phone that doesn't need power to make a call, then a landline works when the power is out.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Changing the topic--I get so annoyed with people who leave me a message but don't repeat the phone # twice. I have a digital answering machine--sometimes when people call using cell phone, the person breaks up at some point and all I get is a garbled message. If someone else leaves a message after that one, I can't do *69 to get the last numbered called. Hi name, its garble, garble, garble, can you call me back at garble garble 5555 ext 555? Thanks! When I leave a message using my cell phone, I always repeat the number 2x and I send off an email to confirm that I left a voice message in case the person didn't get it. If a person doesn't call you back, it might be that the message was garbled and the person couldn't get your number. I don't have call display or caller ID, I have just basic phone service as a cost-savings measure.





taxlady said:


> In the same vein, I wish people would say the number slowly. Yes, you know your phone number; yes you have said it a thousand times, but please don't race through it.
> 
> I have call answer. I can back up the message and play it slower. I hate doing that seven times to get the phone number.
> 
> I always slow down to say my phone number and I say it a second time.



And a phone number has no O's in it, it has 0's.  Not two-oh-oh-six, it's two-zero-zero-six.  If you want me to understand, spik Englis plz.


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> And a phone number has no O's in it, it has 0's.  Not two-oh-oh-six, it's two-zero-zero-six.  If you want me to understand, spik Englis plz.



The "O" thing kind of bugs me too.  It's hard to misunderstand when someone says ZERO!


----------



## bakechef

My mom's visiting and I have been dreading it.  My mom is one of the sweetest people on the planet.  Trouble is, she's very emotionally high strung, even more so since my dad passed last fall.  I have a hard time not being affected by others emotions, especially those that I'm close to.  I have no problem separating my emotions from those of friends and co-workers, but when it comes to people I love, it affects me bad.    I don't get depressed easily, but when she comes for a visit, I just can't seem to dig myself out of this slump.  I hate it.  Add to that, one of her dogs is sick, these two little dogs helped get her through losing dad, she can't lose one now, it is too soon.  She has friends taking great care of her dogs, making sure that the sick one is being taken to the vet (who is also a friend).

I went into this visit thinking things would be different, but this feeling of dread is taking over.  I feel so guilty when she leaves that I didn't do enough to make her trip fun, even though she tells me how much she enjoys herself.  

I'm a mess, family is the only ones that can make me feel this way.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Bakechef)))

Keep checking in here and we'll try to keep you cheered up.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:
			
		

> My mom's visiting and I have been dreading it.  My mom is one of the sweetest people on the planet.  Trouble is, she's very emotionally high strung, even more so since my dad passed last fall.  I have a hard time not being affected by others emotions, especially those that I'm close to.  I have no problem separating my emotions from those of friends and co-workers, but when it comes to people I love, it affects me bad.    I don't get depressed easily, but when she comes for a visit, I just can't seem to dig myself out of this slump.  I hate it.  Add to that, one of her dogs is sick, these two little dogs helped get her through losing dad, she can't lose one now, it is too soon.  She has friends taking great care of her dogs, making sure that the sick one is being taken to the vet (who is also a friend).
> 
> I went into this visit thinking things would be different, but this feeling of dread is taking over.  I feel so guilty when she leaves that I didn't do enough to make her trip fun, even though she tells me how much she enjoys herself.
> 
> I'm a mess, family is the only ones that can make me feel this way.



{{{{bakechef}}}}   I survived an extremely difficult mom visit.  You will too!  Family is much harder to put up with than friends or aquaintances.  Best of luck, and have some fun!


----------



## taxlady

I went to the doctor because of a very sore wrist/lower arm. Lots of things I couldn't do with that hand. The doctor gave me a 'script for Voltaren, which is helping.

My vent is the danged child proof bottle the pills are in. It's so hard to open with a sore hand, that I put it, open, inside of a larger glass jar with a screw top.

I wish I had noticed while I was still at the pharmacy. Kind of ironic that the pills to make my sore hand better are in a pill bottle that makes the sore hand worse.

I have much more sympathy for folks with arthritis now.


----------



## Rocklobster

Hi, Bakechef.  As sad as things are for others in your life, you are not responsible for their happiness. Trying your best is nothing to feel guilty about it. Choose to be happy and satisfied with what you do for your loved ones.  Good luck.


----------



## bakechef

Thanks all.

Rocklobster, I think that you may have hit on something.  My chosen "family" are people that aren't emotionally needy, we just have an amazing time together, I rarely feel like I'm responsible for their good time, it just happens.  My family is a very different dynamic, one that I don't have to deal with often since they live so far away.

Add to that I am getting ready for a rough 11 days at work.  We have a vacation coming up on the 18th so I need to hold on until then!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I went to the doctor because of a very sore wrist/lower arm. Lots of things I couldn't do with that hand. The doctor gave me a 'script for Voltaren, which is helping.
> 
> My vent is the danged child proof bottle the pills are in. It's so hard to open with a sore hand, that I put it, open, inside of a larger glass jar with a screw top.
> 
> I wish I had noticed while I was still at the pharmacy. Kind of ironic that the pills to make my sore hand better are in a pill bottle that makes the sore hand worse.
> 
> I have much more sympathy for folks with arthritis now.




I don't know how it is in Canada, but here I can sign a waiver assuring there are no children in my household that would have access and they will put a regular cap on my meds for me.  It's listed in with my prescriptions.  And I save the ones that are larger to put OTC items in that have childproof caps.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I don't know how it is in Canada, but here I can sign a waiver assuring there are no children in my household that would have access and they will put a regular cap on my meds for me.  It's listed in with my prescriptions.  And I save the ones that are larger to put OTC items in that have childproof caps.


I'm pretty I can get one that isn't childproof, but I have to ask for it. That's why I said I wished I had looked at the bottle at the pharmacy. I tried to find an old bottle, but I couldn't so I came up with putting the open bottle in a jar. That way I still have a label for the pills.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I went to the doctor because of a very sore wrist/lower arm. Lots of things I couldn't do with that hand. The doctor gave me a 'script for Voltaren, which is helping.
> 
> My vent is the danged child proof bottle the pills are in. It's so hard to open with a sore hand, that I put it, open, inside of a larger glass jar with a screw top.
> 
> I wish I had noticed while I was still at the pharmacy. Kind of ironic that the pills to make my sore hand better are in a pill bottle that makes the sore hand worse.
> 
> I have much more sympathy for folks with arthritis now.


 
Next time ask for a cap that is not child proof. And tell them to mark your file as such. Then all future scripts will have an easy to remove cap.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

The central air was doing just fine. Keeping the appartment nice and cool. And then the hubby decides that if he messes with the settings he should be able to save us on our electric bill and still keep the house cool. Did he read the manual? No. Did he check to see if there was a way to clear it back to previous/default settings? No. He just "played" with it. I mean, it's a thermostat. How complicated can it be, right? So now it's eighty degrees in the house (and climbing), even though the thermostat is set to 72, and he has no idea what the previous settings were because he "didn't pay attention". Which is why I get the ice pack and he doesn't.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> That's really sad.
> 
> I grew up in Los Angeles County. Total ban on fireworks for ordinary people. There were great fireworks displays put on by the fire department in all the parks. We didn't miss being able to do our own.


 
Evidently, our neighbors across the street didn't get the message about it being illegal to have private fireworks. They have been shooting them off for the past three hours. And some of them are REALLY loud. This is a building for the elderly. Most of the folks in this building are asleep by nine. But I doubt it will happen tonight. I don't want to be the one to call the police. I am up for the next few hours. And from the sound of what they are shooting off, it is the kind that will get them arrested. That is the last thing I want. But then I keep thinking of Pelham, NH. I feel like I am damned if I do and damned if I don't.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> The central air was doing just fine. Keeping the appartment nice and cool. And then the hubby decides that if he messes with the settings he should be able to save us on our electric bill and still keep the house cool. Did he read the manual? No. Did he check to see if there was a way to clear it back to previous/default settings? No. He just "played" with it. I mean, it's a thermostat. How complicated can it be, right? So now it's eighty degrees in the house (and climbing), even though the thermostat is set to 72, and he has no idea what the previous settings were because he "didn't pay attention". Which is why I get the ice pack and he doesn't.



Is there a way for you to set everything back to null and reset?  Should be a setting for min temp and max temp.  The thermostat will keep it there.  He may have also set it to fan instead of cool.


----------



## Addie

The latest news report tonight of the Pelham, NH fireworks explosion was that the two babies that were airlifted to the Shriner's Boston Burn Center are not doing very well. They are both critical. My heart is breaking. Two adults are still hospitalized. One is the parent of one of the babies. She was holding it in her lap.  

The news report also said that the people in the neighborhood are not talking about the explosion. Most folks get excited about being interviewed for the TV. They can't wait to see themselves on the screen. Me smells a rat. Translation, a major lawsuit coming up. I have the feeling that the man that was doing the fireworks is facing charges and I hope he has good coverage on his home policy. You should have seen the stash that didn't blow up. It looks like he bought out the factory.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Is there a way for you to set everything back to null and reset?  Should be a setting for min temp and max temp.  The thermostat will keep it there.  He may have also set it to fan instead of cool.



He's reading the manual. He thinks he has it figured out. We'll see. In the mean time, I'm still keeping the ice pack.


----------



## Addie

I am watching the fireworks at the Boston Pops Concert and can hear them through my window as they explode. Who needs to go in town and deal with that crowd.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pag, as you should.  I have rarely heard of a man reading a manual, sure glad yours does!  Hoping for a quick cooling!

One reason why I do all the repairs around here....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Pag, as you should.  I have rarely heard of a man reading a manual, sure glad yours does!  Hoping for a quick cooling!
> 
> One reason why I do all the repairs around here....



Same here.  When I hand Shrek a screwdriver I hand it handle first, not for safety but so he will know which end to use.  I own a better tool set.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Pag, as you should. I have rarely heard of a man reading a manual, sure glad yours does! Hoping for a quick cooling!
> 
> One reason why I do all the repairs around here....


 
Wow. Next thing you know, he will be asking for directions after he admits he is lost.


----------



## CWS4322

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> The central air was doing just fine. Keeping the appartment nice and cool. And then the hubby decides that if he messes with the settings he should be able to save us on our electric bill and still keep the house cool. Did he read the manual? No. Did he check to see if there was a way to clear it back to previous/default settings? No. He just "played" with it. I mean, it's a thermostat. How complicated can it be, right? So now it's eighty degrees in the house (and climbing), even though the thermostat is set to 72, and he has no idea what the previous settings were because he "didn't pay attention". Which is why I get the ice pack and he doesn't.


And, fill the bathtub with water--it will help keep the place cool. Why is it that husbands can't/won't read manuals? I'm married to s/one with 4 degrees (most of which are in engineering). When a new DVD player, etc. enters our world, I have to read the instructions to him re: how to connect it. But, I must say, when it comes to fixing things, making things, etc., he is very, very talented and doesn't need me to tell him what to do--I just have to keep track of where he leaves various tools and his pencil...and tea cup.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Same here.  When I hand Shrek a screwdriver I hand it handle first, not for safety but so he will know which end to use.  I own a better tool set.



  DH was a carpenter in a previous life, but his solution is still to beat the crap out of stuff with a hammer.  Then swear a blue streak at whatever it is.  Much easier and calmer to do it myself!


----------



## CWS4322

Dawgluver said:


> DH was a carpenter in a previous life, but his solution is still to beat the crap out of stuff with a hammer.  Then swear a blue streak at whatever it is.  Much easier and calmer to do it myself!


Don't have one of those here--I have a concrete bathroom vanity that he designed and cast, a butcherblock counter top he did (sawed the logs to make the wood...etc.), floors done the same way, etc., etc. He definitely know how to swing a hammer, but he also knows how to wield a saw, pour concrete, put up drywall, lay tile, cast cabinet hardware, plumbing, wiring, you name it, he can do it....and can be very arrogant about it...I knew I should've taken shop instead of Spanish!


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> Don't have one of those here--I have a concrete bathroom vanity that he designed and cast, a butcherblock counter top he did (sawed the logs to make the wood...etc.), floors done the same way, etc., etc. He definitely know how to swing a hammer, but he also knows how to wield a saw, pour concrete, put up drywall, lay tile, cast cabinet hardware, plumbing, wiring, you name it, he can do it....and can be very arrogant about it...I knew I should've taken shop instead of Spanish!


When I was in school shop wasn't an option for girls, and boys couldn't take home ec.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> When I was in school shop wasn't an option for girls, and boys couldn't take home ec.



Yes.  Unbelievable.


----------



## CWS4322

Dawgluver said:


> Yes.  Unbelievable.


But you gotta admit, we all wanted to be in shop with the cute boys instead of learning how to sew, do laundry, cook, and diaper babies! One skill of which I never have put into practice. But, perhaps I've spoken too soon, maybe that diapering skill will come in handy if I end up taking care of my parents at that stage in life...


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> But you gotta admit, we all wanted to be in shop with the cute boys instead of learning how to sew and diapers babies! One skill of which I never have put into practice.


No, that was the least appealing part. I liked smart boys.

I missed sewing. I did take cooking. I don't know if they taught diapering babies. I learned to diaper babies in a Danish hospital. I can even diaper a baby with a square diaper and no safety pins. I also know how to diaper a preemie with a wash cloth and safety pins pin.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> Pag, as you should.  I have rarely heard of a man reading a manual, sure glad yours does!  Hoping for a quick cooling!
> 
> One reason why I do all the repairs around here....



He got it figured out and the house is cooling down. Being a long time linux user, he got used to reading manuals when he couldn't figure things out on his own.


----------



## CWS4322

I do remember my mom getting a cutting board, out of pine, shaped like a pig, from each of my brothers as their final project in shop one year. I had to sew a laundry bag..which I still have...don't know what happened to those pig cutting boards...firewood?


----------



## Dawgluver

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> He got it figured out and the house is cooling down. Being a long time linux user, he got used to reading manuals when he couldn't figure things out on his own.



Yaaaaayyyy!  Pag's DH rocks!!!  And he can read!!!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> Yaaaaayyyy!  Pag's DH rocks!!!  And he can read!!!



Lol. He is pretty great.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yea!!!  Good for Rol!  You are lucky PAG!


----------



## Cindercat

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> I do remember my mom getting a cutting board, out of pine, shaped like a pig, from each of my brothers as their final project in shop one year. I had to sew a laundry bag..which I still have...don't know what happened to those pig cutting boards...firewood?


Was there some requirement that all shop classes make pig shaped cutting boards? I remember my brothers bringing them home. I threw one out when I cleaned out my grandmother's house after she passed.  Our current shop teacher is stuck on apples- apple cutting boards & apple bookshelves.


----------



## CWS4322

Cindercat said:


> Was there some requirement that all shop classes make pig shaped cutting boards? I remember my brothers bringing them home. I threw one out when I cleaned out my grandmother's house after she passed.  Our current shop teacher is stuck on apples- apple cutting boards & apple bookshelves.


Maybe the schools got a deal on the template?


----------



## Zhizara

I'm seething!  The apartment management has neglected to get out the monthly schedule on time, again.  Today is supposed to be a trip to Walmart, but Thursdays the trip can be at 10 AM or Noon.

I went to ask which and the gal was waving me away from her door because she's busy.  I finally had to force the issue to ask her what time so I could be ready.

When I asked previously why they couldn't get the schedules out on time, she said that sometimes she hadn't gotten confirmation for one of the "events".

These "events" are usually some company who wants to offer services that can get them Medicare dollars.  

My take is that if they can't be bothered confirming on time, then they can wait until next month.

Their take is that it is okay to inconvenience 300-400 residents instead!


----------



## LPBeier

Z, I don't blame you for being upset.  This may be a burden to your office manager, and a insignificant bonus for the companies, but it is far more important to you and other residents.  I am sure it means the difference between getting out and not getting out to many.

Is there someone above this woman in the office you can complain too?


----------



## taxlady

Is there an ombudsman you can talk to?


----------



## Skittle68

Zhizara said:
			
		

> I'm seething!  The apartment management has neglected to get out the monthly schedule on time, again.  Today is supposed to be a trip to Walmart, but Thursdays the trip can be at 10 AM or Noon.
> 
> I went to ask which and the gal was waving me away from her door because she's busy.  I finally had to force the issue to ask her what time so I could be ready.
> 
> When I asked previously why they couldn't get the schedules out on time, she said that sometimes she hadn't gotten confirmation for one of the "events".
> 
> These "events" are usually some company who wants to offer services that can get them Medicare dollars.
> 
> My take is that if they can't be bothered confirming on time, then they can wait until next month.
> 
> Their take is that it is okay to inconvenience 300-400 residents instead!



I agree with LPB. Suggest to someone higher up that they print out the schedules with what they know, and write "pending" for anything that hasn't been confirmed, then print out a second schedule when they know.


----------



## Zhizara

I asked the question in a meeting which included her corporate supervisor.  Maybe there is a dollar benefit to the management company (kickback) to let these people come in and make their presentations.

They will often post notices of different events in the elevators and on all floors near the elevators.  I don't see why they can't do that in these cases.

I'm afraid to make waves, I would be afraid of getting kicked out.  I don't need the stress of either the confrontation or the worry it would cause.

My solution will be to make sure I have cab fare on hand at all times.  I've got the money, but just not in hand right now.

I've been taking cabs or buses for a couple of months now because taking the van is almost always some kind of hassle.  I found that it doesn't hurt me financially, I'm able to go and spend about the same, and it's been a relief from the hassles.  I just screwed up this month and didn't have the cash on hand for a trip I knew I would be making.  

Today is my food stamp benefit, and is also a regularly scheduled Walmart trip, so I figured I could save a few bucks.  I won't make that mistake again.  The money is of much less importance than keeping myself calm.  I hate to think how high my blood pressure is right now.


----------



## Bolledeig

I really hate carpet floors. Hate it! It's just plain nasty.
Floors need to be sparkling clean so you can walk on it with white socks without them turning grey!

I have a slightly incontinent dog (from spaying) that sometimes leaks a little when she sleeps. Ofc dogs has to sleep on the only floor we have with carpet. 
Have been over it with the carpet cleaner all day, but I still feel like it smells like piss. 

Why do we still use carpet so much? Even in more expensive homes?
It's so unsanitary and dirty. Why why why? Especially people who wears shoes in their home.. 

I'm getting hard wood and tile in the whole house!


----------



## taxlady

Bolledeig said:


> I really hate carpet floors. Hate it! It's just plain nasty.
> Floors need to be sparkling clean so you can walk on it with white socks without them turning grey!
> 
> I have a slightly incontinent dog (from spaying) that sometimes leaks a little when she sleeps. Ofc dogs has to sleep on the only floor we have with carpet.
> Have been over it with the carpet cleaner all day, but I still feel like it smells like piss.
> 
> Why do we still use carpet so much? Even in more expensive homes?
> It's so unsanitary and dirty. Why why why? Especially people who wears shoes in their home..
> 
> I'm getting hard wood and tile in the whole house!


I agree. When I moved in here there was wall to wall carpet everywhere but the bathroom, washroom, and kitchen. It was even in the entry room! Really soaked up snow and slush.

I started tearing it out and much to my surprise there was hardwood parquetry under the carpet! Geez people did some strange things in the '70s & '80s.


----------



## Bolledeig

taxlady said:


> I agree. When I moved in here there was wall to wall carpet everywhere but the bathroom, washroom, and kitchen. It was even in the entry room! Really soaked up snow and slush.
> 
> I started tearing it out and much to my surprise there was hardwood parquetry under the carpet! Geez people did some strange things in the '70s & '80s.



Oh my, talk about luck!
I sure would like to know the thought behind laying carpet over hard wood. 

I'm surprised to see newer houses with carpet though.
And I sometimes watch "house hunters" and similar shows on HGTV, and a lot of people has as much carpet as possible as a criteria for buying a home. Strange!


----------



## bakechef

I have real hardwood in the kitchen, but the rest of the house except for the bathrooms is carpet.  I don't mind carpet in the bedrooms, but the main floor will get hardwood as soon as the carpet is worn out.  When my cat dies we won't likely have another pet, he's a great cat, but my mom thought I should have him and drove 1000 miles to give him to me 12 years ago.


----------



## CWS4322

I hate carpet--I had a fecal incontinent dog--after cleaning up 4 times in one day, that evening the carpet came out. I couldn't afford (timewise) the hardwood, so I sanded the subfloor, painted it, and put several coats of finish on. It worked until the hardwood was ready. I do not like carpet nor do I like area rugs. But, I have pets so I like floors that one can clean and walk on in white socks!


----------



## roadfix

I'm afraid to tear carpeting out of my house because once I start the DIY hardwood flooring project it may take a year or more to finish it.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I'm afraid to tear carpeting out of my house because once I start the DIY hardwood flooring project it may take a year or more to finish it.


Can't you tear it out one room at a time? That's what I did, sort of. I say sort of because the living room, dining room and hall are all one big room. I did it in sections. I was afraid that I was going to have to sand the floors and put polyurethane, but they were in okay condition.


----------



## Bolledeig

We went and bought laminate floors to replace all the carpet in our house today! Finally! I like laminate just as much as hard wood, so that will do while we try to get rich enough for real hard wood floors.


----------



## Andy M.

We put in hardwood on the main floor for the living room and dining area.  We like it so much better.  Upstairs, the bedrooms and hallway are wall to wall.

My neighbor chose to do laminate, didn't like it and replaced it with different laminate then moved away.


----------



## taxlady

That's gorgeous Andy. I wish my hardwood floors look anywhere near as nice as that.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> That's gorgeous Andy. I wish my hardwood floors look anywhere near as nice as that.



Thanks.  These are brand new.  I'm sure your's looked this good when they were brand new too.


----------



## Bolledeig

Aaah, wonderful, shiny, easy to clean floors, Andy! 


I'm really only used to laminate. Everyone I know (in Norway) has laminate.
But the absolute ultimate floor is definantly hard wood!


----------



## Andy M.

Bolledeig said:


> Aaah, wonderful, shiny, easy to clean floors, Andy!
> 
> 
> I'm really only used to laminate. Everyone I know (in Norway) has laminate.
> But the absolute ultimate floor is definitely hard wood!



It's definitely more of a hassle than laminate or pre-finished hardwood flooring.  I had to rent a pod for all our furniture and evacuate the entire first floor while they installed, sanded, sealed, sanded, applied urethane, sanded, applied urethane, sanded and applied urethane.  We had to stay in a motel for two nights while the urethane dried.

With pre-finished hardwood or laminate, it's much easier and faster.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Thanks.  These are brand new.  I'm sure your's looked this good when they were brand new too.



I'm sure mine looked better when it was new. But, it was the crappy parquetry that the city was pushing in the '70s. I'm thinking I want to sand and stain the floors. I don't usually like stain, but it would make it more uniform.

But, it's still much better than the baby poop coloured carpet I tore out.


----------



## Bolledeig

Oooh, I like that, Taxlady! Staining it would probably make it even nicer.


----------



## Bolledeig

Ok, I had to take a picture of the floor we got.
One room upstairs is done with new moldings and all. I think the dark chocolate colored floor goes really well with the white contrasts.
Matte laminate.

My husband did it. His first time doing anything with a house. But I think he did great!


----------



## taxlady

That looks really nice, Bolledeig.


----------



## Andy M.

That looks great!  Like a black walnut wood.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pretty!


----------



## Bolledeig

Thanks! I'm very happy with it.


----------



## Kylie1969

Bolledeig said:


> Ok, I had to take a picture of the floor we got.
> One room upstairs is done with new moldings and all. I think the dark chocolate colored floor goes really well with the white contrasts.
> Matte laminate.
> 
> My husband did it. His first time doing anything with a house. But I think he did great!





taxlady said:


> I'm sure mine looked better when it was new. But, it was the crappy parquetry that the city was pushing in the '70s. I'm thinking I want to sand and stain the floors. I don't usually like stain, but it would make it more uniform.
> 
> But, it's still much better than the baby poop coloured carpet I tore out.



I love both floors guys, they are both lovely in their own ways


----------



## Addie

Soi I canceled my preop blood work and wait to hear from my son. Late in the p.m. he emails me that his plane lands at 9:30 and he will stop on the way home. Ten p.m. the  phone rings. It is darling son. "Ma, I was half way through the O'Neil Tunnel before I remembered I was supposed to stop by. I will come by Sunday." The urge to kill is ever so strong some days. He then tells me that he was in Baltimore studying 12 different cadavers and the different ways intubating affects the body. It seems that each cadaver had died while being intubated. It's a good thing he has a mother that knows what he is talking about and has a strong stomach. 

My granddaughter will start an intense two year RN program in September and graduate with a BS in nursing. I can't wait until she has to go to the morgue and work with cadavers. She is one of thse girls that thinks the world has ended because her polish has chipped.


----------



## CWS4322

Andy M. said:


> We put in hardwood on the main floor for the living room and dining area.  We like it so much better.  Upstairs, the bedrooms and hallway are wall to wall.
> 
> My neighbor chose to do laminate, didn't like it and replaced it with different laminate then moved away.


I hate laminate--why? The sound of the dog toenails on it and also, when dogs get old and have issues getting up, laminate doesn't give them the grip that hardwood does. Friends put high-end laminiate in their new house--ripped it out three years later and put hardwood down for exactly that reason. Love the floors, Andy.

Here's one of mine (bedroom). It is birch. First you have to get the logs, then you have to mill them, then you have to let the boards dry, then you have to plane them, then tongue and groove them, then install them, then sand, then sand some more, then some more...then you have to finish them....and it takes, about a year...except, in this case, it took two.


----------



## CWS4322

BTW, incontinence is not a result of being spayed. I know that is a common myth, but my friend who is a vet and I had a discussion about this. Anatomically, not possible. There are medications (inexpensive) that can help with this. There used to be an OTC that also worked, but I am not sure if it is still on the market. Bolledeig, chat with your vet about this--but getting the carpet ripped out was still worth it!


----------



## Bolledeig

Thanks, CWS! I'll look into it!

Gorgeous floors! And I think I'm already jealous of your closet (without seeing the whole thing). Looks glamorous! 

I actually have an older dog (13), and he does not like laminate. But he doesn't like getting up on hard wood either. Mostly because he convinces himself it's super slippery, not because he has a hard time getting up.
That's why I got the matte/textured laminate. Hopefully it's a little better for dogs than the smooth one.


----------



## babetoo

the cat tree i ordered came yesterday. opened up today to see if i could put it together my self. no manual!!!! i might have stood a chance of getting it done, but not within instructions. gal across the street is handy, well she says she is, so she is willing to give it a try. lordy, lordy, it ticks me off.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I need a new cat tree...has to be at least 5 foot tall so the cats can reach the window.  They have managed to totally wreck this one in less than a year.


----------



## bakechef

Went to dinner with friends.  One of the friends lives here and her husband in Ohio (separated for her job). We went to a small Italian place, the service was slow but we were having a great time talking so no big deal.  The owner comes out to ask how things were, and he (the guy from Ohio) starts a rant about how bad the service was.  This guy has zero social skills.  He was looking for a reason to not tip, and get his meal comped.  The owner apologized and offered the whole table free dessert, and this guy dismisses him, how rude!  

We let him and his wife leave and then went back in to tell the owner and the waitress how much we enjoyed the meal.  It really was quite good and the wait times were not that long.  

During dinner the topic of ancestry came up because some of us have very distinct ethnic last names.  He, very loudly pipes up and says "if you were born in America, then you are American, period!".  So I ask him, "so those who celebrate their heritage are somehow less patriotic?", "isn't that what America is all about?". He refused to answer.

I feel bad for his wife, she is very sweet, no wonder she enjoys living in a different state!


----------



## CWS4322

Bolledeig said:


> Thanks, CWS! I'll look into it!
> 
> Gorgeous floors! And I think I'm already jealous of your closet (without seeing the whole thing). Looks glamorous!
> 
> I actually have an older dog (13), and he does not like laminate. But he doesn't like getting up on hard wood either. Mostly because he convinces himself it's super slippery, not because he has a hard time getting up.
> That's why I got the matte/textured laminate. Hopefully it's a little better for dogs than the smooth one.


I have had many senior dogs. I bought those rubber tiles (red-blue-yellow-green) at Home Depot and "carpeted" the house with those so the old dogs could get up. I hated having to take them (the mats) up and clean...sand would get between the puzzle pieces, but the dogs were able to get up. You're lucky to be in a climate where you could take them outside and hose/pressure wash them. I had to do them in the bathtub during the winter months. But those puzzle pieces work well--I should know, I have about $500 worth. I am using them for the chickens now. And donated a bunch to a wildlife sanctuary. And I still have a bunch! 

I want to say it was ephederine (sp) that was the OTC--I don't know if it is still available OTC because it is used to make ... crack?  or meth? I can't remember the name of the prescription drug, but it is a little pink pill (here in Canada) and is not given every day--one gets to figure out the "magic" dose. If the dog is only incontinent during the hottest months, it can be diabetes insipidus (which is not diabetes, but an issue with the dog's hormone that regulates hyydration-water retention). I had a Saint Bernard with that. She was fine until about June, and then she'd be fine again when October hit. 

Once I started taking my fecal incontinent male to a canine accupuncturist, the issue cleared up. He lived to be 15--but started having this issue when he was 13. And he was a Giant breed.

Good luck! There are options (and you get to enjoy the new floors regardless!). And yes, my closet is to die for. What you don't see is the pull-out full-length mirror, the 2 built-in dressers (5 drawers each), and all the cubbies. Inspired by the closet I had in Germany. I love that I can stand on the lower drawers (when the doors are open) and reach the top cubbies (8.5 ft off the floor). It is made like kitchen cabinets, so it is modular. Two friends have had the same closet (with modifications for the space--mine is 11.5 ft x 8.5 ft tall). I'm willing to share the plans--we designed it ourselves and LOVE it! I hate North American closets. We have 2 other closets in the house (much smaller) that are the same concept--floor to ceiling, with a drawer on the bottom so one can stand on it and reach the top cubbie. Nothing falls on the floor or gets buried in my closets.


----------



## Claire

CWS4322 said:


> BTW, incontinence is not a result of being spayed. I know that is a common myth, but my friend who is a vet and I had a discussion about this. Anatomically, not possible. There are medications (inexpensive) that can help with this. There used to be an OTC that also worked, but I am not sure if it is still on the market. Bolledeig, chat with your vet about this--but getting the carpet ripped out was still worth it!



I'm aggravated because I can't seem to find the original of this particular part of this line.  The time I had a dog who became incontinent (she was old and had been fixed for years), she had kidney disease.  My vet recommended a kidney disease dog food, and gave her a few months to live.  The diet solved the problem and she lived 18 more happy, pain-free months (and no incontinance problems once on the diet).  It was a Science Diet food (k/d) and it allowed us over a year of the pleasure of her company.

And, yes, if you have pets, especially geriatric ones, floor is much better than carpet.  Oh, heck, it's easier to clean up after humans as well.


----------



## Bolledeig

Thanks for sharing your experience, CWS!
I wrote it on a post-it and stuck it behind my ear  (that might not be a normal saying in English..)

I think you have a promising career as a designer for IKEA!


----------



## CWS4322

Claire said:


> I'm aggravated because I can't seem to find the original of this particular part of this line.  The time I had a dog who became incontinent (she was old and had been fixed for years), she had kidney disease.  My vet recommended a kidney disease dog food, and gave her a few months to live.  The diet solved the problem and she lived 18 more happy, pain-free months (and no incontinance problems once on the diet).  It was a Science Diet food (k/d) and it allowed us over a year of the pleasure of her company.
> 
> And, yes, if you have pets, especially geriatric ones, floor is much better than carpet.  Oh, heck, it's easier to clean up after humans as well.



One of my male Saints had renal insufficiency. We fed him a diet that was "designed." for a lack of a better word, by a canine nutritionist.For the first year, we would have blood work done every 3 months to make sure his levels were okay, after that, every 6 months. He lived to be 12 and a bit--which is GREAT for a Giant, but for a Giant with renal insufficiency, amazing. We also used the eye drops (when he was 11-12) that are used for diabetes insipidus for his "leaking." He didn't leak once we got the diet worked out until he was about 11. The drops worked--but they were expensive, but then, so was his diet (he loved, loved, loved kale--he'd eat that out of the box when I brought kale home--and beets, he loved beets). He died of hemangiosarcoma--not kidney disease. He was a retired lawn ornament. When he arrived (this was the first Saint I rescued), he had heartworm and a severe kidney infection. He had been tied outside for three years. He was the sweetest boy...and made me laugh every day--he was such a clown. I miss him still. 

The simple answer for night-time "leaking" is usually a relaxed bladder and not kidney issues. If the dog is having incontinence at other times, than other things need to be investigated, but start with the simple first, and then move up from there is always my approach.


----------



## Bolledeig

I don't know why I concluded the incontinence with spaying. Must have been too naive while googling.
My leak dog is only 2,5 years old, and it started some time after spaying. No wait! It started when she got a spinal cord infection. Maybe those are related..
Weather/temperature seems to be irrelevant.


----------



## CWS4322

Bolledeig said:


> I don't know why I concluded the incontinence with spaying. Must have been too naive while googling.
> My leak dog is only 2,5 years old, and it started some time after spaying. No wait! It started when she got a spinal cord infection. Maybe those are related..
> Weather/temperature seems to be irrelevant.


Hmmm...may still have a low-grade infection...or, e-coli (not the food kind, but the kind that sits in the kidney-urinary tract). Dogs often get that....chat with the vet.


----------



## Skittle68

bakechef said:
			
		

> Went to dinner with friends.  One of the friends lives here and her husband in Ohio (separated for her job). We went to a small Italian place, the service was slow but we were having a great time talking so no big deal.  The owner comes out to ask how things were, and he (the guy from Ohio) starts a rant about how bad the service was.  This guy has zero social skills.  He was looking for a reason to not tip, and get his meal comped.  The owner apologized and offered the whole table free dessert, and this guy dismisses him, how rude!
> 
> We let him and his wife leave and then went back in to tell the owner and the waitress how much we enjoyed the meal.  It really was quite good and the wait times were not that long.
> 
> During dinner the topic of ancestry came up because some of us have very distinct ethnic last names.  He, very loudly pipes up and says "if you were born in America, then you are American, period!".  So I ask him, "so those who celebrate their heritage are somehow less patriotic?", "isn't that what America is all about?". He refused to answer.
> 
> I feel bad for his wife, she is very sweet, no wonder she enjoys living in a different state!



As a server, I'm glad you went and clarified things with the owner. Unfortunately, we are human and sometimes get busy, meaning things slow down for our tables. It sucks and you try to make everything perfect for every table, but you can only do so many things at once. I have had genuinely bad service before, and there is no reason not to complain about having a bad experience, but thank you for being patient and understanding, and I'm sorry you has to listen to your friend ranting.


----------



## Addie

When Son #1 takes me shopping he gets half the shopping list. Cleaning supplies are on his half. He always crosses them off. 

He is a contractor and gets commercial strength cleaning supplies at Home Depot at a discount. I had bleach and Pine Sol on the list. So he shows up today with a FIVE GALLON jug of bleach. And a gallon jug of Pine Sol, Lavender. It's a good thing my gallon jug of bleach was almost empty. I had him fill it up and take the five gallon jug home. I do appreciate that he pays for these supplies and charges them to his business. But this is OVERKILL! 

Geesh son, I'm old and decrepit. Take pity on me.


----------



## Skittle68

"An eye for an eye makes the world go blind". Why can't more people realize this?? A friend of my bf's stood up for someone and prevented/broke up a bar fight, so when he was leaving, these guys followed him, broke a bottle over his head, kicked and beat him until he was unconscious, leaving him with a broken jaw, and multiple broken ribs, then throwing him in a pond where he was lucky to end up laying face up. So he is pressing charges, and possibly pursuing a lawsuit against them. So now, someone broke out all his car windows because he is pursuing charges against those guys. Now, he is offering money to whoever can tell him the location of the guy who broke his car windows out (he knows who did it) so he can go beat him up, or whatever. Seriously, when will people learn???? This cycle will just keep going and going forever. What is the point??


----------



## Claire

CWS4322 said:


> One of my male Saints had renal insufficiency. We fed him a diet that was "designed." for a lack of a better word, by a canine nutritionist.For the first year, we would have blood work done every 3 months to make sure his levels were okay, after that, every 6 months. He lived to be 12 and a bit--which is GREAT for a Giant, but for a Giant with renal insufficiency, amazing. We also used the eye drops (when he was 11-12) that are used for diabetes insipidus for his "leaking." He didn't leak once we got the diet worked out until he was about 11. The drops worked--but they were expensive, but then, so was his diet (he loved, loved, loved kale--he'd eat that out of the box when I brought kale home--and beets, he loved beets). He died of hemangiosarcoma--not kidney disease. He was a retired lawn ornament. When he arrived (this was the first Saint I rescued), he had heartworm and a severe kidney infection. He had been tied outside for three years. He was the sweetest boy...and made me laugh every day--he was such a clown. I miss him still.
> 
> The simple answer for night-time "leaking" is usually a relaxed bladder and not kidney issues. If the dog is having incontinence at other times, than other things need to be investigated, but start with the simple first, and then move up from there is always my approach.



For a large dog, even completely healthy, that's a great old age.  My dog was a Jack Russel with some Chihuahua in there, and was already 15 when diagnosed.  Even for a small dog that's a pretty good old age.  She started "leaking" at night, and blood tests are what showed she was having kidney failure (not just old age catching up with her).  After we put her on the k/d, she lived, comfortably, those last 18 months.  And we didn't have a wet bed (yes, our dogs have always slept on the bed).


----------



## Bolledeig

Grrr! I hate it when the cashier at the store ruins my day.
He refused to take my ID when I tried to buy my weekly dose of Corona just because it was not a Texas drivers license. What?!
Has never happened to me before.
I have a state issued ID/permanent resident card, Norwegian passport, Norwegian drivers license and another Norwegian ID card.
How are tourists supposed to get around then? 
This has annoyed me all day!

Just because you havent seen the combination of colors or shapes on an ID card before doesn't mean you need to deny me my Corona or call the press.
Gosh..

I feel like I need revenge.


----------



## Addie

I too have a state issued ID. I don't drive. I once went into a bank to cash  a check. The teller said that it was not a real ID. She confiscated it. Created her own melee. I asked for the bank manager. I was so angry at her stupidity. I know it wasn't my picture on it. It is one of the best pics I have ever taken. I usually take care of  problems in a very soft but firm voice. Not this time. I made sure everyone in the bank heard me. All of a sudden the line behind me melted and the people went to stand in other lines. She left her window crying. I got my check cashed and my ID  back.


----------



## Barbara L

I am very upset at a certain person, who shall remain nameless (but is my sister).  Pretty much anything my sister has ever done has been to benefit herself. I am absolutely not exaggerating when I say that over 50% of what comes out of her mouth is a lie (probably closer to 75%, but I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt). She isn't stupid (huge reader, great at all types of puzzles, etc.), but years of meth and cocaine use, as well as hard liquor and who knows what else haven't helped any. I only tell you this to show you a little about what we have had to deal with. She can be very nice, and very generous, but you have to constantly guard against getting stabbed in the back.

Anyway, as most of you know, my dad died in November and we had his funeral in December. Since he had bought two plots (one with my mom, in CA, and one in his family plot, in MO) we had his ashes divided, with the plan to go back to Missouri in May or June, have a little family reunion, and bury the remaining ashes. Unfortunately, finances haven't allowed us to do it yet. 

My vent is that my sister suddenly decided that she is going to take his ashes back to Missouri herself, and she didn't ask any of us how we felt about it, or even let any of us know her plans until she had to. She had to tell her son because she wants him to go with her so that he can drive the rental car when they get there (she doesn't drive). My daughter (who has my dad's ashes) only found out yesterday, and my sister planned to leave either today or tomorrow. We are pretty sure she will tell the cousins in MO all kinds of stories about why we didn't come (my nephew didn't even know that she hadn't told us--he thought we knew but had declined), but that's not the thing that really bothers us. We know that it has to be done, but it was not her decision to make on her own. It should have been a family decision. It's not as if his ashes were going to go anywhere. It could have waited until a better time.

Thank you for letting me rant and rave and vent. I'm not looking for advice--the ashes will be turned over to her and she can go do it, and I will continue to pray for her every day as I always do, but I think this is really the last straw for my daughter and me. Sorry this is so long. I had actually written tons more, but most of that didn't need to be said. I just needed to write it, then I deleted it.


----------



## Bolledeig

Addie said:


> I too have a state issued ID. I don't drive. I once went into a bank to cash  a check. The teller said that it was not a real ID. She confiscated it. Created her own melee. I asked for the bank manager. I was so angry at her stupidity. I know it wasn't my picture on it. It is one of the best pics I have ever taken. I usually take care of  problems in a very soft but firm voice. Not this time. I made sure everyone in the bank heard me. All of a sudden the line behind me melted and the people went to stand in other lines. She left her window crying. I got my check cashed and my ID  back.



Oh my.. I sure can understand you got angry. Plain ridiculous!
I can't believe people get that confused by an ID that's NOT a drivers license.
Ofc not everybody drives! Nonsense!
Makes me wanna boycott driving all together!


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...Not this time. I made sure everyone in the bank heard me. All of a sudden the line behind me melted and the people went to stand in other lines. She left her window crying. I got my check cashed and my ID  back.



I wasn't there but that sounds unnecessarily nasty.


----------



## kadesma

Barbara L said:


> I am very upset at a certain person, who shall remain nameless (but is my sister).  Pretty much anything my sister has ever done has been to benefit herself. I am absolutely not exaggerating when I say that over 50% of what comes out of her mouth is a lie (probably closer to 75%, but I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt). She isn't stupid (huge reader, great at all types of puzzles, etc.), but years of meth and cocaine use, as well as hard liquor and who knows what else haven't helped any. I only tell you this to show you a little about what we have had to deal with. She can be very nice, and very generous, but you have to constantly guard against getting stabbed in the back.
> 
> Anyway, as most of you know, my dad died in November and we had his funeral in December. Since he had bought two plots (one with my mom, in CA, and one in his family plot, in MO) we had his ashes divided, with the plan to go back to Missouri in May or June, have a little family reunion, and bury the remaining ashes. Unfortunately, finances haven't allowed us to do it yet.
> 
> My vent is that my sister suddenly decided that she is going to take his ashes back to Missouri herself, and she didn't ask any of us how we felt about it, or even let any of us know her plans until she had to. She had to tell her son because she wants him to go with her so that he can drive the rental car when they get there (she doesn't drive). My daughter (who has my dad's ashes) only found out yesterday, and my sister planned to leave either today or tomorrow. We are pretty sure she will tell the cousins in MO all kinds of stories about why we didn't come (my nephew didn't even know that she hadn't told us--he thought we knew but had declined), but that's not the thing that really bothers us. We know that it has to be done, but it was not her decision to make on her own. It should have been a family decision. It's not as if his ashes were going to go anywhere. It could have waited until a better time.
> 
> Thank you for letting me rant and rave and vent. I'm not looking for advice--the ashes will be turned over to her and she can go do it, and I will continue to pray for her every day as I always do, but I think this is really the last straw for my daughter and me. Sorry this is so long. I had actually written tons more, but most of that didn't need to be said. I just needed to write it, then I deleted it.


Oh Barbara, I'm sorry you have to deal with this. You can rant all you want honey, you need to let some the tension go and just relax. You know who will deal with your sister one day. So please dont let her do anything more to upset and wound you. Be happy that James is there with you, supports you and loves you like he does. That is one thing she can't take from you tell you daughter to consider the source and to be brave. You both can and you have each other to lean on. We here all care for you and will listen any time you want to rant.
kades


----------



## Barbara L

Thank you cj! I don't really let my sister get to me (I get mad, but I know what to expect of her). It is how she makes my daughter feel that really gets to me. Nancy is one of the strongest people I know, but my sister uses her (rides, helping with all kinds of things, etc., which she gladly does) and then makes Nancy feel like she has been spit on. Nancy called me yesterday to tell me about all of this, and she is fine now. 

I'm glad you are here to vent to!


----------



## Skittle68

Bolledeig said:
			
		

> Grrr! I hate it when the cashier at the store ruins my day.
> He refused to take my ID when I tried to buy my weekly dose of Corona just because it was not a Texas drivers license. What?!
> Has never happened to me before.
> I have a state issued ID/permanent resident card, Norwegian passport, Norwegian drivers license and another Norwegian ID card.
> How are tourists supposed to get around then?
> This has annoyed me all day!
> 
> Just because you havent seen the combination of colors or shapes on an ID card before doesn't mean you need to deny me my Corona or call the press.
> Gosh..
> 
> I feel like I need revenge.



Really should have asked for a manager. A passport should be sufficient in the US.


----------



## Andy M.

Bolledeig said:


> Oh my.. I sure can understand you got angry. Plain ridiculous!
> I can't believe people get that confused by an ID that's NOT a drivers license.
> Ofc not everybody drives! Nonsense!
> Makes me wanna boycott driving all together!



On a positive note, you must look younger than your age! 

Clerks in liquor stores are so afraid of getting caught of selling to minors they are sometimes overly cautious.  They are taught how to spot a fake of the local driver's license so feel comfortable with that.  If they see an ID that they've never seen before, they probably are concerned they don't know how to tell if it's real or fake.


----------



## taxlady

When I was 25, I was carded in downtown Chicago. I showed a U.S. passport as ID. We had to go to a different bar.


----------



## bakechef

Barbara L said:


> I am very upset at a certain person, who shall remain nameless (but is my sister).  Pretty much anything my sister has ever done has been to benefit herself. I am absolutely not exaggerating when I say that over 50% of what comes out of her mouth is a lie (probably closer to 75%, but I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt). She isn't stupid (huge reader, great at all types of puzzles, etc.), but years of meth and cocaine use, as well as hard liquor and who knows what else haven't helped any. I only tell you this to show you a little about what we have had to deal with. She can be very nice, and very generous, but you have to constantly guard against getting stabbed in the back.
> 
> Anyway, as most of you know, my dad died in November and we had his funeral in December. Since he had bought two plots (one with my mom, in CA, and one in his family plot, in MO) we had his ashes divided, with the plan to go back to Missouri in May or June, have a little family reunion, and bury the remaining ashes. Unfortunately, finances haven't allowed us to do it yet.
> 
> My vent is that my sister suddenly decided that she is going to take his ashes back to Missouri herself, and she didn't ask any of us how we felt about it, or even let any of us know her plans until she had to. She had to tell her son because she wants him to go with her so that he can drive the rental car when they get there (she doesn't drive). My daughter (who has my dad's ashes) only found out yesterday, and my sister planned to leave either today or tomorrow. We are pretty sure she will tell the cousins in MO all kinds of stories about why we didn't come (my nephew didn't even know that she hadn't told us--he thought we knew but had declined), but that's not the thing that really bothers us. We know that it has to be done, but it was not her decision to make on her own. It should have been a family decision. It's not as if his ashes were going to go anywhere. It could have waited until a better time.
> 
> Thank you for letting me rant and rave and vent. I'm not looking for advice--the ashes will be turned over to her and she can go do it, and I will continue to pray for her every day as I always do, but I think this is really the last straw for my daughter and me. Sorry this is so long. I had actually written tons more, but most of that didn't need to be said. I just needed to write it, then I deleted it.



I too have a toxic sister.  She is kind and generous, but then is confrontational and delusional, you are never quite sure which sister that you will see, I am pretty sure that she is bi-polar, but she'll never seek help for it.  She has managed to push pretty much everyone away from her.  An she too is intelligent, she is a high ranking military officer, but some of the things that come out of her mouth leave me shaking my head. You can make a very obvious statement and she will argue about it, even when she knows that she is wrong.  My dad's death last year brought out the worst in her.  The day that we knew that my dad would pass, she says "I can't be away from duty any longer", and she leaves to drive 1000 miles home!  He passed before she even got out of the state.  

She wants to open a business and have me bake for her, but I don't think that there is any way that I could work for her.  This would be my dream job under any other circumstances, but I know better than to put myself in that position.


----------



## Skittle68

bakechef said:
			
		

> I too have a toxic sister.  She is kind and generous, but then is confrontational and delusional, you are never quite sure which sister that you will see, I am pretty sure that she is bi-polar, but she'll never seek help for it.  She has managed to push pretty much everyone away from her.  An she too is intelligent, she is a high ranking military officer, but some of the things that come out of her mouth leave me shaking my head. You can make a very obvious statement and she will argue about it, even when she knows that she is wrong.  My dad's death last year brought out the worst in her.  The day that we knew that my dad would pass, she says "I can't be away from duty any longer", and she leaves to drive 1000 miles home!  He passed before she even got out of the state.
> 
> She wants to open a business and have me bake for her, but I don't think that there is any way that I could work for her.  This would be my dream job under any other circumstances, but I know better than to put myself in that position.



First of all, Barbara, I'm so sorry about your dad, and about your sister making things so much more stressful and difficult.  

And bakechef, that is just too bad  family businesses can be tough under the best circumstances, so it's good that you are holding yourself back from jumping into a commitment with someone so unstable.


----------



## Barbara L

bakechef said:


> I too have a toxic sister.  She is kind and generous, but then is confrontational and delusional, you are never quite sure which sister that you will see, I am pretty sure that she is bi-polar, but she'll never seek help for it.  She has managed to push pretty much everyone away from her.  An she too is intelligent, she is a high ranking military officer, but some of the things that come out of her mouth leave me shaking my head. You can make a very obvious statement and she will argue about it, even when she knows that she is wrong.  My dad's death last year brought out the worst in her.  The day that we knew that my dad would pass, she says "I can't be away from duty any longer", and she leaves to drive 1000 miles home!  He passed before she even got out of the state.
> 
> She wants to open a business and have me bake for her, but I don't think that there is any way that I could work for her.  This would be my dream job under any other circumstances, but I know better than to put myself in that position.


I know what you mean! As Skittle said, doing business with family is tough under the best of conditions.  Re. what you said (in red above), my sister was there when my dad died, but she did leave just a few hours before (not knowing when it might be) to do some cocaine (she didn't say that is what she was doing, but her attitude adjustment indicated it, as well as the money she borrowed from my dad's store). We didn't say anything to her, but we were very angry.

Anyway, my daughter just called and I have an update on the whole situation. As the Bible says, you reap what you sow, and my sister is doing a little reaping right now.  Nancy said my sister showed up a day or so ago, banging on the door. Nancy opened the door and saw the look on her face and just said, "No." My sister got irate (her usual mood), and Nancy told her that this should have been a family decision and that she had no right to suddenly make plans on her own and to demand the ashes. After my sister left, Nancy did let my nephew know that if he wanted to come by and get the ashes she would give them to him, but she hadn't wanted to give them to his mom in the state she was in. Done. So they thought anyway. My sister finally thought to check with Amtrak, and they wouldn't let her bring the ashes on the train. Since she had already bought the tickets she and my nephew went ahead on the trip anyway, but she won't be able to do the burial. 

Hopefully Nancy, James, and I will be able to afford to do this soon. They are having their own financial struggles (3 kids, they just moved, lots of expenses), and on top of our normal financial struggles, I am waiting to be referred to an expensive specialist to see if I can finally get the hysterectomy I need, so it may be awhile. Thank goodness my dad is in Heaven now and doesn't have to be a party to all this mess. My sister thought he was her personal bank and bail-out guy, and now that he is gone, she is more of a loose cannon than ever.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I wasn't there but that sounds unnecessarily nasty.


 
Andy, she was accusing me of having a fake ID. She wanted to call the police. Even her manager sided with me. She failed to recognize a valid ID, and she handled it all so wrong. It was not her call to make. She should have quietly brought her concerns to her manager. Not try to embarras me in front of other customers. 

How would you feel if you were standing behind someone who was being accused of a crime in a bank? Your first thought would be that the bank was being held up. I think she slept through the class on *How To Handle An Emgerency* that day.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> On a positive note, you must look younger than your age!
> 
> Clerks in liquor stores are so afraid of getting caught of selling to minors they are sometimes overly cautious. They are taught how to spot a fake of the local driver's license so feel comfortable with that. If they see an ID that they've never seen before, they probably are concerned they don't know how to tell if it's real or fake.


 
Andy, if I am not mistaken, I think the RMV here in Mass. has a booklet for liquor stores and other businesses showing what IDs from every state and territories, (Guam, Marshall Islands) including military look like. It is for sale only to a licensed business. Every state now has a hologram and if you hold the ID under a blue light, it will show up. And there are other built in safeguards. I will have to ask my daughter. She works at the RMV. 

I should get a new ID. I have no expiration date on mine as it is not a drivers license. The new ones have one and you have to go in for a new pic. I wish I looked like my photo on my ID. It was taken more than ten years ago. I am now all grey and white. I had red hair in my pic. Different glasses, and a mouthul of teeth.


----------



## tinlizzie

My son and I went to the local bank branch so that he could be added to my checking account -- a simple signing of his name.  We were there during the noon hour and ended up waiting a full 30 minutes for the lone person who could accomplish this.  Although I've plenty of time, my son didn't have all day.  Seems to me they could schedule lunchtimes to better cover the noon hour when people are pressed for time.


----------



## bakechef

Barbara L said:


> I know what you mean! As Skittle said, doing business with family is tough under the best of conditions.  Re. what you said (in red above), my sister was there when my dad died, but she did leave just a few hours before (not knowing when it might be) to do some cocaine (she didn't say that is what she was doing, but her attitude adjustment indicated it, as well as the money she borrowed from my dad's store). We didn't say anything to her, but we were very angry.
> 
> Anyway, my daughter just called and I have an update on the whole situation. As the Bible says, you reap what you sow, and my sister is doing a little reaping right now.  Nancy said my sister showed up a day or so ago, banging on the door. Nancy opened the door and saw the look on her face and just said, "No." My sister got irate (her usual mood), and Nancy told her that this should have been a family decision and that she had no right to suddenly make plans on her own and to demand the ashes. After my sister left, Nancy did let my nephew know that if he wanted to come by and get the ashes she would give them to him, but she hadn't wanted to give them to his mom in the state she was in. Done. So they thought anyway. My sister finally thought to check with Amtrak, and they wouldn't let her bring the ashes on the train. Since she had already bought the tickets she and my nephew went ahead on the trip anyway, but she won't be able to do the burial.
> 
> Hopefully Nancy, James, and I will be able to afford to do this soon. They are having their own financial struggles (3 kids, they just moved, lots of expenses), and on top of our normal financial struggles, I am waiting to be referred to an expensive specialist to see if I can finally get the hysterectomy I need, so it may be awhile. Thank goodness my dad is in Heaven now and doesn't have to be a party to all this mess. My sister thought he was her personal bank and bail-out guy, and now that he is gone, she is more of a loose cannon than ever.



That's tough.

I am not of the mindset that just because someone is family, that you need to put up with their bad behavior.  I have a step sister and an adopted sister that I see very little of, just because they will usually create drama and ask for money (I'm the youngest with a modest income).  These are from my dad's first marriage and they lived with their mom mostly and she wasn't qualified to raise a cactus, never mind children, they never tried to rise above their upbringing, so we have very little in common.  I am nice to them when I have to see them, but they put that wedge between us when they tried to guilt me for money.  The toxic sister is one that was raised in my house, she's very successful in the military.  My brother with whom I have very little in common with is the one and only sibling that I can count on to be "normal" we can go years without seeing each other and instantly fall back into that fun brother relationship.

I love my family but feel that living 1000 miles away from most of them is a good thing.  I surround myself with my family of choice, people who, just being around them alleviates stress, keeps me sane.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> ...
> I love my family but feel that living 1000 miles away from most of them is a good thing.  I surround myself with my family of choice, people who, just being around them alleviates stress, keeps me sane.


I started get along with my mother much better, once we were on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

I don't know how well I would get along with my sister if we weren't on opposite sides of the continent. From what I have been reading here, I am feeling blessed with the sister I got.


----------



## Barbara L

My mom and I always said the same thing, that it was easier to get along with my sister when she was across the country. It is sad, but when she isn't nearby we can at least hope she is telling the truth.  I love my sister, but honestly I would never have chosen her as a friend.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> That's tough.
> 
> I love my family but feel that living 1000 miles away from most of them is a good thing. I surround myself with my family of choice, people who, just being around them alleviates stress, keeps me sane.


 
I am the matriarch of the family. The last one of my generation. After me the title passes on to my neice. She is my toxic relative. She is extremely smart along with her husband. But she has never forgiven me for getting my youngest one through medical school. She has yet to get her Masters degree. She has put three kids through school, one getting a Doctorate in theology, a daughter that is an electrical engineer and a son that works for some peace org. in the mid-east. Her claim is that my son went into medicine delibereately to show her what a single mother can do if she puts her mind to it. After all it took two parents to get her kids through college. She also has not forgiven me because my sister had me as a co-owner of her bank box. She didn't even tell her daughter that she had the box. There was more than $5,000 dollars in it when I opened it. I knew about it for years. But I never told anyone. I had secrets about HER family that she was not privy to. I turned her mother against her. 

She wants to create a family history. Sooner or later she will have to contact me. She better hurry. My days on this earth are fewer than what I have already used. 

Ludicrous, stupid stuff. I just don't call, email or have any contact with her. Why get myself upset. I just want a peaceful, quiet life.


----------



## CWS4322

Skittle68 said:


> Really should have asked for a manager. A passport should be sufficient in the US.


A passport should be sufficient in any country. A passport should trump a driver's license. I have used my passport more as my photo ID than I have used my driver's license. I can cash a cheque at a bank when I go to MN using my passport. I ran into an issue at the post office the other day. I wanted to add a name to the card for the PO Box. I had just picked up my mail. I was asked for photo ID. I used my passport. I had to show a piece of my mail with my address on it. Which is ridiculous since all the person had to do was pull the card and compare my name to the name on the card (why this isn't computerized is beyond me) (unfortunately, I didn't have a piece of mail addressed to "Occupant.")


----------



## taxlady

I hate when somebody tailgates me. I keep a nice 2-3 second following distance in good weather.

We went to a party downtown. I was followed, on the highway, for about 5 km, by some doofus who was following me so closely that I couldn't see her headlights in my rear view mirror! This was at 80-100 km/hr (50-62 mph). I don't think it was a Quebec driver. I tapped my brakes and that didn't make the driver give me more space. In Quebec the majority of drivers who tailgate, mean it. They want you to go faster. If you don't speed up, they will almost always pass you as soon as they can. If you do speed up, they won't maintain the short following distance. This person had lots of opportunities to pass, but didn't take them. A number of drivers exited, so I had a chance to speed up. The driver promptly caught up with me and got just as close again. I don't think she knew it's not safe to tailgate. grrr

Driving home from the party was a PITA too. Not only were there weaving drunks, I got another tailgater driving as close as the first one. That's not something I see often. But, I think this one was local. A tap on the brakes and the vehicle passed me.

Road closures for construction didn't make the drive any nicer. The interchange for the highway I wanted was closed and then the stretch of highway near my house (A40) was closed, so I had to take the other east-west highway (A20) that's further from my house. Of course, it was busier than usual since loads of other people couldn't take the A40 either. I really would have preferred to take the A40, because the street that goes down to the A20 from my house is under construction and there's about 2 km of one lane per direction, where there are usually three lanes per direction.

I didn't find out that the highway and interchange were closed until I was heading for the highway entrance. Grrrr


----------



## buckytom

were these 2 lane highways, taxy? one lane in each direction? if so, there's no excuse for tailgating, and passing only when the lines in the road allow for it.


----------



## taxlady

buckytom said:


> were these 2 lane highways, taxy? one lane in each direction? if so, there's no excuse for tailgating, and passing only when the lines in the road allow for it.


No, this was divided, limited access highway. There were three lanes per direction most of the way. Passing in the fast lane would have been easy.


----------



## buckytom

there was a left lane open in your direction and people still tailgated? sheesh! va fa napoli.


----------



## taxlady

buckytom said:


> there was a left lane open in your direction and people still tailgated? sheesh! va fa napoli.


Well, the first one would have had to wait for a few cars to go by. The second one didn't have to wait, and did just pass.

I don't get it. Isn't it scary to drive that close to the car in front of you?


----------



## Barbara L

taxlady said:


> Well, the first one would have had to wait for a few cars to go by. The second one didn't have to wait, and did just pass.
> 
> I don't get it. Isn't it scary to drive that close to the car in front of you?


I have had a couple friends who are really bad about that. If I am in the passenger seat, I often find myself saying, "I'd really love to meet the people in front of us, but not right now!"


----------



## buckytom

i've driven in nyc almost everyday since i was 18, and yes, so long as you can see 2 or 3 cars ahead of you through or over the car in front of you, it's easy to drive in the flow of traffic pretty closely. vision is key, though.

i mean, if there's no room to pass, then sit back. but if theee's multiple lanes, i would hope slower drivers would stay right.

there's always some butthead faster than you, so it works as a rule for the most part.


----------



## Kylie1969

Taxy, I feel for you...I cant stand tailgaters 

We get so many of them over here it is sickening!

I am the same, I like to keep a good 2-3 second gap too....but it just doesn't stop other idiots tailgating

I just stick to the speed limit and if they dont pass me, that is their problem

I refuse to speed up for them and risk myself getting a fine for speeding, while they are behind and get away with it...no way!


----------



## Barbara L

buckytom said:


> i've driven in nyc almost everyday since i was 18, and yes, so long as you can see 2 or 3 cars ahead of you through or over the car in front of you, it's easy to drive in the flow of traffic pretty closely. vision is key, though.
> 
> i mean, if there's no room to pass, then sit back. but if theee's multiple lanes, i would hope slower drivers would stay right.
> 
> there's always some butthead faster than you, so it works as a rule for the most part.


Driving in NYC scared us to death! We found a hotel as quickly as we could and never went near our car until we left four days later! We took cabs and the hotel's cars! I know it is different when you are used to it, and I used to drive on the freeways in San Diego County all the time (not like NYC, but not like SC either), but since we both moved to South Carolina, we have gotten used to a different style of driving.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The ones that make me crazy are the one's who pull up behind you in town, flashing their lights to make you go faster and the right lane is clear.  Sorry I have a left turn to make ahead and I'm not pulling into the right lane.  This is town driving, not the highway.


----------



## Andy M.

I refuse to change my speed for a tailgater.  I'll tap my brakes and that works sometimes.  I pull over to let them pass when I can.  

In my experience, around here young women are the worst tailgaters.  Not all of them and not all the time.  Just my observations.


----------



## Bolledeig

I'm with you, Andy!
Don't let the tailgaters get their way!

Tailgaters make me soooo mad. Following that closely is SO dangerous, and they are too unintelligent to understand it. And if that wasn't enough, they are also usually the ones that text while driving.. with their headlights in someones trunk.

Shame on their parents who failed at teaching them proper manners and common sense!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I refuse to change my speed for a tailgater. I'll tap my brakes and that works sometimes. I pull over to let them pass when I can.
> 
> In my experience, around here young women are the worst tailgaters. Not all of them and not all the time. Just my observations.


 
Don'tcha just luv Boston drivers? After all we do own the road. And it is always a race to see who can get killed at a rotary. Yield means nothing to us.

My daughter works for the RMV and she is a good driver simply because of her job. If she were to get into an accident that was her fault, she would lose her job. One time when we were out, we came upon a fight starting from road rage. We were stopped at an intersention. She took a right, even though it was the opposite direction of where we were going. No way did either one of us want to get involved with that. I am so glad I don't drive.


----------



## bakechef

A few years ago we were in LA for a couple of days before a cruise, and we rented a car.  I was a bit concerned about the freeways, but found them a breeze, compared to driving in and around Boston.  We drove from Long Beach to Hollywood, to the griffith observatory, to Santa Monica, to Malibu, about 300 miles in a day and a half.  Both the freeways and surface streets were a breeze.  I was actually surprised at how laid back the drivers were compared to Boston, DC, and other cities that I've driven in.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I refuse to change my speed for a tailgater.  I'll tap my brakes and that works sometimes.  I pull over to let them pass when I can.
> ...


I agree Andy. I figure that if I speed up for a tail gater, I am reinforcing bad/dangerous behaviour.

There are two situations when I change my speed for a tailgater.
1) It's making me nervous, so I slow down.
2) It's an 18 wheeler (doesn't happen often) and I can't change lanes. I don't argue with 18 wheelers. I know who comes out 2nd best in that argument.


----------



## Addie

Well, my eye surgery had again been scheduled for the end of the month on the condition that the surgeon or the anesthesiologist calls me first. So far all I have received in a notice in the mail. 

About forty years ago I had an abscess in my rectum. I was in the OR on the table. The doctor who was giving me the anesthesia told me I would be getting sleepy. He was right. I was sleepy, but not asleep. He told the surgeon OK. I felt him making the incision. I let out a scream and came off that table so fast. The instrument cart went flying. There I was stark nekkid in the middle of the room with blood running down my leg into a puddle on the floor. I had nightmares for months after.

I want to be put to sleep. But I don't want to wait until I am on the table again and find that they are not willing to put me to sleep. So all I have at this time is just the piece of paper that I received in the mail. I don't understand why someone in that department can't take five minutes out of their day and call me. The nightmares have returned after all these years. I find myself sleeping in the chair sitting up. I don't go into a deep sleep and the nightmares don't come. I will not agree to the surgery until I talk to someone in the eye surgery department. If someone doesn't call me, I am going to ask my doctor to give me a referral for Mass. Eye & Ear. Years ago when I used to go there for all my eye problems, they were the first to diagnose the cataracs. I asked if they would put me to sleep for the removal. Without any hesitation, they told me yes. They didn't want a patent who wasn't totally relaxed. I will have probably lost my vision before this is resolved. I find myself crying every time I start to think of this mess.


----------



## taxlady

Oh Addy (((hugs))). Those nightmares sound awful. I hope your doctor can get this straightened out for you soon.


----------



## Barbara L

taxlady said:


> I agree Andy. I figure that if I speed up for a tail gater, I am reinforcing bad/dangerous behaviour.
> 
> There are two situations when I change my speed for a tailgater.
> 1) It's making me nervous, so I slow down.
> 2) It's an 18 wheeler (doesn't happen often) and I can't change lanes. I don't argue with 18 wheelers. I know who comes out 2nd best in that argument.


I agree!

My dad didn't teach me to drive, but one thing he did teach me is to never let the person behind me (whether driving or stopped at an intersection, etc.) make me do something stupid.

This reminds me of something I read years ago in Reader's Digest. A guy was stopped at a busy intersection. The light turned green, but he didn't go. The guy behind him started laying on the horn. Finally the man in front got out, walked back to the car behind him, and pointed at the old lady slowly crossing the street in front of his car. He held his keys out to the guy and said, "You hit her. I don't have the heart."


----------



## Skittle68

bakechef said:
			
		

> A few years ago we were in LA for a couple of days before a cruise, and we rented a car.  I was a bit concerned about the freeways, but found them a breeze, compared to driving in and around Boston.  We drove from Long Beach to Hollywood, to the griffith observatory, to Santa Monica, to Malibu, about 300 miles in a day and a half.  Both the freeways and surface streets were a breeze.  I was actually surprised at how laid back the drivers were compared to Boston, DC, and other cities that I've driven in.



LA drivers really are laid back. I don't remember having many problems with tailgaters out there. Here is a different story. I just don't understand it. Why endanger yourself and others when there is obviously a line of cars, and you can't make them go any faster??  NOBODY ever says "I LOVE when people tailgate me!" and yet so many people do it. Some people do have different ideas about what's tailgating and what's not, but come on, when you are less than a car length behind, I just cannot imaging someone thinking that is safe and ok. My bf follows a little too close to people sometimes, but nothing crazy. I pointed out one time that he's not going to get there any faster, and it wouldn't hurt to leave a little more room, and he seems to be a little better about it now.


----------



## Bolledeig

I have to say, it's not like the individual has to create their own definition of tailgating tho. That's what the 3 second rule is for.
(When you're moving at least)


----------



## Skittle68

Bolledeig said:
			
		

> I have to say, it's not like the individual has to create their own definition of tailgating tho. That's what the 3 second rule is for.
> (When you're moving at least)



True. I always leave more like 5 seconds, because it just feels more relaxed to me. 
Maybe that's why I get tailgated all the time lol


----------



## roadfix

Skittle68 said:


> LA drivers really are laid back.



This is especially true in and around the community of Monterey Park.


----------



## taxlady

Barbara L said:


> I agree!
> 
> My dad didn't teach me to drive, but one thing he did teach me is to never let the person behind me (whether driving or stopped at an intersection, etc.) make me do something stupid.
> 
> This reminds me of something I read years ago in Reader's Digest. A guy was stopped at a busy intersection. The light turned green, but he didn't go. The guy behind him started laying on the horn. Finally the man in front got out, walked back to the car behind him, and pointed at the old lady slowly crossing the street in front of his car. He held his keys out to the guy and said, "You hit her. I don't have the heart."


Great story from RD.

I learned to drive in driver training in high school and with my dad. Even though my dad was a good driver, he wasn't a very good driving teacher. Well, just about anyone who isn't trained to teach driving doesn't do a great job of it. Driver training wasn't so hot either. 

I decided to take driving lessons from an excellent driving school 10 years after I got my drivers license. That was money well spent. I learned the right way to drive stick shift and the right way to get on the highway, among many other things, like defensive driving.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I learned from my Uncle, driving a pickup I could barely see out of when I was about 11 or 12 years old.  An old stick shift.


----------



## buckytom

lots of people who don't normally drive in big cities (l.a. is a big suburb, not a city) would get eaten alive in traffic in nyc, london, and rome. i've driven in all three and it takes a bit of nerve and a few prayers, here and there.

i heavy highway traffic, there's no room for everyone to sit back several car lengths when the traffic is slow but moving. cities would be gridlocked all day.

like i said before, i hope people that like to drive slower than the rest of traffic find the rightmost lane. the middle lane is for everyone, and the left lane is for passing. simple enough.

again, though, if there's only one lane and no passing, or traffic up ahead, why tailgate? you're only raising the probability of an accident. 

what bugs me most are folks who simply drive in the leftmost lane and don't move over for faster cars because they feel so long as they're doing the speed limit or slightly better, they have the right to be there. a coworker has actually said that to me, as he got into his car that has a mangled rear bumper. lol. he regularly drives in the "fast" lane going relatively slowly just to prove his point. sort of passive aggressive driving.

oh, also, i never flash my lights at a slow driver in the fast lane. it makes people either nervous or angry, neither of which is a good thing for someone in front of you.


----------



## Skittle68

buckytom said:
			
		

> lots of people who don't normally drive in big cities (l.a. is a big suburb, not a city) would get eaten alive in traffic in nyc, london, and rome. i've driven in all three and it takes a bit of nerve and a few prayers, here and there.
> 
> i heavy highway traffic, there's no room for everyone to sit back several car lengths when the traffic is slow but moving. cities would be gridlocked all day.
> 
> like i said before, i hope people that like to drive slower than the rest of traffic find the rightmost lane. the middle lane is for everyone, and the left lane is for passing. simple enough.
> 
> again, though, if there's only one lane and no passing, or traffic up ahead, why tailgate? you're only raising the probability of an accident.
> 
> what bugs me most are folks who simply drive in the leftmost lane and don't move over for faster cars because they feel so long as they're doing the speed limit or slightly better, they have the right to be there. a coworker has actually said that to me, as he got into his car that has a mangled rear bumper. lol. he regularly drives in the "fast" lane going relatively slowly just to prove his point. sort of passive aggressive driving.
> 
> oh, also, i never flash my lights at a slow driver in the fast lane. it makes people either nervous or angry, neither of which is a good thing for someone in front of you.



I think most of us are talking about tailgating at higher speeds, not bumper to bumper traffic. That's a whole different situation. 

I agree about slower traffic staying right. I don't understand people who drive in the left lane, making it more difficult for people to pass. It just creates a hazardous situation, and doesn't benefit anyone.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I learned from my Uncle, driving a pickup I could barely see out of when I was about 11 or 12 years old. An old stick shift.


 
We had a Ford Falcon. When my  husband was out fishing, the car sat in the yard. My daughter Maureen was 11 at the time. I was unaware that she was taking the car and learned to drive. It came in handy later on though. Son #3 was just a couple of months old. He had stopped breathing and while I worked on him, my daughter, taking the back roads, drove us to the hospital. She turned out to be the family car mechanic. She used to come home from a date covered in grease from working on a boyfriend's car. She could repair a car better than any of her brothers.

We lived in a small shrimping village on the Gulf in Texas at the time. They had a law that allowed kids 14 to have what they called a harship license. They were allowed to drive tractors and other farm equipment on roads. As soon as she was old enough, I got her one of those license. A lot of kids whose fathers or other parent was not at home for extended periods were also allowed to have a harship license. That little village is now a major city in South Texas.


----------



## Barbara L

My uncle's mom learned on a back road in Argyle, MN (East of Grand Forks, ND and South of Winnipeg, CA). She kept balking at learning, so one day her husband slowed the car down, jumped out, and she had to take over.


----------



## Bolledeig

Bleh.. I'm having problems deciding on things.
I've decided I need a protective case for my iPhone, but I just cannot decide which one to get. I sat all last night and tonight browsing through ebay and amazon. I even missed the new Real Housewives of New Jersey AND the new Real Housewives of New York just because I tried to decide on a case.

My brain is fried! Should I get a classy one? Should I get a fun one? Should I get one that advertises something I dig on it? Should I have a rubber one? Should it be blue? Pink? White? Boring?



Luxury problems...


----------



## Addie

So I have a major question for the medical personnel in our DC family. 

My granddaughter is entering nursing school in September. she has always been a straight A student. Even in her first two years at college. I have 17 grandkids and due to a very limited income, no presents for any of them unless they do something spectacular. They and their parents all know this. I think that the fact that she has been able to maintain a straight A all through her schooling is indeed worthy of recognition. 

So, I want to buy her a medical dictionary. I am looking at the Mosby Medical Distionary, Nursing, and Medical Profesionals. 8e. (Amazon) It was published in December 2008. There is a new edition coming out, but I can't find the release date. The purpose of buying it now is so that she can get familiar with the spelling of medical terms. It seem to be comprehensive in the subjects it covers. Pics, definitions, etc. 

Buy the present edition, or wait for the newer one whenever it is released. 
HELP!


----------



## bakechef

Bolledeig said:
			
		

> Bleh.. I'm having problems deciding on things.
> I've decided I need a protective case for my iPhone, but I just cannot decide which one to get. I sat all last night and tonight browsing through ebay and amazon. I even missed the new Real Housewives of New Jersey AND the new Real Housewives of New York just because I tried to decide on a case.
> 
> My brain is fried! Should I get a classy one? Should I get a fun one? Should I get one that advertises something I dig on it? Should I have a rubber one? Should it be blue? Pink? White? Boring?
> 
> 
> Luxury problems...



Do you carry it in your pocket or a purse?  A rubber one might be harder to slip in and out of your pocket, but would likely offer the best protection.  

I don't always use a case, to me they get in the way, and add bulk to the phone.  I might be pushing my luck leaving the phone unprotected, but my phone still looks like new a year later, I'm very careful with it.  I may slip it into its case before vacation, my mom has cats that enjoy knocking things off countertops.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie!

Actually, I would recommend this one: Amazon.com: Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 21st Edition (Thumb Index Version) (9780803615595): Donald Venes: Books


----------



## Bolledeig

bakechef said:


> Do you carry it in your pocket or a purse?  A rubber one might be harder to slip in and out of your pocket, but would likely offer the best protection.
> 
> I don't always use a case, to me they get in the way, and add bulk to the phone.  I might be pushing my luck leaving the phone unprotected, but my phone still looks like new a year later, I'm very careful with it.  I may slip it into its case before vacation, my mom has cats that enjoy knocking things off countertops.



Thanks! 
I actually never thought of the point you're mentioning.
I put it in my purse in a phone pocket, so that might be too small if I add a giant rubber thing.
Usually I never drop things and always treat my things nicely, but the baby has managed to get a hold of it and drop it on the floor twice. And since there's a hard drive in there, that might be bad.

Hmmmmm

Are those thin hard plastic cases any good?


----------



## bakechef

The iPhone has solid state memory, not a spinning hard drive, so it can take a little more abuse.  Sounds like a case would be a good idea with a little one around!

The hard ones might be best for keeping it looking good and give a little protection, but the rubberized ones are best for shock absorbing.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> I started get along with my mother much better, once we were on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
> 
> I don't know how well I would get along with my sister if we weren't on opposite sides of the continent. From what I have been reading here, I am feeling blessed with the sister I got.


I get along better with my father now that my mother has dementia....there is an international border between us. I was the "apple of my father's eye" but I didn't like being that--so I challenged him--oil and water. In part, I didn't think he treated my mom well--but now he is getting the "what goes around, comes around." And now, we get along better.


----------



## Skittle68

Everyone in my family "gets along with" my dad, he is a very kind man, and a generally good person, but within the last few years his drinking problem has escalated to the point that it's hard to like him. He has quit drinking for years at a time a couple times, and when he was drinking he would wait until at least 5 to have his first beer, and when he first started having heart problems he made an effort to limit his number of beers per night. Now it seems like he has decided that since he can't seem to beat it, he is just going to drink himself to death. He was controlling his blood pressure with diet, a walk, and a nap every day, but now he seems to have given up on everything but the nap. He is back on blood pressure medication, which he quit taking in the first place because of the side effects, but since he gave up on trying to be healthy it's necessary. My mom is afraid the alcohol is destroying his brain, and soon he won't be able to work. He needs to be in reasonably good health to maintain his class A license, and if he keeps this up he won't pass the health tests (the only time he isn't drinking is when he is working. On weekends he has a beer in his hand before noon).  He is self employed, and his work days seem to be getting shorter and shorter too. He has said that he is worth more dead than alive anyway, and if he feels that way, we all sort of wish he would just hurry up and die. The way things are going he is just going to end up bankrupting my poor mother by spending all the money they have coming in on beer, hospital bills, and prescription drugs (for his heart problems, and whatever else might come about due to his drinking). Not to mention what it must be like being married to someone who you have to be sure not to tell anything important to after 6:00 because he might not remember it.  I honestly don't know how he can do that to her. She's threatened him with divorce, and he said he would sell off and hide all his assets, then start working for cash only, so she couldn't get any money out of him, but at this point I don't think I would even care about that at this point. Ugh. Alcoholism is one of the most terrible diseases. Knowing him as a normal person, obviously this is very out of character for him. I'm sure he feels bad about it when he's sober, but he doesn't want to quit...


----------



## CWS4322

So, I had to wait 3 months to get paid for the work I did in TX (back in February). The cheque was in US funds. Given the exchange rate, the amount in CDN funds would be less, so I deposited the cheque (which was certified) in my US funds account. I had to wait 21 business days for the cheque to clear (I was given access to $1000 of it). Had I deposited it and converted it that day, I would have had access to all of it. The cheque "cleared" today. I tried to do this over the phone, could not, could not do it by on-line banking. went in and asked for a certain amount. 
"We don't have that much in US funds available." 
Grumble. You have "xx:" in US funds in my account--theoretically, I should be able to pull all of that out of my account."
 "Yes, but we don't have that much in US funds on hand--we can have it by Friday." 
"I've already let you hold those funds for 21 business days."
 "We can guve you $1500 today." (Don't you like the word "give"?). 
So I took the $ offered, went to a "check chasing place" and got a better rate than the bank would give me to convert the US $ toi CDN. 

At the bank, the guy behind me was nervously fingering the checque he was holding....

You gotta love that I deposited a certain amount, the cheque was certified, most of the money was held for 21 business days, and when I asked for it, I couldn't have it because the bank doesn't keep that much in US funds on hand and it would take 3-4 days to get the amount....hello, where are you keeping my $?

Oh, and I've had accounts at this bank since 1989. The tellers, manager all know me by name.


----------



## CWS4322

Skittle68 said:


> Everyone in my family "gets along with" my dad, he is a very kind man, and a generally good person, but within the last few years his drinking problem has escalated to the point that it's hard to like him. He has quit drinking for years at a time a couple times, and when he was drinking he would wait until at least 5 to have his first beer, and when he first started having heart problems he made an effort to limit his number of beers per night. Now it seems like he has decided that since he can't seem to beat it, he is just going to drink himself to death. He was controlling his blood pressure with diet, a walk, and a nap every day, but now he seems to have given up on everything but the nap. He is back on blood pressure medication, which he quit taking in the first place because of the side effects, but since he gave up on trying to be healthy it's necessary. My mom is afraid the alcohol is destroying his brain, and soon he won't be able to work. He needs to be in reasonably good health to maintain his class A license, and if he keeps this up he won't pass the health tests (the only time he isn't drinking is when he is working. On weekends he has a beer in his hand before noon).  He is self employed, and his work days seem to be getting shorter and shorter too. He has said that he is worth more dead than alive anyway, and if he feels that way, we all sort of wish he would just hurry up and die. The way things are going he is just going to end up bankrupting my poor mother by spending all the money they have coming in on beer, hospital bills, and prescription drugs (for his heart problems, and whatever else might come about due to his drinking). Not to mention what it must be like being married to someone who you have to be sure not to tell anything important to after 6:00 because he might not remember it.  I honestly don't know how he can do that to her. She's threatened him with divorce, and he said he would sell off and hide all his assets, then start working for cash only, so she couldn't get any money out of him, but at this point I don't think I would even care about that at this point. Ugh. Alcoholism is one of the most terrible diseases. Knowing him as a normal person, obviously this is very out of character for him. I'm sure he feels bad about it when he's sober, but he doesn't want to quit...


I hate to say this--your mom is enabling your dad. There are things that you can do. My mom should've left my dad years ago. In her more lucid moments now, she regrets she did not. Now, my father controls the $ and she cannot leave--I'd bring her home in a heartbeat--she always says that-I can't leave now, I have no $.  She begs me to take her home with me--I can't--my dad has power=of-attorney, but she comes out to the car in the morning at 5:00 a.m. when I'm leaving with her suitcase (I don't know what she has in it--probably nothing)--breaks my heart I have to take her back in the house--and then drive away--I cry all the way from Bemidji to Superior--usually to Michigan. There are things you can do to help your mom leave, but if she doesn't want to leave, she won't. It is just one of those things that you cannot change. And, at some point, as much as you want to help, you can't. I live in another country. I can't just bring my mom home with me.


----------



## Skittle68

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> I hate to say this--your mom is enabling your dad. There are things that you can do. My mom should've left my dad years ago. In her more lucid moments now, she regrets she did not. Now, my father controls the $ and she cannot leave--I'd bring her home in a heartbeat--she always says that-I can't leave now, I have no $.  She begs me to take her home with me--I can't--my dad has power=of-attorney, but she comes out to the car in the morning at 5:00 a.m. when I'm leaving with her suitcase (I don't know what she has in it--probably nothing)--breaks my heart I have to take her back in the house--and then drive away--I cry all the way from Bemidji to Superior--usually to Michigan. There are things you can do to help your mom leave, but if she doesn't want to leave, she won't. It is just one of those things that you cannot change. And, at some point, as much as you want to help, you can't. I live in another country. I can't just bring my mom home with me.



It's somewhat true that she is enabling him- if she left him it wouldn't necessarily stop his drinking, but it would definitely shake things up. Personally I think she would be better off leaving regardless of what he did or said about it, but she most likely never will. Things will continue on the downward spiral. Where rock bottom is will depend on what order the inevitable events happen in.


----------



## Dawgluver

Skittle68 said:
			
		

> It's somewhat true that she is enabling him- if she left him it wouldn't necessarily stop his drinking, but it would definitely shake things up. Personally I think she would be better off leaving regardless of what he did or said about it, but she most likely never will. Things will continue on the downward spiral. Where rock bottom is will depend on what order the inevitable events happen in.



Skittle, I think your dad might be depressed and may be self-medicating.  Your parents are adults and your mom knows what she's doing.  It is very difficult to just walk away from a marriage, especially one that's long- term.  Check out the Al-anon website, it might offer some help and support.

Good luck, sweetie.


----------



## buckytom

i can sympathize. dawg is right and has excellent advice. (but beware al-anon and therapy. it can be as harmful as helpful. deoends on the folks involved. the only person that knows what's good for you is you) 

you have to let your family live their own lives.

until, of course, a family member is incapable of taking care of themselves.

man, there's grey areas attached to everything i just said.

nevermind.


----------



## Addie

I am so angry with my body I am so sleepy. But my body won't let me sleep more than 20 minutes. Then I wake up. So I get up and do more cleaning. The house is getting nice and clean. But I am getting more tired. Eventually, I will crash. Thn the phone will ring or someone will be at the door. I can hardly keep my eyes open. If I lay down I will become wide awake. Oh joy!


----------



## kadesma

Addie said:


> I am so angry with my body I am so sleepy. But my body won't let me sleep more than 20 minutes. Then I wake up. So I get up and do more cleaning. The house is getting nice and clean. But I am getting more tired. Eventually, I will crash. Thn the phone will ring or someone will be at the door. I can hardly keep my eyes open. If I lay down I will become wide awake. Oh joy!


Addie,
What helps you get to sleep? Would the same thing help you stay asleep? If so slap something in or on your ears, block the darn world  and just sleep  as long as you can. I'm having trouble sleeping as well. I've been getting across the bed and when I wake my knee joint hurt like heck it's so bad I want to cry. DH has to help me get started and that's the pits. Poor guy has enough to do with out waiting on me. So tonight a railing is going up to stop me wandering off the side or my falling off the side of the darn bed. Tis s getting awful. I so hope you can get some decent rest. Take care friend
Kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Addie,
> What helps you get to sleep? Would the same thing help you stay asleep? If so slap something in or on your ears, block the darn world  and just sleep  as long as you can. I'm having trouble sleeping as well. I've been getting across the bed and when I wake my knee joint hurt like heck it's so bad I want to cry. DH has to help me get started and that's the pits. Poor guy has enough to do with out waiting on me. So tonight a railing is going up to stop me wandering off the side or my falling off the side of the darn bed. Tis s getting awful. I so hope you can get some decent rest. Take care friend
> Kades



Ma, this is the one I got for Shrek, he loves it and said it was the best idea I ever had.

Stander Stable Bed Rail ON SALE 5800 BedRail, Assist Rail


----------



## Merlot

Skittle68 said:


> Everyone in my family "gets along with" my dad, he is a very kind man, and a generally good person, but within the last few years his drinking problem has escalated to the point that it's hard to like him. He has quit drinking for years at a time a couple times, and when he was drinking he would wait until at least 5 to have his first beer, and when he first started having heart problems he made an effort to limit his number of beers per night. Now it seems like he has decided that since he can't seem to beat it, he is just going to drink himself to death. He was controlling his blood pressure with diet, a walk, and a nap every day, but now he seems to have given up on everything but the nap. He is back on blood pressure medication, which he quit taking in the first place because of the side effects, but since he gave up on trying to be healthy it's necessary. My mom is afraid the alcohol is destroying his brain, and soon he won't be able to work. He needs to be in reasonably good health to maintain his class A license, and if he keeps this up he won't pass the health tests (the only time he isn't drinking is when he is working. On weekends he has a beer in his hand before noon). He is self employed, and his work days seem to be getting shorter and shorter too. He has said that he is worth more dead than alive anyway, and if he feels that way, we all sort of wish he would just hurry up and die. The way things are going he is just going to end up bankrupting my poor mother by spending all the money they have coming in on beer, hospital bills, and prescription drugs (for his heart problems, and whatever else might come about due to his drinking). Not to mention what it must be like being married to someone who you have to be sure not to tell anything important to after 6:00 because he might not remember it. I honestly don't know how he can do that to her. She's threatened him with divorce, and he said he would sell off and hide all his assets, then start working for cash only, so she couldn't get any money out of him, but at this point I don't think I would even care about that at this point. Ugh. Alcoholism is one of the most terrible diseases. Knowing him as a normal person, obviously this is very out of character for him. I'm sure he feels bad about it when he's sober, but he doesn't want to quit...


 
I know alcoholism all too well.  It is a hard life to live.  I feel sorry for everyone involved


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Ma, this is the one I got for Shrek, he loves it and said it was the best idea I ever had.
> 
> Stander Stable Bed Rail ON SALE 5800 BedRail, Assist Rail


Thank you  so much PF. You have no idea how much this will help me. DH just ordered it for me YIPEEEEEThanks again and again. You are a dear heart.
ma


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> Thank you  so much PF. You have no idea how much this will help me. DH just ordered it for me YIPEEEEEThanks again and again. You are a dear heart.
> ma



And it's portable, you can take it with you!!!  It's the perfect thing to give you a hand up and if it's strong enough to hold Shrek's weight it's definitely strong enough for you!  Shrek likes the pockets on it.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

My only vents today are the cat and teeth.

The cat won't stay away from the areas that I have sprayed with *Raid*. Plus, I'm going through a painful wisdom tooth coming in. Geez, do you they _ever_ stop coming in?


----------



## Alix

My vent is about my poor dog. He has ANOTHER hot spot and this one is the worst yet. Its right under his tail and on his bum. I've never seen him so freaked out. He was spinning in circles, licking, whining, running...it was awful. He is now lying on the floor with the cone of shame on. I hate doing that to him but I have to until the pain pills kick in. Poor thing. 

The vet tells me it is likely inhalant related. She says this has been the worst year in a long time for allergies and that is likely his problem. So there is just nothing I can do for him except try to get him through until the pollen count is lower. Poor guy. He is so miserable.


----------



## Addie

Vanilla Bean said:


> My only vents today are the cat and teeth.
> 
> The cat won't stay away from the areas that I have sprayed with *Raid*. Plus, I'm going through a painful wisdom tooth coming in. Geez, do you they _ever_ stop coming in?


 
I still have my four wisdom teeth. They never broke through. I didn't even know I had any until I was in my 60's. Now they are the only ones I have in my mouth. Once I had all the others removed, all four moved down from just below my ears to my mouth. But they still don't bother me. So I am leaving them alone.


----------



## CWS4322

Alix said:


> My vent is about my poor dog. He has ANOTHER hot spot and this one is the worst yet. Its right under his tail and on his bum. I've never seen him so freaked out. He was spinning in circles, licking, whining, running...it was awful. He is now lying on the floor with the cone of shame on. I hate doing that to him but I have to until the pain pills kick in. Poor thing.
> 
> The vet tells me it is likely inhalant related. She says this has been the worst year in a long time for allergies and that is likely his problem. So there is just nothing I can do for him except try to get him through until the pollen count is lower. Poor guy. He is so miserable.


Hot spots and Saint Bernards are a given. There are several home remedies that help dry them up. Under the tail and on the bum is a place we haven't seen them--under the chin (where the drool collects, on the thigh, on the shoulder, on the top of the tail). One of the home remedies is to steep some black tea bags for about 10 minutes. Cool the tea bags and apply to the hot spot (it helps to shave the area). The tannin helps dry it up. We also used to get "Blue goo" which is what is used when you cut cattle horns. That dries it up but that worked best for the under-the-chin spots (where the dogs could not lick it). The other was to use the ear cleaner....Oti??? Oh, and diluted original Listerine in a spray bottle applied to the area. Flea allergy can often trigger hot spots, as can anxiety. 

I hate the smell of hot spots!


----------



## Alix

I've got some tea dabby stuff all made up. Pacanis gave me a recipe which includes a crushed up aspirin and a splash of rubbing alcohol to help dry it up without being too painful. It works...but its tough to do by yourself in this particular spot. 

We've had to use the cone of shame poor dog. He is completely mental about this one. I really don't like making him take steroids but we may have no choice here. This is his third bout in a month with hot spots. Poor puppy is completely miserable and we are not sleeping. I have a few minutes of peace while Ken takes him out for a walk. I'm just going to enjoy and be silent for a bit.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Sigh. Sometimes I get frustrated when every post on Facebook from one friend or another is just a sound bite or poster or meme. I don't have any stupid friends. They are all capable of individual thought, of expresing themselves in their own words. So why don't they use their own voices? Why do they cheat themselves, cheapen their intelligence, by incessantly parroting the overused? Why do they throw away the gift of individualism? 

I don't mind the occasional lolcat amidst photos of loved ones (be they animal, vegetable, humanoid, or pet rock). I don't mind a philosphical poster with a comment from the friend about why he agrees with the idea (or she, I know, but the whole (s)he or he/she bit is awkward to read). I don't mind the use of famous quotes to highlight a point of view or belief. I don't even mind the occasional posting of one of those syrupy, artificially sweetened hall-markisms ("Real love is a gift without a price tag" imagine that said in a mocking, slightly breathy falsetto Urkle-like voice followed by the sounds of gagging. Hey, I said I didn't mind people posting them, not that I don't mind their existance).

"For heaven's sake people, say something for yourself on occasion." I want to scream that at them in ALL CAPS.  "Here, I'll show you how, it's not difficult.

I love my husband. He's a fricking awesome guy.

See, not that difficult. Maybe just as trite as a hall-markism but at least I'm the one saying it." 

That's what I want to post. Why don't I? Because I have before and it does no good. Maybe if I could find a way to reach across The Net, pop my hands and arms out of the screen, and shake them it would freak them out enough to make a lasting impact, but short of that I don't think I'll ever convince them to stop.

I have other rants about Facebook posting; over-expression of political or religious views (or any views really. It's great that you think chia pets are the bomb and should make a comeback but I don't need to hear about it in every post), chain posts that try to guilt people into reposting ("I know my REAL friends will be brave enough to repost." That's nice. I know *my* real friends know I'd likely punch them if they ever said that to my face). But I'm too tired to rant about them for now. Maybe another day. Night all. 

P.S. Aren't those fantastic run-on sentances? ;-)


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> I've got some tea dabby stuff all made up. Pacanis gave me a recipe which includes a crushed up aspirin and a splash of rubbing alcohol to help dry it up without being too painful. It works...but its tough to do by yourself in this particular spot.
> 
> We've had to use the cone of shame poor dog. He is completely mental about this one. I really don't like making him take steroids but we may have no choice here. This is his third bout in a month with hot spots. Poor puppy is completely miserable and we are not sleeping. I have a few minutes of peace while Ken takes him out for a walk. I'm just going to enjoy and be silent for a bit.


 
What are hot spots? I know Teddy's tongue gets hot when he is not feeling well. It is usually from something he ate. Like finding a dead pigeon on one of his walks and eating just enough before he is stopped.


----------



## tinlizzie

Can minor annoyances go on this thread, too?  When I checked the rain gauge this morning, it only had about 1/4" of water from yesterday's shower.  I noticed it was getting scummy and green in the bottom and could use a cleaning.  I tore off a piece of soft paper towel and with a handy stick, stuffed it down to the bottom -- didn't poke it hard, honest!   And the bottom popped out.  Not much of a rain gauge any more.  Since it's something that gets used every day (at least in the summertime), I need to replace it -- with a glass tube this time.


----------



## Hoot

I ain't had a rain gauge since Isabel blew through here. Took my two best pecan trees, clothesline and attached rain gauge. Replaced the clothesline but I reckon since I been doin' OK without a rain gauge, ain't no need to get one now.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Amen PAG!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Amen PAG!



+1


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> What are hot spots? I know Teddy's tongue gets hot when he is not feeling well. It is usually from something he ate. Like finding a dead pigeon on one of his walks and eating just enough before he is stopped.


Hot spots are an in-balance of the naturally occurring bacteria on a dog's skin. They usually are moist stinky infections (boo-boos) on the skin's surface. Alix--did you change his diet recently or introduce new treats?If no, dog food manufacturers don't have to change the ingredients list for 6 months after the formula is changed. But, a call to the 1-800 # might answer that question (s/thing different about the food). I have used Blue Power on hot spots with some success as well. 

http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/Adobe/Blue Power Ear Treatment.pdf


----------



## blissful

Trapper doesn't know how to taste food. (it appears)

I made some orange vanilla pound cakes the other day, he takes a bite and says to me 'there's cornmeal in it'. Well, no there is not cornmeal in it. There is a crispish crust on it from flour and shortening but no cornmeal. He says there is cornmeal in it. He misidentified a taste with the texture of the crust.

I made a tuna macaroni salad, put some cucumbers chopped finely in it, no onions. He starts to eat it and says 'there is onion in it, I can taste it'. There is no onion in it. He misidentified the crunch of the cucumber with onion.

Then (yes all last week this happened) I make a pear pecan quinoa salad with some lemon juice. (maybe lime too) He says 'there is vinegar in here'. No there is no vinegar in there. Everything sour is not vinegar.

The texture of things seems to be more important than the taste.
I'm thinking I should have him eat blind folded and try to identify things by taste.
This whole thing is weird and irritating!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

blissful said:


> Trapper doesn't know how to taste food. (it appears)
> 
> I made some orange vanilla pound cakes the other day, he takes a bite and says to me 'there's cornmeal in it'. Well, no there is not cornmeal in it. There is a crispish crust on it from flour and shortening but no cornmeal. He says there is cornmeal in it. He misidentified a taste with the texture of the crust.
> 
> I made a tuna macaroni salad, put some cucumbers chopped finely in it, no onions. He starts to eat it and says 'there is onion in it, I can taste it'. There is no onion in it. He misidentified the crunch of the cucumber with onion.
> 
> Then (yes all last week this happened) I make a pear pecan quinoa salad with some lemon juice. (maybe lime too) He says 'there is vinegar in here'. No there is no vinegar in there. Everything sour is not vinegar.
> 
> The texture of things seems to be more important than the taste.
> I'm thinking I should have him eat blind folded and try to identify things by taste.
> This whole thing is weird and irritating!



Introduce him to the stove...


----------



## blissful

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Introduce him to the stove...


I've tried that, he finishes something (anything) and he wanders off outside or downstairs, I can never find him.
Could you cut up this vegetable? Sure. Then he's gone in a flash, I don't know how he does it, it's almost magic.
Today he was going to stir the bacon and watch it, and he went upstairs to watch tv and thought he could just check it at commercials.
I think his taster is broken.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

blissful said:


> I've tried that, he finishes something (anything) and he wanders off outside or downstairs, I can never find him.
> Could you cut up this vegetable? Sure. Then he's gone in a flash, I don't know how he does it, it's almost magic.
> Today he was going to stir the bacon and watch it, and he went upstairs to watch tv and thought he could just check it at commercials.
> I think his taster is broken.



Then...he can eat what you cook, and you don't put in what he doesn't like or he can eat baby food...no texture, no flavor...

Shrek eats whatever he scrounges...I got tired of his complaining about what I cooked.  I wouldn't have gotten so discouraged if he would have at least tasted what I cooked.


----------



## Zhizara

Taste can change when you get older.  I really like the idea of taste testing.  If he's willing, let us know how it's turning out.


----------



## blissful

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Then...he can eat what you cook, and you don't put in what he doesn't like or he can eat baby food...no texture, no flavor...
> 
> Shrek eats whatever he scrounges...I got tired of his complaining about what I cooked.  I wouldn't have gotten so discouraged if he would have at least tasted what I cooked.



See and that is why it makes sense to try the 'taste this' blindfolded. If he can't correctly identify what it is and what is in it, then he doesn't get any of it. Plus it sounds like fun. 
I'll get him to taste something, and I'll magically disappear to some place in the house he won't expect. Then he can spend his time searching for me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

blissful said:


> See and that is why it makes sense to try the 'taste this' blindfolded. If he can't correctly identify what it is and what is in it, then he doesn't get any of it. Plus it sounds like fun.
> I'll get him to taste something, and I'll magically disappear to some place in the house he won't expect. Then he can spend his time searching for me.



LOL!


----------



## babetoo

Merlot said:


> I know alcoholism all too well.  It is a hard life to live.  I feel sorry for everyone involved



this is a man in pain. you and your mom need to stop enabling him. who buys his liquor? who is refilling his meds. i would suggest a commitment, with or without his permission. he will be angry with you. but the doctor's can ease the pain of withdrawal from the alcohol. once he can think clearly, then it is his game and his choice. i wish all of you the best of luck


----------



## CWS4322

blissful said:


> I've tried that, he finishes something (anything) and he wanders off outside or downstairs, I can never find him.
> Could you cut up this vegetable? Sure. Then he's gone in a flash, I don't know how he does it, it's almost magic.
> Today he was going to stir the bacon and watch it, and he went upstairs to watch tv and thought he could just check it at commercials.
> I think his taster is broken.


Oh crap, blissful, you and I share the same husband! Trapper morphs into my DH when Trapper wanders out of the room and vice versa. No wonder I can never find the DH when I need him--he morphs into Trapper...the start to chop veggies and disappear in a flash after thing--that must be when they cross over between WI and SE ON. Ah...things are beginning to make sense.


----------



## tinlizzie

Hoot said:


> I ain't had a rain gauge since Isabel blew through here. Took my two best pecan trees, clothesline and attached rain gauge. Replaced the clothesline but I reckon since I been doin' OK without a rain gauge, ain't no need to get one now.


 
Hmm.  Come to think of it, if there's water standing in the yard, it probably rained a lot.  Maybe I'll just save my pennies.  But I was looking forward to a trip to the Tractor Supply farm store where I got the last gauge.  It's a treat to browse through the aisles of interesting stuff - and fairly safe since I can't use any of it and am not so tempted to buy.

Sorry about your pecan trees.  Now, that's a real loss.


----------



## blissful

CWS4322 said:


> Oh crap, blissful, you and I share the same husband! Trapper morphs into my DH when Trapper wanders out of the room and vice versa. No wonder I can never find the DH when I need him--he morphs into Trapper...the start to chop veggies and disappear in a flash after thing--that must be when they cross over between WI and SE ON. Ah...things are beginning to make sense.


 The joke is on us!

Sometimes I catch him as he is slinking away and I tell him how much I appreciate his help and could he now......do this or that? 

It usually goes like this:
Me: WHERE are you going? (I recall this conversation with my child with attention problems wandering off.)
Trap: Um I was just ....(hurry make up some excuse)...looking at this or that.
Me: Would you mind chopping up that tomato? If not, you can stir this here and I'll chop the tomato.
Trap: No, I can chop the tomato FOR YOU. (what? I'm making this for US)
Me: You do such a good job, just bite sized, thanks so much.
Trap: Yep.
Me: WHERE are you going? ......on and on until I give up.

I really don't mind cooking by myself, I'm sure you don't mind either, it's just nice to spend time together in the kitchen sometimes. Only sometimes.


----------



## CWS4322

blissful said:


> The joke is on us!
> 
> Sometimes I catch him as he is slinking away and I tell him how much I appreciate his help and could he now......do this or that?
> 
> It usually goes like this:
> Me: WHERE are you going? (I recall this conversation with my child with attention problems wandering off.)
> Trap: Um I was just ....(hurry make up some excuse)...looking at this or that.
> Me: Would you mind chopping up that tomato? If not, you can stir this here and I'll chop the tomato.
> Trap: No, I can chop the tomato FOR YOU. (what? I'm making this for US)
> Me: You do such a good job, just bite sized, thanks so much.
> Trap: Yep.
> Me: WHERE are you going? ......on and on until I give up.
> 
> I really don't mind cooking by myself, I'm sure you don't mind either, it's just nice to spend time together in the kitchen sometimes. Only sometimes.


I get asked "why do you always ask where I'm going? Why do women do that? Your friend XXXXX kept asking me that while I was there refinishing her floors if I went outside to the truck..."

Me: WHERE are you going?
DH: I was just going to the sawmill, why?
Me: The eggs are almost done, if you want toast, you should make it (I don't eat toast because I hardly ever eat bread).
DH: Oh, okay.

If you missed this scene at a theater near you, the above plays every time we are at the farm and I'm making those farm fresh eggs for breakfast (which I now have to bring from the city back to the farm).


----------



## blissful

CWS4322 said:


> I get asked "why do you always ask where I'm going? Why do women do that? Your friend XXXXX kept asking me that while I was there refinishing her floors if I went outside to the truck..."


Send him on over here.
Him: Why do you always ask where I'm going? Why do women do that?
Me: Because men seem to wander aimlessly like their brains are disconnected and they can't focus on anything longer than 5 minutes. We just don't want you to get lost.

And what is with the eggs problem?
Me: The eggs will be done in one minute.
Trap: walks out to the garden!
Me: HELLO? Where are you going? The eggs are almost done.
Trap: I'll be right back.
20 minutes later, I'm done eating and his food is cold--and he doesn't care that it's cold or that he gets to eat alone!

Future conversations about eggs.
Me: Your cold eggs will be cold in about 21 minutes. Why don't you go out to the garden for a while.
Trap: Okay.
Trap returns...
Trap: where are my fried eggs and toast?
Me: Oh I put them in the fridge so they would be good and cold for you.


----------



## Andy M.

blissful said:


> Send him on over here.
> Him: Why do you always ask where I'm going? Why do women do that?
> Me: Because men seem to wander aimlessly like their brains are disconnected and they can't focus on anything longer than 5 minutes. We just don't want you to get lost.
> 
> _*...or maybe they just want to get away from all the questions!*_
> 
> And what is with the eggs problem?
> Me: The eggs will be done in one minute.
> Trap: walks out to the garden!
> Me: HELLO? Where are you going? The eggs are almost done.
> Trap: I'll be right back.
> 20 minutes later, I'm done eating and his food is cold--and he doesn't care that it's cold or that he gets to eat alone!
> 
> _*Clearly he's not bothered by a cold breakfast.  ..and he gets to eat alone - no questions!*_
> 
> Future conversations about eggs.
> Me: Your cold eggs will be cold in about 21 minutes. Why don't you go out to the garden for a while.
> Trap: Okay.
> Trap returns...
> Trap: where are my fried eggs and toast?
> Me: Oh I put them in the fridge so they would be good and cold for you.
> 
> _*No need to carry it to extremes.  *_



They guy's take on things.


----------



## CWS4322

blissful said:


> Send him on over here.
> Him: Why do you always ask where I'm going? Why do women do that?
> Me: Because men seem to wander aimlessly like their brains are disconnected and they can't focus on anything longer than 5 minutes. We just don't want you to get lost.
> 
> And what is with the eggs problem?
> Me: The eggs will be done in one minute.
> Trap: walks out to the garden!
> Me: HELLO? Where are you going? The eggs are almost done.
> Trap: I'll be right back.
> 20 minutes later, I'm done eating and his food is cold--and he doesn't care that it's cold or that he gets to eat alone!
> 
> Future conversations about eggs.
> Me: Your cold eggs will be cold in about 21 minutes. Why don't you go out to the garden for a while.
> Trap: Okay.
> Trap returns...
> Trap: where are my fried eggs and toast?
> Me: Oh I put them in the fridge so they would be good and cold for you.


I'd laugh, except I know that scene well too!


----------



## blissful

Andy M. said:


> They guy's take on things.



And Andy WHERE are you going?


----------



## LPBeier

blissful said:


> And Andy WHERE are you going?


----------



## Andy M.

blissful said:


> And Andy WHERE are you going?




AWAY.


----------



## LPBeier

I can actually speak on this subject.

I used to call DH for meals and he would be on the computer.  I would call sometimes up to three times and the food would be cold.

I started to call him earlier and it would work until he would catch on and would be longer and the food would get cold.

So, one day I decided to really get him.  I got out all the preparations for lunch and put them on the counter unprepared in any way.  I then called him to lunch and he took his sweet time.  when he finally got to the kitchen there was a note on how to prepare it and that I was next door visiting our neighbour, call me when it is ready.

He made it, with just enough time to spare for work and we made a deal that I would call him 5 minutes before it was ready and he would be there on time.  In fact now he often helps me get it ready.


----------



## Andy M.

SO used to grill me when I called her to dinner.  Are we ready to sit and eat?  Have you rested/carved/etc. the meat? Etc.

I got tired of that real fast and told her from now on Ill call you once and once only.  Come or don't come that's up to you.

I will give a 3 or 5 minute warning when appropriate.


----------



## taxlady

At my house we try to give a "Three minute warning!"


----------



## Skittle68

Glad I don't have that problem- my bf is an angel  Asks if I need help, hangs out with me in the kitchen while I cook, and puts away the leftovers. He has been known to complain about the food now and then tho... He can be a little picky.


----------



## blissful

LPBeier said:


> He made it, with just enough time to spare for work and we made a deal that I would call him 5 minutes before it was ready and he would be there on time.  In fact now he often helps me get it ready.



A happy ending.

Typically, I tell him I'm going downstairs to cook and ask him to come with me. He has to do something on the computer or gets distracted and starts watching tv. By the time he shows up, the meal is usually made or close to being done.
Last week, I told him I was going downstairs to watch tv and cook. I asked him to come with me. He was 'busy' and would come down soon. I told him I'd wait for him to come down before I started cooking. I set myself on the couch and watched tv until he showed up.

Andy, FAR AWAY?


----------



## Andy M.

blissful said:


> A happy ending.
> 
> Typically, I tell him I'm going downstairs to cook and ask him to come with me. He has to do something on the computer or gets distracted and starts watching tv. By the time he shows up, the meal is usually made or close to being done.
> Last week, I told him I was going downstairs to watch tv and cook. I asked him to come with me. He was 'busy' and would come down soon. I told him I'd wait for him to come down before I started cooking. I set myself on the couch and watched tv until he showed up.
> 
> Andy, FAR AWAY?



Where ever it's QUIET!


----------



## LPBeier

Skittle68 said:


> Glad I don't have that problem- my bf is an angel  Asks if I need help, hangs out with me in the kitchen while I cook, and puts away the leftovers. He has been known to complain about the food now and then tho... He can be a little picky.



Yes, but he is young -  he still has time to get set in his ways


----------



## Skittle68

LPBeier said:
			
		

> Yes, but he is young -  he still has time to get set in his ways



Lol maybe, but I don't think so. I asked him to hang out with me while I'm cooking, and now he just does unless he has something else he needs to work on, and it's my rule that when one person cooks the other puts away the leftovers. I don't usually have to ask him to do that anymore either. He's 40 and apparently trainable  He is a smart man- he knows that when I'm happy we are both happy lol.


----------



## blissful

Andy M. said:


> Where ever it's QUIET!



I believe you are on the wrong thread. This thread is never quiet. Can I make you a drink? A double? (says the enabler)


----------



## Andy M.

blissful said:


> I believe you are on the wrong thread. This thread is never quiet. Can I make you a drink? A double? (says the enabler)



Yes, please.


----------



## LPBeier

Skittle68 said:


> Lol maybe, but I don't think so. I asked him to hang out with me while I'm cooking, and now he just does unless he has something else he needs to work on, and it's my rule that when one person cooks the other puts away the leftovers. I don't usually have to ask him to do that anymore either. He's 40 and apparently trainable  He is a smart man- he knows that when I'm happy we are both happy lol.



Sounds like a keeper to me!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I tell Shrek...'I will be turning your over easy eggs in two minutes.  If you want toast now is the time.'  It only took one over hard egg and no toast for him to get the idea.  He also knows that I won't leave the stove on any more to keep things warm.  He got tired of overcooked food.


----------



## Addie

My husband used to love to sit in the kitchen while I cooked. We had so little together time due to his job. Sometimes I would ask him to peel a veggie or two. I don't know if it was deliberate on his part or not, but it wasn't worth it. He hated to use a peeler. Preferred a knife like his mother did. What a mess. And half the peel left on the veggie. I could peel a whole bunch of carrots in the time it took him scrape just one. 

When I would make breakfast for him, I would arrange the food as if he was eating in a restaurant. He was so easy to impress. His first wife only knew how to shop in the freezer and can goods section of the supermarket. She didn't even know there was a produce section. Instant potatoes, canned peas and othe veggies, and frozen meats like Salsbury steaks with gravy. He ate pretty good on the boat, but it too was food that had to be made in a hurry. Then on the last two days out, the food would be running low, so the meals got smaller with less variety. He was glad to get a homecooked meal. There were only two foods he wouldn't eat. Powered eggs and Brussel sprouts. No problem there. I wouldn't eat them either.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I tell Shrek...'I will be turning your over easy eggs in two minutes.  If you want toast now is the time.'  It only took one over hard egg and no toast for him to get the idea.  He also knows that I won't leave the stove on any more to keep things warm.  He got tired of overcooked food.


The girls have spoiled us--if the yolk breaks on its way to the pan or the eggs aren't perfect, we exercise the "do-over" option and the dogs get the imperfectly cooked eggs...


----------



## blissful

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Introduce him to the stove...



oh this just came back to me. A year or so ago I asked him if he would make us a meal (me, son, him) and he said sure.

So he makes a vegetable, I think it was broccoli, boiled garlic butter potatoes and chicken with a mushroom sauce.
Everything was very good. So I ask him, " how much butter did you use for all that?"......He says, " three sticks", yeah, THREE STICKS, that's 24 oz of butter for three people. 

Now you know I cook and that is why I'm still alive. I'm fearful to ask him to meet the stove again. Part of me thinks he does stuff like that so he doesn't have to cook.

And sorry about the drink Andy, I had this nice cranberry slushy recipe and I couldn't find it. So......WHERE are you now?


----------



## Andy M.

blissful said:


> oh this just came back to me. A year or so ago I asked him if he would make us a meal (me, son, him) and he said sure.
> 
> So he makes a vegetable, I think it was broccoli, boiled garlic butter potatoes and chicken with a mushroom sauce.
> Everything was very good. So I ask him, " how much butter did you use for all that?"......He says, " three sticks", yeah, THREE STICKS, that's 24 oz of butter for three people.
> 
> Now you know I cook and that is why I'm still alive. I'm fearful to ask him to meet the stove again. Part of me thinks he does stuff like that so he doesn't have to cook.
> 
> And sorry about the drink Andy, I had this nice cranberry slushy recipe and I couldn't find it. So......WHERE are you now?



Ill take a raincheck on the drink.  Three sticks of butter is only 12 ounces (24 tablespoons).  So you can let him cook twice as often!


----------



## blissful

Andy M. said:


> Ill take a raincheck on the drink.  Three sticks of butter is only 12 ounces (24 tablespoons).  So you can let him cook twice as often!


Ah, you are right there, my mistake, probably brought on by butter deposits in my brain.


----------



## Andy M.

blissful said:


> Ah, you are right there, my mistake, probably brought on by butter deposits in my brain.



I'm familiar with those.


----------



## Skittle68

blissful said:
			
		

> oh this just came back to me. A year or so ago I asked him if he would make us a meal (me, son, him) and he said sure.
> 
> So he makes a vegetable, I think it was broccoli, boiled garlic butter potatoes and chicken with a mushroom sauce.
> Everything was very good. So I ask him, " how much butter did you use for all that?"......He says, " three sticks", yeah, THREE STICKS, that's 24 oz of butter for three people.
> 
> Now you know I cook and that is why I'm still alive. I'm fearful to ask him to meet the stove again. Part of me thinks he does stuff like that so he doesn't have to cook.
> 
> And sorry about the drink Andy, I had this nice cranberry slushy recipe and I couldn't find it. So......WHERE are you now?



Every time my bf cooks he does something that makes me shake my head. Luckily it isn't 3 sticks of butter for one meal!! I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut for that one. Mostly it's just dirtying unnecessary dishes (which I usually end up washing), or using something like lunch meat in a cooked meal (that stuff is expensive, not to mention salty!!). I try not to say anything because I'm glad he helps, and I know how I like it when he makes comments lol


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Every time my bf cooks he does something that makes me shake my head. Luckily it isn't 3 sticks of butter for one meal!! I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut for that one. Mostly it's just dirtying unnecessary dishes (which I usually end up washing), or using something like lunch meat in a cooked meal (that stuff is expensive, not to mention salty!!). I try not to say anything because I'm glad he helps, and I know how I like it when he makes comments lol



Same here, Shrek takes something you would never think of using in a cooked meal and makes a meal out of it...I didn't have the heart to tell him the BBQ Beef he made out of the canned roast beef was dreck...


----------



## Andy M.

Skittle68 said:


> ...I try not to say anything because I'm glad he helps, and I know how I like it when he makes comments lol





PrincessFiona60 said:


> ...I didn't have the heart to tell him the BBQ Beef he made out of the canned roast beef was dreck...




Ladies, I have to disagree with your approach.  If you don't comment constructively, you are doomed to get he same stuff again.  My SO knows she has to tell me the truth about a meal because she doesn't want it served again.  I appreciate that.  We discuss if it's salvageable with changes for a retry or no hope and delete the recipe.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Ladies, I have to disagree with your approach.  If you don't comment constructively, you are doomed to get he same stuff again.  My SO knows she has to tell me the truth about a meal because she doesn't want it served again.  I appreciate that.  We discuss if it's salvageable with changes for a retry or no hope and delete the recipe.



That's the approach the hubby and I take too.


----------



## blissful

We have tried this 'honesty approach' as well.

He tasted it and told me it was so good he was thinking of not chopping me before the second round.
ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I told him I hoped he wasn't going to be hungry tomorrow.

I asked him if HIS chili was okay? (yes) Was it bland, he said it was bland. I said, oh good, then I know you like it. (he does) Then he tasted MY chili (highly spiced version no beans no tomato), and he said it was terrible. I said, good, then you won't eat my chili, so just leave it alone.

Actually, to start talking about HIS cooking, we first have to open the door to an acceptable way for HIM to criticize my cooking. 
Does it have enough salt for you? Anything you can think of that we could add to this next time, or take out next time?

Then, when he cooks, 2-3 times per year, I'll offer constructive advice if it is needed. (Something like--that's a little salty for me--or--I like/dislike the texture of the meat when it comes from a can--or--generally I like using less than a Tablespoon of butter per person for any one meal for health reasons.)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Ladies, I have to disagree with your approach.  If you don't comment constructively, you are doomed to get he same stuff again.  My SO knows she has to tell me the truth about a meal because she doesn't want it served again.  I appreciate that.  We discuss if it's salvageable with changes for a retry or no hope and delete the recipe.



"You just don't like it because I cooked it."  "You never like anything I cook."

At least I try what he cooks, but if I say anything even faintly negative...  There are no constructive comments, he takes it all personally and is angry for days.

I just save myself the heartache.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> "You just don't like it because I cooked it."  "You never like anything I cook."
> 
> At least I try what he cooks, but if I say anything even faintly negative...  There are no constructive comments, he takes it all personally and is angry for days.
> 
> I just save myself the heartache.




I understand that very well.  My Ex was the same way.  She took any comment about the meal as a slap in the face.  Worse because she did the cooking.


----------



## blissful

PrincessFiona60 said:


> "You just don't like it because I cooked it."  "You never like anything I cook."
> 
> At least I try what he cooks, but if I say anything even faintly negative...  There are no constructive comments, he takes it all personally and is angry for days.
> 
> I just save myself the heartache.



Just tell him "That's what all bad cooks say". (ONLY JOKING)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I ate, kept my opinions to myself and he finished it off for lunch today.  Next time he suggests it, I can say it wasn't my favorite thing to eat.  Now, if i could just stop him from adding corn to everything...yes, he knows...for 31 years that I don't like corn cooked in foods.


----------



## blissful

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I ate, kept my opinions to myself and he finished it off for lunch today.  Next time he suggests it, I can say it wasn't my favorite thing to eat.  Now, if i could just stop him from adding corn to everything...yes, he knows...for 31 years that I don't like corn cooked in foods.


Print this out and put it on the refrigerator door.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LOL!!!

Okay, now for a real vent.

I've waited for almost a week for today because we were going to order from my favorite place for lunch.  Their computers went down, so they closed until at least 4 PM, no lunch today.  Bugger,  don't they know how to cook and take orders and money without the computers???

One restaurant I worked at, the power went out.  We still had a successful lunch hour using the gas appliances and serving lunch by lantern and candlelight.  We did run out of ice...but we served our customers with NO POWER.

Are restaurants these days no capable of operating if the computers die?  How sad!


----------



## Skittle68

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Ladies, I have to disagree with your approach.  If you don't comment constructively, you are doomed to get he same stuff again.  My SO knows she has to tell me the truth about a meal because she doesn't want it served again.  I appreciate that.  We discuss if it's salvageable with changes for a retry or no hope and delete the recipe.



We talk about meals constructively, but there is a fine line between critiquing and criticizing. When I come home and he has dinner ready to go on the table, all I'm going to say is "Thank you!" I am working on the dirtying unnecessary dishes thing tho. If you have a bowl you just used that needs a quick rinse, just give it a quick rinse and use it again... But the place we are moving into in September has a dish washer!!!! Yay!


----------



## Skittle68

Arrrggghhh! I'm so sick of studying!!! I should be getting paid for this anyway! New restaurant wants me to be able to name every type and brand of wine, and beer before I am allowed to go on the floor. My test is today, and I'm close, but not quite. Seriously, for the number of HOURS I have spent studying to be able to pass the food knowledge, beer, wine, and liquor knowledge, they should really be crediting me a couple hours on my check. AND the first work shirt and apron should not cost $35. Seriously. There are 33 total sparkling wines, ports, sherrys, reds, whites, and blushes, and I have not heard of one single brand. Not to mention 7 of them are "blends" so they don't even have a specific type. I've written them all down at least ten times, listed them out loud several times, and I just don't want to stare at this menu anymore. Just don't want to. Ok, back to the stupid wine list. HATE THIS!!!


----------



## bakechef

Skittle68 said:
			
		

> Arrrggghhh! I'm so sick of studying!!! I should be getting paid for this anyway! New restaurant wants me to be able to name every type and brand of wine, and beer before I am allowed to go on the floor. My test is today, and I'm close, but not quite. Seriously, for the number of HOURS I have spent studying to be able to pass the food knowledge, beer, wine, and liquor knowledge, they should really be crediting me a couple hours on my check. AND the first work shirt and apron should not cost $35. Seriously. There are 33 total sparkling wines, ports, sherrys, reds, whites, and blushes, and I have not heard of one single brand. Not to mention 7 of them are "blends" so they don't even have a specific type. I've written them all down at least ten times, listed them out loud several times, and I just don't want to stare at this menu anymore. Just don't want to. Ok, back to the stupid wine list. HATE THIS!!!



I'm pretty sure that is considered working off the clock.  I cannot imagine that forcing you to study on your own time for a job being legal.

I hate that companies set a dress code, requiring specific items that have to be purchased through them, at often inflated prices.  One company that I worked for required $23 polos, and they were terrible quality, needing to be replaced every 6 months or so.


----------



## Merlot

PrincessFiona60 said:


> LOL!!!
> 
> Okay, now for a real vent.
> 
> I've waited for almost a week for today because we were going to order from my favorite place for lunch. Their computers went down, so they closed until at least 4 PM, no lunch today. Bugger, don't they know how to cook and take orders and money without the computers???
> 
> One restaurant I worked at, the power went out. We still had a successful lunch hour using the gas appliances and serving lunch by lantern and candlelight. We did run out of ice...but we served our customers with NO POWER.
> 
> Are restaurants these days no capable of operating if the computers die? How sad!


 
aww!  but this inquiring mind wants to know.. what is your fave lunch spot? and what would you have gotten?  aaaannnddd are you going to order next week?


----------



## Merlot

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I ate, kept my opinions to myself and he finished it off for lunch today. Next time he suggests it, I can say it wasn't my favorite thing to eat. Now, if i could just stop him from adding corn to everything...yes, he knows...for 31 years that I don't like corn cooked in foods.


 
My 8 year old Gray decided he may not like corn anymore since "Princess Fiona" doesn't.  and Blissful, you got a "bro fist' for the picture. 

(he came over here one day when I was typing and saw PF's name and he was smitten)   He just now saw the whole corn thing!


----------



## blissful

Merlot said:


> My 8 year old Gray decided he may not like corn anymore since "Princess Fiona" doesn't.  and Blissful, you got a "bro fist' for the picture.
> 
> (he came over here one day when I was typing and saw PF's name and he was smitten)   He just now saw the whole corn thing!


 It took me the longest time to figure out 'bro fist'......but I get it now.
This is for Gray.


----------



## Merlot

blissful said:


> It took me the longest time to figure out 'bro fist'......but I get it now.
> This is for Gray.


 
 You got a yes! a giggle and another bro fist, you are on his top ten


----------



## blissful

Merlot said:


> You got a yes! a giggle and another bro fist, you are on his top ten



Hooray, I'm on Gray's top ten list of his mom's dorky food friends!
Who thought I could be so famous? Not me!


----------



## Zhizara

*This is gonna be fun...*

The apartment management has notified us that our electricity will be off from 8a – 5p on Monday.

  It’s a good thing I’m shopping tomorrow.  I’ll pick up some French bread and make cold cut sandwiches, coleslaw and cottage cheese.  

  I can crank up the refrigerator ahead of time to keep things colder longer.

  It’s a good thing I’ve got a bunch of books to read.


----------



## Dawgluver

Zhizara said:
			
		

> The apartment management has notified us that our electricity will be off from 8a &#150; 5p on Monday.
> 
> It&#146;s a good thing I&#146;m shopping tomorrow.  I&#146;ll pick up some French bread and make cold cut sandwiches, coleslaw and cottage cheese.
> 
> I can crank up the refrigerator ahead of time to keep things colder longer.
> 
> It&#146;s a good thing I&#146;ve got a bunch of books to read.



Eeks!  Hope you don't need the A/C!


----------



## blissful

Zhizara said:


> The apartment management has notified us that our electricity will be off from 8a – 5p on Monday.
> 
> It’s a good thing I’m shopping tomorrow.  I’ll pick up some French bread and make cold cut sandwiches, coleslaw and cottage cheese.
> 
> I can crank up the refrigerator ahead of time to keep things colder longer.
> 
> It’s a good thing I’ve got a bunch of books to read.



THAT sounds like a day of vacation, no buzzing noises from appliances running, no door bells, no phone ringing (?), no tv blaring, no radio clocks making noise. Put out a blanket on the floor, light a candle, open the windows and have a picnic!


----------



## Zhizara

I'm going to have a picnic.  If I get too hot, I'll just jump into the shower and cool off.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Merlot said:


> aww!  but this inquiring mind wants to know.. what is your fave lunch spot? and what would you have gotten?  aaaannnddd are you going to order next week?



The Mustard Seed - Fresh green beans (wokked in soy glaze, garlic and chili paste) and Chicken Osaka (lemon and mustard sauce) with rice and Asian Slaw.  I would order it every day if I could afford it...$17.90 a day.  But worth it once a month.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Merlot said:


> My 8 year old Gray decided he may not like corn anymore since "Princess Fiona" doesn't.  and Blissful, you got a "bro fist' for the picture.
> 
> (he came over here one day when I was typing and saw PF's name and he was smitten)   He just now saw the whole corn thing!



How sweet...good thing he is too young for me  Just tell him girl Ogres don't like corn because it gets stuck in their teeth and makes our skin turn yellow instead of the nice shade of green.


----------



## LPBeier

A new vent.  I am going through all the stuff from Dad's desk and drawers.  It is bringing back some emotions and memories, good and bad.  

We have kept Dad's phone line in case there are people who may call that we may have forgotten.  Since we


----------



## LPBeier

LPBeier said:


> A new vent.  I am going through all the stuff from Dad's desk and drawers.  It is bringing back some emotions and memories, good and bad.
> 
> We have kept Dad's phone line in case there are people who may call that we may have forgotten.  Since we



I guess my new vent is my phone sent this too soon and it took me so long to finish my edit time was up!  

Since all we have been getting lately is spam calls, DH had the number cancelled as of the end of this month.  It isn't actually a separate line any more, but a second ring on our own line so we couldn't just unplug the phone.

So, I was going through some papers and came across my Mom's death notice and certificate just as Dad's line rang.  The woman asked for Pat, which was my Mom's name.  It was actually for the wife of a family who had the number over four years ago and we have been getting their calls all that time - friends, collection agencies (including for the phone company ironically) you name it.  

But it was just a bad time and I broke down.  DH called the phone company and asked to have the number removed from our line IMMEDIATELY.  The tech said they can't do that because we are paid up until the end of the month and they can't refund the difference.  It is June 26 and the cost of the ring is $2.50 a month.  I think we can survive the loss. 

I will be so glad when I have gone through all of this.  There will always be memories, but hearing my Mom's name on my Dad's phone was a little tough.  I shouldn't let it bother me.


----------



## LPBeier

PrincessFiona60 said:


> How sweet...good thing he is too young for me  Just tell him girl Ogres don't like corn because it gets stuck in their teeth and makes our skin turn yellow instead of the nice shade of green.


Nice one, your Ogreness!


----------



## chopper

LPBeier said:
			
		

> I guess my new vent is my phone sent this too soon and it took me so long to finish my edit time was up!
> 
> Since all we have been getting lately is spam calls, DH had the number cancelled as of the end of this month.  It isn't actually a separate line any more, but a second ring on our own line so we couldn't just unplug the phone.
> 
> So, I was going through some papers and came across my Mom's death notice and certificate just as Dad's line rang.  The woman asked for Pat, which was my Mom's name.  It was actually for the wife of a family who had the number over four years ago and we have been getting their calls all that time - friends, collection agencies (including for the phone company ironically) you name it.
> 
> But it was just a bad time and I broke down.  DH called the phone company and asked to have the number removed from our line IMMEDIATELY.  The tech said they can't do that because we are paid up until the end of the month and they can't refund the difference.  It is June 26 and the cost of the ring is $2.50 a month.  I think we can survive the loss.
> 
> I will be so glad when I have gone through all of this.  There will always be memories, but hearing my Mom's name on my Dad's phone was a little tough.  I shouldn't let it bother me.



Oh honey, I'm sorry. I miss my mom so much some days too. Losing your parents is like losing part of yourself. {{{{{{{{LPBeier}}}}}}}


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, Chopper.  My Mom has been gone for 17 years, and while I have always had times where I miss her, ever since Dad passed in March there are just so many reminders of both of them.  

I don't need wrong numbers to make it worse.

On the good side, I found a picture of my parents (one of my all time favourites) where they were in Indian costumes my Mom made for a hallowee'n party.  She was such a great seamstress, cook, craftswomen, writer, painter, etc.  I think I got my creative side from her.  I think she would be proud of what I have done - she died long before culinary school.  

Oh, I have to stop - the tears are falling again.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> I'm pretty sure that is considered working off the clock. I cannot imagine that forcing you to study on your own time for a job being legal.
> 
> I hate that companies set a dress code, requiring specific items that have to be purchased through them, at often inflated prices. One company that I worked for required $23 polo's, and they were terrible quality, needing to be replaced every 6 months or so.


 
Here in Massachusetts, THEY HAVE to pay for your required schooling. Studying at home from *their *material doesn't count. And THEY HAVE to pay for any required uniforms. They don't have to pay for laundry unless they have a contract with a specific business. You should look into what the law is in your state. It would come under your Labor Department. 

When I worked for an overhead door company, they required all workers had to wear their T shirts with the company logo on them. In the winter they had to wear an outer jacket with the logo also. When we had a new hire, along with their W-2 information I had to take their sizes and add them to the list. Then twice a year a large box would arrive with the clothing in it. Two T shirts with their name were given out to each employee. The rest had no names on them. They were also required to wear dark blue pants. But since they were run of the mill work pants and could be worn anytime outside of work, they had to buy them themselves. In the summer months, most of the men opted to buy shorts. 

When a new hire came on the job, and if we didn't have a shirt and jacket in their size, they bought them themselves and the company reimbursed them.


----------



## Merlot

PrincessFiona60 said:


> How sweet...good thing he is too young for me Just tell him girl Ogres don't like corn because it gets stuck in their teeth and makes our skin turn yellow instead of the nice shade of green.


 
 I will do that, he will love it


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:
			
		

> Here in Massachusetts, THEY HAVE to pay for your required schooling. Studying at home from their material doesn't count. And THEY HAVE to pay for any required uniforms. They don't have to pay for laundry unless they have a contract with a specific business. You should look into what the law is in your state. It would come under your Labor Department.
> 
> When I worked for an overhead door company, they required all workers had to wear their T shirts with the company logo on them. In the winter they had to wear an outer jacket with the logo also. When we had a new hire, along with their W-2 information I had to take their sizes and add them to the list. Then twice a year a large box would arrive with the clothing in it. Two T shirts with their name were given out to each employee. The rest had no names on them. They were also required to wear dark blue pants. But since they were run of the mill work pants and could be worn anytime outside of work, they had to buy them themselves. In the summer months, most of the men opted to buy shorts.
> 
> When a new hire came on the job, and if we didn't have a shirt and jacket in their size, they bought them themselves and the company reimbursed them.



I imagine studying the menu at home like I had to do, would be considered unpaid work, and is probably against the law. But I know in MN they can make you buy pretty much whatever uniform they want, or you can just work somewhere else. It's not the first restaurant I've worked at that made me buy my own company branded, way too expensive shirt. They usually do provide you with the first one tho.


----------



## Addie

Here I sit with the fire alarm going like mad. Not one person in the building is paying attention to it. "Why?", you ask. Because this is a common occurence. Some idiot burnt toast and allowed the smoke to get out into the hall and set off the main alarm. If it was a real fire, it would have set off the sprinklers. Even the fire department is in no hurry to answer the alarm. The fire house is up the street and I still haven't heard the sirens. The alarm has been ringing for five minutes and tied directly to the fire department. Idiots! I am surrounded by idiots! Keep your door closed if you burn the toast or open your windows.


----------



## LPBeier

DH called the phone company this morning and they can't remove my Dad's smart ring number from our line. Why?  Because they say it isn't our number. 

He quoted our bills which show we have been paying for it.  He mentioned we are still getting calls on it.  He even told the woman to call the number and see who picks it up - they can't do that because it could be breaching someone's privacy.

To really rub salt in the wound, she was able to tell him that the number (which was a separate line for my Dad for almost four years) has been registered to someone else for "many years" and never registered to us.  That would be the people who's calls we have been getting.

Does that mean we can go after them to refund every penny we paid for it?


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:
			
		

> Here I sit with the fire alarm going like mad. Not one person in the building is paying attention to it. "Why?", you ask. Because this is a common occurence. Some idiot burnt toast and allowed the smoke to get out into the hall and set off the main alarm. If it was a real fire, it would have set off the sprinklers. Even the fire department is in no hurry to answer the alarm. The fire house is up the street and I still haven't heard the sirens. The alarm has been ringing for five minutes and tied directly to the fire department. Idiots! I am surrounded by idiots! Keep your door closed if you burn the toast or open your windows.



I agree.  Having a "boy who cried wolf" situation when it comes to a fire alarm is not good. In the house I grew up in, the fire alarms were wired together, so if one went off they all would, and one night the alarm woke me up. I got out of bed and grabbed the quilt my grandma made me and my favorite sweater, and felt my bedroom door. It wasn't warm, and there was no smell of smoke, so I opened the door. No sign of fire... So I go to the next room and grab the 3 kittens and wrap them in the blanket. My parents got a good laugh as a creeped down the stairs wearing pajama pants and my favorite sweater, with the 3 kittens wrapped in a blanket and mama kitty following behind. The chimney had clogged and the basement was full of smoke lol. No fire  I still have one of those kitties that I was trying to rescue, although mama kitty has long since passed. She was a stray I rescued, and was spayed after that litter.


----------



## blissful

LPBeier said:


> DH called the phone company this morning and they can't remove my Dad's smart ring number from our line. Why?  Because they say it isn't our number.
> 
> He quoted our bills which show we have been paying for it.  He mentioned we are still getting calls on it.  He even told the woman to call the number and see who picks it up - they can't do that because it could be breaching someone's privacy.
> 
> To really rub salt in the wound, she was able to tell him that the number (which was a separate line for my Dad for almost four years) has been registered to someone else for "many years" and never registered to us.  That would be the people who's calls we have been getting.
> 
> Does that mean we can go after them to refund every penny we paid for it?



That (the phone company) is just ridiculous.
Just don't pay the bill and when they cut off service and request the mailing address for the owner, give them the location of the cemetery and the location within the cemetery where he is buried (if he was). Also remind them at that time, that sending an invoice to his casket would be a breach of privacy for him and a good newspaper article for the local news.

I'm sorry for your losses.


----------



## taxlady

LPBeier said:


> DH called the phone company this morning and they can't remove my Dad's smart ring number from our line. Why?  Because they say it isn't our number.
> 
> He quoted our bills which show we have been paying for it.  He mentioned we are still getting calls on it.  He even told the woman to call the number and see who picks it up - they can't do that because it could be breaching someone's privacy.
> 
> To really rub salt in the wound, she was able to tell him that the number (which was a separate line for my Dad for almost four years) has been registered to someone else for "many years" and never registered to us.  That would be the people who's calls we have been getting.
> 
> Does that mean we can go after them to refund every penny we paid for it?


Does the phone company have an ombudsman with whom you could speak? Does BC have a consumer protection agency?


----------



## LPBeier

blissful said:


> That (the phone company) is just ridiculous.
> Just don't pay the bill and when they cut off service and request the mailing address for the owner, give them the location of the cemetery and the location within the cemetery where he is buried (if he was). Also remind them at that time, that sending an invoice to his casket would be a breach of privacy for him and a good newspaper article for the local news.
> 
> I'm sorry for your losses.



Thanks, Blissful.  It isn't really about the money.  Not at all.  It is about the fact we get spam calls and have, for four years gotten calls for the people who had the number prior to Dad.  They had collection calls, friends, etc. who all didn't seem to know the family no longer had the number.  I mentioned earlier that the wife of the family has the same name as my Mom and this always shook up Dad, and is really hard for me now.


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> Does the phone company have an ombudsman with whom you could speak? Does BC have a consumer protection agency?



TL, we do.  We also have a person on one of our local newscasts that deals in this sort of thing.  I don't want to make it public, but how many other people are having these problems.

I personally just want it to go away.  I don't want to have to deal with it anymore.  I am doing well with my grief, but having this continual reminder is getting tough to take.


----------



## Hoot

Is the phone straight wired to the jack? If not just unplug it. If it is straight wired, it is a simple matter to take the wires off.


----------



## taxlady

LPBeier said:


> TL, we do.  We also have a person on one of our local newscasts that deals in this sort of thing.  I don't want to make it public, but how many other people are having these problems.
> 
> I personally just want it to go away.  I don't want to have to deal with it anymore.  I am doing well with my grief, but having this continual reminder is getting tough to take.


A phone company ombudsman should be able to straighten it out without too much aggro.


----------



## taxlady

Hoot said:


> Is the phone straight wired to the jack? If not just unplug it. If it is straight wired, it is a simple matter to take the wires off.


It's a special ring on their regular phone. If they unplug it, they won't get their own calls.


----------



## Hoot

I see.....Didn't understand that part.


----------



## chopper

LPBeier said:
			
		

> Thanks, Chopper.  My Mom has been gone for 17 years, and while I have always had times where I miss her, ever since Dad passed in March there are just so many reminders of both of them.
> 
> I don't need wrong numbers to make it worse.
> 
> On the good side, I found a picture of my parents (one of my all time favourites) where they were in Indian costumes my Mom made for a hallowee'n party.  She was such a great seamstress, cook, craftswomen, writer, painter, etc.  I think I got my creative side from her.  I think she would be proud of what I have done - she died long before culinary school.
> 
> Oh, I have to stop - the tears are falling again.



I'm also shedding tears for you too. I hope this phone mess can get cleared up soon. Sometimes things are just so much harder than they should be.


----------



## CWS4322

LPBeier said:


> TL, we do.  We also have a person on one of our local newscasts that deals in this sort of thing.  I don't want to make it public, but how many other people are having these problems.
> 
> I personally just want it to go away.  I don't want to have to deal with it anymore.  I am doing well with my grief, but having this continual reminder is getting tough to take.


An acquaintance had that problem with satellite TV. Have s/one else "pretend" to be you and demand to be escalated to the VP of customer experience and explain to him the situation. To get to this person, you will have to go through about 3 levels to get there, but just telling the person "no, I don't want to talk to you, I want to talk with the VP of Customer Experience. Escalate me." Get out of the overseas call center. The acquaintance had to send a copy of the death certificate FOUR times before the contract for satellite TV was cancelled. Get your DH to do it, or a dear friend.


----------



## blissful

Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation!!
By the time I reached 40 I've forgotten most of the rules.

I cannot for the life of me remember how to punctuate sentences when using single or double quote marks or parenthesis and ending with a period. I wish someone would remind me how to do that.

I end sentences with a preposition and I *should* be able to be able to rewrite it correctly, but, I can't.

So if you ever quote me and I've written something incorrectly, feel free to fix it and maybe I'll learn something. Think of it as charity towards old people. 

I saw this and had to share.


----------



## Alix

blissful says, "I cannot for the life of me remember how to punctuate sentences when  using single or double quote marks or parenthesis and ending with a  period. I wish someone would remind me how to do that." 

Is that helpful blissful?  If you would like more help with grammar (its one of the things I teach) just drop me a PM. Or you could cheat and just use the Grammar check function on your computer.


----------



## blissful

Alix said:


> blissful says, "I cannot for the life of me remember how to punctuate sentences when  using single or double quote marks or parenthesis and ending with a  period. I wish someone would remind me how to do that."
> 
> Is that helpful blissful?  If you would like more help with grammar (its one of the things I teach) just drop me a PM. Or you could cheat and just use the Grammar check function on your computer.



Why, yes it is helpful, especially since I'll be watching my posts get fixed from now on. (Is that ending a sentence in a preposition?)

I seem to learn best when being embarrassed in public. (seriously)

MS Word does have grammar checking, though, they don't explain anything in any detail. I write a lot of passive sentences.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Finally have a nice weather day where I can open the windows and what do I hear but the  parrot who lives across the street, squawking. The lady who owns it, puts the darn thing in the window and he makes that awful sound all day long.


----------



## Hoot

I reckon the parrot was just happy to feel a breeze too


----------



## Dawgluver

Hoot said:
			
		

> I reckon the parrot was just happy to feel a breeze too



ROFL!!!!


----------



## JoAnn L.

I just came here to vent, I am glad you both think it is funny.


----------



## CWS4322

blissful said:


> Why, yes it is helpful, especially since I'll be watching my posts get fixed from now on. (Is that ending a sentence in a preposition?)
> 
> I seem to learn best when being embarrassed in public. (seriously)
> 
> MS Word does have grammar checking, though, they don't explain anything in any detail. I write a lot of passive sentences.


The dangling preposition is one of my pet peeves. However, common usage has moved this usage to being commonly accepted. Personally, I try to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition because it can introduce ambiguity. I also hate the dangling it. What is that, you ask? That is when there is no anaphoric or cataphoric reference for the proform it (most people will call the proform a pronoun, but I'm trained in linguistics and we call it a proform). (Anaphoric reference is pointing back to replace the last noun the proform replaces, cataphoric is pointing forward to replace the next noun. Cataphoric reference is a technique used in literature and often not used well.)

PS-get your minds out of the gutter, boys. I know what you were thinking when you read "dangling it." Not THAT it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The dangling participle is perpendicular to the crennalated preposition when used in conjunction with a properly used formulated adverbial pronoun. The ancient grammarians found this to be particularly true when used in a conscientiously applied program of oral hygiene and regular professional care.


----------



## Dawgluver

Huh???


----------



## blissful

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The dangling participle is perpendicular to the crennalated preposition when used in conjunction with a properly used formulated adverbial pronoun. The ancient grammarians found this to be particularly true when used in a conscientiously applied program of oral hygiene and regular professional care.



My favorite part, nurse dear, was the _ancient grammarians_ part.


----------



## Andy M.

CWS4322 said:


> The dangling preposition is one of my pet peeves. However, common usage has moved this usage to being commonly accepted. Personally, I try to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition because it can introduce ambiguity. I also hate the dangling it. What is that, you ask? That is when there is no anaphoric or cataphoric reference for the proform it (most people will call the proform a pronoun, but I'm trained in linguistics and we call it a proform). (Anaphoric reference is pointing back to replace the last noun the proform replaces, cataphoric is pointing forward to replace the next noun. Cataphoric reference is a technique used in literature and often not used well.)
> 
> PS-get your minds out of the gutter, boys. I know what you were thinking when you read "dangling it." Not THAT it.




OK, now you're just showing off!


(I would have dangled a preposition off the end of that sentence if I knew what a dangling preposition looked like.)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Huh???


----------



## Cheryl J

LOL


----------



## Skittle68

blissful said:
			
		

> Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation!!
> By the time I reached 40 I've forgotten most of the rules.
> 
> I cannot for the life of me remember how to punctuate sentences when using single or double quote marks or parenthesis and ending with a period. I wish someone would remind me how to do that.
> 
> I end sentences with a preposition and I *should* be able to be able to rewrite it correctly, but, I can't.
> 
> So if you ever quote me and I've written something incorrectly, feel free to fix it and maybe I'll learn something. Think of it as charity towards old people.
> 
> I saw this and had to share.



Lol- I've only been out of school for 8 years and I'm already forgetting!! Luckily I am pretty naturally good at English, but sometimes things come up where I'm just not sure anymore. I took college English in high school, and only got one question wrong on my ACT's in the English section, so I don't like not remembering grammar rules!


----------



## Zhizara

I find that today's language has changed so that the written word is more like how we actually talk.

Especially here, in a situation where our words are more converational.  I punctuate like I learned, except for the one thing that I always thought was wrong.  When the period is for the whole sentence which happens to end in a quote, I put the period outside the quotation marks, because it has nothing to do with the quote.

For instance:  I like "Today's Funny".   I use this for parenthesis as well.


----------



## Hoot

I wonder why we call it English....I think it oughta be called American because the vernacular here is quite different that it is in England. There are many instances of terms and phrases that translate differently, even though we share a common language with England as well as Australia (which I suppose should truly be called the Australian language).


----------



## Hoot

'Course they say that Chinese is the most difficult language to learn, but in a language where a fat chance and a slim chance means the same thing...I wonder it that's entirely true.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> I find that today's language has changed so that the written word is more like how we actually talk.
> 
> Especially here, in a situation where our words are more converational.  I punctuate like I learned, except for the one thing that I always thought was wrong.  When the period is for the whole sentence which happens to end in a quote, I put the period outside the quotation marks, because it has nothing to do with the quote.
> 
> For instance:  I like "Today's Funny".   I use this for parenthesis as well.


That is how the Brits do it. It is called logical punctuation. I do that too. I consider it more accurate. Most computer programmers do it. If you get that wrong in a line of code, it ain't gonna work right.


----------



## Addie

My Microftsoft Office Program corrects all my grammar for me, including the pucuation. But I am usually spot on. I just have to apply myself. Working for a lawyer, I HAD to learn proper puncuation. Typing up a brief for the Judges sitting in the Massachusetts Supreme Court, everything had to be absolutely correct. A misplaced comma could change the meaning of the whole paragraph. 

Today, I don't[ care very much. As long as I get the message across.


----------



## Andy M.

Zhizara said:


> I find that today's language has changed so that the written word is more like how we actually talk.
> 
> Especially here, in a situation where our words are more converational.  I punctuate like I learned, except for the one thing that I always thought was wrong.  When the period is for the whole sentence which happens to end in a quote, I put the period outside the quotation marks, because it has nothing to do with the quote.
> 
> For instance:  I like "Today's Funny".   I use this for parenthesis as well.



If you're quoting someone's statement, there should be the punctuation for that statement inside the quotes and punctuation outside the quotes for the sentence the quote is part of. (is this a dangling preposition?)

I was surprised when she asked, "What's the thing in the basket?".


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> If you're quoting someone's statement, there should be the punctuation for that statement inside the quotes and punctuation outside the quotes for the sentence the quote is part of. (is this a dangling preposition?)
> 
> I was surprised when she asked, "What's the thing in the basket?".


Yes, and in logical punctuation:

Did she say, "Good morning"?


----------



## Sheyen

ARRRRRRGH, just a bad day, I want to crawl into a hole and hide.
Nothing specific wrong or bad.  
Woke up crabby, and then the dogs are insistent on being PITA's, Jo (the woman I am a live in aide for) is getting on my nerves.  Nothing specific, you know how sometimes you just live with someone too long, and just their breathing gets on your nerves? That is how I feel today.
Crying, super sensitive, I want to get out of the house but I can't.  
Maybe I should just run nekkid down the street, hehe


----------



## LPBeier

Hoot said:


> I wonder why we call it English....I think it oughta be called American because the vernacular here is quite different that it is in England. There are many instances of terms and phrases that translate differently, even though we share a common language with England as well as Australia (which I suppose should truly be called the Australian language).



And Canada?


----------



## Skittle68

LPBeier said:
			
		

> And Canada?



How about "North American English"?  (We already call it American English in the US, so why not lump Canada in there, too?)


----------



## Andy M.

If British English is the primary language, don't the American, Canadian, Australian, etc. versions of English qualify as dialects?


----------



## LPBeier

Skittle68 said:


> How about "North American English"?  (We already call it American English in the US, so why not lump Canada in there, too?)



Canadian English is not like British English OR American English.  It is a combination of both, with a little of our own thrown in for good measure.  

I worked for the government in a data admin department where we collected and posted import opportunities for BC exporters.  My direct supervisor was British and a librarian.  Our boss was American and a technology expert.

They would have horrid arguments (literally) over whether it should be "labour" or "labor", "centre" or "center", etc.

I, graduating from a Canadian University with a BA in English and French, finally said - Why don't we just use Canadian rules.....to which they stared at me, shrugged their shoulders and never brought it up again. 

"I wanted to go to the Theatre Arts Centre, which is in the center of the city."  

CWS, I know you will be all over this one   I am just having fun with our American and British friends.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It's important to get past the spellings of words and get the context of the conversation...otherwise all communication stops, hung up on how to spell something that really is not pertinent to the discussion.  Same with grammar rules...did you understand what I said?  Not, did I use every word in it's proprer placement, a pattern I do not speak in.

As I tell folks, this is not English class, tell me what it is you want to say, if I need clarification I will ask for it.  If a pattern you use is funny, I may (or not) point it out and tell you why I think it's funny, hoping you see the funny, too!


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> If British English is the primary language, don't the American, Canadian, Australian, etc. versions of English qualify as dialects?


Yes.


----------



## Barbara L

Our "best" friends (mostly her) decided to go on the attack against my husband, about things that he is not able to control. This was all done with the statement, "I'm just telling you this because we love you, and I'm trying to help you." He is hurt and angry, and so am I. That is all I can say about it, but believe me, it is not sunshine and roses in our house today.


----------



## Alix

Andy, a preposition tells you where something occurs. In, on, under, beneath...you get the picture. I can be confusing when you say, "the table on" instead of "on the table".


----------



## kadesma

Barbara L said:


> Our "best" friends (mostly her) decided to go on the attack against my husband, about things that he is not able to control. This was all done with the statement, "I'm just telling you this because we love you, and I'm trying to help you." He is hurt and angry, and so am I. That is all I can say about it, but believe me, it is not sunshine and roses in our house today.


Barbara, that's not what I call love or help it's look at me I'm going to show you and these are not friends they are back stabbers and as far as I'm concerned it's see ya charlie. You don't need this junk!! Tell em see ya and give James a big hug  and to forgive and forget nastiness.
hugs to you both.
kades


----------



## blissful

Barbara-Sending you Sunshine and Roses






Don't honor them with the presence of your company. I've had to do that on more than one occasion.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Yes.



Now...is the "Yes" with an American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Welsh, Irish or Scottish accent...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm sorry, Barbara!  Hugs to you both.


----------



## LPBeier

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It's important to get past the spellings of words and get the context of the conversation...otherwise all communication stops, hung up on how to spell something that really is not pertinent to the discussion.  Same with grammar rules...did you understand what I said?  Not, did I use every word in it's proprer placement, a pattern I do not speak in.
> 
> As I tell folks, this is not English class, tell me what it is you want to say, if I need clarification I will ask for it.  If a pattern you use is funny, I may (or not) point it out and tell you why I think it's funny, hoping you see the funny, too!


Princess, I was not trying to any such thing.  I was trying to be tongue in cheek.  But I guess my Canadian English didn't translate that way.


----------



## Barbara L

kadesma said:


> Barbara, that's not what I call love or help it's look at me I'm going to show you and these are not friends they are back stabbers and as far as I'm concerned it's see ya charlie. You don't need this junk!! Tell em see ya and give James a big hug  and to forgive and forget nastiness.
> hugs to you both.
> kades


Thank you cj! I will give James your hug when he wakes up from his much needed nap! 



blissful said:


> Barbara-Sending you Sunshine and Roses
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Don't honor them with the presence of your company. I've had to do that on more than one occasion.


Thank you for the Sunshine and Roses Blissful!  They are much appreciated!


----------



## LPBeier

Barbara L said:


> Our "best" friends (mostly her) decided to go on the attack against my husband, about things that he is not able to control. This was all done with the statement, "I'm just telling you this because we love you, and I'm trying to help you." He is hurt and angry, and so am I. That is all I can say about it, but believe me, it is not sunshine and roses in our house today.



Barbara, you have my love, respect, prayers and hugs.  I am here if you need me (PM, MSN, phone). {{{{{{{{{{{{{James and Barbara}}}}}}}}}}}}}


----------



## blissful

Y'all, I welcome any punctuation, grammar and spelling help I can get!

(not everyone would)


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> Barbara, you have my love, respect, prayers and hugs.  I am here if you need me (PM, MSN, phone). {{{{{{{{{{{{{James and Barbara}}}}}}}}}}}}}


Thank you my oh so wonderful friend and sister! We will be okay, but we will always take all the love, respect, prayers, and hugs we can get (and return them twofold, or threefold, or morefold!). 

(Am I the only one the quotes feature has been acting up for?).


----------



## LPBeier

DH just tried my "Dad's phone number" from his cell phone and guess what? IT DIDN'T WORK!  Finally I will not longer have to get stupid calls that my Dad's computer has a virus, or having people asking for "Pat" and me crying because I think for a second they want my Mom, not the people who had the number eons ago.

How did it happen?  DH called yesterday and calmly told them if they didn't get it fixed we would take our business (telephone, internet and TV) elsewhere (and there are options).

Thanks for all your help and for letting me rant on about this.  I feel a little more at peace now, as I do every time we complete something to do with Dad's death.


----------



## Dawgluver

Wonderful, LP!  So glad it's over.


----------



## blissful

Barbara L said:


> Thank you my oh so wonderful friend and sister! We will be okay, but we will always take all the love, respect, prayers, and hugs we can get (and return them twofold, or threefold, or morefold!).
> 
> (Am I the only one the quotes feature has been acting up for?).



Just add this symbol "]" (not the quotes) to the end of [/QUOTE
and it will work.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Now...is the "Yes" with an American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Welsh, Irish or Scottish accent...


Yes, with a Québec English accent.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Wonderful, LP!  So glad it's over.


+1


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Barbara)))


----------



## taxlady

Here's an example of why grammar matters:


----------



## Barbara L

blissful said:


> Just add this symbol "]" (not the quotes) to the end of [/QUOTE
> and it will work.


I am just hitting the "quote" button as I always do. But it is messing up.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> DH just tried my "Dad's phone number" from his cell phone and guess what? IT DIDN'T WORK!  Finally I will not longer have to get stupid calls that my Dad's computer has a virus, or having people asking for "Pat" and me crying because I think for a second they want my Mom, not the people who had the number eons ago.
> 
> How did it happen?  DH called yesterday and calmly told them if they didn't get it fixed we would take our business (telephone, internet and TV) elsewhere (and there are options).
> 
> Thanks for all your help and for letting me rant on about this.  I feel a little more at peace now, as I do every time we complete something to do with Dad's death.


I'm so glad!


----------



## Barbara L

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Barbara)))


Thanks!


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> (((Hugs Barbara)))



+1!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Yes, with a Québec English accent.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> Here's an example of why grammar matters:



Eeks!


----------



## Andy M.

LPBeier said:


> Princess, I was not trying to any such thing.  I was trying to be tongue in cheek.  But I guess my Canadian English didn't translate that way.



I think she was thrown off by your use of punctuation.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> Princess, I was not trying to any such thing.  I was trying to be tongue in cheek.  But I guess my Canadian English didn't translate that way.



Sweetie, my comments were not aimed at you or anyone.  Just a general comment on the state of grammar, spelling and speech.  I find the differences in all our dialects and accents to be absolutely delightful.

If not for all our differences I would have never learned what a pine float was (thanks Katie H).  Turns out it is a regional saying for a toothpick in a glass of water, what you are not allowed when you are going in for surgery.


----------



## Barbara L

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm sorry, Barbara!  Hugs to you both.


Thanks! You all have been a big help! 

Oh wait, I live in South Carolina now.  I meant to say, "All y'all have been a good bit of help."


----------



## Zhizara

Bless  your heart, BarbaraL


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sweetie, my comments were not aimed at you or anyone. Just a general comment on the state of grammar, spelling and speech. I find the differences in all our dialects and accents to be absolutely delightful.
> 
> If not for all our differences I would have never learned what a pine float was (thanks Katie H). Turns out it is a regional saying for a toothpick in a glass of water, what you are not allowed when you are going in for surgery.


 
I just want everyone to know that I find the use of the 'Queen's English' delightful. I am going to hospital, is a perfect example. There are so many times "the" is not used by those who use this method of the language. It is one of the reasons I love to watch the comedies we receive from England. And as far as what is written here, I get the message. And that is what counts. I couldn't care less if the punctuation or spelling is correct. 

Have any of you heard the last two lines of the Serenity Prayer? "....Change the things I can change, And accept the things I can't." I prefer to just accept everything. I am not out to make everything and everyone perfect. I dont' want to live in a perfect world. There is no fun and it is just to much work.


----------



## Claire

There is a great little book on this subject.  _Eats Shoots and Leaves_ (can't remember the author's name).  I read and watch a lot of media from England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India (etc), and other various English-speaking countries and find different uses of the English language and word origins interesting.  Another interesting book (and old PBS TV series) on the subject is _The Story of English_.  When I worked at the Pentagon many moons ago, lots of the action officers knew to come looking for me down in the bowels of the sub-basement because I could, without thinking, type a NATO document even if they didn't know the differences in spellings (NATO documents had to be in British English, and I could, without thinking translate "labor" into "labour" and "defense" into "defence").  See, reading all those novels does pay off!


----------



## Cindercat

blissful said:
			
		

> Y'all, I welcome any punctuation, grammar and spelling help I can get!
> 
> (not everyone would)



Incorrect punctuation or grammar in a chat room doesn't bother me. Trying to answer quickly or typing on a "smart"phone has its own difficulties. My phone changes what I type to what it thinks I want, such as: 'Do you have this app on your phone?' becomes 'Do you have this apparently on your phone?'. Sometimes the change is funny, others are just frustrating. My grammar peeves apply more to professionally written text, billboards, advertising or letters sent home from teachers or administration.


----------



## blissful

Cindercat said:


> Incorrect punctuation or grammar in a chat room doesn't bother me. Trying to answer quickly or typing on a "smart"phone has its own difficulties. My phone changes what I type to what it thinks I want, such as: 'Do you have this app on your phone?' becomes 'Do you have this apparently on your phone?'. Sometimes the change is funny, others are just frustrating. My grammar peeves apply more to professionally written text, billboards, advertising or letters sent home from teachers or administration.
> 
> View attachment 14711



I didn't know rule number 6. I had thought that IT'S was both for possessive and for the contraction. That's a tough one to remember.
It's my project. (correct)
The garlic, its clove's papers, are colored purple/brown. (correct)
Right?


I was putting a sentence together (quite the project ha ha ha) in an email to a friend and I put a phrase in parenthesis at the end of the sentence. It doesn't look right to put the period inside the parenthesis. Which one is correct?
I labeled and trimmed the garlic (the salable ones).
I labeled and trimmed the garlic (the salable ones.)

Oh and thank you for all this tutoring. Reminding me of the rules does help me.

I forgot to add: My manager would email me and at the end of it, it would say, "Sent from my Blackberry."
I continually and stupidly always thought of them as Blueberries, I don't know why.
I would respond in my email to him in this way, "Sent from my Desktop".


----------



## Zhizara

blissful said:


> I didn't know rule number 6. I had thought that IT'S was both for possessive and for the contraction. That's a tough one to remember.
> It's my project. (correct)
> The garlic, its clove's papers, are colored purple/brown. (correct)
> Right?
> 
> 
> I was putting a sentence together (quite the project ha ha ha) in an email to a friend and I put a phrase in parenthesis at the end of the sentence. It doesn't look right to put the period inside the parenthesis. Which one is correct?
> I labeled and trimmed the garlic (the salable ones).
> I labeled and trimmed the garlic (the salable ones.)
> 
> Oh and thank you for all this tutoring. Reminding me of the rules does help me.



The one marked in red is correct.  The period refers to the whole sentence and belongs outside the closing parentheses.


----------



## blissful

Zhizara said:


> The one marked in red is correct.  The period refers to the whole sentence and belongs outside the closing parentheses.


Zhizara, thank you.
Based on what I read before, there is some kind of logical punctuation and then some rules based on some more strict sense of Punctuation Rules, I take it this advice you wrote is based on logical rules. Is there a set of Punctuation Rules for this particular instance as well that is different from your advice? I thought parentheses were treated similarly to single quotes and double quotes--maybe that is not true.

And I spelled parentheses wrong.......people! Tell me I'm wrong, I can handle it, I want to do better, not for you, for myself. Call me selfish, call me wrong, really I can handle it. Consider all the readers here that will improve their punctuation and writing skills by reading this.
thank you.


----------



## taxlady

I'm pretty sure the rules for parentheses are the same for American grammar and British (logical) grammar. It's punctuation with quotes that are different.


----------



## blissful

taxlady said:


> I'm pretty sure the rules for parentheses are the same for American grammar and British (logical) grammar. It's punctuation with quotes that are different.



Good to know (you).


----------



## Dawgluver

blissful said:
			
		

> I forgot to add: My manager would email me and at the end of it, it would say, "Sent from my Blackberry."
> I continually and stupidly always thought of them as Blueberries, I don't know why.
> I would respond in my email to him in this way, "Sent from my Desktop".





Most phones and iPads automatically have the "Sent from my" sig.  I removed it from my iPad and phone.  Just go to Settings and take it out.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Most phones and iPads automatically have the "Sent from my" sig.  I removed it from my iPad and phone.  Just go to Settings and take it out.


I decided to leave it. That way people understand about the occasional strange word or spelling.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> I decided to leave it. That way people understand about the occasional strange word or spelling.



My neighbor uses an iPhone.  Email responses from him include this postscript:

Thumbtyped.  All typos unintentional

Of course they are.  Otherwise they wouldn't be typos...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm going to put in my sig on my e-mail "sent from the sofa"


----------



## Alix

blissful, go to you tube and look up Grammar Rock. I love those things. My students (who were all adult) loved them too.


----------



## chopper

JoAnn L. said:
			
		

> Finally have a nice weather day where I can open the windows and what do I hear but the  parrot who lives across the street, squawking. The lady who owns it, puts the darn thing in the window and he makes that awful sound all day long.



Some friends of mine live next to some people who have a really big cage in the back yard. They put their bird out all day in that cage to squawk at everything.... My friend is thinking of getting a noisy dog.


----------



## Addie

There is an area in San Fransisco that has a large parrot problem. It seems that several parrots that were released or escaped took up roost in trees in a nice neighborhood. They in turn started to build nests and multiply. Now there are so many of them that the trees are full and the squawking is deafening. So much for sleeping late in the morning.


----------



## tinlizzie

Addie said:


> There is an area in San Fransisco that has a large parrot problem. It seems that several parrots that were released or escaped took up roost in trees in a nice neighborhood. They in turn started to build nests and multiply. Now there are so many of them that the trees are full and the squawking is deafening. So much for sleeping late in the morning.


 
There's an interesting movie about them, "The Parrots of Telegraph Hill".  Down here there are flocks of naturalized small parrots, but they don't cause the nuisance that those in the urban setting do.

That period outside the quotes after "Hill" would seem logical, but surely not what I was taught in school eons ago.  It looks funny to me.

A friend corrected an old, established practice of mine, and I tried to follow his newfangled rule:  Only one space between sentences.  Tried, can't do it.


----------



## tinlizzie

Barbara L said:


> Thank you my oh so wonderful friend and sister! We will be okay, but we will always take all the love, respect, prayers, and hugs we can get (and return them twofold, or threefold, or morefold!).
> 
> (Am I the only one the quotes feature has been acting up for?).


 
Hoping you're both okay by now.  Taking you at your word that you will always take them, I'm sending them now.


----------



## Alix

tinlizzie said:


> A friend corrected an old, established practice of mine, and I tried to follow his newfangled rule:  Only one space between sentences.  Tried, can't do it.



That just means you learned your keyboarding skills on a typewriter! Its taken me forever to break that habit too. With the automatic justification on many screens it is no longer necessary.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> That just means you learned your keyboarding skills on a typewriter! Its taken me forever to break that habit too. With the automatic justification on many screens it is no longer necessary.



Alix, please explain.  What does learning on a typewriter keyboard have to do with two spaces between sentences?  I think the extra space improves appearance.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Alix, please explain.  What does learning on a typewriter keyboard have to do with two spaces between sentences?  I think the extra space improves appearance.



I didn't realize one space was the new rule.  I too prefer 2 spaces between sentences.


----------



## Zhizara

I prefer the double space as well.  I'm not changing now.  Otherwise everything looks crammed together; more like a run on sentence.


----------



## Alix

Andy M. said:


> Alix, please explain.  What does learning on a typewriter keyboard have to do with two spaces between sentences?  I think the extra space improves appearance.



When you learn keyboarding on a typewriter, you are taught to use a double space between sentences. Now, keyboarding is taught on computers and you can change the justification to center your document, right justify, or to make your sentences go margin to margin. In that last instance, it makes no difference what you space, it creates spaces for you, and it can look a bit odd if you have double spaced after a sentence. 

It can be relevant when kids are typing papers as well, its a trick to take up extra space so you don't have to write as much. That and changing the font on all your punctuation to make it larger can eat up a page or so in a long paper. 

Let's see if I can attach an example. The top example is margin to margin, note the spacing sizes. The bottom is left justified only. I prefer the top sample and it is how I format most of my documents.


----------



## Zhizara

Sneaky.


----------



## Alix

It is a bit sneaky isn't it? I think the point is just that you no longer have to artificially add spaces when you can format a whole document. You should see my students struggle with APA style citations! The whole quote thing just sends them into orbit.


----------



## Andy M.

If you left justify (normal in most cases) the double space after a period makes sense.  It's not so much the typewriter that causes it as the justification style you choose.

I rarely justify my paragraphs because weird spacing sometimes occurs and it looks funny to me.  I realize it's useful in some cases.


----------



## taxlady

I quit typing two spaces after the end of a sentence years ago.


----------



## Alix

Andy M. said:


> If you left justify (normal in most cases) the double space after a period makes sense.  It's not so much the typewriter that causes it as the justification style you choose.
> 
> I rarely justify my paragraphs because weird spacing sometimes occurs and it looks funny to me.  I realize it's useful in some cases.



The typewriter didn't CAUSE it. My apologies, I have been unclear. What I mean is that when we all used typewriters, the double space is what we were taught. Now that we use computers, it is considered unnecessary, and therefore is no longer taught in keyboarding classes. It is neither right nor wrong to double space after a sentence, it is merely noteworthy in determining when you learned to type/keyboard.


----------



## chopper

Funny, on my iPhone you don't even need to put the period at the end of the sentence. All I need to do is double space, and it puts the period in for me. It's hard switching back and forth from the iPhone to the computer.


----------



## tinlizzie

I enjoy hearing the background typing on Mad Men -- like my good old IBM Selectric -- but I don't miss using it.  Don't miss Whiteout or carbon paper either....

Is there a dinosaur smilie?


----------



## chopper

tinlizzie said:
			
		

> I enjoy hearing the background typing on Mad Men -- like my good old IBM Selectric -- but I don't miss using it.  Don't miss Whiteout or carbon paper either....
> 
> Is there a dinosaur smilie?



But, do you miss the smell of the mimeograph?


----------



## tinlizzie

chopper said:


> But, do you miss the smell of the mimeograph?


 
Not a bit!  And I hereby award you a Dinosaur Smilie.


----------



## chopper

tinlizzie said:
			
		

> Not a bit!  And I hereby award you a Dinosaur Smilie.



We used to love to smell our papers when the teacher gave them to us!  Am I aging myself?...


----------



## blissful

chopper said:


> We used to love to smell our papers when the teacher gave them to us!  Am I aging myself?...



And they were cool to the touch, fresh off the mimeograph. I'm only old on the outside, my inside is very young.


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> The typewriter didn't CAUSE it. My apologies, I have been unclear. What I mean is that when we all used typewriters, the double space is what we were taught. Now that we use computers, it is considered unnecessary, and therefore is no longer taught in keyboarding classes. It is neither right nor wrong to double space after a sentence, it is merely noteworthy in determining when you learned to type/keyboard.



It had to do with fixed font size. All the letters were given the same amount of space, e.g., "i" and "w" were allotted the same amount of space. There were little gaps and the double space after the period made it clear that there was an actual space. Now we use proportional fonts and there aren't little gaps of varying size between letters, so a single space is plenty obvious.


----------



## blissful

I'm going to add, that html (the code used for webpages--and it is similar to this forum), two spaces, three spaces, four spaces or more, are always translated by the browser (firefox, safari, netscape, MSIE) as one space. When you read it, you might think there is only one space after each sentence, but, there may actually be more.

So this is one space. <--
This is two spaces.   <--
This is three spaces.     <--
This is four spaces.       <--
This is five spaces.         <--

Go ahead and try it for yourself. Post with five spaces after each sentence and see what happens.


----------



## buckytom

i'm getting spaced out...


----------



## blissful

buckytom said:


> i'm getting spaced out...



"getting"?, wait, it should be "getting?" lol


----------



## taxlady

blissful said:


> "getting"?, wait, it should be "getting?" lol


No, BT didn't put the question mark, so in logical punctuation, it has to go outside the quotes. But, technically, shouldn't it should be, "... getting ..."? Or just plain getting?


----------



## blissful

taxlady said:


> No, BT didn't put the question mark, so in logical punctuation, it has to go outside the quotes. But, technically, shouldn't it should be, "... getting ..."? Or just plain getting?



Ah, yes, thank you. See it's all kind of confusing until you have a good example like this.


----------



## blissful

I'm trying to set up shipping for a package for my son, to be sent tomorrow through the USPS.
I know I can buy the flat rate shipping box with a label from the USPS, if I print it out at home and notify them to pick it up.
So, _you know who_, stopped at the local USPS office to pick up a label and pay for it. The local USPS won't give him a label and require that it goes _over the counter_ to be weighed. That is ridiculous! It's flat rate for anything under 70 lbs, and it is decidedly under 70 lbs.

I go on to the USPS site and I can buy the label, print it, ask for a free pick up by the carrier. 
The local post office: What are they thinking? How unhelpful can they be?


----------



## CWS4322

blissful said:


> Ah, yes, thank you. See it's all kind of confusing until you have a good example like this.


American practice is to put the punctuation (period, comma, exclamation mark, question mark) inside the double quotation marks. British practice is to put the punctuation outside of the quotation marks. Canadian style typically follows American style except some style guides recommend for legal texts to follow British style. Exceptions are if one uses double quotations to set off software commands, then the punctuation goes outside the quotation marks. Simple to remember. I always have to check British style guides when editing stuff for the Canadian government because the government tends to follow more British style guidelines than other companies, but does a hybrid of American and British that is unique to the Canadian government--or, at least that is my opinion, because I don't encounter this problem (having to check these things) when editing stuff for other NA clients.


----------



## blissful

CWS4322 said:


> American practice is to put the punctuation (period, comma, exclamation mark, question mark) inside the double quotation marks. British practice is to put the punctuation outside of the quotation marks. Canadian style typically follows American style except some style guides recommend for legal texts to follow British style. Exceptions are if one uses double quotations to set off software commands, then the punctuation goes outside the quotation marks. Simple to remember. I always have to check British style guides when editing stuff for the Canadian government because the government tends to follow more British style guidelines than other companies, but does a hybrid of American and British that is unique to the Canadian government--or, at least that is my opinion, because I don't encounter this problem (having to check these things) when editing stuff for other NA clients.



Interesting. I'm both a US and a Canadian citizen. I'm trying to fix a set of rules regarding punctuation in my head as right and wrong. I suppose, since I was born in the US, I'll adopt the US rules for myself. 
I'm going to have to review some of the information provided here--about the parentheses rules, and how they differ from single and double quotes rules.

(I just said "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" to _you know who_. I think it kind of irritates him, but, I really wanted to know.)


----------



## buckytom

with so much concern for trivial things, i think we ain't "getting" enough attention.


----------



## blissful

buckytom said:


> with so much concern for trivial things, i think we ain't "getting" enough attention.


----------



## buckytom

oh man, i am thoroughly grossed out. i decided to clean out the shed in the back yard today, and found that some little beastie has been living in there, eating the apples from the tree and crapping all over everything.

i think i'll use the pressure washer connected to the hot water heater to wash off.


----------



## taxlady

buckytom said:


> oh man, i am thoroughly grossed out. i decided to clean out the shed in the back yard today, and found that some little beastie has been living in there, eating the apples from the tree and crapping all over everything.
> 
> i think i'll use the pressure washer connected to the hot water heater to wash off.


Use cold water for the first go, to remove the worst of it. You don't want to heat that up and increase the smell. You can always go over it with hot water later. Oh yeah, hot water sets stuff like that.


----------



## buckytom

lol, i meant to wash me off...


----------



## taxlady

buckytom said:


> lol, i meant to wash me off...


 I didn't realize you had been contaminated.  

Good luck with the clean up.


----------



## kadesma

buckytom said:


> lol, i meant to wash me off...


Just make sure you do that in  hiding, the neighbors might call the cops
kades


----------



## buckytom

lol, using the pressure washer the neighbors might be more concerned with the screams rather than the nudity.


----------



## kadesma

buckytom said:


> lol, using the pressure washer the neighbors might be more concerned with the screams rather than the nudity.


That's true, but it could be fun Keep lookin over your shoulder and the holes in the fence!!!
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Boss is highly upset.  I got pulled from my regular job for the duration to help with getting the facility up and running on our Electronic Medication/Treatment Records (E-MAR/E-TAR).  I am the only person in the entire facility who is capable of getting more than two done in an 8 hour period with 97% accuracy.

So now I am in trouble again because I am doing a good job...I give up.  Sometime I wish I was just cashiering or cooking again.


----------



## LPBeier

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Boss is highly upset.  I got pulled from my regular job for the duration to help with getting the facility up and running on our Electronic Medication/Treatment Records (E-MAR/E-TAR).  I am the only person in the entire facility who is capable of getting more than two done in an 8 hour period with 97% accuracy.
> 
> So now I am in trouble again because I am doing a good job...I give up.  Sometime I wish I was just cashiering or cooking again.


You are an awesome nurse.  It is who you are, what you have worked so hard to be.  You were pulled off your job because you are good at something - not your fault.  They are not really mad at you, or because you are doing a good job.  They are frustrated because they need you too.  Just keep doing what you are told to best you can (which I know is incredible! ).

Besides bosses at cashiering and cooking jobs are just as bad!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, LP!  Just a bad day today, hot, miserable...migraine fighting...


----------



## roadfix

My house and I both need to vent.
Our sewage pump which controls sewage from the lower level of our home went out the other night which caused the tank to overflow, seeping raw sewage over the concrete floor of the utility room.  This raw seepage created a major stinker, the odor permeating through the entire house.  
I immediately started pumping the raw sewage out of the tank using a secondary pump out into my back yard.  (plants needed some fertilization anyway..  )  
I washed everything down, took a shower, and woke up the next morning with huge, swollen ears!  I must have come in contact with the dirty water or breathed enough stench to cause this allergic reaction.  
So I went to work with huge, swollen, elephant ears that day, which was yesterday.  And yes, I was made fun of... 
Meanwhile, I did not want to replace that pump with the same _crappy_ unit from Home Depot.  This was the third pump I've replaced in the last dozen years or so.  Anyway, I found an on-line retailer which sells a better unit at a great price so I ordered it.  Then, shortly after, I get a call from them telling me that the unit is out of stock and I should be getting it in about 10 days.  I told them I didn't mind and wanted the pump anyway.  The bathroom at the lower level will be out of commission for the next few days, but that's ok.....we rarely go down stairs and use that bathroom.  I know that sounds weird, but the house being situated on a hillside, our upper level of the house is our main level, at street level. Sewage only from the lower level needs to be pumped up to street level.   
My ears are semi-swollen today.  And I'm not looking forward to installing the new Zoeller pump in the next few days but it has to be done.


----------



## Andy M.

That qualifies as really bad news.  Sorry you have to deal with this.  At least you have an alternative where you can still flush with pride.


----------



## blissful

roadfix said:


> My house and I both need to vent.
> Our sewage pump which controls sewage from the lower level of our home went out the other night which caused the tank to overflow, seeping raw sewage over the concrete floor of the utility room.  This raw seepage created a major stinker, the odor permeating through the entire house.
> I immediately started pumping the raw sewage out of the tank using a secondary pump out into my back yard.  (plants needed some fertilization anyway..  )
> I washed everything down, took a shower, and woke up the next morning with huge, swollen ears!  I must have come in contact with the dirty water or breathed enough stench to cause this allergic reaction.
> So I went to work with huge, swollen, elephant ears that day, which was yesterday.
> Meanwhile, I did not want to replace that pump with the same _crappy_ unit from Home Depot.  This was the third pump I've replaced in the last dozen years or so.  Anyway, I found an on-line retailer which sells a better unit at a great price so I ordered it.  Then, shortly after, I get a call from them telling me that the unit is out of stock and I should be getting it in about 10 days.  I told them I didn't mind and wanted the pump anyway.  The bathroom at the lower level will be out of commission for the next few days, but that's ok.....we rarely go down stairs and use that bathroom.  I know that sounds weird, but the house being situated on a hillside, our upper level of the house is our main level, at street level. Sewage only from the lower level needs to be pumped up to street level.
> My ears are semi-swollen today.  And I'm not looking forward to installing the new Zoeller pump in the next few days but it has to be done.



OUCH!
I'm so sorry! 
I don't know what is the best remedy for taking in all that bacteria. If it's an allergic reaction (not a bacterial reaction), have you tried benadryl?


----------



## roadfix

Thanks.......and yes, I've been talking benadryl, and hopefully it's just that, an allergic reaction.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Boss is highly upset. I got pulled from my regular job for the duration to help with getting the facility up and running on our Electronic Medication/Treatment Records (E-MAR/E-TAR). I am the only person in the entire facility who is capable of getting more than two done in an 8 hour period with 97% accuracy.
> 
> So now I am in trouble again because I am doing a good job...I give up. Sometime I wish I was just cashiering or cooking again.


 
Last year I was in the ER for a heart attack. I am allergic to heparin. That system you are going to work on, was in place, but only the previous version. It was possible to over ride the program. And that is what the doctor did. When he was prescribing for me, he put in heparin. It came up on the screen in flashing red, but he did an over ride. My middle son was with me. He saw the nurse put the bag of heparin on the IV pole. He asked me, "Ma aren't you allergic to heparin?". A nurse who was standing near me heard him and rushed over and removed the bag. 

Two weeks later the hospital called me and asked me to attend a meeting. I went with my son the PA and the doctor was there, the President of the hospital, the Director of the ER, and a member of the Board of the hospital. As a result of that meeting, it was decided that the doctor would be given additional training in pharmacology, and the company that developed the computer program would redesign it so that you can't over ride it. The company also notified every hospital and medical facility that had thier progrm in place that a newer version was going to be sent to them free of charge.  

I was happy with the outcome of the meeting. I know they were afraid that I was going to sue. But that is not my nature. 

The doctor at the time of the HA had an attitude of 'I am busy, don't bother me.' When I was in great pain from the HA that was occurring right at that moment, he looked at me, told the nurse I will be there in a couple of minutes. Thank heavens for the nurse. She rushed me right up to the cath lab. The doctor was still playing with the computer. For that he received some punishment. I didn't pursue it. I was happy knowing that they did acknowledge his failures. He forgot "I Will Do No Harm".


----------



## Skittle68

roadfix said:
			
		

> My house and I both need to vent.
> Our sewage pump which controls sewage from the lower level of our home went out the other night which caused the tank to overflow, seeping raw sewage over the concrete floor of the utility room.  This raw seepage created a major stinker, the odor permeating through the entire house.
> I immediately started pumping the raw sewage out of the tank using a secondary pump out into my back yard.  (plants needed some fertilization anyway..  )
> I washed everything down, took a shower, and woke up the next morning with huge, swollen ears!  I must have come in contact with the dirty water or breathed enough stench to cause this allergic reaction.
> So I went to work with huge, swollen, elephant ears that day, which was yesterday.  And yes, I was made fun of...
> Meanwhile, I did not want to replace that pump with the same crappy unit from Home Depot.  This was the third pump I've replaced in the last dozen years or so.  Anyway, I found an on-line retailer which sells a better unit at a great price so I ordered it.  Then, shortly after, I get a call from them telling me that the unit is out of stock and I should be getting it in about 10 days.  I told them I didn't mind and wanted the pump anyway.  The bathroom at the lower level will be out of commission for the next few days, but that's ok.....we rarely go down stairs and use that bathroom.  I know that sounds weird, but the house being situated on a hillside, our upper level of the house is our main level, at street level. Sewage only from the lower level needs to be pumped up to street level.
> My ears are semi-swollen today.  And I'm not looking forward to installing the new Zoeller pump in the next few days but it has to be done.



Oh, the joys of being a home owner... That is one type of situation where I'm glad I can just call the landlord. Yuck! Good luck with the allergy/infection situation.


----------



## roadfix

I don't mind getting real dirty doing plumbing, but dealing with raw sewage is another thing.  But to save money not hiring a plumber to do this, I've got no choice.  
I'm also installing an alarm so spillage will not happen again, if and when the pumps fails again.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> I don't mind getting real dirty doing plumbing, but dealing with raw sewage is another thing.  But to save money not hiring a plumber to do this, I've got no choice.
> I'm also installing an alarm so spillage will not happen again, if and when the pumps fails again.




The alarm sounds like a great idea.  Good thinking!


----------



## taxlady

Sorry to read about the sewage problem Roadfix. I have had a basement flooded from a sewer backup and it was no fun.


----------



## Sprout

Let me preface this by saying that I really, truly appreciate the sympathy and empathy shown to new mothers. I also really appreciate the help and advice given to us. I don't want to sound ungrateful, because really, I am grateful. My sister-in-law just gave birth to her first and throughout her pregnancy and now with a newborn, has occasionally posted things on Facebook out of frustration. She rarely complains, but has had a rough pregnancy and has let show a couple of times. Often they are posts that are just asking if anyone has any advice. There are three phrases that I have seen over and over in response to her posts and those of a few other pregnant/new mother friends that drive me crazy. I rarely get offended and to be honest, these don't actually offend me, they just annoy the heck out of me. They are:
1. "Better get some sleep now, because once the baby comes, you won't get any."
2. "Just wait until..." (closely related to "If you think that's bad...")
3. "Welcome to motherhood."

I'm pretty sure I've even said some of these before and I know most people don't mean anything by them, but here's why they drive me crazy:
1. "Better sleep now..." This usually directly follows a comment from the pregnant mother about how she's having trouble sleeping (and usually the pregnant mother's comment was in response to a question about whether or not she's sleeping well).
  a. I'm pretty sure she already knows that newborns are the bearers of sleep-deprivation.
  b. She didn't just say she's not sleeping well because she's out partying or watching infomercials. She said she's *trying *and it's *not working*.
  c. Sleep isn't something you can squirrel away like acorns for a long winter. If she sleeps 16 hours uninterrupted every night from now until the baby is born, she will still be exhausted when the baby comes.

2."Just wait until..."
We all know that teenagers are a thousand times more stressful than toddlers and four-year-olds are stronger and therefore can throw more destructive tantrums than 2-year-olds and toddlers throwing temper tantrums are more embarrassing than crying babies, but when a crying baby seems impossible to sooth, it seems plenty stressful right now! New moms don't need to hear all about how much worse it's going to be in a couple years. 

3. "Welcome to motherhood." 
I even understand the sentiment behind this one. When a friend or someone you watched grow up (or a child you raised yourself, though I've never been in the position myself) is going through some of the classic new mom frustrations, you think back _almost_ fondly on when you went through the same thing. You smile and maybe you chuckle and then you type something like this. It comes from a bit of sympathy, a bit of nostalgia, a bit of relief that you're past that stage and, if we're being honest, a tiny bit of amusement that they're in that stage. For some reason though, every time I read it or hear it, it seems incredibly condescending. For whatever reason this one really gets under my skin. The little passive aggressive person inside my head (whom I try my best to keep locked up) just screams, "So nice of you to welcome her, because now that she's dealt with a screaming baby all night/a poo blowout/a baby with day and night reversed/another extremely frustrating situation, she's really a mom. Because, you know, carrying a baby for nine months and then pushing 8 pounds of human out of her *** doesn't make her a mother. Nor does falling in love with a tiny little person and feeding and nurturing her child. Sleep deprivation and getting pooped on does." I got welcomed to motherhood just a few weeks ago after posting something out of frustration. That little passive aggressive jerk piped up inside my skull, "Thanks. Now please explain to me why the past three years don't count." This is the one that got me thinking about all the others and sparked this vent. My SIL posted asking for advice the other day and three, _three _separate women commenting on the same exact post decided that rather than giving her advice, or even simply saying "Sorry, I know it's rough. I hope it gets better soon," they would just slap out a good old "Welcome to Motherhood." 

Like I said, I appreciate sympathy, empathy, advice, concern, and all other forms of help for a new mom. I would never say any of these things to someone who thinks they're helping, or being clever, or whatever, which is why I'm posting them _here_, so they ever pop out of my mouth _there._ I just wish sometimes people would think a little more before piping up. I think it should be taught in schools. In general before speaking to anyone, but also specifically before speaking to a pregnant woman, and like I said, I'm guilty as well. All we have to do is think, "Is what I'm about to say incredibly obvious? Will it depress her about the future? Will it really only serve my own amusement?" If so, rethink and find something constructive to say. There. I just wrote the lesson. Do we have any curriculum-writers here who could work on getting this into our schools?  Whew. I feel better now.


----------



## blissful

Sprout, sometimes serious depression follows pregnancy, sometimes serious illness follows pregnancy. In our country, no one takes it seriously and really facebook is not taken seriously, it's the wrong venue for help. In the UK, serious depression following pregnancy is taken seriously. 
She might need a little extra help, to get some sleep or some medical help or both. 
I'm not seeing any hope of retraining the general public in being sensitive. I'm sorry.


----------



## taxlady

I think the worst one I ever heard was when I lost my baby at five months of pregnancy, "It's probably for the best."


----------



## kadesma

taxlady said:


> I think the worst one I ever heard was when I lost my baby at five months of pregnancy, "It's probably for the best."


And a remark like that would  let them see my back as I walked out the door with a very big go to!!!!! What a rude horrid thing to say.
kades


----------



## Dawgluver

kadesma said:
			
		

> And a remark like that would  let them see my back as I walked out the door with a very big go to!!!!! What a rude horrid thing to say.
> kades



+1


----------



## taxlady

kadesma said:


> And a remark like that would  let them see my back as I walked out the door with a very big go to!!!!! What a rude horrid thing to say.
> kades


Actually, I "let loose" on the person. I realize that she actually meant to be kind. She was thinking the baby would have been deformed and that maybe that would make me less sad, that I lost him.

Sometimes people can be so oblivious.


----------



## Four String Chef

taxlady said:
			
		

> I think the worst one I ever heard was when I lost my baby at five months of pregnancy, "It's probably for the best."



That is a rough thing to say to someone in that situation. My mother had a 6 month miscarriage before me; I was supposed to be the youngest, my parents only wanted two. They tried again in the thought of just two. I was born; three years later my little brother was born. I can't say much for myself but I don't know what I would do without my brother. If the first try was successful, I would never have had him in my life and to think of my life without our relationship is a life I don't want to live. I know it was horrid for my parents to go threw such a thing but for me, "Its probably for the best", really was. I say this to you not to undermine your griefs but to tell you that sometimes awful things only seem awful when they happen. Its hard to see what's happening when one is on the inside of a situation. I mean all this with respect. 

Cheers.


----------



## taxlady

Four String Chef said:


> That is a rough thing to say to someone in that situation. My mother had a 6 month miscarriage before me; I was supposed to be the youngest, my parents only wanted two. They tried again in the thought of just two. I was born; three years later my little brother was born. I can't say much for myself but I don't know what I would do without my brother. If the first try was successful, I would never have had him in my life and to think of my life without our relationship is a life I don't want to live. I know it was horrid for my parents to go threw such a thing but for me, "Its probably for the best", really was. I say this to you not to undermine your griefs but to tell you that sometimes awful things only seem awful when they happen. Its hard to see what's happening when one is on the inside of a situation. I mean all this with respect.
> 
> Cheers.


Oh, I understand about how sometimes awful things turn out to have decent consequences. I might not be married to my wonderful Stirling if I hadn't had that still birth. We had been friends for 8 years. He went out of his way to look me up, when he heard about the still birth (he was a friend of my ex). He figured I could use the support of another friend. That led to us getting together


----------



## Barbara L

taxlady said:


> I think the worst one I ever heard was when I lost my baby at five months of pregnancy, "It's probably for the best."


When a friend's baby died at age 4 months, someone said to her, "I know how you feel because my dog just died."


----------



## taxlady

Barbara L said:


> When a friend's baby died at age 4 months, someone said to her, "I know how you feel because my dog just died."




As I said, oblivious.


----------



## Merlot

I have a child related vent myself.  Most of you know I work as a therapist in a nursing home.  I have two co- workers with children that are a couple of years younger then mine.  When we get a new resident in that has something contagious one of the girls always mentions that the patient needs to be put on my schedule since their children do not have their immune system built up "as much as mine".    (the other co- worker never says anything) 

_Follow your freaking precautions already_ and if someone is going to catch something, I don't want to take it home to my child anymore then you do.  I chose this job and it doesn't bother me, I have done it for 12 years now without issues but for her to always say that really annoys me


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> I think the worst one I ever heard was when I lost my baby at five months of pregnancy, "It's probably for the best."


What a horrible thing to say. It is never for the best and there is always a hole left in one's heart. You needed your mom, I hope she came to be with you.


----------



## Skittle68

Four String Chef said:
			
		

> That is a rough thing to say to someone in that situation. My mother had a 6 month miscarriage before me; I was supposed to be the youngest, my parents only wanted two. They tried again in the thought of just two. I was born; three years later my little brother was born. I can't say much for myself but I don't know what I would do without my brother. If the first try was successful, I would never have had him in my life and to think of my life without our relationship is a life I don't want to live. I know it was horrid for my parents to go threw such a thing but for me, "Its probably for the best", really was. I say this to you not to undermine your griefs but to tell you that sometimes awful things only seem awful when they happen. Its hard to see what's happening when one is on the inside of a situation. I mean all this with respect.
> 
> Cheers.



My Grandma had a really hard time having kids (C-sentions were a big deal 60 years ago), so after she had two girls and a boy, she quit. Unfortunately Cliffy died when he was two, so she had one more. That last child was my dad. If Cliffy hadn't died, I wouldn't be here...


On a side note, WHO, has my perfect, angelic, helpful bf been talking to??? Today, I asked him to cut up some mushrooms while I was making hand made ravioli, french bread, and sauce, and he cut them up and practically ran out of the kitchen, calling behind him, "There, the mushrooms are cut!" He was gone so fast my head spun lol


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> What a horrible thing to say. It is never for the best and there is always a hole left in one's heart. You needed your mom, I hope she came to be with you.


No, my sister paid for my ticket to come stay with her. She was the one who seemed to *really* understand.

My mum lived near my sister. I spent the day with her. We went for a walk. We met a young woman with a baby. My mum (who adored all children) oohed and ahed about the baby. Then, my mum started saying stuff like, "Isn't that a gorgeous baby?" "Yes." (Imagine a very abrupt tone of voice.) I couldn't believe she was making pay attention to a baby. I didn't say anything else, because it wasn't that young woman's fault that I was in a state. It had been bad enough taking the bus, which stopped at Disneyland and picked up lots of happy families. I closed my eyes and pretended I couldn't hear the kids. It took months before I could hear babies or young children without bursting into tears.


----------



## LPBeier

Oh my, I have tears in my eyes at these stories of losing children and people being heartless.  I was never able to have a child and for many years this fact really bothered me.  I felt I was being cheated and it was not a topic I wanted to discuss.  My mother had 12 pregnancies (I was number 11) and three births were successful, though my middle sister died before I was born at age three.  The last pregnancy was a boy who Mom felt stopped moving on my first birthday and was stillborn at 7 months a few days later.  A "friend" of the family told me to not be so sad that I have no children "because at least you didn't have to go though all that your mother did to have you". Thanks lady!


----------



## Skittle68

LPBeier said:
			
		

> Oh my, I have tears in my eyes at these stories of losing children and people being heartless.  I was never able to have a child and for many years this fact really bothered me.  I felt I was being cheated and it was not a topic I wanted to discuss.  My mother had 12 pregnancies (I was number 11) and three births were successful, though my middle sister died before I was born at age three.  The last pregnancy was a boy who Mom felt stopped moving on my first birthday and was stillborn at 7 months a few days later.  A "friend" of the family told me to not be so sad that I have no children "because at least you didn't have to go though all that your mother did to have you". Thanks lady!



People just don't have a clue. I'm so sorry you were never able to have a child. I'm sure your mom considers every ounce of pain worth it.


----------



## taxlady

LPBeier said:


> Oh my, I have tears in my eyes at these stories of losing children and people being heartless.  I was never able to have a child and for many years this fact really bothered me.  I felt I was being cheated and it was not a topic I wanted to discuss.  My mother had 12 pregnancies (I was number 11) and three births were successful, though my middle sister died before I was born at age three.  The last pregnancy was a boy who Mom felt stopped moving on my first birthday and was stillborn at 7 months a few days later.  A "friend" of the family told me to not be so sad that I have no children "because at least you didn't have to go though all that your mother did to have you". Thanks lady!


 The things people say, when they don't stop to think...


----------



## LPBeier

Skittle68 said:


> People just don't have a clue. I'm so sorry you were never able to have a child. I'm sure your mom considers every ounce of pain worth it.


Don't be sorry.  I am blessed with probably 100 or more children over the years through youth groups, cooking at summer camp, and even working as a nanny.  Some of my "kids" have married (I made many of their cakes) and I even have a few grand "kids"!  I hated Mother's day because I wasn't one and my Mother passed away 17 years ago from cancer (yes, she was grateful for the children she had).  Then I started getting flowers and cards from these young people and I realized that I didn't have to give birth to be a Mother at Heart. 

Yes, I would love to have had a child with my husband, but we married late in life and I am so thankful I did not have any with my ex.!


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> The things people say, when they don't stop to think...


I'm sorry that you had your experience, TL. It is bad enough when it is a non family member, but for your Mom to not think would be really hard.


----------



## Claire

LPBeier said:


> Don't be sorry.  I am blessed with probably 100 or more children over the years through youth groups, cooking at summer camp, and even working as a nanny.  Some of my "kids" have married (I made many of their cakes) and I even have a few grand "kids"!  I hated Mother's day because I wasn't one and my Mother passed away 17 years ago from cancer (yes, she was grateful for the children she had).  Then I started getting flowers and cards from these young people and I realized that I didn't have to give birth to be a Mother at Heart.
> 
> Yes, I would love to have had a child with my husband, but we married late in life and I am so thankful I did not have any with my ex.!



I am childless-by-choice (and also very, very glad I didn't have children by my first marriage!), and was so touched a few years ago when a 9 year old neighbor rang on the door-bell, handed me a rose and a home-made card.  Her mother told me that she thought it was sad that no one would give me something for Mothers' Day, so she declared it "Best Neighbor Day"!  Needless to say, very teary eyed!


----------



## Barbara L

Claire said:


> I am childless-by-choice (and also very, very glad I didn't have children by my first marriage!), and was so touched a few years ago when a 9 year old neighbor rang on the door-bell, handed me a rose and a home-made card.  Her mother told me that she thought it was sad that no one would give me something for Mothers' Day, so she declared it "Best Neighbor Day"!  Needless to say, very teary eyed!


That was so nice!


----------



## Claire

Right now my main grumble is that I had the hip surgery 3 weeks ago .... am recovering very well according to my PCP, surgeon, and PT.  I've seen a lot of progress.  BUT, that said, I'm almost in tears with the frustration of having to be inactive, not being able to drive.  Three weeks ago I was taking 3-5 hour-long exercise classes a week, walking up a down our very steep streets, driving around to run all our errands, helping out a couple of elderly friends twice a week.  Now I have no idea when I'll be able to get back to any of this (well, the surgeon said i can try driving in an empty parking lot and start on the street when I feel secure in my speed from foot on accelerator to brake (It _would_ be my right leg).  I read a lot, but am not big on TV.  I've gotten back to doing most of my household chores (except gardening, not steady enough for our rough, slanted, terraced yard).  But what I am able to do exhausts me, so I drift off to sleep during the day, then am up all night.  I'm still sleeping on the couch because I'm only sleeping a few hours a night, and that in one-hour increments.  No reason to keep my husband awake and have him grouchy the next day.  

I'm a person who's rarely bored, but I am literally becoming bored to tears of frustration.  I'm trying to pick up an old hobby (beadwork) to ease it a little.

Sorry for going on ....


----------



## buckytom

sadly, there is definitely a culture of how childless adults are treated as somehow less equal.

before we had my son, i was often scheduled to work "family" type holidays, or really crappy hours as a normal thing because, as it was directly described to me by my supervisors and managers, that "i didn't have the same resonsibilities as guys/gals with kids.

excuse me? i had a family. i have parents, and siblings, and nieces/nephews. i have friends, and i have a life no less worth living than theirs.

it's a type of discrimination that is just as bad as gender or religious bias. i doubt it will ever change, though. people with kids seem to think their lives are jyst better, no matter what they produced nor how well they've acted as parents.

now, as an older parent, those same bosses/supv's have grown children, and i love to ask them how their kids are doing when i know that certain children of theirs are having problems. drugs, jail, lethargy, adult professional video gamers (lol), teen age pregnancies, etc., etc..

i know it's petty andi i should be above it with the blessings that i've had in my life - both before becoming a parent and after, but i'll certainly never forget how i was treated for many years, and i'll certainly never treat anyone that way.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> No, my sister paid for my ticket to come stay with her. She was the one who seemed to *really* understand.
> 
> My mum lived near my sister. I spent the day with her. We went for a walk. We met a young woman with a baby. My mum (who adored all children) oohed and ahed about the baby. Then, my mum started saying stuff like, "Isn't that a gorgeous baby?" "Yes." (Imagine a very abrupt tone of voice.) I couldn't believe she was making pay attention to a baby. I didn't say anything else, because it wasn't that young woman's fault that I was in a state. It had been bad enough taking the bus, which stopped at Disneyland and picked up lots of happy families. I closed my eyes and pretended I couldn't hear the kids. It took months before I could hear babies or young children without bursting into tears.


Sorry--glad your sister understood.


----------



## Four String Chef

taxlady said:
			
		

> Oh, I understand about how sometimes awful things turn out to have decent consequences. I might not be married to my wonderful Stirling if I hadn't had that still birth. We had been friends for 8 years. He went out of his way to look me up, when he heard about the still birth (he was a friend of my ex). He figured I could use the support of another friend. That led to us getting together



Good.


----------



## blissful

I'm so sorry so many have had pain surrounding having children, not having children and losing children. We each have our own pains to bear. It doesn't make anything easier, does it? All we can really do is be thoughtful and kind to each other.



Skittle68 said:


> On a side note, WHO, has my perfect, angelic, helpful bf been talking to??? Today, I asked him to cut up some mushrooms while I was making hand made ravioli, french bread, and sauce, and he cut them up and practically ran out of the kitchen, calling behind him, "There, the mushrooms are cut!" He was gone so fast my head spun lol


_
You know WHO! _It's _you know who_. It's a club they join.


----------



## Sprout

Claire said:


> I'm a person who's rarely bored, but I am literally becoming bored to tears of frustration.  I'm trying to pick up an old hobby (beadwork) to ease it a little.
> 
> Sorry for going on ....



No need to apologize. That sounds miserable! I thought I was going to go crazy after I had my first daughter (had some minor complications that kept me from doing much for a bit longer than usual) and that was only about 2 months! I can imagine how sick of this you must be getting! I hope you heal up fully and quickly, even if quickly seems pretty relative.


----------



## blissful

buckytom said:


> sadly, there is definitely a culture of how childless adults are treated as somehow less equal.
> 
> ...excuse me? i had a family. i have parents, and siblings, and nieces/nephews. i have friends, and i have a life no less worth living than theirs....



I in no way want to demean or degrade your experience. I know that what you say has happened to you. I've come to the conclusion that it is --company--or --department-- dependent.
It's not everywhere, it's not the entire culture that is that way.  Don't despair, it's not that way everywhere.

I worked for a department (it may have been the whole company) that made the single women with children work the holidays. Not the newest employee (single male), not the most senior employee (single male). Their reasoning was this: She NEEDS the job, she won't complain because she should be GRATEFUL she even has a job and she has children and a home and HAS NO CHOICE. Besides, when are the single males supposed to socialize? They (males) are entitled to that at least.


----------



## Alix

buckytom said:


> before we had my son, *i was often scheduled to work "family" type holidays, or really crappy hours as a normal thing because*, as it was directly described to me by my supervisors and managers, that "i didn't have the same resonsibilities as guys/gals with kids.



Sooo...you work GOOD shifts now? Your job sounds really hard to me BT, the fact that you can juggle so much to be with your wife and son with the hours you work is astounding and awe inspiring to me. 

In response to all of you who have lost a child in some way or another I'm so sorry. My heart aches for you all. We have friends who've lost babies and it really bothered them when folks wouldn't acknowledge it as a loss ("well the baby wasn't born yet") or when they would refuse to see the very real pain people were in. Why are we so uncomfortable with grief and loss? It baffles me that instead of offering a hug, ear, an "I'm sorry" to someone who is grieving, we will try to distract them, or pretend we don't know what happened or offer platitudes. I'm not sure which of those things is the worst.


----------



## chopper

It is so sad that people don't know what to say, and others avoid us because they don't know what to say. Often times we just need someone to listen when we are grieving. Or...someone to cry with. I try to be the one who listens when a friend is grieving.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> It is so sad that people don't know what to say, and others avoid us because they don't know what to say. Often times we just need someone to listen when we are grieving. Or...someone to cry with. I try to be the one who listens when a friend is grieving.


+1


----------



## LPBeier

chopper said:


> It is so sad that people don't know what to say, and others avoid us because they don't know what to say. Often times we just need someone to listen when we are grieving. Or...someone to cry with. I try to be the one who listens when a friend is grieving.


+2  Well said.


----------



## Addie

Claire said:


> Right now my main grumble is that I had the hip surgery 3 weeks ago .... am recovering very well according to my PCP, surgeon, and PT. I've seen a lot of progress. BUT, that said, I'm almost in tears with the frustration of having to be inactive, not being able to drive. Three weeks ago I was taking 3-5 hour-long exercise classes a week, walking up a down our very steep streets, driving around to run all our errands, helping out a couple of elderly friends twice a week. Now I have no idea when I'll be able to get back to any of this (well, the surgeon said i can try driving in an empty parking lot and start on the street when I feel secure in my speed from foot on accelerator to brake (It _would_ be my right leg). I read a lot, but am not big on TV. I've gotten back to doing most of my household chores (except gardening, not steady enough for our rough, slanted, terraced yard). But what I am able to do exhausts me, so I drift off to sleep during the day, then am up all night. I'm still sleeping on the couch because I'm only sleeping a few hours a night, and that in one-hour increments. No reason to keep my husband awake and have him grouchy the next day.
> 
> I'm a person who's rarely bored, but I am literally becoming bored to tears of frustration. I'm trying to pick up an old hobby (beadwork) to ease it a little.
> 
> Sorry for going on ....


 
Patience Little Grasshopper, patience. God knows what He is doing. He is teaching you a lesson in patience.


----------



## Addie

Losing a child is probably the most painful experience one can go through. 

And for those who have no children, I just figure it was by choice. As any parent can tell them, having children can be the most exasperating experience one can have. And it can also be the most fulfilling experience. But childless couples seem to have a capacity to love all children. And they find ways to show it. They are the ones we ask to sit in on committees, babysit, work at the youth center, etc. And we know our children are in good hands. They are the ones who can stand back and look at a situation and make a good decision of whether it is good for a child or not. These folks never complain that they have too many children to care for. They can always make room in their hearts for one more. Thank you childless folks for being there when I needed a relief from the frustrations of being a parent. Thank you for teaching my children good moral rules of life. And thank you for setting a good example for my children to follow. You have the love of not only the children we have entrusted into your care, but the parents as well.


----------



## Claire

Addie said:


> Patience Little Grasshopper, patience. God knows what He is doing. He is teaching you a lesson in patience.



... and boy did I need it yesterday.  I'm one of those people who is very patient with others -- but get easily frustrated with myself!


----------



## Four String Chef

Claire said:
			
		

> ... and boy did I need it yesterday.  I'm one of those people who is very patient with others -- but get easily frustrated with myself!



I've recently reopened my study of Buddhism after a few years break and have been studying patience to start off with my learning. Patience is the only way to know ones soul. With patience, the ego can no longer present itself. One must learn patience, along with other attributes, to release the ego and become completely free. Only then can one reach heaven.


----------



## Hoot




----------



## Dawgluver

Well said, Maxine and Hoot!


----------



## GotGarlic

This is relatively minor, but it's really getting on my nerves right now. Somehow I did something to my neck this morning (not during sleep) and if I look down, there's a sharp pain at the back of my neck going down my back. Now it's giving me a headache. I need to get some preserving done and am really aggravated. Thanks for listening.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Well said, Maxine and Hoot!


+1


----------



## chopper

GotGarlic said:
			
		

> This is relatively minor, but it's really getting on my nerves right now. Somehow I did something to my neck this morning (not during sleep) and if I look down, there's a sharp pain at the back of my neck going down my back. Now it's giving me a headache. I need to get some preserving done and am really aggravated. Thanks for listening.



Hope you are able to get things done and feel better soon.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> This is relatively minor, but it's really getting on my nerves right now. Somehow I did something to my neck this morning (not during sleep) and if I look down, there's a sharp pain at the back of my neck going down my back. Now it's giving me a headache. I need to get some preserving done and am really aggravated. Thanks for listening.


That sounds like something that has happened to me twice. In both cases the doctor said that it was probably salt that had crystallized on a nerve. It took several days to go away.


----------



## Four String Chef

taxlady said:
			
		

> That sounds like something that has happened to me twice. In both cases the doctor said that it was probably salt that had crystallized on a nerve. It took several days to go away.



My dog just had something of the sort in this neck. Sodium and calcium build up. Low grade pain killers and time. Gotta work itself out, break it all up and absorb it.


----------



## Addie

Hoot said:


>


 
I love Maxine. She is my hero. I try to emulate her attitude every day.


----------



## babetoo

Claire said:


> Right now my main grumble is that I had the hip surgery 3 weeks ago .... am recovering very well according to my PCP, surgeon, and PT.  I've seen a lot of progress.  BUT, that said, I'm almost in tears with the frustration of having to be inactive, not being able to drive.  Three weeks ago I was taking 3-5 hour-long exercise classes a week, walking up a down our very steep streets, driving around to run all our errands, helping out a couple of elderly friends twice a week.  Now I have no idea when I'll be able to get back to any of this (well, the surgeon said i can try driving in an empty parking lot and start on the street when I feel secure in my speed from foot on accelerator to brake (It _would_ be my right leg).  I read a lot, but am not big on TV.  I've gotten back to doing most of my household chores (except gardening, not steady enough for our rough, slanted, terraced yard).  But what I am able to do exhausts me, so I drift off to sleep during the day, then am up all night.  I'm still sleeping on the couch because I'm only sleeping a few hours a night, and that in one-hour increments.  No reason to keep my husband awake and have him grouchy the next day.
> 
> I'm a person who's rarely bored, but I am literally becoming bored to tears of frustration.  I'm trying to pick up an old hobby (beadwork) to ease it a little.
> 
> Sorry for going on ....



you have every right to be bored. being sick is a pain in the you kow what.


----------



## Addie

*Vent #1 *I hate AC.  Even though I need it to breath. I had to make a run to the corner store. It was so hot and muggy out. I get to the store and the AC is going full blast. Instantly my nose starts to run like the rapids of a river. I had a fistful of tissue with me. I grab it fast and within seconds it was soaking. 

*Vent #2* I hate Friday night television. I am getting tired of the Olympics.  What is left for sports are the ones I am not interested in. And there are never any good shows on Friday night. They are all reruns. So I have Churchill on. A rerun. Even the Olympics has a rerun on right now. It is about the Scrugg girl with the torn ligaments at the summer Olympics that gave America the gold in Atlanta. 

*Vent #3* I am tired of being old. It seems as soon as I get one medical problem under control or solved, another one pops up. When does it end. Old age is hard work and no fun. I have patches of all white hair and the rest is salt and pepper grey. I want it to go to ALL white. I am tired of aches and pains that I have no control over. I want to be able to do cartwheels again and other gymnastic stuff that I did as a child and teenager. I want to go on long bike trips. I want to go Pioneer camping. I want to be able to live on a farm and do farm work like I used to. I want to get up early and go outside and hear the birds just wakiing up in the fresh air of the country side. I don't like being old. 

Okay. Venting done with. I now feel better. Thank you for listening.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Vent #3, I resemble that one more and more...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Vent #3, I resemble that one more and more...


It's better than the alternative.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> It's better than the alternative.




Some days...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I'm so furious at the cat right now. He just peed all over two of my best dress shirts. Two of my favorites that I wear all the time to work and church and when Rol and I go out. Two that I always get compliments on and that actual fit well and that I feel comfortable in. And it's not like I can afford to just go out and get new shirts. I've got them soakibg in hot water and they'll stay there until I can find change to wash them. I'm hoping if I run them through three or four washes all in a row without lettibg them dry, that the smell will come out. Otherwise they're ruined.

I just don't get it. He's never peed on stuff before! I mean, he's had accidents when he was scared, like on the way home from the vet, but he's never intentionally peed on our stuff. He used the bathtub once when Rol and I were out of town and his litterbox got too full but his box wasn't that full. And it's not like he was looking for a place and accidently hit the clothes. It was a pile of clothes in the middle of the floor that we'd just gathered up to pack into the laundry bags so we could take them to the wash. He delibrately chose something of ours to pee on. I'm just... Grrr!


----------



## Dawgluver

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> I'm so furious at the cat right now. He just peed all over two of my best dress shirts. Two of my favorites that I wear all the time to work and church and when Rol and I go out. Two that I always get compliments on and that actual fit well and that I feel comfortable in. And it's not like I can afford to just go out and get new shirts. I've got them soakibg in hot water and they'll stay there until I can find change to wash them. I'm hoping if I run them through three or four washes all in a row without lettibg them dry, that the smell will come out. Otherwise they're ruined.
> 
> I just don't get it. He's never peed on stuff before! I mean, he's had accidents when he was scared, like on the way home from the vet, but he's never intentionally peed on our stuff. He used the bathtub once when Rol and I were out of town and his litterbox got too full but his box wasn't that full. And it's not like he was looking for a place and accidently hit the clothes. It was a pile of clothes in the middle of the floor that we'd just gathered up to pack into the laundry bags so we could take them to the wash. He delibrately chose something of ours to pee on. I'm just... Grrr!



So sorry, PAG.  Could it be a bladder or kidney infection?


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I hope not but we do need to get him to the vet for a checkup so we can have them check for that then.


----------



## Four String Chef

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> I'm so furious at the cat right now. He just peed all over two of my best dress shirts. Two of my favorites that I wear all the time to work and church and when Rol and I go out. Two that I always get compliments on and that actual fit well and that I feel comfortable in. And it's not like I can afford to just go out and get new shirts. I've got them soakibg in hot water and they'll stay there until I can find change to wash them. I'm hoping if I run them through three or four washes all in a row without lettibg them dry, that the smell will come out. Otherwise they're ruined.
> 
> I just don't get it. He's never peed on stuff before! I mean, he's had accidents when he was scared, like on the way home from the vet, but he's never intentionally peed on our stuff. He used the bathtub once when Rol and I were out of town and his litterbox got too full but his box wasn't that full. And it's not like he was looking for a place and accidently hit the clothes. It was a pile of clothes in the middle of the floor that we'd just gathered up to pack into the laundry bags so we could take them to the wash. He delibrately chose something of ours to pee on. I'm just... Grrr!



Imo. I may very well be wrong about this, but isn't it common for domesticated animals to become destructive and spiteful when they feel they have been wronged? A dog will tear up your sneakers if you don't spend enough time with it. A cat will crap on your pillow if you leave the cat outside for too long. And so on and so on. Either way, I hope your shirts are ok.   cheers.


----------



## Alix

If I were to guess I'd say the cat MIGHT have thought a large pile of clothes might indicate another move or you packing for an out of town trip. Cats HATE that. He was likely just registering his displeasure at the thought of more emotional trauma. 

Sorry about your shirts PAG. Blissful taught me the dishwasher powder trick to whiten whites, it has the added benefit of killing odor, you could try that in your soak water.


----------



## LPBeier

Alix said:


> If I were to guess I'd say the cat MIGHT have thought a large pile of clothes might indicate another move or you packing for an out of town trip. Cats HATE that. He was likely just registering his displeasure at the thought of more emotional trauma.
> 
> Sorry about your shirts PAG. Blissful taught me the dishwasher powder trick to whiten whites, it has the added benefit of killing odor, you could try that in your soak water.


I agree with Alix.  Today we were moving furniture around to give DH and I our own space for computers, etc.  Our dogs went crazy!  Violet would get in the way no matter if we were moving a small box or heavy desk.  Then she was shaking and panting all over the place.  Animals do not like change, even when they only perceive it.

I hope you can salvage your shirts.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> If I were to guess I'd say the cat MIGHT have thought a large pile of clothes might indicate another move or you packing for an out of town trip. Cats HATE that. He was likely just registering his displeasure at the thought of more emotional trauma.
> 
> Sorry about your shirts PAG. Blissful taught me the dishwasher powder trick to whiten whites, it has the added benefit of killing odor, you could try that in your soak water.



+1 and for the dishwasher soap trick.


----------



## Cindercat

LPBeier said:
			
		

> I hated Mother's day because I wasn't one



I avoid Mother's Day and Father's Day services at church and only go to weddings of family or very close friends.  I'm still somewhat bitter that I never had the blessings of husband and children. Listening to a sermon about the virtue of marriage and raising children hurts and puts me into a mild depression for a day or so. Sometimes reading FB posts from high school classmates going on about their children and grandchildren brings up that same yearning/jealousy. I've thought about foster care or adoption but my house isn't big enough for another person or in good enough condition to sell and I can't afford to fix it. I'm old enough now that I've got to accept that I'll grow old alone. I've never liked being alone but what is. ..is. My few friends have families of their own and we rarely see each other. That's partly why I show up at school several times a week during summer break. If not for my parents and my job, I don't think anyone would notice for quite a while if something should happen to me.
Well, enough wallowing in self-pity. I need to get to bed.


----------



## Claire

Cindercat said:


> I avoid Mother's Day and Father's Day services at church and only go to weddings of family or very close friends.  I'm still somewhat bitter that I never had the blessings of husband and children. Listening to a sermon about the virtue of marriage and raising children hurts and puts me into a mild depression for a day or so. Sometimes reading FB posts from high school classmates going on about their children and grandchildren brings up that same yearning/jealousy. I've thought about foster care or adoption but my house isn't big enough for another person or in good enough condition to sell and I can't afford to fix it. I'm old enough now that I've got to accept that I'll grow old alone. I've never liked being alone but what is. ..is. My few friends have families of their own and we rarely see each other. That's partly why I show up at school several times a week during summer break. If not for my parents and my job, I don't think anyone would notice for quite a while if something should happen to me.
> Well, enough wallowing in self-pity. I need to get to bed.



You really, really, seriously need to find an outlet for your loving feelings.  Time to get out and work at a shelter, find people who need surrogate relatives, there are hundreds of places, I'm sure, that need you to get out there and move in your community.  Look at your own interests and then find a source for helping out.  There is no reason to be lonely.  Libraries and museums run on volunteer work.  Schools often need class room bus, etc, monitors.  Some schools and libraries have days when you can go in and read to children.  Some communities have ESL (English as a Second Language) classes that need volunteers.  

Wake up tomorrow morning (I'd say today but it is Sunday) and find a good fit for you.  It sometimes takes a few tries to find volunteer work that you enjoy, but please do it.  

Having children isn't the be all to end all, and trust me, having a spouse can be worse than having no spouse.  As I said many years ago (yes I am married now, and childless by choice), you probably don't believe it, but trust me it is true.  Being lonely when you're married and/or have children is much worse than being lonely by yourself.  So embrace your time alone, and when it is too much, make sure you have a place where you can help care for others.  

Also, find a place that is your "third place".  That is to say, find somewhere you like the ambiance, and just buy a drink and start nursing it and hanging out.  You'd be surprised at how many people you will meet doing this.  I've seen people hanging out at the library, at the local McD's, coffee houses, etc.  

Do not waste one more minute of your life with regrets.  You don't make friends by sitting in your home.  Move on out.  Now!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Claire said:


> Do not waste one more minute of your life with regrets.  You don't make friends by sitting in your home.  Move on out.  Now!



Great advice!

When I get feeling low I go over the lyrics of Cabaret!

Put down the knitting,
The book and the broom.
Time for a holiday.
Life is Cabaret, old chum,
Come to the Cabaret.

Get out and get involved, do a little self promotion.  

Like Woody Allen said " ninety percent of life is showing up!"


----------



## blissful

PrincessFiona60 said:


> +1 and for the dishwasher soap trick.


It's rather embarrassing, having a reputation of teaching people this trick. In case anyone missed it.
To whiten whites, with VERY hot water, add bleach and some dishwashing detergent and some homemade laundry soap (or store bought), stir with a stick, say a few incantations of your favorite song and toss in the whites. It turns out quite purty. Whites sparkling white like the first snow of Christmas.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cindercat said:


> I avoid Mother's Day and Father's Day services at church and only go to weddings of family or very close friends.  I'm still somewhat bitter that I never had the blessings of husband and children. Listening to a sermon about the virtue of marriage and raising children hurts and puts me into a mild depression for a day or so. Sometimes reading FB posts from high school classmates going on about their children and grandchildren brings up that same yearning/jealousy. I've thought about foster care or adoption but my house isn't big enough for another person or in good enough condition to sell and I can't afford to fix it. I'm old enough now that I've got to accept that I'll grow old alone. I've never liked being alone but what is. ..is. My few friends have families of their own and we rarely see each other. That's partly why I show up at school several times a week during summer break. If not for my parents and my job, I don't think anyone would notice for quite a while if something should happen to me.
> Well, enough wallowing in self-pity. I need to get to bed.



Some are childless, but not by choice, it was just not in the cards.  My eldest would have been 34 this year.  I will never "get over" it, but I do not avoid circumstances where others are celebrating their joy.

I bet there are kids in your life that love you as much as they love their own mothers.  Those are YOUR kids, whether you think of them that way or not.


----------



## Hoot

Cindercat,
Lord knows, I ain't the best source of advice for much of anything, but
I know that that you cannot face the future whilst looking over your shoulder at the past.
Claire, Aunt Bea, and PrincessFiona give good advice.
I hope you will find the strength to bring some peace into your life.


----------



## taxlady

Hoot said:


> Cindercat,
> Lord knows, I ain't the best source of advice for much of anything, but
> I know that that you cannot face the future whilst looking over your shoulder at the past.
> Claire, Aunt Bea, and PrincessFiona give good advice.
> I hope you will find the strength to bring some peace into your life.


What Hoot said and

((((hugs))))


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> What Hoot said and
> 
> ((((hugs))))



+1

As a special education teacher, you touch the world of all your students and their families.  They are your kids, and will never forget you.  I'm in education too, and have been there long enough to be working with the kids of "my" kids.  The trust and sense of relief from the families when they realize I'm there is comforting to all of us.

Cindercat, you do good work!  One of my favorite SpEd teachers is also single, never married, but there was never a better advocate for her kids.


----------



## Cindercat

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement. I should have known better than to get caught up on reading this thread late at night when I'm tired as soon as I saw the topic. I don't often dwell on my lack of husband or children. I do try to get out around people in social settings. I sang in church choirs, women's barbershop, exercised at the YMCA regularly & took adult continuing education classes for fun. I enjoy doing things for other people but would like someone to do things for me occasionally just because they want to. I get tired of being responsible for everything, from paying bills to fun activities,  with no one to share some of that responsibility like families do. I love teaching special ed kids and probably won't retire until I am no longer physically able even though I'm eligible to retire this year. Even when I do retire, I don't intend to vegitate in my house and become the "weird cat lady."


----------



## CWS4322

Are cat ladies weird?


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> Are cat ladies weird?



  CWS, you are the Chicken Lady.  No way you would know.


----------



## blissful

Dawgluver said:


> CWS, you are the Chicken Lady.  No way you would know.



Chickens are..........Cats are.......oh my this is just funny.


----------



## CWS4322

Dawgluver said:


> CWS, you are the Chicken Lady.  No way you would know.


You're right, that would be so out of my realm of understanding (writes she who was just spending a little time on the deck sitting in a chair with Harriet on one knee and Myrtle on the other...).


----------



## CWS4322

I never thought I'd enjoy having chickens this much. I didn't know if I could even handle them when I first went to get the first ones. Now Pebbles spends part of each day on my lap or shoulder...does anyone else see a bird cage in the house in my future?


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle is not feeling well.  She's thrown up her food for the last 3 days, (always on the carpeted areas of course), feels hot, and seems lethargic.  Will make a vet appt. tomorrow.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Are cat ladies weird?



No weirder than "Chicken Lady"  I'll be a crazy cat lady...


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Beagle is not feeling well.  She's thrown up her food for the last 3 days, (always on the carpeted areas of course), feels hot, and seems lethargic.  Will make a vet appt. tomorrow.


Oh poor Beagle. (((hugs)))


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> Oh poor Beagle. (((hugs)))



Thanks, TL.  This isn't like her.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Beagle is not feeling well.  She's thrown up her food for the last 3 days, (always on the carpeted areas of course), feels hot, and seems lethargic.  Will make a vet appt. tomorrow.



Oh no!!!  I hope it's not serious.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Oh no!!!  I hope it's not serious.



Thanks, PF.  She's usually so perky and upbeat.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My ani-mules were mad at me until about 20 minutes ago...I changed the way they eat...not the time, but what I am feeding them and how.  Now they are back to ignoring me.


----------



## Alix

Dawgluver, hope your beagle feels better soon! Maybe try some plain cooked rice for dinner? Small amounts?


----------



## LPBeier

DL, I hope Beagle feels better soon! {{{{{{{Beagle}}}}}}}


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, all!  Will try some plain rice if she can't keep her lamb and rice food down.  She will definitely go to the vet as soon as I can get her in.  The beautiful Sheltie across the street sucumbed to pancreatic cancer, they had to put him down.  The Chesapeke Bay Retriever next door had bone cancer, and was an amputee, they lost her a few years ago.  Now another neighbor's 15 yo mutt is suddenly gaining weight around her heart and lungs from fluid, and she will have to be put to sleep.  

Sad dog day around here.


----------



## CWS4322

DL--she's definitely got some sort of bug. Dogs do not throw up for 3 days in a row if not sick. They can be off their food for 24 hours and be back on, but 3 days is unusual. Is she drinking water? With the heat and vomiting, I'd be worried about dehydration. Hopefully you can get her in to the vet in the morning.


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> DL--she's definitely got some sort of bug. Dogs do not throw up for 3 days in a row if not sick. They can be off their food for 24 hours and be back on, but 3 days is unusual. Is she drinking water? With the heat and vomiting, I'd be worried about dehydration. Hopefully you can get her in to the vet in the morning.



Thanks, CWS.  She's drinking water, in A/C, and goes on walks when it cools off at night.  I haven't changed her food, she just blorps it up. On the carpet, of course.

I did figure out the best puke cleaner-upper.  Cut a cheap paper plate in half, and use as a scraper.  Half to scrape, other half to receive.


----------



## blissful

Dawgluver said:


> she just blorps it up.



 Blorps--learning new words here has improved my life immensely.

I have to tell you about my special skill, with kids, dogs and cats, I make it my life's mission to catch it before it hits the carpet. The best was, when my son ate blue jello with gummi worms, seriously, green blorp, I caught it before it hit the carpeting.


----------



## Dawgluver

blissful said:
			
		

> Blorps--learning new words here has improved my life immensely.
> 
> I have to tell you about my special skill, with kids, dogs and cats, I make it my life's mission to catch it before it hits the carpet. The best was, when my son ate blue jello with gummi worms, seriously, green blorp, I caught it before it hit the carpeting.



  :rolf:  Blissful, that is indeed impressive!  We are entering you in the DC Olympic Blorp Saving Competition!


----------



## DaveSoMD

Dawgluver said:


> Beagle is not feeling well.  She's thrown up her food for the last 3 days, (always on the carpeted areas of course), feels hot, and seems lethargic.  Will make a vet appt. tomorrow.




I hope you get her into the office soon.  Our miniature schnauzer has liver issues and sometimes get sick if she gets sick and throws up too.  Our vet has us give her 1/2 of a 10 mg Pepcid table in the morning about an hour before we feed her.  That and bland food (rice, plain yogurt, baby food) for a few days usually gets her back on track.


----------



## blissful

Dawgluver said:


> :rolf:  Blissful, that is indeed impressive!  We are entering you in the DC Olympic Blorp Saving Competition!



Good to know. Will I be competing against the Canadian Competition (CWS--I just know it will be you.)?

Oh shoot, and forgot about the UK competition, probably Bolas or his brother. Really stiff competition. I need practice.


----------



## Dawgluver

DaveSoMD said:
			
		

> I hope you get her into the office soon.  Our miniature schnauzer has liver issues and sometimes get sick if she gets sick and throws up too.  Our vet has us give her 1/2 of a 10 mg Pepcid table in the morning about an hour before we feed her.  That and bland food (rice, plain yogurt, baby food) for a few days usually gets her back on track.



Good to know.  Thought about a piece of Pepto Bismal tablet, but that has aspirin.  Will see what the vet says.


----------



## CWS4322

Not a vet, but does she blorp (love the word) immediately after eating? Does she blorp only in the a.m. or 5-6 hours after eating? Is it regurgitated food, look like coffee grounds, slimy, or is it yellow bile?


----------



## Dawgluver

It looks like her dry food, only wet.  She blorps several hours after eating.

She's had several behavioral changes too.  She barks at cats and coyotes, and watches for them constantly.  I'm wondering if she's stressed by this.  She's not a dog who usually barks.


----------



## CWS4322

Dawgluver said:


> It looks like her dry food, only wet.  She blorps several hours after eating.
> 
> She's had several behavioral changes too.  She barks at cats and coyotes, and watches for them constantly.  I'm wondering if she's stressed by this.  She's not a dog who usually barks.


Be sure to mention that to the vet--that she blorps several hours after eating. Does she give you the rolf-rolf-rolf sound before she blorps (fwiw, I'm very good at getting the dog outside between the first and second rolf sound...) or does she just blorp? I don't think the two are necessarily related. Dogs blorp for a variety of reasons. It could be an internal parasite, it could be helio bacter, it could be other things. Only the vet will be able to tell you. Have you taken her temperature?


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> Be sure to mention that to the vet--that she blorps several hours after eating. Does she give you the rolf-rolf-rolf sound before she blorps (fwiw, I'm very good at getting the dog outside between the first and second rolf sound...) or does she just blorp? I don't think the two are necessarily related. Dogs blorp for a variety of reasons. It could be an internal parasite, it could be helio bacter, it could be other things. Only the vet will be able to tell you. Have you taken her temperature?



One retch, then blorp.  I tried to catch her on the last blorp, she ran away from me and blorped on the dog bed in the living room.  She feels warm to me.

I'm wondering about an ulcer, or if she's stressed over protecting us from outdoor cats, coyotes, and deer.

She was also watching a bunny for about an hour the other day, then a stray pitbull tore out of the woods and attacked HER bunny.  She was very upset.


----------



## Addie

blorp. blorp, rolf, rolf. I must add these words to my dictionary in case they come up in a Scrabble game. I will insist that they are real words from Dc members. And they should know.


----------



## Hoot

Dawgluver said:


> a stray pitbull



This would worry me if it is truly a stray rather than one just let run loose by the owner.  Stray critters like that might be likely to contract rabies, given their proclivity to engage with other critters at will. And let me point out that I have no quarrel with pitbulls....My grandson and DIL both have pits that are some of the smartest and well mannered dogs I have known. But they do love to play and give chase.


----------



## Claire

Aunt Bea said:


> Great advice!
> 
> When I get feeling low I go over the lyrics of Cabaret!
> 
> Put down the knitting,
> The book and the broom.
> Time for a holiday.
> Life is Cabaret, old chum,
> Come to the Cabaret.
> 
> Get out and get involved, do a little self promotion.
> 
> Like Woody Allen said " ninety percent of life is showing up!"



probably doesn't surprise anyone, this is a favorite of mine as well.  Come on, start celebrating, life is where your table's waiting.


----------



## taxlady

Hoot said:


> This would worry me if it is truly a stray rather than one just let run loose by the owner.  Stray critters like that might be likely to contract rabies, given their proclivity to engage with other critters at will. And let me point out that I have no quarrel with pitbulls....My grandson and DIL both have pits that are some of the smartest and well mannered dogs I have known. But they do love to play and give chase.


+1


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> +1



We haven't seen the stray since.  Am hoping it belongs to somebody.

Beagle hasn't blorped for a day.  Took her to the vet this morning, it was time for Bordatella shot and heartworm check.  Vet said she should be fine, but prescribed some precautionary deworming meds.  I also learned if she blorps again, to withhold food and water for 24 hours.  Beagle never did lose her appetite, so would probably be very unhappy to not get fed!

Thanks for all the concerned advice!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> We haven't seen the stray since.  Am hoping it belongs to somebody.
> 
> Beagle hasn't blorped for a day.  Took her to the vet this morning, it was time for Bordatella shot and heartworm check.  Vet said she should be fine, but prescribed some precautionary deworming meds.  I also learned if she blorps again, to withhold food and water for 24 hours.  Beagle never did lose her appetite, so would probably be very unhappy to not get fed!
> 
> Thanks for all the concerned advice!


Glad to hear she hasn't blorped for a day and the vet thinks she should be fine. Here's hoping she is.


----------



## CWS4322

A 24-hour fast usually does the trick for minor stuff. Even for dogs on hw meds, they can still get worms that can cause vomiting. I always fasted new dogs that came in for 36-hours so I could change food without having to do the gradual wean to new food thing. I never had any issues when I did that, and I did that with .... 80+ foster dogs. They also got a dose of two different wormers (one for general, one specifically for tape) whether they needed it or not. I used to worm my own dogs on New Year's Eve (during the off-time re: hw meds here), whether they needed it or not!  I also did the fasting thing with the stray cat, but I did give her access to water.


----------



## chopper

I'm so glad that Beagle is ok. Our pets are our children, and it is terrible when they are sick.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks so much guys!  So far, so good!  We've been blorp-free for 2 days!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Good Kitties are not supposed to go...

Not truly a vent, but I am howling here, my BFF's best kitty had a tumor and was put down today.  Houdini (Hootie)


----------



## Dawgluver

Awwww, poor baby.  So sorry.

RIP, sweet Hootie.


----------



## kadesma

RIP Hootie I didn't know you but If   PF cared about you you must have been special.
ma


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks Dawg and Ma!

He was special, known him since he was born.  He and BFF moved to Indiana...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Hugs for you and your bff Fi.


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Good Kitties are not supposed to go...
> 
> Not truly a vent, but I am howling here, my BFF's best kitty had a tumor and was put down today.  Houdini (Hootie)



So sorry PF. It's so hard to lose your own or BFF's animals. We love them so much.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I hate when I toss and turn and toss and turn and finally get comfortable ebough to fall asleep only to realize that I have to pee. Sigh. Guess that's what I get for having that big glass of water before bed.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks PAG and Chopper.  He was greeted joyfully by others who have gone before.


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Thanks PAG and Chopper.  He was greeted joyfully by others who have gone before.



And will be at the "Rainbow Bridge."


petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htm


----------



## blissful

chopper said:


> And will be at the "Rainbow Bridge."
> 
> 
> Petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htm
> 
> Can't seem to get it to link.


Rainbow Bridge Home Page, Pet Loss Support, Pet Memorials, Monday Candle Service, The Rainbow Bridge Poem
Hope that works for you.


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Good Kitties are not supposed to go...
> 
> Not truly a vent, but I am howling here, my BFF's best kitty had a tumor and was put down today.  Houdini (Hootie)



Sorry to hear that  RIP Hootie


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, everyone.  I spent a lot of time with BFF on the phone and e-mail today.  They are doing better today, too.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Good Kitties are not supposed to go...
> 
> Not truly a vent, but I am howling here, my BFF's best kitty had a tumor and was put down today.  Houdini (Hootie)


So sorry....it is always so hard to say goodbye. Thankfully, we are able to give that last act of love, hold our pets in our arms, and let them know who loved them best as they leave this world with dignity and in the arms of the person who loved them best. I can't think of a better way to go--I'd like to die in the arms of the person who loved me best. My thoughts are with your friend and you as grieve.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> So sorry....it is always so hard to say goodbye. Thankfully, we are able to give that last act of love, hold our pets in our arms, and let them know who loved them best as they leave this world with dignity and in the arms of the person who loved them best. I can't think of a better way to go--I'd like to die in the arms of the person who loved me best. My thoughts are with your friend and you as grieve.



The Boy, BFF's SO, took Hootie in to the vet himself and once the prognosis was arrived at, held Hootie as the vet gave him a shot.  Hootie was buried in the backyard, next to his mother and his favorite dog buddy.

Hootie always took to The Boy more than anyone else.


----------



## taxlady

I'm annoyed with myself.

Friday we visited friends in Montreal. I was a bit surprised that I found a parking spot right away. It's usually hard to find a spot in that neighbourhood.

When we went to the car to drive home, there was a parking ticket. Hunh? I had checked the sign. It said No Parking at some time in the morning. I was getting ready to take pix to prove I shouldn't have had a ticket. I moved into the light and read the ticket. It said something about "parcometre" (parking meter). I looked and much to my surprise there was a parking meter there. There hadn't been a parking meter when I parked there a bit less than a month ago. Here in Montreal they don't put the parking meters next to the curb, they put them near the building. So, I should have paid. I even have an ap on my phone to pay for parking. Phooey. $52. I guess I just have to pay it.


----------



## Chef Munky

I can't wait to move. My neighbor feels the need to be excessively LOUD!
Every day for a week he's been firing up his junker demolition car at all hours of the day and night. He then revs it up, racing it up and down the street. Most times he does it in his backyard. He does it for hours.
Today he started it up at 7:45 am. Scared the crap out of me when he does that! I was asleep. It literally jolted me awake! He's racing it as I post, up and down the street hard braking!

I've gotten used to his LOUD foul verbal fights with the wife but I can't take that damn car! His compressors aren't much fun to listen to either.
I can't even open my windows without smelling the exhaust from that car. It fills my living room up. 

I'm ticked.


----------



## taxlady

Chef Munky said:


> I can't wait to move. My neighbor feels the need to be excessively LOUD!
> Every day for a week he's been firing up his junker demolition car at all hours of the day and night. He then revs it up, racing it up and down the street. Most times he does it in his backyard. He does it for hours.
> Today he started it up at 7:45 am. Scared the crap out of me when he does that! I was asleep. It literally jolted me awake! He's racing it as I post, up and down the street hard braking!
> 
> I've gotten used to his LOUD foul verbal fights with the wife but I can't take that damn car! His compressors aren't much fun to listen to either.
> I can't even open my windows without smelling the exhaust from that car. It fills my living room up.
> 
> I'm ticked.


(((Hugs))) Bummer. Can't you call the cops for the street racing? Is it legal to make that kind of noise at 07h45 on a Sunday morning?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs))) Bummer. Can't you call the cops for the street racing? Is it legal to make that kind of noise at 07h45 on a Sunday morning?



My thoughts exactly...there should be some sort of noise ordinance and safety laws against exhibition of speed and reckless driving.


----------



## Chef Munky

I have to watch where I step. If the police are called I'd have to wonder about retaliation.

That car can't possibly be street legal. The exhaust fumes coming out if it chokes you. What's ticking me off is his lack of consideration for others peoples rights. I have a right to live in my own home in a peaceful manner. He's intruding into my space now. What about the other neighbors who are sick and would just like some peace. I'm completely aggravated. Why hasn't anyone else said anything yet? It's not the first time it's been 2 years of hell.

Where can I find info on city ordinances?


----------



## taxlady

Chef Munky said:


> I have to watch where I step. If the police are called I'd have to wonder about retaliation.
> 
> That car can't possibly be street legal. The exhaust fumes coming out if it chokes you. What's ticking me off is his lack of consideration for others peoples rights. I have a right to live in my own home in a peaceful manner. He's intruding into my space now. What about the other neighbors who are sick and would just like some peace. I'm completely aggravated. Why hasn't anyone else said anything yet? It's not the first time it's been 2 years of hell.
> 
> Where can I find info on city ordinances?


I understand the concern about retaliation. I would go to the police station and explain my concern. They don't need someone to file a complaint to arrest someone for illegal car or driving on the street. Might be a different story with the noise.

Your city bylaws might be online. Otherwise, try calling city hall.


----------



## Dawgluver

Chef Munky said:
			
		

> I have to watch where I step. If the police are called I'd have to wonder about retaliation.
> 
> That car can't possibly be street legal. The exhaust fumes coming out if it chokes you. What's ticking me off is his lack of consideration for others peoples rights. I have a right to live in my own home in a peaceful manner. He's intruding into my space now. What about the other neighbors who are sick and would just like some peace. I'm completely aggravated. Why hasn't anyone else said anything yet? It's not the first time it's been 2 years of hell.
> 
> Where can I find info on city ordinances?



Go to city hall and ask.  Munky, we live in a subdivision outside of town.  When a neighbor was parking all of his landscape business equipment in his driveway (4 trucks, plow blades, 2 trailers, flatbed, various and sundry other stuff) and after we all asked him numerous times to move his stuff, we went to the county attorney.  It took many attempts and 3 county attorneys, but the guy no longer parks his crap where all can see.  We took pictures, testimonials, and wrote emails and letters.  If you can, you might want to get some video with sound of this jerk and his car, and enlist other neighbors to go in on this.

Good luck!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Go to city hall and ask.  Munky, we live in a subdivision outside of town.  When a neighbor was parking all of his landscape business equipment in his driveway (4 trucks, plow blades, 2 trailers, flatbed, various and sundry other stuff) and after we all asked him numerous times to move his stuff, we went to the county attorney.  It took many attempts and 3 county attorneys, but the guy no longer parks his crap where all can see.  We took pictures, testimonials, and wrote emails and letters.  If you can, you might want to get some video with sound of this jerk and his car, and enlist other neighbors to go in on this.
> 
> Good luck!



I agree with Dawg.  Contact the County Attorney, he will know what is allowed and not.  By going to the Police/Sheriff, stations in person, you stop your neighbor from knowing who reported him.  He only knows if he sees them come to your house to ask about your complaint.  Let the department know you do not want to be contacted in person, only by phone and you are willing to go to them for discussion if need be.


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I agree with Dawg.  Contact the County Attorney, he will know what is allowed and not.  By going to the Police/Sheriff, stations in person, you stop your neighbor from knowing who reported him.  He only knows if he sees them come to your house to ask about your complaint.  Let the department know you do not want to be contacted in person, only by phone and you are willing to go to them for discussion if need be.



Fantastic advice. It is for sure "disturbing the peace" violation. I too would go to the station so the neighbor doesn't know who filed the complaint. I hope things are quieter soon.


----------



## Hoot

I agree with the above advice. That individual obviously has no respect for his neighbors. If you don't wish to be involved, that certainly is your right. But if you don't advise the authorities, who will?  An anonymous phone call to the authorities in many locations constitutes probable cause. Under the described circumstances, I am surprised that authorities aren't already aware of his actions.


----------



## DaveSoMD

So when did Clorox join the trend down-sizing?  I went to pick up a gallon of bleach at Walmart and all hey carry are 3-quart containers at about what I think is the same price!!!!

I'm SO tired of companies reducing the size of things just to keep the price "low". I mean come on we are not stupid.  

So now it is 4 lb bags of sugar, 59 oz containers of OJ and don't even look at ice cream!!


----------



## Hoot

DaveSoMD said:


> So when did Clorox join the trend down-sizing?  I went to pick up a gallon of bleach at Walmart and all hey carry are 3-quart containers at about what I think is the same price!!!!
> 
> I'm SO tired of companies reducing the size of things just to keep the price "low". I mean come on we are not stupid.
> 
> So now it is 4 lb bags of sugar, 59 oz containers of OJ and don't even look at ice cream!!



Seems like it is everywhere and includes everything.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh, but Clorox is now all "Ultra" which means, I think, "concentrated" and you are supposed to use less.  Of course, I may just be Ultra-Dense...


----------



## Dawgluver

Hoot said:
			
		

> I agree with the above advice. That individual obviously has no respect for his neighbors. If you don't wish to be involved, that certainly is your right. But if you don't advise the authorities, who will?  An anonymous phone call to the authorities in many locations constitutes probable cause. Under the described circumstances, I am surprised that authorities aren't already aware of his actions.



Unfortunately, around here, the sheriff and cops would come around regularily to discuss with and  bang on the neighbors' door, and they refused to answer.  We had a 3 year struggle, but we all kept at it, and it finally worked.  We went through 2 male County Attorneys, but it took a woman to get the job done.  She came out and took her own pictures, and was appalled that nothing had been done after 3 years.


----------



## Dawgluver

DaveSoMD said:
			
		

> So when did Clorox join the trend down-sizing?  I went to pick up a gallon of bleach at Walmart and all hey carry are 3-quart containers at about what I think is the same price!!!!
> 
> I'm SO tired of companies reducing the size of things just to keep the price "low". I mean come on we are not stupid.
> 
> So now it is 4 lb bags of sugar, 59 oz containers of OJ and don't even look at ice cream!!



I try really hard not to look at the ice cream.

It truly is disgusting we have to pay more for less.


----------



## Zhizara

Unfortunately, when food is involved, it can mess up recipes.


----------



## Skittle68

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> Go to city hall and ask.  Munky, we live in a subdivision outside of town.  When a neighbor was parking all of his landscape business equipment in his driveway (4 trucks, plow blades, 2 trailers, flatbed, various and sundry other stuff) and after we all asked him numerous times to move his stuff, we went to the county attorney.  It took many attempts and 3 county attorneys, but the guy no longer parks his crap where all can see.  We took pictures, testimonials, and wrote emails and letters.  If you can, you might want to get some video with sound of this jerk and his car, and enlist other neighbors to go in on this.
> 
> Good luck!



I don't really see how a small business owner parking his equipment in his driveway, on his property would affect you and your neighbors so much that you would go to that much trouble. My dad has an excavating business, and if they didn't live in the country like they do, there is no way my parents could afford to pay to keep his equipment somewhere else.  My bf's brother gripes that his neighbor parks his semi truck (without a trailer) in his driveway, and I don't understand it. He doesn't come and go with it every day, it just sits there when he's not working. What's the big deal?? Noise laws make complete sense, or if it was basically a junk yard, but some trucks, trailers, and plow equipment, I would think you would consider it neighborly to look the other way and let the guy try to make an honest living without being hassled.


----------



## Dawgluver

Skittle68 said:
			
		

> I don't really see how a small business owner parking his equipment in his driveway, on his property would affect you and your neighbors so much that you would go to that much trouble. My dad has an excavating business, and if they didn't live in the country like they do, there is no way my parents could afford to pay to keep his equipment somewhere else.  My bf's brother gripes that his neighbor parks his semi truck (without a trailer) in his driveway, and I don't understand it. He doesn't come and go with it every day, it just sits there when he's not working. What's the big deal?? Noise laws make complete sense, or if it was basically a junk yard, but some trucks, trailers, and plow equipment, I would think you would consider it neighborly to look the other way and let the guy try to make an honest living without being hassled.



You should have seen it, Skittle!  It was awful!  There were vehicles and stuff all over, it looked like a used car lot.  We live in a subdivision, which is basically a little town.  We're zoned residential, not business.  It's illegal to have a business here, plus an eyesore to have 20 vehicles parked in your front lawn.  It detracted from the property values.  The owner also took out a number of our tree branches, as he couldn't back his monstrosities out of his driveway without backing into our driveway.  One or two trucks, fine.  The whole fleet, not fine.

Thank goodness we had a County Attorney who listened!


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> We live in a subdivision, which is basically a little town.  We're zoned residential, not business.  It's illegal to have a business here, plus an eyesore to have 20 vehicles parked in your front lawn.  It detracted from the property values.  The owner also took out a number of our tree branches, as he couldn't back his monstrosities out of his driveway without backing into our driveway.
> 
> Thank goodness we had a County Attorney who listened!


People back home in the sticks tell me that they would never live in a place where there were such restrictions.  Well I appreciate having a nice looking street and my property values protected.

Plus if you want to live anywhere within a 1/2 hour of town and near the jobs, then you are going to have restrictions.  I'm not a person that wants to live in the sticks anymore!


----------



## CWS4322

Chef Munky said:


> I have to watch where I step. If the police are called I'd have to wonder about retaliation.
> 
> That car can't possibly be street legal. The exhaust fumes coming out if it chokes you. What's ticking me off is his lack of consideration for others peoples rights. I have a right to live in my own home in a peaceful manner. He's intruding into my space now. What about the other neighbors who are sick and would just like some peace. I'm completely aggravated. Why hasn't anyone else said anything yet? It's not the first time it's been 2 years of hell.
> 
> Where can I find info on city ordinances?


As I used to explain to people who would contact me about a dog being tied in the backyard, as long as it had food, water, and shelter the owners were not in violation of provincial laws or local by-laws. The same laws and by-laws that allowed me to have dogs, allowed those people to have dogs. Just because mine lived in the house, had their own van, and were fed a home-cooked diet designed by a canine nutritionist, did not change the fact that we both had the same "right" to have a dog. Unless he is violating a city ordinance or a state law, he has the same right to drive his car up and down the street as anyone else on the street has. Annoying? Yes. And, noise by-laws are there for a reason--because people have barking dogs, noisy cars, play loud music. Most municipalities here write "quiet hours" into the regulations, usually between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. So, if he's firing it up at 7:45 a.m. and the ordinance is 11-7, he is within his rights to do so. Just be glad he's not doing it at 3:00 a.m.! Re: the emissions--isn't that state regulated?


----------



## Skittle68

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> You should have seen it, Skittle!  There were vehicles and stuff all over, it looked like a used car lot.  We live in a subdivision, which is basically a little town.  We're zoned residential, not business.  It's illegal to have a business here, plus an eyesore to have 20 vehicles parked in your front lawn.  It detracted from the property values.  The owner also took out a number of our tree branches, as he couldn't back his monstrosities out of his driveway without backing into our driveway.  One or two trucks, fine.  The whole fleet, not fine.
> 
> Thank goodness we had a County Attorney who listened!



That definitely does sound pretty extreme. A junkyard/used car lot doesn't belong in a residential neighborhood. And I suppose if he wants to keep all that stuff on his lawn he should consider moving somewhere that would be appropriate.

My bf's brother and his neighbors annoy me tho. The poor guy with the semi isn't hurting anything.


----------



## CWS4322

Skittle68 said:


> That definitely does sound pretty extreme. A junkyard/used car lot doesn't belong in a residential neighborhood. And I suppose if he wants to keep all that stuff on his lawn he should consider moving somewhere that would be appropriate.
> 
> My bf's brother and his neighbors annoy me tho. The poor guy with the semi isn't hurting anything.


Sounds as if he's driving his "company" car home from work. I'm surprised people are upset about it.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> You should have seen it, Skittle! It was awful! There were vehicles and stuff all over, it looked like a used car lot. We live in a subdivision, which is basically a little town. We're zoned residential, not business. It's illegal to have a business here, plus an eyesore to have 20 vehicles parked in your front lawn. It detracted from the property values. The owner also took out a number of our tree branches, as he couldn't back his monstrosities out of his driveway without backing into our driveway. One or two trucks, fine. The whole fleet, not fine.
> 
> Thank goodness we had a County Attorney who listened!


 
I can understand completely. My daughter was able to buy her house because a friend who has a construction business was reported by the neighbors about the previous owner having even Jersey barriers in the driveway along with construction vehicles in a residential area. He was given 24 hours to remove it all or be hauled off to jail and the city would remove it and confiscate it for auction. He would also have to pay the city back for all expenses. He needed money FAST to find a place to put his stuff. My daughter and her husband had been saving for years to buy a house. And they had the money he needed immediately. 

I would think the fact that the fumes from the exhaust would be in violation of environmental laws. And a health hazard. I know that here in Boston we also have noise pollution laws. It can't be more than 80 decibels. And vehicles without the proper exhaust, is considered noise pollution and well above 80 decibels.


----------



## Chef Munky

Addie said:


> I can understand completely. My daughter was able to buy her house because a friend who has a construction business was reported by the neighbors about the previous owner having even Jersey barriers in the driveway along with construction vehicles in a residential area. He was given 24 hours to remove it all or be hauled off to jail and the city would remove it and confiscate it for auction. He would also have to pay the city back for all expenses. He needed money FAST to find a place to put his stuff. My daughter and her husband had been saving for years to buy a house. And they had the money he needed immediately.
> 
> I would think the fact that the fumes from the exhaust would be in violation of environmental laws. And a health hazard. I know that here in Boston we also have noise pollution laws. It can't be more than 80 decibels. And vehicles without the proper exhaust, is considered noise pollution and well above 80 decibels.



I'm checking into my options here. My neighbors aren't willing to help. So fine, I'll get this settled my way. Bought a phone that has a camera. Logging dates and times. Where he's parking it revving it up. Right next to my living room.

As far as the extreme fumes making me sick from the carbon monoxide,I think he needs to find a new playground. The decibles are loud enough it hurts my chest from the rumbling. I can't even watch tv, talk on the phone when he's playing.


----------



## Dawgluver

Chef Munky said:
			
		

> I'm checking into my options here. My neighbors aren't willing to help. So fine, I'll get this settled my way. Bought a phone that has a camera. Logging dates and times. Where he's parking it revving it up. Right next to my living room.
> 
> As far as the extreme fumes making me sick from the carbon monoxide,I think he needs to find a new playground. The decibles are loud enough it hurts my chest from the rumbling. I can't even watch tv, talk on the phone when he's playing.



Munky, is there a way to record the sound too, along with time and date stamp?  I don't understand why the neighbors aren't willing to help.


----------



## Chef Munky

Dawgluver said:


> Munky, is there a way to record the sound too, along with time and date stamp?  I don't understand why the neighbors aren't willing to help.



I'll have to check to see if it records the sound. 
The neighbors told me they don't want to get involved, it's just easier for them to turn the other cheek and live a lower quality of life. Besides I don't live next door to him. YOU do! Not MY problem.

It will become a problem if some day that death trap he races around in runs over a kid or hits their car. Would I be allowed to say I told you so?


----------



## Cindercat

My phone died a week ago yesterday. I have a "rental" until October when I can upgrade. I lost all my apps, contact groupings, game levels & points. Once I got apps reinstalled I had to remember all userids & passwords. I didn't have access to my password list so it took me a while to figure out how to get back on. I get to do this all over again in October with a new phone.


----------



## chopper

So sorry for your loss Cindercat. A cellphone these days has so much on them that it is quite the ordeal to get a new one when yours dies. Good luck on the use of the rental and getting a new one.


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> It will become a problem if some day that death trap he races around in runs over a kid or hits their car. Would I be allowed to say I told you so?


 
Absolutely! and don't forget the Ha ha, in front of it. And do it in sing song like a kid would.


----------



## roadfix

I'm still at my shop, hungry and tired.  Back-to-school hair cuts all week long.  
First thing I'm gong to do when I get home is open an ice cold Sapporo, sit out in the patio, and stare up at the sky.


----------



## roadfix

Roadfix is such a nice guy.  He was about to close shop and just let another client in.  The last remaining hair dresser agreed to do the kid's hair cut.


----------



## Skittle68

Chef Munky said:
			
		

> I'm checking into my options here. My neighbors aren't willing to help. So fine, I'll get this settled my way. Bought a phone that has a camera. Logging dates and times. Where he's parking it revving it up. Right next to my living room.
> 
> As far as the extreme fumes making me sick from the carbon monoxide,I think he needs to find a new playground. The decibles are loud enough it hurts my chest from the rumbling. I can't even watch tv, talk on the phone when he's playing.



I had a free iPhone app that's a decibel meter. It's surprisingly accurate.  I don't remember what it was called, but if you have a smart phone it's something to look into...


----------



## roadfix

That idiot Nascar kid is lucky he doesn't live on my street.  The local cholos will take care of him in no time.


----------



## buckytom

cindercat, ask your cell phone service provider if they have something called a backup assistant. it automatically saves your phone info including numbers and apps, and when you get a new phone they can automatically load it up for you.


----------



## buckytom

munky, have you spoken to your loud neighbor about it?
some people are idiotic until someone points that out to them..

don't threaten him with police action, but also don't be timid. 

tell him, face to face, that your street and neighborhood is no place for what he's doing. 

i have a number of friends who live somewhat freely (wild interpretations accepted) and don't worry about anything until someone complains.  

ypu can't be a b!tch about it, nor be a pushover. just tell him, eye to eye, that he needs to find sonewhere else for his hobby. no threats, no tough talk. but you have to take the first step. any judge will ask you if you told him that it bothers you.


----------



## Addie

Well, you Canadians have done it now. Washingtonians are up in arms. It seems that there is a Costco's just two miles from the border. Canadians are crossing the border in droves because our milk is much cheaper, gas is a dollar less on this side and many other items. Americans can't find the items they need. I would say it is a Costco problem, not a Canadian problem. They need to keep filling their shelves. Even if they have to hire more help to keep up with the demand. Those folks in Western Canada need to take care. Those Americans want to have you all stopped at the border. They sure are an angry bunch right now. Watch out for them.


----------



## CWS4322

The reason milk in Canada is more expensive is the milk quota. I always buy dairy products in the States, but because of the milk quota, there is a $20/person restriction re: bringing dairy products back. There is also a 10 kg restriction bringing poultry back and one can only bring one turkey per person.


----------



## Alix

Milk quota? What the heck are you talking about? We have a milk quota? 

Addie, are you talking about Bellingham or Blaine, WA? Vancouverites have been cross border shopping for years, why is there such a hullaballoo now? The folks from the US come up to get their meds here so it all works out IMO.


----------



## CWS4322

Alix said:


> Milk quota? What the heck are you talking about? We have a milk quota?
> 
> Addie, are you talking about Bellingham or Blaine, WA? Vancouverites have been cross border shopping for years, why is there such a hullaballoo now? The folks from the US come up to get their meds here so it all works out IMO.


We do in Ontario--to have a dairy herd and sell the milk, you have to belong...and, I've been hit at the border for having more than $20 in dairy products--it is in the fine print of the "What you can bring back" brochure that is on the customs web site. Who knew!


----------



## Cindercat

BT - AT&T transferred my main contact list but it doesn't keep groupings, picture icons, addresses or notes. It keeps a list of installed apps so you can reinstall them.  Apps tied to websites kept my levels but if it's just the game, it goes back to the beginning. One of my games would help reinstall & keep scores but you have to have both phones working to do it. Not helpful.


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> Milk quota? What the heck are you talking about? We have a milk quota?
> 
> Addie, are you talking about Bellingham or Blaine, WA? Vancouverites have been cross border shopping for years, why is there such a hullaballoo now? The folks from the US come up to get their meds here so it all works out IMO.


 
The news report said it was 'west' of Seattle and two miles from the border. So I have to assume it would be Bellingham and right on Puget Sound. But that is more than two miles from the border. Blaine is right on the border. I think someone didn't do their research. 

Why the 'milk quota?" And what is the reason for it? 

I personally think the whole story is funny. 

But for our buying drugs over the border. If it is a drug that is not FDA approved and you get caught, you can be prosecuted for dealing in illegal drugs. A bit more serious than buying too much milk for children to drink.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> We do in Ontario--to have a dairy herd and sell the milk, you have to belong...and, I've been hit at the border for having more than $20 in dairy products--it is in the fine print of the "What you can bring back" brochure that is on the customs web site. Who knew!


 
Belong to what?


----------



## Alix

Addie said:


> The news report said it was 'west' of Seattle and two miles from the border. So I have to assume it would be Bellingham and right on Puget Sound. But that is more than two miles from the border. Blaine is right on the border. I think someone didn't do their research.
> 
> Why the 'milk quota?" And what is the reason for it?
> 
> I personally think the whole story is funny.
> 
> But for our buying drugs over the border. If it is a drug that is not FDA approved and you get caught, you can be prosecuted for dealing in illegal drugs. A bit more serious than buying too much milk for children to drink.



Never heard of a milk quota here, but then I don't bring much milk over the border. Weird. 

As to the drugs Addie, I was referring to things like insulin and other commonly used drugs that are cheaper here. My sister would frequently border hop to get insulin for her pet. Chances are good that whatever you can get up here is legal there, Health Canada tends to be even more rigid than your FDA.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> ...I was referring to things like insulin and other commonly used drugs that are cheaper here. My sister would frequently border hop to get insulin for her pet. Chances are good that whatever you can get up here is legal there, Health Canada tends to be even more rigid than your FDA.




The Canadian govt. insists the US drug companies sell at a reasonable price or they can't do business in Canada.  A novel concept our govt. should look into.  Instead, we pay the highest prices on the planet so the drug companies can cut prices elsewhere.


----------



## Skittle68

Andy M. said:
			
		

> The Canadian govt. insists the US drug companies sell at a reasonable price or they can't do business in Canada.  A novel concept our govt. should look into.  Instead, we pay the highest prices on the planet so the drug companies can cut prices elsewhere.



As much as I don't like the idea of the gov't interfering, the drug companies have a monopoly, they know there are things we HAVE to buy, so they take advantage of the situation. I used to take anti-depressants, but I can't afford them anymore. It's ok for now- I am lucky that it will stay in remission for anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. I've been on and off them for 12 years.  Since I'm starting school though, I should be on them to prevent a relapse from stress.  I can't work 40 hrs a week and go to school full time, so maybe now I would actually qualify for some gov't benefits... Hmm...


----------



## taxlady

Some stuff about Canada's dairy quotas from Canadians don't know the price of milk - The Globe and Mail:

"The system dates back more than 40 years and evolved largely *to protect  dairy farmers from food conglomerates.* [emphasis mine] Today the Canadian Dairy  Commission and provincial marketing boards regulate the price paid to  farmers and control the amount each farmer produces."

"So, when you compare honestly, Canadians pay fair retail prices,  Canadian dairy farmers get a fair share and *the Canadian government does  not subsidize milk a penny*, [emphasis mine]" says Bill Mitchell, a spokesman for the  organization. "That's why Canada is keeping its milk marketing system -  because it works."


----------



## CWS4322

That doesn't explain why milk is cheaper in Quebec than it is in Ontario or why one can't bring more than $20 of dairy products across the border. I don't like milk in plastic bags. There is something about what dairy cows eat in the 
US vs Ontario. I call BS on that. I've been nailed at the border for having more than $20 in dairy products.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> That doesn't explain why milk is cheaper in Quebec than it is in Ontario or why one can't bring more than $20 of dairy products across the border. I don't like milk in plastic bags. There is something about what dairy cows eat in the
> US vs Ontario. I call BS on that. I've been nailed at the border for having more than $20 in dairy products.


Call BS on what exactly?


----------



## Addie

Anyone out there that needs something to be broken? This is just the day for me. Everything I touch has gone awry on me. Oracle shows up on my screen. Wants to install something on my computer. Now I know they have the Java program and that is important. So I say yes to it. I forgot to uncheck the little box asking if I want to have some stupid thing as my home page. Get that straightened out. Then my health plan gives me a digital thermometer. My old one went dead after seven years. This one is in Celsius. I don't do Celsius. I live in the U.S. and do Fahrenheit. And even if I hold down the button, I can't change it over like my old one. While I was at Winthrop I asked if they had any regular size bandaids. The ones I have are big ones. They look like quit smoking patches. So they give me a little plastic case with ten bandaids in it. (They were a left over gift from a promotional presentation.) Trying to get it open I cut my finger. Then I go to use my cell phone. It wasn't working. So I plug it in to charge it. It already has a full charge. It took me 15 minutes before I realized that it was shut off. I need a cup of coffee. I am afraid to go into the kitchen. Heaven knows what damage I can do in there.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I still had 3 hours of work at 4 PM...I gave up and came home, just could not sit there any longer.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I still had 3 hours of work at 4 PM...I gave up and came home, just could not sit there any longer.


OH PF you need to just put your feet up and relax, three hours left of work is  not a good thing. I still have mucho to do today and I don't want to do a thing. But do some of it I must. Take care and just rest. 
hugs,
kades ma


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> OH PF you need to just put your feet up and relax, three hours left of work is  not a good thing. I still have mucho to do today and I don't want to do a thing. But do some of it I must. Take care and just rest.
> hugs,
> kades ma



The heart tests are hanging over me, sinuses are going nuts because of all the fire smoke, one of my new patients has been a friend for years and she's dying of pancreatic cancer.  I'm  just having a very bad day.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Addie))) & (((Hugs PF)))

I hope both of your days get better quick.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Addie))) & (((Hugs PF)))
> 
> I hope both of your days get better quick.



Sometimes I wish I drank...

Thanks, TL!


----------



## Alix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sometimes I wish I drank...
> 
> Thanks, TL!



Just go have a cuppa and as you drink it close your eyes and think of all your friends here sitting around the table with you. Some of us would be hugging you too. Prayers going up for you.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> The heart tests are hanging over me, sinuses are going nuts because of all the fire smoke, one of my new patients has been a friend for years and she's dying of pancreatic cancer.  I'm  just having a very bad day.



Oh, geez, you sure are, PF.   Hug your kitties, puppies, and Shrek, and know you're in my thoughts!  You are one tough ogress!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks Alix and Dawg...I just found out with my new medication I can go back to grapefruit...Yahoo!  And there isn't a drop of it in the house...


----------



## Dawgluver

Great news!  Now to find the GF trees in Montana and go raiding.

Wait, does Montana have GF trees?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Great news!  Now to find the GF trees in Montana and go raiding.
> 
> Wait, does Montana have GF trees?



I'd have better luck Snipe hunting...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sometimes I wish I drank...
> 
> Thanks, TL!


 

Thanks here too. I am with you PF I would be rip roaring drunk right now. Instead, I had a couple of mouthfulls of some pasta with sauce. I am feeling calmer now. 

One of the nicer tenants's husband has been sent to a hospice center. We had a good talk today. He wants to come home and she wants him with her. I can understand that He has about a month to live. They have been married for 53 years. Her health is not the greatest either. I asked her if it gets to be too difficult for her to take care of him by herself, can she bring herself to ask for help. He is a big man. And he is in constant pain from the cancer. It is throughout his body. I asked her some hard questions. Having outlived two husbands and a daughter, I know what she is going to be going through. She wants to be holding him when he goes. And I agree with her that she should. But she can do that at the hospice place. They will put a bed in the room for her. And at the same time she will be relieved of the taking care of all his needs. The hospice folks are really great at what they do. Give them a chance to do their work. I gave her some thoughts to dwell on. 

When the other tenants ask how he is doing, her standard answer is, "Oh, he is fine." It is mostly the gossip ring that asks her. And they are the last ones you want to tell anything to. They ALWAYS manage to turn the conversation around to themselves. She has a social worker that gives her about 20 minutes each time he talks to her. She said it mostly him asking questions about getting ready for his funeral. That is not the kind of counseling she needs right now. 

We really had a good conversation. She was getting tired and was ready to go upstairs and get some rest. She hugged me and gave me a big Thank You. I have the feeling we will be talking again. And I will be here if and when she wants to.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Thanks here too. I am with you PF I would be rip roaring drunk right now. Instead, I had a couple of mouthfulls of some pasta with sauce. I am feeling calmer now.
> 
> One of the nicer tenants's husband has been sent to a hospice center. We had a good talk today. He wants to come home and she wants him with her. I can understand that He has about a month to live. They have been married for 53 years. Her health is not the greatest either. I asked her if it gets to be too difficult for her to take care of him by herself, can she bring herself to ask for help. He is a big man. And he is in constant pain from the cancer. It is throughout his body. I asked her some hard questions. Having outlived two husbands and a daughter, I know what she is going to be going through. She wants to be holding him when he goes. And I agree with her that she should. But she can do that at the hospice place. They will put a bed in the room for her. And at the same time she will be relieved of the taking care of all his needs. The hospice folks are really great at what they do. Give them a chance to do their work. I gave her some thoughts to dwell on.
> 
> When the other tenants ask how he is doing, her standard answer is, "Oh, he is fine." It is mostly the gossip ring that asks her. And they are the last ones you want to tell anything to. They ALWAYS manage to turn the conversation around to themselves. She has a social worker that gives her about 20 minutes each time he talks to her. She said it mostly him asking questions about getting ready for his funeral. That is not the kind of counseling she needs right now.
> 
> We really had a good conversation. She was getting tired and was ready to go upstairs and get some rest. She hugged me and gave me a big Thank You. I have the feeling we will be talking again. And I will be here if and when she wants to.



I agree with the Hospice center choice, you are spot on.  She will be able to spend more time WITH him there than she could at home caring for him.  Ease her into this better choice, it's a hard one to make, especially now.  I feel for her, my thoughts and prayers go out to her and her husband.


----------



## bakechef

The hospice was the best place for my dad at the end.  They managed his pain well, and at the end they gave him all of the pain medication that he needed, this type of care wouldn't be as easy to give at home.  They set up a bed for mom, and she spent the last 2 weeks with him.  They kept refreshements outside of the room at all times for the family.  They are trained so well to do this, it must take a special person to be a hospice nurse.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> The hospice was the best place for my dad at the end.  They managed his pain well, and at the end they gave him all of the pain medication that he needed, this type of care wouldn't be as easy to give at home.  They set up a bed for mom, and she spent the last 2 weeks with him.  They kept refreshements outside of the room at all times for the family.  They are trained so well to do this, it must take a special person to be a hospice nurse.



Thanks, BC...it is fulfilling work.  Hard on the heart...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I agree with the Hospice center choice, you are spot on. She will be able to spend more time WITH him there than she could at home caring for him. Ease her into this better choice, it's a hard one to make, especially now. I feel for her, my thoughts and prayers go out to her and her husband.


 
She leaves in the morning and gets home about six at night. I will try to grab her tomorrow when she gets home. Hopefully the rubber noses won't be around. 

I find that asking questions and giving a person something to think about, rather than telling them what they should do is a much better approach and more productive. She has a daughter that is in her 40's and bipolar. She is one step below useless. Her son has taken a week off from work. So she is not alone at this time.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> She leaves in the morning and gets home about six at night. I will try to grab her tomorrow when she gets home. Hopefully the rubber noses won't be around.
> 
> I find that asking questions and giving a person something to think about, rather than telling them what they should do is a much better approach and more productive. She has a daughter that is in her 40's and bipolar. She is one step below useless. Her son has taken a week off from work. So she is not alone at this time.



Rubber noses, ask her in for a coffee and a relax.  Just being there and supportive of any decisions she makes will be the biggest help.  I was not suggesting telling her, just helping.

I'm glad she has you there.


----------



## Alix

My elbow hurts.


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> My elbow hurts.


Sorry to hear that. Did you do something to it?


----------



## Alix

Might have been the whitewater rafting. I was paddling pretty hard. Could be just life in general. I hurt this elbow in a restraint a few years ago.


----------



## Kylie1969

Sorry to hear you have a sore shoulder Alix...rest up and I hope you are feeling better soon


----------



## Skittle68

I'm starting school on the 27th, and the wireless network card on my 10 yr old laptop decided to quit working. I decided it's not worth fixing, as I've been having issues lately with errors, and corrupted files. I think my hard drive will fail me next. Anyway, I found a great deal on a used laptop for $250. It was new in march, and is the same brand, but all the specs are about 3 times bigger/faster than my current dinosaur. Plus it is a 13.3" screen, which will be nice and light, and great for carrying to and from school. So my bf says, "What?? You're going to spend $250 on a computer right now?? We have about ten laptops sitting in the back at work because no one knows anything about computers and I bet you could pick one up for about $50."  Um yeah. Nobody there knows anything about computers and I want to buy their garbage??? NO THANK YOU!!!! Does he really not know how little money I spend to have the cash to go buy it??? I know his spending hasn't changed since money has been tight for the last few months. I don't want to get into a discussion about it right now because our room mate is sitting right here...


----------



## chopper

Just have to vent, so I can let it go. We have a wedding to go to this evening. #1 son and DIL and grandsons will be going to the same wedding. They live a three hour drive from here and the wedding is in this area. They came up early to go school shopping. Well...I had invited them to come for Sunday dinner at 3:00 since the wedding is at 6:00. At 2:00 I got a text from my son saying that they were still shopping and would probably not make it for dinner!  He didn't even call. He texted!!!  I texted him back, "Your loss." we have been smoking ribs all morning. I have Mac and cheese in the oven. It will still be great, but I am mad. I know I need to get over it!  I guess I am sad too because I love spending time with those grandsons of mine, and they love my Mac and cheese.


----------



## Andy M.

chopper said:


> Just have to vent, so I can let it go. We have a wedding to go to this evening. #1 son and DIL and grandsons will be going to the same wedding. They live a three hour drive from here and the wedding is in this area. They came up early to go school shopping. Well...I had invited them to come for Sunday dinner at 3:00 since the wedding is at 6:00. At 2:00 I got a text from my son saying that they were still shopping and would probably not make it for dinner!  He didn't even call. He texted!!!  I texted him back, "Your loss." we have been smoking ribs all morning. I have Mac and cheese in the oven. It will still be great, but I am mad. I know I need to get over it!  I guess I am sad too because I love spending time with those grandsons of mine, and they love my Mac and cheese.




It's the parents' dilemma.  Children's coming for dinner is often more important to the parents than it is to the children.


----------



## chopper

You got that right. It is more important to me. I guess he will realize it when he has grandkids.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:
			
		

> Just have to vent, so I can let it go. We have a wedding to go to this evening. #1 son and DIL and grandsons will be going to the same wedding. They live a three hour drive from here and the wedding is in this area. They came up early to go school shopping. Well...I had invited them to come for Sunday dinner at 3:00 since the wedding is at 6:00. At 2:00 I got a text from my son saying that they were still shopping and would probably not make it for dinner!  He didn't even call. He texted!!!  I texted him back, "Your loss." we have been smoking ribs all morning. I have Mac and cheese in the oven. It will still be great, but I am mad. I know I need to get over it!  I guess I am sad too because I love spending time with those grandsons of mine, and they love my Mac and cheese.



Oh cr*p, Chopper.  I would be really upset too.  Or, more like furious, after all that work, and not seeing the grandsons.


----------



## chopper

Well...it wasn't any more work than we would have done for us, but have to wait until the wedding to enjoy my boys now. . I think I'm almost over it. You get used to it after awhile. It just sucks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It's also the Children's dilemma as parents, to get everything done for their children in the allotted time...something's gotta give.  And texting is the norm now for the next generation, they do not understand why a phone call would be considered more polite.  At least they let you know.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It's also the Children's dilemma as parents, to get everything done for their children in the allotted time...something's gotta give.  And texting is the norm now for the next generation, they do not understand why a phone call would be considered more polite.  At least they let you know.



To me it's not an issue of why it happened or how the notification came as much as the disappointment they are not coming.  

I have refused invitations from my mom when I was a young married.  I also have experienced having my invitations refused by my daughters.  Now I understand how mom felt. 

As we age, our world shrinks and we see our family, children and grandchildren, more important than ever.  At the same time, our children's worlds are expanding as they add friends and expand their social lives and tend to the same for their children.  There's only so much time in a young family's day to get it all done.


----------



## Addie

Yesterday while visiting my daughter, my grandson was there. I honestly thought it was my daughter's son. He was the spitting image of him. It was my younger daughter's son. I hadn't seen him in more than a year. Sometimes the younger generation forgets how long it was since the last visit.


----------



## kadesma

chopper said:


> Just have to vent, so I can let it go. We have a wedding to go to this evening. #1 son and DIL and grandsons will be going to the same wedding. They live a three hour drive from here and the wedding is in this area. They came up early to go school shopping. Well...I had invited them to come for Sunday dinner at 3:00 since the wedding is at 6:00. At 2:00 I got a text from my son saying that they were still shopping and would probably not make it for dinner!  He didn't even call. He texted!!!  I texted him back, "Your loss." we have been smoking ribs all morning. I have Mac and cheese in the oven. It will still be great, but I am mad. I know I need to get over it!  I guess I am sad too because I love spending time with those grandsons of mine, and they love my Mac and cheese.


Sweetie, I understand how you feel. I'm so selfish about seeing those kids of mine On Sunday's but I'f  I've learned anything it's this. Keep quiet and let the chips roll where they may. I know you probably went into high gearcleaning,cooking,baking, I'm the same way I can't help it, it's just my way.The least they could have done is pick up the phone, that cost  very little. I'd make a small text about calling next time PLEASE...OWe would really love to hear your voice.
kades


----------



## Addie

kadesma said:


> Sweetie, I understand how you feel. I'm so selfish about seeing those kids of mine On Sunday's but I'f I've learned anything it's this. Keep quiet and let the chips roll where they may. I know you probably went into high gearcleaning,cooking,baking, I'm the same way I can't help it, it's just my way.The least they could have done is pick up the phone, that cost very little. I'd make a small text about calling next time PLEASE...OWe would really love to hear your voice.
> kades


 
I can understnd very well how she feels. I have 17 grand and great children. The oldest and ny first grandchild is 35. I haven't se3en him in more than eight years. And he lives just a couple of towns away. About 15 minutes. All of the rest live nearby also and are full grown. But the one I want to see the most is the newest and youngest one. He belongs to Son #3. I waited for more than ten years for this child. My son's first marriage failed and they had no children. I know how much he loves children. But his former wife was more interested in her career. So when he married his present wife (and I adore her) they immediately wanted to start their family. They had a son that is the spitting image of his father. They did bring him to see me when he was five days old. Then the next time he was just starting to walk. The times between were getting longer and longer. Now the last time I saw him was last Thanksgiving. There are no plans to see him in the future at all. Maybe graduation from H.S. He is now three y.o. 

My son used to call once a week to check up on me. Now unless I send him an email, I don't hear from him at all. He went into the hospital to see my daughter with his wife and son. That is only five minutes from where I live. He couldn't even be bothered to come by with the baby so I could see him. I have been biting my tongue. But I don't know how long I can continue to do that. 

This child is very special to me. I know how much my son loves children. And I love seening him with his son. He waited so long to start a family. And I am not  part of that. I am going in for my surgery tomorrow. No phone call from him at all regarding this matter. Maybe someday I will open my mouth.


----------



## taxlady

That sucks Addie. Best of luck with the surgery.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> That sucks Addie. Best of luck with the surgery.


 
Thank you. He did call me this morning to make sure I wasn't having any chest pain and to find out how I was handling all of this. He suggested I call Winthrop and I did. They are sending me a tranquilizer to calm me down.


----------



## chopper

Andy M. said:
			
		

> To me it's not an issue of why it happened or how the notification came as much as the disappointment they are not coming.
> 
> I have refused invitations from my mom when I was a young married.  I also have experienced having my invitations refused by my daughters.  Now I understand how mom felt.
> 
> As we age, our world shrinks and we see our family, children and grandchildren, more important than ever.  At the same time, our children's worlds are expanding as they add friends and expand their social lives and tend to the same for their children.  There's only so much time in a young family's day to get it all done.



Yes. What Andy said.


----------



## chopper

kadesma said:
			
		

> Sweetie, I understand how you feel. I'm so selfish about seeing those kids of mine On Sunday's but I'f  I've learned anything it's this. Keep quiet and let the chips roll where they may. I know you probably went into high gearcleaning,cooking,baking, I'm the same way I can't help it, it's just my way.The least they could have done is pick up the phone, that cost  very little. I'd make a small text about calling next time PLEASE...OWe would really love to hear your voice.
> kades



Thanks. My Hubby just doesn't ever expect anything, so he isn't disappointed like I am. I try to be like him but just can't. I would do anything to spend another day with my mom and can't. I value my family even more since she left us. I treasure every minute with them!


----------



## chopper

Thanks everyone for listening to me go on about my son. My grandsons were thrilled to see me at the wedding and didn't leave my side. I just love being with them. I am thankful that I got to see them all at the wedding. The little boys were as good as gold-so well behaved. My DIL said it was because they sat with Grammy and Grandpa. Sometimes she knows just what to say. Forgive me for venting and sounding selfish. Thanks for listening. At least that way I didn't yell at them about it and cause troubles.


----------



## taxlady

I'm glad it you had a good time with your grandsons.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I'm glad it you had a good time with your grandsons.


 
I don't think the parents realize how important grandparents are to the children. It teaches them about the continuation of family. It gives the little ones a chance to learn about family history. Hearing "When I was a little girl/boy your age.... It gives them a sense of what they have, what we as grandparents didn't have, and a history of how the family used to live. And as they get older they want to find out more. We have a lot of stories of when we were kids. 

We didn't have TV. We were introduced to our heroes (Batman, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, etc) from comic books, radio and the Saturday matinee movies. We didn't even have frozen foods until after WWII. No one had full freezers. Our fridges had a monitor motor on top with a little freezer that held just two metal ice trays. 

Children need grandparents.


----------



## chopper

My Heroes were my grandparents!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The person who influenced my life and who I am the most was my Great-Grandma Elsie.  A wonderful woman.


----------



## jharris

Alix said:
			
		

> I closed down the old venting thread. It was getting pretty cumbersome for any new reader. Lets try to keep this one to just petty stuff. If you really need support or prayers please start a new thread so it can get the attention it deserves.
> 
> My petty little snotty vent is just that I got yelled at for nothing. I run a yoga program out of our community hall and today the floor was really gross. So after the class I called the person responsible for hall rentals and reported it. (Sounds logical so far right?) Well instead of saying thanks for the info I'll handle it, I got a blast about people blaming her and telling her what to do about the mess etc etc. I kept my cool, and asked her why she was yelling at me? She ranted some more. I told her I was not responsible for her upset, and had merely been doing what I thought she WANTED me to do and apologized for trying to be helpful. To her credit she backed down and apologized. She told me that I was just "in the line of fire". I responded by accepting the apology and letting her know I'd found her very rude.
> 
> I'm trying very hard to take the high road and just accept that apology and move on. I'm still TICKED OFF though. LOL. The venting has helped. Thanks for listening guys. Sometimes it just helps to get it out.



Sounds like you handled it perfectly Alex. You were doing your job and apparently she wasn't.

In addition, she was in "garbage truck mode", that is' she'd been carrying her personal garbage and found a place to dump. Lucky you huh?

Anyway, she apologized, you graciously accepted. Now forgive and move on. We all show our  once in a while. That's life.

Edit: Geez, just realized I responded to such an old post. Sorry all.


----------



## jharris

One person who I have the fondest memories of was my paternal grandfather Herman Joseph Harris.

My father spent a lot of time traveling for work when I was very young and Grandpa filled in for him.

I had trouble learning how to tell time so one day Grandpa sat me down at the dining room table. He cut a clock face, a big hand and a little hand out of the cardboard back of a writing pad then penciled in the numbers.

Then to my surprise he popped the chewing gum out of his mouth, pinched off a bit and stuck the hands to the clock face.

By moving the hands around the dial he had me telling time in about five minutes.

He owned a 31 Flavors ice cream shop right across the street from where I attended kindergarten.

When school let out I'd stop by and see him. We'd talk and joke while I ate a sundae or cone.

Sometimes Mom would be at the shop making the ice cream cakes that had been ordered.

After Christmas or Easter plays at kindergarten Grandpa would invite all the kids and parents to his shop for free cones. I was the biggest little man on campus let me tell you!

Later he would pick me up and take me to my little league games. He would always have a bag of grapes an apple, some kind of fruit to give me "quick energy" and always cheered me on. He made it ok and encouraged me when I swung out or flubbed a catch.

Grandpa adored my mother in a fatherly way. My Dad was an only child so Mom was the daughter that Grandpa never had. 

Grandpa gave Mom a diamond ring on one occasion. It just happened to be a tiny bit bigger than one he had given to Nana my grandmother.

He made Mom promise not to let Nana know that Mom's diamond was bigger. You would have to have known Nana to appreciate this one but we still laugh about this too.

Grandpa brought a lot of love and laughter to our lives. I think he's responsible for my nutty and self- deprecating since of humor.

He was a clown in the best sense of the word.

One Easter while my family and I were attending services he went to our house and used wire ties to attach tangerines and bananas to the shrubs in our front yard. 

Imagine our surprise when we arrived home! We all took one look and said "Grandpa!" In unison. We still laugh about it from time to time.

We had dropped ceiling over the tub in the hall bathroom where my sister and I would bathe. Every once in a while as one of us would be in the tub we would look up and see a dark round spot in the opaque panel of the light over the tub. Whoopee! Another silver dollar from Grandpa!

These are just a few examples of how my Grandpa let us know he loved us.

Lord, I miss him terribly right now.

If there is an afterlife I hope I get to see him again.

Sorry for being so long winded.


----------



## Chef Munky

*I think I'm busted*

Off to the see the Head Hunter's soon.
Just woke up so forgive the mispeelings.

I was supposed to fast last night, nothing after midnight. We have to have perfect bloodwork results don't we? Dummy here woke up at 4 am, took 1/2 a sleeping pill with a sip of soda. I forgot about the fasting.

My husbands going to be mad. Dr. won't be impressed either.
Now that's it's been officially blown. Can I have my morning jolt of coffee, eggs, please pass me the heart attack (salt) ?

Or should I just say nothing and not wake up at all. Oh man it's going to be one of those days.

Munky.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Off to the see the Head Hunter's soon.
> Just woke up so forgive the mispeelings.
> 
> I was supposed to fast last night, nothing after midnight. We have to have perfect bloodwork results don't we? Dummy here woke up at 4 am, took 1/2 a sleeping pill with a sip of soda. I forgot about the fasting.
> 
> My husbands going to be mad. Dr. won't be impressed either.
> Now that's it's been officially blown. Can I have my morning jolt of coffee, eggs, please pass me the heart attack (salt) ?
> 
> Or should I just say nothing and not wake up at all. Oh man it's going to be one of those days.
> 
> Munky.



I know I'm a bit late, but I would have just not said anything.  A sip of soda won't make that much difference to blood work.  Now if you had chugged a whole can...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Is it a valid vent that I currently have nothing to vent about?


----------



## chopper

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> Is it a valid vent that I currently have nothing to vent about?



Well...OK. You can call it what you want to I guess. Glad you are "vent-less!"


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Is it a valid vent that I currently have nothing to vent about?



Absolutely!  For some of us, having nothing to vent about is very stressful to our well-being.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Absolutely! For some of us, having nothing to vent about is very stressful to our well-being.


 
A good "mad" is always beneficial.


----------



## Claire

I'm back, I hope!  My vent is that for the past month our internet service has been more down than up.  I haven't been able to use this site at all.  Any emails I've had to write, save, then look for the proper lights indicating the service is "up" and immediately sit down and send.  Luckily, for us the internet is mostly a "toy", we aren't dependent upon it for work or really anything.  But I've been constantly on the phone to my cable company and the frustration level has been very high.


----------



## chopper

Claire said:
			
		

> I'm back, I hope!  My vent is that for the past month our internet service has been more down than up.  I haven't been able to use this site at all.  Any emails I've had to write, save, then look for the proper lights indicating the service is "up" and immediately sit down and send.  Luckily, for us the internet is mostly a "toy", we aren't dependent upon it for work or really anything.  But I've been constantly on the phone to my cable company and the frustration level has been very high.



Glad you are here when you can be. Sorry it is such a hassle. Good luck with getting things straightened out.


----------



## Rocklobster

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Is it a valid vent that I currently have nothing to vent about?


Be careful what you wish for....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

How's the new hip working out, Claire?


----------



## Alix

Back pain must be on the menu this week. My lower back is pretty ouchie. Off to yoga to see about affecting a cure.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I've been weaning myself off the last of my pain medications, Tylenol.  The only thing I am taking now for any arthritis pain is Glucosamine for my knees.  So far, fairly good.  My shoulders are aching all the time.

Since switching Doctors, I want to be off all pain meds so we can start from scratch on pain management.  I need alternatives, since I cannot take ibuprofen or other NSAIDS because of medication interactions.


----------



## LPBeier

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I've been weaning myself off the last of my pain medications, Tylenol.  The only thing I am taking now for any arthritis pain is Glucosamine for my knees.  So far, fairly good.  My shoulders are aching all the time.
> 
> Since switching Doctors, I want to be off all pain meds so we can start from scratch on pain management.  I need alternatives, since I cannot take ibuprofen or other NSAIDS because of medication interactions.



You are an inspiration, PF.  I really wish I could get off my pain medications.  With this last try of weaning off Naproxen and it triggering all my pain causes (FM, arthritis, lumbar, knee, sciatica, etc.) because of the swelling, I am a little gun shy of going off anything else even though I really want to.

I have made up my mind pain or no pain I am starting up at the pool again on Monday and want to get back to going on one walk a day with DH and the pups.  I am hoping this and eating healthy again will help and I can try again in the near future.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> You are an inspiration, PF.  I really wish I could get off my pain medications.  With this last try of weaning off Naproxen and it triggering all my pain causes (FM, arthritis, lumbar, knee, sciatica, etc.) because of the swelling, I am a little gun shy of going off anything else even though I really want to.
> 
> I have made up my mind pain or no pain I am starting up at the pool again on Monday and want to get back to going on one walk a day with DH and the pups.  I am hoping this and eating healthy again will help and I can try again in the near future.



Thanks, Laurie!  I'm just tired of all the pills and pain.  AND worrying about what's going on with my heart.  With the cooler weather, I'm able to get outside more for some good walks.


----------



## Somebunny

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I've been weaning myself off the last of my pain medications, Tylenol.  The only thing I am taking now for any arthritis pain is Glucosamine for my knees.  So far, fairly good.  My shoulders are aching all the time.
> 
> Since switching Doctors, I want to be off all pain meds so we can start from scratch on pain management.  I need alternatives, since I cannot take ibuprofen or other NSAIDS because of medication interactions.



PF..... My shoulders ache all the time too along with a lot of other parts (arthritis and unexplained pain). I have decided that my shoulders ache from sleeping on them,  I don't think I have any muscle tone left In them and as we age even the fat on our shoulders tends to descend lower.  I'm thinking I will try to regain some of that muscle with exercise.  
I hope you get your pain under control, I certainly understand wanting to be off meds.


----------



## Alix

I know its not for everyone, but I get tremendous relief from yoga. They have special restorative classes designed to help manage pain, in various body parts. I was told about 13 years ago I'd be on painkillers daily forever (at the time it was Vioxx) and I take nothing unless I do something stupid.


----------



## Skittle68

Alix said:
			
		

> I know its not for everyone, but I get tremendous relief from yoga. They have special restorative classes designed to help manage pain, in various body parts. I was told about 13 years ago I'd be on painkillers daily forever (at the time it was Vioxx) and I take nothing unless I do something stupid.



I'd like to start doing something like that. Years of working as a server is taking a toll on my body. Knees and back especially, since I have such a small frame. Does glucosamine actually help? I imagine walking fast, carrying up to 25% or more of my body weight at any given time, for 6-12 hours a day is wearing on the cartilage.


----------



## Addie

I was up all night. That is no big deal. I just sleep when I get tired. So I go to sleep during the day. I was in a deep sleep and the phone rang. Now I have to answer it. I have two kids with serious medical problems. One that has had eight heart attacks and now my daughter. It was my middle son. He had a stupid question, as usual. I tried to get off the phone so I could go back to sleep. But he just wanted to chat. I ended up just hanging up the phone. To late. I can't get back to sleep. So I stand up to get dressed so I can go to see my daughter. Here comes the vent!

I get dizzy. My legs won't move right. If I try to walk I will fall down. So I lay down again and try to get back to sleep. I am in a deep sleep again. The phone rings and it is some stupid marketing phone call. I am able to get back to sleep. Don't these people know it is Sunday? Are they so stupid that they think it is all right to call on this day? 

If I am woken when I am sleeping, I can't function. I can't walk, or even hold a cup. I need to wake up on my own. I don't know if it is my medications that are causing this problem, but it only happens when my sleep is interrupted. It is normal for folks to feel dizzy when they first wake up. But it is a quick dizzy. My dizziness goes further. It affects my arms, legs and whole body. And it doesn't go away until I am able to get a full uninterrupted sleep. My family knows this. But my middle son calls me all the time with stupid questions. I keep telling him I was sleeping, but he just goes on chatting until I just hang up. Dumb kid. I will not be polite with him any longer. He hasn't gotten the memo. I am really ticked off. I wanted to go see my daughter. Now it is too late. So I will have to wait until tomorrow. I called her house and she has gone to bed for the night.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> I'd like to start doing something like that. Years of working as a server is taking a toll on my body. Knees and back especially, since I have such a small frame. Does glucosamine actually help? I imagine walking fast, carrying up to 25% or more of my body weight at any given time, for 6-12 hours a day is wearing on the cartilage.



I know that if I quit taking the glucosamine, within a week I cannot even sit comfortably, without my knees screaming.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I know that if I quit taking the glucosamine, within a week I cannot even sit comfortably, without my knees screaming.



My sister used to take that. She couldn't understand why her sugar readings were so high all the time. Then she looked at the ingredients on the glucosamine label. Very high in sugar. So she quit taking it. All her pain came back with a vengence. She decided that she can control her sugars with a proper diet, and her pain with the glucosamine.


----------



## Claire

One thing we all have to remember whether talking meds, diet, supplements, etc, is that all of our bodies are different.  I had a Rx for Vicodin for the hip break.  Everyone kept telling me how they got high on the stuff.  Huh?  I only got groggy and was sleeping much of the day and none of the night.  AND it wasn't helping the pain much at all.  Of course, it turns out the pain reliever is Tylenol, which never has worked for me.  And give me a glass of wine over the other any day.  But, that's me.  I talked to my surgeon, who said pretty much my philosophy, every bod different, and asked what works for me.  Ibuprofen, and gave me a Rx for the stronger stuff.  It works much better. I've been an insomniac for all of my life, and didn't need something interfering with what are already iffy sleep cycles.  

My husband's doctor recommended trying glucosimne for something (I think it was hip pain connected to osteo-arthritis).  He took it for awhile, the pain went away, and he went off it.  He's a borderline diabetic (controlled by diet) and didn't notice any difference, but then he doesn't take blood sugar levels any more.

Right now I'm being religious about taking calcium and glucosomine supplements, at least until my hip heals.  Can't say they make any difference, but also can't say they could hurt either.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Vicodin are Hydrocodone and Tylenol, I use it for Acute pain only and sparingly.


----------



## Claire

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Vicodin are Hydrocodone and Tylenol, I use it for Acute pain only and sparingly.



I quit using it within a few days.  It wasn't helping as much as it was giving me grief, so put it in the back of a drawer (yes, even in small town USA we've had problem with people stealing this and Oxycodone (probably misspelled) when gossip gets 'round that you have some.  I'll keep it there for emergencies for another month or so (that is to say, if I wrench the joint somehow), then take it to my pharmacist for disposal.  The ibuprofen just works better for me, and as long as I eat correctly with it, so far no side effects.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> I quit using it within a few days.  It wasn't helping as much as it was giving me grief, so put it in the back of a drawer (yes, even in small town USA we've had problem with people stealing this and Oxycodone (probably misspelled) when gossip gets 'round that you have some.  I'll keep it there for emergencies for another month or so (that is to say, if I wrench the joint somehow), then take it to my pharmacist for disposal.  The ibuprofen just works better for me, and as long as I eat correctly with it, so far no side effects.



Yeah, it causes me problems, but not as bad as ibuprofen does at this point.  That's why the big medication switch, I want my ibuprofen back!


----------



## Addie

I am on Vicodin for my hip and spine. Take two, three times a day. I receive a ten day supply each refill. I hate taking them They leave my mouth so dry. I only take one. And some days none at all. It all depends on how much I walk or stand. My present refill has lasted me 17 days so far. And I still have some left. I hate taking pain medications or mind altering ones. My needing the Lorazapam the other day was a rare occurence. The last time I took it was five years ago when some stupid doctor told me that my leg couldn't be saved. 

Yet I am the first one to feel that if someone is in acute pain, they should ask for something to releive it. The same goes for mental distress. I have a very high tolerance for pain. If I just sit down when the pain starts (and I hate to do that) it does subside. I have yet to accept the fact that I am not superhuman. But one thing at a time. I am presently still learning to not be so stubborn. And that is a big order. 

I am grateful to have these drugs available to me if and when I need them. When I ask for them I always remember the first thing new doctors are taught.

*I Will DO No Harm*​ 
And I know that if they refuse me, it is in my best interest. Allowing a patient to be in pain without offering help, is doing harm. ​


----------



## Claire

Alix said:


> I know its not for everyone, but I get tremendous relief from yoga. They have special restorative classes designed to help manage pain, in various body parts. I was told about 13 years ago I'd be on painkillers daily forever (at the time it was Vioxx) and I take nothing unless I do something stupid.



It's the doing something stupid that gets you every time (for me it was of all things, walking in my sleep).  I'm not crazy about Yoga (requires more patience, flexibility, and balance than I have, and yes, I know if I did it regularly it would probably improve the latter two).  But I do take yoga's baby sister, Pilates, and find it to be a great deal of help.  It really helps with posture, which in turn helps with back pain.  I call it yoga's baby sister because all of my Pilates instructors have been Yoga instructors, so the version of Pilates I take has a lot of Yoga stretches mixed in.


----------



## Skittle68

Today I came down with the worst UTI I've ever had in my life. Had to sit through my early class feeling like I had to go to the bathroom the entire time. I thought it was the coffee. If I had known it was a UTI coming on, I would have just gone!!! It's amazing how suddenly it came on. I usually feel them creeping. There was even enough blood to make my urine red. I'm so upset I couldn't get into the doctor today. I am so uncomfortable!!!! The AZO I took finally seems to be helping a little. I've also been drinking so much water I have to go every half hour. The bright orange color from the AZO is a little unnerving.... Tomorrow I have to sit through 2 morning classes before I can go to the doctor. I refuse to start the year off behind. I know myself, and with how much there always is to do at the start of the year I would have a hard time getting caught back up. I read a warm compress could make me feel better, but it was unclear whether to put it on my bladder, or on my urethra... Anyone ever tried this? And does anyone know how to keep it from getting ten times worse overnight? I need to be able to function in the morning...


----------



## taxlady

Skittle68 said:


> Today I came down with the worst UTI I've ever had in my life. Had to sit through my early class feeling like I had to go to the bathroom the entire time. I thought it was the coffee. If I had known it was a UTI coming on, I would have just gone!!! It's amazing how suddenly it came on. I usually feel them creeping. There was even enough blood to make my urine red. I'm so upset I couldn't get into the doctor today. I am so uncomfortable!!!! The AZO I took finally seems to be helping a little. I've also been drinking so much water I have to go every half hour. The bright orange color from the AZO is a little unnerving.... Tomorrow I have to sit through 2 morning classes before I can go to the doctor. I refuse to start the year off behind. I know myself, and with how much there always is to do at the start of the year I would have a hard time getting caught back up. I read a warm compress could make me feel better, but it was unclear whether to put it on my bladder, or on my urethra... Anyone ever tried this? And does anyone know how to keep it from getting ten times worse overnight? I need to be able to function in the morning...


Oh no! (((hugs))). Doesn't the university have an emergency clinic?


----------



## Skittle68

taxlady said:
			
		

> Oh no! (((hugs))). Doesn't the university have an emergency clinic?



Hmm I don't know.  It's probably too late now anyway... Even if they have anything this late it would probably be more expensive. I'll just toughen up and wait til tomorrow. Not looking forward to tomorrow morning tho


----------



## Dawgluver

So sorry Skittle!  Hope you get some relief.  Cranberry juice?


----------



## Skittle68

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> So sorry Skittle!  Hope you get some relief.  Cranberry juice?



I took some cranberry pills. Hopefully that will help keep it from getting too much worse overnight... Garlic is supposed to be a natural anti microbial too, and I had some garlic tablets (not the useless low odor kind lol) on hand anyway, so I took one of those too.  The AZO seems to be working. This is the first time I've tried it- the UTI's I've had in the past were mild so I never bothered. Sent poor bf to the store to get it. I told him he should pick up some miconazole cream and tampons while he was in that aisle and see if the cashier gives him bf of the year award ha ha ha...  I don't think he was as amused as me ::


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Double up on the AZO and garlic, tonight and in the morning.  Lots of water to keep your system flushed.    You want to make your urine as acid as possible.


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Double up on the AZO and garlic, tonight and in the morning.  Lots of water to keep your system flushed.    You want to make your urine as acid as possible.



Is it safe to double up on the AZO?  The cranberry pills have vitamin C too so that helps with the acidity. Maybe I should drink some orange juice. We actually happen to have some...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Is it safe to double up on the AZO?  The cranberry pills have vitamin C too so that helps with the acidity. Maybe I should drink some orange juice. We actually happen to have some...



Did you get AZO Cranberry?  If so, it's just concentrated cranberry, won't hurt you.  There is also an AZO UTI Pain relief, that one take as directed.


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Did you get AZO Cranberry?  If so, it's just concentrated cranberry, won't hurt you.  There is also an AZO UTI Pain relief, that one take as directed.



Oh gotcha. It's the AZO UTI pain relief. Will continue to take it as directed for the pain, and the cranberry and garlic will hopefully keep the bacteria down til I can get antibiotics tomorrow. Thanks! I'm actually really amazed at how much the AZO has kicked in. It said it works fast, but it took a couple hours, so I didn't think it was going to do much.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Oh gotcha. It's the AZO UTI pain relief. Will continue to take it as directed for the pain, and the cranberry and garlic will hopefully keep the bacteria down til I can get antibiotics tomorrow. Thanks! I'm actually really amazed at how much the AZO has kicked in. It said it works fast, but it took a couple hours, so I didn't think it was going to do much.



If you get UTI's frequently, you should take cranberry tablets daily.


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> If you get UTI's frequently, you should take cranberry tablets daily.



I get them every other, to once a year. Not often enough for a regimen. They are usually mild and go away on their own with lots of water, vitamin C, and cranberry juice. I've only taken antibiotics for it twice, when I still had symptoms after 3 days. I've just been under a lot of stress with school starting, money issues, laptop dying just in time for school, car on its last legs, moving, looking for a new place, moving again... I think my immune system's taken a really hard hit from all the upheaval. It's really wearing on me. First yeast, followed immediately by BV, which I just finished antibiotics for 4 days ago, and now worst UTI in my life. I need to get settled into a routine. In bed already and about to get some sleep. Last thing I need is another night with only 3 hours.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yup, stress does marvelous things to your body.  Log off kiddo and get some sleep!


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> If you get UTI's frequently, you should take cranberry tablets daily.



I had one and that was enough for me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I had one and that was enough for me.



Yours was particularly bad, Andy. Female symptoms of UTI are rather blatant and show up sooner than Male symptoms.  Men usually don't know they have a UTI until they are septic...not good.


----------



## CWS4322

I believe in a cranberry capsule a day...keeps the UTI away.


----------



## Claire

OK, what is AZO?  I had many UTIs when I was younger, and, yes, realize when they are coming on.  What really got me was when I came home from the hospital I had to sleep in the living room (couldn't do the stairs), and felt like I needed to pee constantly.  The biggest problem is that the bathroom is a mile away from the couch I was sleeping on (OK, maybe it only feels like a mile!).  I've always dealt with UTIs by drinking gallons of water and cranberry juice, but I just couldn't even think of going to the bathroom more often than once ever 20-30 minutes (all night long).  A friend brought me cranberry pills when she heard of the problem (along with pads for the drips).  God, aren't good friends the best?


----------



## Skittle68

Claire said:
			
		

> OK, what is AZO?  I had many UTIs when I was younger, and, yes, realize when they are coming on.  What really got me was when I came home from the hospital I had to sleep in the living room (couldn't do the stairs), and felt like I needed to pee constantly.  The biggest problem is that the bathroom is a mile away from the couch I was sleeping on (OK, maybe it only feels like a mile!).  I've always dealt with UTIs by drinking gallons of water and cranberry juice, but I just couldn't even think of going to the bathroom more often than once ever 20-30 minutes (all night long).  A friend brought me cranberry pills when she heard of the problem (along with pads for the drips).  God, aren't good friends the best?



From what I've read about AZO, it is basically numbing or soothing, it's water soluble and your body doesn't digest it, so it just gets flushed out. On its way out it's able to numb/soothe your bladder/urethra. It worked wonders once it had a chance to work it's way through. I would recommend it to anyone. I didn't know it turns your urine bright orange, so that freaked me out at first, but once you find out that's normal, it's a small price to pay.  I have a busy day today, squeezing the doctor visit between classes, so thank goodness my manager at work recommended it (I was so bad I called in to work, which I never do unless it's something contagious). Have a great day everyone


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Here's the site for AZO

The ingredient in the AZO UTI Pain Relief is called Pyridium, some doctors will let you have an emergency stash of it if you have frequent UTI's.

We have a standing order for it, if certain criteria are met, for our residents.


----------



## Andy M.

This happens every get together with my family.

One daughter, SIL and grandson are coming over for a cookout Sunday.  Knowing how fussy they are about what they eat, I sent off an email with the menu.  I wanted to do something different from the "usual".  There was nothing on the menu that was good for everyone. 

So all new plans.  We have a new menu that'll work for everyone.  Life is full of compromises.  

Just got a picture message showing our grandson has lost his first tooth.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Andy M. said:


> This happens every get together with my family.
> 
> One daughter, SIL and grandson are coming over for a cookout Sunday.  Knowing how fussy they are about what they eat, I sent off an email with the menu.  I wanted to do something different from the "usual".  There was nothing on the menu that was good for everyone.
> 
> So all new plans.  We have a new menu that'll work for everyone.  Life is full of compromises.
> 
> Just got a picture message showing our grandson has lost his first tooth.



You seem to be the only one making them.  

I think I would make sure your sidekick was taken care of and let the rest of them whistle or bring a dish that they would enjoy!

I guess it is all about keeping the peace and making some happy memories for your grandson!

Have a good time!


----------



## Andy M.

They're guests in my home, I feel obligated to provide them with food they will enjoy.  

It used to frustrate me a lot more but I've sort of gotten used to it.  I wanted to go beyond the usual steaks or burgers and hot dogs.  Silly me.


----------



## Dawgluver

I have to agree with Aunt Bea.  That's too bad, after all the planning, etc.

Congrats on GS's tooth!  No corn on the cob for him.


----------



## Claire

I guess that's it for me.  I try to accomodate people's tastes, but I also take into consideration how much they do mine when I'm in their homes.  Somehow, all the fussy eaters in my life rarely host.  The fussy eaters in my life are good at not liking food they eat anywhere, any time.  So why bother?


----------



## Cindercat

I hope everyone will have a better Labor Day weekend than I'm having. I spent all day yesterday & today sleeping, drinking water or hot tea & visiting the bathroom. My head's stopped up & I generally feel like crud. Thanks to one of my students. I have one student with a snotty nose who refuses to wash his hands for any reason. I have to threaten to take computer time if he doesn't let me use a soapy washcloth on his hands. He also sits next to me. I had a lot of work for school to do this weekend & so far none of it is touched. I'll have to do it tomorrow no matter how I feel. I have a parent conference Tuesday & another one on Friday plus worksheets to create for the week. Next Saturday has a big workshop all day. I don't have time to be sick. :aaarrgghhh!:


----------



## Dawgluver

Cindercat said:
			
		

> I hope everyone will have a better Labor Day weekend than I'm having. I spent all day yesterday & today sleeping, drinking water or hot tea & visiting the bathroom. My head's stopped up & I generally feel like crud. Thanks to one of my students. I have one student with a snotty nose who refuses to wash his hands for any reason. I have to threaten to take computer time if he doesn't let me use a soapy washcloth on his hands. He also sits next to me. I had a lot of work for school to do this weekend & so far none of it is touched. I'll have to do it tomorrow no matter how I feel. I have a parent conference Tuesday & another one on Friday plus worksheets to create for the week. Next Saturday has a big workshop all day. I don't have time to be sick. :aaarrgghhh!:



Oh, gack.  With the new school year comes new infections.  Sure hope you feel better soon, Cindercat!


----------



## taxlady

(((hugs Cindercat)))


----------



## Claire

Cinder, good wishes being sent your way.  Your snot-nosed student reminded me of a friend of mine whose kids kept coming home with head lice.  She got frustrated and got permission to inspect the premises.  _A foreign language lab_.  The headphones were infested.  since they were in constant use by different kids from different classes I mean grades, not social) and different ages.  She went and bought whatever it would be to use to clean the darned things and started going to school and de-lousing them herself.  

There ought to be something about basic sanitary habits.


----------



## CWS4322

Claire said:


> Cinder, good wishes being sent your way.  Your snot-nosed student reminded me of a friend of mine whose kids kept coming home with head lice.  She got frustrated and got permission to inspect the premises.  _A foreign language lab_.  The headphones were infested.  since they were in constant use by different kids from different classes I mean grades, not social) and different ages.  She went and bought whatever it would be to use to clean the darned things and started going to school and de-lousing them herself.
> 
> There ought to be something about basic sanitary habits.


Oh, yuck! That's one thing I never had--and I spent a LOT of time wearing headphones in language labs!


----------



## Addie

Claire said:


> Cinder, good wishes being sent your way. Your snot-nosed student reminded me of a friend of mine whose kids kept coming home with head lice. She got frustrated and got permission to inspect the premises. _A foreign language lab_. The headphones were infested. since they were in constant use by different kids from different classes I mean grades, not social) and different ages. She went and bought whatever it would be to use to clean the darned things and started going to school and de-lousing them herself.
> 
> There ought to be something about basic sanitary habits.


 
In our school systems the school nurse does head checks about twice a year. If a student is found to have lice, they are sent home immediately with a note. They can't return to school until the head has been cleaned of lice and the nits. The nurse checks them again when they return.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> In our school systems the school nurse does head checks about twice a year. If a student is found to have lice, they are sent home immediately with a note. They can't return to school until the head has been cleaned of lice and the nits. The nurse checks them again when they return.



I really disliked my school nurse rotation.


----------



## chopper

So sorry you are sick Cindercat  As far as the snot nosed kid goes, you could try a "when/then" approach the next time that happens. Tell him, "When you use the washcloth/Then we will play with '  '. "
Then you just wait him out until the washcloth is used and play after he uses it. It actually works pretty good!


----------



## Skittle68

A couple different things. A) why doesn't anyone ever tell me when I have something on my face, or my makeup is messed up?? I spent my whole first class working with a group, with mascara on the side of my nose and nobody said a word! 

B) If a clipped drivers license with the yellow papers is "valid" why can't you open a bank account with it???  I tried to open an account before I renewed my license, and they said my address had to match the one on my ID. I didn't want to renew it too soon though, in case it came fast and we weren't moved in yet. Ok fine, so today I went back with renewed ID, yellow papers in hand, and I still can't open an account!!! Having a bank that's 2 1/2 hrs away is not convenient for depositing/cashing my checks... Grrrrr!!!


----------



## Cindercat

chopper said:
			
		

> So sorry you are sick Cindercat  As far as the snot nosed kid goes, you could try a "when/then" approach the next time that happens. Tell him, "When you use the washcloth/Then we will play with '  '. "
> Then you just wait him out until the washcloth is used and play after he uses it. It actually works pretty good!



That's what we did. He now at least makes an effort to do it himself with both soap & water. We still make sure we sanitize the sink, tables, pencils & computer everyday. Our new challenge is getting him to eat. His dad was sending saltines, bbq chips & peanuts everyday because that's all he wanted. He now gets free lunch at school & dad wants us to get him to eat more. Today was 1st day with school food. He refused to eat anything. We told him he could pick one thing to eat some of or give up some beloved computer time. He still didn't eat & chose to lose time. He kept begging to use a phone to have dad bring his lunch. We didn't give him a phone. It wouldn't have helped anyone. We'll see what happens tomorrow.


----------



## Cindercat

Skittle68 said:
			
		

> A couple different things. A) why doesn't anyone ever tell me when I have something on my face, or my makeup is messed up?? I spent my whole first class working with a group, with mascara on the side of my nose and nobody said a word!



Before I got my job I substituted in schools. One school hired me for a week to start a new section of 1st grade. The teacher they hired instead of me for the full-time position had a family emergency so I got to do all the work of setting up the class, creating reading & math groups, writing lesson plans, doing recess duty daily with a 20 minute lunch & no special classes so no other breaks. This was the day of purple ditto copying. I copied papers before school & went about my day. I went all morning, through lunch in the teacher's room & recess duty with my brother's SIL. I finally got a bathroom break around 2pm, looked in the mirror & saw a huge purple streak going down the side of my face. No one bothered to tell me!


----------



## Dawgluver

Skittle68 said:
			
		

> A couple different things. A) why doesn't anyone ever tell me when I have something on my face, or my makeup is messed up?? I spent my whole first class working with a group, with mascara on the side of my nose and nobody said a word!
> 
> B) If a clipped drivers license with the yellow papers is "valid" why can't you open a bank account with it???  I tried to open an account before I renewed my license, and they said my address had to match the one on my ID. I didn't want to renew it too soon though, in case it came fast and we weren't moved in yet. Ok fine, so today I went back with renewed ID, yellow papers in hand, and I still can't open an account!!! Having a bank that's 2 1/2 hrs away is not convenient for depositing/cashing my checks... Grrrrr!!!



Oh Skittle, and Cindercat,  how I wish people would just come out and tell us!  I want to hear if there's a piece of spinach in my teeth, or my fly's down, or there's a booger hanging.  Goes without saying with mascara or ink on the face. I guess we are all too polite, though I try to make a point of telling folks about something that might be embarassing.  It's easier with telling kids.

How frustrating about your bank account, Skittle.


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> Oh Skittle, and Cindercat,  how I wish people would just come out and tell us!  I want to hear if there's a piece of spinach in my teeth, or my fly's down, or there's a booger hanging.  Goes without saying with mascara or ink on the face. I guess we are all too polite, though I try to make a point of telling folks about something that might be embarassing.  It's easier with telling kids.
> 
> How frustrating about your bank account, Skittle.



Well...since I work with kids with autism spectrum disorders all the time, I always know when I have something on my face. They are the first to let you know.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Oh Skittle, and Cindercat,  how I wish people would just come out and tell us!  I want to hear if there's a piece of spinach in my teeth, or my fly's down, or there's a booger hanging.  Goes without saying with mascara or ink on the face. I guess we are all too polite, though I try to make a point of telling folks about something that might be embarassing.  It's easier with telling kids.
> 
> How frustrating about your bank account, Skittle.


I'm the kind of person who will tell you about that stuff. I learned that I should probably ask someone else to tell the person if I am the boss. I told my receptionist that she had egg on her shirt and she went into panic mode. I couldn't convince her that I wasn't criticizing, I was just trying to prevent embarrassment.


----------



## Addie

TL, I too am one of those that will tell you. Tags sticking out in the back, fly open, lipstick smeared, etc. Even total strangers. I always get a thank you. And if necessary I will help them correct the problem. Sorry guys. You have to do your own open fly. Nobody wants to go through life looking like they just got out of bed and still in the PJ's.


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:
			
		

> TL, I too am one of those that will tell you. Tags sticking out in the back, fly open, lipstick smeared, etc. Even total strangers. I always get a thank you. And if necessary I will help them correct the problem. Sorry guys. You have to do your own open fly. Nobody wants to go through life looking like they just got out of bed and still in the PJ's.



Only exception I would make for the fly if it was an amputee or something. Then I might offer a hand


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:
			
		

> Well...since I work with kids with autism spectrum disorders all the time, I always know when I have something on my face. They are the first to let you know.



  True, dat!


----------



## Dawgluver

In the short time I've been home from work, I've gotten 3 calls from Out of Area, and 2 calls from Toll Free.  I don't even know these guys.

Thankful for Caller ID.  There's the phone again, another one from Out of Area.  This is ridiculous.  Heh.  And another 3...


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> In the short time I've been home from work, I've gotten 3 calls from Out of Area, and 2 calls from Toll Free. I don't even know these guys.
> 
> Thankful for Caller ID. There's the phone again, another one from Out of Area. This is ridiculous. Heh. And another 3...


 
Ahd I let those calls go to the fax machine.


----------



## taxlady

I am fuming mad at the city. I got an automated call this morning at 08h45 telling me that the "boil water advisory" was over as of 07h00 this morning. That's very nice. They forgot to tell me to boil my water! Maybe that's why Stirling has been having stomach issues and mine haven't gone away.

I phoned the city and they said that they had sent a letter and that the advisory had started Thursday! I didn't get a letter. I'm going to ask my neighbours if they got one.


----------



## Andy M.

Wait a second.  You get a reverse 911 call to tell you not to boil your water but they sent a letter to warn you to boil water!  That's ass-backwards.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Wait a second.  You get a reverse 911 call to tell you not to boil your water but they sent a letter to warn you to boil water!  That's ass-backwards.


Well, normally that would be backwards. But, we are having our water mains "rehabilitated". They probably switched us back to the main that got "rehabilitated", from the temporary water supply, so they would know in advance when they were going to do that. They say the water test results are good now.


----------



## CWS4322

I saw those mains. How much trouble would it have been to post SIGNS like they do when the exit ramp is going to be closed?


----------



## Alix

Where the h e double hockey sticks is my favorite paring knife???? Seriously! It was my Mom's and it's PERFECT for doing all manner of small things. Cleaning strawberries, doing beans etc from the garden. AAAARGH! This is frustrating.


----------



## chopper

Alix said:
			
		

> Where the h e double hockey sticks is my favorite paring knife???? Seriously! It was my Mom's and it's PERFECT for doing all manner of small things. Cleaning strawberries, doing beans etc from the garden. AAAARGH! This is frustrating.



Hope it shows up soon!  What a frustration for you!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Where the h e double hockey sticks is my favorite paring knife???? Seriously! It was my Mom's and it's PERFECT for doing all manner of small things. Cleaning strawberries, doing beans etc from the garden. AAAARGH! This is frustrating.



It's with my missing Tapioca...and TL's cup of coffee.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It's with my missing Tapioca...and TL's cup of coffee.


 
 Thank you.


----------



## Sprout

So far this week: lost my favorite sweater, ripped my favorite shirt, put a 3 1/2 inch scratch in the hood of my car, locked myself out of our apartment, Sproutlet #2 managed to lock us out of the bathroom (thank goodness she wasn't inside), and Sproutlet #1 made by far the biggest Sharpie mural I've ever seen in her bedroom while I cleaned the kitchen. I should have gotten suspicious way sooner, but I was finally getting my kitchen clean, Sproutlet #2 was playing happily within my sight and I was calling back and forth with Sproutlet #1 every couple minutes ("What are you doing?" "Playing in my room!" "Ok!"). I didn't even see it coming. She drew on the hall wall, the door to her room, the wall just inside, the diaper pale, the wall just above it, the changing table, the crib, their dresser, the wall next to the dresser, her new bed, her old toddler bed, the wall next to her bed, her bedsheet, and her closet door. the majority of these drawings are big, like, at least 1'x3'.

 Also, the door knobs in our apartment aren't normal door knobs that can be unlocked by simply putting something pointy in a hole and popping it open, or even using one of those little doodads to unlock it. The maintenance guy has to come and get it open. It happened too late for him to come today. We have another bathroom so it's not considered an emergency. However, everything I use to get ready for work in the morning is in the bathroom, so I guess no makeup or even brushing my hair before work tomorrow, and my contact lense case, solution, and glasses are also in there. Thank goodness I keep my tooth brush in the other bathroom. Oh yeah, and I also discovered today that DH has still not taken out the recycling like he said he would Monday and someone (very well could have been me) didn't rinse out a milk carton before putting it in, so now my pantry reeks of sour milk. I'm really, really hoping that since it's Wednesday, I'm over the hump and the rest of the week will be much easier! I'm sure I'll laugh about most of this soon, but it's a bit frustrating at the moment!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'll be in here Playing in my room, Sprout!

Hairspray works fairly well on Sharpie...


----------



## LPBeier

Sprout, my sister, who was in her mid teens at the time, was told that she could decorate her room any way she wanted.  It was a bribe because she hadn't wanted to move from Saskatoon to the West Coast.  My parents painted her walls a very pale mauve (her choice) and left her to it.

She painted a 2 ft by 3 ft Haida mask in black ink (the liquid kind that is very dark and permanent) on the wall across from the door.  They never knew because she kept the door closed until she was done.  

Years later when my Grandfather was moving in to the room, we had to paint it.  It took 7 coats of a special sealer paint before the ink was covered.  However, it would very quietly bleed through, giving a spooky look to the wall.  When I took over the room I painted it again and still couldn't get it out.  

When my parents sold the house we told them to charge a little extra for the "haunted room" 

I hope for your sake the hairspray works!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'll be in here Playing in my room, Sprout!
> 
> Hairspray works fairly well on Sharpie...


Isopropyl alcohol works even better than hairspray and it's cheaper. Actually, it's the alcohol in the hairspray that makes the hairspray work to get out ink.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Isopropyl alcohol works even better than hairspray and it's cheaper. Actually, it's the alcohol in the hairspray that makes the hairspray work to get out ink.



I just remember trying to clean up red marker off my pale lavender walls with hairspray after my brother got an artistic streak...


----------



## Cindercat

When I was in kindergarten I was very proud of learning to make a capital M for my name. I went home and found one of the dozens of black permanent markers my dad left laying around and wrote a big M on anything I considered mine (or wanted to be mine, like my sister's change purse).  I clearly remember the tanning I got for that. No amount of hairspray took it off some things. Our "shared" life-sized doll forever had a M on her wrist.


----------



## Barbara L

Better than what one of my 2nd grade students wrote everywhere she got a chance (in books, classroom doorways all over the school, restrooms, everywhere she could get her pencil--and thank goodness it was pencil). Everywhere she went she left the word a**.  On the other hand, if my mother had abandoned me in the middle of a WalMart when I was 2 or 3 and never came back, I might write that all over too.


----------



## Addie

Hearing horror stories from my friends, I had bought a chalk board for child #1, my daughter. All writing implements were kept in a basket on top of the fridge. Even I had to climb on a chair to reach them. No coloring books and crayons until they were about six years old. I knew I was stunting their education development, but I left the artistic side up to the schools. by the time the fourth kid came along, my daughter was in the first grade and could understand why she had rules about crayons. Her brother who was only 17 months younger than her, had a streak of "how does this work" in him. She learned very quickly about the rules when he broke every crayon in her box wanting to see what was inside of them. The broken crayons were put away, and a new box of 64 were bought again for her. By the time my son was starting to go to school, he got the box of broken crayons. I first wanted to see if he was able to live by the rules of not leaving them out for the younger siblings to get their hands on. Nope. There were some lovely circles on the wallpaper in his room and the living room. No crayons for him until I was able to clean up or wallpaper the two rooms. It was about six months before I could get around to cleaning up the living room and a bit longer for his room. By then he had learned.  No problems with the last two siblings. By the time son #3 came along, the next one was ten y.o. No problem there.


----------



## chopper

Crayons really are something we have to supervise, as well as markers, glue and scissors. My kids were allowed to use them often, but only when I was with them. Then my son went to kindergarten, and cut the place mats in the play dough center. He followed that by cutting the towels in the bathroom at home...so far his kids have used every marker they can find to draw everywhere. I thought it was kinda funny until they came to my house and used the markers on my leather couch in the living room.  Hair spray to the rescue!


----------



## Dawgluver

Hairspray is my friend, the best thing to take out pen ink.  For some reason, regular isospropyl doesn't work as well for me.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Hairspray is my friend, the best thing to take out pen ink. For some reason, regular isospropyl doesn't work as well for me.


 
When my kids were growing up, they didn't have the marker pens. Only India ink for marking laundry for camp. So crayons were always the culprit to watch out for.


----------



## Skittle68

When we first came to move stuff in to our new place, it was filthy. Layer of dirt on everything, food in the fridge and on the stove, etc. So much so, that we payed to stay in the room we were renting for an extra week so the landlords could come back and try again. They did. But we didn't get moved in until 3 days ago because of that. Ok, we are nice people, we want to get along with our landlords, so fine. We didn't say anything.  Last night while we were in the middle of doing laundry, the septic alarm went off telling us it was full. Um, what?? We were told, "Don't worry, it will be emptied before you move in." So, I sent a message asking if he forgot to empty it. Apparently he decided to just wait until it needed it, then have us take care of it, and pro-rate it. NOT part of the agreement. Anyway, let's divide the $80 it costs to empty the tank, by the 3 months or so it takes to fill it, and see how much we owe for three days of water, then divide our rent by 30 days, and take away the 10 days we paid for and were unable to move in and see if he still wants to talk about "pro-rating".   Then, after the alarm went off, the dryer shorted out all the electricity in the laundry room. The breakers are all fine, no idea what the deal is.  Landlord will probably say, "Well, it's a rustic cabin, not a brand new apartment."  That's what he said when we complained that the place was not ready to move in. Pretty sure the ad said "lake front HOME" not "lake front cabin". It is a cabin that was renovated and converted into a house. It is fairly modern, not rustic. Grr. Not impressed. No, not at all.  When Mike calls about the electricity in the laundry room he's also going to mention the furnace that shakes the entire house and obviously needs to be serviced, and the dripping bath tub faucet. The pump kicks on roughly every 20 min, and all that water is going into the tank we have to empty. Since it is lake front there is no leeching field, just a tank. This is why I hate moving. Nothing but problems...


----------



## taxlady

Oh man Skittle, what a PITA. I hope this all gets worked out well and quickly, so you can start enjoying your lakefront home.


----------



## Skittle68

taxlady said:
			
		

> Oh man Skittle, what a PITA. I hope this all gets worked out well and quickly, so you can start enjoying your lakefront home.



Thanks. We are enjoying it for the most part. Just met the neighbor today. Their huge monstrosity of a house takes up pretty much the entire horizontal portion of their lot, so their house is right on top of ours. Because it's so close, the cats like to go on their patio. This morning their little dog was tearing back and forth in our yard, so I went out and said hi to him and the dog, and said "What a cute dog!" Thinking if I don't make a big deal about his dog, he might ignore our cats lol. He seems really nice, so hopefully it won't be an issue. Two of the paintings we have happen to resemble what you see when you look outside, so we have them hanging on those respective walls  Kind of neat to see the same thing in the painting as you do looking out the window next to it. Love the lake view, and the woods on the side away from the neighbor. We might build a screen house and put it between us and the neighbor to sort of block off our yard and have a little more privacy. Luckily they seem to just hang out in the house a lot.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I don't want to be a naysayer but, keep an eye on your pipes as it gets colder!
_*
Quaint, rustic, lakefront homes with lots of charm and potential*_ tend to have some hidden secrets.  Like frozen drains and pipes!

Good luck and hope you enjoy it once you settle in and make it a home!


----------



## Skittle68

Aunt Bea said:
			
		

> I don't want to be a naysayer but, keep an eye on your pipes as it gets colder!
> 
> Quaint, rustic, lakefront homes with lots of charm and potential tend to have some hidden secrets.  Like frozen drains and pipes!
> 
> Good luck and hope you enjoy it once you settle in and make it a home!



Thanks  we asked if they ever have issues with pipes freezing and he said no. Hopefully it won't be an issue, but if it is, at least one of the benefits of being a renter is that he will have to deal with it. It would definitely be a PITA tho!!


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> I don't want to be a naysayer but, keep an eye on your pipes as it gets colder!
> _*
> Quaint, rustic, lakefront homes with lots of charm and potential*_ tend to have some hidden secrets.  Like frozen drains and pipes!
> 
> Good luck and hope you enjoy it once you settle in and make it a home!




I love the way you put that Bea.


----------



## Skittle68

I timed the dripping water into a bucket, and it appears to drip about 2 1/2 cups of water an hour. That's just over 3 1/2 gallons a day!! Besides being a waste of water, that's 100 gallons of water a month we have to pay to have pumped and hauled away!! The bucket is staying, and I'll water the flowers with it until its fixed. Humph. It needs a new faucet anyway. You have to pull the handle outward to turn the water on, and the whole setup pulls forward 3/4" when you do it. The caulk is all torn away from the shower wall because of it and I feel like I'm going to break it every time. After the tub is fixed, and the electric issue is figured out, it seems like we should be in pretty decent shape.


----------



## Alix

Why do they bother letting you try to buy tickets to a concert when they have PRESOLD most of the stupid frigging tickets anyway. So mad I could spit.


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> Why do they bother letting you try to buy tickets to a concert when they have PRESOLD most of the stupid frigging tickets anyway. So mad I could spit.


 
The young kids seem to know all the tricks to getting those tickets that you find all sold out. One of my grandson's plays in local bands around Boston. Is there an instrument he can't play? I doubt it. He fills in when a band needs one. So he gets tickets all the time for the other kids in the family when they want to go to one of those concerts where you can't hear a note being  played. He is the "go to" kid for tickets. 

When Son #3 was married to his first wife, her brother was the bass guitarist for Shania Twain. When they came to Boston, they got free tickets and a back stage pass. They got to have supper with the band. Shania ate in her dressing room. The band was strictly limited to free tickets to pass out. At least in her band.


----------



## Alix

I started the Venting thread with the intention that it should be quite lighthearted. It has become a place where bigger things are discussed and I think it ought to remain that way. I do, however, find myself reluctant to post some of my petty crabbiness there in the face of others larger tribulations. So I'm starting this thread in order to vent those petty little irritations that aren't big enough for Venting. 

My petty vent for today is quite a litany. I'm going to put it in point form.

- Daughter has volleyball tournament at a little town 40 minutes away. I thought Ken was driving, he thought I was driving...no biggie. I got it, but am not showered or sufficiently caffeinated. And the van only has enough gas to get me there and back.
- Address daughter gives me is NOT the correct school. (She didn't get an address from her coach, but rather Googled and used the WRONG school's name) 
- Call to teammate gives us new address, go to program GPS and signal is lost. ARGH!
- Look for paper map in car. It covers to the boundary of this little town. ARGHARGH. 
- Call husband and have him Google map and direct us. 
- After one missed turn, the directions lead us to a boarded up school. WHAAAT? Daughter says, "Oh yeah we came here yesterday too and had to turn around and find the NEW school". Me, "OK, which way did you go?" Daughter, "I dunno." Me, *facepalm*
- Husband frantically trying to Google new address, daughter calling teammates (who are also lost) and trying to get coaches phone number. I drive into town center (swearing) and find an open store to get directions. Hang up on husband as this is using many cell minutes.
- Get directions. Drive right to new school. Its about 100 meters from where I turned around because of the missed turn. ARGHARGHARGH.
- Dump tearful daughter off with teammates and pray that the gas lasts til I get back home. 

Petty vent #1. They have a bus, why aren't they using it? 
Petty vent #2. If the parents need to drive, why wouldn't you provide either directions or an address? 
Petty vent #3. If you took the bus there on Friday, and realized the address was not correct, why wouldn't you make sure your team had the CORRECT address so they could show up the next day? 

*sigh*


----------



## Rocklobster

Your thread wants me to start venting about school boards and teachers, but I won't, 'cus that usually gets really heavy.


----------



## Alix

LOL! Take that one over to the Venting thread.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I can't stay awake today.  I knew that working one night shift would mess up my sleep schedule.


----------



## Rocklobster

I hurt my back earlier in the week. It never lasts long, but this time it has me good. Went to see the chiropractor and he said come back Wednesday. He aligned me up good. I can feel the improvement, but my biggest problem is that I am too darned busy to give it time for the damaged or swollen/spasmed to heal. I have two playing engagements this weekend, and sitting at a drum throne for 4 hours a night isn't the greatest thing to be doing.  Advil, do your thing....


----------



## taxlady

The big brains in our condo association have had a new down spout added to the building across from me. It's ugly and going to get jammed up with leaves. I see it when I look out my kitchen window.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> The big brains in our condo association have had a new down spout added to the building across from me. It's ugly and going to get jammed up with leaves. I see it when I look out my kitchen window.



Aacckk!  WTH?

Rock, hope your back holds out.  Puddle o' drummer is not good.

Nap away, PF, sounds like it's not so good outside anyway.


----------



## chopper

taxlady said:
			
		

> The big brains in our condo association have had a new down spout added to the building across from me. It's ugly and going to get jammed up with leaves. I see it when I look out my kitchen window.



...you might be a Redneck!  You could add these pictures to today's funnies thread.


----------



## Barbara L

I debated whether this should go in with the major vents or here. I decided it should go here, but I'm still not sure.

There is no chocolate in our house.


----------



## chopper

Barbara L said:
			
		

> I debated whether this should go in with the major vents or here. I decided it should go here, but I'm still not sure.
> 
> There is no chocolate in our house.



I've got Reese's peanut butter footballs. Come on over!


----------



## Andy M.

Alix, my daughters says, I wouldn't need anger management if others would practice stupid management.

Rock, I have that type of backache occasionally too.  Good luck with your gig.

PF, naps are your friend and your best weapon in the daily battle.

See my comment to Alix.  Also, to quote Forrest Gump, Stupid is as stupid does.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> ...you might be a Redneck!  You could add these pictures to today's funnies thread.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Alix, my daughters says, I wouldn't need anger management if others would practice *stupid management.*
> 
> Rock, I have that type of backache occasionally too. Good luck with your gig.
> 
> PF, naps are your friend and your best weapon in the daily battle.
> 
> See my comment to Alix. Also, to quote Forrest Gump, Stupid is as stupid does.


 
Love thqt one. Thinking is no longer the cool thinig to do.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Andy M. said:


> Alix, my daughters says, I wouldn't need anger management if others would practice stupid management.
> 
> Rock, I have that type of backache occasionally too.  Good luck with your gig.
> 
> PF, naps are your friend and your best weapon in the daily battle.
> 
> See my comment to Alix.  Also, to quote Forrest Gump, Stupid is as stupid does.



or as Judge Judy says "Beauty fades dumb is forever" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhBa9N3bL2E


----------



## Addie

If I tell you, "No, thank you", take my word for it. I don't want any. You don't deserve an explanation as to why. I just don't want any.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> If I tell you, "No, thank you", take my word for it. I don't want any. You don't deserve an explanation as to why. I just don't want any.



I am with you on this one!

If I politely answer a question with no thank you, have the good sense to move on!

If they interrogate me as to why I will quickly come down to their level and give them an explanation that they will never forget! 

Children under 12 excluded!


----------



## chopper

No really does mean no. I got a call on the phone this morning.
caller:"Can you donate $150.00?" 
Me:"no I cannot"
Caller:"Well I understand, can I put you down for $100?"
Me:"no, you don't understand, I said no."
Caller:"yes ma'am, a lot of folks are just giving $25.00. Will that be ok with you?"
Me:CLICK


----------



## Andy M.

chopper said:


> No really does mean no. I got a call on the phone this morning.
> caller:"Can you donate $150.00?"
> Me:"no I cannot"
> Caller:"Well I understand, can I put you down for $100?"
> Me:"no, you don't understand, I said no."
> Caller:"yes ma'am, a lot of folks are just giving $25.00. Will that be ok with you?"
> Me:CLICK



People who make a living making these calls rely on your automatic reaction to wait for a response after you speak.  When I get a call like this, I respond, "I'm sorry, I can't help you." and I hang up immediately after I finish my sentence.  Don't give them a chance to keep you engaged in a conversation with the hope of getting something out of you.  And if you hear the beginning of their response, don't stop.  Hang up.  You're not being rude.  You're saving them time so they can go harass others.


----------



## LPBeier

Rocklobster said:


> I hurt my back earlier in the week. It never lasts long, but this time it has me good. Went to see the chiropractor and he said come back Wednesday. He aligned me up good. I can feel the improvement, but my biggest problem is that I am too darned busy to give it time for the damaged or swollen/spasmed to heal. I have two playing engagements this weekend, and sitting at a drum throne for 4 hours a night isn't the greatest thing to be doing.  Advil, do your thing....



Rock, would an armless desk chair work for you?  I have one with back adjustments and was able to take the arms off it.  Just a thought.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> I am with you on this one!
> 
> If I politely answer a question with no thank you, have the good sense to move on!
> 
> If they interrogate me as to why I will quickly come down to their level and give them an explanation that they will never forget!
> 
> Children under 12 excluded!


 
I don't drink. Never have. When I am at a function and a person offers to buy me a drink, I give them the polite, " No thank you." If they insist, I ask, "Are you a drug pusher in a loud enough voice that they take off immediately.


----------



## Dawgluver

Why is it the weekend days never last as long as the work days?  Where did today go?


----------



## MrsLMB

Barbara L said:


> I debated whether this should go in with the major vents or here. I decided it should go here, but I'm still not sure.
> 
> There is no chocolate in our house.


 

 come on over and I will share with you


----------



## MrsLMB

I thought I was helping hubby today. 

The driveway needed to be resealed. 

I swept it then blew it off. 

We have a very long drive way as well as a turn around. 

He was working sooooo hard. 

I said to myself .. self .. you can do that too. 

So I grabbed a 2nd bucket of sealer and started spreading it around. 

I stopped when I heard him say something I really can't repeat here. 

I was so into what I was doing and how I was "helping" that I didn't realize I had trapped him in the driveway. 

There he stood completely surrounded by fresh, wet, stinky and sticky driveway sealer  

All is well though, he just walked through my handywork and told me next time I should just sit there and look pretty while he does the work !


----------



## Rocklobster

LPBeier said:


> Rock, would an armless desk chair work for you?  I have one with back adjustments and was able to take the arms off it.  Just a thought.


It's a thought. It seems sitting is causing the problem. When I am up and doing things its all but gone. Thanks.


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> I thought I was helping hubby today.
> 
> The driveway needed to be resealed.
> 
> I swept it then blew it off.
> 
> We have a very long drive way as well as a turn around.
> 
> He was working sooooo hard.
> 
> I said to myself .. self .. you can do that too.
> 
> So I grabbed a 2nd bucket of sealer and started spreading it around.
> 
> I stopped when I heard him say something I really can't repeat here.
> 
> I was so into what I was doing and how I was "helping" that I didn't realize I had trapped him in the driveway.
> 
> There he stood completely surrounded by fresh, wet, stinky and sticky driveway sealer
> 
> All is well though, he just walked through my handywork and told me next time I should just sit there and look pretty while he does the work !


 
 Everytime I try to help my son when he is doing something for me, he just says, "You're helping again!" My clue to go sit down and stay out of his way.


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB, at least your DH thinks you're pretty.


----------



## Merlot

I end up taking a nap every Saturday for 3 or so hours, my time off from work and I feel like I should be up enjoying something!


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> I end up taking a nap every Saturday for 3 or so hours, my time off from work and I feel like I should be up enjoying something!


 
Good for you. You are enjoying something. A good nap.


----------



## Merlot

Addie said:


> Good for you. You are enjoying something. A good nap.


 
Well, the bed did feel very good.  My Dr said I was very low on vitamin B12 so I'm sure I am tired!


----------



## MrsLMB

taxlady said:


> MrsLMB, at least your DH thinks you're pretty.


 

LOL  guess I'm good for something then huh !!  

I still can't believe I 'painted' him in like that ... if only he had done something wrong then I would not have felt soooo bad  LOL


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> LOL guess I'm good for something then huh !!
> 
> I still can't believe I 'painted' him in like that ... if only he had done something wrong then I would not have felt soooo bad LOL


 
You do realize that you will never live this down. Everytime the family gets together, this story will be told.


----------



## kadesma

Now that you have all  given me a good laugh, I do have a small vent. I went to my Cade's soccer game to day and one of the boys on his team, went to his knees and was told by my son-in-law the coach to stay put. The ref came over this youngster then came out of the game. I'd seen him grab his tummy just before he went to his knees. When he came over by me he was in distress you could see it on his face. I gave him a  blanket to lie on and told  my daughter to get him on of the frozen towel strips one of the mom's had brought. We got him down, and I told his gramma not to give him water or food. To just keep him cool and still. When she then aked him if his heart was beating to fast and put her hand over it I about came unglued. He  agreed to keep still and boy was I scared. This boy was no more than 11 and why ,why, why do people like his grandad insist he go back and play some more after a scare like that?? I could have popped him a good one the  fool. I just don't get it. Is it that important to be able to say see my grandson made one of the goals. Is it really that important??? I don't know the answer maybe gramma's feel different than grandpa's.
kades


----------



## Barbara L

MrsLMB said:


> LOL  guess I'm good for something then huh !!
> 
> I still can't believe I 'painted' him in like that ... if only he had done something wrong then I would not have felt soooo bad  LOL





Addie said:


> You do realize that you will never live this down. Everytime the family gets together, this story will be told.


Yes it will, so you should tell it first!


----------



## Barbara L

kadesma said:


> Now that you have all  given me a good laugh, I do have a small vent. I went to my Cade's soccer game to day and one of the boys on his team, went to his knees and was told by my son-in-law the coach to stay put. The ref came over this youngster then came out of the game. I'd seen him grab his tummy just before he went to his knees. When he came over by me he was in distress you could see it on his face. I gave him a  blanket to lie on and told  my daughter to get him on of the frozen towel strips one of the mom's had brought. We got him down, and I told his gramma not to give him water or food. To just keep him cool and still. When she then aked him if his heart was beating to fast and put her hand over it I about came unglued. He  agreed to keep still and boy was I scared. This boy was no more than 11 and why ,why, why do people like his grandad insist he go back and play some more after a scare like that?? I could have popped him a good one the  fool. I just don't get it. Is it that important to be able to say see my grandson made one of the goals. Is it really that important??? I don't know the answer maybe gramma's feel different than grandpa's.
> kades


I'm a grandma, and I'm with you!


----------



## taxlady

I'm not a grandma, but I'm with you kadesma.


----------



## vitauta

Alix said:


> I started the Venting thread with the intention that it should be quite lighthearted. It has become a place where bigger things are discussed and I think it ought to remain that way. I do, however, find myself reluctant to post some of my petty crabbiness there in the face of others larger tribulations. So I'm starting this thread in order to vent those petty little irritations that aren't big enough for Venting.
> 
> My petty vent for today is quite a litany. I'm going to put it in point form.
> 
> - Daughter has volleyball tournament at a little town 40 minutes away. I thought Ken was driving, he thought I was driving...no biggie. I got it, but am not showered or sufficiently caffeinated. And the van only has enough gas to get me there and back.
> - Address daughter gives me is NOT the correct school. (She didn't get an address from her coach, but rather Googled and used the WRONG school's name)
> - Call to teammate gives us new address, go to program GPS and signal is lost. ARGH!
> - Look for paper map in car. It covers to the boundary of this little town. ARGHARGH.
> - Call husband and have him Google map and direct us.
> - After one missed turn, the directions lead us to a boarded up school. WHAAAT? Daughter says, "Oh yeah we came here yesterday too and had to turn around and find the NEW school". Me, "OK, which way did you go?" Daughter, "I dunno." Me, *facepalm*
> - Husband frantically trying to Google new address, daughter calling teammates (who are also lost) and trying to get coaches phone number. I drive into town center (swearing) and find an open store to get directions. Hang up on husband as this is using many cell minutes.
> - Get directions. Drive right to new school. Its about 100 meters from where I turned around because of the missed turn. ARGHARGHARGH.
> - Dump tearful daughter off with teammates and pray that the gas lasts til I get back home.
> 
> Petty vent #1. They have a bus, why aren't they using it?
> Petty vent #2. If the parents need to drive, why wouldn't you provide either directions or an address?
> Petty vent #3. If you took the bus there on Friday, and realized the address was not correct, why wouldn't you make sure your team had the CORRECT address so they could show up the next day?
> 
> *sigh*



those "petty" vent occasions can eff up one's entire day just as handily as the major ones sometimes.  just reading through your account of your volleyball mom's harrowing trip, alix, had my own stomach in full churl and a heart full of empathy for you....

are you planning yet another venting thread any time in the near future, alix, or are we now finally sufficiently covered on the subject?  some of us will be stressing about which of the venting threads to choose for our complaints.  maybe an intermediate category to be used as a catchall?


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> I'm not a grandma, but I'm with you kadesma.


Ditto on both counts!


----------



## LPBeier

vitauta said:


> are you planning yet another venting thread any time in the near future, alix, or are we now finally sufficiently covered on the subject?  some of us will be stressing about which of the venting threads to choose for our complaints.  maybe an intermediate category to be used as a catchall?



I don't know who started it or when, but there was a thread called "venting on a happy note" if that helps you Vit!


----------



## Skittle68

This morning bf told me he is planning to start saving his "dukers" til he gets to work, to save money by not filling up our tank. Then after he left I discovered he clogged the toilet and Just left it. Oops, he "forgot".  Ugh, where is the mystery going?? I miss the days when he used to make some effort not to gross me out. I'm a little old fashioned/lady like in that way. Not into talking about (or seeing the result of) bodily functions. Yuck.


----------



## taxlady

Skittle68 said:


> This morning bf told me he is planning to start saving his "dukers" til he gets to work, to save money by not filling up our tank. Then after he left I discovered he clogged the toilet and Just left it. Oops, he "forgot".  Ugh, where is the mystery going?? I miss the days when he used to make some effort not to gross me out. I'm a little old fashioned/lady like in that way. Not into talking about (or seeing the result of) bodily functions. Yuck.


I'm not very old fashioned or ladylike. But, I don't want to see what's in a clogged up toilet.


----------



## Skittle68

taxlady said:
			
		

> I'm not very old fashioned or ladylike. But, I don't want to see what's in a clogged up toilet.



Neither do I. And the fact that he says, "I know how much you like talking about this, but..." leads me to believe he knows I don't enjoy discussing the subject. If it was a health issue or something and he was asking my opinion that would be a little different, but just as a topic of conversation, no thank you.

(so then I bring it up as a topic of conversation lol... Sorry. )


----------



## Zhizara

With threads for Venting and Venting on a Happy Note, this thread would be the catch-all.


----------



## Andy M.

Isn't it ironic that someone is venting about the venting thread on the venting thread.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I keep reading the title as "Panty Vents".


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I keep reading the title as "Panty Vents".



Those usually appear on the older ones, don't they?


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I keep reading the title as "Panty Vents".



ma


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Those usually appear on the older ones, don't they?


----------



## LPBeier

Every time I acknowledge that my migraine has downgraded or the headache has gone away, it comes back with a vengence.  

But I am saying this under petty vents because all my other pains are being managed quite well!


----------



## vitauta

Zhizara said:


> With threads for Venting and Venting on a Happy Note, this thread would be the catch-all.




thank you, lpb.  and zee, i think you're precisely right. that portion of my post was not meant to be taken seriously tho.  all my life i have had to explain my jokes to people.  i still think i can be hilarious at times, and have a great sense of humor, but all i see around me are blank stares from friends who never seem to 'get' my funnies, or find them hopelessly corny or lame....

so, let me apologize for what was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, and some fun teasing of alix, and her ever-increasing need for more new categories for all her peeves of all sizes and gradations....oh hi, alix, give us a smile?


----------



## LPBeier

vitauta said:


> thank you, lpb.  and zee, i think you're precisely right. that portion of my post was not meant to be taken seriously tho.  all my life i have had to explain my jokes to people.  i still think i can be hilarious at times, and have a great sense of humor, but all i see around me are blank stares from friends who never seem to 'get' my funnies, or find them hopelessly corny or lame....
> 
> so, let me apologize for what was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, and some fun teasing of alix, and her ever-increasing need for more new categories for all her peeves of all sizes and gradations....oh hi, alix, give us a smile?



Vit, I actually took it as a joke (should have used an emoticon).  What I was trying to say through my headache was that now you have ONE MORE option to choose from    So for me, no apology necessary.


----------



## kadesma

Skittle68 said:


> This morning bf told me he is planning to start saving his "dukers" til he gets to work, to save money by not filling up our tank. Then after he left I discovered he clogged the toilet and Just left it. Oops, he "forgot".  Ugh, where is the mystery going?? I miss the days when he used to make some effort not to gross me out. I'm a little old fashioned/lady like in that way. Not into talking about (or seeing the result of) bodily functions. Yuck.


Sit him down and with the promise of a wonderful dinner that you have let the smells waft through the house tell him how you feel. He loves you and needs a head up. That's  what you need to do. Keeping quiet is not going to help and will end up with you growing angrier til an all out fight ensues. Tell him now,
Kades


----------



## taxlady

kadesma said:


> Sit him down and with the promise of a wonderful dinner that you have let the smells waft through the house tell him how you feel. He loves you and needs a head up. That's  what you need to do. Keeping quiet is not going to help and will end up with you growing angrier til an all out fight ensues. Tell him now,
> Kades


+1


----------



## Somebunny

Not to make light of Alix's vent.....but I thought your post was hilarious Vitauta.  No explanation needed for me ;-).   I quite often think I am "funny", when others do not.....  :-(


----------



## Dawgluver

Somebunny said:
			
		

> Not to make light of Alix's vent.....but I thought your post was hilarious Vitauta.  No explanation needed for me ;-).   I quite often think I am "funny", when others do not.....  :-(



No worries, I think you're both funny!  As am I!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I am funny...don't know about you folks...


----------



## Somebunny

Lol!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Those usually appear on the older ones, don't they?


 
 Hey watch it buster. I resemble that remark. I try to deep it a secret!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Those usually appear on the older ones, don't they?



They are the ones I save for Sunday...


----------



## kadesma

Dawgluver said:


> Why is it the weekend days never last as long as the work days?  Where did today go?


I hate this time of day on Sunday. Makes me want to cry, the babies each gave me a kiss and I love you Ma. which meakes it worse. I have already started to dred my 3 hours in dialysis tomorrow. Yuk where did the weekend go?
kades


----------



## kadesma

Barbara L said:


> I'm a grandma, and I'm with you!





taxlady said:


> I'm not a grandma, but I'm with you kadesma.


Thanks both of you. My s-i-l said the little guy is fine, he went to see him later yesterday after we all settled down. He was resting was able to eat a little and said to say thanks you for the care I gave him.
kades


----------



## Alix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They are the ones I save for Sunday...



Holey are they? 

And vitauta, I am now going to start a venting thread about folks who don't like my thread titles! 

Seriously though, that other thread was intended to be for petty crap, but as I said, many of us have bigger fish to fry. Not to mention, its getting a bit unwieldy as its in the thousands of posts now. Strangely my Celebrations thread and Venting on a Happy Note by Z didn't take off. What does THAT say about us? 

Thanks for letting me air my volleyball vent. She had fun playing, but she didn't win the tourney. After the drama of the morning, I can't say I'm surprised.


----------



## kadesma

Alix said:


> Holey are they?
> 
> And vitauta, I am now going to start a venting thread about folks who don't like my thread titles!
> 
> Seriously though, that other thread was intended to be for petty crap, but as I said, many of us have bigger fish to fry. Not to mention, its getting a bit unwieldy as its in the thousands of posts now. Strangely my Celebrations thread and Venting on a Happy Note by Z didn't take off. What does THAT say about us?
> 
> Thanks for letting me air my volleyball vent. She had fun playing, but she didn't win the tourney. After the drama of the morning, I can't say I'm surprised.


It says  simply we all love you Alix. You're special to all of us.
cj


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Holey are they?




You got it!



Alix said:


> And vitauta, I am now going to start a venting thread about folks who don't like my thread titles!



Like Panty Vents?



Alix said:


> Seriously though, that other thread was intended to be for petty crap, but as I said, many of us have bigger fish to fry. Not to mention, its getting a bit unwieldy as its in the thousands of posts now. Strangely my Celebrations thread and Venting on a Happy Note by Z didn't take off. What does THAT say about us?



It means we know where to go to vent about anything...



Alix said:


> Thanks for letting me air my volleyball vent. She had fun playing, but she didn't win the tourney. After the drama of the morning, I can't say I'm surprised.



But, what did everyone have for breakfast???


----------



## Addie

+2 Sometimes you have to share the bad with the good. Then the good is bound to follow.


----------



## TATTRAT

I was hoping for more panty vents!


----------



## Skittle68

kadesma said:
			
		

> Sit him down and with the promise of a wonderful dinner that you have let the smells waft through the house tell him how you feel. He loves you and needs a head up. That's  what you need to do. Keeping quiet is not going to help and will end up with you growing angrier til an all out fight ensues. Tell him now,
> Kades



Thanks for the good advice, but I have asked him multiple times to keep that sort of thing to himself.  And this time I told him I like seeing it even less than I like talking about it.  He is usually  pretty good at respecting that I have no interest in that topic, but he just couldn't keep this one to himself for some reason..


----------



## Luca Lazzari

TATTRAT said:


> I was hoping for more panty vents!



+1 

And it's monday.
And they just told me that the tables at the wedding dinner I had to go next weekend are rectangular dining tables, not round one.
I hate rectangular dining tables full of people I never met before. I always need to drink too much to become properly sociable.


----------



## Addie

I should be sleeping. I have been up since six o'clock p.m. yesterday. The problem is that during the night I managed to drink 2.5 pots of coffee. I am now wired. I have cleaned the kitchen, polished the counters, vacuumed the main room, changed all the bags in the trash baskets, cleaned the bathroom and several other chores. I am tired and I have laid down and tried to sleep. Not happening. So I will continue to clean until I crash. And then nothing will be able to wake me. Why do I do these things to myself? I don't need an enemy. I am my own enemy. Stupid, stupid me!


----------



## Claire

Addie, I've become convinced in my years that most of us are our own worst enemy, we don't need others!  Left to ourselves, we'll self-destruct if we don't take care!!


----------



## chopper

If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down. Just sayin!


----------



## Kylie1969

Addie said:


> I should be sleeping. I have been up since six o'clock p.m. yesterday. The problem is that during the night I managed to drink 2.5 pots of coffee. I am now wired. I have cleaned the kitchen, polished the counters, vacuumed the main room, changed all the bags in the trash baskets, cleaned the bathroom and several other chores. I am tired and I have laid down and tried to sleep. Not happening. So I will continue to clean until I crash. And then nothing will be able to wake me. Why do I do these things to myself? I don't need an enemy. I am my own enemy. Stupid, stupid me!



Wow, you have been busy..want to come and clean my house next 

Seriously though Addie, it is a shame you cant sleep, maybe try some decaf coffee


----------



## Addie

Kylie1969 said:


> Wow, you have been busy..want to come and clean my house next
> 
> Seriously though Addie, it is a shame you cant sleep, maybe try some decaf coffee


 
I am on my way. Put the coffee pot on. Up all night last night also. I have my days and nights mixed up. But then I am not planning on going anywhere, so it doesn't really matter.


----------



## Skittle68

chopper said:
			
		

> If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down. Just sayin!



+1 lol


----------



## LPBeier

I know there are other people's vents here that I need to acknowledge and reply too but first I need to get mine out.

I am on day 11 of a migraine and I am not in a happy place.  I have made sure I have stayed away from my triggers, the medications and dyes I had for the heart tests will be out of my system by now and I am using heating pads, warm cloths on my forehead, breathing techniques, lots of naps, staying out of the heat outside, removing stressors - everything I can think of that has ever worked in the past.  

I have a ton of stuff to do and to be very honest I am really tired of health problems.  My life is finally settling down into something I like and I don't want to have to deal with my health.

It actually isn't a migraine at the moment, but is still a very severe pounding headache and I feel it wanting to upgrade. 

There, that's better.  Thanks for listening.


----------



## taxlady

(((Gentle hugs Laurie))) I hope that nasty headache goes away soon.


----------



## Sprout

I know I'm several days late, but I wanted to thank everyone for your comments and stories after my post last week. I got some good laughs reading them.  
Laurie, I hope your head feels better soon!


----------



## kadesma

LPBeier said:


> I know there are other people's vents here that I need to acknowledge and reply too but first I need to get mine out.
> 
> I am on day 11 of a migraine and I am not in a happy place.  I have made sure I have stayed away from my triggers, the medications and dyes I had for the heart tests will be out of my system by now and I am using heating pads, warm cloths on my forehead, breathing techniques, lots of naps, staying out of the heat outside, removing stressors - everything I can think of that has ever worked in the past.
> 
> I have a ton of stuff to do and to be very honest I am really tired of health problems.  My life is finally settling down into something I like and I don't want to have to deal with my health.
> 
> It actually isn't a migraine at the moment, but is still a very severe pounding headache and I feel it wanting to upgrade.
> 
> There, that's better.  Thanks for listening.


 Laurie sweetiee, have you tried a cold rag soaked in vinegar, I understand that helps sometimes. I know what help me with the worst migrane of my life but I'd rather not say here as many would roll their eyes about it. so I'll Pm you now.
ma


----------



## Kylie1969

Coffee pot is on Ads 

I hope you manage to get a good sleep tonight


----------



## Addie

Kylie1969 said:


> Coffee pot is on Ads
> 
> I hope you manage to get a good sleep tonight


 
Actually, I did, thank you. I fell asleep at the computer. I woke up when my head hit the keyboard. So I went to bed and slept right through.


----------



## Andy M.

We buy french toast bread.  It's pre-flavored with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  SO then adds more stuff and makes french toast with it.  Delicious.  She cooks up a loaf at a time and freezes the cooked french toast in twos.  Then we can just nuke it and add syrup.

Well, this morning I took out two slices and nuked them.  Then I mixed some frozen blueberries with maple syrup and nuked that.  Combined them and dug in.  YUCCH!

She had made some low carb french toast with her lo carb bread and NO SUGAR.  It really sucked so bad I didn't eat it.  Now this is a two-pronged problem.  First, I don't have the breakfast I wanted.  Second, SO will be "miffed" that I ate her low carb bread.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> We buy french toast bread. It's pre-flavored with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. SO then adds more stuff and makes french toast with it. Delicious. She cooks up a loaf at a time and freezes the cooked french toast in twos. Then we can just nuke it and add syrup.
> 
> Well, this morning I took out two slices and nuked them. Then I mixed some frozen blueberries with maple syrup and nuked that. Combined them and dug in. YUCCH!
> 
> She had made some low carb french toast with her lo carb bread and NO SUGAR. It really sucked so bad I didn't eat it. Now this is a two-pronged problem. First, I don't have the breakfast I wanted. Second, SO will be "miffed" that I ate her low carb bread.


 

You were preparing it for her as a surprise breakfast.
The cat, dog, bird or other pet ate it. while you weren't watching.
You have no idea. You weren't home at the time.
I like her idea though of preparing it in advance. But doesn't the nuking make the bread soggy and tough? I have never found breaded items to do well in the zapper.


----------



## LPBeier

Addie said:


> You were preparing it for her as a surprise breakfast.
> The cat, dog, bird or other pet ate it. while you weren't watching.
> You have no idea. You weren't home at the time.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...But doesn't the nuking make the bread soggy and tough? I have never found breaded items to do well in the zapper.



You have to be careful when microwaving breads.  Go too long and it's ruined.  Just the right time and it's soft and warm.  After all, it's french toast, it gets covered by hot syrup before you eat it.


----------



## Alix

Oh Andy, that sucks. Damned one way or the other.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> We buy french toast bread.  It's pre-flavored with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  SO then adds more stuff and makes french toast with it.  Delicious.  She cooks up a loaf at a time and freezes the cooked french toast in twos.  Then we can just nuke it and add syrup.
> 
> Well, this morning I took out two slices and nuked them.  Then I mixed some frozen blueberries with maple syrup and nuked that.  Combined them and dug in.  YUCCH!
> 
> She had made some low carb french toast with her lo carb bread and NO SUGAR.  It really sucked so bad I didn't eat it.  Now this is a two-pronged problem.  First, I don't have the breakfast I wanted.  Second, SO will be "miffed" that I ate her low carb bread.



You could offer to give back what you actually ate...course, she'll have to wait a bit.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You could offer to give back what you actually ate...course, she'll have to wait a bit.



I didn't eat it.  She is SOL.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I didn't eat it.  She is SOL.



LOL!  Need an easy way to mark them as Low Carb.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> LOL!  Need an easy way to mark them as Low Carb.



I think she's untrainable.  I don't know how many times I've asked her to label EVERYTHING that goes into the freezer.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I think she's untrainable.  I don't know how many times I've asked her to label EVERYTHING that goes into the freezer.



A hole punch in the plastic should mark it well...


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> A hole punch in the plastic should mark it well...



Yes, I think a punch would work, but it would leave a mark.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Yes, I think a punch would work, but it would leave a mark.



Keep making me laugh and I'll get sick...


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Yes, I think a punch would work, but it would leave a mark.


 
 Oh dear. I am with you on the laughter PF.  Thank you. I needed that laugh.


----------



## Cindercat

When I was a kid, my brother didn't label one if his hunting kills when he put it in the freezer. We ended up eating groundhog (intended for eventual turtle bait) for supper. We raised rabbits for food & Mom thought it was a package of rabbit until she started cooking it. It didn't taste bad - a little greasy. Mom didn't tell us until after supper.


----------



## Barbara L

Cindercat said:


> When I was a kid, my brother didn't label one if his hunting kills when he put it in the freezer. We ended up eating groundhog (intended for eventual turtle bait) for supper. We raised rabbits for food & Mom thought it was a package of rabbit until she started cooking it. It didn't taste bad - a little greasy. Mom didn't tell us until after supper.


My aunt and uncle (he died several years ago--they lived in Missouri) had two huge chest freezers. One was where they kept their food, and the other was where he kept the raccoons that he hunted out of season, until they were in season.


----------



## Cindercat

I called my doctor's office yesterday to have them fax a new script for my thyroid med to Express Scripts. They wouldn't do it until I told them what the dosage was on the bottle. I couldn't remember & didn't have the bottle with me at work. They refused to use the computer sitting in front of them to find the last script they faxed. So I checked the bottle last night. When I called back they were closed. They close at 11:30 AM on Fridays. Now I have to remember to call during the school day Monday before they close. At this rate I'll run out before they fax it. I can't believe I have to tell them the dosage! What if the pharmacy gave me the wrong dose last time? I'd never know. I thought the doctor was responsible for maintaining accurate records & prescribing meds. What would they do if I told them the wrong dosage, order what I said or what their records said? Such a STUPID policy!


----------



## taxlady

Cindercat said:


> I called my doctor's office yesterday to have them fax a new script for my thyroid med to Express Scripts. They wouldn't do it until I told them what the dosage was on the bottle. I couldn't remember & didn't have the bottle with me at work. They refused to use the computer sitting in front of them to find the last script they faxed. So I checked the bottle last night. When I called back they were closed. They close at 11:30 AM on Fridays. Now I have to remember to call during the school day Monday before they close. At this rate I'll run out before they fax it. I can't believe I have to tell them the dosage! What if the pharmacy gave me the wrong dose last time? I'd never know. I thought the doctor was responsible for maintaining accurate records & prescribing meds. What would they do if I told them the wrong dosage, order what I said or what their records said? Such a STUPID policy!


What?! When you wrote that you had to tell them the dosage, early in your post, I thought it sounded dumb. I hadn't even thought about the fact that the first Rx could have been wrong.

Having you tell them the dosage introduces another place for possible error. Unless, they are just verifying against their records that you are asking for the same 'script.


----------



## chopper

Cindercat said:


> I called my doctor's office yesterday to have them fax a new script for my thyroid med to Express Scripts. They wouldn't do it until I told them what the dosage was on the bottle. I couldn't remember & didn't have the bottle with me at work. They refused to use the computer sitting in front of them to find the last script they faxed. So I checked the bottle last night. When I called back they were closed. They close at 11:30 AM on Fridays. Now I have to remember to call during the school day Monday before they close. At this rate I'll run out before they fax it. I can't believe I have to tell them the dosage! What if the pharmacy gave me the wrong dose last time? I'd never know. I thought the doctor was responsible for maintaining accurate records & prescribing meds. What would they do if I told them the wrong dosage, order what I said or what their records said? Such a STUPID policy!


 I forgot to take my throid meds with me when I went to the doctor last.  They asked me what my dosage was, and I told them what I thought it was, but I wasn't sure.  I got a refill not too long after that and realized that it was different from what I was getting before.  I thought it was because of my recent blood test.  Well...as it turns out, I did need an increase, but the increase happened a couple of days before the blood test came back.  I was upset, but the doctor did not seem concerned, and said that the increase was necessary anyway.  I will remember to take along the correct dose from now on.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Medication Lists, folks.  It's important for you to have _with you, at all times_, a list of your medications.  There's nothing worse than trying to remember your meds telling the emergency room nurse what you take as you are experiencing a heart attack!!!

I keep an up to date list on the computer and make several copies, when folded in half they are the size of a credit card.  I print them out on colored paper so they are easy to spot and keep them in my wallet.  Then I can hand folks a copy when they ask and always have a reference.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Medication Lists, folks.  It's important for you to have _with you, at all times_, a list of your medications.  There's nothing worse than trying to remember your meds telling the emergency room nurse what you take as you are experiencing a heart attack!!!
> 
> I keep an up to date list on the computer and make several copies, when folded in half they are the size of a credit card.  I print them out on colored paper so they are easy to spot and keep them in my wallet.  Then I can hand folks a copy when they ask and always have a reference.


I think this is an excellent idea and one I will implement.

But, that doesn't address the issue. I think it is irresponsible for the doctor to rely on the patient's memory for the dosage.

When I call my doctor to have a 'script renewed she asks which medication. She checks my file to see if I need to see her before it is refilled, while I am on the phone.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Medication Lists, folks.  It's important for you to have _with you, at all times_, a list of your medications.  There's nothing worse than trying to remember your meds telling the emergency room nurse what you take as you are experiencing a heart attack!!!
> 
> I keep an up to date list on the computer and make several copies, when folded in half they are the size of a credit card.  I print them out on colored paper so they are easy to spot and keep them in my wallet.  Then I can hand folks a copy when they ask and always have a reference.




I take a bunch of meds and bring a printed list to medical appts.  Leading up to this surgery, I had to repeat the list several times.  Once, in the ortho Dr's office I suggested they get them online.  They did with no problem.  On a registration phone call for the surgery, I had  to list them again.  Then when I got to the hosp., they asked me to list them AGAIN!  I refused so the woman said OK, I have them online.

That is just laziness in my opinion.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I think this is an excellent idea and one I will implement.
> 
> But, that doesn't address the issue. I think it is irresponsible for the doctor to rely on the patient's memory for the dosage.
> 
> When I call my doctor to have a 'script renewed she asks which medication. She checks my file to see if I need to see her before it is refilled, while I am on the phone.



I agree, the doctor's records should be up to date as well, after all they are the ones doing the ordering.  I find CinderCat's and Chopper's experiences deplorable.  All anyone should have to say is the name of the medication, it's up to the MD to order the correct dosage, not the patient to tell them.

I don't expect the Doctor to _know_ I am taking x, but I DO expect them to have it in their records for reference.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cindercat said:
			
		

> I called my doctor's office yesterday to have them fax a new script for my thyroid med to Express Scripts. They wouldn't do it until I told them what the dosage was on the bottle. I couldn't remember & didn't have the bottle with me at work. They refused to use the computer sitting in front of them to find the last script they faxed. So I checked the bottle last night. When I called back they were closed. They close at 11:30 AM on Fridays. Now I have to remember to call during the school day Monday before they close. At this rate I'll run out before they fax it. I can't believe I have to tell them the dosage! What if the pharmacy gave me the wrong dose last time? I'd never know. I thought the doctor was responsible for maintaining accurate records & prescribing meds. What would they do if I told them the wrong dosage, order what I said or what their records said? Such a STUPID policy!



I'm thinking it's a checks and balances thing, to make sure you are who you say you are, and not just trying to get high on someone else's thyroid meds.  But utterly frustrating and stupid nonetheless.

I remember when DH tried to pick up my blood pressure meds for me that I had called in, they wouldn't let him have them, I can't remember why.  I called the pharmacy and complained, and they've been cooperative ever since.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I take a bunch of meds and bring a printed list to medical appts.  Leading up to this surgery, I had to repeat the list several times.  Once, in the ortho Dr's office I suggested they get them online.  They did with no problem.  On a registration phone call for the surgery, I had  to list them again.  Then when I got to the hosp., they asked me to list them AGAIN!  I refused so the woman said OK, I have them online.
> 
> That is just laziness in my opinion.



It is laziness, they have the records and it's not a hardship to look them up.  

I like my pharmacy, they fax the MD and ask for refill orders, I don't have to do that.  If the doc needs to see me I get a call from the nurse to set up an appointment, but my meds are refilled for at least another month.


----------



## Cindercat

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Medication Lists, folks.  It's important for you to have with you, at all times, a list of your medications.  There's nothing worse than trying to remember your meds telling the emergency room nurse what you take as you are experiencing a heart attack!!!
> 
> I keep an up to date list on the computer and make several copies, when folded in half they are the size of a credit card.  I print them out on colored paper so they are easy to spot and keep them in my wallet.  Then I can hand folks a copy when they ask and always have a reference.



Until my phone died a couple weeks ago I had all my meds listed in the notes section under my doctor's name, the pharmacy name & my parent's ICE listing in my phone contacts. This temporary phone doesn't have a notes section. I even had a "medical" grouping in my phone so they would be easy to find. I get a new phone in a couple more weeks so I'll be sure I have a way to keep a list available. I always have my phone - I don't always have my purse.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I'm thinking it's a checks and balances thing, to make sure you are who you say you are, and not just trying to get high on someone else's thyroid meds.  But utterly frustrating and stupid nonetheless.
> 
> I remember when DH tried to pick up my blood pressure meds for me, they wouldn't let him have them, I can't remember why.  I called the pharmacy and complained, and they've been cooperative ever since.


If it were just checks and balances, they wouldn't have given a 'script for the wrong dosage.


----------



## Cindercat

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> I'm thinking it's a checks and balances thing, to make sure you are who you say you are, and not just trying to get high on someone else's thyroid meds.  But utterly frustrating and stupid nonetheless.



There are other things in my file that they could have asked to confirm my identity. DOB, emergency contact, address, phone number, last 4 digits of SS# ...  any of these I'd know easily. Anyone who found an empty prescription bottle would have dosage & address. That's why I try to remove labels from discarded bottles.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cindercat said:
			
		

> There are other things in my file that they could have asked to confirm my identity. DOB, emergency contact, address, phone number, last 4 digits of SS# ...  any of these I'd know easily. Anyone who found an empty prescription bottle would have dosage & address. That's why I try to remove labels from discarded bottles.



True.  Then they're just plain lazy.  I too remove labels, and shred anything with private info.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cindercat said:


> Until my phone died a couple weeks ago I had all my meds listed in the notes section under my doctor's name, the pharmacy name & my parent's ICE listing in my phone contacts. This temporary phone doesn't have a notes section. I even had a "medical" grouping in my phone so they would be easy to find. I get a new phone in a couple more weeks so I'll be sure I have a way to keep a list available. I always have my phone - I don't always have my purse.



Do you drive without your driver's license?  I always have my wallet, if not a purse.  The small copies of meds are easy to stash in a wallet.  And as you have discovered, sometimes something goes awry with a phone.  Paper Rules!


----------



## Cindercat

I often stash my purse in the van when shopping and carry driver's license, credit cards, insurance cards & a $20 bill in a thin card carrier in my pocket. There isn't much of value left in my purse - brush, pens, receipts, cough drops, etc. As much other junk as there is in my van, it's easy to bury the purse out of sight. I carry my phone in a holster on my waistband.


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Medication Lists, folks.  It's important for you to have with you, at all times, a list of your medications.  There's nothing worse than trying to remember your meds telling the emergency room nurse what you take as you are experiencing a heart attack!!!
> 
> I keep an up to date list on the computer and make several copies, when folded in half they are the size of a credit card.  I print them out on colored paper so they are easy to spot and keep them in my wallet.  Then I can hand folks a copy when they ask and always have a reference.



I'm so new to this PF. So I should carry it with me?  I have never had to take prescription medicine before this. I have been on medicine for my under-active thyroid for about four months now. I guess it is not really a list. Just one medicine. Would you write it on a card to carry in my wallet?  I know people who take all kinds of things, and they have a big long list. I am lucky to just have the one I guess.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> I'm so new to this PF. So I should carry it with me?  I have never had to take prescription medicine before this. I have been on medicine for my under-active thyroid for about four months now. I guess it is not really a list. Just one medicine. Would you write it on a card to carry in my wallet?  I know people who take all kinds of things, and they have a big long list. I am lucky to just have the one I guess.



Yes, I would just write it on a card, your dosage and who your doctor is.  Also any allergies you have.  Trim the card to fit in a credit card slot in your wallet.  Then you always have it with you when you leave the house.

While thyroid medicine is not as life and death as some heart medications, it's still a good habit to get into.  Some medications are important for emergency personnel to know about.

I have over nine medications, it's much easier for me to hand over a copy of my list than it is to remember my meds and dosages...And Shrek's meds and all the meds my patients take.  By the end of the day, it's hard for me to remember just what it is I take


----------



## chopper

Thanks PF. I just put it into my wallet. I guess it's a good habit to get into in case I have more meds in the future. Mom was on over 20 at a time. I hope I never get to that point. So far I have been fairly healthy.


----------



## Dawgluver

I  laugh when I renew my BP meds at the drivein med renewal.  They always ask, "Is that the only prescription you need?". I tell them that one is enough.  

Apparently, when you go beyond 50 years old, you're supposed to have more than one script.


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> I  laugh when I renew my BP meds at the drivein med renewal.  They always ask, "Is that the only prescription you need?". I tell them that one is enough.
> 
> Apparently, when you go beyond 50 years old, you're supposed to have more than one script.




Some people are just slackers.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Some people are just slackers.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I  laugh when I renew my BP meds at the drivein med renewal.  They always ask, "Is that the only prescription you need?". I tell them that one is enough.
> 
> Apparently, when you go beyond 50 years old, you're supposed to have more than one script.



I wish I was back in the day when I only needed one... 

I just found out I used up all my Flex Account already.  At least it got me through most of the year.


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> I  laugh when I renew my BP meds at the drivein med renewal.  They always ask, "Is that the only prescription you need?". I tell them that one is enough.
> 
> Apparently, when you go beyond 50 years old, you're supposed to have more than one script.



I'm good with one. Actually I was happy to have none, but hypothyroidism really runs in my family so it was just a matter of time.


----------



## Kylie1969

Dawgluver said:


> Apparently, when you go beyond 50 years old, you're supposed to have more than one script.



I have always said to mum, gee how many tablets do you take daily 

Mum has lots of scripts...I myself now have about 3


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Medication Lists, folks. It's important for you to have _with you, at all times_, a list of your medications. There's nothing worse than trying to remember your meds telling the emergency room nurse what you take as you are experiencing a heart attack!!!
> 
> I keep an up to date list on the computer and make several copies, when folded in half they are the size of a credit card. I print them out on colored paper so they are easy to spot and keep them in my wallet. Then I can hand folks a copy when they ask and always have a reference.


 
So true PF. I take 14 different meds daily. Some of them twice. I keep the weekly updated list right beside my bed. Every time I have had to call 911, they ask what meds I am on. I just point to the list. They take it with them to the hospital and give it to them. That list has a lot of information on it. I am so glad Winthrop provides that for me. I also take it with me when I am going to a new doctor. The paper work always asks you to list your meds. I just attached the list to it. Can you imagine my trying to list them with their medical names during a heart attack? Some of my meds are taken daily and some PRN such as the nitro. Some are delivered on a weekly basis and some on a monthly. There is no way I could remember all of this in the time of a heart attack. I can't even remember it when I am fine and just trying to remember to take them on a daily basis.


----------



## PattY1

My petty vents are:



   Some people refuse to use it!

Who wants to read, so&so, your meal looks good. 
Thank you.
So &So # 2, your meal looks good.
Thank you.
So&so #3, your meal looks good.
Thank you. 
ect...............

People who reply to each post individually as if this is their private forum.


----------



## vitauta

what?  there's a wrong way to say thank you now?


----------



## PattY1

vitauta said:


> what?  there's a wrong way to say thank you now?




  We have a button for that now that people don't use.


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> what? there's a wrong way to say thank you now?


 
I am lost on this one also.


----------



## Andy M.

Just scroll right past them.  That's what I do.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wish I was back in the day when I only needed one...
> 
> I just found out I used up all my Flex Account already.  At least it got me through most of the year.


ONE  you all must be kidding ONE, ONE
ma


----------



## taxlady

PattY1 said:


> My petty vents are:
> 
> 
> 
> Some people refuse to use it!
> 
> Who wants to read, so&so, your meal looks good.
> Thank you.
> So &So # 2, your meal looks good.
> Thank you.
> So&so #3, your meal looks good.
> Thank you.
> ect...............
> 
> People who reply to each post individually as if this is their private forum.


I'm not sure if the "Thanks" link is the right approach.

But I hear ya. One day I had 32 email notifications about one person posting that kind of message.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> ONE  you all must be kidding ONE, ONE
> ma



It's up to nine...I'm hoping to cut out a couple in a few weeks.


----------



## LPBeier

kadesma said:


> ONE  you all must be kidding ONE, ONE
> ma



I am with you ma!  I just had one taken away.....and three added!


----------



## Zhizara

I don't use the "Thanks" button.  I like to say my thanks in public, and do it in my next post.

People love being complimented on their dishes.  It makes them feel good.


----------



## Addie

kadesma said:


> ONE you all must be kidding ONE, ONE
> ma


 

If only I were. I have several meds that are PRN. All total, I have 24 medicines that are on my list. When printed out, it takes 2.5 pages of 8.5 x 11 inch paper.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I don't use the "Thanks" button. I like to say my thanks in public, and do it in my next post.
> 
> People love being complimented on their dishes. It makes them feel good.


 
And when thanked in public, it is something the recipient secretly enjoys. It is nice to get public acclaim for ones accomplishments.


----------



## LPBeier

Zhizara said:


> I don't use the "Thanks" button.  I like to say my thanks in public, and do it in my next post.
> 
> People love being complimented on their dishes.  It makes them feel good.


I use the "thanks" button, but not for a simple "thank you".  I do those publicly.  I use the button when I have something I want to say that doesn't warrant a whole Private Message, but I don't want the world to see.  And I use it quite regularly.


----------



## Alix

Hey now all, this is about petty vents. We don't all have to agree with the vent, but everyone should get to say what bugs them. 

What bugs me one day might be meaningless the next. 

I tend to use the Thanks button much the same way LP does. I don't necessarily want to send a full PM, but to just acknowledge the post in some way. Sometimes I'd rather not declare things publicly either. 

My own petty little vent for the day is my bird feeder. I just filled it and there is a broken bit on the top where the lid latches on. If I don't latch it EXACTLY right, it falls open dumping birdseed everywhere. Well, I guess I didn't have enough coffee this morning cuz I didn't latch it and the blue jays knocked that sucker flying. BAH!

My other vent is I found out what was munching my tomatoes. A mouse. Bold little bugger was on the wall of the house in plain view of all of us! Well, the traps are now out and I have the noise things out too. Hope that works. I'm sick of finding half eaten tomatoes on the vine!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> My other vent is I found out what was munching my tomatoes. A mouse. Bold little bugger was on the wall of the house in plain view of all of us! Well, the traps are now out and I have the noise things out too. Hope that works. I'm sick of finding half eaten tomatoes on the vine!



The little brat should have the courtesy to finish the tomato he started


----------



## Dawgluver

Indeed!

We have a fairly new French door fridge.  The other day I lifted the meat/cheese door, and one side of the plastic part holding it on snapped right off.  Super Glue did not work.  The door is now useless, and is probably irrepairable.  Or if it could be fixed, probably ridiculously expensive.  Grrrrrr.

The plastic part with a normal size pear:


----------



## LPBeier

My petty vent is that each new doctor I see for one thing wants me to get off a medication prescribed by another doctor and/or put me on something new that reacts.  Right now I am off my diuretic because my ENT says that it is part of my throat problem (make saliva thick).  My throat is no better and the fluid in me is triggering my pain.  I found an herbal one, but it doesn't work as well.

I really don't want to be on ANY of these pills, but I also have to be able to function!

This falls under the petty category because as soon as either I go back on it or get the herbal working better, I will feel better and forget that I was mad about it!


----------



## tinlizzie

I have a bird feeder petty vent, too.  Yesterday while filling it, I noticed a little beaten-down path leading from the fence, through the grass to where the seed falls onto the ground.  Looks like some little varmint is creeping in at night and getting fat on the bird seed.  I have my suspicions as to what it is, and I think it's bigger than Robert Burns's 'wee sleekit tim'rous cow'rin beastie.'  I moved the feeder to the other side of the yard and hope that works.  If not, I must decide whether or not to keep feeding the birds.  Rats! if you'll pardon the expression.


----------



## Addie

If I could bend over backwards, I would kick myself from here to where ever. I was talking to my girlfriend in Atlanta last night. It seems her ex-husband who is up here for treatment for his cancer is in the hospital and has had surgery. He and his present wife has been staying at the Hope Lodge run by the American Cancer Society. Since he is going to be in there for a while, they want the room for another patient. So she must find a hotel/motel room to stay in. She found one about 20 miles outside of Boston. Way too far. So big mouth here offered to help her find an inexpensive place to stay that is much closer. What have I done. Oh well, I will just have to bite the bullet and do my best. Just know that you are now friends with a total idiot who doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut.


----------



## Alix

Effing mouse got more tomatoes! ARGH!


----------



## Addie

Alix do you have other animals that live on the property? If not, try surrounding the garden with moth balls.


----------



## Alix

Dog and two cats here Addie. Good thought though.


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> Dog and two cats here Addie. Good thought though.


 
You could also go to a sports good store and get skunk oil or some other animal urine to spread around. Fox, or any animal that is meant to hunt vermin.


----------



## Andy M.

Cut myself shaving left-handed this morning.  Showering is a laugh riot.  I've found I can dry off by laying in bed and turning the ceiling fan to 'high'.  It's faster to let SO help.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Cut myself shaving left-handed this morning.  Showering is a laugh riot.  I've found I can dry off by laying in bed and turning the ceiling fan to 'high'.  It's faster to let SO help.



Seems you need an electric shaver while you are incapacitated.  No helpful hints aside from letting SO help.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Cut myself shaving left-handed this morning.  Showering is a laugh riot.  I've found I can dry off by laying in bed and turning the ceiling fan to 'high'.  It's faster to let SO help.


Time for an electric razor. 

Hope your arm gets better soon and lets you get on with your life without having to hop through hoops to do everyday stuff.


----------



## Andy M.

I hate electric shavers.  I'd rather risk cutting myself.  Besides I only shave a couple of times a week.

SO has been helping a lot.  She tries to act tough but it's a lie.  The morning after the surgery, she announced I had 24 hours of her being nice to me then the pity party would be over.  I have to fight her off so I can do stuff myself.  I remind her I still have one good arm.  I try to save her for the stuff that's really a bother to do myself.


----------



## Alix

I remember when I wrecked the elbow on my dominant arm it took me a while to figure out how to use my other hand to use the TP! Don't let SO help you with THAT Andy! Brushing teeth was tough with a non dominant hand as well. Doing up my jeans, putting on socks...the list was endless. 

Wishing you a speedy recovery my friend. I sympathize and wish I could help in some way other than listening to your vents. Gentle hug Andy.


----------



## Andy M.

Thanks Alex using the TP was the first thing I practiced left-handed.  Brushing my teeth is easier because I use an electric toothbrush so all I really have to do is kind of point it in the right direction.

Truth be told, most of the stuff is doable left-handed, it just takes longer and it's kind of frustrating because it's something you don't even think about the rest of the time.  

... And trust me there's no way I could've gotten SO to help me with the TP. She already told me should be happy to throw out my underwear buy me new ones.


----------



## chopper

One nice thing Andy; using your non-dominant hand to do things such as brushing your teeth or shaving in the morning is a good brain exercise. I try to use my left hand to brush my teeth at least three times a week. I guess if I ever loose the use of my right arm I will be ready for the challenge.    Let's hope I don't. I hope you are able to use your arm again soon.


----------



## Addie

It helps to be ambidextrous. Which I am. I started out as a lefty. But I started school when they wouldn't let you be left handed. So there are so many things I can do with both hands. My youngest son is also ambidextrous.


----------



## Merlot

Andy M. said:


> Thanks Alex using the TP was the first thing I practiced left-handed. Brushing my teeth is easier because I use an electric toothbrush so all I really have to do is kind of point it in the right direction.
> 
> Truth be told, most of the stuff is doable left-handed, it just takes longer and it's kind of frustrating because it's something you don't even think about the rest of the time.
> 
> ... And trust me there's no way I could've gotten SO to help me with the TP. She already told me should be happy to throw out my underwear buy me new ones.


 
So as you all know I am a therapist. When I was doing my training at a rehab center my supervisor was born without arms. She did everything with her feet. She wasnt one to hear any excuses about why you couldnt do something. One day another student had a patient with two broken arms and the patient asked for them to clean her after toileting. The student told me that the supervisor wouldnt let her help that she made her place TP on the toilet seat and have the patient scoot across it. 

and now for my own little vent. I have had a appt to get my tooth extracted for months (they are scheduled really full, hard to get in)  and of course my child got sick today with a fever of 102 atm and I now need to take him to the DR tomorrow. I might be able to do both but of course he comes first so if it comes down to it I will need to reschedule my poor tooth again! I also had Wednesday off and if I was up for it, was going to have my hair done.. it's been put off for a couple of months now. A mothers job never ends! (I wouldnt trade it for the world but I also want to cry!)


----------



## CWS4322

Andy M. said:


> Thanks Alex using the TP was the first thing I practiced left-handed.  Brushing my teeth is easier because I use an electric toothbrush so all I really have to do is kind of point it in the right direction.
> 
> Truth be told, most of the stuff is doable left-handed, it just takes longer and it's kind of frustrating because it's something you don't even think about the rest of the time.
> 
> ... And trust me there's no way I could've gotten SO to help me with the TP. She already told me should be happy to throw out my underwear buy me new ones.


Fortunately, it is only temporary (inconvenient, but temporary). Glad the surgery went well and by the time you master using your left hand, you'll be in PT and on your way to using your right hand again.

 Ten percent of the population is left-handed. Most things are geared for righties. I have a bitch of a time using can openers and veggie peelers, to name a couple of tools that I find annoyingly right-handed--I can use the ones I have, but I can't use other ones! Since Rocky attacked me, I've been having to use my right hand more often to do things I normally do as the lefty I am. One can learn--fortunately, I can still handle TP with my left hand. What I can't do is open jars/bottles or close ziplock bags. I find that so frustrating.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Thanks Alex using the TP was the first thing I practiced left-handed.  Brushing my teeth is easier because I use an electric toothbrush so all I really have to do is kind of point it in the right direction.
> 
> Truth be told, most of the stuff is doable left-handed, it just takes longer and it's kind of frustrating because it's something you don't even think about the rest of the time.
> 
> ... And trust me there's no way I could've gotten SO to help me with the TP. She already told me should be happy to throw out my underwear buy me new ones.



While Shrek was in the hospital, he would hold all day until I got there.  He couldn't bring himself to ask the aides for help...I guess the honeymoon is over


----------



## LPBeier

Addie said:


> It helps to be ambidextrous. Which I am. I started out as a lefty. But I started school when they wouldn't let you be left handed. So there are so many things I can do with both hands. My youngest son is also ambidextrous.



That's exactly what happened to me, Addie!  My grade three teacher used to slap my wrist with a ruler if I wrote with my left hand (she knew I could use the right, but I would naturally use my left).  Now a days I can use my left hand for everything....except writing and I write like you would left-handed.  

My right hand is actually my less dominant hand which messes people up when they see me write and then do something normal with my left.


----------



## Cindercat

I am somewhat ambidextrous. There are some things I do left handed without thinking. I take the keys out of the ignition right handed but by the time I get to the front door, usually with my left hand full of bags, my keys have found their way into my left pocket. I have to put everything down because I can't reach them. :aggravation:
At school I practice writing left handed. I can also write upside down & backwards in cursive. I did that once for a journal in high school. Teacher never mentioned it.


----------



## LPBeier

I have the same key problem, Cindercat. 

I have to cane with my left hand because my bad leg is the right.  But I end up the other way around because I want to open doors, carry things, etc. with my left.


----------



## tinlizzie

I'm not sure what it indicates about me, but I write left-handed and do everything else with my right hand.  One older brother is left-hand only and has always had to argue with can openers, etc.; the other older brother is right hand only.  ???


----------



## Addie

LPBeier said:


> That's exactly what happened to me, Addie! My grade three teacher used to slap my wrist with a ruler if I wrote with my left hand (she knew I could use the right, but I would naturally use my left). Now a days I can use my left hand for everything....except writing and I write like you would left-handed.
> 
> My right hand is actually my less dominant hand which messes people up when they see me write and then do something normal with my left.


 
When my son was small, I handed everything to him in his right hand. He would take a mouthful of food with the right and immediately switch to the left. I never made a fuss about it. I just let him be what he was. But I did continue to hand him things in his right. I did that until he was about nine or ten. Now he is totally ambidextrous. And for him, that is a good thing when he is operating on a patient. The only time he has a  problem is if he has a left handed nurse handing him instruments. He is so used to reaching toward her right hand. One day he actually thanked me for making him ambi.  I didn't think he was even aware of what I was doing.


----------



## Andy M.

tinlizzie said:


> I'm not sure what it indicates about me, but I write left-handed and do everything else with my right hand.  One older brother is left-hand only and has always had to argue with can openers, etc.; the other older brother is right hand only.  ???




Interesting.  I do everything right-handed except sports stuff such as throwing batting, golfing, which I do left-handed.


----------



## Alix

I'm tired of coming home to a bunch of little messes. All very innocent and all really understandable, but I'm tired of it. Dishes in the sink when the dishwasher is half empty, a load of laundry that didn't get switched to the dryer so needs to be rewashed. Simple little things but I feel like everyone's clean up crew. BAH.


----------



## Andy M.

Fios is installed now and we have to learn all new channel lineups and menus to get things done.  Humbug.

On the bright side, with one DVR and three other boxes, we can record shows on the DVR and watch these recordings on any of the TVs.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Fios is installed now and we have to learn all new channel lineups and menus to get things done.  Humbug.
> 
> On the bright side, with one DVR and three other boxes, we can record shows on the DVR and watch these recordings on any of the TVs.


So is Fios, just television? Or is it blindingly fast internet too?


----------



## Andy M.

It's a combination of television Internet and telephone service as well


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> It's a combination of television Internet and telephone service as well


That's what the phone company here wants me to get. Does it improve the internet service? I don't really want to switch ISP, because the one I have gives me a fixed IP address, which is essential if you want to host your own websites


----------



## Aunt Bea

Alix said:


> I'm tired of coming home to a bunch of little messes. All very innocent and all really understandable, but I'm tired of it. Dishes in the sink when the dishwasher is half empty, a load of laundry that didn't get switched to the dryer so needs to be rewashed. Simple little things but I feel like everyone's clean up crew. BAH.



Maybe it is time to take a page from the rest of the family!

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Take care of the things that bother you and leave the rest!

If everything bothers you put an advertisement on Craigslist for a new family!


----------



## tinlizzie

Andy M. said:


> Interesting. I do everything right-handed except sports stuff such as throwing batting, golfing, which I do left-handed.


 
Makes me wonder what would happen if we were in a 3-legged race.  Now, that's being entirely facetious -- I've never even been in a 3-legged race, and don't get any ideas 'cause I'm too old to start now.


----------



## Alix

Aunt Bea said:


> Maybe it is time to take a page from the rest of the family!
> 
> Don't sweat the small stuff.
> 
> Take care of the things that bother you and leave the rest!
> 
> If everything bothers you put an advertisement on Craigslist for a new family!



I'm doing the next best thing. I'm heading out of town for the weekend to hang out with my sisters!


----------



## Andy M.

tinlizzie said:


> ...Now, that's being entirely facetious -- I've never even been in a 3-legged race, and don't get any ideas 'cause I'm too old to start now.




You and me both I'm out of breath just thinking about it!


----------



## Merlot

Alix said:


> I'm tired of coming home to a bunch of little messes. All very innocent and all really understandable, but I'm tired of it. Dishes in the sink when the dishwasher is half empty, a load of laundry that didn't get switched to the dryer so needs to be rewashed. Simple little things but I feel like everyone's clean up crew. BAH.


 
You mean people are supposed to help me?


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Interesting. I do everything right-handed except sports stuff such as throwing batting, golfing, which I do left-handed.


 
Reminds me of buckytom. I miss his stories about him and his son. I wish he would come back. Even for a short while.


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> I'm tired of coming home to a bunch of little messes. All very innocent and all really understandable, but I'm tired of it. Dishes in the sink when the dishwasher is half empty, a load of laundry that didn't get switched to the dryer so needs to be rewashed. Simple little things but I feel like everyone's clean up crew. BAH.


 
When my kids were small, I went through a period of that. I got so fed up, I would interrupt whatever they were doing and make them come and clean up what they left behind for me. I would even call them in from playing. It took about a week, but they finally got the message. No more school books left in the middle of the floor, no dirty dishes left on the table, etc. 

My oldest daughter was the slowest one to get the message. Then one day she had a pile of dirty laundry sitting in the middle of her room waiting to go to the laundry room. She was sitting out on the front steps with her friends. She was about 12 at the time. I picked up the dirty laundry and went out and dumped it on her head. Some of it fell on her friends. I got a lot of "I hate you" and  in return I got a lot less work.


----------



## taxlady

My microwave misbehaved. I was just melting butter in an oven safe, glass ramekin, like I have done lots of times. It made funny noises, so I looked.  The whole inside was lit up and flashing. I checked to see if there was any foil or other metal somehow in the microwave. There wasn't.

I don't want a new microwave. I don't want to figure out how to use it by hitting "baked potato, baked potato, popcorn". Stirling forgot and used it. It was fine. I can't say I'm that surprised that the microwave might be on its last legs. It's 23 years old.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> My microwave misbehaved. I was just melting butter in an oven safe, glass ramekin, like I have done lots of times. It made funny noises, so I looked.  The whole inside was lit up and flashing. I checked to see if there was any foil or other metal somehow in the microwave. There wasn't.
> 
> I don't want a new microwave. I don't want to figure out how to use it by hitting "baked potato, baked potato, popcorn". Stirling forgot and used it. It was fine. I can't say I'm that surprised that the microwave might be on its last legs. It's 23 years old.


 
I have had mine for four years now and I still don't know how to use the shortcuts.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I have had mine for four years now and I still don't know how to use the shortcuts.


Shortcuts are fine. I just don't like the modern microwaves that seem to only have shortcuts.


----------



## taxlady

You have no idea how POed I am to have someone leave their dog's poop on my lawn.

My condo has lots of common areas with grass and trees. The new condos across the street don't have pretty areas. The people who live in the new condos like to walk their dogs in my condo. Why can't they at least scoop up their dog messes? That's standard behaviour nowadays.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> You have no idea how POed I am to have someone leave their dog's poop on my lawn.
> 
> My condo has lots of common areas with grass and trees. The new condos across the street don't have pretty areas. The people who live in the new condos like to walk their dogs in my condo. Why can't they at least scoop up their dog messes? That's standard behaviour nowadays.



Have your management company contact theirs and have them send out a general notice.   

If that doesn't work, collect all the poop, put it in a brown paper bag, place it on their front doorstep and set it on fire.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Have your management company contact theirs and have them send out a general notice.
> 
> If that doesn't work, collect all the poop, put it in a brown paper bag, place it on their front doorstep and set it on fire.


But I don't know which of the new condos these people live in. Across the street used to be a field and some woods. Now there are 15 or so new condos. I miss the field and the little woods.

Good idea to have the condo board send a letter to their condo board.


----------



## Andy M.

I guess you could walk your dogs on their condo property...


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I guess you could walk your dogs on their condo property...


That would be boring and I don't have a dog.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> That would be boring and I don't have a dog.



You could take the cat for a drag...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You could take the cat for a drag...




I've tried. He panics and then he can squirm out of a tight harness.  Besides, I'm pretty sure Shreddy would have good enough manners not to poop on someone's lawn.


----------



## Addie

Okay. My petty vent concerns this site. Why is it that when you click on one thread, it goes right to the last page and on other threads you get page one and have to click on the last page. Annoying to say the least. Why can't all the threads be the same?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Okay. My petty vent concerns this site. Why is it that when you click on one thread, it goes right to the last page and on other threads you get page one and have to click on the last page. Annoying to say the least. Why can't all the threads be the same?



Just seeing if you are paying attention...

I don't know why it does that, makes me crazy, too!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just seeing if you are paying attention...
> 
> I don't know why it does that, makes me crazy, too!


 
Glad to see I am not the only one. I was beginning to think I was being icky picky.


----------



## Zhizara

If you click on the little green button to the left of the title it will take you to the most recent post that you have not read.

If you click on the title itself, it will take you to the very first post.


----------



## tinlizzie

Zhizara said:


> If you click on the little green button to the left of the title it will take you to the most recent post that you have not read.
> 
> If you click on the title itself, it will take you to the very first post.


 
Well, gol-l-l-e-e-e-e, Z.  You have enlightened three posters with this tip, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more than 3.  Whadaya know?  Thank you.


----------



## Zhizara

You're very welcome.  Someone had to tell me too in the beginning.


----------



## tinlizzie

Wait a tick, Z.  I just tried putting my mouse arrow on the little green button/box to the left of a subject thread.  Nada.  Zilch.  I get the thread by clicking on the title (taking me back to the first post), but not on just the green box.  Please clue me in -- are we talking about the listings on the right hand side of the page?  Or just where?  TIA.

Signed, 
Puzzled


----------



## Zhizara

The green box is to the left of the thread title.


----------



## tinlizzie

tinlizzie said:


> Wait a tick, Z. _I just tried putting my mouse arrow on the little green button/box to the left of a subject thread. Nada. Zilch._ I get the thread by clicking on the title (taking me back to the first post), but not on just the green box. Please clue me in -- are we talking about the listings on the right hand side of the page? Or just where? TIA.
> 
> Signed,
> Puzzled


 
At the risk of repeating.... I still get nothing by clicking on the green box beside the name of the thread.  Help.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> At the risk of repeating.... I still get nothing by clicking on the green box beside the name of the thread.  Help.


You click the thread title and when you get to the top of the thread, there will be a green box for "first unread".


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> At the risk of repeating.... I still get nothing by clicking on the green box beside the name of the thread.  Help.




The button in front of the title:


----------



## taxlady

And once you are in a thread:


----------



## Merlot

Zhizara said:


> If you click on the little green button to the left of the title it will take you to the most recent post that you have not read.
> 
> If you click on the title itself, it will take you to the very first post.


 
 Off to try it!!


----------



## tinlizzie

Aha.  The light dawns.     Muchas gracias, oh patient ones.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> Aha. The light dawns.  Muchas gracias, oh patient ones.


 
The Little Grasshopper has learned her lesson for the day.


----------



## JoAnn L.

I am venting because my hay fever started today. And because all the flowers have been eaten off of my mums. What the heck eats those?


----------



## Dawgluver

JoAnn L. said:
			
		

> I am venting because my hay fever started today. And because all the flowers have been eaten off of my mums. What the heck eats those?



So sorry, JoAnn.  

I would think the usual mum-eating suspects would be deer or bunnies.  Woodchucks/groundhogs are a possibility as well.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh good gravy, DH reported the upstairs TV remote was missing, he's tearing the bedroom apart, and demanding that I come look for it.  I'm in the middle of trying to repair the downstairs printer, and had already addressed a bunch of other issues of DH's making.  Held my ground, as I did not misplace the upstairs remote, I was not going to look for it, as I did not lose it.

Hmm.   SOMEBODY left the upstairs remote on the desk DOWNSTAIRS.  Wonder who could have done that?


----------



## MrsLMB

LOL  boy can I relate that that !!!  

Sorry to laugh but it just sounds so much like our house anymore.  Usually he can't find the living room remote .. and somehow I am the one who needs to come find it.  Funny how I always find it in his chair cushion ... wonder how it got there???

Men and their remotes !!!!!


----------



## taxlady

Too bad you can't make the remote beep, the way you can phone a misplaced telephone.


----------



## Somebunny

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> Oh good gravy, DH reported the upstairs TV remote was missing, he's tearing the bedroom apart, and demanding that I come look for it.  I'm in the middle of trying to repair the downstairs printer, and had already addressed a bunch of other issues of DH's making.  Held my ground, as I did not misplace the upstairs remote, I was not going to look for it, as I did not lose it.
> 
> Hmm.   SOMEBODY left the upstairs remote on the desk DOWNSTAIRS.  Wonder who could have done that?



Oh I sympathize Dawg..... I am often asked where the phone is????? Although I rarely use the phone and there are......count 'em....4 in this house and one in the shop!  DH uses the phone to talk to his sibs or his BFF every weekend.  I mostly use my cell phone.  They sure can be Grumpy Bears!


----------



## Dawgluver

Heh.  I am usually the Finder of Things.  Nice to have a few fellow Finders!  

DH can be trained, said no one recently.....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Heh.  I am usually the Finder of Things.  Nice to have a few fellow Finders!
> 
> DH can be trained, said no one recently.....



I'm the Spooky Finder...I know where Shrek puts things when I didn't even see him put it down...gives him the creeps.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Oh good gravy, DH reported the upstairs TV remote was missing, he's tearing the bedroom apart, and demanding that I come look for it. I'm in the middle of trying to repair the downstairs printer, and had already addressed a bunch of other issues of DH's making. Held my ground, as I did not misplace the upstairs remote, I was not going to look for it, as I did not lose it.
> 
> Hmm. SOMEBODY left the upstairs remote on the desk DOWNSTAIRS. Wonder who could have done that?


 
So it is safe to say, that would not have been a good time to ring your doorbell and come for a visit and a cuppa? Or should I bring my own remote?


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm the Spooky Finder...I know where Shrek puts things when I didn't even see him put it down...gives him the creeps.


 
This subject should have its own thread. REMOTES and PHONES!! We all have stories of hilarity. It is just too early in the morning to be laughing this hard. I will have to get my screen cleaner while I try to drink my coffee. There is a reason God left me a widow. He thought it was my turn to have the remote.


----------



## Andy M.

SO misplaces EVERYTHING!  It's become my job to find EVERYTHING.  She is untrainable on the topic.  She's always misplacing glasses, keys, phones, credit cards and jewelery.  It's maddening.

Don't even get me started on all the jewelery she's lost.  It's maddening.


----------



## Alix

Hiccups! AAAAAAAA!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Hiccups! AAAAAAAA!



For how long?


----------



## Merlot

Dawgluver said:


> Heh. I am usually the Finder of Things. Nice to have a few fellow Finders!
> 
> DH can be trained, said no one recently.....


 
I have the finder gene....


----------



## Merlot

Alix said:


> Hiccups! AAAAAAAA!


 
I have had the hiccups for 2 days off and on. I hope this isnt a repeat of a few months ago when I had them every afternoon for 2 weeks.


----------



## Alix

OK, latest vent. I waited all morning yesterday for some guys to come install a storm door. No show. AAAAAAAAA!


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> OK, latest vent. I waited all morning yesterday for some guys to come install a storm door. No show. AAAAAAAAA!


 
As the saying goes, "So what's new?"


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> OK, latest vent. I waited all morning yesterday for some guys to come install a storm door. No show. AAAAAAAAA!



But, are the hiccups gone?


----------



## Alix

Yes thank God!


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> Yes thank God!




You're welcome!


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:
			
		

> You're welcome!



ROFLMAO!!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Yes thank God!



Darn!  I was going to scare you by telling you I was pregnant...


----------



## Alix

HAHAHAHA! Too late on that score. Our good friends just had a baby in Sept. She found out she was expecting in June. Thought she was in menopause until her clothes started getting tight. Even her dr figured it was menopause and didn't do a pregnancy test. They found out when she went for an ultrasound and the tech said, "Well, you can bring your husband in, there's a baby in there" 6 months pregnant.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> HAHAHAHA! Too late on that score. Our good friends just had a baby in Sept. She found out she was expecting in June. Thought she was in menopause until her clothes started getting tight. Even her dr figured it was menopause and didn't do a pregnancy test. They found out when she went for an ultrasound and the tech said, "Well, you can bring your husband in, there's a baby in there" 6 months pregnant.



It would give Shrek a heart attack if I was...he was holding my hand after they removed those parts.


----------



## Alix

Nearly gave her a heart attack. She held her hubby's hand when he got snipped after their LAST kid...15 years ago!


----------



## Dawgluver

Alix said:
			
		

> Nearly gave her a heart attack. She held her hubby's hand when he got snipped after their LAST kid...15 years ago!



Yikes!!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Nearly gave her a heart attack. She held her hubby's hand when he got snipped after their LAST kid...15 years ago!



Oh my!  That's how I got my brother...


----------



## Alix

Let that be a lesson for all you ladies. If you don't want any more babies, make sure you deal with things YOURSELF.


----------



## chopper

Wow, my sister had a tubal pregnancy several years after her husband took care of things.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> Wow, my sister had a tubal pregnancy several years after her husband took care of things.


Ooh, tubal pregnancy, scary stuff.


----------



## Addie

I got rid of some body parts. Now I want to get rid of the upper ones. I certainly won't be nursing anymore babies. And they have done their job. Time for them to go so I can buy a blouse without having "gapitis". I keep checking for lumps. So far no luck.


----------



## chopper

Addie said:
			
		

> I got rid of some body parts. Now I want to get rid of the upper ones. I certainly won't be nursing anymore babies. And they have done their job. Time for them to go so I can buy a blouse without having "gapitis". I keep checking for lumps. So far no luck.



Those lumps are not something to wish for or to make light about.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> Those lumps are not something to wish for or to make light about.



I agree, finding those lumps is not fun.  Picking out a prosthetic is not fun, either.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I agree, finding those lumps is not fun.  Picking out a prosthetic is not fun, either.



Indeed. 

Hopefully you remain cancer-free, Addie.


----------



## Addie

I am watching Cook's Country. They are making Gumbo. The liquid calls for 3.75 cups. Why not just make it four cups even? Would it really make that much difference?  Sometimes when my son is sitting here and watching ATK or CC, they will mention an odd measurement and we just look at each other . I like both shows, but sometimes they are just pain silly with their measurments.


----------



## chopper

Addie said:
			
		

> I am watching Cook's Country. They are making Gumbo. The liquid calls for 3.75 cups. Why not just make it four cups even? Would it really make that much difference?  Sometimes when my son is sitting here and watching ATK or CC, they will mention an odd measurement and we just look at each other . I like both shows, but sometimes they are just pain silly with their measurments.



I guess you could try it with four cups and see how it turns out.


----------



## roadfix

Dang, I forgot to attend my 40th High School Reunion last night in nearby Costa Mesa.  I was busy doing my tax returns.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I am watching Cook's Country. They are making Gumbo. The liquid calls for 3.75 cups. Why not just make it four cups even? Would it really make that much difference?  Sometimes when my son is sitting here and watching ATK or CC, they will mention an odd measurement and we just look at each other . I like both shows, but sometimes they are just pain silly with their measurments.


Maybe it's half of a recipe calling for 7.5 cups or even a much larger recipe calling for 15 cups.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Dang, I forgot to attend my 40th High School Reunion last night in nearby Costa Mesa.  I was busy doing my tax returns.


Bummer.

I never got any invitations to any of my high school reunions. No one I know lives at the address I had in high school. But, if there is a 50th reunion, I should hear about it because I am Facebook friends with a number of people from my graduating class.


----------



## chopper

roadfix said:
			
		

> Dang, I forgot to attend my 40th High School Reunion last night in nearby Costa Mesa.  I was busy doing my tax returns.



Oh no!!!  Well, maybe they will have a 45th reunion in five years.


----------



## chopper

We should have a reunion next summer.  My class usually has one every five years. It will be 35 years.


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> Bummer.
> 
> I never got any invitations to any of my high school reunions. No one I know lives at the address I had in high school. But, if there is a 50th reunion, I should hear about it because I am Facebook friends with a number of people from my graduating class.



Well, I don't think I missed much judging from the one I attended 10 years ago.  I don't care much for them.  The herd would have been much thinner this time around, I presumed, considering a graduating class of just under 100 to begin with.  Yeah, small class.
I'm still amazed that the reunion committee can still track people down and gather them in one spot.  Of course, the internet makes that easy.  We all graduated from an Armed Forces run high school overseas and have settled all over the US.  But So Cal and Las Vegas seem to be the favorite to conduct the reunions.


----------



## chopper

roadfix said:
			
		

> Well, I don't think I missed much judging from the one I attended 10 years ago.  I don't care much for them.  The herd would have been much thinner this time around, I presumed, considering a graduating class of just under 100 to begin with.  Yeah, small class.
> I'm still amazed that the reunion committee can still track people down and gather them in one spot.  Of course, the internet makes that easy.  We all graduated from an Armed Forces run high school overseas and have settled all over the US.  But So Cal and Las Vegas seem to be the favorite to conduct the reunions.



We had 63 in my class graduate. About 20 of those went all the way from Kindergarten through grade 12. I was one of those lucky ones. At the last reunion we had about 30 graduates show up. Since it was such a small school, everyone knew each other. It is actuall fun for both my husband and myself because he has gotten to know a lot of people too. If they have one, we will go.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> We should have a reunion next summer.  My class usually has one every five years. It will be 35 years.




We graduated the same year!  35 years, really?  I must have lost track of time...


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> We graduated the same year!  35 years, really?  I must have lost track of time...



Time flies!


----------



## Cindercat

My 35th reunion was this summer on Friday the 13th of July. Our school mascot is Blackcats so it was fitting. All the inviting was done over Facebook & word of mouth. It was also a multi-year reunion that covered about 5 years of classes. We rented a hall, had finger food, cake, lots of mingling & ended with a band (way too loud) that was still together from our high school years. There's talk about having one every year there's a Friday 13, during the summer.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My Mother's graduating class meets several times a year and the entire class is still alive and kicking.  Of course, her other classmate is her twin sister.


----------



## Addie

I had a class of 250. I can'r remember even one name. They just had a reunion last momth. I have never been to one. Have no interest. That was yesterday, I live in today. My least favorite place to travel to is Memory Lane.


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> My Mother's graduating class meets several times a year and the entire class is still alive and kicking.  Of course, her other classmate is her twin sister.



LOL. I live it!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> LOL. I live it!



Mom and my Aunt were the last graduating class of their school.


----------



## Cindercat

I do not want another day like today!!! Started out late for church. Later went to get a massage at mall. The Chinese guy who did my massage wasn't nearly as good as the  guy I usually get. Went to my van, listened to the radio & ate a pretzel. Turned the ignition key & only got clicks. Called AAA & waited 30 minutes.  Forgot to take phone off silent & missed 2 calls from AAA. Needed to go to school to get ready for a sub tomorrow but got to go to WalMart to get a new battery. Decided to get my oil changed while I'm there. WalMart has changed to Jiffy Lube instead of their own mechanics. It took 5 minutes just to get through the workorder process. He kept trying to sell me more services. That was just for the oil. I had to talk to someone else about the battery. I literally got the last battery that would fit my van. Of course it was the $100 one. Could have gotten one from AAA cheaper. Finally get everything installed & I think I'm about to get out of there when they tell me both license plate lights are out. Do I want to replace them so I don't get a ticket? They only cost $12 + tax each. Half of it is labor. Turned out they couldn't replace them because the internal clips were broken or missing & WalMart doesn't carry the clips. I have to call the dealer. I pay my $167 for an oil change & a battery & go back to my van. By this time I've lost any benefit from the $50 massage & I'm not in a very good mood. Reach my van only to find it unlocked with the window wide open after I made a point of saying I expect it to be locked whenever they aren't working on it. The only person who thought it was a problem was the girl who took my order but didn't do the work. Got to school. I was in the middle of printing some work for tomorrow when the printer decided to freeze. Took half an hour of fooling with it & finally giving up before it decided to work again. By then I had changed my plans. Got home to find the DVR was set for the wrong channel & I missed what I wanted to record. Can't watch online since school blocks ABC due to ads. Can't believe I'm wanting Monday to get here!


----------



## taxlady

Oh man Cindercat, that does sound like a rotten day. I hope your Monday is better.


----------



## Addie

Cindercat, life has to get better. Hang in there.


----------



## Puppy Breath

Bought a new boat and took it out for the first time this weekend and it did not catch one darn fish - must be defective


----------



## Andy M.

Puppy Breath said:


> Bought a new boat and took it out for the first time this weekend and it did not catch one darn fish - must be defective




You have to pay extra for the "attractive to fish" option.


----------



## Puppy Breath

Andy M. said:


> You have to pay extra for the "attractive to fish" option.


 
Well...that explains it then


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> You have to pay extra for the "attractive to fish" option.


 
Did he look at the bottom? Is there a big shark with its mouth open painted there?


----------



## Puppy Breath

Addie said:


> Did he look at the bottom? Is there a big shark with its mouth open painted there?


 
Considering we didn't even get a "bite" I may have to get DH to crawl underneath and take a look!


----------



## Addie

Petty Vent! Why do these mecial suppliers tout their glucometers as painless and you can test your sugar levels on your arm? Any doctor will tell you that the closer to the finger tip, the more accurate the results. For those who have Type 1 Diabetes, those false readings can be cause for the patient to be giving themselves the wrong dose. It is not false advertising. They don't claim that it is as or more accurate than a finger prick. Just not as painful. And it isn't.


----------



## Kylie1969

Hoping today was much better for you CC 



Cindercat said:


> I do not want another day like today!!! Started out late for church. Later went to get a massage at mall. The Chinese guy who did my massage wasn't nearly as good as the  guy I usually get. Went to my van, listened to the radio & ate a pretzel. Turned the ignition key & only got clicks. Called AAA & waited 30 minutes.  Forgot to take phone off silent & missed 2 calls from AAA. Needed to go to school to get ready for a sub tomorrow but got to go to WalMart to get a new battery. Decided to get my oil changed while I'm there. WalMart has changed to Jiffy Lube instead of their own mechanics. It took 5 minutes just to get through the workorder process. He kept trying to sell me more services. That was just for the oil. I had to talk to someone else about the battery. I literally got the last battery that would fit my van. Of course it was the $100 one. Could have gotten one from AAA cheaper. Finally get everything installed & I think I'm about to get out of there when they tell me both license plate lights are out. Do I want to replace them so I don't get a ticket? They only cost $12 + tax each. Half of it is labor. Turned out they couldn't replace them because the internal clips were broken or missing & WalMart doesn't carry the clips. I have to call the dealer. I pay my $167 for an oil change & a battery & go back to my van. By this time I've lost any benefit from the $50 massage & I'm not in a very good mood. Reach my van only to find it unlocked with the window wide open after I made a point of saying I expect it to be locked whenever they aren't working on it. The only person who thought it was a problem was the girl who took my order but didn't do the work. Got to school. I was in the middle of printing some work for tomorrow when the printer decided to freeze. Took half an hour of fooling with it & finally giving up before it decided to work again. By then I had changed my plans. Got home to find the DVR was set for the wrong channel & I missed what I wanted to record. Can't watch online since school blocks ABC due to ads. Can't believe I'm wanting Monday to get here!


----------



## Kylie1969

Andy M. said:


> You have to pay extra for the "attractive to fish" option.


----------



## Cindercat

Kylie1969 said:
			
		

> Hoping today was much better for you CC



Yesterday wasn't too bad. I got a lot done. I have a headache today with 2 causes: a student doing his best to find himself in ISS & a 3piece rock band in a very small cafeteria with a decibel level way above safe levels. Standing with your mouth next to someone's ear, you still had to yell for them to barely understand you. I complained to the 2 people in charge but they didn't think it was a problem. I finally went to an administrator & yelled loud enough that he understood me. He had them turn the volume down slightly. He still had to write notes to students to tell them they had detention tomorrow.


----------



## Addie

Cindercat said:


> Yesterday wasn't too bad. I got a lot done. I have a headache today with 2 causes: a student doing his best to find himself in ISS & a 3piece rock band in a very small cafeteria with a decibel level way above safe levels. Standing with your mouth next to someone's ear, you still had to yell for them to barely understand you. I complained to the 2 people in charge but they didn't think it was a problem. I finally went to an administrator & yelled loud enough that he understood me. He had them turn the volume down slightly. He still had to write notes to students to tell them they had detention tomorrow.


 
I find that when I am in a situation like that, I just move my lips and nothing comes out of my mouth. Either they other person thinks they are going deaf or the music is too loud. A few quizzical looks from me saying "Can't you hear me?" Works every time. The music gets turned down real quick.


----------



## Alix

Addie said:


> I find that when I am in a situation like that, I just move my lips and nothing comes out of my mouth. Either they other person thinks they are going deaf or the music is too loud. A few quizzical looks from me saying "Can't you hear me?" Works every time. The music gets turned down real quick.



Hahahahaha!!! You clearly don't work with adolescents. They don't give a rip if they can hear YOU at all. 


My petty vent is...its SNOWING.


----------



## LPBeier

My petty vent is I couldn't find the regular venting thread! 

But really, this fits here - once I get it done it will be out of my mind....at least for another month!

I have to have another fight with my Dad's bank today over yet another matter that was "resolved" a month ago and mucked up as usual.  I will be so glad when this is all over.   It is frustrating in two ways - one that it makes my grieving difficult and two that my Dad was with that bank for around 50 years and he prided himself on keeping his finances in order.  I shudder to think how he would feel about how difficult they are making it on my sister and I.

Okay, one more cup of tea and I am ready to call!


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> Hahahahaha!!! You clearly don't work with adolescents. They don't give a rip if they can hear YOU at all.
> 
> 
> *My petty vent is...its SNOWING.*


 
For me that is a major vent! 

Right now my petty vent is that my cardio doctor will not approve surgey for my eyes. My BP was 73 over 42. By the time I was ready to leave it was up to 85. He took me off all BP medication. GRRRR!


----------



## chopper

LPBeier said:
			
		

> My petty vent is I couldn't find the regular venting thread!
> 
> But really, this fits here - once I get it done it will be out of my mind....at least for another month!
> 
> I have to have another fight with my Dad's bank today over yet another matter that was "resolved" a month ago and mucked up as usual.  I will be so glad when this is all over.   It is frustrating in two ways - one that it makes my grieving difficult and two that my Dad was with that bank for around 50 years and he prided himself on keeping his finances in order.  I shudder to think how he would feel about how difficult they are making it on my sister and I.
> 
> Okay, one more cup of tea and I am ready to call!



I hope things went better for you this time. It is so sad that you have to go through this. I wish I were closer to enjoy a cup of tea with you. It would be nice if you and your sister could just have a cup of tea and talk about wonderful memories.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, Chopper that is very sweet.  I would love to have a cup of tea with you, too.  The woman I have to speak to is off until Monday and I really don't want to start all over again so I am leaving it until then.  She is actually very good (Estates department back east) - it is the people in the two branches involved that keep messing it up.  I know that it will be all over soon, it is just so hard be strong when I don't feel it.


----------



## Merlot

Blech.  Last night we had to the keep the cat inside and away from food so he could get neutered today.  He meowed at the top of his lungs all night, jumped in the window, knocked my flowerpots off and shattered them, attacked any leg he could get a hold of.  I left for work this morning while my husband kept him in the bathroom, called later and my MIL said that we had a visitor that day and the cat got out before the lady coming to pick him up and take him could get him..... so it's now rescheduled for next Friday :/


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> Blech. Last night we had to the keep the cat inside and away from food so he could get neutered today. He meowed at the top of his lungs all night, jumped in the window, knocked my flowerpots off and shattered them, attacked any leg he could get a hold of. I left for work this morning while my husband kept him in the bathroom, called later and my MIL said that we had a visitor that day and the cat got out before the lady coming to pick him up and take him could get him..... so it's now rescheduled for next Friday :/


 
Next Thursady night, put him in a cat carrier and leave him there until pickup. Feed him early in the afternoon.


----------



## chopper

Merlot said:
			
		

> Blech.  Last night we had to the keep the cat inside and away from food so he could get neutered today.  He meowed at the top of his lungs all night, jumped in the window, knocked my flowerpots off and shattered them, attacked any leg he could get a hold of.  I left for work this morning while my husband kept him in the bathroom, called later and my MIL said that we had a visitor that day and the cat got out before the lady coming to pick him up and take him could get him..... so it's now rescheduled for next Friday :/



What a nightmare!  Hope it goes better next time.


----------



## taxlady

The last few times I have had a cat neutered, the vet just kept the cat in a cage overnight. Much easier on everyone and much more sure that the cat hasn't found any food to eat.


----------



## Merlot

taxlady said:


> The last few times I have had a cat neutered, the vet just kept the cat in a cage overnight. Much easier on everyone and much more sure that the cat hasn't found any food to eat.


 
I'm going to check into that. 

 I don't know for certain but I have a strong suspicion that my MIL is the one who let him out accidently and is scared of saying so.   I asked my child and he said "Gran did it."   It's ok, she helps me out tremendously in other ways, could have happened to anyone... that cat was on a mission!!


----------



## Merlot

Addie said:


> Next Thursady night, put him in a cat carrier and leave him there until pickup. Feed him early in the afternoon.


 
I put a fan on in my room, cranked it up to block out any meowing and didn't hear my alarm going off this morning.


----------



## Merlot

chopper said:


> What a nightmare! Hope it goes better next time.


 
Ty!


----------



## Kylie1969

Merlot said:


> Blech.  Last night we had to the keep the cat inside and away from food so he could get neutered today.  He meowed at the top of his lungs all night, jumped in the window, knocked my flowerpots off and shattered them, attacked any leg he could get a hold of.  I left for work this morning while my husband kept him in the bathroom, called later and my MIL said that we had a visitor that day and the cat got out before the lady coming to pick him up and take him could get him..... so it's now rescheduled for next Friday :/



Sounds bad Merlot...I cant believe you have to wait even longer now


----------



## Addie

Tomorrow SS will announce the amount of the COLA increase for January. It is expected to be between 1.3 and 1.4 percent. It is based on the price index of July, August and September. Which ticks me off. If there is a huge increase in June, and then prices only partially adjust in July, that is not taken into account. Because of the drought, food prices will now start to go up. October through to the end of the year are not part of the formula.


----------



## tinlizzie

Addie said:


> Tomorrow SS will announce the amount of the COLA increase for January. It is expected to be between 1.3 and 1.4 percent. It is based on the price index of July, August and September. Which ticks me off. If there is a huge increase in June, and then prices only partially adjust in July, that is not taken into account. Because of the drought, food prices will now start to go up. October through to the end of the year are not part of the formula.


 
Isn't it cute how they give a SS increase with one hand and then take part of it away with the other hand when they raise the Medicare cost?


----------



## Zhizara

Not only that, but every time I get a raise, my rent goes up and my food stamps go down, erasing my raise plus some.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> Not only that, but every time I get a raise, my rent goes up and my food stamps go down, erasing my raise plus some.


 
My food stamps went down by $1. My rent went up in August by $7. Now I have to notify food stamps of my rent increase so they will raise it by $10. I don't understand how they do their math, but I still gain a little. Just made a note to self to take care of it tomorrow.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> Not only that, but every time I get a raise, my rent goes up and my food stamps go down, erasing my raise plus some.


 
Do you pay your own Medicare premium? I don't. Medicaid pays for mine. and what MassHealth (Medicaid) doesn't cover, my Elder Service Plan pays for. Yet my premium for Medicare is figured into my food stamps.


----------



## Zhizara

No, I don't pay for any medicare.  I refuse to pay $100 (almost) a month when I'm not even under a doctor's care!


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> No, I don't pay for any medicare. I refuse to pay $100 (almost) a month when I'm not even under a doctor's care!


 
Wow! I didn't realize that the premiums were that high. I have never paid the premium. It has always been paid for me. 

Even when I left a job, I was covered by BC/BS  Master coverage. Even full dental. The owner's sister who did the bookkeeping really liked me and hated to see me go. Unbeknownst to me, she continued to pay the premium in full for a number of years until I turned 65. Her brother never knew and still doesn't. I thought it was a bookkeeping error on the part of BC/BS. So I kept my mouth shut figuring they would find out someday. 

One of the things that got me really angry was I had a bunch of appointments at Mass.Gen. Hosp. The day I turned 65, my phone kept ringing all day. It was all my appointments being canceled. Even some tests that had been scheduled. Medicare doesn't pay like private insurance. 

At one time MGH was rated as the best hospital in the world. When their rating slipped down to #5 in Mass., they almost lost their certification. Now it is rated #1 in the country. I didn't recognize it at all when I went to visit my daughter. There were a couple of new buildings and is now the #1 place for cancer patients. They come from all over the world. The building for cancer patients has all single rooms with facilities for the spouse or parent to sleep and take showers. It is like having a hotel suite.


----------



## tinlizzie

Zhizara said:


> No, I don't pay for any medicare. I refuse to pay $100 (almost) a month when I'm not even under a doctor's care!


 
If I weren't such a chicken, I would not be paying that $99+ monthly Medicare premium.  But I'm operating on the possibility that something dire is bound to happen to me sooner or later, and I'd better be insured.  So I am even paying for a Medicare Supplement plan.  Not cheap, and I feel as though it's probably a belt-and-suspenders situation.  I also have to pay a monthly premium for Medicare Part D prescription coverage.  My only hope (for spending all this money that I sure could use somewhere else in my budget) is that I'll get really, really sick and think how glad I'll be then to be covered.    Until I do get sick, I'm feeling like a real patsy.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> If I weren't such a chicken, I would not be paying that $99+ monthly Medicare premium. But I'm operating on the possibility that something dire is bound to happen to me sooner or later, and I'd better be insured. So I am even paying for a Medicare Supplement plan. Not cheap, and I feel as though it's probably a belt-and-suspenders situation. I also have to pay a monthly premium for Medicare Part D prescription coverage. My only hope (for spending all this money that I sure could use somewhere else in my budget) is that I'll get really, really sick and think how glad I'll be then to be covered.  Until I do get sick, I'm feeling like a real patsy.


 
A little known fact. If any medical facility accepts even one cent from the federal government, they cannot refuse to treat any patient that walks through their door. That includes grants for research and even Medicare payments for the insured.


----------



## Snip 13

Feeling really sorry for myself, having a proper pitty party lol!
I've had a stomach virus since Sunday morning, can't even keep water down.
I feel like I've run a marathon!


----------



## taxlady

I just got back from an ophthalmologist appointment. Why didn't they tell me I was going to get those pupil dilating drops? It's in the 'burbs. They know that almost all of their patients drive to the appointment.

I went to a nearby bar and had an espresso while waiting for the drops to wear off. Just when I thought it would be safe to drive, the sun came out, which makes it worse. So, I went across the street and had a coffee and a doughnut at Tim Horton's, while I read my book. Then I went for a walk and finally decided that it was safe to drive the less than 3 km to the pharmacy to get my eye drops for glaucoma and then home. I'm still seeing a bit of halo around bright light.

I will have to remember to ask before any other visits to the ophthalmologist. I have some tests and a follow up visit in 2 months.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> If I weren't such a chicken, I would not be paying that $99+ monthly Medicare premium.  But I'm operating on the possibility that something dire is bound to happen to me sooner or later, and I'd better be insured.  So I am even paying for a Medicare Supplement plan.  Not cheap, and I feel as though it's probably a belt-and-suspenders situation.  I also have to pay a monthly premium for Medicare Part D prescription coverage.  My only hope (for spending all this money that I sure could use somewhere else in my budget) is that I'll get really, really sick and think how glad I'll be then to be covered.    Until I do get sick, I'm feeling like a real patsy.



I am making sure Shrek is covered and his premiums are paid.  Last June would have ruined us if he hadn't had his Medicare.  Also, I would have had to take time off and lose pay to care for him at home, as it was, he could go to rehab and take some time to get better.


----------



## Addie

We just had a very mild three second earthquake. We have a fault on the coast out in the Atlantic. Actually it is two plates colliding. I doubt it will even make the news tonight.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Snip 13 said:


> Feeling really sorry for myself, having a proper pitty party lol!
> I've had a stomach virus since Sunday morning, can't even keep water down.
> I feel like I've run a marathon!



I'm sorry, Snip!  No fun!  Are you sure it's not your new medicine, the Metformin?


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> We just had a very mild three second earthquake. We have a fault on the coast out in the Atlantic. Actually it is two plates colliding. I doubt it will even make the news tonight.


It was magnitude 4.6, centred in New Hampshire.

Real-time Earthquake Map


----------



## Addie

Snip 13 said:


> Feeling really sorry for myself, having a proper pitty party lol!
> I've had a stomach virus since Sunday morning, can't even keep water down.
> I feel like I've run a marathon!


 
Water is the worst thing you could put in your tummy if you are not feeling well. It just makes you vomit more. Also check to make sure it is not the Metformin that is making you sick. Call your doctor's office. I was on Metform for quite a while. Then every morning when I took my meds, I was doing fine until I swallowed the Metformin.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> It was magnitude 4.6, centered in New Hampshire.
> 
> Real-time Earthquake Map


 
The epicenter was in Hollis, Maine. I have two grandchildren that live in Lewiston, Maine. Not far from Hollis, ME. At first look at the link, the UTC baffled me. Then I remembered that all time is based on Greenwich Mean Time in England. Interestinig reading.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> The epicenter was in Hollis, Maine. I have two grandchildren that live in Lewiston, Maine. Not far from Hollis, ME. At first look at the link, the UTC baffled me. Then I remembered that all time is based on Greenwich Mean Time in England. Interestinig reading.


You're right - Maine, not NH. I didn't look at the map carefully. UTC is Coordinated Universal Time. It is based on an atomic clock. GMT is based on mean solar time and since the Earth can have slightly varying speed and tilt, it isn't as scientifically accurate. But, they are pretty much the same thing.


----------



## kadesma

Snip 13 said:


> Feeling really sorry for myself, having a proper pitty party lol!
> I've had a stomach virus since Sunday morning, can't even keep water down.
> I feel like I've run a marathon!


 I know that feeling. You take care and try to keep some broth down. You don't want to end up dehydrated and in the hospital. Rest as much as possible  and keep some ice chips handy.
 kades (ma)


----------



## Snip 13

Thank You so much PF, Addie and Kades  Pretty sure it's not the meds, there is a bug going around. My kids both had it too but it only lasted a day with them, they're both tough as nails lol! I've managed to raise very healthy kids, they hardly ever get sick and when they do it doesn't last longer than a day or 2!

I'm a bit better today, had some coffee an hour ago and so far so good. Going to make a slice of toast with marmite now.


----------



## tinlizzie

I come in from raking leaves and need a dadgum energy drink to get the top off my dadburn Gatorade bottle.

I bought a crank pencil sharpener and it took me ten minutes to get the dadgum thing out of the dadburn plastic packaging.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> I come in from raking leaves and need a dadgum energy drink to get the top off my dadburn Gatorade bottle.
> 
> I bought a crank pencil sharpener and it took me ten minutes to get the dadgum thing out of the dadburn plastic packaging.


Ooh, plastic packaging. Some of it is so hard to get stuff out of. And then, after fighting with the plastic, stand with the scissors and a sharp knife and wonder why plastic? Couldn't they just have put it in a small, think, cardboard box? Or even a plastic bag?


----------



## Whiskadoodle

taxlady said:


> You're right - Maine, not NH. I didn't look at the map carefully. UTC is Coordinated Universal Time. It is based on an atomic clock. GMT is based on mean solar time and since the Earth can have slightly varying speed and tilt, it isn't as scientifically accurate. But, they are pretty much the same thing.


 

Time is relative. 

If your microwave is in minutes    and you  want  2 minutes, that =2.0 .   If your microwave measures in seconds and you want 2 minutes, it registers 120.   Obviously 2.0 is greater than 120,  so you have to be careful how long your  timer is really set at.


----------



## Andy M.

Whiskadoodle said:


> Time is relative.
> 
> If your microwave is in minutes    and you  want  2 minutes, that =2.0 .   If your microwave measures in seconds and you want 2 minutes, it registers 120.   Obviously 2.0 is greater than 120,  so you have to be careful how long your  timer is really set at.




I have a relative that's never on time.


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> Ooh, plastic packaging. Some of it is so hard to get stuff out of. And then, after fighting with the plastic, stand with the scissors and a sharp knife and wonder why plastic? Couldn't they just have put it in a small, think, cardboard box? Or even a plastic bag?



A few years ago Home Hardware (A Canadian company) advertised these multipurpose scissors and one of their main features was cutting through those plastic pockets that are impossible to get into.....so guess what the scissors were packaged in?


----------



## Andy M.

LPBeier said:


> A few years ago Home Hardware (A Canadian company) advertised these multipurpose scissors and one of their main features was cutting through those plastic pockets that are impossible to get into.....so guess what the scissors were packaged in?




You should have asked for a demonstration before you paid.


----------



## LPBeier

Andy M. said:


> You should have asked for a demonstration before you paid.



I can always count on Andy for a laugh, even if it is at my expense


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> I come in from raking leaves and need a dadgum energy drink to get the top off my dadburn Gatorade bottle.
> 
> I bought a crank pencil sharpener and it took me ten minutes to get the dadgum thing out of the dadburn plastic packaging.


 
Sounds like you are not having a good day. Sit down, put your feet up and have a nice cup of tea.


----------



## taxlady

LPBeier said:


> A few years ago Home Hardware (A Canadian company) advertised these multipurpose scissors and one of their main features was cutting through those plastic pockets that are impossible to get into.....so guess what the scissors were packaged in?


Once again I am reminded of the Samuel Clemens quote, "The trouble with common sense is that it isn't nearly common enough."


----------



## Alix

I just blew up my hand blender! Sparks, flame, smoke! I'm sad! This was the very first kitchen appliance I ever had! That and a coffee grinder. WAAAAAAA!


----------



## Snip 13

Alix said:


> I just blew up my hand blender! Sparks, flame, smoke! I'm sad! This was the very first kitchen appliance I ever had! That and a coffee grinder. WAAAAAAA!


 
That sucks! I broke mine trying to make homemade pumkin seed butter. Darn I miss that thing, taking out the food processor is such a pain.


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> I just blew up my hand blender! Sparks, flame, smoke! I'm sad! This was the very first kitchen appliance I ever had! That and a coffee grinder. WAAAAAAA!


Bummer.

How old was it?

They got really cool ones now, with attachments. Mine has a whisk and a mini-food processor.


----------



## Zhizara

Relaxing with a glass of wine.  I've done all my shopping, paid my bills,  and made a low and slow braised pork sirloin.  It's resting too.


----------



## Alix

taxlady said:


> Bummer.
> 
> How old was it?
> 
> They got really cool ones now, with attachments. Mine has a whisk and a mini-food processor.



It was 25. It owed me nothing, but I loved that thing! It was a Braun. I'll go shop for a new one now.


----------



## Dawgluver

Alix said:
			
		

> It was 25. It owed me nothing, but I loved that thing! It was a Braun. I'll go shop for a new one now.



RIP, Alix's hand blender.  I felt similarly when my 25 yo spice (coffee) grinder bit the dust awhile ago.


----------



## bakechef

Alix said:
			
		

> It was 25. It owed me nothing, but I loved that thing! It was a Braun. I'll go shop for a new one now.



I had a braun and it was the best one that I have ever owned,  gave it to a friend.   My cuisinart works fine,  but that braun was tough!


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> I had a braun and it was the best one that I have ever owned,  gave it to a friend.   My cuisinart works fine,  but that braun was tough!


I really liked my Braun, but I like my Cuisinart even better.


----------



## chopper

Alix said:
			
		

> It was 25. It owed me nothing, but I loved that thing! It was a Braun. I'll go shop for a new one now.



Just remember, the next one you buy will not last that long!  They don't make anything that lasts 25 years anymore (except maybe a marriage and half of you would argue that one).


----------



## chopper

I have a Kitchenaid hand blender that I love.


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> Once again I am reminded of the Samuel Clemens quote, "The trouble with common sense is that it isn't nearly common enough."



Touche!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> I just blew up my hand blender! Sparks, flame, smoke! I'm sad! This was the very first kitchen appliance I ever had! That and a coffee grinder. WAAAAAAA!



How many sticks of dynamite did it take?

Truly sorry, Alix!  It stinks to lose something you've had for so long.


----------



## Alix

chopper said:


> Just remember, the next one you buy will not last that long!  They don't make anything that lasts 25 years anymore (except maybe a marriage and half of you would argue that one).



I KNOW! They don't build 'em to last anymore. Phooey. I won't argue the marriage thing either. Mine's 19 and counting. 



PrincessFiona60 said:


> How many sticks of dynamite did it take?
> 
> Truly sorry, Alix!  It stinks to lose something you've had for so long.



Smart ass. Thanks PF. I loved that thing. I bet I used it at least once or twice a week for SOMETHING.


----------



## Addie

Snip 13 said:


> Thank You so much PF, Addie and Kades  Pretty sure it's not the meds, there is a bug going around. My kids both had it too but it only lasted a day with them, they're both tough as nails lol! I've managed to raise very healthy kids, they hardly ever get sick and when they do it doesn't last longer than a day or 2!
> 
> I'm a bit better today, had some coffee an hour ago and so far so good. Going to make a slice of toast with marmite now.


 
Glad to hear you are feeling better. Take care of yourself. We worry.


----------



## Kylie1969

Snip 13 said:


> Thank You so much PF, Addie and Kades  Pretty sure it's not the meds, there is a bug going around. My kids both had it too but it only lasted a day with them, they're both tough as nails lol! I've managed to raise very healthy kids, they hardly ever get sick and when they do it doesn't last longer than a day or 2!
> 
> I'm a bit better today, had some coffee an hour ago and so far so good. Going to make a slice of toast with marmite now.



Hope you are feeling even better today Snip xx


----------



## chopper

Alix said:
			
		

> I KNOW! They don't build 'em to last anymore. Phooey. I won't argue the marriage thing either. Mine's 19 and counting.
> 
> Smart ass. Thanks PF. I loved that thing. I bet I used it at least once or twice a week for SOMETHING.



My marriage is 32 and counting.


----------



## Snip 13

Kylie1969 said:


> Hope you are feeling even better today Snip xx


 
I'm good thanks  Almost all better!


----------



## Kylie1969

Very good to hear


----------



## taxlady

When will I learn not to do big grocery shopping? I should limit big shopping to once a month. I pooped myself out again. Too tired to make supper. Did it again today.

I live in the 'burbs, so it's always a trip in the car to buy groceries. Since I am in the car, I want to make it "worth the trip". It was easier when I lived in town and did almost all my grocery shopping on foot. Stores were near by and I could dash out and get stuff for "today". I should just do that with the car. It costs more to order out than it would cost in extra gas for more, shorter trips.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> When will I learn not to do big grocery shopping? I should limit big shopping to once a month. I pooped myself out again. Too tired to make supper. Did it again today.
> 
> I live in the 'burbs, so it's always a trip in the car to buy groceries. Since I am in the car, I want to make it "worth the trip". It was easier when I lived in town and did almost all my grocery shopping on foot. Stores were near by and I could dash out and get stuff for "today". I should just do that with the car. It costs more to order out than it would cost in extra gas for more, shorter trips.


 
With today's gas prices, you have to make a choice.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> With today's gas prices, you have to make a choice.


Even if I figure the car is getting poor mileage on a short trip (most of my grocery shopping trips are less than 5 km. Even with expensive gas, that's less than $3 for the gas. Brilliant taxlady, I saved a $3 trip and spent $35 for delivery supper.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Even if I figure the car is getting poor mileage on a short trip (most of my grocery shopping trips are less than 5 km. Even with expensive gas, that's less than $3 for the gas. Brilliant taxlady, I saved a $3 trip and spent $35 for delivery supper.


 
I know I shouldn't but  I can't help myself. Sounds like something I would do.


----------



## Claire

Odette, glad to hear you're better.

My vent, and I know I've complained about it before, is that technlogy has left me behind.  I'm 57, and was a trained electronics technician in the U.S. Air Force.  For the first decade of my adult life, I was the "go-to" gal in my office.  And now I cannot do anything.  It frustrates the hades out of me.  I think maybe 6 months ago I started looking for a personal music system.  Since I was visiting my family, a sister showed me how to use her ipod.  I was lost in the first few minutes.  So, when I came home, I bought the least expensive thing I could find.  The point was to have music to listen to when I walk.  But it has to be music I like and that is at the rhythm I need to keep a good pace.  So I decided on an MP3.

Even then, I couldn't manage to download music to it.

Got a friend to help, and got the music onto my computer.  

Then I couldn't get it to download to the MP3.

Then I got a friend to do THAT, and it was too much, and I couldn't get it to play.

The friend managed to help me delete some of the music so the thing would work.

This is over a month of work just to get some music I can listen to while I walk.  

And that is important right now, when I'm using it to help get rid of the limp leftover from my broken hip.


----------



## Dawgluver

Claire said:
			
		

> Odette, glad to hear you're better.
> 
> My vent, and I know I've complained about it before, is that technlogy has left me behind.  I'm 57, and was a trained electronics technician in the U.S. Air Force.  For the first decade of my adult life, I was the "go-to" gal in my office.  And now I cannot do anything.  It frustrates the hades out of me.  I think maybe 6 months ago I started looking for a personal music system.  Since I was visiting my family, a sister showed me how to use her ipod.  I was lost in the first few minutes.  So, when I came home, I bought the least expensive thing I could find.  The point was to have music to listen to when I walk.  But it has to be music I like and that is at the rhythm I need to keep a good pace.  So I decided on an MP3.
> 
> Even then, I couldn't manage to download music to it.
> 
> Got a friend to help, and got the music onto my computer.
> 
> Then I couldn't get it to download to the MP3.
> 
> Then I got a friend to do THAT, and it was too much, and I couldn't get it to play.
> 
> The friend managed to help me delete some of the music so the thing would work.
> 
> This is over a month of work just to get some music I can listen to while I walk.
> 
> And that is important right now, when I'm using it to help get rid of the limp leftover from my broken hip.



Oh shoot, Claire, how frustrating.  Do you have a smart phone?  On my iPhone I have music on Pandora, Slacker, iTunes, and iHeart Radio. All work great.   Blackberries and Androids have the same access to music. You can pick and choose what music you want to listen to.

I just plug in my earbuds and walk.


----------



## Claire

Dawgluver said:


> Oh shoot, Claire, how frustrating.  Do you have a smart phone?  On my iPhone I have music on Pandora, Slacker, iTunes, and iHeart Radio. All work great.   Blackberries and Androids have the same access to music. You can pick and choose what music you want to listen to.
> 
> I just plug in my earbuds and walk.



Oh, I now have this system working, not going to mess with another!  Earbuds?  I'm a tall and large woman (average weight), and can't quite figure out why have have ears that are too small for ear-buds.  But that's OK, I have a good set of regular earphones.  I have sets of ear-buds out the ying-yang.  I guess I'll just trash them all, because who would buy a set of ear buds that have been in someone else's ears?  Can't even give them to Goodwill!


----------



## Dawgluver

Claire said:
			
		

> Oh, I now have this system working, not going to mess with another!  Earbuds?  I'm a tall and large woman (average weight), and can't quite figure out why have have ears that are too small for ear-buds.  But that's OK, I have a good set of regular earphones.  I have sets of ear-buds out the ying-yang.  I guess I'll just trash them all, because who would buy a set of ear buds that have been in someone else's ears?  Can't even give them to Goodwill!



I think Verizon has a variety of stick in your ear things, they're the clear ones, and sold in packs of 3 different sizes.   I have very small ear canals too, so need the child size.


----------



## Claire

Dawgluver said:


> I think Verizon has a variety of stick in your ear things, they're the clear ones, and sold in packs of 3 different sizes.   I have very small ear canals too, so need the child size.



Now that cool weather is here, I like the headphones (think of them as modern ear-muffs!), but next summer I'll look these up.  Thanks!


----------



## Addie

I have the same problem with earbuds. My ears are childsize. And my right ear is blocked by scar tissue. Head phones for me. My son keeps trying to get me to use earbuds. Forget it. They don't fit. No matter how small they are. And I am tired of arguing with him about it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Smudge went on a rampage through the house last night...she  dumped the powdered cleanser out of the cupboard under the sink, tipped  over two trash cans and pulled books off the shelves.  

Looks like we may have kitten teriyaki for dinner tonight!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Smudge went on a rampage through the house last night...she  dumped the powdered cleanser out of the cupboard under the sink, tipped  over two trash cans and pulled books off the shelves.
> 
> Looks like we may have kitten teriyaki for dinner tonight!


How old is she? No toilet paper decor?


----------



## vitauta

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Smudge went on a rampage through the house last night...she  dumped the powdered cleanser out of the cupboard under the sink, tipped  over two trash cans and pulled books off the shelves.
> 
> Looks like we may have kitten teriyaki for dinner tonight!




awww, what's the darling smudge reading these days?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> How old is she? No toilet paper decor?



She's 12...we keep the bathroom closed so they can't get at the toilet paper.  That would be a Latté trick, Kleenex, TP and paper towels. If the books had been torn up it would have been a Latté job, but they were just pulled from the shelves.

Smudge is the only one who gets in the cupboards and trash cans, too.  Footprints on the stove belong to Latté.  It's easy to figure out which one is the cause of trouble.

Vit...she's reading my nursing texts and looking at photo albums.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> She's 12...we keep the bathroom closed so they can't get at the toilet paper.  That would be a Latté trick, Kleenex, TP and paper towels. If the books had been torn up it would have been a Latté job, but they were just pulled from the shelves.
> 
> Smudge is the only one who gets in the cupboards and trash cans, too.  Footprints on the stove belong to Latté.  It's easy to figure out which one is the cause of trouble.
> 
> Vit...she's reading my nursing texts and looking at photo albums.



Talented Smudge!  When I had cats, they also figured out how to open cupboards and would help themselves to the food.  Their reading skills weren't very good though.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Talented Smudge!  When I had cats, they also figured out how to open cupboards and would help themselves to the food.  Their reading skills weren't very good though.



I had to intentionally derail the drawer I keep the plastic wrap and bags in...  They can't get into the food cupboards.  It's time to put the poppers back on the cupboard doors, it kept her out of them for about 6 months.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I had to intentionally derail the drawer I keep the plastic wrap and bags in...  They can't get into the food cupboards.  It's time to put the poppers back on the cupboard doors, it kept her out of them for about 6 months.



Poppers that make noise, or ones like those that are used for toddlers to lock the cupboards?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Poppers that make noise, or ones like those that are used for toddlers to lock the cupboards?



Poppers that make noise...just one that she sets off on her own will keep her at bay for a while.


----------



## Snip 13

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Smudge went on a rampage through the house last night...she dumped the powdered cleanser out of the cupboard under the sink, tipped over two trash cans and pulled books off the shelves.
> 
> Looks like we may have kitten teriyaki for dinner tonight!


 
 That must have been a sight, maybe she sleep walks 
On the bright side your floors won't be hard to clean, the soap is already applied for you!


----------



## Snip 13

Just tried to make some warm milk in the microwave and it won't go on!!!!!!!!!!
What on earth I'm I gonna do without my microwave, this sucks?!
Can't afford to fix or replace it


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> Just tried to make some warm milk in the microwave and it won't go on!!!!!!!!!!
> What on earth I'm I gonna do without my microwave, this sucks?!
> Can't afford to fix or replace it


Does it show the time? Is there a fuse or circuit breaker somewhere that could be causing the problem? Is it on a power bar with a circuit breaker and/or an off switch?


----------



## Snip 13

taxlady said:


> Does it show the time? Is there a fuse or circuit breaker somewhere that could be causing the problem? Is it on a power bar with a circuit breaker and/or an off switch?


 
The light still goes on, it shows zero as always but when I push the buttons nothing happens. The cover over the buttons looks a bit loose, like liquid went in there.  This is a nightmare to me, we use our microwave a lot. I heat leftovers for the kids. I also have to heat our food at different times since we don't always eat together.


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> The light still goes on, it shows zero as always but when I push the buttons nothing happens. The cover over the buttons looks a bit loose, like liquid went in there.  This is a nightmare to me, we use our microwave a lot. I heat leftovers for the kids. I also have to heat our food at different times since we don't always eat together.


Bummer. My microwave died a few weeks ago (I have a new one, now.) and I hadn't realized how often we use our microwave. Stirling said it was like Gilligan's Island.  You sure do miss it when you don't have one.


----------



## Snip 13

taxlady said:


> Bummer. My microwave died a few weeks ago (I have a new one, now.) and I hadn't realized how often we use our microwave. Stirling said it was like Gilligan's Island.  You sure do miss it when you don't have one.


 
I'm fully aware of how much I use mine  Hopefully whatever's in there dries up. I tried it this morning and it worked once but now it's stopped again!


----------



## Snip 13

Just tried again and it's working again, hopefully it stays that way.


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> Just tried again and it's working again, hopefully it stays that way.


I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that it keeps on working.


----------



## Addie

The urge to kill is once again very strong. It almost 11  p.m. I have been trying to reach Son #1. Two cell phones and a landline. He hasn't been answering any of my calls. Did he have another heart attack? Is he in the hospital, What about Teddy? I have been trying to reach him since six this evening. I am a nervous wreck. 

He was sleeping and eating supper. Didn't feel like talking on the phone.  Give me the heart attack. KILL!!! I was going to get dressed and go to his house at this hour.


----------



## Dawgluver

I had one of those Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Days.  :grumble:


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) (((Addie))) and (((Dawg))).


----------



## Katie H

Dawgluver said:


> I had one of those Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Days.



Sorry, Dawg.  My day was pretty crappy, pain-wise.  The knee replacement isn't coming any too soon.


----------



## Dawgluver

Katie H said:
			
		

> Sorry, Dawg.  My day was pretty crappy, pain-wise.  The knee replacement isn't coming any too soon.



Thanks TL and Katie.

Oh Katie, sure hope you can get some relief soon!


----------



## Snip 13

Hope you get well soon Katie


----------



## tinlizzie

This may be addressed elsewhere, but just want to express my disappointment in the revelations about Lance Armstrong's bicycling downfall.  What a waste of his talents and energy all this time.  So sad that he felt he had to resort to cheating and apparently took lots of others along with him.  Phooey.  I was joking about it yesterday, but on reflection don't think there's much funny about it.


----------



## Snip 13

My legs have been hurting all day but I didn't think much of it. A few minutes ago I went to put my PJ's on and noticed they are swollen, almost twice the normal size. 
My calves mostly. Wonder what brought this on !? 
My legs have been swollen before but never this bad.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> This may be addressed elsewhere, but just want to express my disappointment in the revelations about Lance Armstrong's bicycling downfall. What a waste of his talents and energy all this time. So sad that he felt he had to resort to cheating and apparently took lots of others along with him. Phooey. I was joking about it yesterday, but on reflection don't think there's much funny about it.


 
What the news doesn't tell you is that his "team" is also banned from competitive cycling. They have lost their souce of income. His sponsors spent a lot of money on him. They too now have a black eye. And donations for his Foundation has dropped considerably. He had to step down because of the black name his presence was giving it. The ripple effect just keeps growing.


----------



## Andy M.

The use of PEDs in professional sports used to anger and surprise me.  Now it just saddens me.  My assumption is, I would not be surprised by any athlete's being caught using them - bar none.


----------



## Kylie1969

Katie H said:


> Sorry, Dawg.  My day was pretty crappy, pain-wise.  The knee replacement isn't coming any too soon.



Hope you get some pain relief somehow Katie


----------



## Alix

My shoulder hurts, and because it hurts I've been moving my arm differently and lifting things oddly. Now my elbow hurts too. CRAP!!!


----------



## jabbur

I changed the sheets on my bed this morning and couldn't find the matching pillowcases!  I usually fold them and put them between the folded bottom sheet and folded top sheet so I have the set all together but I don't know where they went.  So I had to go into my spare pillow cases and find ones that won't look too awful with my new quilt.


----------



## kadesma

Snip 13 said:


> My legs have been hurting all day but I didn't think much of it. A few minutes ago I went to put my PJ's on and noticed they are swollen, almost twice the normal size.
> My calves mostly. Wonder what brought this on !?
> My legs have been swollen before but never this bad.


 You need to put your feet up and rest if this keeps up call you doctor, you might need som lasix to remove fluids I have this at times but dialysis helps get rid of it. Don't just put up with it get some help.
kades (ma)


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> My legs have been hurting all day but I didn't think much of it. A few minutes ago I went to put my PJ's on and noticed they are swollen, almost twice the normal size.
> My calves mostly. Wonder what brought this on !?
> My legs have been swollen before but never this bad.


Have you been eating more salt than usual. Sounds like water retention.



kadesma said:


> You need to put your feet up and rest if this keeps up call you doctor, you might need som lasix to remove fluids I have this at times but dialysis helps get rid of it. Don't just put up with it get some help.
> kades (ma)


Putting feet up sounds like good advice. Black tea (like English Breakfast Tea) is a natural diuretic. There are a bunch of foods that are. I'm sure you would find some you have or at least like, if you Googled. Yes, Lasix would work, but if you can avoid medications, then that's better.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Kylie1969 said:
			
		

> Hope you get some pain relief somehow Katie



+1


----------



## vitauta

there was a time that i could log into dc and i would be good for days--weeks, even.  these days (probably due to my sorry, crappy-a___ computer) i have to log in at LEAST 15 times in a single day, that is, if i happen to care enough to even bother.  then on top of that, my attempted log-ins often do not 'take' in which case, i end up in a 15 minute enforced "time out" before i can return to dc and try my logins again....so, if you don't hear from me on any given day, it well might be due to my being locked out.


----------



## kadesma

taxlady said:


> Have you been eating more salt than usual. Sounds like water retention.
> 
> 
> Putting feet up sounds like good advice. Black tea (like English Breakfast Tea) is a natural diuretic. There are a bunch of foods that are. I'm sure you would find some you have or at least like, if you Googled. Yes, Lasix would work, but if you can avoid medications, then that's better.


 tax I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you on the lasix, I don't like taking meds if I don't have to but there are times we MUST!! I do because of the kidney failure. I would ask my doctor before just dismissing a fluid retention med. I know how tea works and would try any of them while I was waiting for an answer from my doctor, just to be on  the safe side. Sorry do I sound like a pharmacy tech???? I don't want to sound rude and I realize your trying to help. Thanks
kades


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> there was a time that i could log into dc and i would be good for days--weeks, even. these days (probably due to my sorry, crappy-a___ computer) i have to log in at LEAST 15 times in a single day, that is, if i happen to care enough to even bother. then on top of that, my attempted log-ins often do not 'take' in which case, i end up in a 15 minute enforced "time out" before i can return to dc and try my logins again....so, if you don't hear from me on any given day, it well might be due to my being locked out.


 
Do you shut off your computer everytime? Leave it on and reduce the DC page. Just click on the little dash on the most upper right hand side. Then when you want to come back it will pop up again. Just click on it at the bottom of your screen.


----------



## vitauta

thank you for trying to be helpful with my netbook problem, addie.  but i should have warned you about the futility of any such attempts.  i didn't understand a thing you said after the first sentence....


----------



## Addie

Addie said:


> Do you shut off your computer everytime? Leave it on and reduce the DC page. Just click on the little dash on the most upper right hand side. Then when you want to come back it will pop up again. Just click on it at the bottom of your screen.


 


vitauta said:


> thank you for trying to be helpful with my netbook problem, addie. but i should have warned you about the futility of any such attempts. i didn't understand a thing you said after the first sentence....


 
On the far upper right you will see a dash, a little picture of a window (square) and an X. Clcik on the dash. It makes the window go to the bottom of your screen without closing it. When you want to come back to it, just click on the window on the bottom of your screen. Do you have Windows 7, or just Windows XP?


----------



## taxlady

kadesma said:


> tax I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you on the lasix, I don't like taking meds if I don't have to but there are times we MUST!! I do because of the kidney failure. I would ask my doctor before just dismissing a fluid retention med. I know how tea works and would try any of them while I was waiting for an answer from my doctor, just to be on  the safe side. Sorry do I sound like a pharmacy tech???? I don't want to sound rude and I realize your trying to help. Thanks
> kades


I'm not suggesting that someone shouldn't take a medication that has been prescribed for them. I assumed that Lasix hadn't been prescribed or the person would be taking it.

I'm suggesting that they try other things until they go see their doctor. When the doctor says he/she is going to prescribe something, ask if there are good natural alternatives. If not, then, of course take the medication.

My doctor is very open to natural alternatives, if they work. We always discuss that sort of thing. Sometimes she tells me to do some research on the internet and let her know.


----------



## vitauta

Addie said:


> On the far upper right you will see a dash, a little picture of a window (square) and an X. Clcik on the dash. It makes the window go to the bottom of your screen without closing it. When you want to come back to it, just click on the window on the bottom of your screen. Do you have Windows 7, or just Windows XP?




my, my, you are the brave one, aren't you, addie?  i have the 'baby' version of windows.  my computer turns itself off.  eventually.  i don't use the x and the dash very often as that tends to bring on a crash-wave situation.  i know it shouldn't, but it does--'it's dead, jim'...and there you have it.


----------



## kadesma

taxlady said:


> I'm not suggesting that someone shouldn't take a medication that has been prescribed for them. I assumed that Lasix hadn't been prescribed or the person would be taking it.
> 
> I'm suggesting that they try other things until they go see their doctor. When the doctor says he/she is going to prescribe something, ask if there are good natural alternatives. If not, then, of course take the medication.
> 
> My doctor is very open to natural alternatives, if they work. We always discuss that sort of thing. Sometimes she tells me to do some research on the internet and let her know.


 It sounds as if you have  one great doctor. That is so wonderful. I'm sick to death of doctors who KNOW IT ALL!!!! You're so lucky I know you weren't suggesting not to take our meds and no she has'nt be prescribed any lasix it was just me suggesting it. She has diabetes like me and I'd hate to see a kidney problem like mine happen.
kades


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> my, my, you are the brave one, aren't you, addie? i have the 'baby' version of windows. my computer turns itself off. eventually. i don't use the x and the dash very often as that tends to bring on a crash-wave situation. i know it shouldn't, but it does--'it's dead, jim'...and there you have it.


 
Sometimes I have had as many as ten windows open at the same time. I have Windows 7. I also can reduce the size f a window and move it off to the size. Then I open another window and do the same. I was doing a copy and paste and had three windows reduce on my screen going back and forth between all of them. 

I learned computers when you had the program on one big five inch floppy and you had a second one to write to. You had to know all the commands for indent, new paragraph, bold, etc. I was in my glory when I took a temp job at a bank. All their employee restaurant information was manually done. Then they got in a Mac computer. I had to transfer all their information to the computer. And I also had to teach the present staff how to use the computer. Including the head honcho. I have learned at least 15 different  programs. Medical, legal, food industry, newspaper columns, ad nauseum. The list goes on and on. When I did a job for Key Bank, they had just had a new Windows program installed. I had to teach everyone how to create charts, use the Publishing program, mail merge, print envelopes, etc. My favorite program though is Excel. I did a program for a church. It had over 125 pages in one book. All they had to do was enter the amount of money in each envelope and it all rolled over to the final page for the bookkeepers report at the annual meeting once a year. It took me six months to do that one.


----------



## taxlady

kadesma said:


> It sounds as if you have  one great doctor. That is so wonderful. I'm sick to death of doctors who KNOW IT ALL!!!! You're so lucky I know you weren't suggesting not to take our meds and no she has'nt be prescribed any lasix it was just me suggesting it. She has diabetes like me and I'd hate to see a kidney problem like mine happen.
> kades


Yes, I am very lucky with the doctor I have. She's over 25 km and about six towns away, but I'm keeping her.


----------



## taxlady

Addie, I am very fond of spreadsheets too. Back in 1984, when I had an Atari ST, people would ask what games I played. I would reply, "spreadsheet".


----------



## Addie

I too love my doctor. No matter what my complaint, he will take an hour if necessary to make sure I am happy at the end. He is definitely a patients advocate.


----------



## LPBeier

I am getting quite concerned about the blood thinner that the cardiologist put me on until I can get an angiogram (could be another 2-3 months).  I was bruising easily on my legs where the dogs would jump up to be on my lap.  But now, if you barely touch me I bruise.

On top of that my fibromyalgia is in full swing and even my clothes hurt so any touch is painful and leaves a bruise.  And it has spread all over my body.  I am afraid to go to a clinic or ER because they would probably think I was a battered wife, that is how bad it is.  

Does anyone know if this is common with blood thinners and if it is anything to worry about?  The fibromyalgia is what it is, but I am more concerned about the bruises.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> I am getting quite concerned about the blood thinner that the cardiologist put me on until I can get an angiogram (could be another 2-3 months).  I was bruising easily on my legs where the dogs would jump up to be on my lap.  But now, if you barely touch me I bruise.
> 
> On top of that my fibromyalgia is in full swing and even my clothes hurt so any touch is painful and leaves a bruise.  And it has spread all over my body.  I am afraid to go to a clinic or ER because they would probably think I was a battered wife, that is how bad it is.
> 
> Does anyone know if this is common with blood thinners and if it is anything to worry about?  The fibromyalgia is what it is, but I am more concerned about the bruises.



Yes, it's something to be concerned about.  Go to the clinic in the morning and tell them you are bruising easily and need a medication adjustment.  You should not be bruising with just a touch.  Or call your doctor and tell them what is going on.  They may just need to do a lab draw and can adjust your medication without an appointment.


----------



## Snip 13

LPBeier said:


> I am getting quite concerned about the blood thinner that the cardiologist put me on until I can get an angiogram (could be another 2-3 months). I was bruising easily on my legs where the dogs would jump up to be on my lap. But now, if you barely touch me I bruise.
> 
> On top of that my fibromyalgia is in full swing and even my clothes hurt so any touch is painful and leaves a bruise. And it has spread all over my body. I am afraid to go to a clinic or ER because they would probably think I was a battered wife, that is how bad it is.
> 
> Does anyone know if this is common with blood thinners and if it is anything to worry about? The fibromyalgia is what it is, but I am more concerned about the bruises.


 
Hi LP  It is a problem but one that can be solved. It happened to me while I was on full strenght blood thinners. My Dr just adjusted my meds.
It's much better now but I still bruise easily. Not nearly as bad though.


----------



## taxlady

That sounds awful Laurie. I hope your doctor can fix that soon.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> I am getting quite concerned about the blood thinner that the cardiologist put me on until I can get an angiogram (could be another 2-3 months).  I was bruising easily on my legs where the dogs would jump up to be on my lap.  But now, if you barely touch me I bruise.
> 
> On top of that my fibromyalgia is in full swing and even my clothes hurt so any touch is painful and leaves a bruise.  And it has spread all over my body.  I am afraid to go to a clinic or ER because they would probably think I was a battered wife, that is how bad it is.
> 
> Does anyone know if this is common with blood thinners and if it is anything to worry about?  The fibromyalgia is what it is, but I am more concerned about the bruises.


I'm so sorry sweetie -- I hate that you are going through this. I agree with PF (would your sisters steer your wrong?), and you should have it checked out. Of course I am praying for you.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, Everyone.

I feel a little (actually a lot) bad for airing yet another health problem here when so many of you are going through worse.  It's just that at night I don't have my TB here to look after me and I am getting so frustrated. 

I will try to contact my own doctor's office tomorrow but she usually isn't in on Thursday and I know the clinic will just say to go to the ER and I am not sitting there for 9 hours.  I can try the cardiologist's office but he didn't seem to give me much time when I had an appointment.


----------



## Snip 13

LPBeier said:


> Thanks, Everyone.
> 
> I feel a little (actually a lot) bad for airing yet another health problem here when so many of you are going through worse. It's just that at night I don't have my TB here to look after me and I am getting so frustrated.
> 
> I will try to contact my own doctor's office tomorrow but she usually isn't in on Thursday and I know the clinic will just say to go to the ER and I am not sitting there for 9 hours. I can try the cardiologist's office but he didn't seem to give me much time when I had an appointment.


 
Laurie, don't feel bad! We are your friends and we want to listen and help where we can.
Everyone has problems but it's good to talk and have support.


----------



## Barbara L

Odette is right, there is no reason to feel bad.  

Sheesh, it is too late to edit and I just saw my stupid typo in my last message. Grrrrr. I'm getting old. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.


----------



## Addie

Laurie, I am on the lowest dosage possible short of not taking anything. And I still have hematomas. I just tell folks I am the poster child for "*Abuse The Elderly*." Half the residents in this building have the bruises. My biggest problem with them is when I bang one of them and break the skin. You would think I sliced open an artery. I had one doctor send me to Dermatology to find out if it had anything to do with the psoriasis. They came back with the diagnosis of phlebitis. Huh? Then I had another doctor tell me I was in denial of being abused by my family. I have had them so bad that I had bruises from my elbows down to the top of my hands. Little by little my cardio reduced my blood thinners. Now I only get small bruises. Small than a penny. but when I do break one, it will bleed just like the big ones. And boy do those suckers hurt once the skin is broken. 

But if you are concerned, by all means talk to your doctor. As you age, you lose collegen. Not only in your skin, but your arteries and other parts of your body. Because your arteries and veins are now thinner due to the lack of the collegen, it doesn't take much to cause the blood to seep through to just under the skin. Just rubbing your arms when you feel a chill can bring on a bruise. I never did get a satisfactory explanation from my doctors. Yet none of them showed any concern. It was my son who explained it all to me with pictures, none the less. One of the benefits my son had in having me for a mother, when he was studying medicine at Yale, he concentrated on the subjects that ailed me. As my medical proxy, he wanted to be able to discuss about what was in my best interest. And bruises were one of them.


----------



## Cindercat

I don't WANT to go to school! I want to go back to bed - or at least have the hope of a massage at the end of the day. Neither is happening. I got another new student 30 minutes before school was out yesterday. All I know about him is his first name. Today I have kids until 12:30. Then parent conferences start at 1 and go until 7.  Sometime today I'm supposed to get my van out of the shop & return my fancy rental. Don't know that that will happen either.


----------



## Snip 13

Darn it I hate ironing! Would rather scrubs toilets without gloves I hate it so much!!!!
Thank goodness I'm done.


----------



## Andy M.

As a retired corporate finance guy, I grew up on spreadsheets, they were my life.  I started with Lotus 1-2-3 and graduated to Excel.  I still use them today for everything from managing financial info to tracking medications, comparing recipes.


----------



## Snip 13

I think we've got rats, just heard something in the ceiling. That would explain the little black specks on my kitchen floors every morning. Must be rat droppings! I wasn't sure, I'm as blind as a bat. All I have to do to have an affair is remove my glasses lol!


----------



## Whiskadoodle

Andy M. said:


> As a retired corporate finance guy, I grew up on spreadsheets, they were my life. I started with Lotus 1-2-3 and graduated to Excel. I still use them today for everything from managing financial info to tracking medications, comparing recipes.


 

Not quite sure how this becomes a petty vent there Andy.  I look at using speadsheets as an extension of my brain.   I keep several sheets/ categories that are simply lists as references rather than expecting them to perform any other tasks.  Although,  a simple grocery list can be alpha- ordered or dated.   

As a single guy,  it is not worthwhile to run up to Costco frequently.  I add to my Costco list until it does.  I can also Date when/ how many coffee cans or somesuch I need to buy or plan to have on hand until my next trip.    Right now I have 9 items on an Asian market shopping list.  My goal is to have 10 things and make an out of way trip in that direction.  I suppose adding Bok Choy would do it, but I think that's cheating.  

I read a lot of blogs and many topics.   More than I care to book mark as faves.  I keep them on a spreadsheet.  Excel  will go past the www's and alphabetize them.  I date these too,  per when I last read one.  Then I don't have to guess how far back I'm reading and can stop at the last time I looked at one or if it's a decently organized blog,  pick up where I left off and read to the present.    I can  keep separate sub-groups,  same page, for specialty blogs, such as BBQ blogs or forums.  

I think spreadsheets can be useful for more than number crunching.   

The only thing they don't tell me is to Stop Sitting at the computer and get up and vaccuum out the cold air / floor registers.  I don't need a reminder that now that its cooler the furnace might run more efficiently if there was less cat hair and dust circulating.


----------



## taxlady

Whiskadoodle, it's because we were talking about spreadsheets earlier in this thread. You know we have a hard time staying on topic.

BTW, do you have a smartphone? A lot of us are using an app called "Our Groceries" for shopping lists. It's very nifty. If you want, I'll find the link.


----------



## Andy M.

Whiskadoodle said:


> Not quite sure how this becomes a petty vent there Andy.  I look at using speadsheets as an extension of my brain...




My bad for not quoting the earlier post on the topic.  

I have no issue with Excel at all.  It's a fantastic and flexible tool.


----------



## kadesma

LPBeier said:


> Thanks, Everyone.
> 
> I feel a little (actually a lot) bad for airing yet another health problem here when so many of you are going through worse. It's just that at night I don't have my TB here to look after me and I am getting so frustrated.
> 
> I will try to contact my own doctor's office tomorrow but she usually isn't in on Thursday and I know the clinic will just say to go to the ER and I am not sitting there for 9 hours. I can try the cardiologist's office but he didn't seem to give me much time when I had an appointment.


 Laurie,
get in there it's just to bad if he has to spend time with you Good Lord girl listen to PF andBarbara. This is not good. get that med adjusted and make sure they do it NOW!!! I bruise too form my aspirin I have to take but not like that and you don't need something to put up with. Listen to those who love you girl and we all do.
ma


----------



## Whiskadoodle

I guess I missed reading a page.  Reminder to put Clean Glasses on the short list.  

Thanks for the App offer.  I don't have a cell phone.   The one that still cracks me up, is when I see guys, mostly,  at the store and they are talking and asking should I get the 12 oz or 16 oz size or this brand or that brand.  Guess they don't have smart phones yet either.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks again, everyone.

My GP says that my blood thinner is a moderate dose and shouldn't make be bruise this much (in an average person which I am not ).  It is probably the combination of the blood thinner, aspirin and my FM that is making it worse....and because bruises can hurt a bit, this is flaring my fibromyalgia and making it a vicious circle.

She say SHE will contact the cardiologist and see what he wants done.  She said this will be quicker than if I try.  

In the meantime, I am to be careful and watch the bruising - look for new ones, etc.

While I am still sore, lethargic and multi-coloured, I am not panicked like I was.  Thanks for getting me to have it checked.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Just watch for unusual bleeding from other spots.  If it was me, I would stop my aspirin. The blood thinner is already doing it's job.  Many times doctors forget to stop aspirin when they order a blood thinner.  When you talk to your doctor next run that by her.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> Thanks again, everyone.
> 
> My GP says that my blood thinner is a moderate dose and shouldn't make be bruise this much (in an average person which I am not ).  It is probably the combination of the blood thinner, aspirin and my FM that is making it worse....and because bruises can hurt a bit, this is flaring my fibromyalgia and making it a vicious circle.
> 
> She say SHE will contact the cardiologist and see what he wants done.  She said this will be quicker than if I try.
> 
> In the meantime, I am to be careful and watch the bruising - look for new ones, etc.
> 
> While I am still sore, lethargic and multi-coloured, I am not panicked like I was.  Thanks for getting me to have it checked.


 Somewhere, over the rainbow...!


----------



## vitauta

if you were shorted on a prescription drug, and if that drug was vicoden, would you think it was a deliberate steal, or an honest mistake?  then, if you were shorted on another prescription medication in the same exact way, what would be your thinking then?  if you knew it was the pharmacist himself/herself that filled both rxes, would that change your perspective?  if changing drug stores was not an option, what if anything would you do in order to make sure of a correct count in your future prescriptions?


----------



## LPBeier

Cute, Barbara! 

So, my GP talked to the cardiologist who said he put me on the aspirin and blood thinner for a reason and I should just suck it up and not worry about the bruising unless I have other bleeding as PF said.  

My doctor is fuming!  She didn't send me to this guy, the hospital did and while she isn't a cardiologist she said my tests don't seem so bad - that the angiogram is just to be safe and with my other conditions she is worried more about the drugs and the bruising than me having a heart attack.  She is going to get me in to see a new cardiologist ASAP.  She won't change the medication until she can get the second opinion but if I have other symptoms I am to go off the aspirin first and then contact her office ASAP.

My doctor is really good (she actually phoned me today twice and the cardiologist on her day off because the receptionist thought it was serious enough to contact her).  She wants us to photograph the bruising and I need to phone in the morning for an emergency appointment to see her as she is fully booked.  They know I will be calling but they have to follow procedure.

This is the second time a doctor has told me to "suck it up".  The first one was an orthopedic surgeon who said that no one would touch my knee for 10 years and I would just have to suck it up with the pain and inability to walk.  I had the replacement surgery 6 months later by another doctor who when it was done said I couldn't have waited one year let alone 10!


----------



## vitauta

let me add a bit more information to the above scenario:  you are short 10 vicoden pills and 10 of another drug that same day.  the second drug has no apparent street value to your knowledge.  how would you handle this situation?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> if you were shorted on a prescription drug, and if that drug was vicoden, would you think it was a deliberate steal, or an honest mistake?  then, if you were shorted on another prescription medication in the same exact way, what would be your thinking then?  if you knew it was the pharmacist himself/herself that filled both rxes, would that change your perspective?  if changing drug stores was not an option, what if anything would you do in order to make sure of a correct count in your future prescriptions?



I always assume an honest mistake, unless it becomes frequent.  There must be a manager of some type you can speak to about it.  Diversion of medications is the easiest way for someone to steal meds.  Maybe I would insist on counting them before leaving the store..


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Well, I disagree with the cardiologist.  Jerk!

What thinner are you taking, what dose and what dose of aspirin?  You can PM me that info.

Stupid cardiologist, what a jerk!


----------



## Dawgluver

There's a reason it's called "practicing" medicine....

Laurie, sure hope you can get this resolved!


----------



## MrsLMB

I would absolutely count them right in front of the pharmacy person before leaving.  Once you step away they could say you took them.

I actually had this happen when I was charged with picking presecriptions for my late father in law.  The first time we thought innocent mistake, 2nd time began to wonder, 3rd time .. no way.  4th time I opened the bottle right then and there and counted them out and sure enough .. short.

Better to assume an error but repetition is not a mistake.


----------



## Barbara L

LPBeier said:


> Cute, Barbara!
> 
> So, my GP talked to the cardiologist who said he put me on the aspirin and blood thinner for a reason and I should just suck it up and not worry about the bruising unless I have other bleeding as PF said.
> 
> My doctor is fuming!  She didn't send me to this guy, the hospital did and while she isn't a cardiologist she said my tests don't seem so bad - that the angiogram is just to be safe and with my other conditions she is worried more about the drugs and the bruising than me having a heart attack.  She is going to get me in to see a new cardiologist ASAP.  She won't change the medication until she can get the second opinion but if I have other symptoms I am to go off the aspirin first and then contact her office ASAP.
> 
> My doctor is really good (she actually phoned me today twice and the cardiologist on her day off because the receptionist thought it was serious enough to contact her).  She wants us to photograph the bruising and I need to phone in the morning for an emergency appointment to see her as she is fully booked.  They know I will be calling but they have to follow procedure.
> 
> This is the second time a doctor has told me to "suck it up".  The first one was an orthopedic surgeon who said that no one would touch my knee for 10 years and I would just have to suck it up with the pain and inability to walk.  I had the replacement surgery 6 months later by another doctor who when it was done said I couldn't have waited one year let alone 10!


If you and I weren't nice Christian ladies, I would suggest that you wave your fist in that cardiologist's face and say, "Oh yeah?! Suck THIS up!"


----------



## Andy M.

Laurie your GP sounds great and your cardiologist is an ass.  If it was me, I'd change cardiologists.  

I hope you and the GP can get your stuff straight ASAP.  Take care.


----------



## taxlady

That cardiologist sounds like one of the doctors I dealt with in the ER a couple of years ago. I had fallen on the sidewalk and my knee hurt like the dickens. I had broken my kneecap 10 years previously, so I had a brace for that. I was wearing it at the ER.

Doctor, "Why are you wearing that?" points at the brace.
Me, "Because it hurts when I don't."
Doctor, "Quit being such a big baby."
Me, "But what if the kneecap is broken."
Doctor, "Don't be silly. It isn't broken."
Me, "Then why does it hurt like a broken bone."
Doctor, "It's arthritis." 

No, I don't have arthritis; yes, it was broken.

Someone should teach those doctors that the body doesn't make pain to be mean, it makes pain to tell you to change something or stop doing something.

If I had listened to that doctor walked around without the brace, I would probably have needed surgery and staples in the kneecap. That's what the other doctor told me.


----------



## vitauta

pf and mrslmb, thank you both for your sound and sensible advice.


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> let me add a bit more information to the above scenario: you are short 10 vicoden pills and 10 of another drug that same day. the second drug has no apparent street value to your knowledge. how would you handle this situation?


 
You could go back to the pharmacy and complain, if it was a mistake they can pick it up on their stockfile every pill and capsule is captured on the system when they receive it.
It may have been an honest mistake, sometimes patient are prescribed less than a full package of medication. From personal experience I know that mistakes can be made. Pharmacist mark opened boxes to prevent other pharmacist from dispensing them by accident but sometimes people forget to mark them. 
Even if someone did take the meds it doesn't mean it was the Pharmacist than dispensed it to you. It could have been an assistant or intern.
Medication should be checked infront of patients and if not you should check before you pay for meds.
Mistakes happen, pharmacies get busy. I know on my worst day as a pharmacist I dispensed over 1000 prescriptions in one day.


----------



## vitauta

1000 rxes in one day is an enormous amount!  how could you not make mistakes at such a pace?  i didn't understand what you were saying regarding the stockfile, snip, and how that would be a way of checking a mistake in an rx count?  what exactly is a stockfile, and how would it work?  are the pills counted or weighed on scales?  it would be good to get to the bottom of this rather sizable irregularity.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> 1000 rxes in one day is an enormous amount!  how could you not make mistakes at such a pace?  i didn't understand what you were saying regarding the stockfile, snip, and how that would be a way of checking a mistake in an rx count?  what exactly is a stockfile, and how would it work?  are the pills counted or weighed on scales?  it would be good to get to the bottom of this rather sizable irregularity.




Vicoden is a narcotic medication, their stock has to match the amount dispensed by federal law.  If they have 100 tabs at opening, they must have 50 left if they dispensed 50 to a customer.  The beginning and ending numbers MUST match.


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> 1000 rxes in one day is an enormous amount! how could you not make mistakes at such a pace? i didn't understand what you were saying regarding the stockfile, snip, and how that would be a way of checking a mistake in an rx count? what exactly is a stockfile, and how would it work? are the pills counted or weighed on scales? it would be good to get to the bottom of this rather sizable irregularity.


 
I made a few small mistakes when I started working but honestly not even 1 after a few months of working there. You get so used to it that you can tell what a medication is without the package. We often had stray pills that fell out and I could identify them all just by look. We were not allowed to use the meds that were not in packages for patients but since we all knew exactly what they were, we put them in our first aid kit at work.
A stockfile is the record of all products that are in the pharmacy. When we receive an item it is captured on the computer system. 
As a pharmacist you can then type in the name of any medication and the stockfile will show how many of that item are in store. Does this help?
So if you go back and say they gave you less they can check.
For example if they type in Vicodin and the stockfile says there are 500 Vicodin's in store but there are actually 510 then they can see you didn't receive your meds.

We did stocktaking once a month. Physically counted each pill and capsule by hand. Once a week assistants would also count as much as possible to double check amount.
Pain in the behind 
This is why I no longer work in a pharmacy, very stressfull and loads of responsibility!
You have to make sure to give all the right meds, read scripts from Dr's that sometimes write so badly that you can't tell what meds to give, mix liquid antibiotics and meds that come in powder form with distilled water and make sure you get the quantities just right. Make sure you don't use measuring jugs that are meant for toxic fluids, check patient allergies so you don't kill anyone and the list goes on!!!


----------



## PattY1

I would never have that issue. Nobody would want the meds I take. I used Tylenol for pain management after Open Heart Surgery!!


----------



## vitauta

Snip 13 said:


> I made a few small mistakes when I started working but honestly not even 1 after a few months of working there. You get so used to it that you can tell what a medication is without the package. We often had stray pills that fell out and I could identify them all just by look. We were not allowed to use the meds that were not in packages for patients but since we all knew exactly what they were, we put them in our first aid kit at work.
> A stockfile is the record of all products that are in the pharmacy. When we receive an item it is captured on the computer system.
> As a pharmacist you can then type in the name of any medication and the stockfile will show how many of that item are in store. Does this help?
> So if you go back and say they gave you less they can check.
> For example if they type in Vicodin and the stockfile says there are 500 Vicodin's in store but there are actually 510 then they can see you didn't receive your meds.
> 
> We did stocktaking once a month. Physically counted each pill and capsule by hand. Once a week assistants would also count as much as possible to double check amount.
> Pain in the behind
> This is why I no longer work in a pharmacy, very stressfull and loads of responsibility!
> You have to make sure to give all the right meds, read scripts from Dr's that sometimes write so badly that you can't tell what meds to give, mix liquid antibiotics and meds that come in powder form with distilled water and make sure you get the quantities just right. Make sure you don't use measuring jugs that are meant for toxic fluids, check patient allergies so you don't kill anyone and the list goes on!!!



your description of the work you did as a pharmacist's aide(?) was interesting to read.  i can see how the heavy responsibilities together with the speed and accuracy demands of such work would turn many workers away, particularly the sensitive or highly nervous types.  

it's good to know that there is a way to catch mistakes such as the one i experienced with the pharmacist and the vicodin.  in this instance it is just as important to me that the pharmacist can be made to see that i, the patient, am not just trying to score some extra vicodins.


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> your description of the work you did as a pharmacist's aide(?) was interesting to read. i can see how the heavy responsibilities together with the speed and accuracy demands of such work would turn many workers away, particularly the sensitive or highly nervous types.
> 
> it's good to know that there is a way to catch mistakes such as the one i experienced with the pharmacist and the vicodin. in this instance it is just as important to me that the pharmacist can be made to see that i, the patient, am not just trying to score some extra vicodins.


 
It is a huge responsibilty but I resigned because I worked so much that I hardly ever saw my daughter. I'd leave the house before she woke up and sometimes come home to find her sleeping. I missed my baby, she was only a few months old.
I would really go back if I was you. In most cases they would only be too happy to fix the mistake.
Best thing to do is always go to the same pharmacy, once they know you well you won't have problems.


----------



## LPBeier

I grew up in my Dad's pharmacy.  I started cleaning and stocking shelves on Sundays when I was 14 and when I got my Social Insurance Number at 15 started working for real at 15.  I helped out counting pills as well as being responsible for the greeting cards and the magazine racks for my Mom who was the front store manager.  I got to know a lot about medications at an early age, which is good because I am on so many now.  

My grandfather was also a pharmacist and worked the odd day in Dad's store to give him a break.  He always wanted me to become the third generation but even though I found it very interesting work, chemistry, physics and math were not my strong suits.  I felt pressured but my parents said they did not want me to go into it and I could be whatever I wanted to be.  It took me over 30 years to figure that out, but I had a lot of interesting jobs in the meantime!


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> if you were shorted on a prescription drug, and if that drug was vicoden, would you think it was a deliberate steal, or an honest mistake? then, if you were shorted on another prescription medication in the same exact way, what would be your thinking then? if you knew it was the pharmacist himself/herself that filled both rxes, would that change your perspective? if changing drug stores was not an option, what if anything would you do in order to make sure of a correct count in your future prescriptions?


 
Count them every time you get a refill. Specially if it is a pain med or narcotic. Then bring it to the attention of the head pharmacist. Find enough errors and by the same person filling the prescription, and let it be known you will no longer accept any script filled by that person in the future. You can always report it to the State License Board if it is the head pharmacist or if no action is taken at the pharamcy level.


----------



## tinlizzie

MrsLMB said:


> I would absolutely count them right in front of the pharmacy person before leaving. Once you step away they could say you took them.


 
Here's another mark in the "sad state of affairs" column when you have to question the number of pills.  I get my prescriptions filled at the local Publix grocery, and there's nearly always several people in line.  It would be more than awkward to have to count out a handful of little round pills while standing there, or even a few steps away.  (17, or was that 18, oh, wait.  1, 2, 3..)  Maybe that's what the person (if guilty) counts on -- that and the embarrassment of your having to challenge the total.  And if that's where you always go, you risk getting the reputation of trouble-maker or some such.  What a crummy deal all around.  Wish I had a solution to add for this -- but I don't; can't improve on Mrs. LMB's.

Just a sympatico petty vent.  Hope the situation improves, Vit.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> Here's another mark in the "sad state of affairs" column when you have to question the number of pills. I get my prescriptions filled at the local Publix grocery, and there's nearly always several people in line. It would be more than awkward to have to count out a handful of little round pills while standing there, or even a few steps away. (17, or was that 18, oh, wait. 1, 2, 3..) Maybe that's what the person (if guilty) counts on -- that and the embarrassment of your having to challenge the total. And if that's where you always go, you risk getting the reputation of trouble-maker or some such. What a crummy deal all around. Wish I had a solution to add for this -- but I don't; can't improve on Mrs. LMB's.
> 
> Just a sympatico petty vent. Hope the situation improves, Vit.


 
Two examples why you should count them before you leave the building and report any wrongdoing. 

I always got a 14 day supply of Vicodin. When it came time to call in for a new prescription, I began to notice that I was missing that last days supply before I could call in again. Sure enough. The delivery man was lifting my meds for his son who was a drug addict. They now put all their pain meds in bubble packs.  If your prescription calls for a 30 day supply, each pill is in an individual bubble and you can count them very quickly on the card right there.

I am supposed to get gabapentin for the pain and neuropathy in my leg. Sure enough, the Pharmacist Aide that was working on my meds, substituded a very similar pill in color and markings. I didn't think much of it until about three days later when I couldn't stop vomiting. Had I continued to take these pills for another day, I would have been dead. They were capsules for advanced Alzheimer's Disease. That Aide was also lifting some of them for a drug habit of her own. On that one I reported it to the State Department that regulates pharmacies. They completely changed their whole system of how the scripts are filled. Each patient is now coded. If the code of the medication doesn't match up with what is in the computer for the patient, the machine will not release the pills. 

I don't care if I am branded a troublemaker. It is a better title than "DEAD." 

My very life is dependent on those medications. I am dependent on the pharmacy getting it right the first time.


----------



## Snip 13

People are not all that bad. If you don't go into the Pharmacy with a nasty attitude or bite someone's head off they will more than likely help with a smile. I'm always kind and polite regardless of where I shop and I never assume that something was done on purpose until I know for sure. When staff treat me well I make a point of telling the manager how polite and friendly they are.
In return shops assistants treat me very well and even go beyond the call of duty when they see me. I get discounts and free samples and every time I go do my monthly shop they give me a free slab of chocolate.


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## vitauta

right at this time, i am recovering from a compression fracture in my back, and having my meds delivered to me. hence the need for the pain pills in the first place, and the necessity for a pharmacy that can deliver.  i cannot easily switch drug stores.  i can count the pills in the presence of the delivery person, however, and in the privacy of my home.  

the pharmacist, asked me in a real snide manner if i always count my pills.  and actually, i don't--never even had a reason to question an rx before. but these vicodin are some HUGe horse pills. i had been getting a short squat pill bottle of 100 pills that filled the container.  this time, the level looked noticably lower to me.  even so, i was still surprised at the shortage--and even more so of my discovery of the second one.  

i hate so much having to depend on other people anyway, especially for the most basic of services like this.  i am soo ready to put an end to this latest, most disagreeable chapter of my so-called life....


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> right at this time, i am recovering from a compression fracture in my back, and having my meds delivered to me. hence the need for the pain pills in the first place, and the necessity for a pharmacy that can deliver. i cannot easily switch drug stores. i can count the pills in the presence of the delivery person, however, and in the privacy of my home.
> 
> the pharmacist, asked me in a real snide manner if i always count my pills. and actually, i don't--never even had a reason to question an rx before. but these vicodin are some HUGe horse pills. i had been getting a short squat pill bottle of 100 pills that filled the container. this time, the level looked noticably lower to me. even so, i was still surprised at the shortage--and even more so of my discovery of the second one.
> 
> i hate so much having to depend on other people anyway, especially for the most basic of services like this. i am soo ready to put an end to this latest, most disagreeable chapter of my so-called life....


 
Hope you feel better soon V! Back pain is horrible


----------



## vitauta

thanks, snip.  i'm working on it.  i am lucky in that i have a great gp who has been making house calls--can you believe that in today's world?!  also, i've had plenty of time to read to my heart's content....


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> thanks, snip. i'm working on it. i am lucky in that i have a great gp who has been making house calls--can you believe that in today's world?! also, i've had plenty of time to read to my heart's content....


 
Glad you are being looked after 
I know this is a terrible thing to say but I sometimes wish I get injured so I can go and rest in hospital  I need a break and my family don't let me rest even when I'm ill. The only time someone in my home helps out is when it's Dr's orders! It's been 4 years? I think since my heart attack and that was the last time I rested! 27 plus 4 is 31  that's about right 
Wish I could come take care of you, it would be a holiday compared to this!


----------



## vitauta

snip--a heart attack?--at twenty-seven--oh no!  do you still have a heart condition today?  so sorry to hear that, snip.

i agree that you need support at home that you are apparently not getting.  you deserve so much more, snip--insist on it!  your present situation sounds untenable.  nobody should have to wish for an injury or illness in order to get some relief and tlc.  sometimes you just have to be your own top priority.


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> snip--a heart attack?--at twenty-seven--oh no! do you still have a heart condition today? so sorry to hear that, snip.
> 
> i agree that you need support at home that you are apparently not getting. you deserve so much more, snip--insist on it! your present situation sounds untenable. nobody should have to wish for an injury or illness in order to get some relief and tlc. sometimes you just have to be your own top priority.


 
Don't feel bad for me V  I'm a big girl, I can deal with it! I've worked hard my whole life and I'm used to it. Yes I am still on medication.  Just need a break, alone if possible. 
There are many people in this world that are worse off. I have 2 beautiful kids, food and a roof over my head. My husband cares, he's just a bit lazy.
Once I can find work I will hire a maid, scouts honour!


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> Don't feel bad for me V  I'm a big girl, I can deal with it! I've worked hard my whole life and I'm used to it. Just need a break, alone if possible.
> There are many people in this world that are worse off. I have 2 beautiful kids, food and a roof over my head. My husband cares, he's just a bit lazy.
> Once I can find work I will hire a maid, scouts honour!


What kind of work are you looking for? Are you a trained pharmacist?


----------



## Snip 13

taxlady said:


> What kind of work are you looking for? Are you a trained pharmacist?


 
I am trained but I am looking for something in Sales. I'm good at sales and I enjoy it. I've got some experience but the problem is that there is no work available in this town. I would do just about anything right now.
We only have one car at the moment so my work must either be walking distance or close to my husband's offices. I will also only be able to work till 5 pm so that I can fetch my children from aftercare.
I'll find something, I must just be patient. People will start resigning after December. Everyone is hanging on to their jobs till they get their bonus.


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> I am trained but I am looking for something in Sales. I'm good at sales and I enjoy it. I've got some experience but the problem is that there is no work available in this town. I would do just about anything right now.
> We only have one car at the moment so my work must either be walking distance or close to my husband's offices. I will also only be able to work till 5 pm so that I can fetch my children from aftercare.
> I'll find something, I must just be patient. People will start resigning after December. Everyone is hanging on to their jobs till they get their bonus.


Do the stores hire extra help for the Yuletide holidays? That's sometimes a way to get a foot in the door.

You wrote that you only have one car, so you have to walk (or work near your DH). Isn't there any public transportation? What about taxis?

Are there any agencies for temporary work?


----------



## Snip 13

taxlady said:


> Do the stores hire extra help for the Yuletide holidays? That's sometimes a way to get a foot in the door.
> 
> You wrote that you only have one car, so you have to walk (or work near your DH). Isn't there any public transportation? What about taxis?
> 
> Are there any agencies for temporary work?


 
I've handed my CV in for holiday jobs, will have to wait and see. Public transport is a no no. Only taxi's and unfortunetly white people are not exactly welcomed on public transport. Don't feel like getting murdered or raped. It's not safe for woman to travel on taxi's and we don't have buses or trains in Brakpan.


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> I've handed my CV in for holiday jobs, will have to wait and see. Public transport is a no no. Only taxi's and unfortunetly white people are not exactly welcomed on public transport. Don't feel like getting murdered or raped. It's not safe for woman to travel on taxi's and we don't have buses or trains in Brakpan.


Oh dear. It's been about 20 years since apartheid was abolished. I guess things haven't gotten that much better for non-whites yet, if the resentment is still that strong.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> right at this time, i am recovering from a compression fracture in my back, and having my meds delivered to me. hence the need for the pain pills in the first place, and the necessity for a pharmacy that can deliver.  i cannot easily switch drug stores.  i can count the pills in the presence of the delivery person, however, and in the privacy of my home.
> 
> *the pharmacist, asked me in a real snide manner if i always count my pills.  *and actually, i don't--never even had a reason to question an rx before. but these vicodin are some HUGe horse pills. i had been getting a short squat pill bottle of 100 pills that filled the container.  this time, the level looked noticably lower to me.  even so, i was still surprised at the shortage--and even more so of my discovery of the second one.
> 
> i hate so much having to depend on other people anyway, especially for the most basic of services like this.  i am soo ready to put an end to this latest, most disagreeable chapter of my so-called life....



I would have said, "Yes, I do since it's obvious you don't, somebody has to do it."  But, then I am not the most subtle person when I get my dander up.

Compression Fx, no fun!  I hope it gets better!


----------



## vitauta

your lack of subtlety--one of your more endearing qualities, pf....


----------



## Kylie1969

Hoping you are feeling a lot better real soon V 



vitauta said:


> right at this time, i am recovering from a compression fracture in my back, and having my meds delivered to me. hence the need for the pain pills in the first place, and the necessity for a pharmacy that can deliver.  i cannot easily switch drug stores.  i can count the pills in the presence of the delivery person, however, and in the privacy of my home.
> 
> the pharmacist, asked me in a real snide manner if i always count my pills.  and actually, i don't--never even had a reason to question an rx before. but these vicodin are some HUGe horse pills. i had been getting a short squat pill bottle of 100 pills that filled the container.  this time, the level looked noticably lower to me.  even so, i was still surprised at the shortage--and even more so of my discovery of the second one.
> 
> i hate so much having to depend on other people anyway, especially for the most basic of services like this.  i am soo ready to put an end to this latest, most disagreeable chapter of my so-called life....


----------



## tinlizzie

It's a pet peeve of mine that flood insurance is not covered under homeowner's insurance.  That big storm up the east coast is sure to cause water damage and it just seems ridiculous that you have to buy separate insurance for it.  Why is it any more likely for wind damage (which is covered) to occur than flood damage (which is not)?  I bought flood insurance for years because it was required by the mortgage on the house and its location in a flood plain.  But really, isn't any place it rains subject to getting excess water?  Come to think of it, I don't think flood insurance is available if you're not in a flood plain - can't recall if that's true or not.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> It's a pet peeve of mine that flood insurance is not covered under homeowner's insurance.  That big storm up the east coast is sure to cause water damage and it just seems ridiculous that you have to buy separate insurance for it.  Why is it any more likely for wind damage (which is covered) to occur than flood damage (which is not)?  I bought flood insurance for years because it was required by the mortgage on the house and its location in a flood plain.  But really, isn't any place it rains subject to getting excess water?  Come to think of it, I don't think flood insurance is available if you're not in a flood plain - can't recall if that's true or not.


Sometimes I think insurance companies are idiots. You can't get earthquake insurance unless you live in an area with dangerous earthquakes. Hunh? Why won't they take my money for something low risk? Same stupidity as the flood plain thing.


----------



## Snip 13

Just spent 2 hours washing dishes after dinner. Psoriasis is acting up from all the chemicals, my poor hands look like lizzard scales "rolling my eyes" lol! How can 8 people dirty 5 basins full of dishes? I washed everything I used while cooking too and the men drank beer in bottles. My house looks like we had a frat party, getting stuck to my dining room table as I type. It must be beer and I didn't even have any. Think I'm going to bed now since it's 11:25 pm.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> It's a pet peeve of mine that flood insurance is not covered under home owner's insurance. That big storm up the east coast is sure to cause water damage and it just seems ridiculous that you have to buy separate insurance for it. Why is it any more likely for wind damage (which is covered) to occur than flood damage (which is not)? I bought flood insurance for years because it was required by the mortgage on the house and its location in a flood plain. But really, isn't any place it rains subject to getting excess water? Come to think of it, I don't think flood insurance is available if you're not in a flood plain - can't recall if that's true or not.


 
I am trying to jog my memory. Back in the 50's there was a major BIG flood from the Mississippi River. I remember seeing pictures in Life magazine taken from the air. Not only homes were lost, but crops, animals, etc. The water went inland on both sides of the river for miles. And because the Mississippi was so polluted at the time, it left the land unfit for growing crops.  The insurance companies took a beating. Not just for covering the homes but also the crops. After that, they refused to give you flood insurance unless you moved and gave up your land and way of life. Very few folks were willing to do that. So when the next flood came, the government stepped in. That is when you got your insurance through the government. But they also had restrictions. So you can blame the government for the rules.


----------



## Andy M.

I have these silicone pot holders that work great.  They allow you to hold the hottest cookware for a good bit of time with no heat transfer.  I love them.  I also have a 'seeing eye' thumb that can find the tiny little hole in the edge of the pot holder for hanging it on a hook.  As a result, I now have a 'pot holder hole' sized blister on the tip of my thumb.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I have these silicone pot holders that work great.  They allow you to hold the hottest cookware for a good bit of time with no heat transfer.  I love them.  I also have a 'seeing eye' thumb that can find the tiny little hole in the edge of the pot holder for hanging it on a hook.  As a result, I now have a 'pot holder hole' sized blister on the tip of my thumb.



Ouch!   Time to fix that hole...


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I have these silicone pot holders that work great. They allow you to hold the hottest cookware for a good bit of time with no heat transfer. I love them. I also have a 'seeing eye' thumb that can find the tiny little hole in the edge of the pot holder for hanging it on a hook. As a result, I now have a 'pot holder hole' sized blister on the tip of my thumb.


 
You can file that with my putting out a cigarette with the tip of my finger. Not the smartest thing I have ever done.


----------



## Snip 13

Wanted to upload a few recent pics of my kids onto my profile then it hit me, I've never done it myself! Timothy used to move my FB photo's onto DC for me.
I've never missed a friend this much.
I don't cry, why in heck am I crying?!


----------



## vitauta

Snip 13 said:


> Wanted to upload a few recent pics of my kids onto my profile then it hit me, I've never done it myself! Timothy used to move my FB photo's onto DC for me.
> I've never missed a friend this much.
> I don't cry, why in heck am I crying?!




hugs, snippers.  best friends are missed most tenderly well....


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> hugs, snippers. best friends are missed most tenderly well....


 
Thank you V  Just feel stupid sometimes for caring so much about a friend that I never met in person. Will always regret that we never met, we would have as soon as either of us could afford a plane ticket. Can't explain it but I guess we all meet someone that we have a spiritual connection with, he was that friend to me.
The only other person I've ever felt like that about was my Gran.
He really was a great friend.
I haven't lost many people I was close to, just my Gran really. My other family members and friends that passed were not a big part of my life and the loss was easier to deal with. Feel like I've lost a family member.

I'll get a grip now, just have moments when I allow myself to think too much.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Ouch!   Time to fix that hole...



That's the pathetic part of the story.  They each came with a hole to hang them up on.  I'm usually aware of where the hole is and consciously position the pot holder to avoid the hole.  Just had a senior moment and zapped myself.  450ºF on my left thumb.


----------



## MrsLMB

As some of you already know I am on a mission to stop smoking.  I'm using the patch and it's working great except for one thing.  I am having nightmares !!  I am now soooo tired and really dreading going to bed anymore.  Why can't I have nice dreams ???


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB said:


> As some of you already know I am on a mission to stop smoking.  I'm using the patch and it's working great except for one thing.  I am having nightmares !!  I am now soooo tired and really dreading going to bed anymore.  Why can't I have nice dreams ???


Hasn't the doctor or pharmacist suggested not wearing the patch at night, since it is giving you nightmares?


----------



## MrsLMB

taxlady said:


> Hasn't the doctor or pharmacist suggested not wearing the patch at night, since it is giving you nightmares?


 
Yes ... that was the first thing I was told.  And believe me I did it  LOL  The nightmares aren't as bad since then but they are still happening.

I just got off the phone and was told to drop down to the lower level and see if that helps ... maybe the dosage is too much.  So that's what I will do beginning tomorrow.

Meanwhile .. I am smoke free and finding it a bit of a relief .. so yayyy on that !!


----------



## vitauta

MrsLMB said:


> As some of you already know I am on a mission to stop smoking.  I'm using the patch and it's working great except for one thing.  I am having nightmares !!  I am now soooo tired and really dreading going to bed anymore.  Why can't I have nice dreams ???




we're with you, mrslmb, we are behind your smokeless mission!!  hopefully, you might be able to leave the patch off at nighttime.  but even if this isn't advised, know that you are gaining many years of active and productive life by stopping smoking.  right now, it's all over the news:  the sooner you quit smoking, the quicker your body will respond, and begin to reverse damages from smoking....you can do it!


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> As some of you already know I am on a mission to stop smoking. I'm using the patch and it's working great except for one thing. I am having nightmares !! I am now soooo tired and really dreading going to bed anymore. Why can't I have nice dreams ???


 
That is one of the side effects. The Chantix gives you weird dreams. I once dreamt that I gave my baby to a kangaroo to babysit because she had a pouch and could run her errands with the baby if necessary. Another one was I was making beach sand bricks so they could use them in Haiti to build houses and roads. Everyone I know who uses an aide to stop smoking, has some strange dreams.


----------



## Dawgluver

MrsLMB said:
			
		

> Yes ... that was the first thing I was told.  And believe me I did it  LOL  The nightmares aren't as bad since then but they are still happening.
> 
> I just got off the phone and was told to drop down to the lower level and see if that helps ... maybe the dosage is too much.  So that's what I will do beginning tomorrow.
> 
> Meanwhile .. I am smoke free and finding it a bit of a relief .. so yayyy on that !!



Good for you!  Hang in there, MrsLMB!  One of these days I need to get there too....

Did a bunch of yardwork yesterday.  Today I felt a tiny lump on the side of my neck, a tick!  Tracked down the school nurse and she dug it out, the little sucker was deeply embedded, and the site's pretty sore and angry-looking.  We dug one out of DH last week, and beagle had one yesterday.  Of course, first thing I did was research Lyme Disease.  I think I'm OK, the tick wasn't engorged.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> That's the pathetic part of the story.  They each came with a hole to hang them up on.  I'm usually aware of where the hole is and consciously position the pot holder to avoid the hole.  Just had a senior moment and zapped myself.  450ºF on my left thumb.



I don't suppose you could cut that hole out...

Sorry, been burnt before and I know it hurts!  Keep it covered!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Good for you!  Hang in there, MrsLMB!  One of these days I need to get there too....
> 
> Did a bunch of yardwork yesterday.  Today I felt a tiny lump on the side of my neck, a tick!  Tracked down the school nurse and she dug it out, the little sucker was deeply embedded, and the site's pretty sore and angry-looking.  We dug one out of DH last week, and beagle had one yesterday.  Of course, first thing I did was research Lyme Disease.  I think I'm OK, the tick wasn't engorged.



Liquid bandage is made for ticks... if you put it on them they back out on their own because they can't breathe...no digging!  Vaseline works, too!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> Yes ... that was the first thing I was told.  And believe me I did it  LOL  The nightmares aren't as bad since then but they are still happening.
> 
> I just got off the phone and was told to drop down to the lower level and see if that helps ... maybe the dosage is too much.  So that's what I will do beginning tomorrow.
> 
> Meanwhile .. I am smoke free and finding it a bit of a relief .. so yayyy on that !!



Proud of you!  You can do it!  We are rooting for your success!


----------



## MrsLMB

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Proud of you! You can do it! We are rooting for your success!


 
Thanks for all the great support !

I do need it for sure.... hubby is not quitting so I am doing this alone with a smoker around !!

The good part though is that a few years back we stopped smoking in the house or car .. so if we wanted a smoke we went outside.  So at least that was already in place.

Actually I am doing better than he is ... I think he is waiting for me to break down or go all maniac or something like that.

Anyway .. I do appreciate the words of support .. it's nice to have all of this help


----------



## LPBeier

{{{{{{{{{{{{MrsLMB}}}}}}}}}}}}} I quit while living at home with both parents smoking.  You can do it.

My Petty Vent is that whenever I see this title in the feed I think it is the "Panty Vent" Thread!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Why do parents threaten their young children with strangers???  At the laundromat today, a cute toddler was cranky, obviously tired and ready for a nap.  His mother told him to behave or that mean lady, pointing at me, would yell at him and maybe spank him.

GRRRR!!!!


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Why do parents threaten their young children with strangers???  At the laundromat today, a cute toddler was cranky, obviously tired and ready for a nap.  His mother told him to behave or that mean lady, pointing at me, would yell at him and maybe spank him.
> 
> GRRRR!!!!




So, did he behave or did you have to yell at him and spank him.  Clever improvisation to add the growl at the end.


----------



## Claire

With me it was that I was to go to a party at an apartment on Main Street, to watch the Halloween parade on Saturday night.  There would be little-to-no parking, and we almost always walk.  BUT that was before I broke my hip.  But I was game, knowing that there were steps and rails the entire way (it is a very steep downhill climb; look up Galena on the internet and picture me walking down that hill).  I've walked down a couple of times since the break, but never this particular set of steps.  Well, I got to one point and there were two cars parked over the sidewalk.  So, instead of the sidewalk, steps, and rail, I had to walk down the middle of the street (otherwise I'd have had to literally jump off and on the sidewalk).  I'll admit I'm paranoid about stepping down hill (how I broke the hip to begin with).  Then, when I neared the apartment our friends live in, I had another dozen steps.  So many people crowded them to sit and watch the parade, that I couldn't use THAT rail. I don't need it for support, more for balance.  Anyway, it made it so that I had to walk step-together-step rather than right-left-right (anyone whose had a walking problem knows what I'm saying).  I actually asked people to move away from the rail so I could walk and they very rudely ignored me.  I finally said, hey you (one woman who wouldn't move over, afraid that I'd steal her primo spot for the parade), "If I fall, I am going to aim for you!"  I was so pissed.  Had a lovely evening overall, but several very insensitive people made me absolutely exhausted by the time I arrived at the party.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> So, did he behave or did you have to yell at him and spank him.  Clever improvisation to add the growl at the end.



That Grr was for his idiot mother.  I really don't like to be made out as mean in a child's eyes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> With me it was that I was to go to a party at an apartment on Main Street, to watch the Halloween parade on Saturday night.  There would be little-to-no parking, and we almost always walk.  BUT that was before I broke my hip.  But I was game, knowing that there were steps and rails the entire way (it is a very steep downhill climb; look up Galena on the internet and picture me walking down that hill).  I've walked down a couple of times since the break, but never this particular set of steps.  Well, I got to one point and there were two cars parked over the sidewalk.  So, instead of the sidewalk, steps, and rail, I had to walk down the middle of the street (otherwise I'd have had to literally jump off and on the sidewalk).  I'll admit I'm paranoid about stepping down hill (how I broke the hip to begin with).  Then, when I neared the apartment our friends live in, I had another dozen steps.  So many people crowded them to sit and watch the parade, that I couldn't use THAT rail. I don't need it for support, more for balance.  Anyway, it made it so that I had to walk step-together-step rather than right-left-right (anyone whose had a walking problem knows what I'm saying).  I actually asked people to move away from the rail so I could walk and they very rudely ignored me.  I finally said, hey you (one woman who wouldn't move over, afraid that I'd steal her primo spot for the parade), "If I fall, I am going to aim for you!"  I was so pissed.  Had a lovely evening overall, but several very insensitive people made me absolutely exhausted by the time I arrived at the party.



People are so rude...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> That Grr was for his idiot mother.  I really don't like to be made out as mean in a child's eyes.



That was so rude of her!  I've also seen where kids are threatened with arrest/ jail when there's a cop around.  Traumatizing to the child and unfair to the person used as a threat!


----------



## taxlady

Did you carry a cane Claire?

Even if you didn't, that was unkind of people.


----------



## Claire

No, I really don't need one any more (yes, I did).  If I carried one now I think it would be to smack rude people!  I'm trying to get back to normal, and I don't really need a cane any more.  If I were to carry one (and, yes, I have one) it would just be for an outward sign for people to get the h#$% out of my way when I ask politely.  Usually people in this town are very, very polite and occomodating.  But this particular even draws in a lot of people from Chicago who seem to think those of us who live here should just get out of their way.


----------



## LPBeier

Claire said:


> No, I really don't need one any more (yes, I did).  If I carried one now I think it would be to smack rude people!  I'm trying to get back to normal, and I don't really need a cane any more.  If I were to carry one (and, yes, I have one) it would just be for an outward sign for people to get the h#$% out of my way when I ask politely.  Usually people in this town are very, very polite and occomodating.  But this particular even draws in a lot of people from Chicago who seem to think those of us who live here should just get out of their way.



Claire, there are times when I don't need my cane, but I have learned to take it with me when I am out, specially if there is a lot of walking and/or crowds involved.  Often I just have it hang on my wrist by the strap, but more often I actually walk with it just so a) I have my balance and b) so people know why I am walking slowly across the street, or am needing a seat on transit (which I find difficult to take in the first place).

I have come across rude people whether I have my cane with me or not.  But the truth is, whether we have a disability or not and carry a cane or not, people have no business being rude like that.  To quote the Princess, GRRR...


----------



## Snip 13

I don't know why by I can't seem to get going today. Can't even decide what to make for dinner. Been staring at the freezer for 3 hours lol! Wish I could somehow get myself to love chicken again. Maybe I'll give it another go, most of my best recipes contain chicken.


----------



## Kylie1969

My petty vent for today is...I cant stand hot weather 

I have been lucky to be at home in the air conditioning all day, but still hate the hot weather


----------



## Snip 13

I can't stand hot weather either! Don't like sweating, never gor the point of sunbathing either lol!
I fry my food, don't want to partially cook myself ;P


----------



## Kylie1969

Is it hot over there Snip in Summer?


----------



## Snip 13

Kylie1969 said:


> Is it hot over there Snip in Summer?


 
Yes! It's 29 C today and it's spring. Summer it goes up to about 35-38 C.

Lived in Botswana for 8 years, it goes above 50 C in summer there


----------



## Kylie1969

Your Summers sound like ours here!

OMG...very hot in Botswana


----------



## Snip 13

Kylie1969 said:


> Your Summers sound like ours here!
> 
> OMG...very hot in Botswana


 
Our weather here is almost identical to yours. Friend of mine that lives in Sydney says it feels just like here. She forgets sometimes she's not home until someone speaks and the accent reminds her


----------



## taxlady

LPBeier said:


> Claire, there are times when I don't need my cane, but I have learned to take it with me when I am out, specially if there is a lot of walking and/or crowds involved.  Often I just have it hang on my wrist by the strap, but more often I actually walk with it just so a) I have my balance and b) so people know why I am walking slowly across the street, or am needing a seat on transit (which I find difficult to take in the first place).
> 
> I have come across rude people whether I have my cane with me or not.  But the truth is, whether we have a disability or not and carry a cane or not, people have no business being rude like that.  To quote the Princess, GRRR...


And if one is feeling snarky enough, one can whack someone with the cane. 

I have thought about bringing mine with me when I take the bus, but I'm afraid I might lose it. Most people don't think I look my age (62), so they don't stand up for me unless I ask, and not always if I do. I really don't want to stand up on the bus because I have osteoporosis and I don't want to get knocked down or to fall.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Liquid bandage is made for ticks... if you put it on them they back out on their own because they can't breathe...no digging! Vaseline works, too!


 
When we lived in Tacoma, I was managing some apartments. Some military tenents had gone home to Oregon for a week. My son was down in their apartment when they were unpacking. That night when I went to give him his bath, I saw a tick in his testicles. OMG. I took him to the ER and they kept pouring alcohol over the tick. It backed out and they put it in a spec jar. It was the kind that will give you Rocky Mountain Fever. A killer. 

The next day I had Public Health folks at my door from Wash.DC, Wash. State and the city. It seems that there are no ticks in Wash State. How did it get there? It was in the tenants luggage. Jumped on my son's shorts and found a nice warm place.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> And if one is feeling snarky enough, one can whack someone with the cane.
> 
> I have thought about bringing mine with me when I take the bus, but I'm afraid I might lose it. Most people don't think I look my age (62), so they don't stand up for me unless I ask, and not always if I do. I really don't want to stand up on the bus because I have osteoporosis and I don't want to get knocked down or to fall.


 
I have to give our transit system some kudos. If an elderly or handicap person gets on the bus, the driver will make someone give up their seat if none is available. Rather than be tossed off the bus, they do it. There are signs on all transit equipment, that the law states certain seats are for the elderly and handicap. They must be surrendered when asked or the need is there. It is the young folks that seem to be oblivious to the situation. Or they can't read.


----------



## Alix

Dang it! My sweet daughter got a great bargain on a pair of shorts I'd like to take on our cruise but they look like they've been painted on me when I put them on. NOT attractive. I either have to lose a few pounds (likely a good idea anyway) or leave the shorts behind. Phooey.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> Dang it! My sweet daughter got a great bargain on a pair of shorts I'd like to take on our cruise but they look like they've been painted on me when I put them on. NOT attractive. I either have to lose a few pounds (likely a good idea anyway) or leave the shorts behind. Phooey.




If your daughter is going to continue buying clothes you'd like to wear, you should fatten her up a bit so you can 'borrow' her stuff.


----------



## Alix

Andy M. said:


> If your daughter is going to continue buying clothes you'd like to wear, you should fatten her up a bit so you can 'borrow' her stuff.



It would take a LOT of fattening. She wears a 2 or a 4 and I wear a 14. Ah the joys of youth! I should have mentioned she bought the shorts FOR me. Stupid me eating all that yummy food and making my butt fat. Sheesh.


----------



## LPBeier

Alix said:


> Dang it! My sweet daughter got a great bargain on a pair of shorts I'd like to take on our cruise but they look like they've been painted on me when I put them on. NOT attractive. I either have to lose a few pounds (likely a good idea anyway) or leave the shorts behind. Phooey.



Did the store have a deal on your size too?


----------



## LPBeier

Addie said:


> I have to give our transit system some kudos. If an elderly or handicap person gets on the bus, the driver will make someone give up their seat if none is available. Rather than be tossed off the bus, they do it. There are signs on all transit equipment, that the law states certain seats are for the elderly and handicap. They must be surrendered when asked or the need is there. It is the young folks that seem to be oblivious to the situation. Or they can't read.


We have all those signs all over as well, but I find that unless I have my cane, no one will offer a seat.  I don't look 54 and I don't think even if I did they would  give me a seat.  Once I forgot my cane and showed this guy who was in a designated seat my Handypass and he said he could have one of those made up too and went back to texting on his phone.  I did get a seat, but not one comfortable for my leg.  This was on the rapid transit train where there are no drivers and rarely any staff at all.


----------



## Addie

LPBeier said:


> We have all those signs all over as well, but I find that unless I have my cane, no one will offer a seat. I don't look 54 and I don't think even if I did they would give me a seat. Once I forgot my cane and showed this guy who was in a designated seat my Handypass and he said he could have one of those made up too and went back to texting on his phone. I did get a seat, but not one comfortable for my leg. This was on the rapid transit train where there are no drivers and rarely any staff at all.


 
We have cameras on all our equipment. And there is someone in Central Control watching the monitors. They can and do call the driver or conductor of the bus or train and let them know immediately that there is a problem. Also the transit police are everywhere. So they respond really fast to a problem.


----------



## Kylie1969

Snip 13 said:


> Our weather here is almost identical to yours. Friend of mine that lives in Sydney says it feels just like here. She forgets sometimes she's not home until someone speaks and the accent reminds her



It is just amazing, the similarities of the 2 places


----------



## Snip 13

Kylie1969 said:


> It is just amazing, the similarities of the 2 places


 
I wonder what all influenced those similarities sometimes?  Both countries were under British rule, both have many English, Irish, French etc immigrants. Must be all the outside cutural influences?!
Well I'm half Irish, bit of a pavement special really


----------



## Alix

This may turn into a major vent. Its been a stupid week! Monday night, received a NASTY steam burn on my hand. BAD one. Treated it with cold water, aloe and let it be. Blistered up nicely. I left it alone, although the temptation nearly got me. 

Yesterday, horrible migraine (weather related likely) and went home from work. Slept all day, felt better. Went to hug DH when he got home and ripped off the ginormous blister! GROSS! Polysporin but no bandage big enough in the house. LOTS of polysporin. Went to work, found BIG bandage and more polysporin. 

Later today, hand aching...some swelling but no redness or heat. Went to doc for meds. He wrapped the crap out of my hand. I could have been a mummy! LOL. Taking antibiotics now, but took off giant bandage and put a big stick on bandaid on it. 

Whine! Whimper! My arm hurts! Stupid infection. If this gets worse and messes up my trip I'm going to be über ticked off.


----------



## Dawgluver

Alix said:
			
		

> This may turn into a major vent. Its been a stupid week! Monday night, received a NASTY steam burn on my hand. BAD one. Treated it with cold water, aloe and let it be. Blistered up nicely. I left it alone, although the temptation nearly got me.
> 
> Yesterday, horrible migraine (weather related likely) and went home from work. Slept all day, felt better. Went to hug DH when he got home and ripped off the ginormous blister! GROSS! Polysporin but no bandage big enough in the house. LOTS of polysporin. Went to work, found BIG bandage and more polysporin.
> 
> Later today, hand aching...some swelling but no redness or heat. Went to doc for meds. He wrapped the crap out of my hand. I could have been a mummy! LOL. Taking antibiotics now, but took off giant bandage and put a big stick on bandaid on it.
> 
> Whine! Whimper! My arm hurts! Stupid infection. If this gets worse and messes up my trip I'm going to be über ticked off.



Oh dear, Alix!  No advice here, other than keep it wrapped on the plane and buy stock in polysporin!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Ow, Alix!  Take care of that!


----------



## Alix

Thanks guys. Its been a poopy week. I'm going to go hang out with some girls and drink gin and tonic. Alcohol kills germs right?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Thanks guys. Its been a poopy week. I'm going to go hang out with some girls and drink gin and tonic. Alcohol kills germs right?



Yes, it does!  I may get some of that for myself.  Since it's Friday, of course I'm starting to feel congested and have a sore throat.  Yea weekend!

I just added poopy to the dictionary on my laptop...it kept saying it was misspelled.


----------



## Alix

Hahahaha! You guys always make me feel better! Don't forget the garlic PF. I had garlicky hummus for dinner. Garlic and alcohol will kill anything!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I had guacamole and chips for dinner...it was plenty garlicky...keeps the vampires away!

Yum...I think I will roast some garlic and make a soup out of it.  That should help me enjoy the weekend and keep Shrek and the cats away.


----------



## taxlady

Oh Alex, what a bummer. (((hugs))) When is your trip? I'm sending healing vibes in your direction.


----------



## Cindercat

Things are heating up at school! Two more students (one non-reader/can't count to 10/runner). Technology that doesn't work all week when I really need it. The topper is that the heat in the building was turned on. My room is right over the boiler room. I've had 3 days of 85 degree temperature in my room WITH 3 large windows wide open & 45-60 degree temps outside and a fan running. I'm told to expect the temp to stay that way all winter. So when I'm at my desk I've got a cold draft at my back but hot 2 feet away. My chapstick in my purse on the floor melted into a soft goo. I went home each night with dried out eyes, a headache, chapped lips and needing my inhaler. Don't know if I'm going to be able to tolerate the heat. Only good thing this week is my supervisor is trying to get me another full time paraprofessional because of my new boy who runs added to the rest of my mix.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, no, Cindercat.  Sure seems like SpEd staff are treated like second class citizens at times, doesn't it?


----------



## Kylie1969

Hope you are feeling better soon Alix, especially before your trip



Alix said:


> This may turn into a major vent. Its been a stupid week! Monday night, received a NASTY steam burn on my hand. BAD one. Treated it with cold water, aloe and let it be. Blistered up nicely. I left it alone, although the temptation nearly got me.
> 
> Yesterday, horrible migraine (weather related likely) and went home from work. Slept all day, felt better. Went to hug DH when he got home and ripped off the ginormous blister! GROSS! Polysporin but no bandage big enough in the house. LOTS of polysporin. Went to work, found BIG bandage and more polysporin.
> 
> Later today, hand aching...some swelling but no redness or heat. Went to doc for meds. He wrapped the crap out of my hand. I could have been a mummy! LOL. Taking antibiotics now, but took off giant bandage and put a big stick on bandaid on it.
> 
> Whine! Whimper! My arm hurts! Stupid infection. If this gets worse and messes up my trip I'm going to be über ticked off.


----------



## Addie

Alix said:


> This may turn into a major vent. Its been a stupid week! Monday night, received a NASTY steam burn on my hand. BAD one. Treated it with cold water, aloe and let it be. Blistered up nicely. I left it alone, although the temptation nearly got me.
> 
> Yesterday, horrible migraine (weather related likely) and went home from work. Slept all day, felt better. Went to hug DH when he got home and ripped off the ginormous blister! GROSS! Polysporin but no bandage big enough in the house. LOTS of polysporin. Went to work, found BIG bandage and more polysporin.
> 
> Later today, hand aching...some swelling but no redness or heat. Went to doc for meds. He wrapped the crap out of my hand. I could have been a mummy! LOL. Taking antibiotics now, but took off giant bandage and put a big stick on bandaid on it.
> 
> Whine! Whimper! My arm hurts! Stupid infection. If this gets worse and messes up my trip I'm going to be über ticked off.


 
Take care of that hand Alix. How are you going to type to keep in touch with us. 

I too had a horrible day yesterday. I went shopping at 7 a.m.. Got a big food order. Got all the food put away, thanks to my son, and then headed for the kitchen. Had baking to do for the Church Fair which was today. I got four mini pumpkin breads made. got hit with a horrendous migraine headache also. continued to work, that was a mistake. Took the out of the oven and went to lay down. When I got up, I discovered I had forgotten to put in the four eggs. I took them out of the disposable pans and started over. Was I going to have enough ingredients to finish all I wanted to do? I tossed out the four yucky ones, washed out the disposable pans and started over again. By this time I had lost about five hours. Well I managed to get all the pumpkin breads made. Eight for the church and two large ones for my daughter. I was exhausted. I got to bed after midnight. I haven't put in a day like that in years. So of course I overslept this morning. I jumped up, got dressed, wrapped the mini loaves and headed out the door. I NEED A CUP OF COFFEE!! I need a shower. 

Of course I got held up at the church. How can you say, "Sorry I have to run" when every one there wants to thank you for your donation. Every one has a hug for you. "Oh dear Lord, please let me get out of here. I am downstairs from the Sancuary. Can you hear me?" 

I have an appointment with my daughter at 11 a.m. to go get my hair cut. I am taking a break right now. Headed for the shower and out of here once again. Everey one have a great day. The next time you hear from me I will have a bald head. I am gettiing a Pixie cut. Off! I want it all Off!.


----------



## Snip 13

Washed one too many dishes this weekend. My psoriasis is acting up, my hands are itchy and burning. This is no fun and I'm all out of gloves!


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> Washed one too many dishes this weekend. My psoriasis is acting up, my hands are itchy and burning. This is no fun and I'm all out of gloves!


(((Hugs)))


----------



## Addie

Snip 13 said:


> Washed one too many dishes this weekend. My psoriasis is acting up, my hands are itchy and burning. This is no fun and I'm all out of gloves!


 
I am with you on that one Snip. With all the stress I have been under, I have had a major outbreak. I was in remission, and the day I got the news about my daughter, my body reacted. Fortunately I am able to use Taclonex. It cost $503 a tube. My medical plan pays for it. I get two tubes a month.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Snip 13 said:


> Washed one too many dishes this weekend. My psoriasis is acting up, my hands are itchy and burning. This is no fun and I'm all out of gloves!



Borage or grapeseed oil is good for that, rub it in.


----------



## Snip 13

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs)))


 
Thank you


----------



## Snip 13

Addie said:


> I am with you on that one Snip. With all the stress I have been under, I have had a major outbreak. I was in remission, and the day I got the news about my daughter, my body reacted. Fortunately I am able to use Taclonex. It cost $503 a tube. My medical plan pays for it. I get two tubes a month.


 
Psoriasis is an expensive hobby  can't afford the meds for it. My hands are the worst at the moment. Bleeding in the cracks. Stress seems to be my biggest trigger but working with bleach and strong chemicals doesn't help  Just wish people would stop asking me if it's contageous! As you will know, it's not  I'll get gloves again but they're out of stock. Latex gloves give me itchy blisters, I'll wait till they have my trusty yellow cotton lined variety
Gosh I am a mess


----------



## Addie

I see ads on TV all the time for Humera. The ad ends with "Most patients go into remission." And that is all it does. But when you stop taking the injections, the psoriasis comes backwith a vengence. There still is no cure for it. Everytime a doctor or medical person tries to tell me what to do for it, I remind them that I have had psoriasis long than they have been on this planet. There are medicines and other oils and ointments that help keep it under control. 

https://www.psoriasis.org/

I have been reading and always look for the latest information from this site. It has been really helpful. They are always up to date with the latest trials. I have participated in two that made it and passed the field trials.


----------



## Addie

Snip 13 said:


> Psoriasis is an expensive hobby  can't afford the meds for it. My hands are the worst at the moment. Bleeding in the cracks. Stress seems to be my biggest trigger but working with bleach and strong chemicals doesn't help  Just wish people would stop asking me if it's contageous! As you will know, it's not  I'll get gloves again but they're out of stock. Latex gloves give me itchy blisters, I'll wait till they have my trusty yellow cotton lined variety
> Gosh I am a mess


 
When someone insist on being really nosey about it, I just tell them I have *leprosy.* That shuts them up. I love seeing their reaction. I used to try to keep it covered. No more. Come warm weather I wear tank tops. The sun is really helpful in the summer.


----------



## Snip 13

Addie said:


> I see ads on TV all the time for Humera. The ad ends with "Most patients go into remission." And that is all it does. But when you stop taking the injections, the psoriasis comes backwith a vengence. There still is no cure for it. Everytime a doctor or medical person tries to tell me what to do for it, I remind them that I have had psoriasis long than they have been on this planet. There are medicines and other oils and ointments that help keep it under control.
> 
> https://www.psoriasis.org/
> 
> I have been reading and always look for the latest information from this site. It has been really helpful. They are always up to date with the latest trials. I have participated in two that made it and passed the field trials.


 
I've been given anti fungal creams, meds for ringworm and enough cortisone to supply a 3rd world country  I got the right meds for the first time about 5 yrs ago. Dr's hate being wrong  So far the only thing that has genuinly helped me is Silver mineral supplement. I must get some again. There is no cure but the silver kept it away for months without nasty side effects.


----------



## Snip 13

Addie said:


> When someone insist on being really nosey about it, I just tell them I have *leprosy.* That shuts them up. I love seeing their reaction. I used to try to keep it covered. No more. Come warm weather I wear tank tops. The sun is really helpful in the summer.


 
I tell them it's advanced Aids, people can be so gullable  They back off immediatly. I find heat makes it worse too, sweaty skin causes more break outs. 
I'm lucky, my rash is not that scary looking, I've seen much worse. I get it mainly on my hands, feet and when I was pregnant my abdomen was covered in rash.  havnen't had it anywhere else on my body since I was in primary school.


----------



## LPBeier

To me this is a huge vent but i know when i get it out i will feel better.  mostly it it a "feeling sorry for myself" more than a vent.

i have been typing for over 35 years and am down to three or fingers and looking at the keys. i know i will be spell checking this too.  Now i am also not able to talk because things are stuck in my throat but doctors say nothing wrong - they agree it is not my acid reflux as they see the scarring but nothing they can do.

On top of that the arthritis in my back doesn't allow for much sitting or standing but fibromyalgia doesn't allow for lying down much - clothes, bedsheets, anything on my skin hurts.

i know i have mentioned this before and others have far worse but communicating is a big thing for me.  I guess I am just having a hard time accepting it will get worse.

Finally, this has taken me over 15 minutes to type where it should be under a minute!


----------



## Snip 13

LPBeier said:


> To me this is a huge vent but i know when i get it out i will feel better. mostly it it a "feeling sorry for myself" more than a vent.
> 
> i have been typing for over 35 years and am down to three or fingers and looking at the keys. i know i will be spell checking this too. Now i am also not able to talk because things are stuck in my throat but doctors say nothing wrong - they agree it is not my acid reflux as they see the scarring but nothing they can do.
> 
> On top of that the arthritis in my back doesn't allow for much sitting or standing but fibromyalgia doesn't allow for lying down much - clothes, bedsheets, anything on my skin hurts.
> 
> i know i have mentioned this before and others have far worse but communicating is a big thing for me. I guess I am just having a hard time accepting it will get worse.
> 
> Finally, this has taken me over 15 minutes to type where it should be under a minute!


 
There is nothing wrong with venting. The best thing you can do is get  it out of your system. I don't try and push religion on anyone but these words have always brought me comfort when things just get to much and I really hope they make you feel better too!

Big Cuddle 
Odette


----------



## taxlady

Gotta get this off my chest.

I'm the vice president of the Danish Club in Montreal. Our treasurer resigned in February. Our secretary said he would take over until the end of the next election if I would help. He wanted to do the accounting the way he saw fit and didn't want to hear what I and a chartered accountant tried to explain. Too complicated. It was agreed that he would keep track of the money and expenses and someone else would do the financial statements.

Now he has prepared the year end financial statement, or so he thinks. It doesn't come close. It only goes from February to October. Okay, it doesn't have to follow GAAP (generally accepted accounting practices), but it does have to be clear, be complete, and make sense. He thought I was going to audit his financial statement. I don't know how to audit properly. I do know how to make a financial statement. I have to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

He won't give me the password to the bank account. He wants me to have my own password. I would prefer that, but they don't do that with biz accounts. He has a joint account with his wife and they have each their own password, he didn't say so, but I don't think he believes me. When we all went to the bank and gave our signatures, they explained about the one password. We agreed that that was alright.

I asked him to download the transactions. He doesn't think I need them, because I have everything in hard copy. He sent me a screen shot of the last 30 days of transactions.  I can't even copy and paste from a screen shot.

Now I will have to enter everything by hand. I'm using QuickBooks® so I can get the nice reports. It would have been nice to import those transactions from the bank.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Gotta get this off my chest.
> 
> I'm the vice president of the Danish Club in Montreal. Our treasurer resigned in February. Our secretary said he would take over until the end of the next election if I would help. He wanted to do the accounting the way he saw fit and didn't want to hear what I and a chartered accountant tried to explain. Too complicated. It was agreed that he would keep track of the money and expenses and someone else would do the financial statements.
> 
> Now he has prepared the year end financial statement, or so he thinks. It doesn't come close. It only goes from February to October. Okay, it doesn't have to follow GAAP (generally accepted accounting practices), but it does have to be clear, be complete, and make sense. He thought I was going to audit his financial statement. I don't know how to audit properly. I do know how to make a financial statement. I have to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
> 
> He won't give me the password to the bank account. He wants me to have my own password. I would prefer that, but they don't do that with biz accounts. He has a joint account with his wife and they have each their own password, he didn't say so, but I don't think he believes me. When we all went to the bank and gave our signatures, they explained about the one password. We agreed that that was alright.
> 
> I asked him to download the transactions. He doesn't think I need them, because I have everything in hard copy. He sent me a screen shot of the last 30 days of transactions.  I can't even copy and paste from a screen shot.
> 
> Now I will have to enter everything by hand. I'm using QuickBooks® so I can get the nice reports. It would have been nice to import those transactions from the bank.



As a retired accountant, I feel your pain.  Since you are a signer on the account, can't you get the info from the bank in person or do you need the PW?

I would insist on his cooperation.  Tell him you feel obligated to tell the club members your professional opinion of the financial report.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> As a retired accountant, I feel your pain.  Since you are a signer on the account, can't you get the info from the bank in person or do you need the PW?
> 
> I would insist on his cooperation.  Tell him you feel obligated to tell the club members your professional opinion of the financial report.


I can't get a download from the bank. I have the information. If I go to the bank in person all I can get is hard copy.

The rest of the executive of the club is hearing about my opinion of his financial report and I know he will take offence. Tough noogies. We battle about technology on a regular basis.

He has all the amounts from all the luncheons in Word. He didn't even use the calculator in Word, he just has a column of numbers and a column of descriptions. I'm pretty sure he got the total using a paper and pencil. He didn't want me to give him templates in Excel. 

Next year, if we all get re-elected, I will insist on doing the bookkeeping on a monthly basis. And we will figure out something about the online banking.


----------



## Andy M.

Sounds like the club needs a new officer - Vice President/Treasurer.  

All in favor...


----------



## Zhizara

Aye!

I just wonder who gave the password to this idiot.  Something sounds very fishy.


----------



## vitauta

i can feel your headache from virginia, taxy--one you don't need or deserve.  all too often, 'doing the right thing' involves unwonted hardships--almost never is easy or goes smoothly....


----------



## Addie

I was hired by a church to put all their finances on the computer. They were still in the manual age. What a nightmare. Numbers from Sundays collections on little slips of paper kept in a drawer, no church member list anywhere, no accounting of the weekly envelopes, etc. A disaster area. It took me two years to get it all together and on the computer. I was constantly fighting a group of old members who thought the old way was best. After all the church was 100 years old and had survived all those years without a computer. And why did the church have to pay me? A lot of times I took the work home on an F file and did the work at home with no charge for my hours. So I can understand your frustrations. Stand your ground and don't let him get away with anything.


----------



## Zhizara

Today is the annual fire alarm check.  They go from apartment to apartment, setting off the (VERY LOUD) alarms.  Once they check yours, you're subjected to having your alarm go off with every single other apartment's as they get checked.  

I'm going nuts!  My blood pressure is soaring.  I know intellectually it's not a real alarm, but my body reacts as if it was.

All this while making eggplant lasagna.

Second vent is that I went to the store earlier, because I didn't have any cottage cheese or ricotta for the lasagna.  It's a small store, and were out of both!  I decided to go ahead with the lasagna as I want to use the eggplant while it's still fresh.

I went ahead making it with mozzarella and grated parm/romano.  I sure hope it comes out okay.  It's a lot of work.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> Today is the annual fire alarm check. They go from apartment to apartment, setting off the (VERY LOUD) alarms. Once they check yours, you're subjected to having your alarm go off with every single other apartment's as they get checked.
> 
> I'm going nuts! My blood pressure is soaring. I know intellectually it's not a real alarm, but my body reacts as if it was.
> 
> All this while making eggplant lasagna.
> 
> Second vent is that I went to the store earlier, because I didn't have any cottage cheese or ricotta for the lasagna. It's a small store, and were out of both! I decided to go ahead with the lasagna as I want to use the eggplant while it's still fresh.
> 
> I went ahead making it with mozzarella and grated parm/romano. I sure hope it comes out okay. It's a lot of work.


 
My alarm has been covered over with a thick piece of paper. About every six months a piece of dust gets into one and sets off the whole building. I have had ear problems that I was born with. It is so loud I am afraid that it will cause my right ear to start bleeding, hence the cover over it. It still will wake me out of a sound sleep. I know what you mean when you say your body reacts to it. When ours go off, no one reacts or even bothers to find out if it is for real. But it is still jarring. HUD wants the paper taken off. I told the building manager that they can take it off and I will have it put back on right away. 

Lasagna is a LOT of work. That is why I made it only once or twice a year. Even today, in this family if you want it, go to a restaurant and order it.


----------



## taxlady

The president phoned the bank and had the password reset. I phoned the bank and signed us up for online statements. The statements go back 7 years and I downloaded all the missing ones. I downloaded the transactions from August, September, October, and the few in November.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> The president phoned the bank and had the password reset. I phoned the bank and signed us up for online statements. The statements go back 7 years and I downloaded all the missing ones. I downloaded the transactions from August, September, October, and the few in November.


 
Sounds like you are right on top of things. Good work.


----------



## vitauta

ain't nobody gonna mess with our taxy for very long and get away with it!!


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> The president phoned the bank and had the password reset. I phoned the bank and signed us up for online statements. The statements go back 7 years and I downloaded all the missing ones. I downloaded the transactions from August, September, October, and the few in November.



Fantastic!  Bravo for doing the right thing.


----------



## Zhizara

It took at least 2-3 hours for the noise to stop.  Then they set off the alarms for the whole building, and let that blast for 15 more minutes!  It was torture!

My alarm uses a light and receptor that will go off if the connection is broken, so no way to cover it up.  They set it off by a short spray from an aerosol.

Amazingly, I managed to make the lasagna and it turned out excellent.  

I was so rattled that I kept working, and now the kitchen is clean, everything put away, and the floor done too!  I've been on such a roll that I've started another turkey neck stew! LOL 

Guess I've got a lot of adrenaline to burn off.


----------



## Zhizara

YAY!!  Well done!


----------



## Dawgluver

Good for you and your tenacity, TL!


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> It took at least 2-3 hours for the noise to stop. Then they set off the alarms for the whole building, and let that blast for 15 more minutes! It was torture!
> 
> My alarm uses a light and receptor that will go off if the connection is broken, so no way to cover it up. They set it off by a short spray from an aerosol.
> 
> Amazingly, I managed to make the lasagna and it turned out excellent.
> 
> I was so rattled that I kept working, and now the kitchen is clean, everything put away, and the floor done too! I've been on such a roll that I've started another turkey neck stew! LOL
> 
> Guess I've got a lot of adrenaline to burn off.


 
The next time you have a lot of work to do, send a note to management asking them to set the alarms off. It seems you have found a new way to get things done.


----------



## Zhizara

!  Thanks anyway, I'd rather find a way to spend the day somewhere else.  Unfortunately, the notice they gave us said they would be doing this Tuesday through Thursday.

I'm just glad it's over for another year.  I probably would have done all that cooking and cleaning anyway, but with all that adrenaline, and alarms blaring, I got it done in record time.

I'm debating making some fudge that I got the ingredients for today...  Nah, I'll do that tommorrow.

I don't know why I've been in such a cooking mode lately.  I'm still managing to find room in the freezer and fridge.

Maybe I'll finally try to see how long I can go without having to shop.

I've had that idea in mind for awhile, but never actually tried it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> The president phoned the bank and had the password reset. I phoned the bank and signed us up for online statements. The statements go back 7 years and I downloaded all the missing ones. I downloaded the transactions from August, September, October, and the few in November.



Great!  I hope you get things cleared up and nice for everyone!  Already know you will do a good job!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Sounds like the club needs a new officer - Vice President/Treasurer.
> 
> All in favor...


 
Aye!


----------



## Snip 13

Addie said:


> Aye!


 
+1


----------



## Kylie1969

Good on you Taxy


----------



## taxlady

I'm recuperating from the marathon bookkeeping session. I took a three hour nap. I still feel like a wet dish rag, but at least my brain is working again.

I have emailed PDFs of all the reports to the other members of the executive. When they have had a look, they will go to our auditor. That's not for a formal audit. It's just for club purposes. Our auditor is a club member who has stepped up to the plate at the last minute. I think he has an accounting background.

Yeah, I will probably wind up being the treasurer next year.

And thanks everyone for all the encouragement. It helped me get through this mess to know that you guys were rooting for me.


----------



## love2"Q"

Been going to the same vet for years.. we tell them we need tails docked and dew claws removed.. and they tell us they dont do inhumane procedures... So we had to scramble to find a vet that we like and trust .. got one .. but man what a pain..


----------



## taxlady

love2"Q" said:


> Been going to the same vet for years.. we tell them we need tails docked and dew claws removed.. and they tell us they dont do inhumane procedures... So we had to scramble to find a vet that we like and trust .. got one .. but man what a pain..


I'm curious, why do you feel that you need tails docked? I assume you are talking about dogs.


----------



## love2"Q"

taxlady said:
			
		

> I'm curious, why do you feel that you need tails docked? I assume you are talking about dogs.



Its for our boxer puppies.. breed standerd...


----------



## taxlady

love2"Q" said:


> Its for our boxer puppies.. breed standerd...


Will you be showing the pups?


----------



## love2"Q"

taxlady said:
			
		

> Will you be showing the pups?



No... But the new owners can if they would like...


----------



## taxlady

My neighbour came over today to have copies made of some paperwork she has from the city. It is a letter to the condo association, dated 31 July 2009. It tells them that there is a broken water main on condo property and that they should get it fixed ASAP. The other paper is the results of their inspection on 22 June 2009.

The condo association told my neighbour that we can't afford to fix it. It has now gotten worse. I listened to the noise from outside her basement door and it was really loud. She says she can't sleep for the noise.

I can't believe they are being so stupidly stubborn. When something needs to get fixed, we have to fix it. If we don't have the money, then we have to assess a special fee to be collected from all the condo owners, assuming we don't have the money in our contingency fund. We better danged well have the money in our contingency fund. We have had battles about that in the past. We decided that we have to have a contingency fund. When all the roofs needed to be repaired, we paid a lot of extra money in contingency fund assessment for a couple of years. We didn't ever want to have that happen again.

The city will be sending the condo association a registered letter giving them a deadline to start work on the repair. There will be a daily fine if they don't start the work by the deadline. They danged well better start the work on time. I don't want my condo fees going towards paying fines.


----------



## Andy M.

TL, I don't know the structure of your condo association, but where I live, owners can vote out any Board members and vote in new people.  Also, you association finances should be available to all owners on request.


----------



## taxlady

I must be really crabby today. I just posted something in "Venting" and now I'm posting here. Maybe I just miss Stirling. He should be coming home Wednesday.

Anyhoo, they are making my street one way, southbound. I live right near the southern corner. The entrance to our garage is about 50 feet from the corner. Now when I drive home, I will have to drive to the far end of the block, which is a half a kilometre long, to drive southward. If I am coming from the southwest, it will be a detour of 1.3 km! Grumble, grumble, phooey.

It gets better. If I am driving home between 15h30 and 18h30, the rightmost lane on the main street is a bus/taxi/carpool lane. So, I will have to move to the centre lane for less than one block and hope that I can make the lane change into the right lane in the very short distance near the corner where that is allowed, to make a right turn. Grumble, grumble, phooey.


----------



## Addie

TL, I realize that Canada's laws are different from ours. But here in the section of Boston where I live. we have one way streets galore. Most residents that find themselves one house up from the corner will still go the wrong way IF traffice allows. Or they will just backup IF traffice allows. The police know this and ignore it. In the years I have been living here, I have never seen an accident when the residents do this. The block my daughter lives on has one side of her block two houses longer on the opposite side from her. And it is a one way street. You get to see some interesting driving. 

Do you think you can get away with doing either one? I sure hope so. It will go easier on your gas tank and nerves.

And hang in there. Stirling will be back before you know it. Just give him a big hug and lots of good food.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> TL, I don't know the structure of your condo association, but where I live, owners can vote out any Board members and vote in new people.  Also, you association finances should be available to all owners on request.


Yup, we can vote them out at the AGM in June. I can certainly get another copy of the finances as of the last AGM. I might be able to get a copy of the current state of our finances, but I have my doubts. I don't think they are well enough organized to have anything up to date between AGMs.

I missed the last AGM. I think I wasn't feeling well. I try to go to them, even though I hate them. I dislike the squabbling and petty nonsense. I dislike power tripping. I dislike the lack of common sense.

I can't find the financial statements that they handed out this year. I found the ones from the previous year. At that time we had over $50,000 in the contingency fund. There was nothing in the budget that should have used that up. I haven't heard about any other emergency expenditures.

I would run for rep, but I don't think anyone wants to nominate me. Most of my neighbours are not people I would choose as friends. And I think it would be a real PITA to be a rep with this group. I really admire you for being willing to do the work of being on the board.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> TL, I realize that Canada's laws are different from ours. But here in the section of Boston where I live. we have one way streets galore. Most residents that find themselves one house up from the corner will still go the wrong way IF traffice allows. Or they will just backup IF traffice allows. The police know this and ignore it. In the years I have been living here, I have never seen an accident when the residents do this. The block my daughter lives on has one side of her block two houses longer on the opposite side from her. And it is a one way street. You get to see some interesting driving.
> 
> Do you think you can get away with doing either one? I sure hope so. It will go easier on your gas tank and nerves.
> 
> And hang in there. Stirling will be back before you know it. Just give him a big hug and lots of good food.




I never thought of backing up or going the wrong way. That would actually not be that unusual here in Quebec. 

But, I'm the kind of driver who comes to a full stop at a stop sign, even late at night. It would probably be harder on my nerves to go the wrong way. 

I'm trying to figure out that good food. Thanks for the suggestion.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I never thought of backing up or going the wrong way. That would actually not be that unusual here in Quebec.
> 
> But, I'm the kind of driver who comes to a full stop at a stop sign, even late at night. It would probably be harder on my nerves to go the wrong way.
> 
> I'm trying to figure out that good food. Thanks for the suggestion.


 
A big bowl of the Hamburger Soup with some peasant bread for sopping up.


----------



## Addie

TL, my second husband was a commercial fisherman and he would be gone for 15 days or longer. If I saw him four days out of each month, that was a lot. I got so used to hme bing gone that when he did come home, I found it hard to adjust. I always thought of his presence as an intrusion in my schedule.


----------



## Addie

Even if I had the money, I would never consider living in a condo. I have heard just too many horror stories about them over the years. I love living here in elderly housing. It is owned by HUD (Housing and Urban Development) a federal agency. They in turn hire a property management agency to run and manage the place. HUD shows up once a year to inspect the property. For every little thing they find wrong, the property agency loses points, and gets paid less money. So management here does fix things as fast as they can. When HUD does show up for inspection, the randomly pick apartments to inspect with a fine tooth comb. My apartment has been inspected twice. The tenant is asked questions and management is not allowed to talk to the tenant or give any answers. It is a great system and I love it. 

The property agency is paid $50 for each tenant each month for recreation purposes. So last year they asked me if I enjoyed the extra entertainment and parties. I was stunned by the question. All I could say was we had a really great Christmas party each year. It wasn't a lie, I just didn't tell them that there was no monthly entertainment here. I should have spoken up, but why get someone in trouble when I really didn't care if there is a party each month or not. I wouldn't be participating in any of it anyway. So I let it go.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Yup, we can vote them out at the AGM in June. I can certainly get another copy of the finances as of the last AGM. I might be able to get a copy of the current state of our finances, but I have my doubts. I don't think they are well enough organized to have anything up to date between AGMs.
> 
> I missed the last AGM. I think I wasn't feeling well. I try to go to them, even though I hate them. I dislike the squabbling and petty nonsense. I dislike power tripping. I dislike the lack of common sense.
> 
> I can't find the financial statements that they handed out this year. I found the ones from the previous year. At that time we had over $50,000 in the contingency fund. There was nothing in the budget that should have used that up. I haven't heard about any other emergency expenditures.
> 
> I would run for rep, but I don't think anyone wants to nominate me. Most of my neighbours are not people I would choose as friends. And I think it would be a real PITA to be a rep with this group. I really admire you for being willing to do the work of being on the board.




If the financials are OK, you really only have the water man as an issue.  I'd address that.  Maybe you and your neighbor who approached you could get some others to join in and send letters to the board - the more the better.

If the issues go beyond that, you'll have to expend some real energy.

Do you have a property management company?


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> If the financials are OK, you really only have the water man as an issue.  I'd address that.  Maybe you and your neighbor who approached you could get some others to join in and send letters to the board - the more the better.
> 
> If the issues go beyond that, you'll have to expend some real energy.
> 
> Do you have a property management company?


Yup, that's the plan. You are right, the more letters and phone calls, the better. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed a big change in our contingency fund when I looked over the financials that I can no longer find.

No, no property management company. The closest we have to that is a landscaping company that takes care of our lawns and snow removal.


----------



## taxlady

I got an automated call from the city today, telling me about the one way biz on our street, starting 15 November. They said it was so we can park on both sides of the street. That certainly mitigates the situation. I almost never park on the street (I have indoor parking). However, it should make it much easier for friends and clients to find a parking spot nearby.

The sign at the corner didn't mention the change in parking regulations.


----------



## JoAnn L.

LPBeier said:


> To me this is a huge vent but i know when i get it out i will feel better.  mostly it it a "feeling sorry for myself" more than a vent.
> 
> i have been typing for over 35 years and am down to three or fingers and looking at the keys. i know i will be spell checking this too.  Now i am also not able to talk because things are stuck in my throat but doctors say nothing wrong - they agree it is not my acid reflux as they see the scarring but nothing they can do.
> 
> On top of that the arthritis in my back doesn't allow for much sitting or standing but fibromyalgia doesn't allow for lying down much - clothes, bedsheets, anything on my skin hurts.
> 
> i know i have mentioned this before and others have far worse but communicating is a big thing for me.  I guess I am just having a hard time accepting it will get worse.
> 
> Finally, this has taken me over 15 minutes to type where it should be under a minute!



I am so sorry for your pain. I hope today is a good day.


----------



## luvs

why must people call & say, 'i'm on my way over', rather than see if it's okay if they visit~ could be that i'm preoccupied, or, as with this afternoon, leaving.


----------



## Snip 13

I've had a really bad day so far. My Sister and Mother have written each other off, my Brother and Sister haven't spoken for almost 2 years and don't think they ever will. Also read about a dozen really bad lies my mother wrote about me in an email to my Sister. My Dad admitted that my Mother had an affair with the man she dated after their divorce. The same man who tried to get touchy with me. Thank goodness I had the common sense to get out and move to my Father. My Mother accused me of only looking for attention then, I was only 12. Can't believe she took a man 20 yrs her junior's word against her child.
I don't need this nonsense, I'm 31 yrs old with 2 kids of my own. Wish they would sort out their own problems. I was very happy leaving my skeletons buried!
My Mother and Sister are using me as the middle man. I have been sent different versions of the story all day. All included things I said, so much for family keeping your secrets.
I don't want to deal with this, I have enough other problems. Can't even write my Mother off. I just don't have it in me even though thinking of her right now makes me sick.

Anyway, life goes on. Just needed to write it down, don't have anyone else to vent to.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Snip))) That sucks. I'm sorry you have to deal with this crxp.


----------



## Alix

The snow plows are coming! That's the "YAY!" the "BOO!" is that I had to run out into the street to move Bugs' car onto the driveway so it doesn't get plowed in.

Did I mention I'm still in my nightie? Eeek!


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> The snow plows are coming! That's the "YAY!" the "BOO!" is that I had to run out into the street to move Bugs' car onto the driveway so it doesn't get plowed in.
> 
> Did I mention I'm still in my nightie? Eeek!


Ah yes, the joys of winter. Do the snowplow guys announce that they are there with a very loud horn or siren?

You reminded me of scenes from movies/TV from the '60s. A bunch of housewives would drive their hubbies to the train dressed in nightie and coat and sometimes, curlers.


----------



## Snip 13

Thank you  I'll be ok, I have a big rug to sweep it all under!


----------



## luvs

when i'm the appointed middle-person for my divorceing Parents, i let 'em know 
-i'm not a mediator or the middle-woman
-they ought behave as adults
-phone #'s can be easily blocked
-they brought this on themselves
- they might take responsibility for once
stay strong & vent away, snip! keeping stuff in can be stressful.


----------



## Alix

There is a website you can check, but in this case, Ken was out walking the dog and saw them. He called me to move the vehicles.


----------



## Snip 13

luvs said:


> when i'm the appointed middle-person for my divorceing Parents, i let 'em know
> -i'm not a mediator or the middle-woman
> -they ought behave as adults
> -phone #'s can be easily blocked
> -they brought this on themselves
> - they might take responsibility for once
> stay strong & vent away, snip! keeping stuff in can be stressful.


 
Thank you!
I've put my phone off but they email me. They both know I will read it. I care too damn much. If I become a closet alcoholic I'm blaming them 
I talk here because I know I can speak without getting judged and no one on DC goes out to make my life harder. I trust you guys and I keep this forum to myself. I have to talk sometimes for the sake of my sanity and I can't talk to family. Don't know who I can trust. I know blood is thicker than water but right now I choose water. Don't like thick things anyway


----------



## luvs

not a problem; i (we, as a group) lend an ear, & when i can, i'll offer advice. those un-read e-mails can leave a person rather curious.
i say if typing your woes away to us is sufficient, type on!

not so very lovely when families begin to crumble, although it's usually almost a relief later on.


----------



## Snip 13

luvs said:


> not a problem; i (we, as a group) lend an ear, & when i can, i'll offer advice. those un-read e-mails can leave a person rather curious.
> i say if typing your woes away to us is sufficient, type on!
> 
> not so very lovely when families begin to crumble, although it's usually almost a relief later on.


 
I do just need the odd vent. Thank you Luvs. This was good enough for me. It's sad but kinda true. It would kinda be a relief


----------



## Addie

Snip, hang in there. You don't have to be anyone's victim. And that is what your family is trying to make you.


----------



## Snip 13

Addie said:


> Snip, hang in there. You don't have to be anyone's victim. And that is what your family is trying to make you.


\

Thank you Addie. I've stopped contact with all of them for now. My Mom and Sister are trying to get me to choose between the 2 of them. They say I can stay out of it but in the same breath they both are saying that they've cut ties with each other and suggest I do the same. It's messed up, why should I write either of them off because they have?!


----------



## Kylie1969

Big Hugs from me too Snip 



Snip 13 said:


> I've had a really bad day so far. My Sister and Mother have written each other off, my Brother and Sister haven't spoken for almost 2 years and don't think they ever will. Also read about a dozen really bad lies my mother wrote about me in an email to my Sister. My Dad admitted that my Mother had an affair with the man she dated after their divorce. The same man who tried to get touchy with me. Thank goodness I had the common sense to get out and move to my Father. My Mother accused me of only looking for attention then, I was only 12. Can't believe she took a man 20 yrs her junior's word against her child.
> I don't need this nonsense, I'm 31 yrs old with 2 kids of my own. Wish they would sort out their own problems. I was very happy leaving my skeletons buried!
> My Mother and Sister are using me as the middle man. I have been sent different versions of the story all day. All included things I said, so much for family keeping your secrets.
> I don't want to deal with this, I have enough other problems. Can't even write my Mother off. I just don't have it in me even though thinking of her right now makes me sick.
> 
> Anyway, life goes on. Just needed to write it down, don't have anyone else to vent to.


----------



## Snip 13

Thank you Kylie


----------



## Addie

So I sit here in total frustration. Winthrop has a contract with a chair coach company to transfer patients to and from medical appointments in town. Now I only live 15 minutes, traffic allowing, from the medical facility. For my past two appointments they were 45 minutes late picking me up. Of course, traffic was not allowing. Then on the way back home from my last appointment last Wednesday, the driver got a call on his cell. I know they are not allowed to receive or make personal phone calls when transporting a patient. And they have their radio if the dispatcher needs to get in touch with the driver. 

How do I know it was a  personal call me was on? He was talking Haitian. As we approached my building I kept telling him to take the next left. We ended up going six blocks out of the way because one hand wasn't free to turn the steering wheel. I had just had a most difficult visit with the surgeon and was in no mood to go six blocks out of the way while listening to him jabber in a foreign language. I just wanted to get home and take a long nap. I hate to get anyone in trouble. But today was the last straw. 

What happened today you ask. My pickup time was 12 noon. I called the dispatcher and "No", we don't have you down for a pickup. So I call Winthrop. I know they called it in yesterday. She had me on hold while she made the call and then came back on line with me to confirm it. So tomorrow when I go to Winthrop, I am going to file a complaint against the Chair Coach Company. Today's appointment with the surgeon was an important one. So if I had asked to try and squeeze me in late, I would have been sitting there until I was the last one of the day. I know how that works. So the appointment has to be rescheduled for next week. Next week is Thanksgiving and that means there will be a bunch of patients squeezed into four days. 

Please God, turn me into an Iguana so I can sit in the sun all day away from all this crap!


----------



## Snip 13

Sorry to hear that Addie, like you don't have enough to deal with already!
Murphy is a cow!


----------



## Kylie1969

Snip 13 said:


> Thank you Kylie


----------



## chopper

Snip 13 said:
			
		

> Thank you!
> I've put my phone off but they email me. They both know I will read it. I care too damn much. If I become a closet alcoholic I'm blaming them
> I talk here because I know I can speak without getting judged and no one on DC goes out to make my life harder. I trust you guys and I keep this forum to myself. I have to talk sometimes for the sake of my sanity and I can't talk to family. Don't know who I can trust. I know blood is thicker than water but right now I choose water. Don't like thick things anyway



Read the email if you have to, but it makes a statement if you don't respond. Maybe they will understand that you don't want to be a part of it. Good luck. I know it's hard.


----------



## chopper

Oh Alix, my mom used to go out in her night gown and bare feet in the snow to start the car for my dad. Never could figure out why she didn't just get dressed to do her good deed.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) Addie. I hope it all goes really well with your new appointment.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> (((Hugs))) Addie. I hope it all goes really well with your new appointment.



+1

Hope it works out, Addie!


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:
			
		

> Read the email if you have to, but it makes a statement if you don't respond. Maybe they will understand that you don't want to be a part of it. Good luck. I know it's hard.



+1

Hang in there, Snip!


----------



## babetoo

Kylie1969 said:


> Big Hugs from me too Snip


i know how hurtful family quarrels can be. sorta going on here. i try to just ignore it. hard to do though


----------



## taxlady

Follow up to this post: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/venting-62526-327.html#post1203878.

The auditor was pleased with the reports, even though there was some weird stuff due to changing treasurers in February. The other members of the executive were pleased with the reports. The members were pleased with the reports, especially those members who have some comprehension of accounting. 

I was voted treasurer, instead of vice president. Since I wasn't collecting the money today, I covered my bum. Today members were paying for the luncheon and some were paying for membership renewal and some were paying for the Mortens Goose supper we are having on the 24th. I brought my little Neat Scanner and scanned all the cheques we received. Only two of the cheques didn't have adequate memos and I will phone or email those members before they forget what they were paying for.

It's not that I think anyone is trying to steal or scam anything. Stephen Covey said that there are two components to trust: character and competence. These cheques may be deposited before everything is turned over to me and I want to know what they were for without having to guess. I'm fairly sure that one of the bank deposits from last year had a cheque listed with the wrong amount. I will be scanning the cheques every month so I can make sure that I don't make that kind of mistake or if I do, I can figure out that I did.


----------



## vitauta

congratulations, taxlady for being elected treasurer.  your club's money is in good, competent hands now  

oh why did you have to go and say morten's goose though?  now i won't be able to get roasted goose out of my mind for days.  love goose so much, but haven't had one for at least a decade. that's one goose i will remember for life, though!....


----------



## taxlady

Today's petty vent was all about driving.

Last night I had to move my car out of the garage because they changed the oil tank for the heater in our garage today. There were going to be several hours this morning that we wouldn't be able to get in or out of the garage.

I spent a half an hour looking for a parking spot on the street. I didn't pay attention to the sign that said "No parking Wednesdays 09h00 to 12h00. I'm pretty sure it used to be from 11-12 or from 12-13. So, when I went to get in the car, there was a parking ticket. At least it's only for $32.

One of my tires looked awfully low on air, so I went to the gas station  for air. Gas was a good 10 cents a litre cheaper than it has been, so I  wanted to add some gas. There were a lot of cars at the gas station. One  guy was so eager to get my spot, since I was done, that he was crowding  me. Then, when I started to leave, he immediately started into my spot,  so I could hardly get out of it. He had an out of province license  plate. And the tire, it was at less than 20 lbs.  I really should remember to check tire pressure more often. I forgot to put the caps back on the tire valves, so I had four metal caps in my pocket all day.

Drivers were crazily aggressive today. It was scary and I'm used to aggressive Quebec drivers. Cutting me off, tail gating, scary sudden lane changes. Honking at me because I won't tailgate the guy in front of me. Then, when I finally get home, the guy coming into the garage behind me, wouldn't let me back up. Misunderstanding, but as he put it, "We managed to have a traffic jam at home."


----------



## Snip 13

babetoo said:


> i know how hurtful family quarrels can be. sorta going on here. i try to just ignore it. hard to do though


 
Thank you Babe 
Just wish they would leave me out of it but I've got the kinda family that forces you to choose between them and if not they'll get angry with me.
My life is like a B movie!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Snip 13 said:


> Thank you Babe
> Just wish they would leave me out of it but I've got the kinda family that forces you to choose between them and if not they'll get angry with me.
> My life is like a B movie!



I finally handled this type of situation in my family by deciding it was not MY problem, it was theirs.  If they wanted to be angry, there was nothing I could do about it.  I am not responsible for their happiness, only mine and Shrek's.  You know, I feel so much better about most things, because I don't let their attitudes effect me.


----------



## Snip 13

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I finally handled this type of situation in my family by deciding it was not MY problem, it was theirs. If they wanted to be angry, there was nothing I could do about it. I am not responsible for their happiness, only mine and Shrek's. You know, I feel so much better about most things, because I don't let their attitudes effect me.


 
Thank Fi 
I've just been ignoring them for the past 2 days. Woosh!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> +1
> 
> Hope it works out, Addie!


 
I am sure it will in the end. But this latest setback just prolongs the surgery on my right eye. Right now I have to walk around with my left eye closed. Evidently the surgery was successful. I can see without my glasses clearly in my left eye. But I still need my glasses for my right eye and the left lens is too strong and makes my left eye hurt. Did any of that make sense? 

I just noticed something. This morning my eyeball was swollen and sore if I touched my eyelid. I just went to gently rub my left eye and the eyeball has gone down and is no longer sore. There is hope on the horizon. Maybe by the time I see the surgeon next Wednesday, she will tell me she is ready to do the right eye. I just get so frustrated so easily.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie, have Spike remove the left lens of your glasses.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Addie, have Spike remove the left lens of your glasses.


Good idea!


----------



## Snip 13

Hang in there Addie  It will all be worth it in the end! Hope you recover soon!


----------



## vitauta

vitauta said:


> if you were shorted on a prescription drug, and if that drug was vicoden, would you think it was a deliberate steal, or an honest mistake?  then, if you were shorted on another prescription medication in the same exact way, what would be your thinking then?  if you knew it was the pharmacist himself/herself that filled both rxes, would that change your perspective?  if changing drug stores was not an option, what if anything would you do in order to make sure of a correct count in your future prescriptions?



the above is one of my posts from about a month ago.  at that time, a number of us had quite an interesting discussion about my having been shorted on two prescriptions.  i have an update of this unpleasant experience that i thought i'd share with you.  this took place today.  

i had another delivery this afternoon, of medications from the drugstore where i'd received 20 pills less than what had been prescribed--10 pills short in each of two rxes.

when my delivery arrived, i asked the delivery girl to sit down with me at the dining table and help me do a count of my pills.  she had been on duty on the previous occasion also.  her reluctance was evident by her hesitation and look of discomfort,  but then she gamely joined me at the table, and we proceeded to count out 280 pills. 

well, this time we actually came up with 285 pills instead of 280.  that was a big surprise to me.  because of last month's pill shortage, and the dispute over it with the pharmacist, my prescriptions were to be double checked from now on, with a notation to that effect at the station. besides, i assumed the pharmacist, who had been


----------



## Claire

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I finally handled this type of situation in my family by deciding it was not MY problem, it was theirs.  If they wanted to be angry, there was nothing I could do about it.  I am not responsible for their happiness, only mine and Shrek's.  You know, I feel so much better about most things, because I don't let their attitudes effect me.



Gosh, Fiona, you've taken up my mantra lately.  I call it NMP.  Not My Problem.  I have broad shoulders (literally and figuratively), and I'm always getting "secrets" that I really don't want.  Small town at that, everyone knows everyone.  People tell me because they know I don't gossip, and when I hear a rumor I know to be fractured, I correct.  But my friends range in age a great deal.  But when this first started happening I let it weigh me down, so now when someone tells me of their (or their spouse's or their kids' or neighbors') infidelities, social diseases, minor crimes (i.e., where they only hurt themselves), I remind myself, "NMP" and try to erase it as soon as I can.  

Occasionally, I get something that has to go somewhere, and I do what I can to fix it (in my latest problem it was a notary public who was spreading completely untrue rumours about my elderly, mostly shut in friends, and I had to let the care-givers know not to use that person again).  I suspect this one will come back to bite me in the as*, but I couldn't let that one just go.  The friend who passed the info on did what they could to fix it at that end, and I just told the caregiver the next time she need a notary, just call the family lawyer.  

But mostly these days I just do my best to dismiss what is going on.  Which actually encourages people to tell me more.  Vicious circle.  And I really don't want to know!


----------



## vitauta

haughty and had treated me nasty throughout, would do everything in her power to avoid being put in a compromising position again,--over a mistake.
wrong again....

i no longer believe the shortage of pills last time was deliberate, or a theft.  my thinking now is that i have been dealing with a small, privately run drug store, with a sloppy pharmacist, and possibly an incompetent one.

once all of this is behind me, and i have sufficiently recovered, my plan is to transfer all of my prescriptions from this pharmacy back to kroger's a major chain.  and now i am left with a final question: i wonder why it is that the only two drug stores delivering meds in this town are two small independent ones.  why aren't any of the major pharmacies offering this service?  in some way or other, it must all come back around to money, to profit margins....

* part one of this post got printed before i was finished writing it--another glitchy day for my computer.  i kept losing posts all through the night.  but thankfully, this very vitally important post was finally able to be completed.


----------



## taxlady

I'm sorry you have to deal with that Vit. I don't know why major pharmacies wouldn't deliver. I get my 'scripts from a Canada wide chain and they deliver. I don't know if other outlets do, but the one near me does.


----------



## Addie

I too hate gossip Claire. That's why I stay in my apartment most of the time. A group of us of the same mind have tea night on Tuesday. We talk about everything except the folks who live in the building. I once told a resident (the biggest gossip in the building) that gossip is wrong. She immediately informed me that if it is true, then it is not gossip. Gossip is gossip. True or not. It is still gossip. 

Because I have my hours all screwed up and am up all night, I sleep during the day. I get two callers all the time that are eating up my minutes on my cell phone. Son #2 and the medical facility where I have all my appointments. My son calls me for stupid things. Sometimes to just talk. That call I don't mind. But he needs to keep it to once a week. He is constantly waking me up. And there is no reason he can't call at night when he knows I am awake. 

The second caller, is the medical facility. The calls start a week before my appointment. And there are three calls for every appointment. They are just reminders that you have an appointment. Each call takes 3.5 minutes to get through after you punch in all the numbers. And if you don't answer, it goes to voicemail and the same thing. Then if you fail to respond to that, the dang machine just keeps calling you up to the day of your appointment. Spike has the right idea. If the number is not in your list of contacts, ignore it. Don't even bother to check the voicemail. Just erase it. I will never again respond to their phone number. Every department uses the same call back number. It is tied into their computer appointment system. They will never hear me punch in a number again. And I will never check my voicemail for them again either. 

Grant you my phone is free along with 250 minutes a month. And I buy 250 additional minutes a month for $5.00. But the medical facility is eating up all my minutes. I only call Winthrop, if really important, my daughter and Spike. My call to Spike last for only 30 seconds at the most. That is the longest call I make. And only if I am not at home. Otherwise, I use my computer to make calls and they are all free. No minute restrictions at all. It is tied in with Skype.


----------



## Addie

I just received the dumbest phone call from my daughter. 

Her son , who lives downstairs called her. 

"Ma, come here, quick!"

She rushed down the stairs as fast as she could.

"Come here Ma. Look at this. What do I do?"

It seems that my 30 something grandson had a bowel movement so long and large that it came above the waterline and was resting against the toilet seat. 

Daughter calls me. "Ma what do we do?"

"Flush the toilet."

"Flush the toilet son."

Problem solved.

I just want it on record that this line of stupidity does not come from my side of the family. My kids never ceased to amaze me with their total lack of intelligence. Or they just want me to have a continued feeling of being needed. I am still sitting here shaking my head in disbelief.   (I can hear you laughing!)


----------



## Kylie1969




----------



## Kylie1969

Ads, I am with you there!

Gossip is an awful thing, I dont do it, I dont like it and I keep away from anyone who is into idle gossip 

It can only cause trouble from what I have seen in my lifetime!


----------



## Sasroc

_OH MY GOD Addie!!

That had me in stitches of laughter!

Did you know there is a site on the internet called "Rate My Poo"?

Maybe your daughter could have entered it into there _


----------



## Addie

Sasroc said:


> _OH MY GOD Addie!!_
> 
> _That had me in stitches of laughter!_
> 
> _Did you know there is a site on the internet called "Rate My Poo"?_
> 
> _Maybe your daughter could have entered it into there _


 
One time my daughter sliced open her palm twice doing the same thing a second time. You would have thought she learned the first time. Dumb!!! But this one even tops that.


----------



## Kylie1969

OUCH!

What was she cutting Ads?


----------



## Addie

Kylie1969 said:


> OUCH!
> 
> What was she cutting Ads?


 
She was trying to open a frozen hot dog bun. Her hand slipped down the length of a long blade. When the doctor was stitching her up, she wanted to know when he started. I turned her head away and he went to work. When he was done, I told her, "All right, get ready. He is going to start now." She started screaming. A week after she got the stitches removed, she did it again trying to open a frozen hot dog bun. If she wasn't bleeding so bad, I would have killed her.


----------



## Sasroc

_Lol Addie,

Sometimes I think with some people it does take awhile for things to register. I have a friend whom seems to do the same thing. She would slice onions and always keep cutting herself, I was scared one day she would lose a finger. I eventually got her to bang a nail into a small board and said " Pop the onion onto this and slice away"..It seems to have worked because she hasn't cut herself since._


----------



## Addie

Sasroc said:


> _Lol Addie,_
> 
> _Sometimes I think with some people it does take awhile for things to register. I have a friend whom seems to do the same thing. She would slice onions and always keep cutting herself, I was scared one day she would lose a finger. I eventually got her to bang a nail into a small board and said " Pop the onion onto this and slice away"..It seems to have worked because she hasn't cut herself since._


 
Great idea. That should be added to the 'Tips' thread.


----------



## Sasroc

_Thanks Addie,now where is the tips thread? I lose myself in this place _


----------



## Addie

I had a scare early this evening. I woke up and the TV was on along with four lamps. The room was well lighted. I went to sit down at the 'puter and all of a sudden my eye started to tear up really bad and was hurting. I put a patch over it, but the pain continued. So I put the pain drops in along with the other two. and I took two vicodin. I shut off all the lights and TV and laid down for about twenty minutes. When I got up the room was still completely dark. I turned on the lamps one at a time with a few minutes between. Then I turned on the TV. That was the brightest. No pain. But the real test was to come. The screen of the 'puter was the brightest of anything else. Was I going to be able to sit there and read? Voila! No pain. No tears flowing. 

What had happened was when I woke up within about five minutes I went to the 'puter and sat down at the brightest light in the room. I didn't give my eye time to adjust to the light in the room never mind the 'puter. If I was still in pain, I would have headed right for the ER. It was like coming out of the movies during a bright hot sunny day. I won't make that mistake again.


----------



## Addie

Sasroc said:


> _Thanks Addie,now where is the tips thread? I lose myself in this place _


 
I have no idea. I have been here for a year and I still get lost. Hopefully an admin will come on line and let us know.


----------



## Sasroc

_Oh good,I do feel better now knowing I'm not the only one whom gets lost on here  

Im sure if I sit on here long enough I should find it sometime soon,one day maybe _


----------



## Addie

Sasroc said:


> _Oh good,I do feel better now knowing I'm not the only one whom gets lost on here  _
> 
> _Im sure if I sit on here long enough I should find it sometime soon,one day maybe _


 
I suppose you could file it under Veggies/Onions.


----------



## Kylie1969

Addie said:


> She was trying to open a frozen hot dog bun. Her hand slipped down the length of a long blade. When the doctor was stitching her up, she wanted to know when he started. I turned her head away and he went to work. When he was done, I told her, "All right, get ready. He is going to start now." She started screaming. A week after she got the stitches removed, she did it again trying to open a frozen hot dog bun. If she wasn't bleeding so bad, I would have killed her.



Yes, that does sound nasty....you have to be ever so careful with knives


----------



## chopper

Sasroc said:
			
		

> Thanks Addie,now where is the tips thread? I lose myself in this place



You can always do a search. That is what I do when I can't find something.


----------



## chopper

Wow Addie. TMI comes to mind when I read your post on the last page. I can't believe your grandson didn't problem solve on his own, I can't believe your daughter called you and informed you about it, and I can't believe you posted it here. Good thing no one knows the guy.


----------



## Kylie1969

Bad drivers!

People that tailgate drive me insane...I just drive slower as they will not make me speed up!


----------



## Andy M.

Kylie1969 said:


> Bad drivers!
> 
> People that tailgate drive me insane...I just drive slower as they will not make me speed up!




I agree.  Makes me crazy.  Most of the offenders are younger in my experience.


----------



## Kylie1969

Yes, I agree with you Andy! The majority are certainly young drivers 

They get so close behind and try to intimidate you into speeding up, it is very frustrating 

If they drive into the back of my car, I am totally covered...and I will make sure they pay!! Grrrr, getting all angry just talking about it


----------



## taxlady

Tailgaters drive me bonkers too. Yesterday it was tailgating day. I'm sorry, I should be able to see your headlights in my rear view mirror. If you tailgate me, it makes me nervous. When I'm nervous I slow down.


----------



## Kylie1969

It is bad when you have days like that Taxy, people right up behind you everywhere you drive, infuriating grrrrrrrrrrr


----------



## taxlady

The last time my wrist felt like this, the doctor said it was an inflammation. I don't want to aggravate it. Does anyone know if an Ace type bandage would be a good idea?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, an ace wrap will help splint it, ibuprofen for the inflammation if you can tolerate it.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, an ace wrap will help splint it, ibuprofen for the inflammation if you can tolerate it.


Thanks for the quick reply.

I can tolerate ibuprofen, but it doesn't do anything. ASA (aspirin in Yankee) doesn't bother me. I prefer not to take any meds I don't need. Is this one of those cases where the med fixes the problem, so it's worth doing? Would ASA be a good idea? I have actually never noticed any benefit from anything I have ever taken for inflammation, except the last time. I got Voltaren, but that's pretty strong stuff. I still have some. It says "Discard 2013/07/03". I wonder if that would be a good idea, maybe ask the pharmacist.


----------



## Andy M.

Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory.  I'd take it.


----------



## bakechef

Now I'm a very patient person, but the whole receipt checking thing at the BJ's club store (like Sam's club, Costco etc..) just got on my nerves today.

I stopped in an got a few things and checking out was a breeze with self checkout, but the line at the door was at least 20 deep, and with a busy day I just wasn't crazy about standing there.  

I usually avoid shopping on weekends because the stores are crazy and only going to get crazier the closer we get to the holidays.

I was really tempted to walk out with my receipt flying like a flag, and challenge them to do anything about it.  But I stood there patiently like a good little sheep while, on the busiest day of the week they still had one receipt checker...

Like there is anything there that I could stuff up my shirt and try to get out the door with!


----------



## Addie

chopper said:


> Wow Addie. TMI comes to mind when I read your post on the last page. I can't believe your grandson didn't problem solve on his own, I can't believe your daughter called you and informed you about it, and I can't believe you posted it here. Good thing no one knows the guy.


 
I am telling ya, I have some of the dumbest members of society in my family. Why solve a problem when you can call your mother?


----------



## chopper

Addie said:
			
		

> I am telling ya, I have some of the dumbest members of society in my family. Why solve a problem when you can call your mother?



LOL. That is what moms are for, right?


----------



## Kylie1969

Mums are always there to help


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory.  I'd take it.


I'll give it a try. It hasn't produced any noticeable anti-inflammatory effect for me in the past.


----------



## taxlady

I spoke with my pharmacist. She said to go ahead and take the Voltaren, but to start with just one a day instead of the three a day on the original prescription instructions. So I took one after supper. ASA hasn't really worked for inflammation for me previously.


----------



## kadesma

Need some advice. I take baked goodies to most of the people in my dialysis group as well as the nurses. The nurses are fine but I have several people who have decided I'm SOFT TOUCH AND i GUESS i Am but why do people ask me for a batch of cookies to take to someones house for Thanksgiving? Or would you type up that recipe for me no please or what ever. I'm beginning to feel like No more for them. Of course I won't but darn it a thank you now and then would be nice.
kades


----------



## Andy M.

kadesma said:


> ...why do people ask me for a batch of cookies to take to someones house for Thanksgiving?
> 
> Or would you type up that recipe for me no please or what ever...




I know dialysis doesn't make people rude and inconsiderate because I know you.  However, some of your fellow patients are jerks.

If someone asks you for cookies they can give as a gift, tell them you're not taking anymore orders right now, the kitchen is closed.

As far as people who don't ask (for a recipe) politely, you can just "forget" to do it.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I know dialysis doesn't make people rude and inconsiderate because I know you.  However, some of your fellow patients are jerks.
> 
> If someone asks you for cookies they can give as a gift, tell them you're not taking anymore orders right now, the kitchen is closed.
> 
> As far as people who don't ask (for a recipe) politely, you can just "forget" to do it.


+1


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:
			
		

> +1



+2


----------



## kadesma

Andy M. said:


> I know dialysis doesn't make people rude and inconsiderate because I know you. However, some of your fellow patients are jerks.
> 
> If someone asks you for cookies they can give as a gift, tell them you're not taking anymore orders right now, the kitchen is closed.
> 
> As far as people who don't ask (for a recipe) politely, you can just "forget" to do it.


 


Dawgluver said:


> +2


 Thanks my friends. How much I love all ove you. So good and kind you make me feel cared for. Thank you all.I'll follow your advise Andy,Tax,Dawg
cj


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I agree with Andy, too!  That is the best way to handle it.


----------



## bakechef

I agree, you don't need to become someone's personal baker, or employee.

I love to bring things to functions, very often co-workers will think that they can just place an order and I'll do it.  I've gotten very firm telling them, no.  If I didn't do this, I would be working all day, and coming home and baking every night until christmas, I've done it and honestly I came to resent it.  So now everything is on my terms.  I had no time to bake to give for gifts, which I really enjoy.  As it is, I work retail and my days are crazy enough this time of year.

I still bake for friends, but they know to give me LOTS of notice, and are easy to deal with.  

Don't be a doormat.  Do things for those who appreciate them.


----------



## Kylie1969

kadesma said:


> Need some advice. I take baked goodies to most of the people in my dialysis group as well as the nurses. The nurses are fine but I have several people who have decided I'm SOFT TOUCH AND i GUESS i Am but why do people ask me for a batch of cookies to take to someones house for Thanksgiving? Or would you type up that recipe for me no please or what ever. I'm beginning to feel like No more for them. Of course I won't but darn it a thank you now and then would be nice.
> kades



You are such a caring and considerate person Kades 

Say no to them, you are not there personal baker!


----------



## Addie

Okay, here we go again. I had an appointment with my vascular doctor. The secretary again screwed it up with transportation. This is so unlike the two women in the office. They have a hard job, but they are good at what they do. And that is a lot. So now I have to make two new appointments. One with vascular and one with my cardio doctor. I will try it again. I am just resigned to all these screw ups. I have to see my cardio doctor before they go forward with my eye appointment for the other eye. 

Please God, make me an Iguana so I will not have to keep anymore appointments. I can then sit on a rock in the sun all day and sleep.


----------



## kadesma

Addie said:


> Okay, here we go again. I had an appointment with my vascular doctor. The secretary again screwed it up with transportation. This is so unlike the two women in the office. They have a hard job, but they are good at what they do. And that is a lot. So now I have to make two new appointments. One with vascular and one with my cardio doctor. I will try it again. I am just resigned to all these screw ups. I have to see my cardio doctor before they go forward with my eye appointment for the other eye.
> 
> Please God, make me an Iguana so I will not have to keep anymore appointments. I can then sit on a rock in the sun all day and sleep.


 Not an Iguana, but our Addie who is sitting and enjoying the sun in her chair with a nice drink she likes and a little snack.
kades


----------



## Addie

kadesma said:


> Not an Iguana, but our Addie who is sitting and enjoying the sun in her chair with a nice drink she likes and a little snack.
> kades


 
Thank you for the angels. Just think, an Iguana does not have to do dishes, make beds, the kids leave home and never return with the kids in tow, never has medical appointments, never has to cook for the family, they just catch a fly that is in the neighborhood, etc. They just sit in the sun. then at night, they crawl under a rock amd sleep the night away. 

But the best part is that they are so ugly that nobody every goes to them with their problems or asks them to do favors they don't want to do. When was the last time you ask an Iguana for advice or a favor?


----------



## vitauta

addie, face it--you wouldn't last twenty minutes as an iguana....

for one, you couldn't do ugly.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...But the best part is that they are so ugly that nobody every goes to them with their problems or asks them to do favors they don't want to do. When was the last time you ask an Iguana for advice or a favor?



On the other side of the coin, they have to hunt for food.  They have to fight off other iguanas who want to steal their food.  Unwary tourist and fighting iguanas often break off or bite off their tail which has to grow back.  Little kids tease them.  They may not have medical appointments, but they also don't have medical care.


----------



## chopper

Addie, 
You make a wonderful person. We would have it no other way.


----------



## mmyap

Oh cool! A vent thread.  Where do I even start!

Today I will just vent about one aspect of my job that drives me bonkers.  I am a  bookkeeper/secretary in a property management office and my pet peeve is tenants who cant do things for themselves.  We are located near an marine base and we get alot of newly married couples, most of the new brides never having been on their own before and coming straight from mommy and daddy's nest.  I cannot tell you how often I get calls like "my toilet is clogged, can somebody come and unclogg it?" and its usually because they tried to flush something unsuitable like paper towels.  Also there is the "come change my light bulb" call.  

I also remember one Thanksgiving where a tenant could not figure out how to turn on their oven.  They literally had never turned it on before and simple act of pushing "bake", "set temperature" and "start" was too unmanagable for her.  Then she had the nerve to ask us to reimburse her for they ruined turkey.  That was met with some chuckling and a no.  

What I've found is that many of these girls husbands have been deployed and now they are left to try and figure out things on their own.  They manage to have babies but can't unclogg a toilet.  Sheesh!

I think it's my duty to get them up to speed as quickly as possible and not coddle them.  They will get directions on where they can buy a plunger and some light bulbs.  Isn't that nice of me?  Now I'm done venting for today.


----------



## Addie

mmyap, I managed an eight apartment piece of property in Spanaway, WA for a relative. I too had military couples that for the most part were still wearing the confetti from their wedding. I had to teach them; how to order a phone, put utilities in their name, how to nurse a newborn, clean windows, dust off window sills, how to shop for groceries, and a myriad of other things that they should have learned before they left home. The youngest bride I ever had was 15. Her husband was 18 and had just graduated from H.S. and enlisted in the Air Force the next day. She was pregnant and so excited. I can't tell you how many times they woke me up in the middle of the night because the baby wouldn't stop crying. One bride had twins while her husband was out on maneuvers. All the husbands were assigned to Fort Lewis/McCord Air Force base just a couple of miles from the apartments. They couldn't live off base unless they had a phone number where they could be reached in a hurry. And there were plenty of those calls. Oh I just loved being woke up at 3 a.m.l and going around banging on doors getting the husbands up. 

When they first arrived, they couldn't afford a phone. So I let them use my number. I used to get calls all the time in the middle of the night for the husbands to report to the base immediately. Their parents would also call to check up on them. One parent told me that she didn't worry about her child because I was there to take care of them. Huh??? I so wanted to tell her that her child could not function of its own. That their child was totally unprepared for life. I could go on and on. It was mostly the brides that drove me crazy. They simply could not grasp that their husbands had no choice when they military gave their husband an order, he HAD to obey. Even if it meant leaving the wife in the middle of the night.


----------



## Addie

Andy, have you been watching the news? There is a 28 mile backup on the turnpike. And the South Shore is just as bad. Everyone is trying to get an early start to get out of town for the holiday. I am so glad I just have to go a couple of blocks to my daughter's.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Andy, have you been watching the news? There is a 28 mile backup on the turnpike. And the South Shore is just as bad. Everyone is trying to get an early start to get out of town for the holiday. I am so glad I just have to go a couple of blocks to my daughter's.



I just talked to SO.  She's at work and heard the same traffic reports.  Dinner will be late tonight unless things clear up.


----------



## Chef Maloney

*No Class, Absurd*

Actually, I think this is too big for petty vents but...
A friend of mine works for a very large furniture company here in the states. Don't know if I can say the name here so...begins with an A (3 letter word, it is what charcoal turns into after its burned) ends in LEY. Every year around this time they give their employees a gift certificate worth $15.00, good for a turkey or something. The problem is that they then take the $15.00 back out of the employees paychecks. Unheard of. Unbelievable. A slap in the face. I was appalled! Sad. But True.


----------



## MrsLMB

Chef Maloney said:


> Actually, I think this is too big for petty vents but...
> A friend of mine works for a very large furniture company here in the states. Don't know if I can say the name here so...begins with an A (3 letter word, it is what charcoal turns into after its burned) ends in LEY. Every year around this time they give their employees a gift certificate worth $15.00, good for a turkey or something. The problem is that they then take the $15.00 back out of the employees paychecks. Unheard of. Unbelievable. A slap in the face. I was appalled! Sad. But True.


 
OMG  ... that is more than a slap in the face !!  That company could and should do something better than that ... I am shocked.  I bet the bigwigs get more than that and don't have to pay it back.


----------



## chopper

I don't get a gift at all. Come to think of it neither does Hubby. My brother always gets a turkey so for thanksgiving he always provides the turkey and lets my sister make it.


----------



## taxlady

So, let me get this straight, they force their employees to spend money on a gift certificate, as a what, punishment for yule? Do the employees at least get to decide which store they will be be forced to get the gift from or is that decided for them?


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> I don't get a gift at all. Come to think of it neither does Hubby. My brother always gets a turkey so for thanksgiving he always provides the turkey and lets my sister make it.


I once worked a place where the Xmas bonus was $25 towards a turkey or give the money to a charity. Almost all the other employees let the money go to a charity. If I want to give to a charity, I will choose the charity and get my tax receipt, thank you very much. I said I would take the $25. I was told to bring a receipt and that yes, a goose and some booze would be okay.


----------



## chopper

taxlady said:
			
		

> I once worked a place where the Xmas bonus was $25 towards a turkey or give the money to a charity. Almost all the other employees let the money go to a charity. If I want to give to a charity, I will choose the charity and get my tax receipt, thank you very much. I said I would take the $25. I was told to bring a receipt and that yes, a goose and some booze would be okay.



I prefer to pick my own charities too.  I think I would have taken the 25 dollars like you did.


----------



## Andy M.

Chef Maloney said:


> Actually, I think this is too big for petty vents but...
> A friend of mine works for a very large furniture company here in the states. Don't know if I can say the name here so...begins with an A (3 letter word, it is what charcoal turns into after its burned) ends in LEY. Every year around this time they give their employees a gift certificate worth $15.00, good for a turkey or something. The problem is that they then take the $15.00 back out of the employees paychecks. Unheard of. Unbelievable. A slap in the face. I was appalled! Sad. But True.



Technically speaking, the turkey is compensation and taxable.  So what they should do is add the cost of the turkey ($15) to the paycheck so it is taxed then deduct it back out again.  The only difference in the paycheck should be the taxes on the $15.  If they did otherwise, it's immoral and possible illegal.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Technically speaking, the turkey is compensation and taxable.  So what they should do is add the cost of the turkey ($15) to the paycheck so it is taxed then deduct it back out again.  The only difference in the paycheck should be the taxes on the $15.  If they did otherwise, it's immoral and possible illegal.


Wow, that's mean. In Canada gifts are technically taxable, but the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) has made an administrative decision that cash and near-cash gifts are taxable, but non-cash gifts can be be given to a total fair market value of up to $500 (including GST - federal Goods & Services Tax)/employee/year.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Wow, that's mean. In Canada gifts are technically taxable, but the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) has made an administrative decision that cash and near-cash gifts are taxable, but non-cash gifts can be be given to a total fair market value of up to $500 (including GST - federal Goods & Services Tax)/employee/year.



That's a sensible approach.  I really don't know the details of US tax laws.  I just remember this happening where I worked once.  Usually, you just went out to the parking lot and were handed a turkey off the back of a truck and put it in your car and went home.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> That's a sensible approach.  I really don't know the details of US tax laws.  I just remember this happening where I worked once.  Usually, you just went out to the parking lot and were handed a turkey off the back of a truck and put it in your car and went home.


They figured the resentment of employers to the extra  work would lead to a high level of non-compliance. And they figured out a level where the cost of pursuing it wouldn't be higher than the amount of tax collected. I don't think I'm explaining that well, but I think you get the idea.


----------



## jessecar

Addie said:


> I just received the dumbest phone call from my daughter.
> 
> Her son , who lives downstairs called her.
> 
> "Ma, come here, quick!"
> 
> She rushed down the stairs as fast as she could.
> 
> "Come here Ma. Look at this. What do I do?"
> 
> It seems that my 30 something grandson had a bowel movement so long and large that it came above the waterline and was resting against the toilet seat.
> 
> Daughter calls me. "Ma what do we do?"
> 
> "Flush the toilet."
> 
> "Flush the toilet son."
> 
> Problem solved.
> 
> I just want it on record that this line of stupidity does not come from my side of the family. My kids never ceased to amaze me with their total lack of intelligence. Or they just want me to have a continued feeling of being needed. I am still sitting here shaking my head in disbelief.   (I can hear you laughing!)



Thanks Addie for a giggle. Especially that last paragraph


----------



## Addie

jessecar said:


> Thanks Addie for a giggle. Especially that last paragraph


 
My daughter is in her mid 50's and never ceases to amaze me with her stupidity. 

"Ma, I just cleaned off the top of the fridge. There is mail unopened from three years ago. What do I do with it?"

"Throw it away." 

"Thanks Ma."


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I just talked to SO. She's at work and heard the same traffic reports. Dinner will be late tonight unless things clear up.


 
So Andy, what time did SO finally get home. One fella said it took him more than an hour to go the distance that usually takes five minutes. I hope you had some kind loving words for her when she finally arrived. 

My son worked last night at Worcester Memorial in the ER. He said there was a rush of minor injuries of bumper and rear end hits. What a nightmare. Did you see the pictures? Unbelievable!!! They couldnt get the ambulances through to Boston, so they took them to local and fringe hospitals. 

My grandson will be working on the turnpike today and tonight at a toll booth. They will have extra booths open.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie, she didn't have a bad commute.  She uses Rt. 128 and 3 North.  She got home about a half hour later than usual.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Addie, she didn't have a bad commute. She uses Rt. 128 and 3 North. She got home about a half hour later than usual.


 
Very good. At least you didn't have one cranky person to deal with. I am glad she made it home safely.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Very good. *At least you didn't have one cranky person to deal with*. I am glad she made it home safely.




Don't assume too much.  She usually come home a little cranky from the day's work and commute.  It's gone about to minutes after she walks in the door.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Don't assume too much. She usually come home a little cranky from the day's work and commute. It's gone about to minutes after she walks in the door.


 
I am like that. Ten minutes, I am over whatever had me irritated.


----------



## Chef Maloney

*They are just rude*



taxlady said:


> So, let me get this straight, they force their employees to spend money on a gift certificate, as a what, punishment for yule? Do the employees at least get to decide which store they will be be forced to get the gift from or is that decided for them?



It is rude in the extreme isn't it? Actually the gift certificate was difficult to use as a lot of stores would not accept it. It was finally used at wal-mart but with difficulty, holding up the line, and a manager to assist with the transaction.
The amount of the gift certificate was deducted from the following paychecks of each employee. Some Gift! Why not be real 'HOT SHOTS' and give $100.00 then take that back later? Jimminy Geeze!!!
I feel that a company this size should give their employees something more. No respect or appreciation shown here at all. CHEAP EH?


----------



## taxlady

It's raining. I think that is why the door to the underground garage won't open. The little light on my remote comes on. I took the battery out and tested it. It's fine. I want to go to the store. I can't get my car out. One condo rep is on vacation, the other one isn't home. Sigh


----------



## Kylie1969

The heat! It is quite hot here today...I guess being only 6 days till Summer gives it the right


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> It's raining. I think that is why the door to the underground garage won't open. The little light on my remote comes on. I took the battery out and tested it. It's fine. I want to go to the store. I can't get my car out. One condo rep is on vacation, the other one isn't home. Sigh


The condo member who used to be our handy man opened the garage door manually. So, I got a chance to buy potatoes and a skirt for the Danish Club Mortens Goose dinner tomorrow night.


----------



## chopper

taxlady said:
			
		

> The condo member who used to be our handy man opened the garage door manually. So, I got a chance to buy potatoes and a skirt for the Danish Club Mortens Goose dinner tomorrow night.



Wonderful!  I'm glad you got to do your shopping.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I was cooking a ham but was starting to feel really tired and was worried I'd accidentally fall asleep. I decided to take a nap in the living room so I could hear the timer go off. My husband, who was feeling wide awake, said he'd wake me if anything seemed off or if I slept through the timer. Me sleeping in the living room would keep my husband from getting too engrossed in working on the computer to watch for reasons to wake me. My dad had just finished making a jello dessert and was quietly doing things on his laptop. Napping seemed like the best option.

So here is what happens if you try to nap in the living room while Chief Longwind is around.

First, you state your intention of taking a nap and he doesn't hear it because he's focused on watching "Tullovision" (Jethro Tull online concert station). You just start falling asleep and he starts talking loudly, telling you about how great Jethro Tull is. OK, he was distracted and didn't hear you say you were going to take a nap.

"Dad, I'm trying to take a nap." Very calm and matter-of-fact this time around, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

"Oh, sorry."

You settle back and just start falling asleep and he starts loudly talking about how amazing Jethro Tull's guitarist is to watch. 

"Dad. I'm trying to take a nap." This time you're mildly annoyed so say his name with emphasis to make sure you have his attention.

"Oh, well I didn't know that."

"I just told you about ten minutes ago!"

"Oh, I didn't hear you. I'll be quiet."

You take a deep breath, thinking about how if he didn't hear you then maybe he shouldn't have answered the first time so you'd have known to repeat yourself. You glance at the DH who grins and shrugs, then close your eyes and try to imagine a nice, peaceful place.

You just start to fall asleep and bang, crash, clang in the kitchen. DH is still on the couch with you.

"Dad! What are you doing? I'm trying to take a nap!" This time you're distinctly annoyed.

"I was just trying to do some cleanup in the kitchen." His voice sounds slightly wounded, like the little kid that just wants to help but knows he's making the task more difficult.

"How, by strapping metal bowls and pans to the feet of baby elephants and running them through the kitchen?" You think this but don't want to hurt his feelings or seem ungrateful for his effort so you don't say it. "It's late Dad. Thank you for trying to help but you should get some sleep."

"Yeah, I'll stop for tonight. I should get some sleep." He lays down on the chase in the living room and in seconds is out.

You breath a sigh of relief and begin working on falling asleep again. You begin to drift off. Beep beep beep beep.

Grrrr. "Daaad, why is your watch alarm beeping?"

"It's so I wake up to go fishing."

...

You can't even respond to that, in part because he's already asleep again, so you just take a couple of deep breaths, ignore the DH's quiet snickering, and try to fall asleep. 

You're drifting, almost at the point of losing awareness of your surroundings. Beep beep beep beep.

"Dad. Your watch again." He shuts it off without even waking up. You don't bother saying anything else. You don't even bother with the deep breaths this time. He's asleep and his alarm shouldn't go off again.

You consider just giving up but your eye-lids are so very heavy. You finally reach sleep. You're just beyond awareness of your surroundings. Ding, ding, ding. 

That would be the timer. The other sound is the audible laughter DH can no longer hold in.

You look over at Dad, sleeping so peacfully. "The fact that you make amazing eggrolls is why you won't be murdered in your sleep." You don't bother saying it, he won't hear you and DH will only laugh harder. Besides, you have a ham to take out of the oven so that half an hour from now you can finally go to bed.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

By the way, his eggrolls aren't the only reason we keep him around. He also makes darned good smoked turkeys and roasts. His beef jerky and sweet and sour chicken balls are pretty good too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

<soft laughter so as not to wake up CLOTN>  Thanks for the story, sounds like many times at my parents.  Heck, sounds like me trying to get sleep now.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

It was pretty funny. As much as I wanted that nap, I couldn't help but see the humor in it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> It was pretty funny. As much as I wanted that nap, I couldn't help but see the humor in it.



Shrek has a junk box, odd flotsam and jetsam of junk that he can;t get rid of, but have no sensible use.  He always needs to dig through it when I'm trying to nap...


----------



## chopper

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> It was pretty funny. As much as I wanted that nap, I couldn't help but see the humor in it.



When we are at my Dad's house, he gets up really early and throws dishes in the kitchen!  When we finally just go ahead and get up he says, "I didn't think you would be up yet."


----------



## Andy M.

Apparently, when I get ready to take a nap, an alert is sent to every telemarketer and relative so thy will know to call me.


----------



## chopper

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Apparently, when I get ready to take a nap, an alert is sent to every telemarketer and relative so thy will know to call me.



LOL. that happens when we sit down to eat.


----------



## Addie

*ICE*

How many of you are aware of *ICE*? No, I don't mean the kind you put in drinks or skate on. I mean the *ICE* number that is listed in your cell phone. For those of you who don't know what it stands for; *In Case Of Emergency*. Anytime I have gotten a new phone, it is the very first number I enter. Should something happen when I am away from home and I am unconscious, the first thing a First Responder will look for on your phone is the *ICE. *You should always list it as follow *ICE Mary Daughter and then the number* Area Code - 555-1234.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> How many of you are aware of *ICE*? No, I don't mean the kind you put in drinks or skate on. I mean the *ICE* number that is listed in your cell phone. For those of you who don't know what it stands for; *In Case Of Emergency*. Anytime I have gotten a new phone, it is the very first number I enter. Should something happen when I am away from home and I am unconscious, the first thing a First Responder will look for on your phone is the *ICE. *You should always list it as follow *ICE Mary Daughter and then the number* Area Code - 555-1234.


Thank you for the reminder. I know about it, but I couldn't remember the acronym. I'll put it on my phone right away.

I just realized there is a little problem. My phone requires a code to use it. I put the code so I won't bum dial.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Thank you for the reminder. I know about it, but I couldn't remember the acronym. I'll put it on my phone right away.
> 
> I just realized there is a little problem. My phone requires a code to use it. I put the code so I won't bum dial.


 
 Make the code simple. Such as 1 2 3 

i will have to ask my son if there is a code they use first when they find the phone locked. Will get back to you on that. I just sent him an email.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Make the code simple. Such as 1 2 3
> 
> i will have to ask my son if there is a code they use first when they find the phone locked. Will get back to you on that. I just sent him an email.


Thank you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have my medic alert necklace I wear whenever I am out of the house.  It has web access to all of my health information, including my contact numbers.  Also have a key fob that is USB storage with all the info, plug it into any computer and it brings up my health info.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have my medic alert necklace I wear whenever I am out of the house. It has web access to all of my health information, including my contact numbers. Also have a key fob that is USB storage with all the info, plug it into any computer and it brings up my health info.


 
How can I get one of those key fobs? Between heart, diabetes, allergies to a lot of meds, it sounds like just what I need. I already have a blank Flash, should I use that? It has a ring for my key ring. Thank you so much for the idea. I have been toying for years about wearing a braclet or neclace, but with my skin condition it would only aggravate it.   And one for you Miss Nightingale!


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Thank you.


 
He has no idea. He has never had the occasion or come across the need. Sorry.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> He has no idea. He has never had the occasion or come across the need. Sorry.


Oh well. Thanks for asking.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> How can I get one of those key fobs? Between heart, diabetes, allergies to a lot of meds, it sounds like just what I need. I already have a blank Flash, should I use that? It has a ring for my key ring. Thank you so much for the idea. I have been toying for years about wearing a braclet or neclace, but with my skin condition it would only aggravate it.   And one for you Miss Nightingale!



You can get them here: Medical History Bracelet » CARE Medical History Keychain with 2.0 e-Manager Software

They are simple to keep updated.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You can get them here: Medical History Bracelet » CARE Medical History Keychain with 2.0 e-Manager Software
> 
> They are simple to keep updated.


Thanks for the info. There is a Canadian site that sells them too: www.icetag.ca They also sell tags to hang on your key chain, attach to your backpack, helmet, shoe,...

I'm waiting to hear back if the USB key is in French and English. In Quebec, I would usually get Francophone first responders who may speak English, but may not read it. Spanish is fairly useless here.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I update mine after each Doctor's appointment and it has all my labs in it, too.  It's right on my laptop, easy to access.  I keep Shrek's up to date, too.  All of my POA info and emergency contacts are in there.  Med list, insurance info...  It's got everything!


----------



## taxlady

I got my notice of assessment for my sales tax reports for the 3rd quarter of 2012 today. They have assessed a penalty and interest. 

So, tomorrow I have to phone the MRQ (Ministère du Revenu du Québec). I had to rummage, but I found my receipt. The sales tax reports were due on 2012-10-31 and that's the date on my receipts. Yes, two receipts - one for the report and one for the cash I paid. And the one for the cash I paid, says what it is for. I hate having to waste my time calling the government. It often takes forever to get someone who can handle the problem. Grrr


----------



## Zhizara

My vent is about MagicJack.

I tried last year to use the "no computer necessary" service.  It turned out that it was supposed to be hooked up to my modem, so it didn't need a computer necessarily, but why would I have a modem without the computer. 

My modem did not have a port that would fit, nor could I find any adaptor.  I could still hook it up through the computer, but every time I closed my laptop, I had no phone service.

I gave it up as a bad purchase, but have been waiting for the renewal request to prevent them from charging me for another year's service.

Instead of _requesting_, my renewal, I just received an email saying they were going to charge my account if I didn't reply within one hour.

The email was posted at 2AM!  I just happened to be up and checking in at 3:50, so sent them a reply that I wasn't going to renew and added a note about the 2AM email being an unethical way of doing business.  

The charge isn't supposed to go through until 12/2/12, so I'll be checking to see if they attempt it.

GRRRrrr!


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> My vent is about MagicJack.
> 
> I tried last year to use the "no computer necessary" service.  It turned out that it was supposed to be hooked up to my modem, so it didn't need a computer necessarily, but why would I have a modem without the computer.
> 
> My modem did not have a port that would fit, nor could I find any adaptor.  I could still hook it up through the computer, but every time I closed my laptop, I had no phone service.


I think you need an external modem or router for it to work without a  computer, though they say you can plug the MagicJack into the wall phone  plug.


> I gave it up as a bad purchase, but have been waiting for the renewal request to prevent them from charging me for another year's service.


Didn't they have a 30 day free trial?



> Instead of _requesting_, my renewal, I just received an email saying they were going to charge my account if I didn't reply within one hour.
> 
> The email was posted at 2AM!  I just happened to be up and checking in at 3:50, so sent them a reply that I wasn't going to renew and added a note about the 2AM email being an unethical way of doing business.
> 
> The charge isn't supposed to go through until 12/2/12, so I'll be checking to see if they attempt it.
> 
> GRRRrrr!


Now that just stinks. It's no way to make themselves look like a reputable company and I agree that it is unethical.


----------



## vitauta

oooh, everything about this company's way of operating is a great big outrage! 
 even  makes MY blood boil!  underhanded, sleazy, reprehensible jack__s!  way to go, zhizara--give 'em heck!  although, it might be a difficult task--shaming the shameless....


----------



## Zhizara

By the time I finished checking the new posts here, I had a reply from them and a way to cancel the renewal.  

Upon thinking (I know, dangerous activity), I think they use the one hour deadline to get a response right away.  It worked.


----------



## Skittle68

I just found out that only one space belongs after a period, not two. Ugh. I've been doing it wrong my entire life!! Whatever teacher taught me that should go chew on a typewriter. Grr. Back to homework. Seems like I would rather do just about anything else lol


----------



## Katie H

Skittle68 said:


> I just found out that only one space belongs after a period, not two. Ugh. I've been doing it wrong my entire life!! Whatever teacher taught me that should go chew on a typewriter. Grr. Back to homework. Seems like I would rather do just about anything else lol



No, you weren't taught incorrectly, Skittle.  That's the way I was taught, way back when.  It's only been very recently that that "rule" has changed.


----------



## Skittle68

Katie H said:


> No, you weren't taught incorrectly, Skittle.  That's the way I was taught, way back when.  It's only been very recently that that "rule" has changed.



A single space has been standard since 1950 when the font is proportional. Two spaces is acceptable on a typewriter, or with a font that uses the same amount of space for a skinny letter (I) as a thicker letter (W), because all the open space makes it harder to distinguish between sentences. Hitting that space bar twice is a hard habit to break- I keep having to go back and correct it lol


----------



## Barbara L

Skittle68 said:


> I just found out that only one space belongs after a period, not two. Ugh. I've been doing it wrong my entire life!! Whatever teacher taught me that should go chew on a typewriter. Grr. Back to homework. Seems like I would rather do just about anything else lol





Katie H said:


> No, you weren't taught incorrectly, Skittle.  That's the way I was taught, way back when.  It's only been very recently that that "rule" has changed.


Yep, Katie is right. When I took typing in junior high we were taught to always put one space after a comma and two after a period (and all end punctuation marks).


----------



## vitauta

that two-space after a period rule is still a habit with me when i type.  my computer "corrects"  my text by adjusting the double space to single.  am i anal for being mildly annoyed at that? what bothers me even more though, are all the changes in word spellings that have been made in recent years.  my way of spelling many words is now considered to be an 'alternate', or worse yet, 'archaic' spelling---sheesh!!

d'ya see what i'm saying?  i double-spaced after every period in my post--am doing it right now too....


----------



## Andy M.

Skittle68 said:


> A single space has been standard since 1950 when the font is proportional. Two spaces is acceptable on a typewriter, or with a font that uses the same amount of space for a skinny letter (I) as a thicker letter (W), because all the open space makes it harder to distinguish between sentences. Hitting that space bar twice is a hard habit to break- I keep having to go back and correct it lol



Me too.  Two spaces at the end of a sentence.  I never bother to correct that to one because I don't write anywhere it's a problem.  I don't think most people notice.


----------



## taxlady

I learned to type in 1962. I learned to put two spaces, since the typewriters at that time had fixed width font. I don't remember how long ago I switched to single space after punctuation.

I was also taught to indent paragraphs and not to leave a blank line, except for business letters. Just about all of us got used to doing that.

And Andy, if you ever do need to write something where someone cares if it is one space, you can always "search and replace" the two spaces to one.


----------



## Skittle68

Andy M. said:


> Me too.  Two spaces at the end of a sentence.  I never bother to correct that to one because I don't write anywhere it's a problem.  I don't think most people notice.



I am just anal. Even though most people don't care one way or the other, I care. My iPhone does one space for me even though I hit the space bar twice, so that's why my posts on here are all correct lol.


----------



## Zhizara

Like Andy, that's the way I was taught, and I don't see any reason to change now.  I don't think it's really noticeable anyway.


----------



## Skittle68

Zhizara said:


> Like Andy, that's the way I was taught, and I don't see any reason to change now.  I don't think it's really noticeable anyway.



The only reason it was brought to my attention was because of a research paper I turned in that had two spaces after the periods. Otherwise I probably could have gone the rest of my life without knowing


----------



## taxlady

Skittle68 said:


> I am just anal. Even though most people don't care one way or the other, I care. My iPhone does one space for me even though I hit the space bar twice, so that's why my posts on here are all correct lol.


When you hit the space twice, it gives you a period and a single space.


----------



## Skittle68

taxlady said:


> When you hit the space twice, it gives you a period and a single space.



Exactly


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> When you hit the space twice, it gives you a period and a single space.




Not here on DC


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> When you hit the space twice, it gives you a period and a single space.





Andy M. said:


> Not here on DC


It's the iPhone that does it.


----------



## Dawgluver

I was taught to double space too.  When I hit the space bar twice, I get a double space, not a space and a period.  This goes for my iThings, laptop, and PC.


----------



## Andy M.

I'll have to take your word for it


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Double space is the only rule I retained from typing class.  Now I have to break that habit?


----------



## Alix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Double space is the only rule I retained from typing class.  Now I have to break that habit?



Now that we have keyboards and not typewriters, yes you do. Sorry about that. It made me a bit mental too til I got the hang of it.


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> I was taught to double space too.  When I hit the space bar twice, I get a double space, not a space and a period.  This goes for my iThings, laptop, and PC.



There is a setting that allows you to turn the auto period on or off. They call it "." on the iPhone.


----------



## Andy M.

chopper said:


> There is a setting that allows you to turn the auto period on or off. They call it "." on the iPhone.



Not that I'm anal or anything but after the iPhone changes your double space into a period and a space, can you go back and add a second space?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Now that we have keyboards and not typewriters, yes you do. Sorry about that. It made me a bit mental too til I got the hang of it.




Mrs. McKillip will be spinning in her grave...that was the only thing she was able to teach me in three years.


----------



## Addie

Skittle68 said:


> I just found out that only one space belongs after a period, not two. Ugh. I've been doing it wrong my entire life!! Whatever teacher taught me that should go chew on a typewriter. Grr. Back to homework. Seems like I would rather do just about anything else lol


 
We learned to type when that was the style. We also learn to indent each paragraph five spaces. Now it is all block paragraphs with one line spaces between paragraphs. We learned two line spaces. Today there are some schools that no longer teach typing. By the time kids get to the uppper grade they have been using computers for many years and have developed their own style of using the keys. They probably can type faster than the teacher. And the keyboard for the computer is nothing like the typewriter. Some of the keys on the typewriter are not on the computer board. Have you noticed that the cent symbol has been replaced by the caret sign? And there is no backslash on the typewriter. If you were to read a secretary's handbood from yesrteryear, you would not believe the things we were taught that are no longer relevant today. When was the last time you indented the address on an envelope? Or put the postal code after the city and before the state abbreviation?  Ex; Boston, 28 MA


----------



## Addie

We are having a major problem in the building. The doors are locked and at 10 p.m. if someone rings your buzzer you can answer them, but can't buzz them in. You have to go down to the front door and see who it is before you let them in. We also have a side and a back door. For those two doors, you can't be buzzed in at all. All the doors have a camera and runs 24/7 on everyone who comes and goes. One of the tenants has been propping one of the side doors with a piece of carboard. It keeps the door from locking. They other night my son caught a male trying to get into the building. When Spike left the building, he knocked the carboard out and the door locked. 

The majority of the tenants here are females. And every apartment is a drug addicts heaven. When an addict needs a fix, they don't stop to read a prescription bottle for the name and directions. They just see "DRUGS"! We have had a very large turnover this past year of tenants. Most of the new tenants are amle and you can't seem to impress on them the need for security for the rest of us. We are not allowed to have even relatives sleep over without permission. I don't know if your child is a drug addict. And I am certainly not going to take your word that he/she is an upstanding citizen. One tenant has a daughter that is psychotic. Bt to talk to her you would think she is brilliant. She is on the barred list. She can't even visit her mother. Se is a danger to everyone in this building. They will be looking at the tapes over the weekend to see who the culprit is. I have the feeling I already know. One of the newer tenants who thinks he knows everything. And a heavy drinker to boot. His son is homeless and hasn't held a job in more than three years.


----------



## chopper

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Not that I'm anal or anything but after the iPhone changes your double space into a period and a space, can you go back and add a second space?



Yes you can!


----------



## tinlizzie

Another double-spacer here.  Can't seem to change the habit (can't seem to want to, either).

One holdover oldie that I like and still use is shorthand -- I can write security code numbers/pin numbers, etc. in shorthand.  Of course, it's not too useful on a computer.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> It's the iPhone that does it.



Word does, too, by default


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> There is a setting that allows you to turn the auto period on or off. They call it "." on the iPhone.



Huh.  I think I must have changed it then.


----------



## Kylie1969

Having to sign up for an account just to register an electrical product


----------



## JoAnn L.

I just read in a magazine artical that some scented candles emit formaldehyde and acetone, chemicals that can leave you feeling light -headed when inhaled, researchers say. All it rakes is two hours of burn time to feel the effects.


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> I just read in a magazine article that some scented candles emit formaldehyde and acetone, chemicals that can leave you feeling light -headed when inhaled, researchers say. All it rakes is two hours of burn time to feel the effects.


 
Remember the Gel candles? It turns out that it was very dangerous. If the flame burnt down to the gel, it ignited. Some folks lost their homes, and some received some very serious burns when the gel spilt on them.


----------



## Addie

If I get my hands of Spike, I am definitely going to do him some serious harm. 

We got to talking about the batteries in my scooter. He told me' "Batteries have a memory. If you don't let it run down, it will lose it power when your instruments say it is full.  Because you keep charging it when it doesn't really need it. So I should let it run down."  So I did!

Where did it die? At the very end of the property. I had to release the battery and push the dang thing home. Some of it uphill. It is a good thing it didn't happen when I went to the store. That would call for his death instead of just harm. From now on I will do it my way. Plug it in every night and charge it. My memory tells me to do that.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> If I get my hands of Spike, I am definitely going to do him some serious harm.
> 
> We got to talking about the batteries in my scooter. He told me' "Batteries have a memory. If you don't let it run down, it will lose it power when your instruments say it is full.  Because you keep charging it when it doesn't really need it. So I should let it run down."  So I did!
> 
> Where did it die? At the very end of the property. I had to release the battery and push the dang thing home. Some of it uphill. It is a good thing it didn't happen when I went to the store. That would call for his death instead of just harm. From now on I will do it my way. Plug it in every night and charge it. My memory tells me to do that.


It depends on the type of battery if there is a memory effect. Lots of people have heard about the memory effect, but it only happens with NiCd (nickel cadmium) rechargeable batteries.

Here's a link to show Spike: Memory effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> It depends on the type of battery if there is a memory effect. Lots of people have heard about the memory effect, but it only happens with NiCd (nickel cadmium) rechargeable batteries.
> 
> Here's a link to show Spike: Memory effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


 
I actually have two batteries. It is a big scooter. One of the batteries is a gel one. Acceptable for airline travel. I don't know what the other one is. It doesn't matter. He is going to one hurting kid. It is going to take more than just one slice of wet bred to slap him around. I may end up using the whole loaf.


----------



## Addie

I will have to get my manual out and read it. Should have done that in the first place. I did look at all the pretty pictures of folks using their scooter though.


----------



## taxlady

Danged wrist is inflamed again. It's bad enough that I can't use my right hand to drink tea. I'm starting the Voltaren tonight. I think I better talk to my doctor about this. I can see from this thread that the last time it happened was 2012-11-18.

This is making me rethink the idea of getting a powerful mixer. I figured I wouldn't use it enough, but I can't even make banana bread at the moment.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> The condo member who used to be our handy man opened the garage door manually. So, I got a chance to buy potatoes and a skirt for the Danish Club Mortens Goose dinner tomorrow night.


 
Do you have a side pedestrian door available so you can gain access? On the motor there is a rope hanging down. If you pull that rope it disengages the electrical part of the motor and you can open the door manually. 

A quick story. I worked for a garage door company. One day they installed new doors in the Saugus fire department and gave them the preset remotes. All of a sudden we started to get calls from all the businesses on Route One. It seems every time the fire department went by, their overhead doors were opening by themselves. We always set all the remotes with the same code. It was up to the customer to change it. So all these businesses had the same code as the fire department. The only difference was the fire department had a more powerful remote so they could open the doors about a block away from the fire house on their return. It seems one of the firefighters had the remote in his pocket and was sitting on the open button. Thus all the doors were opening.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Do you have a side pedestrian door available so you can gain access? On the motor there is a rope hanging down. If you pull that rope it disengages the electrical part of the motor and you can open the door manually.
> 
> ....


We have a side door, but that is only for exiting. I have access from my basement. I looked at the motor, but I couldn't see the rope/chain. I was shown once, but it involved turning off a switch and removing a chain from a sprocket or something like that.

Not being able to get in the side door is one of my vents. The teenagers leave it open so they can get back in. Then we sometimes get vandalism from people wandering in.

The condo administrators say that we can't put a lock that opens with a key from the outside because it's a fire safety door with a bar. I say that's nonsense. I have seen plenty of those doors that open with a bar from the inside, that can be unlocked from the outside. Don't these people pay attention at hospitals, in bars, some stores? I'm going to talk to my locksmith and ask for a quote.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> We have a side door, but that is only for exiting. I have access from my basement. I looked at the motor, but I couldn't see the rope/chain. I was shown once, but it involved turning off a switch and removing a chain from a sprocket or something like that.
> 
> Not being able to get in the side door is one of my vents. The teenagers leave it open so they can get back in. Then we sometimes get vandalism from people wandering in.
> 
> The condo administrators say that we can't put a lock that opens with a key from the outside because it's a fire safety door with a bar. I say that's nonsense. I have seen plenty of those doors that open with a bar from the inside, that can be unlocked from the outside. Don't these people pay attention at hospitals, in bars, some stores? I'm going to talk to my locksmith and ask for a quote.


 
That is called a "crash bar."


----------



## Claire

Angry.  My husband got a call from "medic alert" for me; by name.  I just got back from Florida for a major medical problem with my father.  I'm insane, just starting to unpack, and can't imagine how or why Mom would  put me on an emergency list (when I left I hadn't managed to convince her to get a panic button.  Called her and everything is fine there.  Then called my local friends who are in distress (I know they DO have panic buttons) .... don't think they have me on the alert list, but you never know.  No.  Everything is OK there.  My husband says these people asked for me by name, and I can't think of anyone.  This should be illegal.


----------



## chopper

Addie said:
			
		

> If I get my hands of Spike, I am definitely going to do him some serious harm.
> 
> We got to talking about the batteries in my scooter. He told me' "Batteries have a memory. If you don't let it run down, it will lose it power when your instruments say it is full.  Because you keep charging it when it doesn't really need it. So I should let it run down."  So I did!
> 
> Where did it die? At the very end of the property. I had to release the battery and push the dang thing home. Some of it uphill. It is a good thing it didn't happen when I went to the store. That would call for his death instead of just harm. From now on I will do it my way. Plug it in every night and charge it. My memory tells me to do that.



I don't really see this as Spikes fault, but I am happy that you are ok and that you were close to home when the battery ran down. Maybe next time you could do laps around the house when it is really low until it runs out.


----------



## Addie

chopper said:


> I don't really see this as Spikes fault, but I am happy that you are ok and that you were close to home when the battery ran down. Maybe next time you could do laps around the house when it is really low until it runs out.


 
Spike has a way of turning every thing around to my not thinking things through.

"I didn't tell you to take it outside and run it down. You could do that in the building very easily. There are long halls here you could run up and down." 

He's right. I didn't think it through. I hate it when he is right. Which is all the time. I often get flighty in my thinking. I see the fun side of everything. Not the end result.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> I don't really see this as Spikes fault, but I am happy that you are ok and that you were close to home when the battery ran down. Maybe next time you could do laps around the house when it is really low until it runs out.


But if it isn't a NiCd battery, there is no good reason to run it down.


----------



## taxlady

Claire said:


> Angry.  My husband got a call from "medic alert" for me; by name.  I just got back from Florida for a major medical problem with my father.  I'm insane, just starting to unpack, and can't imagine how or why Mom would  put me on an emergency list (when I left I hadn't managed to convince her to get a panic button.  Called her and everything is fine there.  Then called my local friends who are in distress (I know they DO have panic buttons) .... don't think they have me on the alert list, but you never know.  No.  Everything is OK there.  My husband says these people asked for me by name, and I can't think of anyone.  This should be illegal.


(((Hugs)))

They didn't say who it was about?!? I wouldn't just be , I would be .


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs)))
> 
> They didn't say who it was about?!? I wouldn't just be , I would be .


 
My youngest is the first one they call. He is the P.A. and my medical proxy. Spike is the second one on the list. I had to take my daughter off the list due to her illness. (For future reference he is now known as Poo. A childhood nickname.) Poo is called to let him know what is wrong and for any decisions to be made. Spike is the one to call the rest of the family. Poo calls him to let him know whether to call them or not. So far he has not had to call anyone except the time I had the gall bladder attack. They really thought they were going to lose me. My panic button is tied into ESP. My medical people in Winthrop. I have never had a problem with the hospital or the system in general. All the information is in their computer system. Poo's phone number is tied into his call button for emergencies at the hospital. So he gets the message immediately and answers. Spike had a bad habit of ignoring his phone calls. But since he knows he is listed as one of my proxys, he now answers all his calls. 

Your problem is with the company that monitors the panic button. You need to get in touch with them to take you off the list and let them know why. I am sure if there is something really wrong, a family member will notify you.


----------



## Addie

So yestedaY I get call from Winthrop. "When can we expect you to come in for your mothly visit?" 

"At the end of the month."

"Oh no. We need to see you tomorrow for blood work."

"Okay, I wil come in tomorrow."

So I get up this morning, take a shower, and go downstairs at 9:55. At 10:35 my phone rings. "When are you coming in for your monthly visit? "

Someone forgot to set up the transportation. And they wonder why I get upset. Well, it won't be today. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if all the aggravation is worth the benefts. Or am I getting too old and too short on patience?


----------



## Skittle68

In one of my stupid online classes, we are required to read every single post and response by every person. The teacher can see if we did. So I read, or at the very least skim through, every single one, and the teacher just posted under my discussions grade that I only read 58/143 posting. WHAT??! This must be some kind of computer error... I sent her an email, and if she doesn't fix this I'm going to be so mad... It's a medical class so you need 94% for an A, and I'm already at like 96% because of the horrible wording on her assignments. I got 50% on one assignment because the questions were so vague I was answering questions about injury log records, and she was talking about exposure report forms. I guess I'm supposed to be psychic, and know what she's talking about when she just asks about documentation. She said it wouldn't be fair to the other students if she gave me the points, even though my answers were right in relation to OSHA's sharps injury log :/ Why do some teachers seem to enjoy confusing us? Isn't the point to make sure we know the material??

Aww, and on a side note I just got an email from a different teacher thanking me for my patience throughout the semester: "You are a truly great student who needs to be challenged and your academic abilities will bring you far. Regrettably, a number of your classmates were not quite prepared for a college level course, so thank you for being patient." 

Cool!!


----------



## CharlieD

Being that English is not my first language, it is even harder for me to understand when people talk in riddles. I hate that. Speak your mind, say what you mean, don't go around beating on a bush (or whatever the expression is). I feel your pain, Skittle.


----------



## taxlady

That sucks Skittle. I hope she fixes it soon.

Maybe when she makes an assignment, you should just assume that she is being confusing and ask for a better explanation or more details. Don't make her feel that it is her fault, you know that wouldn't have good consequences.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Being that English is not my first language, it is even harder for me to understand when people talk in riddles. I hate that. Speak your mind, say what you mean, don't go around beating on a bush (or whatever the expression is). I feel your pain, Skittle.


 
Charlie, I love listening to folks who don't use English as their first language. Sometimes some of the American expressions they try to use are very laughable. They just come out funny. But it tells me one thing. They are paying attention and trying to learn our language. Like yourself. It is like listening to a child learning at an early age. Some of the ones my kids came out with would make anyone laugh. Mark and blue black (Black and blue marks) On purples (on purpose) the stairs climbed up and I fell down (self explanatory). It is a language of its own. I call it Childrenese. But it doesn't matter. We know what you mean and love hearing from you. 

And it is "beat around the bush."


----------



## Skittle68

taxlady said:


> That sucks Skittle. I hope she fixes it soon.
> 
> Maybe when she makes an assignment, you should just assume that she is being confusing and ask for a better explanation or more details. Don't make her feel that it is her fault, you know that wouldn't have good consequences.



That's what I was thinking, but it's very possible that was the last assignment of the year. Hopefully the final exam will keep me above that 94% if the points from the discussion bring me down. There aren't very many assignments in this class, so if you miss any points it's a disaster.


----------



## roadfix

Well, I'm kind of ticked because the same vacuum cleaner that I bought at Costco 6 weeks ago is $55 off this week.  Had I known about this upcoming sale I would have waited to make the purchase.
I'm going there this evening to see if I can get a credit for the difference.  Knowing Costco's excellent return policy I'm sure they'll honor the sale price and hand me over $55 plus tax.  I'll hand that money right back at them by my purchasing some Prime cuts of meat....LOL...


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Well, I'm kind of ticked because the same vacuum cleaner that I bought at Costco 6 weeks ago is $55 off this week.  Had I known about this upcoming sale I would have waited to make the purchase.
> I'm going there this evening to see if I can get a credit for the difference.  Knowing Costco's excellent return policy I'm sure they'll honor the sale price and hand me over $55 plus tax.  I'll hand that money right back at them by my purchasing some Prime cuts of meat....LOL...


I hope it works. I'll send some vibes for luck in your direction. Let us know how it goes.


----------



## roadfix

Thanks Tax!


----------



## Kylie1969

roadfix said:


> Well, I'm kind of ticked because the same vacuum cleaner that I bought at Costco 6 weeks ago is $55 off this week.  Had I known about this upcoming sale I would have waited to make the purchase.
> I'm going there this evening to see if I can get a credit for the difference.  Knowing Costco's excellent return policy I'm sure they'll honor the sale price and hand me over $55 plus tax.  I'll hand that money right back at them by my purchasing some Prime cuts of meat....LOL...



Good luck RF, hope you get the credit


----------



## Kylie1969

taxlady said:


> Danged wrist is inflamed again. It's bad enough that I can't use my right hand to drink tea. I'm starting the Voltaren tonight. I think I better talk to my doctor about this. I can see from this thread that the last time it happened was 2012-11-18.
> 
> This is making me rethink the idea of getting a powerful mixer. I figured I wouldn't use it enough, but I can't even make banana bread at the moment.



Hope your doctor can find out what is wrong Taxy


----------



## Claire

CharlieD said:


> Being that English is not my first language, it is even harder for me to understand when people talk in riddles. I hate that. Speak your mind, say what you mean, don't go around beating on a bush (or whatever the expression is). I feel your pain, Skittle.


 
My father's first language was not English, neither were any of my girlfriend's mothers when I was a kid.  At one point, as we were traveling, my husband asked me, "Is her mother French, too?"  Yes.  "your father is French-Canadian, and all your childhood friends had French war brides as mothers?"  Yes.  All of them.  No, I had one friend in Germany who's mother was French Canadian.  

If you find yourself in a place or position where you need to deal with people who are not native English speakers, or are hard of hearing, you need to learn to look that person in the face while talking, and use your hands and an expressive face.  Part of my youth was spent in France and Germany, and we took trips to Quebec and Slovenia.  The latter language is very, very difficult (since, as I've mentioned, I came from a French-speaking background, although I'm not anyway near good at it, my ear is more attuned to it).  I guess I'm saying I didn't have an "ear" for Slovene.    But you'd be amazed at what you can "get" from body language.  Make eye contact.  Do not mumble into your collar.  Sounds obvious, but, in fact, people do.  Bank tellers, checkout people at the grocery store.  They don't look you in the face.  Look the person you're dealing with in the face.  Do you want to be understood?  Then look that person in the face when you are talking to them.


----------



## roadfix

Kylie1969 said:


> Good luck RF, hope you get the credit


Thanks, I got the credit, no problem.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Thanks, I got the credit, no problem.


w00t!


----------



## roadfix

Thanks Tax!   But instead of buying meat with that money, as I as walking though the camera isle these digital cameras were calling my name.  They somehow knew my old camera was on its last leg so I made an impulse buy.  I picked up a nice little point and shoot Canon.


----------



## Skittle68

Skittle68 said:


> In one of my stupid online classes, we are required to read every single post and response by every person. The teacher can see if we did. So I read, or at the very least skim through, every single one, and the teacher just posted under my discussions grade that I only read 58/143 posting. WHAT??! This must be some kind of computer error... I sent her an email, and if she doesn't fix this I'm going to be so mad... It's a medical class so you need 94% for an A, and I'm already at like 96% because of the horrible wording on her assignments. I got 50% on one assignment because the questions were so vague I was answering questions about injury log records, and she was talking about exposure report forms. I guess I'm supposed to be psychic, and know what she's talking about when she just asks about documentation. She said it wouldn't be fair to the other students if she gave me the points, even though my answers were right in relation to OSHA's sharps injury log :/ Why do some teachers seem to enjoy confusing us? Isn't the point to make sure we know the material??
> 
> Aww, and on a side note I just got an email from a different teacher thanking me for my patience throughout the semester: "You are a truly great student who needs to be challenged and your academic abilities will bring you far. Regrettably, a number of your classmates were not quite prepared for a college level course, so thank you for being patient."
> 
> Cool!!



Phew, it was an error on the teachers part. That means I just need at least 85% on the final exam, and I should have an A in the class


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Phew, it was an error on the teachers part. That means I just need at least 85% on the final exam, and I should have an A in the class



Yay!  Good job, Skittles!  Proud of you for sticking to your guns.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yay!  Good job, Skittles!  Proud of you for sticking to your guns.


+1


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Thanks Tax!   But instead of buying meat with that money, as I as walking though the camera isle these digital cameras were calling my name.  They somehow knew my old camera was on its last leg so I made an impulse buy.  I picked up a nice little point and shoot Canon.


I'm quite fond of my Canon point and shoot. I just need to buy a tripod for it.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> +1



+2


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Dawgluver said:


> +2



+3


----------



## CharlieD

Claire said:


> ... you need to learn to look that person in the face while talking...


 Not much of a face on Internet page


----------



## bakechef

I'm having a grumpy day, now I have to be social, darn it!


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> I'm having a grumpy day, now I have to be social, darn it!



  No you don't, Bakechef, we'll love you anyway!  Grump away!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> I'm having a grumpy day, now I have to be social, darn it!



No, I'm Grumpy, you are Sneezy...get it right!


----------



## bakechef

Well I forgot my claratin today so I was both grumpy and sneezy...

I just ate pizza and tiramisu, and that has helped the mood slightly.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> Well I forgot my claratin today so I was both grumpy and sneezy...
> 
> I just ate pizza and tiramisu, and that has helped the mood slightly.



Tiramisu can fix anything...I had a hot chocolate, I almost feel human.


----------



## bakechef

I've been making hot chocolate by the cup with cocoa, sugar and milk with a bit of vanilla, I think that will solve just about any mood swing.  Now if I could just remember to buy more milk!


----------



## Addie

And I am sitting here cursing the gods of the underworld. I have an upset stomach. I better feel better by morning. I have an appt. for my pre-op checkup. I need to get some sleep, but am feeling too miserable.


----------



## Chef Maloney

Love hot chocolate. With marshmallows. And some cream.


----------



## Skittle68

I may have been a little *too* honest in my individual evaluation of a group project I did lol... The last question was "Did the group process have a positive effect on your learning?" I answered: "No, I hate group work, and the reason I worked so hard to get 100% on every assignment until now was because I knew it was coming up and didn't want to stress about it." No taking it back now- hopefully he appreciates my candor ha ha...


----------



## Kylie1969

Chef Maloney said:


> Love hot chocolate. With marshmallows. And some cream.



YUM!


----------



## Chef Maloney

Kylie1969 said:


> YUM!


 
hey, isn't venting supposed to be something bothersome or bad? 
Vent: Don't you just HATE IT when hot chocolate w/whipped cream & marshmallows tastes so good? hehe


----------



## Vanitas

Chef Maloney said:


> hey, isn't venting supposed to be something bothersome or bad?
> Vent: Don't you just HATE IT when hot chocolate w/whipped cream & marshmallows tastes so good? hehe


I hate it when the hot chocolate is too hot to drink - and the whipped cream & marshmallows melt away before it cools down. 

I also now hate the fact that I am not drinking hot chocolate right now.


----------



## Chef Maloney

Tomorrow morning it's HOT CHOCOLATE for me! w/cream & Ooppss... I'm all out of marshmallows  I don't care. I'm having it without them 
Don't you just hate it when you're all out of marshmallows to go in you hot chocolate w/cream?


----------



## Vanitas

It is certainly upsetting!! I have just discovered that I also lack marshmallows. Wish I'd known that when I was town earlier today.


----------



## MrsLMB

I have marshmallows and you are all welcome to them.  Hubby picked them up at the store.  They are about the size of a baseball .. omg .. I've never seen them so big. 

Men !!!   They still think bigger is better !!!

 If I were to use them in hot chocolate they wouldn't fit in the mug


----------



## vitauta

not as fun as mini marshmallows, but  i have a stash of marshmallow fluff--enough to hook me up with hot chocolate for at least two winters.


----------



## Chef Maloney

MrsLMB said:


> I have marshmallows and you are all welcome to them. Hubby picked them up at the store. They are about the size of a baseball .. omg .. I've never seen them so big.
> 
> Men !!! They still think bigger is better !!!
> 
> If I were to use them in hot chocolate they wouldn't fit in the mug


 
How about putting those GIANT marshmallow in the food processor? 
HeeHeeeehehehehe. What is the definition of: stickygummymess.... 
Let hubby clean it)


----------



## Addie

I get so angry when I have to see my friends live a deprived life. Like having hot chocolate without their precious marshmallows. Life is just not fair.


----------



## Vanitas

MrsLMB said:


> I have marshmallows and you are all welcome to them.  Hubby picked them up at the store.  They are about the size of a baseball .. omg .. I've never seen them so big.
> 
> Men !!!   They still think bigger is better !!!
> 
> If I were to use them in hot chocolate they wouldn't fit in the mug


Problem solved: Cram one of those babies into a mug, carve out the centre & then pour hot chocolate _into_ the hallowed out marshmallow.


----------



## Chef Maloney

Vanitas said:


> Problem solved: Cram one of those babies into a mug, carve out the centre & then pour hot chocolate _into_ the hallowed out marshmallow.


 
Where there is a will... there is a way. Excellent Vanitas


----------



## taxlady

Kitchen shears should handle those giant marshmallows.


----------



## Chef Maloney

taxlady said:


> Kitchen shears should handle those giant marshmallows.


 
excellent Taxlady. I was thinking more on the lines of chainsaw but your way is much easier and saves gas


----------



## MrsLMB

You all are way too funny.

I'm not kiddin' about these marshmallows.  They are called campfire size and they are humongous !!

One will probably do for 4 cups of hot cocoa ... good thing my dogs like marshmallows !!

Now ... if only I had some milk .. I hate when I want something really bad - like hot chocolate - and I am out of milk


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> I may have been a little *too* honest in my individual evaluation of a group project I did lol... The last question was "Did the group process have a positive effect on your learning?" I answered: "No, I hate group work, and the reason I worked so hard to get 100% on every assignment until now was because I knew it was coming up and didn't want to stress about it." No taking it back now- hopefully he appreciates my candor ha ha...



I don't count but I like your answer.  I feel the same way, hate being held up or back by what others contribute.  I am not a team player when it comes to my grades or my job.


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I don't count but I like your answer.  I feel the same way, hate being held up or back by what others contribute.  I am not a team player when it comes to my grades or my job.



Me either. I did 90% of the legwork for the whole project and my group members still waited til 10:00 the night before to send me their portions of the speech (even though I wrote out a formal outline with all the info they needed). They also read off sheets of printer paper instead of using note cards. It's a college level class and I didn't really think I needed to tell them that would not be acceptable. I'm guessing we probably got a B. Maybe a C at the absolute worst, and I could get 65% and still easily get an A in the class. So no stress lol


----------



## PrincessFiona60

At least it is over.  That's the upside.


----------



## Addie

Okay, my turm. I hate when I get the most ungodly stomach cramp and it turns out to be the tiniest of gas bubbles. At least make it worth my while for making the trip to the outhouse and not waste toilet paper. Geesh!


----------



## GotGarlic

TMI, Addie, TMI.

I'm aggravated that my arm and hand still hurt from last weeken's fall. I haven't gotten done nearly as much as I'd hoped.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> TMI, Addie, TMI.
> 
> I'm aggravated that my arm and hand still hurt from last weeken's fall. I haven't gotten done nearly as much as I'd hoped.



Any bruising GG?  Have you tried a warm pack on it?  I sure hope it feels better soon.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Any bruising GG?  Have you tried a warm pack on it?  I sure hope it feels better soon.



+1


----------



## Kylie1969

Hope it heals quickly GG


----------



## GotGarlic

Thanks, guys. It's finally a little better today. I went to the doctor yesterday and she warned me about making sure I move the arm so I don't get frozen shoulder. DH had that and ended up having surgery. Don't want that to happen. We put on an ice pack on it every 10 minutes for about an hour after it first happened. Nothing since then but it is getting better.

Now doing some online shopping for DH and hope to get some baking done today.


----------



## GotGarlic

At least I got my shopping done. Had a blood test today and just got a call from the doctor's office - he wants me to go to the ER because my hemoglobin is really low. I've been here many times before; told him I'd go in the morning. They'll have to do a confirmation test, type and cross, get the blood and get it going - by that time it'll be 2 in the morning and I may or may not be in a room. Don't blow a gasket, PF, but it can wait  Going to bed now.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> At least I got my shopping done. Had a blood test today and just got a call from the doctor's office - he wants me to go to the ER because my hemoglobin is really low. I've been here many times before; told him I'd go in the morning. They'll have to do a confirmation test, type and cross, get the blood and get it going - by that time it'll be 2 in the morning and I may or may not be in a room. Don't blow a gasket, PF, but it can wait  Going to bed now.



If you've been there before and you think it can wait, I think you are right.  If this was a new experience I would be losing it all over!  Take care, get some good fluids in so they can find a vein on one stick.


----------



## GotGarlic

Just wanted to say hi, hangin' in the ER, waiting for a room upstairs. All going fine.


----------



## vitauta

gee, gg, i'm sure sorry that you hafta be in the hospital right now.  i know you'd rather be elsewhere...maybe you could think of this as an overnight at a B&B, instead--with nice, smiling people bringing your meals to you bedside in covered dishes, pitchers of ice water, and seeing to your every need and creature comfort.  a brief respite from your responsibilities and xmas preparations--not so bad, really.  just you and your pc, maybe dropping in at dc w/your dc friends, cable tv if you want it, any books or magazines to read....have a nice, restful stay at your b&b, gg, and return home refreshed and ready to resume work again on your holiday plans....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> Just wanted to say hi, hangin' in the ER, waiting for a room upstairs. All going fine.



Waiting is...I hope it goes well for you!.


----------



## GotGarlic

vitauta said:


> gee, gg, i'm sure sorry that you hafta be in the hospital right now.  i know you'd rather be elsewhere...maybe you could think of this as an overnight at a B&B, instead--with nice, smiling people bringing your meals to you bedside in covered dishes, pitchers of ice water, and seeing to your every need and creature comfort.  a brief respite from your responsibilities and xmas preparations--not so bad, really.  just you and your pc, maybe dropping in at dc w/your dc friends, cable tv if you want it, any books or magazines to read....have a nice, restful stay at your b&b, gg, and return home refreshed and ready to resume work again on your holiday plans....



I love that perspective, V - thanks 

And thanks, PF. I'm feeling much better now.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> I love that perspective, V - thanks
> 
> And thanks, PF. I'm feeling much better now.



Well, yeah!  You got some blood on now!  I wish all fatigue problems could be fixed that easy!  I'm so glad you are feeling better, it does kinda creep up on you, it's not like there's bells and whistles going off when your Hct goes low.


----------



## MrsLMB

Do any of you have personal experience dealing with a bi-polar person?  I need to talk to someone who is personally involved.  My husband is bi-polar and I need some help.


----------



## taxlady

I'm making a sponge cake for the trifle. Ack! I got six eggs separated properly. The seventh one, somehow there was some yoke in the white and I didn't notice until I dumped it in with the other egg whites. I tried to fish out the yoke, but it just spread around. I guess we're having an omelette for supper.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> Do any of you have personal experience dealing with a bi-polar person?  I need to talk to someone who is personally involved.  My husband is bi-polar and I need some help.




I feel for you, this is not an easy thing to deal with.  Feel free to PM me and I can help a little.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I'm making a sponge cake for the trifle. Ack! I got six eggs separated properly. The seventh one, somehow there was some yoke in the white and I didn't notice until I dumped it in with the other egg whites. I tried to fish out the yoke, but it just spread around. I guess we're having an omelette for supper.



TL needs three bowls to crack and separate eggs...how was the omelet?


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> TL needs three bowls to crack and separate eggs...how was the omelet?


The omelette was good.

I used three bowls! I just didn't notice the egg yoke in the little bowl before I put it in with the other egg whites.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> The omelette was good.
> 
> I used three bowls! I just didn't notice the egg yoke in the little bowl before I put it in with the other egg whites.



4 bowls...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> 4 bowls...




How would that work?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I'm making a sponge cake for the trifle. Ack! I got six eggs separated properly. The seventh one, somehow there was some yoke in the white and I didn't notice until I dumped it in with the other egg whites. I tried to fish out the yoke, but it just spread around. I guess we're having an omelette for supper.


 
The next time this happens (andI hope it never does) use the shell to get out the small piece of yolk. It will be drawn to the shell. I have no idea why, it just works for me.


----------



## vitauta

wait up, wait---you guys lost me back there a ways, with all of your talk about multiple egg bowls!!  as taxy has just demonstrated so effectively, it is every bit as easy to mix one's egg yolks with one's egg whites using 3 bowls instead of just two.
btw, why is it that the tiniest smidgen of a single egg yolk is able ruin a half dozen egg whites?


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> wait up, wait---you guys lost me back there a ways, with all of your talk about multiple egg bowls!! as taxy has just demonstrated so effectively, it is every bit as easy to mix one's egg yolks with one's egg whites using 3 bowls instead of just two.
> btw, *why is it that the tiniest smidgen of a single egg yolk is able ruin a half dozen egg whites*?


 
Because fat (in the yolk) is the enemy of good stiff peaks in whipping egg whites. The best you will get is soft peaks that keep falling over and collapsing. Yolks have fat in them. (As in Cholesterol) When you whip egg whites, they tell you to have really clean bowls. Do not use plastic bowls. There is hidden grease in plastic. But had she used the egg shell to get out the yolk, even if she had to take a bit of the white, it would have worked for her.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> The next time this happens (andI hope it never does) use the shell to get out the small piece of yolk. It will be drawn to the shell. I have no idea why, it just works for me.


I did use the egg shell, but it didn't work. 

I have had good luck fishing out pieces of egg shell with the egg shell.


----------



## Somebunny

I was going to suggest the egg shell trick as well.  It also works for lifting out any stray shell fragments that might find their way into your dish or frying pan.


----------



## Dawgluver

Sounds like the yolk got all goobered into the mix, and no amount of egg shell fishing would have saved the whites.  Bummer.  But the omelet sounds amazing!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My petty vent:

Though I like snow, we don't need to get it all at once.  A couple inches a day, maybe up to 6, would be good.  I'd get my daily exercise shoveling out the driveway, and walkway.  I'd go for that.

But Old Ma Nature doesn't do it like that.  With this storm that's passing through, in a two day period, we were supposed to get up to 12 inches.  Most reports said 10.  In town, that's about what they got.  But at my house, I literally have three feet of snow, all of it falling today.  When I got home, thankfully, the plow hadn't come by yet.  But as I said, the snow was deep, at least for my Malibu it was deep.  But I was able to push through the quarter mile of snow ok.  Then, I tried to turn into my driveway.

I got in, but just barely.  I promptly got stuck.  Now living in this country for the majority of my life I can rock a car with the best of them, and usually get myself out without having to rely on shoveling my way out.  But I was pushing snow like a plow, and got high-centered besides.  I got my DW and self into the house, with the stuff we bought.  I made a quick stir-fry, ate, and headed outside to shovel.  It took me an hour to shovel my walkway to the car.  I then had to shovel the snow from around the car, and a car-length in front of it.  I then had to dig out the tires, you know, remove the snow from in front and behind them, as well as to the sides.  I then moved the car our of the plow's reach, and continued shoveling for another hour, for a total of three hours of shoveling.  And I'm only about half done.  My snowbanks are now as tall as I am.

My neighbor, directly across the street, has a daughter who got stuck pulling off of the main road and into the subdivision.  He went out to get her unstuck, and headed home.  They got the car moving, and got stuck again in his driveway.  I offered to help, but he declined as he had a snowblower at his disposal.  He used it and had his driveway cleared in about 10 minutes.  Another ten minutes with a shovel and he had the care unstuck.

I purposely don't own a snowblower as I use the shoveling as exercise.  But tonight, i might have succumbed had I the cash.  I got my exercise tonight!  Started at 10:00 p.m.and gave in for the night at 1:00 p.m.

I think I'm ready for bed.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

That's a lot of snow and a lot of shovelling, Chief. I don't envy you.


----------



## Somebunny

Taxlady.....do you ever sleep?   How are the party preps coming along?


----------



## taxlady

Somebunny said:


> Taxlady.....do you ever sleep?   How are the party preps coming along?


I usually sleep, but I won't get much, if any, tonight. Prep seems to be coming along. It's the cleaning I dread.

If, by some miracle, I have time tomorrow, I have four Ikea chairs to assemble. I didn't procrastinate on the chairs. They were out of stock and I only got the last four Thursday morning.


----------



## Somebunny

Glad to hear you were able to get the other four chairs!  I just figured you must be 3 hours ahead there....am I wrong?  So it's 2:30 am??


----------



## taxlady

Somebunny said:


> Glad to hear you were able to get the other four chairs!  I just figured you must be 3 hours ahead there....am I wrong?  So it's 2:30 am??


02h40 now


----------



## Kylie1969

taxlady said:


> That's a lot of snow and a lot of shovelling, Chief. I don't envy you.



+1


----------



## chopper

Kylie1969 said:
			
		

> +1



+2


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> How would that work?



Two inspection bowls...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Two inspection bowls...


Yeah, that might have saved my egg whites. But, I think it was fated to go wrong. BTW, the sponge cake came out fine with the new batch of eggs and the omelette was a perfect, quick supper while I was busy.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Karma...you needed a quick dinner.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Karma...you needed a quick dinner.


Yup, it may actually have saved me time.


----------



## vitauta

happily, this venting thread is a special place where i can go without getting yelled at for going off topic, or bothering folks unduly by the sharp turns and tangents of my mind.  segueing...the other day, i bought my first ever quail eggs.  while i expected them to be small, i had no idea How small...i guess i need to explain here that my groceries are being delivered to my home at this time.  when i first unpacked my eggs, i couldn't help bursting into laughter at the sight!  there it was, a miniature ten-pack egg carton, with these wee pint-sized speckled, freckled, cute-as-can-be quail eggs, nestled into their tiny egg-compartments.--seriously, these quail eggs are approximately the size of the godiva chocolate truffle morsels sitting nearby in their own gold boxed, partitioned, nest-compartments....
the thought of frying these little guys for my breakfast, in one of my giant jonathan swift,  giant- sized frying pans, suddenly struck me as uproariously funny, ludicrous really.  such cute, speckled little things, they needed a plan 'b'.... 
fast-forward to today, i have my plan:  i will make a sponge cake!  well, more likely it will be a sponge cupcake..  if i can just figure out how to go about cracking their itty-bitty freckled shells, and separate their itty-bitty yolks from their itty-bitty egg whites, each into their own itty-bitty quail-egg bowls...

i'm hoping the egg whites and the egg yolks don't get mixed together, or instead of a sponge cupcake, i will be back to my out-sized frying pan, and an itty-bitty, 10 quail-egg omelet for breakfast...

p.s.   add eggs to my shopping list.  hen's eggs....


----------



## Dawgluver

vitauta said:


> happily, this venting thread is a special place where i can go without getting yelled at for going off topic, or bothering folks unduly by the sharp turns and tangents of my mind.  segueing...the other day, i bought my first ever quail eggs.  while i expected them to be small, i had no idea How small...i guess i need to explain here that my groceries are being delivered to my home at this time.  when i first unpacked my eggs, i couldn't help bursting into laughter at the sight!  there it was, a miniature ten-pack egg carton, with these wee pint-sized speckled, freckled, cute-as-can-be quail eggs, nestled into their tiny egg-compartments.--seriously, these quail eggs are approximately the size of the godiva chocolate truffle morsels sitting nearby in their own gold boxed, partitioned nest-compartments....
> the thought of frying these little guys for my breakfast, in one of my giant jonathan swift,  giant- sized frying pans, suddenly struck me as uproariously funny, ludicrous really.  such cute, speckled little things, they needed a plan 'b'.
> fast-forward to today, i have my plan.  i will make a sponge cake.  well, more likely it will be a sponge cupcake...if i can just figure out how to go about cracking their itty-bitty freckled shells, and separate their itty-bitty yolks from their itty-bitty egg whites, each into their own itty-bitty quail-egg bowls...
> 
> i'm hoping the egg whites and the egg yolks don't get mixed together, or instead of a sponge cupcake, i will be back to my out-sized frying pan, and an itty-bitty, 10 quail-egg omelet....





You should take a picture, Vit!  Can't wait for the sponge cupcake report!


----------



## chopper

Vit, you "crack" me up!!!!  ROFL!!


----------



## chopper

I bet when you looked at those little eggs, you couldn't put them "down!"


----------



## vitauta

haha, you're right, chopper--the little guys are still sitting in my fridge, waiting for resolution....i like soft, three-minute eggs when i'm not having fried or scrambled.  just trying to calculate the conversion time of a three minute hen's egg to that of my quail eggs.--let's see, should be somewhere around 10 to 15 seconds, hmmm....


----------



## Barbara L

When you begin a sentence with, "No offence meant, but..." you fully intend to offend. 

 Blowing off a little steam right now. I can't go into details, and it doesn't matter anyway. Just a know-it-all person I know who should think a little before opening his mouth.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Barbara L said:


> When you begin a sentence with, "No offence meant, but..." you fully intend to offend.
> 
> Blowing off a little steam right now. I can't go into details, and it doesn't matter anyway. Just a know-it-all person I know who should think a little before opening his mouth.



I read one time that when someone says something rude to you, you should act like you didn't hear them and ask them to repeat it. Maybe they will realize how mean they sound.


----------



## vitauta

sorry, there's just not that much jesus in me....


----------



## Barbara L

JoAnn L. said:


> I read one time that when someone says something rude to you, you should act like you didn't hear them and ask them to repeat it. Maybe they will realize how mean they sound.


He knew. It was intentional. In fact he said it twice for emphasis. This was more than a silly slip of the tongue, it was more of a possible friendship altering thing.


----------



## MrsLMB

So sorry that happened to you .. I've been on the receiving end of that statement before and it's not fun.  Sometimes people think they are "helping" when they really have no clue the damage they've done.  I hope things work out for you.


----------



## Barbara L

Oh it will, one way or the other.  Thanks!


----------



## jkath

may I step into the venting room? Been a while since I've been in here....
So, I need every hour I can work, and so far my office has told us that both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are both unpaid work days (they only told us a couple weeks before it happened). So, in order to be paid I had to take 2 of my 4 sick days I have till the 31st (then they expire). I saved those to spend with my kids  
Then today I am at work and they let me know they're closing down early and we'll not be paid past closing. The salaried management doesn't care that those of us hourly folk are depending on a paycheck


----------



## LPBeier

Do you have a Labour Relations board as we do?  As far as I know, they can't make you work and not pay you.  The closing early part is probably by the book (though many offices would give it to you since it is their choice to close).  But you should get paid for time worked.  I have had many employees and never did I make them use sick days or vacation to get paid properly.

That's just my two cents.  You have every right to vent.


----------



## Skittle68

LPBeier said:


> Do you have a Labour Relations board as we do?  As far as I know, they can't make you work and not pay you.  The closing early part is probably by the book (though many offices would give it to you since it is their choice to close).  But you should get paid for time worked.  I have had many employees and never did I make them use sick days or vacation to get paid properly.
> 
> That's just my two cents.  You have every right to vent.



It doesn't sound like they were working til their normal close time, therefore not getting paid. Also not working on Christmas, and not getting paid time off. It really sucks, but sounds perfectly legal. I know how it feels to not get hours you desperately need. Sorry this is happening around Christmas when funds are probably even tighter


----------



## GotGarlic

Not paying hourly workers for time worked is illegal, but it can be tough to report your boss for violations. OTOH, using sick days for other purposes is usually not allowed by company policy. 

Sorry your holiday doesn't seem very merry, jkath :-(


----------



## jkath

Can't go to any board - want to keep the job! 
They are only paying for hours worked today, but since they're closing half day, I'm losing out  
The decision was made less than 2 hours ago, and we're closing in 20 minutes. Supposed to stay open 4 hours longer. I think the salaried people aren't aware of the difficulties in pay we depend on 
Problem is I needed the full day's pay, as my car's needing to go into the shop this afternoon, and now that can't happen... so I'm crossing my fingers that my car will run all week


----------



## jkath

thanks guys, btw - always nice to have someone to listen!


----------



## LPBeier

Skittle68 said:


> It doesn't sound like they were working til their normal close time, therefore not getting paid. Also not working on Christmas, and not getting paid time off. It really sucks, but sounds perfectly legal. I know how it feels to not get hours you desperately need. Sorry this is happening around Christmas when funds are probably even tighter



I understood all that and agree with you totally Skittle.  Hourly wage does not have to be paid past an early closing, but I think you have to give notice on that in writing.  As for the days worked and not paid, or allowing sick days to be used for that is just plain wrong in any country!


----------



## LPBeier

jkath said:


> thanks guys, btw - always nice to have someone to listen!


That's what DC is for and why this thread has so many posts!   So good to have you back here!


----------



## jkath

thanks - I'm glad to be back - 
needed a lot of time to get life back to normal... or at least minus one cheating spouse and a lot of stress... lol.


----------



## GotGarlic

LPBeier said:


> I understood all that and agree with you totally Skittle.  Hourly wage does not have to be paid past an early closing, but I think you have to give notice on that in writing.



I don't think that's true here - at least, I've never heard of that. Also, rules like that vary by state.


----------



## Skittle68

GotGarlic said:


> I don't think that's true here - at least, I've never heard of that. Also, rules like that vary by state.



Probably depends on company policy too. Where my sister works, if you show up for shift you are guaranteed a certain number of hours before they're allowed to send you home, but that's only because its union. Where I work, they have sent people home without even allowing them to clock in. I was thinking, "How kind of you to waste their time and gas getting here. A phone call would have been nice..."


----------



## taxlady

In Quebec, you have to pay the employee for a minimum of three hours. The exception to that is if you asked the employee to come in for less than three hours and they agreed to it.

And (((hugs jkath))).


----------



## jkath

Thanks for the hug! 
This is a very large company but they run it like mom and pop because our actual office only has 30 people in it. It just drives me bonkers...


----------



## Claire

taxlady said:


> In Quebec, you have to pay the employee for a minimum of three hours. The exception to that is if you asked the employee to come in for less than three hours and they agreed to it.
> 
> And (((hugs jkath))).



When I worked for the US Gov't, there was a similar law.  I don't remember exactly how it worked, but I was compensated for my travel time because I was always called in to work weird hours because everyone knew I was single and needed the  hours.  I mean, who else would go into the Pentagon at 4 a.m. during a holiday and who also had a security clearance?


----------



## Addie

*When does common sense kick in?*

We have a situation in Massachusetts that is beyond belief. We have a long coastline. Most of it is sand dunes. Folks insists on building their homes on them. Why? I understand you want to have a view of the ocean. And it certainly is nice to step out your door in the summer and be right  on the beach. But we get some godawful storms here. And they don't have to be Nor'easters. Right now up on Plum Island there are four homes about to go into the ocean. And the home owners want the town to save their homes. Why does the town allow folks to build on these dunes. Even I know that sand dunes shift every time there is a high tide. And that is every 12 hours. When there is a storm, the high tide erodes the dunes along with shifting the sands. The one thing the high tide doesn't do in bring back the sand that eroded away. It is even worse when there is a full moon. So now your deck is hanging and will fall off. One home had the cement block foundation washed right out from under the house and out to sea. Next it will be your kitchen or family room. Soon their homes will be in the ocean and all they will have left is the mortgage payments.

Last year it was down in Eastham on Cape Cod. The news cameras were there when a woman's home with all her possessions and memories went down to Davy Jones' locker. And her home wasn't the only one. One of the homes on Plum Island is in such a dangerous position that the owners are not allowed to go in and remove their possessions. It is their year round home. There goes all their possessions and memories. 

So when does common sense kick in? When does the town say "No" to building on these dunes? When do people realize what a stupid idea it is to build there? The State is reluctant to give them permission to try and save their homes. They feel that "Let Mother Nature take her course." High tides and shifting sand dunes are all part of the ocean's natural activity. They wouldn't give any help or permission for the homes on the Cape last year. I hate to say it, but I don't think the taxpayers of the State and town should have to pay for their stupidity.


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:


> We have a situation in Massachusetts that is beyond belief. We have a long coastline. Most of it is sand dunes. Folks insists on building their homes on them. Why? I understand you want to have a view of the ocean. And it certainly is nice to step out your door in the summer and be right  on the beach. But we get some godawful storms here. And they don't have to be Nor'easters. Right now up on Plum Island there are four homes about to go into the ocean. And the home owners want the town to save their homes. Why does the town allow folks to build on these dunes. Even I know that sand dunes shift every time there is a high tide. And that is every 12 hours. When there is a storm, the high tide erodes the dunes along with shifting the sands. The one thing the high tide doesn't do in bring back the sand that eroded away. It is even worse when there is a full moon. So now your deck is hanging and will fall off. One home had the cement block foundation washed right out from under the house and out to sea. Next it will be your kitchen or family room. Soon their homes will be in the ocean and all they will have left is the mortgage payments.
> 
> Last year it was down in Eastham on Cape Cod. The news cameras were there when a woman's home with all her possessions and memories went down to Davy Jones' locker. And her home wasn't the only one. One of the homes on Plum Island is in such a dangerous position that the owners are not allowed to go in and remove their possessions. It is their year round home. There goes all their possessions and memories.
> 
> So when does common sense kick in? When does the town say "No" to building on these dunes? When do people realize what a stupid idea it is to build there? The State is reluctant to give them permission to try and save their homes. They feel that "Let Mother Nature take her course." High tides and shifting sand dunes are all part of the ocean's natural activity. They wouldn't give any help or permission for the homes on the Cape last year. I hate to say it, but I don't think the taxpayers of the State and town should have to pay for their stupidity.



Plus, if current trends continue storms could be getting worse and worse. Definitely not a good time to live on a sand dune. Only time will tell, but personally I believe the prediction that the jet streams are changing, resulting in bigger storms.


----------



## chopper

Someone tried to use my credit card account again!  This is the second time in a few months that this has happened. Now I have to get a new card again.  
Thank goodness there is fraud protection, but this makes me so mad that people are so dishonest and awful.


----------



## taxlady

There are people who build on the flood plain on the Island of Montreal. It wasn't flood plain 30 years ago. I'm all in favour of helping out the people who built there before it was flood plain. The folks who built on land they knew was going to flood, not so much.


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> Someone tried to use my credit card account again!  This is the second time in a few months that this has happened. Now I have to get a new card again.
> Thank goodness there is fraud protection, but this makes me so mad that people are so dishonest and awful.



That would be so annoying Chops!

I agree though, thankfully they have the fraud protection...gee there are some low life out there


----------



## CWS4322

This morning, my phone rang at 4:00 a.m. As most of us know, phone calls at that hour are only bad news. I could not hear a thing--it was all garbled (sounded as if the person was talking under water), except I thought I heard a male and a female voice saying my name. I kept saying hello, I can't hear you...finally, after 7 or 8 times, I hung up. I did *69 to get the #, it wasn't my folks, it was someone's cell # that I know. I tried calling back, and the subscriber was not available. I've tried several times today. No luck. Why would s/one call at 4:00 a.m. and not try again if the connection was bad? Not to mention, my heart was racing and I couldn't get back to sleep. It will be an early night tonight.


----------



## chopper

CWS4322 said:


> This morning, my phone rang at 4:00 a.m. As most of us know, phone calls at that hour are only bad news. I could not hear a thing--it was all garbled (sounded as if the person was talking under water), except I thought I heard a male and a female voice saying my name. I kept saying hello, I can't hear you...finally, after 7 or 8 times, I hung up. I did *69 to get the #, it wasn't my folks, it was someone's cell # that I know. I tried calling back, and the subscriber was not available. I've tried several times today. No luck. Why would s/one call at 4:00 a.m. and not try again if the connection was bad? Not to mention, my heart was racing and I couldn't get back to sleep. It will be an early night tonight.


It might be that they didn't actually mean to call you. I call those pocket calls.  I have gotten quite a few of them from different people with cell phones.  I have also pocket called a few people by mistake (not at 4 am however).


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> This morning, my phone rang at 4:00 a.m. As most of us know, phone calls at that hour are only bad news. I could not hear a thing--it was all garbled (sounded as if the person was talking under water), except I thought I heard a male and a female voice saying my name. I kept saying hello, I can't hear you...finally, after 7 or 8 times, I hung up. I did *69 to get the #, it wasn't my folks, it was someone's cell # that I know. I tried calling back, and the subscriber was not available. I've tried several times today. No luck. Why would s/one call at 4:00 a.m. and not try again if the connection was bad? Not to mention, my heart was racing and I couldn't get back to sleep. It will be an early night tonight.


Bum dialing.


----------



## MrsLMB

CWS4322 said:


> This morning, my phone rang at 4:00 a.m. As most of us know, phone calls at that hour are only bad news. I could not hear a thing--it was all garbled (sounded as if the person was talking under water), except I thought I heard a male and a female voice saying my name. I kept saying hello, I can't hear you...finally, after 7 or 8 times, I hung up. I did *69 to get the #, it wasn't my folks, it was someone's cell # that I know. I tried calling back, and the subscriber was not available. I've tried several times today. No luck. Why would s/one call at 4:00 a.m. and not try again if the connection was bad? Not to mention, my heart was racing and I couldn't get back to sleep. It will be an early night tonight.


 
I had a cell phone number for a while that was apparently really easy for drunks to dial.

It would often ring after 2am in the morning and it was always the same thing .. I need a ride .. I need bail money .. I can't find my car come get me.  Then for a while there was a crazy woman who would dial my number and demand that I put her boyfriend on the line because she knew I had him !!  LOL

At first I would answer and talk to them ... then I just stopped answering it if I didn't recognize the number.

I loved that number .. it was easy to remember ..but after a few months I gave it up and got one that was not so easy but did get a few laughs with some of those calls.


----------



## CWS4322

I have a blocked, private number and privacy feature. I don't usually get random calls. I'm also on the do-not-call list. The eerie part was that I thought I could hear my name and nothing else (well, garbled, underwater talk). I will call the landline # tomorrow and ask for their cell #. They have a Saint adopted from our rescue group, so that is my concern, s/thing happened to the big guy...but at that hour in the morning? He's tacked, so bloat with torsion is not a worry.


----------



## taxlady

A few months ago I called a friend by bum dialing. She could hear voices of a conversation. The call went on for about 10 minutes. When she told me, I had a look at my recent calls list and sure 'nough, there was a call to her on my list. Colour me embarrassed. Yes, that friend is on my "favourites" list. I had just finished calling Stirling.


----------



## roadfix

If my 4-year-old granddaughter also can't figure out how to shut down Windows 8 OS their new OS is not going to be very popular with users.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> A few months ago I called a friend by bum dialing. She could hear voices of a conversation. The call went on for about 10 minutes. When she told me, I had a look at my recent calls list and sure 'nough, there was a call to her on my list. Colour me embarrassed. Yes, that friend is on my "favourites" list. I had just finished calling Stirling.


It took three tries to disconnect the call. I left a message on the land line about this weird call. My concern is that s/thing is horribly wrong and the call was asking me to go pick up the adopted Saint Bernard they have.


----------



## Skittle68

CWS4322 said:


> It took three tries to disconnect the call. I left a message on the land line about this weird call. My concern is that s/thing is horribly wrong and the call was asking me to go pick up the adopted Saint Bernard they have.



Well, lets hope if there was something wrong they would have called back by now... One time I checked in on a cat I re-homed; I had told the people I would gladly take her back if they had any problems. Just give me a call, and I'll come get her. They told me, "Oh, she pooped and peed all over the floor, so we had to get rid of her." WHAT?? She was the sweetest cat, and always used the box while we had her... Hopefully they found a good home for her that would figure out why she was doing something like that. I was too sick and angry to even ask what "get rid of her" meant. Ugh.


----------



## CWS4322

Skittle68 said:


> Well, lets hope if there was something wrong they would have called back by now... One time I checked in on a cat I re-homed; I had told the people I would gladly take her back if they had any problems. Just give me a call, and I'll come get her. They told me, "Oh, she pooped and peed all over the floor, so we had to get rid of her." WHAT?? She was the sweetest cat, and always used the box while we had her... Hopefully they found a good home for her that would figure out why she was doing something like that. I was too sick and angry to even ask what "get rid of her" meant. Ugh.


You'd think. It is not as if we are not in contact. I take care of this big boy when they go on holidays/when they had to go out-of-town because the gal's sister had cancer and was dieing. They take care of my reject Saint when I have to go to MN. We are in touch. I'm hoping it was a bum call. I've never heard that term before. But at that hour? I recently was in email contact with a gal that adopted a shelter dog from our group years ago...hadn't heard from her for quite awhile. She emailed me to let me know he was still alive, not doing great...right before Christmas, I got the email that he'd had a stroke and they had to say good-bye. Most of the people who have adopted dogs from us stay in touch (that is why I now have an 11-yr old retired puppy mill bitch Saint parked on my couch). I took her back when asked, even though I don't need another dog at this point in my life.


----------



## taxlady

It's "bum dialing" because your bum did the dialing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> If my 4-year-old granddaughter also can't figure out how to shut down Windows 8 OS their new OS is not going to be very popular with users.



Absolutely, if the toddlers can't figure it out, it won't be a success.    Why is it I look for a child anytime I can't get my computer to work?


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> It's "bum dialing" because your bum did the dialing.



When TB taught at the local Technical Institute several years ago, often in class his back pocket would call home.   I would pick up the phone and hear the muffled sounds of him giving a lecture and had no way of telling him to hang up.  It would sometimes go on for an hour!  He finally started leaving his phone in his briefcase while teaching and the calls stopped.  In those days there weren't a lot of unlimited minutes plans so it really cut into his phone time!


----------



## taxlady

LPBeier said:


> When TB taught at the local Technical Institute several years ago, often in class his back pocket would call home.   I would pick up the phone and hear the muffled sounds of him giving a lecture and had no way of telling him to hang up.  It would sometimes go on for an hour!  He finally started leaving his phone in his briefcase while teaching and the calls stopped.  In those days there weren't a lot of unlimited minutes plans so it really cut into his phone time!


That's why I have a code on my phone. That time I bum dialed, I had just made a call and I guess I forgot to switch off the phone.


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> That's why I have a code on my phone. That time I bum dialed, I had just made a call and I guess I forgot to switch off the phone.



His current phone wouldn't do that, though mine does if I don't make sure it is locked before putting it in my purse.  But this was an older model and he had our home number on speed dial "A" so it was easy to dial - a little too easy!


----------



## Addie

What about control+alt+delete? Or reading the manual?


----------



## MrsLMB

DH has one of those phones where he can talk to it and tell it who to dial. Well we were out clearing snow this morning and he kept saying to me "What?" I told him I didn't say anything. Pretty soon he asked me again. This happened 4 times. I walked up to him .. stared him in the eye and said I didn't say anything ...about that time I heard it too. I knew what it was so I told him his pants were talking to him LOL He had his phone in his pants pocket and I guess he hit some button and it kept saying "I didn't understand, please repeat".


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB said:


> DH has one of those phones where he can talk to it and tell it who to dial. Well we were out clearing snow this morning and he kept saying to me "What?" I told him I didn't say anything. Pretty soon he asked me again. This happened 4 times. I walked up to him .. stared him in the eye and said I didn't say anything ...about that time I heard it too. I knew what it was so I told him his pants were talking to him LOL He had his phone in his pants pocket and I guess he hit some button and it kept saying "I didn't understand, please repeat".


I love it.


----------



## Kylie1969

Yes, control+alt+delete will bring up the main menu and there you can select shut down or use the Charms Menu, move the mouse cursor top right to bring it up, then select settings, then click power, then shut down


----------



## GotGarlic

Kylie1969 said:


> Yes, control+alt+delete will bring up the main menu and there you can select shut down or use the Charms Menu, move the mouse cursor top right to bring it up, then select settings, then click power, then shut down



Another Aussie-ism - never heard of a Charms Menu, Kylie.  The rest should work, although different versions of Windows sometimes name things differently.


----------



## vitauta

depress the power button for a number of seconds til it goes from blue to black.


----------



## buckytom

for most computers, it's 5 seconds or so for a hard power shutdown.


----------



## roadfix

I did a Google search on how to shut down Windows 8 and found a zillion others were wondering the same thing about their new operating system.  I don't feel so dumb now.  
And the thing is called the charms bar.  First time I've heard that.


----------



## MrsLMB

roadfix said:


> I did a Google search on how to shut down Windows 8 and found a zillion others were wondering the same thing about their new operating system. I don't feel so dumb now.
> And the thing is called the charms bar. First time I've heard that.


 
I just read about how you have to do that .. holy cow that's a bunch of hoo-haw to go through !! Think I will stay away from that one.


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> What about control+alt+delete? Or reading the manual?


The manual?  What's that?  

Operating systems are supposed to be very intuitive so that one does not need instructions.  One reason 4-year-olds can pick up an iPad, for instance, play with it for a while, and figure it out.


----------



## vitauta

doesn't charm me in the slightest.  i hit the desktop black box to bypass spook house lane altogether.  i hope it turns out to be true that microsoft will be allowing dissatisfied windows 8 customers to 'downgrade' back to the windows 7 system if they wish, without charge.


----------



## taxlady

My DH cooked supper tonight. It turned out good, but I got accused of "back seat cooking". Yeah, I wanted him to take the shitake mushrooms out of the frozen mixed vegis before he steamed them. They are really awful steamed and he doesn't even like mushrooms. He couldn't figure out how to open the package of frozen vegis, so he cut off the zip lock closure. I had said it didn't need scissors.  I also had the audacity to suggest using the toaster oven, set to warm, to keep the meat warm while he made the sauce (as instructed in the recipe).

He cooked my steak to perfection - rare. He burnt his (he likes his steak well done). By the time I saw how high he had set the burner, I wasn't going to do any more "back seat cooking". Colour me childish, but, serves him right.


----------



## vitauta

awww, poor stirling.   taxy, he CooKED for you.  awww

...and i usually agree with most everything you say and do, too, taxy....


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> awww, poor stirling.   taxy, he CooKED for you.  awww
> 
> ...and i usually agree with most everything you say and do, too, taxy....


That's why I thought the vegis were fine and he thought they were overcooked.

But, come on. He's a grown man. It should be his turn to cook once in a while and I have that stupid sore thumb.


----------



## kadesma

Remind me not to eat at Elephant Bar again soon. I had the Macau shrimp soup, and salmon rolls. then got out the front door and embarrased myself by upchucking all over the place, color my face red and today of all days. Yeesh did I feel foolish or what?? Was it just me or something I ate?
kades


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh no, Ma!  So sorry!


----------



## taxlady

Hope you are feeling better now, Ma.


----------



## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh no, Ma! So sorry!


 


taxlady said:


> Hope you are feeling better now, Ma.


 I'm feeling better, but boy the indigestion is bad. Just took something for it hope it goes away soon tho.
ma


----------



## vitauta

taxlady said:


> That's why I thought the vegis were fine and he thought they were overcooked.
> 
> But, come on. He's a grown man. It should be his turn to cook once in a while and I have that stupid sore thumb.




awww, taxy.  i didn't know that thumb was still causing you grief.  is it any better at all?  

i don't know about canadian men, but grown american men, most of them, not only don't cook/don't know how/refuse to learn, think it's a big gd deal if they take you out twice a year to a class b restaurant.  

taxy, stirling cooked your steak a PERfect rare...and you... you...allowed...his...steak...to...burn...deliberately...petulantly... 
truly sorry about your thumb, though-- hope it gets all better real soon, taxy!


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> awww, taxy.  i didn't know that thumb was still causing you grief.  is it any better at all?
> 
> i don't know about canadian men, but grown american men, most of them, not only don't cook/don't know how/refuse to learn, think it's a big gd deal if they take you out twice a year to a class b restaurant.
> 
> taxy, stirling cooked your steak a PERfect rare...and you... you...allowed...his...steak...to...burn...deliberately...petulantly...
> truly sorry about your thumb, though-- hope it gets all better real soon, taxy!


The thumb is almost all better, but I baked an easy chocolate cake yesterday and that made it worse, so I am being extra careful.

It wasn't just petulance. I told him what the problem was later and he agreed that he wouldn't have wanted my interference at that point.

I think the thing that really got me was that he was grumpy all through supper. If it hadn't been for that, I would have thought that calling me a "back seat cook" was funny.

Work with me. I need some sympathy.


----------



## Addie

A simple little chore turned into a moment of angst. Not worth an argument for sure. You did right by letting him finish on his own. One of those moments when a man refuses to ask for directions.


----------



## vitauta

taxlady said:


> The thumb is almost all better, but I baked an easy chocolate cake yesterday and that made it worse, so I am being extra careful.
> 
> It wasn't just petulance. I told him what the problem was later and he agreed that he wouldn't have wanted my interference at that point.
> 
> I think the thing that really got me was that he was grumpy all through supper. If it hadn't been for that, I would have thought that calling me a "back seat cook" was funny.
> 
> Work with me. I need some sympathy.



aw taxy, you know i'm always going to be on your side, right or wrong.  i think you and stirling are really good for and to each other.  for a guy, he seems to be truly decent, and treats you like you really matter-- that is big. in my book, taxy. sorry for the cynicism, but i've probably seen more than my share of selfish, lazy, self-indulgent guys.--- who don't cook, but rather expect to be waited on, hand and foot....


----------



## Andy M.

vitauta said:


> ...but grown american men, most of them, not only don't cook/don't know how/refuse to learn, think it's a big gd deal if they take you out twice a year to a class b restaurant...




OUCH!  Nothing like a sweeping generalization to get things going.  

My ex wouldn't let me in the kitchen because '...the kitchen was her turf and she was perfectly capable...'.


----------



## vitauta

kadesma said:


> Remind me not to eat at Elephant Bar again soon. I had the Macau shrimp soup, and salmon rolls. then got out the front door and embarrased myself by upchucking all over the place, color my face red and today of all days. Yeesh did I feel foolish or what?? Was it just me or something I ate?
> kades




that's just awful, kades--so sorry that happened to you! i had a similar bout of really bad heartburn myself last evening.  i became extremely nauseous too, but managed, just barely, to avoid vomiting.  heartburn can be soo bad.  for me, the only thing i could pin the blame on, was the asti spumanti i drank last night.  it wasn't overmuch either, but i hadn't had any kind of bubbly for a number of years. i took some prilosec, which worked okay, but it was nearly an hour before i felt any relief.  kades, i hope you are all back to normal by now.  i'd stay away from that elephant bar too, kades.... .


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> aw taxy, you know i'm always going to be on your side, right or wrong.  i think you and stirling are really good for and to each other. for a guy, he seems to be truly decent, and treats you like you really matter-- that is big. in my book, taxy. sorry for the cynicism, but i've probably seen more than my share of* selfish, lazy, self-indulgent guys.--- who don't cook, but rather expect to be waited on, hand and foot*....


 
My SIL is one of them. He would rather pay for take out every night than step into the kitchen. He even had the nerve to ask my daughter to make up some meals he could heat up in the micro. That way when she is sick from the chemo, he can eat. Real thoughtful.


----------



## chopper

Vit, no man bashing here. This is a friendly forum. I love my man, and I guess I chose wisely.


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> aw taxy, you know i'm always going to be on your side, right or wrong.  i think you and stirling are really good for and to each other.  for a guy, he seems to be truly decent, and treats you like you really matter-- that is big. in my book, taxy. sorry for the cynicism, but i've probably seen more than my share of selfish, lazy, self-indulgent guys.--- who don't cook, but rather expect to be waited on, hand and foot....


He is a really decent, lovable guy. It was quite out of character for him. He did apologize for being grumpy at supper.


----------



## chopper

taxlady said:


> He is a really decent, lovable guy. It was quite out of character for him. He did apologize for being grumpy at supper.



I'm sure he is great.  You married him!


----------



## LPBeier

I have a toothache again (can't get my root canal until Monday) and I have a cold.


----------



## taxlady

LPBeier said:


> I have a toothache again (can't get my root canal until Monday) and I have a cold.


(((hugs))) and feel better soon.


----------



## Snip 13

Hope you feel better soon Laurie! Have you tried clove oil?


----------



## luvs

Snip 13 said:


> Hope you feel better soon Laurie! Have you tried clove oil?


 
my Pap swore by clove, though this book i read said not to use too much.


----------



## Dawgluver

kadesma said:


> Remind me not to eat at Elephant Bar again soon. I had the Macau shrimp soup, and salmon rolls. then got out the front door and embarrased myself by upchucking all over the place, color my face red and today of all days. Yeesh did I feel foolish or what?? Was it just me or something I ate?
> kades



Oh geez, Ma, hope you're feeling better!


----------



## Dawgluver

LPBeier said:


> I have a toothache again (can't get my root canal until Monday) and I have a cold.



Gah!  Few things would be more miserable, LP.  Hope you can get relief soon.

We just got home from our lovely vacation.  Following the flight, I am totally deaf in one ear, and can partially hear with the other.  Forgot to stick in my EarPlanes as we were up after 2 a.m. New Years Eve and I snoozed on the plane home.  DH and I both apparently can't handle the caffeine in Diet Coke despite the addition of rum


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> Hope you feel better soon Laurie! Have you tried clove oil?


+1

But, as Luvs wrote, don't use too much.


----------



## LPBeier

Dawgluver said:


> Oh geez, Ma, hope you're feeling better!



+1

And my money would be on something you ate so I wouldn't be too embarrassed about throwing up outside.....at least you didn't do it in the restaurant!   Love you Ma and wish I could be there to look after you but I don't want to give you my cold.


----------



## LPBeier

taxlady said:


> +1
> 
> But, as Luvs wrote, don't use too much.



Thanks, ladies.  I have a numbing liquid (like orajel but natural) that helps.  I used clove oil when I had my braces and had to stop as I was using too much.


----------



## Dawgluver

Hope the tooth's not hurting so much, Laurie.

We discovered our mailbox was run into and totally trashed this morn, it happened when we were gone.  As I can surmise, neighbors had a party when someone backed or fronted into it.  Same neighbor also runs a landscaping business from his home, and has taken out our tree branches and other stuff with his equipment as he uses our private drive to back up his stuff.  This happened before, a few years ago, and someone backed into the mailbox and snapped the whole post off, then just took off.  Luckily I was able to save the beautiful clematis planted underneath, and we installed a much sturdier post for the mail and paper boxes, complete with solid concrete.  I can guarantee that whoever did it this time, their vehicle was hurting!  That post is solid!

Now off to buy a new mailbox.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> Hope the tooth's not hurting so much, Laurie.
> 
> We discovered our mailbox was run into and totally trashed this morn, it happened when we were gone.  As I can surmise, neighbors had a party when someone backed or fronted into it.  Same neighbor also runs a landscaping business from his home, and has taken out our tree branches and other stuff with his equipment as he uses our private drive to back up his stuff.  This happened before, a few years ago, and someone backed into the mailbox and snapped the whole post off, then just took off.  Luckily I was able to save the beautiful clematis planted underneath, and we installed a much sturdier post for the mail and paper boxes, complete with solid concrete.  I can guarantee that whoever did it this time, their vehicle was hurting!  That post is solid!
> 
> Now off to buy a new mailbox.



Maybe a steel I-beam for a post, with 12 inch steep spikes welded perpendicular to the post, at about the correct height to pu8ncture, say, a radiator, might act as a deterrent.

I am kidding of course.  It's too dangerous, and mean spirited.  But sometimes, a person is just tempted.

There was an incident around my home town many years ago, when snowmobiles were fairly cheap, and everyone had them, where someone was constantly riding through another person's yard, at night.  Keep out signs were posted.  Fences were put up, and the snowmobiles kept driving through the owner's yard.  Finally, the owner placed a steel spike in his frozen yard.  The person who hit it was a young girl that he knew, who was a member of a friend's family.  There were lawyers involved, he felt horrible about the injuries that the girl sustained, he had to pay hospital bills, etc.  I was a young teen at the time, and this man's son was someone I knew.  It was all so very sad.

Sometimes we have to put up with stupidity on the part of our fellow earthly inhabitants.  And if things get too out of hand, a motion activated camera works so much better than a steel spike, you know, the kind hunters use to see fi there are deer in the woods.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Maybe a steel I-beam for a post, with 12 inch steep spikes welded perpendicular to the post, at about the correct height to pu8ncture, say, a radiator, might act as a deterrent.
> 
> I am kidding of course.  It's too dangerous, and mean spirited.  But sometimes, a person is just tempted.
> 
> There was an incident around my home town many years ago, when snowmobiles were fairly cheap, and everyone had them, where someone was constantly riding through another person's yard, at night.  Keep out signs were posted.  Fences were put up, and the snowmobiles kept driving through the owner's yard.  Finally, the owner placed a steel spike in his frozen yard.  The person who hit it was a young girl that he knew, who was a member of a friend's family.  There were lawyers involved, he felt horrible about the injuries that the girl sustained, he had to pay hospital bills, etc.  I was a young teen at the time, and this man's son was someone I knew.  It was all so very sad.
> 
> Sometimes we have to put up with stupidity on the part of our fellow earthly inhabitants.  And if things get too out of hand, a motion activated camera works so much better than a steel spike, you know, the kind hunters use to see fi there are deer in the woods.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I gotcha, Chief.  When our neighbor backs up his equipment into our private drive and has taken out a few hugh branches from our white pine grove, he totally denies doing it, even though we've seen him in action.  Will have to check into the cameras.  We were able to get him to quit parking all his trucks, snow removal equipment, and trailers on his front lawn in this small subdivision neighborhood, thanks to the County Attourney and their cameras.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks for all the well-wishes.  

I officially have a double sinus infection along with my still abscessed tooth.  The doctor wants to put me on anti-biotic for the sinuses but wants to check with my dentist (away until Monday when I see him for my root canal.  I already take what I think is way too much pain medication I am trying to come off of for my chronic pain, now I have to take codiene just to be able to get out of bed with the acute pain of the sinuses and tooth.

But I am trying to hold out until Monday because I only want my dentist doing the root canal.  He is also a friend and I know they are just holidaying at home so I am going to call him and tell him what the doctor said.  Hopefully he will just fax in the antibiotic to our pharmacy.  I am also flushing my sinuses 2-3 times a day and rinsing my mouth with warm salt water.  The best thing, which I got all afternoon, is sleep.


----------



## Snip 13

Some lucky clovers for you! Hope you feel better soon! I couldn't find the flowers 



LPBeier said:


> Thanks for all the well-wishes.
> 
> I officially have a double sinus infection along with my still abscessed tooth. The doctor wants to put me on anti-biotic for the sinuses but wants to check with my dentist (away until Monday when I see him for my root canal. I already take what I think is way too much pain medication I am trying to come off of for my chronic pain, now I have to take codiene just to be able to get out of bed with the acute pain of the sinuses and tooth.
> 
> But I am trying to hold out until Monday because I only want my dentist doing the root canal. He is also a friend and I know they are just holidaying at home so I am going to call him and tell him what the doctor said. Hopefully he will just fax in the antibiotic to our pharmacy. I am also flushing my sinuses 2-3 times a day and rinsing my mouth with warm salt water. The best thing, which I got all afternoon, is sleep.


----------



## LPBeier

Here's some flowers for you Snip! 

I reported in the "what are you doing" thread that the abscess popped yesterday and that pain is just tender to the touch now, no endless throbbing. The sinuses are still aching, but much easier to handle.

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and letting me pout over my sore face!


----------



## Snip 13

I think I'm going to bed now. My legs and back hurt from walking too much, walked about 17 miles today. My head and throat feel like they belong to someone else, head cold from hell! Slept about 4 hours last night, did 3 loads of washing, washed more dishes than I can count, made food fit for Sunday lunch, played games with the kids, picked up about a million legos, ironed, cleaned up, did the shopping and a nit check and bug shampoo on my kids   They seem to be free from the nasty critters they picked up this holiday lol! I think I may have poisoned myself slightly by shampooing my own hair about 10 times just incase! Looks like I escaped the infestation. Please please please let school start soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Snip 13

LPBeier said:


> Here's some flowers for you Snip!
> 
> I reported in the "what are you doing" thread that the abscess popped yesterday and that pain is just tender to the touch now, no endless throbbing. The sinuses are still aching, but much easier to handle.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and letting me pout over my sore face!


 
Thank you Laurie  Hope you get some well needed rest!


----------



## Kylie1969

LPBeier said:


> I have a toothache again (can't get my root canal until Monday) and I have a cold.



I know your pain Laurie...I have had a couple of root canals now...I do hope you can get through it till Monday


----------



## Kylie1969

Snip, hope you feel better soon too!


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) to Laurie and Snip. and "god bedring" (good bettering).


----------



## Snip 13

Thank you Kylie and Tax  Just had a hot toddy, 2 asprin and some medical silver. getting sleepy fast! Sure I'll be better in the morning as long as the kids leave me be till sunrise lol!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

To all of my freinds, who are under any kind of nasty little bug, I hope all of you get well very soon, and that your discomfort is minimal.  I'm just getting over a nasty little bug I picked up about a month ago.  The worst of it was gone after about 4 days.  But a nagging little cough, and athletic sinusses (they ran like sprinters at times) plagued me until this morning.  So, be prepared.  As someone once said in a movie, "It ain't over, 'till it's over.".

Get rest, and healthy food, especially hearty soups made with marrow bones.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CharlieD

My yongest son just called. He is sick and not feeling well. I wish i could just pick him up, bring him home and make some chicken soup. Ah, I miss him...


----------



## Snip 13

I hope everyone feels better. Thank you for the well wishes  I better go sleep now. meds are kicking me hard! lol


----------



## Kylie1969

Night Snip, hope you feel loads better in the morning 

Charlie, hoping your son is feeling a lot better soon too


----------



## LPBeier

Wow, Snip, Charlie's son, I hope you feel better.

Thanks, Kylie, Taxi and and the Chief for your well wishes. 

Even though the tooth is better, all I can eat right now is soft stuff - soup, with fresh made flat bread for lunch, and another pot of soup on the stove.  For dinner I am going to have the rest of the take-out lasagna TB brought me last night.  Not really on my diet, but the pain, hunger and feeling too blah to make anything won out!


----------



## kadesma

Snip 13 said:


> Thank you Kylie and Tax  Just had a hot toddy, 2 asprin and some medical silver. getting sleepy fast! Sure I'll be better in the morning as long as the kids leave me be till sunrise lol!


 


LPBeier said:


> Thanks for all the well-wishes.
> 
> I officially have a double sinus infection along with my still abscessed tooth. The doctor wants to put me on anti-biotic for the sinuses but wants to check with my dentist (away until Monday when I see him for my root canal. I already take what I think is way too much pain medication I am trying to come off of for my chronic pain, now I have to take codiene just to be able to get out of bed with the acute pain of the sinuses and tooth.
> 
> But I am trying to hold out until Monday because I only want my dentist doing the root canal. He is also a friend and I know they are just holidaying at home so I am going to call him and tell him what the doctor said. Hopefully he will just fax in the antibiotic to our pharmacy. I am also flushing my sinuses 2-3 times a day and rinsing my mouth with warm salt water. The best thing, which I got all afternoon, is sleep.


 

to the both of you get thyselves to a warm bed ma said so!! be better the two of you I'm thinking about you.
ma


----------



## Snip 13

Morning all! Thank you for the kind words  Daniel kept me up most of the night with his night terrors. He doesn't wake up he just screams. Hope that will stop soon, he's almost 6. I'm tired but I feel better.


----------



## luvs

my cats both keep waking me day & night, (babbit smacks me with her paw, & tig has followed in this) & they decide when i'm feeding them. i'm not allowed to wash dishes now, either. not unless i put h2o in thier already-full container 1st. gotta love the pets.


----------



## taxlady

luvs said:


> my cats both keep waking me day & night, (babbit smacks me with her paw, & tig has followed in this) & they decide when i'm feeding them. i'm not allowed to wash dishes now, either. not unless i put h2o in thier already-full container 1st. gotta love the pets.


They are training you.

If the cats wake you, kick them out of the bedroom until they learn better manners. I successfully taught my first cat not to wake me for food, after he had trained me. I haven't let other cats train me that way.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

When our cat wants scratch, when I'm watching TV, he comes to me.  When he needs food, he has a particular meow that says - Hey, anybody, I'm hungry!"  When he wants treats, DW is the only one he goes to, "cause I don't give him treats hardly ever.  Once in a great while, I'll feel generous enough to share a bit of liverwurst with him.  I cluck my tongue and he comes-a-runnin'.  He doesn't beg for treats from me.  He knows it's not going to happen unless I cluck my tongue.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

On this morning's news there was a report of a fire on the North Shore. They were able to save two rabbits, a bird, and a cat. No one was home. But the dog was lost in the fire. According to the homeowners, they believed that the fire may have started because the dog was "surfing" the counter tops looking for food. He may have accidental turned on a knob on the stove. 

How do you allow a dog to surf the counter tops? Why wasn't there food in the dog's dish? A beautiful dog was lost because the owners failed to properly train the animal. Part of loving an animal is to train it to behave in an acceptable manner to humans. Walking on the kitchen counter tops is not good behavior on the part of the animal. Any animal.


----------



## MrsLMB

Addie said:


> On this morning's news there was a report of a fire on the North Shore. They were able to save two rabbits, a bird, and a cat. No one was home. But the dog was lost in the fire. According to the homeowners, they believed that the fire may have started because the dog was "surfing" the counter tops looking for food. He may have accidental turned on a knob on the stove.
> 
> How do you allow a dog to surf the counter tops? Why wasn't there food in the dog's dish? A beautiful dog was lost because the owners failed to properly train the animal. Part of loving an animal is to train it to behave in an acceptable manner to humans. Walking on the kitchen counter tops is not good behavior on the part of the animal. Any animal.


 
I have to agree with you on this Addie.  There is absolutely NO reason for ANY animal to be walking on countertops or even tables for that matter.  Things like safety for the animal as well as the human, sanitary reasons both come to mind.  I'm sure there are some cat owners out there who will disagree with me and so be it, but it's simply just a bad thing to allow all the way around.


----------



## Andy M.

MrsLMB said:


> I have to agree with you on this Addie.  There is absolutely NO reason for ANY animal to be walking on countertops or even tables for that matter.  Things like safety for the animal as well as the human, sanitary reasons both come to mind.  I'm sure there are some cat owners out there who will disagree with me and so be it, but it's simply just a bad thing to allow all the way around.



+1!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Addie said:


> On this morning's news there was a report of a fire on the North Shore. They were able to save two rabbits, a bird, and a cat. No one was home. But the dog was lost in the fire. According to the homeowners, they believed that the fire may have started because the dog was "surfing" the counter tops looking for food. He may have accidental turned on a knob on the stove.
> 
> How do you allow a dog to surf the counter tops? Why wasn't there food in the dog's dish? A beautiful dog was lost because the owners failed to properly train the animal. Part of loving an animal is to train it to behave in an acceptable manner to humans. Walking on the kitchen counter tops is not good behavior on the part of the animal. Any animal.



+2

I was at a friend's house many long years back (about 25 or so), sitting at a their supper table enjoying a pork roast and some spuds with my wife and kids, when the family cat jumped up on the table.  The husband of the house was at the opposite end of the table from the cat, and through his fork at it, to scare it off of the table.  It was a frustration thing as they had been trying to discourage this cat behavior for some time.

Well, to make a long story short, that fork stuck in the cat's forehead.  It didn't do major damage, and the cat lived for many years later.  He though twice about jumping up onto the dinner table again though.

I don't promote throwing forks, or anything else at cats.  I punched one really hard once, sent him flying across the room.  I'd walked into my sister's home, after knocking at the door.  Her cat was sitting on the back of a chair, next to the door.  When I entered, the animal attacked me and drove his teeth several inches into my left shoulder.  I had never before hit an animal, nor have I since.  It was purely reflex on my part.  Needless to say, the cat kept his distance for a long time.

Sometimes, animal behavior can be hard to control.  Sometimes, it's the owner's fault.  And sometimes, just as it is with people, the animal gets what it deserves.  I've had a few run-ins with dogs when I was a child, dogs that I never did anything to.  And sometimes, I'd wished I had had a weapon with me.  I lived in the country, and many people let their dogs run free in those days.  I am no friend to ornery German Shepherds, or Cocker Spaniels.  I am friend to all good dogs and cats, and have even been known to befriend a mean dog, who was mean from fear of abuse, and made friends with the dog.  But just as there are badly behaved people, there are badly behaved animals, and it isn't always due to lack of training.

Don't know why I wrote a book about this.  Just lots of memories popping into my head of mean dogs that used to scare me witless when I was a child.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## vitauta

what do you mean, "allow"  (the dog to surf the counter tops)?  i've had a number of lovable pets, but they were, without exception, smart, devious, and totally without a conscience as to their (mis)behavior.  my pets didn't pass up many opportunities, when i was absent, to do precisely those things that were strictly forbidden when i was there.  just like it is not possible to "childproof" your home to absolutely ensure your child's safety, i believe a pet owner cannot effectively train a pet to refrain from forbidden behavior in unsupervised situations.


----------



## jkath

Ever had a Grrrrrrr moment, when you just want to growl at a situation? Yep. That's where I am. My weekend's plans may all be messed up because of one thing, which has nothing to do with me. 

Anyone else having a grrrrr moment?


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> what do you mean, "allow"  (the dog to surf the counter tops)?  i've had a number of lovable pets, but they were, without exception, smart, devious, and totally without a conscience as to their (mis)behavior.  my pets didn't pass up many opportunities, when i was absent, to do precisely those things that were strictly forbidden when i was there.  just like it is not possible to "childproof" your home to absolutely ensure your child's safety, i believe a pet owner cannot effectively train a pet to refrain from forbidden behavior in unsupervised situations.


That's what I was thinking. My cat isn't allowed on the counter, but I can't be sure he doesn't get on them when I'm not home. It's also why I clean the counters and stove before I start cooking.


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> what do you mean, "allow" (the dog to surf the counter tops)? i've had a number of lovable pets, but they were, without exception, smart, devious, and totally without a conscience as to their (mis)behavior. my pets didn't pass up many opportunities, when i was absent, to do precisely those things that were strictly forbidden when i was there. just like it is not possible to "childproof" your home to absolutely ensure your child's safety, i believe a pet owner cannot effectively train a pet to refrain from forbidden behavior in unsupervised situations.


 
If you have to leave the home, and you know your animal has a bad behavior problem in your absence, then you make sure that that room is not accessible in your absence. 

I get upset with Spike when I see him correct bad behavior from Teddy. I know it is necessary. As Spike says, he will always let Teddy know that he is not the alpha in their relationship. Spike is. 

Teddy knows I am the one that will spoil him. So when Spike leaves him here even for a short time, he pushes the envelope. But I am learning. He is much more enjoyable when he is behaving. He will always be allowed to jump up on my bed for his scratches. Just like at home. But he is not allowed to drag his food all over the house and hide it. The dish stays where I put it. 

He has some behavior that is pure instinct. Barking when anyone out in the hall gets too close to my door. He does the same thing at home. Protecting his territory and family. He thinks he is a German Shepherd. Unfortunately we have to stop him after a couple of barks. I don't want to stifle that instinct, yet I have to be mindful of my neighbors. No matter what he does wrong, I just love him to death.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> If you have to leave the home, and you know your animal has a bad behavior problem in your absence, then you make sure that that room is not accessible in your absence...



Sounds right.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> If you have to leave the home, and you know your animal has a bad behavior problem in your absence, then you make sure that that room is not accessible in your absence.
> ...


I don't _know_ that Shreddy gets on the counters in the kitchen. I have two archways into the kitchen, no doors. If I lock him in the bedroom or the basement, I know he will poop or pee where he shouldn't. It's just simpler to wash counters before cooking.


----------



## luvs

my Mom says, 'i'm deleting you.'
i said, 'Mom, you spend too much time at your office.'


----------



## Kylie1969

That is funny Luvs


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you


----------



## Kylie1969

Charlie...thank you, for what?


----------



## tinlizzie

My petty vent this morning is that I'm still suffering withdrawal from the closing of the Chicken Chronicles thread.  Is there any hope, cws?


----------



## CharlieD

Kylie1969 said:


> Charlie...thank you, for what?


 
For the last thing that was addressed to me.


----------



## CWS4322

tinlizzie said:


> My petty vent this morning is that I'm still suffering withdrawal from the closing of the Chicken Chronicles thread.  Is there any hope, cws?


Aww...I asked to close it when I was in a snit...maybe one of the list owners will let me re-open it...the girls, btw, are not liking winter. They hate the snow (still). We have an "egg-laying" competition going between the three flocks...


----------



## Skittle68

Me: Should I make chicken salad sandwiches for lunch, or would you rather have burgers?

Bf: Mmmmm, I'm leaning toward burgers. 

Me: ::looking in the freezer:: Oooh, or we could do brats! 

Bf: Brats sound good.

Me: Cheddarwurst, or beer brats?

Bf: Just make a decision! 

Me: ::hands him plate of thawed brats to go on the grill::

Bf: I thought we were having burgers!? 

::errrrmmmmm::


----------



## Skittle68

CWS4322 said:


> Aww...I asked to close it when I was in a snit...maybe one of the list owners will let me re-open it...the girls, btw, are not liking winter. They hate the snow (still). We have an "egg-laying" competition going between the three flocks...



Maybe you could open a new one?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Maybe you could open a new one?



I got it re-opened...


----------



## Addie

So CWS, can you bring us up to date on how the girls are doing?


----------



## Addie

The urge to kill some days is very strong. And today is one of those days. 

I keep receiving bills from a collection agency for my medical bills. I am going to get a copy of my credit report. I have always had good credit. Now I am afraid that this agency is going to be affecting my rating. Looks like I am going to have a fight on my hands. I have an appointment with my vascular doctor and I am going to have to talk to her office folks who do the billing for her. I got the eye folks straightened out. The ER is another one. The problem is that BU doctors who practice through Boston Medical Center have their own billing department. And I have to make sure each department has the correct information since they are too lazy to look in the computer. GRRRR!


----------



## Andy M.

Medical billing is a nightmare.  I feel sorry for the people who aren't able to question billings.  There are often errors.  

I received a $1400. bill for the anesthesia for my shoulder surgery.  Right on the bill it says, "Claim submitted" yet they billed me.  If I wasn't paying attention and paid the bill they would have been paid twice.  A month later I got billed again but only for $68 as Medicare had paid.  Again I didn't pay and got a dunning notice.  I called and complained and they backed off as they had already been paid!  

Even worse, they billed me the full charge but accepted much less from the insurance company.  I wonder if i would ever have received a refund.


----------



## CharlieD

I've taken my son to emergency room while on vacation once. The doctor was completely incompetent, but that's besides the point, they billed me foursome ridiculous amount of money, like $800 or so, for some lab work, some other procedure that he did not have. I tried to call a dozen of times or so trying to get to the bottom of it to no avail. Likely I felt that I better keep all the information, I documented every call. 5 or 6 years latter the collection agency sent a bill, I tried to explain to them what was going on, but they would not even bother talking to me. Thank G-d I have a friend who is a lawyer and he wrote the letter with explanation, if it was not for him I'd be out of money no matter what, it would have cost me that much to hire a lawyer. I hate them.


----------



## CharlieD

P.S. What I was trying to say, is I know exactly how you feel.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Imagine getting an Emergency Room bill and you've been billed for a pregnancy test...after they have taken a history and it's impossible for you to be pregnant, i.e., none of the equipment to get that way.  "We always test a woman your age for pregnancy when they come in the ER." Even if it's documented that you've had the surgery so you can't be pregnant?!?   Took me two years to fight that one.


----------



## Claire

Oh, heavens (OK, I don't swear on-line, but *%^&%#@#@#$%!!!), can I identify.  I had my hip surgery in mid-July.  I've paid all I can, but I know, out there somewhere, is a $22,000 hospital bill that my insurance is dragging their feet on (Thank YOU, Uncle Sam, for all the years my husband spent in the Army, going to Vietnam when others fled to Canada, and thank you, thank you for all your help), and I'm still not getting the bill.  At this point, I'd rather pay the entire friggin' bill rather than sitting on tenderhooks.  No, I don't really mean that.  Buy why, 6 months later, can I not just pay this bill and get it over with?  I've paid the ambulance company, I've paid a dozen doctors, I've paid, and paid, and paid, but the big bill just won't come in.  I actually got a form asking me who I was suing.  Huh?  I fell down some stairs, in my own home, walking in my sleep.  Can you hear me screaming?  Just pay whatever you're going to pay, or not, and let me get beyond this!


----------



## Claire

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Imagine getting an Emergency Room bill and you've been billed for a pregnancy test...after they have taken a history and it's impossible for you to be pregnant, i.e., none of the equipment to get that way.  "We always test a woman your age for pregnancy when they come in the ER." Even if it's documented that you've had the surgery so you can't be pregnant?!?   Took me two years to fight that one.



Well, after my rant, I laughed at this one.  I had my tubes tied at a young age (29).  My husband and I just decided that.  Every single time I went to a medical appointment after that, they tested me for pregnancy, even though I told them, no way.  No symptoms.  "But we have to, for a woman of your age."  Look at my records.  No way.  That was OK when I wasn't paying the bill. Aggravating, but I could live with it.  After my husband retired, I had this same problem.  NOT PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE FOR ME TO BE PREGNANT.  Can't happen.  Yes, I've known women to have ectopic pregnancies after that, but not without symptoms of some sort.

One of the funnier moments was when I was in my early 30s and a doctor asked me if there was a reason I'd had my tubes tied.  Huh?  Didn't want to have children?  He just laughed, and said, I need to re-phrase that; is there a medical reason for it, because in this state, it is illegal to do that unless there is a medical reason (I'd had it done in a different state).  We just laughed and he thought more women should know their minds.

But I spent a decade paying for pregnancy tests knowing they'd be negative.  Duh.


----------



## Addie

When I get a migraine, one of my symptoms is getting the dry heaves until the headache breaks. Last year during one of my many visits to the ER, I had the dry heaves really bad. I told some young twit that I had been having the heaves off and on since morning. "Is there a chance you might be pregnant?" I demanded that they get this idiot away from me. If he can't tell just by looking at the wrinkles on my face that I am past the age of pregnancy, then he needs to go back to medical school. Had he looked at my record, he would have seen that I am in my 70's. I simply do not have any patience with stupidity.


----------



## Katie H

Okay...here's the deal.  In November I had my right knee replaced.  Now comes the insurance vultures.  I've kept my eye on all things that have been submitted but the one that made my head twirl around was the one I received a few days ago.

It was from a lab company that did some blood tests/etc. stuff.  After it was all said and done and my insurance company waved their wand over the proceedings, I received a bill for ...................... *42 cents.*  Hello?!

I'm still scratching my head.  The stamp to mail the payment is more than the balance due.


----------



## taxlady

Katie H said:


> Okay...here's the deal.  In November I had my right knee replaced.  Now comes the insurance vultures.  I've kept my eye on all things that have been submitted but the one that made my head twirl around was the one I received a few days ago.
> 
> It was from a lab company that did some blood tests/etc. stuff.  After it was all said and done and my insurance company waved their wand over the proceedings, I received a bill for ...................... *42 cents.*  Hello?!
> 
> I'm still scratching my head.  The stamp to mail the payment is more than the balance due.


 indeed. And it cost them more to mail the bill.


----------



## Katie H

taxlady said:


> indeed. And it cost them more to mail the bill.



Yep, taxlady!  I'm considering not paying it.  Let's see what 42 cents will do to the powers that be.  Before I do that, I'm going to see if the agency is part of my medical providers that I see on a regular basis.  If that's the case, the next time I'm there for whatever reason, I'll present them with a quarter, a nickel, a dime and two pennies.  "Paid in full" as far as I am concerned.


----------



## babetoo

went to dr. today to have 24 hour ekg hooked up. i was about 15 min. early. however the patient before me was late. so i had to wait because she was tardy. grrrrrrrrr


----------



## PrincessFiona60

babetoo said:


> went to dr. today to have 24 hour ekg hooked up. i was about 15 min. early. however the patient before me was late. so i had to wait because she was tardy. grrrrrrrrr



 That's enough to make your blood boil.  Inconsiderate people...


----------



## Kylie1969

babetoo said:


> went to dr. today to have 24 hour ekg hooked up. i was about 15 min. early. however the patient before me was late. so i had to wait because she was tardy. grrrrrrrrr



That is so frustrating!


----------



## taxlady

I've been reading the manual for my new Galaxy S III phone. It's 166 pages long.  I can't find out how to display my contact list alphabetized by last name, instead of first name. It also synced my contacts from Google, which I didn't want. I wanted it synced with my Windows address book. That's what I have been syncing my iPhone with. I also want the time in 24 hour format, not AM and PM. 

This is giving me a headache. I will have to watch some YouTube videos. Dang, I don't want to study, just to use my phone. I can't even find the calendar or how to get an address out of my contact list into Google maps. I can usually just play around with phones and software and figure out most of the stuff. Too tired to deal with it any more tonight.


----------



## Addie

Katie H said:


> Yep, taxlady! I'm considering not paying it. Let's see what 42 cents will do to the powers that be. Before I do that, I'm going to see if the agency is part of my medical providers that I see on a regular basis. If that's the case, the next time I'm there for whatever reason, I'll present them with a quarter, a nickel, a dime and two pennies. "Paid in full" as far as I am concerned.


 
No, no. Just nickels and pennies. And you want a signed receipt.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I've been reading the manual for my new Galaxy S III phone. It's 166 pages long.  I can't find out how to display my contact list alphabetized by last name, instead of first name. It also synced my contacts from Google, which I didn't want. I wanted it synced with my Windows address book. That's what I have been syncing my iPhone with. I also want the time in 24 hour format, not AM and PM.
> 
> This is giving me a headache. I will have to watch some YouTube videos. Dang, I don't want to study, just to use my phone. I can't even find the calendar or how to get an address out of my contact list into Google maps. I can usually just play around with phones and software and figure out most of the stuff. Too tired to deal with it any more tonight.


 
I love my phone. I make calls, get calls, and on the front it tells me the time, date am or pm. I could text, but I don't know how, have no interrest in learning. Life is so simple. 

I apologize TL. I just couldn't resist.  Good luck.


----------



## tinlizzie

I'm having a problem with my computer.  This is serious, because I can't play Spider Solitaire without tearing my hair out.  Like I said, serious.   Sometimes I can't get the cards to move, or they'll move halfway and jump back and I'll have to try numerous times at which point I just give up and exit out.    Also, I need to copy and paste all the funny stuff you guys post on "Today's Funny" but I'm having trouble highlighting the picture -- the picture will start to move instead.  Grrr.

Can't afford a new computer or to lose any more hair.  Have pity, someone.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> I'm having a problem with my computer.  This is serious, because I can't play Spider Solitaire without tearing my hair out.  Like I said, serious.   Sometimes I can't get the cards to move, or they'll move halfway and jump back and I'll have to try numerous times at which point I just give up and exit out.    Also, I need to copy and paste all the funny stuff you guys post on "Today's Funny" but I'm having trouble highlighting the picture -- the picture will start to move instead.  Grrr.
> 
> Can't afford a new computer or to lose any more hair.  Have pity, someone.


Another Spider Solitaire addict. 

For copying the pictures, try right clicking on the picture. If you are using FireFox, you should get a context menu with the option to "copy picture". It might work in other browsers too.

What operating system are you using?

Hmm, maybe this should have its own thread. Someone here is probably techie enough to help, but it might take a lot of questions and guessing.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I love my phone. I make calls, get calls, and on the front it tells me the time, date am or pm. I could text, but I don't know how, have no interrest in learning. Life is so simple.
> 
> I apologize TL. I just couldn't resist.  Good luck.




Yeah, the more a phone does, the more complicated it gets. I'm really glad I told the guy at the Fido store (Fido is my phone provider) not to activate the new phone. I knew I wanted to know how it works before I had to make or receive any phone calls on it. It's my main phone.


----------



## tinlizzie

taxlady said:


> Another Spider Solitaire addict.
> 
> For copying the pictures, try right clicking on the picture. If you are using FireFox, you should get a context menu with the option to "copy picture". It might work in other browsers too.
> 
> What operating system are you using?
> 
> Hmm, maybe this should have its own thread. Someone here is probably techie enough to help, but it might take a lot of questions and guessing.



Ohhh. I do use FireFox and after I finally get it highlighted, I right-click and use the "copy" choice.  Many thanks, tax - I'll just skip the highlighting step.

I have Vista and surely hope I don't have to 'graduate' to Windows 8 -- I've heard awful things about it, even though Vista is by no means ideal.

So you don't think there's already a thread for this kind of stuff?  I'd be glad to go there with my petty problems if it already exists.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> Ohhh. I do use FireFox and after I finally get it highlighted, I right-click and use the "copy" choice. Many thanks, tax - I'll just skip the highlighting step.
> 
> I have Vista and surely hope I don't have to 'graduate' to Windows 8 -- I've heard awful things about it, even though Vista is by no means ideal.
> 
> So you don't think there's already a thread for this kind of stuff? I'd be glad to go there with my petty problems if it already exists.


 
My son The Pirate has Vista. He likes it. Took him a while to get used to it. I have Windows 7. I am happy with it. Have no intentions to go to 8. I still think their best was XP Windows.


----------



## roadfix

I agree, XP was the best.  I still use a laptop with XP.  I'm also using another new laptop with Windows 8 and am still learning how to use it.  I think Microsoft went the other way on this OS and made it user 'unfriendly' for regular laptops and desktops.


----------



## bakechef

My laptop uses Vista premium and has worked well since '08, with that said, this machine was powerful enough to run Vista, so that's half the battle right there.  The TV computer and partner's laptop run 7 and it has proven quite stable.

I run Ubuntu on the kitchen computer (an old laptop) and it is rock solid, even on an outdated machine.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> I agree, XP was the best. I still use a laptop with XP. I'm also using another new laptop with Windows 8 and am still learning how to use it. I think Microsoft went the other way on this OS and made it user 'unfriendly' for regular laptops and desktops.


 
Everybody I know complains about Wind. 8. I am happy with Windows 7 and this will be my last program. I am not one of those folks who have to have the latest and greatest. I have never owned an Apple product. Don't intend to.


----------



## Addie

I learned computers in the late 80's and the only program avaiable was DOS. You had two 5" disks. One disk you wrote your program and on the other you enter your data. You had to know all the commands to start a new paragraph, to underline, bold, indent, etc. It was quite an education.


----------



## roadfix

The problem is, most current consumer PC's come installed with Windows 8.  If you're in the market for a new PC, chances are, you'll end up with Windows 8.  You don't have much choice there.


----------



## roadfix

Also, my old laser printer driver is not compatible with the new OS (including Windows 7) and it's a hassle updating the print driver, if there is one for your printer.  It's a lot easier to go out and buy a new, cheap, monochrome printer which I intend to do.


----------



## Addie

I am fortunate in I have a son who knows computers inside out. I have an old CPU and he has added memory galore, new programs and updates if I choose to have them. I started out with no USB ports. I now have four. His only instructions to me is "DON'T TOUCH A THING IF THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG! CALL ME INSTEAD!" And that is what I do. I don't even pay attention to what he does. I do change the color and black cartridges though. That I know how to do. I can  play DVDs, burn, and other things. Luv that kid!


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Also, my old laser printer driver is not compatible with the new OS (including Windows 7) and it's a hassle updating the print driver, if there is one for your printer.  It's a lot easier to go out and buy a new, cheap, monochrome printer which I intend to do.


Just remember that cheap printers take expensive cartridges, so often it is cheaper to buy a better printer. I guess it depends, in part, on how much you print. I have had HP ink jet cartridges that stopped working because of some date setting, not because they were empty.  I didn't use that printer very much and gave it away.


----------



## roadfix

My current Samsung monochrome laser printer can use generic black laser cartridges with roller assembly and all which I can get on Ebay for about 10 bucks including free shipping.  
Even the new monochrome laser printers I'm looking at (around $75) use cheap generic replacements which are available on Amazon and Ebay.  I never buy original brand replacement cartridges as they can cost at least 3 times as much.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Just remember that cheap printers take expensive cartridges, so often it is cheaper to buy a better printer. I guess it depends, in part, on how much you print. I have had HP ink jet cartridges that stopped working because of some date setting, not because they were empty.  I didn't use that printer very much and gave it away.



I have an HP printer that tells me to change an ink cart. when there's still a couple of months of printing left in it.  I just ignore the repeated warnings until it actually runs out of ink.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> It's not a color printer so my current monochrome laser printer can use generic black laser cartridges with roller assembly and all which I can get on Ebay for about 10 bucks including free shipping.  Even the new monochrome laser printers I'm looking at (around $75) use cheap generic replacements which are available on Amazon and Ebay.  I never buy original brand replacement cartridges as they can cost at least 3 times as much.


Good plan. They tell you that using generic cartridges can damage the printer, but for a lot of printers, you save back the cost of the printer in about 3 new sets of cartridges


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I have an HP printer that tells me to change an ink cart. when there's still a couple of months of printing left in it.  I just ignore the repeated warnings until it actually runs out of ink.


This was quite a while ago. Maybe they stopped doing it. It *wouldn't* print, even though there was ink left. This happened mostly with the colour cartridges.


----------



## vitauta

roadfix said:


> The problem is, most current consumer PC's come installed with Windows 8.  If you're in the market for a new PC, chances are, you'll end up with Windows 8.  You don't have much choice there.




you are exactly right, roadfix--i know, cause i am one of those unfortunate consumers who got stuck with windows 8 when i bought a new computer late last year. it makes my blood boil, that i am besieged by defects and glitches -- a regular occurrence with this half-baked, pre-production windows 8 program. (thanks a lot, microsoft)


----------



## Kylie1969

roadfix said:


> I agree, XP was the best.  I still use a laptop with XP.  I'm also using another new laptop with Windows 8 and am still learning how to use it.  I think Microsoft went the other way on this OS and made it user 'unfriendly' for regular laptops and desktops.



RF, just ignore Metro and you will find it is pretty much the same as Windows 7 

Install 3rd party start menu program Classic Shell, my hubby uses it and it is great he says 

Classic Shell Start Menu


----------



## MrsLMB

roadfix said:


> I agree, XP was the best. I still use a laptop with XP. I'm also using another new laptop with Windows 8 and am still learning how to use it. I think Microsoft went the other way on this OS and made it user 'unfriendly' for regular laptops and desktops.


 
3 cheers for XP.  Although, in all honesty I still think Windows 98 was pretty cool  LOL

I upgraded to Vista a few years back, it was ok but I really missed my XP so put it back on.  When that machine died it was time to face the music because you couldn't buy a new one with XP any longer  .

But then I thought about my local computer repair shop .. called them up and yep .. they would build me a new computer with XP for less than buying retail without getting XP .. so that's what I did.

I'm still using XP and until it's impossible to get it installed anywhere anymore I will use it .. and when I die I'm gonna be buried in an XP box  LOL

I'm just too old and easily confused to use the newer OS .. old habits die hard and this old dog just isn't into new tricks


----------



## Kylie1969

I have a Mac, so I dont have any issues


----------



## Addie

Next Tuesday my whole apartment is going to be painted. So I have been clearing the walls and open shelves. Amazing what you find behind things that you haven't pulled out for cleaning. This morning I pulled out a small bureau that I keep all my baking stuff in and for a junk drawer. It is small, but heavy. I managed to get some serious chest pains. I got the message and stopped. I just love my nitro spray. It works in about two seconds.

I am getting different messages from the painter and the office. The painter is telling me not to do any moving, he will do it. Management is telling me that I have to pull all furniture away from the walls. I won't be here when he is painting. Tuesday morning is when I have my appointment with my vascular doctor. When I get back, he will still be here. I am going to grab some stuff I will need for the afternoon and head for my daughter's home. The painter said it would take just one day. He has to put a coat of Kilz on first. Then the regular paint. And he also has to paint the ceilings. 

This is a rush job. HUD is coming at the beginning of February for inspections of the apartments and building. The last inspection management got reamed because of the condition of my walls and ceilings. I had a big crack in my ceiling and part of my ceiling fell down. So they know that my apartment will be inspected again. What really has me ticked off to the max is that management has known this for six months since the last inspection. 

I refuse to ask any of my kids to help me. It is not their job. This problem belongs to management. If the apartment is not ready for the painter, oh well! Nothing I can do about it. Everytime HUD finds a major problem, management loses money. The inspection is done by points. The more points, the more money management loses. 

This building is a "self sustaining" building. It means that we can take care of ourselves with no or a minimum of outside help. How the heck did they come up with the idea that moving furniture is a self sustaining activity? Idiots! I am surrounded by Idiots!


----------



## tinlizzie

taxlady said:


> Another Spider Solitaire addict.
> 
> For copying the pictures, try right clicking on the picture. If you are using FireFox, you should get a context menu with the option to "copy picture". It might work in other browsers too.



Like a charm, taxlady, like a charm.  Thanks!

Maybe my problem with Spider Solitaire is just as well -- I'm not spending nearly so much time on it these days.  When I see the number of games I've played....


----------



## tinlizzie

Boys howdy, Addie - it's never a dull moment at your place isn't it?


----------



## Skittle68

Ugh, back to the grind (first day going back to school). But, I decided I'm going to drop one of my classes I'm taking that isn't a prerequisite, and concentrate on keeping my 4.0, and trying to get into the program I want without an AA degree, instead of hedging my bets with classes aimed toward the AA in case I don't get in. If I get in my first time applying, I won't have time to finish the AA anyway, and it would just be a waste of time and money. I'm not much of a gambler, but as long as I keep the 4.0 I should get in without the 2 pts the AA is worth... Ugh I hope I'm right!


----------



## taxlady

Skittle68 said:


> Ugh, back to the grind (first day going back to school). But, I decided I'm going to drop one of my classes I'm taking that isn't a prerequisite, and concentrate on keeping my 4.0, and trying to get into the program I want without an AA degree, instead of hedging my bets with classes aimed toward the AA in case I don't get in. If I get in my first time applying, I won't have time to finish the AA anyway, and it would just be a waste of time and money. I'm not much of a gambler, but as long as I keep the 4.0 I should get in without the 2 pts the AA is worth... Ugh I hope I'm right!


Sounds reasonable to me. Don't wear yourself out. It seems likely that you are increasing your chances of being accepted on your first try, by concentrating on the prerequisite courses. You can always take those other courses later, if you need to.


----------



## tinlizzie

A very petty grievance here -- I don't think I've ever been able to use a crazy glue type adhesive more than one time.  Might as well just throw it out after that.  Today I hunted the garage shelf for the "instant Krazy Glue - one drop applicator - stay fresh container - protective storage case".  There it is!  All right!  Use the little pin to poke open the snout.  Nothing.  And I've only had it 3 or 4 years.


----------



## MrsLMB

tinlizzie said:


> A very petty grievance here -- I don't think I've ever been able to use a crazy glue type adhesive more than one time. Might as well just throw it out after that. Today I hunted the garage shelf for the "instant Krazy Glue - one drop applicator - stay fresh container - protective storage case". There it is! All right! Use the little pin to poke open the snout. Nothing. And I've only had it 3 or 4 years.


 
We've had that happen with every single container.  The other day DH bought another for something he is doing .. this one has a brush applicator like nail polish .. boy I can see how this one will end


----------



## Dawgluver

tinlizzie said:


> A very petty grievance here -- I don't think I've ever been able to use a crazy glue type adhesive more than one time.  Might as well just throw it out after that.  Today I hunted the garage shelf for the "instant Krazy Glue - one drop applicator - stay fresh container - protective storage case".  There it is!  All right!  Use the little pin to poke open the snout.  Nothing.  And I've only had it 3 or 4 years.



You got that right, Tin.  Maybe it needs to be sold "by the drop".  Of course, mine also is only 4 or 5 years old.


----------



## MrsLMB

Hair Color.  You'd think by now they would have come up with some kind of fragrance that's pleasant instead of that horrible smell ... ugh !!


----------



## Skittle68

MrsLMB said:


> We've had that happen with every single container.  The other day DH bought another for something he is doing .. this one has a brush applicator like nail polish .. boy I can see how this one will end



The newest bottle I've bought has lasted through 6-10 uses! It seems to have some sort of corkscrew thing going on inside of it. It sucks the glue back down to the bottom of the bottle as soon as you set it upright. Bf was even using it to glue rockets together, and kept forgetting it open, sitting upright on the table. Still working fine! It's "loctite" brand super glue. Red label, black top. I don't think I've ever seen a bottle last through more than a couple uses.


----------



## love2"Q"

Since exposing super glue to oxygen is what makes it cure.. more than one or two uses and you are good.. thats why the bottles are so small...


----------



## MrsLMB

Skittle68 said:


> The newest bottle I've bought has lasted through 6-10 uses! It seems to have some sort of corkscrew thing going on inside of it. It sucks the glue back down to the bottom of the bottle as soon as you set it upright. Bf was even using it to glue rockets together, and kept forgetting it open, sitting upright on the table. Still working fine! It's "loctite" brand super glue. Red label, black top. I don't think I've ever seen a bottle last through more than a couple uses.


 

Thanks Skittle .. I will have to look for that brand.  I just checked the bottle he bought with the brush and it's already seized up after only one use.


----------



## GotGarlic

Pet peeve that is driving me nuts: Since when is "gifted" a word?!? Hate it! What's wrong with "give" and its tenses? "I gave my niece a gift." "I was given a present." Works just fine. argh


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Pet peeve that is driving me nuts: Since when is "gifted" a word?!? Hate it! What's wrong with "give" and its tenses? "I gave my niece a gift." "I was given a present." Works just fine. argh



I agree.  Our language is changing.  not always in ways we like.


----------



## Zhizara

I *HATE* waiting! 

Yesterday I waited all day for a package which was to be delivered by Fedex.  

Last evening when I checked the tracking, there was a message that they couldn't get into the building.  It was time stamped 5:53 p.m. 

I can understand that the security guard may have been away from his station, restroom break, unlocking an apartment for a forgetful resident, etc., but no residents around to open the door for the Fedex delivery person???????  There are 300+ apartments here!  At that time of day there should have been a few around.  

Now I get to wait all day again!  GRRRRRRRrrrrrrr!!!!


----------



## MrsLMB

Zhizara said:


> I *HATE* waiting!
> 
> Yesterday I waited all day for a package which was to be delivered by Fedex.
> 
> Last evening when I checked the tracking, there was a message that they couldn't get into the building. It was time stamped 5:53 p.m.
> 
> I can understand that the security guard may have been away from his station, restroom break, unlocking an apartment for a forgetful resident, etc., but no residents around to open the door for the Fedex delivery person??????? There are 300+ apartments here! At that time of day there should have been a few around.
> 
> Now I get to wait all day again! GRRRRRRRrrrrrrr!!!!


 
Yep .. that's very very annoying !!  I hope your got your package ok.

On a similar note is when I order something and it tells me it's coming via FedEX or UPS .. I know what time those trucks are in my neighborhood so plan my errands and appointments around those times.  Then the pkg doesn't show up .. I check online and find that they re-routed it to the post office !  My mail gets delivered anytime between 9 am and 6 pm  and I've come home to find a note to go pick it up myself the next day.


----------



## Kylie1969

Z, that sounds frustrating!


----------



## Andy M.

A little over a week ago, I reported a missing shipment of mail order Rx drugs.  The USPS was no help.  I called for another order.  The replacement order arrived Tuesday.  The original, lost order arrived yesterday.  No clue where it was.

I guess I'm all set for a while with those pills.


----------



## Zhizara

Yes, I got my new office chair, in pieces, of course.  I feel like I've wrestled a mad alligator!!

I asked the driver what had happened, and he said some of their trucks had gotten snowed in the days before, so they were backed up a day.  He had worked 12 hours already so he quit for the day.

The awkward thing is that the reason given was that we were closed or I wasn't home, which wasn't the fact at all.  

When I have to be out for any time a package is out for delivery, I leave a note on my door to deliver to a neighbor, after making sure they are going to be home.  

Since I live on the West Bank, and the distribution center is way to the West of New Orleans proper, deliveries are usually late in the day, so I don't worry about being out, I just plan to do my shopping early anyway.

By the way, West Bank is the West bank of the Mississippi, and is _East_ of New Orleans.  Don't try to get directions around here, you could get _really_ lost.


----------



## CWS4322

We ran down to NY today to pick up a package. While there, we did a bit of grocery shopping--less than we usually do, about $100, $42 of which was chicken legs for the dogs. What we did buy was dairy. There is a $20/person limit. We also picked up a scale for the lathe that was about $250--that we expected to pay HST on. Well, would you not know it but the border guard told us that he could charge us 300% duty on the $2 per person over the $40 dairy limit ($20 per person)..  And, news to us, we are to have our grocery totals on two receipts if the groceries are not going to the same address (some groceries get dropped at the farm, some at the DH's house, some at mine...). Ironically, I used coupons for some cheese--got $8 off with the coupons and the Advantage card. Got home, added up all the dairy--$32 after the coupons...$46 before coupons. Oh--I hate border guards who can't read a receipt or add up the amounts. Luckily, we got off with just paying the HST on the scale for the lathe.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> A little over a week ago, I reported a missing shipment of mail order Rx drugs.  The USPS was no help.  I called for another order.  The replacement order arrived Tuesday.  The original, lost order arrived yesterday.  No clue where it was.
> 
> I guess I'm all set for a while with those pills.



Well, now you know they weren't stolen.  That has to be nice!


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Well, now you know they weren't stolen.  That has to be nice!



Yeah, now I have a six month supply.


----------



## Somebunny

CWS4322 said:


> We ran down to NY today to pick up a package. While there, we did a bit of grocery shopping--less than we usually do, about $100, $42 of which was chicken legs for the dogs. What we did buy was dairy. There is a $20/person limit. We also picked up a scale for the lathe that was about $250--that we expected to pay HST on. Well, would you not know it but the border guard told us that he could charge us 300% duty on the $2 per person over the $40 dairy limit ($20 per person)..  And, news to us, we are to have our grocery totals on two receipts if the groceries are not going to the same address (some groceries get dropped at the farm, some at the DH's house, some at mine...). Ironically, I used coupons for some cheese--got $8 off with the coupons and the Advantage card. Got home, added up all the dairy--$32 after the coupons...$46 before coupons. Oh--I hate border guards who can't read a receipt or add up the amounts. Luckily, we got off with just paying the HST on the scale for the lathe.



Interesting about the $20 per person allowance.  Must be the Ontario govt. rule not the Feds.  In BC the limit is $200, but you must be out if the country for 24 hrs.  There is no exemption for less than 24 hrs, but I think lots of people get thru with milk, cheese and gas because its too big a hassle to send people in for small purchases and in the case of our crossings there wouldn't be enough staff to handle all the people, since just about everyone is bringing something back.


----------



## tinlizzie

There was a time when my late husband was still in business that the Fed Ex guy stopped at our place; I accepted urgent packages with fear and loathing, since it always meant there was trouble or extra work to do, double-time.  These days, though, when the Fed Ex truck comes down the street, I just smile quietly to myself as it passes by.  Guess this is an un-vent.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Yeah, now I have a six month supply.


 
We have a big problem in this building with mail ordered pills. The mailman is supposed to bring the package to the door and knock. If no answer, then leave it at the office. When I see them just left there right by the front door, (where anyone can just walk in and take them) I will take them up myself and knock on their door. If no answer, I will hold onto them until about six at night and try again. Just about everyone is home at that hour. They have to take a  pill or two at that time. 

We have one resident that has cancer. The pain meds are supposed to be signed for. I have seen the mailman scribble across the slip and just leave the pills on the shelf below the mailboxes. That package I make sure gets to the resident immediately. How can I tell they are pills? Just shake the package. 

It pays to be known in your neighborhood. Our UPS man delivers to my son, me and my daughter. He knows we are all related and live just a minute or two from each other. So one of us will get the package. My daughter's mailgirl knows me since I lived in my daughter's house at one time and handled my change of address when I moved. Once she left my daughter's chemo meds with me as my daughter was at her doctor's office. I called her on her cell phone to pick them up on her way home.


----------



## chopper

Always seems to be something at your place Addie. It is good that you are helpful for your neighbors.


----------



## Addie

chopper said:


> Always seems to be something at your place Addie. It is good that you are helpful for your neighbors.


 
There are 42 units in this building. You are right. Always something. We all listen to where the ambulance is going. Although at around 4 p.m. we know it is going up the highway right next to the building. Always a crash every day.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Tired, semi-sleep deprived, cold,
bored and I can't go to bed yet. 
The tail end of work seriously irked me. 
The stupidity of people 
on the drive home seriously irked me 
("let me pull out in front of you 
on an icey road 
and then just stop there." 
"Hey, look at me. I'm racing 
all the other cars in the snow 
and ice 
and I'm probably going to get someone killed. 
Aren't I so cool.") 
/growl 
/bare teeth 
/extend claws

I'm in a mood 
where if you pointed your finger 
in my face 
I'd probably bite it, 
and then when you pulled away in surprise 
I'd yell at you for being stupid
enough 
to point your finger in the face 
of someone that is clearly in no mood 
to be provoked. 
And then I might just stomp on your foot 
to punctuate my outburst.  

It's a good thing 
I don't have to go anywhere tonight 
and that I can turn the ringer off 
on mine and the hubby's phones. 
It's a good thing 
I can just curl up in a blanket 
and glare at random objects 
until bedtime. 
It's a good thing 
the cat knows 
to just lay quietly at my feet and purr 
and hubby knows 
to just sit quietly next to me, 
just close enough that I can feel him 
there, but not quite touching. 
If those two 
keep going as they are, 
I might just run out of things to vent 
about.

It wasn't meant to be a poem. I wrote it out and as I was reading it to see if I missed punctuation or had obvious spelling errors and I could just see the line breaks, hear the rythm of it all. It was all sort of sing-songy in my head. I don't think I've ever accidentally written a poem before.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) PAG.

I hate that kind of drivers too.


----------



## buckytom

i don't think anyone is brave enough to question whether it was a poem or not, pag.


----------



## Addie

Hey, I am not arguing. It is a poem. And I have all my fingers curled inside my palm. 

I too have no patience with stupidity. I would rather deal all day long with a mentally challenged person that someone who is just stupid by their own choice. The mentally challenged one has a reason for his condition.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Addie said:


> Hey, I am not arguing. It is a poem. And I have all my fingers curled inside my palm.
> 
> And I too have no patience with stupidity. I would rather deal all day long with a mentally challenged person that someone who is just stupid by their own choice. The mentally challenged one has a reason for his condition.



Oh my goodness so +1!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

buckytom said:


> i don't think anyone is brave enough to question whether it was a poem or not, pag.



I'm calm now BT. All is safe again. Question all you want. It's a poem to me and apparently what I needed to write because I felt much better afterward. 

Taxlady, thank you for the hugs.


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I'm calm now BT. All is safe again. Question all you want. It's a poem to me and apparently what I needed to write because I felt much better afterward.
> 
> Taxlady, thank you for the hugs.


 
That's why the title of this thread is "Venting".


----------



## buckytom

writing their feelings down helps a lot of people, pag. in fact it's taught as a coping tool in cognitive behavioral and dialectical behavioral therapies.

i've never done it, though. it can also be considered evidence...


----------



## Skittle68

Cat makes a huge mess digging in a plant (he is only 5-6 months old), then repeatedly, determinedly, persistently, attacks the broom. Lol. What a PITA! I need a squirt bottle holster. 

Oh, and I had to dissect a cat in anatomy yesterday :/ poor kitty.


----------



## Whiskadoodle

Zhizara said:


> I *HATE* waiting!
> 
> Yesterday I waited all day for a package which was to be delivered by Fedex.
> 
> Last evening when I checked the tracking, there was a message that they couldn't get into the building. It was time stamped 5:53 p.m.
> 
> I can understand that the security guard may have been away from his station, restroom break, unlocking an apartment for a forgetful resident, etc., but no residents around to open the door for the Fedex delivery person??????? There are 300+ apartments here! At that time of day there should have been a few around.
> 
> Now I get to wait all day again! GRRRRRRRrrrrrrr!!!!


 --

My son lives in a huge complex too.  All pkg delivery ( fed x, USPS, UPS) simply gets delivered to mgmt office.  One stop for the delivery guy.  You have to go to the office and pick up your pkgs.  Don't know how mgmt notifies everyone.  I;m pretty sure it is a daily challenge on their part.  Maybe they do an speed dial internal dial/ message on your phone.


----------



## Zhizara

Whiskadoodle said:


> --
> 
> My son lives in a huge complex too.  All pkg delivery ( fed x, USPS, UPS) simply gets delivered to mgmt office.  One stop for the delivery guy.  You have to go to the office and pick up your pkgs.  Don't know how mgmt notifies everyone.  I;m pretty sure it is a daily challenge on their part.  Maybe they do an speed dial internal dial/ message on your phone.



How nice for the delivery guy, but I'll bet it's a real PITA for the residents as well as management.


----------



## Alix

I just smashed the everloving CRAP out of my phone. Grrrrr!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Why would you do that?


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> I just smashed the everloving CRAP out of my phone. Grrrrr!





PrincessFiona60 said:


> Why would you do that?


I was wondering the same thing.


----------



## roadfix

I've done that with my phone, not because I was upset with the person on the other end like they do in the movies.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I made it through the stress test today, no problem.  Starting to think my problem is not my heart, but something else.  I have an appointment on Wednesday.  Not happy, going on three weeks of not feeling right.


----------



## Alix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Why would you do that?





taxlady said:


> I was wondering the same thing.



Trust me. I didn't do it on purpose! I slipped and when I went to catch myself my phone when flying and smashed on the deck. And I do mean SMASHED. The front screen is quite a mess. I'm currently bidding on new phones on eBay. Sigh. This is annoying and upsetting!


----------



## Zhizara

Chicken soup.  If you're too busy, or don't really feel like making it, ask Shrek to make some.  Maybe even chicken and dumplings.  You know you can't help but feel better!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HEALING HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Trust me. I didn't do it on purpose! I slipped and when I went to catch myself my phone when flying and smashed on the deck. And I do mean SMASHED. The front screen is quite a mess. I'm currently bidding on new phones on eBay. Sigh. This is annoying and upsetting!




You didn't break?  You okay?  I know it's upsetting, but at least it was the phone.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Chicken soup.  If you're too busy, or don't really feel like making it, ask Shrek to make some.  Maybe even chicken and dumplings.  You know you can't help but feel better!
> 
> {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HEALING HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}



Thanks, Z.  Not sick...but something odd is going on, starting to think it's neurological since we can't pin it down to heart problems.


----------



## Alix

I didn't break, but it was a near thing. And yes, better the phone than me. Thus Petty Vent. 

You must be pretty frustrated by now. Honestly, you'd think with the progress that has been made in medicine, they'd be able to pinpoint your trouble lickety split. 

They've ruled out the BP?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> I didn't break, but it was a near thing. And yes, better the phone than me. Thus Petty Vent.
> 
> You must be pretty frustrated by now. Honestly, you'd think with the progress that has been made in medicine, they'd be able to pinpoint your trouble lickety split.
> 
> They've ruled out the BP?



That is still in the mix, I haven't played with the meds...but I have played with water and salt levels and nothing has raised my BP.  Wednesday, I will be requesting a CT scan.  As it is, right now, Shrek is driving me everywhere because I am unsafe driving.  I am on strict desk duty until we figure this out.  No contact with patients and I've had to prove twice now that I am not impaired with drugs or booze.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That is still in the mix, I haven't played with the meds...but I have played with water and salt levels and nothing has raised my BP.  Wednesday, I will be requesting a CT scan.  As it is, right now, Shrek is driving me everywhere because I am unsafe driving.  I am on strict desk duty until we figure this out.  No contact with patients and I've had to prove twice now that I am not impaired with drugs or booze.



Oh fer Pete's sake.  Sure hope they get it figured out soon, PF.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Oh fer Pete's sake.  Sure hope they get it figured out soon, PF.



Actually, I don't blame them.  I would suspect a co-worker if they had to hold on to the furniture to get across the room.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Actually, I don't blame them.  I would suspect a co-worker if they had to hold on to the furniture to get across the room.



No, I don't fault your team, but I want them to hurry up and figure out what's wrong!  And then fix it, dagnabbit!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, t'would be nice!


----------



## Alix

You don't often hear about folks wanting to RAISE their BP!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> You don't often hear about folks wanting to RAISE their BP!



LOL!  It's the only thing I can test at home that has changed since this all started...so, of course that is what I think it is, until darker thoughts start creeping in.


----------



## Alix

Y'know...I work with some folks who are REALLY good at raising BP. I could send 'em your way.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Y'know...I work with some folks who are REALLY good at raising BP. I could send 'em your way.



LOL!


----------



## Zhizara

!!!  Me too, I've got some blood-pressure raising neighbors I'd love to get rid of.


----------



## Dawgluver

Alix said:


> Y'know...I work with some folks who are REALLY good at raising BP. I could send 'em your way.



I have a few of those too, Alix.  Will have to tell them that Missoula is lovely this time of year!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Bring 'em on...


----------



## Alix

They typically work with younger folks than you do, but I'm sure they can adapt.


----------



## Addie

Twice now they have had to reduce my BP meds. And I still think it is too much. Everytime I get my BP checked, it takes two or three nurses to try and find it. And when they do, they have to check it again and again. They can't believe how low it is. Maybe I should start making friends with my salt shaker.


----------



## vitauta

one of our local police officers shot and killed a woman last year, after she tried to drive away to avoid giving over her driver's license.  today, a jury found him guilty of willful manslaughter.  now, just hours later, the verdict may be overturned because the jury used a dictionary to look up the meanings of the words 'malicious' and 'willful'.  the reason given is that the jury disregarded orders for deliberations, directing them to use only the judge's explicit instructions.
does this sound like a legitimate reason for striking down the jury's verdict?  it doesn't to me....


----------



## Addie

Yes. No jury is allowed to use outside influences such as newspapers, TV reports or printed matter in a book. That is why the judge gives them explicit orders on what they are to deliberate about and the charges they must consider. They should have ask the judge for the meanings if they were unsure.


----------



## vitauta

apparently, the jury had asked for further clarification on a number of points earlier from the judge, and had been referred back to resume their deliberations.  it is unclear whether the jury was aware that their actions were strictly forbidden.  the final decision rests with the presiding judge, and he is considering the matter.


----------



## Addie

If the police officer has a good lawyer, it will be overturned. And no judge likes to have one of his trials overturned by a higher court. If he failed to give them instructions regarding outside sources, then he is at fault and a reason for overturning. He did not give clear and consice instructions. They should have been advised at the beginning of the trial about outside influnces such at newpapers, etc. It will look better on his files if he declares a mistrial than have a higher court do it. He will be called in front of his boss or your State Supreme Court and asked to explain what happened. That will look bad on his record and will hold him back from future promotions.


----------



## Snip 13

I don't think it's a ligitimate reason at all. People tend to get away with serious crimes with a slap on the wrist nowadays!

My uncle was beaten to death with a hammer in his bed a few years ago and his girlfriend was raped and left for dead. She spent over 6 months in ICU.
The 2 men responsible got less than 3 years jail time yet a lady in our town got sentenced to 12 years in prison for stealing a packet of bacon!!


----------



## vitauta

is this kind of disparity in sentencing for the crimes of murder and rape, versus petty theft a common occurrence in sa, snip? how did that happen?  are the laws harsher against women, or the poor?


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> is this kind of disparity in sentencing for the crimes of murder and rape, versus petty theft a common occurrence in sa, snip? how did that happen? are the laws harsher against women, or the poor?


 
It all depends on the judge and evidence gets " lost" often. Our whole justice system is corrupt!


----------



## Claire

I had an odd one this week.   Many of you know I lost my father and godmother over the holidays.  Well, Mom called last night and sounded bad (I'm in tune to her).  Mom, what is wrong.  Turns out my best friend in Florida died last night.  

I just feel tired and worn out!


----------



## Somebunny

Claire said:


> I had an odd one this week.   Many of you know I lost my father and godmother over the holidays.  Well, Mom called last night and sounded bad (I'm in tune to her).  Mom, what is wrong.  Turns out my best friend in Florida died last night.
> 
> I just feel tired and worn out!



Oh Claire!  You are really being "tested" my heart goes out to you.  I wish I had some words of comfort...just know that you are not alone.  We are here for you. {{{{Claire}}}}


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Claire said:


> I had an odd one this week.   Many of you know I lost my father and godmother over the holidays.  Well, Mom called last night and sounded bad (I'm in tune to her).  Mom, what is wrong.  Turns out my best friend in Florida died last night.
> 
> I just feel tired and worn out!




So sorry, Claire!  Thinking of you!


----------



## Snip 13

Sorry for your loss Claire. You've been through so much already, thinking of you!


----------



## Addie

V, please keep us informed. As a former legal secretary I am interested in the outcome.


----------



## vitauta

will do, addie.  i think a ruling on the question of a mistrial in this case will be made before the weekend. 

a legal secretary, huh?  i should have known, from your precise, factual answer to my initial question about this trial....


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> will do, addie. i think a ruling on the question of a mistrial in this case will be made before the weekend.
> 
> a legal secretary, huh? i should have known, from your precise, factual answer to my initial question about this trial....


 
Yeh. One of the worse jobs I ever had. The lawyer I worked for was found guilty of the RICOH Act. Raceteering. And all for only $1500.00. Lost his license to practice law and was sentence to 15 months in prison. 

Sorry if I sounded like I showing off.


----------



## GotGarlic

vitauta said:


> apparently, the jury had asked for further clarification on a number of points earlier from the judge, and had been referred back to resume their deliberations.  it is unclear whether the jury was aware that their actions were strictly forbidden.  the final decision rests with the presiding judge, and he is considering the matter.



The reason juries can't consult any materials they want is that some words have very specific legal meanings. Often, legal meanings are defined in a statute. In order to render a decision based on the law, they have to go by the legal definitions.


----------



## vitauta

thank you, gg.  your explanation makes good sense in a way i hadn't thought of before.


----------



## Kylie1969

Claire said:


> I had an odd one this week.   Many of you know I lost my father and godmother over the holidays.  Well, Mom called last night and sounded bad (I'm in tune to her).  Mom, what is wrong.  Turns out my best friend in Florida died last night.
> 
> I just feel tired and worn out!



Sorry to hear this Claire, thinking of you xx


----------



## vitauta

Addie said:


> V, please keep us informed. As a former legal secretary I am interested in the outcome.




the conviction stands in the case of the police officer on trial for committing a fatal shooting.  the judge has declined to declare a mistrial.  this, despite a few of the jurors admitting to using a dictionary to look up definitions for words such as murder, willful and malicious, during their deliberations.  

the defense attorney is asking for a sentence of three years instead of twenty-five, for his client.


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> the conviction stands in the case of the police officer on trial for committing a fatal shooting. the judge has declined to declare a mistrial. this, despite a few of the jurors admitting to using a dictionary to look up definitions for words such as murder, willful and malicious, during their deliberations.
> 
> the defense attorney is asking for a sentence of three years instead of twenty-five, for his client.


 
Considering that the judge refused to declare a mistrial, I wouldn't even be surprised at probation.


----------



## Zhizara

I just received a notice from the Management that some residents have formed a "Wellness Club" where they have volunteered to go door to door once or twice a week to twice a month doing a wellness check on other residents.

I went to the lady who sent this message and told her I don't want this and that we should have a sign up sheet for those who are interested in participating.

She just said, "Just tell them no thanks!"  

I don't want these kinds of interruptions, especially by other residents (anyone else for that  matter).  

What do I have to do, keep a note on my door at all times that I don't want to be disturbed?  It's very vague as to when.  We are supposed to get 24 hours notice (at least) for people to come in, but it was noted that no one should ask to come in our apartments.

I just don't want people coming by without notice, or invitation.  Just knocking on my door is an invasion of my privacy, unless I know about it ahead of time.

I'm hoping I will be able to tell them just once that I'm not interested so that they won't come back.  Grrrr!


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I just received a notice from the Management that some residents have formed a "Wellness Club" where they have volunteered to go door to door once or twice a week to twice a month doing a wellness check on other residents.
> 
> I went to the lady who sent this message and told her I don't want this and that we should have a sign up sheet for those who are interested in participating.
> 
> She just said, "Just tell them no thanks!"
> 
> I don't want these kinds of interruptions, especially by other residents (anyone else for that matter).
> 
> What do I have to do, keep a note on my door at all times that I don't want to be disturbed? It's very vague as to when. We are supposed to get 24 hours notice (at least) for people to come in, but it was noted that no one should ask to come in our apartments.
> 
> I just don't want people coming by without notice, or invitation. Just knocking on my door is an invasion of my privacy, unless I know about it ahead of time.
> 
> I'm hoping I will be able to tell them just once that I'm not interested so that they won't come back. Grrrr!


 
We have a health aide in the building 12 hours a day. If I have been sick or am back from a hospital stay, they do check up on me for just a couple of days and mostly at night. But it is only once a day. Or I can call Winthrop and tell them to take me off the 'check on' list. I am fine. Winthrop no longer puts me on the list. They know I have a cold, but they also know that my son stops by here every night at 7 p.m. If they still insisted in spite of having the info about my son, then I would definitely consider it an invasion of privacy.


----------



## Zhizara

I'll see  how it goes.  If I can tell them once, I'll be happy with that.  I just don't want a bunch of unscheduled visits.  

I just had to vent because threats to my privacy really raise my blood pressure!  I feel better now having DC friends to let me vent.


----------



## MrsLMB

Zhizara said:


> I just received a notice from the Management that some residents have formed a "Wellness Club" where they have volunteered to go door to door once or twice a week to twice a month doing a wellness check on other residents.
> 
> I went to the lady who sent this message and told her I don't want this and that we should have a sign up sheet for those who are interested in participating.
> 
> She just said, "Just tell them no thanks!"
> 
> I don't want these kinds of interruptions, especially by other residents (anyone else for that matter).
> 
> What do I have to do, keep a note on my door at all times that I don't want to be disturbed? It's very vague as to when. We are supposed to get 24 hours notice (at least) for people to come in, but it was noted that no one should ask to come in our apartments.
> 
> I just don't want people coming by without notice, or invitation. Just knocking on my door is an invasion of my privacy, unless I know about it ahead of time.
> 
> I'm hoping I will be able to tell them just once that I'm not interested so that they won't come back. Grrrr!


 
I can certainly understand your feelings about this Zhizara.  I can't believe they would force this on you like that.

I also don't appreciate when people come without letting us know ahead of time.

If they don't honor your request to not bother you .. answer the door nekkid  

Just kidding about that  LOL  

I hope it works out for you and people respect your space as they should.


----------



## Zhizara

Another thought occurred to me this morning, that I really don't think it's right for certain residents here to know about other resident's personal health issues.  

I decide who to tell what about my health.  I keep other residents at arms length.  Now they want to force that distance.

It seems like this would be illegal as far as tenant's rights are concerned.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> Another thought occurred to me this morning, that I really don't think it's right for certain residents here to know about other resident's personal health issues.
> 
> I decide who to tell what about my health.  I keep other residents at arms length.  Now they want to force that distance.
> 
> It seems like this would be illegal as far as tenant's rights are concerned.


I think the wellness club is a great idea - for those who want it.

Yes, it is probably illegal for anyone to tell this "wellness club" anything about your health without your written permission. Hopefully, they will get that info from the individual residents who want to join the wellness club


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Another thought occurred to me this morning, that I really don't think it's right for certain residents here to know about other resident's personal health issues.
> 
> I decide who to tell what about my health.  I keep other residents at arms length.  Now they want to force that distance.
> 
> It seems like this would be illegal as far as tenant's rights are concerned.



Yes, it is a violation of HIPAA regulations.  This should and must be in place with your management company.  These folks who knock on doors need to know which doors to knock on...who told them?  Or are they knocking on all doors?

Tell management that you will, absolutely scream loudly about HIPAA violations if these folks appear to know ANYTHING about your health information. Tell them once that you will not participate, if they pursue it, they are harassing you and you can report this to management AND the police.


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks, PF!  I'll go that route if I can't get them to let me opt out.  The Management lady who signed the letter just said to tell them no thanks.  If I can do that once, and be left alone, fine.  We'll see.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Zhizara said:


> I just received a notice from the Management that some residents have formed a "Wellness Club" where they have volunteered to go door to door once or twice a week to twice a month doing a wellness check on other residents.
> 
> I went to the lady who sent this message and told her I don't want this and that we should have a sign up sheet for those who are interested in participating.
> 
> She just said, "Just tell them no thanks!"
> 
> I don't want these kinds of interruptions, especially by other residents (anyone else for that  matter).
> 
> What do I have to do, keep a note on my door at all times that I don't want to be disturbed?  It's very vague as to when.  We are supposed to get 24 hours notice (at least) for people to come in, but it was noted that no one should ask to come in our apartments.
> 
> I just don't want people coming by without notice, or invitation.  Just knocking on my door is an invasion of my privacy, unless I know about it ahead of time.
> 
> I'm hoping I will be able to tell them just once that I'm not interested so that they won't come back.  Grrrr!




I have a friend that lives in a building with many elderly and disabled residents.  They provide a wellness check for those that are interested.
 They hang a laminated tag on the outside door knob of the apartment and the resident has to turn it once a day, by a certain time, from the odd side to the even side, depending on the date.  When the volunteer hall monitor walks by they can see which folks are out of compliance and then knock on the residents door to make sure that everything is ok.  I think this helps some people feel more secure.  This is a voluntary process and those that are not interested do not put out the tag.  It might be a thought for your building.


----------



## Zhizara

Hi Aunt Bea!  Nice to see you.

I just think this was handled badly.  There should have been an explanation of what a wellness check entails, as well as sign up sheets for participation, frequency or non-participation.

The letter says these residents have volunteered to come door-to-door, no more than once a week or twice a month.  

I flipped out when I read that. 

Thanks for giving me an idea what to expect.  I think maybe it's just that the letter should have included more information, instead of giving me a panic attack.

I bet she'll have lots more interruptions Monday with upset/angry people because of her oversight.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, it is a violation of HIPAA regulations.  This should and must be in place with your management company.  These folks who knock on doors need to know which doors to knock on...who told them?  Or are they knocking on all doors?
> 
> Tell management that you will, absolutely scream loudly about HIPAA violations if these folks appear to know ANYTHING about your health information. Tell them once that you will not participate, if they pursue it, they are harassing you and you can report this to management AND the police.



I'm not sure that the building management company is a "covered entity" under HIPAA. Might want to check that, Z. If it's an assisted living facility, they might have to comply.

http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-...cation/HIPAAGenInfo/AreYouaCoveredEntity.html


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> I'm not sure that the building management company is a "covered entity" under HIPAA. Might want to check that, Z. If it's an assisted living facility, they might have to comply.
> 
> Are You a Covered Entity? | Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services



My post was presuming these folks had any knowledge that they should not have and where they found out about it.  HIPAA is broadly accepted in certain types of housing, I do not know if Z lives in such housing and if she did I would not say so...


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My post was presuming these folks had any knowledge that they should not have and where they found out about it.  HIPAA is broadly accepted in certain types of housing, I do not know if Z lives in such housing and if she did I would not say so...



It's absolutely an excellent point to bring up. I just wanted to offer a little more information.


----------



## Zhizara

Actually, I do live in low income housing (HUD), but after Aunt Bea's explanation, I expect that the door hanger method is more likely what they'll use.  After all, I wouldn't want someone breaking into my apartment if I'm out shopping when they come by.  

It will also eliminate strange residents knocking on my door.  *fingers crossed*

I'm hoping it was just a poorly thought out letter, and I got upset when I felt my privacy was threatened.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I get tired of telling people they can talk to the ogre who answers the phone at my house, he's they only other being, aside from the cats, who answers the phone.  They don't have to be sneaky and he IS my Power of Attorney for health care...if they call me at work, they can be as Sphinx-like as they want.


----------



## chopper

I get tired of people saying, "You are so wonderful, I couldn't do your job!"  It's my job, and I do it because it is my job.  You don't have to do it, and I don't expect to trade with you any time soon.  You doing your job is just fine with me.  If we both do our jobs, life is good!


----------



## Addie

I am having a bad day. Last Friday before the storm got really bad, Spike went down to the eye clinic to pick up my two pairs of glasses. They couldn't find them. They thought that maybe they were sent to Winthrop. Then they closed as 12 because of the storm. I call Winthrop, nope they weren't there. And they too closed down at 12 because of the storm. Okay. I kept my temper under control over the weekend. So I call Winthrop this morning. Nope, they had never arrived there. So I call the eye clinic. They still can't find them. They will call me back. Temper still under control. I get the phone call. They were in the mailroom. If my son can come and pick them up, they will be waiting for him. Okay, I will call you back right after I get a hold of him. "Yeah Ma, I will go there in a half hour." I try to call the clinic back. Four times. I let the phone ring for more than two minutes. No one is answering the phones. I will wait. May be they are on their coffee break. Temper is trying to let loose very hard. BP is climbing up.


----------



## MrsLMB

After slicing my finger this morning I want to know why they can't complete the cut through bagels and english muffins


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> After slicing my finger this morning I want to know why they can't complete the cut through bagels and english muffins


 
Because they are in cahoots with the medical profession.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> After slicing my finger this morning I want to know why they can't complete the cut through bagels and english muffins



How else are you supposed to prepare finger food?

Sorry, I hope it wasn't too bad!  And they are not in cahoots with the medical profession, honest, I don't like the sight of blood just as much as you don't...that's why we cover it with band-aids so fast.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> How else are you supposed to prepare finger food?
> 
> Sorry, I hope it wasn't too bad! And they are not in cahoots with the medical profession, honest, I don't like the sight of blood just as much as you don't...that's why we cover it with band-aids so fast.


 
I know you wil think I am crazy, but I love the smell of fresh blood. When I worked at Revere Memorial, if there were no babies in the nursery, I used to go in the OR as the dirty nurse. It was my job to keep count of the sponges. They had a large rack with clips on it and I would have to hang up the used and bloody sponges. My favorite job. I could hang out in an OR all day watching surgery.


----------



## Addie

I am sitting here in the Koffee Klatch House trying to calm down from yesterday. The urge to kill is so strong. Buttons is sitting in my lap while I brush her and she is purring. We are both sitting next to the fireplace while the embers burn slowly. 

Yesterday, after all the work maintenance did in the building and all that I and my son Spike did in my apartment, the HUD Inspector calls and says he is not feeling well, so he will have to schedule another day or month. Kitties have a way of calming a person down. Thank you Buttons.


----------



## vitauta

Addie said:


> I am sitting here in the Koffee Klatch House trying to calm down from yesterday. The urge to kill is so strong. Buttons is sitting in my lap while I brush her and she is purring. We are both sitting next to the fireplace while the embers burn slowly.
> 
> Yesterday, after all the work maintenance did in the building and all that I and my son Spike did in my apartment, the HUD Inspector calls and says he is not feeling well, so he will have to schedule another day or month. Kitties have a way of calming a person down. Thank you Buttons.



well, addie, that's just hud, being a dud again....(my sympathies, though)
a real live fire burning in the fireplace, and a purring kitty on your lap can have tremendous calming influences on a troubled spirit...

...except that with cats, at least the cats i've had in my life, are equally as capable and apt to arouse those homicidal furies in me, as they are to soothe my agitated moods.

i'm happy to see you here, tending to buttons, addie.  she was definitely acting miffed and out of sorts yesterday, when nobody was petting or brushing her.  one of the ladies, i don't know here name offhand, doesn't care for cats, and she had the nerve to brush buttons off of her lap!  oh my!  can you imagine?!  you should have seen the evil eye buttons gave that lady--and talk about attitude!  button's tail was jerking for a long time, with justified feline anger and offense!  i couldn't help but smile....

i did take her aside then, and gently promised her that aunt addie would come to visit, and make up for all the hurt and neglect she was feeling.  still, she pouted--holds a grudge that buttons does....

you two look the picture of contentment, in that  rocking chair by the fire, addie.  it's a perfect fit--you all being so close to the ground an' all....


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> well, addie, that's just hud, being a dud again....(my sympathies, though)
> a real live fire burning in the fireplace, and a purring kitty on your lap can have tremendous calming influences on a troubled spirit...
> 
> ...except that with cats, at least the cats i've had in my life, are equally as capable and apt to arouse those homicidal furies in me, as they are to soothe my agitated moods.
> 
> i'm happy to see you here, tending to buttons, addie. she was definitely acting miffed and out of sorts yesterday, when nobody was petting or brushing her. one of the ladies, i don't know here name offhand, doesn't care for cats, and she had the nerve to brush buttons off of her lap! oh my! can you imagine?! you should have seen the evil eye buttons gave that lady--and talk about attitude! button's tail was jerking for a long time, with justified feline anger and offense! i couldn't help but smile....
> 
> i did take her aside then, and gently promised her that aunt addie would come to visit, and make up for all the hurt and neglect she was feeling. still, she pouted--holds a grudge that buttons does....
> 
> you two look the picture of contentment, in that rocking chair by the fire, addie. it's a perfect fit*--you all being so close to the ground an' all....*


 
 I can almost pat her standing up. 

I can't imagine anyone not loving her. She is such a good kitty. Buttons did calm me down.

The good side is that I got a lot of needed excercise in cleaning. And my apartment looks so nice and shiny. The bathroom got cleaned from the ceiling down to the new floor. The repairs that HUD told management to do four years ago, finally got done. Since they knew I was planning on being here for this inspection, and knowing that I wouldn't hesitate to tell HUD the truth if they asked any questions, made management sit up and take notice this time. I had plenty of notice and was able to move any appointments around to make sure I would be here this time. The last three inspections I always had an appointment. 

Every cat I have had in my home has always been a pet of the kids. I just made sure it got fed and watered. The only real house cat I have ever had in my home belonged to my granddaughter. Tasha had been declawed and I was too afraid to let her outside at all. I bought her a window seat so she could sit in the sun all day. She loved it there. There was a porch roof right outside the window where she loved to rest. Sometimes in the summer I would open the screen and she would lie out there until it got too hot. She loved having the breeze blowing over her. That cat got more loving than I did.


----------



## vitauta

i guess i'm one of those penny wise-pound foolish sort of gals.  what is bothering my frugal sensibilities lately is that i'm being made to pay a sales tax that to my mind seems to be totally illogical, illegal, even--though i'm sure it's not.  i am buying see's chocolates from california, and having them mailed to my family, who live in maryland.  the purchases are paid for out of my (virginia state) money wallet.-- yet, i am charged maryland state sales tax for the chocolates, not virginia's, which is a 3 1/2% difference.   on top of that, i am paying that md tax also on the UPS shipping charges, not just on the price of the chocolates, although the shipping is done from california.  i am not aware of ever having paid a sales tax on the cost of shipping an item before.  in particular, how would md be entitled to charge for shipping that largely occurs outside of their jurisdiction, anyhow?  

i'm counting on some of you legal minds out there to help me understand what it is i'm dealing with.  the people at see's  chocolates are very friendly and polite, but they tell me that their company has nothing whatever to do with the charges i'm complaining about--that they are costs they have to collect in order to do business in the state of maryland...(?)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Seems to me that you should have to pay the sales tax of the state you live in.  I can order from anywhere and have things sent anywhere without paying taxes for other states.  I even ordered things to be sent to MD and didn't have to pay their taxes.


----------



## Dawgluver

As I recall, when I ordered stuff from Amazon and had it shipped to my mom in ND, there was a tax charged from ND.  When exactly the same stuff was sent to a different state, no tax was charged.  I think it's up to the individual state to decide whether they want to charge a tax for mail order goods.


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> As I recall, when I ordered stuff from Amazon and had it shipped to my mom in ND, there was a tax charged from ND.  When exactly the same stuff was sent to a different state, no tax was charged.  I think it's up to the individual state to decide whether they want to charge a tax for mail order goods.



That's right.  Lucky for us, MA will soon be collecting sales tax from Amazon.


----------



## vitauta

Dawgluver said:


> As I recall, when I ordered stuff from Amazon and had it shipped to my mom in ND, there was a tax charged from ND.  When exactly the same stuff was sent to a different state, no tax was charged.  I think it's up to the individual state to decide whether they want to charge a tax for mail order goods.





but-but-but why should i be made to pay md's sales tax, just because they have a few see's candies kiosks set up in md shopping malls for the xmas season? what has that to do with my box of chocolates that is being shipped from california?  and what justification can there be for md collecting sales tax on the ups delivery of that candy box?  GRRR!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I fully agree, VIT...but I live in a state with NO sales tax...on purpose!


----------



## vitauta

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I fully agree, VIT...but I live in a state with NO sales tax...on purpose!





ma-a-n, that's gotta be worth a thousand bucks easy, right there! wow, and then you get all that montana Big Sky and glacier national park for Free? then why isn't montana overrun with people?  you don't even need an army to keep us away from your borders....


----------



## Whiskadoodle

vitauta said:


> i guess i'm one of those penny wise-pound foolish sort of gals. what is bothering my frugal sensibilities lately is that i'm being made to pay a sales tax that to my mind seems to be totally illogical, illegal, even--though i'm sure it's not. i am buying see's chocolates from california, and having them mailed to my family, who live in maryland. the purchases are paid for out of my (virginia state) money wallet.-- yet, i am charged maryland state sales tax for the chocolates, not virginia's, which is a 3 1/2% difference. on top of that, i am paying that md tax also on the UPS shipping charges, not just on the price of the chocolates, although the shipping is done from california. i am not aware of ever having paid a sales tax on the cost of shipping an item before. in particular, how would md be entitled to charge for shipping that largely occurs outside of their jurisdiction, anyhow?
> 
> i'm counting on some of you legal minds out there to help me understand what it is i'm dealing with. the people at see's chocolates are very friendly and polite, but they tell me that their company has nothing whatever to do with the charges i'm complaining about--that they are costs they have to collect in order to do business in the state of maryland...(?)


 
--
that's the magic of modern technology.  One can program in to compute whatever charges a state wants to collect from any company .  Do the program once, and just enter the variables for wherever.  I bet they auto program to include tax rate changes***.  Too easy, although I am not a programmer.  Once they start, it just builds on itself.  States are looking any which way to nickel / dime consumers.   Our state legislature has bills pending to collect sales taxes from Amazon et al. this year.  I am resigned to it becoming law.  Amazon resisted this fo a long time,  as long as it could hold out.  Gave in to Ca or perhaps Texas first, and the concept is headed our way. Probably likewise it already is in your state and/ or Md. 

What is so special about California chocolate.  I am familiar with Califonia grown ghiradelli, available at your local shopping mall and mail them yourself next time.  (ask for a sample package and taste test, much more polite than tasting the merchandise before mailing ). I think Godiva gives a sample taste too, no need to buy.  --   How do I know.   I have Received Previously Opened goods from my brother,  so let me tell you, it's not an unknown concept. He wasn't intuitive enought to send chocolates either. 

I understand why States want/ need? more tax revenue.  Ex.  Best Buy's nat'l HQ is here. It's a place to go window shopping, test drive the new electronic gizmo, and order on-line.  Usually cheaper, and if +> $, free shipping to boot.  I did a lot of holiday shopping on line this year.   So easy, and had it shipped where we had Christmas.  Said don't open if you didn't order, and I'll be over to gift wrap my presents.  Toot sweet.

This doesn't answer your question directly.  Be happy they didn't charge Ca sales tax rates.  I understand they are quite high.   I will reiturate.  You deserved a sample box chocolates just for doing business.  Although they prolly would have charged for separate shipping. LOL.   

*  maybe not quite yet, but it's not far off.  Hope there are more up to date systems in place today.  The last company I worked,  my clientele group was in all 50 states, and more than a few countries.     Charges were in US currency, you figure your local to $$.  No fudging for a better currency rate.   Now,  ea state had it's own "negotiated discount rates", if any. it was a mashup trying to keep them all straight for myself, and them- all in line to follow policies. And the rates changed continous.  I would suggest it t took a just about a full- time  programmer to hand hammer out the details and make changes, although my company chose to use its in house programming pool rather than a dedicated empl.    And while it may seem logical,  different programmers use different short cuts and not all program code lines readily accept change.  And that's just one reason why we sometimes see errors occur on billing statements. and more, but that's enough for now.


----------



## Andy M.

Not all states compel internet vendors to collect and pay sales tax.

Typically, a vendor charges tax based on the ship to location.  That's all they have to go on.  The individual states define how and on what their tax is applied.  Some include the shipping charges, some don't.  There is a mechanism that allows for an item's being forwarded to another state, that the first state's tax is waived in favor of the tax of the ultimate destination.  No clue how that's accomplished.

If you had the chocolates shipped to VA, you would have paid their tax.  Then you could have mailed or delivered them yourself.  Consider the extra tax you paid a convenience fee.


----------



## Whiskadoodle

shorter said then I ,  Andy.


----------



## Addie

The explanation I got was; "if the company has a brick and mortar building in the state where the buyer is ordering from, then the company is required by law to apply the sales tax of that state." Even if it is just an office or center for customer service. 

That building could be the distribution center, and not a retail store. QVC has more than one distribution center. If you live in one of the states where they have a distribution center, then you will be taxed. 

But just think. Folks that live in NYC or LA not only have to pay a state sales tax, but also the city sales tax. 

Sears, JCPenny, K Mart, Walmart, etc will always have to charge a sales tax. Is there any state where they are not located?


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> The explanation I got was; "if the company has a brick and mortar building in the state where the buyer is ordering from, then the company is required by law to apply the sales tax of that state." Even if it is just an office or center for customer service.
> 
> That building could be the distribution center, and not a retail store. QVC has more than one distribution center. If you live in one of the states where they have a distribution center, then you will be taxed.
> 
> But just think. Folks that live in NYC or LA not only have to pay a state sales tax, but also the city sales tax.
> 
> Sears, JCPenny, K Mart, Walmart, etc will always have to charge a sales tax. Is there any state where they are not located?



That is how it currently works in New York state.  

I was really upset when L.L. Bean opened an outlet store in NY.  

Now we are obliged to pay the 8% sales tax on all our designer mukluks!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> That is how it currently works in New York state.
> 
> I was really upset when L.L. Bean opened an outlet store in NY.
> 
> Now we are obliged to pay the 8% sales tax on all our designer mukluks!


 
I love mukluks. But they have become so expensive. I had a pair when I lived in Tacoma. I wore them down to the bare bone. They really keep your feet warm.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> I love mukluks. But they have become so expensive. I had a pair when I lived in Tacoma. I wore them down to the bare bone. They really keep your feet warm.



I have boneless mukluks!


----------



## Addie

So yesterday I went downstairs to get my mail. There was a letter from Capital One credit card. I could feel that there was a card in there. It was addressed to Margaruit R. Sullivan. She has been dead for more than five years. 

I open it and sure enough there was the credit card with the strip you have to remove and the phone number to call to activate the card. So I thought I woud do a good deed.

I call Cap1 to let them know that this person is dead.

Can I have your name, birthday, and the last four numbers of your SS number? 

The card is not in my name. 

Do you have her birthday and SS number?

No. She has been dead for five or more years. She was the tenant before me. I got the apartment because she died. 

I am calling to let you know she is dead and you need to close the account. 

Is there any one who would be willing to pay the balance?

The conversation went on and on like this for 10 minutes. The girl finally told me I needed to call for a Specialist who handles dead people. 

Can you connect me to one?

No. We are not allowed to transfer calls. There is a special number you have to call. 

She gives me the number. Do I want to make the call and go through this again? 

So I call and it starts all over again. Then all of a sudden I get a Thank You and told that the account has been closed. I am not sure I want to do any more good deeds. I put the card in the shredder.


----------



## Andy M.

You are more patient than I.  If I bothered to call at all, I would have told the first person she had the info and could do whatever she wanted to do with it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm enough of a brat I would have given them her current address...


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm enough of a brat I would have given them her current address...



Boston Cemetery, aisle 4, row three, number 18...


----------



## Andy M.

I HATE the smell of the herbal teas SO drinks.  There's one that smells like clove which is my most hated spice.  There's another that smells like medicine.  

Is bad smell a requirement of herbal teas?


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> I HATE the smell of the herbal teas SO drinks.  There's one that smells like clove which is my most hated spice.  There's another that smells like medicine.
> 
> Is bad smell a requirement of herbal teas?



Don't know. The only tea I like is peppermint and I love the aroma


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm enough of a brat I would have given them her current address...


 
After I while it became just a game with me. How long could I tie up her time on this call. I know they are timed in how long it takes them to solve a problem. 

I did that with my daughter after she died. It was still to close to her death and I had the receipt still on my nightstand table. So I had all the information right there. Including the number of the enclosure of the mausoleum. Row and number. The dang fool person didn't even realize she was being taken for a ride.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I wonder if Shrek would start taking better care of himself if I took his Urn out of the closet and kept it on the coffee table...


----------



## Alix

Andy M. said:


> I HATE the smell of the herbal teas SO drinks.  There's one that smells like clove which is my most hated spice.  There's another that smells like medicine.
> 
> Is bad smell a requirement of herbal teas?



Ken can't stand cloves either. Its one of my favorites and I've had to learn to use a whole lot less than I used to. 

My petty vent is the headache/shoulder/neck ache I have. They're all connected and I can't get in to see my massage therapist for 2 weeks! ARGH! I'm going to have to try and find someone who can fit me in sooner.


----------



## jkath

Oh dear Alix!
You need that now... or Ken will have to do all the cooking, cleaning, and.... hey wait a minute... that may be a good thing...  
Hope you are doing well soon, my friend!


----------



## Snip 13

Andy M. said:


> Boston Cemetery, aisle 4, row three, number 18...


 
 Snort!


----------



## Snip 13

Andy M. said:


> I HATE the smell of the herbal teas SO drinks. There's one that smells like clove which is my most hated spice. There's another that smells like medicine.
> 
> Is bad smell a requirement of herbal teas?


 
Not all herbal teas smell 
I loveall the so called smelly ones but you get nice smelling ones too.

Rosehip and hybiscus, Jasmin, Strawberry leaf tea, rose tea, lavender tea etc all smell and taste devine 

I like clove tea


----------



## Zhizara

Good or bad, the aroma is often more beneficial than drinking the tea itself.


----------



## Whiskadoodle

Andy, do you have a bulk food store or Whole Foods or a tea shop nearby. Lift the lids and give a smell test. Take her along or come home with a surprise pkgs. Unless SO is drinking specific teas for medicinal purposes, herbal teas can be mixed and matched for both aroma and flavor. And there are so many flavors to combine that are pleasant. As an alternative to cloves. have her try all-spice berries, cracked. I think crushed cardamom seeds and anything anise flavored is great in a tea. Certainly rose hips, mint, hibiscus et al. A piece of candied ginger dropped in the bottom of a cup before adding tea increases both flavor and scent or a cinnamon stick or piece of lemon grass stirrer. Drinking Tea is a soothing and comforting and a relaxing moment, and is inclusive Well, I think so anyway.   Ask your SO why she likes to drink tea and why she likes specific flavor blends sometime. 

I bet you wouldn't like my pumpkin pie.    I put double the cloves and it comes out real dark looking.   

While you are out and about,   does she have a good tea infuser. I like this one. 
http://helping.en.alibaba.com/product/318724450-209451293/Good_Designed_Stainless_Steel_Tea_Infuser.html

although, I see one today named after me or a ‘60’s sock hop song – Do the Freddy. Heheh. You can borrow it. 

http://www.amazon.com/Fred-Friends-Mister-Tea-Infuser/dp/B008XCZ25K

You might consider find a nice flavor too, sit back and have a cuppa. Contemplate the tea leaves, yoga for the mind, while she drinks her blend.  You'll both be better for it.


----------



## Whiskadoodle

Alix,  have you ever tried using a heated flax seed pillow to comfort your neck or back or any sore area.  

I have one that is designed as a neck or cervical collar and another that is just rectangular.  Heat in the microwave until warm,  test so not too hot, then apply to the area.  My Cats like it when I tuck one under a blanket around my feet.  Just to warm up on a cold night.   Then they climb aboard.

How (And Why) To Make The Best Flax Seed Pillows - An Oregon Cottage | An Oregon Cottage


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wonder if Shrek would start taking better care of himself if I took his Urn out of the closet and kept it on the coffee table...


 
Love it! And if he should ask, you tell him you were planning on using it real soon. Just make sure he can see his name engraved on it as he sits and watches TV.


----------



## Skittle68

Well, if my goal in life was to p*** off some poor old lady working as a cashier at the grocery store, I guess I can die happy now... Ugh, what a mountain from a mole hill... I literally had around 30-40 coupons, the majority of which were manufacturers coupons. As she starts manually checking I had the right items and keying in the dollar amounts for the discounts, I commented, trying to be sympathetic, "Oh, jeez- you can't just scan the bar code?" So she gives it a try, and no dice. Anyway, near the end of the coupons, she tosses one off to the side. I asked about it, and she said she didn't think I could use that one, but she would check at the end. Ok, cool. At the end she scans it, and says, "See? It says its invalid. You already used one of those. You can try to use it somewhere else if you want." Ok, I get that I already made your list of least favorite people in the store when I walked up with my fistful of coupons, but I wasn't born yesterday. I nicely pointed out that one coupon says it excludes campbell's "great for cooking" soups, and this one was specifically for the "great for cooking" soups. Similar, but not the same. Also, I already had the soup rung in, and now buried at the bottom of the shopping cart. She starts keying it in and says, "Fine, I could lose my job over this. For a dollar. Is that what you want? For me to lose my job over a dollar? Does that make you happy?" I calmly responded, "You are more than welcome to call the manager over if you'd like." That was the end of it, but come on- I just watched you try to scan a coupon and it didn't work and then you try to use that to convince me a manufacturers coupon isn't valid when you have been keying in the dollar amounts the WHOLE time?? Then she complained about me to the next two people in line while I was bagging my groceries. How awkward. I feel bad for ruining her day, but I could have said "it's just a dollar" to every one of those coupons, and I would have paid $168 instead of $106. ::humph::


----------



## Addie

Skit, you went to the cash register without an attitude. The cashier had her attitude already. If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else. She chose to make a problem of the coupons herself by not scanning them. She chose to key each one in individually. The problem was hers, not yours.


----------



## Skittle68

Addie said:


> Skit, you went to the cash register without an attitude. The cashier had her attitude already. If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else. She chose to make a problem of the coupons herself by not scanning them. She chose to key each one in individually. The problem was hers, not yours.



The issue was that the store doesn't have the codes for the manufacturer coupons. She tried to scan some, but they weren't recognized, even though they were valid coupons. I'm sure she wishes she could just scan them and let the computer decide if they were different coupons or not! It would make her life so much easier lol. I just got into printing manufacturer coupons, and I will probably never go back there with them... I really don't want to be a bother, but I saved a ton of money!! I only used my coupons for items that were also on sale, so I got a double discount (the normal sale price is not included in the $60 I saved, although the store coupons I used are included). I still have about half my manufacturer coupons, which I hope to use at another store when those items are on sale. I also made a list of things that I noticed were on sale, to go look online for manufacturer coupons. I'm obsessed.


----------



## Andy M.

Those coupons are money in your pocket and it's the store employees' job to handle them for you.  You should feel no guilt for using them.  The cashier's attitude was not caused by you.  Next time complain to the manager.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Those coupons are money in your pocket and it's the store employees' job to handle them for you.  You should feel no guilt for using them.  The cashier's attitude was not caused by you.  Next time complain to the manager.



+1!!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Those coupons are money in your pocket and it's the store employees' job to handle them for you. You should feel no guilt for using them. The cashier's attitude was not caused by you. Next time complain to the manager.


 
+2


----------



## Dawgluver

+3!!


----------



## vitauta

Skittle68 said:


> The issue was that the store doesn't have the codes for the manufacturer coupons. She tried to scan some, but they weren't recognized, even though they were valid coupons. I'm sure she wishes she could just scan them and let the computer decide if they were different coupons or not! It would make her life so much easier lol. I just got into printing manufacturer coupons, and I will probably never go back there with them... I really don't want to be a bother, but I saved a ton of money!! I only used my coupons for items that were also on sale, so I got a double discount (the normal sale price is not included in the $60 I saved, although the store coupons I used are included). I still have about half my manufacturer coupons, which I hope to use at another store when those items are on sale. I also made a list of things that I noticed were on sale, to go look online for manufacturer coupons. I'm obsessed.



please don't spoil the satisfying, good feelings you deserve to be savoring, skittles, having saved yourself about $100 in the grocery store with your smart coupon shopping!  your lengthy, somewhat apologetic posts indicate a self-punishing conscience over what-- a cranky, unprofessional cashier who gave you poor service?  so totally not your problem!  (i envy your successful use of coupons--not easy, i've tried!)


----------



## Skittle68

vitauta said:


> please don't spoil the satisfying, good feelings you deserve to be savoring, skittles, having saved yourself about $100 in the grocery store with your smart coupon shopping!  your lengthy, somewhat apologetic posts indicate a self-punishing conscience over what-- a cranky, unprofessional cashier who gave you poor service?  so totally not your problem!  (i envy your successful use of coupons--not easy, i've tried!)



Thank you everyone for confirming that I shouldn't have to feel guilty!! My bf said the same thing! It is NOT easy to find and organize all those coupons with the sales. As long as the store is going to be reimbursed, why should she care how many I have?


----------



## chopper

Skittle68 said:


> Thank you everyone for confirming that I shouldn't have to feel guilty!! My bf said the same thing! It is NOT easy to find and organize all those coupons with the sales. As long as the store is going to be reimbursed, why should she care how many I have?



She just needs to do her job.  You have clearly done yours!


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> please don't spoil the satisfying, good feelings you deserve to be savoring, skittles, having saved yourself about $100 in the grocery store with your smart coupon shopping! your lengthy, somewhat apologetic posts indicate a self-punishing conscience over what-- a cranky, unprofessional cashier who gave you poor service? so totally not your problem! (i envy your successful use of coupons--not easy, i've tried!)


 
Ditto here. I just don't have the patience to keep track of the sales vs. the coupons and tryng to match them up. I am happy with just buying what is on sale. As long as I look at the flyers the day before I go shopping, I am happy. I like to shop as if I were a rich lady of leisure.


----------



## chopper

I'm tired of pain from osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis!  I know I have to lose weight, but it is so hard when it hurts to walk and I know I need to exercise!


----------



## MrsLMB

Andy M. said:


> Those coupons are money in your pocket and it's the store employees' job to handle them for you. You should feel no guilt for using them. The cashier's attitude was not caused by you. Next time complain to the manager.


 
Abso-friggin-lutely !!!  You - and evryone else - have the right to use those .. and the employee who treated you that way needs to be reported .. who knows how many others she has done this to.  You are far more patient than I would have been ... hold your head high and keep on saving .. good job on that !


----------



## MrsLMB

chopper said:


> I'm tired of pain from osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis! I know I have to lose weight, but it is so hard when it hurts to walk and I know I need to exercise!


 
  sorry you have to deal with all of that.  Is there any kind of cushioning support that will help with the feet?  If only you could get a little comfortable then you could do short walks.


----------



## Claire

chopper said:


> I'm tired of pain from osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis!  I know I have to lose weight, but it is so hard when it hurts to walk and I know I need to exercise!



Have you or can you find a water exercise class?  It takes the weight off from your joints and feet.  After my hip fracture, it was a life saver.  I'm about ready to move on to something more aerobically challenging, but the pool exercise classes were a life-saver when it came to regaining flexibility and range of motion.  Make sure the pool is warm enough.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> I'm tired of pain from osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis!  I know I have to lose weight, but it is so hard when it hurts to walk and I know I need to exercise!



  Chopper, can you try a recumbent bike/rowing machine?  My bone doc recommended that I use one after I broke my ankle a few years ago.  I use it every day when the weather's nasty, and with TV or music, it's pretty painless to get in 30 minutes or so.

Oh, I just saw Claire's water class rec, that would be a great idea too!


----------



## Aunt Bea

chopper said:


> I'm tired of pain from osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis!  I know I have to lose weight, but it is so hard when it hurts to walk and I know I need to exercise!



Chopper have you tried inserts for your shoes?

My doctor had me get fitted for some superfeet inserts and they helped a great deal.  

The inserts and walking for exercise has made the problem much easier to deal with.  

Now I only have to furniturewalk* three or four times a year, I am quite a sight to behold! 


*A furniture-walker is one of those folks who walks around the house hanging onto the furniture


----------



## Whiskadoodle

I have only done "furniture walk" this whole winter.  My definition is I bump into the furniture since it won't move out of the way, lol.   It has been too cold for too many months and Icy sidewalks,  why do people think they need not shovel when we only get a little snow at a time.  It gets compacted  and then treachorous.   I was at a big shopping mall the other day,  not on purpose.  I can tell my hip joints is creaky.  Need to get the body parts moving again.


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> sorry you have to deal with all of that. Is there any kind of cushioning support that will help with the feet? If only you could get a little comfortable then you could do short walks.


 
I have the same problem. The one thing I miss the most are the long walks I used to take on a nice day. But with the pain in my hip and spine, walking is out of the question. And then there is the getting out of breath when I walk even too fast and rush when doing a chore right in my own home. I wanted to join the swimming at the local pool. But Winthrop refused to sign off on it and provide transportation. Fifteen, twenty years ago, I could have walked there. Even in cold weather. I would have bundled up and enjoyed the brisk air. Short of wrapping myself up in an Army blanket, I could never make it now.


----------



## Addie

I want all computers that the TV weatherfolks have, taken away. Three times in one broadcast they have been given extensive air time. I know we have a storm coming. And that is all I need to know. What is happening out in the middle of the Atlantic, I just don't care. It is not coming inshore. It is not going to affect our weather. But just tell me when to expect the storm and how much snow. That way I can plan my days before it arrives. If I am really desperate to know about the weather, I will go to the Farmers Almanac.


----------



## Zhizara

I check for my local weather on the internet.  I gave up watching televised weather because all the weather people stand right in front of what I want to see!  

This is the weather I keep an eye on.  I especially like to see which way the wind is blowing so I can either open my windows or not.  It's been pretty accurate.  You'd have to change it to your zip code for your weather:

Hourly Weather Forecast for 70114 - weather.com


----------



## Addie

One of the weather bureau's national centers is located right here at Logan Airport. Just a hop, skip and jump from my home. And they are right on the money all the time. So when they say local, they are talking about my neighborhood directly. Their maps always show a slight less snowfall because I am only yards away from the Atlantic. And that has a lot to do with our weather. Downtown Boston gets so much more snow than we do. The warmth of the Gulf Stream affects my neighborhood. Not so much as downtown Boston which is located more inland and farther into Boston Harbor. So when I know a storm is coming, I look to them. Or the seagulls flying overhead. They always fly inland when a storm is approaching. Makes for a messy neighborhood.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have Forecastfox on my desktop...I can just glance down at it.


----------



## chopper

Thanks everyone for the support. I will need to go to REI and get the inserts for my shoes.  I got some cheaper ones at Walgreens yesterday, and they helped somewhat.  I love riding my bike, but I don't have a stationary bike to ride.  The water exercise is a great idea, but I'm not sure where to go.  I will have to look into it.  Today's petty vent is that I slipped on the ice this morning and fell.  At first all that hurt was my hands, but now I am starting to have more pain in other parts of my body.  I will take more Aleve before going to bed tonight and see what the morning brings.  Sorry to be so down, but pain does that to me.


----------



## Andy M.

My slip and fall on ice a few years ago resulted in a broken wrist and tailbone.  Don't hesitate to get it checked out.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have Forecastfox on my desktop...I can just glance down at it.


 
I have what they call a 'Gadget' on my desktop. It is tied directly to the Weather Bureau at Logan Airport. Everytime the WB updates the gadget goes blank. The first time it ever did that, I thought my computer was crashing. It shows what it is doing outside at that very moment and the temp. It also give a pictorial view of the next three days with the same info.


----------



## chopper

Andy M. said:


> My slip and fall on ice a few years ago resulted in a broken wrist and tailbone.  Don't hesitate to get it checked out.



Thanks Andy.  I think I am ok, but just sore.  I did file a report at work in case anything becomes of it later.    I fell I n the parking lot of one of the schools.  A co-worker had just said that it was really slick and I was being careful, and still went right down!  Boy did I feel stupid!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> My slip and fall on ice a few years ago resulted in a broken wrist and tailbone. Don't hesitate to get it checked out.


 
Ditto here. You can't always tell when you have a hairline fracture. You don't want to cause more damage. Wouldn't you rather take an hour or two out of your day to get it checked, than months of healing from an aggravated injury? Come tomorrow, don't mask the pain too much or you may not recognize that something is really wrong.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> Thanks everyone for the support. I will need to go to REI and get the inserts for my shoes.  I got some cheaper ones at Walgreens yesterday, and they helped somewhat.  I love riding my bike, but I don't have a stationary bike to ride.  The water exercise is a great idea, but I'm not sure where to go.  I will have to look into it.  Today's petty vent is that I slipped on the ice this morning and fell.  At first all that hurt was my hands, but now I am starting to have more pain in other parts of my body.  I will take more Aleve before going to bed tonight and see what the morning brings.  Sorry to be so down, but pain does that to me.



Sorry you fell, ouch!  Take it easy.  There should be some nice Gyms in your area I just found 20 of them and didn't look at anymore pages.  I just typed in your town and pools gyms.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> Thanks everyone for the support. I will need to go to REI and get the inserts for my shoes.  I got some cheaper ones at Walgreens yesterday, and they helped somewhat.  I love riding my bike, but I don't have a stationary bike to ride.  The water exercise is a great idea, but I'm not sure where to go.  I will have to look into it.  Today's petty vent is that I slipped on the ice this morning and fell.  At first all that hurt was my hands, but now I am starting to have more pain in other parts of my body.  I will take more Aleve before going to bed tonight and see what the morning brings.  Sorry to be so down, but pain does that to me.



Gah!  Chopper, you might want to get an x-ray.  I've had broken bones in my wrist, foot, ankle, when the doc had said "no way" on first inspection, and lo and behold, there was a fracture.  Only way to find out for sure is an x-ray.

Wowza, our DC crew is sure getting up there on the injuries!  Please be careful on the ice!


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) Chopper. Here's hoping it's just bruises and not bad ones.


----------



## bakechef

Skittle68 said:


> The issue was that the store doesn't have the codes for the manufacturer coupons. She tried to scan some, but they weren't recognized, even though they were valid coupons. I'm sure she wishes she could just scan them and let the computer decide if they were different coupons or not! It would make her life so much easier lol. I just got into printing manufacturer coupons, and I will probably never go back there with them... I really don't want to be a bother, but I saved a ton of money!! I only used my coupons for items that were also on sale, so I got a double discount (the normal sale price is not included in the $60 I saved, although the store coupons I used are included). I still have about half my manufacturer coupons, which I hope to use at another store when those items are on sale. I also made a list of things that I noticed were on sale, to go look online for manufacturer coupons. I'm obsessed.



Here's something I bet you didn't know...  I work for a large grocery chain, the coupons are shoved in a bag and sent away for processing.  There is an acceptable margin of error.  It would be nearly impossible to tell who rung a coupon wrong.  With that said, if she has made a habit of sliding coupons for friends just to put money in their pocket, they may be watching her, and scrutinizing her drawer.

Neither situation has anything to do with you.  I'd call the manager and let them know that you were treated badly.


----------



## bakechef

chopper said:


> Thanks everyone for the support. I will need to go to REI and get the inserts for my shoes.  I got some cheaper ones at Walgreens yesterday, and they helped somewhat.  I love riding my bike, but I don't have a stationary bike to ride.  The water exercise is a great idea, but I'm not sure where to go.  I will have to look into it.  Today's petty vent is that I slipped on the ice this morning and fell.  At first all that hurt was my hands, but now I am starting to have more pain in other parts of my body.  I will take more Aleve before going to bed tonight and see what the morning brings.  Sorry to be so down, but pain does that to me.



Powerstep inserts are awesome, I got mine from amazon.  They improved my plantar fasciitis at least 90%  they lasted for years in my work shoes.  I don't even need them in my work shoes anymore.  I just remember not to go barefoot, that's when the plantar fasciitis let's me know that it is still there!


----------



## chopper

bakechef said:


> Powerstep inserts are awesome, I got mine from amazon.  They improved my plantar fasciitis at least 90%  they lasted for years in my work shoes.  I don't even need them in my work shoes anymore.  I just remember not to go barefoot, that's when the plantar fasciitis let's me know that it is still there!



Been wearing my shoes in the house with the Walgreens inserts the last few days.  Much better.  I will get some better inserts soon when I can justify spending the money.  Always hard to spend on myself.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> Been wearing my shoes in the house with the Walgreens inserts the last few days.  Much better.  I will get some better inserts soon when I can justify spending the money.  Always hard to spend on myself.



Good.  How are your other owies from your fall, Chopper?


----------



## chopper

Well, I caught myself with my hands, so my hands are sore.  Most of the weight fell on the right side, so the right arm and ribs on that side are sore.  Must have bruised some ribs.  The wonderful thing is that I did not throw out my back, and am able to move around pretty good.


----------



## vitauta

chopper said:


> Been wearing my shoes in the house with the Walgreens inserts the last few days.  Much better.  I will get some better inserts soon when I can justify spending the money.  Always hard to spend on myself.



i get chastised by my kids all the time for constantly denying myself the smallest gifts and purchases, while being overly generous toward others--putting myself last. i admit to being an extreme example of that.  but chopper, what you are talking about falls into an entirely different category of spending--even i recognize and can appreciate that.  get yourself the best shoe inserts money can buy--a pair for indoor, another for outdoor wear. you are avoiding unnecessary pain, looking out for your physical well-being, not indulging yourself in any frivolous or self-serving way. if you must, look at it as a gift you are giving to your family.  because it is.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> Well, I caught myself with my hands, so my hands are sore.  Most of the weight fell on the right side, so the right arm and ribs on that side are sore.  Must have bruised some ribs.  The wonderful thing is that I did not throw out my back, and am able to move around pretty good.



So glad you're up and moving, Chopper!  You might want to consider getting an elastic rib belt, I've used one with bruised ribs, and it really helped.

And I agree with Vit.


----------



## taxlady

I didn't slip on ice. I went into the underground garage to check the odometer on my car and tripped in the concrete hallway. I banged up the thumb and index finger on my right hand pretty good, banged up my right cheek bone, and split my lip. Ow.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I didn't slip on ice. I went into the underground garage to check the odometer on my car and tripped in the concrete hallway. I banged up the thumb and index finger on my right hand pretty good, banged up my right cheek bone, and split my lip. Ow.



Oh crap.  Just now, Taxy?  

Maybe we can get a DC group medical insurance policy....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I didn't slip on ice. I went into the underground garage to check the odometer on my car and tripped in the concrete hallway. I banged up the thumb and index finger on my right hand pretty good, banged up my right cheek bone, and split my lip. Ow.



Am I the only one who hasn't gotten hurt, even though I had wild vertigo and feeling like I was falling all the time???


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Oh crap.  Just now, Taxy?
> 
> Maybe we can get a DC group medical insurance policy....


Yeah, a couple of hours ago.

We would need at least two different kinds. One for Yanks and maybe South Africans, and another for people in countries with gov't health insurance and even then it might need different kinds for different countries/provinces.

I don't think I will need any this time around. I don't think finger or thumb are broken, no scrape on the cheek, and I've put antibiotic goo on my lip.


----------



## vitauta

sorry, taxy, feel better soon.  thankfully, there are not broken bones for you to worry about.  relax and let hubby wait on you a bit....


----------



## MrsLMB

Dawgluver said:


> Maybe we can get a DC group medical insurance policy....


 
Maybe our DC Insurance will cover one of these for each of us to wear .. should protect us somewhat huh?


----------



## Skittle68

bakechef said:


> Here's something I bet you didn't know...  I work for a large grocery chain, the coupons are shoved in a bag and sent away for processing.  There is an acceptable margin of error.  It would be nearly impossible to tell who rung a coupon wrong.  With that said, if she has made a habit of sliding coupons for friends just to put money in their pocket, they may be watching her, and scrutinizing her drawer.
> 
> Neither situation has anything to do with you.  I'd call the manager and let them know that you were treated badly.



Actually, my sister was a cashier for 10 years, before she got her "real job" so I did know that  My sister pretty much let customers use whatever coupons they wanted, within reason, as long as it wasn't really breaking store policy. Customer leaves happy, and returns to the store, so everyone wins. I thought about complaining, but contrary to that cashier's belief, I actually don't want to see her lose her job. If she is awful to customers, she will get what's coming to her, but if she was just having an off day I'd rather leave it at that. I did get my dollar off, after all! She was laughing, smiling, and joking with the couple just ahead of me, so I'm factoring that into my opinion of her  

Hey chopper- have you ever had physical therapy for your plantar fasciitis? I had a bout of it after breaking my heel bone, and physical therapy really helped. They did something with an ultrasonic device of some kind that was supposed to help with the inflammation. Just a thought- I am all about treating causes rather than symptoms, but obviously whether or not they could do anything for you in physical therapy would be something to talk to the doc about. I'm certainly no expert!


----------



## vitauta

i'm very loving your 'lighter side' lately, mrslmb!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> Maybe our DC Insurance will cover one of these for each of us to wear .. should protect us somewhat huh?



I have patients that should have those...osteoporosis?  Here's your suit.


----------



## Kylie1969

taxlady said:


> I didn't slip on ice. I went into the underground garage to check the odometer on my car and tripped in the concrete hallway. I banged up the thumb and index finger on my right hand pretty good, banged up my right cheek bone, and split my lip. Ow.



Hope you are feeling better soon Taxy


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> Thanks everyone for the support. I will need to go to REI and get the inserts for my shoes.  I got some cheaper ones at Walgreens yesterday, and they helped somewhat.  I love riding my bike, but I don't have a stationary bike to ride.  The water exercise is a great idea, but I'm not sure where to go.  I will have to look into it.  Today's petty vent is that I slipped on the ice this morning and fell.  At first all that hurt was my hands, but now I am starting to have more pain in other parts of my body.  I will take more Aleve before going to bed tonight and see what the morning brings.  Sorry to be so down, but pain does that to me.



Hope you are feeling better soon Chops!


----------



## bakechef

Can't remember when I had a day off when it wasn't cold and rainy, I need some sun!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> Can't remember when I had a day off when it wasn't cold and rainy, I need some sun!



Big yellow thing in sky scares me...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Why do people find the need to be so derisive in the comments section of news stories? And it doesn't matter what the story is about or where it takes place. People get ugly when they think they can run their mouths annonymously and without being held responsible.


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Why do people find the need to be so derisive in the comments section of news stories? And it doesn't matter what the story is about or where it takes place. People get ugly when they think they can run their mouths anonymously and without being held responsible.


 
Because they know that those are the ones that will be printed. Then they can brag about being in the paper. Even if it is anonymous.  It makes them feel important.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> The urge to kill some days is very strong. And today is one of those days.
> 
> I keep receiving bills from a collection agency for my medical bills. I am going to get a copy of my credit report. I have always had good credit. Now I am afraid that this agency is going to be affecting my rating. Looks like I am going to have a fight on my hands. I have an appointment with my vascular doctor and I am going to have to talk to her office folks who do the billing for her. I got the eye folks straightened out. The ER is another one. The problem is that BU doctors who practice through Boston Medical Center have their own billing department. And I have to make sure each department has the correct information since they are too lazy to look in the computer. GRRRR!


You might want to get the check from the tribe to make that go away...why not?


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> When I get a migraine, one of my symptoms is getting the dry heaves until the headache breaks. Last year during one of my many visits to the ER, I had the dry heaves really bad. I told some young twit that I had been having the heaves off and on since morning. "Is there a chance you might be pregnant?" I demanded that they get this idiot away from me. If he can't tell just by looking at the wrinkles on my face that I am past the age of pregnancy, then he needs to go back to medical school. Had he looked at my record, he would have seen that I am in my 70's. I simply do not have any patience with stupidity.


Too funny!


----------



## Addie

Today HUD is here finally for the inspection that they cancelled early this month. I hope they skip my apartment. I am in no mood for them.


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Big yellow thing in sky scares me...



Me too lol- the sun gives me cancer!!


----------



## Addie

In our family we call that yellow thing the The nuS. (sun backwards) If you say its name when it first comes out, it becomes very shy and goes back behind the clouds. 

I talked to my daughter about an hour ago. This is her chemo week and she sounded really good considering she has already had four days of it. She stays in bed during this week as her muscles become very weak and she can't stand up on her own. She goes for the next MRI on March 15th and then gets the results on March 20th from her oncologist. I am starting to get nervous.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Skittle68 said:


> Me too lol- the sun gives me cancer!!



Until two years ago I had worked nightshift for 11 years...still not crazy about too much sun.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Until two years ago I had worked nightshift for 11 years...still not crazy about too much sun.


 
I once had a job that in the winter I left the house at seven in the morn and went home at four or five. Never saw the light of day. Couldn't wait for Spring.


----------



## buckytom

11 years? how did you find it going back to normal, human life, pf?

i've been on the shift of the dead for 2 1/2 years now, and i hate it. i love the sun.

but now when i leave work, i hiss at the sun and throw my cape over my eyes as i search for a coffin or dark shadows.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm still not used to it, I'm a natural night owl, it is very easy for me to slip into a night existence.  Vacations always cause insomnia, because my clock gets reset to being up all night.  Early to bed for me is 10 pm...

Oh and I still hiss at the sun and pull my cape over my eyes.


----------



## Skittle68

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Until two years ago I had worked nightshift for 11 years...still not crazy about too much sun.



For me the sun is just bright and uncomfortable. Even with sunscreen I am not a fan of being in the direct sun for long. I enjoy being outside in the shade though. I look very young for my age, and that is probably why. In my teenage years when I wanted to tan, I was just never able to be in the sun long enough to accomplish it lol. And now that I'm older and wiser, I just prefer to protect myself. I am very pale and have almost no natural protection. Unfortunately for BF he prefers the tan look, but that's just to bad. I prefer the young and healthy look.


----------



## Addie

As a red head the sun was my enemy. But I never let that stop me. I would get my first sunburn and it would turn to tan after. My back and arms are loaded with freckles. 

Today I get the hematomas because I am on blood thinners. I get them mostly on my arms. I can't let the sun hit them. My skin is so thin the blood inside the hematomas almost boils. Very painful when the sun hits them About 30 seconds is all I can tolerate for my arms.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Why is it that every time I have somewhere to be after work we have a major outage and I end up having to stay late? And the more time sensitive it is the bigger the outage and the longer I have to stay. It's like our telecom and network equipment can read my mind and just really like messing with my schedule.


----------



## Dawgluver

Grrr.  Got a handful of healthy Costco almonds, munching on them one at a time.  Uh oh, I crunched on a piece of shell.  OK, fished the tiny shell out of my mouth.  Uh oh, another piece of shell.  Threw it away too.  Then my tongue touched a previously filled molar, and there's a big hole, part of my tooth is gone!  The filling that's left has a razor edge, and while it doesn't hurt, it's uncomfortable.  Called the dentist, got the answering machine,  they don't work on Friday.  And we go on vacation next week.  Grrrrr!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Oh no, Dawg! I'm sorry. Wish I had a suggestion for you


----------



## jkath

oh dear dawg! I know that you can get temporary fill stuff (like bondo for teeth) at Walmart and most grocery stores. You poor thing!! 
PS: Costco should have to cover the costs - I got sick off of a burrito from there 15 years ago and they paid for the doctor visit which told me I had food poisoning.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks guys!  Unfortunately I threw the shell pieces away, not realizing my piece of tooth was gone.  Though I was able to save a piece of filling....how it stayed on my jacket, I have no idea.

Hmm. This tooth Bondo really interests me, will check Walmart.  Thanks, Jkath!  

I'd thought about trying an emery board or one of my Dremel attachments (minus the Dremel) to file down the razor-sharp edge of the leftover filling.  DH was saying how I'd probably need a cap, but I just don't have time for that next week.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks guys!  Unfortunately I threw the shell pieces away, not realizing my piece of tooth was gone.  Though I was able to save a piece of filling....how it stayed on my jacket, I have no idea.
> 
> Hmm. This tooth Bondo really interests me, will check Walmart.  Thanks, Jkath!
> 
> I'd thought about trying an emery board or one of my Dremel attachments (minus the Dremel) to file down the razor-sharp edge of the leftover filling.  DH was saying how I'd probably need a cap, but I just don't have time for that next week.


Oh no! I hope that Bondo stuff works for you. Just thinking about filing it smooth makes my teeth hurt.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Grrr. Got a handful of healthy Costco almonds, munching on them one at a time. Uh oh, I crunched on a piece of shell. OK, fished the tiny shell out of my mouth. Uh oh, another piece of shell. Threw it away too. Then my tongue touched a previously filled molar, and there's a big hole, part of my tooth is gone! The filling that's left has a razor edge, and while it doesn't hurt, it's uncomfortable. Called the dentist, got the answering machine, they don't work on Friday. And we go on vacation next week. Grrrrr!!


 
There is something to be said about buying in bulk as to name brands. You run the risk of getting those little pieces of shell in bulk bins. Name brands have the machinery to blow out these shell peices. But I still buy in bulk.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Oh no! I hope that Bondo stuff works for you. Just thinking about filing it smooth makes my teeth hurt.



Thanks Taxy. I used some marine grade filler to patch up our shower after the cleaning lady put a hole in the bottom of the shower by dropping something heavy.  I'm gonna look up the ingredients and see if it's food/tooth safe.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> There is something to be said about buying in bulk as to name brands. You run the risk of getting those little pieces of shell in bulk bins. Name brands have the machinery to blow out these shell peices. But I still buy in bulk.



These were in a sealed package, Addie.  I'd portioned some out, and had some in a ziplock in the fridge for snacking.  They're incredibly clean, I've never had pieces of shell.  I took out about 12 nuts.  The shell pieces were apparently stuck on one almond kernal.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Walgreen's also has tooth filler...I have a can of spackle...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Walgreen's also has tooth filler...I have a can of spackle...



Me too.  I also have various colors of wood putty.  Tooth's in the back, so no one will see it.

Just looked down the basement, can't find the aqua putty stuff.  Trip to Walmart/Walgreen's tomorrow.


----------



## Somebunny

Dawg, I have used that "temporary tooth filler". It works.  The one I have is Temparin by DenTek.  The ingredients are calcium sulphate, paraffin, zinc oxide powder, potassium aluminum, aluminum sulphate, aluminum phosphate, Eugenol and menthol.  It should be available at any drug store. (Hope you aren't allergic to "aluminum"  ). Good luck!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> These were in a sealed package, Addie. I'd portioned some out, and had some in a ziplock in the fridge for snacking. They're incredibly clean, I've never had pieces of shell. I took out about 12 nuts. The shell pieces were apparently stuck on one almond kernal.


 
Hazel nuts are like that. Almost impossible to remove all of the shell and certainly the skins.

Good luck with your tooth. Mine are sitting in water in the bathroom in case you might want to temporarily borrow them. All you friends have been so helpful with offers, I didn't want to feel left out.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie!

Thanks Bunny, will look for it!

And...I found it at the Dollar Store!  Yay!


----------



## Dawgluver

You guys are the best!  Got the tooth Bondo (DenTek, that Bunny recommended), rolled it into a ball, and stuck it in the hole.  My shredded tongue and I both thank you!  Will call the dentist Monday to see if he can get me in very soon.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The guy who never leaves the house is complaining that there is cat hair on all his black clothes...maybe I need to start complaining about the smell of cigarettes on my clothes.  Good grief, there's always been cat hair on everything...and he's been a smoker since I met him.  His retiring is making me crazy.


----------



## Dawgluver

{{{PF}}}  I have some beagle hair that I can send.  It's coarser than cat hair, and shows up well on black clothes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> {{{PF}}}  I have some beagle hair that I can send.  It's coarser than cat hair, and shows up well on black clothes.



LOL...I came home the other day with chihuahua hair all over my coat...Latté was making "stinky face" smelling my hands and she ignored me for the rest of the night.  She'll teach me to play with a dog behind her back.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> {{{PF}}}  I have some beagle hair that I can send.  It's coarser than cat hair, and shows up well on black clothes.


beagle hair


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The guy who never leaves the house is complaining that there is cat hair on all his black clothes...maybe I need to start complaining about the smell of cigarettes on my clothes. Good grief, there's always been cat hair on everything...and he's been a smoker since I met him. His retiring is making me crazy.


 
Tell him you will start worrying about the cat hair with the first fur ball he coughs up.


----------



## vitauta

husbands, upon retirement, can't help but spend some unwelcome time in their dw's hair at the beginning.  thankfully, it eventually all comes out in the wash....


----------



## Kylie1969

Dawgluver said:


> Grrr.  Got a handful of healthy Costco almonds, munching on them one at a time.  Uh oh, I crunched on a piece of shell.  OK, fished the tiny shell out of my mouth.  Uh oh, another piece of shell.  Threw it away too.  Then my tongue touched a previously filled molar, and there's a big hole, part of my tooth is gone!  The filling that's left has a razor edge, and while it doesn't hurt, it's uncomfortable.  Called the dentist, got the answering machine,  they don't work on Friday.  And we go on vacation next week.  Grrrrr!!



Ouch DL, not good at all, I hope you are not in any pain


----------



## MrsLMB

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The guy who never leaves the house is complaining that there is cat hair on all his black clothes...maybe I need to start complaining about the smell of cigarettes on my clothes. Good grief, there's always been cat hair on everything...and he's been a smoker since I met him. His retiring is making me crazy.


 
Lint roller and vacuum cleaner .. will keep his hands and mind busy


----------



## chopper

Sounds like Shreck could use his retirement time more wisely by vacuuming the furniture more often.   we have two golden retrievers in the house.  We all have a lint roller in our cars as well as one in each bedroom.  I wouldn't trade it for a home with no pets.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> Sounds like Shreck could use his retirement time more wisely by vacuuming the furniture more often.   we have two golden retrievers in the house.  We all have a lint roller in our cars as well as one in each bedroom.  I wouldn't trade it for a home with no pets.



One is never fully dressed without pet hair.


----------



## Dawgluver

Kylie1969 said:


> Ouch DL, not good at all, I hope you are not in any pain



Thanks Kylie, no pain other than annoyance!


----------



## Addie

chopper said:


> Sounds like Shreck could use his retirement time more wisely by vacuuming the furniture more often.  we have two golden retrievers in the house. We all have a lint roller in our cars as well as one in each bedroom. I wouldn't trade it for a home with no pets.


 
I don't know what Spike would have done after his wife died if he didn't have Teddy to give him a purpose in life. As much as I love that dog, I am also so grateful to him. 

A home with a pet tells me that the people who live there are capable of giving love.


----------



## chopper

Addie said:


> I don't know what Spike would have done after his wife died if he didn't have Teddy to give him a purpose in life. As much as I love that dog, I am also so grateful to him.
> 
> A home with a pet tells me that the people who live there are capable of giving love.



...and receiving love!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> Sounds like Shreck could use his retirement time more wisely by vacuuming the furniture more often.   we have two golden retrievers in the house.  We all have a lint roller in our cars as well as one in each bedroom.  I wouldn't trade it for a home with no pets.



That's what I was thinking...


----------



## Addie

I was starting to get stressed out. For two days (48 hours) I was unable to get a good solid sleep. I was beginning to worry if maybe I had insomnia. Fall asleep for 20 minutes, wake up. Get tired and very sleepy several hours later. Lay down. Wide awake. Or if I did manage to fall asleep, the phone, door knocking, etc. woke me right up before I could get into a deep sleep. Then this morning I could hardly stand up I was so sleepy. But I *had* to go shopping. I rushed around that store like it was on fire and I was looting the place. We left the house at seven and were home again by 7:45. Yet I managed to get everything I needed and was on my list. As soon as I got in the door, Spike put the groceries away and I was undressed and sound asleep before he left. I woke up at 7:30 tonight just in time to see Jeopardy. Spike was sitting at the computer and Teddy was sound asleep at my feet. I feel so much better. 

I feel so much better now. I put my cashew nuts inthe mini FP and had them for supper. I really need to eat something solid later on. They had a pork loin bone in roast on sale. But what I saw was not what I wanted.  So I passed on that and got a smoked shoulder instead. That will be for tomorrow. 

I am feeling human once again.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm doing much better now that I am sleeping better at night.  Glad you got some sleep, Addie!


----------



## Addie

Thank you PF. Unless I am allowed to sleep through until I wake up on my own, I am no good to the world. When I had my gastro surgery about 40 years ago, by day six I was exhausted. Someone was waking me everytime I got into a good sleep. You know hospitals are not run for the well being of the patient, but according to the schedule of the staff. Finally one day when my surgeon came in, I started sobbing. I told him I was so exhausted. No one would let me sleep longer than two hours. The next time I fell asleep, I slept for 19 hours straight. Any medications were to be given IV. NO ONE and that meant NO ONE was to wake me up short of a fire in the building. As long as they heard me snoring, they knew I was all right. They even moved out my roommate. From that day forward, I healed much faster. I bless that doctor still to this day.


----------



## taxlady

Today I have gotten approximately 10 spam to an email address that I have only given to Intuit. I am a QuickBooks® ProAdvisor and I use Intuit's professional tax software for my biz. grrr

I am so annoyed that this company (and other companies) can't treat my email address properly. This gives me more reason  to want to retire. Once I can dump QB and the pro tax software, I will be able to dump Windog and just run Linux.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Just got back from the grocery store again. Didn't look at my receipt until I got home the first time and saw that the Miracle Whip did not ring up on sale, (this happens alot at this store). The only good thing is that you get your money back and you get the item for free. I wonder how many people paid full price and didn't notice the mistake.


----------



## Kylie1969

The heat...I am having a whinge 

I am sick of it...it is meant to be Autumn now and yet it is still sooooo hot, we are having a 2 week heatwave and I want to see the end of this yukky Summer!


----------



## Andy M.

I've been striking out with SO in the dinner department this week.  Monday I made sausage and mushroom risotto which she didn't like.  Last night I made a skillet potato dinner with cheese, bacon, onion and peas.  She thought there were too many peas and too much bacon. 

Help me understand, what does 'too much bacon' mean?  I don't understand.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I've been striking out with SO in the dinner department this week. Monday I made sausage and mushroom risotto which she didn't like. Last night I made a skillet potato dinner with cheese, bacon, onion and peas. She thought there were too many peas and too much bacon.
> 
> Help me understand, what does 'too much bacon' mean? I don't understand.


 
There is no such thing as "to much bacon." It does not compute.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I've been striking out with SO in the dinner department this week.  Monday I made sausage and mushroom risotto which she didn't like.  Last night I made a skillet potato dinner with cheese, bacon, onion and peas.  She thought there were too many peas and too much bacon.
> 
> Help me understand, what does 'too much bacon' mean?  I don't understand.



"Danger Will Robinson...Danger Will Robinson!!!"


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> "Danger Will Robinson...Danger Will Robinson!!!"


 

 Thank you. Now where is Dr. Smith?


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> I've been striking out with SO in the dinner department this week.  Monday I made sausage and mushroom risotto which she didn't like.  Last night I made a skillet potato dinner with cheese, bacon, onion and peas.  She thought there were too many peas and too much bacon.
> 
> Help me understand, what does 'too much bacon' mean?  I don't understand.



Maybe she saw this article: http://www.businessinsider.com/sausages-and-bacon-now-linked-to-premature-death-2013-3


----------



## Andy M.

Heresy!  Why do they allow these crackpots on the internet.


----------



## vitauta

...a small price to pay....  but hey, this is about eating 2 1/2 lbs. of meat per week.  i consider myself an omnivore with marked carnivore tendencies, and i probably consume somewhat less than two lbs. of meat/fish in a week.  the occasional steak or pork binge (involving a full lb. portion) is as rare an event as it is memorable.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Well I have had a very annoying morning and it is only 5:25 am!

I got up this morning at 1:00am and checked my email.  I noticed that I had won an auction on Ebay so I went out to pay for the item and Paypal declined my payment authorization.  I thought I might have made a mistake because of the early hour and ran it again, another decline!  Then I noticed an email from Paypal informing me that I had reached some internal spending limit and I needed to verify my account by providing additional bank information or by opening a Paypal Mastercard.  I thought it might be some type of scam so I signed into my Paypal account and got the same message.  Since then I have been going round in circles with Paypal.  After 4 hours of this I got so aggravated I finally closed my Paypal account!  I hope the poor Ebay seller will allow me to send him a check, I hate to see him harmed in this.

I hate it when it is more difficult to spend my money than it was to earn it!


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> ...
> I hate it when it is more difficult to spend my money than it was to earn it!


You said a mouthful. Sorry to read that you had such a hard time with PayPal.


----------



## Addie

My PayPal account is tied into my savings account. I only keep five dollars in there. When I make a purchase, I just transfer the amount needed from my checking account and once PayPal pays for my purchase, my balance is back to five dollars. I have never had a request to tie it to a credit card account. The one thing I like about PayPal is that it is almost failsafe. I am not sure my bank even knows that I use my savings account for PayPal. 

Did you have any luck contacting them by phone?


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> My PayPal account is tied into my savings account. I only keep five dollars in there. When I make a purchase, I just transfer the amount needed from my checking account and once PayPal pays for my purchase, my balance is back to five dollars. I have never had a request to tie it to a credit card account. The one thing I like about PayPal is that it is almost failsafe. I am not sure my bank even knows that I use my savings account for PayPal.
> 
> Did you have any luck contacting them by phone?



yup!

The good news is that the person I was making my transaction with contacted me and agreed to accept a personal check.  I will pop that in the mail this morning.  I have a couple more transactions that I need to provide feedback on then I will close my Ebay account.

I am probably cutting off my nose to spite my face but, I'm gonna rock my new look!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> yup!
> 
> The good news is that the person I was making my transaction with contacted me and agreed to accept a personal check. I will pop that in the mail this morning. I have a couple more transactions that I need to provide feedback on then I will close my Ebay account.
> 
> I am probably cutting off my nose to spite my face but, I'm gonna rock my new look!


 
And think of the money you will be saving.


----------



## MrsLMB

Aunt Bea said:


> Well I have had a very annoying morning and it is only 5:25 am!
> 
> I got up this morning at 1:00am and checked my email. I noticed that I had won an auction on Ebay so I went out to pay for the item and Paypal declined my payment authorization. I thought I might have made a mistake because of the early hour and ran it again, another decline! Then I noticed an email from Paypal informing me that I had reached some internal spending limit and I needed to verify my account by providing additional bank information or by opening a Paypal Mastercard. I thought it might be some type of scam so I signed into my Paypal account and got the same message. Since then I have been going round in circles with Paypal. After 4 hours of this I got so aggravated I finally closed my Paypal account! I hope the poor Ebay seller will allow me to send him a check, I hate to see him harmed in this.
> 
> I hate it when it is more difficult to spend my money than it was to earn it!


 

Oh boy .. I completely understand your frustration.  

The same thing happened to me almost 2 years ago.  

They already had all of my information but would not let me access my account.  

The bottom line was that they wanted everything they already had plus another credit card or for me to open their credit card.  I refused.  

To this day I still have not provided them any more information and will not either.

I can use my PayPal account so long as there are funds in there.  However, they will not let me add funds to it from my bank account.  The only reason I didn't close my account is that I get automatic payments into it from a survey company I work with.

Now it will be interesting to see what happens the end of this month as that is when my current card with them expires.

They have just gotten a little too big for the britches.  They do not need more information and they will not get more from me nor will I indulge them in using their credit card.


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> Oh boy .. I completely understand your frustration.
> 
> The same thing happened to me almost 2 years ago.
> 
> They already had all of my information but would not let me access my account.
> 
> The bottom line was that they wanted everything they already had plus another credit card or for me to open their credit card. I refused.
> 
> To this day I still have not provided them any more information and will not either.
> 
> I can use my PayPal account so long as there are funds in there. However, they will not let me add funds to it from my bank account. The only reason I didn't close my account is that I get automatic payments into it from a survey company I work with.
> 
> Now it will be interesting to see what happens the end of this month as that is when my current card with them expires.
> 
> They have just gotten a little too big for the britches. They do not need more information and they will not get more from me nor will I indulge them in using their credit card.


 
I have to agree with you. You wouldn't tie your mortgage payment in with your car payment. And one cash account should not be tied to another. PayPal can have no say as to whether I add funds to my savings account. Or even what the balance of my savings account is. As long as there are enough funds to cover my purchase. Just for giggles I think my next purchase will be through PayPal. I wonder if I to will get declined. I certainly don't want their credit card. And when I tell them my age, I wouldn't be surprised if they hung up on me. They would probably figure I won't live long enough to make any payments after running the card up. Hmmm. Now there's a thought.


----------



## Zhizara

I'm frustrated this morning.  My TV service is still showing standard time.  I noticed it yesterday when I went to change my clocks.

According to the built in TV Guide, it is still standard time, and the shows match.

I had hoped it would have been corrected overnight, but no such luck.  I did re-initialize a couple of times, no luck there either.

I'm waiting for a reply to the email I sent them yesterday.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I'm frustrated this morning. My TV service is still showing standard time. I noticed it yesterday when I went to change my clocks.
> 
> According to the built in TV Guide, it is still standard time, and the shows match.
> 
> I had hoped it would have been corrected overnight, but no such luck. I did re-initialize a couple of times, no luck there either.
> 
> I'm waiting for a reply to the email I sent them yesterday.


 
Be patient. I never adjust my clock. Only because I know it drives my son nuts. So he changes it when he shows up. And besides, come Fall, it will be right again.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have to remember to change the clock in the car, that one messes me up if it's not right.

Time to go fight with the bank...for some reason they hate it when I make a payment on Shrek's credit card...I always get a hassle.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have to remember to change the clock in the car, that one messes me up if it's not right.
> 
> Time to go fight with the bank...for some reason they hate it when I make a payment on Shrek's credit card...I always get a hassle.


 
Ask them if they would like to make the payment for you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Ask them if they would like to make the payment for you.



They act like I'm trying to steal money from him...heck, if I wanted to mess up his card...I'd get the card out of his wallet and go run it up.  It's even worse if I try to pay it off.


----------



## Zhizara

Maybe you could talk to a Supervisor and find out what you need to do to get his account to be a joint account.

My Mom added me to her charge account, and arranged for me to have my own card on the same account with my name on it.


----------



## Claire

I am still more than a little frustrated with hospital bills.  I don't know what to do but sit and wait.  The hard part is discussing it with my husband.  Can we take them to the tax guy.  I rather doubt it, especially considering that I haven't gotten all the bills yet.  there is still something like five figures outstanding.  I have no idea how much my two insurance policies are going to pay.  My problem is .... pay it, don't pay it, but I sure as heck couldn't get away with saying, oh, gee, in a year or two I'll think maybe i'll pay my premium.  I'm paying my premiums, they cannot be bothered to pay the hospital so I can be billed for the rest?  Anyway, you cannot take a deduction on a bill you haven't paid because this bill hasn't been presented to you for payment.  You know that painting, "the scream?"


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Maybe you could talk to a Supervisor and find out what you need to do to get his account to be a joint account.
> 
> My Mom added me to her charge account, and arranged for me to have my own card on the same account with my name on it.



Yes, we discussed that today.  Next Monday we will be going to see about a joint card.  I already have my own card for the joint checking, both of us should be on the credit card, too!  I don't want to have to build "my own" credit in the future.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, we discussed that today. Next Monday we will be going to see about a joint card. I already have my own card for the joint checking, both of us should be on the credit card, too! I don't want to have to build "my own" credit in the future.


 
*A little known fact.* Banks and other financial institutions have someone read the obits in the morning and if any of their customers' name show up, they check to see if it is a joint account. If it isn't, they freeze the account immediately and you have to get a court order and go through probate to be able to get access to it. That included safe deposit boxes also. For that reason, my daughter's name is on all my accounts. More than likely, your spouse will need some cash upon your death. Being able to gain access to their account if there is more money in it than yours can save the day for the surviving spouse. Just thought you would like to know.

How do I know this? I took a six week course in banking. At the end of the course when I discovered how little bank employees get paid, I decided to go back to being an Executive Secretary. Also did you know if you are $10 or less overdrawn for a check that has insufficient funds in the account, the bank will usually honor it and take out the difference at your next deposit. You will still be charge any applicable fees. Just don't make a habit of it. They have the discretion of closing your account and give you a check for the balance.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, we discussed that today.  Next Monday we will be going to see about a joint card.  I already have my own card for the joint checking, both of us should be on the credit card, too!  I don't want to have to build "my own" credit in the future.



Something to check on.  If you're joint with Shreck on a credit card, I don't think you get any credit rating benefit.  Many married women who are widowed or divorced find they have no credit because they never had their own credit.

If you each have your own separate credit card accounts with the same bank, you can often link them so you are able to do transactions on each others accounts.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Something to check on.  If you're joint with Shreck on a credit card, I don't think you get any credit rating benefit.  Many married women who are widowed or divorced find they have no credit because they never had their own credit.
> 
> If you each have your own separate credit card accounts with the same bank, you can often link them so you are able to do transactions on each others accounts.



The problem here is, he got the credit card on my credit rating, everything we have except this credit card we are joints owners of, i.e. the car, the checking account, the bills.  I have been paying for everything on my own since he retired 5 years ago.  So, you are saying I should go get my own credit card?


----------



## Andy M.

I think it worth discussing this with the bank/financial adviser to understand the differences.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, Andy!


----------



## Snip 13

I need a holiday! Without children lol!


----------



## Alix

Addie said:


> *A little known fact.* Banks and other financial institutions have someone read the obits in the morning and if any of their customers' name show up, they check to see if it is a joint account. If it isn't, they freeze the account immediately and you have to get a court order and go through probate to be able to get access to it. That included safe deposit boxes also.



Are you sure this still applies Addie? My father died in 2004 and some of his accounts were active until just last year when we found the last one and rolled it over to Mom. Nothing was frozen though. Not credit cards, not bank accounts, everything remained active until we provided a death certificate to the bank, the phone company etc etc. 

My petty vent of the day is that I have so many little chores I'm avoiding doing ANY of them. LOL. Stupid internet being so stupidly entertaining!


----------



## CWS4322

I wrote to the mayor today. I'm a bit peeved that I put out one bag of garbage every 6 months and pay the same on my property tax bill as my neighbour who puts out 6 bags every 2 weeks. I recycle, compost, and burn (I have a woodstove to heat my house). I don't buy a lot of canned or bottled goods. Why can't the city do a "tag per bag" thing so those who don't put out a lot of garbage don't have to pay???? Oh, and my green bin, that's what I use to store the girls' food. My three composters work just fine for "biogradeable" waste.


----------



## taxlady

Alix said:


> Are you sure this still applies Addie? My father died in 2004 and some of his accounts were active until just last year when we found the last one and rolled it over to Mom. Nothing was frozen though. Not credit cards, not bank accounts, everything remained active until we provided a death certificate to the bank, the phone company etc etc.
> 
> My petty vent of the day is that I have so many little chores I'm avoiding doing ANY of them. LOL. Stupid internet being so stupidly entertaining!


I'm pretty sure that here in Canada those banking rules vary by province.

I know that, in Quebec, they used to freeze safety deposit boxes immediately they were aware of the death of *any* of the owners of the box, even if it was joint. Used to cause a lot of trouble when people had put life insurance policies in the box. They stopped doing that a number of years ago.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The problem here is, he got the credit card on my credit rating, everything we have except this credit card we are joints owners of, i.e. the car, the checking account, the bills.  I have been paying for everything on my own since he retired 5 years ago.  So, you are saying I should go get my own credit card?


YES!


----------



## CWS4322

Zhizara said:


> Maybe you could talk to a Supervisor and find out what you need to do to get his account to be a joint account.
> 
> My Mom added me to her charge account, and arranged for me to have my own card on the same account with my name on it.


I got a secondary AmEX card for my mom years ago. The bill comes to me, but she can use it up to $500 (or is it $1000)? I'd have to check. Maybe get a second card in your name linked to the same account? But, you need to establish your own credit rating, so yes, you need your own cc, PF.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I'm pretty sure that here in Canada those banking rules vary by province.
> 
> I know that, in Quebec, they used to freeze safety deposit boxes immediately they were aware of the death of *any* of the owners of the box, even if it was joint. Used to cause a lot of trouble when people had put life insurance policies in the box. They stopped doing that a number of years ago.


 
I am sure Canada law differs from the U.S. My sister had a safe deposit box. She put me down as co-owner and gave me a key. When she died I was able to go into the bank on the day of her death and open the box and take out the money she had stashed in there. Her daughter was ripping mad. I knew about the box and she didn't. She insinuated that I kept some of the cash and didn't hand over all of it to her. I haven't spoken to her since the funeral. For all she knew that could have been my money and not her mother's. Her bank account was frozen. All she received each month was her SS check. When she received it each month, she took out all but $5 and placed most of it in the box. She knew about the frozen accounts on death. When she needed cash, she would go into the bank and take some cash out of her box. To pay her bills, she would give me the cash, I would deposit it in my own account and write out the checks for her. 

If her kids knew about that box, I honestly believe her life would have been in danger. There was a lot of skullduggery going on between the two of us that her kids had no hint of. And still don't. By the time of her death, there was over $10,000.00 in that box. A little this month, a little the next month. All gift monies went into the box. Over the years it added up. It paid for her funeral.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> I got a secondary AmEX card for my mom years ago. The bill comes to me, but she can use it up to $500 (or is it $1000)? I'd have to check. Maybe get a second card in your name linked to the same account? But, you need to establish your own credit rating, so yes, you need your own cc, PF.


 
She's right PF. You each need to have your own credit card with your spouse as the secondary card holder. That way each of you build your own credit rating.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> I am sure Canada law differs from the U.S. My sister had a safe deposit box. She put me down as co-owner and gave me a key. When she died I was able to go into the bank on the day of her death and open the box and take out the money she had stashed in there. Her daughter was ripping mad. I knew about the box and she didn't. She insinuated that I kept some of the cash and didn't hand over all of it to her. I haven't spoken to her since the funeral. For all she knew that could have been my money and not her mother's. Her bank account was frozen. All she received each month was her SS check. When she received it each month, she took out all but $5 and placed most of it in the box. She knew about the frozen accounts on death. When she needed cash, she would go into the bank and take some cash out of her box. To pay her bills, she would give me the cash, I would deposit it in my own account and write out the checks for her.
> 
> If her kids knew about that box, I honestly believe her life would have been in danger. There was a lot of skullduggery going on between the two of us that her kids had no hint of. And still don't. By the time of her death, there was over $10,000.00 in that box. A little this month, a little the next month. All gift monies went into the box. Over the years it added up. It paid for her funeral.


My dad put my brother and I on their safe deposit box for this reason. We can access it if s/thing happens to both of them.


----------



## Alix

I'm joint user and POA on all Mom's accounts EXCEPT for her safety deposit box. This meant a very large headache and a late lunch date when I went to clear it and close it out last week. Sheesh. I was patient, because honestly, I'd rather they were TOO careful with Mom's stuff than not careful enough. 

I'm not sure I'd have been happy with things getting slammed shut upon Dad's death. That would have made for some significant hassles for us as executors and trying to settle all the affairs. Glad that the laws here seem to be a little different than they are for you all. 

No more vents for me today, I decided the most energetic thing I'm doing today is a quick grocery shop.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> She's right PF. You each need to have your own credit card with your spouse as the secondary card holder. That way each of you build your own credit rating.



I have my own credit rating, I just don't have a credit card.  I can walk into any dealership and pick out a new car, I could get myself a mortgage on a house if I wanted one.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have my own credit rating, I just don't have a credit card.  I can walk into any dealership and pick out a new car, I could get myself a mortgage on a house if I wanted one.


I still think it's a good idea to have your own credit card. I have several and Stirling has two. We are both on all of them. Sometimes credit cards get rejected for stupid reasons, then it's handy to have another one.

Before I bought a car, I used to rent cars from Enterprise often. Well, they process their cards through their US head office. Sometimes one of my cards would get rejected because I had used it that day in Canada, so it couldn't possibly be me, using it in the US. Other times, I would get a card rejected later the day I had used it at Enterprise, 'cause I couldn't possibly be in Quebec if I had used the card in St. Louis earlier that day.


----------



## Addie

One of the good laws in this country is if you have an life insurance policy and designate a beneficiary, then your estate does not need to go through probate. That beneficiary is considered by law your designated executor. They can open that deposit box without a court order.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> One of the good laws in this country is if you have an life insurance policy and designate a beneficiary, then your estate does not need to go through probate. That beneficiary is considered by law your designated executor. They can open that deposit box without a court order.



Addie, probate laws vary by state. Also, a life insurance policy is separate from the estate, so even if a beneficiary receives the life insurance proceeds, the rest of the estate may need to go through probate. If there is a will designating an executor, that will not be superceded by the life insurance beneficiary.


----------



## Snip 13

Had the worst pain ever last night. Felt like a hot poker shot through my right lower back. Feeling better and atleast I know what the cause was. I passed a huge kidney stone. It still hurts but less. Probably have some kidney infection too.
Just glad it's not something more serious. Big relief!!!!!

I've passed stones before but much smaller ones, the pain was much worse this time.


----------



## Addie

Snip 13 said:


> Had the worst pain ever last night. Felt like a hot poker shot through my right lower back. Feeling better and atleast I know what the cause was. I passed a huge kidney stone. It still hurts but less. Probably have some kidney infection too.
> Just glad it's not something more serious. Big relief!!!!!
> 
> I've passed stones before but much smaller ones, the pain was much worse this time.


 
Now there is one thing I don't have wrong with me. My kidneys are nice and healthy. Good enough for transplant.


----------



## Snip 13

Addie said:


> Now there is one thing I don't have wrong with me. My kidneys are nice and healthy. Good enough for transplant.


 
I have a long list of messed up insides 
My liver is perfect though! 
They say God gives you problems you can handle, so I must be pretty bad a$$ 
I'm much better today 
I'm not complaining, it could have been worse!


----------



## CWS4322

Alix said:


> I'm joint user and POA on all Mom's accounts EXCEPT for her safety deposit box. This meant a very large headache and a late lunch date when I went to clear it and close it out last week. Sheesh. I was patient, because honestly, I'd rather they were TOO careful with Mom's stuff than not careful enough.
> 
> I'm not sure I'd have been happy with things getting slammed shut upon Dad's death. That would have made for some significant hassles for us as executors and trying to settle all the affairs. Glad that the laws here seem to be a little different than they are for you all.
> 
> No more vents for me today, I decided the most energetic thing I'm doing today is a quick grocery shop.


When a friend's dad died, her mom was the one who was declared dead. I can't remember how this happened. Anyway, she didn't know she was legally "dead" until she went to use her credit card to pay for her newspaper subscription and it was declined because the cardholder was deceased. Needless to say, she was not. It took six months to fix that. She's still alive today 10 years later.


----------



## jharris

CWS4322 said:
			
		

> When a friend's dad died, her mom was the one who was declared dead. I can't remember how this happened. Anyway, she didn't know she was legally "dead" until she went to use her credit card to pay for her newspaper subscription and it was declined because the cardholder was deceased. Needless to say, she was not. It took six months to fix that. She's still alive today 10 years later.



Your tax dollars at work...Eeek!


----------



## Dawgluver

My drivers license was up for renewal, so I went to the local DMV.  OMG.  Worst. Picture. Ever.  The temporary is in black and white, I shudder to see the color one they send me.  I'm gonna draw on a paper bag, or put a tiny flip up sticky note on it.  Hideous.  

Can't believe the woman who took it didn't show it to me and ask if I wanted a do-over.  And I'm stuck with it for 5 years!  Gah!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> My drivers license was up for renewal, so I went to the local DMV.  OMG.  Worst. Picture. Ever.  The temporary is in black and white, I shudder to see the color one they send me.  I'm gonna draw on a paper bag, or put a tiny flip up sticky note on it.  Hideous.
> 
> Can't believe the woman who took it didn't show it to me and ask if I wanted a do-over.  And I'm stuck with it for 5 years!  Gah!


I once had the world's worst photo taken at Costco. I was looking at the black and white version of the photo. Then I found out that my Costco AMEX was going to use the same picture! 

I got the AMEX card and the pic was great in colour. Phew. Maybe you will luck out too.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I once had the world's worst photo taken at Costco. I was looking at the black and white version of the photo. Then I found out that my Costco AMEX was going to use the same picture!
> 
> I got the AMEX card and the pic was great in colour. Phew. Maybe you will luck out too.



Sure hope so.  I see myself everyday in the mirror, and I've never looked this scary, AFAIK.  Thanks, TL!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Sure hope so.  I see myself everyday in the mirror, and I've never looked this scary, AFAIK.  Thanks, TL!



My Costco card has the first picture taken with no teeth... Back when I was still getting used to them.


----------



## Snip 13

Dawgluver said:


> My drivers license was up for renewal, so I went to the local DMV. OMG. Worst. Picture. Ever. The temporary is in black and white, I shudder to see the color one they send me. I'm gonna draw on a paper bag, or put a tiny flip up sticky note on it. Hideous.
> 
> Can't believe the woman who took it didn't show it to me and ask if I wanted a do-over. And I'm stuck with it for 5 years! Gah!


 


I'm due for a new drivers license thank goodness!!! My last one looks bloody aweful. I was underweight and had just shaved my head in support of my sister. Also had my glasses on. Makes me look like Eustace from Courage the cowardly dog 
Last time I got pulled over the traffic officer said the person in the picture can't be me because it's an old man and I'm a young woman. I said some very colourful words that day


----------



## tinlizzie

I was putting the water in the microwave to heat for my morning instant coffee (sorry, coffee-lovers -- I know that's painful to think of for you professional coffee-drinkers) when I noticed that the clock on the m/w wasn't lit.  So I unplugged the m/w and moved it to another socket on the counter.  Still nothing and now the under-the-counter light doesn't work.  Moved it again and plugged it into the outlet where the radio (which was playing) was plugged in.  Silence - killed the radio - and no light on the m/w.  So now what?  I suppose if I moved it I could kill another outlet and I'm afraid to try.  I tried pushing the GFI button to no effect.

Can m/w's be repaired?  It's only a year or so old - small and medium-priced, but still hope there's something to be done.  I might should have put this in the "tips for home and kitchen," but I just hogged that thread with another (smaller) problem.  Ideas, clever and resourceful folk?  At this point I can't conceive life without a microwave.


----------



## Dawgluver

tinlizzie said:


> I was putting the water in the microwave to heat for my morning instant coffee (sorry, coffee-lovers -- I know that's painful to think of for you professional coffee-drinkers) when I noticed that the clock on the m/w wasn't lit.  So I unplugged the m/w and moved it to another socket on the counter.  Still nothing and now the under-the-counter light doesn't work.  Moved it again and plugged it into the outlet where the radio (which was playing) was plugged in.  Silence - killed the radio - and no light on the m/w.  So now what?  I suppose if I moved it I could kill another outlet and I'm afraid to try.  I tried pushing the GFI button to no effect.
> 
> Can m/w's be repaired?  It's only a year or so old - small and medium-priced, but still hope there's something to be done.  I might should have put this in the "tips for home and kitchen," but I just hogged that thread with another (smaller) problem.  Ideas, clever and resourceful folk?  At this point I can't conceive life without a microwave.



Did you trip the breaker, Tin?  Check the box in the basement.  And if your micro is only a year or so old, it might still be under warrenty.  If you saved the receipt, you might be able to take it back and exchange it.  I think MWs can be repaired, but if it's tripping your breaker, I would have an electrician look at it.


----------



## tinlizzie

Thanks, Dawg.  I'll go out right now and look.


----------



## tinlizzie

Right on, Dawg!  One of the breakers was in that half and half position, so I flipped it to the left then back to the right -- on, like all the others.  However, as I had walked past the phone (also on the kitchen counter) on the way to the box, the phone light was off, too.  I hadn't noticed that.  So on the way back, yippee, the phone light was back on.  Then I plugged the radio back into its outlet.  Yippee #2.  But when I took the radio over to the original offending outlet and plugged it in - nada.  Likewise the under-the-counter light in that corner still doesn't work.  Hope you're still there, Dawg.  What do I do next?


----------



## Andy M.

Did you check the other breakers?


----------



## tinlizzie

They were all lined up, Andy, and other stuff still works.

Sigh.  My kids are picking me up to go have lunch today and it's time to leave.  May some miracle occur while I'm gone and everything's back to normal when I get back.

Meanwhile, thanks for yours, Dawg's and any and all other suggestions.

Chow.


----------



## Dawgluver

Glad some work, Tin!  Maybe try flipping the other switches back and forth.  You might try plugging the MW into a heavy-duty outlet, like the one for your stove, fridge, or washing  machine if you can reach it, to see if it works.  Just a thought, but the MW may be too powerful for the regular outlets.  I'm no electrician, someone else will know better.


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:


> Glad some work, Tin!  Maybe try flipping the other switches back and forth.  You might try plugging the MW into a heavy-duty outlet, like the one for your stove, fridge, or washing  machine if you can reach it, to see if it works.  Just a thought, but the MW may be too powerful for the regular outlets.  I'm no electrician, someone else will know better.



The 220 outlet may be too powerful for the microwave!  I think that could be dangerous to try.  Also, the plugs are different.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> The 220 outlet may be too powerful for the microwave!  I think that could be dangerous to try.  Also, the plugs are different.



Told ya I wasn't an electrician!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The Microwave may have blown the outlets, you may need to replace outlets and microwave.  I don't play with electricity...I leave that to electricians.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> The 220 outlet may be too powerful for the microwave!  I think that could be dangerous to try.  Also, the plugs are different.


Yes, it woul be too powerful, but that's okay - plugs for 110V  won't fit in a 220V outlets, in NA at least.

Is there a breaker or fuse on the microwave itself? Never mind. The MW is obviously drawing power if it's tripping the circuit breaker.


----------



## tinlizzie

Back from lunch and happy & grateful to see all the new posts in answer to my problem.  Went to lunch with my son & his wife -- he's usually my go-to for stuff like this but he had just last week replaced the float in the water treatment tank and I was reluctant to bug him again.  But he went out to the garage & actually, Andy, did find another half-tripped breaker.  Set it to rights first, then lunched, and when we came home he did some more looking (at what, I don't rightly know).  Bottom line, it was his opinion, which I trust implicitly, to get another m/w.  So I'll go back into my household receipts and see if I can find any warranty information, and failing that just go ahead and buy a new one.  I do m/w so much that I value having one and will end up paying much less (one purchase price) than the bill (every month) for my TV dish service.

Bless your hearts, y'all, for the help.

(to be continued, probably at Target)


----------



## Claire

I am so angry.  Just spent a fair amount of money that was a gift, to replace my desk top computer with two laptops.  To do this I had to go from Windows 7 to 8.  I hated it.  But today took the cake.  All of a sudden, I cannot use email at all on my laptop.  Period.  I've tried everything.  I haven't even had the damned thing for a full week.  In order to do email, I have to come to my desk top.  So what is the point of owning the damned thing?  And I can use this web site on my desk top, but not on my lap top.  Well, that was before email crashed and burned and I cannot do anything on the lap top.  Oh, this was supposed to make my life SOOO much BETTTERR.  It is pure aitch E double hockey sticks.  Grrrrrrrr.....


----------



## chopper

Claire said:


> I am so angry.  Just spent a fair amount of money that was a gift, to replace my desk top computer with two laptops.  To do this I had to go from Windows 7 to 8.  I hated it.  But today took the cake.  All of a sudden, I cannot use email at all on my laptop.  Period.  I've tried everything.  I haven't even had the damned thing for a full week.  In order to do email, I have to come to my desk top.  So what is the point of owning the damned thing?  And I can use this web site on my desk top, but not on my lap top.  Well, that was before email crashed and burned and I cannot do anything on the lap top.  Oh, this was supposed to make my life SOOO much BETTTERR.  It is pure aitch E double hockey sticks.  Grrrrrrrr.....



So sorry Claire.  I hope you can get this straightened out.


----------



## Dawgluver

Claire said:


> I am so angry.  Just spent a fair amount of money that was a gift, to replace my desk top computer with two laptops.  To do this I had to go from Windows 7 to 8.  I hated it.  But today took the cake.  All of a sudden, I cannot use email at all on my laptop.  Period.  I've tried everything.  I haven't even had the damned thing for a full week.  In order to do email, I have to come to my desk top.  So what is the point of owning the damned thing?  And I can use this web site on my desk top, but not on my lap top.  Well, that was before email crashed and burned and I cannot do anything on the lap top.  Oh, this was supposed to make my life SOOO much BETTTERR.  It is pure aitch E double hockey sticks.  Grrrrrrrr.....



I feel for you, Claire.  So annoying!  

Hopefully some of the computer savvy folks here will have ideas.  My new work laptop has done some aggravating things too, sometimes wiping out entire paragraphs of what I've written, so I have to start over.  And I was unable to get emails for a couple weeks, turned out it was a server issue.


----------



## CWS4322

I want Windows XP back! I hate Windows 7. I have XP on my stand-alone, but my laptops have Windows 7. I so don't want to go to 8. I want an in-house IT person!!!! I feel for you, Claire. Hopefully s/one can fix it. I lost my email for a day--it was there (meaning all those emails I keep in my inbox), and then it was gone, and then it was back. It was my provider that was the problem (switching servers). I was in a panic--I needed those emails!


----------



## Addie

I have Windows 7 also. I too would love to have XP back. I had that system down to the last dotted I. But I have gotten used to 7 and can live with it. Fortunately for me I have a computer wizard handy. My son Spike. Bless his little big heart. I have finally learned to listen to him when he says, "Don't do anything without asking me first.


----------



## taxlady

So, why don't you guys switch to Linux? I would, but there isn't any professional tax software for Linux and I support people who use QuickBooks®, which doesn't run on Linux.

Browsers, email, MS Office compatible document, spreadsheet, etc. is all available for free on Linux.


----------



## Andy M.

...or just buy a Mac.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> ...or just buy a Mac.


 
Andy remember the First National Bank of Boston? When they sold the employee restaurant, I had the temp job of teaching everyone how to enter their purchases onto a computer. They were doing everything manual. They didn't even have a computer in the restaurant office. So the first thing I recommended was that they purchase Mac Computers. Most of the folks in the office had been there for years and were reluctant to learn how to use a computer. I told them that it was much easier to use then Windows. They took my suggestion and bought about 15 Mac Computers. The older workers loved them. Some of them wanted to even buy one for their homes. And the younger workers couldn't believe how much easier they were to use than their Windows they had at home.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> ...or just buy a Mac.


Well, yes there is that option, but Macs are so much more expensive.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I spent over 45 minutes with a software IT, with him telling me it was the "gateway" software i was using that wad at fault.  Two minutes after I hung up, he calls back and tells me it was on their end after all...a patch they had applied after 5 PM their time, forgetting that people in the real world do keep working after 5 PM in the rest of the country.    When he asked me if there was anything else he could do for me, I suggested he could do my Wal-mart shopping...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I spent over 45 minutes with a software IT, with him telling me it was the "gateway" software i was using that wad at fault.  Two minutes after I hung up, he calls back and tells me it was on their end after all...a patch they had applied after 5 PM their time, forgetting that people in the real world do keep working after 5 PM in the rest of the country.    When he asked me if there was anything else he could do for me, *I suggested he could do my Wal-mart shopping...*


*
*


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Well, yes there is that option, but Macs are so much more expensive.



Yes.  When was the last time you heard a Mac owner complain that his computer was giving them grief?


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I spent over 45 minutes with a software IT, with him telling me it was the "gateway" software i was using that wad at fault. Two minutes after I hung up, he calls back and tells me it was on their end after all...a patch they had applied after 5 PM their time, forgetting that people in the real world do keep working after 5 PM in the rest of the country. When he asked me if there was anything else he could do for me, I suggested he could do my Wal-mart shopping...


 
You are so fresh. Just the way I like you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> You are so fresh. Just the way I like you.



He surprised me by asking what we needed at Wal-mart...


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Yes.  When was the last time you heard a Mac owner complain that his computer was giving them grief?


That's true, but when is the last time you heard that from a Linux user, except the real geeks?


----------



## Kylie1969

taxlady said:


> Well, yes there is that option, but Macs are so much more expensive.



I have the latest Mac Mini, they are very good


----------



## Snip 13

Feeling just a tad sorry for myself! I am positively grreeeeeeennnnn  Think I may have given myself food poisoning, my guts feel inside out, the cramps are killing me!
Oh for the love of all that's good in this world please someone shoot me!
Daniel is fine and he shared dinner with me but the kid's got a cast iron stomach. He could lick a dead cat and go for ice cream after. Both my kids are tough as nails and would probably be able to dumpster dive without as much as a tummy ache lol!
I'm going to lay down, too scared to sleep before the worst is over. I don't sleep, I go into a mini coma so best I stay up till I know the coast is clear!


----------



## vitauta

what did you have to eat, snipper?  you don't want to go to sleep if you're  nauseous and might get sick.  two people i knew from work died from choking on their vomit.  it is a more common occurrence than people realize. i think a service dog would be a good fit for you, snip.  take care....


----------



## Snip 13

vitauta said:


> what did you have to eat, snipper? you don't want to go to sleep if you're nauseous and might get sick. two people i knew from work died from choking on their vomit. it is a more common occurrence than people realize. i think a service dog would be a good fit for you, snip. take care....


 
Thank you Vit 
I had an omelet. Must be a dodgy egg  I'm still up, dosed myself with medical silver. Not much left in my stomach so I should be able to sleep soon. Having some ginger tea to ease the nausea.

Feel pretty crappy but I'll be ok. Maybe it's a good thing that I have a very sensitive stomach, my dinner hardly hit bottom before I realized something's wrong.


----------



## Dawgluver

Yes, Snip, was it all the beets?  Feel better soon!


----------



## Snip 13

Dawgluver said:


> Yes, Snip, was it all the beets? Feel better soon!


 

Don't make me laugh my stomach hurts!
I want my mommy


----------



## Snip 13

Thank goodness for laptops! You guys are at least keeping me from sleeping before I should.
When I go I wanna go out kicking and screaming, not choking on eggs lol!


----------



## Snip 13

Silver rules! I'm all better, just damn tired!


----------



## chopper

Snip 13 said:


> Silver rules! I'm all better, just damn tired!



Glad you are feeling better.  Take good care!


----------



## Snip 13

chopper said:


> Glad you are feeling better. Take good care!


 
Thank you Chopper 
It's a big relief that it passed so quick, I feel a ton better. Just a good nights rest will sort me out!


----------



## chopper

Snip 13 said:


> Thank you Chopper
> It's a big relief that it passed so quick, I feel a ton better. Just a good nights rest will sort me out!



Is it almost time for us to tuck you in over there?  Sleep tight.


----------



## Snip 13

chopper said:


> Is it almost time for us to tuck you in over there? Sleep tight.


 
Please Ma can I stay up a bit longer? 

It's only 18:20


----------



## chopper

Snip 13 said:


> Please Ma can I stay up a bit longer?
> 
> It's only 18:20



Ok, but you had better get to bed early tonight!


----------



## Snip 13

chopper said:


> Ok, but you had better get to bed early tonight!


 
Fine  I'll go  at 8:30pm.


----------



## chopper

Snip 13 said:


> Fine  I'll go  at 8:30pm.



Good girl!  Feel better!


----------



## Snip 13

Thank you Chopper  That's very kind of you.


----------



## Addie

Snip 13 said:


> Fine  I'll go  at 8:30pm.


 
You know the rules. No staying up late on a school night.


----------



## bakechef

My laptop is a little long in the tooth.  It's still a dual core machine, and in good condition so I'm trying to breathe some new life into it.  Well lately technology hates me, I'm convinced of it. 

I put in a new hard drive, everything was going well, then shortly later the fan quit.  I took a panel off the bottom and have been using a laptop cooler to keep it from shutting down, not the most convenient solution, but it worked.  Today the new fan came in the mail (a $7 fix, YIPPIE), got it in, it works, keeping the machine cool.  An hour later, the NEW hard drive failed!!!  

So here I am with the old hard drive in, it's cluttered and sluggish, but the machine is still working, could be worse I suppose!

Over the last month I've had to fix two other computers in the house, luckily since I can do it myself, the fixes have been cheap.


----------



## taxlady

Bakechef, I would get an external hard drive. They aren't expensive nowadays and then you can use it when you eventually upgrade the laptop.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> Bakechef, I would get an external hard drive. They aren't expensive nowadays and then you can use it when you eventually upgrade the laptop.



I'd put the new drive in to make the machine "fresh", I made the old laptop drive into an external and mounted it on the network, so i'd still have access to the files.  Now I'll wait for the new drive, and set up the new operating system all over again!  Oh, well....


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> I'd put the new drive in to make the machine "fresh", I made the old laptop drive into an external and mounted it on the network, so i'd still have access to the files.  Now I'll wait for the new drive, and set up the new operating system all over again!  Oh, well....


What a pain in the patooty.


----------



## Snip 13

Addie said:


> You know the rules. No staying up late on a school night.


 


31 and I actually listened too! Went to bed at 8 with Daniel, feels good to get 10 hours sleep. No wonder Daniel has so much energy!


----------



## Addie

I know the feeling. About twice a week, I get tired enough to sleep ten or more hours straight through. But when I wake up, I am wide awake. Don't even need stretching time.


----------



## Snip 13

Addie said:


> I know the feeling. About twice a week, I get tired enough to sleep ten or more hours straight through. But when I wake up, I am wide awake. Don't even need stretching time.


 
Now I'm sitting here counting the minutes till Daniel wakes up 
It's school holiday so he gets to stay up till 8 and wake up when he wants. His bedtime is 7pm and Caitlin's 8pm on school nights.
Think I'll go get another cup of coffee.


----------



## chopper

Snip 13 said:


> Now I'm sitting here counting the minutes till Daniel wakes up
> It's school holiday so he gets to stay up till 8 and wake up when he wants. His bedtime is 7pm and Caitlin's 8pm on school nights.
> Think I'll go get another cup of coffee.



I'm glad you were able to get a good night's sleep, and also that you were able to enjoy some quiet time before the kids woke up.  See, sometimes mom does know best.


----------



## Snip 13

chopper said:


> I'm glad you were able to get a good night's sleep, and also that you were able to enjoy some quiet time before the kids woke up. See, sometimes mom does know best.


 
Thank you  I do feel good! Haven't been this rested in years. I should do it more often!


----------



## Kylie1969

Tonight I need a good nights sleep, whenever we go away I never sleep very well, I like my own bed too much...and all the driving and walking we did, I am beat!


----------



## Snip 13

Kylie1969 said:


> Tonight I need a good nights sleep, whenever we go away I never sleep very well, I like my own bed too much...and all the driving and walking we did, I am beat!


 
Why is it that we go on holiday to get rest and come back needing it even more?! 

Hope you get a good nights sleep


----------



## Kylie1969

Thanks Snip!

I know, I said to Steve that we come home from the holiday to recharge our batteries


----------



## taxlady

I went to Costco for some groceries. While I was there, I looked at the jeans, 'cause I desperately need new jeans. I found some for ~$14. They are even stretchy. I checked that the back pockets weren't just decorative, and found they were real (a real problem with women's clothes). I bought two pairs in two sizes, 'cause you can't really try them on at Costco. The smaller pair is snug over long underwear. The bigger pair fits fine over long underwear. But, the fly and both front pockets are just for show! 

I will have to try somewhere else. In the meantime, they are in a bag with the receipt, in case I can't find anything other jeans I like in my size. I have 30 days to bring them back to Costco for a refund.

I need my pockets. I put car keys in my front pocket and my phone in a back pocket.


----------



## Addie

Stupid, stupid, stupid me! I took a nap and while I was sleeping, I knocked the scab off. I need to put the sulpha cream on it, but I know from past experience, it will *STING**!* Not something I am looking forward to. I can't put a dressing on it. If I could bend over backwards, I would be kicking myself all over the place, (except on my hand).


----------



## bakechef

Twice in 6 months the jumper cables are in the wrong car....

Upside, both cars have new batteries, so we won't have to deal with this again for a while.


----------



## Zhizara

Why not just invest in another pair of jumper cables?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I went to Costco for some groceries. While I was there, I looked at the jeans, 'cause I desperately need new jeans. I found some for ~$14. They are even stretchy. I checked that the back pockets weren't just decorative, and found they were real (a real problem with women's clothes). I bought two pairs in two sizes, 'cause you can't really try them on at Costco. The smaller pair is snug over long underwear. The bigger pair fits fine over long underwear. But, the fly and both front pockets are just for show!
> 
> I will have to try somewhere else. In the meantime, they are in a bag with the receipt, in case I can't find anything other jeans I like in my size. I have 30 days to bring them back to Costco for a refund.
> 
> I need my pockets. I put car keys in my front pocket and* my phone in a back pocket*.


 

Everyone needs to receive a butt call. Mostly those that drive you crazy.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I went to Costco for some groceries. While I was there, I looked at the jeans, 'cause I desperately need new jeans. I found some for ~$14. They are even stretchy. I checked that the back pockets weren't just decorative, and found they were real (a real problem with women's clothes). I bought two pairs in two sizes, 'cause you can't really try them on at Costco. The smaller pair is snug over long underwear. The bigger pair fits fine over long underwear. But, the fly and both front pockets are just for show!
> 
> I will have to try somewhere else. In the meantime, they are in a bag with the receipt, in case I can't find anything other jeans I like in my size. I have 30 days to bring them back to Costco for a refund.
> 
> I need my pockets. I put car keys in my front pocket and my phone in a back pocket.



I agree, pockets are a necessity!  I've never understood why manufacturers short women's wear on pockets.  And then the pockets they do have in jeans and jackets are dinky compared to those in men's clothes.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I agree, pockets are a necessity!  I've never understood why manufacturers short women's wear on pockets.  And then the pockets they do have in jeans and jackets are dinky compared to those in men's clothes.


They claim that woman don't want to look lumpy because their pockets are full of stuff. Okay, let me decide whether or not to put enough stuff in my pockets to make me lumpy. 

But, thank you for reminding me that I probably want a pair of men's jeans. Some of the men's ones come in stretchy now.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> They claim that woman don't want to look lumpy because their pockets are full of stuff. Okay, let me decide whether or not to put enough stuff in my pockets to make me lumpy.
> 
> But, thank you for reminding me that I probably want a pair of men's jeans. Some of the men's ones come in stretchy now.



I already look lumpy.  

I wore men's dress pants and jeans for years.  Great pockets, and the hips and seat fit me better.  They also came in longer lengths, which women's did not at the time.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I already look lumpy.
> 
> I wore men's dress pants and jeans for years.  Great pockets, and the hips and seat fit me better.  They also came in lengths, which women's did not at the time.


On me, the waist in men's jeans is always way too big, if I can fit my hips into them. But, after a few washings and dryings (preferably in the dryer)  and stretchings by wearing, they fit fine. 

I have big hip bones, really. I had 37" hips when I was underweight and I'm only 5'4".


----------



## chopper

Yeah, Tax, I'm a pear too!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> Twice in 6 months the jumper cables are in the wrong car....
> 
> Upside, both cars have new batteries, so we won't have to deal with this again for a while.



Buy a second set of jumper cables, splurge and get a really nice set!  I have never had to jump my own car, but everyone at work knows I have them and we've jumped numerous cars over the years to their owners relief!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I agree, pockets are a necessity!  I've never understood why manufacturers short women's wear on pockets.  And then the pockets they do have in jeans and jackets are dinky compared to those in men's clothes.



No kidding, I found a scrub top that was really cute...no pockets...what the?????  I don't know any nurse who doesn't need pockets.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> No kidding, I found a scrub top that was really cute...no pockets...what the????? I don't know any nurse who doesn't need pockets.


 
Remember the nice white uniforms nurses had to wear? They always had deep side pockets so you could carry your scissors around with you. And they weren't a short pair either.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Remember the nice white uniforms nurses had to wear? They always had deep side pockets so you could carry your scissors around with you. And they weren't a short pair either.



No, I don't remember them, I have never worn a white nursing dress or skirt.  I have worn white tops and pants.  I won't buy anything for work that does not have deep pockets.  Where else am I supposed to carry my screwdriver, scissors, etc, etc.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> On me, the waist in men's jeans is always way too big, if I can fit my hips into them. But, after a few washings and dryings (preferably in the dryer)  and stretchings by wearing, they fit fine.
> 
> I have big hip bones, really. I had 37" hips when I was underweight and I'm only 5'4".



I'm built like a 12 year old boy.  No hips or butt, with big shoulders, and 5'9".  Trying to find a size 4 pant in women's long is a challenge!  Most clothing places figure tall gals are at least size 10, which would fall right off.  Embarrassing in public....  Thank you Eddie Bauer, they have right sizes.


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Buy a second set of jumper cables, splurge and get a really nice set!  I have never had to jump my own car, but everyone at work knows I have them and we've jumped numerous cars over the years to their owners relief!



It's one of those things that you don't think about buying until you need them!  LOL

Weird thing about living in a warmer climate, I've noticed that just about every one of my car batteries go without warning, works one day, the next day, not even keyless entry will work.  I've been told that warmer climates are worse on batteries than cold, not sure how much truth is in that though.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I'm built like a 12 year old boy.  No hips or butt, with big shoulders, and 5'9".



5' tall, 36" around from shoulders to butt, no waist, even when I lose weight I never have a waist.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> It's one of those things that you don't think about buying until you need them!  LOL
> 
> Weird thing about living in a warmer climate, I've noticed that just about every one of my car batteries go without warning, works one day, the next day, not even keyless entry will work.  I've been told that warmer climates are worse on batteries than cold, not sure how much truth is in that though.



Top of the shopping list...until you get them.  LOL!!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> 5' tall, 36" around from shoulders to butt, no waist, even when I lose weight I never have a waist.



PF, you and I need to search for a waist together.  I've never had one either.  Keep wondering what it would be like.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> No, I don't remember them, I have never worn a white nursing dress or skirt. I have worn white tops and pants. I won't buy anything for work that does not have deep pockets. Where else am I supposed to carry my screwdriver, scissors, etc, etc.


 
Well I do. I had to wear one. I only wore it going to and from work. I was in the nursery and had to change into a surgical gown. But if I had no babies, I worked on the floor and those pockets were really handy! They didn't have the short bandage scissors they have now. The whole thing would fit down into your pocket and I had a large tag with my name on them and would grab it when I needed to pull them out.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Well I do. I had to wear one. I only wore it going to and from work. I was in the nursery and had to change into a surgical gown. But if I had no babies, I worked on the floor and those pockets were really handy! They didn't have the short bandage scissors they have now. The whole thing would fit down into your pocket and I had a large tag with my name on them and would grab it when I needed to pull them out.



The pocket on my left holds my nursing "tools" scissors, keys, pens, measuring tape, tape, etc.  The pockets on my right hold personal items, chapstick, hand sanitizer, Milkbones...

My uniform weighs almost ten pounds...with everything in the pockets.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Top of the shopping list...until you get them.  LOL!!


I used to have a "booster pack" for my car. It had idiot lights and an audible alarm to prevent hooking up to the wrong terminals. It also had a powerful, built in flashlight, and a 12 V outlet. But, the sucker was heavy. It's got a lead acid battery inside that sealed, plastic outside. But, alas, it only lasted a few years. I forgot to keep it charged and it completely drained and died.

I really liked the fact that it wouldn't let you hook up terminals wrong. I have heard horror stories from people who got it wrong with jumper cables. I understand that one can now buy jumper cables with lights and alarms to keep a person from hooking it up wrong.

I just now did some online searching for booster packs and they have more features now: USB power outlet, AC power converter that plugs into the 12 V outlet, LED flashlight. But, they are more expensive. I read a bunch of reviews and I set a sales alert at Canadian Tire for the one I want.  And this time I know not to ever let it drain to zero.


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:


> PF, you and I need to search for a waist together.  I've never had one either.  Keep wondering what it would be like.



Too funny, I have always had a waist.  It has been  33" for years.  It's that back side and legs I have the trouble with.  I guess I'm a pear and not an apple. It takes me 30 pounds to go down a size!


----------



## taxlady

Not apple or pear. Call it hour glass and for those with wide shoulders and no hips, top half of an hour glass.


----------



## Andy M.

chopper said:


> ...I guess I'm a pear and not an apple...



I'm a banana that swallowed an apple.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Not apple or pear. Call it hour glass and for those with wide shoulders and no hips, top half of an hour glass.



I like that!


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> I'm a banana that swallowed an apple.


----------



## chopper

taxlady said:


> Not apple or pear. Call it hour glass and for those with wide shoulders and no hips, top half of an hour glass.



Lets just hope the hour glass gets smaller on the bottom and not the top!  Maybe I should hang upside down...all of the sand has landed in the "bottom" of my hour glass.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I used to have a "booster pack" for my car. It had idiot lights and an audible alarm to prevent hooking up to the wrong terminals. It also had a powerful, built in flashlight, and a 12 V outlet. But, the sucker was heavy. It's got a lead acid battery inside that sealed, plastic outside. But, alas, it only lasted a few years. I forgot to keep it charged and it completely drained and died.
> 
> I really liked the fact that it wouldn't let you hook up terminals wrong. I have heard horror stories from people who got it wrong with jumper cables. I understand that one can now buy jumper cables with lights and alarms to keep a person from hooking it up wrong.
> 
> I just now did some online searching for booster packs and they have more features now: USB power outlet, AC power converter that plugs into the 12 V outlet, LED flashlight. But, they are more expensive. I read a bunch of reviews and I set a sales alert at Canadian Tire for the one I want.  And this time I know not to ever let it drain to zero.


 
Spike once told me to let the batteries on my scooter run down to the bottom of the orange line. (I have a little red, orange, green thingy on my console.) Batteries have memories. The further down you let the battery run, the longer it will run before you have to charge it. Or something like that. Just don't run it into the ground. Unfortunately jumper cables don't work on a handicap scooter.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

This apple shape...more like a cantaloupe, has never had a problem with mixing up the jumper cable leads.  Of course, growing up in Wyoming...jumper cables were one of the first lessons in 2nd grade.


----------



## Kylie1969

Andy M. said:


> I'm a banana that swallowed an apple.


----------



## tinlizzie

Dawgluver said:


> I'm built like a 12 year old boy.  No hips or butt, with big shoulders, and 5'9".  Trying to find a size 4 pant in women's long is a challenge!  Most clothing places figure tall gals are at least size 10, which would fall right off.  Embarrassing in public....  Thank you Eddie Bauer, they have right sizes.



Do you buy Eddie Bauer on-line or is it a walk-in store?  That is, do you buy the jeans by measurements?  I'm not sure I trust my measuring skills. Last time I tried to buy jeans, nice jeans, to replace my worn-looking ones, first it was try to find a pair of the old-fashioned, waist-where-it-belongs instead of low-rise kind.  Second, when I did find their sparse stock of this style, they were bleached-out, had bling, or few pockets.  I had to admit the pair I was wearing looked better to me than any they had.  I think it was at Penny's.  I'm thinking of looking at the Tractor Farm Supply store.  Hopefully those precious little chirping chicks are all gone by now.


----------



## CWS4322

I have no butt. I do have a waist. I always lose weight from the waist down, so my butt gets even more non-existent when I lose weight. And, thanks to swimming the butterfly, I have broad shoulders, and, that also toned the stomach muscles so I don't have a gut either (not that I'm complaining about that). I wish I had a butt...all my pants droop in the ass. Sitting on a hardwood chair for too long can be very uncomfortable.


----------



## tinlizzie

tinlizzie said:


> Back from lunch and happy & grateful to see all the new posts in answer to my problem.  Went to lunch with my son & his wife -- he's usually my go-to for stuff like this but he had just last week replaced the float in the water treatment tank and I was reluctant to bug him again.  But he went out to the garage & actually, Andy, did find another half-tripped breaker.  Set it to rights first, then lunched, and when we came home he did some more looking (at what, I don't rightly know).  Bottom line, it was his opinion, which I trust implicitly, to get another m/w.  So I'll go back into my household receipts and see if I can find any warranty information, and failing that just go ahead and buy a new one.  I do m/w so much that I value having one and will end up paying much less (one purchase price) than the bill (every month) for my TV dish service.
> 
> Bless your hearts, y'all, for the help.
> 
> (to be continued, probably at Target)



I decided to look at the Best Buy on-line store before going shopping.  The prices seemed pretty high so I tried Amazon.  Bottom line, I took delivery yesterday of a new Panasonic microwave and took the time in the afternoon to actually read the booklet that came with it.  I like it pretty well but it's bigger than my old one and my counter space was limited already.  Plus, the old one had a handle and this one has a push-button opener.  But I paid more for this one and hope it won't turn up its toes as quickly as the cheaper one did.  I sure hate throwing away the old one, which looks brand new.  I did find my receipt -- it was 3 years old almost to the day.  My tempus sure fugits.


----------



## Dawgluver

tinlizzie said:


> Do you buy Eddie Bauer on-line or is it a walk-in store?  That is, do you buy the jeans by measurements?  I'm not sure I trust my measuring skills. Last time I tried to buy jeans, nice jeans, to replace my worn-looking ones, first it was try to find a pair of the old-fashioned, waist-where-it-belongs instead of low-rise kind.  Second, when I did find their sparse stock of this style, they were bleached-out, had bling, or few pockets.  I had to admit the pair I was wearing looked better to me than any they had.  I think it was at Penny's.  I'm thinking of looking at the Tractor Farm Supply store.  Hopefully those precious little chirping chicks are all gone by now.



I buy online.  EB has several different styles, curvy, boyfriend, perfectly straight, and some others.  The straight ones were the first I've ever had that didn't bag in the butt and pooch out in the hips, they actually fit!  No bling, and decent pockets.  They have decent sales too.


----------



## Dawgluver

CWS4322 said:


> I have no butt. I do have a waist. I always lose weight from the waist down, so my butt gets even more non-existent when I lose weight. And, thanks to swimming the butterfly, I have broad shoulders, and, that also toned the stomach muscles so I don't have a gut either (not that I'm complaining about that). I wish I had a butt...all my pants droop in the ass. Sitting on a hardwood chair for too long can be very uncomfortable.



  I hear ya!  I keep a pillow in my car for long meetings on hard chairs.


----------



## MrsLMB

Dawgluver said:


> I buy online. *EB has* several different styles, curvy, *boyfriend*, perfectly straight, and some others. The straight ones were the first I've ever had that didn't bag in the butt and pooch out in the hips, they actually fit! No bling, and decent pockets. They have decent sales too.


 

Eddie Bauer sells boyfriends !!!  

I've purchased from Eddie Bauer online and have always been happy.

You might also check for their outlet stores.  We had one where I used to live and we got a lot of things there and again .. were always happy with the purchases.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> I decided to look at the Best Buy on-line store before going shopping.  The prices seemed pretty high so I tried Amazon.  Bottom line, I took delivery yesterday of a new Panasonic microwave and took the time in the afternoon to actually read the booklet that came with it.  I like it pretty well but it's bigger than my old one and my counter space was limited already.  Plus, the old one had a handle and this one has a push-button opener.  But I paid more for this one and hope it won't turn up its toes as quickly as the cheaper one did.  I sure hate throwing away the old one, which looks brand new.  I did find my receipt -- it was 3 years old almost to the day.  My tempus sure fugits.


I wonder if it's the same model I got. Yes, big footprint, button to open the door. I really like it. Sensor reheat works really well, except with liquids. I just wish it had a temperature probe. Haven't seen one of those on a microwave in years. We had one on our old MW (though it quit working a few years ago) and it was great for reheating coffee or tea. I know how hot I want it. Depending on the temperature it has dropped to, it takes different amounts of time to get to 140 F, which is what I usually want.


----------



## bakechef

I have an over the range Samsung, hands down the best microwave that I've ever used.  12 seconds softens butter perfectly with no melty spots.  When we reheat, no flaming hot edges and cold middle.  I didn't realize that any microwave could accomplish this feat!


----------



## Andy M.

We have a unique microwave problem.  We like to keep it on a piece of counter between the fridge and stove that's 18" wide.  We were fortunate to find a full power/full size microwave (1100 watts and a 13"-14" turntable) that fit because all the controls are across the top of the microwave door rather than on one side.

Now the display is shot so we have had to modify how we use it.  We can't find a replacement.  There are smaller, lower wattage compact microwaves but none with the same specs.


----------



## CWS4322

One of my "egg customers" called yesterday--wanted to pick up eggs today. I asked for a time so I'd have the eggs washed and ready (besides which, I have other things to do). She didn't get back to me. I was up at 4:00 a.m. with the old gal (my dog) and so decided I wanted a nap. No sooner had I fallen asleep when she showed up. What part of "what time will you stop by" was not clear? Is it to much too ask people to show some common courtesy? It is a holiday weekend...I don't JUST raise hens (they are a hobby/source of entertainment. And, they produce more eggs than I can eat--my fault, I acquired too many hens). Felt good to get that off my chest. Now let's see if I can fall back asleep for 45 minutes. Yesterday a friend let me know she'd be by around 2:00. I had conf calls, so I put a cooler out on the step with the eggs in it. Easy.


----------



## tinlizzie

taxlady said:


> I wonder if it's the same model I got. Yes, big footprint, button to open the door. I really like it. Sensor reheat works really well, except with liquids. I just wish it had a temperature probe. Haven't seen one of those on a microwave in years. We had one on our old MW (though it quit working a few years ago) and it was great for reheating coffee or tea. I know how hot I want it. Depending on the temperature it has dropped to, it takes different amounts of time to get to 140 F, which is what I usually want.



It sounds like the same model, Taxy -- with an "Inverter" and Sensor Cook feature, which I haven't tried out yet.  One of the reasons I chose it is the weight, which isn't bad for a unit this size -- if things need moving, I'm It.  I'm going to try to use it for more than heating leftovers, which is all I did with the defunct m/w.  Would love to have an over-the-stove, but that would have required more trouble and $$ than I could manage.


----------



## tinlizzie

amendment -- not only leftovers; I nuke fresh vegetables frequently, but I know a m/w can do much more if you study up a bit.  So often with today's bells and whistles, I just ignore programmable stuff and only do what I want the item to, not what it's capable of.  That includes my car, and I shudder when I see the new car commercials with all the stuff on the dashboard.


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> amendment -- not only leftovers; I nuke fresh vegetables frequently, but I know a m/w can do much more if you study up a bit.  So often with today's bells and whistles, I just ignore programmable stuff and only do what I want the item to, not what it's capable of.  That includes my car, and I shudder when I see the new car commercials with all the stuff on the dashboard.



I agree, all I need is an on and off button!

I thought I was going to have to give up driving when I bought the vehicle I have now.  I had the old one for 13 years, we developed an understanding over the years.  The new one is much more agile and has all sorts of things that I don't even touch.  It took me six months to feel comfortable driving it!


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> It sounds like the same model, Taxy -- with an "Inverter" and Sensor Cook feature, which I haven't tried out yet.  One of the reasons I chose it is the weight, which isn't bad for a unit this size -- if things need moving, I'm It.  I'm going to try to use it for more than heating leftovers, which is all I did with the defunct m/w.  Would love to have an over-the-stove, but that would have required more trouble and $$ than I could manage.


"Inverter Turbo Defrost" works quite well. It stops before the food is completely defrosted, which is much better than starting to cook it. There are enough instructions, that I keep the manual on top of the MW. We put ours on Ikea shelving. We don't have any spare counter space.


----------



## Snip 13

Hoping today will come to an end!!!! Spent over 2 hours at the clinic to get The Pill, my washing machine decided to die on me, my daughter came home from her dad with lice (wonder if anyone will notice if he goes missing?!) this is only the 13th time it's happened in 2 yrs "aargh" and the list just goes on and on and on.......
It doesn't help having PMS from hell either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Snip 13 said:


> Hoping today will come to an end!!!! Spent over 2 hours at the clinic to get The Pill, my washing machine decided to die on me, my daughter came home from her dad with lice (wonder if anyone will notice if he goes missing?!) this is only the 13th time it's happened in 2 yrs "aargh" and the list just goes on and on and on.......
> It doesn't help having PMS from hell either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Your daughter should not go to her Dad's until he can show he has gotten rid of the lice in his house.  Is there any oversight to visitations?  If there is, it needs to be brought to their attention.


----------



## Snip 13

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Your daughter should not go to her Dad's until he can show he has gotten rid of the lice in his house. Is there any oversight to visitations? If there is, it needs to be brought to their attention.


 
At the moment he gets away with paying half the agreed child support, refuses to admit that the lice problem came from him and Caitlin says half of their children had shaved heads this holiday because of lice.
I've been to see a lawyer but they can't do much unless there is abuse of some kind and if I want to fight it I will have pay money I don't have right now. Just wish he could be reasoned with


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Snip 13 said:


> At the moment he gets away with paying half the agreed child support, refuses to admit that the lice problem came from him and Caitlin says half of their children had shaved heads this holiday because of lice.
> I've been to see a lawyer but they can't do much unless there is abuse of some kind and if I want to fight it I will have pay money I don't have right now. Just wish he could be reasoned with



What was his address again?


----------



## Snip 13

PrincessFiona60 said:


> What was his address again?


 
I'll call you when it's done, just bring a shovel 
(Just kidding folks, won't really kill him ) I've been tempted though!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Snip 13 said:


> I'll call you when it's done, just bring a shovel
> (Just kidding folks, won't really kill him ) I've been tempted though!



As far as I am concerned it is abusive, having to use lice shampoo, etc 12 times in 2 years.  Your daughter is being poisoned.


----------



## Snip 13

PrincessFiona60 said:


> As far as I am concerned it is abusive, having to use lice shampoo, etc 12 times in 2 years. Your daughter is being poisoned.


 
Just wish SA law would agree with me!?


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs  Snip))). You shouldn't have to put up with that and neither should your daughter.


----------



## Snip 13

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Snip))). You shouldn't have to put up with that and neither should your daughter.


 
Thanks Tax  Luckily Caitlin is nearly old enough to decide what she wants to do about it herself. I hate sending her when she doesn't always want to go.


----------



## taxlady

Snip 13 said:


> Thanks Tax  Luckily Caitlin is nearly old enough to decide what she wants to do about it herself. I hate sending her when she doesn't always want to go.


I was wondering how old she is and when she can decide if she wants to go or not.


----------



## Snip 13

taxlady said:


> I was wondering how old she is and when she can decide if she wants to go or not.


 
She's 11 and she has to be 12 to decide. Just one more year to go.


----------



## bakechef

I've been getting a call daily on my cell phone, an 888 number, it rings three times and then disconnects.  I googled the number and it turns out that it is Verizon Wireless.

Yesterday, I was finally able to answer it.  The lady on the other end asked if I would like to review my plan to see if it meets my needs.  I said "no, every other plan you have is more expensive than the one that I have and I'll lose my unlimited data".  Then she goes on to tell me how I'm not using all that much data, to which I reply "I don't use my spare tire either, but I'm not throwing it away". Then she asks if I would like to upgrade my phone, I said no, because then I would lose my unlimited data!  I told her good day and as I was ending the call, she told me that I was eligible for a free iPhone.  At that point, I raised my voice and said, "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, HAVE YOU NOT HEARD A WORD THAT I'VE SAID" and then hung up the phone.

Here is what really ticks me off.  I am a loyal customer of 13 years, I pay a rate higher than most other companies, because where I live, they have the best coverage hands down.  The fact that they are trying to dupe me into a plan that will cost me about $20 a month more, and give me less, infuriates me.  Both of our smartphones are old enough that they are long since paid for, so we are just a huge cash cow for them at this point, almost all of the bill that I pay to them is pure profit.  AND THEY WANT MORE!

Thanks for letting me rant!


----------



## taxlady

Well that's a pain in the patooty, BC. My DH told them not to call him unless the actually can find a suitable plan, based on his usage, that saves him money. They don't pester him any more.


----------



## Addie

I have a free phone and service due to my age. I called them tonight to ask if they had a phone with larger keys. I think I am going to be getting a new phone in the mail shortly. She had an accent that I found hard to understand. 

I forgot to tell her I want the same number on the new phone. When I had my line phone I got weekly calls from Verizon asking me if I wanted to upgrade and add on more services. I had all junk stuff removed because I didn't need them. As a result I was able to bring my land line bill down to $17 a month. And they wanted me to add to me bill? I think not. Then when I called and wanted my land line disconnected, the woman argued with me about all the things that could happen if I relied on just a cell phone. I ended up yelling at her and told her to just disconnect my line.


----------



## jharris

I haven't had a land line for ten years and I don't miss it one bit.

I also got rid of cable TV and home internet service.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> I've been getting a call daily on my cell phone, an 888 number, it rings three times and then disconnects.  I googled the number and it turns out that it is Verizon Wireless.
> 
> Yesterday, I was finally able to answer it.  The lady on the other end asked if I would like to review my plan to see if it meets my needs.  I said "no, every other plan you have is more expensive than the one that I have and I'll lose my unlimited data".  Then she goes on to tell me how I'm not using all that much data, to which I reply "I don't use my spare tire either, but I'm not throwing it away". Then she asks if I would like to upgrade my phone, I said no, because then I would lose my unlimited data!  I told her good day and as I was ending the call, she told me that I was eligible for a free iPhone.  At that point, I raised my voice and said, "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, HAVE YOU NOT HEARD A WORD THAT I'VE SAID" and then hung up the phone.
> 
> Here is what really ticks me off.  I am a loyal customer of 13 years, I pay a rate higher than most other companies, because where I live, they have the best coverage hands down.  The fact that they are trying to dupe me into a plan that will cost me about $20 a month more, and give me less, infuriates me.  Both of our smartphones are old enough that they are long since paid for, so we are just a huge cash cow for them at this point, almost all of the bill that I pay to them is pure profit.  AND THEY WANT MORE!
> 
> Thanks for letting me rant!



Don't even get me started on how Verizon screwed me out of my unlimited data plan (even their customer service folks were appalled and tried to make amends).  However, it's the only plan that works everywhere.  Had to laugh at Baby Bro, who had to use Mom's rickety land line as his US Cellular service didn't work in the boonies.  And a colleague today having to use her Sprint phone outside in 28° weather as it didn't work anywhere indoors either.


----------



## MrsLMB

Verizon .....  

Only had them because where we lived they were the only coverage.  Trying to get rid of them was ridiculous.  They tried really hard to shame me into staying .. warned me of all the horrible things that would happen if I switched .. then they tried to sell me a new phone .  

What part of no thanks, I don't want it or cancel my account do they not understand !!


----------



## Addie

It is all based on the commission system. If the caller can't sell you what they conceive to be a better service, they don't get a commission. 

I have Assurance sponsored by Virgin. It is a free program for the elderly. I have no problems with it except that the keys on the phone are just so small. So I requested one with larger keys. I will see what happens.

I did have SafeLink. I hated it. Could not make or receive calls indoors at all. I certainly didn't want to have to go downstairs and outside to make or receive a call. 

I also have Skype. I can make calls from my computer. So when I get a call that I know is going to be a long one, I call the person back on the computer. That way I don't use up my minutes. I make a lot of my calls on my computer. The calls are much clearer and I can hear the other person so much easier. For some strange reason I have trouble finding just the right place on my ear to place my cell phone.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have my phone through my cable service.  I have a TracPhone for emergencies when we are out and about.  And to call Shrek to see if he has Prince Albert in the can...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have my phone through my cable service. I have a TracPhone for emergencies when we are out and about. And to call Shrek to see if* he has Prince Albert in the can...[/*QUOTE]
> 
> 
> You are so fresh.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> You are so fresh.



He's onto the wild calls from my co-workers...


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Don't even get me started on how Verizon screwed me out of my unlimited data plan (even their customer service folks were appalled and tried to make amends).  However, it's the only plan that works everywhere.  Had to laugh at Baby Bro, who had to use Mom's rickety land line as his US Cellular service didn't work in the boonies.  And a colleague today having to use her Sprint phone outside in 28° weather as it didn't work anywhere indoors either.



That's what has kept me with them, the coverage!  I can't remember the last time I had a dropped call, or had a gap in signal.  It's one of the only services that will work well when I visit my mom in northern Maine!

Sprint uses a 1900mhz CDMA signal that doesn't penetrate buildings well, Verizon uses a lower frequency, that does much better.  I know way too much about this stuff, LOL!

There is one prepaid that uses the Verizon network called Page Plus, they have been around for quite a while (since pagers were a thing), I might try them eventually.  They sell a plan for $55 per month that is the same that Verizon charges $100 per month for!


----------



## Addie

That's it. I am canceling the rest of today. I had to get up early to be ready to leave the house at seven a.m. Got to the supermarket, hopped on a handicap cart, it was traveling at the giant speed of two cm a minute. Got off that one, hopped on another. That backup beeper would not shut off. I just couldn't seem to get my act together. Instead of going aisle by aisle, I was all over the place. I had a list, but it certainly didn't contain anything that would require cooking. One tomato, two plums, three oranges, stupid stuff. I did spend more for the food bank than I usually do. That I don't mind. If that was the only thing I bought, the trip alone was worth it. Spike put the few groceries away, then left. I still felt out of sorts. Ate a couple of mini rice cakes. Naw, I didn't want that. So I tried some ground up broken cashew nuts. Nope. Finally I tried my first cup of coffee. That seemed to help. I still felt restless. I ached all over. Noticed I was shuffling my feet when I walked. Took one Vicodin. I hate taking pain pills. Started to feel a little better. Was standing up straighter. Not shuffling. Decided to try and finish my morning sleep. Lost cause. I do have six Klondike bars with dark chocolate covering that were on sale. Maybe that is what I need. Chocolate. 

Oh, did I mention my hand? It is hurting like it is going to fall off. I need to have a scab on it to protect it. But it is the scab that is causing all the pain. The scab gets really thicker each day. So I put the cream on it to soften the scab. That releives the pain, but the scab falls off and exposes it. That leaves it open to infection. And round and round I go. Someone find me a happy pill QUICK! There is just no pleasing me today.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Addie)))


----------



## CWS4322

Addie, maybe you should get your son to take you in to a clinic?


----------



## CWS4322

I am so not impressed. I have a whole bunch of stuff I have to finish for a client by April 18th. I have been screening my calls because I don't want to be interrupted while I am concentrating. My frigging phone has been ringing every half-hour. It goes to the answering machine (and I can hear if someone talks and pick up). I can't unplug it during the day because it might be my client. There is no one there--I'm just getting these robo-dial calls that don't leave a message and #69 is "number not available." Now they have started to do this at 3:30 a.m. Three nights of this and I'm about to cancel having a phone! Tonight I will unplug my phone before I go to bed. I just hope my Dad doesn't try to call me in the middle of the night. And, I am on the DO NOT CALL list and have an unpublished #.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> I am so not impressed. I have a whole bunch of stuff I have to finish for a client by April 18th. I have been screening my calls because I don't want to be interrupted while I am concentrating. My frigging phone has been ringing every half-hour. It goes to the answering machine (and I can hear if someone talks and pick up). I can't unplug it during the day because it might be my client. There is no one there--I'm just getting these robo-dial calls that don't leave a message and #69 is "number not available." Now they have started to do this at 3:30 a.m. Three nights of this and I'm about to cancel having a phone! Tonight I will unplug my phone before I go to bed. I just hope my Dad doesn't try to call me in the middle of the night. And, I am on the DO NOT CALL list and have an unpublished #.


Well, that's a real PITA.

I have all my calls go to my mobile and I have call blocking on at night. It only lets calls through from a list which has family and some friends.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Addie)))


 
Thank you. I am feeling much better now. I just finished a Klondike Bar. Ice Cream and Dark chocolate. That should cure anything. 

 CSW, if my son takes me to a clinic, they won't release me. I will be sent right out the back door to Padlock Row in a hurry.


----------



## taxlady

I just went downstairs to scan some client papers. My scanner is no longer installed.  Since I didn't do it and no one else uses that computer, I think the most recent update to WinXP uninstalled it. Grrrrr. I'm downloading the most recent installation software from the HP site now. 

I don't have time for this nonsense.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> Well, that's a real PITA.
> 
> I have all my calls go to my mobile and I have call blocking on at night. It only lets calls through from a list which has family and some friends.


I don't have good cell coverage, so I have to have a land line.


----------



## Kylie1969

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Addie)))



+1...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Don't know what's wrong, just know that something is not right.


----------



## Snip 13

Hugs Addie and PF  Hope you both feel better!
I'm fine today. Feel great physically but I'm going nuts being cooped up in this house!!! Wish my hubby would just sometimes want to go somewhere. He never wants to leave the house  Not even to visit friends or family!


----------



## GotGarlic

Snip 13 said:


> Hugs Addie and PF  Hope you both feel better!
> I'm fine today. Feel great physically but I'm going nuts being cooped up in this house!!! Wish my hubby would just sometimes want to go somewhere. He never wants to leave the house  Not even to visit friends or family!



Why don't you just take the kids and go without him?


----------



## CWS4322

My DH is an introvert to the 9th degree. That's one of the reasons we live in separate houses. He drives me crazy.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Still have a rather severe headache, but no vision changes and everything else is okay.  Feel fine, except for the headache.

I'm headed to the mall for a Relay For Life event, just going to walk over.   Shrek can come if he wants, we'll see if he wants to get up and go.


----------



## taxlady

Hope the headache goes away soon, PF.


----------



## Dawgluver

+1, hope you feel better, PF!

I'm trying to burrow through mounds of paper.  Just how much paper is a person supposed to deal with?  I pay all bills on line, which is supposedly "paperless", yet the piles are unending.  Getting Mom's mail forwarded here is not helpful either.  She got every obscure catalog I've never heard of, and was a huge fan of Publisher's Clearinghouse, which sends out stuff every 15 minutes.   I try to shred anything with identifying info, and recycle the shreddings and the rest.  Can't keep up!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks...it's been a few days worth.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thanks...it's been a few days worth.


Yikes! (((Hugs)))


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Don't know what's wrong, just know that something is not right.


 
I know that feeling!


----------



## Kylie1969

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Still have a rather severe headache, but no vision changes and everything else is okay.  Feel fine, except for the headache.
> 
> I'm headed to the mall for a Relay For Life event, just going to walk over.   Shrek can come if he wants, we'll see if he wants to get up and go.



Feel better soon Fi


----------



## Snip 13

GotGarlic said:


> Why don't you just take the kids and go without him?


 
I do sometimes but it upsets him so I don't do it very often.


----------



## GotGarlic

Snip 13 said:


> I do sometimes but it upsets him so I don't do it very often.



Why does it upset him?


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> +1, hope you feel better, PF!
> 
> I'm trying to burrow through mounds of paper. Just how much paper is a person supposed to deal with? I pay all bills on line, which is supposedly "paperless", yet the piles are unending. Getting Mom's mail forwarded here is not helpful either. She got every obscure catalog I've never heard of, and was a huge fan of Publisher's Clearinghouse, which sends out stuff every 15 minutes. I try to shred anything with identifying info, and recycle the shreddings and the rest. Can't keep up!


 
Dawg, just shred the sheets that have her name on it and the application. I would have to empty the bin every day if I shredded everything. The best thing I did was go paperless. I get so little mail now. Mostly junk. After the 15th of the month, I get no mail.


----------



## Snip 13

GotGarlic said:


> Why does it upset him?


 
I don't know, he doesn't talk about how he feels. You're guess is as good as mine.


----------



## chopper

I had an appointment today to get trained on how to do my sleep study tonight.  When I was called to set the appointment I was told that it was a 2:15 appointment.  It was at a place close to work, so I was able to leave at 2:00 and get there about 2:10.  I filled out the paperwork, gave them the co-pay, and sat in the waiting room to wait.  I knew it would be a group appointment, so I was surprised when it was me and one other lady in the waiting room.  At 2:30 two other ladies showed up, signed in, filled out paperwork, and waited along with me.  at 2:40 one last person showed up and joined us after doing the paperwork too.  At 3:00 someone finally came and gathered us all to go to the training.  I was ready to scream after waiting 45 minutes after the appointment was to start.  What was the first thing the trainer said?  "we may have to wait a few minutes for one last person."  What did I say?  "No, we cannot wait for another person to come.  The appointment was for 2:15 and they are really late!"  Well, lucky for the trainer he decided to start without her, and she didn't show up anyway.   It's bad enough I have to do this silly sleep study, and then they choose to mess with me!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm apt to tell people how much I make an hour and I start charging 15 minutes after my appointment time.  I'm a busy person, too...that's why I make appointments.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> I had an appointment today to get trained on how to do my sleep study tonight.  When I was called to set the appointment I was told that it was a 2:15 appointment.  It was at a place close to work, so I was able to leave at 2:00 and get there about 2:10.  I filled out the paperwork, gave them the co-pay, and sat in the waiting room to wait.  I knew it would be a group appointment, so I was surprised when it was me and one other lady in the waiting room.  At 2:30 two other ladies showed up, signed in, filled out paperwork, and waited along with me.  at 2:40 one last person showed up and joined us after doing the paperwork too.  At 3:00 someone finally came and gathered us all to go to the training.  I was ready to scream after waiting 45 minutes after the appointment was to start.  What was the first thing the trainer said?  "we may have to wait a few minutes for one last person."  What did I say?  "No, we cannot wait for another person to come.  The appointment was for 2:15 and they are really late!"  Well, lucky for the trainer he decided to start without her, and she didn't show up anyway.   It's bad enough I have to do this silly sleep study, and then they choose to mess with me!


(((hugs)))

I hate that. Doctors and there receptionists seem to think that your time is worth nothing compare to a doctor's time.

I used to see an ophthalmologist at a hospital clinic. They would give everyone an appointment for 13h00 and I usually got to see the doctor around 16h or 16h30. They seemed to have people go in and see the doctor in some random order that didn't even match to when the patient showed up. It's one of the reasons I switched to a different ophthalmologist.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

THAT, chopper, is why one of my pet peeves is people who run late.  Take my husband---Please! (Bazinga!) I keep telling him every Sunday that if God makes us wait as long to get into heaven as we made him wait for us to finally show up at church we'll be hanging around quite a while.


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm apt to tell people how much I make an hour and I start charging 15 minutes after my appointment time.  I'm a busy person, too...that's why I make appointments.



Well, the appointment was at the senior center for the medical insurance company, so just the fact that it was at a senior center made me crazy enough.  I'm not a senior  yet.  I had to pay a 50 dollar co-pay, not to mention I pay a fortune for my premiums.  Getting the 50 bucks back would have been nice. I know that the reason the appointment was there was to save money, just not MY money.  I hate what is happening to the whole health care system now.  It is getting worse all of the time.  More money, less service....


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CWS4322 said:


> My DH is an introvert to the 9th degree. That's one of the reasons we live in separate houses. He drives me crazy.



Separate HOUSES???  Wow, and here I thought I was lucky that we each have our own bathroom.   I'm jealous...


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> I had an appointment today to get trained on how to do my sleep study tonight.  When I was called to set the appointment I was told that it was a 2:15 appointment.  It was at a place close to work, so I was able to leave at 2:00 and get there about 2:10.  I filled out the paperwork, gave them the co-pay, and sat in the waiting room to wait.  I knew it would be a group appointment, so I was surprised when it was me and one other lady in the waiting room.  At 2:30 two other ladies showed up, signed in, filled out paperwork, and waited along with me.  at 2:40 one last person showed up and joined us after doing the paperwork too.  At 3:00 someone finally came and gathered us all to go to the training.  I was ready to scream after waiting 45 minutes after the appointment was to start.  What was the first thing the trainer said?  "we may have to wait a few minutes for one last person."  What did I say?  "No, we cannot wait for another person to come.  The appointment was for 2:15 and they are really late!"  Well, lucky for the trainer he decided to start without her, and she didn't show up anyway.   It's bad enough I have to do this silly sleep study, and then they choose to mess with me!



That's so annoying.  And how rude of the other people to just randomly show up after the appt time too.  

Hope your sleep study goes well, Chopper!


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:


> That's so annoying.  And how rude of the other people to just randomly show up after the appt time too.
> 
> Hope your sleep study goes well, Chopper!



Thanks.  I am hoping that losing weight has just made it so that I don't have sleep apenia now.  I know...wishful thinking, but it could happen...I would hate to have to use the C-PAP machine, but if I need to I will I guess.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> Thanks.  I am hoping that losing weight has just made it so that I don't have sleep apenia now.  I know...wishful thinking, but it could happen...I would hate to have to use the C-PAP machine, but if I need to I will I guess.


I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that the apnea goes away.


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> Thanks.  I am hoping that losing weight has just made it so that I don't have sleep apenia now.  I know...wishful thinking, but it could happen...I would hate to have to use the C-PAP machine, but if I need to I will I guess.



I've noticed that dentists around here can give you appliances much less clunky than a C-PAP, might not hurt to ask.  You've probably already tried the BreatheRite strips.


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:


> I've noticed that dentists around here can give you appliances much less clunky than a C-PAP, might not hurt to ask.  You've probably already tried the BreatheRite strips.



I asked about the dental appliance today and the guy said that it is not as effective and they probably would not recommend it.  Depending on what happens with this study, I will chat with both my doctor and dentist about that.  I still have some of the issues (gasping for air) with the breath rite strips.  I have not had as much of a problem in the last couple of weeks, but I could still be having problems and not know about it.  I am still really tired in the morning, and usually have quite the headache.


----------



## Snip 13

chopper said:


> I asked about the dental appliance today and the guy said that it is not as effective and they probably would not recommend it. Depending on what happens with this study, I will chat with both my doctor and dentist about that. I still have some of the issues (gasping for air) with the breath rite strips. I have not had as much of a problem in the last couple of weeks, but I could still be having problems and not know about it. I am still really tired in the morning, and usually have quite the headache.


 
I hope you get it sorted


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It took me forever to get used to Shrek's CPAP and him not snoring.  Now his snoring wakes me up...means he's not using his CPAP.


----------



## bakechef

There is a thick yellow haze in the air, everything is covered in pollen.  I feel like a zombie, even taking flonaise and claratin!  I'd never seen pollen like this until I moved south.  I walked out of work today and the parking lot looked like a sand storm except it is pollen!  UGH!


----------



## vitauta

yeah, and soon we'll be having to put up with cicadas again-- doing their drunken dive-bombing acts around our heads. ...has it really been 17 years since their last hapless visit?


----------



## bakechef

I think that there are two batches, because I swear we just dealt with them within the last 5 years.  My boss lives in the country and the cicadas get terrible there, in the city, it isn't as bad, but bad enough!


----------



## MrsLMB

Oh those things are so disgusting !!  They are ugly, noisy and useless.  Not looking forward to a huge invasion .. the last few years have been bad enough !


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB said:


> Oh those things are so disgusting !!  They are ugly, noisy and useless.  Not looking forward to a huge invasion .. the last few years have been bad enough !


What do you mean useless? There are lots of recipes that include cicadas: https://www.google.ca/search?q=cica...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a


----------



## MrsLMB

taxlady said:


> What do you mean useless? There are lots of recipes that include cicadas: https://www.google.ca/search?q=cica...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> What do you mean useless? There are lots of recipes that include cicadas: https://www.google.ca/search?q=cicada+recipe&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a



  was thinking that too, Taxy!


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> There is a thick yellow haze in the air, everything is covered in pollen. I feel like a zombie, even taking flonaise and claratin! I'd never seen pollen like this until I moved south. I walked out of work today and the parking lot looked like a sand storm except it is pollen! UGH!


 
I remember one spring, a bunch of pollen fell on my face. I went to wipe it off and within an hour I had blisters on my face.


----------



## bakechef

We're getting some rain tonight, so maybe that will calm down the pollen some, I just want to feel human again!


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> We're getting some rain tonight, so maybe that will calm down the pollen some, I just want to feel human again!



I feel your pain, bakechef.

One of the best things I ever did was go through the series of allergy shots for years.  Now spring is not a problem.

Now SO just started a new treatment option for immunotherapy, drops under your tongue.  It's a multi-year proposition but at least you don't have to go the the Dr.'s office every week, to weeks, etc.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Grrr, annoying commercials.  Trying to watch the news and it seems like I have to reach for the remote every commercial break because of the noise factor or stupidity of at least half of them.  I'll gladly watch and watch again if it's a cute or creative ad, but those are few and far between.

On a similar note, why do shows have to drive the background music up so loud during the critical parts?  You can't catch the dialog no matter how loudly you blast it.  Grrr....

Finally, good luck to all of you battling pollen allergies.  When we lived in OH all I was allergic to was grass pollen.  Since we moved to MA I've developed so many allergies I guess I'm just allergic to MA!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Grrr, annoying commercials.  Trying to watch the news and it seems like I have to reach for the remote every commercial break because of the noise factor or stupidity of at least half of them.  I'll gladly watch and watch again if it's a cute or creative ad, but those are few and far between.
> 
> On a similar note, why do shows have to drive the background music up so loud during the critical parts?  You can't catch the dialog no matter how loudly you blast it.  Grrr....
> 
> Finally, good luck to all of you battling pollen allergies.  When we lived in OH all I was allergic to was grass pollen.  Since we moved to MA I've developed so many allergies I guess I'm just allergic to MA!



I've been allergic to Montana for years, things grow here that never did in Wyoming...but I refuse to leave!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I've been allergic to Montana for years, things grow here that never did in Wyoming...but I refuse to leave!



Meanwhile, I would pack up and move back to OH in a heartbeat.   Kids still live there.  'nuff said...


----------



## Kylie1969

MrsLMB said:


>



+1....


----------



## Sprout

My 3.5-year-old daughter is more emotional right now than any human being I've ever seen. She has been the easy one since birth. She was a very happy baby, usually only cried when she actually needed something. Every major trouble spot that most parents talk about was easier than we could possibly have hoped for. She's had her behavior problems and is far from perfect, but she's been about as easy as any kid could be. Up until recently, her "temper tantrums" consisted of 3-5 minutes of solid crying, occasionally a holler or two, and twice she screamed a single, brief scream.  Over the past couple months they've gotten worse, included more yelling and longer crying bouts and she has gotten more dramatic. In short, she's become a more normal 3.5 year old. 

Suddenly, last week, she got drastically worse. She cries, genuine, intense crying for anywhere from ten to 50 minutes, usually 5-10 times daily. She doesn't want to go to the baby-sitter's anymore (the girls are there in the overlap between mine and my husband's work schedules, usually 5-10 hours a week, since my schedule fluctuates). She doesn't want to go to church anymore. She doesn't want to go to the store. Once we're any of those places she doesn't want to go home. She doesn't want to play right now! She doesn't want to eat right now! She doesn't want to wash her hands after using the toilet. She definitely doesn't want to go to bed. She used to fuss occasionally at bed time for a couple minutes. Every night over the past couple weeks she melts down, crying for anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes. Sometimes I can comfort her, sometimes she's inconsolable. All of the above-mentioned, as well as many other miscellaneous daily activities, induce bouts of crying. It was easier to take when she was being obstinate. She's just upset now. We usually ask her to go sit on her bed and calm down until she's ready to come back out, unless it's a time-sensitive issue like the baby-sitter's. Some things, like washing her hands, she has to do first and then go sit on her bed. If the crying is in response to a necessary task (eating, cleaning up her toys, etc.) she has to do it whenever she has calmed down. 
The babysitter said that today she was crying when she came, calmed down quickly, and was fine for the first 45 minutes. Then she went to the toilet, and suddenly, in the middle of washing her hands, she started crying. After many attempts to figure out what was wrong, she ended up sitting on the couch crying for over an hour. Every time she'd start to get calmed down and the sitter tried to talk to her again, she'd start up all over again. 
I am really at a loss here. I know that kids go through these phases, but I don't know how parents survive them. This is frustrating and heartbreaking and infuriating and endearing and maddening all rolled into one. The 1.5-year-old is starting to avoid her. She is especially intense when she's being separated from one or both of us. The kids entertain each other so well most of the time, DH and I have realized that we don't spend a lot of time interacting with them in free time any more. We interact at meal times and bed time, etc, but we haven't been playing with them nearly as much as we used to. We're making a concerted effort to play with them more, read and talk with them more, because we feel like maybe she's trying to get our attention. It's a tricky business though. We don't want her to connect cry-all-the-time with get-more-attention-from-Mommy-and-Daddy, so we're trying not to reward the crying with more attention, but rather give her more attention when she is behaving and when she seems to be trying extra hard to keep calm. But there's that thing in my brain that says, "she's sad. Comfort her." I do sometimes, typically when she's upset that she's being separated from us. You know, "I'll be back to get you very soon. You can play and have fun and then when I come get you we'll play and read books..." but this is just so confusing. I don't know, I just hope we can figure this out. I want my little girl to be happy! Not spoiled-happy, but loved, secure, and adaptable-happy!


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Sprout))) That must be so frustrating.

Is there any chance that she is in physical pain?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Oh my Sprout, that must be so hard to take, knowing something is bothering her and you don't know what.

 I hope you and your DH figure this out and are able to get her back to being a normal, sweet 3 1/2 year old.


----------



## Snip 13

Hope it passes for your sake Sprout. You have all my sympathy. Daniel started acting out like that at about the same age, he's almost 6 and nothing has changed.
I've tried everything.


----------



## Claire

I, too, would say take her to the doctor if you haven't done so already.  Make sure that there's not a physical problem.  Other than that, we're thinking of you!   Not that it helps!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I wish I had an answer, Sprout!  Doctor visit seems the best thing at this point.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wish I had an answer, Sprout! Doctor visit seems the best thing at this point.


 
Ditto here. Maybe her pedi doctor has an answer. The terrible two's and three's are almost as difficult to get through as the teen years.


----------



## MrsLMB

Just chiming in here to add my ditto to the Dr visit .. better to be safe than sorry with this.

Hope it's nothing more than an exagerated case of normal terrible two's .. hang tough Mom ... you will make it !!


----------



## Alix

Sprout, if you haven't read Dr Gordon Neufeld's book Hold On to Your Kids, I highly recommend it. You sound like you're doing all you can. She is clearly distressed and time with you guys is likely going to be the cure. At the moment, she is crying because she is upset and needs comfort, so go for it. You are a savvy enough parent to know when/if that need for comfort changes into a manipulation strategy. 

Some of our kids these days are just really sensitive little beasties and need lots and lots of connection and face time. When you HAVE to leave her, make sure you bridge the gap by telling her when you will see her next and that you'll be thinking of her etc. All the stuff I'm sure you're already doing. You might want to give her some little talisman of yours to hold on to and keep safe til she sees you again. It helps to maintain that connection to you and will help to soothe her a bit if that's one of her issues. 

She's only 3. Cuddle her, read to her, play with her and help her over the bump. She's not manipulating the situation at the moment. You'll catch that if she crosses that hurdle. Its absolutely OK, and even encouraged to comfort and snuggle the stuffing out of her right now. 

Good luck Sprout. I completely understand your struggle here. Parenting is a delicate balancing act and you have to do it without a net!


----------



## Addie

Go to the library and ask the librarian if they can recommend an age appropriate child's book on separation anxiety. Read it as often as need be to her.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Alix said:


> Sprout, if you haven't read Dr Gordon Neufeld's book Hold On to Your Kids, I highly recommend it. You sound like you're doing all you can. She is clearly distressed and time with you guys is likely going to be the cure. At the moment, she is crying because she is upset and needs comfort, so go for it. You are a savvy enough parent to know when/if that need for comfort changes into a manipulation strategy.
> 
> Some of our kids these days are just really sensitive little beasties and need lots and lots of connection and face time. When you HAVE to leave her, make sure you bridge the gap by telling her when you will see her next and that you'll be thinking of her etc. All the stuff I'm sure you're already doing. You might want to give her some little talisman of yours to hold on to and keep safe til she sees you again. It helps to maintain that connection to you and will help to soothe her a bit if that's one of her issues.
> 
> She's only 3. Cuddle her, read to her, play with her and help her over the bump. She's not manipulating the situation at the moment. You'll catch that if she crosses that hurdle. Its absolutely OK, and even encouraged to comfort and snuggle the stuffing out of her right now.
> 
> Good luck Sprout. I completely understand your struggle here. Parenting is a delicate balancing act and you have to do it without a net!



I guess I am looking at the crying and handwashing connection.  Is the soap an irritant that she feels but doesn't show as redness?  Separation anxiety I get, but the handwashing baffles me a bit.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I guess I am looking at the crying and handwashing connection.  Is the soap an irritant that she feels but doesn't show as redness?  Separation anxiety I get, but the handwashing baffles me a bit.



I wondered too.  Did she accidentally get water that was too hot or too cold at some time?  Anything related to potty training?


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I wondered too. Did she accidentally get water that was too hot or too cold at some time? Anything related to potty training?


 
Did some adult tell her an horrific story of what happens if you dont' wash your hands and scare the heck out of her?


----------



## Alix

As I recall from Sprout's list, there was an entire litany of things that the little one didn't want to do. The hand washing was only one of a number of other things she didn't want to do but would eventually do when prompted by consequence. She sounds like she is just being quite oppositional about a lot of things and not really happy about being oppositional. Asserting independence (as most 3 year olds will with a strong NO!), but not really feeling comfortable about being independent.  

My advice was not just about separation anxiety, it was more about attachment theory. Separation can be part of the issue, but it sounds more like she is uncertain about her attachments and that can lead to all kinds of acting out behaviour. If her attachment needs are filled, then some of those behaviours may diminish. Attachment theory talks about filling up a childs need for attachment to a caregiver which then allows them to explore their world and venture forth to conquer new vistas. 

Hope you can find something helpful Sprout. Hug to you and your little one until then. At the moment, I think you might need one more than she does!


----------



## chopper

What a good mom you are Sprout.  You are making an effort to pay more attention to your little girl when she is doing the right thing, and trying to ignore the inappropriate things.  I think that you are on the right track there.  If it is behavior, and there is no medical reason for her acting out, then that should start to change her behavior.  I am praying that you can all get through this quickly.


----------



## Snip 13

I find it somewhat annoying when people just join DC, make 1 or 2 bogus posts and then leave again. 
One of my many pet peeves I guess "roll eyes"


----------



## Snip 13

Petty vent no 2 for today! Just had another knock on my door from a neighbor. She hasn't come here once without asking for money, to borrow something or to use my phone. Said no for the first time. Enough is enough!
Then there are the other people in my life that expect me to do things for them, make promises of giving their share and nothing ever comes of it.
I'm done being a door mat, half way house, maid and flippen ATM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Snip 13

Last but not least...

I think I would have packed my bags and vanished to somewhere I would never be found by now if it wasn't for the folks on DC! You guys are the only people keeping semi sane and give as much as you receive.

Thank you all for not being one of the leeches on my back, the pains in my butt or one of the reasons I sometimes wish I didn't have to get up in the mornings!


----------



## MrsLMB

Snip 13 said:


> I find it somewhat annoying when people just join DC, make 1 or 2 bogus posts and then leave again.
> One of my many pet peeves I guess "roll eyes"


 
I was just telling DH the same thing !!


----------



## MrsLMB

Snip 13 said:


> Petty vent no 2 for today! Just had another knock on my door from a neighbor. She hasn't come here once without asking for money, to borrow something or to use my phone. Said no for the first time. Enough is enough!
> Then there are the other people in my life that expect me to do things for them, make promises of giving their share and nothing ever comes of it.
> I'm done being a door mat, half way house, maid and flippen ATM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 

Good for you Snip ... sometimes we just want to help but when they begin to take advantage we have to put the foot down.  It's not always easy but it's needed.

You will feel much better about having done this than having let her get away with it again .. now .. deep breath  and big  sigh ... and


----------



## Snip 13

MrsLMB said:


> I was just telling DH the same thing !!


 
Drives me  Just waste my time reading the posts when I could be reading something cool one of you guys posted


----------



## MrsLMB

Snip 13 said:


> Last but not least...
> 
> I think I would have packed my bags and vanished to somewhere I would never be found by now if it wasn't for the folks on DC! You guys are the only people keeping semi sane and give as much as you receive.
> 
> Thank you all for not being one of the leeches on my back, the pains in my butt or one of the reasons I sometimes wish I didn't have to get up in the mornings!


 

Well this place would not be the same without you!!

I understand what you are saying .. it's so good to have that safe place to escape to .. we are surrounded by wonderful people here who seem to have an abundant supply of support and caring .. it's like a family here


----------



## Aunt Bea

Snip 13 said:


> Petty vent no 2 for today! Just had another knock on my door from a neighbor. She hasn't come here once without asking for money, to borrow something or to use my phone. Said no for the first time. Enough is enough!
> Then there are the other people in my life that expect me to do things for them, make promises of giving their share and nothing ever comes of it.
> I'm done being a door mat, half way house, maid and flippen ATM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



It took me years to learn how to say no!

It is a powerful little word!


----------



## vitauta

Snip 13 said:


> I find it somewhat annoying when people just join DC, make 1 or 2 bogus posts and then leave again.
> One of my many pet peeves I guess "roll eyes"





i used to wonder why so few people bother to extend a welcome post to the newbies at dc....


----------



## Snip 13

MrsLMB said:


> Well this place would not be the same without you!!
> 
> Thank you  Nor without you!
> 
> 
> Aunt Bea said:
> 
> 
> 
> It took me years to learn how to say no!
> 
> It is a powerful little word!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think I could learn to like this word!
> 
> 
> 
> vitauta said:
> 
> 
> 
> i used to wonder why so few people bother to extend a welcome post to the newbies at dc....
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I can smell the bad ones from a mile away
Click to expand...


----------



## MrsLMB

vitauta said:


> i used to wonder why so few people bother to extend a welcome post to the newbies at dc....


 
I try to do it, but sometimes it's pretty obvious we are being duped .. hate wasting time on that kind of stuff .. after all there's song titles to post, today's funny, petty vents and things I learned today !


----------



## Snip 13

MrsLMB said:


> I try to do it, but sometimes it's pretty obvious we are being duped .. hate wasting time on that kind of stuff .. after all there's song titles to post, today's funny, petty vents and things I learned today !


 
Notice any recent activity? 
I'm almost too embarrassed to say I'm South African today


----------



## MrsLMB

Snip 13 said:


> Notice any recent activity?
> I'm almost too embarrassed to say I'm South African today


 
Huh?  You mean you didn't send out invitations????  Thought you were hosting a party Snip  

Those who are serious and real .. welcome aboard !


----------



## Snip 13

MrsLMB said:


> Huh? You mean you didn't send out invitations???? Thought you were hosting a party Snip
> 
> Those who are serious and real .. welcome aboard ! +1


 
Please, pretty pretty please can someone make it go away!!!! 
I'm not talking about the voices in my head, I like those


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> i used to wonder why so few people bother to extend a welcome post to the newbies at dc....


 
Sometimes I have been away from the computer for a while busy doing something else. When I come back, there are a plethora of messages to get through. Sometimes I have to backtrack to see what the subject is. So I don't always extend a welcome. But when I do, I try to make enough of a comment that they will want to stick around.


----------



## Zhizara

I only do a welcome to DC post when I have a reply or comment to make.  So many people sign up, make a post or two, then never return.


----------



## Sprout

Thank you all for your recommendations and general support. I got on before work yesterday and read a lot of the responses, but decided to call my pediatrician's office and didn't get a chance to come back and comment. They said it's fairly normal for separation anxiety to pop up again at this age, even if it hasn't been a problem before. They are concerned with the strong emotional reactions to everything else. I spoke to a nurse and she said she wanted to discuss it with the pediatrician and that the ped should be calling me back some time today. Of course, the rules of the universe, yesterday really wasn't bad. We had a bit of obstinacy and a couple crocodile tears here and there, but nothing like we've been seeing. 
I took Alix's suggestion before I left for work. About an hour before I put on a necklace that I know she particularly likes and is fairly durable. I subtly made sure she saw that I was wearing it. Then, when she started to get sad when my BIL came over to watch them, I took the necklace off and asked her if she wanted to wear "Mommy's special necklace" until I come home from work to get it. She still cried, but she calmed down and my BIL said she didn't really have any problems after I left. I told her before bed time that if she could try really hard to just close her eyes and go to sleep and not make a big fuss, we'd go on a special play date tomorrow (today). I also reminded her like every night that Daddy would come in and give her hugs and kisses when he got home from work, whether she was awake or asleep. She was fine. She teared up a little, but none even fell. She was awake for a good hour before she fell asleep (another story there) but seemed reasonable happy the entire time. 
Today she seems more relaxed too. We've have a couple tears and a couple hollers, but again, no big crying fits. 
I appreciate that the two things I tried seemed to work, but honestly, this almost confuses me more. It's like she was a different child for 2 weeks and now seems to be mostly back to normal again. Just like that. I guess we'll see what the pediatrician has to say and how the next few days go. 

Alix, I'll see if our library has the book.
Also, I'm not sure about the hand-washing at the babysitter's because I wasn't actually there, but she's crying about all kinds of strange things. Some are normal things that she tends to dislike anyway and she's just reacting much more intensely, some are things that she usually likes. 
Thank you again for all the input. I'm sorry if I didn't answer someone's question, but we had a very loud thunderstorm that kept waking me all night and my brain is a bit mushy today!


----------



## Alix

Sprout, that's just the nature of kids. Fine one minute and nuts the next. Or love lima beans one day and the next they are awful. I think they are just about keeping us a bit off balance!

I'm glad something helped, and I'm hopeful that she will settle a bit in the days to come. Hugs you sweet lady, this can't have been an easy time for you.


----------



## Sprout

Thank you. We're back to the crying again. We'll see the doctor next week. In the mean time it's just patience and prayer, I guess. I'm sure we'll survive it! Everyone else does.


----------



## Kylie1969

Snip 13 said:


> Please, pretty pretty please can someone make it go away!!!!
> I'm not talking about the voices in my head, I like those


----------



## taxlady

I bought a pair of jeans yesterday. They have nice deep front pockets. They have real back pockets. They are traditional rise. They have a bit of spandex, so they are quite comfortable. So, what am I venting about? Muffin top and my bum seems even flatter. Gonna have to do some exercising when tax season is over.


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> I bought a pair of jeans yesterday. They have nice deep front pockets. They have real back pockets. They are traditional rise. They have a bit of spandex, so they are quite comfortable. So, what am I venting about? Muffin top and my bum seems even flatter. Gonna have to do some exercising when tax season is over.



I would return the jeans!


----------



## Kylie1969

He he


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> I would return the jeans!


It's not the fault of the jeans. It's just that they fit well enough that I notice the flattish bum. Heck, I've been trying to find jeans with decent pockets for a couple of years. I don't think this store takes returns. The jeans were $5!


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> It's not the fault of the jeans. It's just that they fit well enough that I notice the flattish bum. Heck, I've been trying to find jeans with decent pockets for a couple of years. I don't think this store takes returns. The jeans were $5!



Get the underwear with the butt pads and enjoy your $5 jeans!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Get the underwear with the butt pads and enjoy your $5 jeans!


Nah, can't be bothered to spend $$ on that kind of underwear. I really do need to exercise. I know that leg lifts and that exercise where you sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you and then you "walk" forward and backward, work for firming up/enhancing ones bum.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Nah, can't be bothered to spend $$ on that kind of underwear. I really do need to exercise. I know that leg lifts and that exercise where you sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you and then you "walk" forward and backward, work for firming up/enhancing ones bum.



I wouldn't know, having never had a bum!  Will take your word for it!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I wouldn't know, having never had a bum!  Will take your word for it!


I used to have a bit of a bum. I think it's gotten flabby and droopy.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have a huge bum...sits in the chair over there...at least 200 lbs worth.

As for my rear-end, there's a bit too much and still working on it.


----------



## jharris

Laughing!


----------



## chopper

Here's a petty vent:  all this talk about all of you show-offs with no butt.  I have enough for all of us.  Hubby did say that he thinks all 16 pounds have fallen off my butt.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> Here's a petty vent:  all this talk about all of you show-offs with no butt.  I have enough for all of us.  Hubby did say that he thinks all 16 pounds have fallen off my butt.


It's not that my bum is small - it isn't. It just doesn't have a nice rounded shape any more.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> Here's a petty vent:  all this talk about all of you show-offs with no butt.  I have enough for all of us.  Hubby did say that he thinks all 16 pounds have fallen off my butt.



Have him turn around and see if you can find it...


----------



## chopper

taxlady said:


> It's not that my bum is small - it isn't. It just doesn't have a nice rounded shape any more.



Ok, I feel a little better because mine has a nice round shape still, just bigger than I would like it to be.


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Have him turn around and see if you can find it...



I don't want to find it. I'm ok with losing it. For years I heard someone else say that they lost five pounds, and I said, "I found it, it is on my butt!"  I'm not sure if anyone else has found the 16 pounds of butt I have lost, but I certainly don't want it back...or on his backside!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> I don't want to find it. I'm ok with losing it. For years I heard someone else say that they lost five pounds, and I said, "I found it, it is on my butt!"  I'm not sure if anyone else has found the 16 pounds of butt I have lost, but I certainly don't want it back...or on his backside!



LOL!! Maybe it came all the way up here to hang around me...I keep telling folks I sit too much at work and my butt is starting to look like my chair...wide and grey...


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> Here's a petty vent:  all this talk about all of you show-offs with no butt.  I have enough for all of us.  Hubby did say that he thinks all 16 pounds have fallen off my butt.



Hey, try sitting on those hard wood or plastic chairs all day with no butt!   Congrats on the 16 lb. butt fall, BTW!


----------



## Kylie1969

Dawgluver said:


> Get the underwear with the butt pads and enjoy your $5 jeans!



I have never even heard of underwear like that


----------



## taxlady

Kylie1969 said:


> I have never even heard of underwear like that


I Googled pix for you. It hadn't occurred to me that they made it for men:







While I was looking at the Google image results for "padded bum underwear", I found a surprising picture, so I had to check out the site. It's at a touring motorcyclist site: Motorcycle Underwear Underwear to prevent "monkey butt".


----------



## taxlady

Aargh! I'm fighting with my desktop computer. It's been acting wonky since the Windog update of 2013-04-09. Now there is a new update. I was going to uninstall the 9 April update, but I wonder if the new one will fix the issues with that. I guess I'll wait until Stirling is awake.

I don't need this headache during tax season.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Podiatrist appointment this morning, someone got a hold of Shrek's debit card numbers and bought $650 worth of stuff and Shrek is having some severe floaters in his right eye which worries me.  I hate Mondays...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Podiatrist appointment this morning, someone got a hold of Shrek's debit card numbers and bought $650 worth of stuff and Shrek is having some severe floaters in his right eye which worries me.  I hate Mondays...


Oh no!

Some Mondays should just be sent back.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Shrek that those floaters are not serious. You are making him go to the doctor today aren't you?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Oh no!
> 
> Some Mondays should just be sent back.
> 
> I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Shrek that those floaters are not serious. You are making him go to the doctor today aren't you?



Yes, after the podiatrist and the bank he is off to the optometrist.  We already got a stop on the Debit card, so now it's just paperwork, but the eye thing is pressing.  Hopefully I'll be able to walk...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

FWIW PF, I've had floaters in the eye for years.  According to my doc they usually aren't any problem.  Either you just get used to them and don't notice anymore or they get dissolved.  Hopefully this is Shrek's case, fingers crossed.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> FWIW PF, I've had floaters in the eye for years.  According to my doc they usually aren't any problem.  Either you just get used to them and don't notice anymore or they get dissolved.  Hopefully this is Shrek's case, fingers crossed.



It's blood in his eye that is causing the floaters.  We have to watch carefully and hope the floaters are the only problem and it doesn't turn into a retinal tear.  Another appointment next week to see if it's gotten worse.

I wouldn't have worried but these came on suddenly, in a large amount and got much worse, doubling over two days.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It's blood in his eye that is causing the floaters. We have to watch carefully and hope the floaters are the only problem and it doesn't turn into a retinal tear. Another appointment next week to see if it's gotten worse.
> 
> I wouldn't have worried but these came on suddenly, in a large amount and got much worse, doubling over two days.


 
Did they say they can do anything for it? When a patient has something wrong, doctors don't seem to realize that a week can be a long time to be worrying.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Did they say they can do anything for it? When a patient has something wrong, doctors don't seem to realize that a week can be a long time to be worrying.



Since it is blood, it may settle by gravity and Shrek won't see it anymore.  He is watching for flashes of light in his periphery or a dark "curtain" we are more worried about a detachment than anything else at this point.  It's being watched and we were told that if anything happens to call ASAP, even at 3 in the morning and we will be met at the clinic for emergency care.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Since it is blood, it may settle by gravity and Shrek won't see it anymore.  He is watching for flashes of light in his periphery or a dark "curtain" we are more worried about a detachment than anything else at this point.  It's being watched and we were told that if anything happens to call ASAP, even at 3 in the morning and we will be met at the clinic for emergency care.



Hang in there PF.  I'll say a prayer tonight for Shrek's eye and your nerves.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Hang in there PF.  I'll say a prayer tonight for Shrek's eye and your nerves.



Thank you!  It wears me out being a Hypochondriac for the both of us.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thank you!  It wears me out being a Hypochondriac for the both of us.


That's what you get for being in the medical field.


----------



## Claire

The Jeans and Butt issue:  I lost 30+ pounds over the past  18 mos.  I've always been thick-waisted, and it has gotten so much worse!  I lost a cup size - (seriously, 42c to 38b)(unlike some people who claim to be large-boned, my skeleton is big), I lost my thighs.  I lost my butt.  No hips to speak of.  But the waist?  Still there.  I've always had the problem of fitting pants to my waist and having to wear pants that flapped around my bottom and thighs, but it's worse now.  I've always been an apple anyway, and I'm more apple-ish now.  It won't be an issue for awhile.  But husband would like me to show off my slimmer profile and I told him wait for the fall (I mean, warmer weather is going to come soon, right?) and I'll make him my servant while I try on men's jeans for winter wear.  Once it warms a bit, skirts and shorts will be fine (I'm still not happy with my thighs, but butt is regaining a curve.  Lots of weight-lifting).


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I totally understand, Claire.  I will never be able to pull off wearing women's jeans...no waist!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Claire and PF, I might know of some help for you.  I watch The Rachel Ray Show everyone once in a while and yesterday (Tue., April 23) was one of those days.  They had a segment called "Decoding Your Denim" and had three viewers expose their problems and found jeans that looked better than what each individual came in wearing.  Might give you some info if you view the clip.  I've never found good fitting jeans ever and have given up - I own one pair of jeans for when I really need them, then wear sweat pants around the house most of the time.  I'll even go out in my one pair of "dress sweats" for the really cold winter days 'cuz my legs get so very cold in jeans.


----------



## Kylie1969

I agree, it is so hard to find a pair of jeans that is just right!

You do have to spend a fair bit of time in the shop trying on numerous styles to find one that fits you like a glove


----------



## chopper

It is a pain to fit into jeans when you have to get the butt big enough and have a small waist too.  I know, not the same problem, but also a problem.   I found jeans at Llbean that fit me, and so anyone with the same problem can check there.  I just think that women's jeans are hard to fit anyway.  So many people I know have trouble finding jeans that fit.  Where are all of the women that can wear the jeans we try on and can't fit?


----------



## Dawgluver

Eddie Bauer sells hipless, buttless jeans in tall, they also have a variety of other styles including curvy (smaller waist and bigger hips and bottom), along with petites and plus sizes.


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:


> Eddie Bauer sells hipless, buttless jeans in tall, they also have a variety of other styles including curvy (smaller waist and bigger hips and bottom), along with petites and plus sizes.



I'll have to try those again now that my shape has changed some.  So far they didn't fit, but maybe now, or after I lose some more?  Thanks for reminding me about them.


----------



## taxlady

What boggles me is that when I am overweight and wearing larger sizes, the legs on jeans are usually the right length. I'm 5'4". When I'm at my right weight and wearing smaller sizes, the legs on all the jeans are too long. What's up with that?


----------



## Kylie1969

My mum is the same height as you Taxy


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I need no waist, all butt, no leg jeans...my actual inseam is about 26 inches.  Good luck with that!  I do not have any hip spread...


----------



## taxlady

I have a 30 inch inseam - same as Stirling. He's 6' tall.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

You tower over me and Stirling looms...I'm 5'...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> I have a 30 inch inseam - same as Stirling. He's 6' tall.



How about a 33" inseam on a 5' 6" frame?  My "center of gravity" is above my center!


----------



## Claire

I'm 5'9", 33" inseam.  Hubby is close to me in height (a bit shorter).  He once put on a pair of my jeans and the hem was so long on him that he looked to be wearing clown clothes.  We, up until my Year of Stress, have always been close in height/weight, but I am longer of limb, and the hip surgery actually gained me almost a half inch in height.  In other words, at almost the same height, head to heel, I could always change lightbulbs he couldn't reach.

The jeans issue wouldn't even BE an issue if we didn't live somewhere with cold winters.  My 2 pair of LL Bean flannel-lined will stay even though they're huge on me because I'll use them as soon as I'm physically capable of shovelling snow or walking any distance in sub-freezing weather (this will happen after a decent summer of leg-building work).  But the jeans I wear to go out drinking/dining on Fridays, or for an occaisional lunch (why do I always misspell that word?) in Nov-Apr should be replaced.  Which is why I'm not bothering until fall.  For much of my life I lived in VA, HI, and FL and never even used jeans at all.  But for now (spring is going to come, isn't it?  Friday it snowed, and I don't just mean a light flurry!) and skirts, shorts, leggings will be enough.


----------



## taxlady

I like the pockets in jeans. But, since it is so hard to get good, real pockets in ladies jeans, I think I'll do something I did for a few years. I wore a vest with lots of pockets. I do enjoy wearing skirts, especially in nice weather, but even if they have pockets, there are seldom more than two.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Well my taxes are finally done!

I owe a total of $8.00.

The CPA charged me $286.00 to find out that I owe $8.00!


----------



## Andy M.

Aunt Bea said:


> Well my taxes are finally done!
> 
> I owe a total of $8.00.
> 
> The CPA charged me $286.00 to find out that I owe $8.00!




...or maybe, the CPA's expertise was responsible for the fact that you owe only $8.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> Well my taxes are finally done!
> 
> I owe a total of $8.00.
> 
> The CPA charged me $286.00 to find out that I owe $8.00!


 
I worked for the Mass. Tax Department at one time. So I have always been able to do my own. The college students here as part of their homework, have to volunteer to spend a certain number of hours doing taxes for the citizens for free. And that includes homeowners, small business owners, etc. The ones who are going to graduate this year do the more complicated ones. They usually get to do only two or even less in one day. The rest do the less complicated ones. There have been some graduates who come back each year to help. Great program. The sessions are usually held in local libraries. Copy machines, seats and plenty of table space available for free.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Andy M. said:


> ...or maybe, the CPA's expertise was responsible for the fact that you owe only $8.



In this case I am sure that you are 100% correct.

I get annoyed with the process.  

When I send my $8.00 check to the state of New York it will probably cost them $100.00 to process it.

It just does not make any _*cents!*_


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> In this case I am sure that you are 100% correct.
> 
> I get annoyed with the process.
> 
> When I send my $8.00 check to the state of New York it will probably cost them $100.00 to process it.
> 
> It just does not make any _*cents!*_


 
 If I am paying off a bill, and there is change under fifty cents, I don't pay the change. Over fifty cents, I pay it up to the next full dollar. Of course they don't send back the overpayment, but the will send a bill for the change I didn't pay. The postage cost more than the balance due.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> If I am paying off a bill, and there is change under fifty cents, I don't pay the change. Over fifty cents, I pay it up to the next full dollar. Of course they don't send back the overpayment, but the will send a bill for the change I didn't pay. The postage cost more than the balance due.




Why do you do this?


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Why do you do this?


 
I hate dealing with change. It is so much easier to keep a balance. In the end, it all evens out for me at least. When I buy a cup of coffee, I figure it to cost $2.00. The change can go for their tip or whatever they want to do with it. If I have more than $.50 cents coming back, all I am interested in are the quarters for laundry. There are some retail stores (clothing, Sears, etc.) where I do take all the change. That goes into the milk bottle when I get home. When it is full, I roll the coins, cash them in for bills and deposit the money into my savings account.


----------



## taxlady

I'm wasting time finding out how to remove some cr** that got onto my desktop computer. It's "cltmng.exe", an executable that is part of toolbar from Conduit - Search Protect.

Now I didn't download any such toolbar intentionally. But, some piece(s) of software (Adobe reader?) always ask if you want a stupid toolbar when you update and it's ticked "yes" by default. I may not have noticed it and accidentally downloaded some such nonsense. I noticed it because my CPU was at 100%, so I had a look at Windows Task Manager to see what was using all that CPU.


----------



## bakechef

Something came with a download that pops up an extra tab in the browser for searches.  I ALWAYS make sure to do custom installs, so I don't know where it came from, I really need to get rid of it.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> Something came with a download that pops up an extra tab in the browser for searches.  I ALWAYS make sure to do custom installs, so I don't know where it came from, I really need to get rid of it.


What browser are you using? Have you checked your add-ons / extensions to see if there is something you didn't intentionally install?

I found both Yontoo and White Smoke (from Conduit) in IE and disabled it, which I don't even use. I find White Smoke in FF and disabled, then removed it.


----------



## Zhizara

taxlady said:


> I'm wasting time finding out how to remove some cr** that got onto my desktop computer. It's "cltmng.exe", an executable that is part of toolbar from Conduit - Search Protect.
> 
> Now I didn't download any such toolbar intentionally. But, some piece(s) of software (Adobe reader?) always ask if you want a stupid toolbar when you update and it's ticked "yes" by default. I may not have noticed it and accidentally downloaded some such nonsense. I noticed it because my CPU was at 100%, so I had a look at Windows Task Manager to see what was using all that CPU.



Can you system restore to the point before the problem?


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> Can you system restore to the point before the problem?


I don't have time right now. I think I have enough temporary fixes going to get me to the end of tax season. The printer is working now.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I'm wasting time finding out how to remove some cr** that got onto my desktop computer. It's "cltmng.exe", an executable that is part of toolbar from Conduit - Search Protect.
> 
> Now I didn't download any such toolbar intentionally. But, some piece(s) of software (Adobe reader?) always ask if you want a stupid toolbar when you update and it's ticked "yes" by default. I may not have noticed it and accidentally downloaded some such nonsense. I noticed it because my CPU was at 100%, so I had a look at Windows Task Manager to see what was using all that CPU.


 
Did you go to your Control Panel, then uninstall program? I find that I have to keep a sharp eye out for Google Chrome. There is always a box that is already checked to install it when I get a new download from Windows. I make sure I uncheck it.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Did you go to your Control Panel, then uninstall program? I find that I have to keep a sharp eye out for Google Chrome. There is always a box that is already checked to install it when I get a new download from Windows. I make sure I uncheck it.


Yeah, I checked the control panel. It isn't there. I checked on line and people say it doesn't show up there.


----------



## Addie

Every six months I have to be evaluated according to the rules and regulations of Medicare. If that doesn't happen, then ESP doesn't get paid. I also have to have my vitals checked once a month. I am in my six month tiime. What a pain in the backside. But considering what I get in exchange I have to put up with it. And then I also get a notice in the mail that it is time for my recertification for housing. Why can't they all just leave me alone? I hate all these rules and regulations.


----------



## Addie

My SIL took my daughter to Florida for a few days to get her calmed down after all the hoopla from the Marathon Bombers. She gets upset very easily and over reacts to everything that happens when she can't control her world around her. In the meantime while she is gone, her meds came via UPS. The package is sitting here in full view and a constant reminder. All I ever wanted was a quiet retirement. 

Please God, turn me into an Iguana.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> What browser are you using? Have you checked your add-ons / extensions to see if there is something you didn't intentionally install?
> 
> I found both Yontoo and White Smoke (from Conduit) in IE and disabled it, which I don't even use. I find White Smoke in FF and disabled, then removed it.



I use chrome and it doesn't show up in extensions, there is no program that I can uninstall either.

I'm not too worried about it, I'm going to put a new hard drive in the laptop and start over again (the previous new HD crashed after a few weeks, I have a replacement, but haven't taken the time to put it in).  I've been too lazy to put in the new hard drive, because setting up the whole computer again is a task.  I just got a new phone a couple weeks ago and finally have all the apps that I need.


----------



## Zhizara

taxlady said:


> I don't have time right now. I think I have enough temporary fixes going to get me to the end of tax season. The printer is working now.



I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.  Keep plenty of duct tape and glue handy!


----------



## GotGarlic

I use Ad-Aware to keep an electronic eye out for stuff I don't want to install.  I use the free version. http://www.lavasoft.com/


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I use Ad-Aware to keep an electronic eye out for stuff I don't want to install.  I use the free version. Ad-Aware Free Antivirus and Antispyware by Lavasoft | Protection from Virus, Spyware & Malware | Top Internet Security for Windows


I really should install it again. I don't remember why I quit using it. I think I don't have it on my desktop machine at the moment. Thanks for the reminder.


----------



## MrsLMB

Today my petty vent is this:

Hyundai Motor Suicide Ad Draws Ire for S. Korean Company - Yahoo! Finance

*Hyundai Motor Suicide Ad Draws Ire for S. Korean Company*

*Hyundai Motor Suicide Ad Draws Ire for S. Korean Company*







Reuters - A visitor walks past a Hyundai Motor logo at a Hyundai dealership in Seoul April 25, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
 

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co has been forced to apologise for an advertisement that sought to promote the zero carbon emissions of one of its cars by featuring a man failing to commit suicide using a hose attached to the exhaust.
The ad debacle is the latest to hit the carmaker, the world's fifth largest by sales when combined with its Kia Motors affiliate, after it exaggerated fuel performance figures in the United States, and announced a large-scale vehicle recall this month.






A still from the ad (Hyundai / YouTube)The South Korean company scrambled to limit the damage from the advertisement, which was pulled. 

It was made by the European unit of Innocean Worldwide Corp, an in-house advertising firm that is 40 percent owned by Chung Sung-yi, a daughter of Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo.
Hyundai Motor and Innocean said they "deeply and sincerely apologize for any offense or distress" that the posting of the "viral film", aimed at European and a U.S. audience, may have caused.
The YouTube ad for Hyundai's hydrogen-powered car ix35 featured a middle-aged man attempting to commit suicide by sitting in his car with a hose connected to its exhaust pipe feeding into the car's interior.
He failed to kill himself because the car had "100 percent water emissions," according to the advert.
Holly Brockwell, who identified herself as a digital copywriter in London, wrote on her blog that she felt "sick" after watching the advert, saying her father had committed suicide when she was a child.
"I understand better than most people the need to do... something talkable, even something outrageous to get those all-important viewing figures. What I don't understand is why a group of strangers have just brought me to tears in order to sell me a car," she said in an open letter to Hyundai and Innocean.
"My dad never drove a Hyundai. Thanks to you, neither will I."
Hyundai, led by chairman Chung Mong-koo has transformed itself from butt of jokes to a company which has aspirations to match Germany's Volkswagen AG as it seeks to shed its value-for-money image and move upmarket.
Hyundai's crossover ix35 car which is sold as the Tucson in the United States will go on sale in Europe by 2015 as the company seeks to leap-frog its competition in the eco-friendly car segment.
Hyundai is not the only carmaker to have run into trouble over its advertisements. Last month, U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co came under fire for sexist adverts in India, prompting an apology from Ford India and dismissal of employees at an Indian unit of advertising group WPP.
(Editing by David Chance and Daniel Magnowski)





Sometimes I wonder what these people are smoking. Advertising has gotten too far out there these days .. and this is beyond words for me.


----------



## jharris

Some advertisers push the envelope of good taste for profit others do it to make a political point.

This kind of garbage does nothing to entice me to buy or consider another viewpoint.

It simply turns me off.


----------



## Kylie1969

That is awful!!

Bad advertising 

What is wrong with these people!


----------



## Andy M.

How does anyone not see that ad as insensitive and tasteless.


----------



## Dawgluver

They pulled it, and it never got to the US as far as ads.


----------



## jharris

What corporate marketing exec signed off on it to begin with?


----------



## Dawgluver

Apparently, it was shown in Korea (not anywhere else), and they realized how tasteless it was.  I think I saw that an apology was issued.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I just got a Sonata.  First cool car after driving two different Dodge Caravans over the last 16 years.  This stoopid ad just sucked a little of the fun out of my car.   Thanks a lot MrsLMB. 

Advertising has always been about grabbing your attention.  I took a couple advert classes back in the early 1970s.  Created a print ad that was a bit of a shocker back in the day.  I would have been so embarrassed if anything would have come of it but getting them used wasn't the goal, getting a good grade was.  Prof loved it-I got an A in the class.   I retrospect it wasn't that good...  If pushing the envelope results in sales, many companies consider it a win.  However, they need to realize there is a line they need to pay attention to.


----------



## Kylie1969

At least they pulled it...one good move I guess


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I just got a Sonata. First cool car after driving two different Dodge Caravans over the last 16 years. This stoopid ad just sucked a little of the fun out of my car.  Thanks a lot MrsLMB.
> 
> Advertising has always been about grabbing your attention. I took a couple advert classes back in the early 1970s. Created a print ad that was a bit of a shocker back in the day. I would have been so embarrassed if anything would have come of it but getting them used wasn't the goal, getting a good grade was. Prof loved it-I got an A in the class.  I retrospect it wasn't that good... If pushing the envelope results in sales, many companies consider it a win. However, they need to realize there is a line they need to pay attention to.


 
 I am Madison Avenues' worst nightmare. I am not swayed by ads. If I like it, I watch it strictly for the entertainment value. But that doesn't mean I am going to out to buy it because of the ad. My sister was a sucker for ads. I swear she believed everything said in them. 

I have ads that are a pet peeve. The ones selling medical insurance to supplement Medicare. They say "you can choose any doctor you want" and "no referrals necessary". Those benefits are not the result of what the supplement insurance offers, it is the law of Medicare. You have those benefits without the supplement insurance. I see ads on TV that are directed right toward the elderly. And they just border of lying, but not quite. They use the "fear factor."


----------



## Andy M.

TV ads are now so bizarre and off topic that you have no idea what the product is until the end.  Those ads turn me off.  I do a lot of DVR-ing and when we watch the DVR-ed shows I take great pleasure in skipping through the ads at warp speed.


----------



## Zhizara

Andy M. said:


> TV ads are now so bizarre and off topic that you have no idea what the product is until the end.  Those ads turn me off.  I do a lot of DVR-ing and when we watch the DVR-ed shows I take great pleasure in skipping through the ads at warp speed.



I agree, Andy.  The thing that these advertisers don't realize is that I'm not going to wait around for the end of the commercial to see what they're advertising.

I LOVE my mute button!

I sometimes wish there were a way to gray out the screen so I don't have to _see_ it either.


----------



## bakechef

I hate the way we are marketed to.  I'm pretty easy going and not much flusters me, but it's like they are trying their darnedest to.  I also hate how just about every ad insults our intelligence.

This is disappointing from Hyundai/Kia.  They have made awesome strides with their cars in the last 10 years.  They have gone from cars that nobody noticed of questionable quality to market leaders making great cars.  Why would they want to tarnish their image like this?  We have both a Hyundai and a Kia, great cars.


----------



## bakechef

This reminds me of one of my jobs as a bakery manager.  We had this cake that the company insisted on calling "Chocolate Suicide Cake" (a play on "death by chocolate").  I didn't like this name at all, I also had a cake decorator that lost a son to suicide.  I made a new sign to go in front of the cake that read "Chocolate Overload Cake".  I had a fight on my hands with that decision, one that I ultimately won, at least for my store.  I almost lost my job on that one when I told the bakery director (daughter of the company's owner!), that I wanted her to go explain to Sandy, why it was so important to label a cake "suicide".


----------



## MrsLMB

Andy M. said:


> TV ads are now so bizarre and off topic that you have no idea what the product is until the end. Those ads turn me off. I do a lot of DVR-ing and when we watch the DVR-ed shows I take great pleasure in skipping through the ads at warp speed.


 

Yep yep .. kudos to the person who invented fast forward  LOL

There are so many ads on TV that are funny and entertaining.  But really I can probably only tell you what about 1/8 of them are selling.  I remember some of the ads by what I see but not by what they sell .. same goes for previews of TV shows.  Right now there is an ad running for some show - no idea what show it is - but there is a cut in there of some guy saying bippity boppity boo and then he smacks the guy looking at him.  No clue what the show is .. love the bippity boppity boo though.


----------



## jharris

MrsLMB said:
			
		

> Yep yep .. kudos to the person who invented fast forward  LOL



And the mute button!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

jharris said:


> And the mute button!



The Mute button does not work...Shrek pushes it and pushes it and I just keep on talking...


----------



## MrsLMB

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The Mute button does not work...Shrek pushes it and pushes it and I just keep on talking...


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


>


 
Ditto!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I am Madison Avenues' worst nightmare. I am not swayed by ads...



Just because I took advertising classes doesn't mean I pay attention to ads.  I'm right there with you Addie.  

One time a survey company in a mall asked if I would take a survey in exchange for something like $5 or $10 bucks.  The kids were starting to make "we're hungry" noise so I said "sure" and they took of for the food court.  The survey company gave me one section of a newspaper and told me to turn the pages and scan each one.  When I was done and closed the up the questions started.  Turns out they were looking to see which banking ad was most effective.  Problem was I was very satisfied with our bank.  When the exasperated person said "did you notice ANY ads?"  I told her "yeah, Rockside Market has milk on sale".  She wondered how I could miss 2 (two, yes TWO) full-page bank ads and not have a clue who they were for but I could spot a 2x3 inch grocery ad?  I told her sure, I didn't need a bank but I did need milk. 

You can get my attention only if I'm in the market for something.  We don't buy much so I'm a waste of advertising dollars too.


----------



## Kylie1969

Love it CG...you see what you need


----------



## Addie

If I could I would be kicking my own backside right now. I really did it up good this time. All day I have been poking away at a bunch of little jobs that I have been putting off. And now I am paying for it. I even managed to turn and flip the mattress. I was too impatient to wait for Spike. Every bone in my body is hurting so much I can't relax enough to rest. I took one Vicodin and it hasn't even touched my joints filled with pain. I will have to take another. And I hate to. I hate taking pain meds. But I guess I need them this time. I feel as bad as I did the day after my son's wedding.

I had just had surgery on my bad leg. I should have been in a wheelchair. I told the surgeon that all I wanted was to be able to dance just five steps at my son's wedding. Well I danced with the DJ, my son, my SIL, all the Albanian men and women, and anyone else who would dance with me. I danced the night away. Two weeks earlier there was talk of amputating the leg. The next day I couldn't even move my legs to get to the bathroom. Needless to say when I went for my next visit to the surgeon's office I told her what I have done. "Just five steps?" That was all she said about it. 

Well that's me. Always pushing myself beyond what I should be doing. Since I can't kick myself, would someone do it for me? Please?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Oh Addie, I hope the meds kick in soon and your joints stop hurting enough to get to sleep.  My ankles hurt a lot but at least most of the time I get relief with a couple ibuprofen and a good dose of Icy Hot rubbed on the ankle joint.

Your story about dancing at your son's wedding reminded me of my own Dad.  His legs went out under him the July before my wedding.  His back was bad and he really needed surgery.  When he asked the doctor if he would be able to walk me down the aisle after the surgery the doc told him there were no guarantees.  Dad's legs were wobbly as a newborn foal and his back hurt like hell, but he waited on the surgery until after our wedding four months later.  Two days later he was under the knife and, thankfully, ended up fully recovering.  The things parents go through when their kids get married, huh?  God Bless you all!


----------



## Addie

You know I am supposed to take two Vicodin three times a day to keep the pain in my hips and spine at bay. But being stubborn and non-compliant as I am, a ten day supply lasts me almost three weeks. I take only one at a time. That usually does the job. But I really did it up good today. So I just took another one. My second one today. 

  My son the P.A. told me that I will not become addicted to pain killers as long as I am in real pain. (And I am.) But I still have that fear in me. I have arthritis in both hips and spine. Usually if I sit down when the pain starts and rest, I am all right. I just couldn't sit down long enough today. My mind kept racing of all the things I wanted to accomplish. And turning and flipping that mattress didn't do my any good either.


----------



## Kylie1969

I am thinking I may have arthritis starting in my left knee...it is always quite achy on the outside of it and when I saw a specialist a couple of years ago about my shoulder, he checked other parts of me and told me that I have some arthritis in my left knee...so maybe I have


----------



## Addie

Kylie1969 said:


> I am thinking I may have arthritis starting in my left knee...it is always quite achy on the outside of it and when I saw a specialist a couple of years ago about my shoulder, he checked other parts of me and told me that I have some arthritis in my left knee...so maybe I have


 
It is quite possible. A lot of folks don't realize that a simple childhood injury such as a sprain can be a major contributor to the early onset of arthritis. My system is auto-immune and arthritis is part of that. My sister had rheumatoid arthritis. She got it from rheumatic fever when she got a sore throat and ignored it. The infection went into her heart. That arthritis is extremely painful and disfiguring.


----------



## Kylie1969

Yes, I have heard the rheumatoid one is not nice at all, I hope to never get that one 

Are your tablets strong enough Ads for your pain?


----------



## Addie

Kylie1969 said:


> Yes, I have heard the rheumatoid one is not nice at all, I hope to never get that one
> 
> Are your tablets strong enough Ads for your pain?


 
They are if I would take them like I am supposed to.


----------



## Kylie1969

My mum has really painful arthritis in her hands/fingers and she has tried taking tablets but they really upset her stomach, so sadly she has to just put up with the pain, it hurts me to know that


----------



## Addie

Kylie1969 said:


> My mum has really painful arthritis in her hands/fingers and she has tried taking tablets but they really upset her stomach, so sadly she has to just put up with the pain, it hurts me to know that


 
A common problem. My sister used to take coated medication for hers. I too have coated aspirin that I take every day for my heart. Most people need to eat something before the take pain meds. It really helps.


----------



## Kylie1969

Ads, the tablets mum was taking were the NSAIDS called Mobic, have you heard of them?


----------



## Addie

Kylie1969 said:


> Ads, the tablets mum was taking were the NSAIDS called Mobic, have you heard of them?


 
No, but I have heard of NSAIDS. We have one here that is OTC called Aleve. A lot of folks can't take them on an empty stomach. They are really strong.


----------



## Kylie1969

Yes, I have heard of that one 

Before I had my shoulder surgery I was on Mobic too...the 15mg ones, very strong indeed


----------



## PrincessFiona60

All NSAIDS should be taken with food, they are hard on your stomach.  Be thankful when you can take NSAIDS, they are the only thing that really helps my pain, but they interact with some of my heart medications so I can't take them anymore.


----------



## Andy M.

Non-Steriodal Anti-Inflammatory Drug. This category covers a very wide range of drugs.  Basically any drug the reduces inflammation, fever and pain that isn't a steroid.  The list ranges from aspirin to some serious Rx drugs.

As PF said, you have to be careful and talk to your Dr. about possible interactions.

I'm fortunate that I don't need regular pain meds. so I just take acetaminophen (Tylenol).  I asked my Dr. what I should take and his response was along the lines of 'Take whatever works for you.  They're all about the same.'


----------



## MrsLMB

Tylenol gives me an outrageous headache .. almost a migraine and it will last up to a week after taking just 1 Tylenol.

Aspirin burns my stomach. 

Taking with food makes no difference at all with either of these.

This also goes for any type of med - cold or otherwise, prescription or otc that contains either of these.

Advil (or a store brand of the same thing) is the only thing that does not give me an adverse reaction. 

Fortunately my consumption of that product might equal all of maybe 6 per year.

DH was told by his Dr that he is not to take anything other than Tylenol so his other meds don't get messed up.

Every person is different but the warnings apply to all.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, I have Tylenol or Narcotics for what I am able to take...I've basically decided I would rather hurt than put up with some of the side effects of narcotics.  I can take 2 Lortab (Vicodin) and be awake all night...they make me hyper.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kylie1969 said:


> My mum has really painful arthritis in her hands/fingers and she has tried taking tablets but they really upset her stomach, so sadly she has to just put up with the pain, it hurts me to know that



I belonged to a Welcome Wagon that had all kinds of smaller groups for members to get together.  I'd go to regular "Stitch and Bitch" sessions - most times we did more talking and eating than stitching, but it was great fun!  One of the women had bad arthritis in her hands and found something simple and medication-free that worked.  She'd fill the bathroom sink with as hot of water as she could take and immerse her hands in there until the water cooled.  Most times just one "bath" and her hands were good for hours.  If your Mom's skin dries out easily she might want to do this with rubber gloves.  I hope it helps her.


----------



## bakechef

I bought my cat Iams senior cat food, since he's old and I was feeling nice.  Apparently this food has made him extra barfy......

He's taken to barfing on the carpet in the basement.  I can highly recommend Woolite pet stain spray.  Sprayed that on the barfy stain, ran the carpet cleaner over it and it was like it was never there.

I guess that it is back to the 9 lives plus care urinary tract formula.  Upside, it's a lot cheaper and he likes it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> I belonged to a Welcome Wagon that had all kinds of smaller groups for members to get together.  I'd go to regular "Stitch and Bitch" sessions - most times we did more talking and eating than stitching, but it was great fun!  One of the women had bad arthritis in her hands and found something simple and medication-free that worked.  She'd fill the bathroom sink with as hot of water as she could take and immerse her hands in there until the water cooled.  Most times just one "bath" and her hands were good for hours.  If your Mom's skin dries out easily she might want to do this with rubber gloves.  I hope it helps her.



I like a paraffin bath for feet and hands, the temp is just right, reusable and it does not dry out your skin.  The therapists at work use this for our folks whose hands really hurt.  Good for elbows, too.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> I had just had surgery on my bad leg. I should have been in a wheelchair. I told the surgeon that all I wanted was to be able to dance just five steps at my son's wedding. Well I danced with the DJ, my son, my SIL, all the Albanian men and women, and anyone else who would dance with me. I danced the night away. Two weeks earlier there was talk of amputating the leg. The next day I couldn't even move my legs to get to the bathroom. Needless to say when I went for my next visit to the surgeon's office I told her what I have done. "Just five steps?" That was all she said about it.
> 
> Well that's me. Always pushing myself beyond what I should be doing. Since I can't kick myself, would someone do it for me? Please?



I've done something a little similar.  I has to have a hysterectomy one summer.  My work was having a mandatory meeting a week later, to the day.  My doc tol me I could go only if I got someone else to drive and I came right home afterwards.  It's about an hours drive to where I work and it was 110 in the shade - the middle of summer when I had it done.  My mom drove me up there, so that was OK.  She decided she wanted to stop and see my sister who lives in the same town and we had to go up stairs.  Luckily there was a ramp that I could go down.  By the time we were done I was hurting really bad and ended up having to take a pain pill on my way home.  I got home and went right to bed.  For the next week I could barely move.


----------



## MrsLMB

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I like a paraffin bath for feet and hands, the temp is just right, reusable and it does not dry out your skin. The therapists at work use this for our folks whose hands really hurt. Good for elbows, too.


 
Quite a few years ago I was introduced to paraffin baths.  I have Osteoarthritis in my thumbs.  It's amazing how much pain that can take away.  True enough that it's temporary, but it's so worth it.


----------



## Andy M.

I've been on the phone with my credit union's tech support trying to sort out why I cannot use online banking.  Everyone has a different idea.  No one has a solution.  It has to do with the latest version of Java.

Finally had it bumped up to the really smart guy who will look into it and call me back Monday or Tuesday.

Meanwhile, SO's iPad gets me where  have to go.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Andy M. said:


> I've been on the phone with my credit union's tech support trying to sort out why I cannot use online banking.  Everyone has a different idea.  No one has a solution.  It has to do with the latest version of Java.
> 
> Finally had it bumped up to the really smart guy who will look into it and call me back Monday or Tuesday.
> 
> Meanwhile, SO's iPad gets me where  have to go.




I still use inline banking and it can be just as frustrating!


----------



## Kylie1969

Cooking Goddess said:


> I belonged to a Welcome Wagon that had all kinds of smaller groups for members to get together.  I'd go to regular "Stitch and Bitch" sessions - most times we did more talking and eating than stitching, but it was great fun!  One of the women had bad arthritis in her hands and found something simple and medication-free that worked.  She'd fill the bathroom sink with as hot of water as she could take and immerse her hands in there until the water cooled.  Most times just one "bath" and her hands were good for hours.  If your Mom's skin dries out easily she might want to do this with rubber gloves.  I hope it helps her.



Thank you CG, I will pass that onto mum


----------



## Kylie1969

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I like a paraffin bath for feet and hands, the temp is just right, reusable and it does not dry out your skin.  The therapists at work use this for our folks whose hands really hurt.  Good for elbows, too.



Cheers Fi, will look into this too for my mum


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, I have Tylenol or Narcotics for what I am able to take...I've basically decided I would rather hurt than put up with some of the side effects of narcotics. I can take 2 Lortab (Vicodin) and be awake all night...they make me hyper.


 
Me too. And I only take one at a time. But if I take the gabapentin with it, I can sleep through anything. The como knocks me out like today. Otherwise I would have the kitchen cleaned by now. I started to take my morning meds, and took the Vicodin with the Gab, waited about ten minutes for them to get into my system, and the next thing I know it is 4p.m.


----------



## vitauta

I just began using internet explorer as my browser for the first time since buying a pc with windows 8. I've never liked using ie. I have preferred chrome or even foxfire over ie because ie used to be so goshdarned pokey. well, ie has speeded up, and can now keep pace with both chrome and foxfire. my new beef with ie is that proper names and places are automatically capitalized with ie. i'm also noticing that my spelling/typing is being automatically corrected. I know it's no biggie, but to me, it is a minor irritant. I was finally getting around to making peace with the red underlinings of misspelled words. I don't appreciate having my posts micromanaged by my pc. and I still resent having the beginnings of my sentences reset to just one space instead of two. to my eyes, it looks and reads like a run-on sentence when only one space is separating one sentence from the next. 

THERE, now I feel much better, having aired what might be the most petty vent ever recorded here....


----------



## MrsLMB

vitauta said:


> I just began using internet explorer as my browser for the first time since buying a pc with windows 8. I've never liked using ie. I have preferred chrome or even foxfire over ie because ie used to be so goshdarned pokey. well, ie has speeded up, and can now keep pace with both chrome and foxfire. my new beef with ie is that proper names and places are automatically capitalized with ie. i'm also noticing that my spelling/typing is being automatically corrected. I know it's no biggie, but to me, it is a minor irritant. I was finally getting around to making peace with the red underlinings of misspelled words. I don't appreciate having my posts micromanaged by my pc. and I still resent having the beginnings of my sentences reset to just one space instead of two. to my eyes, it looks and reads like a run-on sentence when only one space is separating one sentence from the next.
> 
> THERE, now I feel much better, having aired what might be the most petty vent ever recorded here....


 

Try here

Spell Checking - Turn On or Off in Windows 8

Apparently this is a forum for Windows 8 users .. you might find other stuff there too ... good luck !!


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> I just began using internet explorer as my browser for the first time since buying a pc with windows 8. I've never liked using ie. I have preferred chrome or even foxfire over ie because ie used to be so goshdarned pokey. well, ie has speeded up, and can now keep pace with both chrome and foxfire. my new beef with ie is that proper names and places are automatically capitalized with ie. i'm also noticing that my spelling/typing is being automatically corrected. I know it's no biggie, but to me, it is a minor irritant. I was finally getting around to making peace with the red underlinings of misspelled words. I don't appreciate having my posts micromanaged by my pc. and I still resent having the beginnings of my sentences reset to just one space instead of two. to my eyes, it looks and reads like a run-on sentence when only one space is separating one sentence from the next.
> 
> THERE, now I feel much better, having aired what might be the most petty vent ever recorded here....


 
I understand your frustration. I used to teach Windows, long before Windows 8. I was teaching folks who were going from the typewriter to a computer. I had the dangest time teaching the single space. It is a hard habit to break. I also had a hard time teaching them that indented paragraphs were no long the accepted form for a formal letter. There were new rules to learn and they didn't want to learn them. It was not what they learned in high school or secretary school. They would buck me all the way. I would finally have to tell them, if you want to keep your job, you will learn these new rules and live by them. That got their attention. As far as spellcheck goes, they loved it. They thought it was better than sliced bread. A lot of folks just stink at spelling. And I understand that. My daughter is one of those people. She used to call me at home all the time. "Mom, how do you spell....?" Now I never get phone calls from her for spelling. Even I find that red line a help. It is usually just a tpo. Such as wnat for want. What I don't like is the correcting my grammer. It will suggest something I don't want to say or suggest I reconsider. Be patient. Accept the new rules.  Your eyes will adjust. Today I can spot a double space in an instant.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The two co-workers who have worked MDS a lot longer than me, have no clue about typing or computers. So they have decided to type in all caps...I won't do it!  I end up with lower case where it should be a capital letter.  Took me forever to get something typed using all caps having to go back and fix it.  They also can't believe how I can type an entire page with no misspellings. I guess they don't see me fixing them as I go.


----------



## vitauta

MrsLMB said:


> Try here
> 
> Spell Checking - Turn On or Off in Windows 8
> 
> Apparently this is a forum for Windows 8 users .. you might find other stuff there too ... good luck !!




thanks, mrslmb, this link looks like a good reference tool for windows 8, (which is itself a whole 'nother subject for a petty vent.)


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The two co-workers who have worked MDS a lot longer than me, have no clue about typing or computers. So they have decided to type in all caps...I won't do it! I end up with lower case where it should be a capital letter. Took me forever to get something typed using all caps having to go back and fix it. They also can't believe how I can type an entire page with no misspellings. I guess they don't see me fixing them as I go.


 
Drives* The Pirate crazy* when he sees me typing at a high speed (to him) and am looking right at him and not even hesitate. He claims I do that just to send him over the edge. (He's right!) 

When I bought him his laptop, he started out as a one finger typist and had never used a computer or typewriter. Today, he can use more than one finger and has picked up speed. Just like I told him e would. But he still can't outytpe me.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> Drives The Pirate crazy when he sees me typing at a high speed (to him) and am looking right at him and not even hesitate. He claims I do that just to send him over the edge. (He's right!)
> 
> When I bought him his laptop, he started out as a one finger typist and had never used a computer or typewriter. Today, he can use more than one finger and has picked up speed. Just like I told him e would. But he still can't outytpe me.



I'm really quite surprised at how my typing skills have evolved since the computer became a big part of my life in the last 15 years or so. It was something that I struggled with in middle school in keyboarding class, now it is very natural.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> I'm really quite surprised at how my typing skills have evolved since the computer became a big part of my life in the last 15 years or so. It was something that I struggled with in middle school in keyboarding class, now it is very natural.



My typing has always been lousy.  I can type faster with 2 fingers on the iPad than I can with all fingers on my work laptop.

I remember how painful it was in college and grad school, many moons ago,  having to use the Whiteout and the correction tape for papers and resumes.  On a little Smith-Corona portable typewriter, which I still have!


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> I bought my cat Iams senior cat food, since he's old and I was feeling nice.  Apparently this food has made him extra barfy......
> 
> He's taken to barfing on the carpet in the basement.  I can highly recommend *Woolite pet stain spray*.  Sprayed that on the barfy stain, ran the carpet cleaner over it and it was like it was never there.
> 
> I guess that it is back to the 9 lives plus care urinary tract formula.  Upside, it's a lot cheaper and he likes it.


Do you know how well it works on cat pee?


----------



## Addie

I used to watch my piano teacher lift her hands off the keys and place them perfectly elsewhere on the keys without making a mistake. I so wanted to be able to play like that. By the time I was ready for my first recital, I didn't realize it but I was doing that when I was playing that night. I could play part of it and look up at the audience smiling without making a mistake. I didn't realize that I was even doing it. It wasn't until much later when my teacher showed me her home movies of that recital, that I saw me doing it.

I have always lacked confidence in myself. I guess I still do. I have always admired someone else who had accomplished something that I thought I could never learn. And over time when I reached the same level of expertise I didn't even recognize that I had arrived. It was the same wth reading. I never recognized that I was the best reader in the class. Why else would my fourth grade teacher have me read to the class on the last hour every Friday. I didn't even realize that I loved reading until the fifth grade.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> Do you know how well it works on cat pee?



My furball had developed a liking to behind a chair in our living room while having an episode of UTI.  Unfortunately there was (and never will be) a litter pan back there.  Someone in a pet shop recommended "Nature's Miracle" cat formula.  Even on hot, humid day we can't tell the little bugger was having issues.  *poof* all smell is gone.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> My furball had developed a liking to behind a chair in our living room while having an episode of UTI.  Unfortunately there was (and never will be) a litter pan back there.  Someone in a pet shop recommended "Nature's Miracle" cat formula.  Even on hot, humid day we can't tell the little bugger was having issues.  *poof* all smell is gone.


Thank you. I'm taking notes. Drove me buggy trying to find that post by Bakechef.


----------



## Claire

Addie said:


> I used to watch my piano teacher lift her hands off the keys and place them perfectly elsewhere on the keys without making a mistake. I so wanted to be able to play like that. By the time I was ready for my first recital, I didn't realize it but I was doing that when I was playing that night. I could play part of it and look up at the audience smiling without making a mistake. I didn't realize that I was even doing it. It wasn't until much later when my teacher showed me her home movies of that recital, that I saw me doing it.
> 
> I have always lacked confidence in myself. I guess I still do. I have always admired someone else who had accomplished something that I thought I could never learn. And over time when I reached the same level of expertise I didn't even recognize that I had arrived. It was the same wth reading. I never recognized that I was the best reader in the class. Why else would my fourth grade teacher have me read to the class on the last hour every Friday. I didn't even realize that I loved reading until the fifth grade.



Addie, thank heaven someone recognized my reading ability when I was quite young.  My math ability is, well, I'll be nice, poop.  But somewhere long about 4th grade, someone said, that gal can read.  They actually sent me to a speed reading class.  I don't use that skill on a regular basis, but do read more quickly than the average bear, reading 3-5 books a week.  My library is (and always has been) my best friend, along with used book stores and Amazon.


----------



## Addie

Claire said:


> Addie, thank heaven someone recognized my reading ability when I was quite young. My math ability is, well, I'll be nice, poop. But somewhere long about 4th grade, someone said, that gal can read. They actually sent me to a speed reading class. I don't use that skill on a regular basis, but do read more quickly than the average bear, reading 3-5 books a week. My library is (and always has been) my best friend, along with used book stores and Amazon.


 
My math is right down the toilet. Unless I have a  piece of paper and a pencil right there in front of me, well, you better double check my figures just to be sure.

But reading! When I look back on the fourth grade, I realized I loved reading to the class. Not because I was showing off that I was the best reader, but I was sharing something I really loved doing. I could make Tom Sawyer and his girlfriend Becky sound like they lived right next door. A lot of Fridays I had only a page or two to finish for a chapter and those kids sat there until I had to stop. They never rushed to get out of that classroom. I must have been doing a really good job. I think I am going to see if our local library has a reading program for kids. The good weather is here to stay and the library can accommodate my scooter.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Libraries LOVE their volunteers!  If they don't have that kind of reading program, suggest it to the library director.  I've volunteered under a couple very different ones but they've always been more than happy to have a volunteer suggest and take charge of an idea.  You'll get way more out of it than you put in too.  Just one of the blessings of volunteering.


----------



## CharlieD

vitauta said:


> I just began using internet explorer as my browser for the first time since buying a pc with windows 8. I've never liked using ie. I have preferred chrome or even foxfire over ie because ie used to be so goshdarned pokey. well, ie has speeded up, and can now keep pace with both chrome and foxfire. my new beef with ie is that proper names and places are automatically capitalized with ie. i'm also noticing that my spelling/typing is being automatically corrected. I know it's no biggie, but to me, it is a minor irritant. I was finally getting around to making peace with the red underlinings of misspelled words. I don't appreciate having my posts micromanaged by my pc. and I still resent having the beginnings of my sentences reset to just one space instead of two. to my eyes, it looks and reads like a run-on sentence when only one space is separating one sentence from the next.
> 
> THERE, now I feel much better, having aired what might be the most petty vent ever recorded here....


 

Interestingly I feel completely the oposite. I prefer the ie to chrome and for sure the firefox. I like my misspleings highlighted for me to see, as I usually have tons of them. Go figure.


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> My furball had developed a liking to behind a chair in our living room while having an episode of UTI.  Unfortunately there was (and never will be) a litter pan back there.  Someone in a pet shop recommended "Nature's Miracle" cat formula.  Even on hot, humid day we can't tell the little bugger was having issues.  *poof* all smell is gone.



My mom swears by Petzyme and Nature's Miracle.  It's the enzymes that kill the odor, and it never comes back.

Luckily Oscar has not yet peed on the floor.


----------



## CharlieD

Grrrr, now not only I am mad about my own problem, but after typing up all about that problem this page lucked up and then all together closed on me, now I have type again.
Anyways, I hate dealing with friends. Below is the picture of my latest project that I build for the synagogue, the tablecloth was ordered from the alteration shop owned by my friend. All the dimensions were discussed and written down. When I came to pick it up it is smaller by 3-5 inches on all dimensions. I am sure nobody will ever know the difference and it looks just fine and nice as is, but never the less I wanted the thing to be bigger and I am paying for it too. It was not for free. I am a wimp of course; anybody else in my place would go back and demand to have the cover remade. I just cannot do it. I think most of all I am mad at myself, I suppose if it was somebody else, somebody I do not know, I would, but cannot do it to a friend.
why can't I upload the picture? weird


----------



## CharlieD

Ok, maybe this will work.


----------



## justplainbill

CharlieD said:


> Ok, maybe this will work.


Nice looking shop.  With that equipment you should be able to make some deluxe pastry / dough boards to go with your KA 7 quart.


----------



## vitauta

oh Charlie, i'm sorry that you are unhappy with the dimensions of the table covering made by your friend.  first off, I must say that this piece is truly a thing of beauty, made with considerable skill and artistry.  it is rich and sumptuous looking, very striking. it looks as though the top portion has been made to conform to the dimensions of the table itself.  the accented border is a lovely feature.  to my eye, the table and the tablecloth are nicely proportioned.  in a larger size, a covering that substantial might actually appear top heavy on your table, imo....


----------



## CharlieD

Thanks Vit, it was only supposed to be 2-3 inches longer and 2-3 wider.
That is the stupid thing, I gave all the dimensions.


----------



## CharlieD

Bill, unfortunately all I have in that shop is table saw and a mighter box.


----------



## justplainbill

CharlieD said:


> Bill, unfortunately all I have in that shop is table saw and a mighter box.


With the right blades a lot of nice things can be made with a table saw.


----------



## CharlieD

I suppose, for I could cut material to the right size.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I suppose, for I could cut material to the right size.


 
Charlie I am confused. Was it the beautiful blue cover that was made wrong or the carving block? If it is the cover and you do decide to cut it yourslef, remember to leave enough all around the edges for a hem. So if you need a 12" then the measurement would be 13.5 " on all sides. You need a half inch for the first turn of the material and then an inch for the second turn so that there are no raw edges. I have the feeling that they cut the material to your measurements, but failed to take into account the hem.


----------



## Somebunny

You know Charlie, I'm thinking there was some confusion regarding the overall size if the cloth, I suspect your friend misunderstood and included the fringe trim in the overall dimension.  But you know what?  The table is so lovely and the cloth really is beautiful I don't think anyone will notice.  Everyone will know what was in your heart especially the ONE who matters most!


----------



## Addie

I guess I am just getting old. How did the problem go from a beautiful cloth of religious significance to a chopping block? Is the cloth for a chopping block? Please someone enlighten me.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Very nice Charlie!

I bet your family has a long list of projects for you to build!


----------



## tinlizzie

Beautiful, just beautiful.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CharlieD said:


> Anyways, I hate dealing with friends. Below is the picture of my latest project that I build for the synagogue, the tablecloth was ordered from the alteration shop owned by my friend. All the dimensions were discussed and written down. When I came to pick it up it is smaller by 3-5 inches on all dimensions. I am sure nobody will ever know the difference and it looks just fine and nice as is, but never the less I wanted the thing to be bigger



Charlie, your work is wonderful!  Why would you want the cloth bigger?  It would hide your lovely handiwork.  Is that a stand for the Torah?  If so, I'm guessing God likes wood better than fabric.   Maybe the "mistake" is a gift from Him since you don't seem to be the least bit vain about your own work.  Someone has to make sure it gets shown off.


----------



## Dawgluver

Charlie, it looks lovely.  I would not worry about it, it seems that the cloth is proportional to your stand.  Nice work!


----------



## Dawgluver

Petty vent here.  No sleep last night.  Beagle barked like crazy all night long.  I'd scoop her up, bring her upstairs, cover her up, and she would get up, go downstairs, and bark some more.  We've had a lot of coyotes and dog-coyote hybrids around, along with wild turkeys, deer, rabbits, and the neighbor's free-roaming cats, but I could see nothing.  And DH was a snoring fool. In my ear.  He insisted on having all the windows open, and the wood blinds kept clanking in the wind.  And it was hotter than blazes.  I told him we should have put on the AC.  Tonight, if it happens again, I plan to shove both of them into the dog crate.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Petty vent here.  No sleep last night.  Beagle barked like crazy all night long.  I'd scoop her up, bring her upstairs, cover her up, and she would get up, go downstairs, and bark some more.  We've had a lot of coyotes and dog-coyote hybrids around, along with wild turkeys, deer, rabbits, and the neighbor's free-roaming cats, but I could see nothing.  And DH was a snoring fool. In my ear.  He insisted on having all the windows open, and the wood blinds kept clanking in the wind.  And it was hotter than blazes.  I told him we should have put on the AC.  Tonight, if it happens again, *I plan to shove both of them into the dog crate*.



We need a picture of that...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> We need a picture of that...



  You got it!

We might need a bigger crate...unless I get REALLY mad.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Or you could shove them both out that open window.  At least it might scare the coyotes away!

Himself snores like a B-52 taking off.  When we're home I usually wander down to the spare room.  When we travel I have coping measures - these work:  Mack's Ear Plugs


----------



## CharlieD

Dawglover, I hate noise blinds make. My DW always wants window open, fresh air you know, but I prefer ac.


Thank you everybody. Yes it is the blue cover. And my friend if was confused, was confused completely. Because dimensions are wrong either way. Not with the fringe and not without. Oh we'll, I'll just have to live with it.


----------



## CharlieD

So my kidney stone decided to move yesterday, ok, I understand it's a kidney stone, it is the second one I am having, the last one was a year ago, about the same time. Ok, of course I can complain that it hurts, but really what I want to complain is the fact that both times it happened on/during Sabbath. How fair is it? Day of rest, when I am not supposed to drive, watch tv, etc. of course the laws of sabbath are very strict and the same that says that you cannot do many things also says that life is too previous and must be protected, so I went to hospital, where nurse kept offering me to put on tv. Ok, lady, I came here, doesn't mean I should watch tv. Ok, I decided, I am complaining about pain too, it hurts, boys and girls.


----------



## Dawgluver

CharlieD said:


> So my kidney stone decided to move yesterday, ok, I understand it's a kidney stone, it is the second one I am having, the last one was a year ago, about the same time. Ok, of course I can complain that it hurts, but really what I want to complain is the fact that both times it happened on/during Sabbath. How fair is it? Day of rest, when I am not supposed to drive, watch tv, etc. of course the laws of sabbath are very strict and the same that says that you cannot do many things also says that life is too previous and must be protected, so I went to hospital, where nurse kept offering me to put on tv. Ok, lady, I came here, doesn't mean I should watch tv. Ok, I decided, I am complaining about pain too, it hurts, boys and girls.



Hope you feel better soon, Charlie.  My understanding is that there are very few things more painful than a kidney stone, and there doesn't seem to be a lot doctors can do for them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Lemon juice is a kidney stone's enemy...3 tablespoons of lemon juice a day helps, make it into lemonade.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Lemon juice is a kidney stone's enemy...3 tablespoons of lemon juice a day helps, make it into lemonade.



Good to know, I'll tell DH.  Will any citrus work, like lime juice?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Good to know, I'll tell DH.  Will any citrus work, like lime juice?



Lime works, too...more acidic fruits.  Shrek and my Dad have not had a reoccurrance of kidney stones since they started having a glass of strong lemonade/limeade every day.


----------



## Dawgluver

Ticks, good gravy I hate them.  This season seems particularily bad.  I love to garden, and we have bunches of ticks.  Showering doesn't make them go away.  Pulled one off Beagle today,  it hadn't fed yet.  She's always Frontlined.  I've (meaning school nurse and DH) pulled off 2 so far from me, one from the back of my neck and one from my side.  I couldn't see them, just felt them, and they hurt like crazy.  I have a sizeable hole in my side from a teensy tick.  The neck hole seems to have healed OK.  I'm saving the ticks just in case. 

A friend who farms had one removed from her back, and had a fever and headaches.  She got a course of antibiotics which helped.  It was funny at the last all-staff meeting, we both kept running our fingers through our hair, and discovered we were both checking for ticks!

I'm thinking of getting a human tick collar.


----------



## justplainbill

Dawgluver said:


> Ticks, good gravy I hate them.  This season seems particularily bad.  I love to garden, and we have bunches of ticks.  Showering doesn't make them go away.  Pulled one off Beagle today,  it hadn't fed yet.  She's always Frontlined.  I've (meaning school nurse and DH) pulled off 2 so far from me, one from the back of my neck and one from my side.  I couldn't see them, just felt them, and they hurt like crazy.  I have a sizeable hole in my side from a teensy tick.  The neck hole seems to have healed OK.  I'm saving the ticks just in case.
> 
> A friend who farms had one removed from her back, and had a fever and headaches.  She got a course of antibiotics which helped.  It was funny at the last all-staff meeting, we both kept running our fingers through our hair, and discovered we were both checking for ticks!
> 
> I'm thinking of getting a human tick collar.


Guinea hens are supposed to be helpful for tick control.
Unfortunately zoning in my shi-shi area is no longer conducive to keeping guinea hens.
Babesiosis, lyme disease, and lone star fever can be quite debilitating.
If you detect a tick before it has burrowed too deeply, swabbing the beast with 70% ethyl alcohol will often prompt it to back out (let go). 
It pays to have a good pair of tweezers, a razor sharp  Texas toothpick, and a partner with good eyesight available to extract those critters who often embed themselves in very inconvenient places.  After removal, I routinely swab the attack area with Campho Phenique; and often, some 6 hours later, apply a band-aid moistened with tea tree oil.
It's been a particularly bad tick season this year.


----------



## Kylie1969

CharlieD said:


> So my kidney stone decided to move yesterday, ok, I understand it's a kidney stone, it is the second one I am having, the last one was a year ago, about the same time. Ok, of course I can complain that it hurts, but really what I want to complain is the fact that both times it happened on/during Sabbath. How fair is it? Day of rest, when I am not supposed to drive, watch tv, etc. of course the laws of sabbath are very strict and the same that says that you cannot do many things also says that life is too previous and must be protected, so I went to hospital, where nurse kept offering me to put on tv. Ok, lady, I came here, doesn't mean I should watch tv. Ok, I decided, I am complaining about pain too, it hurts, boys and girls.



Hope you start to feel better as soon as possible Charlie


----------



## Dawgluver

justplainbill said:


> Guinea hens are supposed to be helpful for tick control.
> Unfortunately zoning in my shi-shi area is no longer conducive to keeping guinea hens.
> Babesiosis, lyme disease, and lone star fever can be quite debilitating.
> If you detect a tick before it has burrowed too deeply, swabbing the beast with 70% ethyl alcohol will often prompt it to back out (let go).
> It pays to have a good pair of tweezers, a razor sharp  Texas toothpick, and a partner with good eyesight available to extract those critters who often embed themselves in very inconvenient places.  After removal, I routinely swab the attack area with Campho Phenique; and often, some 6 hours later, apply a band-aid moistened with tea tree oil.
> It's been a particularly bad tick season this year.



Thanks Bill!  We now have a dedicated tick tweezer.  Used to be we would use a freshly blown out match or a lit cigarette to make the little beasties back out, not recommended anymore.

We live in a heavily wooded area, and with all the coyotes and foxes, guinea hens wouldn't stand a chance, though Beagle would no doubt love a few.


----------



## Addie

My youngest son Poo was three years years old. I was getting him ready for bed. I was drying him off and noticed a black spot on his testicle. It looked like a scab. I took a closer look at it and saw some legs moving. I took him to the ER immediately, considering the location.

The kept pouring alcohol on it until it backed out on its own. They put it in a corked tube. The next day I had folks from the Washing State Department of Health, the City of Tacoma Department of Health and from the Federal Health folks in Washington D.C. knocking at my door. It seems that the tick was the kind that will give you Rocky Mountain Fever. 

Now Washington State doesn't have ticks. They don't come across the Columbia River. One of my tenants who were Army folks had gone home to Oregon for the weekend. When they came home they brought the tick with them in their luggage. Poo was there in their apartment when they were unpacking. They all informed me considering Poo's size and age, had the tick make it all the way into him, it would have killed him. Ticks are not something to fool around with. Lesson learned.


----------



## Addie

Charlie, my heart goes out to you. Kidnew stones are painful for a woman to pass, even more so for a man. Take care and drink that lemon/limeade.   Sounds like you could use one.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CharlieD said:


> ...I decided, I am complaining about pain too, it hurts, boys and girls.



Ouch Charlie!  Hope you feel less pain soon.  And even if the lemon juice thing doesn't work do it, it will build character. 




Dawgluver said:


> Ticks, good gravy I hate them....I'm thinking of getting a human tick collar.



I'm right there with you.  They weren't an issue in OH, but here in MA I'm paranoid every time I work outside.  Nightly tick checks are annoying, but I'm vigilant ever since Himself went through a bout of Lyme disease.  Thankfully he was caught early, treated successfully, and hasn't had any problems since.

The first person to blend a safe "Frontline" or "Advantage" prevention for humans will be a very rich person!  Or at least highly appreciated by those of us who hate the little buggers.


----------



## tinlizzie

Dawgluver said:


> Hope you feel better soon, Charlie.  My understanding is that there are very few things more painful than a kidney stone, and there doesn't seem to be a lot doctors can do for them.



Some years ago my late husband got rid of a stone this way:  "Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) -- a common treatment for kidney stones that uses sound waves to break up simple stones."  Although it saved him a trip to the hospital, he said it was no walk in the park.  He never did describe the treatment to me, but the stone was gone.  It must have been the early stage of stone formation.

Hope you're feeling better, Charlie.


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you everybody. I actually felt fine this. Morning land went to work, but in the middle of the road pain came back and hit me so hate, I had to turn around and go back home. I took some pain killers and slept for a while, I think I will go try to drink some lemon juice.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> Some years ago my late husband got rid of a stone this way: "Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) -- a common treatment for kidney stones that uses sound waves to break up simple stones." Although it saved him a trip to the hospital, he said it was no walk in the park. He never did describe the treatment to me, but the stone was gone. It must have been the early stage of stone formation.
> 
> Hope you're feeling better, Charlie.


 
They do that here at Mass. General. It has been very successful. They are presently experimenting with gall stones. I hope that it works for that also before I have my next gall bladder attack.


----------



## Addie

I was getting some paper work in order. I ran out of staples. So I look in the cabinet where I have kept them for years. Of course with all the mess in there I couldn't find them. I thought they were on the bottom shelf. So I get down on the floor and nope. Not there. I pulled everything out and rearranged the bottom shelf. I have a bunch of stuff that I have to put aside for Spike. Trying to get up. Which is quite a job in itself. I am too old to being doing these things. I thought I was going to have to crawl on my hand and knees to get my phone and call for help. But I managed to get up. I used the cabinet to lean on hoping that the printer is heavy enough to keep it from tipping over. I still haven't found the staples. So back down on the floor I go. I find them, but now I have to put everything back in. Done. The cabinet is nice and orderly. Time to get up again. Didn't I learn the last time? I just sat there looking around for the most sturdy piece of furniture to lean on. I was afraid to press my luck with the cabinet again. I crawl over to my reading chair. Used the stool to lean on. Yea! I made it. But at what cost. I had to take a second pain pill today. I hate taking them. Lesson learned? I doubt it very much.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> Thank you everybody. I actually felt fine this. Morning land went to work, but in the middle of the road pain came back and hit me so hate, I had to turn around and go back home. I took some pain killers and slept for a while, I think I will go try to drink some lemon juice.



You don't have to drink straight lemon juice, Charlie!  Make it into lemonade with sweetener and water.  I drink an apple cider vinegar drink each day made with honey and water, no worries about kidney stones here, either.  You are just trying to acidify your urine so you don't develop new stones and can help reduce old stones.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I was getting some paper work in order. I ran out of staples. So I look in the cabinet where I have kept them for years. Of course with all the mess in there I couldn't find them. I thought they were on the bottom shelf. So I get down on the floor and nope. Not there. I pulled everything out and rearranged the bottom shelf. I have a bunch of stuff that I have to put aside for Spike. Trying to get up. Which is quite a job in itself. I am too old to being doing these things. I thought I was going to have to crawl on my hand and knees to get my phone and call for help. But I managed to get up. I used the cabinet to lean on hoping that the printer is heavy enough to keep it from tipping over. I still haven't found the staples. So back down on the floor I go. I find them, but now I have to put everything back in. Done. The cabinet is nice and orderly. Time to get up again. Didn't I learn the last time? I just sat there looking around for the most sturdy piece of furniture to lean on. I was afraid to press my luck with the cabinet again. I crawl over to my reading chair. Used the stool to lean on. Yea! I made it. But at what cost. I had to take a second pain pill today. I hate taking them. Lesson learned? I doubt it very much.



Once I'm on the floor, I make sure there is nothing else that needs to get done before I get up.  THEN I start looking for something to help me up...my knees just will not lift me anymore.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You don't have to drink straight lemon juice, Charlie!  Make it into lemonade with sweetener and water.  I drink an apple cider vinegar drink each day made with honey and water, no worries about kidney stones here, either.  You are just trying to acidify your urine so you don't develop new stones and can help reduce old stones.



Ah, so any citrus or vinegar will work, how about cranberry or pomegranite juice?


----------



## Rocklobster

A bird just pooped through our screen window and it landed on the kitchen floor? How in the .....?????


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Ah, so any citrus or vinegar will work, how about cranberry or pomegranite juice?



Citrus and vinegar are more acidic than cranberry and pom, they should be used if you are working on stones you already have.  Cran and pom are fine for prevention.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> A bird just pooped through our screen window and it landed on the kitchen floor? How in the .....?????



Good aim...you didn't just mop the floor did you?  I know they target just washed cars.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Citrus and vinegar are more acidic than cranberry and pom, they should be used if you are working on stones you already have.  Cran and pom are fine for prevention.



Thanks PF, good to know.  Hope poor Charlie didn't try to choke down straight lemon juice!


----------



## roadfix

Automatic load sensing washing machines take too long to complete a wash cycle.  We've had our Whirlpool washer for 2 years now and I never liked it.  
It takes over an hour to complete a regular wash, it's such an inconvenience, especially if you need to put the wash in the dryer so you can go to bed, go to work, or whatever, which is usually the case for me.  
I don't care if it saves water.  I'd like to be able to set my own water and load level, my time's more important.  EOR.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Automatic load sensing washing machines take too long to complete a wash cycle. We've had our Whirlpool washer for 2 years now and I never liked it.
> It takes over an hour to complete a regular wash, it's such an inconvenience, especially if you need to put the wash in the dryer so you can go to bed, go to work, or whatever, which is usually the case for me.
> I don't care if it saves water. I'd like to be able to set my own water and load level, my time's more important. EOR.


 
I hear you on that. How annoying.


----------



## CharlieD

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks PF, good to know. Hope poor Charlie didn't try to choke down straight lemon juice!


 

No, no, of course I did not, I just added a little bit to my mineral water. 

  There is a funny story about lemons. As kids we used to take subway a lot. So we would pull this stuff. We are seating talking to each other, couple of guys usually, then get couple of lemons from our shopping bag and start casually eating them as if they were apples or something else yummy. People would go nuts. You should see somebodies face when you make first bite. It took a little bit of getting used to it, and it is really not that bad after you do. But it is funny.


----------



## CharlieD

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Citrus and vinegar are more acidic than cranberry and pom, they should be used if you are working on stones you already have. Cran and pom are fine for prevention.


 

Thnk you for the info.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

You are certainly welcome, Charlie.  No sense keeping something like that under my hat.

And I still eat lemons like that.


----------



## Dawgluver

When I was a bartender, we had to cut up a lot of citrus.  The best breath freshener ever is to chew a slice of lemon along with the pith and peel.


----------



## Dawgluver

We now have Gnat season to go along with Tick season.  And the mosquitos have also arrived.  Sigh.

For gnats, I do find a dab of Absorbine Junior around the neck and ears seems to repel them.  They were horrid during our walk last night,  tonight with the Jr, not so much.


----------



## vitauta

somebody come help unpucker my face now, would you please?


----------



## taxlady

Rocklobster said:


> A bird just pooped through our screen window and it landed on the kitchen floor? How in the .....?????


I'm sorry, but 

That is pretty strange. Good thing it didn't hit the counter or dish rack.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You are certainly welcome, Charlie. No sense keeping something like that under my hat.
> 
> And I still eat lemons like that.


 
PF, while I have you here. I can't thank you enough for the tip on taking pills. I take 17 pills every morning. Two are Gabapentin capsules and were always getting stuck sideways in my throat. The two Ranexa are also large oblong pills. The same problem. Since the tip, down they go. Thank you.


----------



## Addie

At the beginning of the month we received a notice that all the apartments were to be inspected today. Between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. At 1:45 another notice was slipped under my door. The inspection has be set back to June 13th. I don't know why they waste our and their time on this. They never fix anything they find wrong or broken. It took them six years to fix the crack in my ceiling. And only because HUD fined them. It was on their list every year. 

I didn't even bother to get the apartment inspection ready. I knew this was going to happen. 

I tell you, I deal with mutant idiots in this building.


----------



## MrsLMB

Addie said:


> At the beginning of the month we received a notice that all the apartments were to be inspected today. Between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. At 1:45 another notice was slipped under my door. The inspection has be set back to June 13th. I don't know why they waste our and their time on this. They never fix anything they find wrong or broken. It took them six years to fix the crack in my ceiling. And only because HUD fined them. It was on their list every year.
> 
> I didn't even bother to get the apartment inspection ready. I knew this was going to happen.
> 
> I tell you, I deal with mutant idiots in this building.


 
Didn't you just go through this a few months ago????


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> PF, while I have you here. I can't thank you enough for the tip on taking pills. I take 17 pills every morning. Two are Gabapentin capsules and were always getting stuck sideways in my throat. The two Ranexa are also large oblong pills. The same problem. Since the tip, down they go. Thank you.



LOL!!  Which tip did I offer?  You are welcome, of course!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> LOL!!  Which tip did I offer?  You are welcome, of course!



The one about not throwing your head back when taking pills, tilt your head down instead.  The stroke victim thing.  I, too, found this works really well!  Thanks PF!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> The one about not throwing your head back when taking pills, tilt your head down instead.  The stroke victim thing.  I, too, found this works really well!  Thanks PF!



Oh!  Yes, that is a good trick.  I was running my brain through applesauce, pudding, crushing...

You are very welcome...I didn't know I gave such good advice!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh!  Yes, that is a good trick.  I was running my brain through applesauce, pudding, crushing...
> 
> You are very welcome...I didn't know I gave such good advice!



I told DH about it too, he was impressed and uses the technique as well.


----------



## Dawgluver

DH came downstairs swearing a blue streak.  The TV remote wasn't working.  He'd tried everything, he couldn't change the channel, it wouldn't go on and off,  what was I gonna do about it?  I changed the batteries, and it now works just fine.  Huh.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> DH came downstairs swearing a blue streak.  The TV remote wasn't working.  He'd tried everything, he couldn't change the channel, it wouldn't go on and off,  what was I gonna do about it?  I changed the batteries, and it now works just fine.  Huh.



We have a fancy Logitech remote with a little lcd screen on it, for days it has been giving the message "please replace batteries".  Rob has been contorting his body trying to get it to work since I guess the signal was weak.  He couldn't get the shows to stop fast forwarding during the commercials because the batteries were so weak.  Finally I said, "stop being so lazy and get some new batteries out of the drawer!"  He says "oh, it works a lot better now" gee I must be some kind of genius or something!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> DH came downstairs swearing a blue streak.  The TV remote wasn't working.  He'd tried everything, he couldn't change the channel, it wouldn't go on and off,  what was I gonna do about it?  I changed the batteries, and it now works just fine.  Huh.



Shrek gets mad at things and throws them away, I dig them out, change the batteries and put them back.  Several times he has thanked me for getting him a new "whatever".


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> Didn't you just go through this a few months ago????


 
Yuh. That inspection was for HUD. For the past two years HUD inspected my apartment and gave them a list of things that needed to be fixed. They wrote them up and never did them. That happened two years in a row. HUD came back for the third year and fined them a hefty fine for not doing the work. They had just two weeks to get it done or they would have a bigger fine. The work got done including the painting of the walls and ceilings. HUD came back and the work passed. There were only two apartments that HUD was interested. Mine and one where the woman is a hoarder. They were told to get her apartment cleaned out or they would go to court and get her evicted and placed in medical custody.

This inspection is the yearly one that is in the lease. Because they just did all the work, inspecting my apartment will be just cursory. HUD inspects about four apartments at random. They also inspect the mechanics of the building and the grounds. This inspection is for ALL apartments only.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> LOL!! Which tip did I offer? You are welcome, of course!


 
About how to swallow pills easily.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> About how to swallow pills easily.



Dawg explained which tip...I know several!


----------



## bakechef

I'm beginning to dislike UPS a lot.

I ordered something from Amazon, I have Prime with 2 day shipping.  Amazon gets the package out very fast and gives me an estimate that it will be here Saturday 25th (today).  Well shipping with UPS updated and told me that it would be here on friday, Yay early!  

Well then there was a "late truck" on friday and it wasn't delivered.  I figured that it would be delivered on saturday as originally planned since this is upgraded shipping and UPS delivers in my area on Saturdays.  Guess what, it has been sitting at UPS since midnight and won't be here now until tuesday!

This was for a project, I have time to work on this project this weekend since I'm off, but that isn't going to happen!

Thanks for letting me vent!


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> I'm beginning to dislike UPS a lot.
> 
> I ordered something from Amazon, I have Prime with 2 day shipping. Amazon gets the package out very fast and gives me an estimate that it will be here Saturday 25th (today). Well shipping with UPS updated and told me that it would be here on friday, Yay early!
> 
> Well then there was a "late truck" on friday and it wasn't delivered. I figured that it would be delivered on saturday as originally planned since this is upgraded shipping and UPS delivers in my area on Saturdays. Guess what, it has been sitting at UPS since midnight and won't be here now until tuesday!
> 
> This was for a project, I have time to work on this project this weekend since I'm off, but that isn't going to happen!
> 
> Thanks for letting me vent!


 
Oh dear! I am glad I am not your UPS driver.


----------



## MrsLMB

bakechef said:


> I'm beginning to dislike UPS a lot.
> 
> I ordered something from Amazon, I have Prime with 2 day shipping. Amazon gets the package out very fast and gives me an estimate that it will be here Saturday 25th (today). Well shipping with UPS updated and told me that it would be here on friday, Yay early!
> 
> Well then there was a "late truck" on friday and it wasn't delivered. I figured that it would be delivered on saturday as originally planned since this is upgraded shipping and UPS delivers in my area on Saturdays. Guess what, it has been sitting at UPS since midnight and won't be here now until tuesday!
> 
> This was for a project, I have time to work on this project this weekend since I'm off, but that isn't going to happen!
> 
> Thanks for letting me vent!


 

Oh geez .. well that's really rotten !!

I have had it happen too but not over a holiday weekend .. I feel bad for you 

Did you have to pay for shipping?  If so I wonder if you can get a refund on that.


It's also getting pretty annoying when something is to be shipped UPS or FedEx and at the end they drop it to the post office for delivery .. it seems to take a day longer and when you make plans around a delivery it's annoying.

Hope it arrives early Tuesday and in 1 piece !


----------



## vitauta

is anybody besides me turned into a homicidal maniac hearing the kfc commercial, 'oh NO, i  think i ate the BONES'---AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH--that mindless and maddening ad has me ready to kill something.  i'll never eat kfc again--with bones, without bones--it don't matter.  kfc is dead to me....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

stupid commercial


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh crap.  I've been so looking forward to watching Michael Douglas as Liberace in "Behind the Candelabra".  And now we have a major storm and Directv is shot.  Drat.  Drat.


----------



## Andy M.

vitauta said:


> is anybody besides me turned into a homicidal maniac hearing the kfc commercial, 'oh NO, i  think i ate the BONES'---AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH--that mindless and maddening ad has me ready to kill something.  i'll never eat kfc again--with bones, without bones--it don't matter.  kfc is dead to me....



I hope so.  Live chicken is hard to eat.  I think it's a stupid ad as well, but I just ignore it.  The chicken is still good.


----------



## chopper

I saw two new K-mart commercials that I can't stand!  One talks about "I shipped my pants" and the other is about "big gas."  I think their play on words is terrible.  Makes me not want to shop there.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> I saw two new K-mart commercials that I can't stand!  One talks about "I shipped my pants" and the other is about "big gas."  I think their play on words is terrible.  Makes me not want to shop there.



They went out of business here...no shopping at K-mart.  They had their employees park next to the doors so folks would know the store was open.


----------



## chopper

Sears bought out Kmart, and we still have Kmarts around here.  Stupid commercials.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I must have TJMaxx aches and pains..."Never the Same Place Twice".


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> I must have TJMaxx aches and pains..."Never the Same Place Twice".



I'm laughing with love, promise!!!  I'm going to have to use that one.

I'm sorry you have aches and pains, I gotta figure out what I did to my shoulder...


----------



## Dawgluver

Heh.  Just went home around 11:30 a.m. to get and put on my back brace, got  a call from the supervisor that she was on her way to meet me at one of my schools. So back I went.  Nice 5 minute lunch.


----------



## Katie H

Well, let's see...ready for a rant about the hospital where I had my knee surgery?  You're going to get one anyway.

 I'm still trying to get the hospital bill straightened out from my knee  surgery in early November.  Yes, over 6 months ago.  Soon 7 months.

 I've talked to so many people at the hospital, my head is about to  explode and I now have a folder that is nearly an inch thick that  contains the bill (incorrect),  communications with the insurance company and pages and pages and pages  of my detailed notes with the hospital personnel.

 On April 16 I  talked with a person who was supposed to "take care of" the mess.  She  assured me that she'd be right on top of it and communicate with the  insurance company so everyone would be comparing apples to apples.   Yeah, right!!  I heard the words, hoped some of what she said would bear  fruit, but.......

 So, since it's been about 6 weeks, I thought  that would be ample time to rectify things or at least have a good  start at it, I called my insurance company this morning.  They have  heard nothing from the hospital.  Nothing since some time in February.  Nada,  nothing, zero, zip, big goose egg!!!!!

 I'm so angry I can't  see straight.  Real helpful hospital!!!  NOT!!  But when it comes to  them wanting their money, they'll call you a few days after sending  their bill (by the way, 5 months after the date of service) so they can  set you up on a payment plan.  I'm ready to hit people and break things.

 I'm sick to death of this crap and, by Monday, I will have a plan.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Katie H said:


> Well, let's see...ready for a rant about the hospital where I had my knee surgery?  You're going to get one anyway.
> 
> I'm still trying to get the hospital bill straightened out from my knee  surgery in early November.  Yes, over 6 months ago.  Soon 7 months.
> 
> I've talked to so many people at the hospital, my head is about to  explode and I now have a folder that is nearly an inch thick that  contains the bill (incorrect),  communications with the insurance company and pages and pages and pages  of my detailed notes with the hospital personnel.
> 
> On April 16 I  talked with a person who was supposed to "take care of" the mess.  She  assured me that she'd be right on top of it and communicate with the  insurance company so everyone would be comparing apples to apples.   Yeah, right!!  I heard the words, hoped some of what she said would bear  fruit, but.......
> 
> So, since it's been about 6 weeks, I thought  that would be ample time to rectify things or at least have a good  start at it, I called my insurance company this morning.  They have  heard nothing from the hospital.  Nothing since some time in February.  Nada,  nothing, zero, zip, big goose egg!!!!!
> 
> I'm so angry I can't  see straight.  Real helpful hospital!!!  NOT!!  But when it comes to  them wanting their money, they'll call you a few days after sending  their bill (by the way, 5 months after the date of service) so they can  set you up on a payment plan.  I'm ready to hit people and break things.
> 
> I'm sick to death of this crap and, by Monday, I will have a plan.



You have an itemized bill from the hospital?  This is beyond ridiculous for you.  Sorry you are going through this Katie, hopefully your insurance company will stand up for you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You have my deepest sympathies Katie.  A few years back I went through insurance hell trying to straighten out an emergency visit bill for my...knee.  _What IS it with that body part?_  Anyway, the issue was with terminology in my case.  The Emergency Room was not called that because the clinic was at a national park on federal ground.  They call things differently in the gubmint.   Since the right name wasn't used the insurance company didn't want to pay.  I ended up getting things cleared up and paid but it took me months and months and all kinds of "proof" including Google topo maps showing that where I was would have taken almost 3 hours to get to what they considered a hospital ER.  As it was it took an hour to get to the NP clinic.  But my case DID get paid by insurance.  I'm sure if you beat on the right people it will work out for you too.   Good luck and keep us updated.


----------



## Addie

Hang in there Katie. You are much stronger than the hospital people who don't know their job and don't know the meaning of "follow through."


----------



## Claire

Boy, can I identify with medical bills.  It is just too weird to believe.  I fractured my hip LAST JULY.  The paperwork grows and grows, and the bills keep on coming.  Statements from one insurance company, statements from another company.  The hospital, two ambulance companies, the various doctors.  And I was in & out in less than 3 days, and only had a couple of follow-on visits and a few PT sessions.  I often do not understand how older people keep it straight because I'm thoroughly confused and started avoiding doctors the day I got our of the Air Force.  It isn't that pain that gets me, it's the pain in the derriere of all the paperwork and the pain in the checkbook.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Katie H said:


> Well, let's see...ready for a rant about the hospital where I had my knee surgery?  You're going to get one anyway.
> 
> I'm still trying to get the hospital bill straightened out from my knee  surgery in early November.  Yes, over 6 months ago.  Soon 7 months.
> 
> I've talked to so many people at the hospital, my head is about to  explode and I now have a folder that is nearly an inch thick that  contains the bill (incorrect),  communications with the insurance company and pages and pages and pages  of my detailed notes with the hospital personnel.
> 
> On April 16 I  talked with a person who was supposed to "take care of" the mess.  She  assured me that she'd be right on top of it and communicate with the  insurance company so everyone would be comparing apples to apples.   Yeah, right!!  I heard the words, hoped some of what she said would bear  fruit, but.......
> 
> So, since it's been about 6 weeks, I thought  that would be ample time to rectify things or at least have a good  start at it, I called my insurance company this morning.  They have  heard nothing from the hospital.  Nothing since some time in February.  Nada,  nothing, zero, zip, big goose egg!!!!!
> 
> I'm so angry I can't  see straight.  Real helpful hospital!!!  NOT!!  But when it comes to  them wanting their money, they'll call you a few days after sending  their bill (by the way, 5 months after the date of service) so they can  set you up on a payment plan.  I'm ready to hit people and break things.
> 
> I'm sick to death of this crap and, by Monday, I will have a plan.



Don't upset yourself.

 Be the cat, let them be the mouse! 

If your knee is working and you have not sent them the final payment you are the one that is winning and in control.

Just continue to document the heck out of everything, that is where most people fall down.

It will all work out eventually.


----------



## taxlady

Wow Katie! What a PITA. (((Hugs)))

When I lived in Denmark, they decided that tourists would be covered by Danish medicare for anything that happened/started in Denmark. They said it was because the paperwork to collect cost so much that it was just more efficient (and nicer) not to charge them.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Wow Katie! What a PITA. (((Hugs)))
> 
> When I lived in Denmark, they decided that tourists would be covered by Danish medicare for anything that happened/started in Denmark. They said it was because the paperwork to collect cost so much that it was just more efficient (and nicer) not to charge them.


 
Smart folks in Denmark. Since I have congested heart failure along with other ailments, I always worry about becoming ill far away from home. So now I no longer travel.


----------



## CharlieD

Is complaining about in-laws considered venting? Or is it simply redundant? Anyhow, my in-laws bough both of SIL houses, I mean really simply bough it. They are ok financially, couple of days ago my wife ask for help with our move, we found a house we like and decided it is good time to move. Not only they said “no”, they did not even bother to ask what kind of help we need. And I can tell you we were not expecting them to buy house for, just needed some help with down payment.


----------



## MrsLMB

CharlieD said:


> Is complaining about in-laws considered venting? Or is it simply redundant? Anyhow, my in-laws bough both of SIL houses, I mean really simply bough it. They are ok financially, couple of days ago my wife ask for help with our move, we found a house we like and decided it is good time to move. Not only they said “no”, they did not even bother to ask what kind of help we need. And I can tell you we were not expecting them to buy house for, just needed some help with down payment.


 
It qualifies for this thread !

Been in your situation .. have 2 sisters that got anything they did or did not want and never a problem.  One time I asked for a bit of help and was shut down before I even got to finish asking.  Never did understand it, the upset I went through finally got me to a point where I just turned off the care button.  

Sorry you are going through this .. it's not fair and it's not a good feeling you are left with.

Good luck with your house !


----------



## bakechef

MrsLMB said:


> It qualifies for this thread !
> 
> Been in your situation .. have 2 sisters that got anything they did or did not want and never a problem.  One time I asked for a bit of help and was shut down before I even got to finish asking.  Never did understand it, the upset I went through finally got me to a point where I just turned off the care button.
> 
> Sorry you are going through this .. it's not fair and it's not a good feeling you are left with.
> 
> Good luck with your house !



I had a grandmother that was the same way.  She bought my cousin a car, a week later I asked her for $200 to pay my car payment because I was unemployed and needed a car to find a job since I lived so rural and was shut down.   Crazy thing is, I was the only grandchild that would have paid her back.  I was also the only grandchild that did anything for her.  I cleaned out an attached shed and cleaned her house on a regular basis because she had a few mobility problems and she hated to clean.   Add to that she had a lot of money and she wouldn't have missed $200.  My cousins wondered why I didn't have as strong of a bond with her, but my entire childhood was like this always wondered why she treated me differently. 

I made that car payment doing any odd job I could find and was proud of myself.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Geez Charlie, how much of a black sheep are you?  Just kidding! Consider their shortsightedness their own loss.  Good luck with your house purchase.  Hope everything works out just fine.  And when you move in and settle down make the first move and invite them over for dinner.  Like the old saying goes, kill them with kindness.  And be sure to somehow sneakily include a food that will give them hives.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Vent here:  *#@)!!* bed legs!  I think I either broke a toe or pulled a muscle component like a ligament.  Left foot hurts like holy heck.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> Vent here:  *#@)!!* bed legs!  I think I either broke a toe or pulled a muscle component like a ligament.  Left foot hurts like holy heck.




The day my Podiatrist told me that older people need to wear shoes or slippers at all times hurt me much worse than stubbing my toe ever did! 

To think I paid for that advice!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Vent here: *#@)!!* bed legs! I think I either broke a toe or pulled a muscle component like a ligament. Left foot hurts like holy heck.


 
Well that is a silly thing to do. You are old enough to know better. If the toe is turning mark and blue black (childrenese language) then you broke it. Have you considered having it looked at? Or is that a silly question?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Well that is a silly thing to do. You are old enough to know better. If the toe is turning mark and blue black (childrenese language) then you broke it. Have you considered having it looked at? Or is that a silly question?



Oh, like I did it on PURPOSE Addie?     Have had this frame since I was 16, solid maple, and do this every once in awhile.  This one really hurt though.  But no bruising yet (been about 4 or 5 hours) and I'm able to flex the toes OK now.  Down steps is OK, up steps not so much.

Not much a doc can do.  I think the bones are OK, probably pulled on a muscle thingy.  And, of course, right now we are in Health Care Limbo.  Himself's COBRA ended 5-31.  He submitted an application for the plan that charges you based on your income, since he's not working right now. Almost $1400 a month for the two of us for any _other_ plan is crazy when the income based plan should cost about $200.  Thing is our application has been "approved" but that is only to process it.  With our luck I'd go to the doc (which we have to change because our own doc isn't in the plan and they pay nothing for an office visit) or the ER and end up spending a couple thousand for the ER visit.    At least now I have a reason to be lazy - even though the thing I hate the most is sitting around and doing nothing.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Oh, like I did it on PURPOSE Addie*?  Have had this frame since I was 16, solid maple, and do this every once in awhile. This one really hurt though. But no bruising yet (been about 4 or 5 hours) and I'm able to flex the toes OK now. Down steps is OK, up steps not so much.
> 
> Not much a doc can do. I think the bones are OK, probably pulled on a muscle thingy. And, of course, right now we are in Health Care Limbo. Himself's COBRA ended 5-31. He submitted an application for the plan that charges you based on your income, since he's not working right now. Almost $1400 a month for the two of us for any _other_ plan is crazy when the income based plan should cost about $200. Thing is our application has been "approved" but that is only to process it. With our luck I'd go to the doc (which we have to change because our own doc isn't in the plan and they pay nothing for an office visit) or the ER and end up spending a couple thousand for the ER visit. At least now I have a reason to be lazy - even though the thing I hate the most is sitting around and doing nothing.


 
 It is the quickest way to get out of work you don't want to do. Ask any of my kids. They had it down to an art.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> It is the quickest way to get out of work you don't want to do. Ask any of my kids. They had it down to an art.



  Not looking to get out of work.  Perfect weather for gardening, which has been rare lately.  Plus with company coming sometime this week I wanted the freshly washed sheets on the bed today so the room was all done.  _Should have waited till after I did some gardening..._


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aunt Bea said:


> The day my Podiatrist told me that older people need to wear shoes or slippers at all times hurt me much worse than stubbing my toe ever did!
> 
> To think I paid for that advice!



Thanks for the heads-up.  Or should I say toes-covered-up?   Unfortunately, I did this before I ever ventured downstairs for the day and I keep my shoes down there.  Slippers wouldn't have helped since I've been open-toe ones this summer.  Maybe after decades of owning this bed I should just remember it's out to get me?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I buy neoprene water shoes for house shoes...a bit of sole and gives a little protection if you have the habit of kicking your furniture for no good reason.


----------



## ahoymatey2013

I just had the pup, Tucker, out. He went both. We came in and he pee'd on my floor. Grrrrrrrr


----------



## chopper

ahoymatey2013 said:


> I just had the pup, Tucker, out. He went both. We came in and he pee'd on my floor. Grrrrrrrr



  At least it was pee.


----------



## taxlady

ahoymatey2013 said:


> I just had the pup, Tucker, out. He went both. We came in and he pee'd on my floor. Grrrrrrrr



Maybe he was just excited. I've seen dogs and pups pee themselves from excitement.


----------



## ahoymatey2013

I don't know what his problem was but he bought himself a 15 timeout in the crate. I had him out, he went both. He came in & went tinkle like I said above & not even 5 minutes after my first post I was upstairs putting my paid bills away & he went AGAIN. Luckily for me both times wasn't on my carpets. I took him out figuring there isn't anything left in him & he went AGAIN but this time it was on the grass.

So I locked him up for a few minutes & now he's fine. Who knows what his problem was.

How's your toe CG? I use to be queen of broken toes. I have the ugliest feet around plus I have chronic plantar fasciitis so it's rare that I am not in my New Balance sneakers with my Spanco insoles.


----------



## MrsLMB

ahoymatey2013 said:


> I don't know what his problem was but he bought himself a 15 timeout in the crate. I had him out, he went both. He came in & went tinkle like I said above & not even 5 minutes after my first post I was upstairs putting my paid bills away & he went AGAIN. Luckily for me both times wasn't on my carpets. I took him out figuring there isn't anything left in him & he went AGAIN but this time it was on the grass.
> 
> So I locked him up for a few minutes & now he's fine. Who knows what his problem was.


 
Keep an eye on him.  Hopefully it's nothing but it could be a sign of something wrong with his urinary tract.  Just to be on the safe side, watch and check for blood .. if you see any at all get him to the vet.  If it continues, take him to the vet.  

Hopefully he was just being a little ornery.


----------



## Dawgluver

He may need to stay out for more than one piddle.  Make sure he's out long enough, even adult dogs pee several times on a long walk.  And males always seem to save a bit in order to mark a tree or something.  I wouldn't punish him for it, he's learning, and he wouldn't understand a "time-out", unlike a human toddler.  (BTW, general wisdom says 1 minute per year of age for time-out, that's for humans).


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Patron has never lifted a leg and peed on me, but I've had plenty of Patron pee on my clothes and hands...good thing I'm drip dry, wash and wear.  Okay maybe that's just too gross for some, but I also had an 18 year old pee in my pocket...no, not on purpose.  Pee, poop and blood don't scare me...


----------



## Dawgluver

Female Beagle will make many stops, if she smells that someone else has been there, she will, of necessity, overpee the spot.  It's what dogs do.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

ahoymatey2013 said:


> ...How's your toe CG? I use to be queen of broken toes...



Getting better every day, thanks for asking!  Actually, per "Nurse Fiona" it's probably just dislocated.  I'm thinking I might even be able to downgrade it to sprained, but then I'm no nurse. Hurt all the time the first day, now it hurts only when I've been on my feet for a while.  Prognosis? I'll live!


----------



## ahoymatey2013

I think he may have been too excited because he was playing hard with chasing Penny and Smokey around the house. My first thought was UTI. I know in the mornings when get home I take him out at least 3 times because he held it all night and I figure he needs to go a few times then after I get a few hours of sleep I get up and take him out again then I move to the sofa and nap until 1:00- 1:30. 

After that time I tie him out in the grass for a while because he loves being outside but I couldn't do that yesterday because of the rain.


----------



## ahoymatey2013

Cooking Goddess said:


> Getting better every day, thanks for asking!  Actually, per "Nurse Fiona" it's probably just dislocated.  I'm thinking I might even be able to downgrade it to sprained, but then I'm no nurse. Hurt all the time the first day, now it hurts only when I've been on my feet for a while.  Prognosis? I'll live!



Did you tape them together?  I'm glad to know that you'll survive, that's always a good thing!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Had them "married" the first day ahoy.  Haven't bothered since, although if we go out for any walking tomorrow I think I should, thanks to your reminder.  Suppose it wouldn't hurt.


----------



## vitauta

rod stewart is making his rounds of the talk shows, ad nauseum.  he was a rocker forty years ago. today he is an old fart.  hang it up, rod.  at least spare me the pathetic public performances with your creepy leather and spiked hair plugs.


----------



## buckytom

lol, vit. i couldn't agree more. same goes for so many rockers.

the stones can still pull it off only because they looked like they were in their 60's 20 years ago, and jagger is still a fit, freaky chicken.

the who have lost their voices, but still are ok with a lot of electronic help.

bruce springsteen couldn't sing when he was young, so who cares now? he was all about a working man's attitude, but gimme a break. he hasn't needed a bandana to wipe away grime and sweat from a real job in the last 40 years. ok, so good for you that you play small bars in jersey now and again. it ain't keepin' you real; it's just slumming it to appreciate how much money you have. your glory days are long past, bruce. go away now.


----------



## vitauta

aerosmith never lost it either.  and dylan and cohen will have my ear til the end of time, til the day i die, or they do, whichever comes first....


i thought new jerseyites love the boss


----------



## buckytom

only at first.

but then we went back to work. he went home to his mansion and still pretended to have a real job.  

it got old, fast.


----------



## vitauta

bon jovi, billy joel, frank sinatra?


----------



## buckytom

bon jovi, besides the girl hair, has kept an audience. women, mostly. but it appears authentic. not pretentious in any way. no problems there over many years.

billy joel is from lawn guyland. they all think they live in castles while sitting in traffic on the l.i.e., the cross island, the northern, or the southern state. 

and ol' frankie is a classic in so many ways despite his supposed darker side. he had a golden voice, even if slightly off key at times. but that's what made it his; no one else's.


----------



## Whiskadoodle

Willie Nelson,  think he's in his 80's.  He's starting a new tour this summer. 

Neil Young.  Never gets old in my book.


----------



## buckytom

neil had that falsetto thing that can go on forever. it's his lyrics that makes him timeless.


----------



## vitauta

neil has written an autobiography which i recommend, 'waging heavy peace: a hippie dream'.  it's a rich and convoluted tale.  he writes like a hoarder of minutiae, but you won't regret taking this winding road of a 'trip' with neil....


----------



## ahoymatey2013

Alice Cooper is another one. I was so in love with him during the days of the original band. He has lost his voice and I don't think he even does his magic on stage anymore yet he's out touring once again. Stay home Alice and stock to the golf courses, you look ridiculous. 

Another thing that gets me is how they all think I want to know their political views. Well guess what? I don't.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

My brain is mush. Stupid migraine. These ones that last all day always make me feel completely drained, like I spent the day doing heavy manual labor while solving calc problems even though all I really did is try to move as little as possible. Glad I only get them this bad a few times a year.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> My brain is mush. Stupid migraine. These ones that last all day always make me feel completely drained, like I spent the day doing heavy manual labor while solving calc problems even though all I really did is try to move as little as possible. Glad I only get them this bad a few times a year.



Sorry you are hurting PAG. 

I've spent the day being a cat bed because I don't want to move either.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Thanks PF. Fortunately my cat agrees with me that it's too hot for cuddles so he's just laid close to me, not next to or on. Still nice to have him close though.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm just not complete unless I have a cat attached to me somewhere...


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle would LOVE to have a cat attached to her.  Unfortunately, the cats she's interested in don't feel the same about Beagle.  I've often thought about taking her to the Humane Society, and allowing her to select her own cat.  Then I realize that I don't need another pet.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Beagle would LOVE to have a cat attached to her.  Unfortunately, the cats she's interested in don't feel the same about Beagle.  I've often thought about taking her to the Humane Society, and allowing her to select her own cat.  Then I realize that I don't need another pet.



Aw Beagle needs a Kitten...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Dawgluver said:


> Beagle would LOVE to have a cat attached to her.  Unfortunately, the cats she's interested in don't feel the same about Beagle.  I've often thought about taking her to the Humane Society, and allowing her to select her own cat.  Then I realize that I don't need another pet.



What a funny and sweet dog. Maybe someday she'll find a feline friend.


----------



## ahoymatey2013

Smokey thinks all cats belong up in trees!  Hope you're feeling better PAG

I'm working with a hangover. I should know better. Come on 5 am


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I sometimes think the only thing Himself processes when I tell him something is if it involves food that's ready to eat.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GASP!  I had to go through DC withdrawal last night!   I have my usual times I play here, mostly mid-afternoons and very late at night.  Well, pretty much very early in the morning.   Imagine my reaction when I settled down with my glass of wine and tried to load the DC page - nothing!  Got the "Oops" window or the "unable to locate" window.  What?  Even went back into my history to try and connect through a previous page I had viewed earlier.  Still nothing.   Finished my wine and went to bed...early.  If I'm crabby today it's DCs fault since I couldn't fall asleep without my fix.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I hate it when DC decides to do a maintenance shutdown on Friday mornings...I'm already stressed fropm the week and then I cant reach DC...<shriek>


----------



## Dawgluver

Please excuse my vent.

No matter what, do not die!  Don't ever die.  It is HORRIBLY expensive.  I've been trying to get Mom's marker right.  The cemetery folks can't spell my town right for billing.    The marker guy can't get her DOB right, and can't punctuate. They are all so sweet, but fer Pete's sake, I can dig up a rock, inscribe it with my Dremel, and stick it in the ground.  And dig a hole to plant Mom's ashes nearby.  Or sprinkle her somewhere.

We didn't have a funeral.  The cremation and other expenses were unbelievable.  And to have Mom planted, even though she's in the size of a large cereal box, is outrageous.  I could dig the hole myself.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek is being sprinkled in the mountains...as soon as I can join him.  My brother has all the details for where.  Our urns have already been purchased...we got to pick them out.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pour/sprinkle some of me in the ocean off a reef in Cozumel.  Maybe some in the Mississippi.  I'll need to be divided.

DH and I really do need to update our wills.  Neither of us have any desire for formal burials.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I told Shrek he had to pick an urn or I would use a 1 gallon pickle jar for him.


----------



## Dawgluver

Mom's in a cardboard box.  My sister gets to transport her to her final rest.  Just hope she doesn't mistake her for Lucky Charms!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Mom's in a cardboard box. My sister gets to transport her to her final rest. Just hope she doesn't mistake her for Lucky Charms!


 
When my frist husband died, he had stated many years earlier that he wanted to be cremated and his ashes sent to England. His oldest son wanted to take care of that. So I let him. Well, he was cremated, but his ashes are in a small cardboard box with his name on it. So today, he sits in Spike's front closet up on the shelf still waiting. When Sandy was alive, she refused to go in that closet. Then one day in the midst of an argument, she told Spike to go and take his father with him. He went to stay with my sister. He put his father up in the attic at my sister's house. 

Fast-forward ahead a couple of years. When my sister was cleaning out the attic she picked up a small cardboard box. She shook it and heard some rattling. (There were little pieces of bone mixed in with the ashes.) She went to take off the cover and saw "Cremains of ..... She dropped that box in a hurry, flew down the stairs and called Spike. Screaming, she demanded that he come and get his father. So he did. Well he carried him around in his work van. He kept him on the passenger's seat. He would warn folks not to sit on his father when they got in the van. After a few folks refused to ride in the van with his father he brought him inside. He is now safely back in the front closet.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek will have a place on my dresser...


----------



## Dawgluver

There is a way that you can have the cremains made into jewelry.  I may try that with DH.  Hmm.  Wonder if it works pre-cremains.


----------



## Somebunny

Dawgluver said:


> There is a way that you can have the cremains made into jewelry.  I may try that with DH.  Hmm.  Wonder if it works pre-cremains.



Rofl! Dawg!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> There is a way that you can have the cremains made into jewelry.  I may try that with DH.  Hmm.  *Wonder if it works pre-cremains.*



Do you think they do Early Bird Specials?  How about a group discount?  If I get the gem encased in a glass sphere I could refer to Himself as the "old ball and chain"?


----------



## vitauta

Cooking Goddess said:


> GASP! I had to go through DC withdrawal last night!  I have my usual times I play here, mostly mid-afternoons and very late at night. Well, pretty much very early in the morning.  Imagine my reaction when I settled down with my glass of wine and tried to load the DC page - nothing! Got the "Oops" window or the "unable to locate" window. What? Even went back into my history to try and connect through a previous page I had viewed earlier. Still nothing.  Finished my wine and went to bed...early. If I'm crabby today it's DCs fault since I couldn't fall asleep without my fix.


 
what is your dc history, goddess?  you joined dc two years before me, but I've only known you beginning earlier this year.  you post just like the dc junkie you profess to be, yet average less than one post per day. care to share, goddess?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

No big secret.  Went AWOL when life got crazy.  It was easier to quit than try and limit.  When you aren't around for about 1000 days it makes your post-per-day average tiny.  Now if you could break out just the posts since I came back in April-ish you could say I'm making up for lost time!


----------



## vitauta

Cooking Goddess said:


> No big secret. Went AWOL when life got crazy. It was easier to quit than try and limit. When you aren't around for about 1000 days it makes your post-per-day average tiny. Now if you could break out just the posts since I came back in April-ish you could say I'm making up for lost time!


 

that you are, goddess!  we are just glad you made it back here alright, I follow your posts with interest, and think of you when I  am adding celery salt and seed to your mil's spaghetti sauce....


----------



## tinlizzie

Dawgluver said:


> Pour/sprinkle some of me in the ocean off a reef in Cozumel.  Maybe some in the Mississippi.  I'll need to be divided.



My husband passed away on his beloved fishing dock, on the canal behind the house.  Having visions of his cremains floating gracefully down the canal, onto the river, and out to the Gulf, I dispensed his ashes from the container...he sank like a rock out of sight.  Period.  End of lovely vision.  I do still have a small remembrance container here on a shelf.

That reminds me of a scene in a movie--the man's friends have taken him to the seashore he loved, tossed him into the air, only to have him blow back into their faces with the prevailing wind.

Will have to speak to the kids today about my disposal; they hate even hints about it.


----------



## GotGarlic

I told DH to have me cremated, then take a Caribbean cruise and sprinkle me somewhere pretty.


----------



## Dawgluver

tinlizzie said:


> My husband passed away on his beloved fishing dock, on the canal behind the house.  Having visions of his cremains floating gracefully down the canal, onto the river, and out to the Gulf, I dispensed his ashes from the container...he sank like a rock out of sight.  Period.  End of lovely vision.  I do still have a small remembrance container here on a shelf.
> 
> That reminds me of a scene in a movie--the man's friends have taken him to the seashore he loved, tossed him into the air, only to have him blow back into their faces with the prevailing wind.



  Sad, but funny, TL.  I imagine some of Hubby has made it to the Gulf by now.

I recall seeing that scene too, what was the movie?


----------



## Aunt Bea

This talk of cremation is interesting.

I plan on being cremated.  I am still undecided about becoming an organ/tissue donor.  I need to find out more about that.

I want to prepay my funeral expenses.  How soon is too soon?  Maybe it will be my gift to me for my 60th birthday!

I have an old friend who says he wants to be cremated and have his buddies sprinkle his ashes in the red light district of his city.  His only fear is that his wife will come along and sweep him up to take him back home one last time!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek and I are 15 years apart, but we have the same spot in mind for our cremains, a place we both loved as kids.  It's high up in the mountains in Wyoming.


----------



## Dawgluver

Aunt Bea said:


> This talk of cremation is interesting.
> 
> I plan on being cremated.  I am still undecided about becoming an organ/tissue donor.  I need to find out more about that.
> 
> I want to prepay my funeral expenses.  How soon is too soon?  Maybe it will be my gift to me for my 60th birthday!
> 
> I have an old friend who says he wants to be cremated and have his buddies sprinkle his ashes in the red light district of his city.  His only fear is that his wife will come along and sweep him up to take him back home one last time!





Organ/tissue donorship is easy.  I have it on my driver's license.  Figured once I'm gone, I won't need my stuff anymore, if someone else can use it, all the better.  The ultimate recycling.  Then they just burn up whatever's left over.

Prepaying is not a bad idea.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aunt Bea said:


> ...I want to prepay my funeral expenses.  How soon is too soon?  Maybe it will be my gift to me for my 60th birthday!...



If inflation hits the funeral industry like everything else I would guess sooner is better.  When my Aunt was in a nursing home, getting low in her own funds and getting ready to apply for Medicaid, the social services director told me to go to the family's funeral director and make arrangements so those funds were gone from her personal account.  It seemed creepy but I did as instructed.  The newly-minted lawyer DIL was handling advanced plannings for the family at the time, and we had a blast!  When there is no pressure it seems like any other shopping, I suppose, unless you have a real aversion to the idea of dying.  You're born - you die.  If you're lucky there is a big span between those two dates.


----------



## Dawgluver

Just a thought, Discuss Cooking is a great place to discuss ALL types of cooking, including cremation....


----------



## mmyap

Arghh!  My microwave died this morning.  We really rely on the microwave at our house.  There goes another $250 (if I'm lucky.)


----------



## chopper

mmyap said:


> Arghh!  My microwave died this morning.  We really rely on the microwave at our house.  There goes another $250 (if I'm lucky.)



Ill trade you!   You pay the balance on my bill for my well pump (remaining part is $1,353.81-after already paying my deposit of $1,500.00), and I will buy you a new microwave!  

Seriously, I hate it when anything breaks.  Sorry you have to buy a new microwave or pay to get the one you have fixed.


----------



## CharlieD

mmyap said:


> Arghh! My microwave died this morning. We really rely on the microwave at our house. There goes another $250 (if I'm lucky.)


 

There is no limit to what you can spend, but there are a lot of simple ones for lot less money out there. I'm sorry you have to go thru that.


----------



## Rocklobster

I hate dealing with corporations.  I am trying to get a few dental claims paid back from Sun life and they offer on line, direct deposit claiming. I have been trying to get things going for over a week now and they can't seem to set me up on it. I have been on the phone three times, had to go back to the dentist because they gave me incomplete invoice codes, and now the final straw, they don't know what is wrong and tell me I have to mail my claim in manually.  The girl said, "Sorry, there is nothing more we can do" 
Between the dentist and this Insurance company, they all charge top dollar for everything and offer so much but never deliver. They can't get their crap together. Why can't we decide that maybe I can't pay this month. Sorry. You are going to have to figure something else out.

AHHHHGGGG!!!!


----------



## roadfix

mmyap said:


> Arghh!  My microwave died this morning.  We really rely on the microwave at our house.  There goes another $250 (if I'm lucky.)


When the microwave on our built-in double oven/microwave broke we got by a few years with a cheap, large countertop unit.  The countertop unit was way better than our dated built-in.


----------



## taxlady

Rocklobster said:


> I hate dealing with corporations.  I am trying to get a few dental claims paid back from Sun life and they offer on line, direct deposit claiming. I have been trying to get things going for over a week now and they can't seem to set me up on it. I have been on the phone three times, had to go back to the dentist because they gave me incomplete invoice codes, and now the final straw, they don't know what is wrong and tell me I have to mail my claim in manually.  The girl said, "Sorry, there is nothing more we can do"
> Between the dentist and this Insurance company, they all charge top dollar for everything and offer so much but never deliver. They can't get their crap together. Why can't we decide that maybe I can't pay this month. Sorry. You are going to have to figure something else out.
> 
> AHHHHGGGG!!!!



Sorry to hear that you have to put up with this stupidity. Can't they give yu a card to show the dentist so he/she bills Sun Life and you just pay the dentist your share?


----------



## Rocklobster

taxlady said:


> Sorry to hear that you have to put up with this stupidity. Can't they give yu a card to show the dentist so he/she bills Sun Life and you just pay the dentist your share?


The dentist doesn't deal that way(surprised??) You have to pay them first and then claim your money back from Sun life....Some chiropractic expenses went through a few weeks ago, which was only 70 bucks, but now the dental one isn't getting through. Which is over 600 balloons......


----------



## Andy M.

I don't know the norm in Canada, but here in the US, the Dr. bills the insurance company and they pay him directly.  Then the Dr. has to bill you any balance.  If this is the norm in Canada as well, I'd change dentists. he's just too lazy to do it right.


----------



## mmyap

Andy M. said:


> I don't know the norm in Canada, but here in the US, the Dr. bills the insurance company and they pay him directly. Then the Dr. has to bill you any balance. If this is the norm in Canada as well, I'd change dentists. he's just too lazy to do it right.


 
Unfortunately this is a sign of the times.  It's becoming more and more the norm because dealing with the paper work is getting so horrendous.  The doctors have to spend enormous amounts of time filling out paperwork so they've just stop being a participating provider and are charging full fee and making the patient seek reimbursement themselves.  

Another new trend here in Hawaii is concierge medicine where you pay annual membership rate to the physician for private /  elite services.  Don't even bother calling them if you are on Medicare.


----------



## Andy M.

I'm on medicare with a supplemental insurance plan.  I get a nice summary report each month detailing medical charges for the period.  What's really interesting is the amount billed by the provider as compared to the amount approved by Medicare.  The difference is huge.  The Medicare approved amount is a small fraction of the amount billed.  Medicare and the insurance company share payment of that smaller amount.  The really sad fact is that if you have no insurance, you get billed the larger amount!

The insurance co. and Medicare also review the bills to identify duplicate or inappropriate charges which they reject.  This protection is lost if the providers bill the customer directly.


----------



## Andy M.

*I Have No Anger Management Issues*

I was out painting the last coat on the deck.  The association provides the paint and a brush to ensure a quality product is used.  I was given water base solid deck stain.  Easy to work with.

I was about 3/4 done with the second coat when SO (she took the day off to get ready for her family's arrival) decided to turn on the sprinkler to water her garden.  Needless to say, it went right onto the deck, wet paint and all.  My screaming to shut it off was quite effective.  I can't describe how angry I was but I remained outwardly calm.  

I went indoors until it dried off and finished painting.  It will be interesting to see how it looks after it's all set and dry.


----------



## roadfix

I am not looking forward to visiting the dentist tomorrow.  I am one of those who seek dental care only when something's hurting. And even at that I still prolong visiting one.   And since I seldom visit the dentist I have no dental insurance.  I just pay for the work out of my pocket.

With dental insurance the dentist deals directly with the insurance company and you're billed the difference.  But with a dental plan (not insurance) you pay the entire amount out of your pocket and the plan carrier sends you a partial rebate.


----------



## Addie

I was covered by Master BC/BS including full dental and eye care. Just about the best you can get. What wasn't covered was taken up by Medicaid. So I had no copays at all. The day I turned 65, every appointment coming up that I had at Mass General called me and canceled the appointment. I was no longer covered by BC/BS. Only Medicare and Medicaid. I knew instantly why. Medicare has a set schedule of payments. And Medicaid does not always pick up the balance due. 

So I joined a Plan C Medicare program. I get top notch care, every drug I may need, get to see the best specialists and have no problems to worry about. I get eye checkups twice a year, see a foot doctor once a month, and am entitled to complete dental care. In exchange I do have to get my vitals checked once a month. Not a bad price to pay for all I get in exchange. And it cost me not one cent.


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> So I joined a Plan C Medicare program. I get top notch care, every drug I may need, get to see the best specialists and have no problems to worry about. I get eye checkups twice a year, see a foot doctor once a month, and am entitled to complete dental care. In exchange I do have to get my vitals checked once a month. Not a bad price to pay for all I get in exchange. And it cost me not one cent.



I kinda wish I were 65 (I'll get there in 6 years).  
Being self-employed, everything comes out of the pocket.  My wife and I are covered under Kaiser for regular medical care but the monthly premiums are costing me a fortune, and that's with a $50/visit co-pay plan and does not cover prescription medication, nada.  The Kaiser plan we used to have for many many years had a $25/visit co-pay and $10 prescription co-pay but I could not keep up with the plan's monthly preminums any longer so I "de-graded" to a less expensive (lesser by about $300/month) plan beginning 2013.
And with Obama Care kicking in next year, hopefully my monthly preminums can be income adjusted to more manageable levels.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I don't know the norm in Canada, but here in the US, the Dr. bills the insurance company and they pay him directly.  Then the Dr. has to bill you any balance.  If this is the norm in Canada as well, I'd change dentists. he's just too lazy to do it right.



It depends on the plan. Stirling has medical/dental insurance with Sunlife too, but his dentist bills them and Stirling only pays the dentist the portion not covered by the insurance.


----------



## Rocklobster

taxlady said:


> It depends on the plan. Stirling has medical/dental insurance with Sunlife too, but his dentist bills them and Stirling only pays the dentist the portion not covered by the insurance.


I love how you pay for the big posh office and two receptionist/secretaries and you still can't get the proper paperwork. Don't get me started.....


----------



## taxlady

I have been parking my car on the street, since my street is all torn up. Today I found a deep, 1 cm scratch on the hood. Phooey.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ouch Taxy!  Is it something you can buff out or will it need a little more work than that?  Hope you can make it disappear.    I hate it when I have so much as a grease smudge on my car.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Ouch Taxy!  Is it something you can buff out or will it need a little more work than that?  Hope you can make it disappear.    I hate it when I have so much as a grease smudge on my car.


It looks like it's down to the base coat, so it will need to be filled in. I'll phone the garage I use and ask them to do it.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I have been parking my car on the street, since my street is all torn up. Today I found a deep, 1 cm scratch on the hood. Phooey.


 
I don't drive and I leave all the car stuff to those in the know. As long as I can get in the passenger side and someone drive me, I am happy. So I used to wonder, "big deal, so you have a scratch. Get over it." Then someone said just one word to me and I understood. "Rust". That I understand.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...So I used to wonder, "big deal, so you have a scratch. Get over it."...




Think of it as being the same as your tearing your favorite dress.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Think of it as being the same as your tearing your favorite dress.


 
Great analogy. Specially when the tear is right in front and not on the seam. No way that can be mended. There is a reason we here in the Northeast have the undercarriage of the cars specially treated against road salt. You wouldn't find that to be a probblem in South Texas.

When I lived in Aransas Pass, Texas, in the summer the humidity was so high you could see the water running down the walls. If it wasn't mold getting you, then it was rust. You could park a car in your driveway and watch it rust away day to day right in front of your eyes. Waxing the car was a weekend family project. The little ones got the shiny chrome on the wheels. Work never hurt any of them.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...There is a reason we here in the Northeast have the undercarriage of the cars specially treated against road salt...




Addie, they don't do that any more.  Car makers are much better at preventing rust these days.  Getting your car undercoated is dead.


----------



## roadfix

Out here 'undercoating' used to be one useless option new car dealers used to push you to purchase.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Addie, they don't do that any more. Car makers are much better at preventing rust these days. Getting your car undercoated is dead.


 
 I told ya I wasn't no car person!


----------



## Somebunny

Today' temp was in the 80's.....I won't vent about warm weather, but I will complain that the air conditioning at work was not working today.  My office was 84F all day long.  We have no opening windows on our floor.  The repair company showed up at about 4PM.  It still wasn't fixed by the time I left at  5:20.  I'm hoping there will be a change  by morning.


----------



## Addie

Somebunny said:


> Today' temp was in the 80's.....I won't vent about warm weather, but I will complain that the air conditioning at work was not working today. My office was 84F all day long. We have no opening windows on our floor. The repair company showed up at about 4PM. It still wasn't fixed by the time I left at 5:20. I'm hoping there will be a change by morning.


 
Sometimes we complain about there being too many laws on the books. But here in this state, they must send you home if the temp in the office reaches a certain degree. Or if it drops too low. There has been many times I have loved that law. In that kind of heat I can't breath due to COPD. I would be leaving the building in an ambulance.


----------



## Claire

Just had to replace my microwave oven.  Husband out of circulation because of oral surgery.  Got it in and plugged in.  "Aren't you glad you married a strong woman?"  "Yeah, that's why I married you."  (compliment or no?)  The petty gripe is that when I set the clock, I didn't realize it was a 24 hour clock (and, yes, I have no problems with that, having much military experience and living in Europe as a kid).  But now it is 4 a.m. and my clock says 1600.  OOoops!  I set the clock at 2 p.m. and set it for 0200 without realizing it.  Oh, well, try again!


----------



## Addie

I am sitting here and Windows decides it is just the right time to install an important update. It shuts down my computer and when it comes back, I can't even get my home page. So I went in and did a restore. Oh great. It wiped out all my saved email for DC. I also had some important names and addresses that I was going to add to my contact list. Gone! 

This is more than a Petty Vent but not quite a Raging Angry Vent. Dang close to it though. I hate Windows!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Somebunny said:


> Today' temp was in the 80's.....I won't vent about warm weather, but I will complain that the air conditioning at work was not working today.  My office was 84F all day long.  We have no opening windows on our floor.  The repair company showed up at about 4PM.  It still wasn't fixed by the time I left at  5:20.  I'm hoping there will be a change  by morning.



I purchased an around the neck fan for work.  Darn betcha they are going to supply the batteries.  The office is generally around 90 degrees or more!


----------



## Kylie1969

Addie said:


> I am sitting here and Windows decides it is just the right time to install an important update. It shuts down my computer and when it comes back, I can't even get my home page. So I went in and did a restore. Oh great. It wiped out all my saved email for DC. I also had some important names and addresses that I was going to add to my contact list. Gone!
> 
> This is more than a Petty Vent but not quite a Raging Angry Vent. Dang close to it though. I hate Windows!



Ads, buy a Mac...then you wont have to deal with Windows 

I love my Mac Mini and the OP system on it is so good and easy to use


----------



## taxlady

Kylie1969 said:


> Ads, buy a Mac...then you wont have to deal with Windows
> 
> I love my Mac Mini and the OP system on it is so good and easy to use


Yeah, but a Mac will cost about three times as much.

Addie, since you probably don't have to have any software that only runs on Windog, you could consider running Linux on your current computer. You can get just about any software you might need for free for Linux.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> Yeah, but a Mac will cost about three times as much.
> 
> Addie, since you probably don't have to have any software that only runs on Windog, you could consider running Linux on your current computer. You can get just about any software you might need for free for Linux.



I'm with you taxlady I'm not sure how they can justify the price of a mac. The operating system is great, but the hardware itself isn't anything special that only they have, most is the same stuff that you'll find in a pc.   I've built a pc, and it's cool being able to completely customize it. 

I run Linux on an old laptop in the kitchen, it's a really solid operating system and Free!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself gutted our old tower and put Ubuntu in.  Connected it to the big flatscreen and watches Hulu etc  on it.  Works great.  And yes, it's free!


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Yeah, but a Mac will cost about three times as much.
> 
> Addie, since you probably don't have to have any software that only runs on Windog, you could consider running Linux on your current computer. You can get just about any software you might need for free for Linux.


 
I too love Mac, but it is and always will be way out of my price range. Spike is in the process of cleaning up my computer. I have already noticed it is running much faster. Today he is my hero.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I too love Mac, but it is and always will be way out of my price range. Spike is in the process of cleaning up my computer. I have already noticed it is running much faster. Today he is my hero.


You could try out Linux without taking Windog of your computer. It is possible to have "dual boot". That means you would be able to choose between Linux and Windows when you start your computer. That way you could try out Linux before deciding to give up Windows.


----------



## taxlady

I'm teaching myself to use my left hand for mousing and track pad. I've got inflammation in my right wrist, again. Previously, that only happened from mousing too much. This time it started from using the trackpad/touchpad. I bought a small, wireless mouse, but that doesn't seem any better.

Switching between mouse and trackpad is annoying. I want the cursor speed slow for the mouse and fast for the trackpad. Aargh!


----------



## chopper

taxlady said:


> I'm teaching myself to use my left hand for mousing and track pad. I've got inflammation in my right wrist, again. Previously, that only happened from mousing too much. This time it started from using the trackpad/touchpad. I bought a small, wireless mouse, but that doesn't seem any better.
> 
> Switching between mouse and trackpad is annoying. I want the cursor speed slow for the mouse and fast for the trackpad. Aargh!



Try switching to your left hand for awhile.  It is tough at first, but can be done.  It is also good for your brain to use the non-dominate hand for routine things like brushing your teeth in the morning.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> Try switching to your left hand for awhile.  It is tough at first, but can be done.  It is also good for your brain to use the non-dominate hand for routine things like brushing your teeth in the morning.


That's what I'm doing. Yeah, I should probably try to do as much as possible with my left hand. I just washed some dishes by hand and had to do it mostly left-handed, because it hurt when I used my right hand for scrubbing, etc. I am of the firm belief that if it hurts, it's your body telling you to stop doing it. (Doesn't count for "good pain". That's just a warning to be careful, go easy.)

The hard part is remembering to use my left hand. I'm no spring chicken and I've never had to use mostly my left hand before. Teaching an old dog new tricks.


----------



## Zhizara

To make it easier, you can also use the settings in Control Panel/Mouse to reverse the functions of the buttons so that your main functions are controlled by the right button (your left index finger) and alternate functions are controlled by the left button (your ring finger).  

You also might be able to control the speed of each, mouse and trackpad there too.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> To make it easier, you can also use the settings in Control Panel/Mouse to reverse the functions of the buttons so that your main functions are controlled by the right button (your left index finger) and alternate functions are controlled by the left button (your ring finger).
> 
> You also might be able to control the speed of each, mouse and trackpad there too.


It only lets me set the speed. Then that is the speed for both the mouse and the trackpad. 

Good idea about switching the buttons. I haven't really been using the mouse left handed, but I might do that if I start using the mouse too. A long, long time ago, I had a left handed husband. He got a track ball and attached to the left side of the keyboard. It was really easy to use left handed. I had forgotten about that. I wonder if I could get something like that now.


----------



## Zhizara

Can't you change the speed when you switch between them or are both on at the same time.

When I want to use the trackpad, I have to turn it on, otherwise casual brushing sends the cursor flying all over the place.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I just tried turning off the trackpad on my laptop, not allowed to for some reason.  I have a wireless mouse installed, love it, but I have the problem of wandering cursor when I am typing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Company...Shrek's Navy buddy and his wife, Columbo and the Mrs. will be here Friday.  We found this out Monday.  There is no way I can take time off while they are here on such short notice.  So...I'm going to wish the three of them well and wave them good-bye.  The cats and I will stay nice and cool, most likely running naked with scissors.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> Can't you change the speed when you switch between them or are both on at the same time.
> 
> When I want to use the trackpad, I have to turn it on, otherwise casual brushing sends the cursor flying all over the place.


I'm currently using both, but mostly the trackpad left handed. I'm using whatever is causing no pain.


----------



## bakechef

I broke my spacebar a few months ago, it's still somewhat usable.  I keep forgetting to order a new one, it will cost all of $5-6, my wallet isn't always near my laptop, I'm just used to ordering from places with my card on file that it can take forever for me to get it together and order from someplace new, LOL.


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> I broke my spacebar a few months ago, it's still somewhat usable.  I keep forgetting to order a new one, it will cost all of $5-6, my wallet isn't always near my laptop, I'm just used to ordering from places with my card on file that it can take forever for me to get it together and order from someplace new, LOL.



I keep all that info in a password protected file on my computer so I don't have to go running for my wallet every time I want to order something online.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I keep all that info in a password protected file on my computer so I don't have to go running for my wallet every time I want to order something online.


Same here. I use Password Safe.


----------



## Dawgluver

Baby Bro's wifey, The Princess.  (Not you, PF).  Gah.  The only person on Earth who has ever had  a child.  We.. Must.. Cater..and..obey..

And she is a petty vent.  Although I have a few other words that might work too.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

chopper said:


> Try switching to your left hand for awhile.  It is tough at first, but can be done.  It is also good for your brain to use the non-dominate hand for routine things like brushing your teeth in the morning.



If I tried brushing left-handed I'd end up with cavities tout de suite!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef said:


> I broke my spacebar a few months ago, it's still somewhat usable.  I keep forgetting to order a new one, it will cost all of $5-6, my wallet isn't always near my laptop, I'm just used to ordering from places with my card on file that it can take forever for me to get it together and order from someplace new, LOL.



Or you could memorize the number.   Himself used to panic when I rattled it off at a snap, even reciting the expiration date and my security code.  Had to remind him repeatedly that I log into the account using the number as the I.D. and I pay a number of bills by phone using number/expire/security code.  He's finally to the point where he now knows I'm not spending us into the poorhouse!


----------



## Zhizara

My laptop has a button beside the power button to turn the touchpad on or off.  

I had to go to the diagram of the computer that shows where everything is to find it.  

It's not in Control Panel.  

No more runaway cursor.  Whew!


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> Same here. I use Password Safe.



I currently use last pass for my passwords, maybe there is a place on there for the credit card number, hmmm....


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> I currently use last pass for my passwords, maybe there is a place on there for the credit card number, hmmm....




I keep all that info on an Excel worksheet that's password protected.


----------



## taxlady

Password Safe is open source and really strong encryption. I don't trust MS encryption.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dear Mr. Headache:

Could you please come back to play some other time?  I'm a little busy right now playing hostess to Mr. Sore Toe and Ms. Achy Back.  Thank you.

Sincerely,  CG


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dear Mr. Headache:
> 
> Could you please come back to play some other time?  I'm a little busy right now playing hostess to Mr. Sore Toe and Ms. Achy Back.  Thank you.
> 
> Sincerely,  CG


(((hugs)))

At least you can take one pain reliever and get rid of all the pains at the same.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks taxy!   I'm thinking I might be low on caffeine.  Haven't had any coffee with this hot weather and I've been drinking more plain water than tea.  Think I'll load up on ice tea and make myself some mocha lattes.  Just have to remember to make lots of extra coffee later.  Then I mix some Hershey syrup into the last of the coffee while it's a little warm, pour it into an old glass milk bottle, and keep in the fridge until I want some.  Then I pour it over crushed ice, add a little cream and even more milk, and enjoy.  Oh that sounds good.  Gonna go brew!


----------



## taxlady

Low on caffeine would explain headache.

I read your post CG, and went straight into the kitchen to make myself an ice cafe au lait: double espresso, ice cubes, fill the mug with cold milk. Yum.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Okay, Columbo and the Mrs. showed up today.  I about freaked as I was busily cleaning the apartment and had sat down for a break when they called and said they were outside our door.  I wasn't even dressed, just had a house dress on.  Luckily they are really tired and are going to the motel to sleep.  Shrek will meet up with them tomorrow and we'll go to dinner when I get off work.

I still have the kitchen to work on...the place with all the flat surfaces.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Or you could memorize the number.  Himself used to panic when I rattled it off at a snap, even reciting the expiration date and my security code. Had to remind him repeatedly that I log into the account using the number as the I.D. and I pay a number of bills by phone using number/expire/security code. He's finally to the point where he now knows I'm not spending us into the poorhouse!


 
Hey, the poorhouse is not such a bad place to be. When you go to the poor house, you finally qualify for something. Anything. You work all you life and watch your neighbors getting fuel assistance, food stamps, lower rent, etc. They didn't have to work for years to get to the poorhouse. They started out there and some have never made any effort to leave it. The rest of us though worked our way here through years of difficult times. Then through the aging process we finally earned the right to walked through the doors of the poorhouse with our heads held high knowing that we worked hard to get here. No a bad place to be. We know our waning years will be spent living in comfort and having our wants and needs being met.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That's reassuring to know Addie!  Actually, our wants are little and our needs are even less.  Mom was so good at making lots with little that we would say she squeezed the buffalo so hard it would poop dimes.   And when Mom said it she didn't say "poop".   Now our daughter says I'm so good with money that I could get two dimes worth of stuff from one nickel.  When Himself was laid off my first thought wasn't about paying for the house (it was paid off, thanks in part to the proceeds of selling Mom and Dad's home) or how would we eat, but "Oh No! Himself is going to be home ALL the time?" 

You've got about a dozen years on me.  By the time I get to the poorhouse there won't be anything left to support me!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> That's reassuring to know Addie! Actually, our wants are little and our needs are even less. Mom was so good at making lots with little that we would say she squeezed the buffalo so hard it would poop dimes.  And when Mom said it she didn't say "poop".  Now our daughter says I'm so good with money that I could get two dimes worth of stuff from one nickel. When Himself was laid off my first thought wasn't about paying for the house (it was paid off, thanks in part to the proceeds of selling Mom and Dad's home) or how would we eat, but "Oh No! Himself is going to be home ALL the time?"
> 
> You've got about a dozen years on me. By the time I get to the poorhouse there won't be anything left to support me!


 
And that is the sad part for your generation. When I was just a brand new bride, my husband didn't think I would know how to handle money. So he kept a close eye on my spending. When he would ask me how did I spend that ($........) amount of money, I could account for every cent and then count out the change that was left over. After a couple of months of this, he started to just leave his paycheck on the table unopened. I would sign his name, cash the check, give him his allowance, pay the bills and still have some left over when he got paid again. One time he got a raise. I used it to pay off a couple of small bills. After a few weeks of this I increased his allowance. He was surprised. "What's this for?" He had no idea that he had received a raise. I split the difference with him.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> And that is the sad part for your generation....



I'm guessing you're referring to the last part only.  I'm old enough to have been taught how to manage money AND have the learnin' stick!  Make It Due-Wear It Out-Use It Up.  I've managed our money practically all our married life.  I quit work when the babies showed up and ran a ledger for all our expenses.  When the paycheck hit the bank I'd portion out what needed to be set aside for each expense, then pay the bills that were coming due.  We've been blessed in that Himself had a job that allowed us to do such a thing and meet all expenses with some left over.  Not wanting fancy vacations or cars worked too.   We're just simple folk.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm guessing you're referring to the last part only. I'm old enough to have been taught how to manage money AND have the learnin' stick! Make It Due-Wear It Out-Use It Up. I've managed our money practically all our married life. I quit work when the babies showed up and ran a ledger for all our expenses. When the paycheck hit the bank I'd portion out what needed to be set aside for each expense, then pay the bills that were coming due. We've been blessed in that Himself had a job that allowed us to do such a thing and meet all expenses with some left over. Not wanting fancy vacations or cars worked too.  We're just simple folk.


 
*I'm guessing you're referring to the last part only*. Exactly. What is going to be left for your generation when your time comes? We seem to only elect idiots to Washington. 

*Make It Due-Wear It Out-Use It Up.* Did your mother know my mother? We didn't throw out a sock with a tiny hole, we darned it before it got too big. A skill not too many know today. I remember a winter jacket I had from when we lived on the farm. The lining was in tatters. So my mother cut it all out and it became a spring jacket. That jacket lasted me for about another five years.


----------



## Kylie1969

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dear Mr. Headache:
> 
> Could you please come back to play some other time?  I'm a little busy right now playing hostess to Mr. Sore Toe and Ms. Achy Back.  Thank you.
> 
> Sincerely,  CG



Hope you are feeling a bit better now


----------



## Kayelle

I've never used this thread before now, but I guess this is the place for my rant.

Did  anyone watch the Macy's fireworks show in NYC last night? The light  show was spectacular over the Hudson as usual, but the music was *HORRIBLE!!   *
It  seems that Usher was responsible for the music choices, and while I  enjoy him as a performer, his choices of music for the fireworks  celebration actually made me angry. Where was the traditional patriotic music we all have come to associate with the celebration? While most of the selections would have been ok in the pre-show, they were ridiculous in being played during the light show! I really missed the heart booming traditional music, and when they started playing a *RAP* selection I turned the sound off!!!
Ghaaaaa........


----------



## Andy M.

I missed the fireworks display and Boston Pops musical performance last night in Boston.  I look forward to it.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I missed the fireworks display and Boston Pops musical performance last night in Boston. I look forward to it.


 
Too bad. They shot some of the fireworks off from the Mass. Ave bridge when they were playing the Stars and Stripes Forever. It looked like the shell was framed in fire works. A beautiful effect. I hope they repeat it every year. I wasn't impressed with the guest stars at all. Names of New England performers I had never heard of that supposedly made it big. 

Kayelle, half of the celebrations' is the music we have heard since childhood. I have to admit, that the chosen works were spot on for us. As a rocket lit up, the music was right in time with it. I don't know who is responsible for choosing it to work that way, but as you sit there watching and listening, it dawns on you how it all works together. If there was a lull in the rockets, so to for the music. Remind me not to come to NY for a 4th celebration.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Too bad. They shot some of the fireworks off from the Mass. Ave bridge when they were playing the Stars and Stripes Forever. It looked like the shell was framed in fire works. A beautiful effect. I hope they repeat it every year. I wasn't impressed with the guest stars at all. Names of New England performers I had never heard of that supposedly made it big...



I got home from my sister's last night and our guests were watching that Gordon Ramsey reality show and seemed to be into it so I didn't interfere.


----------



## Kayelle

The Boston show wasn't televised here Addie, or I certainly would have chosen it over NYC. The Boston Pops is unbeatable!
We watched our own FW show from a hill in our little town without any music. I enjoyed it more than the ridiculous show we watched on tv in NYC!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kylie1969 said:


> Hope you are feeling a bit better now



Thanks Kylie!  Headache is gone - or at least until I head out to grocery shop.  If I could send you about 15 of our degrees of heat I would.   Back is also done aching for now.  All I have is this toe and from what I saw a cousin post on FB I might be putting up with soreness until Christmas. *sigh*


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> I've never used this thread before now, but I guess this is the place for my rant.
> 
> Did  anyone watch the Macy's fireworks show in NYC last night? The light  show was spectacular over the Hudson as usual, but the music was *HORRIBLE!!   *......



Welcome to the Crabbin' Cabin Kayelle!  I completely agree with you about the NYC music choices.  After Boston was done with their show we started to channel flip.  Found the NY fireworks and stopped.  But not for long. Himself and I also found the music to be completely distracting to the firework display.  Watched for a minute on mute, then moved along.  Kinda weird to watch big blasts of fireworks on a small T to begin with, and then to not like the music?  _Move along, nothing to see here...._


----------



## LPBeier

Just got back from the clinic.  I am finally feeling better from my abscess tooth, sinus infection, migraines and sciatica.  But my eye has been watering (which I just passed off as allergies) and this morning was swollen shut.

I have a tear duct infection because of all the antibiotics I have been taking for the other stuff .  At least the cure is simple - yogurt (the only dairy I can tolerate) and probiotics.  In this weather, yogurt and fruit are a staple and I picked up probiotics at our health store!


----------



## jabbur

Cooking Goddess said:


> Or you could memorize the number.   Himself used to panic when I rattled it off at a snap, even reciting the expiration date and my security code.  Had to remind him repeatedly that I log into the account using the number as the I.D. and I pay a number of bills by phone using number/expire/security code.  He's finally to the point where he now knows I'm not spending us into the poorhouse!



I can do the same thing!  I memorized it when we got new cards with new account numbers.  Had to go to all the websites we had a card on file for automatic payments and enter the new info.  Car insurance, MAF, KLOV, EZPass, Amazon, PayPal etc.  Now I can quickly enter it at a new site too since the numbers are burned into my brain!


----------



## Andy M.

jabbur said:


> I can do the same thing!  I memorized it when we got new cards with new account numbers.  Had to go to all the websites we had a card on file for automatic payments and enter the new info.  Car insurance, MAF, KLOV, EZPass, Amazon, PayPal etc.  Now I can quickly enter it at a new site too since the numbers are burned into my brain!



Aside from your one credit card number, can you remember the various passwords for all the different sites you use?  What if some sites require you to change your PW every 3, 6 r 9 months?


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> Aside from your one credit card number, can you remember the various passwords for all the different sites you use?  What if some sites require you to change your PW every 3, 6 r 9 months?



I really don't know many of my passwords...

Last pass generates crazy ones and stores them for me and auto fills the boxes.


----------



## Claire

I don't have any of my passwords memorized.  They're on a pad of paper near my computer.  Real security conscious, right?


----------



## Dawgluver

Claire said:


> I don't have any of my passwords memorized.  They're on a pad of paper near my computer.  Real security conscious, right?



I do the same thing, Claire!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Me three Claire and Dawg.  Except mine are on index cards by "department".  (Cooking, Financial, etc)  I remember to hid the stack if someone is coming over. Usually.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I know everyone's passwords or how to find them in the office...because they have no clue how to go about fixing problems and I end up walking IT through any problems after my office mates have gone home.  Most of the time I just have to access under my username, other times it is a problem with their accounts.  My passwords at work are written down as they change frequently.  Passwords on my home computer are all in my head...have to keep something in there.


----------



## taxlady

Well, at least having those passwords written on paper is a lot better than in clear text somewhere on your computer.


----------



## Addie

I used to have a different password for everything. Then when I set it up that my pharmacy would deliver my scripts to me at home rather than me pick them up, I for the life of me could not remember my password. I also had it set up that no one, not even me, could walk into the pharmacy and pick them up either. All done on the computer. It was a bad program to begin with. 

I got out of that program when I joined ESP. Now I have one password for everything. There are some sites that I hate like Facebook. So there is a slight variation to my password for there. I only go in there to look at family pics. But ever so often someone will send me a site like the Family Tree and they have set up the password. I only go there maybe once or twice a year. Sure enough I forgot the password. Had to send for it. A real simple one. And I felt very stupid. Spike knows my password. And The Pirate also. Other than the use of my one credit card, I don't store anything on my computer that is of any consequence.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Schmeggitty //*#!%#* Yahoo Mail!  All the other times they upgraded the thing you could opt out and stay with the Classic.  Guess they got tired of maintaining Classic because you have only two options:  upgrade or...upgrade!  The new mail offers Basic or Full Featured.  I first selected Basic because I figured it might be closer to the old format.  Um, wrong.  Apparently they made it so bad it pretty much forces you into using Full.  When I switched to that it didn't seem to do what I wanted it to do.  Played around a while (all I had planned on doing was checking email real quick to see if I got anything important  ) and finally realized its functionality is pretty much like using their mail reader on my smartphone. Not sure how well it will work for me, but we might be able to come to a truce of some sort.  

I have Google mail.  For about 3 years.  You would think I would have switched my contacts over to gmail but this works out easier for me to be able to glance at junk mail quickly.  Gmail has been used for more important stuff.


----------



## MrsLMB

So about a week and a half ago I was feeling like I was catching a cold - not happy about that !  After 3 days of doing what I always do when I catch a cold I was NOT feeling well.  So a quick trip to the doc and holy crap .. I have walking pneumonia   In addition to that COPD is rearing its ugly head.  So I'm on antibiotics, steroids and nebulizer and inhaler treatments.  I am feeling a bit better now, and DH says I have color in my face again, but I'm pretty much P.O.'d that I am so friggin' tired and weak.  I am NOT a good patient but this is really kicking my rear.  Guess I'm lucky DH is still here and has a tough skin.  I really need to just calm down, relax and go with the flow but it's so not me to just sit around


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) MrsLMB. Read a book; surf the web - look up all the stuff you don't usually want to waste time on.


----------



## GotGarlic

Well, I don't know if this is petty or major, but I'm irritated that my blood count is low again, for no apparent reason, so I have to go to the hospital for a transfusion. Sucks. On the bright side, I'll take my tablet and extension cord so I'll have plenty to read and watch. So I won't be cooking tonight  See you later. I have to pack.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Well, I don't know if this is petty or major, but I'm irritated that my blood count is low again, for no apparent reason, so I have to go to the hospital for a transfusion. Sucks. On the bright side, I'll take my tablet and extension cord so I'll have plenty to read and watch. So I won't be cooking tonight  See you later. I have to pack.


Bummer. Be sure to ask the doctor if there is anything you can do to prevent this. (((Hugs)))

Good thinking about the tablet and extension cord. Will you be able to get online?


----------



## taxlady

I'm going to have to transplant some chives and parsley. The compressor of the ductless a/c I'm having installed has to go where my composter is, so it has to be moved. I knew that was likely, so I have been trying to figure out where it should go. I will move three or four feet further from the house. I want it near the water faucet for rinsing the bin I use to collect vegi scraps and used coffee grounds and tea bags. I am not looking forward to moving that composter.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Bummer. Be sure to ask the doctor if there is anything you can do to prevent this. (((Hugs)))
> 
> Good thinking about the tablet and extension cord. Will you be able to get online?



Thanks. It's a long and complicated story, but there probably isn't anything that can be done. A med I have to take to prevent incapacitating headaches damages my small intestine, plus there are complications from another condition, etc. One of those things that can't be helped. Yes, I can get online. The hospital has a free wireless network for anyone to use. Time to go, DH is here to drive me over


----------



## Zhizara

{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Get better soon, GG!


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Well, I don't know if this is petty or major, but I'm irritated that my blood count is low again, for no apparent reason, so I have to go to the hospital for a transfusion. Sucks. On the bright side, I'll take my tablet and extension cord so I'll have plenty to read and watch. So I won't be cooking tonight  See you later. I have to pack.


 
I had been rushed to the hospital and was just there overnight for observation. Or so they told me. Said I could go home the next day. I was adamant about making them keep their word. The doctor wanted me to stay longer than the regular checkout time so I could receive a pint of blood. Nope. I am going home! The next day I found myself back in the ambulance and had to stay overnight again so that I could receive TWO pints of blood. Lesson learned.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

MrsLMB said:


> ... I was NOT feeling well.  So a quick trip to the doc and holy crap .. I have walking pneumonia   In addition to that COPD is rearing its ugly head....:



Wow, nasty!  (((hugs)))   Glad they figured out what you have and you get back to normal - or what passes for normal in your own little world!  (Normal here is half-crazy anyway  )  This is nature's way of telling you to relax!  Trashy novel or chick-flick time for you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> Well, I don't know if this is petty or major, but I'm irritated that my blood count is low again, for no apparent reason, so I have to go to the hospital for a transfusion. Sucks. On the bright side, I'll take my tablet and extension cord so I'll have plenty to read and watch. So I won't be cooking tonight  See you later. I have to pack.



Good Lord GG!  I'd put this one in the major vents thread, so you're a real trooper.  Hang in there!  I'm sure you'll be back in the kitchen cooking before...the doctor things you should.


----------



## GotGarlic

Thanks, Z and CG  I'm doing okay so far. With luck, I'll be home tomorrow in time to go to my weekly dinner out with friends, so I won't have to cook till Thursday


----------



## Zhizara

Sorry, MrsLMB, I missed your post.  ((((((((HUGS)))))))))))!  You get well soon too!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

So sorry Mrs LMB and Gotgarlic...hope you both are better soon.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Urrrgh. 82 degrees in the appartment and the cat thinks it's cuddle time. I tried telling him he could only cuddle if he brought me an ice pack but he just looked at me in that typical condescending way that only a cat can manage. I'm pretty sure he was calling me stupid and telling me to shut up.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Urrrgh. 82 degrees in the appartment and the cat thinks it's cuddle time. I tried telling him he could only cuddle if he brought me an ice pack but he just looked at me in that typical condescending way that only a cat can manage. I'm pretty sure he was calling me stupid and telling me to shut up.



Same problem here.  Latté considers it my problem that there is only a thin sheet instead of a quilt to protect my skin from her sharp, loving ministrations.  And why the heck is that fan blowing in her face?  So she pokes me full of holes and then leaves in a huff.


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, the top button on my iPhone quit working.  I can deal with that.  I called the LOCAL number for the LOCAL Verizon store to see if I could get it fixed LOCALLY and got the whole menu of runarounds.  After a half hour of this, and after stating to the autoserve that I wanted to talk to the LOCAL store rep, I was sent to Arizona and talked to a nice man with a heavy accent.  He was able to patch me through to the LOCAL store, and was able to get a rep, who told me she would put me on hold for 2 minutes.  45 minutes later, she reappeared, apologized, looked up my account, and told me there was nothing they could do since I didn't get the insurance, unless I bought a new phone at full price.

Thankfully I'm eligible for an upgrade in August.  What a PITA.  You can't even call the LOCAL store directly and talk to a real person.  Grrrrr.


----------



## Andy M.

To get to the LOCAL retail store, Google "Verizon and the city/state" where it's located.  It will pop up with  phone number, address and driving directions.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> To get to the LOCAL retail store, Google "Verizon and the city/state" where it's located.  It will pop up with  phone number, address and driving directions.



Same number, for everything.  It's the only number for here.  And I know where it is, I just wanted to find out if they could repair it here in town without having to bring it in and get told "no".

I miss the good ol' days when you could talk to a real person....


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> Same number, for everything.  It's the only number for here.  And I know where it is, I just wanted to find out if they could repair it here in town without having to bring it in and get told "no".
> 
> I miss the good ol' days when you could talk to a real person....




That's unfortunate.  When I Googled 'Verizon nashua nh'  I got three different store locations with different phone numbers within the Nashua area code.


----------



## Addie

I hear ya Dawg! That is why I refuse to learn to text. I like the sound of the human voice. My daughter texted me just once. When she called me and asked why I didn't answer, I just kept silent. She got the idea. You can't convey the same tone of your message when you just push buttons.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> That's unfortunate.  When I Googled 'Verizon nashua nh'  I got three different store locations with different phone numbers within the Nashua area code.



We used to have a couple of Verizon stores here, now down to one, and they don't answer their own phone.


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> We used to have a couple of Verizon stores here, now down to one, and they don't answer their own phone.




I wouldn't expect good service from a business that doesn't answer its phone.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> I wouldn't expect good service from a business that doesn't answer its phone.



In my mind, it's not only inconvenient for customers, but what happens if it's an emergency for a store employee, and someone who works at the store needs to be contacted?  They'll have to talk to Arizona, then be routed back to the store.

They're very nice in person.  I'll have to ask them for a workaround the next time I'm in the store.


----------



## MrsLMB

Many thanks to the well wishes that came upon me .. I am doing much better now.

My petty vent is the prednisone.  

It tossed me back a few years and re-introduced me to hot flashes and mood swings and that's a re-introduction I really did not need !

It is subsiding now and I only have 2 more days of single tab each day but I think my DH and dogs are still a bit gun shy  LOL


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> Many thanks to the well wishes that came upon me .. I am doing much better now.
> 
> My petty vent is the prednisone.
> 
> It tossed me back a few years and re-introduced me to hot flashes and mood swings and that's a re-introduction I really did not need !
> 
> It is subsiding now and I only have 2 more days of single tab each day but I think my DH and dogs are still a bit gun shy LOL


 
I had a SIL that had Lupus. She was on Prednisone for most of her adult life. I saw the hell she went through. I have Psoriasis and anytime I have gone to a new dermatologist, the first thing they do is give me a blood test for Lupus. It always comes back Positive. They then want to schedule more tests. No Way! I have seen what she went through and as far as I am concerned the results of the blood tests are a False Positive. I have no desire to go through the tortures of hell. And other than the blood test, I have no other symptoms of Lupus. 

I was given Prednisone eye drops when I had the cataract surgery. Fortunately it was only for one week. So I can sympathize with not only you but your family as well.


----------



## chopper

MrsLMB said:


> Many thanks to the well wishes that came upon me .. I am doing much better now.
> 
> My petty vent is the prednisone.
> 
> It tossed me back a few years and re-introduced me to hot flashes and mood swings and that's a re-introduction I really did not need !
> 
> It is subsiding now and I only have 2 more days of single tab each day but I think my DH and dogs are still a bit gun shy  LOL



That is a tough one to be on.  Glad you are almost finished.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> In my mind, it's not only inconvenient for customers, but what happens if it's an emergency for a store employee, and someone who works at the store needs to be contacted?  They'll have to talk to Arizona, then be routed back to the store.
> 
> They're very nice in person.  I'll have to ask them for a workaround the next time I'm in the store.



Let's both hope there is an internal phone number for the staff to do in a situation like that.  Heaven forbid that happens, the only option is to call using your Verizon cell phone...and all the employee can say is "can you hear me now?" because the connection is so bad!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

MrsLMB said:


> Many thanks to the well wishes that came upon me .. I am doing much better now.
> 
> My petty vent is the prednisone.
> 
> It tossed me back a few years and re-introduced me to hot flashes and mood swings and that's a re-introduction I really did not need !
> 
> It is subsiding now and I only have 2 more days of single tab each day but I think my DH and dogs are still a bit gun shy  LOL



Wow LM, that's a sucky reaction! I bet you'll all be glad when you get back to normal.  Sounds like you're close - hang in there.

My SIL has a muscular condition that warrants her to be on maintenance prednisone when it flares up.  She balloons up when she's on it, but I haven't heard the hot-flash comment from her.  I was on the 3-week, step-down program once.  I also was "tossed back" a few years but I had good results.  I could deep-knee bend AND get up without grabbing onto something, had as much energy as when I was a skinnier, younger woman, and wanted to go-go-go.  Kidded my doctor that I would need to do the 3-week program when I had to get the house ready for market just to have the energy and interest!


----------



## Andy M.

OK, our Florida guests are all back in Florida, I took a day to make bagels and take care of a few other issues.  I was planning on visiting a former neighbor today who just had a baby.  Last night I started getting a sore throat and a little chest congestion so no baby visits for a few days.  I don't like feeling crappy.  It doesn't happen often so I'm not very good at it.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> OK, our Florida guests are all back in Florida, I took a day to make bagels and take care of a few other issues. I was planning on visiting a former neighbor today who just had a baby. Last night I started getting a sore throat and a little chest congestion so no baby visits for a few days. I don't like feeling crappy. It doesn't happen often so I'm not very good at it.


 
Geesh Andy, don't you know summer is not the time to feel lousy? Just make sure you don't pass it along to that little guy that adores you. That is one present he doesn't want to remember. Get well really quick.  And one for you. Sounds like you need one right now.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Geesh Andy, don't you know summer is not the time to feel lousy? Just make sure you don't pass it along to that little guy that adores you. That is one present he doesn't want to remember. Get well really quick.  And one for you. Sounds like you need one right now.



Little Guy was here Wednesday.  I hope I didn't infect him.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Little Guy was here Wednesday. I hope I didn't infect him.


 
I bet his mother is hoping the same thing.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> Little Guy was here Wednesday.  I hope I didn't infect him.



"Little Guy" might be the one who shared with you!  Either way, I hope you feel better really soon  the weather is too nice right now to not get out an enjoy.  Although if you aren't on that beautiful, freshly painted deck I suppose there is nothing stopping you from getting better while outside.   (PS - Hope you aren't allergic to those flowers...)


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Well, the top button on my iPhone quit working.  I can deal with that.  I called the LOCAL number for the LOCAL Verizon store to see if I could get it fixed LOCALLY and got the whole menu of runarounds.  After a half hour of this, and after stating to the autoserve that I wanted to talk to the LOCAL store rep, I was sent to Arizona and talked to a nice man with a heavy accent.  He was able to patch me through to the LOCAL store, and was able to get a rep, who told me she would put me on hold for 2 minutes.  45 minutes later, she reappeared, apologized, looked up my account, and told me there was nothing they could do since I didn't get the insurance, unless I bought a new phone at full price.
> 
> Thankfully I'm eligible for an upgrade in August.  What a PITA.  You can't even call the LOCAL store directly and talk to a real person.  Grrrrr.



Have you Googled for a local repair place? I know that we have a few in this city, it might be worth checking out.


----------



## Somebunny

bakechef said:


> Have you Googled for a local repair place? I know that we have a few in this city, it might be worth checking out.




Dawgluver.........

+1.....we have a local guy that works on Cell phones and iPhones in particular.  I got his name from the "kids" at the AT&T store, after my first iPhone went for a swim in the loo.    Maybe if you go in to your Verizon store your "kids" will have the contact info of someone  LOCAL.  Good luck Dawg.  BTW .... When you say "top button". You mean the on/off button?  I rarely use that one, except to "reboot".


----------



## Dawgluver

Somebunny said:


> Dawgluver.........
> 
> +1.....we have a local guy that works on Cell phones and iPhones in particular.  I got his name from the "kids" at the AT&T store, after my first iPhone went for a swim in the loo.    Maybe if you go in to your Verizon store your "kids" will have the contact info of someone  LOCAL.  Good luck Dawg.  BTW .... When you say "top button". You mean the on/off button?  I rarely use that one, except to "reboot".



Thanks guys.  Yes, the on/off button.  I'm not terribly concerned, as I can upgrade in August.  It was just the wasted time on the phone, and what local business would not have their own phone number, where you could talk to someone at the store?


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I hate the heat. I hate being stuck in my appartment with an airconditioner that hasn't worked correctly since last summer because I'm on-call. I hate having to talk to stupid people who call for help and then won't follow directions because they think they know better than I do. Well if you already know how to fix it then why do I have to be on the phone with you? I hate dealing with people who think having to dial a phone number manualy on their phones instead of right clicking on the number and clicking dial number is a problem worthy of calling the emergency oncall helpdesk. I hate it even more when they scream and cry and yell and accuse me of trying to sabbotage their productivity raiting when I tell them to put a ticket in and we'll take care of it Monday.

Sooo grouchy today. All of this has been building all morning and I ended up snapping at the hubby over something stupid. And that's what I hate the most.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) PAG


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs))) PAG



+1!!

I got almost a full pound of a wedding invitation from my niece yesterday.  What are these people thinking?  The bad thing is, her dad is broke, and we have been lending him money for what we thought were essential expenses, not $20 pp wedding invitations.  I will not be happy if this is where the money is going.  The possibility is that the niece is in her late 20's, her DH to be has a good job, and hopefully they are paying for their own wedding.


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I hate the heat. I hate being stuck in my appartment with an airconditioner that hasn't worked correctly since last summer because I'm on-call. I hate having to talk to stupid people who call for help and then won't follow directions because they think they know better than I do. Well if you already know how to fix it then why do I have to be on the phone with you? I hate dealing with people who think having to dial a phone number manualy on their phones instead of right clicking on the number and clicking dial number is a problem worthy of calling the emergency oncall helpdesk. I hate it even more when they scream and cry and yell and accuse me of trying to sabbotage their productivity raiting when I tell them to put a ticket in and we'll take care of it Monday.
> 
> Sooo grouchy today. All of this has been building all morning and I ended up snapping at the hubby over something stupid. And that's what I hate the most.


 
 Sounds like you need a lot of . Hugs to you PAG. I know how frustrating it can be when someone asks for a solution and then don't like the answer they receive. My next question to those folks is, "Then why did you ask me?" That usually brings the conversation to an end.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Thanks guys. Hubby gave me a hug, I drank a bunch of water and took something for the headache I had, I took a few deep breaths and got a couple calls from some very nice people who really needed help and were very appreciative that I was able to help them. I felt much better after that. And I made plans to go to the pool with my sister and her girls after my oncall ends. 

I'm very grateful for a place to rant. That on it's own helped me mellow out enough that I wasn't snapping at hubby anymore. He was very understanding and forgiving, and he quickly accepted my appologies.

I'm actually in a pretty good mood now.


----------



## taxlady

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Thanks guys. Hubby gave me a hug, I drank a bunch of water and took something for the headache I had, I took a few deep breaths and got a couple calls from some very nice people who really needed help and were very appreciative that I was able to help them. I felt much better after that. And I made plans to go to the pool with my sister and her girls after my oncall ends.
> 
> I'm very grateful for a place to rant. That on it's own helped me mellow out enough that I wasn't snapping at hubby anymore. He was very understanding and forgiving, and he quickly accepted my appologies.
> 
> I'm actually in a pretty good mood now.


Yay!


----------



## Addie

Anytime. You know we are here.


----------



## Zhizara

I'm ready to kill too!  Someone is downstairs in the parking lot having his/her car worked on and blasting boom, boom "music" for the last couple of hours.

It makes my windows vibrate and I can even feel it in my body!  I don't need the stress!


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> I'm ready to kill too!  Someone is downstairs in the parking lot having his/her car worked on and blasting boom, boom "music" for the last couple of hours.
> 
> It makes my windows vibrate and I can even feel it in my body!  I don't need the stress!


My ex and I had the problem at 07h00 on Sunday morning. He hollered and asked for quiet. When that didn't work, he filled several of plastic bags with water and launched "water balloons".


----------



## Kylie1969

Z, that sounds ever so annoying 

I cant stand inconsiderate people!

I hope it stops soon....can you call the police and put in a noise complaint?


----------



## Andy M.

I just had a scare.  I opened my Mac and it was completely dead.  Black screen and not responsive.  Then I checked back a little later and it was in hibernation.  No idea why.  The battery was more than half charged.  

I've been having some annoying problems with it lately so I think I'll take it in for a tune-up.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I just had a scare.  I opened my Mac and it was completely dead.  Black screen and not responsive.  Then I checked back a little later and it was in hibernation.  No idea why.  The battery was more than half charged.
> 
> I've been having some annoying problems with it lately so I think I'll take it in for a tune-up.


Phew


----------



## Addie

I was just reading an article and my computer shut down completely. I didn't even have my hands on the keyboard. What is going on? I doubt it was the site. I was looking in Swans Down Flour for some cake ideas.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> I was just reading an article and my computer shut down completely. I didn't even have my hands on the keyboard. What is going on? I doubt it was the site. I was looking in Swans Down Flour for some cake ideas.



Maybe it overheated?  Are all of the vents clear?  Or maybe one of the fans failed.  If this is the case it would be a cheap fix.  That's what causes my laptop to shut down suddenly, it's a protective measure to prevent damage.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> Maybe it overheated? Are all of the vents clear? Or maybe one of the fans failed. If this is the case it would be a cheap fix. That's what causes my laptop to shut down suddenly, it's a protective measure to prevent damage.


 
Thanks I didn't even think of that. I have a vent on the side that I dust often, but have to pull the CPU out to get to the one in the back. Will get it done.


----------



## Andy M.

Andy M. said:


> ...Last night I started getting a sore throat and a little chest congestion...



This is still hanging on so I'm off the the doc this afternoon to see if it's something he can help with or if I just have to suck it up and wait it out.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> This is still hanging on so I'm off the the doc this afternoon to see if it's something he can help with or if I just have to suck it up and wait it out.


Get well soon.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> This is still hanging on so I'm off the the doc this afternoon to see if it's something he can help with or if I just have to suck it up and wait it out.


 
 If you ever want to see me go spastic, tell a five year old who has taken a nasty fall and has scrapes all over him to suck it and act like a man! He is not a man! He is a little five year old boy who has been hurt. He needs comfort. Not stupid words of an uncaring adult.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Some people dream of sunny summer days. I dream of any weather that lets the temp stay 70 or lower. Come on fall. You can get here any day now.


----------



## taxlady

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Some people dream of sunny summer days. I dream of any weather that lets the temp stay 70 or lower. Come on fall. You can get here any day now.


Noooooo. I really like 70 F too, but Fall means that Winter is around the corner.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

taxlady said:


> Noooooo. I really like 70 F too, but Fall means that Winter is around the corner.



I'm good with winter. I complained all winter about the lack of snow and cold temperatures. Not once did I pinch my nostrils closed and have them stick. Snow I can handle. Cold I can bundle up for. 

But this heat... When you double (or triple some days) your water intake and aren't peeing any more than usual. And I'm grouchy. And nauseated. And I've had a headache for a couple weeks. And the AC has been broken since last summer. And the ice packs melt too fast. And I can't sleep. And I keep trying to joke about it but sometimes I just want to cry. I miss winter.

And so help me if the "DH" unexpectedly plucks one of my three or four grey hairs out again he's going to be in pain. He did it just now and it hurt! And he thought my reaction was funny but he doesn't realize the only reason I didn't punch him is because I was already typing on here. He doesn't realize the anger that sprang up and that I had to quickly swallow. Except that now I told him and he's grouchy now too. I hate summer.


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I'm good with winter. I complained all winter about the lack of snow and cold temperatures. Not once did I pinch my nostrils closed and have them stick. Snow I can handle. Cold I can bundle up for.
> 
> But this heat... When you double (or triple some days) your water intake and aren't peeing any more than usual. And I'm grouchy. And nauseated. And I've had a headache for a couple weeks. And the AC has been broken since last summer. And the ice packs melt too fast. And I can't sleep. And I keep trying to joke about it but sometimes I just want to cry. I miss winter.
> 
> And so help me if the "DH" unexpectedly plucks one of my three or four grey hairs out again he's going to be in pain. He did it just now and it hurt! And he thought my reaction was funny but he doesn't realize the only reason I didn't punch him is because I was already typing on here. He doesn't realize the anger that sprang up and that I had to quickly swallow. Except that now I told him and he's grouchy now too. I hate summer.


 
Do you have any eggshells for hubby to walk on until Fall? If he is wise, he will walk softly until then. And why hasn't the AC been fixed by now? Or at least a new one purchased? They are no longer that expensive, even if you purchase one for just one room. You can get a 5000 BTU for $100. That is big enough to cool even a large bedroom or LR.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Addie said:


> Do you have any eggshells for hubby to walk on until Fall? If he is wise, he will walk softly until then. And why hasn't the AC been fixed by now? Or at least a new one purchased? They are no longer that expensive, even if you purchase one for just one room. You can get a 5000 BTU for $100. That is big enough to cool even a large bedroom or LR.



Hubby appologizef and felt really bad when he realized how much it bothered me. As for why the AC is dtill broke, because the poor maintenance guy for our appartmeny complex needs help. He's got more tickets than he can complete in a day. And it doesn't help that the office manager frequently forgets to put our tickets in. Honestly, I'm surprised our maintenance guy hasn't just quit with all the nonsense he has to put up with. There are actually two complexes side by side owned by the same company, lots of buildings in each complex. He's responsible for both of them. When he asked for them to hire someone to help they got him a side-kick. The kid just isn't qualified/trained to do anything except the no-brainer jobs, which helps our guy but not enough.


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Hubby appologizef and felt really bad when he realized how much it bothered me. As for why the AC is dtill broke, because the poor maintenance guy for our appartmeny complex needs help. He's got more tickets than he can complete in a day. And it doesn't help that the office manager frequently forgets to put our tickets in. Honestly, I'm surprised our maintenance guy hasn't just quit with all the nonsense he has to put up with. There are actually two complexes side by side owned by the same company, lots of buildings in each complex. He's responsible for both of them. When he asked for them to hire someone to help they got him a side-kick. The kid just isn't qualified/trained to do anything except the no-brainer jobs, which helps our guy but not enough.


 
Oh how I understand. The Pirate's new job is at a place with 200 luxury apartments. Most of the tickets are for replacing burnt out bulbs in private property lamps. Stupid stuff like that. They are always at least 150 tickets behind every day. One of the workers hides because he is either nursing a serious hangover or too drunk to do any work. The Pirate is the only one with any serious plumbing experience. So guess what he gets stuck with. The first few days on the job, one of the workers tried to pass off his work to him. That is just not going to happen. I didn't raise a stupid kid.


----------



## taxlady

This hot, humid weather is making me stupid. I have the dumb. I cannot brain.


----------



## CharlieD

I don't know if this is even a vent, more like i am laughing at my self. I was making some soup last night and was adding rice, clumsy me I spilled half a bag of rice right into pot. The soup is now looks and feels more like porige. Taste good though.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

CharlieD said:


> I don't know if this is even a vent, more like i am laughing at my self. I was making some soup last night and was adding rice, clumsy me I spilled half a bag of rice right into pot. The soup is now looks and feels more like porige. Taste good though.



 My dad has made fantastic turkey poridge (soup) in the past. I'm glad it still tasted good.


----------



## Dawgluver

CharlieD said:


> I don't know if this is even a vent, more like i am laughing at my self. I was making some soup last night and was adding rice, clumsy me I spilled half a bag of rice right into pot. The soup is now looks and feels more like porige. Taste good though.



  I've done the same with barley!  Spoon could stand upright in the soup/porridge!


----------



## Addie

Well at least you don't have any broth left over that you don't know what to do with. Sometimes you really have to hunt for the good side.


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> This hot, humid weather is making me stupid. I have the dumb. I cannot brain.


Stirling tells me that the expression is, "I cannot brain; I have the dumb." Yeah, I suppose it makes better sense that way, but I have the perfect excuse for getting it wrong: I CANNOT BRAIN; I HAVE THE DUMB. Unfortunately, it hasn't gotten any better.


----------



## taxlady

My new Win 8 computer wants to sign me in, to play solitaire.  Hunh? It gets better. It signs me in as "CounterHarpy851". That's not me. I don't see any way to sign in as me. I suspect that someone at Staples fired up the computer when it came into the store, to make sure it works properly. And, then they played some Xbox game and signed in.

Anyone know how to sign out of Xbox games in Win 8?


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> My new Win 8 computer wants to sign me in, to play solitaire.  Hunh? It gets better. It signs me in as "CounterHarpy851". That's not me. I don't see any way to sign in as me. I suspect that someone at Staples fired up the computer when it came into the store, to make sure it works properly. And, then they played some Xbox game and signed in.
> 
> Anyone know how to sign out of Xbox games in Win 8?



I don't know, I kinda like CounterHarpy.  But now that you told us, you can't use it anymore.

I would contact Staples, bet management would not be pleased.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I don't know, I kinda like CounterHarpy.  But now that you told us, you can't use it anymore.
> 
> I would contact Staples, bet management would not be pleased.


I guess I have to talk to management. I asked when I was in the store.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I'm good with winter. I complained all winter about the lack of snow and cold temperatures. Not once did I pinch my nostrils closed and have them stick. Snow I can handle. Cold I can bundle up for....I hate summer.



p.a.g., I'd give you a hug but it's too danged hot!  I feel your sweat though.  Summer is my least favorite season and this summer is topping the list.  Himself told me he wanted to move to FL when he retired.  I told him to find someone else to wed if he couldn't give that up.  My FIL tried to tell me how wonderful it would be to live in FL.  He reminded me how I had to bundle up or hide "up north" in the winter.  I asked him WHY would I want to live somewhere where it is summer at least 9 months of the year.  I never hid inside during the winter, I hiked and skied.  I told him at least I had the option of adding clothing if I was cold in the winter, but the authorities would let me take only so much off if I was hot!  Stay cool however you can.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Cooking Goddess said:


> p.a.g., I'd give you a hug but it's too danged hot!  I feel your sweat though.  Summer is my least favorite season and this summer is topping the list.  Himself told me he wanted to move to FL when he retired.  I told him to find someone else to wed if he couldn't give that up.  My FIL tried to tell me how wonderful it would be to live in FL.  He reminded me how I had to bundle up or hide "up north" in the winter.  I asked him WHY would I want to live somewhere where it is summer at least 9 months of the year.  I never hid inside during the winter, I hiked and skied.  I told him at least I had the option of adding clothing if I was cold in the winter, but the authorities would let me take only so much off if I was hot!  Stay cool however you can.



Thanks CG. We're hoping the maintenance guy makes it by today. In the mean time, cold shower this morning and off to work a little early. Hubby is thinking about driving around with the cat with him through the hottest part of today since the car ac works just fine. It's either that or keeping them both dowsed in water all day. I'm so grateful he thinks of the cat and doesn't just leave for the day. So glad he works as hard to keep our furry family member cool as he does himself.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> My new Win 8 computer wants to sign me in, to play solitaire.  Hunh? It gets better. It signs me in as "CounterHarpy851". That's not me. I don't see any way to sign in as me. I suspect that someone at Staples fired up the computer when it came into the store, to make sure it works properly. And, then they played some Xbox game and signed in.
> 
> Anyone know how to sign out of Xbox games in Win 8?


 
Have you tried to go into the Control Panel and remove any game  programs?


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Have you tried to go into the Control Panel and remove any game  programs?


Why? I *want* to play solitaire.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Why? I *want* to play solitaire.


 
You can reinstall it under your own name. Or go to pogo.com

Lots of solitaire games on there. All kinds of games.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> You can reinstall it under your own name. Or go to pogo.com
> 
> Lots of solitaire games on there. All kinds of games.


But there has to be a way to log out. What if I want to let someone else play some stupid game on my computer? Shouldn't they be able to log in as themself?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Thanks CG. We're hoping the maintenance guy makes it by today. In the mean time, cold shower this morning and off to work a little early. Hubby is thinking about driving around with the cat with him through the hottest part of today since the car ac works just fine. It's either that or keeping them both dowsed in water all day. I'm so grateful he thinks of the cat and doesn't just leave for the day. So glad he works as hard to keep our furry family member cool as he does himself.



That is quite nice, not everyone thinks of their pets at home all day.  Mine have an A/C all day, even if humans are not home.


----------



## taxlady

Cats evolved in the desert. How much do they really mind heat? Okay, humid heat seems to bother them. Mine is stretched out on the floor. If he wanted to, he could go in the bedroom which has AC.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Cats evolved in the desert. How much do they really mind heat? Okay, humid heat seems to bother them. Mine is stretched out on the floor. If he wanted to, he could go in the bedroom which has AC.



Both of mine are in the room with the AC.  I know it's hot because they don't migrate into the bedroom with me at night, they stay with the AC.  If they wanted to be hot, I wouldn't be able to get them off of me.


----------



## Dawgluver

Apparently, Beagle evolved in the desert too.  She finds the hottest sunbeam whereever it is and sleeps in it.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That is quite nice, not everyone thinks of their pets at home all day. Mine have an A/C all day, even if humans are not home.


 
Spike leaves the AC on low and the ceiling fan running in the bedroom. He also leaves a bowl of ice cubes for Teddy. By the time he is looking for a drink, there is enough water melted from the cubes. Then when they come here at night, I turn the fan directly on Teddy.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Our furbrain wants to go in the sunroom every day - when the sun is out - and she heads for a sunny spot.  Top temp I've seen in there so far was 96 or 97.  She lays down (or, maybe, passes out?  ) and stays out there for about an hour - or when we call her in because we don't want to be the doormen anymore!


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> p.a.g., I'd give you a hug but it's too danged hot!  I feel your sweat though.  Summer is my least favorite season and this summer is topping the list.  Himself told me he wanted to move to FL when he retired.  I told him to find someone else to wed if he couldn't give that up.  My FIL tried to tell me how wonderful it would be to live in FL.  He reminded me how I had to bundle up or hide "up north" in the winter.  I asked him WHY would I want to live somewhere where it is summer at least 9 months of the year.  I never hid inside during the winter, I hiked and skied.  I told him at least I had the option of adding clothing if I was cold in the winter, but the authorities would let me take only so much off if I was hot!  Stay cool however you can.



After growing up in Maine, I thought that I would die, the first couple of summers here in NC.  But I guess you do acclimate somewhat to the heat, just like you do to the cold.  Now yes it feels hot, but it seems to bother me less than it did.  Having central a/c everywhere you go helps.

Being more north that Florida, we at least get more variation when it comes to seasons.  I don't like the cold anymore and snow makes me grouchy!  I may have found for me the almost perfect balance (I can do without 100+ temps that we sometimes get in the summer).


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef, I've said for years that NC would be a great place to retire to...if the kids weren't so far away (Akron-Canton area in OH).  Loved Asheville and the area out that way when we vacationed last year.  VA too, for all the history (Himself is a history buff (the *only* kind of "buff" he'll ever be), and the northern part along I-81 is only half as far away as we live now.  But I really want to live close enough that one of them can stop by for supper. 

MrsL and I were just discussing (PM) how it was easier to take the heat when we were younger.  Now?  I hate the thought of the heat between the house door and car, and then the thought of leaving my cooled-off car to go into a store.  Gotta do it before the weather breaks, though, since I have to grocery shop before then.


----------



## MrsLMB

Cooking Goddess said:


> bakechef, I've said for years that NC would be a great place to retire to...if the kids weren't so far away (Akron-Canton area in OH). Loved Asheville and the area out that way when we vacationed last year. VA too, for all the history (Himself is a history buff (the *only* kind of "buff" he'll ever be), and the northern part along I-81 is only half as far away as we live now. But I really want to live close enough that one of them can stop by for supper.
> 
> MrsL and I were just discussing (PM) how it was easier to take the heat when we were younger. Now? I hate the thought of the heat between the house door and car, and then the thought of leaving my cooled-off car to go into a store. Gotta do it before the weather breaks, though, since I have to grocery shop before then.


 
We need to invent an umbrella type thing that shoots cold air all over us as we make those runs from the car to the store etc !!!


----------



## Addie

I have a handicap placard. So I get to park almost right next to the door. My supermarket has a vent right inside the first door and you get a blast of freezing air as you walk in. And in the winter, you get a blast of heat. I don't mind going there at all. I am not in the hot outside air anymore than 15 seconds. I can't complain.


----------



## taxlady

I hate Windows. Windows 8 is fast, but other than that, it sucks.

I can't seem my network because MS is using a new SAMBA protocol that only Win 8 uses. Well, this is the only computer in the house that's a Win 8 machine. Others are running Win 7, XP Pro, or Linux.

There is a fix. I can edit my registry to disable this new one, so it reverts to the old one. Grrrr. I hate editing the registry. It makes me nervous.

BTW, other computers can see this one.


----------



## MrsLMB

This morning it was another trip back to the Doc.  Been feeling progressively worse the past 3 days.

Oh joy - now I have bronchitis  

So on to another round of antibiotics and prednisone.  

When I told DH about the pred he was visibly shaken.  

Seems he still has vivid memories of a few weeks ago when I was on that and went into some serious mood swings  LOL   

He was cute .. "Oh no, well at least there is something they can do to help you out and just exactly how long will you be on that Prednisone?" 

I'm so tired of this stupid sickness.  I just want it to go away and leave me alone !!


----------



## Andy M.

MrsLMB said:


> ...I'm so tired of this stupid sickness.  I just want it to go away and leave me alone !!



I know what you mean.  Being sick with no quick solution really sucks.   I hope you are over it ASAP.


----------



## taxlady

Get well soon, MrsLMB.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

MrsLMB said:


> ...I'm so tired of this stupid sickness.  I just want it to go away and leave me alone !!



So, basically, you're sick of being sick.  Sorry you still aren't better.  REST, darn it, and get healthy soon.


----------



## Rocklobster

They raised the price of my favorite aftershave. Now I gotta pay $1.25. Shoot!


----------



## Kylie1969

The handyman did not end up coming over, I had to phone him too 

He said he had another job way down south that he got stuck at so couldn't come...also, he didn't have my number on him to phone me and let me know...not impressed!

He is going to come on Monday now, lets see if he does...if he doesn't, he has lost a job!

I dont put up with people like this!


----------



## Kylie1969

Rocklobster said:


> They raised the price of my favorite aftershave. Now I gotta pay $1.25. Shoot!



How much was it before Rock...has it gone up much?


----------



## Kylie1969

MrsLMB said:


> This morning it was another trip back to the Doc.  Been feeling progressively worse the past 3 days.
> 
> Oh joy - now I have bronchitis
> 
> So on to another round of antibiotics and prednisone.



I hope you are on the mend soon Mrs L


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> I hate Windows. Windows 8 is fast, but other than that, it sucks.
> 
> I can't seem my network because MS is using a new SAMBA protocol that only Win 8 uses. Well, this is the only computer in the house that's a Win 8 machine. Others are running Win 7, XP Pro, or Linux.
> 
> There is a fix. I can edit my registry to disable this new one, so it reverts to the old one. Grrrr. I hate editing the registry. It makes me nervous.
> 
> BTW, other computers can see this one.


Oops, it wasn't the fault of Windog, this time.

It was Kaspersky, my anti-virus, etc. software. I forgot to check its firewall. We have a firewall on the network server, so I forget about firewalls. 

So, after a few settings changes in Kaspersky, I can see the other computers.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Oops, it wasn't the fault of Windog, this time.
> 
> It was Kaspersky, my anti-virus, etc. software. I forgot to check its firewall. We have a firewall on the network server, so I forget about firewalls.
> 
> So, after a few settings changes in Kaspersky, I can see the other computers.



Glad you found your problem.

The printer at work up and died.  I checked everything that I knew to check and e-mailed our procurer of computer things.  The next day a tech came and and found the problem.  Then Friday the tech came back with a box and performed maintenance on the printer...he complimented us on taking such good care of the printer, we had just worn it out.  He replaced rollers and the fuser. 

He siad it was my rundown of what was happening and having examples of the damage it was causing (before it went all 4 paws up) that led to him diagnosing the problem.  Most diagnostics he runs take him from an hour to two hours...he found ours in 10 minutes.

The procurer thanked me for saving him $1400 on a new printer.  I told him I would give him the bill for new shoes for having to run back and forth for print jobs, I wouldn't charge him a diagnostic fee.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ...He siad it was my rundown of what was happening and having examples of the damage it was causing (before it went all 4 paws up) that led to him diagnosing the problem.  Most diagnostics he runs take him from an hour to two hours...he found ours in 10 minutes....



When you take a vehicle to the shop do you tell the mechanic about the buzzing noise that starts up when you first drive away, increasing in pitch until it gets so high you can't here it after you hit 25MPH?  Or the rattle and vibrating noise that comes from under the rear of the car near the passenger side?  I do...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> When you take a vehicle to the shop do you tell the mechanic about the buzzing noise that starts up when you first drive away, increasing in pitch until it gets so high you can't here it after you hit 25MPH?  Or the rattle and vibrating noise that comes from under the rear of the car near the passenger side?  I do...



I just try to be observant...hate looking silly...as it was I still didn't really know how a Laserjet worked, so I didn't know to look for a fuser.  Otherwise I could have just told our computer guy what we needed to fix it.  I have fixed other things at work that has saved the company money...


----------



## Kylie1969

taxlady said:


> Oops, it wasn't the fault of Windog, this time.
> 
> It was Kaspersky, my anti-virus, etc. software. I forgot to check its firewall. We have a firewall on the network server, so I forget about firewalls.
> 
> So, after a few settings changes in Kaspersky, I can see the other computers.



Must be great to have it all worked out


----------



## taxlady

Kylie1969 said:


> Must be great to have it all worked out


Yup, even thought there is still some tweaking to be done. I feel like such a dodo for not thinking Kaspersky's firewall.


----------



## Somebunny

I have noticed this past week that every time I drive into the garage it smells pretty bad and had mentioned to DH that the garbage can that we keep in there must be smelling because of the heat.  It's been low to high 70's with a few days in the high 80,s for the last month.  We have had 30+ days of sunshine and no precipitation.  Unusual for the PNW, where even summer is interrupted by a rainy day here and there and a few overcast days :/.  Now I don't know what I was thinking to imagine it would be the garbage can smelling as very little food type waste goes in there we recycle and compost and freeze the yucky stuff until garbage day. ......I just found out what that awful stink is/was!  I went to the garage to retrieve a few red potatoes for a side dish with tonight's grilled chicken thighs, PU! The full unopened 10lb. bag of small red potatoes was spoiled. That stinks in more ways then 1!  I've had them about a week and a half maybe two weeks, there must have been a bad one in the bag to start with.  Argh!  I do have some new pets now ermm PESTS!


----------



## Kylie1969

It is normal Taxy, sometimes the firewall is the last thing people think of...it is just so nice to have everything sorted, nothing worse than pc problems


----------



## Addie

Somebunny said:


> I have noticed this past week that every time I drive into the garage it smells pretty bad and had mentioned to DH that the garbage can that we keep in there must be smelling because of the heat. It's been low to high 70's with a few days in the high 80,s for the last month. We have had 30+ days of sunshine and no precipitation. Unusual for the PNW, where even summer is interrupted by a rainy day here and there and a few overcast days :/. Now I don't know what I was thinking to imagine it would be the garbage can smelling as very little food type waste goes in there we recycle and compost and freeze the yucky stuff until garbage day. ......I just found out what that awful stink is/was! I went to the garage to retrieve a few red potatoes for a side dish with tonight's grilled chicken thighs, PU! The full unopened 10lb. bag of small red potatoes was spoiled. That stinks in more ways then 1! I've had them about a week and a half maybe two weeks, there must have been a bad one in the bag to start with. Argh! I do have some new pets now ermm PESTS!


 
That would pi** me off big time. I hate it when I lose food through no fault of my actions. A loss of ten pounds of food is not a very happy event. I know they say don't put them in the fridge. But I only buy a five pound bag and open it. Then I dump them into a crisper draw. After all it is a cool and dark place. Because of where I grew up, I prefer potatoes from Maine or P.E.I. I have very little problems with my 'taters. Very rarely do I find one that is bad. Have you found a solution to where to store them now?


----------



## Dawgluver

Somebunny said:


> I have noticed this past week that every time I drive into the garage it smells pretty bad and had mentioned to DH that the garbage can that we keep in there must be smelling because of the heat.  It's been low to high 70's with a few days in the high 80,s for the last month.  We have had 30+ days of sunshine and no precipitation.  Unusual for the PNW, where even summer is interrupted by a rainy day here and there and a few overcast days :/.  Now I don't know what I was thinking to imagine it would be the garbage can smelling as very little food type waste goes in there we recycle and compost and freeze the yucky stuff until garbage day. ......I just found out what that awful stink is/was!  I went to the garage to retrieve a few red potatoes for a side dish with tonight's grilled chicken thighs, PU! The full unopened 10lb. bag of small red potatoes was spoiled. That stinks in more ways then 1!  I've had them about a week and a half maybe two weeks, there must have been a bad one in the bag to start with.  Argh!  I do have some new pets now ermm PESTS!



Oh ick!  Nothing stinks worse than rotten potatoes!  Someone here had posted about forgetting a full sack in the trunk of their car, what a stench ensued!


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Glad you found your problem.
> 
> The printer at work up and died.  I checked everything that I knew to check and e-mailed our procurer of computer things.  The next day a tech came and and found the problem.  Then Friday the tech came back with a box and performed maintenance on the printer...he complimented us on taking such good care of the printer, we had just worn it out.  He replaced rollers and the fuser.
> 
> He siad it was my rundown of what was happening and having examples of the damage it was causing (before it went all 4 paws up) that led to him diagnosing the problem.  Most diagnostics he runs take him from an hour to two hours...he found ours in 10 minutes.
> 
> The procurer thanked me for saving him $1400 on a new printer.  I told him I would give him the bill for new shoes for having to run back and forth for print jobs, I wouldn't charge him a diagnostic fee.



I called my ISP's customer service number.  I knew what the problem likely was, just couldn't fix it myself.  I gave them the rundown on what was going on and the lady says "you seem to know what you are talking about, I'll schedule a tech and send them out, none of the things I can tell you to do will likely help".  I just wanted to avoid the "unplug the modem and plug it back in" thing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> I called my ISP's customer service number.  I knew what the problem likely was, just couldn't fix it myself.  I gave them the rundown on what was going on and the lady says "you seem to know what you are talking about, I'll schedule a tech and send them out, none of the things I can tell you to do will likely help".  I just wanted to avoid the "unplug the modem and plug it back in" thing.



Exactly, if I can give enough information on what is happening with what I have tried, the quicker we get to the problem.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> I called my ISP's customer service number.  I knew what the problem likely was, just couldn't fix it myself.  I gave them the rundown on what was going on and the lady says "you seem to know what you are talking about, I'll schedule a tech and send them out, none of the things I can tell you to do will likely help".  I just wanted to avoid the "unplug the modem and plug it back in" thing.


They tell make my husband unplug the modem, etc. He's an IT guy. He understands this stuff far better than most of the help line people. When he is lucky, they escalate to a real techy.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

When they tell me to have my husband do something with any tech I have to ask them why...I'm the one that taught him.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> When they tell me to have my husband do something with any tech I have to ask them why...I'm the one that taught him.



+1.  I'm DH's tech support.  Not real good at it, but better than he is.


----------



## taxlady

I'm pretty good at tech stuff, usually better than the guys on the front line of help, but Stirling is a whiz at tech stuff. They have never asked me to talk to my husband. Sometimes I tell them they have to talk to him.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> +1.  I'm DH's tech support.  Not real good at it, but better than he is.



Well, you know my Shrek is quite old...he remembers Howdy-Doody on TV...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Well, you know my Shrek is quite old...he remembers Howdy-Doody on TV...



  So do I!


----------



## Kylie1969

I too am good at tech stuff, I learnt it all from Steve, he is ever so smart when it comes to computers, hardware and software...he is a Software Engineer in his full time job but also can make a pc from scratch, very impressive


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> So do I!



You are the same age as Shrek???


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kylie1969 said:


> I too am good at tech stuff, I learnt it all from Steve, he is ever so smart when it comes to computers, hardware and software...he is a Software Engineer in his full time job but also can make a pc from scratch, very impressive



Yes, my Dad does the same thing, he's been building computers and working with them since before there were PC's.


----------



## Kylie1969

taxlady said:


> I'm pretty good at tech stuff, usually better than the guys on the front line of help, but Stirling is a whiz at tech stuff. They have never asked me to talk to my husband. Sometimes I tell them they have to talk to him.



It is good that us girls know what to do


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You are the same age as Shrek???



I don't think so...


----------



## Addie

I used to keep up on all the technie stuff. But then I found Spike. So now my instructions are "Don't touch anything. Call me." So that is what I do.

I too remember Howdy Doody. I also remember Roberta Quinlin and her sponsor, Carpets From The Looms Of Mohawk. She had a 15 minute show at 7 p.m. five nights a week. And the nightly news was told to us by John Cameron Swazey who was sponsored by Timex. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Another 15 minute show. And I also remember my mother listen to the Romances of Helen Trent and the Guiding Light on the radio. Yes, I admit it. I am old.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef said:


> I called my ISP's customer service number.  I knew what the problem likely was, just couldn't fix it myself.  I gave them the rundown on what was going on and the lady says "you seem to know what you are talking about, I'll schedule a tech and send them out, none of the things I can tell you to do will likely help".  I just wanted to avoid the "unplug the modem and plug it back in" thing.



The "unplug/replug" thing is what caused Himself to not call about a flaky modem for months, until it got too bad.  Even I knew what was wrong...the thing was over a decade old and worn out!  When he finally called they asked a bunch of questions, did a few tests with him on the phone, and told him they couldn't find anything wrong.  Next day they send him an email - saying a new modem was on the way!  Well, the new one has been in its box on the counter for a week now because MY idea worked:  move the old modem from the den on the warmer second floor and put it down the basement where it's cooler and a constant temp.  Danged old one has been perfect for 2 weeks!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Yes, my Dad does the same thing, he's been building computers and working with them since before there were PC's.



Same with Himself.  We never had a new computer (unless you count our Atari 800) until 2000 because he would bring home the old ones from work for free, tinker with them, and get them to run good enough for home.  I felt like the IT guy's version of the shoemaker's kids. 

 Back in the early '70s he worked for a small company designing systems and writing code.  (His typing wasn't very good - I have a punch card he did for me that says "I move you" )  A client wanted to get their desktop computers to send data to an office in another state, but back then only mainframes were doing data transfers.  He and a coworker (Tom) stayed late every night trying to get it to work.  It was a secret project and I couldn't tell anyone so I called it "Nanette" anytime we were out (theatre joke).  Got so I saw so little of him I would pack a basket of food for him and Tom and run over to the office from my parents' home and drop it off!  When they finally got it working by testing between their office in Cleveland and the home office back in MA (different company than the most recent) everyone at HQ was so impressed they offered the two guys teaching jobs at corporate.  Dodged the moving bullet that time.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> The "unplug/replug" thing is what caused Himself to not call about a flaky modem for months, until it got too bad. Even I knew what was wrong...the thing was over a decade old and worn out! When he finally called they asked a bunch of questions, did a few tests with him on the phone, and told him they couldn't find anything wrong. Next day they send him an email - saying a new modem was on the way! Well, the new one has been in its box on the counter for a week now because MY idea worked: move the old modem from the den on the warmer second floor and put it down the basement where it's cooler and a constant temp. Danged old one has been perfect for 2 weeks!


 
When Spike called Comcast for me to tell them I needed a new modem, they didn't believe him. So the silly person on the other end spent almost 20 minutes of his time trying to get my modem to work. Finally he asked how long have I had the Internet service with them. I even had the date. It was ten years ago. Long before they went digital. "Oh, I think your modem is out of date now." Such a brilliant guy. By now I decided to play with him. "Can you bring it into the office and we will exchange it for you?" "No, I am housebound and can't walk. And I am very elderly. The computer and TV are the only means I have of staying in touch with the outside world. Can you deliver it to me without an extra charge?" 
"Oh, I will have to check with my supervisor." I already knew the answer, but since these calls are timed and monitored, I wasn't going to let him off to easy. 

"Can I set up an appointment time with you? What time would it be the most convenient for you when you will be at home?" 
"Well considering I am housebound I expect to be home all day." 
The conversation kept going on and on about a good time for me and the truck that would be in my neighborhood. I finally had enough of his stupidity and asked for his supervisor. Took her 10 seconds to set up the time. And there was no delivery charge. 

 Had he asked me in the beginning when I had gotten my old modem he could have saved a lot of time. You can bet he got a dressing down for the length of that call. 45 minutes. Idiot!


----------



## bakechef

I'm my own tech support for most things, If I don't know how to do something, I research until I figure it out.

Just this morning I replaced the DVD drive in my home theater PC with a blu-ray drive before I even ate breakfast. I built the computer myself.  I recently bought it a whole new case, one that will fit under the TV nice and neat instead of beside the tv on the floor.  I had the whole thing dismantled, cleaned and put back together in about 45 minutes.

When it comes to the modem, there isn't much I can fix, it's proprietary from At&t, not even something I can go out and replace myself, like I could with my old cable modem.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grrr, predictability.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I don't think so...



No you are closer in age to me, we just never had a TV until I was 10 or 11.  I never saw Howdy Doody when it was first aired.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> No you are closer in age to me, we just never had a TV until I was 10 or 11.  I never saw Howdy Doody when it was first aired.



I vaguely recall it, I was more of the Captain Kangaroo generation.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Same with Himself.  We never had a new computer (unless you count our Atari 800) until 2000 because he would bring home the old ones from work for free, tinker with them, and get them to run good enough for home.  I felt like the IT guy's version of the shoemaker's kids.
> 
> Back in the early '70s he worked for a small company designing systems and writing code.  (His typing wasn't very good - I have a punch card he did for me that says "I move you" )  A client wanted to get their desktop computers to send data to an office in another state, but back then only mainframes were doing data transfers.  He and a coworker (Tom) stayed late every night trying to get it to work.  It was a secret project and I couldn't tell anyone so I called it "Nanette" anytime we were out (theatre joke).  Got so I saw so little of him I would pack a basket of food for him and Tom and run over to the office from my parents' home and drop it off!  When they finally got it working by testing between their office in Cleveland and the home office back in MA (different company than the most recent) everyone at HQ was so impressed they offered the two guys teaching jobs at corporate.  Dodged the moving bullet that time.



I used to sit in the room with the punch card creator while Dad's homework ran through and let him know when a jam happened or a run was done.  He was busy down the hall setting up chemistry labs for the next day.  I watched carefully and soon I was fixing jams and putting in the next box of cards without bugging him.

He got a lot of help out of me when he was a workstudy student.  I got good at setting up labs, helped him with inventories, etc.  Then we'd walk home past the cemetery and he'd scare me with stories.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I vaguely recall it, I was more of the Captain Kangaroo generation.



Yes, I watched the Captain every mornig once we got a tv, I must have been younger maybe 7 or 8...we definitely had one before baby bro was born.


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> No you are closer in age to me, we just never had a TV until I was 10 or 11.  I never saw Howdy Doody when it was first aired.



My dad's family was the first in their area to have a TV, (had to go all the way to Boston fro Maine to get it) they would invite friends and neighbors over to watch.  Everyone would get all dressed up for the occasion!   My dad remembered laying on the floor totally mesmerized by the test pattern.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Thank you cat litter companies for deciding that every litter formula has to be "extreme odor control" or "multi-cat odor control". In fact, my little furball is so impressed with how clean it smells that he refuses to sully it and is instead is using our carpet. At this rate, by the time we're done steam cleaning our carpets a dozen times so we have a shot at getting our deposit back when we move, we'll have spent our deposit and then some on multiple steam cleanings. So thank you, our cat litter smells nice and clean and our carpet smells like a *&+%(#@ cat box.


----------



## taxlady

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Thank you cat litter companies for deciding that every litter formula has to be "extreme odor control" or "multi-cat odor control". In fact, my little furball is so impressed with how clean it smells that he refuses to sully it and is instead is using our carpet. At this rate, by the time we're done steam cleaning our carpets a dozen times so we have a shot at getting our deposit back when we move, we'll have spent our deposit and then some on multiple steam cleanings. So thank you, our cat litter smells nice and clean and our carpet smells like a *&+%(#@ cat box.


(((Hugs)))

It's such a PITA when kitties decide to pee in the wrong place. When I had two, they used to have peeing contests in the hall.


----------



## Dawgluver

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Thank you cat litter companies for deciding that every litter formula has to be "extreme odor control" or "multi-cat odor control". In fact, my little furball is so impressed with how clean it smells that he refuses to sully it and is instead is using our carpet. At this rate, by the time we're done steam cleaning our carpets a dozen times so we have a shot at getting our deposit back when we move, we'll have spent our deposit and then some on multiple steam cleanings. So thank you, our cat litter smells nice and clean and our carpet smells like a *&+%(#@ cat box.



Oh no, PAG!   DH works for a company that produces The World's Best cat litter brand, with no odor control or anything else, all natural, made from corn. You can find coupons and rebates on line if you Google it, even get a free bag.   It might be worth a try.  You can find it at Petco and on Amazon, other places too.
http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/...7d09aa92|48559ad6-24e8-4722-9cf1-8f2e50964afa


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Dawgluver said:


> Oh no, PAG!   DH works for a company that produces The World's Best cat litter brand, with no odor control or anything else, all natural.  You can find coupons and rebates on line if you Google it, even get a free bag.   It might be worth a try.  You can find it at Petco and on Amazon, other places too.
> http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/natural-cat-litter/?hsCtaTracking=654300ce-03ee-4ecf-aec8-510d7d09aa92%7C48559ad6-24e8-4722-9cf1-8f2e50964afa



Thank you, we'll have to check it out.


----------



## taxlady

A bug flew up my nose.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

taxlady said:


> A bug flew up my nose.



Ew ew ew ew ew! It makes me feel spazzy just thinking about it.


----------



## taxlady

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Ew ew ew ew ew! It makes me feel spazzy just thinking about it.


It was one of things I hated about black flies, when I lived in the country. Right now I'm just giggling about how absurd it is.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Thank you cat litter companies for deciding that every litter formula has to be "extreme odor control" or "multi-cat odor control". In fact, my little furball is so impressed with how clean it smells that he refuses to sully it and is instead is using our carpet. At this rate, by the time we're done steam cleaning our carpets a dozen times so we have a shot at getting our deposit back when we move, we'll have spent our deposit and then some on multiple steam cleanings. So thank you, our cat litter smells nice and clean and our carpet smells like a *&+%(#@ cat box.



p.a.g. when our stupid cat, only one in the house, decided to not use any one of the FOUR litter pans we had for her I took her to the vet.  She had a UTI.  Probably not your cat's problem, but at the same time the vet recommended "Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract" litter.  Not cheap (maybe $15-18 for 40#??) but worth every penny.  I blend it half-and-half with unscented litter now and our kitty still is OK with it.  No urine accidents since I started using it years ago, but on occasion she doesn't quite make it to the pan for solids.  She's probably getting a little old (shelter cat, so they weren't really sure how old she was when we adopted her).  Also, if you want to get the smell out of anything I can also highly endorse "Nature's Miracle" Urine Destroyer.  They have a formula specifically for cats.  It works.   Good luck...and don't kill kitty, OK?


----------



## Hoot

Spent most of the day yesterday updating my email address for everything and everyone I have done business with or had contact with for the last decade.
I seen it comin'. My former ISP folded a couple of months ago, but claimed they were going to maintain the mail server. Looks like it didn't happen.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It's Tuesday...back to work...I'm already sweating my rear end off.


----------



## Rocklobster

taxlady said:


> A bug flew up my nose.


May the Bird of Paradise fly up your nose!!


----------



## Andy M.

Hoot said:


> Spent most of the day yesterday updating my email address for everything and everyone I have done business with or had contact with for the last decade.
> I seen it comin'. My former ISP folded a couple of months ago, but claimed they were going to maintain the mail server. Looks like it didn't happen.



That's a major pain in the butt.  We changed from Comcast to Verizon last year and I went through that for SO and myself.  I wish I'd been smart enough to switch to an email that wasn't connected to my internet provider.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> That's a major pain in the butt.  We changed from Comcast to Verizon last year and I went through that for SO and myself.  I wish I'd been smart enough to switch to an email that wasn't connected to my internet provider.



I've had my own domain name since 1996, so I've had the same email address since then. When I've had to change providers, I just point it to the new one.


----------



## Hoot

Andy M. said:


> That's a major pain in the butt.  We changed from Comcast to Verizon last year and I went through that for SO and myself.  I wish I'd been smart enough to switch to an email that wasn't connected to my internet provider.


It is that, Andy.
I always preferred to deal with a local ISP. But, times are tough everywhere, and it turns out, the guy who was in charge at my former ISP has gotten in trouble over some kind of tax issue. I reckon Centurylink will be around awhile so maybe I will be good for a spell.
Frankly, I hope I don't live long enough to have to go through this again.
Next time, I will just shuffle along my merry way and let everyone wonder what happened to me.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Cooking Goddess said:


> p.a.g. when our stupid cat, only one in the house, decided to not use any one of the FOUR litter pans we had for her I took her to the vet.  She had a UTI.  Probably not your cat's problem, but at the same time the vet recommended "Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract" litter.  Not cheap (maybe $15-18 for 40#??) but worth every penny.  I blend it half-and-half with unscented litter now and our kitty still is OK with it.  No urine accidents since I started using it years ago, but on occasion she doesn't quite make it to the pan for solids.  She's probably getting a little old (shelter cat, so they weren't really sure how old she was when we adopted her).  Also, if you want to get the smell out of anything I can also highly endorse "Nature's Miracle" Urine Destroyer.  They have a formula specifically for cats.  It works.   Good luck...and don't kill kitty, OK?



Thank you. We're pretty certain it's the cat litter since it started the day we switched to a new litter. The one we'd been using was discontinued. I'll check out those products. If it keeps him happy...


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I've had my own domain name since 1996, so I've had the same email address since then. When I've had to change providers, I just point it to the new one.


I have had my own domain for years. I use it for biz. I use Gmail for social. My biz email forwards to Gmail.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Oh no, PAG!   DH works for a company that produces The World's Best cat litter brand, with no odor control or anything else, all natural, made from corn. You can find coupons and rebates on line if you Google it, even get a free bag.   It might be worth a try.  You can find it at Petco and on Amazon, other places too.
> http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/natural-cat-litter/?hsCtaTracking=654300ce-03ee-4ecf-aec8-510d7d09aa92%7C48559ad6-24e8-4722-9cf1-8f2e50964afa



We use The World's Best cat litter and it is awesome at odor control without all of the perfume.  Friends have accused me of not having a cat, just a litter box to make them feel bad about theirs, our box is on the main level in the 1/2 bath and you never smell anything, even when the 30 days is coming up, yeah I only change it once a month!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Thank you. We're pretty certain it's the cat litter since it started the day we switched to a new litter. The one we'd been using was discontinued. I'll check out those products. If it keeps him happy...



Fussy little furkids, aren't they?  But what keeps kitty happy and using the pan keeps mommy happy too.  Good luck!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> May the Bird of Paradise fly up your nose!!



May an elephant caress you with his toes...


----------



## bakechef

Getting over a migraine, man they suck!  I could do without the sweating and the nausea.  I felt better this morning, but I'm running on 2 hours of sleep.  Bad thing about a day after a migraine, I feel kinda loopy even though I have no more pain killers active in my system.  I told my coworkers to ignore me if I started talking nonsense, then I went to work on a deli slicer with a big spinning blade....


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> Getting over a migraine, man they suck!  I could do without the sweating and the nausea.  I felt better this morning, but I'm running on 2 hours of sleep.  Bad thing about a day after a migraine, I feel kinda loopy even though I have no more pain killers active in my system.  I told my coworkers to ignore me if I started talking nonsense, then I went to work on a deli slicer with a big spinning blade....



Gah!  Count your fingers, Bakechef!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Gah!  Count your fingers, Bakechef!


What she said.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> We use The World's Best cat litter and it is awesome at odor control without all of the perfume.  Friends have accused me of not having a cat, just a litter box to make them feel bad about theirs, our box is on the main level in the 1/2 bath and you never smell anything, even when the 30 days is coming up, yeah I only change it once a month!



I told DH about your endorsement.  I don't currently have a cat, but in reading the reviews, it sounds like a good product.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

bakechef said:


> Getting over a migraine, man they suck!  I could do without the sweating and the nausea.  I felt better this morning, but I'm running on 2 hours of sleep.  Bad thing about a day after a migraine, I feel kinda loopy even though I have no more pain killers active in my system.  I told my coworkers to ignore me if I started talking nonsense, then I went to work on a deli slicer with a big spinning blade....



I feel ya! Even without taking meds I always feel loopy the next day, like my brain is too tired to work correctly after fighting the migraine all day. Fortunately I don't have a job where my safety is at risk if I'm not quite right. 

This year seems to be a bad one for migraine sufferers. I've been hearing a lot of people talk about how they've gotten more this year than normal.


----------



## Addie

My apartment seemed to be warming up. So I turned the floor fan on. NOTHING HAPPENED! This is a brand new fan. Will have to have Spike look at it. I hate turning on the AC. The control for the AC has Cooler with an arrow pointing to the left and warmer with an arrow pointing to the right. Trying to find just the right spot where it will keep the room at a 72 degrees seems impossible this year. So the fan has been in use more than the AC. So once again I opened the window as far as I could. That seems to regulate the AC more than the controls. All I want is to be comfortable in my apartment. Grrrr!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

The *#!!/&* kids at the top of the cross street who think EVERYONE in eastern MA want to hear them practice their heavy metal rock band stuff.  Addie or Andy, do you hear them?  It was bad enough the neighbor next door had the dogs out barking for over an hour and a half, but now THIS?  Mind you, my collection of CDs do include some really heavy rock.  I'm not opposed to the genre, just the volume. 

BTW, the offenders are in a house about *600 feet* from mine and the sound could not be louder unless the band were inside my head.  

Thanks.  I feel a little better now.


----------



## chopper

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks.  I feel a little better now.



Glad you feel better.  At least it is not the middle of the night, or you have a baby trying to take a nap, or.........


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ah, but I have high blood pressure chopper.  Not good when I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. 

They've stopped now...apparently the police heard and put the kabosh on the show.  Happens every year.  One of us in the neighborhood just has to call and say "send the guys over to the McDope's house" and the police just KNOW!  The kids' are famous - in an infamous sort of way.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> The *#!!/&* kids at the top of the cross street who think EVERYONE in eastern MA want to hear them practice their heavy metal rock band stuff.  Addie or Andy, do you hear them? It was bad enough the neighbor next door had the dogs out barking for over an hour and a half, but now THIS? Mind you, my collection of CDs do include some really heavy rock. I'm not opposed to the genre, just the volume.
> 
> BTW, the offenders are in a house about *600 feet* from mine and the sound could not be louder unless the band were inside my head.
> 
> Thanks. I feel a little better now.


 
You may not realize it, but there is a law on the books about how many decibels are considering annoying and not in the public interest. This covers motorcycles, your car radio, and band playing among other sounds created by your neighbors. Call you local police and ask about it. Ninety decibels (I think) is the breaking point.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I know that Addie.  I also know the cops know THIS house just by telling them "the house at the top of..." or "the McDope's house" and they KNOW.  Someone else called in apparently - the concert has stopped.  I give them 20 minutes before I call, but I'm three houses and a street-width away.  Unfortunately, the street the band is on is the one that is 90 degrees to our street.  With the slight curve to our street the open garage door is directly in line with about 6 or 7 back yards before the street is no longer in the direct path of the storm.


----------



## Addie

When I lived in Everett a few years back, in the summer the cops would drive up and down the streets with a decibel reader. If the noise coming from your property or back yard was above the acceptable level, you were warned. The second time you got a citation and had to go to court. I have yet to hear of anyone beating it in court. Evidently they can do a printout of the decibels and have a camera showing the time and address. They have all their i's dotted and t's crossed.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> I told DH about your endorsement.  I don't currently have a cat, but in reading the reviews, it sounds like a good product.



I am a little hyper sensitive about smells, I didn't want a cat, but my mom thought that I should have one.  I don't want my house to smell like a cat lives here.  My grandmother had cats and was a terrible housekeeper, so that has always stuck with me.  I have a friend that's house always smells like a litter box, she has one cat!  Her house is fairly neat, but she keeps the box in the KITCHEN, and isn't diligent about keeping it tidy.  I couldn't imagine keeping it in the same room where I prepared food!

Of all the stuff that I've used in the 13 years I've owned him this is by far the best.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> I am a little hyper sensitive about smells, I didn't want a cat, but my mom thought that I should have one.  I don't want my house to smell like a cat lives here.  My grandmother had cats and was a terrible housekeeper, so that has always stuck with me.  I have a friend that's house always smells like a litter box, she has one cat!  Her house is fairly neat, but she keeps the box in the KITCHEN, and isn't diligent about keeping it tidy.  I couldn't imagine keeping it in the same room where I prepared food!
> 
> Of all the stuff that I've used in the 13 years I've owned him this is by far the best.


Yeah, that smell is not pleasant. I don't understand the "cat box in the kitchen" thing either. I always put it next to a toilet. That just seems like the right place for it.

I'm glad you got to have a cat, but you do realize that you don't own the cat, don't you? Dogs have owners; cats have staff.


----------



## KatyCooks

taxlady said:


> Yeah, that smell is not pleasant. I don't understand the "cat box in the kitchen" thing either. I always put it next to a toilet. That just seems like the right place for it.
> 
> I'm glad you got to have a cat, but you do realize that you don't own the cat, don't you? Dogs have owners; cats have staff.


 

My little guy (Burt) goes outside to do his "business".  But when I first got him as a tiny kitten, he had to stay inside of course - so his litter tray was just next to the loo.    I cannot imagine why anyone would put a litter tray in a kitchen.  

And TL is quite right.  We are our cat's servants!


----------



## Hoot

Ain't many things more distressing than waking up to find one's coffeemaker has bit the dust. How can something break overnight when it isn't being used?


----------



## Addie

Hoot said:


> Ain't many things more distressing than waking up to find one's coffeemaker has bit the dust. How can something break overnight when it isn't being used?


 
 The same way my new floor fan was going just fine. I shut it off and a half hour later it would not work.


----------



## Addie

Six and a half years ago I had a hole in the bottom half of my right leg that was six inches long and about 4.5 inches across. The bone was showing and you could see the blood vessels along with the back of my leg. And it was extremely painful, needless to say. I was being cared for at Massachusetts General Hospital. A world wide known health facility. 

In the year and a half once I turned 65 I was told that I was difficult to treat because I was not a 'full payment' patient. In other words Medicare paid only 80% of what the hospital and doctors received on their bills. Every time I went there, they wanted to take the easy way out and amputate my leg. I flatly refused and demanded that they do their job. My vascular doctor sent my to a plastic surgeon. He didn't want to do the job because he had a perfect record and didn't want me to be his first failure because I smoked. When I quit smoking he would close the wound up. He got only three visits from me before I walked out of MGH and headed over to BMC and ESP. In less than a month I had the necessary surgery and was able to dance at Poo's wedding and the traditional dance with my son. 

Today I received the best news possible. I have been vindicated. Massachusetts General Hospital has been rated next to last for care of patients in Massachusetts. The only hospital lower than them is a very small hospital down near Rhode Island and only because they have no money and are in the throes of closing their doors. Then MGH will be right at the bottom! Right where they belong. And to think that at one time MGH was rated the best hospital in the world. Is there an emoticon for a happy dance?


----------



## taxlady

Hoot said:


> Ain't many things more distressing than waking up to find one's coffeemaker has bit the dust. How can something break overnight when it isn't being used?


Bummer. I hope you have an alternative way to make coffee.


----------



## Hoot

Sure do...had to kick up a fire in the firepit.
I 'spect Mrs Hoot will fetch a new coffeemaker home this evenin'.


----------



## taxlady

Hoot said:


> Sure do...had to kick up a fire in the firepit.
> I 'spect Mrs Hoot will fetch a new coffeemaker home this evenin'.


You could have put that pot on the stove. You just wanted a reason to kick up a fire.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Bummer. I hope you have an alternative way to make coffee.


 
He could make cowboy coffee. Just a lot of grounds in the bottom of the pot, a pinch of salt and an egg shell. Then cook it over a campfire. No milk or sugar.


----------



## MrsLMB

Hoot said:


> Ain't many things more distressing than waking up to find one's coffeemaker has bit the dust. How can something break overnight when it isn't being used?


 

  Not the best way to start the day huh?  Hope Mrs Hoot found you a good one !

I bought a cheapo and keep it just in case of emergency.  We have used it during power failures because I can heat the water and pour it in, no need for electricity.  We also had a coffee maker die one night so pulled out the emergency one and even though it doesn't make the hottest coffee, it beats no coffee !!


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> Yeah, that smell is not pleasant. I don't understand the "cat box in the kitchen" thing either. I always put it next to a toilet. That just seems like the right place for it.
> 
> I'm glad you got to have a cat, but you do realize that you don't own the cat, don't you? Dogs have owners; cats have staff.



Oh I know that all too well.  If he could talk I'm sure he'd say "have a great day at work earning money to buy my treats, food and litter"


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Six and a half years ago I had a hole in the bottom half of my right leg that was six inches long and about 4.5 inches across.........Today I received the best news possible. I have been vindicated. Massachusetts General Hospital has been rated next to last for care of patients in Massachusetts....:



Glad something finally fixed that leg of your Addie.  If I had been you, as soon as that leg was better I would have marched myself right over to MGH and kicked those doctors in their butts. 

Went looking for the top ranked hospitals in the country.  Oddly, MGH actually shows up in the top three best for a couple categories.   The other odd thing I noticed was that even though Boston newscasters mention how the hospitals up here are the best in the country there are two names that are recurring in a lot of categories - Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, with Johns Hopkins showing up quite a bit too.  I don't remember any of those hospitals being in New England. 

U.S. News Best Hospitals 2013-14


----------



## GotGarlic

I just got back from a useless medical test appointment. I got there, paid my co-pay, and waited about 1/2 hour. Then the technician came out and called my name and escorted me back to the procedure room, then proceeded to tell me that the lab the doctor uses to test the biopsy material (not for cancer - it's related to my peripheral neuropathy) is not in my insurance company's network, so if I went ahead with it, I'd have to pay the $1,800 cost of the testing. 

Why didn't someone call me before I wasted my time going over there, I asked? The technician said she was on vacation last week (the appt was made at least 2 weeks ago) and the person who made the appt for me didn't know my insurance didn't cover that lab. So aggravating.

So I called the referring doctor's office and his nurse called me back and said she'd work me in to the schedule at that doctor's office, and they would use a different lab. Still waiting to hear back from her about the date.

I guess I didn't realize how much I want an answer to all this. Although to be honest, I believe I know what the problem is, and I'm a unique case. For a couple of reasons, I don't absorb nutrients properly from food and I take 15 Rx medications (including a few Rx vitamin supplements) and a few over the counter supplements. I doubt there's anyone in the world with the same set of conditions and drugs I take, so my doctors can't possibly predict what kind of side effects all that might create. 

I think malnutrition is at the root of my problems with fatigue, weakness and foot/leg pain. And that can't be helped because I can't stop taking the medication that causes the malabsorption. When I don't take it, the pain is incapacitating and even narcotics don't touch it. I really don't have a choice not to take it.

Thanks for listening.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs GG)))

Not telling you about the cost before you got there is just unacceptable, not to mention inconsiderate and rude. Did they at least return your co-pay?


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs GG)))
> 
> Not telling you about the cost before you got there is just unacceptable, not to mention inconsiderate and rude. Did they at least return your co-pay?



Thanks, TL. I was so angry I left without talking to anyone at the front desk, but I will call tomorrow about it. I'm sure they'll return it.


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> Thanks, TL. I was so angry I left without talking to anyone at the front desk, but I will call tomorrow about it. I'm sure they'll return it.



That's rotten, GG.  I don't blame you for being angry.  Medicine is a business, insurance is a business.  Somewhere in there, the patient is the lowest priority.

Lots of states now are allowing medical marijuana (not ours yet, but Illinois just passed a bill).  Wonder if that would help with your condition?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow GG, what a rotten day!  You need a 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





.  Hope the doctor AND the insurance company can work together on friendly terms and get some sort of answer to you.  And when you call for your copay back you should tell them you deserve a bonus for the entire inconvenience.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> That's rotten, GG.  I don't blame you for being angry.  Medicine is a business, insurance is a business.  Somewhere in there, the patient is the lowest priority.
> 
> Lots of states now are allowing medical marijuana (not ours yet, but Illinois just passed a bill).  Wonder if that would help with your condition?



I don't know, but I don't expect anything like that to pass soon here in Virginia. The General Assembly is dominated by rural conservatives who passed a bill requiring a vaginal ultrasound for women who want to have an abortion. Sorry, don't mean to get political


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> Wow GG, what a rotten day!  You need a
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .  Hope the doctor AND the insurance company can work together on friendly terms and get some sort of answer to you.  And when you call for your copay back you should tell them you deserve a bonus for the entire inconvenience.



Thanks, CG. Love the big hug  I think it's going to work out; it was just a very frustrating event, when I arranged my day around this appointment.


----------



## tinlizzie

OK, everybody now -- a great big collective hug (like CG's little emoticon) for GG from DC - may she feel it through the ether!


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> OK, everybody now -- a great big collective hug (like CG's little emoticon) for GG from DC - may she feel it through the ether!


I'm hugging.


----------



## GotGarlic

tinlizzie said:


> OK, everybody now -- a great big collective hug (like CG's little emoticon) for GG from DC - may she feel it through the ether!



Awwww, that's very sweet! I feel much better now


----------



## CWS4322

The "City" in which I live does not allow backyard hens. I can have hens because I am zoned AG2 and rural. There was a feature on the news the other night about a couple who had 3 laying hens, they have had them for 3 years. They are also zoned rural, but not AG2 or AG1. By-law showed up and gave them until Friday to get rid of them or By-law would seize them (and dispose of them because the HS does not have accommodations for hens). I contacted the reporter, asked him to pass my contact info on so that I could offer "witness protection" services to these three hens while the folks duke it out in by-law court. I got a call from the folks! The girls may be coming here tomorrow or Friday. Irony is that before amalgamation, backyard chickens were allowed where these folks live in the City. They are so devastated that they have to get rid of their girls. Grrr...I hate politics! I hate people who complain about things that are not infringing on their enjoyment of their property...If I lived in the US, I probably would fit in well in NH.


----------



## CharlieD

In the good old US there are even more rules. It is getting to be totally crazy.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> The "City" in which I live does not allow backyard hens. I can have hens because I am zoned AG2 and rural. There was a feature on the news the other night about a couple who had 3 laying hens, they have had them for 3 years. They are also zoned rural, but not AG2 or AG1. By-law showed up and gave them until Friday to get rid of them or By-law would seize them (and dispose of them because the HS does not have accommodations for hens). I contacted the reporter, asked him to pass my contact info on so that I could offer "witness protection" services to these three hens while the folks duke it out in by-law court. I got a call from the folks! The girls may be coming here tomorrow or Friday. Irony is that before amalgamation, backyard chickens were allowed where these folks live in the City. They are so devastated that they have to get rid of their girls. Grrr...I hate politics! I hate people who complain about things that are not infringing on their enjoyment of their property...If I lived in the US, I probably would fit in well in NH.



Make sure they keep getting their eggs...  Witness Protection for Chickens...now I've seen everything.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Make sure they keep getting their eggs...  Witness Protection for Chickens...now I've seen everything.


What else could I offer? I think it is WRONG that these girls would be slaughtered. So they can come here while their owners duke it out in by-law court.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> The "City" in which I live does not allow backyard hens. I can have hens because I am zoned AG2 and rural. There was a feature on the news the other night about a couple who had 3 laying hens, they have had them for 3 years. They are also zoned rural, but not AG2 or AG1. By-law showed up and gave them until Friday to get rid of them or By-law would seize them (and dispose of them because the HS does not have accommodations for hens). I contacted the reporter, asked him to pass my contact info on so that I could offer "witness protection" services to these three hens while the folks duke it out in by-law court. I got a call from the folks! The girls may be coming here tomorrow or Friday. Irony is that before amalgamation, backyard chickens were allowed where these folks live in the City. They are so devastated that they have to get rid of their girls. Grrr...I hate politics! I hate people who complain about things that are not infringing on their enjoyment of their property...If I lived in the US, I probably would fit in well in NH.


 

Move to Vermont. They believe very strongly in personal freedom. Most of Vermont is rural and farm land. There is no Big Box store in VT. They would infringe on the rights of the little businessman. Even Walmart  gave up the fight to get a store in. Now if they could just keep out those folks from NYC who want to change everything they don't like about Vermont.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> What else could I offer? I think it is WRONG that these girls would be slaughtered. So they can come here while their owners duke it out in by-law court.



I think what you are doing is wonderful!!!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I think what you are doing is wonderful!!!


 
The slaughtering makes no sense to me. Some folks are just plain "Stupid!" Knowing CWS as we do, what else could she do but to take them in. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't start rescuing chickens and finding homes for them like she does her St. Bernards. She has a heart as big as her St. Bernards. I wonder if she has a special guest coop for them.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> The slaughtering makes no sense to me. Some folks are just plain "Stupid!" Knowing CWS as we do, what else could she do but to take them in. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't start rescuing chickens and finding homes for them like she does her St. Bernards. She has a heart as big as her St. Bernards. I wonder if she has a special guest coop for them.


You pegged me, Addie. I set up a special coop for these girls. Still waiting to see if they arrive. It is up to the owners if they want to entrust them into my care or that of the HS (personally, I think it is a no-brainer). Y'all know that I think everyone should have chickens at least once and municipalities that outlaw backyard chickens are not helping--with 1 out of 5 children going to bed hungry in North America, it makes no sense to restrict a family's means of producing a source of food.


----------



## bakechef

I can see banning roosters because they are just obnoxious in a suburban setting, but a few chickens isn't going to hurt anything.  I doubt that the neighbors would even notice.  

We have a good friend that had chickens in her suburban back yard, that's where she cut teeth so to speak on chicken rearing.  Now she has a farm and lots more chickens.  I think that this is what she is cut out for.  She is raising some, from chicks and has what it takes to "cull" the aggressive nuisance roosters for the freezer...  I'm not sure that I'd have the stomach for that.  It surprises me because she didn't grow up on a farm.  When the previous owners left, they abandoned about 20 chickens.  She was able to tame quite a few of them to live in a coop again, and the ones that couldn't be, well, you know!  

It's interesting how she can care so much for them, but in the end, know that they are a source of food and not pets.


----------



## CWS4322

bakechef said:


> I can see banning roosters because they are just obnoxious in a suburban setting, but a few chickens isn't going to hurt anything.  I doubt that the neighbors would even notice.
> 
> We have a good friend that had chickens in her suburban back yard, that's where she cut teeth so to speak on chicken rearing.  Now she has a farm and lots more chickens.  I think that this is what she is cut out for.  She is raising some, from chicks and has what it takes to "cull" the aggressive nuisance roosters for the freezer...  I'm not sure that I'd have the stomach for that.  It surprises me because she didn't grow up on a farm.  When the previous owners left, they abandoned about 20 chickens.  She was able to tame quite a few of them to live in a coop again, and the ones that couldn't be, well, you know!
> 
> It's interesting how she can care so much for them, but in the end, know that they are a source of food and not pets.


Chickens are fairly easy to "tame." They will follow the person who offers them food. They just don't have great memories. I think it is 50 x of one "click" to train a chicken re: clicker training and 6 x to train a dog. I never thought I'd like having birds, but I love my hens. They entertain me.


----------



## tinlizzie

I recently saw a documentary from a vegan, "Vegucated," that exposed several regular old carnivores to the practices of commercial/industrial animal 'farmers.'  I have cut back on my meat-buying and meat-eating habits for a year or so now, and was aware for the most part of what happens down on the big farms now.  I wasn't prepared to see the little chicks come tumbling down the sorter, potential laying hens down this chute, little roosters-to-be down that one.  Don't need all those males.  I presume they turn the unwanted fowl into pet food.  I've bought a lot of dog and cat food over the years and check for protein content in them -- chicken meal figures greatly in the contents.  

I guess I just don't want to think about the reality of where the incredible amount of pet-food protein comes from.  So many cans of wet food - I'm afraid to do the math.

And baby cows.  And lambs.  And little pigs whence come the baby back ribs and later the bacon I adore.     Yes, it bothers me, but I don't go vegan.  Too many years of indulgence.


----------



## tinlizzie

And speaking of chickens, I just read through the "Egg Question" thread.  It is full of interesting facts and comments, about both egg and hen.  It's very complete - probably all we ever need to know.  CWS sure knows her stuff.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> You pegged me, Addie. I set up a special coop for these girls. Still waiting to see if they arrive. It is up to the owners if they want to entrust them into my care or that of the HS (personally, I think it is a no-brainer). Y'all know that I think everyone should have chickens at least once and municipalities that outlaw backyard chickens are not helping--with 1 out of 5 children going to bed hungry in North America, it makes no sense to restrict a family's means of producing a source of food.


 
The Boston Food Bank gets mis shapenbed eggs from some of the farms in surrounding rural areas and are given to families. The carton could contain anything from pullets to double yolkers. But considering they are free to the food bank and then the recipients, not a bad deal.


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> I recently saw a documentary from a vegan, "Vegucated," that exposed several regular old carnivores to the practices of commercial/industrial animal 'farmers.'  I have cut back on my meat-buying and meat-eating habits for a year or so now, and was aware for the most part of what happens down on the big farms now.  I wasn't prepared to see the little chicks come tumbling down the sorter, potential laying hens down this chute, little roosters-to-be down that one.  Don't need all those males.  I presume they turn the unwanted fowl into pet food.  I've bought a lot of dog and cat food over the years and check for protein content in them -- chicken meal figures greatly in the contents.
> 
> I guess I just don't want to think about the reality of where the incredible amount of pet-food protein comes from.  So many cans of wet food - I'm afraid to do the math.
> 
> And baby cows.  And lambs.  And little pigs whence come the baby back ribs and later the bacon I adore.     Yes, it bothers me, but I don't go vegan.  Too many years of indulgence.



The old saying "Everybody loves sausage. But no one wants to see it being made!" comes to mind!


----------



## taxlady

Tinlizzie, the Romans figured out what to do with "unwanted" male chicks. Castrate them and they grow up to be big, tender, delicious capons.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> What else could I offer? I think it is WRONG that these girls would be slaughtered. So they can come here while their owners duke it out in by-law court.


 
When I lived in Everett, a couple of towns over from where I live now, and a crowded blue collar community, the people in back of me had chickens. No one complained until one of their chickens started to crow. The police were called, the rooster went into the pot, and they continued to raise their chickens. And the law is very clear. No farm animals can be kept within the city limits. But when it doesn't bother the neighbors, looking the other way is practiced by everyone.


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> The old saying "Everybody loves sausage. But no one wants to see it being made!" comes to mind!


The quote I heard was, "If you love sausage or furs, don't watch them being prepared."


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> The quote I heard was, "If you love sausage or furs, don't watch them being prepared."



Those both sound better than my Father's comments about what hot dogs and bologna are made from!


----------



## Addie

*The Saddest Story I Have Ever Heard*

Who wants to win a baby? Pakistani TV host


 I am sitting here in shock.


----------



## CharlieD

I am still so fricking mad after 2 (or is it 3 days now?). Somebody broke into my e-mail account and sent the bunch of spam, fine I can live with that, I’ll just apologies to everybody on my address list. But these bastards wiped my "In Box" clean and my "Contact" list clean. G-d knows what else they’ve done. They added a different e-mail for the notifications, so if I change something they will get an e-mail. I had a whole bunch of important e-mails I was keeping. Darn, darn, darn. I am so mad; did I tell you how mad I am right now?


----------



## MrsLMB

CharlieD said:


> I am still so fricking mad after 2 (or is it 3 days now?). Somebody broke into my e-mail account and sent the bunch of spam, fine I can live with that, I’ll just apologies to everybody on my address list. But these bastards wiped my "In Box" clean and my "Contact" list clean. G-d knows what else they’ve done. They added a different e-mail for the notifications, so if I change something they will get an e-mail. I had a whole bunch of important e-mails I was keeping. Darn, darn, darn. I am so mad; did I tell you how mad I am right now?


 

Oh no .. well that's just awful.  Too bad some people will never grow up.  So sorry that happened to you.

Here is a suggestion for the future.  I forward copies of things I want to keep to my web based email account.  That way I have double and a back up in case my hard drive crashes - which it has in the past.  I was so glad I had done that because I still had what I needed.  And of course the other suggestion would be to burn it to a cd.

Good luck and hopefully they didn't do anything else bad to you.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Who wants to win a baby? Pakistani TV host
> 
> 
> I am sitting here in shock.


 
There is so much I would like to say, but ...


----------



## CharlieD

You know what is even more annoing? Try to delete yahoo mail account. Just go ahead and try, see how long it's going to take to find how to do that. There is no easy link on yahoo help page, you have to dig far and deep. I think I am just as mad at Yahoo as I am at those darn (much stronger word was used in my mind) heckers.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> You know what is even more annoing? Try to delete yahoo mail account. Just go ahead and try, see how long it's going to take to find how to do that. There is no easy link on yahoo help page, you have to dig far and deep. I think I am just as mad at Yahoo as I am at those darn (much stronger word was used in my mind) heckers.


Is there technical support that you can contact? If so, there's a tiny chance they can restore your emails and contact list.


----------



## KatyCooks

Aunt Bea said:


> Those both sound better than my Father's comments about what hot dogs and bologna are made from!


 
I once read the "ingredients" for frankfurters....     I didn't eat a hot dog for several years.  

But, what can you do?  The smell is so good....  (Though don't eat hot dogs in New York just near Battery Park...  the WORST ever.)  I had such high expectations of a NY "dawg"!  

And I won't lie people, NYC wasn't just about it being a fantastic city.  (Which it is.)  But my great uncle was one of those original Irish NYC policemen.  (And yes, I know that doesn't mean he was a good person!)   But my granddad (his brother) is on the wall at Ellis Island. Someone had to pay for that.  (My granddad spent 20 years in America too.)   For all I know, I have relatives in the US.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

KatyCooks said:


> I once read the "ingredients" for frankfurters....     I didn't eat a hot dog for several years.
> 
> But, what can you do?  The smell is so good....  (Though don't eat hot dogs in New York just near Battery Park...  the WORST ever.)  I had such high expectations of a NY "dawg"!
> 
> And I won't lie people, NYC wasn't just about it being a fantastic city.  (Which it is.)  But my great uncle was one of those original Irish NYC policemen.  (And yes, I know that doesn't mean he was a good person!)   But my granddad (his brother) is on the wall at Ellis Island. Someone had to pay for that.  (My granddad spent 20 years in America too.)   For all I know, I have relatives in the US.



Odds are, a fair number of us have relatives in your neck of the woods.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I am still so fricking mad after 2 (or is it 3 days now?). Somebody broke into my e-mail account and sent the bunch of spam, fine I can live with that, I’ll just apologies to everybody on my address list. But these bastards wiped my "In Box" clean and my "Contact" list clean. G-d knows what else they’ve done. They added a different e-mail for the notifications, so if I change something they will get an e-mail. I had a whole bunch of important e-mails I was keeping. Darn, darn, darn. I am so mad; did I tell you how mad I am right now?


 
A techie friend told me one day, that most hackers go for the contact list in your email account. To prevent this from happening make your first contact a phony one such as *az36zAk0e89s1. *Something that makes no sense at all. Just make sure it always begin with the letter "a". Since almost all email accounts have the first name listed starting with "A". Whether it be the first name or the last. Once they are into your email account, it is easy to get into the rest.


----------



## Kylie1969

KatyCooks said:


> I once read the "ingredients" for frankfurters....     I didn't eat a hot dog for several years.



What is in them Katy?


----------



## MrsLMB

Kylie1969 said:


> What is in them Katy?


 
If you don't already know .. it's un-needed info Kylie


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> A techie friend told me one day, that most hackers go for the contact list in your email account. To prevent this from happening make your first contact a phony one such as az36zAk0e89s1. Something that makes no sense at all. Just make sure it always begin with the letter "a". Since almost all email accounts have the first name listed starting with "A". Whether it be the first name or the last. Once they are into your email account, it is easy to get into the rest.



There were very few contacts, as I've been using other accounts, but still.


----------



## Kylie1969

MrsLMB said:


> If you don't already know .. it's un-needed info Kylie



  yes, I guess you are right Mrs L


----------



## taxlady

Kylie1969 said:


> yes, I guess you are right Mrs L


If you really want to know, read the ingredients on the package.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> If you really want to know, read the ingredients on the package.



Reading the ingredients=TMI.  If you like hot dogs Kylie, don't read the list!  Unless you buy the good ones like Applegate Farms.  They're ingredient list isn't scary.


----------



## Kylie1969

Cooking Goddess said:


> Reading the ingredients=TMI.  If you like hot dogs Kylie, don't read the list!  Unless you buy the good ones like Applegate Farms.  They're ingredient list isn't scary.



I think I will stick with what you are saying CG...as I do like hot dogs


----------



## CharlieD

Our Target used to sell Fleishman's pizza crust yeast. It was the best thing ever if you did not have time, but wanted to make a pizza. All it took was half an hour from start to finish and Pizza was done. I cannot find it any more, not anywhere in town. Too bad.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> Our Target used to sell Fleishman's pizza crust yeast. It was the best thing ever if you did not have time, but wanted to make a pizza. All it took was half an hour from start to finish and Pizza was done. I cannot find it any more, not anywhere in town. Too bad.


Fleischmann's Yeast Pizza, 0.25-Ounce Pouches 3 Count (Pack of 5): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food


----------



## CharlieD

taxlady said:


> Fleischmann's Yeast Pizza, 0.25-Ounce Pouches 3 Count (Pack of 5): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food


 
Thank you, I know, I've seen this before, it is double of the store price.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> Thank you, I know, I've seen this before, it is double of the store price.


bummer


----------



## Zhizara

Charlie have you considered asking at the store's Customer Service booth?  It couldn't hurt to ask.


----------



## CharlieD

Yeah, I have, more than ones. It is all corporate, and they don't care. For example. For years I have been buying sleepers in Target. There is this one particular kind my wife likes, but they only have them in size up to 10. In Minnesota? The land of Vikings and Amazon women? Size 10? I don't get it.


----------



## Zhizara

Bummer, Charlie!


----------



## MrsLMB

My neighbor bought herself a new set of pots and pans 3 months ago.  She bought T-Fal.  She really likes them.  But the handles keep coming unscrewed.  I told her to contact T-Fal.  She did.

I can't believe the reply she got.  They told her to box up the whole set and mail them to New Jersey.  Then in about 4 - 6 weeks she would either receive them back repaired or have a new set delivered.

To me that is completely outrageous.  

She has to pay for the shipping of a faulty product, she will be without her entire set for 4 - 6 weeks ???

Not very good custmer service I would say !

So I guess we will get some lock-tite and put the screws back in the handles for her.

Sad Sad Sad


----------



## Kylie1969

That is not good at all


----------



## Dawgluver

I went to post a happy birthday wish on my MIL's Facebook wall, only to find the Write Post button had disappeared on iPad!  Then I found that I couldn't post on anyone else's wall either, unless it was a comment on someone else's previous post.  All that was left was Friend and Message.  I don't know what happened.  I was able to do it on iPhone.  I looked all over the internet for an explanation, couldn't find one.  My settings hadn't changed AFAIK.  Grrrr.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Glad something finally fixed that leg of your Addie. If I had been you, as soon as that leg was better I would have marched myself right over to MGH and kicked those doctors in their butts.
> 
> Went looking for the top ranked hospitals in the country. Oddly, MGH actually shows up in the top three best for a couple categories.  The other odd thing I noticed was that even though Boston newscasters mention how the hospitals up here are the best in the country there are two names that are recurring in a lot of categories - Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, with Johns Hopkins showing up quite a bit too. I don't remember any of those hospitals being in New England.
> 
> U.S. News Best Hospitals 2013-14


 
My son who is in the business has access to certain information that is not available to the public. He checked with the agency that accredits hospitals all over the world. Of all the hospitals in the U.S., MGH is the only one that had an instrument left in a patient after surgery. Patient ultimately died from complications. So they not only failed in the OR, but after in trying to find out what the problem was. It was during the autopsy that the instrument was found. No one thought to have an X ray done when the patient complained on the pain and infection set in? 

When Poo was CEO of an ambulance company, he instructed his drivers to NOT bring any patient to MGH unless the patient insisted. When I had my last heart attack, the EMS wanted to take me to MGH. I refused, they insisted. I got off the gurney and told them I would stay home and die first before I would ever go back there. Their average waiting time in the ER is 57 minutes.


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> My neighbor bought herself a new set of pots and pans 3 months ago. She bought T-Fal. She really likes them. But the handles keep coming unscrewed. I told her to contact T-Fal. She did.
> 
> I can't believe the reply she got. They told her to box up the whole set and mail them to New Jersey. Then in about 4 - 6 weeks she would either receive them back repaired or have a new set delivered.
> 
> To me that is completely outrageous.
> 
> She has to pay for the shipping of a faulty product, she will be without her entire set for 4 - 6 weeks ???
> 
> Not very good custmer service I would say !
> 
> So I guess we will get some lock-tite and put the screws back in the handles for her.
> 
> Sad Sad Sad


 
Someone should let ATK know. They tout these pans on the "product tested" and like them.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> My son who is in the business has access to certain information that is not available to the public...



So there's a secret list that contradicts all the public lists???


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> So there's a secret list that contradicts all the public lists???


 
Yup! It gives an in depth report of it findings on every hospital it visits. It is constantly updated as inspections are ongoing year round. Most of it is written in medicalese. And I mean in depth. The level of microbes on nurses desks and keyboards. How many times they are observed washing their hands instead of relying on the gel. And you never know when they are going to show up. It is usually a team of medical personnel. 

I have seen Poo reading a story to his son, finish and go wash his hands before he gave his wife a hug. Some habits become second nature. 

One of the things I noticed about MGH was once the gel came into such wide use, there no longer were any sinks for the personnel to wash their hands when they were through with a patient. And most of the time, they didn't put gloves on when they worked with me. At BMC every room has a sink. And boxes of gloves in every size.


----------



## CharlieD

T-Fall is nothing but a garbage. I would never ever recommend it to anybody. By the contrast, I had some small problem with my  new Kitchenaid, they send me brand new machine and the shipping sticker so I could send the bad one back.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kitchenaid, huh?  Good to know Charlie.  It's nice to support businesses who support their customers.

There are two more who have provided excellent service. Cuisinart - never a problem with our coffee grinder-brewer in three years, replacing anything that was damaged due to operator error.  Green Mountain Coffee - no problems with their "Coffee Club" regular order shipments.  In fact, when they had a computer burp and sent my order SIX times in the same day (seriously, I didn't need nearly 2 dozen bags of coffee for those 12 weeks) rather than have me box the extras up and return to them with a label they would ship, she told me to keep them.  I kept a double order worth and moved the rest over to the fire department.  They would have split it with the police but the cops have a fancy Keurig - my order comes in whole bean only.


----------



## Chef Munky

Geez I could just kick my self HARD! Just scorched my husbands uniforms while ironing them.

Note to self check setting twice before starting!!!!

Trying the hydrogen peroxide/water method to try and remove it.
If not who's adopting?


----------



## MrsLMB

Addie said:


> Someone should let ATK know. They tout these pans on the "product tested" and like them.


 
Addie - can you tell me who ATK might be?



CharlieD said:


> T-Fall is nothing but a garbage. I would never ever recommend it to anybody. By the contrast, I had some small problem with my new Kitchenaid, they send me brand new machine and the shipping sticker so I could send the bad one back.


 
Well Charlie, while I may or may not agree with you,  this is a little old lady on a very limited income. She gets what she can afford and she happens to love her pots and pans. They clean up very easily for her and with her fragile and weak hands that is a wonderful thing.

I just think it's very sad and pathetic that a company this big seems to have no real concern for the very people who keep money coming into their pockets.


----------



## Dawgluver

ATK= America's Test Kitchen


----------



## MrsLMB

Dawgluver said:


> ATK= America's Test Kitchen


 
TYVM Dawg


----------



## Aunt Bea

CharlieD said:


> Our Target used to sell Fleishman's pizza crust yeast. It was the best thing ever if you did not have time, but wanted to make a pizza. All it took was half an hour from start to finish and Pizza was done. I cannot find it any more, not anywhere in town. Too bad.



Charlie,

Have you tried Fleischmann's *RapidRise* Yeast?  

I prefer the regular active yeast, the rapid rise is great if you are in a hurry.


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> Addie - can you tell me who ATK might be?
> 
> 
> 
> Well Charlie, while I may or may not agree with you, this is a little old lady on a very limited income. She gets what she can afford and she happens to love her pots and pans. They clean up very easily for her and with her fragile and weak hands that is a wonderful thing.
> 
> I just think it's very sad and pathetic that a company this big seems to have no real concern for the very people who keep money coming into their pockets.


 
ATK = American Test Kitchen


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> Geez I could just kick my self HARD! Just scorched my husbands uniforms while ironing them.
> 
> Note to self check setting twice before starting!!!!
> 
> Trying the hydrogen peroxide/water method to try and remove it.
> If not who's adopting?


 
Hey if I can take in all the animals my youngest daughter used to bring home, I can make room for you also. You will find all the love and sympathy you could possibly need on the second shelf over the coffee maker.


----------



## CharlieD

Chef Munky said:


> Geez I could just kick my self HARD! Just scorched my husbands uniforms while ironing them.
> 
> Note to self check setting twice before starting!!!!
> 
> Trying the hydrogen peroxide/water method to try and remove it.
> If not who's adopting?



Better yet do not iron his uniforms. ;-)


----------



## CharlieD

MrsLMB said:


> Addie - can you tell me who ATK might be?
> 
> Well Charlie, while I may or may not agree with you,  this is a little old lady on a very limited income. She gets what she can afford and she happens to love her pots and pans. They clean up very easily for her and with her fragile and weak hands that is a wonderful thing.
> 
> I just think it's very sad and pathetic that a company this big seems to have no real concern for the very people who keep money coming into their pockets.



Sadly they take advantage of people like you. Sad.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Better yet do not iron his uniforms. ;-)


 
Doesn't his company provide free laundry service for his uniforms?


----------



## taxlady

Danged wrist is hurting more. The new topical anti-inflammatory only works for about 2 hours and only does a half arsed job at that. And I bought the wrong kind of flapper for my toilet. Not a happy camper.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Danged wrist is hurting more. The new topical anti-inflammatory only works for about 2 hours and only does a half arsed job at that. And I bought the wrong kind of flapper for my toilet. Not a happy camper.



Oh no.  Aww, Taxy, feel better soon!  Hope you can find the right flapper.  {{{hugs}}}

When you get it, let Stirling change it!


----------



## GotGarlic

CharlieD said:


> Better yet do not iron his uniforms. ;-)



Agree 100%! I refused to iron DH's Navy uniforms. I wasn't the one who joined up!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Oh no.  Aww, Taxy, feel better soon!  Hope you can find the right flapper.  {{{hugs}}}
> 
> When you get it, let Stirling change it!


Thanks Dawg.

I would feel silly asking Stirling to do it. It's got to be the simplest plumbing job ever. I just slip the old flapper off two little posts; slip the new one in place; and attach the chain to the handle lever. Takes no effort at all with the kind of flapper I have. The one I bought would have been a little more complicated - it needs to be slipped on over the overflow tube.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Danged wrist is hurting more. The new topical anti-inflammatory only works for about 2 hours and only does a half arsed job at that. And I bought the wrong kind of flapper for my toilet. Not a happy camper.



Sorry about the wrist. I hate when a doctor practices conservative medicine. I am in pain, dang it! Fix it!! 

Okay, what is a flapper? It sounds like a dance you do around your toilet.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Sorry about the wrist. I hate when a doctor practices conservative medicine. I am in pain, dang it! Fix it!!
> 
> Okay, what is a flapper? It sounds like a dance you do around your toilet.


The flapper is that piece of rubber that the chain pulls up to let the water out of the tank.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> The flapper is that piece of rubber that the chain pulls up to let the water out of the tank.



I haven't seen one of those toilets in years. They are now illegal here in the U.S.  Folks will go to Canada and buy your kind of toilet. Then they get stopped at the border (even before 9/11) and it would be confiscated. The new ones use less water for one flush, but sometimes it can take two or more flushes to get everything gone. There is just not enough water in the tank to do the job. So where is the water saved there? You can't even go to a junk yard here and buy one. Spike pulled one out of a house that was being renovated. He had to take a sledge hammer to it for the rubbish company to pick it up. It is considered illegal contraband and must be destroyed. Who would have thought a toilet would become a tool of the enemy.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I haven't seen one of those toilets in years. They are now illegal here in the U.S.  Folks will go to Canada and buy your kind of toilet. Then they get stopped at the border (even before 9/11) and it would be confiscated. The new ones use less water for one flush, but sometimes it can take two or more flushes to get everything gone. There is just not enough water in the tank to do the job. So where is the water saved there? You can't even go to a junk yard here and buy one. Spike pulled one out of a house that was being renovated. He had to take a sledge hammer to it for the rubbish company to pick it up. It is considered illegal contraband and must be destroyed. Who would have thought a toilet would become a tool of the enemy.


I guess I didn't explain it very well. It's a standard part on most toilets, not just Canadian toilets. This is what the one I should have bought looks like:






That's from Home Depot in the US. Korky Plus 2 in. Toilet Tank Flapper-2001CM at The Home Depot


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Thanks Dawg.
> 
> I would feel silly asking Stirling to do it. It's got to be the simplest plumbing job ever. I just slip the old flapper off two little posts; slip the new one in place; and attach the chain to the handle lever. Takes no effort at all with the kind of flapper I have. The one I bought would have been a little more complicated - it needs to be slipped on over the overflow tube.



Sorry, Taxy, I didn't mean you couldn't do it, just meant Stirling has the good arm.  I do all the plumbing jobs here too!  But you're the one with the owie!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> The flapper is that piece of rubber that the chain pulls up to let the water out of the tank.



Every time I read "flapper" my brain thinks of


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> .....The new ones use less water for one flush, but sometimes it can take two or more flushes to get everything gone. There is just not enough water in the tank to do the job. So where is the water saved there?.....



Learned this trick from a hotel maintenance man (don't ask why  ):  If you want to make sure the waste moves along properly, hold the handle down when you flush.  That uses both the water in the bowl AND the water in the tank,  in effect giving you an old-fashioned, 3.2 gallon flush.  Let go when you finish hearing the "glug".  It works.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Sorry, Taxy, I didn't mean you couldn't do it, just meant Stirling has the good arm.  I do all the plumbing jobs here too!  But you're the one with the owie!


I understood that. It's just really so easy that it won't bother my hand. Nothing needs to be twisted or pulled hard or anything like that. No tools needed. The hardest part is taking the lid off the tank.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I guess I didn't explain it very well. It's a standard part on most toilets, not just Canadian toilets. This is what the one I should have bought looks like:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's from Home Depot in the US. Korky Plus 2 in. Toilet Tank Flapper-2001CM at The Home Depot



Once you told me was it was, I knew immediately. All toilets I have seen for more than ten years now have the tank innards completely sealed. You almost have to call a plumber to repair it should it break. I am sure there are some old toilets still around. I just haven't come across any.


----------



## Somebunny

Addie said:


> Once you told me was it was, I knew immediately. All toilets I have seen for more than ten years now have the tank innards completely sealed. You almost have to call a plumber to repair it should it break. I am sure there are some old toilets still around. I just haven't come across any.



Addie, have to call you out on this one....I have 4 top of the line Toto toilets in my house, that are not "old". My house is less than 10 yrs old.  The "tank innards" are not sealed and they do have flappers.  They are low flow, comfort height and have skirted bases.  I have seen the toilets you are talking about, in fact we had one in the rental house we lived in while we were building our home.  That toilet  had powerful suction and we would  crack up when guests were caught unaware.  Since there are approximately 450 million toilets in N. America, I'm guessing you've only "seen" a small percentage.


----------



## Addie

Somebunny said:


> Addie, have to call you out on this one....I have 4 top of the line Toto toilets in my house, that are not "old". My house is less than 10 yrs old.  The "tank innards" are not sealed and they do have flappers.  They are low flow, comfort height and have skirted bases.  I have seen the toilets you are talking about, in fact we had one in the rental house we lived in while we were building our home.  That toilet  had powerful suction and we would  crack up when guests were caught unaware.  Since there are approximately 450 million toilets in N. America, I'm guessing you've only "seen" a small percentage.



I haven't *seen* a toilet with the flapper in eons. I too have a toilet with powerful suction. A lot of old people in this building are surprised and think they are going down the drain when they flush it. They are scared to be sitting and flushing it. When my landlord of many years ago heard about having to install the new water saving toilets, he thought it meant immediately. And for all landlords and home owners. He read the law wrong. So he showed up at my door one day with a new 'suck you down the drain' toilets. I didn't complain, I was getting a pretty new toilet. But I hated it at first.


----------



## GotGarlic

We have replaced the toilets in both of our bathrooms in the last 5-6 years and both have a removable top and a flapper inside. And they're both low-flow.

Maybe it's a northeast thing.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> We have replaced the toilets in both of our bathrooms in the last 5-6 years and both have a removable top and a flapper inside. And they're both low-flow.
> 
> Maybe it's a northeast thing.



Could be. Maybe I need to go into a lot of other bathrooms. I need to change my circle of friends.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Could be. Maybe I need to go into a lot of other bathrooms. I need to change my circle of friends.


----------



## taxlady

I think that here all new toilets have to be low flow.


----------



## Andy M.

Low flows have been required for some time now in the US.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I think that here all new toilets have to be low flow.



You law was passed after our went into effect. So folks go and buy a new low flow toilet. They hate it. They didn't flush properly. So since the couldn't buy any of the old ones anymore, and even the junk yards were not allow to sell the old ones they got, folks headed to Canada. Folks were very ingenious. They tried to disguise them. Put them in boxes labeled for refrigerators or stoves, in the back seat covered with a blanket and made to look like someone was sleeping. The border patrol would catch them and confiscate them. One guy wanted the toilet back so he could return it and get his money back. Sorry fella. No go. One fella even blamed the Canadians. They should have known it was illegal for Americans to bring them over the border and not sold it to him. 

There was an article in Reader's Digest about "Our Good Neighbors To The North". There were so many confiscated toilets, that the Border Patrol wanted to hold an auction in Canada with them. Your government nixed that idea. It ended up that they were smashed and sent to the dump. It really was a very funny article.


----------



## Andy M.

Early low flows did do a poor job of flushing.  We have one on the low flows and it works as well or better than the one it replaced.  I wouldn't hesitate to replace our second one with a low flow.  Also, it's 2" higher.


----------



## CharlieD

Somebunny said:


> ....I have 4 top of the line Toto toilets in my house, that are not "old"... They are low flow, comfort height and have skirted bases.


 

Yes, love those Totos. I also have 4 of them, but only 3 that are comfort height and one regular one. I wish I had all of them comfort height. Much more comfortabloe, no pan intended.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We build our first house, in Ohio, in 1977.  I remember the old trick of putting a brick or a 1/2 gallon bottle of water in the tank to reduce the amount of water stored there.  We built House #2, also in OH, in 1990, and I'm pretty sure it did have the low-flow toilets even though they were not the law yet.  The Loo Law was enacted in 1992, went into effect in 1994.  Then again, some days my memory is down the drain. We built our MA house in 2000.  2 1/2 bathrooms, 3 thrones.  Two of the three work perfectly fine, one has problems on occasion. It's probably either poor glazing in the trap or a bit of porcelain debris that was stuck under the glaze, creating a sticking point.  Also, we remodeled my parents' bathroom in 2003 or '04, having last been done in the 1960s.  It had an old, huge-tanked toilet.  Probably 5 or 7 gallons.   Put a new HE model in and it worked just as good as the old one.

I flushed out a few facts about the low-flow toilets.  If you want a little reading for the "library" you can find it here:
The Lowdown on Low-Flow Toilets : Rooms : Home & Garden Television
Best Options for High-Efficiency Toilets
American Standard Press: 10 Years After Low-Flow Toilet Regulations Went Into Effect, Plumbing Innovations Make Major Inroads in Efficiency, Flushability


----------



## roadfix

Toto toilets and urinals are made in Japan.  Imagine when the rock group Toto visited Japan on a concert tour during the 80's.  Walking up to the urinals to take care of business, they saw their names prominently etched in front of their eyes.....LOL...


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Early low flows did do a poor job of flushing.  We have one on the low flows and it works as well or better than the one it replaced.  I wouldn't hesitate to replace our second one with a low flow.  Also, it's 2" higher.



So true Andy. My landlord couldn't wait to put a new toilet in. The only difference in the old and the new was that the tank was smaller. It took two, sometimes three flushes to get rid of solids. Needless to say, with three apartments in the building, his water bill almost doubled due to the two to three flushes each time. I got to the point of frustration that I kept a full bucket of water in the bathroom and would pour it in the bowl if there was solid waste. A year after I moved out, he replaced all the toilets again with the new designed ones. A very expensive lesson about greed there.


----------



## Addie

I am kicking myself. I never remember to plug in my scooter. I got dressed and went to get on my scooter. There was barely enough charge in the battery to just get to my door. By the time it is fully charged it will be dark and that trip to the store will have to wait until tomorrow. I used to go out at night, but the older I get the less nerve I have. If I were twenty, I would never give darkness a second thought. I would be out that door in a flash.


----------



## taxlady

I decided that I could cut off the extra part of the flapper I bought yesterday. It worked fine. My toilet fills its tank again. Yay!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Early low flows did do a poor job of flushing.  We have one on the low flows and it works as well or better than the one it replaced.  I wouldn't hesitate to replace our second one with a low flow.  Also, it's 2" higher.



What kind of toilet was the one replaced?

<running and ducking>


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I thought this was Petty Vents, not Potty Vents...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I thought this was Petty Vents, not Potty Vents...



THIS is the post you should be running and ducking on!  

BTW PF, how goes the fires?  Anything getting contained?  You getting a break from the smoke inhalation?  Hope things settle down soon.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> THIS is the post you should be running and ducking on!
> 
> BTW PF, how goes the fires?  Anything getting contained?  You getting a break from the smoke inhalation?  Hope things settle down soon.



0% contained, over 8,000 acres involved.  The smoke is really starting to bother me, but we have masks and oxygen if we need it.  Just got off the phone with Shrek, he can't drive up since the roads are closed to "looky-loos".  I have to be up early, so I'm off to my tent.  Someone suggested french toast in the morning and someone else ordered the ingredients...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> What kind of toilet was *the one replaced*?
> 
> <running and ducking>



An outhouse out back. 

(running ahead of you and ducking lower.)


----------



## Kylie1969

Addie said:


> An outhouse out back.
> 
> (running ahead of you and ducking lower.)


----------



## CharlieD

Wanted to buy a new PC. MY company is offering a purchasing program as a part of benefits package, where they claim that we will receive a 12% discount of purchase of new Dell. Called the Dell. Guess what, the discount is only 2%. Bastards.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> Wanted to buy a new PC. MY company is offering a purchasing program as a part of benefits package, where they claim that we will receive a 12% discount of purchase of new Dell. Called the Dell. Guess what, the discount is only 2%. Bastards.


Tell your company.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Doesn't his company provide free laundry service for his uniforms?


 
Actually have say that my company is not always bad. They do provide uniform and the laundry service. It is a huge help, huge. I work in a dirty machine shop; I love laundered shirts and pants every day.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Actually have say that my company is not always bad. They do provide uniform and the laundry service. It is a huge help, huge. I work in a dirty machine shop; I love laundered shirts and pants every day.



Charlie I once worked for a company that provided laundry service and the bill used to cross my desk. I know how expensive it is. So it is a huge help. They also provided heavy winter jackets along with other articles of clothing. Shorts and T shirts in the summer, work boots, safety glasses, etc. It was an very costly expense that the company ate. They also offered full medical and dental BC/BS coverage and paid 3/4 of the monthly premium.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Charlie I once worked for a company that provided laundry service and the bill used to cross my desk. I know how expensive it is. So it is a huge help. They also provided heavy winter jackets along with other articles of clothing. Shorts and T shirts in the summer, work boots, safety glasses, etc. It was an very costly expense that the company ate. They also offered full medical and dental BC/BS coverage and paid 3/4 of the monthly premium.



That must have been some company, nobody does things like that anymore .


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> That must have been some company, nobody does things like that anymore .



When I first went to work for them, they were writing their bills out by hand. No typewriter, letterhead, etc. That was the first year. By the end of that year, they were worth over $1m. And from there the company has just kept growing. They shared that growth with their workers because the owner realized that without them, there would be no company.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I submit for your review the following "conversation":

Person1(P1) - I'm going to go over there early to make sure the system connects to their network. I can't remember if I've ever connected to it before.

Person2(P2) - I'm pretty sure you did.

P1 - OK, well I'm still going to go over early because I can't remember for sure.

P2 - Weeelll, I'm pretty sure you did.

P1 - Well, I don't remember and I want to be sure.

P2 - Well I'm just telling you I think you did.

P1 - That's fine, you already said that. I get it. But this is for work so I'm just telling you I want to be sure.

P2 - Well, I'm pretty sure you did.


Would you consider this an argument?


----------



## taxlady

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I submit for your review the following "conversation":
> 
> Person1(P1) - I'm going to go over there early to make sure the system connects to their network. I can't remember if I've ever connected to it before.
> 
> Person2(P2) - I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> P1 - OK, well I'm still going to go over early because I can't remember for sure.
> 
> P2 - Weeelll, I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> P1 - Well, I don't remember and I want to be sure.
> 
> P2 - Well I'm just telling you I think you did.
> 
> P1 - That's fine, you already said that. I get it. But this is for work so I'm just telling you I want to be sure.
> 
> P2 - Well, I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> 
> Would you consider this an argument?


Hmm, good question.

It's time for P1 to say, "What's your point?"


----------



## Andy M.

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I submit for your review the following "conversation":
> 
> Person1(P1) - I'm going to go over there early to make sure the system connects to their network. I can't remember if I've ever connected to it before.
> 
> Person2(P2) - I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> P1 - OK, well I'm still going to go over early because I can't remember for sure.
> 
> P2 - Weeelll, I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> P1 - Well, I don't remember and I want to be sure.
> 
> P2 - Well I'm just telling you I think you did.
> 
> P1 - That's fine, you already said that. I get it. But this is for work so I'm just telling you I want to be sure.
> 
> P2 - Well, I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> 
> Would you consider this an argument?




I think P2 should have dropped it after the first exchange and let P1 go to work.


----------



## GotGarlic

Yes. P2 is trying to "win." P1 doesn't want to run into an issue, especially one that could have been avoided by going early to double-check


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Yes. P2 is trying to "win."...




Exactly!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I submit for your review the following "conversation":
> 
> *Person1(P1) - I'm going to go over there early to make sure the system connects to their network. I can't remember if I've ever connected to it before.
> 
> Person2(P2) - I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> P1 - OK, well I'm still going to go over early because I can't remember for sure.
> 
> P2 - Weeelll, I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> P1 - Well, I don't remember and I want to be sure.
> 
> P2 - Well I'm just telling you I think you did.
> *
> P1 - That's fine, you already said that. I get it. But this is for work so I'm just telling you I want to be sure.
> 
> P2 - Well, I'm pretty sure you did.
> 
> 
> Would you consider this an argument?



P1 has far greater self-control than I do.  I would have smacked P2 right at the end of the emboldened type.   P1 has incredible self-control.  Is "well-played" appropriate here p.a.g.?


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I'm P1 and DH is P2. He didn't feel this was arguing, that he was just informing me of something. So then we argued about whether or not it was arguing. He didn't think we were arguing then either, just discussing differing view points. He didn't feel stressed or aggravated by it so he didn't consider it an argument. It ended when I pointed out that it was aggravating me and did he really think it was worth continuing to inform me of something if it was obvious it was aggravating me? He agreed that in this instance it wasn't.

Unfortunately I've been stressed lately, and I know there have been times when I've been too easily aggravated or considered something confrontational when it wasn't. I wasn't sure if this was one of those times so I needed a baseline. I was worried that I was being unreasonable. Thanks to everyone who answered. Sometimes it's really nice to have outside perspective.


----------



## Andy M.

I've been in this position before and still am from time to time.  I have learned when SO has a thought in her mind, there is no point telling her otherwise.  I just shut up and let it happen.  While that is sometimes difficult, I've avoided conflict and earned the right to rub it in that I was right.


----------



## KatyCooks

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I'm P1 and DH is P2. He didn't feel this was arguing, that he was just informing me of something. So then we argued about whether or not it was arguing. He didn't think we were arguing then either, just discussing differing view points. He didn't feel stressed or aggravated by it so he didn't consider it an argument. It ended when I pointed out that it was aggravating me and did he really think it was worth continuing to inform me of something if it was obvious it was aggravating me? He agreed that in this instance it wasn't.
> 
> Unfortunately I've been stressed lately, and I know there have been times when I've been too easily aggravated or considered something confrontational when it wasn't. I wasn't sure if this was one of those times so I needed a baseline. I was worried that I was being unreasonable. Thanks to everyone who answered. *Sometimes it's really nice to have outside perspective*.


 
Sometimes it is vital to get an outside perspective or you can drive yourself insane trying to figure out if you were being reasonable or not.   In this instance, IMO, you had every right to want to be sure.   What's that old saying?  "Fail to prepare - prepare to fail"  or something along those lines.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I'm P1 and DH is P2. He didn't feel this was arguing, that he was just informing me of something. So then we argued about whether or not it was arguing. He didn't think we were arguing then either, just discussing differing view points. He didn't feel stressed or aggravated by it so he didn't consider it an argument. It ended when I pointed out that it was aggravating me and did he really think it was worth continuing to inform me of something if it was obvious it was aggravating me? He agreed that in this instance it wasn't.
> 
> Unfortunately I've been stressed lately, and I know there have been times when I've been too easily aggravated or considered something confrontational when it wasn't. I wasn't sure if this was one of those times so I needed a baseline. I was worried that I was being unreasonable. Thanks to everyone who answered. Sometimes it's really nice to have outside perspective.



Shrek argues like that, too and has no clue why I am aggravated and remain aggravated.  I tend to dwell on things...especially if I am upset.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The name of the actor in a movie is not earth shattering...

But when it comes to work, the job depends on dependability and compulsiveness to do the job right.  Worrying about the job, it's better to follow your instincts and double check yourself if that's what is needed.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The name of the actor in a movie is not earth shattering...
> 
> But when it comes to work, the job depends on dependability and compulsiveness to do the job right.  Worrying about the job, it's better to follow your instincts and double check yourself if that's what is needed.


This


----------



## KatyCooks

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The name of the actor in a movie is not earth shattering...
> 
> But when it comes to work, the job depends on dependability and compulsiveness to do the job right. Worrying about the job, it's better to follow your instincts and double check yourself if that's what is needed.


 
Absolutely!


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The name of the actor in a movie is not earth shattering...
> 
> But when it comes to work, the job depends on dependability and compulsiveness to do the job right.  Worrying about the job, it's better to follow your instincts and double check yourself if that's what is needed.



Yes.


----------



## Chef Munky

*Jerk*

I'm still a bit ticked off at some guy who came knocking at my door this morning.

It was the usual morning get hubby's breakfast/lunch cooked packed ready to go. I had just finished all that, cleaned up the kitchen. When this guy laid in on my door bell. One ring would have sufficed buy noooo. Mr Jerk had to ring it 3 times in succession. 

I looked out the curtain to see who it was. Didn't recognize the person the window was open. Hearing was enough I thought.

I asked who is it? Seeing him, but not opening the door.
He looks at me through the window and made the comment. Oh, I see you. Were talking through the window ok, well uh anyways. Pulls out some kind of laminated long slip of paper.

I asked him what was it that he wanted to talk to me about? Still not opening the door. He commented,ok, so your not going to open the door to talk to me? I said no I'm not.
He got irritated. Never told me what he wanted. Stormed off stopped stomped his foot yelled RUDE. VERY RUDE!! His body was getting pumped up.

I thought it was a Jehovah witness. Thought better of it because they never go out alone. Not here anyways that I've seen.

My husband asked who was at the door ringing it like that. I told him. What that guy said. What I did.Gave him a very clear description of that man. He wasn't impressed at all.
He told me that guy was up to no good. That I was right for standing my ground un intimidated and not opening that door. 

That guy really ticked me off. It's my house if I don't know you that door stays locked, not opened. State your business it's not that hard. Show some kind of ID. What did he expect anyways? Easy prey?
Better to play it safe than be sorry later.
Don't get testy because I ask questions. Jerk!


----------



## taxlady

That was a real jerk. I often holler out the window. People usually just tell me what they want. Then I open the door or not.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I don't even bother going to the door!

I live in a security building and people who know me call before they come over.

When I got old I stopped feeling the need to be polite to strangers that call me on the telephone or ring my doorbell!


----------



## Mad Cook

Chef Munky said:


> I'm still a bit ticked off at some guy who came knocking at my door this morning.
> 
> It was the usual morning get hubby's breakfast/lunch cooked packed ready to go. I had just finished all that, cleaned up the kitchen. When this guy laid in on my door bell. One ring would have sufficed buy noooo. Mr Jerk had to ring it 3 times in succession.
> 
> I looked out the curtain to see who it was. Didn't recognize the person the window was open. Hearing was enough I thought.
> 
> I asked who is it? Seeing him, but not opening the door.
> He looks at me through the window and made the comment. Oh, I see you. Were talking through the window ok, well uh anyways. Pulls out some kind of laminated long slip of paper.
> 
> I asked him what was it that he wanted to talk to me about? Still not opening the door. He commented,ok, so your not going to open the door to talk to me? I said no I'm not.
> He got irritated. Never told me what he wanted. Stormed off stopped stomped his foot yelled RUDE. VERY RUDE!! His body was getting pumped up.
> 
> I thought it was a Jehovah witness. Thought better of it because they never go out alone. Not here anyways that I've seen.
> 
> My husband asked who was at the door ringing it like that. I told him. What that guy said. What I did.Gave him a very clear description of that man. He wasn't impressed at all.
> He told me that guy was up to no good. That I was right for standing my ground un intimidated and not opening that door.
> 
> That guy really ticked me off. It's my house if I don't know you that door stays locked, not opened. State your business it's not that hard. Show some kind of ID. What did he expect anyways? Easy prey?
> Better to play it safe than be sorry later.
> Don't get testy because I ask questions. Jerk!


I must say that I would have done the same as you. My attitude is that it's my front door, I paid for it and I'll decide who I open it to. 

Mind you it sometimes backfires. Where I used to live we got a lot of canvassers, collectors and Avon ladies, etc. A few years back there was a knock on the door. I ignored it. Another knock. I ignored it again. Yet another knock. I went to the door, threw it open and announced crossly "I haven't, I can't and I won't" to the lady on the doorstep. She laughed, waved her ID badge and said "You have to. It's the electoral roll" (In the UK you don't have to vote but you do have to be registered on the list of electors for your area) "Collapse of stout party" (i.e. me!)


----------



## Mad Cook

*Please may I vent about bl**dy cyclists?*

Sunny weekends and summer evenings never fail to bring all the idiot cyclists out. Why is it that the flashier the bike, especially when the rider is dressed from head to foot in an outfit that matches the bike, the more he (because it usually is a "he") appears to have a total absence of brains?

The road up to the stables is the old main road from Stockport to Sheffield so we aren't talking country lanes here. It is a very dangerous and busy road. Four miles of one lane in each direction and a 40mph limit, with blind bends every few yards made worse by very high hedges and trees, double white lines almost all the way, chicane-type bends with adverse cambers and with a lot of heavy vehicles as well as cars, motorbikes and cyclists. Regular and frequently fatal accidents on it and when I was learning to drive Dad used to make me drive along it because I was frightened of it. A friend who is a copper says that even the police drivers don't like it.

There are the cyclists who deliberately hog the middle of the road so you can't pass in the few places it is safe to do so, the ones who wobble about all over the shop and follow a zig-zag course despite it not being a hilly road, the ones who hunt in packs - 5 rows of 3 abreast one evening recently, and the one the other day, who pottered along the double white line at 10mph holding up a stream of traffic behind him and me. Then, when we reached a safe overtaking place and I pulled out to overtake, he actually _started racing me _so I couldn't get past in the space available! 

And not one of them wears hi-viz clothing. It's almost as if they think that a helmet magically renders them invincible!

This morning there was a chap in overalls (and a hi-viz waistcoat) pedalling along at a reasonable speed, observing the Highway Code, obviously on his way to work and one of these idiots ran him into the kerb and nearly knocked him off his bike and I am so absolutely certain that he did it on purpose that I'd be prepared to stand up in court and say so!

Of course when one of them gets killed because of his own stupid behaviour it'll be the poor motorist who gets it in the neck! I'm more and more convinced that cyclists should have to pass a test, be licenced and carry a prominent registration number on their bikes.


----------



## Andy M.

I understand your anger.  Cyclists can act very entitled when on the road.  Motorists are warned to share the road with cyclists but it works both ways.


----------



## Dawgluver

I agree.  Drives me crazy when cyclists ride 8 abreast on our winding road, and there's no way to pass.  I even called the sheriff to find out if that's legal, he just said cyclists have the same right as cars do.  I asked him if cars have the right to drive 8 in a row across the road, and he just repeated what he'd said.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I agree.  Drives me crazy when cyclists ride 8 abreast on our winding road, and there's no way to pass.  I even called the sheriff to find out if that's legal, he just said cyclists have the same right as cars do.  I asked him if cars have the right to drive 8 in a row across the road, and he just repeated what he'd said.


Motorcyclists aren't allowed to drive even 2 abreast.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I'm P1 and DH is P2....


I figured as much. 




Andy M. said:


> I've been in this position before and still am from time to time.  I have learned when SO has a thought in her mind, there is no point telling her otherwise.  I just shut up and let it happen.  While that is sometimes difficult, I've avoided conflict and earned the right to rub it in that I was right.





PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek argues like that, too and has no clue why I am aggravated and remain aggravated.  I tend to dwell on things...especially if I am upset.



On our wedding day ages ago my cousin Tony gave Himself priceless advice.  Something like "if the two of you are arguing something and it goes five minutes, just give in.  At that point you have no chance."  Plus, if we're trying to get you guys to do something Tony said you should "save the energy to do whatever it is you were trying to get out of!"


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chef Munky said:


> I'm still a bit ticked off at some guy who came knocking at my door this morning......Jerk!


What a Rude Dude he was.  Probably working with some sort of work-service program to earn points...which, from what I've read, the door-knockers never reap the benefits.




Aunt Bea said:


> ....When I got old I stopped feeling the need to be polite to strangers that call me on the telephone or ring my doorbell!









  Got that right!  You go Girl.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I understand your anger.  Cyclists can act very entitled when on the road.  Motorists are warned to share the road with cyclists but it works both ways.



Andy, we recently had a major road rebuilt. It is a bridge going from Eastie to Winthrop. The bridge was widened and when the new lines were painted, bike lane were painted in. We have those lanes on all the main roads here in Eastie and other parts of Boston. Even downtown. The solid line separating the bike lane from cars lanes is much wider than the standard car lanes. During my working days I would see cyclists in droves riding to work and back home each day while I was on the bus. and they weren't just going down the road to the office. At BMC, there is a very large garage right near the entry way to the doors of the large clinic building. Everyday it is filled with cycles. I would love to see America become like some countries in Europe. More cycles than cars on the road each day. What most folks aren't aware of is that cyclists are subject to the same rules of the road as are the automobiles.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> I don't even bother going to the door!
> 
> I live in a security building and people who know me call before they come over.
> 
> When I got old I stopped feeling the need to be polite to strangers that call me on the telephone or ring my doorbell!



Spike has a key to the front door. Everyone else has to ring and I can talk through the security system asking who is it.

My kids know to call first to let me know they are coming. I know when my meds are to be delivered, when I am expecting a UPS package, or when the van is going to be picking me up. Other than those reasons, I don't hit that buzzer to open the door downstairs until I know who you are.


----------



## Chef Munky

Cooking Goddess said:


> What a Rude Dude he was.  Probably working with some sort of work-service program to earn points...which, from what I've read, the door-knockers never reap the benefits.




Work service program? Please don't say Judge ordered community service. Who knows what was at my door.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

NoNoNo!  Not an ex-con!  There are do-good organizations that have worked our neighborhood where the youth or, in some cases, down-on-their-luck adults, go door-to-door to drum up business for some kind of thing.  I know one time it was magazine subscriptions.  The door-knocker is expected to reach a minimum number of contacts and, probably, sales.  The reward promised to the door-knocker is rarely delivered because of some technicality on meeting the requirements.  It's basically a well-meaning scam.  We've also had a wave of environmental activists coming around some years, but not this one.  Guess even they have to hide in their AC when they are out fighting global warming.  

In our town anyone going door-to-door is required to first get a permit from the town hall.  They have to show documentation of the group or business in order to get permits - probably put down some sort of bond money too.  If that is the case where you are the person should be able to show a badge or permit page to indicate they have clearance from your town/city's PTB.  Not a guarantee of personal safety, but at least you know they are some kind of legit.


----------



## joesfolk

*Today's vent*

Why is it that all of my small appliances die at the same time?  It's not like I bought them all at the same time...as if that would make any difference.  In the last month my printer died,  I used my c a n n e r s twice and now the gaskets are so stretched out they are unuseable,  my bowl to the food processed cracked and my ice cream maker gave up the ghost. All that I could almost handle but it comes on top of literally several thousand dollars worth of auto repairs and dental work.  Oh well I didn't need that silly old emergency bank account anyway.  I mean it's not like my 25 year old furnace is going to break down or anything like that!   lol sigh.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Joesfolk)))


----------



## joesfolk

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Joesfolk)))



Thank you.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

joesfolk said:


> Why is it that all of my small appliances die at the same time?  It's not like I bought them all at the same time...as if that would make any difference.  In the last month my printer died,  I used my c a n n e r s twice and now the gaskets are so stretched out they are unuseable,  my bowl to the food processed cracked and my ice cream maker gave up the ghost. All that I could almost handle but it comes on top of literally several thousand dollars worth of auto repairs and dental work.  Oh well I didn't need that silly old emergency bank account anyway.  I mean it's not like my 25 year old furnace is going to break down or anything like that!   lol sigh.



Man, that just sucks. I hope nothing else breaks on you and that everything quiets down for a bit.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

joesfolk said:


> Why is it that all of my small appliances die at the same time?.....


I thought the purpose of an emergency bank account was FOR new kitchen toys!   Sorry to hear the account will take a hit to get back up to speed.  At least YOU didn't break/wear out YOU!  Just be careful down steps and on throw rugs...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*"Alien Hum"*

We lived .6 airline miles from an interstate at our last house.  You could hear the road noises a little if the wind and humidity were just right, and I could hear a tiny bit at night - or it could have just been me imagining I heard it. When we moved to MA the closest interstate is nearly 3 airline miles away.  Perfect silence.   Maybe a half dozen years ago I started to hear a low hum.  Figured the little strip shopping center behind the houses at the end of our street and through the heavily wooded area had added more air conditioning systems for the stores, one of which is a grocery store.  But even that is almost half a mile away.  Himself never heard the noise either here or back home.  But, a year or so ago, the gas station/convenience store at the start of our neighborhood did a complete rebuild.  Since then the noise is louder - even Himself can hear it.  Bugs the heck out of me!

I suppose there are worse things in life.  After all, I could go deaf and never hear that hum again.   But then I'd never hear the birds sing, or my kitty mew, or my hubby tell me he loves me. 

Just for fun, when this noise started to get really annoying, I hit it lucky when I thought of googling "alien hum".  Sometimes you google just the right phrase for the topic.  If you've never heard of "alien hum" you can read a quick, reasonable summary here: Mysterious Humming Sound Heard Around the World ~ ADG (UK)  It's not one of those "aliens are coming to get you!!!" kind of story.


----------



## joesfolk

Thanks guys..just needed to get it off my chest.  Turns out it will cost about 80bucks just to replace the ice cream maker.  I don't anticipate making that much ice cream the rest of my life. Although I really liked that model because it didn't take up much space in the freezers I will probably replace it with something from a yard sale.  Most of the other stuff..well,  I'll just have to bite the bullet and order what I need.


----------



## Addie

I hear you CG. My apartment is right over the mechanical room. Now these apartments are well insulated. My neighbor and I can't hear a thing from each other's apartment. When I have my windows closed in the winter I can't hear any street noise. 

But!  I can hear the water heater kick on and the hum it makes. And I can hear the sump pump kick on when it is raining. I have gotten use to it, but at first it drove me crazy. Now the sump pump lulls me to sleep.


----------



## bakechef

I have to go back to work tomorrow....  I've been off for over 2 weeks.  I need to win the lottery!


----------



## middie

We all do lol


----------



## CatPat

I had a bad day today. But I came from it with the calmness of knowing I am loved by my dearest DA and others.

Life is so wonderful! No matter what.

~Cat


----------



## bakechef

People on facebook posting political crap.  They aren't adding to the conversation, just complaining.  When you try to have a rational discussion with them, you realize that they have no idea what they are talking about.  It's very frustrating.  

I've hidden most of those people.  I don't post political stuff.  I was raised that you don't discuss politics or religion in mixed company.  So why do people think that FB is the proper place to bring up politics?  Do they think that they are going to change any minds?  The best way to do this is having rational discussions and be educated on the issues, not just posting inflammatory rants are only going to tick people off.  

I think that banning political discussions on forums like this is a great idea.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

bakechef said:


> People on facebook posting political crap.  They aren't adding to the conversation, just complaining.  When you try to have a rational discussion with them, you realize that they have no idea what they are talking about.  It's very frustrating.
> 
> I've hidden most of those people.  I don't post political stuff.  I was raised that you don't discuss politics or religion in mixed company.  So why do people think that FB is the proper place to bring up politics?  Do they think that they are going to change any minds?  The best way to do this is having rational discussions and be educated on the issues, not just posting inflammatory rants are only going to tick people off.
> 
> I think that banning political discussions on forums like this is a great idea.



I have friends on FB that post their political views in a rational, calm, and insightful manner. They are extremely passionate about their views but they are polite to people who disagree with them and encourage intelligent discourse in their postings. I absolutely cherish these people because they are so greatly out numbered by the people who are beligerent, confrontational, insulting, ignorant, obstinate, and just plain rude in the way they express their beliefs. 

Unfortunately, these kinds of comments aren't limited to politics or religion. You can see posts on FB, forums, comments sections about almost any subject and find people who simply have no manners and only want to cause contention. It's sad, and you're absolutely correct that it doesn't change people's views, except perhaps of how valuable "friends" might be if they are so willing, and sometimes eager, to cause trouble.


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> People on facebook posting political crap.  They aren't adding to the conversation, just complaining...




Political is just one of the kinds of the crap people post on FB.


----------



## MrsLMB

bakechef said:


> People on facebook posting political crap. They aren't adding to the conversation, just complaining. When you try to have a rational discussion with them, you realize that they have no idea what they are talking about. It's very frustrating.
> 
> I've hidden most of those people. I don't post political stuff. I was raised that you don't discuss politics or religion in mixed company. So why do people think that FB is the proper place to bring up politics? Do they think that they are going to change any minds? The best way to do this is having rational discussions and be educated on the issues, not just posting inflammatory rants are only going to tick people off.
> 
> I think that banning political discussions on forums like this is a great idea.


 

Agreed.  I was raised you don't discuss politics, religion or abortion because there will never be any agreement on any of those topics.

I think people get kind of "puffed up" on FB and get carried away.  They don't think  of other people's feelings or opinions and it seems they want to shove stuff down your throat.

I'm all for a good discussion, but not a fight.

I also appreciate the few restrictions we have here .. keeps the place nice and clean and a ton of fun.


----------



## MrsLMB

So sorry to hear of all that going wrong joesfolk.  Been there.  Seems like we just start to get ahead and BAM something else goes.  Last thing was the hot water heater .. that was a bummer because we had just dealt with the fridge and the heater.  Hope I haven't jinxed myself now !!


----------



## Addie

There is only one reason I have an account on FB. To be able to view family photos. Unless I receive a notice that there are new pictures, I never go there. And any response I post is short and sweet or just a thumbs up. Folks seem to have forgotten that any pictures you post or write becomes the property of FB and can be sold and used in advertising.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Folks seem to have forgotten that any pictures you post or write becomes the property of FB and can be sold and used in advertising.



This is not true. Your intellectual property remains your property. By using the service, you grant Fb a license to use your intellectual property subject to how you have set your privacy and application settings. This ends when you delete your account. 

https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> This is not true. Your intellectual property remains your property. By using the service, you grant Fb a license to use your intellectual property subject to how you have set your privacy and application settings. This ends when you delete your account.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms



And most folks don't even read the privacy notice. Specially today's young folks.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> There is only one reason I have an account on FB. To be able to view family photos. Unless I receive a notice that there are new pictures, I never go there. And any response I post is short and sweet or just a thumbs up. Folks seem to have forgotten that any pictures you post or write becomes the property of FB and can be sold and used in advertising.



I really appreciate Facebook, it's actually brought me closer to a lot of friends and family.   I have family that have scattered all over and for the most part we had lost touch, I would get updates on their lives through my mom but timing was never right for us to all be at home in Maine at the same time.   Facebook has brought us closer. 

With that said, I have a lot of friends hidden because they are just annoying and have no clue how to behave on social media, some I have unfriended, but if it is someone I care about but just don't want to them cluttering up my newsfeed , or I don't want to see constant negativity.


----------



## bakechef

MrsLMB said:


> So sorry to hear of all that going wrong joesfolk.  Been there.  Seems like we just start to get ahead and BAM something else goes.  Last thing was the hot water heater .. that was a bummer because we had just dealt with the fridge and the heater.  Hope I haven't jinxed myself now !!



I predict that our water heater is next. Part of me just wants to replace it now so that I don't have to deal with an emergency.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> I predict that our water heater is next. Part of me just wants to replace it now so that I don't have to deal with an emergency.


That's why we rent our water heater. It works out to a bit more than buying and paying for installation. But, they come fairly quickly for emergencies, even on holidays and that's covered by the service plan that is part of the bi-monthly fee.


----------



## Aunt Bea

bakechef said:


> I predict that our water heater is next. Part of me just wants to replace it now so that I don't have to deal with an emergency.



I think that is a wise approach.  

You can shop for a good deal and have it done at your convenience. 

The new one will most likely be more energy efficient than the old one! 

The time, money and aggravation you save will more than offset any loss on the remaining useful life of the old one.


----------



## MrsLMB

bakechef said:


> I predict that our water heater is next. Part of me just wants to replace it now so that I don't have to deal with an emergency.


 
You have the right idea.  I wish we had done that.  We talked about it but put it off .. boy did we pay dearly for that mistake !!

If you can swing it, go for it .. insurance for the future ya know !!


----------



## Alix

GLAAAAH!!!! I just went to load the dishwasher and my LAST intact visions saucepan had something dropped into it and has now broken! Sad sad day!!! I've had that pot for 20+ years dang it all. Replacing pots is wicked expensive and time consuming to find what I want. I'm not a happy girl.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> GLAAAAH!!!! I just went to load the dishwasher and my LAST intact visions saucepan had something dropped into it and has now broken! Sad sad day!!! I've had that pot for 20+ years dang it all. Replacing pots is wicked expensive and time consuming to find what I want. I'm not a happy girl.



Alix, just start a thread  in the cookware section and you'll get more advice than you can handle.


----------



## Alix

@Andy - Brat.


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> @Andy - Brat.



I prefer "Jerk!"


----------



## Alix




----------



## Cooking Goddess

Alix, how much was it worth to you?  Bet you could find something here:

visions cookware | eBay


----------



## Addie

Alix, I have never had the experience of using the Vision Cookware. What made it so special?


----------



## Alix

CG, I DID find a replacement! Thanks for that. 

Addie, Visions is made by Pyrex/Corningware. Its a glass type material and it is extremely durable most of the time. It isn't like pyrex in that you can put it on direct heat without it exploding. It can go from freezer to oven or stovetop. It can go in the microwave etc. It holds heat really well and heats up very quickly so you have to be careful not to scorch whatever you're cooking, but its pretty awesome stuff. I grew up using it and prefer it to stainless steel cookware. I used to have an entire set. Dutch oven, roaster, 3L saucepan, 2L saucepan and a little tiny one. I've broken each piece slowly but surely over the last 25 years. That 3L saucepan was indispensible though. It was my potato pot, my pasta pot, my EVERYTHING. I can make do with other stuff, but not without that.


----------



## Dawgluver

But when it shatters, it SHATTERS!  Into a million pieces.   I dropped the cover to my Visions DO many Thanksgivings ago, what a mess, I think I'm still finding shards.


----------



## Alix

Mine have never shattered (whew!), mine have usually been victim to someone dropping something heavy into them while they are soaking in the sink waiting to get moved to the dishwasher. 

I've broken one right in half once. That was cool - NOT. And the dutch oven was full of frozen turkey soup and I dropped the whole danged thing on the deck when the dog sideswiped my knees. Lost that whole batch of soup AND the DO!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Alix said:


> CG, I DID find a replacement! Thanks for that.


----------



## Alix

I think my snit must have been fairly epic because when I started telling Ken what happened and what it would cost to replace them he just said, "get what you want dear" and left the house.  Wise man. 

I bought a new DO, and a new 3L visions. They are being processed for shipping right now. I ALSO went out and found myself a 3L stainless steel version so I can actually make dinner tonight! LOL! I feel sooooo much better. Gotta love retail therapy.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Isn't it wonderful to reunite with an old love?


----------



## Alix

It feels so good!


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> I think my snit must have been fairly epic because when I started telling Ken what happened and what it would cost to replace them he just said, "get what you want dear" and left the house.  Wise man.
> 
> I bought a new DO, and a new 3L visions. They are being processed for shipping right now. I ALSO went out and found myself a 3L stainless steel version so I can actually make dinner tonight! LOL! I feel sooooo much better. Gotta love retail therapy.



Alix, what makes Visions so special for you.?  I never saw the advantage of glass pots and pans.


----------



## Alix

Andy, I like the heat retention (almost like CI), the easy clean up, being able to see everything cooking is kind of cool, and I really like that I can put it in the microwave, oven or on the stovetop. You can even freeze stuff in visions and put it directly in the oven. I have a couple of casserole dishes that I use for that purpose regularly. I often make rhubarb crisp or apple crisp and freeze it prior to baking. Then if I need a quick dessert, I can just toss it straight in the oven. 

I think really what it is for me is that it is very versatile and it user friendly. I can boil potatoes on the stove, and then after I mash 'em I can put the pot in the oven to stay warm while I prep the rest of dinner. Its like CI only easier cleaning. 

If I could have my big visions, my CI frying pan and my good chef's knife, I could do pretty much anything in my kitchen. Hmmm, thread idea?


----------



## Andy M.

Alix said:


> ...If I could have my big visions, my CI frying pan and my good chef's knife, I could do pretty much anything in my kitchen. Hmmm, thread idea?



Thanks, Alix.

You go ahead and try to start that thread...


----------



## bakechef

I think that my vacuum sealer is dying.  Got a great deal on ground chuck, and it took forever to seal 15 packs.  First it would suck out all of the air but wouldn't go into seal mode, then when it would it would take forever to get there.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> I think that my vacuum sealer is dying.  Got a great deal on ground chuck, and it took forever to seal 15 packs.  First it would suck out all of the air but wouldn't go into seal mode, then when it would it would take forever to get there.



I've found the same thing happening with my Foodsaver too, BC.  Mine is about 8 years old.  I have my eye on an upright model now, takes up much less counter space.

Oh, crap, too late now, but it could have been on your registery.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> I've found the same thing happening with my Foodsaver too, BC.  Mine is about 8 years old.  I have my eye on an upright model now, takes up much less counter space.
> 
> Oh, crap, too late now, but it could have been on your registery.



Yeah, I wish I had thought of that!  Well we do have gift cards for target so we could use those.  Mine is a Rival seal-a-meal brand that I got for about $25 maybe 6 years ago at Big Lots, so I've definitely got my money's worth out of it!


----------



## Chef Munky

Just woke up.I'd give anything to crawl back into my bed again. I'm tired.

My neighbors one behind me, one next door decided to have a show down with noise. I mean seriously loud window rattling noise. Yelling back and forth. Oooooommmmmmmmpaaaaapaaaahhhh music. All day starting at 1pm. Didn't stop until well after 2:30 am. The more  one complained the worse it got. We were stuck in the middle. Noticed the only English version song that wasn't translated into Spanish was "Ice,Ice Baby" Bad word around here.

I see looking out the window the Oompa Loompa's still have the party tent up. This Lolly Pop Kid wants to beat them up! 

Munky.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Chef Munky said:


> Just woke up.I'd give anything to crawl back into my bed again. I'm tired.
> 
> My neighbors one behind me, one next door decided to have a show down with noise. I mean seriously loud window rattling noise. Yelling back and forth. Oooooommmmmmmmpaaaaapaaaahhhh music. All day starting at 1pm. Didn't stop until well after 2:30 am. The more  one complained the worse it got. We were stuck in the middle. Noticed the only English version song that wasn't translated into Spanish was "Ice,Ice Baby" Bad word around here.
> 
> I see looking out the window the Oompa Loompa's still have the party tent up. This Lolly Pop Kid wants to beat them up!
> 
> Munky.



Your story reminded me of my youth!

Forty years ago my friends and I rented a camp on a lake.  We decided to have a party and the party lasted most of the night.  At about 6:00am the next morning the elderly Polish couple in the camp next to ours cranked the stereo with a collection of Jimmy Sturr's greatest polka hits.  No one from either camp ever said a word and we all lived quietly ever after!


----------



## GotGarlic

Chef Munky said:


> Just woke up.I'd give anything to crawl back into my bed again. I'm tired.
> 
> My neighbors one behind me, one next door decided to have a show down with noise. I mean seriously loud window rattling noise. Yelling back and forth. Oooooommmmmmmmpaaaaapaaaahhhh music. All day starting at 1pm. Didn't stop until well after 2:30 am. The more  one complained the worse it got. We were stuck in the middle. Noticed the only English version song that wasn't translated into Spanish was "Ice,Ice Baby" Bad word around here.
> 
> I see looking out the window the Oompa Loompa's still have the party tent up. This Lolly Pop Kid wants to beat them up!
> 
> Munky.



I will not hesitate to call the police about loud noise late at night. Most localities have ordinances saying you have the right to "quiet enjoyment of your property." I'd have called the police at midnight.


----------



## Addie

Around here quiet time starts at 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The police start driving slow in the summertime listening to anyone having a party in their backyard and it is too loud after ten p.m. If the offending piece of equipment is your music, and they have to come back a second time, you will find your equipment being confiscated.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Around here quiet time starts at 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The police start driving slow in the summertime listening to anyone having a party in their backyard and it is too loud after ten p.m. If the offending piece of equipment is your music, and they have to come back a second time, you will find your equipment being confiscated.



Our upstairs neighbor found out the no noise after 10 pm included using their washer and dryer.  They both thrum through our apartment.  They also found out I don't mind getting up at 3 am to vacuum and waking their little one up.  She loves to run and carry on.  They found that out after a 1 am vacuum marathon they had staged.


----------



## Rocklobster

Two days off and I just came down with a doozy of a head cold.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> Two days off and I just came down with a doozy of a head cold.



Horseradish!!!


----------



## Rocklobster

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Horseradish!!!


Bless you. Are you cursing, or suggesting that I ingest horseradish?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> Bless you. Are you cursing, or suggesting that I ingest horseradish?



I think is was a sneeze...

Yes, ingestion helps on many levels with a head cold.


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Our upstairs neighbor found out the no noise after 10 pm included using their washer and dryer.  They both thrum through our apartment.  They also found out I don't mind getting up at 3 am to vacuum and waking their little one up.  She loves to run and carry on.  They found that out after a 1 am vacuum marathon they had staged.



When I lived in a ground floor apartment the neighbor upstairs got what must have been the world's largest subwoofer for christmas.  

My parents were visiting and we were jolted out of bed at 2 am by every window and door in my apartment rattling and a constant BOOM BOOM!  I reported it to the complex management, it stopped for a while and then happened again, and lets just say, he didn't live there any more.

It would be much harder to remedy that type of situation in our townhouse since these aren't run by rental management.


----------



## CWS4322

I'm ready to pack up and head to the farm. My boarder/tenant is driving me crazy. I use the clothes line to dry my clothes. In the winter I hang them by the woodstove. I haven't used the dryer since 1996 (long story short, almost burned the house down, haven't used it since). Said tenant wants to use it EVERY DAY. I have said that there is a laundromat where he can use the dryer but my dryer is not available. I never said it was and I'm sick of being whined at about the dryer. It doesn't help he's only paid 1/2 the rent...I'm tempted to boot him out.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> When I lived in a ground floor apartment the neighbor upstairs got what must have been the world's largest subwoofer for christmas.
> 
> My parents were visiting and we were jolted out of bed at 2 am by every window and door in my apartment rattling and a constant BOOM BOOM!  I reported it to the complex management, it stopped for a while and then happened again, and lets just say, he didn't live there any more.
> 
> It would be much harder to remedy that type of situation in our townhouse since these aren't run by rental management.



I've had to move anything remotely breakable to low shelves, the vibrations from the washer and dryer upstairs vibrate things off the walls and shelves all the time.  Two weeks ago when the glass globe in the kitchen fell, it was because of these vibrations...I had an injured cat over that.  Not happy!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> I'm ready to pack up and head to the farm. My boarder/tenant is driving me crazy. I use the clothes line to dry my clothes. In the winter I hang them by the woodstove. I haven't used the dryer since 1996 (long story short, almost burned the house down, haven't used it since). Said tenant wants to use it EVERY DAY. I have said that there is a laundromat where he can use the dryer but my dryer is not available. I never said it was and I'm sick of being whined at about the dryer. It doesn't help he's only paid 1/2 the rent...I'm tempted to boot him out.



Boot, Boot...it won't get any better.  Move the dryer out to the curb.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Boot, Boot...it won't get any better.  Move the dryer out to the curb.


+1 I agree.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CWS4322 said:


> I'm ready to pack up and head to the farm. My boarder/tenant is driving me crazy. I use the clothes line to dry my clothes.......I'm sick of being whined at about the dryer. It doesn't help he's only paid 1/2 the rent...I'm tempted to boot him out.





PrincessFiona60 said:


> Boot, Boot...it won't get any better.  Move the dryer out to the curb.



The dryer?  Heck, I say move the boarder out to the curb.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef said:


> When I lived in a ground floor apartment the neighbor upstairs got what must have been the world's largest subwoofer for christmas.
> 
> My parents were visiting and we were jolted out of bed at 2 am by every window and door in my apartment rattling and a constant BOOM BOOM!  I reported it to the complex management, it stopped for a while and then happened again, and lets just say, he didn't live there any more.



We were the top-floor tenants in both apartments we have rented.  First one had two girls who must have been on their own for the first time.  Stereo blasting all the time so that we could hear the lyrics!  I would break out in hives it would get so bad, and we'd leave to go visit his S & BIL or my parents.  Finally one of the girls moved out when the other girl's boyfriend moved in...and we never heard anything from them after that.

In the second apartment it was newlyweds below us.  Woke up one night to take a little walk down the hall  but before I got out of bed I heard *ahem* happy noises from below.  Do I get up and disturb them?   But I gotta GO!   As soon as I stated to walk around it got quiet. 

We've lived in our own homes ever since.  Not a guarantee to peace and quiet all the time but it's a definite improvement.


----------



## CWS4322

Cooking Goddess said:


> The dryer?  Heck, I say move the boarder out to the curb.


He doesn't have that much stuff-probably would take me 45 minutes to pack everything and move it to the curb...tempting.


----------



## CWS4322

I have an answering machine. When I am busy doing something (which is most of the time), I just let the machine/voice mail pick up. For the past month, I have been getting calls 3x/day from a number I do not recognize. The caller never leaves a message. I find that extremely annoying. Why call if you are not going to leave a message? And, why call back and then hang up? I have changed my message to say that if you call and hang up, don't expect a call back.


----------



## roadfix

^^^  Probably an automated call coming from a tele-marketer.  I usually pick up and hang up without saying a word.


----------



## GotGarlic

If you do a search for the number, you can often find out who the caller was.


----------



## bakechef

GotGarlic said:


> If you do a search for the number, you can often find out who the caller was.



I often google numbers and I can usually find out who it is.

I had a company calling on behalf of Verizon Wireless trying multiple times a week to sell me a new plan, that I don't want or need.  They would only let it ring 3 times, and I was usually at work.  I finally got a chance to speak to them and gave them an ear full.  They haven't called since.


----------



## CharlieD

CWS4322 said:


> I have an answering machine. When I am busy doing something (which is most of the time), I just let the machine/voice mail pick up. For the past month, I have been getting calls 3x/day from a number I do not recognize. The caller never leaves a message. I find that extremely annoying. Why call if you are not going to leave a message? And, why call back and then hang up? I have changed my message to say that if you call and hang up, don't expect a call back.



For sure it is some sales pitch, they never leave a message.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> For sure it is some sales pitch, they never leave a message.


I have had sales messages on my phone. Today I got one telling me about getting a free cruise to the Bahamas if I fill out a survey. That phone number is my reject list, so the phone doesn't ring, but it doesn't stop them leaving me stupid messages. I once got a sales pitch message that didn't fit before the answering machine cut off, so they called back to continue the pitch. I think it took four times for them to give me the whole pitch. grrrr


----------



## Andy M.

I don't answer out-of-area calls or calls from area codes I don't know.  What really annoys me is when they wake me up from a nap.


----------



## Zhizara

Me either, Andy.  If I don't recognize the area code, it gets dismissed.


----------



## kadesma

We signed up for do not call. Did or does that stop them NOPE so I ask them to take me off the call list most do but there are several who kepp trying but my phone shows me who is calling so I just let it ring then they stop for several days and then come back ICKKKKK
kades


----------



## MrsLMB

It's begun to get quite chilly at night and my tomato plants have given up 

Seems we just got the garden going really good and now it looks like it's all over already .. not happy !!


----------



## Chef Munky

Finally have the phone lines fixed. Not exactly in perfect usage. But better then it has been. Pages are loading here. Able to stay and visit a while. Isn't that always nice? 

AT&T had better not charge me for the 5 days we went without usable phone service. The static was so bad I couldn't call out or receive phone calls. Net was unusable after 10 min.They never told me what happened to the main box. It's been a problem for years. Someone ran it over once. Rain drowned it the last time. The Tech did mention if it was an underground line it would never be fixed. AT&T will never put out the trouble or expense to dig up a sidewalk. We'll see about that. If they have the money to shell out for expensive commercials for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Golf. They got the moonies to throw me a rope!

Now I have to get with the whole world. Break down and get a cell phone of my own that I've adamantly refused to own. I hate those gadgets.

ThinkI'vehadtoomuchcoffee. 

Munky.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Finally have the phone lines fixed. Not exactly in perfect usage. But better then it has been. Pages are loading here. Able to stay and visit a while. Isn't that always nice?
> 
> AT&T had better not charge me for the 5 days we went without usable phone service. The static was so bad I couldn't call out or receive phone calls. Net was unusable after 10 min.They never told me what happened to the main box. It's been a problem for years. Someone ran it over once. Rain drowned it the last time. The Tech did mention if it was an underground line it would never be fixed. AT&T will never put out the trouble or expense to dig up a sidewalk. We'll see about that. If they have the money to shell out for expensive commercials for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Golf. They got the moonies to throw me a rope!
> 
> Now I have to get with the whole world. Break down and get a cell phone of my own that I've adamantly refused to own. I hate those gadgets.
> 
> *ThinkI'vehadtoomuchcoffee.*
> 
> Munky.



No such thing and I am glad you are back online and in communication with the rest of the world.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek  forgot about his "Donut Hole" with Medicare Prescriptions...he ordered his most expensive med, which will last him almost a year, and it came to $732 for one med!!!!  It's an inhaler he uses when he thinks about, maybe twice a week, this last *one* has lasted him almost a year, now he has 6 of them coming. I told him next time he waits for January when he is not in the darned "Hole" to order it.  Arrrgh!!!


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek  forgot about his "Donut Hole" with Medicare Prescriptions...he ordered his most expensive med, which will last him almost a year, and it came to $732 for one med!!!!  It's an inhaler he uses when he thinks about, maybe twice a week, this last *one* has lasted him almost a year, now he has 6 of them coming. I told him next time he waits for January when he is not in the darned "Hole" to order it.  Arrrgh!!!



He should be able to change the inhaler quantity to 2 or 3 and spread out the expense to avoid the dh.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> He should be able to change the inhaler quantity to 2 or 3 and spread out the expense to avoid the dh.



Yes, we will remember that for the next time.  The directions read 2 puffs twice a day, not as needed, so to them 6 = a 3 month supply.  And of course, the prescription house was on the ball with this one and shipped almost as soon as he got done ordering.  They usually take a day or two so we could cancel the order if we wanted or at least cut it back. 

I think he should just remove it from his medications with them and get it singly from a local pharmacy, may cost a bit more, but this wouldn't happen. But, what do I know...


----------



## Andy M.

Is there a cheaper alternative?  If this is for asthma, you can't count all the available meds.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Is there a cheaper alternative?  If this is for asthma, you can't count all the available meds.



It's for his COPD and is still proprietary as a combination medication.   One ingredient is still not a generic.  I don't have any pricing info on it.  I think as little as he uses it he could just go back to albuterol which is much cheaper.


----------



## Andy M.

Rx costs are a killer.  I have a small party when a med goes generic.  Last party - Lipitor.  Cost $300+, Atrovastatin cost $3.


----------



## Hoot

Mrs Hoot is a pharmacy tech....I am amazed (and thankful that I have no need of any medication, so far) at the costs of some medicines.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Rx costs are a killer.  I have a small party when a med goes generic.  Last party - Lipitor.  Cost $300+, Atrovastatin cost $3.



Me too, then they changed me to Crestor...no generic and I am not tolerating it like I was able the Lipitor...the cardiologist won't change it back.  

Most of Shrek's medications are "free" when he is not in the donut hole and minimal when he is in...but this one is a paycheck killer.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Me too, then they changed me to Crestor...no generic and I am not tolerating it like I was able the Lipitor...the cardiologist won't change it back.
> 
> Most of Shrek's medications are "free" when he is not in the donut hole and minimal when he is in...but this one is a paycheck killer.



There is a good reason he won't put you back on Lipitor. There is a class action suit against it at present. They have found that it can make a patient develop diabetes when they are put on it. I would imagine, that if it can create the diabetes, it can also make it worse over time if you already have it. Great for the heart, lousy for diabetes. 

I have one medication for psoriasis that cost $503 for one tube. When I get down to where I can squeeze no more out, I cut the tube open and get the very last drop. Even though I don't have to pay for it, I am very much aware of how much it cost. It blows my mind. No generic available at this time. I forget how long before a med is allowed to go generic. I am so grateful I don't have to pay for any of my meds. Not even a co-pay.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> There is a good reason he won't put you back on Lipitor. There is a class action suit against it at present. They have found that it can make a patient develop diabetes when they are put on it. I would imagine, that if it can create the diabetes, it can also make it worse over time if you already have it. Great for the heart, lousy for diabetes.



Actually, as a class, most statins have been found to be a risk factor for developing diabetes type 2.  My beef with the statins is they cause me muscle pain and weakness, Lipitor causes me less pain and weakness than the Crestor.  I have not heard of a class action against Lipitor and I read  Medical news daily.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Actually, as a class, most statins have been found to be a risk factor for developing diabetes type 2.  My beef with the statins is they cause me muscle pain and weakness, Lipitor causes me less pain and weakness than the Crestor.  I have not heard of a class action against Lipitor and I read  Medical news daily.



I did a Google search for "lipitor class action lawsuit diabetes." There are lots of general results for various law firm or class member recruiting websites, but when you restrict the search results to news sites only, there are zero results. Makes me think there's a lot of scamming going on.

And of course, medications always involve a cost-benefit analysis.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

We lucked out, Shrek got a phone call from the mail-order pharmacy...they HADN'T shipped yet, the notification e-mail was for something else.  (I never saw the e-mail, just got Shrek's version) Anyway, they called to see if he really wanted it and he was able to cancel the order.  I will help Shrek compose an e-mail to his doc asking him to change the order to as needed, one inhaler at a time...not a 3 month supply.

And the shave biopsy done on his arm turned out to be benign.  Okay, I can start breathing again.


----------



## Andy M.

Good news!  Yea.  

I've been lucky.  Lipitor has not caused me any aches and pains or weakness.  I was on Zocor until my HA.  The cardiologist switched me over.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Good news!  Yea.
> 
> I've been lucky.  Lipitor has not caused me any aches and pains or weakness.  I was on Zocor until my HA.  The cardiologist switched me over.



When I started on Lipitor it was at a lower dose, but then we got to the highest dose and I was starting to feel it, but it was managable with tylenol.  Started the crestor and I've done nothing but complain, finally had to switch to an opioid for pain relief.  When I separated my shoulder, if that's not evidence of muscle weakness then I'm crazy, that was the last straw and I went off the Crestor.  The pain, over the course of a week, disappeared and I could move my arms without pain.

She switched me to just twice a week on the Crestor...the pain isn't as severe as it was, now I only hurt 4 days a week instead of 7.  And I hate taking the narcotic.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> When I started on Lipitor it was at a lower dose, but then we got to the highest dose and I was starting to feel it, but it was managable with tylenol.  Started the crestor and I've done nothing but complain, finally had to switch to an opioid for pain relief.  When I separated my shoulder, if that's not evidence of muscle weakness then I'm crazy, that was the last straw and I went off the Crestor.  The pain, over the course of a week, disappeared and I could move my arms without pain.
> 
> She switched me to just twice a week on the Crestor...the pain isn't as severe as it was, now I only hurt 4 days a week instead of 7.  And I hate taking the narcotic.



That really sucks.


----------



## MrsLMB

Very good and welcome news about Shrek's biopsy !!!

We can all use one less thing to worry about !


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> We lucked out, Shrek got a phone call from the mail-order pharmacy...they HADN'T shipped yet, the notification e-mail was for something else.  (I never saw the e-mail, just got Shrek's version) Anyway, they called to see if he really wanted it and he was able to cancel the order.  I will help Shrek compose an e-mail to his doc asking him to change the order to as needed, one inhaler at a time...not a 3 month supply.
> 
> And the shave biopsy done on his arm turned out to be benign.  Okay, I can start breathing again.


w00t! and woohoo!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ...And the shave biopsy done on his arm turned out to be benign.  Okay, I can start breathing again.


So happy for your good news!  Most of us know the worst "patient" is the one you're married to.


----------



## Dawgluver

Great news, PF & Shrek!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> So happy for your good news!  Most of us know the worst "patient" is the one you're married to.



What slays me is my "patient" won't listen to me.  His doctor always tells him the same thing I have been telling him.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Good news!  Yea.





MrsLMB said:


> Very good and welcome news about Shrek's biopsy !!!
> 
> We can all use one less thing to worry about !





taxlady said:


> w00t! and woohoo!





Cooking Goddess said:


> So happy for your good news!





Dawgluver said:


> Great news, PF & Shrek!



Thanks, folks...it was really eating at me.  The skin cancer part...the meds, while tough, that we can get through.  I would just cut his guitar allowance.


----------



## Addie

Walmart a couple of months ago had those 'glow in the dark' keyboards for 2@$5.00. So he bought six of them. $15.00 total. They are all right to have on hand for "just in case." I am on my third one. I told Spike to take my credit card and head over to Cambridge and Micro Center and get me a good one, because at the rate these glowing ones are going, they are wearing out too fast. (And they do not glow in the dark.) I really didn't expect anything better with them. Even the mouse that comes with the board, wears out real quick. $2.50 for one board and mouse? I's getting my money's worth out of them. But the bad news is that my monitor is also on the way out. So I will have to get a new one soon. And that is not a cheapie! I honestly think the problem is that it gets overheated as I don't turn my 'puter off as often as I should. Right now it is not acting up. Will see what happens.


----------



## GotGarlic

I really hate leaf blowers!! Get a rake and get some exercise!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Leaf Blowers.   You're right GG.  And it seems like every danged homeowner but us has a lawn tractor big enough to cut a freakin' football field...and our lots are 1/2 acre AND heavily wooded.  The guy across the street has a huge mower and fires it up every Saturday before 9:00 AM - whether the grass is growing or not.  A few (jerks) clear-cut their lots, but many of us left what the builder didn't cut.  Bless Himself and his crabbing about doing housework, he still walks behind our self-propelled mower.


----------



## Raspberrymocha55

Hate running errands on a Saturday.  It's chilly so I got up before sunrise to make a raw apple cake and throw a pork roast in the crock.  Spent 3 hours looking for an au gratin recipe that isn't gooey gloppy and overdone.  I am on an au gratin mission... Oops, I digress.  Anyhow, my hubby created a list of errands for me.  I want to read, cook, drink coffee and lounge in my housecoat.   Now, I need to to dress, do my hair/makeup and hit the road.  (2 vehicles, but neither my stepson or my wheelchair bound hubby drive anymore...)  Since retiring, I shop on Tuesdays when we go out of town for hubby's medical visits; he was sick so we didn't go.   Today, I planned to be totally lazy and worthless.  Rats!  I know I need to vacuum ( a daily constant with 23 house cats), but I've already cleaned counters and did dishes. Why can't I be totally worthless and lazy today?  Whine!!!


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> Leaf Blowers.   You're right GG.  And it seems like every danged homeowner but us has a lawn tractor big enough to cut a freakin' football field...and our lots are 1/2 acre AND heavily wooded.  The guy across the street has a huge mower and fires it up every Saturday before 9:00 AM - whether the grass is growing or not.  A few (jerks) clear-cut their lots, but many of us left what the builder didn't cut.  Bless Himself and his crabbing about doing housework, he still walks behind our self-propelled mower.



  One of our neighbors started leaf blowing his lawn at 7:00 am on a Sunday.  Needless to say, he got the wrath of Dawg!  I scared the crap out of him, which was as it should be.


----------



## Addie

I have grass growing right outside my big window. Our maintenance workers start work at 7 a.m. They used to start up the large rider mower as soon as they arrived in the morning. That came to a quick halt!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Maintenance at the facility were told they weren't allowed to start mowing until after breakfast was done.  Folks in the dining rooms could not hear each other talk.  

They mow once a week here, when I was working nights they hired a new company.  I had to call and ask them to pick a day and time.  I can sleep through anything if it's expected.  Heck, Shrek's alarm clock doesn't even wake me up, because I know it's not for me.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

It's very frustrating that my 2 y/o niece has figured out how to lie but isn't quite developed enough to understand what constitutes a lie and why she shouldn't tell them. It makes it much more difficult to teach her not to do it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

IF I suddenly disappear from here it's because I bought a gun and shot my neighbor.   I wish the dogs would train their owner to let them in when they bark...


----------



## Alix

CG I feel your pain. We were so grateful when the two yappy little monsters next door moved away. This summer has been blissfully quiet!

My petty vent - wild rose thorns. OW! Had to pull some twigs out of Murray's bloomers and got a couple stuck in me. Those little beasties are hard to get out.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> IF I suddenly disappear from here it's because I bought a gun and shot my neighbor.   I wish the dogs would train their owner to let them in when they bark...



I know the feeling. I get really annoyed when the poor dog starts whining to be let inside. Hate it when the owners are oblivious.


----------



## MrsLMB

Cooking Goddess said:


> IF I suddenly disappear from here it's because I bought a gun and shot my neighbor.  I wish the dogs would train their owner to let them in when they bark...


 
  I understand EXACTLY how you feel.

We have a neighbor who started out with zero kids and 1 very well behaved dog.  

Over the past 2 years the kids have moved back home and each brought a dog.  

So in this house are living 7 people and 6 dogs.  

Only 1 dog is well behaved, the others - *including the people* - are out of control !  

I hate that we can't open our windows at times because of the dogs barking.  And when they really get to going my 2 begin barking - the big difference is that when I tell my 2 No Barking they know to stop.

I feel your frustration CG.  

Maybe calls to your local police will help.  It really doesn't matter what time of day or night it is, if it is excessive they will approach it as a noise complaint. 

We did that and it did help for a while.  You just have to keep complaining.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

MrsLMB said:


> Maybe calls to your local police will help.  It really doesn't matter what time of day or night it is, if it is excessive they will approach it as a noise complaint.
> 
> We did that and it did help for a while.  You just have to keep complaining.



Oh My MrsL, I'll have to stop complaining about our neighbors!  I'll have to stop and think about how badly YOU have it.  Trust me, in the Bad Neighbors contest you win.  Well in this case, a win is a loss...

We've called the cops, the animal control officer, and given them a copy of the town bylaw that prohibits excessive barking past 20 minutes.  So has the even more put-out neighbor on the other side.  (I say more put-out since the little yapper tends to hang out on their corner of their house and that is where their bedroom is.  The big woof-woof doesn't get as close to our house and we don't have windows facing the side so we aren't as directly in the line of noise.  The neighbors (mostly she) don't talk to us unless they have something to yell at us about.  Another call to the cops will  make our life TOTAL misery here.  I'll wait till our moving van is ready to pull away and THEN...


----------



## Chef Munky

CG?

Could it be you and I have the exact neighbor?
Same thing goes on here. They let the kids scream on end. Dogs yap day & night. How they love to out yell each other. They've been getting the idea lately that when I slam my front window loudly I'm telling them to basically shut up! Rude I know. Mature it isn't. The way I see it if I have to hear you your going to hear me. They've been gradually toning it down some.

Even our sons get annoyed at all the noise from that place. One has been getting even. He idles his big ol' Diesel truck in the driveway a little longer than he normally would. It's parked right next to their bedroom window.

GOOOOOOOD MORNINGGGGGG SUNSHINE'SSSSSS it's 6AM!! 

Have a nice day.

Munky.


----------



## MrsLMB

Chef Munky said:


> GOOOOOOOD MORNINGGGGGG SUNSHINE'SSSSSS it's 6AM!!
> 
> Have a nice day.
> 
> Munky.


 
ROFL !!!  

DH and I were talking this morning that we wish there was a way we could remotely ring their doorbell.  Those dogs all go nuts when their doorbell rings.  We would remotely ring it around ... oh .. say ... 2am, 3 am, 4 am etc.   Don't have a big ole diesel to annoy them with ... got to come up with something !!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Gee, I can't stand it when Patron sits next to me and whines, I have to pick him up and make it stop!  Living next to dogs that barked all the time, I would go postal.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

MrsLMB said:


> ROFL !!!
> 
> DH and I were talking this morning that we wish there was a way we could remotely ring their doorbell.  Those dogs all go nuts when their doorbell rings.  We would remotely ring it around ... oh .. say ... 2am, 3 am, 4 am etc.   Don't have a big ole diesel to annoy them with ... got to come up with something !!!


I have an older Dodge 3000 diesel that I won't need until we pull our boat out of the water at the end of October. Ohio isn't that far.....it needs a good warm up in the morning.....about 15 min. It smokes like crazy for about the first 30 minutes.......would it do?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chef Munky said:


> CG?
> 
> Could it be you and I have the exact neighbor?
> Same thing goes on here. They let the kids scream on end. Dogs yap day & night. How they love to out yell each other....
> 
> Even our sons get annoyed at all the noise from that place. One has been getting even. He idles his big ol' Diesel truck in the driveway a little longer than he normally would. It's parked right next to their bedroom window...


Not the same neighbors..."my" Mom has kids better behaved than she is.  Plus her husband doesn't get much of a chance to yell back, if you get my drift...

AND this neighbor used to have TWO diesel big box trucks that he would park in front - the one closer to our driveway was the one that worked, the other was broken down.  They were parked in such a way and our houses are on a bit of a curve so that both Himself and I darn near got T-boned a couple of times just trying to get out of our driveway.  Then the nice neighbor across the street noticed that the broken truck didn't have a plate...called the police   ...truck was removed...



MrsLMB said:


> DH and I were talking this morning that we wish there was a way we could remotely ring their doorbell.  Those dogs all go nuts when their doorbell rings.  We would remotely ring it around ... oh .. say ... 2am, 3 am, 4 am etc.   Don't have a big ole diesel to annoy them with ... got to come up with something !!!


Can't think of a way to rig their doorbell, but would a speaker hidden in their bushes help?  You could always use a wireless one and play the sound of a doorbell ringing via remote.  Don't know exactly what you would need to do to make it work, but I bet it could be done.  I've been sorely tempted to put a large speaker off the back corner of the house that's activated by sound - every time the dogs back the Ohio State Fight Song blasts away in the direction of their house!   *sigh* Sometime just thinking these things makes me a little happier.


----------



## MrsLMB

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> I have an older Dodge 3000 diesel that I won't need until we pull our boat out of the water at the end of October. Ohio isn't that far.....it needs a good warm up in the morning.....about 15 min. It smokes like crazy for about the first 30 minutes.......would it do?


 
LOL Yeah that would help - expecially the smoking part !!! 

Only problem is they are diagonal across my back yard. Let me check with the people who are next door to them LOL



Cooking Goddess said:


> Can't think of a way to rig their doorbell, but would a speaker hidden in their bushes help? You could always use a wireless one and play the sound of a doorbell ringing via remote. Don't know exactly what you would need to do to make it work, but I bet it could be done. I've been sorely tempted to put a large speaker off the back corner of the house that's activated by sound - every time the dogs back the Ohio State Fight Song blasts away in the direction of their house!  *sigh* Sometime just thinking these things makes me a little happier.


 
Hmmm ... maybe a canon blast !!! 

Reminds me of a few summers ago when we had to put a walkie talkie inside the bird feeder.

The squirrels kept getting into it and eating all the bird food. 

We would fill the feeder and halfway through filling it we would put in a walkie talkie, then finish filling it.

We would wait until they were happily munching away then yell into the walkie talkie .. OMG now THAT'S the way you make a squirrel run 

And did you know that squirrels can actually scream


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> Hmmm ... maybe a canon blast !!!
> 
> Reminds me of a few summers ago when we had to put a walkie talkie inside the bird feeder.
> 
> The squirrels kept getting into it and eating all the bird food.
> 
> We would fill the feeder and halfway through filling it we would put in a walkie talkie, then finish filling it.
> 
> We would wait until they were happily munching away then yell into the walkie talkie .. OMG now THAT'S the way you make a squirrel run
> 
> And did you know that squirrels can actually scream




Okay, officially on the floor... that is hysterical!!!


----------



## bakechef

MrsLMB said:


> Reminds me of a few summers ago when we had to put a walkie talkie inside the bird feeder.
> 
> The squirrels kept getting into it and eating all the bird food.
> 
> We would fill the feeder and halfway through filling it we would put in a walkie talkie, then finish filling it.
> 
> We would wait until they were happily munching away then yell into the walkie talkie .. OMG now THAT'S the way you make a squirrel run
> 
> And did you know that squirrels can actually scream


I really want to try that!  Although I think one of our squirrels is brain damaged, and that would be really mean...


----------



## Chef Munky

Insurance Co's. GAH!!!!!!!!

We just found out after all these years thisclose to retirement. That we have a week to provide a copy of our marriage certificate,birth certificates to our existing health insurance company.IF we still want to keep our insurance. Are they stuck on stupid? They've never asked before.

They can't even provide decent, timely authorization for home medical equipment. I declined it as a precaution of the out of pocket money I'd have to pay.
I'm now thinking of cancelling it all. Better off seeking out a vet. They don't require insurance yet. You know what they say. Good enough for my dog. Good enough for me.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Munky, that's terrible notice!  How much you want to bet that this has been in the ACA for the last, what, four years?  And they just realized they didn't do something they needed to do?  Either that, or it took four years to read through that 2000+ page document. :erm:

We just got a bill from the provider for Himself's lab work five months ago!  The appointment was about five weeks before COBRA ended.  I figured by the time the bill went from the lab to the insurance company, then the insurance company got around to processing the claim, the policy had ended and we were no longer insured on that plan.  They probably fought over whether or not they had to pay.  Fortunately for us, the bill that showed up today is only for our part.  *phew*  Hope you have the same kind of happy results when your problem is resolved.  Good luck.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I've had it with the corruption of the word "guest".   Disney invites "Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest".  Target says "I can help the next guest".  Many hotels call the help department "Guest Services".  And yet the people still expect me to PAY!   Do they not know the meaning of the word "guest"?

*NOUN:*
a person who is entertained, taken out to eat, etc, and paid for by another

I'm a customer.  Customers have to pay their own way.  Just calls it like I sees it, OK?  Otherwise I'll start refusing to pay my bills.


----------



## Addie

kadesma said:


> We signed up for do not call. Did or does that stop them NOPE so I ask them to take me off the call list most do but there are several who keep trying but my phone shows me who is calling so I just let it ring then they stop for several days and then come back ICKKKKK
> kades



It depends on the mood I am in. Sometimes I will answer and play with them. Let them give me their spiel, let them think I am really interested and then when they start to want the financial information, I tell them I don't have control over my money. I will have to contact the bank and ask them for permission. CLICK! How Rude! Other times I just hang up in the middle of their speech.


----------



## Addie

*Downsizing to the extreme*

Okay, I can understand losing an ounce here and there in can goods, cake mixes, etc. But today it was ridiculous. 

I bought a box of book matches to keep on hand for candles, in case my lighter went dry at an inopportune moment. The matches are almost half the size they used to be. They are so short that you could easily get burned by them burning faster than you can use the light. I feel like I have a child's toy in my hand.


----------



## Hoot

The last matches I bought that were any good are the Diamond GreenLight matches.
Most others go out before I can get a candle lit, and Lord help you if there is any breeze at all.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...in case my lighter went dry at an inopportune moment...





You could just keep a backup lighter.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I keep Q lighters with the long nozzle for candles.  I have several boxes of waterproof emergency matches that are not touched, unless there IS an emergency.


----------



## Addie

Hoot said:


> The last matches I bought that were any good are the Diamond GreenLight matches.
> Most others go out before I can get a candle lit, and Lord help you if there is any breeze at all.



I would have been better off buying stick kitchen matches.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> You could just keep a backup lighter.



I had three of them last Friday. They all decided to go dry today.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I keep Q lighters with the long nozzle for candles.  I have several boxes of waterproof emergency matches that are not touched, unless there IS an emergency.



I haven't seen one of them in the stores lately. Or maybe I looked right past them. Since I don't BBQ, I am not in that aisle as a rule. Will have to see if I can find one.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I keep Q lighters with the long nozzle for candles.  I have several boxes of waterproof emergency matches that are not touched, unless there IS an emergency.


We have a couple of those long nozzle lighters. We use them for lighting candles. No more burnt fingers.

I should get some wooden matches and waterproof them. Thanks for the reminder.

I get my long nozzle lighters at Dollarama.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> We have a couple of those long nozzle lighters. We use them for lighting candles. No more burnt fingers.
> 
> I should get some wooden matches and waterproof them. Thanks for the reminder.
> 
> I get my long nozzle lighters at Dollarama.



In season, long nozzle lighters are cheap and everywhere.  I bought my last one in the supermarket.  They are the best option for lighting candles. as it's easier to reach into tall candles in glass holders, etc.  I use mine to start my charcoal starter.


----------



## Addie

When we had the wood burning stove, my mother always had the wooden stick matches hanging on the wall in the holder. Just so many would fall into the little curved tray at the bottom. It had a striker on the side. It was red with flowers on the front.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I would have been better off buying stick kitchen matches.


Just try and find them Addie.  The last time I looked a couple years back I couldn't find them at any store I checked.  I figured that they went bye-bye when gas stoves stopped having a constantly burning pilot light.

****

Another vent about our neighbors-from-hell.  We had a nice stack of firewood.  All split, with a big pile of cut logs further back in the woods, sitting there from when we had a tree removed a year or two ago.  We use our fireplace pretty regularly in the winter, but certainly not ever day.  Well, unless there is a power outage.  Three years ago our firewood was an absolute Godsend because we kept the house liveable.  Well Himself was out back when the guy next door asked about the wood.  Himself told this neighbor that he could have "some".  Next thing I know half the newer (uncovered) wood is gone!  I saw the neighbor and told him that I wanted to keep the split wood for ourselves, especially since we had paid to have it split, and that he could use the logs that still needed splitting.  After all, he's half our age with a teenaged son.  Plenty of young muscle.  Well...I look out the window at the woodpile on Friday and it's almost gone!  If we're really careful we might have enough for the holidays.  But in all likelihood Himself is going to need to split the whole logs since jerkneighbor decided he was above splitting wood.  I swear there are people you can not be a little bit nice to because then they take full advantage of you being generous.

Oh, and I moved his wheelbarrow over by his deck.  It had been sitting just inside our property line.  Guess he didn't want to carry a few logs to their fire ring.


----------



## Addie

My supermarket has the kitchen matches. But you have to buy three of them at a time. They are wrapped as one package. And you also can buy the little boxes of stick matches for cigar smokers. They come 12 to a package. I should get some to see they have been shortened or have less to a box now.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Just try and find them Addie.  The last time I looked a couple years back I couldn't find them at any store I checked.  I figured that they went bye-bye when gas stoves stopped having a constantly burning pilot light.
> ****
> Another vent about our neighbors-from-hell.  We had a nice stack of firewood.  All split, with a big pile of cut logs further back in the woods, sitting there from when we had a tree removed a year or two ago.  We use our fireplace pretty regularly in the winter, but certainly not ever day.  Well, unless there is a power outage.  Three years ago our firewood was an absolute Godsend because we kept the house liveable.  Well Himself was out back when the guy next door asked about the wood.  Himself told this neighbor that he could have "some".  Next thing I know half the newer (uncovered) wood is gone!  I saw the neighbor and told him that I wanted to keep the split wood for ourselves, especially since we had paid to have it split, and that he could use the logs that still needed splitting.  After all, he's half our age with a teenaged son.  Plenty of young muscle.  Well...I look out the window at the woodpile on Friday and it's almost gone!  If we're really careful we might have enough for the holidays.  But in all likelihood Himself is going to need to split the whole logs since jerkneighbor decided he was above splitting wood.  I swear there are people you can not be a little bit nice to because then they take full advantage of you being generous.
> Oh, and I moved his wheelbarrow over by his deck.  It had been sitting just inside our property line.  Guess he didn't want to carry a few logs to their fire ring.



Time to put up a fence to get the message to him. You were more generous than I would have been. My answer would have been a resounding "No. I need it to heat my home in the winter." Sometimes a little white fib is needed.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself was the generous one, I asked them to take less - they're just ignorant and rude.  And I am *not* spending money for a fence since I hope we are gone sometime next year.  Instead....I took the landscape ties that the wood had been resting on and formed a little barrier so they can't get to the split wood.  I'll move the wood along side the house tomorrow with a sign over it saying "MINE!"  Maybe some well-placed bungie straps holding the tarp down. 

Hmm, maybe I should look for a fenced lot when we buy our next house.  Just in case.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Himself was the generous one, I asked them to take less - they're just ignorant and rude.  And I am *not* spending money for a fence since I hope we are gone sometime next year.  Instead....I took the landscape ties that the wood had been resting on and formed a little barrier so they can't get to the split wood.  I'll move the wood along side the house tomorrow with a sign over it saying "MINE!"  Maybe some well-placed bungie straps holding the tarp down.
> 
> Hmm, maybe I should look for a fenced lot when we buy our next house.  Just in case.



Let them know that the rest of the wood is yours, no more sharing.  It's time they make or buy their own. And Himself has to go along with it.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> Himself was the generous one, I asked them to take less - they're just ignorant and rude.  And I am *not* spending money for a fence since I hope we are gone sometime next year.  Instead....I took the landscape ties that the wood had been resting on and formed a little barrier so they can't get to the split wood.  I'll move the wood along side the house tomorrow with a sign over it saying "MINE!"  Maybe some well-placed bungie straps holding the tarp down.
> 
> Hmm, maybe I should look for a fenced lot when we buy our next house.  Just in case.



*HIS* and *HERS* woodpiles!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Let them know that the rest of the wood is yours, no more sharing.  It's time they make or buy their own. And Himself has to go along with it.


Heck, you should tell them you want the split would back. You told him not to take the split would. What an inconsiderate greedy bugger.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks for all the nice words about our less than neighborly neighbors.  I'll think of all your positive comments as I secure the hell out of what is left!  AND since Himself was so nice he has the pleasure of splitting the full logs in the back.  THAT will teach him to be generous again - the braniac guy hates physical labor.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Well this morning I went out to see what the new insurance exchanges  look like and do some shopping, the website doesn't function properly, I  called the help line and listened to hold information for 20 minutes, a nice young lady explained that the website is not functioning  properly and I should check ever hour or so to see if it is working.   I'm not surprised, I'm sort of disappointed.


----------



## roadfix

^^^  Same here, the California website has been bogged with heavy traffic.  Totally useless and a waste of my time.  I will attempt to enroll in the middle of the night.


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> Well this morning I went out to see what the new insurance exchanges  look like and do some shopping, the website doesn't function properly, I  called the help line and listened to hold information for 20 minutes, a nice young lady explained that the website is not functioning  properly and I should check ever hour or so to see if it is working.   I'm not surprised, I'm sort of disappointed.





roadfix said:


> ^^^  Same here, the California website has been bogged with heavy traffic.  Totally useless and a waste of my time.  I will attempt to enroll in the middle of the night.


Okay, what are you guys talking about? Is it something to do with the new health insurance in the US?


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Okay, what are you guys talking about? Is it something to do with the new health insurance in the US?



Yes. The new health insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, opened for enrollment today. The website is supposed to allow people to view the options and costs in their states and enroll. 

The new law is designed to cover people who don't already have health insurance through another source, such as a job or another government program like Medicare or the Veterans Administration. 

We have insurance through DH's job, so I won't bog down the sites by looking out of curiosity


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> Okay, what are you guys talking about? Is it something to do with the new health insurance in the US?



Yes, the websites for the new ObamaCare Health Insurance.  

The New York site has had several million hits and is down, very frustrating.

I'm hoping I can check it out at 3 or 4 am.  I need to try and figure it out before the re-enrollment period is up for my current insurance plan.

I hate change!


----------



## Andy M.

Same in MA.  Can't get onto the site.


----------



## roadfix

Well, at least I was able to get in and create an account with password and all....something which normally takes like 2 minutes took me close to an hour to accomplish as each page took several minutes to load.  I'll fill out the application in the middle of the night.


----------



## GotGarlic

I doubt there are many websites that can handle hundreds of thousands or millions of hits at once.


----------



## MrsLMB

Stink Bugs !!!

They are soooooooo bad here already. 
I can't stand these things and they are everywhere.


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB said:


> Stink Bugs !!!
> 
> They are soooooooo bad here already.
> I can't stand these things and they are everywhere.


I saw one on my oregano today and wondered what it was.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Arrgh, pretentious snobbery is all over my Facebook feed today!


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> I saw one on my oregano today and wondered what it was.


Three of our zucchini plants were infested with them. Hate the darned things. If you look under the leaves, you will see little amber beads. These are the eggs. Get rid of them and squish the bugs the best you can.


----------



## GotGarlic

CWS4322 said:


> Three of our zucchini plants were infested with them. Hate the darned things. If you look under the leaves, you will see little amber beads. These are the eggs. Get rid of them and squish the bugs the best you can.



They got on my tomatoes last year. You can also spray with insecticidal soap and it might help to plant alliums (onions and garlic) and marigolds nearby as they produce substances that many pests don't like.


----------



## GotGarlic

Arrrgghh! I'm trying to get nutrition information to add dried beans to my Living Cookbook software and all the government sites are down! crap.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

GotGarlic said:


> Arrrgghh! I'm trying to get nutrition information to add dried beans to my Living Cookbook software and all the government sites are down! crap.


 
Would this help you GG?
Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Beans, kidney, mature seeds, sprouted, raw


----------



## GotGarlic

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Would this help you GG?
> Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Beans, kidney, mature seeds, sprouted, raw



Thank you  I used another site that seems to have the same info. But thanks for the help.


----------



## taxlady

Aargh,  my phone hopped in the toilet. It's sitting in a plastic container of  uncooked rice, in an attempt to dry it.    At least it was before I sat down.

Does anyone know if brown rice works of if I should dash out and buy some white rice?


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Aargh,  my phone hopped in the toilet. It's sitting in a plastic container of  uncooked rice, in an attempt to dry it.    At least it was before I sat down.
> 
> Does anyone know if brown rice works of if I should dash out and buy some white rice?



This makes sense:  http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/tips/4269047

Any rice should work.  Did you take the battery out?  

I knew there was a reason I always save those antidessicant packets.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Aargh,  my phone hopped in the toilet. It's sitting in a plastic container of  uncooked rice, in an attempt to dry it.    At least it was before I sat down.
> 
> Does anyone know if brown rice works of if I should dash out and buy some white rice?



Bummer! I don't know for sure, but I would think it would work the same. They're both dry so they would absorb the moisture.


----------



## taxlady

Thanks for the replies.



Dawgluver said:


> This makes sense:  How to Dry Out a Cell Phone - Fix a Wet Cell Phone - Popular Mechanics
> 
> Any rice should work.  Did you take the battery out?
> 
> I knew there was a reason I always save those antidessicant packets.


Yup, took out the battery and the SIM card. They are in the plastic container, buried in the rice too.

Thanks for the link. I already read that one.


GotGarlic said:


> Bummer! I don't know for sure, but I would think it would work the same. They're both dry so they would absorb the moisture.


That's what I'm hoping. I have a friend who uses moisture sensitive hearing aids and he puts them in brown rice over night and hasn't had any problems with moisture since.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> 
> Yup, took out the battery and the SIM card. They are in the plastic container, buried in the rice too.
> 
> Thanks for the link. I already read that one.
> 
> That's what I'm hoping. I have a friend who uses moisture sensitive hearing aids and he puts them in brown rice over night and hasn't had any problems with moisture since.


Mine fell in Horse's water bucket and never recovered. Fortunately it was cheap pay-as-you-go one as I have a history with lost and trodden on mobile phones.


----------



## taxlady

Woohoo! Phone seems to working fine now.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Woohoo! Phone seems to working fine now.



Yay!!


----------



## Somebunny

taxlady said:


> Woohoo! Phone seems to working fine now.



You are so lucky Taxlady!  My I phone went for a swim in the toilet last year and it never recovered even though I took out the battery and sun card and plunged all into rice immediately!   Mine fell out of my back pocket after my "sit down"  :0


----------



## taxlady

Somebunny said:


> You are so lucky Taxlady!  My I phone went for a swim in the toilet last year and it never recovered even though I took out the battery and sun card and plunged all into rice immediately!   Mine fell out of my back pocket after my "sit down"  :0


Bummer. I have been told that you should flush (no pun intended) the phone with alcohol and then put it in the rice. If it goes in salt water or chlorinated water, flush with distilled water, then alcohol, then rice.


----------



## GotGarlic

I've seen people walking around with phones in their back pockets and it always struck me as extremely risky. It could easily fall out when sitting down anywhere, or be stolen - pickpockets are very good at what they do.

I have a Hip Klip I wear when my phone is not in my purse: Hip Klip


----------



## roadfix

Phone in the back pocket I think is more of a fashion statement to many, both men and women.  Couple of my co-workers, both women, carry their Iphones in their back pockets of their jeans.  I think they look cool.


----------



## Dawgluver

My iPhone gets buried in my purse.  When it rings, I have to do a frantic scramble and root, and when I finally find it, the ringing has stopped, and I have to call the person back.  Need to find a better system.

I do love my Sci Fi ring tone though.  Nice and eery.


----------



## Somebunny

roadfix said:


> Phone in the back pocket I think is more of a fashion statement to many, both men and women.  Couple of my co-workers, both women, carry their Iphones in their back pockets of their jeans.  I think they look cool.



Lol!  I don't do it to look cool, I usually only use my back pocket around the house, as my daughter texts me on and off all weekend. I sometimes do it on casual days at work if I have to run around to different parts if the building and am expecting an important call. Believe me I learned my lesson and always remember to take it out of my pocket  before visiting the Biffy. 

GG, the Hip Klip is a neat idea, but I'm not sure I would feel much safer using it when traveling.  I would hate to be standing there in my    Underoos after a thief tried to yank it off my hip.


----------



## GotGarlic

Somebunny said:


> Lol!  I don't do it to look cool, I usually only use my back pocket around the house, as my daughter texts me on and off all weekend. I sometimes do it on casual days at work if I have to run around to different parts if the building and am expecting an important call. Believe me I learned my lesson and always remember to take it out of my pocket  before visiting the Biffy.
> 
> GG, the Hip Klip is a neat idea, but I'm not sure I would feel much safer using it when traveling.  I would hate to be standing there in my Underoos after a thief tried to yank it off my hip.



I don't use it when traveling, or shopping, usually. My purse has a slot for my phone. I do bring it with me when I travel, though. I use it when I'm in the house or the yard or the porch or volunteering...  I always have it with me, so I can answer it or look something up whenever I want, but I don't have to worry about leaving it somewhere. 

I'm not surprised that a guy would like something that draws attention to women's derrieres  That doesn't make it a fashion statement, though. I think it's just easy and thoughtless. 

I have a friend whose 20-something daughter ruined a phone because she had a habit of laying it across the top of a glass of water. No one knows why. Of course it fell in one day. Thoughtless.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Phone in the back pocket I think is more of a fashion statement to many, both men and women.  Couple of my co-workers, both women, carry their Iphones in their back pockets of their jeans.  I think they look cool.



It is cool as long as it doesn't fall out or a pickpocket doesn't lift it. Then how cool is it? And the reason for the back  pocket is not necessarily for statement making, but try sitting with your phone in your front pocket of your jeans. I am not interested in being or looking cool. I am interested in common sense and protecting my belongings that are expensive to replace.


----------



## Addie

I have to carry my purse as I have a vial of nitro spray that I carry around all the time. I have a small pocket on the front of my purse that my phone goes into all the time. I have it set on vibe as well as loud ring. But I love the Hip Klip. Sent the site to my daughter. She is always and forever searching for her phone. And If I get the larger one, I can fit the small vial in it along with some cash, my ID and my phone. Thank you for the info. Great friends here and I luv every one of you. Makes my life so much easier.


----------



## Andy M.

I'm not what anyone would call petite.  If I sat down with a smartphone in my back pocket, it wouldn't survive.


----------



## roadfix

GotGarlic said:


> I'm not surprised that a guy would like something that draws attention to women's derrieres



Oh.  I should have added in my post that I also see many male clients that come in to my shop with their Iphones in their rear jeans pockets.  They look cool too, and I'm not into butts.  ))


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I have to carry my purse as I have a vial of nitro spray that I carry around all the time. I have a small pocket on the front of my purse that my phone goes into all the time. I have it set on vibe as well as loud ring. But I love the Hip Klip. Sent the site to my daughter. She is always and forever searching for her phone. And If I get the larger one, I can fit the small vial in it along with some cash, my ID and my phone. Thank you for the info. Great friends here and I luv every one of you. Makes my life so much easier.



Glad to be of help  When I was working and helped out with events, it was really nice to have my phone and keys with me and leave my purse locked in my car. And of course, now my phone goes with me everywhere.


----------



## Addie

I have a Big Shirt with a pocket on the breast. I used to wear it only when I was flying. Easy to keep my ID in there and grab it. Now it would be good to carry my cell in also as the pocket has a button on it. So the phone won't fall out. Will have to drag it out and start wearing it again this winter since I no longer fly or travel. But I am opting for the Hip Klip also.


----------



## Dawgluver

I stuff mine down the front of my sports bra when I walk Beagle.  With earbuds, so I look like an alien.


----------



## taxlady

I had my phone in this, on my shoulder, across my chest, when it hopped into the toilet. That's the phone, in its case, in the whatever-you-call it.


----------



## roadfix

This old geezer keeps his phone in his cargo shorts front pocket.  I don't seem to look cool no matter where I keep my phone, including the rear pocket.  ))


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> This old geezer keeps his phone in his cargo shorts front pocket.  I don't seem to look cool no matter where I keep my phone, including the rear pocket.  ))


Cargo pockets, that's what I need. I vaguely remember that somewhere, I have a skirt with cargo pockets.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> This old geezer keeps his phone in his cargo shorts front pocket.  I don't seem to look cool no matter where I keep my phone, including the rear pocket.  ))



What is so cool about having a square bump on your backside? It looks like you have a hideous tumor.


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> What is so cool about having a square bump on your backside? It looks like you have a hideous tumor.


Perhaps it's just a LA thing......people are weird out here.....


----------



## Andy M.

Back when phones were just flip, before they got smart, you could often find a pocket sewn into a pair of shorts, jacket, etc. But now the phones are too big for a dedicated pocket.


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> Cargo pockets, that's what I need. I vaguely remember that somewhere, I have a skirt with cargo pockets.


They are perfect for those hugely oversized Android phones....


----------



## Addie

I am beginning to get uptight. I have to go for an ultrasound Friday morning on my neck. It is to check the blockage that has been there for years. It is to keep an eye on it incase it has gotten worse. If it has, then I will have to have surgery to remove that part of the artery and a synthetic piece replace it. Oh Joy! So much to look forward to. I hate getting the ultra sounds. I have to lay there for an hour and not move. Here's hoping I don't have to make a quick trip to the outhouse.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I am beginning to get uptight. I have to go for an ultrasound Friday morning on my neck. It is to check the blockage that has been there for years. It is to keep an eye on it incase it has gotten worse. If it has, then I will have to have surgery to remove that part of the artery and a synthetic piece replace it. Oh Joy! So much to look forward to. I hate getting the ultra sounds. I have to lay there for an hour and not move. Here's hoping I don't have to make a quick trip to the outhouse.



I have a hard time with it because I want to watch...drives the techs crazy.  And some of them don't understand why I insist on seeing my mammograms...well duh...I'm the one who is going to spot a difference, they see 20 of them a day, I see mine once a year and boy howdy do I have them mammorized!!!


----------



## roadfix

Our health insurance exchange website is a joke.  They should have hired a web guy who knew what they were doing to design and run the site.  The site has been up only intermittently since day one and still, many links are not operational.  Their Facebook page is full of frustrated individuals who can't log on or with incomplete applications.
At least my application is pending now...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have a hard time with it because I want to watch...drives the techs crazy.  And some of them don't understand why I insist on seeing my mammograms...well duh...I'm the one who is going to spot a difference, they see 20 of them a day, I see mine once a year and boy howdy do I have them mammorized!!!



I too like to watch. When I had to have some hand surgery done, I had a local and made them take down the screen so I could watch. Little did they realize that blood and gore only fascinates me. 

I am going for my mammogram in a week or so. I haven't had one for more than ten years. But I am always doing the lump check. More often than the average person. I asked to go for one. Up to now I have always said "No". There is no cancer in our family. Even going back several generations. Heart and diabetes are the diseases of our family. But the glands at the side of one breast is bothering me. My primary couldn't find any lump. I do know if there is anything even suspicious, take them both off. I don't want to wait until there is. My baby days are over and I have no need for them. Now days, they do the reconstructive surgery right there after the removal. They save the nipple and give you a size B cup. I can go for that. Its better than a D cup any day. Blouses fit much better.


----------



## Dawgluver

Put me on the "I like to watch" list too.  Years ago, I had an angiogram, and it was cool to watch the final dye squirt.  I actually felt it too, but it was neat to see it on the screen.


----------



## taxlady

I want to see everything they do, even needles in my veins.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My Mammogram is on the 21st...I'm so happy I still have something to check, even after the two lumpectomies.  I was disappointed I didn't get to pick my own...


----------



## Addie

I am an active participant in my care. I ask questions and the staff quickly learns that I am not stupid and am the kind of patient that want to know why and what should the results be. If the enemy is my bad health, then I want to know. I can't fight my enemy if I don't know what it is.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm just a nosy nurse...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have a hard time with it because I want to watch...drives the techs crazy....!


My BIL insisted on staying awake during his...colonoscopy.    When the rest of us went he tried talking each of us to go at it wide awake.  My SIL kept reminding him what a bad idea he thought it was right after she got him after his procedure.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I too like to watch. ....I am going for my mammogram in a week or so. I haven't had one for more than ten years. But I am always doing the lump chec..... if there is anything even suspicious, take them both off. I don't want to wait until there is. My baby days are over and I have no need for them. Now days, they do the reconstructive surgery right there after the removal. They save the nipple and give you a size B cup. I can go for that. Its better than a D cup any day. Blouses fit much better.


The sad thing is, even without surgery I look like I've had breast removal surgery.   Even now I have no need for a bra to hold The Girls up - I wear sport camisoles all the time!  62 and I never outgrew undershirts...





			
				Addie said:
			
		

> I am an active participant in my care


That's smart, it's the way it should be Addie.  The best health care plan is by taking care of yourself.


----------



## Aunt Bea

roadfix said:


> Our health insurance exchange website is a joke.  They should have hired a web guy who knew what they were doing to design and run the site.  The site has been up only intermittently since day one and still, many links are not operational.  Their Facebook page is full of frustrated individuals who can't log on or with incomplete applications.
> At least my application is pending now...



Same in New York.

It's getting better and the people I speak to are helpful.

Don't make yourself sick over it!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> My BIL insisted on staying awake during his...colonoscopy.    When the rest of us went he tried talking each of us to go at it wide awake.  My SIL kept reminding him what a bad idea he thought it was right after she got him after his procedure.



Oh no, I slept through my colonoscopy...and my heart caths.  But using ultrasound it's fun to watch your heart doing the Mambo!


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> My BIL insisted on staying awake during his...colonoscopy.    When the rest of us went he tried talking each of us to go at it wide awake.  My SIL kept reminding him what a bad idea he thought it was right after she got him after his procedure.



I advise everyone to sleep through a colonoscopy. I used to have a doctor who didn't put me out for it. Used to.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> I advise everyone to sleep through a colonoscopy. I used to have a doctor who didn't put me out for it. Used to.



Shrek's IV infiltrated with all the "good" medicine going into the tissue of his  arm instead of throughout his system.  He was not only awake, but felt the entire procedure.  Once I got him home the meds then started to take effect and he slept for 6 hours, with me hovering over him the entire time.  

I wish I had caught it sooner, but I didn't see Shrek until he was in recovery and I then told the nurse there his IV had infiltrated...she hadn't even noticed.  He has very vivid memories of the pain and procedure.  Thank goodness they didn't find anything, I don't think I will be getting him back for another if he needs it.


----------



## Zhizara

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh no, I slept through my colonoscopy...and my heart caths.  But using ultrasound it's fun to watch your heart doing the Mambo!




Yes, it was!  I just had an ultrasound where she checked my heart out thoroughly.  It was kind of reassuring to see it doing it's "mambo".


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek's IV infiltrated with all the "good" medicine going into the tissue of his  arm instead of throughout his system.  He was not only awake, but felt the entire procedure.  Once I got him home the meds then started to take effect and he slept for 6 hours, with me hovering over him the entire time.
> 
> I wish I had caught it sooner, but I didn't see Shrek until he was in recovery and I then told the nurse there his IV had infiltrated...she hadn't even noticed.  He has very vivid memories of the pain and procedure.  Thank goodness they didn't find anything, I don't think I will be getting him back for another if he needs it.



Oh, jeez, that's awful. Poor Shrek.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek's IV infiltrated with all the "good" medicine going into the tissue of his  arm instead of throughout his system.  He was not only awake, but felt the entire procedure.  Once I got him home the meds then started to take effect and he slept for 6 hours, with me hovering over him the entire time.
> 
> I wish I had caught it sooner, but I didn't see Shrek until he was in recovery and I then told the nurse there his IV had infiltrated...she hadn't even noticed.  He has very vivid memories of the pain and procedure.  Thank goodness they didn't find anything, I don't think I will be getting him back for another if he needs it.



That really stinks.  It would be a guarantee that was my last colonoscopy.  I sleep through mine and that's the way I like it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh no, I slept through my colonoscopy...and my heart caths.  But using ultrasound it's fun to watch your heart doing the Mambo!


Yup, watching the ultrasound is fun.  Pain-inflicting procedures - not so much.  

Ages ago, when I was pregnant, my OB examined and questioned and computed that my delivery date was in January.  I told him it couldn't be, I was due around Feb. 22nd.  He was a dear doctor but he tried pulling the "med school" card on me.  I told him I KNEW when I was due because Himself travelled a lot for work and there were only so many chances for us to get together and I unless he was in our room watching he didn't know exactly when I got pregnant.  I KNEW since I was there!   When he asked "do twins run in your family?"  I said "nope, none".  He said he would like for me to go for an ultrasound before my next visit.  Well OK, no problem there, right?  Good thing the Tech let Himself stay in the room during the procedure because everything was going swimmingly...until the Tech "well there's a head, and a leg...and another head".  ANOTHER head!   When I asked if he was sure his reply?  "Well, there might be a third in there I can't see."  NOT the right answer.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Yup, watching the ultrasound is fun.  Pain-inflicting procedures - not so much.
> 
> Ages ago, when I was pregnant, my OB examined and questioned and computed that my delivery date was in January.  I told him it couldn't be, I was due around Feb. 22nd.  He was a dear doctor but he tried pulling the "med school" card on me.  I told him I KNEW when I was due because Himself travelled a lot for work and there were only so many chances for us to get together and I unless he was in our room watching he didn't know exactly when I got pregnant.  I KNEW since I was there!   When he asked "do twins run in your family?"  I said "nope, none".  He said he would like for me to go for an ultrasound before my next visit.  Well OK, no problem there, right?  Good thing the Tech let Himself stay in the room during the procedure because everything was going swimmingly...until the Tech "well there's a head, and a leg...and another head".  ANOTHER head!   When I asked if he was sure his reply?  "Well, there might be a third in there I can't see."  NOT the right answer.


So, how many babies were there?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Two.  *phew*  Himself always wanted two, but I planned on one at a time.  Guess my mistake was never committing to "do you want a boy or a girl" questions - had one of each.  God has a sense of humor.


----------



## Dawgluver

And, it just gets better.  The neighbor who routinely has taken huge branches out of our pine trees by backing his illegal landscaping equipment into our driveway, and whose guests have taken out our mailbox on several occasions, has done it again.  But this time the wife emailed me tonight,  telling me she backed into our mailbox AGAIN!   It was in poured concrete with extra thick 4x6 posts, but she broke it.   She did say they'll pay to repair it.  They have no money.  Should be fun.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh no, I slept through my colonoscopy...and my heart caths.  But using ultrasound it's fun to watch your heart doing the Mambo!



The good news is that listening to the artery in my neck, it still sounds like there is no new change. So the ultra sound is just part of that dang every six month checkup. Everything gets a review every six months. From blood work on down.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> And, it just gets better.  The neighbor who routinely has taken huge branches out of our pine trees by backing his illegal landscaping equipment into our driveway, and whose guests have taken out our mailbox on several occasions, has done it again.  But this time the wife emailed me tonight,  telling me she backed into our mailbox AGAIN!   It was in poured concrete with extra thick 4x6 posts, but she broke it.   She did say they'll pay to repair it.  They have no money.  Should be fun.



Build a square post. Fill it with concrete, cap it. She won't knock it down again. And the next repair job will be for her car. Next time she will be more careful.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> And, it just gets better.  The neighbor who routinely has taken huge branches out of our pine trees by backing his illegal landscaping equipment into our driveway, and whose guests have taken out our mailbox on several occasions, has done it again.  But this time the wife emailed me tonight,  telling me she backed into our mailbox AGAIN!   It was in poured concrete with extra thick 4x6 posts, but she broke it.   She did say they'll pay to repair it.  They have no money.  Should be fun.



Good grief!  Who the heck gave the driver's licenses???


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Build a square post. Fill it with concrete, cap it. She won't knock it down again. And the next repair job will be for her car. Next time she will be more careful.



  The last time we repaired it, we poured a huge, deep concrete bed.  No-one should have been able to knock it down. DH and our friend, who built things for a living, both said anyone who backs into this will get HURT!  Well, the concrete is hurt.  Too dark right now to see the full extent.

What upsets me most is that I'll have to dig up my beautiful clematis, again, for the third time.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Good grief!  Who the heck gave the driver's licenses???



I feel good that they finally admitted to some of the damage they've done.  Usually they deny everything, and get really defensive.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> The good news is that listening to the artery in my neck, it still sounds like there is no new change. So the ultra sound is just part of that dang every six month checkup. Everything gets a review every six months. From blood work on down.


Good news indeed Addie!  Glad to hear it.  And you shouldn't worry that they do checkups every six months.  That's means you're still here.  After all, they can't do a checkup on a dead person.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> ..... It was in poured concrete with extra thick 4x6 posts, but she broke it....





Addie said:


> Build a square post. Fill it with concrete, cap it. She won't knock it down again....


Forget the concrete.  Secure a stinkin' I-beam in the ground, then wrap it in cedar boards.  Next time they hit it (and from the sound of it there WILL be a "next time" unfortunately) that thing won't budge.  Aw, forget the wood - let that beam serve as a warning to them.  Bwa-ha-ha!


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Forget the concrete.  Secure a stinkin' I-beam in the ground, then wrap it in cedar boards.  Next time they hit it (and from the sound of it there WILL be a "next time" unfortunately) that thing won't budge.  Aw, forget the wood - let that beam serve as a warning to them.  Bwa-ha-ha!


Probably more legal to have the I-beam visible. Then it can't be considered a booby trap.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Good thought taxy.  Lawyers always looking for a job where there isn't any...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sink a giant heavy duty spring into the concrete, put a heavy pointed prow on the front of the mail box.  It could be designed like an old steam locomotive for fun.  They hit it, it bends back, when they pull forward it springs forward, gouging a hole in a window or back end of the car/truck.  Heh!

Where's my coffee, I'm nicer with coffee...


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sink a giant heavy duty spring into the concrete, put a heavy pointed prow on the front of the mail box.  It could be designed like an old steam locomotive for fun.  They hit it, it bends back, when they pull forward it springs forward, gouging a hole in a window or back end of the car/truck.  Heh!
> 
> Where's my coffee, I'm nicer with coffee...




I was thinking of filling the post with explosives...

...but I suppose you could just build the post out of paint cans.  Full paint cans.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I was thinking of filling the post with explosives...
> 
> ...but I suppose you could just build the post out of paint cans.  Full paint cans.




Evil, I like that...but doing more damage to your own yard seems to be counter productive, not to mention deadly for the poor Clematis.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I was thinking of filling the post with explosives...
> 
> ...but I suppose you could just build the post out of paint cans.  Full paint cans.


Explosives would definitely be illegal.


----------



## Dawgluver

I appreciate the creative ideas!  Neighbor had to be backing out at a good clip to even hit the mailbox post, much less dislodge it.  They probably had the trailer attached to the truck, otherwise there would have been no need to back clear across the road, it's a fair distance from their driveway.

As I said, I do appreciate her admission, the other times were hit-and-run.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

ACK!  My mouse died!   I hate despise using the touchpad.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> ACK!  My mouse died!   I hate despise using the touchpad.



Oh, me too!  I put a big sticker over it, but I still manage to tap the darned thing every once in a while and muck things up.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> ACK!  My mouse died!   I hate despise using the touchpad.



Is it wireless? If so check the batteries. Sure works for me.


----------



## Dawgluver

I hate the touchpad!  I take my plug-in mouse everywhere I go.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks for the reminder, I have to dig out my briefcase so I remember to pack everything for my laptop when I got to Helena next month.   I already have my new suitcase sitting out.

Shrek looked at the suitcase and asked if I really needed it since we have others that WE take on trips.  This one is half size and has wheels.  I just looked at him and said, "Guitar?"  He hasn't said another word about it.


----------



## taxlady

I have a wireless USB mouse, but I hardly ever use it. I prefer the touchpad. I got used to it and I don't get repetitive stress wrist inflammation as much from it as from mousing.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Is it wireless? If so check the batteries. Sure works for me.


Addie, for the last few months Mousie has been playing games with me.  It doesn't work, I switch the battery with the previous one, it works for weeks and then...I have to switch the battery.  That didn't work this time so I put a brand-new, never used, good till 2016 battery in the mouse and...nothing.  Did a "devices" check and the computer sees the mouse but it doesn't want to play with the mouse.  Harrumph.  Himself has been all over it and can't get it to work either and he's worked with computers for over 40 years!  He guesses it's a software problem and he'll need the computer for a while.  We have an older wireless model that I don't like but it's probably better than this &%#* touch pad.  I'll make due till we get a new one.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Addie, for the last few months Mousie has been playing games with me.  It doesn't work, I switch the battery with the previous one, it works for weeks and then...I have to switch the battery.  That didn't work this time so I put a brand-new, never used, good till 2016 battery in the mouse and...nothing.  Did a "devices" check and the computer sees the mouse but it doesn't want to play with the mouse.  Harrumph.  Himself has been all over it and can't get it to work either and he's worked with computers for over 40 years!  He guesses it's a software problem and he'll need the computer for a while.  We have an older wireless model that I don't like but it's probably better than this &%#* touch pad.  I'll make due till we get a new one.



I remember you mentioning that Himself was into computers. I am surprised he let it get to this state. A mouse is so cheap. I have new one sitting here that cost the grand sum of ten dollars. It probably won't last long if I ever have to use it. But it is okay for when I will need it in a hurry. I too hate a touch pad. They are not meant for a person with arthritis in their fingers. Bad enough just trying to type. 

I am hard on keyboards. Spike went over to Micro Center and picked up three keyboards when they were on sale. I have gone through two of them already. I learned to type on a 1920 Underwood and you had to hit the keys hard. I never got out of the habit of hard hitting. I can't complain. Spike will fix a problem as soon as he comes in the door if I have one. Only because he used mine to enter all his Second Chance entries. This week he got two of his  prize packages. One from the Bruins and one from the Red Sox. He gave the Bruins to the mailman. He has a ten year old son who is a Bruins fan. Spike wins so often, he is running out of folks to give the stuff to. He does keep the money wins for himself though.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie, much as we like to blame "the guys" it wasn't Himself's fault.  I never really made a fuss until a brand-new, just out of the package battery didn't work.  In the past I'd just switch between two batteries and it would start to work again as soon as I swapped them.  He did a few magic Tech. Guy things with the computer and mouse this evening, rebooted the old mouse and software, and I am thrilled to report there is a Mouse in the House! 

 As you can tell, not a fan of the touch pad.  My problem isn't so much arthritis as the fact that I've done real keyboard typing for decades.  If I don't remember to lock the touch pad before I start to type away at a fast clip my thumb will tap the pad instead of the space bar.  Danged tiny flat keys on this notebook, but it's better than nothing!


----------



## bakechef

I have a Microsoft wireless mouse that is at least 10 years old that still works!  It's been hooked to a computer most of that time and I may have to change the battery once every year and a half (it's on a server computer in the basement and it gets used infrequently).  I'm amazed that it still works!  The receiver is almost as big as the mouse itself, compare that to a modern one that has a receiver the size of your thumbnail.


----------



## Zhizara

i had a optical mouse for awhile, but it was erratic and would go traipsing off on it's own so I just got a plain old plug in mouse and have been happy ever since.


----------



## Andy M.

Touchpad is the way to go.  I barely have to lift a finger.  There's altogether too much movement with a mouse.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Touchpad is the way to go.  I barely have to lift a finger.  There's altogether too much movement with a mouse.


I use touchpad most of the time. Okay, it messes with the typing on occasion, but I can live with that. It is less likely to make my wrist inflamed. My complaint is the buttons on this Toshiba laptop, I have to press the right place on the button to left click. There are parts of that long button that don't work.


----------



## CarolPa

Every month, Verizon sends me an email to tell me that my bill is available online.  Then they send me a text, to tell me that my bill is available online.  Then I get a bill in the mail, which I pay.  

This makes me want to not pay the bill, and when they complain, I will say "I didn't get the bill!"  LOL 

Hopefully, I can call them and ask them to discontinue the email and text.  I have had this phone for 15 years.  I know that I can go online and see my bill.


----------



## CarolPa

Technically, you guys are way out ahead of me!  I barely know what you're talking about!  I just have an old fashioned keyboard with an old fashioned mouse.


----------



## MrsLMB

CarolPa said:


> Every month, Verizon sends me an email to tell me that my bill is available online. Then they send me a text, to tell me that my bill is available online. Then I get a bill in the mail, which I pay.
> 
> This makes me want to not pay the bill, and when they complain, I will say "I didn't get the bill!" LOL
> 
> Hopefully, I can call them and ask them to discontinue the email and text. I have had this phone for 15 years. I know that I can go online and see my bill.


 
Do they not have an option to "go green" ?  They used to and when I signed up for that I no longer got anything other than an email telling me my bill was ready.

There is only 1 bill I get in the mail anymore and that's my water/sewer bill.  They simply have not bothered to go "modern".  You can only pay with cash or a check.


----------



## CarolPa

MrsLMB said:


> Do they not have an option to "go green" ?  They used to and when I signed up for that I no longer got anything other than an email telling me my bill was ready.
> 
> There is only 1 bill I get in the mail anymore and that's my water/sewer bill.  They simply have not bothered to go "modern".  You can only pay with cash or a check.




Yes, they have the "green" option and I'm sure they want me to take that option, but as the above post says, I am behind the times and I pay only by check.


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> Every month, Verizon sends me an email to tell me that my bill is available online.  Then they send me a text, to tell me that my bill is available online.  Then I get a bill in the mail, which I pay.
> 
> This makes me want to not pay the bill, and when they complain, I will say "I didn't get the bill!"  LOL
> 
> Hopefully, I can call them and ask them to discontinue the email and text.  I have had this phone for 15 years.  I know that I can go online and see my bill.



I'm out of contract and that seems to drive them crazy.  At one point they were calling me twice a week to make me a "great offer" all which would make my bill higher and I'd end up with less.  I finally got them to quit calling after giving them an ear full.  I know what's available, I stay up on things and that's why I want to keep my old plan because all of their new plans are more expensive and crap.

They email me to say that my bill is ready, and another email thanking me for my payment (auto pay).


----------



## MrsLMB

bakechef said:


> I'm out of contract and that seems to drive them crazy. At one point they were calling me twice a week to make me a "great offer" all which would make my bill higher and I'd end up with less. I finally got them to quit calling after giving them an ear full. I know what's available, I stay up on things and that's why I want to keep my old plan because all of their new plans are more expensive and crap.
> 
> They email me to say that my bill is ready, and another email thanking me for my payment (auto pay).


 
LOL  yep ... they can't stand it when they don't have control of their customers.

We had Verizon for many years.  And like you, we found their great offers cost us more in the long run.

It took a long time but we finally broke free of them.  It simply was not cost efficient for us to use them any longer. 

Boy that's when they really put the pressure on.

Anyway .. I know they have good coverage, but money is money and they are not the best deal for everyone.


----------



## Addie

We have no choice here. This building is wired for Comcast only. I have gone paperless, so when I get their promotional crap in the mail, I black out the mailing code and my name and write across it, "Return to sender." After sending a couple of these back they stop coming for a couple of months. I hate junk mail. I do this will all junk mail. Even though they get a reduced rate for bulk mailings for postage, it is still expensive to be sending this crap out. By getting it back, they think I have either moved or died. When I got rid of my land line, Verizon called me for the few remaining days until the end of the month when it was to be shut off, they hounded me with phone calls. I return all mail that I don't want, to the sender. They have to pay the postage both ways. And I NEVER sign contracts for anything!


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Addie said:


> We have no choice here. This building is wired for Comcast only. I have gone paperless, so when I get their promotional crap in the mail, I black out the mailing code and my name and write across it, "Return to sender." After sending a couple of these back they stop coming for a couple of months. I hate junk mail. I do this will all junk mail. Even though they get a reduced rate for bulk mailings for postage, it is still expensive to be sending this crap out. By getting it back, they think I have either moved or died. When I got rid of my land line, Verizon called me for the few remaining days until the end of the month when it was to be shut off, they hounded me with phone calls. I return all mail that I don't want, to the sender. They have to pay the postage both ways. And I NEVER sign contracts for anything!



Same here. Our building was wired for Rogers. We had everything else with Bell but were stuck until Bell came out with Fibe TV. It comes through our internet modem. Freedom at last.


----------



## bakechef

MrsLMB said:


> LOL  yep ... they can't stand it when they don't have control of their customers.
> 
> We had Verizon for many years.  And like you, we found their great offers cost us more in the long run.
> 
> It took a long time but we finally broke free of them.  It simply was not cost efficient for us to use them any longer.
> 
> Boy that's when they really put the pressure on.
> 
> Anyway .. I know they have good coverage, but money is money and they are not the best deal for everyone.



We already pay too much with 2 smartphones, but less than any of their "new" and "improved" plans.  Their coverage in this area keeps me with them.  It is nice to know that we can switch at any time.  We buy used phones off ebay to stay out of contract, there are some great deals on gently used phones out there.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> Touchpad is the way to go.  I barely have to lift a finger.  There's altogether too much movement with a mouse.



With a notepad and smaller keys, as a real typist I find the touchpad gets tapped at the most inopportune time.  I have tried disabling/enabling the pad when I type but I had to perform that function too many times.  Frankly, if my ONLY choices were touchpad or a mouse-on-a-leash I'd take the hard-wired mouse.

Meanwhile, Mousy decided to go off on an adventure again.  Himself is declaring it dead.  Maybe.  We are still going to test out the old roller-ball mouse to see if it stays operational.

Technology:  Here to make your life easier.


----------



## Andy M.

Whoever runs your buildings has a contract with a specific provider, Comcast, Rogers or whomever.  If they want to negotiate a better deal with another provider, they can pass the savings on to you.

I live in a condo complex and Verizon FiOS came in and put FiOS cabling in the ground to service every unit.  Then they tried to sell each condo owner on switching over to FiOS.  It was an individual decision.  If you decided to switch, they just hooked up FiOS to the existing wiring in the condo unit.

I was happy with Comcast except for the pricing so I switched to FiOS and am saving a ton each month.  My business goes to the lowest bidder.


----------



## Zhizara

ACK...Yahoo just changed my Yahoo screen again.  It's ugly and hard to read.  The new themes look like they are painted on top and very hard to read.  YUCK!


----------



## Addie

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Same here. Our building was wired for Rogers. We had everything else with Bell but were stuck until Bell came out with Fibe TV. It comes through our internet modem. Freedom at last.



Our part of Boston isn't even wired for Fiber Optics. The rest of Boston is though. The mayor signed a long term contract with Comcast. It is the main reason, after 20 years, he has decided to retire and I am happy. When Cable was coming to Boston, two cable companies wired this part of Boston. Comcast is wired above ground and on poles located in backyards to the homes. The other is all underground. The mayor decided to go with Comcast.


----------



## CarolPa

We are grandfathered in to a very old Verizon plan....$30 per month.  My husband uses that phone and he insists on Verizon because their service is the best.  Me?  I have a Tracfone and I pay $20 for 90 days.  We don't use our cell phones very much.  LOL


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> Every month, Verizon sends me an email to tell me that my bill is available online.  Then they send me a text, to tell me that my bill is available online.  Then I get a bill in the mail, which I pay.
> 
> This makes me want to not pay the bill, and when they complain, I will say "I didn't get the bill!"  LOL
> 
> Hopefully, I can call them and ask them to discontinue the email and text.  I have had this phone for 15 years.  I know that I can go online and see my bill.



I'm pretty sure you can log in online and make any changes you want


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> Whoever runs your buildings has a contract with a specific provider, Comcast, Rogers or whomever.  If they want to negotiate a better deal with another provider, they can pass the savings on to you.
> 
> I live in a condo complex and Verizon FiOS came in and put FiOS cabling in the ground to service every unit.  Then they tried to sell each condo owner on switching over to FiOS.  It was an individual decision.  If you decided to switch, they just hooked up FiOS to the existing wiring in the condo unit.
> 
> I was happy with Comcast except for the pricing so I switched to FiOS and am saving a ton each month.  My business goes to the lowest bidder.



For me having rock solid internet is something we really need.  We have nobody offering a decent price, we have Uverse from At&t and Time Warner.  Time Warner was so bad in this area, I'm not sure if I'd take them back even if it was nearly free.  For TV it really is six of one, half dozen of another.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> With a notepad and smaller keys, as a real typist I find the touchpad gets tapped at the most inopportune time.  I have tried disabling/enabling the pad when I type but I had to perform that function too many times.  Frankly, if my ONLY choices were touchpad or a mouse-on-a-leash I'd take the hard-wired mouse.
> 
> Meanwhile, Mousy decided to go off on an adventure again.  Himself is declaring it dead.  Maybe.  We are still going to test out the old roller-ball mouse to see if it stays operational.
> 
> Technology:  Here to make your life easier.



How would I go about disabling the touchpad?


----------



## KatyCooks

PrincessFiona60 said:


> How would I go about disabling the touchpad?


 
On my Toshiba laptop, I learned (horribly) that you can disable your mousepad by clicking on the white upwards pointing arrow at the bottom right corner of your screen and clicking on "Synaptics Pointing Device".

I am very happy with my mousepad.  I was very uhnappy that I had to drive over to my brother's house to plug a mouse in, so I could re-enable it!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

KatyCooks said:


> On my Toshiba laptop, I learned (horribly) that you can disable your mousepad by clicking on the white upwards pointing arrow at the bottom right corner of your screen and clicking on "Synaptics Pointing Device".
> 
> I am very happy with my mousepad.  I was very uhnappy that I had to drive over to my brother's house to plug a mouse in, so I could re-enable it!



You are a Wizard!!!  Thank you so much!!!  So easy!


----------



## KatyCooks

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You are a Wizard!!! Thank you so much!!! So easy!


 
I am very glad that my horrible mistake was so useful!


----------



## taxlady

Stirling made pancakes. I love his pancakes and was delighted that he wanted to make them. He made up a big batch of the dry ingredients and put most of it in a jar in the fridge. I forgot how much of a mess it makes when he makes up the big batch of "pancake mix".

It took me two rounds of hand dish washing. There wasn't room on the dish rack for everything. Lots of the stuff is too big for our small dishwasher. grrr

We are having supper late, 'cause I spent so much time cleaning up, so I could cook. I better not hear about how late supper is...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

KatyCooks said:


> I am very glad that my horrible mistake was so useful!



I haven't had to retype a sentence since I turned it off.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Zhizara said:


> ACK...Yahoo just changed my Yahoo screen again.  It's ugly and hard to read.  The new themes look like they are painted on top and very hard to read.  YUCK!


Ah, another happy Yahoo user.  Not!  As Himself said, Marissa Mayer is making friends left and right.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> How would I go about disabling the touchpad?





KatyCooks said:


> On my Toshiba laptop, I learned (horribly) that you can disable your mousepad by clicking on the white upwards pointing arrow at the bottom right corner of your screen and clicking on "Synaptics Pointing Device".
> 
> I am very happy with my mousepad.  I was very uhnappy that I had to drive over to my brother's house to plug a mouse in, so I could re-enable it!


They're all different PF.  Good thing Katy had a solution that worked because I wouldn't have been any help.  You see, with my ASUS I have two keys I use:  There is a "Fn" key a couple to the left of the space bar that enables the function keys at the very top of the keyboard.  I have to make sure I tap the correct key to turn the touchpad on and off.  Otherwise I can turn off the internet.  Or change resolution.  Or mess up all kinds of other functions but still not get the touchpad changed.  I look at this keyboard a lot!  But at least I wouldn't have to drive somewhere to use a mouse. Toshiba didn't make it easy, did they Katy?

My old laptop had a switch.  Click left=on, click right=off.  So easy...and mistake-proof.  I NEED mistake-proof!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I guess I got lucky in that my laptop had a "Synaptics Pointing Device" and I knew exactly where I had seen it.  Now I only have to worry about my normal typos.  No more jumping cursor to foul things up.


----------



## CarolPa

What is a touchpad and a mouse pad?


----------



## Andy M.

This is a touch pad on a laptop.



CarolPa said:


> What is a touchpad and a mouse pad?



A mouse pad is a cloth covered foam square that a mouse rolls around on.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

No touch pad!  Yahoooooooo!!!!


----------



## Dawgluver

I disabled the touchpad from my laptop, but it's still very sneaky.  It likes to jump up and insert text I'm typing into a place I don't want it, and on frequent occasions, will delete whole paragraphs of reports.  I can't trust my laptop, and as I'm not the greatest typist, I have to keep my eye on it constantly.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I disabled the touchpad from my laptop, but it's still very sneaky.  It likes to jump up and insert text I'm typing into a place I don't want it, and on frequent occasions, will delete whole paragraphs of reports.  I can't trust my laptop, and as I'm not the greatest typist, I have to keep my eye on it constantly.


Ctrl-z will fix many of those.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, will try it.  Even my supervisor was amazed about how rude my 'puter was while we were working on a report.  And recently, hers has been doing the same thing.


----------



## Zhizara

It sounds possessed!  and catching.

I keep my laptop closed when I'm not using it, and when I'm online, my mouse sits on my mini clipboard with my sudoku puzzles on it.  When I forget to move the mouse out of the way, my arm or elbow moves it around when I'm typing, sending it skittering all over the place.  Those mice sure do get around.


----------



## Addie

No laptop for me. I keep hearing of too many problems from other folks. I love my desk computer.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> This is a touch pad on a laptop.
> 
> 
> 
> A mouse pad is a cloth covered foam square that a mouse rolls around on.




Ok.  I guess I just didn't know what they were called.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> No laptop for me. I keep hearing of too many problems from other folks. I love my desk computer.




I only use my laptop or tablet if I'm going to be browsing, but not when I'm going to be doing a lot of typing, like on a forum or email.  I prefer the desktop, too.  I worked on a desktop for all those years and I'm used to it.  The keys are closer together on a laptop and I have trouble typing on it.  That's just my experience.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> No laptop for me. I keep hearing of too many problems from other folks. I love my desk computer.



Mine is on my lap in the evening while watching TV.  If I'm in bed watching TV then it is my tablet...  I may have a problem 

I do have one desktop computer, it lives in the basement and acts as a media server for videos, music, backups etc...


----------



## CarolPa

bakechef said:


> Mine is on my lap in the evening while watching TV.  If I'm in bed watching TV then it is my tablet...  I may have a problem
> 
> I do have one desktop computer, it lives in the basement and acts as a media server for videos, music, backups etc...




I think a lot of us have that problem.  I get upset when I run out of posts to read.  LOL


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I love my laptop, if I want, it can go with me places.  I will be taking it with me to Helena next month when I go for my 3 day class.  I will need it for decompressing, not for class.

Okay, I leave on the 11th of November...so far, I have my suitcase and briefcase out and almost ready to go.  I am anxious and making all my plans now.  4 nights away, it's a 2 hour drive, maps are made.  I will have a passenger for the ride and it's not Shrek!  I need to remember too buy a month card for my Tracphone.  Think I'm getting ready too early?


----------



## bakechef

Lol, in my brain, the sooner the better.

I usually pack clothes the day before.  I have a 5 pocket plastic organizer that I start filling before trips, this will have hotel confirmations, boarding passes, rental car confirmations, passports etc.. In the order that I will need them.  This gets setup in the hallway about a month ahead and I drop stuff in it as I get it.  I'll have phone numbers for my credit cards, including international if needed in case my wallet is lost or stolen.  I try to cover all of the bases.....


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I love my laptop, if I want, it can go with me places.  I will be taking it with me to Helena next month when I go for my 3 day class.  I will need it for decompressing, not for class.
> 
> Okay, I leave on the 11th of November...so far, I have my suitcase and briefcase out and almost ready to go.  I am anxious and making all my plans now.  4 nights away, it's a 2 hour drive, maps are made.  I will have a passenger for the ride and it's not Shrek!  I need to remember too buy a month card for my Tracphone.  Think I'm getting ready too early?



Wow, you're way ahead of us. We fly to Cuba on Nov 12th and haven't done anything yet. Not even sure how we are getting to the airport.


----------



## Addie

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Wow, you're way ahead of us. We fly to Cuba on Nov 12th and haven't done anything yet. Not even sure how we are getting to the airport.



Does anyone know if there are still travel restrictions for Americans to Cuba? Time to end it if there is.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Addie said:


> Does anyone know if there are still travel restrictions for Americans to Cuba? Time to end it if there is.


I'm pretty sure the travel restriction is still in effect. However, there are always a couple of American's on our flights out of Toronto. We made friends with a nice couple from Rochester on our last trip back in February.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Does anyone know if there are still travel restrictions for Americans to Cuba? Time to end it if there is.



AFAIK, yes.  You can still go through Cozumel or Belize and have your passport double-stamped, a friend did this last year.  Maybe the same if you fly out of Canada.  The restrictions make absolutely no sense.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Neither Canada or Cuba stamp passports so your trip is a non event to the U.S. authorities if you fly from here.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> AFAIK, yes.  You can still go through Cozumel or Belize and have your passport double-stamped, a friend did this last year.  Maybe the same if you fly out of Canada.  The restrictions make absolutely no sense.


What is double-stamped?

Many years ago I took a vacation (from Denmark) in Israel. At passport control they asked if we wanted a paper stapled into our passports for the stamp, in case we wanted to visit any Arab countries.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> What is double-stamped?
> 
> Many years ago I took a vacation (from Denmark) in Israel. At passport control they asked if we wanted a paper stapled into our passports for the stamp, in case we wanted to visit any Arab countries.



I think it's in case your passport is checked, and if you fly back into Coz or Belize.  They use an ink stamper in both Coz and Belize, but as RJ stated, it's a non-event if you fly out of Canada and Cuba.


----------



## GotGarlic

I don't know if this is still true, but when my mom was sailing the Caribbean, she said Americans could travel to Cuba - we just can't spend money there.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I think it's in case your passport is checked, and if you fly back into Coz or Belize.  They use an ink stamper in both Coz and Belize, but as RJ stated, it's a non-event if you fly out of Canada and Cuba.


I still don't understand double stamped. Sounds like stamping it twice. I don't understand what stamping it in Coz or Belize has to do with it. Those we be stamps for leaving the country and/or coming into the country. Where does Cuba come into the picture?


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I still don't understand double stamped. Sounds like stamping it twice. I don't understand what stamping it in Coz or Belize has to do with it. Those we be stamps for leaving the country and/or coming into the country. Where does Cuba come into the picture?



I have no clue, that was the explanation I got, stamping it twice.  Mexico and Belize stamp passports, Canada and Cuba don't, apparently.  US may check for passport stamps.

I was really interested in visiting Cuba at one time, but it's apparently still pretty risky for US citizens, and I'm not sure I'd want to go to jail for the visit!


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, I've been called for jury duty again.  I found it interesting that potential jurors have a choice of either completing the personal info on the form, and using their own stamp to send it in (no prestamping) or to fill out the form online.  I'm cheap, so I went online.  There was a warning that all the manditory info that we would HAVE to submit would become public record.  A lot of personal information.  This makes me very uncomfortable, why would they do this with so much identity theft out there?


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Well, I've been called for jury duty again.  I found it interesting that potential jurors have a choice of either completing the personal info on the form, and using their own stamp to send it in (no prestamping) or to fill out the form online.  I'm cheap, so I went online.  There was a warning that all the manditory info that we would HAVE to submit would become public record.  A lot of personal information.  This makes me very uncomfortable, why would they do this with so much identity theft out there?



Another advantage to old age. I can no longer be called for Jury Duty.


----------



## MrsLMB

Dawgluver said:


> Well, I've been called for jury duty again. I found it interesting that potential jurors have a choice of either completing the personal info on the form, and using their own stamp to send it in (no prestamping) or to fill out the form online. I'm cheap, so I went online. There was a warning that all the manditory info that we would HAVE to submit would become public record. A lot of personal information. This makes me very uncomfortable, why would they do this with so much identity theft out there?


 
Wow ... I sure wouldn't do it.  Giving information online is something I stay away from.  I would rather use a stamp and mail it or better yet, hand deliver it.


----------



## Dawgluver

MrsLMB said:


> Wow ... I sure wouldn't do it.  Giving information online is something I stay away from.  I would rather use a stamp and mail it or better yet, hand deliver it.



Problem is, all the info becomes public record, whether it's online, mailed, or hand delivered.  That's what makes me so mad.  It's all entered into the same data base.  

And it's a crime if you don't comply with jury duty or fill out the form.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Problem is, all the info becomes public record, whether it's online, mailed, or hand delivered.  That's what makes me so mad.  It's all entered into the same data base.
> 
> And it's a crime if you don't comply with jury duty or fill out the form.


What kind of nosy questions do they ask?


----------



## MrsLMB

Dawgluver said:


> Problem is, all the info becomes public record, whether it's online, mailed, or hand delivered. That's what makes me so mad. It's all entered into the same data base.
> 
> And it's a crime if you don't comply with jury duty or fill out the form.


 

Oh geez .. well I don't blame you for being mad about this.

I really think this "public information" thing is way out of hand.

Like you said .. so much crime anymore and they are just handing free information to the bad guys and will punish you if you don't supply it.

I hope I never have to go through that.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Dawgluver said:


> Problem is, all the info becomes public record, whether it's online, mailed, or hand delivered.  That's what makes me so mad.  It's all entered into the same data base.
> 
> And it's a crime if you don't comply with jury duty or fill out the form.



I thought you folks had an Amendment to protect against such things. The 4th or 5th?


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> What kind of nosy questions do they ask?



Oh, just about everything, except for your SSN.  Dumb shirts.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Problem is, all the info becomes public record, whether it's online, mailed, or hand delivered.  That's what makes me so mad.  It's all entered into the same data base.
> 
> And it's a crime if you don't comply with jury duty or fill out the form.



Jurors names and personal info here are always kept private. Not due to ID theft, but retaliation in case of a guilty verdict.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> Another advantage to old age. I can no longer be called for Jury Duty.




What is the age cut off, Addie?  Is it the same all over the country? I told DH that and he said it is not true.  Neither of us has ever gone for jury duty.  He got a summons once but when he called they said he did not have to go.  I know people older than I am who have gone for jury duty.  I am 67, they were a few years older.


----------



## Andy M.

In MA the age cut off is 70 YO.  It's optional.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

I got called once for jury duty. I told them I was retired military and they couldn't scoot me out of the court house any faster. That was about 12 years ago and have never been asked since.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Jurors names and personal info here are always kept private. Not due to ID theft, but retaliation in case of a guilty verdict.



You would think so.  All the info was there, front and center.  I am not a juror yet.  And I'm still 

Why would they say all the info is a matter of public record?

I've been summoned 5 times, most of the time I've called the number, and there were no trials that day, so I was dismissed.  I did have to show up once, but since I had a friend who was a police liason who was connected to the case, I got to go home.  DH has had one summons.


----------



## Andy M.

In MA we have the option to change your date of service once.  Last time I got called, I changed the date to the Friday before a holiday weekend.  The judges all take off early for the holiday and you don't get called.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> In MA we have the option to change your date of service once.  Last time I got called, I changed the date to the Friday before a holiday weekend.  The judges all take off early for the holiday and you don't get called.



We get that here too.  I just don't want all my personal info broadcast across the internet, and to risk being jailed if I don't provide it.


----------



## Dawgluver

CarolPa said:


> What is the age cut off, Addie?  Is it the same all over the country? I told DH that and he said it is not true.  Neither of us has ever gone for jury duty.  He got a summons once but when he called they said he did not have to go.  I know people older than I am who have gone for jury duty.  I am 67, they were a few years older.



I recall a very old man, deaf as a post, being chosen for jury duty.  Figured him to be in his mid 70's at least.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> Lol, in my brain, the sooner the better.
> 
> I usually pack clothes the day before.  I have a 5 pocket plastic organizer that I start filling before trips, this will have hotel confirmations, boarding passes, rental car confirmations, passports etc.. In the order that I will need them.  This gets setup in the hallway about a month ahead and I drop stuff in it as I get it.  I'll have phone numbers for my credit cards, including international if needed in case my wallet is lost or stolen.  I try to cover all of the bases.....



Well, I am going to Helena...be like visiting a whole other country.  

As I come across things, like my bag of room amenities, I just toss them in the suitcase so I don't have to "refind" them.  Anything I buy special for the trip, like new clothes (since I don't own anything other than scrubs and t-shirts).  My dress shoes will go in, once I decide if I want the flats or the slight heel.

I think I will call the hotel and ask if the have Keurigs in the rooms, if not, I will take mine.  Coffee stash, of course.

Work is taking care of the hotel, etc.  I just put everything on the room, unless I want to eat somewhere else, then I just keep the receipt.

I'm glad I'm not the only person who starts getting ready so early.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Wow, you're way ahead of us. We fly to Cuba on Nov 12th and haven't done anything yet. Not even sure how we are getting to the airport.



Shrek, who never leaves the house, keeps wanting to know why I have to drive our car.  The person I'm going with, the 2 hour ride would take 6 hours, if she drove.  I'd like to get there in time for dinner and some good sleep.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> What is the age cut off, Addie?  Is it the same all over the country? I told DH that and he said it is not true.  Neither of us has ever gone for jury duty.  He got a summons once but when he called they said he did not have to go.  I know people older than I am who have gone for jury duty.  I am 67, they were a few years older.



Seventy. But if you can show a medical reason, you can be excused for life earlier. I was still in my early 60's when I have my first heart attack. My doctor felt it would be detrimental for me to be sitting all day in one chair. It would affect my blood flow and thus I was removed permanently from the call list. They have found also that the elderly tend to fall asleep for those little naps. That can be the cause for a mistrial. 

In Massachusetts, each county has their own rules and regs. Getting unbiased jurors for the Hernandez trial is going to be a nightmare. They may have to cross county lines like the did in the Whitey Bulger trial. For that trial, because it was a Federal trial, they had jurors from all over the state. Some of the counties do not allow cameras in their courtrooms. The county I live in does. But the final decision is up to the judge. Each county has a governing body of judges that set the rules for the courts in their country. But the press and lawyers can appeal beyond them to the Massachusetts Supreme Court. After that you have to appeal through the Federal Appeals Courts. And all because the press wants into the courtrooms with cameras as will. What a lot of judges are now doing is allowing just one person from the press in the courtroom with no cameras. Including cell phones! Then they place a gag order on everyone in the courtroom including that one press person. 

Someone once asked me what did $50,000 cash bail meant? exactly what it says. If you can come up with $50,000 in cash, then you can pay your bail. It has to be your money. Not that of a bail bondsman. And in this state, very rarely, and I do mean very rarely, is anyone charged with murder allowed to post bail of any kind. Bail denied! 

One of the things that amuse me is on television you often see the secretary or some assistant go to one of the lawyers and approach someone past the little gate. Not allowed in any court of the country. Passing the bar is exactly that. Only those who have *passed the bar* are allowed pass that gate unless they are called to the stand. I once had to bring my boss some papers from the files and had to notify one of the officers of the court to let my boss know I had them and was waiting outside the courtroom. Also, anyone that is going to be testifying, cannot sit in the courtroom during the trial until called to testify.


----------



## taxlady

I was once subpoenaed to testify. I had to wait outside the court room. I didn't have to testify, because I hadn't seen anything the cop hadn't seen. I was to testify to the condition of a friend after she had been punched in the mouth by her landlord. She was 70 at the time.

Since they decided they didn't need my testimony, I got to come into the courtroom. The landlord was an idiot and sounded like it. The judge ruled, "Not just guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, guilty beyond any possible doubt." The court paid my bus fare there and back. I vaguely remember being paid another ~$10, since I had to take off work.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I love my laptop, if I want, it can go with me places.........


Desktop units are nice if you aren't needing them anywhere but on your desk.  Our old tower is now like bakechef's - it's our main station that is hooked up to the big TV in the living room.  

My laptop is my travel agent.  Before vacations I load up a folder of possible spots to visit.  When we get to our destination we have the laptop to hook right up to their in house wireless internet, turn Squirt on, and open my homepage.  Bingo, the travel planner is right there. 

PF, I don't think you're getting ready too early.  I have our confirmation for our timeshare week already clipped to the door from the house to the garage.  It's been there for at least a week, and we don't check in until 11-8!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> Well, I've been called for jury duty again.....There was a warning that all the manditory info that we would HAVE to submit would become public record.  A lot of personal information.  This makes me very uncomfortable, *why would they do this with so much identity theft out there?*


Have you ruled out stupidity? 

After all, we are talking about a government entity here....


----------



## MrsLMB

Our little town is doing a nice thing for the residents.  They have acquired some of those giant leaf bags and are giving all of us 20 free bags.  The giveaway began yesterday afternoon at the local park down the street from us.

This park has one road that goes into it, snakes around and exits at the back.

So as we approach the park I can see a long line of cars.  No problem, just get in line.  After we sat there for almost 5 minutes with nobody moving, DH got out and looked at the cars in front of us .. nobody inside !!!

With the headrests in cars these days you can't see if a person is in the driver seat or not.

As it turns out, those 7 cars that were parked there belonged to the people who were working to distribute the leaf bags  

It never occurred to them to go park in a parking spot, no way .. they lined their cars up and parked them in the entry to the park .. duh !!

But on the upside - we got free leaf collection bags and that is very cool !


----------



## CarolPa

Dawgluver said:


> I recall a very old man, deaf as a post, being chosen for jury duty.  Figured him to be in his mid 70's at least.




According to what Andy said, the cut-off in his state is 70, but it's optional, which I think means you can refuse.  I think it probably differs from state to state.  When my husband was called, I searched the website looking for a reference to age requirements and found none.


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> According to what Andy said, the cut-off in his state is 70, but it's optional, which I think means you can refuse.  I think it probably differs from state to state.  When my husband was called, I searched the website looking for a reference to age requirements and found none.



That age rule is for MA.  I don't know if it's the same anywhere else.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> That age rule is for MA.  I don't know if it's the same anywhere else.




I just went back and checked our county website again and it states that anyone over age 18 can be called, and there is not age limit.


----------



## CarolPa

Cooking Goddess said:


> Desktop units are nice if you aren't needing them anywhere but on your desk.  Our old tower is now like bakechef's - it's our main station that is hooked up to the big TV in the living room.
> 
> My laptop is my travel agent.  Before vacations I load up a folder of possible spots to visit.  When we get to our destination we have the laptop to hook right up to their in house wireless internet, turn Squirt on, and open my homepage.  Bingo, the travel planner is right there.
> 
> PF, I don't think you're getting ready too early.  I have our confirmation for our timeshare week already clipped to the door from the house to the garage.  It's been there for at least a week, and we don't check in until 11-8!



We don't travel much, but I would probably take my 9" tablet if we go anywhere.  It's smaller than the laptop.  When I went into the hospital for emergency surgery my husband brought our laptop in so I could notify people that I was hospitalized.  Since it wasn't a scheduled surgery I didn't want them to think I fell off the face of the earth.


----------



## Jojoe

*Cuba travel answers*

Here is the correct answer about laws regarding travel to Cuba. During the Bush/Reagan/Bush admins almost nobody, including Cuban Americans, could travel to Cuba without a specific license to travel from the Office of Foreign Assets Control. 

President Obama has relaxed the restrictions as follows:

If you are a Cuban American, you can travel to Cuba anytime you please. 

There are about a dozen categories of permissible travel for the rest of us living under U.S. jurisdiction. Some require a specific license for each trip. 

The most likely way to travel to Cuba for most people is under the "People to People" provision. This requires travelers to purchase an organized trip through a service provider that is licensed by the U.S. government. Just google "Cuba travel providers" and you will find a number of companies and NGOs offering trips (flying direct from Florida, New York, and Los Angeles) However, these trips have to follow a U.S. government pre-approved agenda that does not included tourist activities (such as going to the beach). 

Now, all that said, 10s of 1000s of U.S.ians travel to Cuba every year without U.S. government permission. They travel through third countries. Cuba does not stamp U.S. passports so there is no evidence that you entered the country. However, remember that on your way back into the U.S. the customs form asks what countries you have traveled to since you left the U.S. It is risky business to withhold information on a customs form. 

Cuba is the ONLY place in the world you are prohibited from visiting freely. Activists of many stripes have been trying to completely lift this ban on travel to Cuba for decades. Google: LAWG (Latin American Working Group) or CAFE (Cuban Americans For Engagement)

If you are unhappy with not having the right to travel wherever you please, I suggest writing to your congressional representatives, the president and your senators. You might want to point out to them that it is discrimination to allow only one ethnic group to freely travel to Cuba and not the rest of us.

I have spent a great deal of time in Cuba and I encourage everyone to make the journey!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> That age rule is for MA.  I don't know if it's the same anywhere else.



We also have a rule of "one trial, one day." It is when you get assigned to a trial that goes on for more than one day that you can run into a problem. If you are chosen to serve, there is supposed to be so much time before you can be called again. But I have known some folks who served and were called again before that waiting time had expired. I forget how long it is. My sister served on two different trials within a three month  period and then got called again a month after the second trial. It was for vehicular homicide. She didn't have to serve on that one when they asked her how she felt about drunk drivers. "Well, my son was killed by a drunk driver along with four other teenager friends in the car." 

"You're excused." She never got called again.


----------



## Addie

Thank you  Jojoe. Very informative. And welcome to DC. I hope you sitick around. This is a fun place.


----------



## Addie

MrsLMB said:


> Our little town is doing a nice thing for the residents.  They have acquired some of those giant leaf bags and are giving all of us 20 free bags.  The giveaway began yesterday afternoon at the local park down the street from us.
> 
> This park has one road that goes into it, snakes around and exits at the back.
> 
> So as we approach the park I can see a long line of cars.  No problem, just get in line.  After we sat there for almost 5 minutes with nobody moving, DH got out and looked at the cars in front of us .. nobody inside !!!
> 
> With the headrests in cars these days you can't see if a person is in the driver seat or not.
> 
> As it turns out, those 7 cars that were parked there belonged to the people who were working to distribute the leaf bags
> 
> It never occurred to them to go park in a parking spot, no way .. they lined their cars up and parked them in the entry to the park .. duh !!
> 
> But on the upside - we got free leaf collection bags and that is very cool !



There is a town a couple of borders away from where I live. They too do this also and then send the bags down to the City Yard. All the bags go into a giant compost thingy. Then next spring, the citizens can go there and get free compost. You just have to bring your own container and shovel. Some fill the back of the pickup, others just a bucket. They do this with separate bags for your dead plants that you remove from your garden, (like dead tomato plants). As they take longer to compost, they go into a separate thingy. Great program and very popular.

Wet leaves on the street are very dangerous. Specially on a hilly street.


----------



## Andy M.

In MA there has to be a three year wait between times you are called, whether you actually serve on a jury or not.  

I was called once about two years and ten months after my last date and protested. They promptly canceled it and recalled me for two and a half months later.  I then requested a new date (as is my prerogative) asking for the Friday before a long holiday weekend and never got called.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was called while I was going to college.  I protested, in court, that I had paid good money to go to school, I'd be happy to serve if they paid for my semester, as the trial was during finals week.  I haven't been called back.


----------



## CatPat

I was at the Walmart today to look of dishes. I found very pretty melamine dishes for ordinary use! I selected enough for four for which to start, and I selected an autumn tablecloth. Then I selected a set of pumpkin salt and pepper shakers and a nice set of Farberware stainless steel cookware. I then found pretty chargers of red, green, and gold. I selected some basic utensils and I got some groceries.

I was in a line of a register, the larger register, when a cashier of the speedy register of 20 items or less called and gestured for me to go to her. I told her, "I have much more than twenty items here." She said it was not much more, and to come to her register. I started to go there when a woman pushed in the front of me with a very heavily burdened cart. She was very large and very mean. She said to me, "You can wait. I am in a hurry."

I could see of this cashier was very upset of this, but she had to give her service. I feel so very sorry of the cashier. This mean woman made the cashier put the bags back to the cart. I went around the woman and put the bags back to the cart as the cashier packed these. The cashier thanked me for this, and I said she was welcome as we did this. The mean woman said to me where I was from. I said, "I am from Romania."

She said, "We have enough immigrants sucking the life out of this country. My advice to you is to go back home and stop this crap."

I was mad at this. She had a food stamp card inside her hand and I know of these. I put out my credit card and told her, "I am paying of this for my things. I think you are mistaken."

She just sat there and did not say of this. I saw she was angry with me.

Not all immigrants have benefits of these. I have never had of this. She must be a very unhappy person.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Dawgluver

So sorry you had to experience this, Cat.  Unfortunately, some people seem to have a sense of entitlement, even though they may not have earned it.  You are more valuable as a citizen, not native born, than some who have lived their whole lives here.  You handled yourself very well!  And it sounds like you got some really cool stuff!


----------



## Andy M.

Cat, The woman you had to deal with was too stupid to realize she was the drain on the US economy, not you.  

It sounds like you kitchen is shaping up nicely.


----------



## Addie

Cat, you practiced great restraint. Much more than I would have. My retort to her would have been, "I am paying with my own money for my purchases, not the American taxpayer." 

You truly are a lovely young lady.


----------



## CatPat

I thank you all three for your kindness! One of the reasons for which I am proud to be an American is to pay the taxes so that others who are less fortunate may have food in their plates.

She was simply mistaken, and it is sad for her. Thank you for your understanding of this.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## taxlady

Cat, you are very wise. Not many people would have realized, as you wrote, "She must be a very unhappy person."


----------



## CatPat

taxlady said:


> Cat, you are very wise. Not many people would have realized, as you wrote, "She must be a very unhappy person."



I am not sure of the wise and of the restraint of me, but there is not another explanation of the woman who did this. Only unhappy people do things of this.

I should take a lesson of her. The next time I am in a hurry at the Walmart, I will force myself ahead of people and say, "I am sorry, but I am an undercover superhero and if I must wait too long, this city shall be overtaken by zombies."



With love,
~Cat


----------



## Fos87

CatPat said:


> She said, "We have enough immigrants sucking the life out of this country. My advice to you is to go back home and stop this crap."
> 
> I was mad at this. She had a food stamp card inside her hand and I know of these. I put out my credit card and told her, "I am paying of this for my things. I think you are mistaken."
> 
> She just sat there and did not say of this. I saw she was angry with me.
> 
> Not all immigrants have benefits of these. I have never had of this. She must be a very unhappy person.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat


Cat, this people are everywhere. Here there are people who have problems with people of the South of THEIR country.
Dante said: "Non ragioniam di loro, ma guarda e passa" (Not care about them, but look and go on).


----------



## CarolPa

Cat, you are a good person, but I am upset that even after you helped pack the bags in the cart this woman was still very rude to you.  I could say more about her, but I will keep my mouth shut.  A woman who works at WalMart told me that if a customer comes to a "20 items or less" register with their cart overflowing, they are not permitted to turn them away.  Once the customers know this, they will go to that register.  Of course, if there are no customers in that line, the cashier can call a customer over instead of letting them stand in a long line.


----------



## CarolPa

I just received an email from Prevention magazine. "Walk Off Your Belly by Nov 16!"  My first thought was "They've never seen MY belly."  I clicked and opened the email.  It was a special offer...a booklet about walking, a pedometer, and a trial offer to Prevention Magazine.  What?  I highly doubt that any of these items would even be in my mailbox before Nov 16!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I am forever finding Shrek's cane everywhere but where he is.  If he needs it so much...why is he so often without it?


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I am forever finding Shrek's cane everywhere but where he is.  If he needs it so much...why is he so often without it?



He needs a mitten string for his cane!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> He needs a mitten string for his cane!



 When I am sitting outside at the hospital waiting for my ride to show up, I see folks by the dozens who have canes, walking and not even using them. Just carrying them like it was just a stick in their hand. It becomes a security crutch for them. A  "just in case' attitude. Many of them have a slight limp. Otherwise they walk just fine. I have even seen some of them running. But you already know that PF. And then there are those like me who will not use one. After I got out of that wheelchair six years ago, I treasure the fact that I can walk. Even run.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> When I am sitting outside at the hospital waiting for my ride to show up, I see folks by the dozens who have canes, walking and not even using them. Just carrying them like it was just a stick in their hand. It becomes a security crutch for them. A  "just in case' attitude. Many of them have a slight limp. Otherwise they walk just fine. I have even seen some of them running. But you already know that PF. And then there are those like me who will not use one. After I got out of that wheelchair six years ago, I treasure the fact that I can walk. Even run.



I have a friend that uses a cane and when he gets preoccupied he tends to forget and leave his cane behind.  When he realizes it's missing he panics and gets flustered that he is going to fall.  One of his daughters got him a black lanyard with a Velcro snap that hooks to his belt loop and to the cane.  Now he doesn't forget it and if it drops to the floor he can retrieve it without help.  

Sort of like a bikers chain wallet for Seniors, _*BORN TO BE WILD*_!


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

CatPat said:


> I was at the Walmart today to look of dishes. I found very pretty melamine dishes for ordinary use! I selected enough for four for which to start, and I selected an autumn tablecloth. Then I selected a set of pumpkin salt and pepper shakers and a nice set of Farberware stainless steel cookware. I then found pretty chargers of red, green, and gold. I selected some basic utensils and I got some groceries.
> 
> I was in a line of a register, the larger register, when a cashier of the speedy register of 20 items or less called and gestured for me to go to her. I told her, "I have much more than twenty items here." She said it was not much more, and to come to her register. I started to go there when a woman pushed in the front of me with a very heavily burdened cart. She was very large and very mean. She said to me, "You can wait. I am in a hurry."
> 
> I could see of this cashier was very upset of this, but she had to give her service. I feel so very sorry of the cashier. This mean woman made the cashier put the bags back to the cart. I went around the woman and put the bags back to the cart as the cashier packed these. The cashier thanked me for this, and I said she was welcome as we did this. The mean woman said to me where I was from. I said, "I am from Romania."
> 
> She said, "We have enough immigrants sucking the life out of this country. My advice to you is to go back home and stop this crap."
> 
> I was mad at this. She had a food stamp card inside her hand and I know of these. I put out my credit card and told her, "I am paying of this for my things. I think you are mistaken."
> 
> She just sat there and did not say of this. I saw she was angry with me.
> 
> Not all immigrants have benefits of these. I have never had of this. She must be a very unhappy person.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



I wouldn't worry too much about it Cat. It happens everywhere. We live in a relatively small city, a very "white" city. Very few visible minorities live here. Mrs D has a very distinctive Black Forest accent and gets the same "comments" directed to her occasionally. It's probably why she really doesn't like it here. She says it's the weather......I know better.


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> I have a friend that uses a cane and when he gets preoccupied he tends to forget and leave his cane behind.  When he realizes it's missing he panics and gets flustered that he is going to fall.  One of his daughters got him a black lanyard with a Velcro snap that hooks to his belt loop and to the cane.  Now he doesn't forget it and if it drops to the floor he can retrieve it without help.
> 
> Sort of like a bikers chain wallet for Seniors, _*BORN TO BE WILD*_!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'd swipe his cane if it wasn't too tall for me.  He has some nice ones.  We are now looking into a 4 wheel walker with a seat for Shrek.


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'd swipe his cane if it wasn't too tall for me.  He has some nice ones.  We are now looking into a 4 wheel walker with a seat for Shrek.



My Brother has one and he does well with it.  He has more confidence about going places because he knows he can sit down and rest if he needs to.  The downside is all the junk he carries in the compartment under the seat, he's worse than an old lady with a gigantic handbag!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's what I'm hoping, that Shrek will get some confidence and go mall-walking with me.  He can stop anytime and watch me lap him several times.  He really needs to get up and get moving.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm starting to have nightmares, first one was about three weeks ago.  Last night had another, took Shrek almost two minutes to wake me up out of it.  He said I was screaming and talking gibberish.  All I remember was I was locked in a library and everyone else was dead.  Then I saw that one person on a floor lower was alive and I was yelling for help.  About then I felt something touch my back and started screaming.  Then I woke up.


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm starting to have nightmares, first one was about three weeks ago.  Last night had another, took Shrek almost two minutes to wake me up out of it.  He said I was screaming and talking gibberish.  All I remember was I was locked in a library and everyone else was dead.  Then I saw that one person on a floor lower was alive and I was yelling for help.  About then I felt something touch my back and started screaming.  Then I woke up.



Stress!


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm starting to have nightmares, first one was about three weeks ago.  Last night had another, took Shrek almost two minutes to wake me up out of it.  He said I was screaming and talking gibberish.  All I remember was I was locked in a library and everyone else was dead.  Then I saw that one person on a floor lower was alive and I was yelling for help.  About then I felt something touch my back and started screaming.  Then I woke up.



I found this Simply Being Guided Meditation app helpful when I was under a lot of stress: iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad Apps | Meditation Oasis


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> I found this Simply Being Guided Meditation app helpful when I was under a lot of stress: iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad Apps | Meditation Oasis



Is there one for someone who doesn't have an i-anything?  I am very susceptible to nightmares, thought I had them under control for many years.  Was horrible when I was a kid.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> Stress!



roll me in cotton wool and turn the light off as you leave


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Is there one for someone who doesn't have an i-anything?  I am very susceptible to nightmares, thought I had them under control for many years.  Was horrible when I was a kid.


Here's podcasts of those meditations: Listen to the Meditation Oasis Podcast | Meditation Oasis


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, TL...I can download them to my computer, then to my MP3 player for breaks at work.


----------



## KatyCooks

taxlady said:


> Here's podcasts of those meditations: Listen to the Meditation Oasis Podcast | Meditation Oasis


 
Fascinating!  I have downloaded several of the meditations.  Thanks for the link TL.  (I have lifelong and severe insomnia which I am sure is related to stress and being unable to "shut down").   Maybe these will help.


----------



## GotGarlic

TL, thanks for linking to the podcasts. There are also apps for Android on that page. I don't know why the title just says iEverything.


----------



## CarolPa

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Is there one for someone who doesn't have an i-anything?  I am very susceptible to nightmares, thought I had them under control for many years.  Was horrible when I was a kid.




I do not have an i-anything.  I have a Tracfone, not an iphone.  I have a Nook tablet and an android tablet, no ipad.  I have 2 mp3 players but they are not ipods.  We are very behind in the times PF.

I have very, very strange dreams...so strange I don't ever tell anyone about them.  But they are not usually nightmares.  I don't know where the stuff in my dreams comes from.


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> I do not have an i-anything.  I have a Tracfone, not an iphone.  I have a Nook tablet and an android tablet, no ipad.  I have 2 mp3 players but they are not ipods.  We are very behind in the times PF.
> 
> I have very, very strange dreams...so strange I don't ever tell anyone about them.  But they are not usually nightmares.  I don't know where the stuff in my dreams comes from.



I don't have an iAnything either, but that doesn't make me behind the times!  Actually, I have an old iPod Touch, but I don't use it anymore because have an Android phone and an Android tablet, both of which have free podcast apps. I don't need a Nook or Kindle because I have the free apps on my phone and tablet. As a former web technologies manager, I feel quite up-to-date technically


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> I do not have an i-anything.  I have a Tracfone, not an iphone.  I have a Nook tablet and an android tablet, no ipad.  I have 2 mp3 players but they are not ipods.  We are very behind in the times PF.
> 
> *I have very, very strange dreams...so strange I don't ever tell anyone about them.  But they are not usually nightmares.  I don't know where the stuff in my dreams comes from.*



No nightmares last night...at least nothing that scared me.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's what I'm hoping, that Shrek will get some confidence and go mall-walking with me.  He can stop anytime and watch me lap him several times.  He really needs to get up and get moving.



A number of the residents here have them. They take them everywhere with them. The halls here are very long. For the residents who are down the southern end from the elevators, it is a loooong walk. Without that walker they would be stuck in their apartments or risk taking the stairs down to the first level. If you should decide to get one for him, hide his cane. Make sure you get the one with the brakes on both handles. And I am sure you know Medicare pays for 80% of the cost. That is what the deciding factor was for the residents here. A lot of them thought they had to pay for it. (I wish they would read that book they get each year.) 

I have to laugh at the most hated person here. She get just a pension from the city and is not covered at all by SS. And her pension doesn't give her the same benefits. In fact her pension doesn't give her anything except her check. She is so ticked off all the time when she hears of all the things that are covered by Medicare. Inside I am laughing at her all the time. She has to pay the full premium for her medical insurance. Had she worked for the state, she would have medical coverage. Her check combined with her husband's SS income, puts her over the limit for Medicaid to pay her premium. She had to pay completely for her four wheel walker with the seat.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Is there one for someone who doesn't have an i-anything?  I am very susceptible to nightmares, thought I had them under control for many years.  Was horrible when I was a kid.



I don't have an I-anything. Just my free phone for the elderly. Not even a landline.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I don't have an iAnything either, but that doesn't make me behind the times!  Actually, I have an old iPod Touch, but I don't use it anymore because have an Android phone and an Android tablet, both of which have free podcast apps. I don't need a Nook or Kindle because I have the free apps on my phone and tablet. As a former web technologies manager, I feel quite up-to-date technically


I only have an old i-Phone, that I don't use. I have an Android phone and Stirling has an Android tablet and a regular cell phone. I would love to get an Android tablet, but I just can't justify it. There's not much that a tablet would do that my phone doesn't do.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I only have an old i-Phone, that I don't use. I have an Android phone and Stirling has an Android tablet and a regular cell phone. I would love to get an Android tablet, but I just can't justify it. There's not much that a tablet would do that my phone doesn't do.



That's true, although it's nice to be able to show people bigger pictures and read in bed with the light off. Mine is a Samsung Galaxy Note - it came with a pen and S Note app that allows you to draw and write in digital notebooks, it converts written text to digital, you can add photos from the camera or the internet, etc. DH gave it to me for Christmas last year when I was about to take the Master Gardener class, so I could use it to take notes


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself has been researching those....I guess they're like second-tier cell service providers?  We have Verizon, and have had it for ages.  He's been looking for similar services at a lower price.  A lot of those "other" plans have you buy the phone (we just got a Samsung Galaxy S2 to replace our Droid 2 sets) and then pay for the monthly service.  So far, test-driving the Samsung through Ting is looking promising.  The one unit cost $200, so we'll end up spending about $400 for the two sets if we're happy with what we see during this 30-day trial period.  After that our monthly service charge for the two phones will be $37 plus the government's shares, so about $45 a month.  Or roughly 1/3 of what we've been paying for service on the two phones.  Himself did the number crunching and figures our break-even time is just over four months.

Ting buys its time and service from Sprint.  We had them before and had no problem.  We switched to Verizon because the reception was better out here.  Hmm, Verizon has now sold that tower we were using and our signal is so weak more than half the time (can you hear me NOW?)
 )they aren't worth keeping.


----------



## taxlady

I really liked BakeChef's method - buy used smart phones on Ebay and don't get tied to a plan. With an unlocked phone, you can just buy a SIM card when you travel and pay for local service instead of hideously expensive roaming.


----------



## MrsLMB

PrincessFiona60 said:


> No nightmares last night...at least nothing that scared me.


 
Are you taking any new meds or have you had any adjustments in your meds?  I had nightmares when I was on a new med.  Once I was off, they went away.

Hope you can get some rest.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Just an antibiotic, but I had been taking it for 2 weeks before I had the nightmare.

Thank you!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> I really liked BakeChef's method - buy used smart phones on Ebay and don't get tied to a plan. With an unlocked phone, you can just buy a SIM card when you travel and pay for local service instead of hideously expensive roaming.


This Samsung is used.  Himself got it off eBay.  He's been looking for a replacement Droid for me ever since mine started to act up well over a year ago.  Seems like every time he found something he liked it was gone *poof* because he wasn't fast enough.  Probably bakechef nabbing it.   Now those phones are becoming scarce as people buy them up.  If they buy too new a generation of phone they don't qualify for the same kind of data plan we had (unlimited).  One problem with my old phone was that if I connected to WiFi the phone went off into its own little world.  Got spasms.  Couldn't use it at all.  As long as this phone works just right (so far so good) we'll be using WiFi a lot and won't need to use the data.  You sign up for the minimum you think you'll use.  IF you go over, they bump the rate on that one function (voice/data/text) to the next price range for just that month.  Your next billing cycle is back to what you signed up for.  Himself will monitor our usage like a hawk; if he sees any regular pattern he can adjust our usage amounts on a month-by-month basis.  And from what Himself told me, there really is no roaming charge on this service.  If you wander off the Ting-linked Sprint tower and move to another provider's tower its all good.  No "roaming charge".   Huh.

After all that, all I can say is *this phone is really cool!*


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> This Samsung is used.  Himself got it off eBay.  He's been looking for a replacement Droid for me ever since mine started to act up well over a year ago.  Seems like every time he found something he liked it was gone *poof* because he wasn't fast enough.  Probably bakechef nabbing it.   Now those phones are becoming scarce as people buy them up.  If they buy too new a generation of phone they don't qualify for the same kind of data plan we had (unlimited).  One problem with my old phone was that if I connected to WiFi the phone went off into its own little world.  Got spasms.  Couldn't use it at all.  As long as this phone works just right (so far so good) we'll be using WiFi a lot and won't need to use the data.  You sign up for the minimum you think you'll use.  IF you go over, they bump the rate on that one function (voice/data/text) to the next price range for just that month.  Your next billing cycle is back to what you signed up for.  Himself will monitor our usage like a hawk; if he sees any regular pattern he can adjust our usage amounts on a month-by-month basis.  And from what Himself told me, there really is no roaming charge on this service.  If you wander off the Ting-linked Sprint tower and move to another provider's tower its all good.  No "roaming charge".   Huh.
> 
> After all that, all I can say is *this phone is really cool!*



You can buy the newest and greatest phone outright and still keep your unlimited data plan with Verizon, just as long as they don't subsidize it.  You just have to go to the store and purchase a 4g LTE SIM card and tell them NOT to change anything about your plan, just activate the card on your number.  I have done it!  I still have unlimited on both phones.

I really like the look of Ting, I wish more carriers operated that way.


----------



## GotGarlic

bakechef said:


> You can buy the newest and greatest phone outright and still keep your unlimited data plan with Verizon, just as long as they don't subsidize it.  You just have to go to the store and purchase a 4g LTE SIM card and tell them NOT to change anything about your plan, just activate the card on your number.  I have done it!  I still have unlimited on both phones.
> 
> I really like the look of Ting, I wish more carriers operated that way.



Good to know, bakechef! Thanks!


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> You can buy the newest and greatest phone outright and still keep your unlimited data plan with Verizon, just as long as they don't subsidize it...



It's been my understanding that your monthly payment on a two year contract pays for the discounted phone.  They sell you a phone for a low price then inflate the monthly contract price to get their money back.  So if you buy a phone separately then continue your contract, you're paying twice.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> It's been my understanding that your monthly payment on a two year contract pays for the discounted phone.  They sell you a phone for a low price then inflate the monthly contract price to get their money back.  So if you buy a phone separately then continue your contract, you're paying twice.


I agree that the monthly payments are inflated to cover the cost of discounted phones. But, I don't pay less once my contract is over. I don't see any plans that are cheaper if you don't get a discounted phone. It may be different in the US.

With Fido, my service provider, and I believe other Canadian cell phone companies, there is a penalty for switching away before fulfilling a contract that includes a discounted phone. The amount depends on how many months are left and how much the company figures they subsidized the phone. It works that way in Denmark too.


----------



## taxlady

CG, when I wrote about roaming fees, I was thinking in terms of travelling to other countries.


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> It's been my understanding that your monthly payment on a two year contract pays for the discounted phone.  They sell you a phone for a low price then inflate the monthly contract price to get their money back.  So if you buy a phone separately then continue your contract, you're paying twice.



You are correct, it stinks that my monthly payment doesn't go down now that both contracts are over.  I have to look at it this way, there is no other option that gives me unlimited LTE service at this point.  Sprint is very slowly rolling out LTE service and they have unlimited data, but they have very little LTE at this point.  Verizon has covered a majority of their footprint with LTE, the only time I see 3g show up on my phone is in very rural areas and fringe areas.  I also pay $60 a month per phone with my corporate discount (unlimited data, 750 minutes shared, no texting).  There are cheaper options for unlimited everything (data speeds are slowed after a certain amount, but not shut down or charged overages), but they are on networks like t-mobile where coverage can be quite spotty when not in a city.  We rarely text and use very few minutes.

T-mobile started the program where they are pricing their phones separate from their service, the price of the service is obvious, then you finance your phone which is then added to your bill, once the phone is paid off your bill goes down to just the price of the service.  All of the big names have followed suit and are offering similar programs, but they are all pretty much more than what I am paying per month.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef said:


> ....I really like the look of Ting, I wish more carriers operated that way.





bakechef said:


> ....I also pay $60 a month per phone with my corporate discount (unlimited data, 750 minutes shared, no texting)......


Himself has looked at several plans for months now: Ting, Republic, Virgin and Someone Else (the Walmart one).  Probably all the rest out there too.   Decided Ting gave the most flexibility with your phone and the services would work for us.  We currently have a Verizon similar to yours, but since he lost his company discount we've been paying $140 for two phones on a shared plan.  Since we live in a reasonably modern town and we have unlimited internet at home we can use WiFi for the phones and not worry about using our data measure.  As a bonus, Ting lets you download a HotSpot app on the phone.  I remember that Republic didn't.  Our daughter (whom we stay with when back in OH) doesn't have home internet and uses her phone as her hot spot - but you can piggyback only so many laptops to it before the connection suffers.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> CG, when I wrote about roaming fees, I was thinking in terms of travelling to other countries.


Got ya.  We don't have passports so no chance of that happening at this time.  Otherwise we'd come visit you - you're about 6 hours away.


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> Himself has looked at several plans for months now: Ting, Republic, Virgin and Someone Else (the Walmart one).  Probably all the rest out there too.   Decided Ting gave the most flexibility with your phone and the services would work for us.  We currently have a Verizon similar to yours, but since he lost his company discount we've been paying $140 for two phones on a shared plan.  Since we live in a reasonably modern town and we have unlimited internet at home we can use WiFi for the phones and not worry about using our data measure.  As a bonus, Ting lets you download a HotSpot app on the phone.  I remember that Republic didn't.  Our daughter (whom we stay with when back in OH) doesn't have home internet and uses her phone as her hot spot - but you can piggyback only so many laptops to it before the connection suffers.



I use my phone as a hotspot even though Verizon doesn't want me to unless I pay them another $30 per month, but since I'm tech saavy I have a work around.  I only use it as a hotspot while traveling if hotel WiFi is crappy and I want to stream stuff from my home server, or if I'm a passenger in a car and want to use the internet on my tablet.  We have separate home internet, we stream a lot and I think that Verizon would only put up with that for so long!

It is nice being out of contract and having options.  I might buy an inexpensive sprint smartphone and give ting a try for a month or so on one of their less expensive plans to see how the coverage is here, I haven't had sprint since 1999.  If I don't care for it, I'll resell the phone and keep what I currently have.


----------



## Somebunny

Lamenting having paid top dollar for a flight to Las Vegas that will be delayed because of the never ending fog we have been enduring for two weeks now ARGH!!!!! Crapola!!! Supposed to leave at 8:00 delayed now until 10.40, but I expect it will be delayed by more than that, as one of our party was to leave this morning at 8:00 and did not get out until 1:40 ick 1/2 a day at the airport!!!  This trip is short enough without having to wait on weather!  Okay rant over ...... For now


----------



## Addie

I don't know why but for some reason the five pound bags of sugar I buy at my supermarket have been solid block of sugar. Have you ever tried to break up a solid five pound bag of sugar so you can get it into the canister? I hate grains of sugar on my counter. It drives me crazy! 

Vent over. Thanks for listening.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I don't know why but for some reason the five pound bags of sugar I buy at my supermarket have been solid block of sugar. Have you ever tried to break up a solid five pound bag of sugar so you can get it into the canister? I hate grains of sugar on my counter. It drives me crazy!
> 
> Vent over. Thanks for listening.


Just like when my frozen vegis turn into a block, I drop it on the floor. Several times, if necessary.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Just like when my frozen vegis turn into a block, I drop it on the floor. Several times, if necessary.



I would love to do that. But I have neighbors and if they hear a thud, they think someone has fallen and come running. More than once I have gone next door when she drops something thinking she may have fallen. These wall are thick, but thuds you can hear! I need to get out my hammer. (For the sugar, not the neighbors!)


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I would love to do that. But I have neighbors and if they hear a thud, they think someone has fallen and come running. More than once I have gone next door when she drops something thinking she may have fallen. These wall are thick, but thuds you can hear! I need to get out my hammer. (For the sugar, not the neighbors!)


Yeah, I can see that dropping heavy things on the floor might not be such a great idea where you live.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Yeah, I can see that dropping heavy things on the floor might not be such a great idea where you live.



If it is a woman who hears the thud, the first thing they do is knock on a man's door in case who ever fell needs to be picked up. It never occurs to anyone to call 911 instead.


----------



## Addie

I had been having a battle with fruit flies. I knew the cause was a peach I didn't eat in time. So I cut it up, tossed the pit in the garbage and the flesh down the drain and let the garbage disposal take care of it. Hmmm. Too many fruit flies and they weren't leaving. So I went on line.

It seems the main culprit in most kitchens is the drain in the sink. Specially those with a garbage disposal. Sure enough, that is where my friends were holding there meetings. By now there wasn't a single fruit fly. They were all married with large families. The cure was so simple. Pour bleach down the drain and for those that didn't want to live down there, Windex! Windex? Are they kidding? Okay, I will try it. So I got out the bottle and every time I saw any, they got hit with Windex! Problem solved in one day. 

Yesterday I made an apple pie for my daughter. I put the peels down the drain, ran the disposal with scalding hot water and then poured a bit of bleach down. I go out in the kitchen tonight and there are more of my friends. Where were they coming from? The peeler! I left it in the sink to be washed. And according to the article, it doesn't have to be fruit that attracts them. It can be a potato or onion or any raw food that has gone bad. Most foods have sugar in them and that is what they are after. There was still the sugar on the peeler. Lesson learned. Windex to the rescue!  I usually clean as I go. But I got lazy this time.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I don't know why but for some reason the five pound bags of sugar I buy at my supermarket have been solid block of sugar. Have you ever tried to break up a solid five pound bag of sugar so you can get it into the canister? I hate grains of sugar on my counter. It drives me crazy!
> 
> Vent over. Thanks for listening.


Put the sugar bat into another plastic bag.  I use a produce bag from the store.  Take a rolling pin or flat side of a meat pounder and think of something that makes you angry.  Beat the sugar on the kitchen counter until the lumps are broken up.  You don't have to hit it really hard, just enough times to get things loose.  As a bonus, repeated crashing sounds will assure your neighbors you aren't passing out on the floor.

Oh, and about those fruit flies?  Google "homemade kitchen counter fruit fly catchers".  There are all kinds of different options, but basically they are a jar/bowl with something to attract them and a piece of plastic with pinholes over it to catch them.  All are given good reviews.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie,

Try tossing a few ice cubes into the garbage disposal to clean it, turn on the cold water, flip the switch and count to 10.


----------



## Dawgluver

I cut a pop bottle in half, invert the top part as a funnel, and put a bit of cider vinegar in the bottom.  Fruit flies get in, but they can't fly out, and drown.


----------



## GotGarlic

For fruit flies, I put a small bowl of cider vinegar on the counter with a few drops of dish detergent. The vinegar attracts them and the soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid. They try to land on top, but they fall into the cider and DIE!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I cut a pop bottle in half, invert the top part as a funnel, and put a bit of cider vinegar in the bottom.  Fruit flies get in, but they can't fly out, and drown.
> 
> 
> View attachment 19134
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 19135


Cool.

Fruit flies seem to like wine even better than cicer vinegar.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> For fruit flies, I put a small bowl of cider vinegar on the counter with a few drops of dish detergent. The vinegar attracts them and the soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid. They try to land on top, but they fall into the cider and DIE!


That's what I usually do too.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Cool.
> 
> Fruit flies seem to like wine even better than cicer vinegar.



I'm not sharing my wine   When I was a bartender, I noticed that fruit flies really liked getting in through the pour tops of sweet liqueur bottles.  Nasty.  A little protein with your Pink Squirrel?


----------



## bakechef

GotGarlic said:


> For fruit flies, I put a small bowl of cider vinegar on the counter with a few drops of dish detergent. The vinegar attracts them and the soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid. They try to land on top, but they fall into the cider and DIE!



That's what I do!  It works and within no time there are dead little fruit fly bodies in the vinegar.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> I had been having a battle with fruit flies. I knew the cause was a peach I didn't eat in time. So I cut it up, tossed the pit in the garbage and the flesh down the drain and let the garbage disposal take care of it. Hmmm. Too many fruit flies and they weren't leaving. So I went on line.
> 
> It seems the main culprit in most kitchens is the drain in the sink. Specially those with a garbage disposal. Sure enough, that is where my friends were holding there meetings. By now there wasn't a single fruit fly. They were all married with large families. The cure was so simple. Pour bleach down the drain and for those that didn't want to live down there, Windex! Windex? Are they kidding? Okay, I will try it. So I got out the bottle and every time I saw any, they got hit with Windex! Problem solved in one day.
> 
> Yesterday I made an apple pie for my daughter. I put the peels down the drain, ran the disposal with scalding hot water and then poured a bit of bleach down. I go out in the kitchen tonight and there are more of my friends. Where were they coming from? The peeler! I left it in the sink to be washed. And according to the article, it doesn't have to be fruit that attracts them. It can be a potato or onion or any raw food that has gone bad. Most foods have sugar in them and that is what they are after. There was still the sugar on the peeler. Lesson learned. Windex to the rescue!  I usually clean as I go. But I got lazy this time.



Even with all of the fruit in our produce department at work, when we get fruit flies, they go after the onions first!

You'd think with a entire produce department we'd see more fruit flies than we do.  When I worked for another company they were everywhere, including the bakery.  They loved the onion or blueberry bagels in the bulk bagel bins.


----------



## Dawgluver

I wash bananas the minute I get them home.  And the cherry toms in bowls on the counter sport shower caps.

We have a covered copper bucket on the counter for composting scraps, the FFs seem to like getting into it.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Dawgluver said:


> I cut a pop bottle in half, invert the top part as a funnel, and put a bit of cider vinegar in the bottom.  Fruit flies get in, but they can't fly out, and drown.
> 
> 
> View attachment 19134
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 19135



That's exactly what we do up at the marina to get rid of yellow jackets. Except we just leave a bit of coke in the bottom. Works like a charm.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> ...Fruit flies seem to like wine even better than cicer vinegar.


So do I.


----------



## CarolPa

Every year before Thanksgiving I buy a new turkey baster.  Not long  after the holiday is over, my husband confiscates it to use in the  garage to siphon oil, etc.  So here I am again without one.  I wanted to use it  for something today and it wasn't there.


----------



## Andy M.

*SO In The Kitchen*

Not that I'm complaining, but guess who has clean up when she cooks.  Keep in mind I've already cleaned up after her once today for the pecan balls she made before I got up this morning.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> Not that I'm complaining, but guess who has clean up when she cooks.  Keep in mind I've already cleaned up after her once today for the pecan balls she made before I got up this morning.




LOL  Even with the mess, you have a beautiful kitchen, Andy.  Is that the TV remote I see in the middle of the counter?


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> LOL  Even with the mess, you have a beautiful kitchen, Andy.  Is that the TV remote I see in the middle of the counter?



Thanks, Carol.  Yes, the TV is just out of frame on the right.


----------



## Somebunny

Why must you board the plane an hour before take-off ??????


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Somebunny said:


> Why must you board the plane an hour before take-off ??????



It's called "bored", right?  Nothing like a planeful of angry people


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Somebunny said:


> Why must you board the plane an hour before take-off ??????



That's to give the lard butt with the steamer sized carry on enough time to try to jam into the overhead directly above where your seat is.

Sorry, that was my outdoor voice.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Every year before Thanksgiving I buy a new turkey baster.  Not long  after the holiday is over, my husband confiscates it to use in the  garage to siphon oil, etc.  So here I am again without one.  I wanted to use it  for something today and it wasn't there.



Join the club on millions of women across the nation. My daughter now keeps hers in the laundry room. He would never think of looking in there. Then the next time she was in the Dollar store, she bought about three of them and put them in the trunk.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Join the club on millions of women across the nation. My daughter now keeps hers in the laundry room. He would never think of looking in there. Then the next time she was in the Dollar store, she bought about three of them and put them in the trunk.



Why not just buy some for him.  If he has his own he won't need hers.


----------



## KatyCooks

Andy M. said:


> Why not just buy some for him. If he has his own he won't need hers.


 
Or he could just buy his own...


----------



## Andy M.

KatyCooks said:


> Or he could just buy his own...



Why would he if he can steal his wife's?  Saves gas and time.


----------



## KatyCooks

Andy M. said:


> Why would he if he can steal his wife's? Saves gas and time.


 
Doesn't save gas - if the wife has to go out to buy them!  Then the dinner will be late too...


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Why not just buy some for him.  If he has his own he won't need hers.



They were for him. That is why she put them in the trunk. The next time he asked her where hers was, she told him to look in the trunk.  He found them and told my daughter he didn't remember buying them, but is glad he did. He will have to remember to make sure he buys more of them.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Why would he if he can steal his wife's?  Saves gas and time.



Does 'she' steal his tools for the car to make repairs around the house?


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> Why would he if he can steal his wife's?  Saves gas and time.




LOL, the reason my husband takes mine is because he doesn't want to ruin a new one using it for oil.  I now buy cheap ones from Dollar Tree because I know I will never get to use it more than once.  Have to put that on my list of things to buy for Thanksgiving.


----------



## CarolPa

Oh, and I also HAD a Super Shooter that I used to fill Ladylocks.  He  took that for some reason, cut the end off the decorator tip to make the opening  bigger to suit his needs, and told me to buy a new one. I think I'll just quit making him Ladylocks.


----------



## KatyCooks

CarolPa said:


> Oh, and I also HAD a Super Shooter that I used to fill Ladylocks. He took that for some reason, cut the end off the decorator tip to make the opening bigger to suit his needs, and told me to buy a new one. I think I'll just quit making him Ladylocks.


 
Okay, so I looked up "Ladylocks" and got some interesting results involving hair extensions and various other things.....    and yet I feel you may be talking about a food item.....


----------



## taxlady

KatyCooks said:


> Okay, so I looked up "Ladylocks" and got some interesting results involving hair extensions and various other things.....    and yet I feel you may be talking about a food item.....


I wanna know too. Thanks for saving me the Google effort.


----------



## taxlady

Nobody want to have their tools appropriated or misused.


----------



## KatyCooks

taxlady said:


> I wanna know too. Thanks for saving me the Google effort.


 
Wasn't it you who gave me the useful look-up tip TL?   Works a treat!   (But not with Ladylocks apparently!)


----------



## taxlady

KatyCooks said:


> Wasn't it you who gave me the useful look-up tip TL?   Works a treat!   (But not with Ladylocks apparently!)


Do you mean "highlight and right click"? Yeah, that was me.


----------



## CarolPa

KatyCooks said:


> Okay, so I looked up "Ladylocks" and got some interesting results involving hair extensions and various other things.....    and yet I feel you may be talking about a food item.....





It is considered a cookie.  You make dough and wrap it around a spindle, bake, and slide off the spindle to cool.  Once cool, you mix a creamy filling and shoot it into the cookie.  Hopefully the picture I attached will show it.


----------



## KatyCooks

CarolPa said:


> View attachment 19213
> 
> It is considered a cookie. You make dough and wrap it around a spindle, bake, and slide off the spindle to cool. Once cool, you mix a creamy filling and shoot it into the cookie. Hopefully the picture I attached will show it.


 
Looks delicious, but I don't understand the name?

They look like something we would call a "cream horn".  Are they cone-shaped?


----------



## KatyCooks

taxlady said:


> Do you mean "highlight and right click"? Yeah, that was me.


 
Hey, these things are only simple when you know them!  (And yes, that was what I meant! )


----------



## Somebunny

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> That's to give the lard butt with the steamer sized carry on enough time to try to jam into the overhead directly above where your seat is.  Sorry, that was my outdoor voice.[/QUOTE
> 
> Rofl......politically incorrect, but funny as truth often is!


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> Every year before Thanksgiving I buy a new turkey baster.  Not long  after the holiday is over, my husband confiscates it to use in the  garage to siphon oil, etc.  So here I am again without one.  I wanted to use it  for something today and it wasn't there.



You need a better hiding place  I had to hide my funnels from DH because he was taking them for outdoor use.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> You need a better hiding place  I had to hide my funnels from DH because he was taking them for outdoor use.



Try to use his tools or razor!


----------



## CarolPa

KatyCooks said:


> Looks delicious, but I don't understand the name?
> 
> They look like something we would call a "cream horn".  Are they cone-shaped?




They are called different names in different parts of the country, and obviously in other countries.  The reason they are called Ladylocks around here is because when you wrap the dough around the spindle it resembles those long curls that were a popular hairdo at one time.  Some people call them Ladyfingers because they are about the size of a little finger.  Some people make them cone-shaped, but mine are straight.  You can buy the metal forms to wrap them on, but it's very popular to wrap them around clothespins.  Some might be too young to remember clothespins.  LOL They were used when people used to hang their laundry outside to dry.  You don't use the ones with the spring in them, but the straight ones.  You wrap aluminum foil around them, then wrap the dough around them.  There are a variety of fillings you can use in them.  One time my husband made some big spindles for me to use from old broom handles.  I wrapped aluminum foil around them the same as I do with the clothespins.  They turned out really big, like some you see in a bakery.  They are very time consuming to make.


----------



## Zhizara

KatyCooks said:


> Looks delicious, but I don't understand the name?
> 
> They look like something we would call a "cream horn".  Are they cone-shaped?



They look to me like a lady's old fashioned ringlets.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> They look to me like a lady's old fashioned ringlets.



And they look to me like Italian Canollis


----------



## CarolPa

Zhizara said:


> They look to me like a lady's old fashioned ringlets.




Yep!  Like Shirley Temple!


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> And they look to me like Italian Canollis




I want to make Canollis some day, too.  My husband wants them because the old man always talks about them on Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.


----------



## Addie

I am looking for 10 cents worth of energy. Anybody got any? It is windy out and the temp is only 40ºF. 

Tomorrow at supper time some people are coming to serve us a buffet and try to convince us, we should vote "Yes" for a casino just down the street from me. This is the third presentation. They better have more than just coffee and doughnuts for us. If it goes through, we are looking at the next five years of more construction. We have just recovered from the Big Dig. I doubt I will even be around by the time it is built and up and running. It was supposed to be run by the folks who run by Caeser's Palace in Las Vegas. But there seems to be some problem with a shady past with a couple of the owners. So now they have some plan to get a new company to run and finance it. My daughter is dead set against it. She is afraid of property values going down and the traffic. She is even closer to the site than I am. I am concerned with jobs for the locals as are most of the folks in the building. They don't have any property to be concerned with. I am going only for the food. We get to vote on it next Tuesday.


----------



## CarolPa

What?  a casino owner with a shady past?  How novel!!   The casino will definately hurt the property owners in the area.  I have no room to talk against them because I frequent the casinos quite often, but they seem to target the senior citizens who don't have much income to begin with.  I guess it gives the seniors something to do for entertainment.  The casino we go to is in an old town in a  run-down neighborhood, which might not have been run-down before the casino came.  But I agree with you....go for the food!  LOL


----------



## bakechef

Been dealing with stiff neck and shoulder pain for a while now.  Last week started to get numbness in my thumb and forearm, so much for ignoring something and having it go away!

Upside, my boss came into work today (I was supposed to be working alone this morning), I call my Doctor's office and they had a cancellation and asked if I could be there in 20 minutes, and since my boss was there, I could.  I got into the doctor's office and got to see the doctor promptly!  He feels that it is a pinched nerve in my neck.  He sent me up the street to the hospital for x-rays and I was in and out of there in 20 minutes.  So inside of 2 hours I was able to see the doctor, get x-rays, and grab lunch before going back to work!

Now I have to do some physical therapy because of my limited range of motion with my neck.  

I'm not used to having issues, the last time I had to see the doctor for anything other than a physical or blood tests was about 25 years ago, I had a small tumor removed from my toe, LOL.

Almost 40 and I'm starting to fall apart!


----------



## Aunt Bea

bakechef said:


> Been dealing with stiff neck and shoulder pain for a while now.  Last week started to get numbness in my thumb and forearm, so much for ignoring something and having it go away!
> 
> Upside, my boss came into work today (I was supposed to be working alone this morning), I call my Doctor's office and they had a cancellation and asked if I could be there in 20 minutes, and since my boss was there, I could.  I got into the doctor's office and got to see the doctor promptly!  He feels that it is a pinched nerve in my neck.  He sent me up the street to the hospital for x-rays and I was in and out of there in 20 minutes.  So inside of 2 hours I was able to see the doctor, get x-rays, and grab lunch before going back to work!
> 
> Now I have to do some physical therapy because of my limited range of motion with my neck.
> 
> I'm not used to having issues, the last time I had to see the doctor for anything other than a physical or blood tests was about 25 years ago, I had a small tumor removed from my toe, LOL.
> 
> Almost 40 and I'm starting to fall apart!



Did you start noticing this severe pain in the neck towards the end of August? 

Just kidding, hope you feel better.


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> ...I'm not used to having issues, the last time I had to see the doctor for anything other than a physical or blood tests was about 25 years ago, I had a small tumor removed from my toe, LOL.
> 
> Almost 40 and I'm starting to fall apart!



Join the club.  Why should you be any different.


----------



## bakechef

Aunt Bea said:


> Did you start noticing this severe pain in the neck towards the end of August?
> 
> Just kidding, hope you feel better.



 !

Actually around the time that my boss went on vacation and my mom told me that she was moving down here is when it started, sometime in september.  I chalked it up to stress, guess that wasn't it!


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> Join the club.  Why should you be any different.



'cause I'm special, mom told me so!


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> 'cause I'm special, mom told me so!



Moms are like that.  Yeah, they are.


----------



## Addie

*First Vent*! President Obama is supposed to be coming to Boston tomorrow evening. But he is considering changing his plans. If we win the World Series and he is in town, security is going to be a nightmare. Please stay home Mr. President. Let us have our celebration. 

*Second Vent*! We are going to be visited by the "Friends of Suffolk Downs" to talk to us about the casino tonight at five p.m. It will be held down in the community room. Now this room is just big enough to hold only the residents and maybe a guest or two. What someone has not realized is that "The Friends" have been conducting a citywide phone calling thingy and inviting folks from all over Eastie to attend. I am going down, grab my food and sit in a corner to watch the mayhem. Someone didn't think this one out very well. I don't like the idea of folks just walking in off the street. Access to the apartments is just too easy.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> Moms are like that.  Yeah, they are.




Bayer Children's Aspirin, right?  Don't they now tell you not to give aspirin to kids?


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> *First Vent*! President Obama is supposed to be coming to Boston tomorrow evening. But he is considering changing his plans. If we win the World Series and he is in town, security is going to be a nightmare. Please stay home Mr. President. Let us have our celebration.
> 
> *Second Vent*! We are going to be visited by the "Friends of Suffolk Downs" to talk to us about the casino tonight at five p.m. It will be held down in the community room. Now this room is just big enough to hold only the residents and maybe a guest or two. What someone has not realized is that "The Friends" have been conducting a citywide phone calling thingy and inviting folks from all over Eastie to attend. I am going down, grab my food and sit in a corner to watch the mayhem. Someone didn't think this one out very well. I don't like the idea of folks just walking in off the street. Access to the apartments is just too easy.




I agree.  Any meeting that includes non-residents should be held in a public hall of some kind.


----------



## Zhizara

I'd really pitch a fit, Abbie.  First reason, is there is gambling locally, and I've seen a few people on low income lose their low income housing because of gambling.

We have a security guard here so I'm accustomed to the privacy.  They had a group of people from a state agency doing a survey about bed bugs, coming door to door, _*without* the customary escort._  I didn't let them in and did not participate in their survey.  I did let management know I really didn't like them letting strangers knock on my door (not once but three different times, different people.)  Their excuse was that they were from an agency of the state, but that wasn't satisfactory to me.


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> Bayer Children's Aspirin, right?  Don't they now tell you not to give aspirin to kids?


They say to be cautious. It is linked with Reyes Syndrome in kids with or recovering from viral infections like the flu or chicken pox.

Reye's syndrome - MayoClinic.com


----------



## Addie

*I just became rich!*

Well, the buffet was rather decent. Finger sandwiches, salad, potato salad, macaroni salad hot coffee. There were only a couple of strangers that I didn't recognize. They left before I did, so they didn't head for the apartments.

I just rolled out of bed. Literally. I fell asleep while watching TV. I was half asleep and went to roll over to get up, and got down instead. Right onto the floor. My bed is very low, so I didn't go far. But I woke up real quick. This is not the first time I have done that. And it probably won't be the last. It is the reason the bed is low. I am fine, no bruises, no broken bones. 

I made a discovery today. The pair of glasses I have, I have had the frames for more than three years. I just have new lens put in when a change is needed. I like them and they look good on me. Plus they are a perfect fit. They are designer frames from the Sophia Loren collection.

Usually I just wipe the lens with the skirt of my dress or bottom on any top I am wearing. Tonight I decided to give them a good cleaning. So I was running them under hot water and soap. A glint caught my eye. I called Spike to bring his jewelers loop with him. On each side in the front, right next to the lens and two spots on each temple piece there are total of six diamond chips. I have never noticed them in all the years I have had these frames. I thought they might just be pieces of crystals or CZs. Or even just a diamond cut in the metal piece. I guess this is the start of my diamond collection. First there were the Vanderbilts, but I belong to the VanTrashCan family. I  have three diamond chips. I am getting up in the world.  

It is late and I am having all sorts of stray thoughts. I must have banged my head when I 'rolled' out of my bed. 

We have a case of animal cruelty down in Quincy. I won't give you the details. It is too horrific. I get sick to my stomach just thinking of them. But the culprit has been caught. We went to the expense of the police going out of state to bring him back to face charges. He is being held on $500,000 *cash* bail. That means that his family or friends, (if he has any) have to come up with $500,00 in hard cash. No bail bondsman. No percentage of the bail. mes from Poland and has been here on an expired visitor's Visa. The dog was named Puppy Doe by the public. Unfortunately Puppy Doe's injuries were so severe that he had to be put down. It was a Pit Bull. He was arraigned today and a bunch of people showed up at the court with their pets to show support for Puppy Doe.


----------



## CatPat

There are none of bad dogs, Addie. It is of very bad people who hurt these precious dogs and cats.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> Bayer Children's Aspirin, right?  Don't they now tell you not to give aspirin to kids?



It was just a quote.  I couldn't remember what product it was for.  These days, adults are the only ones who use baby aspirin.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> They say to be cautious. It is linked with Reyes Syndrome in kids with or recovering from viral infections like the flu or chicken pox.
> 
> Reye's syndrome - MayoClinic.com



Aspirin is not supposed to be used for children who have a fever.


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> Bayer Children's Aspirin, right?  Don't they now tell you not to give aspirin to kids?



It was just a quote.  I couldn't remember what product it was for.  These days, adults are the only ones who use baby aspirin.


----------



## vitauta

taxlady said:


> Nobody want to have their tools appropriated or misused.




or rather, one wouldn't like to think so.


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> Nobody want to have their tools appropriated or misused.





vitauta said:


> or rather, one wouldn't like to think so.


Huh?


----------



## vitauta

okay. guess i'm the one who didn't 'get' it--um...define tools?


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> okay. guess i'm the one who didn't 'get' it--um...define tools?


From Wiktionary:

*Noun*

*tool* (_plural_ *tools*)


​A mechanical device intended to make a task easier. _Hand me that *tool*, would you?   I don't have the right *tools* to start fiddling around with the engine._
Equipment used in a profession, e.g., *tools* of the trade.  [quotations ▼] _These are the *tools* of the trade._
Something to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.  [quotations ▼]
(computing) A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations. _The software engineer had been developing lots of EDA *tools*.   a *tool* for recovering deleted files from a disk_
_tool - Wiktionary_


----------



## vitauta

taxlady said:


> From Wiktionary:
> 
> *Noun*
> 
> *tool* (_plural_ *tools*)
> 
> 
> ​A mechanical device intended to make a task easier. _Hand me that *tool*, would you?   I don't have the right *tools* to start fiddling around with the engine._
> Equipment used in a profession, e.g., *tools* of the trade.  [quotations ▼] _These are the *tools* of the trade._
> Something to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.  [quotations ▼]
> (computing) A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations. _The software engineer had been developing lots of EDA *tools*.   a *tool* for recovering deleted files from a disk_
> _tool - Wiktionary_



oh.  well, them's not the tools i had in mind, sorry....


----------



## Alix

vitauta said:


> oh.  well, them's not the tools i had in mind, sorry....



HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! OMG! *wheeze* Best laugh of the morning. Thanks vitauta!

Funny, I use the word "tool" as a perjorative. For example, "Stop being a tool!" I totally got where you were coming from vit. 

My stray thought of the morning is, Why is it that when I have somewhere I have to be, I find the most entertaining stuff on the Net?


----------



## CarolPa

vitauta said:


> oh.  well, them's not the tools i had in mind, sorry....




In that case, my husband allows me to mishandle his tools any time I want!


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> *First Vent*! President Obama is supposed to be coming to Boston tomorrow evening. But he is considering changing his plans. If we win the World Series and he is in town, security is going to be a nightmare. Please stay home Mr. President. Let us have our celebration.
> 
> *Second Vent*! We are going to be visited by the "Friends of Suffolk Downs" to talk to us about the casino tonight at five p.m. It will be held down in the community room. Now this room is just big enough to hold only the residents and maybe a guest or two. What someone has not realized is that "The Friends" have been conducting a citywide phone calling thingy and inviting folks from all over Eastie to attend. I am going down, grab my food and sit in a corner to watch the mayhem. Someone didn't think this one out very well. I don't like the idea of folks just walking in off the street. Access to the apartments is just too easy.


Perhaps it's been thought out only too well. The "friends" have obviously hit on a way to pack the meeting and exclude locals who might object to the proposals


----------



## Mad Cook

CarolPa said:


> I want to make Canollis some day, too. My husband wants them because the old man always talks about them on Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.


There was an episode of "Cagney and Lacey" when the lady policemen were helping to cater for a colleague's leaving party and spent every waking minute and part of the night  making canolli by the dozen, only to find out when they delivered them that the party boy had requested _canelloni_ !!!!


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> Try to use his tools or razor!


Yes. I always found that a suitable lesson and punishment for misuse of my best shap kitchen knives was to shave my legs with his razor. The point was quickly driven home.


----------



## CarolPa

Mad Cook said:


> There was an episode of "Cagney and Lacey" when the lady policemen were helping to cater for a colleague's leaving party and spent every waking minute and part of the night  making canolli by the dozen, only to find out when they delivered them that the party boy had requested _canelloni_ !!!!




Ooops!


----------



## taxlady

Today my sales tax reports were due. I went to the Revenu Québec website to file them online. It wouldn't recognize me. I know my username and password are correct. I can't remember them, so they are in Password Safe. I used Password safe to copy and paste username and password the last time I signed into their "ClicSéqur Express" website. Grrr. I'll have to phone them tomorrow and find out what's up.

I went to my biz banking site and filed the returns there. They charge me two dollars. They won't submit them until tomorrow, so they will be late. I shouldn't have to pay a penalty because I have refunds. I am not a happy camper.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What a pain taxy!  The more "official" stuff I do online the more trouble it seems to be.  Hope you argue your point against them and win in the morning.  Good luck!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> It was just a quote.  I couldn't remember what product it was for.  These days, adults are the only ones who use baby aspirin.



It was for St. Joseph Baby Aspirin. I can still see the blond towhead.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> Yes. I always found that a suitable lesson and punishment for misuse of my best shap kitchen knives was to shave my legs with his razor. The point was quickly driven home.



Good for you!!!


----------



## taxlady

I was just about to go to the health food store and buy some leeks. I want to make some leek and potato soup. Then I remembered, my right wrist has a mild inflammation. I'm wearing my brace. I don't think it would be a good idea to slice all that leek. Phooey.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> ...I'm wearing my brace. I don't think it would be a good idea to slice all that leek. Phooey.



Food processor????


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Food processor????


Good idea. I think I'll try that in a few days, when the wrist is better, but I don't want to strain it. There's still potatoes to peel, and that doesn't sound like such hot idea either, until the wrist gets a bit better.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Good idea. I think I'll try that in a few days, when the wrist is better, but I don't want to strain it. There's still potatoes to peel, and that doesn't sound like such hot idea either, until the wrist gets a bit better.



Sorry you have to deal with that.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Good idea. I think I'll try that in a few days, when the wrist is better, but I don't want to strain it. There's still potatoes to peel, and that doesn't sound like such hot idea either, until the wrist gets a bit better.



Maybe boil them skin on, then slip the skins off?  So sorry about the wrist, Taxy.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Sorry you have to deal with that.


Thanks Andy. I just want to be really careful with this so it doesn't turn into full blown carpal tunnel syndrome. I would prefer to avoid surgery.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hope the wrist feels better soon taxy!  I know on the days my fingers don't cooperate I feel so old.   I don't care if I GET old, I just don't want to FEEL old!


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Hope the wrist feels better soon taxy!  I know on the days my fingers don't cooperate I feel so old.   I don't care if I GET old, I just don't want to FEEL old!


Thanks CG.

I hear ya. I'm not so fond of this feeling old stuff. Bifocals, pills for osteoporosis, drops for glaucoma, joints that "creak" first thing in the morning, not remembering stuff as well...


----------



## msmofet

I am also dealing with hand/ finger / wrist pain issues. *IT STINKS!!* And my girls complaining about what I can't do. They are young and complain about doing such a tiny amount of what I did at their age!!


----------



## taxlady

msmofet said:


> I am also dealing with hand/ finger / wrist pain issues. *IT STINKS!!* And my girls complaining about what I can't do. They are young and complain about doing such a tiny amount of what I did at their age!!


(((Hugs MsM)))

My wrist is nothing as bad as yours. I'm just being *really* careful. I don't want it getting bad.


----------



## Dawgluver

Not so happy with DH.  He stayed home today, slept most of today even though he claims he's not sick, and skipped work.  First time in many years.

I got home from work, and the TV remote was nowhere to be found.  I tore the sunroom apart,  checked all the usual places, garage, everywhere.   DH said he had no idea where he put it.  Grrrrr.  No help whatsoever.

I finally found the remote, it was sandwiched between a couple of cushions on an unused chair.    Did I mention that I was not happy?


----------



## Zhizara

Sorry, Dawg.  I hope DH is okay, maybe just a case of spring fever out of season, or maybe something at work.  Got my fingers crossed for ya that it's just a little glitch.  Don't overthink it, it's probably no big deal.  I'm sure he'll tell you later.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

He may claim he's not sick...but...


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, guys,  AFAIK, no early dementia in his side, just a bit of schizophrenia and a mite of bipolar.  My side all just croaks from heart attacks.

Oh crap.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

PM me or e-mail...


----------



## Addie

I know that every so often I would need a "Mental Health" day from work. Wait a day or two and then ask him what it was all about.


----------



## CarolPa

Our local public TV station is requesting recipes for an upcoming cookbook and I have one I would like to submit, but the web page for submitting recipes keeps telling me I've entered the wrong security code and I know I haven't.  Every time they reject your security code they give you a new one. I know I haven't entered all 20 of them wrong!  The deadline for submitting recipes is tomorrow.  Grrrr I wanted to be in that cookbook for posterity.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Our local public TV station is requesting recipes for an upcoming cookbook and I have one I would like to submit, but the web page for submitting recipes keeps telling me I've entered the wrong security code and I know I haven't.  Every time they reject your security code they give you a new one. I know I haven't entered all 20 of them wrong!  The deadline for submitting recipes is tomorrow.  Grrrr I wanted to be in that cookbook for posterity.



Call the station and let them know something is wrong with the site.


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> Our local public TV station is requesting recipes for an upcoming cookbook and I have one I would like to submit, but the web page for submitting recipes keeps telling me I've entered the wrong security code and I know I haven't.  Every time they reject your security code they give you a new one. I know I haven't entered all 20 of them wrong!  The deadline for submitting recipes is tomorrow.  Grrrr I wanted to be in that cookbook for posterity.



There's usually an option to have the website speak the code to you, for vision-impaired users. Does this site have that?


----------



## CarolPa

There was a link to contact them and I did send them a message, but with the cut off date being tomorrow there's not much hope of this being resolved before them.  I didn't see any option for the vision impaired.  It's one of those codes where they give you the wonky letters and numbers to show that you're legit.


----------



## taxlady

Did anyone hear me holler s**t?

I finished the mise-en-place for supper. There was a lot to chop. I dumped the plate on the floor.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Did anyone hear me holler s**t?
> 
> I finished the mise-en-place for supper. There was a lot to chop. I dumped the plate on the floor.



Huh.  I wondered what that noise was.

Bummer, Taxy.  Hopefully you were able to pick the Shreddy hairs out and rescue it!


----------



## Somebunny

taxlady said:


> Did anyone hear me holler s**t?  I finished the mise-en-place for supper. There was a lot to chop. I dumped the plate on the floor.



Mr Falafel anyone?   Sorry Taxy!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Did anyone hear me holler s**t?
> 
> I finished the mise-en-place for supper. There was a lot to chop. I dumped the plate on the floor.



I felt the tremor in The Force...sorry, Tax!


----------



## taxlady

I poured myself a glass of Scotch and mince all that shite again.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I poured myself a glass of Scotch and mince all that shite again.



ROFLMAO!!!

Apparently, you were able to pick out the Shreddy hair....


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> ROFLMAO!!!
> 
> Apparently, you were able to pick out the Shreddy hair.....


No, I had to mince a new batch. There was more crud in it than just Shreddy hair. 

Actually, it spread itself out enough that I didn't even bother to look. I just swept it up and deposited it in the compost bin.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Did anyone hear me holler s**t?
> 
> I finished the mise-en-place for supper. There was a lot to chop. I dumped the plate on the floor.



 Tsk! Tsk!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> ROFLMAO!!!
> 
> Apparently, you were able to pick out the Shreddy hair....



That is not nice! We shouldn't be laughing at this catastrophe!  Sorry (well not really.)


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> That is not nice! We shouldn't be laughing at this catastrophe!  Sorry (well not really.)



  Never said I was nice....

Thankfully, Taxy was able to save the day even after the catastrophe!

Lordy, I would be so aggrieved if I dumped a whole plate of minced vegs....would probably say a few words too!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Never said I was nice....
> 
> Thankfully, Taxy was able to save the day even after the catastrophe!
> 
> Lordy, I would be so aggrieved if I dumped a whole plate of minced vegs....would probably say a few words too!



So would I. But we always seem to laugh the hardest at someone else's misfortune! Don't take me to a funeral!


----------



## taxlady

Well, the catastrophe was kinda funny. I wouldn't have posted it if I was worried about people laughing at it. I thought Dawg was laughing at the glass of Scotch.

And now I have the headache from he double hockey sticks. I wonder if that is a reaction to yesterday's flu shot.


----------



## Somebunny

taxlady said:


> Well, the catastrophe was kinda funny. I wouldn't have posted it if I was worried about people laughing at it. I thought Dawg was laughing at the glass of Scotch.  And now I have the headache from he double hockey sticks. I wonder if that is a reaction to yesterday's flu shot.



I would never laugh at a glass of scotch, but do you  think that the adrenaline you experienced coupled with the scotch may have caused the headache.


----------



## Addie

Somebunny said:


> I would never laugh at a glass of scotch, but do you  think that the adrenaline you experienced coupled with the scotch may have caused the headache.



Positively blame it on the scotch. Bad batch! Next time make it wine!


----------



## taxlady

Somebunny said:


> I would never laugh at a glass of scotch, but do you  think that the adrenaline you experienced coupled with the scotch may have caused the headache.


I doubt it. It took two hours before I got the headache and I had had a headache earlier, bad, but not as bad. Bad enough that I took AC&C (ASA [aspirin to Mercans], Codeine, and Cafeine). I did wait long enough after the AC&C before drinking the Scotch.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

taxlady said:


> I doubt it. It took two hours before I got the headache and I had had a headache earlier, bad, but not as bad. Bad enough that I took AC&C (ASA [aspirin to Mercans], Codeine, and Cafeine). I did wait long enough after the AC&C before drinking the Scotch.



I remember reading a story once that involved a trophy of a cat's hind end that was cursed. You should probably make sure no one has snuck one into your house.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My petty vent today doesn't seem so petty to me.  I came home after a very nice day at church.  We had decided to have a Thanksgiving themed pot-luck next Sunday, to make sure that members who have no family around, or way to celebrate Thanksgiving have a great Thanksgiving Day meal.  I was given a 15 lb. turkey to cook on the Webber for the pot luck.  I brought it home, went into the basement to put it into the freezer, and found myself standing in ankle-deep water.  

I checked the sump pump, and it was running.  I disconnected it from the drain pipe that runs underground into the back yard, and turned on the pump.  It pumped water wonderfully.  I went out and dug up the drain tiles, three foot deep, and in a 20 yard trench.  Lots of work there.  Twomyoung men from our church helped me.  They had to leave after we cleared every drain tile of the sand packing them.  I buried everything back up and went back in to turn on the pump.  I accidentally pulled the PVC hose from the pipe, and had to rebuild the connections from the pump, to the one-way valve, to the pipe.  Of course I had to purchase hose clamps, on a Sunday no less.  We don't purchase things on Sunday normally.  I'm calling this one the "ox in the mire".  I'll be checking in about 10 more minutes to see if the water is drained.

This is such a pain.  

Saturday, I spent several hours preparing my two batches of chili for tomorrow's United Way Chili Cookoff.  I was a tad sore after that.  I will be serving the chili tomorrow.  I'm going to be one tired hombre tomorrow night.

I'm gonna check the basement now.  If it's drained, I'm going to bed.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, Chief, so sorry.  This belongs in Major Vents!  We had a basement full of water many years ago.  No sleep for 4 days as we shopvacced and cleaned.

What a huge pain, hope things get back to normal soon!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Oh, Chief, so sorry.  This belongs in Major Vents!  We had a basement full of water many years ago.  No sleep for 4 days as we shopvacced and cleaned.
> 
> What a huge pain, hope things get back to normal soon!



My thoughts exactly. Major Vent! Hope tomorrow will be a peaceful family day and it is nice and quiet for you. What nice church members to help you on a Sunday.


----------



## taxlady

Sorry to read about the basement flood. BTDT. I'm glad you had help.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I'll get it all sorted out.  There isn't anything of real value in my basement, except for the hot water heater, the furnace, the deep freezer, you know, little things like that.  Fortunately, we planned ahead.  They are all a foot or more above the floor, and are untouched right now.

Well, it's light outside and so I'm going out to re-dig part of the drainage area, to find out why the water isn't pumping faster.

And thanks everyone, for the sympathy and understanding.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

So sorry, Chief!  I hope you get it figured out or you can create a skate rink in the basement.


----------



## Addie

To say I am just a tad piturbed is to put it mildly. Winthrop screwed up again. I had an 8:45 a.m. appointment today. Winthrop failed to enter it into their system or arrang for my transportation. So needless to say, I missed another appointment. This one is rather important. It is a follow-up to make sure I am not headed for a stroke. One side of my mouth every so often becomes distorted and stays that way for about five minutes. My vascular doctor can't find a reason for it and wants neurology to take a look at me. All her tests come back fine. Is there some sort of blockage in my brain? 

The woman who is responsible for entering these appointments has done this so often. I should have called her Friday to confirm. It shouldn't have to fall on me. *I* had to do the rescheduling because I cannot trust her to do it right. I don't want to file a formal complaint. It could cost her, her job. And I don't ever want that on my head. 

 I am going to brag a bit here. I am probably one of the best patients they have ever had. I make my own appointments, do the follow-up and call in for my own meds. I even often make arrangements for my own transportation. All jobs Winthrop is supposed to do. The whole purpose of this program is that I shouldn't have to worry my little head about anything. But I find that I often get calls from Winthrop asking me to verify their information with what I have. And I don't have an up to date computer program like they do. I just have my Google calendar. Grrr!


----------



## Addie

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I'll get it all sorted out.  There isn't anything of real value in my basement, except for the hot water heater, the furnace, the deep freezer, you know, little things like that.  Fortunately, we planned ahead.  They are all a foot or more above the floor, and are untouched right now.
> 
> Well, it's light outside and so I'm going out to re-dig part of the drainage area, to find out why the water isn't pumping faster.
> 
> And thanks everyone, for the sympathy and understanding.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Good luck Chief! Having been there, done that living in a basement apartment at my daughter's, you have my sympathy and total understanding.


----------



## CarolPa

What a mess!  You seem to be handling it very well, Chief.  Hope it's all fixed.


----------



## Addie

I seem to be into punishing myself today. I can't stand not even one grain of salt or sugar on my counter tops. It drives me right up the wall. So I decide today I will wax the counter tops. I look for my bottle of Jubilee Kitchen Wax. Of course it is waaaay in back under the sink. I have to move everything on the counters. Then I get to the ones next to the stove. Why not do the tiles in back on the stove while I am at it? And the stove could use a good coat. Well, while I am at it, do the fridge also. Also the wooden trim along the edge of the counters should be done. Why not the cabinet fronts? Why not just shoot myself? 

Now everyday I make sure I clean and wash my counter tops and wipe them down with hospital wipes. The stunner is that I cannot believe just how dirty they were. That Jubilee Wax really got all that film of dirt that I thought I was getting everyday. But at last my kitchen smells really clean and of Jubilee Wax. I am going to have to make this a weekly chore instead of just when I think of it. 

Now my spine and hip are killing me. I had to take *two *Vicodins instead of just one. It was going up and down on the stool to clean the tiles over the stove that finally did me in.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> I seem to be into punishing myself today. I can't stand not even one grain of salt or sugar on my counter tops. It drives me right up the wall. So I decide today I will wax the counter tops. I look for my bottle of Jubilee Kitchen Wax. Of course it is waaaay in back under the sink. I have to move everything on the counters. Then I get to the ones next to the stove. Why not do the tiles in back on the stove while I am at it? And the stove could use a good coat. Well, while I am at it, do the fridge also. Also the wooden trim along the edge of the counters should be done. Why not the cabinet fronts? Why not just shoot myself?
> 
> Now everyday I make sure I clean and wash my counter tops and wipe them down with hospital wipes. The stunner is that I cannot believe just how dirty they were. That Jubilee Wax really got all that film of dirt that I thought I was getting everyday. But at last my kitchen smells really clean and of Jubilee Wax. I am going to have to make this a weekly chore instead of just when I think of it.
> 
> Now my spine and hip are killing me. I had to take *two *Vicodins instead of just one. It was going up and down on the stool to clean the tiles over the stove that finally did me in.



I would throw that bottle of wax right out the window! 

I understand how you feel though, for me it is the smell of pine cleaner or Clorox.  It reminds me of my Grandmother mopping the kitchen floor and then spreading newspapers over it to pick up the water.  So glad that I can be easily satisfied with the memory and feel no compulsion to actually mop the kitchen floor!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> I would throw that bottle of wax right out the window!
> 
> I understand how you feel though, for me it is the smell of pine cleaner or Clorox.  It reminds me of my Grandmother mopping the kitchen floor and then spreading newspapers over it to pick up the water.  So glad that I can be easily satisfied with the memory and feel no compulsion to actually mop the kitchen floor!



I have been using Jubilee Wax for almost 50 years. SEJohnson stopped manufacturing it for quite a while. But Vermont Country Store bought out their on hand supply and have carried it ever since. It is so popular and a plethora of letters asking about it that SEJ has begun to manufacturing it again. When the word went out that it was no longer being manufactured, housewives began to buy out what small local hardware stores had on hand. They often had to go down to their basements to bring up a case or two for the housewife. 

One day my kids wrote on the wallpaper in the living room with a crayon. The Jubilee took it right off with no tell tale signs that it was ever there. From that day on I swore by it.

And I still mop my floors. Minus the newspaper. I have a wringer pail and it wrings out the mop almost dry. The floors dry really quick. I also still wax my kitchen and bathroom floors. But I use the non-skid wax.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Where oh where did I get pink eye? No one in the family or anyone else I know has had it.    :-(


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> Where oh where did I get pink eye? No one in the family or anyone else I know has had it.    :-(



You may have touched a door knob that some stranger touched that had it. Then you touched your eye. You can pick that up anywhere. Make sure you keep your hands scrupulously clean and away from your eye. Tempting as it may be to rub it because it itches. All a pink eye is a small pimple in the follicle of an eye lash.


----------



## tinlizzie

Aunt Bea said:


> I would throw that bottle of wax right out the window!
> 
> I understand how you feel though, for me it is the smell of pine cleaner or Clorox.  It reminds me of my Grandmother mopping the kitchen floor and then spreading newspapers over it to pick up the water.  So glad that I can be easily satisfied with the memory and feel no compulsion to actually mop the kitchen floor!



My mop's gathering dust in the garage -- good riddance to that particular compulsion.  A little Swiffering holds the Health Dept. at bay.  Nobody eats off the floor now anyway since the dog passed away.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> You may have touched a door knob that some stranger touched that had it. Then you touched your eye. You can pick that up anywhere. Make sure you keep your hands scrupulously clean and away from your eye. Tempting as it may be to rub it because it itches. All a pink eye is a small pimple in the follicle of an eye lash.




It's highly contageous.  My step-daughter's eye was all pink one day when she was in high school and she got sent home and was not allowed back without a note from an opthamalogist stating that she did not have pink eye.  She didn't have it, and she really could not afford to miss school until we got an appointment.


----------



## CarolPa

tinlizzie said:


> My mop's gathering dust in the garage -- good riddance to that particular compulsion.  A little Swiffering holds the Health Dept. at bay.  Nobody eats off the floor now anyway since the dog passed away.




On Sunday, my grandson decided he wanted some bread.  He's 5 and thinks he can do everything himself.  Somehow, he dumped the whole loaf of bread on the floor.  But he picked up every slice and put it back in the bag!  LOL  Like we're going to eat it, clean floor or not.  The birds had a nice feast.  

I used to do my floor on my hands and knees.  Since I had my surgery my husband started doing them, but he mops.  No house-maid's knee for him!


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> My mop's gathering dust in the garage -- good riddance to that particular compulsion.  A little Swiffering holds the Health Dept. at bay.  Nobody eats off the floor now anyway since the dog passed away.



I also use a cobweb covered Swiffer!

The truth is I start out with the Swiffer and end up crawling around the kitchen floor on my hands and knees with a sponge because the Swiffer does a lousy job, beats going to the gym!


----------



## Addie

Spike informed me last night that here in Massachusetts, our free ride has come to an end. Amazon and our Tax Department came to an agreement. Effective November 1, 2013, Amazon will now collect the sales tax for Massachusetts. So unless it a Prime purchase, we may as well shop in the brick and mortar. So that is what we will do. In his travels while working, he will be going right past a vacuum parts store and will pick up some bags for mine. There is no rush, as I just put in my last new bag. And I don't vacuum that often.  Dang Amazon!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> I also use a cobweb covered Swiffer!
> 
> The truth is I start out with the Swiffer and end up crawling around the kitchen floor on my hands and knees with a sponge because the Swiffer does a lousy job, beats going to the gym!



The last time I moved to Tacoma, I rented a house that had a beautiful black with confetti floor in the kitchen. Only you would never know it. The  previous tenant used an abundant amount each time of Mop and Glo. Mop and wax your floor all at the same time. It was so thick on the floor, you couldn't even see the pattern or the color of the tiles. It took me two whole days soaking the floor with ammonia and hot water to get it soft enough to scrape it up with an old metal dustpan. Then I put down two coats of bowling ally wax, buffing it in between coats. For the next three years I lived there all I ever had to do was run a quick mop over it. Spill a liquid? It would bead up and made it so easy to keep it all clean. The good side to that is there was so much Mop and Go on the floor that there was no wear on the tiles.


----------



## Zhizara

I love my Bissell steam mop.  It's lightweight and all I have to do is swing my arm back
and forth a few times.  No soap, no rinsing.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> I love my Bissell steam mop.  It's lightweight and all I have to do is swing my arm back
> and forth a few times.  No soap, no rinsing.


Sounds good. I wonder if I have the space for another "gadget". Do you know if they work okay on hardwood?


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> Spike informed me last night that here in Massachusetts, our free ride has come to an end. Amazon and our Tax Department came to an agreement. Effective November 1, 2013, Amazon will now collect the sales tax for Massachusetts. So unless it a Prime purchase, we may as well shop in the brick and mortar. So that is what we will do. In his travels while working, he will be going right past a vacuum parts store and will pick up some bags for mine. There is no rush, as I just put in my last new bag. And I don't vacuum that often.  Dang Amazon!


"we may as well shop in the brick and mortar" Of course you must. Use it or lose it!

 There is a big campaign where I live to persuade people to use the independent shops in the village. It was sparked off by the Anti-ASDA Campaign when we saw off a big supermarket's plan to buy the old 6th form college site and build an enormous 24 hour s/market and petrol station in the middle of a residential area away from the centre of the village. (Incidentally, ASDA is owned by Walmart.) It would have killed the small shops which sell you what you want, not what they tell you to want and which are mostly family concerns. The butcher I use has been in the same family for over 50 years, the other butcher for nearly 40 and the bakers for over 60. 

 I do use Amazon if the book I want is out of print but we have an excellent "proper " bookseller locally with all the advantages that a bookshop run by enthusiasts has.


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> "we may as well shop in the brick and mortar" Of course you must. Use it or lose it!
> 
> There is a big campaign where I live to persuade people to use the independent shops in the village. It was sparked off by the Anti-ASDA Campaign when we saw off a big supermarket's plan to buy the old 6th form college site and build an enormous 24 hour s/market and petrol station in the middle of a residential area away from the centre of the village. (Incidentally, ASDA is owned by Walmart.) It would have killed the small shops which sell you what you want, not what they tell you to want and which are mostly family concerns. The butcher I use has been in the same family for over 50 years, the other butcher for nearly 40 and the bakers for over 60.
> 
> I do use Amazon if the book I want is out of print but we have an excellent "proper " bookseller locally with all the advantages that a bookshop run by enthusiasts has.


You make a good point.

We have a family run supermarket called Mourelatos, with an excellent selection of non-Asian ethnic foods. One of the big Canadian chain supermarkets (Loblaws) built a huge store right next to them. I was quite worried, but I guess there are a lot of people who prefer Mourelatos. They actually seem to be doing better since the super store has been there. I am pleased and relieved.


----------



## Zhizara

taxlady said:


> Sounds good. I wonder if I have the space for another "gadget". Do you know if they work okay on hardwood?



I'm not sure.  I don't have any hardwood, just vinyl and ceramic tile.


----------



## CarolPa

Remember when I emailed the Public TV Station because their "submit recipe" website was not working?  They send me an email telling me to send the recipe directly to their email.

I'm going to be in the cookbook, I'm going to be in the cookbook!  LOL


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> Remember when I emailed the Public TV Station because their "submit recipe" website was not working?  They send me an email telling me to send the recipe directly to their email.
> 
> I'm going to be in the cookbook, I'm going to be in the cookbook!  LOL


w00t!


----------



## MrsLMB

CarolPa said:


> Remember when I emailed the Public TV Station because their "submit recipe" website was not working? They send me an email telling me to send the recipe directly to their email.
> 
> I'm going to be in the cookbook, I'm going to be in the cookbook! LOL


 
Congratulations !!!  WTG Carol !!


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Remember when I emailed the Public TV Station because their "submit recipe" website was not working?  They send me an email telling me to send the recipe directly to their email.
> 
> I'm going to be in the cookbook, I'm going to be in the cookbook!  LOL



 One of our own is going to be published!


----------



## CarolPa

I am trying to renew my automobile registration online and the website won't come up.  Don't any of the government websites work?  Oh well, I have until January.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> I am trying to renew my automobile registration online and the website won't come up.  Don't any of the government websites work?  Oh well, I have until January.



My daughter works for the RMV here in Mass. She works for the dealers in the state. They are supposed to register all their vehicles on line. You cannot imagine how many make stupid mistakes. Lower case "l" for "1" Lower case "o" for "0". When she calls them to go back in and correct their errors, they really get hostile. After a while she learned to tell them to have the secretary make the corrections. Their excuse is that the system was acting up the day they entered the VIN. (No it wasn't.) If they get too hostile, she refuses to allow the registration to go through, and they can't sell that vehicle until all the corrections are made. Most of the dealers realize that she has a lot of power. It is the young twits that give her the hard times.


----------



## msmofet

Addie said:


> Spike informed me last night that here in Massachusetts, our free ride has come to an end. Amazon and our Tax Department came to an agreement. Effective November 1, 2013, Amazon will now collect the sales tax for Massachusetts. So unless it a Prime purchase, we may as well shop in the brick and mortar. So that is what we will do. In his travels while working, he will be going right past a vacuum parts store and will pick up some bags for mine. There is no rush, as I just put in my last new bag. And I don't vacuum that often.  Dang Amazon!


I think Amazon is charging everyone tax now, no matter what state. AND free shipping from Amazon sales is now $35.00 not $25


----------



## bakechef

I'm not yet paying tax on Amazon, but it's only a matter of time.


----------



## bakechef

Apparently IKEA has magical powers.  I seem to forget how much I don't like putting together furniture while I'm there!  Even though the fabulous hall cabinet for shoes had what seemed like a million pieces, it was totally worth it, it looks fabulous!

I only drew blood once putting it together!


----------



## CarolPa

msmofet said:


> I think Amazon is charging everyone tax now, no matter what state. AND free shipping from Amazon sales is now $35.00 not $25




I think there was a law passed awhile back that all online stores have to charge state sales tax. Each individual buyer was supposed to submit the tax to their state.  The states were losing a lot of revenue. We were lucky to get away without it before.


----------



## Andy M.

I believe the law says you have to charge sales tax for online sales if you have a brick and mortar store in that state.


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> I believe the law says you have to charge sales tax for online sales if you have a brick and mortar store in that state.



Yes, that's exactly it.  If I order from Amazon, no tax in NC, but if I order from Tiger Direct (we have stores here) then I have to pay sales tax.

Some states are making all online retailers charge tax.


----------



## roadfix

I now have to purchase even more cheap, eligible items to get the total up to $35 to qualify for free shipping.  They've got some of us by the valls.  But it's so convenient.... LOL


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> I believe the law says you have to charge sales tax for online sales if you have a brick and mortar store in that state.




I think that was the old law.  I think they changed it just recently that it has to be charged for all states.  I have no proof of this and I could very well be wrong.  Does Amazon have a brick and mortar store anywhere?

I just read Bakechef's post and so maybe what I heard applied to PA.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I believe the law says you have to charge sales tax for online sales if you have a brick and mortar store in that state.



True Andy. Anytime I ordered from Sears, they added the sales tax. I called the store the first time they ever did that. That is what they told me. I made a very concerted effort not to order from there or any other store that had a building here in Mass. To pay sales tax and shipping was more than I was willing to do.


----------



## CarolPa

I googled this and saw that the bill passed the US Senate in May 2013 but was not expected to pass in the House.  I didn't see any more about it, so it probably didn't pass.  It seems that stores were complaining because they couldn't compete with the internet because they were required to pay tax.  For example, Best Buy said that people would come in to see an item, then once they decided it was what they wanted they would go on their smartphone, right there in the store, and order it from Amazon, or somewhere they did not have to pay tax.  

I don't mind paying tax on things I order.  I would pay tax in a store, anyway.  Shipping is a convenience so you don't have to go out to a store to get the item, and some things are not available in the stores.  When I was shopping in Sears for my recliners, I saw the ones I wanted, but wanted to think it over to be sure.  Once I decided they were what I wanted I went online to see if I could order them instead of going back to the store.  They were each $15 less online.  They were having a free shipping special so I also saved there.  If I ordered them from the store I would have had to pay delivery charges.  

Normally, I do not order something online unless it's something I can't get in the local store.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

No sales tax in Montana...


----------



## roadfix

I'm moving to Montana!


----------



## CarolPa

Where I live, we have a 6% sales tax.  In the next county, only a couple miles away, it's 7%.  If I buy a car I am charged 6% no matter where I buy it.  That was also the case when I ordered kitchen cabinets to be delivered to my home.  I have had some internet merchants charge me 7% instead of 6%, but didn't squabble about it because I don't make large purchases online.  The tax was minimal.


----------



## Aunt Bea

8% in CNY.


----------



## Zhizara

Louisiana has multiple sales taxes.  Sometimes as many as 4 different ones for a sales slip.  They range from 4% to 9.9%.  They even tax food!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I found out this past week that on the eastern border of Montana, where population is sparse, the closest shopping for some folks is in North Dakota.  The town they shop in has separate cash registers for them that do not charge them sales tax.  They do have to show ID for this.


----------



## roadfix

^^^  Perhaps those separate cash registers are physically placed on the state line.  lol..


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> ^^^  Perhaps those separate cash registers are physically placed on the state line.  lol..



Nope, they are firmly in NoDak...I asked.

The town realized they were losing sales by charging NoDak sales tax to their Montana customers and found a way to fix it.  Montanans will drive the extra 100 miles to avoid paying a sales tax.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> Louisiana has multiple sales taxes.  Sometimes as many as 4 different ones for a sales slip.  They range from 4% to 9.9%.  They even tax food!


Is that for all food? Or just in restos and/or luxury foods?

Here it's on resto food, snack food (salted stuff), sweet bakery items like donuts, cupcakes, cookies, if you buy less than 6, carbonated beverages, and I don't remember what other foods - oh yeah, food that is sold hot. There might be more, but basic food doesn't have sales tax. Just as well, it's 5.5% GST (federal) and 9.5% QST (Quebec sales tax).


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Nope, they are firmly in NoDak...I asked.
> 
> The town realized they were losing sales by charging NoDak sales tax to their Montana customers and found a way to fix it.  Montanans will drive the extra 100 miles to avoid paying a sales tax.


I guess that's sort of like getting back the VAT you paid in a European country, when you leave.


----------



## Zhizara

taxlady said:


> Is that for all food? Or just in restos and/or luxury foods?
> 
> Here it's on resto food, snack food (salted stuff), sweet bakery items like donuts, cupcakes, cookies, if you buy less than 6, carbonated beverages, and I don't remember what other foods - oh yeah, food that is sold hot. There might be more, but basic food doesn't have sales tax. Just as well, it's 5.5% GST (federal) and 9.5% QST (Quebec sales tax).



As far as I can tell, but different foods have different rates.  I don't know exactly which ones have which rates, but as far as I can tell everything is taxed.


----------



## Addie

W have a 6.5% sales tax, state wide. Then a restaurant tax. No food tax except on prepared foods. Like the rotisserie foods, premade sandwiches, etc. No tax on clothing and certain educational materials. No tax on medicines or  prescriptions. Except for OTC. No tax on labor services for plumbers, electricians, etc. Only for parts replaced. Special state taxes on cigarettes and gasoline. 

We live next door to a tax free state. NH. But their real estate taxes are out of this world. So for those who live just miles from the border, they make a trip every weekend to fill up on their cigarettes and booze.


----------



## bakechef

All food is taxed here in NC, even basic staples.  I was surprised to find that after living in Maine and only having snacks and such taxed.  Milk, bread and other staples are taxed at a lower rate here in NC, but still taxed.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> All food is taxed here in NC, even basic staples.  I was surprised to find that after living in Maine and only having snacks and such taxed.  Milk, bread and other staples are taxed at a lower rate here in NC, but still taxed.



The first time I ever heard of 'sales tax' was on my honeymoon in Portland ME. It was in the mid 50's.


----------



## Addie

Some of my more preferred shows are documentaries. But lately, the voice doing the 'voice over' just seems to drone on and on. Bill Curtis is the biggest offender. I swear he gets paid by the word. After a while, I can't even watch to the end of the show. So for now I am going to find a good book to read instead.


----------



## Zhizara

I usually don't like the "music" these kinds of shows play.

What I do is turn on the closed captioning and turn the sound all the way down.  You might try it too.  I enjoy my animal and universe type shows much more this way.


----------



## CarolPa

In PA we have tax on prepared food, but not grocery store food.  We also do not pay tax on clothing, except for specialty, like hunting gear etc.


----------



## bakechef

My cat acts timid around me, he runs when I get up or enter a room.  When I'm sitting down he rubs all over my feet and then plops down on them.  I've had him since he was a kitten, for a few years it was just the two of us.

Now Rob is his favorite person, he lays on his lap all evening and follows him around.  I think that the reason is that Rob is the one giving him treats.

Funny thing, as much as I am snubbed by the cat and as timid as he acts (I have no idea why), if there is bacon on my plate he becomes my best friend.  While sitting at the table he will put his front paws on my leg and I can hand feed him bacon.  He's a weird cat!  Oh and don't give him any fatty pieces, you must pull off the meaty parts and feed him that.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I awoke this morning to the smell of hot wires.  I checked around the house at 6:30 a.m. and found nothing amiss.  Then I checked the basement and found it full of water again.  I donned my hip waiters and checked the sump pump.  It was a pedestal type and had fallen over in the night to submerge the motor in the sump hole.  Needless to say, it wasn't working.  I unplugged it, and went to the hardware store and promptly purchased a new, submersible model sump-pump, 1/2 horsepower, and the required fittings, a pipe wrench, channel locks, and new, heavier hose to attach the pump to the drain pipe, all to the tune of 250 U.S dollars.  My basement is empty, there are no leaks, and no chance of this pump tipping over.  It's stable, and already submersed in the sump hole (actually, half submerged).

That issue is now behind me.  I only have to fill over the drain tile with rock and dirt, and I'll be completely finished with this project.  I only wish I'd known how to install drain tile properly when I had to dig it up years ago for the same purpose.  Reverently,  when my father had installed it initially, he didn't know how to do it correctly either.  But I do now.  I'm just out of money at the moment for the required stone.  I'll tackle it again in the spring.  It held for ten years last time.  I think it'll be ok until spring.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Katie H

Sheesh!  Yuck!  Glenn and I have been watching a little TV tonight and I'm turned off once again by the slimy (seems appropriate) Mucinex commercial.  Oh, pew!  Time to get up to go potty.


----------



## taxlady

What a pain Chief. Hope all goes well 'til Spring.


----------



## CatPat

Today DA and I were shopping and sometimes she tires easily. I had parked in a handicap space and helped DA on her walker to the store. When we were finished, she was very tired. She didn't feel strong enough to walk to Joy. I left her and the cart in the front of the store and I ran to Joy. I wanted to pick her up and get the purchases in front of the store so she would not have to walk.

A man was parked next to Joy, and he saw me run to her. He said, "You don't need that parking space. There is nothing wrong with you."

I was mad at him but I was hurrying because DA was very tired. I didn't say anything.

I don't like this when people judge unfairly. Rrrrrrrrrrr!

With love,
~Cat


----------



## GotGarlic

Some people are just not worth worrying about. 

If the store has electric scooters, it might be a good idea for DA to use one of those and conserve her strength.


----------



## Katie H

CatPat said:


> Today DA and I were shopping and sometimes she tires easily. I had parked in a handicap space and helped DA on her walker to the store. When we were finished, she was very tired. She didn't feel strong enough to walk to Joy. I left her and the cart in the front of the store and I ran to Joy. I wanted to pick her up and get the purchases in front of the store so she would not have to walk.
> 
> A man was parked next to Joy, and he saw me run to her. He said, "You don't need that parking space. There is nothing wrong with you."
> 
> I was mad at him but I was hurrying because DA was very tired. I didn't say anything.
> 
> I don't like this when people judge unfairly. Rrrrrrrrrrr!
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Cat, you can almost completely eliminate this sort of encounter if you acquire an handicap hangtag for your dashboard rear view mirror.  In our state, all that is required to get one is a note from the doctor (in this case DA's doctor) stating that she needs handicap assistance.  The note is then taken to the county department of motor vehicles to the office that handles car registrations and they will issue the tag.

The tags have expiration dates in our state but they are good for several years before they have to be renewed and our state does not charge for them.

This then allows us to park in the handicap-designated spaces, as long as the tag is put on the rear view mirror on the dash.

We prefer the hangtag over a license plate because we can move it from one of our vehicles to the other, depending on which one we are driving.


----------



## GotGarlic

Katie H said:


> Cat, you can almost completely eliminate this sort of encounter if you acquire an handicap hangtag for your dashboard rear view mirror.  In our state, all that is required to get one is a note from the doctor (in this case DA's doctor) stating that she needs handicap assistance.  The note is then taken to the county department of motor vehicles to the office that handles car registrations and they will issue the tag.
> 
> The tags have expiration dates in our state but they are good for several years before they have to be renewed and our state does not charge for them.
> 
> This then allows us to park in the handicap-designated spaces, as long as the tag is put on the rear view mirror on the dash.
> 
> We prefer the hangtag over a license plate because we can move it from one of our vehicles to the other, depending on which one we are driving.



I assumed they already had one. Parking in a handicap space without a handicap-designated hangtag or license plate in Virginia carries a $500 fine.

And it won't stop people like that guy who assumed she parked there for herself and not for someone who accompanied her to the store.


----------



## Katie H

GotGarlic said:


> I assumed they already had one. Parking in a handicap space without a handicap-designated hangtag or license plate in Virginia carries a $500 fine.
> 
> And it won't stop people like that guy who assumed she parked there for herself and not for someone who accompanied her to the store.



Since she didn't state that she had one, I didn't assume she had one so, because she's new to this American stuff, that's one of the reasons I suggested it.  Our fines here are not too stiff.  Not even $100.

Plus, I said she could "almost" eliminate the problem.  There will always be inconsiderate loudmouth creeps who feel it's necessary to editorialize on everyone's behavior.  I've been on the receiving end of such remarks.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I assumed they already had one. Parking in a handicap space without a handicap-designated hangtag or license plate in Virginia carries a $500 fine.
> 
> And it won't stop people like that guy who assumed she parked there for herself and not for someone who accompanied her to the store.


That's what I was thinking.

In Quebec it costs $16 to get a handicap sticker or hangtag. You also have to have a note from your doctor stating that the handicap will last at least 6 months. That means that when I broke my kneecap and had to walk with a cane, I couldn't get one. So, when I had just limped from the far end of a parking lot and I saw people who walked fine taking handicap spots, I was rather grumpy. I never said anything.

I have been in the situation where someone gave me the evil eye for parking in a handicapped spot. I was driving a handicapped friend. I had driven around looking for a spot near the place we were going and couldn't find one. I dropped off Jeff in front of the cafe and went to look for a parking spot and found a handicapped spot. I had his hangtag, so I took the spot. Another time I couldn't find a nearby spot, so I parked further away and told Jeff to wait in front of the cafe. I had to double park to let him get in the car. A cop car pulled up behind me and started tooting at me, while he was getting in. It takes him a while.


----------



## GotGarlic

Katie H said:


> Since she didn't state that she had one, I didn't assume she had one so, because she's new to this American stuff, that's one of the reasons I suggested it.  Our fines here are not too stiff.  Not even $100.
> 
> Plus, I said she could "almost" eliminate the problem.  There will always be inconsiderate loudmouth creeps who feel it's necessary to editorialize on everyone's behavior.  I've been on the receiving end of such remarks.



I didn't mean you shouldn't have suggested it. Definitely if they don't have one, they should get one. It's free with a doctor's note here, too.

I've been on the receiving end of those remarks, also. Not all disabilities are visible.


----------



## taxlady

I had to wear my wrist brace for about a week and a half. Wrist was fine for about a week, and now I need the brace again. This is really annoying. I was going to make supper, but everything I came up with has too much stirring. It also makes washing dishes (some don't fit in the dishwasher) by hand really annoying. I either have to be careful not to get the brace wet or take it off and be really careful how I move my hand. I'm getting tired of this.


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> I didn't mean you shouldn't have suggested it. Definitely if they don't have one, they should get one. It's free with a doctor's note here, too.
> 
> I've been on the receiving end of those remarks, also. Not all disabilities are visible.



As I recall, Cat mentioned that they already had the handicap tag before she first got Joy.  DA had to travel in other cars prior to Joy and Cat driving.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I had to wear my wrist brace for about a week and a half. Wrist was fine for about a week, and now I need the brace again. This is really annoying. I was going to make supper, but everything I came up with has too much stirring. It also makes washing dishes (some don't fit in the dishwasher) by hand really annoying. I either have to be careful not to get the brace wet or take it off and be really careful how I move my hand. I'm getting tired of this.



Drat.  I don't blame you, Tax.  Hope it hurries up and heals soon!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Drat.  I don't blame you, Tax.  Hope it hurries up and heals soon!


Thanks Dawg.


----------



## CarolPa

When I worked doing data entry I had a lot of pain in my hands and wrist.  I have been retired since 2010 and the pain has gradually subsided even though I spend a lot of time online.  Just not 8 hours a day.  I'm sure it was from so much use of the keyboard.  It was a lot of tabbing and short bouts of typing rather than straight typing.  The company bought wrist supports, which really helped me, but most others didn't like them and ended up throwing them under the work stations so the company got rid of them.  Too bad for those few of us who liked them.  Either everyone used them or no one got to use them.  I use a gel one at home and it really helps.


----------



## CarolPa

CatPat said:


> Today DA and I were shopping and sometimes she tires easily. I had parked in a handicap space and helped DA on her walker to the store. When we were finished, she was very tired. She didn't feel strong enough to walk to Joy. I left her and the cart in the front of the store and I ran to Joy. I wanted to pick her up and get the purchases in front of the store so she would not have to walk.
> 
> A man was parked next to Joy, and he saw me run to her. He said, "You don't need that parking space. There is nothing wrong with you."
> 
> I was mad at him but I was hurrying because DA was very tired. I didn't say anything.
> 
> I don't like this when people judge unfairly. Rrrrrrrrrrr!
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Cat, I am sorry that you are encountering some of the rude people in the US.  That man didn't deserve a reply.  Like GG said, not all disabilities are visible, and anyway, it was really none of his business.  Best to just pretend you didn't hear him than to argue with him.  Hopefully, he saw you go to pick up DA and felt bad for what he said.


----------



## Addie

Katie H said:


> Cat, you can almost completely eliminate this sort of encounter if you acquire an handicap hangtag for your dashboard rear view mirror.  In our state, all that is required to get one is a note from the doctor (in this case DA's doctor) stating that she needs handicap assistance.  The note is then taken to the county department of motor vehicles to the office that handles car registrations and they will issue the tag.
> 
> The tags have expiration dates in our state but they are good for several years before they have to be renewed and our state does not charge for them.
> 
> This then allows us to park in the handicap-designated spaces, as long as the tag is put on the rear view mirror on the dash.
> 
> We prefer the hangtag over a license plate because we can move it from one of our vehicles to the other, depending on which one we are driving.



Cat I have a handicap placard and it hangs from the rear view mirror. It can be used in any vehicle I am traveling in. I don't drive, so I keep it in Spikes car. He drives me everywhere. A handicap placard or whatever each state uses, is recognized in all 50 states and throughout Canada. All you need is a letter from her doctors office on their letterhead and fill out the application. Call the RMV in your state and they will mail the application to you. Explain who it is for and why. When I traveled to California, Tennessee and Georgia for several trips, I took it with me. The RMV will automatically mail a new one just prior to when your present one is due to expire. DA may have to go to have her picture taken. 

In this state it is unlawful for anyone to use my placard if I am not in the car. My SIL got caught one time and a policeman asked to see me in person. When he couldn't produce me coming from a store, the officer confiscated my placard and notified RMV. If my daughter hadn't been an employee of the RMV, I could have been in big trouble and lost my placard for one year. 

I don't know about the state you live in, but here in Mass, your car can be towed if you park in a handicap place with no placard or other system your state may use. And you have to make a court appearance and pay a substantial fine. 

Get on this today. You may want to travel with your parents and DA during their visit to show them the sites. Or I will sell you to the gypsies.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I had to wear my wrist brace for about a week and a half. Wrist was fine for about a week, and now I need the brace again. This is really annoying. I was going to make supper, but everything I came up with has too much stirring. It also makes washing dishes (some don't fit in the dishwasher) by hand really annoying. I either have to be careful not to get the brace wet or take it off and be really careful how I move my hand. I'm getting tired of this.



My sympathy TL. I use to do data entry as a Temp worker. I always carried my wrist brace with me to any job they sent me to. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is no picnic. I had two braces, depending on the job I was going to be doing. If it was numeric, I wore the right hand one. But if I was going to be doing a lot of typing, I used the left hand one. It seemed that my left hand always has been the weak one. Even when I play the piano. 

With the type of work you do, you really do need to protect that wrist.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> My cat acts timid around me, he runs when I get up or enter a room.  When I'm sitting down he rubs all over my feet and then plops down on them.  I've had him since he was a kitten, for a few years it was just the two of us.
> 
> Now Rob is his favorite person, he lays on his lap all evening and follows him around.  I think that the reason is that Rob is the one giving him treats.
> 
> Funny thing, as much as I am snubbed by the cat and as timid as he acts (I have no idea why), if there is bacon on my plate he becomes my best friend.  While sitting at the table he will put his front paws on my leg and I can hand feed him bacon.  He's a weird cat!  Oh and don't give him any fatty pieces, you must pull off the meaty parts and feed him that.



My daughter has a cat that very rarely comes down from the third floor. Her litter box and food are up there. And when she hears anyone coming up, she runs and hides.

My daughter had a black circular rug that was in front of the couch. The cat would jump up on the arm of the couch from the side, but when she looked down at the round black rug, she thought it was a big hole and was too terrified to jump down. She would start howling. You would have to go over and pick her up and put her on the wooden floor. Then she would flee back upstairs for another six months or so.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> My sympathy TL. I use to do data entry as a Temp worker. I always carried my wrist brace with me to any job they sent me to. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is no picnic. I had two braces, depending on the job I was going to be doing. If it was numeric, I wore the right hand one. But if I was going to be doing a lot of typing, I used the left hand one. It seemed that my left hand always has been the weak one. Even when I play the piano.
> 
> With the type of work you do, you really do need to protect that wrist.


Yup, I don't wait until it really hurts. I put the brace on at the first twinge. I'm thinking I should get a second brace to leave in the car. This round started when I was away from home.


----------



## CarolPa

Having a handicap placard will not stop people from making comments unless you LOOK handicapped.  If you don't look handicapped, they will tell you that!  They seem to be jealous because you get to park closer to the store.  People want to park as close as they can to a store.  Then they go to the gym and run on the treadmill for exercise.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Yup, I don't wait until it really hurts. I put the brace on at the first twinge. I'm thinking I should get a second brace to leave in the car. This round started when I was away from home.



Good idea. Turning the steering, taking packages from the car, using the door handle to open the door, etc. All movements that put stress on your hand and wrist.


----------



## taxlady

I'm reminded of something I saw on TV. It was about a young man who had both legs amputated at around the knee. He was an avid skier. Someone asked him how he always got a parking spot close to the entrance. "oh, I park in the handicapped spot." People were horrified. They didn't realize he was a double amputee. He had great fun with that comment.


----------



## CatPat

Katie H said:


> Cat, you can almost completely eliminate this sort of encounter if you acquire an handicap hangtag for your dashboard rear view mirror.  In our state, all that is required to get one is a note from the doctor (in this case DA's doctor) stating that she needs handicap assistance.  The note is then taken to the county department of motor vehicles to the office that handles car registrations and they will issue the tag.
> 
> The tags have expiration dates in our state but they are good for several years before they have to be renewed and our state does not charge for them.
> 
> This then allows us to park in the handicap-designated spaces, as long as the tag is put on the rear view mirror on the dash.
> 
> We prefer the hangtag over a license plate because we can move it from one of our vehicles to the other, depending on which one we are driving.



Yes, I have the card that I hang on the stem of the rearview mirror to indicate there is a handicapped person in Joy. I don't have the handicap license tag for Joy is registered to only me, and I'm not handicapped. DA's doctor gave her this card many years ago for use in Gwen's car or anyone else's car in which she is riding.

When I am alone in Joy, I put the card in my driver's side door pocket. I never use this for me! I like to run anyway!

When I first began driving my Joy, I put DA out at home because she had become tired and I was to finish the errands. I forgot and left the card on the mirror stem. I parked very far away from the store, and as I got out, a very nice lady said, "Honey, there's handicapped spaces up there for you."

Oh dear! I was so very embarrassed! I thanked her, and explained that the card was for my DA and not for me. I learned to never forget to put it away again! Nice people might think I could hurt myself.

But that man was mean. I'd never use the card for myself. It's very illegal and it's morally and ethically wrong to do so. 

Even with the motorized scooters DA sometimes uses, she gets very tired. She's 95 years old. If I'd lived that long, I'd be tired also.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## CatPat

CarolPa said:


> Having a handicap placard will not stop people from making comments unless you LOOK handicapped.  If you don't look handicapped, they will tell you that!  They seem to be jealous because you get to park closer to the store.  People want to park as close as they can to a store.  Then they go to the gym and run on the treadmill for exercise.



Yes, thank you! I like to run. I run with my dog and also ride my bike with her. I love to really move myself and get all my pipes and plumbing cleared.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Addie

CatPat said:


> Yes, I have the card that I hang on the stem of the rearview mirror to indicate there is a handicapped person in Joy. I don't have the handicap license tag for Joy is registered to only me, and I'm not handicapped. DA's doctor gave her this card many years ago for use in Gwen's car or anyone else's car in which she is riding.
> 
> When I am alone in Joy, I put the card in my driver's side door pocket. I never use this for me! I like to run anyway!
> 
> When I first began driving my Joy, I put DA out at home because she had become tired and I was to finish the errands. I forgot and left the card on the mirror stem. I parked very far away from the store, and as I got out, a very nice lady said, "Honey, there's handicapped spaces up there for you."
> 
> Oh dear! I was so very embarrassed! I thanked her, and explained that the card was for my DA and not for me. I learned to never forget to put it away again! Nice people might think I could hurt myself.
> 
> But that man was mean. I'd never use the card for myself. It's very illegal and it's morally and ethically wrong to do so.
> 
> Even with the motorized scooters DA sometimes uses, she gets very tired. She's 95 years old. If I'd lived that long, I'd be tired also.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Good! Now I won't have to sell you to the gypsies. With this economy, the price went down. I would have lost money.


----------



## CarolPa

CatPat said:


> Yes, thank you! I like to run. I run with my dog and also ride my bike with her. I love to really move myself and get all my pipes and plumbing cleared.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat




It's very healthy to do that, Cat.  DA was probably the same way when she was young and that's why she still going strong at 95!  Bless her.


----------



## CatPat

Addie said:


> Good! Now I won't have to sell you to the gypsies. With this economy, the price went down. I would have lost money.



No, no, no! Papa's a businessman. I know these things. This is what we'll do. I'll pay you to broker a deal to send me to Katie H. She's her hubby's gypsy girl, remember? 

So. She shall pay to you a "finder's fee," such as in real estate. She pays you to take me.

In four days, she will be so very fed up with me that she will pay both you and me to be gone, and I'll go back to DA.

It's very simple, and we all win. You and I make money, and Katie is able to keep her sanity.

Capitalism is wonderful, yes? God bless America!

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Addie

CatPat said:


> No, no, no! Papa's a businessman. I know these things. This is what we'll do. I'll pay you to broker a deal to send me to Katie H. She's her hubby's gypsy girl, remember?
> 
> So. She shall pay to you a "finder's fee," such as in real estate. She pays you to take me.
> 
> In four days, she will be so very fed up with me that she will pay both you and me to be gone, and I'll go back to DA.
> 
> It's very simple, and we all win. You and I make money, and Katie is able to keep her sanity.
> 
> Capitalism is wonderful, yes? God bless America!
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



  Cat I just love you. You are an absolute delight. A treasure to this forum.


----------



## CatPat

CarolPa said:


> It's very healthy to do that, Cat.  DA was probably the same way when she was young and that's why she still going strong at 95!  Bless her.



Yes she was! You knew this? You know I'm adopted, yes? So I couldn't have anything of her in myself.

Did Mamma tell you this? DA was very athletic. She was a great swimmer, runner, and a wonderful tennis player. She loved to play volleyball, basketball, and softball also.

This is exactly right, CarolPa. And thank you for blessing her. I think to God, "Bless her," many times each day.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## GotGarlic

CatPat said:


> Yes she was! You knew this? You know I'm adopted, yes? So I couldn't have anything of her in myself.
> 
> Did Mamma tell you this? DA was very athletic. She was a great swimmer, runner, and a wonderful tennis player. She loved to play volleyball, basketball, and softball also.
> 
> This is exactly right, CarolPa. And thank you for blessing her. I think to God, "Bless her," many times each day.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Not all characteristics are genetic. Many are taught, including physical habits.


----------



## Katie H

CatPat said:


> No, no, no! Papa's a businessman. I know these things. This is what we'll do. I'll pay you to broker a deal to send me to Katie H. She's her hubby's gypsy girl, remember?
> 
> So. She shall pay to you a "finder's fee," such as in real estate. She pays you to take me.
> 
> In four days, she will be so very fed up with me that she will pay both you and me to be gone, and I'll go back to DA.
> 
> It's very simple, and we all win. You and I make money, and Katie is able to keep her sanity.
> 
> Capitalism is wonderful, yes? God bless America!
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Sounds like a plan, Cat.  We'll be glad to have you.  We have many acres so we should be able to spare a few for Addie.

I raised 8 children, which means it may take you a lot longer than 4 days to help me lose my sanity.

Let the games begin!


----------



## CatPat

Katie H said:


> Sounds like a plan, Cat.  We'll be glad to have you.  We have many acres so we should be able to spare a few for Addie.
> 
> I raised 8 children, which means it may take you a lot longer than 4 days to help me lose my sanity.
> 
> Let the games begin!



Yes! And remember, I'll bring my own trash can. I'll bring Addie with me also!

You'll be giving up on me after 6 days.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## CatPat

GotGarlic said:


> Not all characteristics are genetic. Many are taught, including physical habits.



I've heard this. It's perhaps how I was raised. I always love to be outdoors. Mamma and I rode our bikes together very much and we like sports. 

I'm not mad at that man any more. I suppose he was very mistaken about my motive for parking there. 

I think this is a lesson, yes? That I must not judge people, either. Like he, if I were to judge someone, I could be very wrong.

This is a good lesson for me.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## GotGarlic

CatPat said:


> I've heard this. It's perhaps how I was raised. I always love to be outdoors. Mamma and I rode our bikes together very much and we like sports.
> 
> I'm not mad at that man any more. I suppose he was very mistaken about my motive for parking there.
> 
> I think this is a lesson, yes? That I must not judge people, either. Like he, if I were to judge someone, I could be very wrong.
> 
> This is a good lesson for me.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



That's a good way to look at the situation. Take a negative and turn it into a positive


----------



## CarolPa

CatPat said:


> Yes she was! You knew this? You know I'm adopted, yes? So I couldn't have anything of her in myself.
> 
> Did Mamma tell you this? DA was very athletic. She was a great swimmer, runner, and a wonderful tennis player. She loved to play volleyball, basketball, and softball also.
> 
> This is exactly right, CarolPa. And thank you for blessing her. I think to God, "Bless her," many times each day.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat




Yes, Cat, I knew you were adopted, but it slipped my mind.


----------



## CarolPa

CatPat said:


> Yes! And remember, I'll bring my own trash can. I'll bring Addie with me also!
> 
> You'll be giving up on me after 6 days.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat




It's a very good idea to take Addie with you.  Put her IN the trash can.....and make sure she doesn't have internet access!  LOL  

Revenge is so sweet!!  (now I'm the one running!)


----------



## taxlady

Another time you might want to say, "I'm chauffeuring a handicapped person."

The man who made the comment might have a reason to feel snarky about someone apparently not handicapped taking a handicapped spot. Maybe he is handicapped and he has not been able to get a spot because able bodied people took the spot. Or it could be his friends or family who have had that problem. Letting someone know that you aren't doing that might make them feel better.


----------



## Zhizara

Or ashamed for jumping to conclusions.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> That's a good way to look at the situation. Take a negative and turn it into a positive



GG, Cat is very much like me. Flares up with anger, gets over it out of her system and over it, then goes on. She is always looking for the good side to a situation. And she finds it.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Yes, Cat, I knew you were adopted, but it slipped my mind.



It slips everyone's mind here. It is not the big deal here that it is in Romania. There is such a shortage of adoptable babies in this country, that a lot of Americans have been forced to look overseas for a child to adopt. The one thing Americans can't bear is to think of is that there is a child in this world who is not loved and part of a family. 

We have an organization here is Boston called, "The Home for Little Wanderers." It started out as an orphanage many, many decades ago. Now it is a group home for children waiting to find a foster home until they can be adopted. They are mostly children six y. o. and up. They very rarely have any babies anymore. And certainly no orphans. When my kids were really small, I was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night. The police brought them there and they stayed for a week. To this day, I send an unwrapped present to them at Christmas. Spike or my daughter just drop it off at the front desk for me. No name left. Just a drop off.


----------



## CatPat

Addie said:


> GG, Cat is very much like me. Flares up with anger, gets over it out of her system and over it, then goes on. She is always looking for the good side to a situation. And she finds it.



Oh Addie! You are so very correct! I didn't know you knew this about me! Mamma always says to me, "Live and learn, Cat. Some people just live." And she is also very correct.

Now I'm feeling badly for this man. And it was also my fault. I didn't know what to say. I was worried because DA was so very tired and, yes, she had the electric sit-down cart but she still becomes very tired after shopping.

The man saw a healthy young woman run to a car parked in the handicap space. He may have seen abuses of the handicap spaces before and even, perhaps, had to park somewhere else. He was old and used a cane. 

He had no understanding of my motives for parking there, and so, it's not his fault. 

For the next time this happens, I'll speak up and reassure someone that I am not abusing this privilege.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## taxlady

Don't fee bad Cat. You were surprised and you had no experience with this sort of thing. We have all been in that situation. The older you get the more things happen that you can learn from and have a handy answer the next time.


----------



## msmofet

Just got laid off . _WELL_ ... I will be around to cook BUT not sure what I will be cooking as I was buying the food stuffs. LOL Good and bad hand in hand.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Don't fee bad Cat. You were surprised and you had no experience with this sort of thing. We have all been in that situation. The older you get the more things happen that you can learn from and have a handy answer the next time.



+1. Misunderstandings happen all the time. All we can do is try to do better next time.


----------



## GotGarlic

msmofet said:


> Just got laid off . WELL ... I will be around to cook BUT not sure what I will be cooking as I was buying the food stuffs. LOL Good and bad hand in hand.



I'm so sorry, msmofet! Didn't that happen last year, too? Bummer.


----------



## msmofet

GotGarlic said:


> I'm so sorry, msmofet! Didn't that happen last year, too? Bummer.


 Yes and it was 4 months till I got called back.


----------



## GotGarlic

There might be places near you that are hiring extra employees for the holidays. Is that something you might want to try?


----------



## msmofet

GotGarlic said:


> There might be places near you that are hiring extra employees for the holidays. Is that something you might want to try?


 
I can't do stand up jobs. I need something like a call center/customer service. I won't really mind being off for the holidays. I am going to doctors for my hands at the moment so I won't have to worry about missing work. Paying bills and food shopping will be the problem.


----------



## GotGarlic

That's good, then  How are your hands doing?


----------



## Dawgluver

msmofet said:


> Just got laid off . WELL ... I will be around to cook BUT not sure what I will be cooking as I was buying the food stuffs. LOL Good and bad hand in hand.



Oh crap, MsM.  So sorry!

You have a great attitude, sure hope you can get a job after the holidays!

{{{{MsM}}}}


----------



## CarolPa

CatPat said:


> The man saw a healthy young woman run to a car parked in the handicap space. He may have seen abuses of the handicap spaces before and even, perhaps, had to park somewhere else. He was old and used a cane.
> 
> He had no understanding of my motives for parking there, and so, it's not his fault.
> 
> 
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat




I disagree here, Cat.  One thing we all must learn is that things are not always what we think they are.  He was rude to make that comment without knowing the whole story.  You did nothing wrong and owed him no explanation.  You did the best thing you could have done and that was to say nothing.


----------



## Addie

msmofet said:


> Just got laid off . _WELL_ ... I will be around to cook BUT not sure what I will be cooking as I was buying the food stuffs. LOL Good and bad hand in hand.



I am sorry you got laid off. I know it is a hard time to go through. But like you said, there is always cooking. Food has a way of calming us. 

And this may be a cooking/food forum, but it is also a forum of friends. Like Cat has said, "This is the best place on the Internet to be." And she is right.


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> I disagree here, Cat.  One thing we all must learn is that things are not always what we think they are.  He was rude to make that comment without knowing the whole story.  You did nothing wrong and owed him no explanation.  You did the best thing you could have done and that was to say nothing.


I agree that Cat did nothing wrong.

However, how will he learn if he doesn't know he made a mistake? He will just go on thinking that "young people are so inconsiderate nowadays".


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> I agree that Cat did nothing wrong.
> 
> However, how will he learn if he doesn't know he made a mistake? He will just go on thinking that "young people are so inconsiderate nowadays".




I see your point, but even an explanation might not change his way of thinking.  He could come back with another rude comment and a shouting match would begin.  I would just walk away without a comment.


----------



## Addie

Petty vent for today is my toilet. It is very low. Which is good as a rule for me. Being short, I don't need a spring board to get on it. (Have you ever noticed how high those handicap one are?) But now I have to use just one leg to get up. I can't put any weight on my broken foot, so my good side gets to do all the work. And the muscles are not used to doing so much work, getting me up and down. They are tired and getting up from the toilet is the hardest. I suppose I could sit on it all day and save me some muscle using. But that doesn't sound like a possibility. I don't want to eat my meals in there.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> Petty vent for today is my toilet. It is very low. Which is good as a rule for me. Being short, I don't need a spring board to get on it. (Have you ever noticed how high those handicap one are?) But now I have to use just one leg to get up. I can't put any weight on my broken foot, so my good side gets to do all the work. And the muscles are not used to doing so much work, getting me up and down. They are tired and getting up from the toilet is the hardest. I suppose I could sit on it all day and save me some muscle using. But that doesn't sound like a possibility. I don't want to eat my meals in there.



Look into getting one of these!

The doctor can give you a prescription and it installs with the same two screws that hold the toilet seat.


----------



## Andy M.

Following the Kitchen Aid/Toilet incident of '11, I opted for a slightly taller seat.  It's about two inches higher than the older style and makes a huge difference in the ease of standing up.  Not sure how the new seat height compares to handicapped seat height.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Following the Kitchen Aid/Toilet incident of '11, I opted for a slightly taller seat.  It's about two inches higher than the older style and makes a huge difference in the ease of standing up.  Not sure how the new seat height compares to handicapped seat height.



The handicap ones are as high as a wheelchair seat. To make it easy to transfer from the chair to the toilet. Really high. I had to take out my wheelchair when I first broke my foot. I had forgotten how high it was until I wheeled myself into the bathroom.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

You need one of these: Toilet Seat Risers - Walmart.com


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You need one of these: Toilet Seat Risers - Walmart.com



About an hour or more ago, all of a sudden, my foot stopped hurting. Haven't taken a Vicodin. Maybe it is finally on the mend. Five more weeks of this binding on my foot. Ugh!


----------



## CarolPa

Aunt Bea said:


> Look into getting one of these!
> 
> The doctor can give you a prescription and it installs with the same two screws that hold the toilet seat.




That is a great item!  I didn't know they made them.  When we needed a new toilet I chose a high one.  I think it is 16 1/2 inches high.  Shortly afterwards I had surgery and was very thankful I had that higher toilet.  Now I really hate to use the one downstairs which is normal height, which I think is 14 inches.


----------



## Dawgluver

Grrrrrr.  Just spent 2 hours trying to print a shipping label for a 9.7 oz box through USPS Click and Ship.  They took my money, but I couldn't print a label.  Even on the PC, I kept getting an error message.  Ended up canceling and applying for a refund.  So, get to make the trip to the post office that I was trying to avoid.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's irritating!  I just go to the UPS store down the block...


----------



## joesfolk

I hate it when I open this site on my Kindle then hit something to open.  The print is so small that I often find I have initiated the wrong action.  I just accidentally unsubscribed to the Farmer's Cheese thread that I started. Will someone post to that thread so I can resubscribe?  Please.


----------



## GotGarlic

joesfolk said:


> I hate it when I open this site on my Kindle then hit something to open.  The print is so small that I often find I have initiated the wrong action.  I just accidentally unsubscribed to the Farmer's Cheese thread that I started. Will someone post to that thread so I can resubscribe?  Please.



I just did. In the Android app, there's a button labeled Participated; when you click on it, it lists the threads you've posted to. Do you have that?


----------



## tinlizzie

Androids, cyborgs, avatars, robots . . . .   I feel as though I was asleep a la Rip Van Winkle and have awakened to find myself catapulted into Science Fiction Land.  Not a vent, really; just an observation.  Maybe I can get Alicia Florrick on The Good Wife to obtain a cease and desist order; at least a temporary restraining order.


----------



## CarolPa

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You need one of these: Toilet Seat Risers - Walmart.com




Does this one actually "lift" you off?  

Bemis Medic Aid Lift Commercial Open Front Less Cover 3'' Solid Plastic Elongated Toilet Seat: Plumbing & Fixtures : Walmart.com


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> Does this one actually "lift" you off?
> 
> Bemis Medic Aid Lift Commercial Open Front Less Cover 3'' Solid Plastic Elongated Toilet Seat: Plumbing & Fixtures : Walmart.com



Apparently.  It would be helpful for folks with hip replacements.


----------



## CarolPa

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Apparently.  It would be helpful for folks with hip replacements.




For $117 it better do something besides just sit there!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> For $117 it better do something besides just sit there!



Well, it does keep your delicate skin off the cold porcelain...


----------



## MrsLMB

Before I begin let me apologize for my poor typing .. not even going to try and fix the mistakes .. you will understand shoertly.

My petty vent is aboiut my lack of attention to forseeing the future outcome of a really stupid move.

6 days ago I was makinf Spaich Smoked Paprika Chickrn for dinner.  It came tiime to add the smoked paprika.  I had a brand new container.  Of course it would not open.  Struggled a bit then the lid came off - Cool !  Then pulled of safety wseal and put lid back on.  Attempted to oprn the shake/pour lids on top and it was a no go.  Food is furiously cooking as I am trying to get the stupid container open.  Now I can't get the lid unsxcrewed because I cross threaded it    I see a paring knife anf with my infinite wisdom todsed out the window I pried that sucker open with ther tip of the knife.  Immdiately after the lid popped open the knife continued on to the tip of my finger   Blood everywhere.  Called DH for help - he almost faints because of the blood   but eventually gets me 3 bandaids.  Got the bandaids on tight, put on plastic glove and got back to cooking dinner.  Once dinner was done and everything cleaned up, I took off bandaid .. now I want to faint  LOL  Crap ... finger did not used to look like this    So 4 stitches later I'm angry at how stupid I am at times when I am in a hurry.  I have a splint on it to help the pain of me bumpiong my finger on stuff .. any idea how many times a day your finger bumps things .. the answer is a LOT   LOL   So there is my petty vrent for the day whixh should hold me until well passed then end of the year.


----------



## Andy M.

Mrs. LMB, so sorry you had that happen.  Especially just before the holidays.  Hope all heals quickly.  Next time give DH the bottle and the paring knife...


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh Sweetie!  This is not good!  Hope you heal quickly!

BTW, this is not a Petty Vent, you've gone big time!


----------



## Addie

I certainly can understand the typing problems. 

Remember those cans that used to come with their own key, like the Spam cans, coffee cans, etc.? Well I was opening one and the dang thing sprang back on me and open the whole length of my ring finger on my right hand. After receiving several stitches, I called myself several names for being so stupid. Names that were not very nice. Names that I do not wish to repeat here. So you have my complete sympathy. You have a perfect excuse to take a few days off. And stay away from the knives please.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) MrsLMB. I hope that heals really quickly.

Why yes, I do have an idea of how often one bangs a finger. I did a stupid with a chef's knife about 2 and half years ago and nearly cut off the end of my index finger.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Ow, Mrs LMB!!!!  So sorry and I hope it heals quickly.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

If'n yer gonna play wit da sharp knives, yer gonna git cut, maybe sooner, maybe later.  But yer gonna get cut.

I hope it heals quickly for you.  I think it's safe to say that those who work with sharp tools, get cut.  I also think it's safe to say that you're not alone.  I now I've done it, and with everything from a push-mechanical lawn mower non-motorized), to my best chef's knife, and most other tools in between, even with a pop bottle once.  We can sympathize because we've been there.

Hope your finger quits hurting soon.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## MrsLMB

Andy M. said:


> Next time give DH the bottle and the paring knife...


 


I knew I was in good company here with all you coooking people.

So true Chief .. not if, but when it will happen.

I'm still going to do most of the turkey day meal although DH says I can only use spoons from now on  LOL


----------



## msmofet

I did my cranberry/tangerine relish yesterday.

Today is usually prep day.

BUT there is a water line break somewhere in my neighborhood. Which means the water is coming out VERY slow and I don't really trust using it. The water will probably eventually be turned off for HOURS!!

All I have done is my relish.

I didn't want to be up all night but I guess I will be.


----------



## CarolPa

I think I would go out and buy several gallons of bottled water, just in case.


----------



## GotGarlic

Darn the luck, msmofet! Hope they're able to fix it quickly! Bottled water is probably a good idea.


----------



## taxlady

Bummer MsM. I would probably buy bottled water, if it happened to me.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

MrsLMB said:


> Before I begin let me apologize for my poor typing .. not even going to try and fix the mistakes .. you will understand shoertly.
> 
> My petty vent is aboiut my lack of attention to forseeing the future outcome of a really stupid move....... So 4 stitches later I'm angry at how stupid I am at times when I am in a hurry.  I have a splint on it to help the pain of me bumpiong my finger on stuff .. any idea how many times a day your finger bumps things .. the answer is a LOT   LOL   So there is my petty vrent for the day whixh should hold me until well passed then end of the year.



Aw geez MrsLMB!  Hope you heal quick.  Maybe you could just point to what you need done with that bandaged finger and get someone else to do the work?  Maybe steaks on the grill for Thanksgiving?  Some turkey somewhere will be grateful.


----------



## MrsLMB

Cooking Goddess said:


> Aw geez MrsLMB! Hope you heal quick. Maybe you could just point to what you need done with that bandaged finger and get someone else to do the work? Maybe steaks on the grill for Thanksgiving? Some turkey somewhere will be grateful.


 
LOL CG  I'm not allowed to finger point as someone in my house can't see well enough to know which finger I am pointing with  

Hope you have a great turkey day CG !!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I know I wasn't the least bit jealous about MrsLMB's finger, but I managed to cut mine pretty bad while slicing shallots for Thanksgiving dinner.  I haven't seen Himself move so fast since I said "I think my water broke" years ago.   I've been sporting 2 bandaids all day and haven't looked at my finger yet.  I cleaned it, applied pressure, and raised my hand up all in a matter of about 2 minutes after the "OWWWWW" and I'm guessing my boo-boo is minor league compared to the Mrs's.  And yes, typing is a bee-och but I really hate typos.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

People must have really been cooking with band-aids and stitches involved


----------



## MrsLMB

Cooking Goddess said:


> I know I wasn't the least bit jealous about MrsLMB's finger, but I managed to cut mine pretty bad while slicing shallots for Thanksgiving dinner. I haven't seen Himself move so fast since I said "I think my water broke" years ago.  I've been sporting 2 bandaids all day and haven't looked at my finger yet. I cleaned it, applied pressure, and raised my hand up all in a matter of about 2 minutes after the "OWWWWW" and I'm guessing my boo-boo is minor league compared to the Mrs's. And yes, typing is a bee-och but I really hate typos.


 
Oh nooooooooooooooooooooo ... ah geez CG .. that's no good at all. I'm glad you got to forgo the visit to the emergency room.

Good on you for being so good with typing.

How is it feeling now? Hope you get better super quick !  Mine is coming along quite nicely.  I am no longer wearing the splint thingy and my bandaid no longer looks like a catcher's mitt - it's a normal bandaid now !





PrincessFiona60 said:


> People must have really been cooking with band-aids and stitches involved


 
Yeah and we need some cool bandaids ... maybe some with little toasters or pots and pans on them


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, I should have driven my car home from BIL's.  DH said he'd drive, and while he was messing around with the visor, he couldn't figure it out as he didn't have his bifocals....When I tried to help, he accidently took the skin off my thumb by slamming it in the visor.  Luckily, not too much blood.

Thankfully, the cooking had already been finished.

Perhaps we need a support group for the finger-injured.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> Yeah and we need some cool bandaids ... maybe some with little toasters or pots and pans on them



I have Bacon Band-Aids.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Well, I should have driven my car home from BIL's.  DH said he'd drive, and while he was messing around with the visor, he couldn't figure it out as he didn't have his bifocals....When I tried to help, he accidently took the skin off my thumb by slamming it in the visor.  Luckily, not too much blood.
> 
> Thankfully, the cooking had already been finished.
> 
> Perhaps we need a support group for the finger-injured.



I have a salute for you to use...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have a salute for you to use...



I think I used that one already.....


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have a salute for you to use...





Dawgluver said:


> I think I used that one already.....


You guys are cracking me up.

GG & Dawg, I hope your fingers heal quickly.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'd rather be a supporter for the Finger Injured than an Athletic Supporter...


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Why, at this time of year, do all the staff at our local grocery store wear chocolate aftershave?? I end up buying stuff I wouldn't normally buy.


----------



## Addie

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Why, at this time of year, do all the staff at our local grocery store wear chocolate aftershave?? *I end up buying stuff I wouldn't normally buy.*



You just answered your own question.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

MrsLMB said:


> Oh nooooooooooooooooooooo ... ah geez CG .. that's no good at all. I'm glad you got to forgo the visit to the emergency room.
> 
> Good on you for being so good with typing.
> 
> How is it feeling now? Hope you get better super quick !  Mine is coming along quite nicely.  I am no longer wearing the splint thingy and my bandaid no longer looks like a catcher's mitt - it's a normal bandaid now !



I'm doing fine.  Still tender, but at least I can take the band-aid off for a little bit.  Then I bump it and I have to cover it again.  Glad you're doing better too.  It's really rough when you have to avoid using one of your fingers, isn't it?

Dawg, welcome to our Damaged Digits Divas group!






MrsLMB said:


> Yeah and we need some cool bandaids ... maybe some with little toasters or pots and pans on them


Mine are Snoopy & gang band-aids.


----------



## Addie

I am sure that by now, all of you digit damaged dames are bound by Murphy's Law that you are going to bang *only * the injured digit and none of the healthy ones. 

Guess which foot I keep miss-stepping on? Of course, the broken one. I just can't seem to miss that strip on the floor between the rug and the tile floor. And always on the broken bone.


----------



## vitauta

i'm still stuck on those bacon band aids. do they have bacon pics on them or do they smell like bacon?


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> i'm still stuck on those bacon band aids. do they have bacon pics on them or do they smell like bacon?



No, no Vit. You have it bass ackwards. The band aids sticks on you!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> i'm still stuck on those bacon band aids. do they have bacon pics on them or do they smell like bacon?



They look like bacon...no bacon smell.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> No, no Vit. You have it bass ackwards. The band aids sticks on you!


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> I am sure that by now, all of you digit damaged dames are bound by Murphy's Law that you are going to bang only  the injured digit and none of the healthy ones.
> 
> Guess which foot I keep miss-stepping on? Of course, the broken one. I just can't seem to miss that strip on the floor between the rug and the tile floor. And always on the broken bone.



Addie, it's Digit Damaged Divas, not Dames!  Sheesh!


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> Addie, it's Digit Damaged Divas, not Dames!  Sheesh!



I have a little burn on my pinkie. I wanna be a Diva, too ...


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> I have a little burn on my pinkie. I wanna be a Diva, too ...



You are!  Welcome to the club!

Injury of choice can be from a knife, a visor, an oven, Excalibur, anything that lets blood.  Or causes digital pain.


----------



## Andy M.

*Frustrating!*

I spent parts of several days before Thanksgiving preparing dishes and ingredients for the big meal.  I had quickly sharpened my knives and was chopping, slicing, dicing and mincing like mad.  I kept telling myself to be careful because doing this stuff with a cut finger stinks.  Nary a cut.  I was proud of myself.

Friday afternoon I made myself a turkey sandwich with mayo.  I cut my finger on this when I was reaching for it so I could put it in the dishwasher!


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> I spent parts of several days before Thanksgiving preparing dishes and ingredients for the big meal.  I had quickly sharpened my knives and was chopping, slicing, dicing and mincing like mad.  I kept telling myself to be careful because doing this stuff with a cut finger stinks.  Nary a cut.  I was proud of myself.
> 
> Friday afternoon I made myself a turkey sandwich with mayo.  I cut my finger on this when I was reaching for it so I could put it in the dishwasher!



Awww! You poor Digit Damaged Dude!


----------



## Dawgluver

Like Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, I guess we are now Damaged Digits, Divas, and Dudes!  Or Dude.  Or Andy can be a Diva too, if he wants.

Welcome to the club, Birthday Boy!


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Awww! You poor Digit Damaged Dude!



I've been called damaged before but never in reference to a finger.


----------



## MrsLMB

I'm glad to hear your finger is getting better CG.

And to all the other "Damaged Digits" out there I hope you are recovering nicely and  .. welcome to the club!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice MrsLMB!  Except that my finger is the next one over.  

Welcome to the club GG and Andy!  Us cutlery challenged must band(aid) together!


----------



## taxlady

I'm telling myself to breath. My DH changed his profile picture on FB. An ex-friend commented, "Why  am I seeing this liberal? Make it go away." I asked if he meant that as  humour. He replied that it wasn't, that he wished all liberals would die  and spewed a bit more vitriol against liberals.

Yes, DH banned him.


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> I'm telling myself to breath. My DH changed his profile picture on FB. An ex-friend commented, "Why  am I seeing this liberal? Make it go away." I asked if he meant that as  humour. He replied that it wasn't, that he wished all liberals would die  and spewed a bit more vitriol against liberals.
> 
> Yes, DH banned him.


Ack, too late to edit. I left out a comma:

"He replied that it wasn't*,* that he wished all liberals..."


----------



## Zhizara

Fixed, Taxy.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Ack, too late to edit. I left out a comma:
> 
> "He replied that it wasn't, that he wished all liberals..."



I wonder what it is that makes people seem to lose all sense of proportion, and even simple manners, online. I'm glad the rules against discussing religion and politics create a haven here.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

taxlady said:


> I'm telling myself to breath. My DH changed his profile picture on FB. An ex-friend commented, "Why am I seeing this liberal? Make it go away." I asked if he meant that as humour. He replied that it wasn't, that he wished all liberals would die and spewed a bit more vitriol against liberals.
> 
> Yes, DH banned him.


 
One of the reasons I don't FB.


----------



## GotGarlic

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> One of the reasons I don't FB.



Everything in life has a cost/benefit ratio. For me, the benefit is worth the cost. YMMV, of course.


----------



## Fos87

I don't know what will happen to my country. Pervert stupid politicians, illiteracy, catholic fanaticism, homophobia. There is no job and our parlament is focusen on Berlusconi and his stupid problems: a normal country would have him fired years ago.
And after 15 years I can't write yet in a decent english.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Fos87 said:


> I don't know what will happen to my country. Pervert stupid politicians, illiteracy, catholic fanaticism, homophobia. There is no job and our parlament is focusen on Berlusconi and his stupid problems: a normal country would have him fired years ago.
> And after 15 years I can't write yet in a decent english.



We understand you well enough, that's what's important. And I bet you write beautifully in Italian.  As for the problems your country is facing, there are pleanty of countries having a lot of of problems. I hope they can all get them figured out. Don't know the answers, all I can do is hope.


----------



## Fos87

The funny thing is that my Brother talk a perfect english, almost at native level. His only problem is the italian inflection.
About my country, I know there is no magic place called "abroad" where everything is perfect, but sometime I would will only go away. Other countries seem a lot more rational than Italy, even if they have many problems. It seems they can really get them figured out, because they work on them.
What I can't stand is to see italian politicians fighting on stupid things, with no mind on real Italy's problems. How can I hope in a better future without a good government?


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Fos87 said:


> The funny thing is that my Brother talk a perfect english, almost at native level. His only problem is the italian inflection.
> About my country, I know there is no magic place called "abroad" where everything is perfect, but sometime I would will only go away. Other countries seem a lot more rational than Italy, even if they have many problems. It seems they can really get them figured out, because they work on them.
> What I can't stand is to see italian politicians fighting on stupid things, with no mind on real Italy's problems. How can I hope in a better future without a good government?



 There is a reason political beliefs are a taboo subject on this forum. They are too easy to fight about. I worry about the future of my own country also. But then I remember that there are countries with far worse economies, far worse political corruption, and a lot less freedom. It doesn't ease my mind about the future of the country, but it does help me appreciate what we currently have. And beyond that I just hope.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Fos87 said:


> The funny thing is that my Brother talk a perfect english, almost at native level. His only problem is the italian inflection.



I'm pretty good with English. I have a decent vocabulary, a decent grasp of the grammar rules. I'm not great with spelling but that's why dictionaries exist (or one of the reasons). I took three years of Spanish in high school and one year in college. I can remember how to ask where the bathroom is, say hello, tell someone he/she is crazy, and call someone a foolish monkey. I kind of remember how to tell someone they have the nose of a parrot but I'd have to verify it with a Spanish to English dictionary. And that's about it. We all have things we are good at. Learning a second language just isn't one of them for some of us. Keep trying though. You don't have to be a native speaker to get your point across and even if it takes you longer to get good at it, you still got there eventually. You just have to practice.


----------



## cara

Fos87 said:


> I don't know what will happen to my country. Pervert stupid politicians, illiteracy, catholic fanaticism, homophobia. There is no job and our parlament is focusen on Berlusconi and his stupid problems: a normal country would have him fired years ago.
> And after 15 years I can't write yet in a decent english.



well, it seems to me Berlusconi had his days.. I don't think he will come back to high politics again.
And it's you choice to change something when the next election comes - well, in Italy that may be faster than you think.. 

Italy is not so bad after all. You have the better weather than we here on the north side of the Alps and you definitely have the better food ;o)


----------



## Addie

Fos87 said:


> The funny thing is that my Brother talk a perfect English, almost at native level. His only problem is the Italian inflection.
> About my country, I know there is no magic place called "abroad" where everything is perfect, but sometime I would will only go away. Other countries seem a lot more rational than Italy, even if they have many problems. It seems they can really get them figured out, because they work on them.
> What I can't stand is to see Italian politicians fighting on stupid things, with no mind on real Italy's problems. How can I hope in a better future without a good government?



Don't feel bad. One day about 40 years ago, the Texas Legislature spent an inordinate amount of time debating on whether they should commend Albert Di Salvo for his contribution to society. They finally passed the bill. Albert Di Salvo was the Boston Strangler and killed at least six women in a nasty manner. So all politicians have there idiosyncrasies. The last thing on my plate to worry about is politics. That is why this forum is so great.* No politics!*


----------



## Addie

TL, what a terrible thing to say about another person.

Now on to better items of interest. Well, I did it again. The Pirate bought a pizza from Santarpio's. The best pizza in all of New England according to the Phantom Gourmet. Our local food critic. It had double cheese and was floating in olive oil. I managed to stuff two slices into my face. YUM! But not for long. Another trip to the hospital for the gall bladder this time. I have never life experienced such pain. I am home, all is well. But after a flurry of tests, they found something wrong with one of my kidneys and that could very well be problematic. But the gall bladder is fine now. 

When the nurse was removing the IV, she didn't put pressure of the point of entry. Just a thick pad and tape. I started to take a walk out in the hall and stopped to talk to someone. They looked down and said in a calm voice, "Do you know you are bleeding?" I look down and there was blood all over my feet, a puddle on the floor and the front of my housecoat. Par for the course. For a trip to the hospital that was only 15 hours long, it was just full of events.

So how was your day?


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> TL, what a terrible thing to say about another person.
> 
> Now on to better items of interest. Well, I did it again. The Pirate bought a pizza from Santarpio's. The best pizza in all of New England according to the Phantom Gourmet. Our local food critic. It had double cheese and was floating in olive oil. I managed to stuff two slices into my face. YUM! But not for long. Another trip to the hospital for the gall bladder this time. I have never life experienced such pain. I am home, all is well. But after a flurry of tests, they found something wrong with one of my kidneys and that could very well be problematic. But the gall bladder is fine now.
> 
> When the nurse was removing the IV, she didn't put pressure of the point of entry. Just a thick pad and tape. I started to take a walk out in the hall and stopped to talk to someone. They looked down and said in a calm voice, "Do you know you are bleeding?" I look down and there was blood all over my feet, a puddle on the floor and the front of my housecoat. Par for the course. For a trip to the hospital that was only 15 hours long, it was just full of events.
> 
> So how was your day?



Criminy, Addie! Whatsa matta you?? You know better! Geez. Is the Pirate the PA? If he is, he's in big trouble. Take care of yourself.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Criminy, Addie! Whatsa matta you?? You know better! Geez. Is the Pirate the PA? If he is, he's in big trouble. Take care of yourself.



The Pirate is the plumber. The PA was working and left work to come to the hospital after talking to the doctor. 

Don't worry, no more pizza from Santarpio's. 

I have an appointment with the surgeon in January about the possibility of having my gall bladder removed. I have talked to several folks who have had theirs removed and they are all very happy folks!


----------



## Fos87

cara said:


> well, it seems to me Berlusconi had his days.. I don't think he will come back to high politics again.
> And it's you choice to change something when the next election comes - well, in Italy that may be faster than you think..
> 
> Italy is not so bad after all. You have the better weather than we here on the north side of the Alps and you definitely have the better food ;o)


 I close with politic, it's better  Thank you everyone.

We have a better food, but I love your wurst and sauerkraut. And also the beer. It's really stereotypical, I know, but it's true.



> Now on to better items of interest. Well, I did it again. The Pirate bought a pizza from Santarpio's. The best pizza in all of New England according to the Phantom Gourmet. Our local food critic. It had double cheese and was floating in olive oil. I managed to stuff two slices into my face. YUM! But not for long. Another trip to the hospital for the gall bladder this time. I have never life experienced such pain. I am home, all is well. But after a flurry of tests, they found something wrong with one of my kidneys and that could very well be problematic. But the gall bladder is fine now.


How are you now?


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> The Pirate is the plumber. The PA was working and left work to come to the hospital after talking to the doctor.
> 
> Don't worry, no more pizza from Santarpio's.
> 
> I have an appointment with the surgeon in January about the possibility of having my gall bladder removed. I have talked to several folks who have had theirs removed and they are all very happy folks!



I had mine removed several years ago. One bad attack was all it took and my GI doctor recommended it come out. Surgical methods are quite advanced now; I had to have an "open" surgery for this, but the incision was only about three inches long. When my mom had hers out in the '90s, there was a long scar going diagonally across her abdomen.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> I had mine removed several years ago. One bad attack was all it took and my GI doctor recommended it come out. Surgical methods are quite advanced now; I had to have an "open" surgery for this, but the incision was only about three inches long. When my mom had hers out in the '90s, there was a long scar going diagonally across her abdomen.



I am fine now. But this is my second bout. They first one, they ended up doing CPR on me. Yeah, it is time to remove it. 

The least thing I am worried about is a scar. Between the open heart surgery and the gastric surgery, I have a scar that runs from my scapula bone all the way down to my nether. Then there is the scar from the hysterectomy. Oh yeah, the one from the abscess that developed into a small tumor. 

You know, the funny thing is my frying pan is gathering dust every since the first bout.


----------



## GotGarlic

By mentioning the scar, I was referring to the size of the incision, not the aesthetics  The smaller the incision/scar, the easier the recovery.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, I am like you with the scar from the scapula all the way down.  And the lower one they had to open twice!  While they were in there the doctor removed my appendix because it was "in the way."  He added on a charge for the appendectemy but insurance didn't pay it.  I got a toofer!


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> Addie, I am like you with the scar from the scapula all the way down.  And the lower one they had to open twice!  While they were in there the doctor removed my appendix because it was "in the way."  He added on a charge for the appendectemy but insurance didn't pay it.  I got a toofer!



I hope the doctor paid it!


----------



## CarolPa

Well, I sure didn't pay it!  When I got the summary from the insurance it showed $0 paid and $0 billable.  I guess they figured he just did it while he was in the neighborhood.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> Well, I sure didn't pay it!  When I got the summary from the insurance it showed $0 paid and $0 billable.  I guess they figured he just did it while he was in the neighborhood.



Hmmm...wonder if I can get a free tummy tuck when I go in...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Hmmm...wonder if I can get a free tummy tuck when I go in...



When my sister was a nurse, she wrangled a "2 for the price of one" on her boob job.

It may be worth a shot....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> When my sister was a nurse, she wrangled a "2 for the price of one" on her boob job.
> 
> It may be worth a shot....



I'm still trying to figure out how to get Mom half-price mammograms...


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm still trying to figure out how to get Mom half-price mammograms...



Jeez...Mrs D reminded me that she has to go for a "smash-o-gram" next week. That's actually how it sounds when she say's it with her accent.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Love my "smash-o-grams" it saved my life and my Mom's.  I happily make the appointment every year on my birthday!


----------



## taxlady

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Jeez...Mrs D reminded me that she has to go for a "smash-o-gram" next week. That's actually how it sounds when she say's it with her accent.


That's just far too descriptive for my taste.


----------



## CarolPa

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Hmmm...wonder if I can get a free tummy tuck when I go in...




I asked for that with both surgeries and the doctor just laughed!  How much trouble could it be to cut off a hunk of fat???  He cut off other stuff that was "in the way."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh well, at least I won't need a new wardrobe...not worried about off work clothes, but my uniforms should fit.  As it is, I'm going to need suspenders soon for my work pants.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Hmmm...wonder if I can get a free tummy tuck when I go in...



I got one when I had my bowel surgery for Crohn's. Problem is he wasn't a plastic surgeon, so he misplaced my belly button and left an unsightly scar


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was lucky with my breast implant after the partial mastectomy, bra line hides the scar and it's not bad at all.

No telling what is going to happen with this surgery, I still have not met the surgeon.  Dec 13th is not getting here fast enough.


----------



## Dina

Ugh!  My sleeping schedule is all messed up lately.  I've been waking up at 3:00 a.m.  This morning I got up to do laundry then went back to bed close to 4:00 just to toss and turn till 6:45 when I get up to cook breakfast.  Melatonin is not working for me anymore.  Could it be my age?  LOL  I'm going to try some yoga tonight for relaxation.  Sigh!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dina said:


> Ugh!  My sleeping schedule is all messed up lately.  I've been waking up at 3:00 a.m.  This morning I got up to do laundry then went back to bed close to 4:00 just to toss and turn till 6:45 when I get up to cook breakfast.  Melatonin is not working for me anymore.  Could it be my age?  LOL  I'm going to try some yoga tonight for relaxation.  Sigh!



Natrol makes an extended release Melatonin, it works for me when I wake up too early.  They have it at Walgreen's or Walmart.


----------



## tinlizzie

I have a Syndrome and a Complex, both aggravated by the holiday season.  The Syndrome's name is NLB, which stands for 'nice little box.'  It is nearly impossible for me to pitch out that nice little box that item X came in.  I'm sure it would be perfect to use for storing something in the garage.  Or maybe to mail an item to someone somewhere sometime.  The Complex is BBLW -- bubble wrap.  If I throw it out, I might have to buy some sometime.  My garage is suffering mightily.  I can't seem to conquer these habits, which have been the subject/object of more than one New Year's resolution.  

This should put me in the running for the 'pettiest vent' prize if it exists.  If I win, I hope the prize doesn't come in a box.


----------



## Dawgluver

I can totally relate.  I, too, am a COB (collecter of boxes) and bubble wrap.  One never knows when one might need either or both.  Mine reside in the basement and I manage to trip over them on a regular basis.

I did manage to recycle a bunch of boxes this summer, but apparently they found their way back and have since started a family.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is sooo me!


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> I have a Syndrome and a Complex, both aggravated by the holiday season.  The Syndrome's name is NLB, which stands for 'nice little box.'  It is nearly impossible for me to pitch out that nice little box that item X came in.  I'm sure it would be perfect to use for storing something in the garage.  Or maybe to mail an item to someone somewhere sometime.  The Complex is BBLW -- bubble wrap.  If I throw it out, I might have to buy some sometime.  My garage is suffering mightily.  I can't seem to conquer these habits, which have been the subject/object of more than one New Year's resolution.
> 
> This should put me in the running for the 'pettiest vent' prize if it exists.  If I win, I hope the prize doesn't come in a box.



You have a branch office in central New York!

I save all of the 'nice little boxes' that come into my apartment also, they might come in handy someday!  I have so many I've started putting them inside of each other to save space!  Now I honestly don't know what I have tucked away, I need to find someone brave enough to throw them away or perhaps I could mail them to you!   

The bubble wrap is rolled neatly and sits on the closet shelf next to the bags of packing peanuts. 

The older I get the more I remind myself of my Mother, with her it was paper bags, nice little jars and egg cartons! 

Pity the fool that inherits my vast holdings, mwa-ha-ha-ha!


----------



## Dawgluver

My mom was the classic hoarder of plastic peanuts.  Apparently she kept every single one, in her basement,  for the last 50 years or more.  The poor realtor who's selling her house keeps having to sneak them a bag at a time into the trash.  A never-ending task.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> My mom was the classic hoarder of plastic peanuts.  Apparently she kept every single one, in her basement,  for the last 50 years or more.  The poor realtor who's selling her house keeps having to sneak them a bag at a time into the trash.  A never-ending task.



They dissolve in nail polish remover...she could do that in a plastic milk jug...then she'd have a chunk of plastic...instead of lots of bags of peanuts.

Actually, she might call a UPS store or other shipping type place and see if they would like them...for nothing!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They dissolve in nail polish remover...she could do that in a plastic milk jug...then she'd have a chunk of plastic...instead of lots of bags of peanuts.



Huh.  Good idea, PF!  Thanks!

No nearby UPS store in the Great White North.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Huh.  Good idea, PF!  Thanks!
> 
> No nearby UPS store in the Great White North.



Dad got the equivalent of 10-33 gallon bags of peanuts into a gallon jug.  Took a while but it worked.  Won't happen overnight but beats sneaking out to the trash.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Dad got the equivalent of 10-33 gallon bags of peanuts into a gallon jug.  Took a while but it worked.  Won't happen overnight but beats sneaking out to the trash.



I'll mention this to the realtor.  I'm 3 states away, so can't do it my own self.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Hubby gets after me for popping the bubble wrap. Not because he was going to save it, because I sometimes forget to share.


----------



## Addie

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Hubby gets after me for popping the bubble wrap. Not because he was going to save it, because I sometimes forget to share.



The problem is you can't quit until every last one is popped! Addictive.


----------



## Addie

I purchased a roll of bubble wrap one year to send off a bunch of fragile presents. I hung onto the end of the roll for years. Then one day my girlfriend in Atlanta mentioned that she needed to find some bubble wrap. I told her I would send her enough to solve all her problems. I divided what was left on the roll into two packets and packed them into large manila envelopes. Taped them together and sent them on their way.

They arrived intact. Her daughter was so excited. Wanted to open it and see what Addie had sent. Bubble wrap? Huh? So she opened the second envelope. More bubble wrap? Has she lost her mind? Is this her idea of a joke? The look on her daughter's face was priceless. Her mother just took the bubble wrap and never explained to her why I sent them bubble wrap!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Hubby gets after me for popping the bubble wrap. Not because he was going to save it, because I sometimes forget to share.



Exactly, Shrek gets grumpy if he doesn't have a shot at it, too!


----------



## KatyCooks

There is a pile of bubble wrap just next to the photocopier(multi thingy printer).  

 Now.  Isn't this a Health and Safety issue?  

 In all seriousness, shouldn't I pop those potential pods of explosiveness?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

KatyCooks said:


> There is a pile of bubble wrap just next to the photocopier(multi thingy printer).
> 
> *Now.  Isn't this a Health and Safety issue?
> *
> In all seriousness, shouldn't I pop those potential pods of explosiveness?



Absolutely!  Someone could fall and smother in them.


----------



## KatyCooks

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Absolutely! Someone could fall and smother in them.



Exactly PF!     (I will squash every bubble in sight!)  I will got no pleasure from it at all.  

 Bwahahahhaaa...


----------



## taxlady

My mother saved glass jars and plastic tubs that food came in, as well as newspapers (I have no idea why she saved the newspapers. Maybe she thought you could still get money for it at the recycler.). I have hauled so much of that crap out of her apartments.

I find it a lot easier to get that stuff out of the house right away, now that we have recycling pickup.


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> My mother saved glass jars and plastic tubs that food came in, as well as newspapers (I have no idea why she saved the newspapers. Maybe she thought you could still get money for it at the recycler.). I have hauled so much of that crap out of her apartments.
> 
> *I find it a lot easier to get that stuff out of the house right away, now that we have recycling pickup.*



You are like my Sister, she does not tolerate clutter.  

I think because I'm the youngest I got used to getting all of the hand me downs and broken toys. 

I equate clutter with coziness and security, boy is this place cozy!


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, as I opened up the box of angel hair pasta and went to dump it into the boiling water, I did not realize the BOTTOM of the box was already open!  So angel hair pasta went all over the floor and mixed with Beagle hair.  Then it went into the trash.  Luckily I still had another partial box of pasta so we didn't go hungry.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Well, as I opened up the box of angel hair pasta and went to dump it into the boiling water, I did not realize the BOTTOM of the box was already open!  So angel hair pasta went all over the floor and mixed with Beagle hair.  Then it went into the trash.  Luckily I still had another partial box of pasta so we didn't go hungry.



Spike did that the other day when he was putting away my groceries. I left it there for The Pirate to pick up. I told him it was my way of letting him know how much I appreciate all he does for me. One more job he does so well.  He bought it with rolling eyes!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Well, as I opened up the box of angel hair pasta and went to dump it into the boiling water, I did not realize the BOTTOM of the box was already open!  So angel hair pasta went all over the floor and mixed with Beagle hair.  Then it went into the trash.  Luckily I still had another partial box of pasta so we didn't go hungry.



Oh I hate it when that happens.


----------



## Zhizara

I tried to have that problem, but just didn't have the room, so I finally learned to use the trash can.  Yep, I'd find a use for that box or bubble wrap within a day or so, but I'd have to just go out and get some.  PITA?  Yes!, but it keeps my apartment clutter free and I do love to shop, so I get to do one of my favorite things (shop) and still keep my apartment from becoming a hoarder's nightmare.  LOL


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> You are like my Sister, she does not tolerate clutter.
> 
> I think because I'm the youngest I got used to getting all of the hand me downs and broken toys.
> 
> I equate clutter with coziness and security, boy is this place cozy!


Don't tolerate clutter. 

Oh no, that's not me at all. I have to edit all the photos I post to keep from posting pix of the clutter. I don't always succeed.

It's just that it's not as hard to recycle something that might be useful as it is to throw it in the garbage.


----------



## Zhizara

That's what it is about clutter, Taxy.  Either you can tolerate it, or you can't.  Me, I just can't.  

It's a useful trait when I want to get a sewing job done, or a crochet project.  If it's within eyesight, I will keep working on it until I can get it done and out of sight, or withstand the irritation of seeing it cluttering up my visual landscape.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Hubby gets after me for popping the bubble wrap. Not because he was going to save it, because I sometimes forget to share.



For you.  And your DH.  And all other lovers of popping bubble wrap.  Warning:  addictive!  BUT ecologically proper. 

*Virtual Bubble Wrap*

Be sure to turn the volume up for full effect!


----------



## cara

I'm not so much a collector, but DH is... he can't throw away all his agricultual journal and car magazine... there is still the chance he must look up any comparisons in five years.
Worst is, he can tell you in which one he will find what... 

Every now and then I look throw and if I think it's not important, it lands in the paper bank ;o)

There is no need for me to collect boxes and bubble wrap, if I need some, I just take it home from work..


----------



## CarolPa

Aunt Bea said:


> The older I get the more I remind myself of my Mother, with her it was paper bags, nice little jars and egg cartons!
> 
> Pity the fool that inherits my vast holdings, mwa-ha-ha-ha!




I do the jars.  I keep saurkraut jars because they are perfect for when I make soup to give away.  And I also save small olive and pickle jars because at Easter I make beet horseradish and everyone wants a jar to take home.  I hate to give them Ball canning jars because they never return them.  

What did your mother do with the egg cartons?  I think some people use them for craft projects and some people who make jewelry keep beads etc in them.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CarolPa said:


> I do the jars.  I keep saurkraut jars because they are perfect for when I make soup to give away.  And I also save small olive and pickle jars because at Easter I make beet horseradish and everyone wants a jar to take home.  I hate to give them Ball canning jars because they never return them.
> *
> What did your mother do with the egg cartons?*  I think some people use them for craft projects and some people who make jewelry keep beads etc in them.



Craft projects with her gang of old girlfriends.

She used to get upset with me because I did not want wreaths made out of computer punch cards, angels made out of old Readers Digests, plastic crosses made out of Styrofoam egg cartons etc...

Crafts make me twitch!


----------



## msmofet

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Hubby gets after me for popping the bubble wrap. Not because he was going to save it, because I sometimes forget to share.


 AAAAAAAAAA The "Lay's" syndrome .... You can't pop just one.


----------



## CarolPa

Aunt Bea said:


> Craft projects with her gang of old girlfriends.
> 
> She used to get upset with me because I did not want wreaths made out of computer punch cards, angels made out of old Readers Digests, plastic crosses made out of Styrofoam egg cartons etc...
> 
> Crafts make me twitch!




Oh, I forgot all about the wreaths made out of computer punch cards.  I rarely do crafts, but one year a friend got me into making carts out of clothespins, filling them with styrofoam and artificial poinsettias.  I thought they were beautiful and gave them to all the family members.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I tie flies.  Is that a craft, or do I need to cut off the hook points and turn them into earrings first.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## bakechef

Aunt Bea said:


> Craft projects with her gang of old girlfriends.
> 
> She used to get upset with me because I did not want wreaths made out of computer punch cards, angels made out of old Readers Digests, plastic crosses made out of Styrofoam egg cartons etc...
> 
> Crafts make me twitch!



I caught the end of a show last night where a woman was showing "crafts" that could be given as gifts.  One project was taking blank cds and gluing felt "feet" to them to use as coasters.  No I'm not joking, just 4 tiny felt pads on a blank cd, 4 of them wrapped up with a red ribbon.


----------



## Andy M.

Aunt Bea said:


> Craft projects with her gang of old girlfriends.
> 
> She used to get upset with me because I did not want wreaths made out of computer punch cards, angels made out of old Readers Digests, plastic crosses made out of Styrofoam egg cartons etc...
> 
> Crafts make me twitch!



At least you don't have to worry about computer punch cards any more.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I tried to have that problem, but just didn't have the room, so I finally learned to use the trash can.  Yep, I'd find a use for that box or bubble wrap within a day or so, but I'd have to just go out and get some.  PITA?  Yes!, but it keeps my apartment clutter free and I do love to shop, so I get to do one of my favorite things (shop) and still keep my apartment from becoming a hoarder's nightmare.  LOL



I have a large white cabinet that I keep all my craft stuff in. And at the bottom are two drawers where my sheets and other linens go. I have never been one to pile stuff on top of other furniture. So on top of that cabinet I have stupid knick knacks that have been given to me as presents. They always require dusting. I finally gave up and just let them collect dust. 

In the kitchen, there is no way I can reach the top shelves in the cabinet. So what I save are those pasta sauce jars that look like Mason jars. They are stored up there. I have to ask Spike to get one down when I need it. I only have about five of them. It is all I need to use for the fudge sauce I make for a couple of folks who ask for it. I keep telling them to bring back the ones that are empty, but I am talking to an empty brain. It is the only thing I save. My extra grocery bags go to the food bank.


----------



## taxlady

Oh, I save jars that I actually will use, especially small ones for salad dressing or spice mixes. When I said my mum saved jars, I was talking about every glass jar that came in the house, cupboards and boxes full of them, that she didn't use, and empty booze bottles. I also saved every jar from Classico. Those are canning jars and the lids are great. So much nicer to use a regular jar lid on an opened canning jar than those two piece lids. I don't buy Classico pasta sauces anymore, 'cause they have soy oil and I'm not supposed to have unfermented soy.


----------



## Addie

I am sitting here thinking about the empty jars I use for the chocolate sauce. Every time I send a jar to either one of the folks I make it for, I always ask for the empty jar back so I can refill it. I never get it back. So the next time I am asked for the sauce, the answer is going to be "No! I don't have any empty jars." Maybe then they will get the message. 

I really think it is rude of them. Grant you it is just a pasta sauce jar. But I have asked several times. Yet they don't hesitate to ask for the sauce. 

I need to get some happy thoughts.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, That might teach them a lesson.  My son returns every jar I give him, because he cans a lot and complains that his friends never return the jars from salsa etc he has made for them, so he knows what it's like.  I never get them back from my daughter.  In fact, I have a real nice thermal container I give to her when I give her stuffed cabbage.  She never brings it back until she is coming over to get the next batch of stuffed cabbage, so I guess it's hers now.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I swear I am going to have a stroke *before* I can get into the insurance website so that I can have insurance when I have my stroke! 

Amazon should have been the insurance seller.  Or Wal-Mart.  THEY both know how to sell online.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> I swear I am going to have a stroke *before* I can get into the insurance website so that I can have insurance when I have my stroke!
> 
> Amazon should have been the insurance seller.  Or Wal-Mart.  THEY both know how to sell online.



Don't worry about having a stroke.  Affordable Care covers pre-existing conditions.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> Don't worry about having a stroke.  Affordable Care covers pre-existing conditions.



But it's not retroactive!

My nephew has been giving me updates on his experience with the website.  He can get in, but everything is not clear to him, and there's someone he keeps calling who helps him through the bumps in the road.  He said they are very helpful and they speak English.  He has not made his final choice yet.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Don't worry about having a stroke.  Affordable Care covers pre-existing conditions.



 Gee Andy, you are so helpful and encouraging.


----------



## CarolPa

I thought there was a thread somewhere for more serious vents rather than petty ones and this one is not petty!  During these times when so many are struggling to make ends meet, I just read an article in the paper about Food Stamp Fraud.  The $$ amount is outrageous!  No only are people advertising on the internet to sell their allotment for 50 cents on the dollar, there are several stores in my area who were cited for paying out cash to people for 50 cents on a dollar.  They stores get caught because their food stamp usage is higher than normal so they get investigated.  These store owners only receive probation for this.  I know there are people who take other family members with them shopping to take advantage of their food stamp allotment that is higher than their needs.  This is why so many people complain about the government give away programs, but this is a worthwhile and needed program when it's handled honestly.  When my husband had a young family, his company went on strike and he signed up for Food Stamps.  He told me they would send him two allotments in one week, and even one allotment was more than he could every spend for food for a family of 4.  He tried to return the duplicate allotments and was told that they could not take them back, just spend them.  

I get so angry about the people who work at jobs getting paid under the table, then accept help in the form of food stamps and welfare, and then actually brag about it!!


----------



## Addie

Carol, the food stamp program is funded by the federal government, but administered by each state individually. In this state, if you get caught, you automatically lose your food stamps or if a store is guilty, they have their EBT  machine confiscated. Most are prosecuted and have to pay the state back. Store owners also face the possibility of losing their milk license, and other state licenses that relate to food. The loss of the milk license covers all foods that are derived from milk. Cheeses, yogurt, half and half, etc. The loss in income is just not worth it. And they know it. The recipient can lose their drivers license until they pay the state back the money that was defrauded.  When you apply here, the system is automatically set up so that your SS number is run through every bank in the state along with on-line ones. If your stated income on your application doesn't match up with what they find in the bank hunt, you are denied. A lot of folks here have friends in NH. They will  use their address to try to collect food stamps in both states. They get caught by both states. Along with Maine and RI. They have to wait a year before they can apply again. We have one of the lowest number of folks on food stamps. Once a year you have to reapply. It doesn't just continue automatically. The same rules apply for the renewal as the first application. 

I got caught once. All for $5.00 in my savings account. I forgot to list it. I keep that in there for the sole purpose of keeping the account open. The worker understood and I was approved.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, I don't know much about the food stamp program.  I just know that the article in todays paper said the store owners got probation...it didn't say anything about fines, or losing licenses, but they might have just not included that information in the article.  There are a lot of low income people in this area and for them, I am glad that these programs exist.  But I see a lot of individuals in the paper getting caught for fraud and they have to make restitution.  I just didn't realize just how much the fraud was overall!


----------



## Toffiffeezz

I'm upset, frustrated, and just tired of red tape bs. Hubby and I are trying to get through the adoption approval process through the public ministry, and just got another monkey wrench thrown at us. We applied in January of 2013, and still are working through this.  One of the things we were not looking at was a legal risk placement, due to the uncertainty factor for the child/children and us as well.  We had a meeting tonight, and effective Jan 1, 2014 all placements will be considered legal risk until the adoption is finalized (anywhere up to 16 months or so).  Basically it boils down to the birth parents/family would be able to appeal and possibly overturn any placement up until the time the adoption is finalized.  It's a small risk, but a risk none the less. 90% of adoptions will proceed exactly as they do now, but the 10% possibility scares the hell out of me. I just want a family, is that so much to ask? My heart is breaking just a little bit, and we have less than 2 weeks to decide.  If we say no, this is the end of all the work we've done over the last year. If we say yes, it's a totally different ball game. 


Legal risk adoption - also known as 'foster to adopt' or 'foster with a view to adopt'. This type of adoption occurs when a child is placed in a home as a foster child and is later adopted by his/her foster parents. This type of adoption is a 'legal risk adoption' because the courts have not yet made the child legally free to be adopted and there is still a chance that he/she may be returned to his/her biological family.  Children are considered a legal risk but only a small percentage of children placed through the 'foster to adopt' program are returned to their biological families.


----------



## Dawgluver

Toffiffeezz said:


> I'm upset, frustrated, and just tired of red tape bs. Hubby and I are trying to get through the adoption approval process through the public ministry, and just got another monkey wrench thrown at us. We applied in January of 2013, and still are working through this.  One of the things we were not looking at was a legal risk placement, due to the uncertainty factor for the child/children and us as well.  We had a meeting tonight, and effective Jan 1, 2014 all placements will be considered legal risk until the adoption is finalized (anywhere up to 16 months or so).  Basically it boils down to the birth parents/family would be able to appeal and possibly overturn any placement up until the time the adoption is finalized.  It's a small risk, but a risk none the less. 90% of adoptions will proceed exactly as they do now, but the 10% possibility scares the hell out of me. I just want a family, is that so much to ask? My heart is breaking just a little bit, and we have less than 2 weeks to decide.  If we say no, this is the end of all the work we've done over the last year. If we say yes, it's a totally different ball game.
> 
> Legal risk adoption - also known as 'foster to adopt' or 'foster with a view to adopt'. This type of adoption occurs when a child is placed in a home as a foster child and is later adopted by his/her foster parents. This type of adoption is a 'legal risk adoption' because the courts have not yet made the child legally free to be adopted and there is still a chance that he/she may be returned to his/her biological family.  Children are considered a legal risk but only a small percentage of children placed through the 'foster to adopt' program are returned to their biological families.



Oh, Toffi, it sounds so frustrating!  {{{{Toffi}}}}

Here's hoping things work out for you and Hub!


----------



## Addie

Toffi, my heart goes out to you and your husband. If it were me, I would say "go for it!" If it turns out that any child placed with you is returned to their parents, at least you know that you showed a child what real love in a family is. You will have given a child a lifetime of memories. Don't give up. There is a child out there for you both.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Toffi))) Sending good vibes in your direction for a happy outcome soon.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> Toffi, my heart goes out to you and your husband. If it were me, *I would say "go for it!*" If it turns out that any child placed with you is returned to their parents, at least you know that you showed a child what real love in a family is. You will have given a child a lifetime of memories. Don't give up. There is a child out there for you both.



I agree!

I would rather have a broken heart because I chose to help a child than have one because I didn't.


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> I agree!
> 
> I would rather have a broken heart because I chose to help a child than have one because I didn't.


Yes! This.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I vote for taking the chance Toffi.  Both of you and the child will benefit so much from being together, whether it is for a year or a lifetime. 



Aunt Bea said:


> I would rather have a broken heart because I chose to help a child than have one because I didn't.


Well-said Aunt Bea! Like the old saying "better to have love and lost than to never have loved at all".  Good luck Toffi!


----------



## CatPat

Please do this, Toffi! I am adopted. I was very sick for a long time but I am well now. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Now I forgot what I wished to vent about. Oh, it doesn't matter now.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Alix

Toffiffeezz, are you going public or private? I know its terribly frustrating, but give it a go. You can try looking up RAD and telling the judge that it could impair bonding if you can't shorten the time, or eliminate it altogether. Worth a shot anyway. 

PM me. You likely know more than I do about the adoption process, but I've got a friend here in Edmonton who works with adoptive families and she may be able to provide some resources for you in Calgary. Meanwhile, HUGS! You are an amazing person for wanting to adopt.

My vent is minor...my joints are all sore from being tossed about the last two days. Waaaaaa!


----------



## Toffiffeezz

CatPat said:


> Please do this, Toffi! I am adopted. I was very sick for a long time but I am well now. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.  Now I forgot what I wished to vent about. Oh, it doesn't matter now.  With love, ~Cat



 Hi Cat,  I actually thought about you with this situation. It helped us make the decision we did.  Every child deserves to be wanted and loved, even if it is for only a short time.

Cat, Alix, Aunt Bea, taxy, CG, Dawg, and Addie, I appreciate your thoughts and input.  This has been a difficult decision, but we've made one. We contacted our worker tonight, and said we will proceed forward.


----------



## CatPat

Toffiffeezz said:


> Hi Cat,  I actually thought about you with this situation. It helped us make the decision we did.  Every child deserves to be wanted and loved, even if it is for only a short time.
> 
> Cat, Alix, Aunt Bea, taxy, CG, Dawg, and Addie, I appreciate your thoughts and input.  This has been a difficult decision, but we've made one. We contacted our worker tonight, and said we will proceed forward.



Oh I thank you so very, very much! This brings such grateful tears to me. I'm so happy you will go forward of this! Please let us know of all you are doing with this. Please share everything with us!

I'm very humbled that you thought of me. Thank you so very much for this. I had tears for this also.

Toffiffeezz, you, your family, and this precious new one will always be in my thoughts and prayers. We are all here for you, you see.

Please tell us of your progress. I'll be looking for your messages.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## taxlady

I'm updating Kasperski Internet Security. What a pain in the patooty. It kept telling me that the database files were not up to date. Hmmm, I have this on automatic update. I click the button to update now and it starts the download. It finishes and tells me it isn't up to date. I do this several times and then start looking at useless help files. I look at the "knowledge base". It says that for update problems I have to scan the computer. It says to download a rescue disk. I look at the link that says what the rescue disk is. It's for when a computer is so infected that it won't boot properly - not really my case. Sounds a little overkill.

I look at the software and it says it did a scan five hours ago. I scan again. I notice that all the info refers to Kasperski Internet Security 2014 and I have 2013. I look at updating the software (I still have 6 months on my subscription) and it says I am entitled to update the software if my license is still valid, but I will need the key. I look for the key and find it, but I can't copy and paste it. I have to look at 36 character long key and copy it manually. grrr

I downloaded KIS 2014 and am now downloading the new users manual. It's a PDF. They set it up so I have to load the PDF in my browser and then download it. I can't just right click and "save link as". It's big. It took a long time to load the PDF in my browser.


----------



## Addie

See Cat, Mama Cat and Papa Cat? Now you can understand how we feel about adoption here in North America. Every child should be loved. It should be a law.

Toffi and her husband are willing to start from the beginning with all the risks involved to find a child that can come into their lives. When they first meet that child, there will be instant unconditional love there. There will be support from all directions to help them through the process. That help is there because everyone cares that every child is loved and wanted. Just like you were Cat. 

Good luck Toffi. Please do keep us informed. We all are wishing and praying for the very best for you and your husband.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

taxlady said:


> I'm updating Kasperski Internet Security. What a pain in the patooty. It kept telling me that the database files were not up to date. Hmmm, I have this on automatic update. I click the button to update now and it starts the download. It finishes and tells me it isn't up to date. I do this several times and then start looking at useless help files. I look at the "knowledge base". It says that for update problems I have to scan the computer. It says to download a rescue disk. I look at the link that says what the rescue disk is. It's for when a computer is so infected that it won't boot properly - not really my case. Sounds a little overkill.
> 
> I look at the software and it says it did a scan five hours ago. I scan again. I notice that all the info refers to Kasperski Internet Security 2014 and I have 2013. I look at updating the software (I still have 6 months on my subscription) and it says I am entitled to update the software if my license is still valid, but I will need the key. I look for the key and find it, but I can't copy and paste it. I have to look at 36 character long key and copy it manually. grrr
> 
> I downloaded KIS 2014 and am now downloading the new users manual. It's a PDF. They set it up so I have to load the PDF in my browser and then download it. I can't just right click and "save link as". It's big. It took a long time to load the PDF in my browser.


 
Oh, I don't envy you Taxy. When ever I do updates something invariably goes wrong. Either a missing file or I get the message "could not complete download" with no explanation as to why. Thankfully my ISP has McAfee included free.


----------



## taxlady

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Oh, I don't envy you Taxy. When ever I do updates something invariably goes wrong. Either a missing file or I get the message "could not complete download" with no explanation as to why. Thankfully my ISP has McAfee included free.


I used Norton a long time ago and at first, I really liked it. Then it started to be a huge memory hog and slowed down my machine. I think there was something else I didn't like. I got McAfee and really liked it for a while. Eventually found it to be too much of a PITA. I used AVG for quite a while. I heard good stuff about Kaspersky from geeky friends. I don't hate it yet.


----------



## Addie

Poo always asks me, "Ma what do you want for......? This year I wanted a cover for my KA. So I went looking. Only Chefs Catalog had them in blue and it was only $19.99. Sears wanted almost $58.00. The prices were all over the place. And one place had it in plastic. What's with that. In six months it would be dry, cracked and brittle. And it cost more than some of the others. The KA site doesn't show the price until you place the order. They will never get my business.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> Poo always asks me, "Ma what do you want for......? This year I wanted a cover for my KA. So I went looking. Only Chefs Catalog had them in blue and it was only $19.99. Sears wanted almost $58.00. The prices were all over the place. And one place had it in plastic. What's with that. In six months it would be dry, cracked and brittle. And it cost more than some of the others. The KA site doesn't show the price until you place the order. They will never get my business.



It pays to shop around.  Rob wanted a book for Christmas, there was a seller on Amazon (not amazon itself) that had it available for $50 used, I got it from a good rated eBay seller for $25 shipped, brand new!


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> It pays to shop around.  Rob wanted a book for Christmas, there was a seller on Amazon (not amazon itself) that had it available for $50 used, I got it from a good rated eBay seller for $25 shipped, brand new!



For most of us Amazon is our first 'go to' site when we are looking for a certain item. I could have sent the information for ordering it through Amazon, but they in turn send the info to Chef's Catalog. Same price. But with a new law in place, my son would have had to pay the sales price for our state. It wouldn't have amounted to much, by why do it the hard way. So instead I went straight to Chef's Catalog and sent the ordering info to my son. Five dollars saved and still in his pocket.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Needed some time in my Happy Place*

My complaints are usually of the "petty" variety, but this one has me really steamed.

Wait, what, what am I doing here?  Shouldn't I be sleeping so we can leave for OH tomorrow?  Well, grab some wine because I'm gonna whine:

I have tried repeatedly to sign up for health care that starts Jan. 1.  No matter which way I've tried to navigate the site I kept hitting a wall.  Because I checked all the plans without signing in I know exactly what I want, who I want it from, and how much it will cost.  Tried to do an end-around today.  When I went to the Fallon website you have the option to apply through a 3rd party, ehealthinsurance.com.  Long story short, they can help only those going through the national website.  If you have a state connector (MA does) you have to go through the state's website.  The one I've been trying to use for over a month!  So...on my 2nd "down" I call Fallon directly.  Unfortunately, they can sign up only applicants who are buying "Senior Care", the plan for those 65 and up.  For the last month I WISH I was 65!  Pretty sure I can't claim that age though, even though this process of getting health care has aged me about 3 years.   "Andrea", my new best friend and the rep I spoke with at Fallon, said my only recourse was to (wait for it)...go through the state's health connector! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





  At least this time I was trying to do all this during business hours.  In the past I was working on it at night since the traffic on the website was expected to be lighter and it would be easier.  Harrumph!  On "down" 3, I call the health connector, only to find out the reason I kept getting error messages whenever I was online was because the site could not verify my existence.  Huh?  MA found me for jury duty!  I have to submit a copy of my driver's license, either mail, fax, or in person.  Man, if they had told me THAT's why they couldn't continue online, when I got some strange error code that, to Himself (AKA "Mr. Microchip", my tech support extraordinaire) appeared to be a coding error,  I could have mailed that copy of my license *over a month ago!*  Instead, to be sure that everything is in order, we will drive the 16 miles to the temporary office and get in line with the great masses that also just learned about why they kept getting error messages.

Plan on leaving for OH Saturday.  Unless we're still in line.

Hope I have coverage that has taken effect before I stroke out!  

****************

Thanks for listening.  I'll play a little longer, then hit the bed.  Hope it doesn't hit back.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I am so sorry for the insurance woes that people are going through.  

You should have checked out a book from the library, CG and not returned it.  They could have found you then!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I am so sorry for the insurance woes that people are going through.
> 
> You should have checked out a book from the library, CG and not returned it.  They could have found you then!


----------



## taxlady

We went in to town to meet friends for Chinese food. It was really good and we had a good time. When we got home, I discovered that I couldn't find my keys. I checked all through my purse. I hardly ever keep my keys in my purse, but it was worth checking. No luck. I keep keys in my coat pocket.

Car keys, house key, safety deposit key. Dang. The remote for the car is going to be expensive to replace. The safety deposit key won't be cheap. Even replacing the house key will be a PITA, 'cause we have an  extra secure lock.

We don't seem to have a spare house key anymore. I do have a valet key for the car and Stirling has a car key, but no remote.  I am not a happy camper.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh Tax, I hate it when this happens.  You didn't happen to leave it in the door when you got home?


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> We went in to town to meet friends for Chinese food. It was really good and we had a good time. When we got home, I discovered that I couldn't find my keys. I checked all through my purse. I hardly ever keep my keys in my purse, but it was worth checking. No luck. I keep keys in my coat pocket.
> 
> Car keys, house key, safety deposit key. Dang. The remote for the car is going to be expensive to replace. The safety deposit key won't be cheap. Even replacing the house key will be a PITA, 'cause we have an  extra secure lock.
> 
> We don't seem to have a spare house key anymore. I do have a valet key for the car and Stirling has a car key, but no remote.  I am not a happy camper.



Have you called the bus company and the restaurant? Maybe someone found them and turned them in. 

About the car key, you can buy them CHEAP on eBay and program them yourself. I did this last summer: $15 for two keys and programming instructions.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh Tax, I hate it when this happens.  You didn't happen to leave it in the door when you got home?


Well, that's a good place to look, but I couldn't find them when I was going to unlock the door when we got home.


GotGarlic said:


> Have you called the bus company and the restaurant? Maybe someone found them and turned them in.
> 
> About the car key, you can buy them CHEAP on eBay and program them yourself. I did this last summer: $15 for two keys and programming instructions.


I phoned the resto. I'll phone the public transit lost and found when they are open tomorrow.

Thanks for reminding me about eBay. I think you mentioned that before. But, I still need a key for the ignition. Stirling has one (broken keyless entry part) and I have a valet key. I should be okay until I get replacement. Maybe I'm missing something, but I think the key has to be cut and I think it has to be done by Volvo. This isn't a new car, it's a 2005.

I found instructions at ehow.com on how to program the keyless entry. I am checking on the BrickBoard (Volvo owners forum).

I did get lucky with this. Stirling had planned to go to a party after the dinner. When we were heading to the metro (Montreal's subway system), he decided to come home with me. If he hadn't, I would have been locked out, in the cold and snow. He would have had to rush home and still missed the party. It would have taken him at least an hour to get home and maybe longer because of the weather.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Thanks for reminding me about eBay. I think you mentioned that before. But, I still need a key for the ignition. Stirling has one (broken keyless entry part) and I have a valet key. I should be okay until I get replacement. Maybe I'm missing something, but I think the key has to be cut and I think it has to be done by Volvo. This isn't a new car, it's a 2005.



I'm not sure what a valet key is. My remote entry key unlocks the vehicle and starts the engine. I don't know if its different with Volvo. Mine is a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid. 

I'm glad you didn't get stuck outside!


----------



## Andy M.

A valet key opens the door and starts the car but won't open the glove compartment or trunk.  So if you give your key to a valet to park the car he can't open the GC to check for valuables.


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> A valet key opens the door and starts the car but won't open the glove compartment or trunk.  So if you give your key to a valet to park the car he can't open the GC to check for valuables.



My electric trunk popper won't work if a valet key has been used, not until the regular key is put back into the ignition.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I'm not sure what a valet key is. My remote entry key unlocks the vehicle and starts the engine. I don't know if its different with Volvo. Mine is a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid.
> 
> I'm glad you didn't get stuck outside!


A valet key is also called the service key, "The service key will operate only the driver's door and the ignition switch. It is intended to help deter unwanted entry into the glove compartment and trunk."

I have to put the physical key into the ignition to start the car.

This is what my keys looks like:







The key part of the master key is on a pivot and flips into the black part. It's a master key that I lost.


----------



## Dawgluver

My valet key causes the Honda's car alarm to go off.  At least when DH tries to open the door with it.


----------



## taxlady

I just checked eBay. For one that fits my model and year, the cheapest one was $88 + shipping. They also say that it might be programmable by the owner, but it might need to be programmed by a locksmith or the dealer. This isn't looking very encouraging.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> I used Norton a long time ago and at first, I really liked it. Then it started to be a huge memory hog and slowed down my machine. I think there was something else I didn't like. I got McAfee and really liked it for a while. Eventually found it to be too much of a PITA. I used AVG for quite a while. I heard good stuff about Kaspersky from geeky friends. I don't hate it yet.


When I had AVG on my old machine it was a bl**dy nuisance. It slowed everything down. I have Norton now as it came with my laptop so I renewed it when it expired. People speak unflatteringly about it but it's been OK so far.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> Poo always asks me, "Ma what do you want for......? This year I wanted a cover for my KA. So I went looking. Only Chefs Catalog had them in blue and it was only $19.99. Sears wanted almost $58.00. The prices were all over the place. And one place had it in plastic. What's with that. In six months it would be dry, cracked and brittle. And it cost more than some of the others. The KA site doesn't show the price until you place the order. They will never get my business.


There's a lady on the *Ebay** UK (no use to you, I know) who makes PVC coated fabric covers for kitchen appliances to order. I have black ones with white polka dots to match my new black and white kitchen. She's very reasonable in price and goes to a lot of trouble to get it right. Perhaps there's someone similar on *Ebay* US

 **Durr, stupid me I meant **AMAZON**.


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> When I had AVG on my old machine it was a bl**dy nuisance. It slowed everything down. I have Norton now as it came with my laptop so I renewed it when it expired. People speak unflatteringly about it but it's been OK so far.


I have heard it has gotten better. It seems to me that a lot of that security/privacy/anti-spam stuff starts out good and then they "improve" it and it becomes a memory hog.


----------



## taxlady

I phoned the bus companys customer service. They will be getting found stuff between 12h and 13h, so call back after 13h. Sigh.

I checked with the folks on the BrickBoard. It looks like a real PITA if I buy the replacement key on eBay and have to have the key cut and the programmed. Apparently most dealerships want ~ $200 to do that. So, I ordered a new master key. It's gonna cost ~$350 and includes programming. My independent garage, Swedish Auto, has placed the order with Volvo and it comes with the key already cut. They verified that they have the right VIN for my car.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cute PF, cute.   And Addie?  It's only funny if you aren't the one going through Healthcare Hell. I finally relaxed when we dropped the check off on Saturday. What a mucked up website it is.


----------



## Dawgluver

When one of my Honda keys broke, I looked online to find a fix.  Found a really nice guy named Gene, he has several do-it-yourself videos on YouTube about how to fix keys, and has a business.  I contacted him, sent him the guts of the broken key, and for $34US, he fixed it!  A dealership would have charged me $300+. I think he does Volvo keys too.  I know it doesn't help now, Taxy, but for future reference.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> There's a lady on the *Ebay** UK (no use to you, I know) who makes PVC coated fabric covers for kitchen appliances to order. I have black ones with white polka dots to match my new black and white kitchen. She's very reasonable in price and goes to a lot of trouble to get it right. Perhaps there's someone similar on *Ebay* US
> 
> **Durr, stupid me I meant **AMAZON**.



Poo already ordered it and has it wrapped. Thanks anyway!


----------



## Addie

Last Wednesday my girlfriend in Atlanta sent me a package Overnight Express via UPS. Here it is Monday noon and I still don't have it. My UPS man usually comes around 5 p.m. I hope it comes today, or UPS is going to have to listen to her and return some money. Overnight Express can cost a pretty penny. I know it is Christmas, and they are probably swamped. But they shouldn't be taking the money for it if they can't deliver the service.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> When one of my Honda keys broke, I looked online to find a fix.  Found a really nice guy named Gene, he has several do-it-yourself videos on YouTube about how to fix keys, and has a business.  I contacted him, sent him the guts of the broken key, and for $34US, he fixed it!  A dealership would have charged me $300+. I think he does Volvo keys too.  I know it doesn't help now, Taxy, but for future reference.


It might be useful. Stirling has a master key, but the remote part is broken. He doesn't care enough about the broken remote part to spend $300+. But, it might be worth $34+ shipping, etc. I'll wait until I have my new master key.


----------



## taxlady

I can't find him on YouTube. But, I found a locksmith advert. I will ask my locksmith if she can do this. I have to go get a house key today. It's an Abloy, so I have to go to a locksmith, not a hardware store. It's 6.5 km in the opposite direction from today's shopping, but needs to be done.


----------



## MrsLMB

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cute PF, cute. And Addie? It's only funny if you aren't the one going through Healthcare Hell. I finally relaxed when we dropped the check off on Saturday. What a mucked up website it is.


 

+1

And CG .. glad to hear you got that check dropped off so you could begin to relax.

Hope you are having a wonderful time ... looking forward to your return !


----------



## taxlady

Phoned the transit lost and found. No luck yet. I can try again tomorrow before 14h. I don't know if we would have time to pick it up if they do have it tomorrow. We are heading for Cornwall, Ontario tomorrow and want to leave before traffic gets heavy.


----------



## taxlady

I drove the 13 km round trip to the locksmith. Just over $41 including sales tax for two keys. It took a quarter of an hour for the first km, because of traffic, snow on the road, and a snowplow. The keys don't work. They look exactly like the old one. The locksmith is closing for the holidays today at 18h and opening at 09h on 3 January.


----------



## taxlady

It just gets "better". I forgot that we were going to visit friends tonight for games and pizza. I still had too much stuff to do, and pooped myself out shopping. I didn't remember until Stirling asked when we would be leaving. I said I wouldn't be able to go. He decided that he wasn't feeling well enough to take public transit. He has a cough that migrated from tickle the throat to tickle the chest. Well, it just kept getting worse and now he is full out sick. Just as well we cancelled with the friends.

I phoned my M-I-L and told her we wouldn't be able to come for Xmas.   I phoned the lady who was going to board Shreddy. I guess I'll be making tourtière here, instead of at the M-I-L's place.


----------



## Addie

Why oh why, do things happen at the most inopportune time? I am so sorry to hear of all the dilemmas that seem to have come your way. 

 One for each of you! 

Just remember to put your money out on New Years Eve and hopefully things will turn around for you. ((((HUGS!))))


----------



## taxlady

Thanks Addie. What's the story on the money and New Years Eve?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Thanks Addie. What's the story on the money and New Years Eve?



It is an old wives tale.

You put money outside your home on New Years Eve. In the mailbox, under the door mat, etc. Anywhere. Then the next day you bring the money in. But the trick it the money has to enter the house first before you. It has to be the first thing that comes into your home Jan. 1st. So open the door, toss the money in and then you can follow it. According to the tale, you will receive a large sum of money in the coming year. It can be any amount. 

My Georgia girlfriend every year has extra money come in. Even if it is at the casino where she goes once a year for a vacation. Or she makes a big sale in her business. She swears by this tale. Good luck!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cute PF, cute.   And Addie?  It's only funny if you aren't the one going through Healthcare Hell. I finally relaxed when we dropped the check off on Saturday. What a mucked up website it is.



My laughter was at the library remark.

I can understand your frustration. It is kind of like the "No child left behind". Great idea, but the Legislature failed to vote any money for the program. School systems struggled to follow the program. This time they failed to make sure everything was in place and working. And they are still screwing up. They failed to adjust the dates to give them time to make sure the system was in working order.


----------



## Macgyver1968

I really need an encouraging word right now.  My sister suffers from Paranoid personality disorder and is on one of tears right now....she thinks mom and I are out to get her, and says hurtful things.  I wear my heart on my sleeve...and it's tough.  Pardon my french by I really just want to say "Go **** yourself".  I'm trying to take the high road...I know we many guests coming tonight that don't have family to have Christmas with...I got to man up and do what I got to do...but it's hard.  

/end vent.


----------



## taxlady

Macgyver1968 said:


> I really need an encouraging word right now.  My sister suffers from Paranoid personality disorder and is on one of tears right now....she thinks mom and I are out to get her, and says hurtful things.  I wear my heart on my sleeve...and it's tough.  Pardon my french by I really just want to say "Go **** yourself".  I'm trying to take the high road...I know we many guests coming tonight that don't have family to have Christmas with...I got to man up and do what I got to do...but it's hard.
> 
> /end vent.


(((Hugs))) Keep remembering that it's the disorder talking. Try not to take it personally. I'm sure you will be able to "man up" and handle the get together well.


----------



## Macgyver1968

Thanks Taxlady...that means more than you know.


----------



## Andy M.

Mac, because you know her situation, you'll handle it properly.  You can find a harmless way to let of steam after it's over.  Maybe go wrestle a bear into submission.


----------



## Macgyver1968

Thanks Andy...although I think it will be safer to just have a few drinks.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs))) Keep remembering that it's the disorder talking. Try not to take it personally. I'm sure you will be able to "man up" and handle the get together well.



+1. It's a chemical imbalance that affects the brain, just as a physical illness affects the body. I know it's challenging to deal with her, but you can do it


----------



## Macgyver1968

If ya'll don't hear from me for a few decades...it's because I"m in jail for cold blooded murder.  She just tore into me for vacuuming.


----------



## Dawgluver

Hang in there, Mac!  It's rough having difficult family members, even more so when they're mentally ill.  You WILL get through this!


----------



## tinlizzie

Macgyver1968 said:


> I really need an encouraging word right now.  My sister suffers from Paranoid personality disorder and is on one of tears right now....she thinks mom and I are out to get her, and says hurtful things.  I wear my heart on my sleeve...and it's tough.  Pardon my french by I really just want to say "Go **** yourself".  I'm trying to take the high road...I know we many guests coming tonight that don't have family to have Christmas with...I got to man up and do what I got to do...but it's hard.
> 
> /end vent.




As in so many instances, Mac, you can't do anything about/with the other person.  But what you can do (and must for your own sanity at times) is control your reaction or response. Yes, there's no denying it's hard.


----------



## Macgyver1968

I'm going to do it! I promise...no matter what else she says to me...I owe it to my guests to present them with a happy christmas.  I'm going to bake my bread...cook the ham...and pretend to be happy!

Thanks for the moral support!  It did a world of good.


----------



## Macgyver1968

I did what I had to do... I cooked a wonderful meal...set a beautiful table , and didn't once tell my sister how much of a bitch she is....mission successful.

Check out my table...I even folded the napkins all fancy and like:


----------



## bakechef

I have a bi-polar sister, she goes untreated.  She can be a barrel of laughs one minute and the next in a very dark, confrontational place.  Holidays are always tense with her.

I've had to distance myself from her.  It's not worth ratcheting up mine and other's anxiety levels.  I'm not of the mindset that just because someone is family, that you have to put up with whatever they throw at you, especially when they are toxic.  I see no pleasure in celebrating a holiday with a very toxic element.


----------



## Toffiffeezz

Macgyver1968 said:


> I did what I had to do... I cooked a wonderful meal...set a beautiful table , and didn't once tell my sister how much of a bitch she is....mission successful.
> 
> Check out my table...I even folded the napkins all fancy and like




Lovely table setup Mac!


----------



## Addie

Mac, my youngest daughter was bipolar. And she was the mother of five children. She is no longer with us. Every time the phone rang, I wondered what did she do now. Do I have to go pick up the children again? Did she try to kill herself again? Is she forgetting to take her medications again? 

The last phone call I got about her was to please come and pick up her kids and identify her body. She had been murdered. So I can understand your frustration. But I have one consolation. I do not have to live with the "if onlies." If only I had .....  Living with someone who has a mental disorder is a difficult thing to go through. You never know what to expect. What surprise is right around the corner. Your sister cannot help the way she is. And it is not how she wants to be. I can't tell you how many times my daughter would ask me, "Ma why do I do these things? I hate myself after when I do them." 

Try to be patient with her. It is not easy. But in doing so, you will never have to live with the "if onlies." If you feel like you are at the end of your rope, turn and walk away. 

There is a little trick that members of AA practice when they are with someone who needs a drink really bad but do not want to take one. Someone sober will stand next to them and give them a light backrub with one hand while talking to them all the time. It calms the person down. I don't know why it works, but it does. I have seen it time and time again. I learned that trick when my kids were really small. An AA member told me about it more than 50 years ago. I used to use it on my daughter. I used that trick on my daughter when she was about five years old and right up to when she died. It is amazing what a little affection from a loved one will accomplish. And it works great on a small child that is having a temper tantrum and out of control.


----------



## CatPat

Macgyver1968 said:


> I did what I had to do... I cooked a wonderful meal...set a beautiful table , and didn't once tell my sister how much of a bitch she is....mission successful.
> 
> Check out my table...I even folded the napkins all fancy and like:



Mac, your table is lovely! It looks as if it is inviting people to sit down to it. 

I'm sorry about your sister. These mental health challenges can be very difficult.
I think you're on a good track as you made your table lovely and didn't fuss at your sister.

I'm thinking of you and your sister. 

With love,
~Cat


----------



## CWS4322

Mac, your table was lovely. Mental health issues are no different than any other illness/condition from which a person suffers. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to mental health issues and it is difficult for people to receive the help they need or find a doctor who can help them. I would hope that your sister would be willing to talk to her doctor and try one of the medications available.


----------



## Macgyver1968

Thanks for all the encouraging words...it really helped.  Sometimes you just need to hear it....even if it's from someone you've never met.   Thanks for the compliments on my table..I was proud of it...I'd probably be a pretty good gay guy, if I didn't like women so much.   Mom says someday I'll make some woman a really good wife.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pretty, pretty, Mac!

You will survive!  You tried so hard to make this a lovely Christmas, and you did!  You would make a great woman too!


----------



## Macgyver1968

Thanks DL..I take that has high praise.

I tell you what....there ain't a gosh darn thing (I'm not taking the Lord's name in vain for Addie)  wrong with a man that knows how to cook, and knows how to properly entertain guests.  I'm actually thinking of writing a cook book for 20-something bachelors to teach them how to cook and entertain for their ladies.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Macgyver1968 said:


> Thanks DL..I take that has high praise.
> 
> I tell you what....there ain't a gosh darn thing (I'm not taking the Lord's name in vain for Addie)  wrong with a man that knows how to cook, and knows how to properly entertain guests.  I'm actually thinking of writing a cook book for 20-something bachelors to teach them how to cook and entertain for their ladies.



My dad has done most of the cooking throughout my parents' marriage. He enjoys it and he also enjoys setting a nice table and making everything look good. He's on here as Chief Longwind of the North. He had all of us kids in the kitchen from the time we were really young learning the basics of cooking.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Congrats Mac, it sounds like you were as put-together as your table in spite of the challenges your sister's condition put in front of you. Well done! 

Addie, it dawned on me that was what you meant after I hit "send". I was still a bit tightly wound up from the whole website snafu.  Didn't mean to snap. ;-)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Last Wednesday my girlfriend in Atlanta sent me a package Overnight Express via UPS. Here it is Monday noon and I still don't have it. My UPS man usually comes around 5 p.m. I hope it comes today, or UPS is going to have to listen to her and return some money. Overnight Express can cost a pretty penny. I know it is Christmas, and they are probably swamped. But they shouldn't be taking the money for it if they can't deliver the service.



Addie, tell her to be sure and complain. A few years back our daughter sent our Christmas gifts USPS overnight. It didn't arrive for two days. They refunded the difference between overnight and standard shipping. UPS probably does the same thing.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Congrats Mac, it sounds like you were as put-together as your table in spite of the challenges your sister's condition put in front of you. Well done!
> 
> Addie, it dawned on me that was what you meant after I hit "send". I was still a bit tightly wound up from the whole website snafu.  Didn't mean to snap. ;-)



It's okay CG. Sometimes it is difficult to express one's attitude in the proper manner it was meant with just the printed word and in lacking facial expressions. Perhaps someday there will be  forum in real time, other than Skype whereby we can exchange conversations with facial expressions. I am one of those folks who can find humor in the most serious situation. (Don't ever take me to a funeral.) You will notice that when a member will post a most difficult situation for them, (illness, pain, etc.) I don't respond only because I manage to find the humor in their problem. It would be my first and most inappropriate response. So I keep my mouth shut and fingers still. 

For the past couple of weeks since this snafu came to light over the medical coverage, I had visions of me walking around a large room saying to folks sitting at computers, "Coffee, tea, Valium? Coffee, tea, suicide kit? Coffee, tea, murder kit?" 

I am glad you found a solution to your problem. And I do hope our government gets this mess straightened out. I am just one of the wacky folks who refuse to get depressed or very upset with life.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Addie, tell her to be sure and complain. A few years back our daughter sent our Christmas gifts USPS overnight. It didn't arrive for two days. They refunded the difference between overnight and standard shipping. UPS probably does the same thing.



Oh she will. She is not one to let something like this slide. But I still got the package in time for Christmas.

I hope you are enjoying your time with your children. I was watching the weather for Ohio and the driving conditions. It looked like you were going to be right on the edge of all the problems. One for your safe trip back.  Take care coming back.


----------



## Addie

I am sort of upset with myself. I got gussied up and went to my daughter's home for dinner. Needless to say, I woke up a bit late and didn't take my morning pills. So after about 30 minutes there, I began to feel not so great. I ate just enough food to be polite and opened my presents. Years ago my daughter found a large stocking with a picture of Maxine on it. My heroine! I knew what all my presents were since I ordered all of them and had them sent to my daughter's house. No surprise there. But I never know what she is going to fill my stocking with. I wasn't disappointed. 

By now I was really wanting to get home and take my pills. And everyone could see it on my face. I went into my daughter's room and laid down for a bit. Didn't help. When I came back out, everyone was eating the dessert. The chocolate chip cheesecake completely disappeared. All that was left was the plate I brought it on. And the wreath cake was half gone also. What a bunch of piggies I have for relatives. I really didn't want to spoil the day for the others, so I kept my mouth shut. But Poo could see how ill I was becoming and asked me if I wanted them to call an ambulance. I told him if I could just get home and take my pills, I would feel much better in 30 minutes or less. So they packed up my stuff and my SIL brought me home. As soon as I got in the door I poured a tall glass of milk and took my pills. Sure enough in 30 minutes, I was fine. But very tired. So I fell asleep and just woke up a short time ago. 

If only I had taken the five minutes before I left my home to take my pills, I could have stayed and I would have enjoyed the meal. My backside is sore from kicking myself!


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, I uses a little pill box to take my meds with me anytime I leave the house.  Sometimes we are out longer than expected, and I never have to worry about not having meds with me.  I even carry my husband's BP pill with me because he never remembers to.


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> Addie, I uses a little pill box to take my meds with me anytime I leave the house.  Sometimes we are out longer than expected, and I never have to worry about not having meds with me.  I even carry my husband's BP pill with me because he never remembers to.



+1. I never leave the house without it. In fact, even when I'm not planning to leave the house, I keep the pill box in my purse, so I always know where it is.


----------



## Addie

Remember the little tin containers that used to hold about eight aspirins? You used to have to press the two corners on the top of the tin in order to open it. Well, I have one of those tins and I keep two Vicodin in it and it is always with me. The only trouble is I forget I have them and never think to take them. Even if I had taken just one of them yesterday, I would felt a little better. But I never thought of them.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Remember the little tin containers that used to hold about eight aspirins? You used to have to press the two corners on the top of the tin in order to open it. Well, I have one of those tins and I keep two Vicodin in it and it is always with me. The only trouble is I forget I have them and never think to take them. Even if I had taken just one of them yesterday, I would felt a little better. But I never thought of them.



Haven't you said your daughter lives right around the corner from you? You could have sent one of your sons to your apartment to get the pills. This is your family. You're not ruining the day for them by taking care of yourself. But you can ruin it by not taking care of yourself and ending up with worse problems. Sheesh, Addie, someone needs to shake some sense into you!


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Haven't you said your daughter lives right around the corner from you? You could have sent one of your sons to your apartment to get the pills. This is your family. You're not ruining the day for them by taking care of yourself. But you can ruin it by not taking care of yourself and ending up with worse problems. Sheesh, Addie, someone needs to shake some sense into you!



I know. And yes she lives just 30 seconds away. I was feeling so lousy at her house, I almost asked them to call 911 for me. But Poo was there and checked me out. I quietly told him why I was feeling so bad, and he is the one that insisted I get back home so I could get my meds into me. I just don't share my problems with my kids. Specially with my daughter. She is fighting her own battle right now. I would rather the family concentrate on her than me. I know what I can do to make myself feel better. She can't do anything. 

Yesterday she asked if when she comes off chemo, will she go back to feeling as good as she did in the beginning. Her husband is a survivor of cancer. Both Poo and her husband in unison gave her a solid "No!" Her face just fell. It almost broke my heart. She is always tired. Finds it hard to finish just one chore. Poo doesn't think she will see Christmas next year. But he hasn't told anyone that except me. And I will never mention it. She works 20 hours a week. Counting driving time it is 28 hours. She takes off for her chemo week, and half of the following week to recover from the effects. This month for the first time, she is having chemo twice in one month. 

Poo and I both know what the prognosis is for her. Only five percent survive the type of cancer she has. Other than the surgery to remove most of the tumor on her brain, then the reduction of the brain swelling from the surgery, there has been no improvement in her condition. She has been on chemo now for more than a year. And still has a long way to go, if she makes it.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I know. And yes she lives just 30 seconds away. I was feeling so lousy at her house, I almost asked them to call 911 for me. But Poo was there and checked me out. I quietly told him why I was feeling so bad, and he is the one that insisted I get back home so I could get my meds into me. I just don't share my problems with my kids. Specially with my daughter. She is fighting her own battle right now. I would rather the family concentrate on her than me. I know what I can do to make myself feel better. She can't do anything.



<borrowing PF's nurse hat>When you don't stay ahead of the pain, it knocks you two steps back and makes it harder to recover. I understand that you don't want to bother your family with your troubles, but you can't hide being taken away from a family party in an ambulance </borrowing PF's nurse hat>


----------



## cave76

Borrowing the nurse hat for a minute:
Preemptive pain management works for surgery. It will also work for the chronic pain people may have.

But you have to take it!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Okay, who has my hat?


----------



## GotGarlic

Here it is


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LOL!!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Remember the little tin containers that used to hold about eight aspirins? You used to have to press the two corners on the top of the tin in order to open it. Well, I have one of those tins and I keep two Vicodin in it and it is always with me. The only trouble is I forget I have them and never think to take them. Even if I had taken just one of them yesterday, I would felt a little better. But I never thought of them.



I just had another thought: tell Poo and Spike that you carry some Vicodin with you but you forget about it. That way, if you're out together and you need it, they will hopefully remember that you have it.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I just had another thought: tell Poo and Spike that you carry some Vicodin with you but you forget about it. That way, if you're out together and you need it, they will hopefully remember that you have it.


+1
GG has her thinking cap on today.


----------



## taxlady

I placed an order with my local pharmacy for some groceries and otc medications and vitamins. They arrived after about 2 hours. They sent me Bayer Aspirin Brand of low dose daily use ASA, instead of the AC&C (ASA=acetylsalicylic acid=Canadian for aspirin, codeine, and caffeine). Ack! I had gone over that item several times.

I phoned and told them. They said the delivery wouldn't be very soon and might not be 'til tomorrow. I said our headaches were today. Okay, not soon, maybe two hours. Two hours is okay.

I still had 4 Kodimagnyl from a packet I bought in Denmark. Same idea, but no caffeine. I had to take two. That headache I have had in the background for several hours jumped to full fledged, in your face, foreground headache. They better get it right this time. They better not send me the ones with acetaminophen instead of ASA. I made that clear. Because, the ones with acetaminophen don't work on me.


----------



## GotGarlic

TL, have you tried having a cup of coffee or tea to get the caffeine? Or keep one of those energy drinks on hand. Hope you feel better soon.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> TL, have you tried having a cup of coffee or tea to get the caffeine? Or keep one of those energy drinks on hand. Hope you feel better soon.


Thank you GG.

I had two double espresso allongés today. I don't think this is a caffeine withdrawal headache. I think it's illness related and got aggravated by the annoyance of not getting my pain relievers and the possibility that they wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.

They just arrived (while I was typing this reply) and they are the right ones. Yay!


----------



## taxlady

GG, I started thinking about the caffeine. It helps a lot of people with migraines. Now, my headache wasn't so bad that I would call it a migraine. Then I remembered that I was having a visual migraine, so maybe it was a migraine headache. I drank another allongé and it did the trick. The Kodimagnyl had dulled the headache to mild and the caffeine wiped away the rest of it. Thanks for the suggestion.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Caffeine also increases the speed with which the pain medicine is absorbed and distributed.  That's why it is in pain medications.  So if you don't have the caffeine, it takes longer to get relief.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> GG, I started thinking about the caffeine. It helps a lot of people with migraines. Now, my headache wasn't so bad that I would call it a migraine. Then I remembered that I was having a visual migraine, so maybe it was a migraine headache. I drank another allongé and it did the trick. The Kodimagnyl had dulled the headache to mild and the caffeine wiped away the rest of it. Thanks for the suggestion.



Good, I'm glad it worked. Btw, I wasn't suggesting a caffeine withdrawal headache; you had said the medication you received was the wrong one and didn't have caffeine in it. So I thought if you got caffeine another way, it might help. But I'm sure you were feeling too icky to see it that way. So I'm glad you thought about it some more and got relief.


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Caffeine also increases the speed with which the pain medicine is absorbed and distributed.  That's why it is in pain medications.  So if you don't have the caffeine, it takes longer to get relief.



I didn't know that was the reason. Learn something every day.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Caffeine also increases the speed with which the pain medicine is absorbed and distributed.  That's why it is in pain medications.  So if you don't have the caffeine, it takes longer to get relief.





cave76 said:


> I didn't know that was the reason. Learn something every day.


In codeine and ASA (aspirin) medication it is also in there to keep you from getting too drowsy.


----------



## cave76

TL--
"In codeine and ASA (aspirin) medication it is also in there to keep you from getting too drowsy."

But what if I WANT to go to sleep? (grin)


----------



## taxlady

cave76 said:


> TL--
> "In codeine and ASA (aspirin) medication it is also in there to keep you from getting too drowsy."
> 
> But what if I WANT to go to sleep? (grin)


You live in the US, don't you? You need a 'script for that. Tell your doctor that you want to be able to sleep when she/he is writing the 'script. BTW, I have never found it to be a problem, but I sleep easily. I think it just counters the drowsiness that codeine induces.


----------



## cave76

taxlady said:


> You live in the US, don't you? You need a 'script for that. Tell your doctor that you want to be able to sleep when she/he is writing the 'script. BTW, I have never found it to be a problem, but I sleep easily. I think it just counters the drowsiness that codeine induces.



Yes, I live in the U.S.----- but my response was tongue in cheek.

I envy you being able to sleep easily. I never had a problem with sleep until (I can name the time and date) when insomnia hit with a vengeance!) But it was the result of undiagnosed Lyme disease, complete with night terrors. 

After trying everything for over a year or so---- I finally went to Stanford Sleep Clinic and they put me on their sleep hygiene program. No drugs------ just a *brutal, brutal *behavior reprogramming that isn't for everyone, just for those who think they're going to die from insomnia! And starting treatment for Lyme helped too.

O.K., TMI.


----------



## taxlady

cave76 said:


> Yes, I live in the U.S.----- but my response was tongue in cheek.
> 
> I envy you being able to sleep easily. I never had a problem with sleep until (I can name the time and date) when insomnia hit with a vengeance!) But it was the result of undiagnosed Lyme disease, complete with night terrors.
> 
> After trying everything for over a year or so---- I finally went to Stanford Sleep Clinic and they put me on their sleep hygiene program. No drugs------ just a *brutal, brutal *behavior reprogramming that isn't for everyone, just for those who think they're going to die from insomnia! And starting treatment for Lyme helped too.
> 
> O.K., TMI.


Yeah, I realized it was tongue in cheek, but I was being a smart arse. 

Sorry to hear about the insomnia and Lyme disease. Is the Lyme disease  cured now?


----------



## cave76

Lyme disease is rarely 'cured' unless the person gets treated aggressively in the first few weeks. The best we usually get are remissions. Which, ain't chopped liver. But they can disappear at the blink of an eye.

My insomnia is mostly gone, because I still pay attention to sleep hygiene. Occasionally an Ambien but not often.


----------



## Claire

As a life-long insomniac I envy anyone who sleeps when they want to and not when they don't.  It isn't unusual to be drowsing off in the middle of the afternoon and wide awake at 3 a.m.  Oh, well, we all have our crosses to bear!


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I placed an order with my local pharmacy for some groceries and otc medications and vitamins. They arrived after about 2 hours. They sent me Bayer Aspirin Brand of low dose daily use ASA, instead of the AC&C (ASA=acetylsalicylic acid=Canadian for aspirin, codeine, and caffeine). Ack! I had gone over that item several times.
> 
> I phoned and told them. They said the delivery wouldn't be very soon and might not be 'til tomorrow. I said our headaches were today. Okay, not soon, maybe two hours. Two hours is okay.
> 
> I still had 4 Kodimagnyl from a packet I bought in Denmark. Same idea, but no caffeine. I had to take two. That headache I have had in the background for several hours jumped to full fledged, in your face, foreground headache. They better get it right this time. They better not send me the ones with acetaminophen instead of ASA. I made that clear. Because, the ones with acetaminophen don't work on me.



I remember when acetaminophen first came out. I was pregnant with my fourth child, The Pirate. Everyone was singing it praises. Of course you can't take aspirin when you are pregnant. A fact the medical field already knew. I was getting headaches constantly and the pharmacist gave me a handful of the acetaminophen pills. My new miracle drug. But over the years they are finding more and more about the drug. Alcohol and Tylenol are so damaging to the liver. But what it comes down to is that each person has to really pay attention to what works for them while being mindful of the side effects that are known. Like you, I prefer aspirin. It has been the miracle drug that they discovered more than 100 years ago. "Take two and call me in the morning" is still sound advice. Aspirin works so much better for me than the acetaminophen. And it is better for my heart. My liver also thanks me.


----------



## CarolPa

cave76 said:


> Yes, I live in the U.S.----- but my response was tongue in cheek.
> 
> I envy you being able to sleep easily. I never had a problem with sleep until (I can name the time and date) when insomnia hit with a vengeance!) But it was the result of undiagnosed Lyme disease, complete with night terrors.
> 
> After trying everything for over a year or so---- I finally went to Stanford Sleep Clinic and they put me on their sleep hygiene program. No drugs------ just a *brutal, brutal *behavior reprogramming that isn't for everyone, just for those who think they're going to die from insomnia! And starting treatment for Lyme helped too.
> 
> O.K., TMI.




I found this online...think it's your sleep hygiene program.  The only thing I disagree with is the last one.  I think the partner should be the one to go sleep on the couch for a few nights.  LOL

http://med.stanford.edu/pedsanesthesia/downloads/ppmc_forms/patient_ed/sleep_hygiene.pdf


----------



## JoAnn L.

Claire said:


> As a life-long insomniac I envy anyone who sleeps when they want to and not when they don't.  It isn't unusual to be drowsing off in the middle of the afternoon and wide awake at 3 a.m.  Oh, well, we all have our crosses to bear!



 I have no trouble getting to sleep, I just can't sleep more than 4 to 5 hours a night. Some of my children are the same way. My DH can sleep in front of the TV at night and sleep for 2 or 3 hours and then go to bed at 10 and sleep for another 8 hours. Lucky him.


----------



## GotGarlic

JoAnn L. said:


> I have no trouble getting to sleep, I just can't sleep more than 4 to 5 hours a night. Some of my children are the same way. My DH can sleep in front of the TV at night and sleep for 2 or 3 hours and then go to bed at 10 and sleep for another 8 hours. Lucky him.



I saw this article earlier this year and found it fascinating. The 8-hour sleep cycle we think of as normal may not be: http://slumberwise.com/science/your-ancestors-didnt-sleep-like-you/


----------



## JoAnn L.

GotGarlic said:


> I saw this article earlier this year and found it fascinating. The 8-hour sleep cycle we think of as normal may not be: Your Ancestors Didn



Maybe I am an old soul.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I saw this article earlier this year and found it fascinating. The 8-hour sleep cycle we think of as normal may not be: Your Ancestors Didn


You beat me to it. I was going to post a link about two sleeps, but you already had one, so I didn't need to search. Thank you.


----------



## cave76

CarolPa said:


> I found this online...think it's your sleep hygiene program.  The only thing I disagree with is the last one.  I think the partner should be the one to go sleep on the couch for a few nights.  LOL
> 
> http://med.stanford.edu/pedsanesthesia/downloads/ppmc_forms/patient_ed/sleep_hygiene.pdf



Since we were sleeping separately anyway (his insomnia, which wasn't as bad as mine, but enough to disturb me before I had insomnia) that wasn't a problem. 


That list you sent me is the bare bones of what the Dr. at Stanford put me on!
As I said, mine was brutal but I persevered and after about 6 months I was sleeping much much better.  

The list you found is certainly a good one to try  for those with 'average' insomnia.

The electric light bulb is said to be the worst invention for good sleep.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> I placed an order with my local pharmacy for some groceries and otc medications and vitamins. They arrived after about 2 hours. They sent me Bayer Aspirin Brand of low dose daily use ASA, instead of the AC&C (ASA=acetylsalicylic acid=Canadian for aspirin, codeine, and caffeine). Ack! I had gone over that item several times.
> 
> I phoned and told them. They said the delivery wouldn't be very soon and might not be 'til tomorrow. I said our headaches were today. Okay, not soon, maybe two hours. Two hours is okay.
> 
> I still had 4 Kodimagnyl from a packet I bought in Denmark. Same idea, but no caffeine. I had to take two. That headache I have had in the background for several hours jumped to full fledged, in your face, foreground headache. They better get it right this time. They better not send me the ones with acetaminophen instead of ASA. I made that clear. Because, the ones with acetaminophen don't work on me.


Now that's interesting. Acetaminophen (aka paracetamol in the UK) doesn't work on me either but whenever I have to tell any medical personnel they laugh and say that of course it works.

The more I read of the health trials and tribulations that DC people have I thank goodness I'm as healthy as I am and don't have to rely on "serious" meds.

Hope all the Christmas invalids are feeling better now and prayers for Addie's daughter.


----------



## cave76

MadCook said:
"The more I read of the health trials and tribulations that DC people have I thank goodness I'm as healthy as I am and don't have to rely on "serious" meds."

That's very wise! *Appreciate  your good health* because being involved in the medical communities teaches us we have to advocate for ourselves because doctors/hospitals don't always. It ain't pretty, what I could say here but won't.

Oh, and for those who do have great doctors-----they ARE around and you're lucky to have them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I am a nurse and am beset by nurses who do not listen to the patient.  It's maddening.  Shrek is going to write on the backs of my hands, "No Needles"  I have very good veins on both arms they can pick on and I'm happy to show them where they are.


----------



## CarolPa

I have no problem falling asleep.  I am usually asleep in 5 minutes or less.  But I wake up around 2-3AM and then I have a very difficult time falling back to sleep.  For some reason, if I take Tylenol it helps me fall back to sleep.  I don't know if it soothes minor aches and pain, but it just seems to relax me.  I try to fall back to sleep without it because I don't want to take it every night.  When I was in the hospital, they gave me Ambien to help me sleep, but I would still wake up around 3AM.  

When I was in my 20's, I would fall asleep when my head hit the pillow and not wake up until the alarm clock woke me.  The difference was that I slept alone back then.  Sleeping with another person is hard, as if they toss and turn, you do too!


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> I have no problem falling asleep.  I am usually asleep in 5 minutes or less.  But I wake up around 2-3AM and then I have a very difficult time falling back to sleep.  For some reason, if I take Tylenol it helps me fall back to sleep.  I don't know if it soothes minor aches and pain, but it just seems to relax me.  I try to fall back to sleep without it because I don't want to take it every night.  When I was in the hospital, they gave me Ambien to help me sleep, but I would still wake up around 3AM.
> 
> When I was in my 20's, I would fall asleep when my head hit the pillow and not wake up until the alarm clock woke me.  The difference was that I slept alone back then.  Sleeping with another person is hard, as if they toss and turn, you do too!



The husband and I realized very early on that we were compatible in just about every way except sleeping.  We were lucky to find a townhouse with two master bedrooms on the top floor.  We both sleep very well now.  We also have our own bathrooms so mine can be neat and his...

People seem really surprised that we have separate bedrooms, since we are so close.  I think that it is the best thing for us.  I felt terrible about it at first, because society says couples should sleep together, but I got over it!


----------



## CarolPa

bakechef said:


> People seem really surprised that we have separate bedrooms, since we are so close.  I think that it is the best thing for us.  I felt terrible about it at first, because society says couples should sleep together, but I got over it!



I would go for that but DH wouldn't.  He's very traditional.  When I was still working, I went to bed long before he did and that's when I got my best sleep, until he came to bed.  I know many people who sleep separately but get along great otherwise.


----------



## Addie

A lot of older couple opt for twin beds. At first they are pushed together, then when the wife forgets to push them after making the beds in the morning, they seem to stay that way. And both are happy.


----------



## Andy M.

SO and I have slept in separate rooms for a few years now.  I snore and she flops around like a fish in a boat so it's a good thing.  We both sleep better this way.  

That doesn't mean I sleep great, just better and with no guilt for keeping her awake.


----------



## CarolPa

Twin beds pushed together are OK because you don't feel it when your partner is moving around.  We have a Select Comfort Sleep Number Bed and each side has it's own "mattress" so you don't get as much movement, but DH doesn't know how to stay on his own side.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CarolPa said:


> Twin beds pushed together are OK because you don't feel it when your partner is moving around.  We have a Select Comfort Sleep Number Bed and each side has it's own "mattress" so you don't get as much movement, but DH doesn't know how to stay on his own side.




We had an old auctioneer in our area and when he sold a pair of twin beds he would always say "Twin beds, what am I bid, one is as good as new!"


----------



## Mad Cook

CarolPa said:


> I have no problem falling asleep. I am usually asleep in 5 minutes or less. But I wake up around 2-3AM and then I have a very difficult time falling back to sleep. For some reason, if I take Tylenol it helps me fall back to sleep. I don't know if it soothes minor aches and pain, but it just seems to relax me. I try to fall back to sleep without it because I don't want to take it every night. When I was in the hospital, they gave me Ambien to help me sleep, but I would still wake up around 3AM.
> 
> When I was in my 20's, I would fall asleep when my head hit the pillow and not wake up until the alarm clock woke me. The difference was that I slept alone back then. Sleeping with another person is hard, as if they toss and turn, you do too!


Carol, I was advised some years ago by my doctor that the scenario of having no problems falling asleep at bed time but waking in the night and being unable to go back off is one of the symptoms of clinical depression. It might be worth mentioning it when you next have to see the quack. (I am not a medical professional - just repeating what I've been told.)


----------



## Mad Cook

bakechef said:


> The husband and I realized very early on that we were compatible in just about every way except sleeping. We were lucky to find a townhouse with two master bedrooms on the top floor. We both sleep very well now. We also have our own bathrooms so mine can be neat and his...
> 
> People seem really surprised that we have separate bedrooms, since we are so close. I think that it is the best thing for us. I felt terrible about it at first, because society says couples should sleep together, but I got over it!


It used to be (I don't know if it still is) that the upper classes always had separate bedrooms. Apparently, when it came out in society circles that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert shared a bed, they were thought very odd. (Not surprising she had 9 children - she obviously wasn't a straight-laced as "they" would like us to think)


----------



## MrsLMB

CarolPa said:


> Twin beds pushed together are OK because you don't feel it when your partner is moving around. We have a Select Comfort Sleep Number Bed and each side has it's own "mattress" so you don't get as much movement, but DH doesn't know how to stay on his own side.


 
We had a king size bed.  Then we moved into this house.  The movers could not get the mattress up through the stairwell so they "folded" my king size mattress  

The end result was a trashed mattress  

So we went to replace it and decided on 2 extra long twin mattresses so they could go up the stairwell without being folded.

The result is astonishing.  We no longer feel the other one tossing or getting out of bed.  The mattress has held its shape in that there is zero sagging and it's been 5 years.  I think it is because it is a smaller area.  Anyway .. I wish we had done this years ago.

Sorry to hear about your sleeping woes .. my DH has the same problem .. it's tough to deal with.


----------



## cave76

Mad Cook said:


> Carol, I was advised some years ago by my doctor that the scenario of having no problems falling asleep at bed time but waking in the night and being unable to go back off is* one of the symptoms of clinical depression*. It might be worth mentioning it when you next have to see the quack. (I am not a medical professional - just repeating what I've been told.)



I've heard that also. But I want to caution people about getting a diagnosis of depression that will follow you everywhere. That 'depression' label could be latched on to by a doctor who isn't willing to look elsewhere for any reason for ANY symptom you have. 

And some  anti-depressant meds can be  horridly resistant to being stopped. Sometimes almost impossible.

If a person has primary depression (vs secondary) then perhaps an anti-depressant is a good thing for them people. I won't comment on that. But here's the definition of  'depression'.

_Symptoms
According to the American Psychiatric Associate's manual, the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders--Fourth Edition), a diagnosis of depression is made when "You have had an episode of depression lasting at least two weeks *with at least five of the following symptoms*: (1) You are depressed, sad, blue, tearful. (2) You have lost interest or pleasure in things you previously liked to do. (3) Your appetite is much less or much greater than usual and you have lost or gained weight. (4) You have a lot of trouble sleeping or sleep too much. (5) You are so agitated, restless, or slowed down that others have begun to notice. (6) You are tired and have no energy. (7) You feel worthless or excessively guilty about things you have done or not done. (8) You have trouble concentrating, thinking clearly, or making decisions. (9) You feel you would be better off dead or have thoughts about killing yourself."
_

Sorry for the buzz-kill just before a holiday----- and meaning no disrespect to people who pass on information about sleep and depression but think twice before letting a doctor hang the label of depression on you. Please.


----------



## Addie

I am on two blood thinners. As a result I am always cold in the winter. I have to have my apartment at 75ºF. Otherwise I am shivering. I realize that this temperature is high for a lot of folks. Spike included. So he shows up every night, and without my knowledge turns down the thermostat. I am going to kill that child of mine! I wake up and the temperature in my apartment has dropped to 69ºF. I am so cold I can't even get up to turn up the thermostat. Anyone want a 53 y.o. who can build or fix anything? He comes with a very cute Maltese.

Okay. Petty vent is over!


----------



## JoAnn L.

When my brother and his wife traveled they always had to get two motel rooms because of his snoring.


----------



## cave76

Addie----- my husband would come in from doing physical labor outside in the winter and turn the thermostat way down because 'it was too hot in here'. LOL


----------



## cave76

*Words to be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse.....*

Words to be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness

'Selfie' leads list of banished words for 2013

Michigan's Lake Superior State University.[...]consider pet peeves from everyday speech, as well as from the news, fields of education, technology, advertising, politics and more. A committee made a final cut in late December.

"Selfie" was first on the list.

Other words on this year's list include:

• Twerk/Twerking

• Hashtag

• Twittersphere

• Any word ending in -ageddon

• Obamacare
*******************************

I'm a great fan of Edwin Newman, y'know. 
Mr. Newman was right, y’know? | HoumaToday.com


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

I just lost a tooth out of my partial.   Why do these things always happen when there is no one open to fix them.


----------



## Addie

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> I just lost a tooth out of my partial.   Why do these things always happen when there is no one open to fix them.



These things happen because the gods are bored and need something to do.   The head god is named "Murphy!"


----------



## MrsLMB

cave76 said:


> Words to be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness
> 
> 'Selfie' leads list of banished words for 2013
> 
> Michigan's Lake Superior State University.[...]consider pet peeves from everyday speech, as well as from the news, fields of education, technology, advertising, politics and more. A committee made a final cut in late December.
> 
> "Selfie" was first on the list.
> 
> Other words on this year's list include:
> 
> • Twerk/Twerking
> 
> • Hashtag
> 
> • Twittersphere
> 
> • Any word ending in -ageddon
> 
> • Obamacare
> *******************************
> 
> I'm a great fan of Edwin Newman, y'know.
> Mr. Newman was right, y’know? | HoumaToday.com


 

I like this list .. could add a few more to it though!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

JoAnn L. said:


> When my brother and his wife traveled they always had to get two motel rooms because of his snoring.



We would do that but we're too cheap!  ;-)  Himself snores like a jet engine revving. When he had back surgery in 2001 I slept in the guest room until he healed, then went back to the king bed with him. In 2003 he broke his collarbone when he took a spill on his motorcycle. Back to the guest room until he healed again, then back to the king bed. The second time he broke his collarbone in 2005 (the other one to keep it even) I moved to the guest room...and never went back. I figured I had been sleeping best when alone.  And honestly speaking,  why bother staying in the bed together once one of you is asleep?  ;-)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

MrsLMB said:


> We had a king size bed.  Then we moved into this house.  The movers could not get the mattress up through the stairwell so they "folded" my king size mattress
> 
> The end result was a trashed mattress  ...


Oh I can relate! When we moved to MA we came with brand new Original Mattress Company king and double mattresses, wrapped fresh from the factory. They make the king size hinged specifically so if can be folded. Unfortunately the movers were up the stairs before I knew it was off the truck. We spent three years rolling towards each other until we broke down and bought a new one from up here. 

We thought we had a year to file a damage report and were taking our time going over everything with a fine look. Turns out we had seven months. Found that out around month eight.


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> We would do that but we're too cheap!  ;-)  Himself snores like a jet engine revving. When he had back surgery in 2001 I slept in the guest room until he healed, then went back to the king bed with him. In 2003 he broke his collarbone when he took a spill on his motorcycle. Back to the guest room until he healed again, then back to the king bed. The second time he broke his collarbone in 2005 (the other one to keep it even) I moved to the guest room...and never went back. I figured I had been sleeping best when alone.  And honestly speaking,  why bother staying in the bed together once one of you is asleep?  ;-)



I but those silicone ear plugs that swimmers use, regular ear plugs fall out of my ear, heck I can't even wear ear bud headphones.  These ear plugs muffle the snoring enough so that I can sleep.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself's snoring makes it through Mack's earplugs. I use them all the time but I still hear him in the hotel room. I use them at home so I don't hear the neighbor's dogs at 7AM


----------



## CarolPa

I read the symptoms of depression posted by cave and also googled and other than waking up in the middle of the night the only one I have is lack of concentration, and I blame that on the lack of sleep.  Since I'm retired, I don't need to concentrate on anything anyway.  Otherwise, I am a very optimistic, happy go lucky individual.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

If Shrek stops snoring it wakes me up...I don't snore anymore since I quit smoking.  Both of us are happy!


----------



## taxlady

I was about to get ready to go pick up my replacement car key. I got a visual migraine (only a mild headache at the moment). I don't think it's such a good idea to drive when I can't see straight.

I phoned the garage to ask if they are open tomorrow and if they have time to program the key tomorrow. They said yes. They are only open from 09h to 12h on Saturdays. I asked how late I could come today, if the migraine goes away and was told not to. They are closing early. I guess it's hard to heat the garage to a reasonable temperature in which to work with the temps we are having: predicted high for today: -20°C (-4°F).

I want that danged key.


----------



## Zhizara

No luck with your old keys, Taxy?  Bummer!


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> No luck with your old keys, Taxy?  Bummer!


I don't have the old key. That's the problem. I lost them on 21 December, while taking public transit. I'm on hold right now, waiting to talk to someone at the lost and found of public transit.

I also have to go back to the locksmith. I had new house keys made and they don't work.


----------



## Zhizara

What a PITA, Taxy.  Sorry for all the stress.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> What a PITA, Taxy.  Sorry for all the stress.


Thanks Z.


----------



## bakechef

First thing after waking up I hear a "BANG", don't think much of it because I'm shaving with an electric razor, and the bathroom fan is on.  Then I hear commotion and think "do the neighbors not realize that it is 6:30 am?"  Look out the window and there is a Ford Expedition planted firmly in my car's backside, UGH!

We live in a townhome and have a parking lot.  Our neighbor's son goes to a special school and his transportation was here to pick him up (it's a transportation company).  As he was pulling out, his accelerator got stuck and he rammed my car.

I feel bad for anyone that drives for a living and has an accident.  I guess that if his accelerator got stuck that it was better to happen here when there was nobody around than having it happen at the school as he was dropping off kids!

First fender bender and I wasn't even in the car!


----------



## Addie

I am sitting here nursing The Pirate. They sent him home with the Flu. He was so sick last night he didn't even care that the new season for Dowton Abby was on. 

He is so sick. Has the chills really bad. I had the house up to 80 degrees and he was so cold. Couldn't get him bundled up enough, then it was too much. Wanted the fan on him. This is not going to be fun. All I want is patience!


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> First thing after waking up I hear a "BANG", don't think much of it because I'm shaving with an electric razor, and the bathroom fan is on.  Then I hear commotion and think "do the neighbors not realize that it is 6:30 am?"  Look out the window and there is a Ford Expedition planted firmly in my car's backside, UGH!
> 
> We live in a townhome and have a parking lot.  Our neighbor's son goes to a special school and his transportation was here to pick him up (it's a transportation company).  As he was pulling out, his accelerator got stuck and he rammed my car.
> 
> I feel bad for anyone that drives for a living and has an accident.  I guess that if his accelerator got stuck that it was better to happen here when there was nobody around than having it happen at the school as he was dropping off kids!
> 
> First fender bender and I wasn't even in the car!


Bummer! How badly was your car damaged?


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I am sitting here nursing The Pirate. They sent him home with the Flu. He was so sick last night he didn't even care that the new season for Dowton Abby was on.
> 
> He is so sick. Has the chills really bad. I had the house up to 80 degrees and he was so cold. Couldn't get him bundled up enough, then it was too much. Wanted the fan on him. This is not going to be fun. All I want is patience!


Oh no! I'll wish you lots of patience. I hope The Pirate gets well soon.
 and one for The Pirate


----------



## CarolPa

Hope the Pirate gets well soon.  It sounds as though he is much sicker than I am.  Today I feel relatively well.  I had an occasional elevated temp, but no chills.  I made some chicken soup today,  wish I could send some to him!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Terrible bakechef!  Glad it was the car and not you!


Addie, hope the Pirate feels better soon.  The flu is really hitting hard this year!  I'm hoping I miss the season at work while I am off.


----------



## vitauta

bakechef, i envy the compassion you have for a man who has just rammed your car.  i am astounded at your ability to feel concern for the driver's job security before thinking of the sudden disruption to your own life, the inconvenience of having to deal with your vehicle, insurance adjusters, etc., etc.  if i ever cause an accident with my car, i can only hope that it is with someone like you, who is level-headed, understanding and treats me with kindness--someone to put the event quietly to rest in a 'petty vents' thread....


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> Bummer! How badly was your car damaged?



Looks like the taillight, rear quarter panel and rear bumper.  That's if nothing internal is damaged.

It's a car, nothing fancy so I'm not too upset about it.  As long as it gets fixed I'm OK with that.  It does bug me to see it banged up, since I try to take good care of it!


----------



## Dawgluver

vitauta said:


> bakechef, i envy the compassion you have for a man who has just rammed your car.  i am astounded at your ability to feel concern for the driver's job security before thinking of the sudden disruption of your life, the inconveniences of having to deal with your vehicle, insurance adjusters, etc., etc.  if i ever cause an accident with my car, i can only hope that it is with someone like you, who is level-headed, understanding and treats me with kindness--someone to put the event quietly to rest in a 'petty vents' thread....



+1, well said, Vit!

And Addie, sure hope the Pirate feels better soon, and that you don't get what he has!


----------



## bakechef

vitauta said:


> bakechef, i envy the compassion you have for a man who has just rammed your car.  i am astounded at your ability to feel concern for the driver's job security before thinking of the sudden disruption to your own life, the inconvenience of having to deal with your vehicle, insurance adjusters, etc., etc.  if i ever cause an accident with my car, i can only hope that it is with someone like you, who is level-headed, understanding and treats me with kindness--someone to put the event quietly to rest in a 'petty vents' thread....



Thanks, yeah it's kind of a pain to deal with, but life happens, I can't see putting myself or him through more stress, it's just not healthy.

To me it's a car, an appliance.  Yeah it's my second biggest possession after my house, but as long as I'm made whole I'm OK with that.

Now if the adjusters try to give me issues, I WILL cause them stress   Luckily my neighbor sells insurance and one of my best friends is a former adjuster, so I won't be completely in the dark.


----------



## cave76

@Bakechef

"I feel bad for anyone that drives for a living and has an accident. I guess that if his accelerator got stuck that it was better to happen here when there was nobody around than having it happen at the school as he was dropping off kids!"

That is such a kind attitude to have! Some people, probably even myself, would have cussed first----- THEN thought what you did.


----------



## bakechef

In hindsight, I should have run out the front door holding my neck,   It might have lightened up the mood!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> +1, well said, Vit!
> 
> And Addie, sure hope the Pirate feels better soon, and that you don't get what he has!



I am the one who always takes care of the ones with the flu. For some strange reason I just don't get it. Never have. I don't even get the flu shot. The Pirate is resting mostly.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> In hindsight, I should have run out the front door holding my neck,   It might have lightened up the mood!



You got whiplash turning so fast to see what the "BANG" was...


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, after finishing the vacation laundry, it is obvious that DH needs to be much more closely monitored when he packs.  No man needs 15 tshirts,  8 pairs of shorts, 7 swim trunks, 3 polo shirts, and 3 pairs of shoes.  For a 12 day tropical vacation.  And he didn't even wear most of the stuff.  No wonder the suitcase was so heavy!  My "hers" laundry pile was about 1/4th the height of the "his" laundry pile.

From now on, he will be limited to a small rollaboard, we will only check the bag with the snorkel equipment.


----------



## cave76

bakechef said:


> In hindsight, I should have run out the front door holding my neck,   It might have lightened up the mood!




There ya go---- neck injury by proxy!


----------



## cave76

Dawgluver said:


> Well, after finishing the vacation laundry, it is obvious that DH needs to be much more closely monitored when he packs.  No man needs 15 tshirts,  8 pairs of shorts, 7 swim trunks, 3 polo shirts, and 3 pairs of shoes.  For a 12 day tropical vacation.  And he didn't even wear most of the stuff.  No wonder the suitcase was so heavy!  My "hers" laundry pile was about 1/4th the height of the "his" laundry pile.
> 
> From now on, he will be limited to a small rollaboard, we will only check the bag with the snorkel equipment.



It's usually the opposite--- the woman takes everything she owns and the man doesn't even remember the toothbrush.

I read something once about how to pack/plan for a vacation. 
*Take half the amount of clothes and twice the amount of money. *


----------



## Dawgluver

cave76 said:


> It's usually the opposite--- the woman takes everything she owns and the man doesn't even remember the toothbrush.
> 
> I read something once about how to pack/plan for a vacation.
> Take half the amount of clothes and twice the amount of money.



  DH is quite the clothes horse, 15 gray t shirts....he claims he's gotten better at packing over the years....


----------



## Andy M.

We go on a tropical vacation every year.  We started out with my taking a garment bag ans SO taking two suitcases, one of which was the size of Rhode Island.  Over the years I got her to cut down to one suitcase and then to a smaller size.  I still get a request occasionally to carry something in my garment bag for her.  I heard her on the phone last night telling her girlfriend she brings clothes home that she never wore.


----------



## Dawgluver

DH's packing has gotten ridiculous, thankfully, I carry a little scale to weigh the suitcases, and they were both just under 50 pounds.  Airport scales are not regularily calibrated, and often overweigh, to the tune of charging folks an extra 100 bucks if over 50.  In which case, many gray t shirts would have had to be left behind.  

I buy dishsoap, and use it to wash out clothing in our hotel so I don't take as much stuff.  There are also perfectly good laundromats near where we stay.

I want to get us to the point of only needing the rollaboards, except for the snorkel equipment and skins.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We rarely fly.  The last time was for two weeks to CA; Himself had a one-week class through work, then he took a week's vacation so we could explore.  When he said I could take two suitcases and they couldn't weigh more than 50 pounds I thought he meant for the both of them!  I managed to get two weeks of stuff (including three down pillows) into those two full-size suitcases for a total of 68 pound!  Started to week stuff out, then he said it was 50# per suitcase.  I was golden.

Now when we travel (we almost always drive) I still take two suitcases - two carry-on size!  I do use a suit bag (like what the tailor sends your suit home in) to carry my tops on hangers, but if push came to shove I could get them into the small bags.  And I do wear every item of clothing that I take.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> DH's packing has gotten ridiculous, thankfully, I carry a little scale to weigh the suitcases, and they were both just under 50 pounds.  Airport scales are not regularily calibrated, and often overweigh, to the tune of charging folks an extra 100 bucks if over 50.  In which case, many gray t shirts would have had to be left behind.
> 
> I buy dishsoap, and use it to wash out clothing in our hotel so I don't take as much stuff.  There are also perfectly good laundromats near where we stay.
> 
> I want to get us to the point of only needing the rollaboards, except for the snorkel equipment and skins.



We've gotten to the point where we pack less and less every time.  For a week we can pack one medium suitcase to share, and each have a backpack. If we aren't flying we sometimes each bring a suitcase, just for the extra room.  

A couple years ago we went to Disney, we took my car.  4 adults in a compact car, and all our luggage!  We each packed a duffle bag and a backpack.  Our friends each had a suitcase.  On the trip home after being there a week, the trunk was full to the point that when you opened it, the contents were the exact shape of the trunk lid  After we left to head to FL, my friend, who suggested that I drive (he didn't want to drive all the way to FL after already driving from PA) thought "why didn't we just use my small SUV and have Michael drive?"


----------



## Aunt Bea

I never take much when I go on a trip, but I pack a folding nylon duffle bag. 

I always manage to bring home twice as much stuff as I take!


----------



## Addie

One small suitcase for me and a carry-on with my meds. Anywhere I have gone, there has always been a washing machine available. Either at my host's home or Laundromat. I bring enough changes for three days with extra undies. My bottoms are tights that I can get two days wear out of. Two nightgowns, one housecoat or bathrobe. The majority of my clothing is wrinkle free cotton. I have found that most of my hosts don't even own an iron. (I'd be lost without mine.) I have often thought a nice gift to bring with me for them would be an iron.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I pack for the Apocalypse, every time.  Who knows but where we are going doesn't have TP and shampoo.


----------



## CarolPa

bakechef said:


> In hindsight, I should have run out the front door holding my neck,   It might have lightened up the mood!




You should have run out and sat in the car, and had someone snap a picture.  Ever hear when there's an accident involving a bus, a bunch of people get on the wrecked bus so they can file a claim.


----------



## Addie

Here we go again. The temp is 12ºF. and the furnace is constantly running on high. 

Remember that patience I was looking for? Well there must be a leak somewhere. The Pirate has a waste basket right next to him. Looks like I am going to have to teach him how to use it. Just how long does this flu last?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Zero degrees F. today, and colder than that for the last two weeks, actually, most of December.  Wind chill today is supposed to get to -50.  I don't mind the cold, but it's a little too cold, even for me.  I'm sure glad I repaired my furnace last year.  My minor complaint, it's too cold and food prices are too high.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cave76

Back when a Honda was a small car my husband and I left for a camping trip in the Mojave for a week after dropping our daughter off at grandparents in L.A.  He could show sardines how to pack!

We had all our camping gear, food, clothes and a fully grown Afghan Hound and her food in that Honda, with no trailer or anything loaded on the top!

That guy could PACK!


----------



## bakechef

So came home to frozen pipes....   I didn't expect to be dealing with this.

Some pipes going in and out of the water heater aren't insulated.  The next door neighbor is dealing with the same issue.  We're the two that were gone all day to work, so water hasn't been running.

This week is testing my patience.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh drat, Bakechef, what a pain!  Frozen  pipes are the worst!  Hope you can get it sorted.  Get out the hair dryer.

Oh, you don't have hair, so you probably don't have a dryer....see if you can borrow one?


----------



## bakechef

I have space heaters out in the shed where the water heater is, hoping for the best.  They are pointed right at the pipes!

You bet your bippy that we'll be leaving the water drizzling tomorrow while at work!  All of the rest of the plumbing is inside the structure so it has to be out there.


----------



## taxlady

Sorry to hear about the frozen pipes BC. It really isn't your week, is it?


----------



## CatPat

Oh no! BC, can you perhaps move this water heater into your house? 

With love,
~Cat


----------



## CatPat

Addie said:


> It's okay CG. Sometimes it is difficult to express one's attitude in the proper manner it was meant with just the printed word and in lacking facial expressions. Perhaps someday there will be  forum in real time, other than Skype whereby we can exchange conversations with facial expressions. I am one of those folks who can find humor in the most serious situation. (Don't ever take me to a funeral.) You will notice that when a member will post a most difficult situation for them, (illness, pain, etc.) I don't respond only because I manage to find the humor in their problem. It would be my first and most inappropriate response. So I keep my mouth shut and fingers still.
> 
> *For the past couple of weeks since this snafu came to light over the medical coverage, I had visions of me walking around a large room saying to folks sitting at computers, "Coffee, tea, Valium? Coffee, tea, suicide kit? Coffee, tea, murder kit?" *
> 
> I am glad you found a solution to your problem. And I do hope our government gets this mess straightened out. I am just one of the wacky folks who refuse to get depressed or very upset with life.


----------



## bakechef

Well I have a belly full of chinese food and the house is warm.  I have a rental car.  Could be worse I suppose!  

I may have to go to the gym to take a shower, I left the gym to come home to take a shower, that obviously hasn't happened yet...


----------



## bakechef

CatPat said:


> Oh no! BC, can you perhaps move this water heater into your house?
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



I like it where it is, because if it fails it won't flood my house!  When I get it replaced soon, I'll have some heat tape installed on the pipes so I can plug it in if we get a freak cold snap like this again!


----------



## CatPat

bakechef said:


> I like it where it is, because if it fails it won't flood my house!  When I get it replaced soon, I'll have some heat tape installed on the pipes so I can plug it in if we get a freak cold snap like this again!



Oh I see. This has been very cold for us in NC!

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> I like it where it is, because if it fails it won't flood my house!  When I get it replaced soon, I'll have some heat tape installed on the pipes so I can plug it in if we get a freak cold snap like this again!



Yes, "freak cold snap" is the right phrase.  You wouldn't usually get a cold snap like this down south.  So glad the pipes didn't burst!

Seriously, you may want to consider a hair dryer, they're really handy for thawing out stuff!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We do OK at packing too Carol.  When the kids were young (pre-school and early grades) we camped a lot.  Tent camped.  With cooking gear and all.  From a VW Golf!  Camped like that for quite a few years, then ended up buying a Plymouth (un)Reliant station wagon...and stopped camping! 

Used that car for a number of trips from the Cleveland OH area to Cape Coral FL too.  Had to stop on the yet-unfinished WV portion of I-77 to...change a diaper on the rear deck.    Um, we were headed to Himself's folks to spend Thanksgiving with them.  Mighty breezy in the car!


----------



## Aunt Bea

bakechef said:


> I like it where it is, because if it fails it won't flood my house!  When I get it replaced soon, I'll have some heat tape installed on the pipes so I can plug it in if we get a freak cold snap like this again!



When you get your heat tape invest in one of these so you can leave the heat tape plugged in year round.  Many versions exist, this is just one example.

Thermo Cube: Thermostatically Controlled Outlet


----------



## taxlady

CG's "Mighty breezy in the car!" reminded me of my first car. It was a 1972 Chevy Nomad, a station wagon. I bought it for $200 in 1979. It was rusty. It was breezy all the time in that car. It was so rusty that I occasionally got hit by a salt pellet, inside the car, when driving it in winter.


----------



## Addie

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Zero degrees F. today, and colder than that for the last two weeks, actually, most of December.  Wind chill today is supposed to get to -50.  I don't mind the cold, but it's a little too cold, even for me.  I'm sure glad I repaired my furnace last year.  My minor complaint, it's too cold and food prices are too high.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Saw a picture of International Falls on the news. Just a trickle getting through all that ice. Beautiful picture, but somewhere I have no desire to be. 

I also have a place I don't want to be this afternoon. At the surgeon's office for a consultation. It is for my gall bladder and possible surgery. Because of my heart, hopefully he will be reluctant to do the surgery.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> I also have a place I don't want to be this afternoon. At the surgeon's office for a consultation. It is for my gall bladder and possible surgery. Because of my heart, hopefully he will be reluctant to do the surgery.



Listen to what he has to say and make your own decision, Addy.  They can't force you to have surgery.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Listen to what he has to say and make your own decision, Addy.  They can't force you to have surgery.



If I do decide, I will want to wait until spring. Right now is a bad time for it. I have a lot on my plate.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> CG's "Mighty breezy in the car!" reminded me of my first car. It was a 1972 Chevy Nomad, a station wagon. I bought it for $200 in 1979. It was rusty. It was breezy all the time in that car. It was so rusty that I occasionally got hit by a salt pellet, inside the car, when driving it in winter.


You might like my stupid human trick I did (unintentionally!) to Himself when we were driving my van to our daughter last January.  When we had to go over details of something I hopped into his car since it had heated seats (we were traveling in single-degree temps that year too). When trying to turn on the passenger reading light, somehow I managed to open the vent position on his sunroof.  Since his inside cover is manual we didn't realize it was open.  He could not figure why he could not get the car warmed up...until our next stop.  That's when he noticed the roof vented.   I'm still reminded of it.  Fortunately he can't get back at me...my car's sunroof is fully automated!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is funny!!


----------



## Addie

Yesterday I had an appointment with the surgeon for a consultation. When I left the hospital in early December, they sent to Winthrop notice of the appointment they made for me with the surgeon. It is up to Winthrop to make arrangements for my transportation. So yesterday's appointment never happened. When I called Winthrop, they informed me that they never got the notice. El Toro Poo Poo! They just forgot to enter the date into their program for patients appointments. Not the first time this has happened. Last week I had an appointment with my cardiologist at 4 p.m. They send my transportation at noon time. I am only ten minutes away from where my appointments are. I am not leaving at noon for a 4 p.m. appointment. So I refused to go. I know that I have always called to verify the appointments with Winthrop. Dr., time, and building. I do it for every appointment, because I know how they are. Transportation could not come back at three as they had other  patients to pick up and deliver. Understood.

Once a month I go Winthrop to get my vitals checked and recorded into their computer. About a 15 minute ride from my house. Only because of all the one way streets. Pickup time was 9 a.m. Here it is 10:15 and I am still sitting here all dressed. I am not going to call them. Either the nurse who called me and set up the appointment forgot to let the front desk know, or the secretary at the front desk again forgot to enter it into the computer. And I am not going to call them. Let them figure it out. The nurse will realize something is wrong when she looks at the board and I am the only one who hasn't been checked off yet. And I get to stay inside where it is nice and warm. I am so sick of this crap. 

I could file a formal complaint against the secretaries at the front desk. It is their responsibility to make all transportation arrangements. I really like these two women. One is sort of ditzy. The other one has her head on straight. But they are so nice. You  just can't imagine anyone not liking them. The only real inconvenience to me is that I had to get dressed instead of staying in my nightgown all day. That is not a bad thing. As for the waiting, I sit here at the computer or watch TV while I drink a cup of coffee. And to tell the truth, I hate going to Winthrop just for my vitals. I am there for just 15 minutes. How long can it take for your temp, weight, oxygen level and BP? Then I am out of there and on my way back home. It is when I have to go for my six month checkup that I am there for all day. 

I just wish I could make my own appointments and transportation arrangements. But due to contractual arrangements with Winthrop, I can't. I can make the appointment, but not transportation. GRRRR!


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> If I do decide, I will want to wait until spring. Right now is a bad time for it. *I have a lot on my plate*.



Well, just make sure that what's on your plate isn't greasy!  I have heard that a lot of people have gall stones but they don't cause a problem until they start moving and end up in the duct.  My husband had a bad gall bladder attack after a trip to the chiropractor.  I guess all that twisting and turning got his gall stones moving.  He was admitted to the hospital and they wanted to go in with something and dissolve the stones, but his pain went away and he said "Let me out of here!" and hasn't had a pain since.  20 years ago.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Well, just make sure that what's on your plate isn't greasy!  I have heard that a lot of people have gall stones but they don't cause a problem until they start moving and end up in the duct.  My husband had a bad gall bladder attack after a trip to the chiropractor.  I guess all that twisting and turning got his gall stones moving.  He was admitted to the hospital and they wanted to go in with something and dissolve the stones, but his pain went away and he said "Let me out of here!" and hasn't had a pain since.  20 years ago.



Believe me, my frying pan is gathering dust and getting rusty. The odd thing is I have no desire for fried foods. I bought a pound of bacon and I will never get a piece of it. The Pirate will finish it off. And if not him, then Spike. 

My two attacks were caused by grease. The first time it was Chinese food. When you think about it they stir *fry* all their foods. The second time was when I had a pizza with double cheese, and pools of olive oil floating on top mixed with all the oil from the cheese. Plus I had been munching on chunks of Mortadella all day that has pieces of lard throughout. No wonder I had an attack.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

They can't fix it if they don't know it's broken, Addie.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They can't fix it if they don't know it's broken, Addie.



So true. Sooner or later I have to address this problem. I was thinking of having a private talk with the ditzy one since she is the one mostly responsible for transportation arrangements. That front desk is a job I would never do. Constant interruptions, people coming and going, keeping your eye on the door to make sure no one escapes, etc. She can be in the middle of something else when I call in an appointment, then before she can get it into the computer, someone comes up to her window, someone wants to be buzzed out, someone else walks into her area and says something to her, and before you know it, she has forgotten about the appointment. I understand how this happens. That is one reason I don't want to file a formal report against her. I would rather handle it myself and see if it improves. She may not even be aware of how often this happens. 

Whereas, the other woman in the office works on one task at a time and has no problem asking someone to please wait. She will put someone on hold instead of trying to talk to two people at the same time like ditzy does. She totally has her act together.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sounds like they need someone who just runs the window.  Again, they can't fix it if they don't know it's broken.  Maybe they need three people to do the front counter work.  The person's making appointments and arranging transportation don't need the other distractions.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sounds like they need someone who just runs the window.  Again, they can't fix it if they don't know it's broken.  Maybe they need three people to do the front counter work.  The person's making appointments and arranging transportation don't need the other distractions.



I just called and the sensible one answered. I asked her to look to see if I was scheduled for this month at any time. Nope! So it is not their fault this time. The nurse that called me to let me know when they wanted me to come in again forgot to notify the front desk that I was to come in today. The head nurse is looking into it. I just love it when this particular nurse does my vitals. I have to tell her what to do. BP, temp, oxygen level, weight. How hard is that? She always forgets something. And then the nurse who is in charge of the vitals room always has to remind her to enter them into the computer. I don't see her lasting very long. Her attention to details in nil.


----------



## Andy M.

Yesterday, SO's car was in the shop.  She took my car so her sister and she could visit their brother in the hospital.  SO called me from the road to tell me we are having dinner for eight tonight.  Don't know what they want me to cook and I had no car to go shopping.  So this morning I have my marching orders and I'm off to get some supplies.  SO wants me to wait until she's finished making breakfast for her sister so she can go shopping with me.  I'm not waiting.


----------



## Addie

I can't say that I blame you Andy. I shop so much better when I am on my own. How about an "Everything" fritatta. One pan, easy cleanup. sautéed onions, peppers, crumbled bacon, diced boiled potatoes, petite peas, any other veggie you have on hand, leftover meats, a dozen eggs, etc.  Baked in a large 12 inch sauté pan, finished under the broiler. Cut into pizza style slices. With a salad on the side, you have a meal that will feed the whole crowd.


----------



## Addie

My daughter is planning this bash for me in March. It is turning into a hassle for me. I realize she is going to need help. But she does have a daughter that should be helping her. Not me. I had to provide all the addresses, reserve the room, provide the check for damages, (I get it back), and next will probably be she will want me to do the decorating. Hopefully, she is having it catered. If not, I am screwed. She will want me to do the cooking. If she orders catering, here we go again with more Italian food. From my least favorite place to order it from. 

Do I sound ungrateful? I'm not. Just irritated at the whole idea. I have never been one for birthdays. I figure if you behave yourself and live right you will see a birthday next year. That is how it is supposed to be. I don't think reaching 75 yrs. is a big accomplishment. Reaching *175* is.


----------



## CarolPa

Reaching 175 would be an accomplishment for me, and I'm not talking age!  LOL  

I think a birthday party should be a surprise.  You should not have to do anything.  It sounds like you're throwing a party for yourself!


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Reaching 175 would be an accomplishment for me, and I'm not talking age!  LOL
> 
> I think a birthday party should be a surprise.  You should not have to do anything.  It sounds like you're throwing a party for yourself!



I hate it when attention is focused on me. I get very nervous. BTW, there is the problem of presents. I can't think of anything I need or want. And I don't have the room to store anything. Does it sound crass to mention to my daughter that I want her to add "no presents please" to the invites? If I had my druthers, I would rather just receive money. Being on a fixed income, I could always use that. But I will let my daughter handle that one without any word from me.


----------



## cave76

Addie said:


> My daughter is planning this bash for me in March. It is turning into a hassle for me. I realize she is going to need help. But she does have a daughter that should be helping her. Not me. I had to provide all the addresses, reserve the room, provide the check for damages, (I get it back), and next will probably be she will want me to do the decorating. Hopefully, she is having it catered. If not, I am screwed. She will want me to do the cooking. If she orders catering, here we go again with more Italian food. From my least favorite place to order it from.



Arghhhh! Do you have an option for saying----- sorry, it's my party and I really don't feel like doing any work for it? Not even planning. 

Whatever happened to a good old surprise birthday party?


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> Arghhhh! Do you have an option for saying----- sorry, it's my party and I really don't feel like doing any work for it? Not even planning.
> 
> Whatever happened to a good old surprise birthday party?



I wish I did. But she has brain cancer, so whatever I can do to make her life just a little bit easier, I will do.


----------



## cave76

I'm sorry, I had forgotten that she has brain cancer. My apologies.


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> I'm sorry, I had forgotten that she has brain cancer. My apologies.



Apology accepted. Not a problem. I understand.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> My daughter is planning this bash for me in March. It is turning into a hassle for me. I realize she is going to need help. But she does have a daughter that should be helping her. Not me. I had to provide all the addresses, reserve the room, provide the check for damages, (I get it back), and next will probably be she will want me to do the decorating. Hopefully, she is having it catered. If not, I am screwed. She will want me to do the cooking. If she orders catering, here we go again with more Italian food. From my least favorite place to order it from.
> 
> Do I sound ungrateful? I'm not. Just irritated at the whole idea. I have never been one for birthdays. I figure if you behave yourself and live right you will see a birthday next year. That is how it is supposed to be. I don't think reaching 75 yrs. is a big accomplishment. Reaching *175* is.


No, not ungrateful. If was throwing a party for you all I would expect you to do would be to sit in state having all the family at your beck and call and I CERTAINLY wouldn't expect you to cough up the deposit for damages or anything else! I'd ask you what you fancied to eat as well, if I couldn't remember your favourite foods.


----------



## Mad Cook

cave76 said:


> I'm sorry, I had forgotten that she has brain cancer. My apologies.


And I'm sorry too, Addie, I didn't know about that; 

 Could you perhaps use it as a get-out? Too much trouble for her and all that?


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> I hate it when attention is focused on me. I get very nervous. BTW, there is the problem of presents. I can't think of anything I need or want. And I don't have the room to store anything. Does it sound crass to mention to my daughter that I want her to add "no presents please" to the invites? If I had my druthers, I would rather just receive money. Being on a fixed income, I could always use that. But I will let my daughter handle that one without any word from me.


Not crass at all to request "No presents please". Difficult, I agree, to ask for money for oneself but if people insist on gifts why not ask for donations to your favourite charity? Some friends of mine got married recently. They were both widowed and had moved in with each other so had more pots and pans and vases and sets of bedding and vacuum cleaners than you could shake a stick at, so they asked for donations to the Royal British Legion, a charity supporting armed services personnel (they got married on November 11th). The "gifts" added up to nearly £2000!


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> And I'm sorry too, Addie, I didn't know about that;
> 
> Could you perhaps use it as a get-out? Too much trouble for her and all that?



The chemo is playing all kinds of tricks on her mind. It doesn't allow her to handle stress very well. So I can only try to make it easier for her. I just wish her daughter would step up. 

Hopefully, in February she goes for her next MRI and we are hoping the chemo will stop. She has been on it for more than a year. 

This is the second time we have been through this. Her husband was in stage four with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and given about three to four weeks to live at the time they found it. He beat the odds. He is more than a five year survivor. And now her. Will she make it, won't she make it. I feel like each day I am plucking the petals of a daisy flower. Most of the days I make it through the day without breaking down. Some days I don't. She will only see my side of strength. Never see me break down. When my youngest daughter was murdered, she was my strength. She protected me through the wake and funeral. Now I have to be hers. She is only 53 and my first born.

She has two children. Her oldest is a son and can't do enough for her. Her daughter is a piece of crap. My daughter and her husband have closed the cash register drawer. Go to work and earn your own money. Want to finish school? Take out student loans. She handed my daughter a list of what she wants for her birthday at the end of January. Her father snatched it and handed it right back to her and told her to have fun shopping. She knows better than to act up in my presence. 

So I just keep plugging away each day and try to keep a positive outlook. All the swelling in her brain from the surgery has finally gone down after more than 18 months. And now they can see that what is left of the tumor is finally shrinking. My biggest worry is I know what the final prognosis is. Only five percent with this type of brain cancer live beyond two years and even less more than five years. Come February, it will be determined after her MRI as to whether she will remain on chemo for the rest of her life or come off it. 

So now you know why I put an angel at the end of every post I make. It is for her. One can never have too many angels looking down on them and protecting them. And you will notice that a lot of folks here in the forum post one also. To them, I give an eternal Thanks.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> The chemo is playing all kinds of tricks on her mind. It doesn't allow her to handle stress very well. So I can only try to make it easier for her. I just wish her daughter would step up.
> 
> Hopefully, in February she goes for her next MRI and we are hoping the chemo will stop. She has been on it for more than a year.
> 
> This is the second time we have been through this. Her husband was in stage four with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and given about three to four weeks to live at the time they found it. He beat the odds. He is more than a five year survivor. And now her. Will she make it, won't she make it. I feel like each day I am plucking the petals of a daisy flower. Most of the days I make it through the day without breaking down. Some days I don't. She will only see my side of strength. Never see me break down. When my youngest daughter was murdered, she was my strength. She protected me through the wake and funeral. Now I have to be hers. She is only 53 and my first born.
> 
> She has two children. Her oldest is a son and can't do enough for her. Her daughter is a piece of crap. My daughter and her husband have closed the cash register drawer. Go to work and earn your own money. Want to finish school? Take out student loans. She handed my daughter a list of what she wants for her birthday at the end of January. Her father snatched it and handed it right back to her and told her to have fun shopping. She knows better than to act up in my presence.
> 
> So I just keep plugging away each day and try to keep a positive outlook. All the swelling in her brain from the surgery has finally gone down after more than 18 months. And now they can see that what is left of the tumor is finally shrinking. My biggest worry is I know what the final prognosis is. Only five percent with this type of brain cancer live beyond two years and even less more than five years. Come February, it will be determined after her MRI as to whether she will remain on chemo for the rest of her life or come off it.
> 
> So now you know why I put an angel at the end of every post I make. It is for her. One can never have too many angels looking down on them and protecting them. And you will notice that a lot of folks here in the forum post one also. To them, I give an eternal Thanks.


How terrible for both you and your daughter. Prayers and healing thoughts on the way.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> How terrible for both you and your daughter. Prayers and healing thoughts on the way.



Thank you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ....yesterday's appointment never happened. When I called Winthrop, they informed me that they never got the notice......And to tell the truth, I hate going to Winthrop just for my vitals. I am there for just 15 minutes. How long can it take for your temp, weight, oxygen level and BP? Then I am out of there and on my way back home. It is when I have to go for my six month checkup that I am there for all day.....


I don't understand why they don't use visiting nurses to go to the homes of the elderly for these monthly vitals checks.  A friend of mine worked for VNA for years starting in the mid-1990s in St. Louis, then in Phoenix, going out to the elderly doing just this thing.  Mary Jeanne LOVED her job visiting all her "aunts" and "uncles", because her regulars became close like family to her (she's a really good, but now retired, nurse).  You would think with all the claims of the Boston area's outstanding medical services they would have something like this operational ages ago.  Maybe you need to start rattling cages Addie, and be a little activist on this for yourself and all your fellow senior citizens.  You could wage your war right from you computer.  Probably declare yourself a non-profit and write off all "expenses".


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I don't understand why they don't use visiting nurses to go to the homes of the elderly for these monthly vitals checks.  A friend of mine worked for VNA for years starting in the mid-1990s in St. Louis, then in Phoenix, going out to the elderly doing just this thing.  Mary Jeanne LOVED her job visiting all her "aunts" and "uncles", because her regulars became close like family to her (she's a really good, but now retired, nurse).  You would think with all the claims of the Boston area's outstanding medical services they would have something like this operational ages ago.  Maybe you need to start rattling cages Addie, and be a little activist on this for yourself and all your fellow senior citizens.  You could wage your war right from you computer.  Probably declare yourself a non-profit and write off all "expenses".



They do have a nurse that goes into the homes. But by having the patient go to the facility, it keeps the patient active and gets them out of their home and into a setting whereby they have to interact with others. It helps keep the amount of elderly depression down. I have the 24 hour number to call for the nurse if I think I need her. I have used the number a couple of time. Once when I had the Noro Virus. I didn't want to go into Winthrop and infect everyone there. As it turned out they were having their own outbreak and closed the facility. The visiting nurse earned her paycheck for the next two weeks. They also have Aides that go into the homes of wheelchair patients. They help them to get ready for bed and up in the morning everyday. We have two such patents in this building. They also give them showers, help the men to shave, etc. But those patients also are picked up by van and go to Winthrop at least two times a week to keep their minds active.


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sounds like they need someone who just runs the window.  Again, they can't fix it if they don't know it's broken.  Maybe they need three people to do the front counter work.  The person's making appointments and arranging transportation don't need the other distractions.



I agree with PF about reporting it---- it can be done in a non-confrontational way (although I would find that hard to do, myself!).

And although I also agree with PF about them needing 3 people at the desk----in this day of 'down-sizing' (sometimes called greed) that may not happen.

Of all the places that don't need down-sizing it's in a hospital or clinic----- but it happens all the time.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> They do have a nurse that goes into the homes. But by having the patient go to the facility, it keeps the patient active and gets them out of their home and into a setting whereby they have to interact with others...


That's a valid point.  I guess I figure most seniors are like you and our other older members: tech active, busy with kids, etc.  I can't judge all seniors by the fun group of older posters we have here at DC.  Heck, in a handful of years I'LL be one of those "older" posters!  Then again, by the time I hit 70 I may have moved the stick up on what is older...


----------



## cave76

Cooking Goddess said:


> Then again, by the time I hit 70 I may have moved the stick up on what is older...



Bite your tongue, you young whippersnapper!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Are you a great granny or just a granny, Cave???  CG is a mommy only, unless she counts the twins fur babies.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Are you a great granny or just a granny, Cave???  CG is a mommy only, unless she counts the twins fur babies.


My mum was very displeased when I referred to my cats as her grandchildren. My sister, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to be the auntie of cats.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> My mum was very displeased when I referred to my cats as her grandchildren. My sister, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to be the auntie of cats.



My Mom doesn't care if her grandkids are pink, purple or furry...


----------



## CharlieD

Macgyver1968 said:


> Thanks for all the encouraging words...it really helped.  Sometimes you just need to hear it....even if it's from someone you've never met.   Thanks for the compliments on my table..I was proud of it...I'd probably be a pretty good gay guy, if I didn't like women so much.   Mom says someday I'll make some woman a really good wife.



You're funny on the top of it too.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> My mum was very displeased when I referred to my cats as her grandchildren. My sister, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to be the auntie of cats.


Neither kid is married and it doesn't look likely in the near future. I'm old-fashioned so I really don't want the kids going solo as a parent.  I'm purrfectly happy with the two furry grandkits and our one grandturtle.  You have to take them as you can get them.


----------



## CatPat

taxlady said:


> My mum was very displeased when I referred to my cats as her grandchildren. My sister, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to be the auntie of cats.



Oh no! I am sorry, Taxy. If I ever marry and adopt children, and they choose not to have their human babies but to have cats and dogs I will be their Nonna!

I'll also be Nonna to any and all their pets; ferrets, snakes, lizards, fish, spiders, cats, dogs, chickens, roosters, and any other precious creatures they wish to have.

I may have issues handling certain creatures, but you get the idea, yes?

My Mamma calls my cats, Misty and Kali, and my dog, Azia, her grandhairballs and she is their Nonna. Mamma loves them!

Pets are so wonderful!

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> My mum was very displeased when I referred to my cats as her grandchildren. My sister, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to be the auntie of cats.



I am Grandma, The Pirate is uncle, my grandson is brother and all the other family young folks are cousins to Teddy.


----------



## Addie

I think CWS and PF are perfect examples of being a mother to their babies. CWS has names for her chickie babies. And we hear about Latte all the time. I don't think I want to know anyone who doesn't have a love affair with family members of the animal kingdom.


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Are you a great granny or just a granny, Cave???  CG is a mommy only, unless she counts the twins fur babies.



I'm a 'granny' but old enough to be a great-granny if and when my (human) step-grand-children decide to have children.

I was 'Mommy' to so many pets through the years I can't count them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Neither kid is married and it doesn't look likely in the near future. I'm old-fashioned so I really don't want the kids going solo as a parent.  I'm purrfectly happy with the two furry grandkits and our one grandturtle.  You have to take them as you can get them.



A grandturtle!  Cool!  I'm Great Granny to Corgies...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cave76 said:


> I'm a 'granny' but old enough to be a great-granny if and when my (human) step-grand-children decide to have children.
> 
> I was 'Mommy' to so many pets through the years I can't count them.



Yes, I am waiting for the Grands to give me Greats.  Mommy and Auntie to many human and animal.  It's fun.  Mother to none.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> A grandturtle!  Cool!  I'm Great Granny to Corgies...


Love Corgies. My Mom got an older one after my Dad died. After Dad died his favorite "rescue" dog died. Monday was rescued from the corner bar.  One day when Dad went up for a beer one of the guys had a dog he was trying to find a home for so Dad brought him home. Told my Mom the dog followed him.  And yes, this all happened on a Monday.

Our daughter Loverly had four turtles at one time. Eventually keeping that 55-gallon tank clean for four became too much work, so she found a pond with the same species of turtles and released three of them. The fourth is a more exotic kind and she felt it best to keep that one. Turtles are cute, but nowhere near as cuddly as cats.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was Mommy to four turtles for a while.


----------



## Chef Munky

Scheduling appointments really bites!

You know what they say "If you want anything done right do it yourself" Or in my case my sig says it all.

I had made a follow up appointment yesterday.It was between the receptionist and I that it would be tentative because of our schedules.She told me that it would be in the comp as a definite thing until I called her this morning. Had to check with hubby's schedule. I called her back this morning to say I'll definitely take that time and day. She didn't put it in the computer. My time slot and day had been filled already. *sigh* So fine. I told her I'd remove the stitches myself. Have the Dr send the biopsy results to my PCP.If anythings up he can call me.

That rattled her. She then told me that I could go to any walk in clinic and have it done. Thanks but no. Save myself some time, money and hassle.

Ok, my lil vent is over.

So what's for dinner?

Munky.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Were you able to remove the stitches?


----------



## Chef Munky

No,not yet.They have to be out by Friday. All I've done is keep the area cleaned, moistened and bandaged. As directed.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wish I could help...but my arms are not long enough.


----------



## taxlady

I've taken out my dad's stitches. He would have done it, but it was on his hand. If you can get some suture scissors, it will make the job easier. I was going to post a picture of suture scissors, but there are different kinds. I came across this article: 3 Ways to Remove Stitches - wikiHow.


----------



## cave76

Chef Munky said:


> . I told her I'd remove the stitches myself. Have the Dr send the biopsy results to my PCP.If anythings up he can call me.


----------



## Chef Munky

Thankies PF. It's the thought that counts 

Taxy: Was that little boy a brave toaster or what? I hope he got a big hug for being such a good sport.

Cave: I should wait until I have my morning coffee before making flip comments. It was funny hearing her suck in her breath. WOT!?

Munky.


----------



## roadfix

This was the second time in 5 weeks that my wife has taken out the passenger side mirror of her 2013 Toyota van.  Exact same damage....slapped into something.
The entire assembly needs to be replaced again!  Back to the Yoyota parts counter again..... as hell


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> This was the second time in 5 weeks that my wife has taken out the passenger side mirror of her 2013 Toyota van.  Exact same damage....slapped into something.
> The entire assembly needs to be replaced again!  Back to the Yoyota parts counter again..... as hell


Bummer. I bet your wife is feeling pretty bad about it too.


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> This was the second time in 5 weeks that my wife has taken out the passenger side mirror of her 2013 Toyota van.  Exact same damage....slapped into something.
> The entire assembly needs to be replaced again!  Back to the Yoyota parts counter again..... as hell




Maybe you should just leave it broken until winter is over.  Why have to fix it again?  LOL


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> Bummer. I bet your wife is feeling pretty bad about it too.


Yep, and it's gonna cost her yet another $300+ just for the part.   At least I'm saving her the $150 installation charge since I'm doing the installation (again).


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> Yep, and it's gonna cost her yet another $300+ just for the part.   At least I'm saving her the $150 installation charge since I'm doing the installation (again).




Not being a wise guy, but has had her vision checked recently?


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> Not being a wise guy, but has had her vision checked recently?


Valid point.  I actually thought about that yesterday.  And I agree she needs to have her vision checked out.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Not being a wise guy, but has had her vision checked recently?


Good thinking Andy. I didn't think of that. Good vision slips away so subtly that it is easy to miss.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Valid point.  I actually thought about that yesterday.  And I agree she needs to have her vision checked out.



There could be something wrong with her peripheral vision. A lot of things can affect it. An infected tooth, a bang (even a very light one) on her head, whiplash, etc. Have her see an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> There could be something wrong with her peripheral vision. A lot of things can affect it. An infected tooth, a bang (even a very light one) on her head, whiplash, etc. Have her see an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist.


A good optometrist should detect glaucoma, which is what normally would be the cause of loss of peripheral vision.


----------



## roadfix

Thank you.  
She has an upcoming appt with her regular doctor at Kaiser.  Her doctor can refer her to an in-house opthalmologist and schedule an appt.   
Unless it's an emergency I don't think you can directly schedule an appt with an opthalmologist at Kaiser.


----------



## roadfix

CarolPa said:


> Maybe you should just leave it broken until winter is over.  Why have to fix it again?  LOL


What is this "winter" you speak of?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> A good optometrist should detect glaucoma, which is what normally would be the cause of loss of peripheral vision.



Not all states in this country allow optometrists to diagnosis. Only to examine and prescribe corrective lens and frames. Diabetes is another cause of vision problems. Too many variables to take chances on. Go to an MD, not a DO.


----------



## Dawgluver

Now let's not diagnose the poor lady simply because she whapped off a couple mirrors.  Vans are big and unwieldly to drive.


----------



## roadfix

Dawgluver said:


> Now let's not diagnose the poor lady simply because she whapped off a couple mirrors.  Vans are big and unwieldly to drive.


She bought the van so she can pick up our 3 grandkids from preschool every afternoon but now after this latest incident she doesn't trust herself driving the van and wants to trade the van for something smaller....


----------



## Dawgluver

roadfix said:


> She bought the van so she can pick up our 3 grandkids from preschool every afternoon but now after this latest incident she doesn't trust herself driving the van and wants to trade the van for something smaller....



I don't blame her.  I would too.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> She bought the van so she can pick up our 3 grandkids from preschool every afternoon but now after this latest incident she doesn't trust herself driving the van and wants to trade the van for something smaller....



A moderately sized SUV could fill the bill without being so bulky.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> A moderately sized SUV could fill the bill without being so bulky.


She has owned 3 different SUV's prior to this van purchase last year.  She complained she needed something larger for the kids. Go figure...


----------



## bakechef

We're down to one car and it doesn't even belong to either one of us,  

Rob calls me today and says, I need you to take my car for a drive, it's grinding when I step on the brakes...  I said, "umm, no, I'm not a mechanic, call your mechanic and see if you can drop it off tonight".  So we're down to the rental car from the fender bender incident a week and a half ago.  Good news is, my car should be ready tomorrow, bad news, I have to leave work early (get there late after taking him to work), drive to the body shop and wrap up that transaction to get the keys, drive across town during rush hour to pay for his car's repair bill before they close.  Try to return the rental, pick up Rob, drive back across town to get his car.  I have to cancel physical therapy unless I can figure out how to be in two places at once...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The rental should be yours until you are _able_ to pick up your car...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The rental should be yours until you are _able_ to pick up your car...


I agree, but he is dealing with an insurance company.

When my car was rear-ended, I got a rental car. As soon as it was determined that the car was a write off, they stopped paying for my rental car. I had to take the bus to go test drive a replacement vehicle.


----------



## Aunt Bea

bakechef said:


> We're down to one car and it doesn't even belong to either one of us,
> 
> Rob calls me today and says, I need you to take my car for a drive, it's grinding when I step on the brakes...  I said, "umm, no, I'm not a mechanic, call your mechanic and see if you can drop it off tonight".  So we're down to the rental car from the fender bender incident a week and a half ago.  Good news is, my car should be ready tomorrow, bad news, I have to leave work early (get there late after taking him to work), drive to the body shop and wrap up that transaction to get the keys, drive across town during rush hour to pay for his car's repair bill before they close.  Try to return the rental, pick up Rob, drive back across town to get his car.  I have to cancel physical therapy unless I can figure out how to be in two places at once...



Your post reminds me of this old brain teaser! 

A man has to get a fox, a chicken, and a sack of corn across a river.              
                                     He has a rowboat, and it can only carry him and one other thing. 
                                     If              the fox and the chicken are left together, the fox will eat the chicken. 
                                     If the chicken and the corn are left together, the chicken              will eat the corn. 
*How does the man do it? 
*
*The answer:*
The man and the chicken cross the river, (the fox and corn are                safe together), he leaves the chicken on the other side and goes                back across. 
                                     The man then takes the fox across the river, and since                he can't leave the fox and chicken together, he brings the chicken                back. 
                                     Again, since the chicken and corn can't be left together,                he leaves the chicken and he takes the corn across and leaves it                with the fox. 
                                     He then returns to pick up the chicken and heads across                the river one last time.


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The rental should be yours until you are _able_ to pick up your car...



Yeah, I'm thinking of just taking it back saturday morning instead of trying to fit it in tomorrow.  Luckily the body shop and rental place are very close to home.

I miss my little car, although the rental is quite nice, there is something about having your own car!


----------



## bakechef

Aunt Bea said:


> Your post reminds me of this old brain teaser!
> 
> A man has to get a fox, a chicken, and a sack of corn across a river.
> He has a rowboat, and it can only carry him and one other thing.
> If              the fox and the chicken are left together, the fox will eat the chicken.
> If the chicken and the corn are left together, the chicken              will eat the corn.
> *How does the man do it?
> *
> *The answer:*
> The man and the chicken cross the river, (the fox and corn are                safe together), he leaves the chicken on the other side and goes                back across.
> The man then takes the fox across the river, and since                he can't leave the fox and chicken together, he brings the chicken                back.
> Again, since the chicken and corn can't be left together,                he leaves the chicken and he takes the corn across and leaves it                with the fox.
> He then returns to pick up the chicken and heads across                the river one last time.



Yeah that about sums up my afternoon tomorrow,


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> Yeah, I'm thinking of just taking it back saturday morning instead of trying to fit it in tomorrow.  Luckily the body shop and rental place are very close to home.
> 
> I miss my little car, although the rental is quite nice, there is something about having your own car!



That's what we did, just told the insurance company it was an impossibility to pick up the fixed car until the next day because of prior commitments.  They footed the extra day.


----------



## roadfix

Oooh....that gritty, grinding noise.   I hate that.  Sounds like the rotors need to be turned...


----------



## bakechef

roadfix said:


> Oooh....that gritty, grinding noise.   I hate that.  Sounds like the rotors need to be turned...



Well considering that the car is 10 years old and these are the original rotors, pads etc...  I guess that it's about time!  It's 10 years old with 70,000 miles on it, it's nice living close to work!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

roadfix said:


> This was the second time in 5 weeks that my wife has taken out the passenger side mirror of her 2013 Toyota van.  Exact same damage....slapped into something...l


Those vans don't have hinged mirrors??  I've had two different Dodge Caravans, 1996 and 2003. They both had hinges on both the driver and passenger door mirrors. Something as simple as cutting in too close when pulling into the garage or clipping a garbage cart that rolled into the street would push it back. Not so loose that it would move it you just bumped it. Even my 2012 Hyundai Sonata has hinged mirrors, but they're real bears to move.



roadfix said:


> She has owned 3 different SUV's prior to this van purchase last year...


Maybe it will just take her a little longer to get used to the outer perimeter of the car? I hope she learns real soon! Go gently on her after you fix the mirror the second time.


----------



## Addie

RF, have you sat in the vehicle with her and keeping your mouth SHUT so not to make her nervous, watch what she does to see if you can spot the problem with her driving? I know it is hard for another driver to just sit there and watch someone make a serious mistake while not saying a word.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ... Have her see an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist. ................................
> 
> ...........Not all states in this country allow optometrists to diagnosis. Only to examine and prescribe corrective lens and frames.


Actually, optometrists can diagnose. Here in MA an optometrist can even prescribe some medications. If they see a cataract they can call it a cataract, they just can't treat the cataract. They have to refer the patient on to an ophthalmologist. Ophthalmology is just another medical discipline, like OB/GYN or cardiologist.

Heck, nowadays PAs and NPs can do so many things that were once the domain of doctors only.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Actually, optometrists can diagnose. Here in MA an optometrist can even prescribe some medications. If they see a cataract they can call it a cataract, they just can't treat the cataract. They have to refer the patient on to an ophthalmologist. Ophthalmology is just another medical discipline, like OB/GYN or cardiologist.
> 
> Heck, nowadays PAs and NPs can do so many things that were once the domain of doctors only.



I didn't mention any specific state. I know what an optometrist can and can not do here in Massachusetts. I have been wearing glasses for 70+ years. So I am aware of that fact. And I do know the difference between an optometrist and ophthalmologist. I may be up there in years and long in the tooth, but I still have all my faculties.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Didn't mean to get your knickers in a twist Addie. My main point is that it is acceptable for an optometrist to recognize any medical condition that is required to be treated by an eye MD. If my optometrist sees that I have a cataract he isn't required to say "I think you need to see a doctor about your left eye". He can tell me he suspects I might have a cataract and that I need to see an ophthalmologist for a more complete diagnosis and any possible treatment.


----------



## Addie

Nothing gets my dander up quicker than if you attack one of my children or say or do something that makes me look stupid. Apology accepted with grace (I hope). Thank you for understanding.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Didn't mean to get your knickers in a twist Addie. My main point is that it is acceptable for an optometrist to recognize any medical condition that is required to be treated by an eye MD. If my optometrist sees that I have a cataract he isn't required to say "I think you need to see a doctor about your left eye". He can tell me he suspects I might have a cataract and that I need to see an ophthalmologist for a more complete diagnosis and any possible treatment.


Yeah, here in Quebec, I need a referral to see an ophthalmologist. I can get one from an optometrist.


----------



## Zhizara

bakechef said:


> Yeah, I'm thinking of just taking it back saturday morning instead of trying to fit it in tomorrow.  Luckily the body shop and rental place are very close to home.
> 
> I miss my little car, although the rental is quite nice, there is something about having your own car!



I think this sounds much better than trying to do too much all at once.  

You can do it.  Just once more day.  Take it easy on yourself.


----------



## CatPat

I just found my precious Betta has passed away. I fed her two hours ago and she seemed fine, but when I checked on her as I always do, she has passed. I'm so very sad.

Earlier today, I went to the grocery store after class, and a rude woman shoved my cart away and pushed her cart in front of me in the cashier's line. She said she was in a hurry and she didn't have time to wait in line. I didn't say anything, I just let her go. 

Then coming into our gated community, there was that stupid gate guard again and this time he stopped me, asked what I had in the bags, and said he could show me some fun, and told me to meet him at the gate at 11pm. I told him a very nasty thing and I called the HOA about this when I got home.

I'm very unhappy and annoyed. 

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Addie

At one time back in the early 70's, the medical folks fought tooth and nail against having optometrists even look into your eyes. It wasn't until the late 70's/early 80's that the law was changed.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CatPat said:


> I just found my precious Betta has passed away. I fed her two hours ago and she seemed fine, but when I checked on her as I always do, she has passed. I'm so very sad.
> 
> Earlier today, I went to the grocery store after class, and a rude woman shoved my cart away and pushed her cart in front of me in the cashier's line. She said she was in a hurry and she didn't have time to wait in line. I didn't say anything, I just let her go.
> 
> Then coming into our gated community, there was that stupid gate guard again and this time he stopped me, asked what I had in the bags, and said he could show me some fun, and told me to meet him at the gate at 11pm. I told him a very nasty thing and I called the HOA about this when I got home.
> 
> I'm very unhappy and annoyed.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat


Good Lord Cat! You've had at least a month's worth of bad day today. Here, you really need one of these...and I have lots to share.







Hope tomorrow is a wonderful day to make up for some of the sad and bad today.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CatPat said:


> I just found my precious Betta has passed away. I fed her two hours ago and she seemed fine, but when I checked on her as I always do, she has passed. I'm so very sad.
> 
> Earlier today, I went to the grocery store after class, and a rude woman shoved my cart away and pushed her cart in front of me in the cashier's line. She said she was in a hurry and she didn't have time to wait in line. I didn't say anything, I just let her go.
> 
> Then coming into our gated community, there was that stupid gate guard again and this time he stopped me, asked what I had in the bags, and said he could show me some fun, and told me to meet him at the gate at 11pm. I told him a very nasty thing and I called the HOA about this when I got home.
> 
> I'm very unhappy and annoyed.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Sorry you had such a bad day, ~Cat!

Bunches of hugs.


----------



## CarolPa

CatPat said:


> Then coming into our gated community, there was that stupid gate guard again and this time he stopped me, asked what I had in the bags, and said he could show me some fun, and told me to meet him at the gate at 11pm. I told him a very nasty thing and I called the HOA about this when I got home.
> 
> I'm very unhappy and annoyed.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat




I would have shown him some pain that would have kept him from having "fun" for a very long time!


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) Cat. That sure was some collection of unpleasant for one day.


----------



## roadfix

Cooking Goddess said:


> Those vans don't have hinged mirrors??  I've had two different Dodge Caravans, 1996 and 2003. They both had hinges on both the driver and passenger door mirrors. Something as simple as cutting in too close when pulling into the garage or clipping a garbage cart that rolled into the street would push it back. Not so loose that it would move it you just bumped it. Even my 2012 Hyundai Sonata has hinged mirrors, but they're real bears to move.


They do have hinged mirrors but they're only good for the reasons you stated.....to get extra clearance.  But if you clip those mirrors while driving, even at 10mph, not only will they retract, they will also shatter.
I kept the damaged mirror assembly from the first incident and compared the damage with her latest incident.  Nearly identical cracks, including the outer case molding.
These mirrors are pricey because the assembly includes electronics contained in each mirror such as the motor, turn indicator, and blind spot sensor.  Plus, the casings need to match your vehicle color.


----------



## roadfix

As far as optometrists vs opthalmologists go, at Kaiser, my wife can easily schedule an appt through her doc to see an opthalmologist at the same cost to her to see an optometrist.  So perhaps this will save her time in the event that the opthalmologist does find something wrong with her vision.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> As far as optometrists vs opthalmologists go, at Kaiser, my wife can easily schedule an appt through her doc to see an opthalmologist at the same cost to her to see an optometrist.  So perhaps this will save her time in the event that the opthalmologist does find something wrong with her vision.


Are the ophthalmologists willing to prescribe corrective lenses? Mine isn't.


----------



## bakechef

Well my car won't be ready today, they found additional damage behind the bumper.  I'm not really surprised, the car was hit hard enough to move it, I had a feeling that it was a bit more than superficial damage.

Here's hoping to get it back on Monday or tuesday.  Good news is that Rob's car will be done, and my afternoon isn't quite as hectic, even though I have to still cross town twice.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's better than all the extra trips.


----------



## Dawgluver

So sorry about your betta, Cat.  And for the car woes, Bakechef and Roadfix.

Here's another car woe:  I pulled into the school parking lot, and the maintenance man who was pulling out of the lot rolled down his window and pointed out that I had a flat tire.  I called DH, he couldn't come from work.  Then all of a sudden my car alarm went off, and I couldn't stop it!  Put the key in the ignition, pushed all sorts of buttons, nothing worked.  Finally I put the key in the door, then it stopped.  Thankfully, I tracked down a janitor, and he put the spare on for me (reluctantly, it was really cold out!).    The new-fangled jacks are not straight-forward like the old ones.  I took the car to our mechanic, and they found out the aluminum in the wheel had corroded, and had let out the air.  They have a machine that grinds out the corrosion.  Rather than make 4 trips, one for each tire when it goes flat, I'm having them fix all 4 at once.  It should be ready soon.  Good mechanics are like gold!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Gosh, you guys make me not want to push my luck by getting in the car...


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> So sorry about your betta, Cat.  And for the car woes, Bakechef and Roadfix.
> 
> Here's another car woe:  I pulled into the school parking lot, and the maintenance man who was pulling out of the lot rolled down his window and pointed out that I had a flat tire.  I called DH, he couldn't come from work.  Then all of a sudden my car alarm went off, and I couldn't stop it!  Put the key in the ignition, pushed all sorts of buttons, nothing worked.  Finally I put the key in the door, then it stopped.  Thankfully, I tracked down a janitor, and he put the spare on for me (reluctantly, it was really cold out!).    The new-fangled jacks are not straight-forward like the old ones.  I took the car to our mechanic, and they found out the aluminum in the wheel had corroded, and had let out the air.  They have a machine that grinds out the corrosion.  Rather than make 4 trips, one for each tire when it goes flat, I'm having them fix all 4 at once.  It should be ready soon.  Good mechanics are like gold!



The mechanic that Rob has been using is his boss's husband, he seems really good and reasonable, he's treated him really well.  It's a load of my mind to have found a good mechanic, dealerships get my business for warranty work but are too expensive after that.  He stands behind his work. A Lady was there to pay him for a starter that was replaced that he installed and went bad, the part was under warranty and he refused to charge her labor, he called it the small price for keeping good customers.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, you have to keep a good mechanic.  I have one who refused to fix the first car I ever brought him because it was a rust bucket and he would be doing me a disservice by fixing the brakes.  I decided right then that anyone who would refuse a job (money) for customer safety was the man I wanted fixing my cars.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> The mechanic that Rob has been using is his boss's husband, he seems really good and reasonable, he's treated him really well.  It's a load of my mind to have found a good mechanic, dealerships get my business for warranty work but are too expensive after that.  He stands behind his work. A Lady was there to pay him for a starter that was replaced that he installed and went bad, the part was under warranty and he refused to charge her labor, he called it the small price for keeping good customers.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Discuss Cooking mobile app



DH just brought my car home (he works near the mechanic shop and we'd swapped).     Our mechanic presented DH with 2 free t shirts!  Love the guy!

When I took my car to a dealership for a recall fix, they did a free check of all systems, and presented me with  a $3500 estimate of all the things that needed to be "fixed".  Rick, our mechanic, went through the list, and the only thing that was needed was changing the A/C filter, which he did for less than half of what the dealership quoted.  Guess who I trust.


----------



## taxlady

Here in Quebec, and some other parts of Canada, we have a group called the APA, Automobile Protection Association. They do stuff like put a hidden camera in a car and then bring it to various garages for repairs.

They have caught mechanics breaking stuff and one guy got caught peeing on the engine. 

The guy who does vehicle inspections for them told me to keep bringing my car to Swedish Auto. When I buy a car (I buy used), I always pay to have him inspect the car before I buy it.


----------



## CatPat

Thank you all for your hugs and kindness to me. ((((((hugs))))) to all of you.

I wrapped my little Betta, Pinky, in a small bit of cloth and put her in a little box and laid her to rest under the maple tree.

That lady shoved my cart at my shin and I have a bruise there now. All she had to do was tell me she was in a hurry. I would have let her go in front of me. 

The HOA president accused me of flirting with that stupid gate guard today. He came to our house, and said this in front of Mamma and DA. He also said girls like me should not flirt with married men and that I need counseling.

I became very furious. I do know there are very good cameras at the gate which record everything. I told him to get out of our house, go look at the cameras, and return when he's ready with a full apology. I will not be treated as a tramp. 

That gate guard is awful. He always stops me and says stupid things to me and winks at me and speaks of my appearance. I always drive away when he starts of this, but lately he has started this to me outside the gate and I can't drive through without breaking the gate arm and damaging my Joy.

I hate him. I conduct myself as a good girl and I don't flirt and I don't have time to act all lovelorn or whatever.

I hate him. 

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> ....Good mechanics are like gold!


Geez Dawg, too bad your car was having a hissy fit. And I am of the opinion that it is harder to find a good, honest mechanic than it is to find a primary care physician when you move to a new area.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cat, maybe next time you can drive up to the gate with your window all the way up, give one quick, businesslike wave to the guard, and point toward the gate. Unless he doesn't recognize someone he shouldn't have to talk to the person wanting access. Good luck.


----------



## GotGarlic

CatPat said:


> The HOA president accused me of flirting with that stupid gate guard today. He came to our house, and said this in front of Mamma and DA. He also said girls like me should not flirt with married men and that I need counseling.
> 
> I became very furious. I do know there are very good cameras at the gate which record everything. I told him to get out of our house, go look at the cameras, and return when he's ready with a full apology. I will not be treated as a tramp.
> 
> That gate guard is awful. He always stops me and says stupid things to me and winks at me and speaks of my appearance. I always drive away when he starts of this, but lately he has started this to me outside the gate and I can't drive through without breaking the gate arm and damaging my Joy.



This is turning into harassment. You might consider calling the police.

Does the HOA employ him directly, or do they subcontract a security service? There may be other complaints against him from other young women.


----------



## roadfix

On the gate guard, it obviously looks to me like some over jealous wives are pointing their fingers at you.  Best thing is to simply drive through without any idle chit chat.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> This is turning into harassment. You might consider calling the police.
> 
> Does the HOA employ him directly, or do they subcontract a security service? There may be other complaints against him from other young women.



I agree with GG.  It's harassment and should be reported to the police.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I agree with GG.  It's harassment and should be reported to the police.



Yes.  You've already told him to stop, and reported it to who you thought would take care of it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I would also let the police know what the HOA President had to say about the incident, accusing you of flirting with guard.


----------



## Addie

I have to agree. Inform the police. He may already have a record for this kind of behavior. The report will certainly put him on their radar. And if they do talk to him, it will put him on notice. Just the fact that he wanted you to meet him in the middle of the night is not good. He sounds dangerous.


----------



## CarolPa

If the security camera at the gate recorded what he said, that could be  used as proof, unless the HOA had the tape destroyed.  It doesn't sound  like they are on your side, Cat.


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I would also let the police know what the HOA President had to say about the incident, accusing you of flirting with guard.



*Yes*----- it comes under the heading of *"blaming the victim"* which why many women don't report rapes. 

The gate guard, while perhaps being 'just': 
1.  A male chauvinist pig
2. A jackass
3. A numbskull
4. A closet gay
5. A person with at least one small appendage

---should not be allowed to keep doing that. That type of behavior often escalates into something a lot more criminal, like rape!

HOA is complicit in his behavior and should be reported!


----------



## Addie

I am sitting here watching the European Skating Championships vs. the Pats vs the Broncos. It doesn't look good right now for NE. But we still have three minutes left. Never say never!  The skating on my TV, the game on my computer monitor. 

The Pirate made dinner for both of us. Last night I had to use up the eight Italian sausages so I put them in a couple of jars of doctored pasta sauce and cooked them for a while. They were without a doubt the worst Italian sausages I have ever had. Absolutely no flavor. They were the house brand of DeMoula's. Next time it will be Johnsonville. Lesson learned.


----------



## roadfix

I'm unable watch the 49er game due to bad tv reception at work.  At least I'll be able to catch the 4th quarter when I get home.  I did watch the Bronco/Patriots game though...


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I am sitting here watching the European Skating Championships vs. the Pats vs the Broncos. It doesn't look good right now for NE. But we still have three minutes left. Never say never!  The skating on my TV, the game on my computer monitor.
> 
> The Pirate made dinner for both of us. Last night I had to use up the eight Italian sausages so I put them in a couple of jars of doctored pasta sauce and cooked them for a while. They were without a doubt the worst Italian sausages I have ever had. Absolutely no flavor. They were the house brand of DeMoula's. Next time it will be Johnsonville. Lesson learned.


I find that unless you really want them in the casings, it's just easier to make your own Italian sausage - just stir some seasonings into some ground pork, let it sit in the fridge overnight to let the flavours marry, and there you go. Of course you need a decent recipe for what seasonings. Then you tweak it and take notes.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...They were without a doubt the worst Italian sausages I have ever had. Absolutely no flavor. They were the house brand of DeMoula's. Next time it will be Johnsonville. Lesson learned.



I buy few DeMoulas/Market Basket products because I have been disappointed too often.  I used some Kayem Italian sausages for my last batch of Sunday Ragu and I was pleased with their taste.  I had been using The brand Costco carries but they sometimes have an off flavor.


----------



## GotGarlic

roadfix said:


> On the gate guard, it obviously looks to me like some over jealous wives are pointing their fingers at you.  Best thing is to simply drive through without any idle chit chat.



There's no reason to believe his wife is involved at all. A man who will treat a woman like that will certainly lie and try to blame her. And men who harass women don't usually harass just one; it's possible there's a pattern and neither Cat nor anyone else should be expected to put up with it.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> There's no reason to believe his wife is involved at all. A man who will treat a woman like that will certainly lie and try to blame her. And men who harass women don't usually harass just one; it's possible there's a pattern and neither Cat nor anyone else should be expected to put up with it.


+1!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Just wanted to say, I'm really tired of being really tired. Long story short, I seem to have been having serious side effects from a new medication I started last month. I stopped taking it last week and have a follow-up tomorrow afternoon. But for the last two weeks, I've just been exhausted and I'm sick of it.

After discontinuing the med, I was getting better, and today, DH and I went out for brunch. I could barely eat and had no energy for the two easy errands I wanted to do afterward, so we came home. It was about 1 p.m. and I decided to take a nap. Woke up at 6:35. Another afternoon gone. I hope this gets better soon and the PA has some answers tomorrow.


----------



## taxlady

Aw phooey GG. Hope they can get you something that doesn't have such inconvenient and annoying side effects.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aw GG, I hope you feel better and energetic soon. I feel tired all the time but it's my own fault! It seems like yours isn't going to be as easy to fix as a good night's sleep. Hope your PA figures this out tomorrow.


----------



## Somebunny

Thinking of you GG and hoping you get some energy back soon!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I wish I had some of my energy to pass on to you, GG.  I've been doing so much better since the surgery, fatigue wise that is gone.  Tired, yes...but no fatigue.


----------



## Addie

Fatigue sucks big time. It sucks the life right out of you. There are days when I wish I could have an honest good old tired feeling from doing a lot of physical work. 

GG, make the doctor earn his paycheck. Insist he find out what is wrong. Make sure he checks you for your iron level and your thyroid. Those two are the most common reason for fatigue. If it is your iron level, that is an easy fix. Diet and iron pills. A simple blood test for both on these condition should be all you need to get an answer.


----------



## GotGarlic

Thanks, Addie, but we're way, way past that point. I have several nutritional deficiencies from a complicated set of medical problems. This is different and it started with the new med. I'm hoping it didn't do any permanent damage.

And thanks for the good thoughts, everyone.


----------



## roadfix

GotGarlic said:


> There's no reason to believe his wife is involved at all. A man who will treat a woman like that will certainly lie and try to blame her. And men who harass women don't usually harass just one; it's possible there's a pattern and neither Cat nor anyone else should be expected to put up with it.



I'm not talking about his wife.  
Who brought this to the HOA's attention in the first place?
That's the angle I'm looking at....just a different perspective, that's all.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cat made a complaint to the HOA about the guard, the first salvo in any complaint.  She did not get satisfaction, but instead was accused by the HOA of flirting with a married man.


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Cat made a complaint to the HOA about the guard, the first salvo in any complaint.  She did not get satisfaction, but instead was accused by the HOA of flirting with a married man.



Yes, that's how I understood it.

I hope Cat takes it further----- but carefully enough that she doesn't get in trouble with the HOA for doing that. I've seen this type of thing before---where there's blow back to the actual victim.


----------



## roadfix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Cat made a complaint to the HOA about the guard, the first salvo in any complaint.  She did not get satisfaction, but instead was accused by the HOA of flirting with a married man.


Thanks for making that clear.  Now I get it, and I agree that she took the right steps in reporting these incidents.  It's too bad the HOA believed the guard's side of the story, whatever that may have been.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Cat, we're all hoping this gets resolved in your favor.  And I hope that at the very least, the guard gets fired.  Such men as him give men in general a bad name.  Too many times, a person is in a bad situation, caused by some individual, and then identifies all people of the same race, or same gender the same as that individual.

Cat, I'm so happy you aren't one of those kind of people.  I, and from what it looks like, the DC community supports you.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I buy few DeMoulas/Market Basket products because I have been disappointed too often.  I used some Kayem Italian sausages for my last batch of Sunday Ragu and I was pleased with their taste.  I had been using The brand Costco carries but they sometimes have an off flavor.



Kayem is a great brand. They are just two minutes over the bridge from me. I wish they had an inhouse store. I love their natural casing hot dogs. In fact I love them too much. I have to buy them at the deli instead of by the box. I just can't stop eating them. 

They have a kosher side of their plant. You have to be Jewish to work on that side. Their new plant is only about five years old and beautiful inside as well as outside.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> Just wanted to say, I'm really tired of being really tired.........I hope this gets better soon and the PA has some answers tomorrow.


GG, I hope you got some relief when you went to the doc's office Monday.


*******

I still, apparently, do not have healthcare insurance.  My check was cashed ages ago, but the provider I selected has no record of my file for coverage being sent from the Health Connector (or is that Heathcare Disconnect?) office. The told me they should have received my information within two business days of my check being cashed. Off in the bitter cold, with the threat of a near-blizzard a possibility, we'll be headed to the connector office tomorrow. I have a copy of the check, a copy of the plan I paid for, and one huge attitude all ready for my visit tomorrow. Watch your national news at 6:30PM eastern - I could be making a splash!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> GG, I hope you got some relief when you went to the doc's office Monday.
> 
> 
> *******
> 
> I still, apparently, do not have healthcare insurance.  My check was cashed ages ago, but the provider I selected has no record of my file for coverage being sent from the Health Connector (or is that Heathcare Disconnect?) office. The told me they should have received my information within two business days of my check being cashed. Off in the bitter cold, with the threat of a near-blizzard a possibility, we'll be headed to the connector office tomorrow. I have a copy of the check, a copy of the plan I paid for, and one huge attitude all ready for my visit tomorrow. Watch your national news at 6:30PM eastern - I could be making a splash!



Oh no!!!  I'm sorry this has happened.


----------



## taxlady

Aw CG, what a PITA! They cashed your cheque, they better danged well give you health coverage. I sure hope this gets straightened out soon with a minimum of hassle to you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks PF, but not as sorry as I am. My doc is driving me crazy to have my semi-annual blood work done. I refuse to put out a dime for the bill until I know that, at the very least, my $$ go towards my annual deductible/OOP. I'm down to 9 pills of a maintenance med and he doesn't want to refill.  I might have to tell him either refill it for a month until I get this straightened out or I'll just stop taking them! 

**************

You're right taxy, it's a real PITA. We went to the health exchange office today because none of the government offices were being shown as closed on the news creeper. The driving was bad here today and a lot of after-school activities were cancelled.  Well...the office had closed early.  Fortunately we had a number of other stops to make in the same area, but we might have to go again later this week. Also fortunately, Himself hasn't met a driving situation that had bothered him yet. He rocks! In the meantime, I posted a rant on their Facebook page!  Got a reply asking me to send them contact info and a few details so they can work with me to get this fixed. Sometimes ya gotta love social media!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My complaint isn't nearly so serious as the medical insurance issue is for CG.  But here it is.

I was awakened at 3:00 a.m. by the amazing aroma of a ham bone completely covered and simmering in the slow cooker.  The house smells amazing, as if I were baking pigs in the blanket, with real, home made, yeast bread, and full sized, really good hot dogs.

One of the schools I attended (6th through 7th grade) made the most incredible pigs in the blanket, and they tasted like my house smells.

I mean, c'mon.  I gotta be up by 6 to tie a fly, then get ready for work, that starts at 8.   I the air-filter mask that I used to have to wear when I worked for Lockheed, so that I'll be able to get back to sleep.  I'm gonna be tired tomorrow.  I'm so very tired right now.  My eyes are irritated from lack of sleep.

That split pea soup that will be made in that ham stock had better be the best I've ever made.  That's all I can say.  If not, I'm gonna half to kick the cat or something, (I'd never really kick the cat.  But it's fun to say sometimes, especially when the person your saying it to doesn't know you for a gentle soul.  Sometimes, you get some humorous reactions.  Now I know I'm overly tired.  I'm typing about kicking cats, and other worthless ideas.)  I'm going back to bed.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks PF, but not as sorry as I am. My doc is driving me crazy to have my semi-annual blood work done. I refuse to put out a dime for the bill until I know that, at the very least, my $$ go towards my annual deductible/OOP. I'm down to 9 pills of a maintenance med and he doesn't want to refill.  I might have to tell him either refill it for a month until I get this straightened out or I'll just stop taking them!



I don't believe maintenance drugs should be used as hostages.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dear Canada:  Could you please take your Biebs back? We have far too many home-grown idiots of our own to be putting up with your guy too. Thank you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dear Canada:  Could you please take your Biebs back? We have far too many home-grown idiots of our own to be putting up with your guy too. Thank you.



ROFL!!!!!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dear Canada:  Could you please take your Biebs back? We have far too many home-grown idiots of our own to be putting up with your guy too. Thank you.



My thoughts exactly. It was mentioned on the news that this offense could be cause for him to be deported back home. One can pray real hard.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I feel sorry for the kid, I think his 15 minutes of fame is about up.


----------



## CarolPa

I think fame and fortune came too fast and easy for him, and like many others his age, he thinks he's invinceable.  He needs a good hard smack!


----------



## cave76

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dear Canada:  Could you please take your Biebs back? We have far too many home-grown idiots of our own to be putting up with your guy too. Thank you.



 (gasp)  

+99


----------



## roadfix

That kid needs a father like me.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dear Canada: Could you please take your Biebs back? We have far too many home-grown idiots of our own to be putting up with your guy too. Thank you.


Dear America; You made him, you keep him. Besides, we have Rob Ford.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

It's snowin'.  It's blowin', the roads are a closin'
And I'm still stuck at work.

Kinda sounds like the lyrics for a new country tune.

Unfortunately, it's too true right now.  I hope the roads are open to my house at 5 p.m. today.  There are those who live further out of town than I do, some who will have to travel on closed roads to get home.  There should be snow days for workers whenever schools close, which they have here, at 1:00 p.m. today.

I wonder if I could modify that old tune - Let Me Go Home (The Sloop John B), so that it would describe navigating a blizzard, rather than a trip aboard a ship.  Hmmm.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cave76

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> It's snowin'.  It's blowin', the roads are a closin'
> And I'm still stuck at work.
> 
> Kinda sounds like the lyrics for a new country tune.



Yes, it does, doesn't it? But here IS the perfect C/W song:

David Allen Coe You Never Even Called Me by My Name - YouTube

(watch it all the way through. Now, is your foot tapping or not? )


----------



## roadfix

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Dear America; You made him, you keep him.


....LOL.....so true...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Dear America; You made him, you keep him. Besides, we have Rob Ford.


I see how this goes: I see your Biebs and I raise you a Rob Ford? Hmm, so far I guess you're winning. Or, in this case, losing.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I see how this goes: I see your Biebs and I raise you a Rob Ford? Hmm, so far I guess you're winning. Or, in this case, losing.



Who is Rob Ford?


----------



## cave76

How about these late night shows and their comments about Baby Biebs?

Justin Bieber Arrested: See the Best Late-Night Jokes About the Pop Star : People.com


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Who is Rob Ford?


Mayor of Toronto. Been on the news a lot lately for being stoopid. I know that isn't real news since he's a politician and they tend to be stoopid, but his exploits have been fodder for the news for several months.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Who is Rob Ford?


As mentioned, he's the mayor of Toronto. There was a video of him smoking crack and then they found one of him talking about having the dealer who sold it to him killed. Of course, at first, he denied it.

This was his excuse, "Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine," Ford told reporters Tuesday outside  his office. "There have been times when I've been in a drunken stupor.  That's why I want to see the tape. I want everyone in the city to see  this tape. I don't even recall there being a tape or video. I want to  see the state that I was in."

Yes, he's an embarrassment.


----------



## Rocklobster

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Dear America; You made him, you keep him. Besides, we have Rob Ford.


He wants to be a bad boy. But he ends up being a stupid boy...There is a big difference...


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Mayor of Toronto. Been on the news a lot lately for being stoopid. I know that isn't real news since he's a politician and they tend to be stoopid, but his exploits have been fodder for the news for several months.



  Oh yes. He has made the news in this country also. And he hasn't been impeached yet.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Arrrg! If you can't figure out that sending morse code messages with your break lights while going up an icey hill is a bad idea then maybe you should go back to driving school. Or just stop driving until summer. That would be OK too.

Also, I am so sick of being lectured by everyone and all of their relatives about how not wearing a hat is going to kill me and everyone around me because the cold will cause me to catch the plague. That's not how it works! And it's not *that* cold! And when it *is* cold, I pull the hood on my coat up! I don't like wearing winter hats. They slip off my head and give me head aches and make me too hot. And if it's actually cold enough that a hat would provide some bennefit to me I just double wrap my big, thick, homemade scarf, pull it up to just below my eyes, pull my hood up, and abra-cadabra I have less exposed skin than if I were wearing a snowmobile mask but without the headache. So leave me alone about it!

I used to like winter until I moved down here.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Arrrg! If you can't figure out that sending morse code messages with your break lights while going up an icey hill is a bad idea then maybe you should go back to driving school. Or just stop driving until summer. That would be OK too.
> 
> Also, I am so sick of being lectured by everyone and all of their relatives about how not wearing a hat is going to kill me and everyone around me because the cold will cause me to catch the plague. That's not how it works! And it's not *that* cold! And when it *is* cold, I pull the hood on my coat up! I don't like wearing winter hats. They slip off my head and give me head aches and make me too hot. And if it's actually cold enough that a hat would provide some bennefit to me I just double wrap my big, thick, homemade scarf, pull it up to just below my eyes, pull my hood up, and abra-cadabra I have less exposed skin than if I were wearing a snowmobile mask but without the headache. So leave me alone about it!
> 
> I used to like winter until I moved down here.



I get the same stupid lecture about going outside with wet hair in the winter...still!!!!  In 53 frelling years, I've never caught so much as a sniffle from it.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I get the same stupid lecture about going outside with wet hair in the winter...still!!!!  In 53 frelling years, I've never caught so much as a sniffle from it.



 You don't catch cold from being cold, you catch cold from a virus!  I don't wear hats, prefer my hoods and scarves too.

I do have to watch carefully.  I wear black pants and boots, and the white road salt has a habit of showing up on both, all the way up to my knees!  Plus, I brush against my car, which is also covered in road salt.  Am thinking I need to start carrying a damp washcloth in a ziplock instead of a paper towel that leaves shreds.


----------



## taxlady

Well, if it's below 0°F, I'll laugh at you for going out with wet hair. It won't make you sick, it'll just freeze solid and won't dry. 

I don't tell people they will get sick if they don't wear a hat in the cold. I just point out that it is easy to lose 50% of your body heat through your head. You probably won't notice your head getting cold, but your (to your body) less important fingers and toes will feel a lot colder.


----------



## Andy M.

I rarely wear a hat.  If it's really cold outside, I'm not outside for long.  House to car, car to store, store to car, car to house.  I could do it without a coat too but I don't.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Well, if it's below 0°F, I'll laugh at you for going out with wet hair. It won't make you sick, it'll just freeze solid and won't dry.
> 
> I don't tell people they will get sick if they don't wear a hat in the cold. I just point out that it is easy to lose 50% of your body heat through your head. You probably won't notice your head getting cold, but your (to your body) less important fingers and toes will feel a lot colder.



It thaws quickly...no problem.

I do wear gloves, socks and boots...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It thaws quickly...no problem.
> 
> I do wear gloves, socks and boots...



Plus frozen hair makes a neat clinking sound. I wear gloves or keep them on me. I don't wear boots, don't even own boots at the moment. I wear socks and sometimes trouser socks under them. But it really doesn't get super cold here.


----------



## Addie

I can't STAND ANYTHING touching the graft on the bottom of my leg. So in the winter I never wear socks. Not even in the bitter cold. And I don't wear boots. Even when I sleep, no blanket or sheet on that leg.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Plus frozen hair makes a neat clinking sound. I wear gloves or keep them on me. I don't wear boots, don't even own boots at the moment. I wear socks and sometimes trouser socks under them. But it really doesn't get super cold here.



I have really nice boots, which I have not worn for the past two years.  Not enough snow to need them.  I get by with my merrell shearling clogs.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have really nice boots, which I have not worn for the past two years.  Not enough snow to need them.  I get by with my merrell shearling clogs.



I have a great boot collection, they've all gotten a great workout!


----------



## taxlady

These are the very comfy boots I wear most of the time. They have a zipper on the side, so I don't have to faff with the laces very often.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> These are the very comfy boots I wear most of the time. They have a zipper on the side, so I don't have to faff with the laces very often.



  I see your boots got a great workout too!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I had a pair of Dad's old flight boots that I wore out.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I see your boots got a great workout too!


Yeah, I was noticing that they could use a good polish, but that's an old picture.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I swear I will be dead before I can get health coverage through this very mucked-up system. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Hopefully the government will not require me to have health insurance when I'm dead, but one can never tell. After all, the tome dictating this system is over 2000 pages long.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> I swear I will be dead before I can get health coverage through this very mucked-up system.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hopefully the government will not require me to have health insurance when I'm dead, but one can never tell. After all, the tome dictating this system is over 2000 pages long.



I hope you can get this squared away!

I signed up in NYS and have had no problems since the initial bumps when the exchange first went live.  It is saving me a great deal over my previous plan administered by the same provider, go figure!

Keep trying, I think it will payoff in the long run!


----------



## cave76

And just WHY does there have to be a proposal offered in at  least one State that will:

*"bar welfare money from use in strip clubs, casinos"*

Sheesh!


----------



## bakechef

Got my car back finally on Wednesday, went to return the rental car and the adjuster didn't set it up to be on their dime.  Couldn't get a hold of anyone locally and the national office wasn't much help.  Payed the bill ($545) and left.  Finally got in touch with the adjuster on Thursday.  He got a copy of the bill and brought me a check at work yesterday.

I was hoping that it wasn't going to turn into much of a hassle, luckily he got things fixed without me getting too wound up!

Other than this bump, this ordeal was much less hassle than I anticipated.  I am glad to get my car back.  It is great knowing where every button and knob is without looking.  The rental was very nice, but had about 100 too many buttons!  I love technology, but I don't like fiddling while driving just to adjust the temperature.


----------



## roadfix

Aunt Bea said:


> I signed up in NYS and have had no problems since the initial bumps when the exchange first went live.  It is saving me a great deal over my previous plan administered by the same provider, go figure!



Same here.  I enrolled in mid-November and coverage became effective Jan 1.  I also elected to stay with the same provider, Kaiser Permanente, although there were several other less expensive plan choices offered by other providers.  
I'm saving over 75% in monthly preminums, pocket change copays, and no deductibles for my wife and I.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

cave76 said:


> And just WHY does there have to be a proposal offered in at  least one State that will:
> 
> *"bar welfare money from use in strip clubs, casinos"*
> 
> Sheesh!



Because welfare money should be used to support life, not lifestyle.  There are, unfortunately, people who will misuse welfare money that should be supporting others, who can't get it due to red tape, or lack of available funds.

The few, as always, mess up things for the majority.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cave76

Chief said:
"The few, as always, mess up things for the majority."

Yeah---- that started in grade school when the 'bad' kid misbehaved and we ALL had to stay after school! Sheesh!


----------



## taxlady

How the heck do they plan to "bar welfare money from use in strip clubs, casinos"? Special, marked money? Does that mean the grocer who accepts this cash for food can't spend it in a strip club or casino?


----------



## taxlady

cave76 said:


> Chief said:
> "The few, as always, mess up things for the majority."
> 
> Yeah---- that started in grade school when the 'bad' kid misbehaved and we ALL had to stay after school! Sheesh!


Actually, that tends to work well. Now all the kids are on the case of the misbehaving kid.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> ...Does that mean the grocer who accepts this cash for food can't spend it in a strip club or casino?




I suppose the grocer turns those dollars turns them in to the state for reimbursement.


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> How the heck do they plan to "bar welfare money from use in strip clubs, casinos"? Special, marked money? Does that mean the grocer who accepts this cash for food can't spend it in a strip club or casino?



In many places the money is deposited to a benefit card similar to a debit card.  The "Gentleman's Clubs" and casinos have unique merchant category codes that can be restricted by the credit card processor that issues the benefit cards for the department of social services.   I suppose every little bit helps, but IMO it is a symbolic change and of little value in preventing fraud.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> How the heck do they plan to "bar welfare money from use in strip clubs, casinos"? Special, marked money? Does that mean the grocer who accepts this cash for food can't spend it in a strip club or casino?



We have EBT cards. They are like a debit card. You swipe them just like you would a credit or debit card. They are going to be changing the bar code so that only approved purchases will allow money to come out of the account to pay for them. 

In this state you have to apply as a merchant for the right to accept EBT payees. If you get caught accepting an EBT payment for an activity that is not approved, you lose your card swipe and are heavily fined and could go to prison. When a merchant accepts an EBT card, the money is transferred from the recipient's account to the account of the merchant. The recipient can receive cash back after she approves the payment to the merchant. 

We do have a problem at present with money being spent in liquor stores. They sell soda, so the dishonest ones will also make the purchase of liquor be listed as soda. Or the recipient will get cash back and spend it in the liquor store. The problems are with the little Mom and Pop corner stores. The big chain stores never violate the rules.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

It's just a shame that so many people think that the world owes them a living.  I personally think that if a person is able bodied, but can't find a job, then options should be made for them to work for the state, maybe at a community farm where the food from the farm is used to help those on who want to work, but can't find a job.  Of course arrangements would need to be made for child care.  If the person working in the field doesn't like the job, then they could train for a job they would like to work at.

The point is, if they work for their sustenance, they develop pride in their own ability, and that they are working for their living.  And those trying to sponge off of the system, find that they may be working harder than if they were working at another kind of job.  At the very least, the work could  be temporary until a better job is found.  

I wonder how many people would be on welfare if they had work presented to them as a requirement for assistance.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## vitauta

sure is sounding like a political discussion to me....


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> sure is sounding like a political discussion to me....


Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I have lots to say on this subject, but I don't think this is the right venue.


----------



## Chef Munky

Keeping people happy is driving me crazy.
Just bough after many, many years of resistance a cell phone.

I forgot and left it's box with instructions in my truck. This lil' thing is buzzing like crazy. I've asked it with futile frustration what DOOO you want? It's mocking me. LOL. One more buzz I'll take the battery out and shove it away in a drawer 

It's a Samsung..I hear DC has an ap for that.. 

Munky.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Keeping people happy is driving me crazy.
> Just bough after many, many years of resistance a cell phone.
> 
> I forgot and left it's box with instructions in my truck. This lil' thing is buzzing like crazy. I've asked it with futile frustration what DOOO you want? It's mocking me. LOL. One more buzz I'll take the battery out and shove it away in a drawer
> 
> It's a Samsung..I hear DC has an ap for that..
> 
> Munky.



I have a sledge hammer app...


----------



## Chef Munky

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have a sledge hammer app...



If I knew how to add an ap I'd take you up on that.
It's probably my kids txting me. They will get tired of that and actually call me like a human being.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MDT, MDT

Mama Don't Text!


----------



## Chef Munky

PrincessFiona60 said:


> MDT, MDT
> 
> Mama Don't Text!


----------



## taxlady

Chef Munky said:


> Keeping people happy is driving me crazy.
> Just bough after many, many years of resistance a cell phone.
> 
> I forgot and left it's box with instructions in my truck. This lil' thing is buzzing like crazy. I've asked it with futile frustration what DOOO you want? It's mocking me. LOL. One more buzz I'll take the battery out and shove it away in a drawer
> 
> It's a Samsung..I hear DC has an ap for that..
> 
> Munky.


Is it a smartphone?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> MDT, MDT
> 
> Mama Don't Text!



That's how I used to be. We never bothered having texting as a regular feature on our Verizon phones because we just didn't bother using it. IF we sent/received a text it was something like 25 cents each. With our current provider (Ting) you don't pay for any one of the three services (voice/text/web) until you use it during your billing cycle. Then the billing is charged in steps. We can exchange up to 100 texts for $3 a billing cycle, then the next tier is 101 to 1000 texts for...an additional $2. I found out how terrific texting was to get business done in December. We kept our daughter up to date on our Christmas travel plans, and she could send a message with a question she had that didn't need to be answered immediately. So much more efficient because if one of us has a quick question and calls...well, there goes the next hour!  Texting can save time and confusion.


----------



## Addie

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> It's just a shame that so many people think that the world owes them a living.  I personally think that if a person is able bodied, but can't find a job, then options should be made for them to work for the state, maybe at a community farm where the food from the farm is used to help those on who want to work, but can't find a job.  Of course arrangements would need to be made for child care.  If the person working in the field doesn't like the job, then they could train for a job they would like to work at.
> 
> The point is, if they work for their sustenance, they develop pride in their own ability, and that they are working for their living.  And those trying to sponge off of the system, find that they may be working harder than if they were working at another kind of job.  At the very least, the work could  be temporary until a better job is found.
> 
> *I wonder how many people would be on welfare if they had work presented to them as a requirement for assistance.*
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Other than those that are severely disabled, it is already a requirement.


----------



## Addie

I get 250 hours of free texting. I still haven't learned it and have no desire to. I like the sound of a human voice.


----------



## bakechef

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> It's just a shame that so many people think that the world owes them a living.  I personally think that if a person is able bodied, but can't find a job, then options should be made for them to work for the state, maybe at a community farm where the food from the farm is used to help those on who want to work, but can't find a job.  Of course arrangements would need to be made for child care.  If the person working in the field doesn't like the job, then they could train for a job they would like to work at.
> 
> The point is, if they work for their sustenance, they develop pride in their own ability, and that they are working for their living.  And those trying to sponge off of the system, find that they may be working harder than if they were working at another kind of job.  At the very least, the work could  be temporary until a better job is found.
> 
> I wonder how many people would be on welfare if they had work presented to them as a requirement for assistance.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I would argue that a vast majority DON'T want to be poor and on welfare, it's a very small percentage that look at it as a career choice.

The system seems set up for dependence.  If you are on assistance, getting a full time minimum wage job will often cause you to loose all or most of your benefits.  A single person would find it near impossible to live on minimum wage, throw in a child and you are in trouble.  So for many they don't see a way out, they could lose their subsidized apartment, their food allowance, health care and the few hundred they have for everything else.  Add to that, a lot of people in this country don't have access to adequate public transportation, I live in a metro area, 5 miles from my job, if I needed to get to work without a car it would have to be a taxi or walk!  

We need to help people help themselves and stop this new trend of demonizing the poor.  

Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## GotGarlic

bakechef said:


> I would argue that a vast majority DON'T want to be poor and on welfare, it's a very small percentage that look at it as a career choice.
> 
> The system seems set up for dependence.  If you are on assistance, getting a full time minimum wage job will often cause you to loose all or most of your benefits.  A single person would find it near impossible to live on minimum wage, throw in a child and you are in trouble.  So for many they don't see a way out, they could lose their subsidized apartment, their food allowance, health care and the few hundred they have for everything else.  Add to that, a lot of people in this country don't have access to adequate public transportation, I live in a metro area, 5 miles from my job, if I needed to get to work without a car it would have to be a taxi or walk!
> 
> We need to help people help themselves and stop this new trend of demonizing the poor.
> 
> Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using Discuss Cooking mobile app



+1. And many people forget that in 1998, welfare was limited to two consecutive years and five years over a lifetime. It's not a career choice.


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> I get 250 hours of free texting. I still haven't learned it and have no desire to. I like the sound of a human voice.



I did not understand the concept or see any advantage in texting for several years and had no desire to text.  I also thought they were mostly for teens to communicate with one another.
I text now, and it is a convenient way to send and receive quick messages without all the chit chat....


----------



## Dawgluver

roadfix said:


> I did not understand the concept or see any advantage in texting for several years and had no desire to text.  I also thought they were mostly for teens to communicate with one another.
> I text now, and it is a convenient way to send and receive quick messages without all the chit chat....



I only text if someone texts me first 

The iPhone's teeny little keyboard makes it somewhat, um, challenging. I'm not a fast typist to begin with, and am even slower when texting.


----------



## vitauta

Addie said:


> I get 250 hours of free texting. I still haven't learned it and have no desire to. I like the sound of a human voice.




addie, you spend a considerable portion of every day communicating with us, your friends at dc, through your postings.  your voice comes through loud and clear.  i bet you'd make a great texter.


----------



## roadfix

Yes, the size of the "keyboard" always limits the length of my texts.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Boss get's my e-mails as texts and I get her texts as e-mail...we are both happy and it's quick.


----------



## bakechef

I don't have a texting plan on my phone since I want to keep my unlimited data plan, I use that far more.  I text through Google Voice, that's the number I give people that are likely to text me.  

I like to text for quick messages, as it is quicker and more convenient than making a call.  I don't text every day, probably less than 100 texts in my lifetime!


----------



## taxlady

When I got my first cell phone in 2000, I got a package that included unlimited texting. I got it because it also had a fax forwarding number. I had 200 airtime minutes/month.

So, I started texting almost right away. Back then, you had to ask people if it cost them money to receive a text message with most carriers, but not mine. Then Stirling got a cell phone and we texted for things like: We're in a mall. "Where are you?" Or, if travelling, texting was free, but phoning incurred roaming and long distance fees, on top of the airtime.

Stirling still texts me when he travels to Calgary, "I have arrived in Calgary." "I'm at the airport, flight home leaves in half an hour. Should arrive at 17h." "Flight delayed. I'll let you know how long when I find out." ...


----------



## bakechef

If I text through Verizon, it still costs me 20 cents per text!  I use my google voice number for free texting which uses my data plan instead of the carriers texting.


----------



## Dawgluver

I get unlimited texts through Verizon.  Just wish they'd left my unlimited data plan alone.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> I get unlimited texts through Verizon.  Just wish they'd left my unlimited data plan alone.



Neither phone is on contract and it seems to drive them a bit crazy.  I'm getting texts from them, emails, and messages telling me "you've earned a free phone"  LOL!


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> Neither phone is on contract and it seems to drive them a bit crazy.  I'm getting texts from them, emails, and messages telling me "you've earned a free phone"  LOL!



Yes, do not change a thing!  That unlimited data plan you have is worth a lot more than unlimited texts.  And if you even breathe wrong, Verizon will happily put you on their extremely limited, pay huge amounts for what you used to get for free, share everything plan!

Bitter?  Not I....


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Yes, do not change a thing!  That unlimited data plan you have is worth a lot more than unlimited texts.  And if you even breathe wrong, Verizon will happily put you on their extremely limited, pay huge amounts for what you used to get for free, share everything plan!
> 
> Bitter?  Not I....



I plan on hanging on to it as long as I can, and keep buying my own phones from ebay until they force me off my unlimited plan!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef said:


> .... I don't text every day, probably less than 100 texts in my lifetime!


Before December I probably could count the number of times I texted on one hand. During December, while trying to coordinate our trip to OH with our daughter, she and I exchanged nearly 100 texts. Each of those texts probably saved us a half hour of phone time! (yeah, we get chatty when we're together either on the phone or in person  )



taxlady said:


> ...Then Stirling got a cell phone and we texted for things like: We're in a mall. "Where are you?"....texting was free, but phoning incurred roaming and long distance fees, on top of the airtime.
> 
> Stirling still texts me when he travels to Calgary, "I have arrived in Calgary." "I'm at the airport, flight home leaves in half an hour. Should arrive at 17h." "Flight delayed. I'll let you know how long when I find out." ...


Makes for a great husband-finder, doesn't it? When we had Verizon we had unlimited in-carrier calls so we'd call each other. Now we just text. I understand there actually IS a Husband Locator app for phones now...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> I get unlimited texts through Verizon.  Just wish they'd left my unlimited data plan alone.





bakechef said:


> Neither phone is on contract and it seems to drive them a bit crazy...





Dawgluver said:


> Yes, do not change a thing!  That unlimited data plan you have is worth a lot more than unlimited texts.  And if you even breathe wrong, Verizon will happily put you on their extremely limited, pay huge amounts for what you used to get for free, share everything plan!
> 
> Bitter?  Not I....


Oh if you guys live where you can get Ting you need to check them out. They work off the Sprint network, so if your area had good Sprint coverage, Ting works fine too. We switched from our two-phone Verizon plan (no text, 700 shared talk minutes, unlimited data) that cost us $144 a month, to a Ting plan that charges you each month based on how much you use. To spend more than $60 for your data usage you have to go over 3 Gigabytes! So far, over the last three months, our two phones have cost us $40 a month - and that includes taxes and fees. $40! You do have to buy your phone; Himself got each of us a Samsung Galaxy3 off eBay for $200 each. When we get our next bill we will have broken even, having recovered the cost of the phones with our less expensive plan, and after that it will be true savings each month. The best part? Telling Verizon to take a hike.  Then when we tried to drop our land line ($29/mo) Verizon told us we had to keep it in order to have our internet (just went up to $29/mo). Local cable provides much faster internet for $30/mo. for the first year, then $45 for the next. So...we once again told Verizon to take a hike. Well, more like KMA at that point.


----------



## roadfix

Speaking of husband-finder my daughter uses her Iphone to locate where her husband is.   Her phone shows a map of where his device is.  By device, I mean his phone....LOL...


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> Oh if you guys live where you can get Ting you need to check them out. They work off the Sprint network, so if your area had good Sprint coverage, Ting works fine too. We switched from our two-phone Verizon plan (no text, 700 shared talk minutes, unlimited data) that cost us $144 a month, to a Ting plan that charges you each month based on how much you use. To spend more than $60 for your data usage you have to go over 3 Gigabytes! So far, over the last three months, our two phones have cost us $40 a month - and that includes taxes and fees. $40! You do have to buy your phone; Himself got each of us a Samsung Galaxy3 off eBay for $200 each. When we get our next bill we will have broken even, having recovered the cost of the phones with our less expensive plan, and after that it will be true savings each month. The best part? Telling Verizon to take a hike.  Then when we tried to drop our land line ($29/mo) Verizon told us we had to keep it in order to have our internet (just went up to $29/mo). Local cable provides much faster internet for $30/mo. for the first year, then $45 for the next. So...we once again told Verizon to take a hike. Well, more like KMA at that point.



Good info, CG!  I'll have to look into Ting.  We have our internet through Verizon, as we're out in the boonies and no cable available.  That's where the Verizon stealing of the unlimited plan really hurts.  The phones are not terribly affected and use little to no bandwidth, it's the PC and iPads that do it.


----------



## CarolPa

Since I rarely need a phone, I have a Tracfone, which I use mostly for texting.  A text only uses .30 of a minute, as compared to using minutes for a call.  Even a short call uses at least a full minute.


----------



## bakechef

I keep it for the unlimited data.  I've used 2.5 gigs already and I have a week left.  There are many months that my data goes well over 3 gigs for my phone alone.  

With my company's discount I pay $120 for each phone.

Sprint's coverage is OK in this city but Verizon's coverage especially when traveling is hard to let go, especially since they have 4g LTE almost everywhere now (I like to stream stuff).


----------



## Dawgluver

I am just sickened, saddened, and confused by another madman killing innocent people in a busy shopping mall, this time in Maryland.  Schools, malls and other public places should be places of safety and comfort.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I am just sickened, saddened, and confused by another madman killing innocent people in a busy shopping mall, this time in Maryland.  Schools, malls and other public places should be places of safety and comfort.



It is horrible.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Dawgluver said:


> I am just sickened, saddened, and confused by another madman killing innocent people in a busy shopping mall, this time in Maryland.  Schools, malls and other public places should be places of safety and comfort.



Yes a very sad day. It was on the news here and its shocking that this happens time after time.


----------



## cave76

I agree about the senseless killings (is there every any that makes real sense?). 

What I can't figure out is if there are more of them or we hear about all of them very quickly and easily.  I could be persuaded of either side of that argument. Sigh.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

cave76 said:


> I agree about the senseless killings (is there every any that makes real sense?).
> 
> What I can't figure out is if there are more of them or we hear about all of them very quickly and easily.  I could be persuaded of either side of that argument. Sigh.



I could have continued my discussed on this continuing problem, but I am sure the mods and Charlton Heston would object.


----------



## vitauta

virginia senator creigh deeds was featured on 60 minutes tonight, addressing the desperate need for funding and psychiatric facilities for the long-neglected mentally ill population of this country. in december, senator deeds was nearly stabbed to death by his mentally disturbed son, just one day after he had been denied psychiatric placement in a hospital, for lack of beds.  the son shot and killed himself after the altercation with his father. 
this is just one example of a highly regarded, well-connected and prosperous congressman who was unable to secure mental health assistance for his family.  we, as a nation, cannot afford to continue ignoring the elephant....


----------



## Dawgluver

Saw that too, Vit.  Mental health really should be a top priority.


----------



## CatPat

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It is horrible.



This and other terrible shootings make me so very upset. I wish I could do something, anything, but all I can do is pray.

Ouch. This is awful.

With sadness,
~Cat


----------



## Addie

Well, they did it again. I had an appointment at 2:15. I was ready and downstairs by 1:45. Transportation never showed up. The appointment was for a consultation for surgery. This time I am not going to say anything to them. Only because I really don't feel like going there. I don't know where the fault lies. With Winthrop or the transportation company that has the contract. I have the feeling it is with Winthrop. They probably forgot to notify the transportation company. As usual. Oh well, time for a nap.


----------



## cave76

Severe Shortage of Psychiatric Beds Sounds National Alarm Bell

"Report finds US deficit of nearly 100,000 inpatient beds; result is increased homelessness, emergency room overcrowding, and use of jails and prisons as de-facto psychiatric hospitals"Treatment Advocacy Center


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Another subject we really don''t want to thrash out on the Discuss Cooking Forums.


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Another subject we really don''t want to thrash out on the Discuss Cooking Forums.



Which subject?


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> Which subject?



Your post #3799. Too political. This is a cooking forum.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well it's more than a "cooking forum". Otherwise THIS thread wouldn't be allowed either! 

Cave, at the bottom of every page is a blue bar with links. One is titled "Community Rules". It wouldn't hurt if a lot of us reviewed these every once in a while to remind ourselves to be polite. I know I've backed off a few things just by reminding myself to be nice.  And the last rule? "Discussions about politics and religion are not permitted." Makes this a kinder and gentler forum.


----------



## Addie

Okay. The only sugar in my diet is the sugar in my coffee. So I am sitting here watching a story about Maple Leaf Cookies made in Toronto. Now I want some! Why aren't these shipped down here? They better be on our store shelves by Monday when I go shopping. Or I will declare all diabetics to gather at the border and raid your stores. We will declare war on Maple Leaf Cookies of Canada! Why should our neighbors to the north have all the good stuff?


----------



## CatPat

I'm very unhappy. I went to court for the vandalism of Joy, and the boys didn't come. Their lawyer said they needed another postponement because they had some "issues" that had some priority.

I'm unhappy and I am mad! The judge seemed annoyed, and he put the next date to March 25, and said that should give them enough time to "square away their issues" and to be "prepared to come to court." 

I found out he is our judge on the 25th. The DA and my lawyer said this was good, but I'm still upset and angry. But it's better than nothing, yes?

I know this sounds very bad, but I want them to pay for this! I want my money back and I want them to be punished. I want to face them!

I know some of you here may think I might back away and give up, but no, I will not. Never! I didn't deserve this, I did nothing wrong to warrant such damage to Joy, and I won't stand for any compromises. 

I'm sorry if I sound very rude, but those boys and their excuses may go to a very warm place and I intend to make sure they are punished!

I'm sorry for being angry.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## taxlady

Don't be sorry for being angry. I would be angry too. I would also be angry at their rudeness in not showing up. That wastes everyone else's time.


----------



## Addie

CatPat said:


> I'm very unhappy. I went to court for the vandalism of Joy, and the boys didn't come. Their lawyer said they needed another postponement because they had some "issues" that had some priority.
> 
> I'm unhappy and I am mad! The judge seemed annoyed, and he put the next date to March 25, and said that should give them enough time to "square away their issues" and to be "prepared to come to court."
> 
> I found out he is our judge on the 25th. The DA and my lawyer said this was good, but I'm still upset and angry. But it's better than nothing, yes?
> 
> I know this sounds very bad, but I want them to pay for this! I want my money back and I want them to be punished. I want to face them!
> 
> I know some of you here may think I might back away and give up, but no, I will not. Never! I didn't deserve this, I did nothing wrong to warrant such damage to Joy, and I won't stand for any compromises.
> 
> I'm sorry if I sound very rude, but those boys and their excuses may go to a very warm place and I intend to make sure they are punished!
> 
> I'm sorry for being angry.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Cat, this is very typical for our court system. Delay after delay. But the judge will see what they are up to. So don't worry. You will have your day in court. The next time it may be that their lawyer has another case in another court and can't be there for you case. Be patient 

For really big cases where there are several lawyers involved, it can take two or three years for a case to come to trial. For example, the surviving Marathon Bomber has not been tried yet. In fact, a date for his trial has not even been set. The lawyers are still filing motions. Our legal system moves slowly. Those "other issues" could very well be other appearances they have to make in other courts. 

So the next time you have to go to court, it may be that the judge has other commitments or a lawyer does. Just take a deep breath and smile. But if it is the defendants, they better have a good reason why they are not in court that day. Or the judge may put out a bench warrant for them. And that is not a good thing. They will find the sheriff knocking on their door at three in the morning with handcuffs waiting for them. 

There is a set of rules for the way a case is tried. And one of them is Discovery. Their lawyer has the right to see the video that shows them slicing the tires. Your lawyer has to turn over all the evidence she has against them. Their lawyer may advise them to plead guilty when he sees the evidence. In doing so your lawyer will not get the chance to question them. The judge will immediately pass sentence. If this is their first offence they may have to make restitution and just get probation. You won't even be asked to testify or even speak one word. Any talking will be between the judge and lawyers only. And in less than ten minutes it will all be over. So don't get angry or be surprised.


----------



## CatPat

But everything has been given to their defense lawyer! The video, the boys with machetes, everything! The DA and my lawyer have said this. They have the same as we do!

We were told this is their last chance, for it was already postponed again from January 2, when Mamma and Papa were here and were to go with me, remember this? I think I said this before then.

This is the third postponement and the judge won't be willing to allow another.

My lawyer has said they would pay me for the damage if I would settle for this.

NO! They are trying to sneak away from responsibility and I will have nothing to do with their tricks.

He says they think I'm a dumb immigrant who has "delusions of grandeur."

I'll show them a dumb immigrant. I'm an American, and I'm mad as h3ll and I won't give up until I receive justice, right and proper.

I am a strong girl, and I will not stop until I win. I will win. I am not taking their poo.

I'm sorry, I'm mad.

I'm sorry for being so bad, but it's how I feel. I think before I think of this any more, it is very late, and I think it's best I go to my bed with my Bible and read some of it.

I think also I have said enough for tonight. 

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> Okay. The only sugar in my diet is the sugar in my coffee. So I am sitting here watching a story about Maple Leaf Cookies made in Toronto. Now I want some! Why aren't these shipped down here? They better be on our store shelves by Monday when I go shopping. Or I will declare all diabetics to gather at the border and raid your stores. We will declare war on Maple Leaf Cookies of Canada! Why should our neighbors to the north have all the good stuff?



We have these in our local store, too sweet for me!

Dare Foods | Ultimate | Maple Leaf

The ones I miss are the Peek Freans assorted biscuits from Canada, I guess the old truck finally broke down!


----------



## GotGarlic

CatPat said:


> But everything has been given to their defense lawyer! The video, the boys with machetes, everything! The DA and my lawyer have said this. They have the same as we do!
> 
> We were told this is their last chance, for it was already postponed again from January 2, when Mamma and Papa were here and were to go with me, remember this? I think I said this before then.
> 
> This is the third postponement and the judge won't be willing to allow another.
> 
> My lawyer has said they would pay me for the damage if I would settle for this.
> 
> NO! They are trying to sneak away from responsibility and I will have nothing to do with their tricks.
> 
> He says they think I'm a dumb immigrant who has "delusions of grandeur."
> 
> I'll show them a dumb immigrant. I'm an American, and I'm mad as h3ll and I won't give up until I receive justice, right and proper.
> 
> I am a strong girl, and I will not stop until I win. I will win. I am not taking their poo.
> 
> I'm sorry, I'm mad.
> 
> I'm sorry for being so bad, but it's how I feel. I think before I think of this any more, it is very late, and I think it's best I go to my bed with my Bible and read some of it.
> 
> I think also I have said enough for tonight.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Cat, there is no need for you to apologize for being angry and wanting justice. And you will get it. These boys are obviously trying to abuse the system and the judge knows it. So they are risking a lot by making him angry. 

I think Addie has been watching a little too much "Law and Order."


----------



## CatPat

This is so stupid, though. All of this mess because some stupid boy didn't take my no for an answer when he asked me for a date after several times of being told no.

He said I would pay for it and I did, and my poor Joy suffered such damage.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Addie

CatPat said:


> This is so stupid, though. All of this mess because some stupid boy didn't take my no for an answer when he asked me for a date after several times of being told no.
> 
> He said I would pay for it and I did, and my poor Joy suffered such damage.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



The most effective way you can show him what the word "No" means is to have Carl at your side sitting with his arm around you. It will speak volumes.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> The most effective way you can show him what the word "No" means is to have Carl at your side sitting with his arm around you. It will speak volumes.



It would also be a lie, since they've broken up. That part is over. Now he just has to face his punishment. Cat can take care of it without misrepresenting herself and Carl.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Cat, there is no need for you to apologize for being angry and wanting justice. And you will get it. These boys are obviously trying to abuse the system and the judge knows it. So they are risking a lot by making him angry.
> 
> I think Addie has been watching a little too much "Law and Order."



Addie has never seen even one episode of "Law and Order". Addie has been a legal secretary and knows very well how the system works. It isn't just the boys who are abusing the system, but their lawyer. The lawyer is using this tactic of trying to wear Cat down. A very common tactic. And the judge sees this. Have you ever had to reschedule someone's calendar for a whole month because the defendant has chosen to take their chances with a full trial with a jury? I have worked on local traffic ticket cases to full blown federal RICO trials. I know the system well. 

You were too quick to jump to judgment without knowing all the facts.


----------



## GotGarlic

I was trying to lighten the mood because what you said seemed to upset Cat even more. The last thing she needed was a lecture on the legal system.  Take it easy, Addie.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dang, Dang, Dang!

I got a shrimp tray for us, was careful and had just a half of one and waited 30 minutes.  Nothing.  Had 1.5, 30 minutes, nothing.  So had 3 more shrimp...no sauce, just a little lemon juice on them.  Got the itchies and my lips are tingling.  No breathing problems.  I'm going to go take a Benedryl.

Good thing I enjoyed the last shrimp I get to eat.


----------



## taxlady

Aw phooey PF.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Dang, Dang, Dang!
> 
> I got a shrimp tray for us, was careful and had just a half of one and waited 30 minutes.  Nothing.  Had 1.5, 30 minutes, nothing.  So had 3 more shrimp...no sauce, just a little lemon juice on them.  Got the itchies and my lips are tingling.  No breathing problems.  I'm going to go take a Benedryl.
> 
> Good thing I enjoyed the last shrimp I get to eat.



Darn it, PF,  that just sucks! I'm sorry.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Well, at least I know now and it didn't cost me hundreds to find out from an allergist.  I'll be careful when ordering in restaurants.  Poor Shrek has to eat the whole shrimp tray on his own.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Dang, Dang, Dang!
> 
> I got a shrimp tray for us, was careful and had just a half of one and waited 30 minutes.  Nothing.  Had 1.5, 30 minutes, nothing.  So had 3 more shrimp...no sauce, just a little lemon juice on them.  Got the itchies and my lips are tingling.  No breathing problems.  I'm going to go take a Benedryl.
> 
> Good thing I enjoyed the last shrimp I get to eat.



Oh Sweetie!  Drat!


----------



## Cheryl J

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Well, at least I know now and it didn't cost me hundreds to find out from an allergist. I'll be careful when ordering in restaurants. Poor Shrek has to eat the whole shrimp tray on his own.


 
 Glad you're OK Princess.  We think my 3 year old grandson is allergic to shellfish, his little face swelled up to where he was darn near unrecognizable the first time he was exposed to it.  Not something to mess with, for sure.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Glad you're OK Princess.  We think my 3 year old grandson is allergic to shellfish, his little face swelled up to where he was darn near unrecognizable the first time he was exposed to it.  Not something to mess with, for sure.



Okay, now I would not experiment with the baby.  I would assume he has the allergy and be sure to tell the doctor.  He needs it listed on his medical record.

I probably shouldn't have done it, but I so wanted some shrimp and I was careful.


----------



## Cheryl J

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Okay, now I would not experiment with the baby. I would assume he has the allergy and be sure to tell the doctor. He needs it listed on his medical record.
> 
> I probably shouldn't have done it, but I so wanted some shrimp and I was careful.



 Absolutely...it's in his medical records, and also his preschool records. He is kept far away from not only shellfish, but canned tuna and any kind of fish.  His mom and dad took him to a Chinese restaurant with them when he was 2, but he only had a broccoli and noodle dish.  We're pretty sure it was the cross contamination with the seafood, and fortunately a trip to the dr. and some Benadryl cleared it up right quick.  Quite a scare, though.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ... Poor Shrek has to eat the whole shrimp tray on his own.


Aw, poor baby! But he'll sacrifice to keep his love safe. 

Glad you didn't get seriously ill from those couple little shrimp. All you got out of it was the kinds of lips some women pay big bucks for.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Aw, poor baby! But he'll sacrifice to keep his love safe.
> 
> Glad you didn't get seriously ill from those couple little shrimp. *All you got out of it was the kinds of lips some women pay big bucks for.*



They didn't even do that, just tingly feeling like they went to sleep and were waking up.  Five pieces of shrimp over two hours.  Took fewer shrimp this time


----------



## bakechef

Cheryl J said:


> Absolutely...it's in his medical records, and also his preschool records. He is kept far away from not only shellfish, but canned tuna and any kind of fish.  His mom and dad took him to a Chinese restaurant with them when he was 2, but he only had a broccoli and noodle dish.  We're pretty sure it was the cross contamination with the seafood, and fortunately a trip to the dr. and some Benadryl cleared it up right quick.  Quite a scare, though.



Many things at a chinese restaurant are made with fish sauce or oyster sauce, pretty much anything with a brownish colored sauce, such as chicken and broccoli, beef and broccoli, even lo mein.  It doesn't taste fishy, but it is one of the main flavor components of MANY chinese saucy dishes.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> Many things at a chinese restaurant are made with fish sauce or oyster sauce, pretty much anything with a brownish colored sauce, such as chicken and broccoli, beef and broccoli, even lo mein.  It doesn't taste fishy, but it is one of the main flavor components of MANY chinese saucy dishes.


That's what I was thinking.

BTW, most Worcestershire sauce has anchovies.


----------



## bakechef

On my way home there is a stoplight with two lanes.  After you go through the light it goes down to one lane after about 500 yards.  If you are in the right lane, and going to the day care or credit union, you are good, if you need to continue straight, then you need to make your way left.  Well without fail there are people in the wrong lane, and they will do crazy maneuvers to merge left, I'm always looking out for them, so I can hit the brakes and let them in if needed.

Today there was a semi truck (Lorry for those across the pond), in the right lane.  I was already 3/4 of the way up, so I figured that I would keep going and he could pull in behind me, there was room.  Then he started pulling into my lane with no turn signals at all!  I had to pull into a small median (painted, not raised) and slam on my brakes to avoid driving into oncoming traffic.  I then pulled back into my lane, I tried to get a plate number, but it was covered up by a fork lift mounted on the back (this can't be legal).  His windows were blacked out (also illegal) and there was absolutely no identifying marks or company names on that truck.  

I was tempted to follow him, but anyone that dangerous behind the wheel, that has gone to such lengths to hide any identifying marks, would likely be more dangerous face to face.  If it hadn't been for that small median, he would have physically pushed me into oncoming traffic and there would have been nothing I could have done to prevent it.


----------



## Dawgluver

Gah!  Now that sounds scarey, Bakechef!  You did the right thing, too bad you couldn't identify the SOB.


----------



## bakechef

I'm still a bit shaken.  I'm not a timid driver in the least, I'll drive just about anywhere and do a pretty good job dealing with traffic situations.  I'm also not the type to make rash, dangerous maneuvers, or be overly aggressive, the consequences are just not worth it.  I'm just not used to being in type of situation that often.


----------



## taxlady

That sounds awful BC. I'm glad you're okay, if shaken. I think you should inform the police and describe the truck to them.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow BC, that could have gotten ugly. Glad you kept your wits about you and you avoided an accident or worse. After all, you just got your car back a little while ago!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*And the health insurance saga continues...*

Got a letter from the Health Disconnector office today. Apparently showing up at the office with my birth certificate, social security card, and driver's license back in December wasn't quite enough to establish my eligibility. Now they need a proof of residency such as a bill with my name and address on it. *sigh* If you guys hear of a crazy lady in MA trying to get into the governor's office to witch-slap him, that would be ME!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Good grief..what a mess.  Those folks need some education on what they are doing...


----------



## LPBeier

Oh, CG!  I am sorry you are having so many problems with this!  Sending hugs and peaceful thoughts.

The worst problem ever had is when I went from disability to TB's work plan.  Our Pharmacare wanted me off ASAP, and his work was trying to keep me on disability.  Finally got it sorted out, then TB got laid off from his teaching position due to a drop in enrollment.  Then I had to get back on disability which was surprising a lot easier!


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs CG))). I sure hope that solves the problem and they don't find something else they "need".


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks guys. This WILL get resolved. Thinking of sending the copies of everything imaginable via registered mail/return receipt requested. Except that the mail clerk would return the receipt and the envelope won't reach the right person anyway. Might include a "please return this when you receive this" postcard inside the envelope... Plus a trip into Worcester to drop off all those things in person to the secondary office might be in the works...especially since we can then take another trip to O'Connor's.  Or not.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks guys. This WILL get resolved. Thinking of sending the copies of everything imaginable via registered mail/return receipt requested. Except that the mail clerk would return the receipt and the envelope won't reach the right person anyway. Might include a "please return this when you receive this" postcard inside the envelope... Plus a trip into Worcester to drop off all those things in person to the secondary office might be in the works...especially since we can then take another trip to O'Connor's.  Or not.


O'Connor's?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

O'Connor's Restaurant, our favorite Irish pub. Good food, good beer, and they make you feel like you're the only people there for the staff to wait on. Perhaps you'll remember them by my (repeated) bragging about their "Irish Potato Pizza". Yum!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks guys. This WILL get resolved. Thinking of sending the copies of everything imaginable via registered mail/return receipt requested. Except that the mail clerk would return the receipt and the envelope won't reach the right person anyway. Might include a "please return this when you receive this" postcard inside the envelope... Plus a trip into Worcester to drop off all those things in person to the secondary office might be in the works...especially since we can then take another trip to O'Connor's.  Or not.



Bring even the junk mail that has your name on it. They can't refuse it and have to copy and put in your file.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Tempting thought Addie, but after reading the entire letter through a couple times I'll need a U-haul to drag in all the documents they want. And they want them mailed or faxed, not dropped off in person. Seriously? Then again, the people in the Worcester office seem to be completely clueless on how to do their jobs and if in-person delivery were acceptable we'd have to go into Boston. No thank you.

They want Proof of Residency: a copy of our town real estate tax bill paid just Monday has my name on it. Yay!

I have to check off the box that states I am not nor have I bee incarcerated. Well, not yet... 

I need to send proof of citizenship. I have my birth certificate...with my last name spelled wrong.  I also have a legal document showing that it has been corrected. AND a social security card.

I'm also including a copy of our church marriage certificate. You know, just in case they wonder why my last name now is different from what shows up on the birth certificate.

I thought we were told shopping for health insurance would be easy? Easy would be dealing directly with the insurance provider. If the government hadn't gotten into the act I would have been insured for over a month now.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> Tempting thought Addie, but after reading the entire letter through a couple times I'll need a U-haul to drag in all the documents they want. And they want them mailed or faxed, not dropped off in person. Seriously? Then again, the people in the Worcester office seem to be completely clueless on how to do their jobs and if in-person delivery were acceptable we'd have to go into Boston. No thank you.
> 
> They want Proof of Residency: a copy of our town real estate tax bill paid just Monday has my name on it. Yay!
> 
> I have to check off the box that states I am not nor have I bee incarcerated. Well, not yet...
> 
> I need to send proof of citizenship. I have my birth certificate...with my last name spelled wrong.  I also have a legal document showing that it has been corrected. AND a social security card.
> 
> I'm also including a copy of our church marriage certificate. You know, just in case they wonder why my last name now is different from what shows up on the birth certificate.
> 
> I thought we were told shopping for health insurance would be easy? Easy would be dealing directly with the insurance provider. If the government hadn't gotten into the act I would have been insured for over a month now.



It might be easier if you just pack up and move to New York!

I'm amazed at the amount of effort you have had to put into this.  The insurance exchange in New York just cross matched the data I provided at the website application with the state and federal income tax data bases and approved my application.

Keep fighting the good fight!


----------



## taxlady

CG, I just realized that you wrote, "I have to check off the box that states I am not nor have I bee incarcerated." Does that mean that people who have been incarcerated can't get medical insurance?


----------



## taxlady

Yesterday I got three emails notifying me about the status of Barbara something or other's tax returns and efiling. These notices came from TaxSlayer. I replied that it wasn't me and to please remove my email address. I got nice emails back, apologizing and promising that my email address had been removed.

Today I have gotten two similar emails from TaxACT for Judith something or other. They, however, have no reasonable way to let them know. Replying to the email gets an automated answer that they don't look at email to that address. I tried their site. There doesn't seem to be a way to email them. I tried the "contact us", but the form requires a client number.  They list some phone numbers, but I'm not paying long distance charges for this. They have an 800 # to opt out of emails, but I was on hold for over 6 minutes, so that's a waste of my time.

The second email was to reset the password. This poor woman is hosed. How is she going to reset her password when the email address is wrong?

What is the matter with these companies? Have they never heard of verifying email addresses? 

I thought I was really clever getting the email address I have. I got it back when Gmail was only by invitation. Now it doesn't seem so clever, since half the people who wanted this email addy appended something to it and they forget to include that when they sign up for stuff or give it to their clients. I have a standard response that I paste into emails. I get all kinds of personal info (stuff that shouldn't have been sent in an unencrypted email) that is meant for some tax preparer in the US. grrr


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> CG, I just realized that you wrote, "I have to check off the box that states I am not nor have I bee incarcerated." Does that mean that people who have been incarcerated can't get medical insurance?



I have insurance through DH's job, so I haven't had to apply, but I'm positive there would have been a huge uproar if that was the case. I don't know why they ask, though.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*ARGH!!!*



taxlady said:


> Do you have a scanner? Most modern photocopiers have hard disks. If you don't want your personal info, that you are copying, to possibly get into the wrong hands, scan it at home or at a friend's place.


Already planned on doing that taxy, but now *there might be another issue!!!*

Got yet another letter from Health Disconnector. It is an insurance quote indicating the policy I selected and a bill for my March premium. From the looks of it they seem to be processing three separate applications for me!  *shakingmyhead* When I went into the offices just before Christmas the girl who purported to take my application gave me an ID number to write on my check. You might remember they cashed that check in spite of not being able to connect it to any plan I might have selected. I guess they're still working on my refund. Last week, after talking to someone else in the main Boston office, the girl I talked to told me I could finish my application on-line...which gave me a second, different ID number (now called "member number") and account number...and allowed me to set up Electronic Transfer Funds for payment. Today's mail brought a new letter...with the quote and bill. Guess what? My Subscriber ID and Billing Account numbers are different than any previous numbers I have. OyYoyYoy!  Tomorrow I call and (try to) clear this up. With my luck I'll have insurance and still get hit with a penalty charge because my two other IDs didn't get health care.
***************************
You all do realize that if an author wrote a book with this exact plot no one would buy it because it's just too unbelievable?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aunt Bea said:


> It might be easier if you just pack up and move to New York!...Keep fighting the good fight!


I am, I am!  I know of people back home in OH that haven't had the same kind of issues I have had. I'm guessing when MA had to make adjustments to their in-place online program that had been around for years to conform to the new ACA, the system just threw up its hands and quit.


taxlady said:


> CG, I just realized that you wrote, "I have to check off the box that states I am not nor have I bee incarcerated." Does that mean that people who have been incarcerated can't get medical insurance?


Haven't a clue. Besides, all those politicians seem to have health care and some of them have been in jail...or should be! 


GotGarlic said:


> I have insurance through DH's job, so I haven't had to apply, but I'm positive there would have been a huge uproar if that was the case. *I don't know why they ask*, though.


Because they can.  "We're from the government and we're here to help." 

The joke in our house has been that I'll get a job that provides health insurance before I can make it through this "connector" system.  The sad fact is that I haven't applied for a job anywhere at all.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Already planned on doing that taxy, but now *there might be another issue!!!*
> 
> Got yet another letter from Health Disconnector. It is an insurance quote indicating the policy I selected and a bill for my March premium. From the looks of it they seem to be processing three separate applications for me!  *shakingmyhead* When I went into the offices just before Christmas the girl who purported to take my application gave me an ID number to write on my check. You might remember they cashed that check in spite of not being able to connect it to any plan I might have selected. I guess they're still working on my refund. Last week, after talking to someone else in the main Boston office, the girl I talked to told me I could finish my application on-line...which gave me a second, different ID number (now called "member number") and account number...and allowed me to set up Electronic Transfer Funds for payment. Today's mail brought a new letter...with the quote and bill. Guess what? My Subscriber ID and Billing Account numbers are different than any previous numbers I have. OyYoyYoy!  Tomorrow I call and (try to) clear this up. With my luck I'll have insurance and still get hit with a penalty charge because my two other IDs didn't get health care.
> ***************************
> You all do realize that if an author wrote a book with this exact plot no one would buy it because it's just too unbelievable?



You know...it's a good thing you have this hoorah well documented here on DC.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sounds like a real pain taxy. And it sounds like there is potential for your email issues to swirl down the same hole that my health insurance problem is in. What say you we meet in Montpelier for a weekend of drinking?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

True PF, but I have reams of paper and notes as well. What I'm really grateful for is all of you who listen to my rants, pat me on the back, and offer "there there, it will get better...just give them 'ell" posts. The more I type and the more I explain the more totally ludicrous and inept this process looks. Again I say, if only Amazon had been allowed to sell health insurance on its website I would have been golden! Ooo, and do you think they could deliver my insurance card via drone?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> True PF, but I have reams of paper and notes as well. What I'm really grateful for is all of you who listen to my rants, pat me on the back, and offer "there there, it will get better...just give them 'ell" posts. The more I type and the more I explain the more totally ludicrous and inept this process looks. Again I say, if only Amazon had been allowed to sell health insurance on its website I would have been golden! Ooo, and do you think they could deliver my insurance card via drone?



Just don't start having two bottle nights.  I wish I was having some problem with mine so you wouldn't feel so alone in the fight.  What a monumental fuzz up...I do have a few choice words you can borrow...


----------



## cave76

taxlady said:


> The second email was to reset the password. This poor woman is hosed. How is she going to reset her password when the email address is wrong?
> 
> What is the matter with these companies? Have they never heard of verifying email addresses?



*And we thought computers were going to save us time!*


----------



## cave76

To add my not so petty vent to taxlady's------ When I was close to running out of a med and there was no refill left on  it, the pharmacy said they would contact my doctor. So far, so good. 

I waited. Then called my pharm. again. They re-sent the request. Or so they said.

I waited. Still no refill.

I sent a message through the Patient Portal to my doctor. By that time it was Fri afternoon. No answer.

Fortunately it wasn't a heart med!!! But I still wanted it. 
Sat a.m. I tried their doctor on call number. I called that number and got the nicest lady who said she had been getting calls for a few days for the doctor on call. She wasn't a patient. 

She told me how to reach the doctor on call. (!!!!)  She said she felt sorry for all the people trying to reach the doctor or she would have just hung up. What a nice person.

Finally the on call doctor called back. After I told him what I needed he asked me if that drug was a controlled substance.     (It was a common antibiotic.)

Got the refill.

Yeah, I wouldn't have died if I didn't get it right away. What if it was a med that was extremely critical?

And, yeah, maybe I should have called it in earlier? To be told it was too early to get a refill???


----------



## taxlady

cave76 said:


> To add my not so petty vent to taxlady's------ When I was close to running out of a med and there was no refill left on  it, the pharmacy said they would contact my doctor. So far, so good.
> 
> I waited. Then called my pharm. again. They re-sent the request. Or so they said.
> 
> I waited. Still no refill.
> 
> I sent a message through the Patient Portal to my doctor. By that time it was Fri afternoon. No answer.
> 
> Fortunately it wasn't a heart med!!! But I still wanted it.
> Sat a.m. I tried their doctor on call number. I called that number and got the nicest lady who said she had been getting calls for a few days for the doctor on call. She wasn't a patient.
> 
> She told me how to reach the doctor on call. (!!!!)  She said she felt sorry for all the people trying to reach the doctor or she would have just hung up. What a nice person.
> 
> *Finally the on call doctor called back. After I told him what I needed he asked me if that drug was a controlled substance.     (It was a common antibiotic.)
> *
> Got the refill.
> 
> Yeah, I wouldn't have died if I didn't get it right away. What if it was a med that was extremely critical?
> 
> And, yeah, maybe I should have called it in earlier? To be told it was too early to get a refill???


Gee, that gives you real confidence in the doctor on call, not.  Good thing it had already been prescribed by a, hopefully, competent doctor.

What a nuisance. At least you got your 'scrip.

My pharmacy has a thing called "med ready". I phone and punch in my prescription number. They claim that is supposed to have them get my 'scrip ready for me, but it never recognizes the number. I've given up on that. They recently got an online site to renew prescriptions. I tried once so far. It told me that my 'scrips could be ready to pick up in four hours. I called and spoke with a person and they were ready in an hour. I try to do the automated thing, so I won't drag their staff away from serving customers, but it's just too much PITA. We weren't desperate for our refills, it was just a convenient time for us, since we were driving past the pharmacy on our shopping expedition.

I'll try the online thing again sometime. Maybe a day or two ahead of when I think I'll be passing the pharmacy. If it wasn't a hard winter, it wouldn't be a big deal. It's a block and a half away. I can walk to the pharmacy.

If I need to, I can have them deliver it for free. They seem to want to provide service to their customers. But, for automated stuff, they are being dragged kicking and screaming into the third millennium.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> True PF, but I have reams of paper and notes as well. What I'm really grateful for is all of you who listen to my rants, pat me on the back, and offer "there there, it will get better...just give them 'ell" posts. The more I type and the more I explain the more totally ludicrous and inept this process looks. Again I say, if only Amazon had been allowed to sell health insurance on its website I would have been golden! Ooo, and do you think they could deliver my insurance card via drone?


In a few years, this could make a really funny story. "CG, tell the one about the time you signed up for health insurance."


PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just don't start having two bottle nights.  I wish I was having some problem with mine so you wouldn't feel so alone in the fight.  What a monumental fuzz up...I do have a few choice words you can borrow...


"fuzz up" I'll have to remember that one.


----------



## Dawgluver

I use the automated phone refill for my blood pressure meds.  Trouble is, the scrip is never ready when I go to pick it up.  I'm told to come back the next day.  They've apologized profusely, and keep saying it will never happen again, but it keeps happening.  I've learned to call before I go to make sure they have it.


----------



## cave76

I learned, from dealing with my pharmacy, to call ahead to see if the rx  has been filled. After a few times of being told it would be ready or had been filled and it wasn't I *then* learned to call the pharmacy and ask a live person to go back to the shelf, hold the bottle in their hand and tell me if it was there or not! 

Seems that 'was filled' meant the computer sent  it to the pharmacist who had dozens (hundreds?) of other rx's to fill first.

Now I'm known as that witch who wants things to be done right. Sigh.


----------



## cave76

Dawgluver said:


> I use the automated phone refill for my blood pressure meds.  Trouble is, the scrip is never ready when I go to pick it up.  I'm told to come back the next day.  They've apologized profusely, and keep saying it will never happen again, but it keeps happening.  I've learned to call before I go to make sure they have it.



*You've affirmed my gut feeling about the automated refill option!* If things can get so 'fuzzed up' with one layer of automation just think the problems with yet another layer of glitches-in-waiting! And all the fingers pointing at The Other Guy.

No thanks.


----------



## GotGarlic

I use a small locally owned pharmacy that gives excellent customer service. They're only open from 8:30 am till 5:30 pm M-F, but it's worth it for the service. 

They will stop what they're doing when I bring in a new Rx and fill it right away. No matter what, unless they have to order something (in which case they call me), my Rx are ready by the end of the day. They also call me if I need a refill and tell me they called my doctor; I call the doctor myself as well. They're experimenting with texting, so that will make things even easier. I love them


----------



## cave76

GotGarlic said:


> I use a small locally owned pharmacy that gives excellent customer service. They're only open from 8:30 am till 5:30 pm M-F, but it's worth it for the service.
> 
> They will stop what they're doing when I bring in a new Rx and fill it right away. No matter what, unless they have to order something (in which case they call me), my Rx are ready by the end of the day. They also call me if I need a refill and tell me they called my doctor; I call the doctor myself as well. They're experimenting with texting, so that will make things even easier. I love them



I'm ready to start looking for one like that! What a gem. The problem, for me, is that my pharmacy is a Safeway pharmacy (ugh) and the main reason I use it is because I can do my shopping AND get my rx's at the same place. Driving and walking are not easy for me.


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> To add my not so petty vent to taxlady's------ When I was close to running out of a med and there was no refill left on  it, the pharmacy said they would contact my doctor. So far, so good.
> 
> I waited. Then called my pharm. again. They re-sent the request. Or so they said.
> 
> I waited. Still no refill.
> 
> I sent a message through the Patient Portal to my doctor. By that time it was Fri afternoon. No answer.
> 
> Fortunately it wasn't a heart med!!! But I still wanted it.
> Sat a.m. I tried their doctor on call number. I called that number and got the nicest lady who said she had been getting calls for a few days for the doctor on call. She wasn't a patient.
> 
> She told me how to reach the doctor on call. (!!!!)  She said she felt sorry for all the people trying to reach the doctor or she would have just hung up. What a nice person.
> 
> Finally the on call doctor called back. After I told him what I needed he asked me if that drug was a controlled substance.     (It was a common antibiotic.)
> 
> Got the refill.
> 
> Yeah, I wouldn't have died if I didn't get it right away. What if it was a med that was extremely critical?
> 
> And, yeah, maybe I should have called it in earlier? *To be told it was too early to get a refill??? *



Poo has told me and Winthrop also, that I can call in for a refill, (including my Vicodin) three days before I am on the last pill. The Vicodin is a controlled substance.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> I use a small locally owned pharmacy that gives excellent customer service. They're only open from 8:30 am till 5:30 pm M-F, but it's worth it for the service.
> 
> They will stop what they're doing when I bring in a new Rx and fill it right away. No matter what, unless they have to order something (in which case they call me), my Rx are ready by the end of the day. They also call me if I need a refill and tell me they called my doctor; I call the doctor myself as well. They're experimenting with texting, so that will make things even easier. I love them



A couple of towns over there is a pharmacy like that. They have customers that have been with them since they opened. They really give personal service. Right across the street from them is a large chain pharm, and yet this store is always gaining new customers. The manager is the owner and he knows his customers by name. 

I am tired of a pharmacy being bought out by another, and you have to go to a different location to get your scripts. They always seem to close the store you usually go to. I am so glad I get all my meds from Winthrop. The pharmacy is directly tied to my health care system.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> "fuzz up" I'll have to remember that one.



Had to learn early how to get things past my Dad!


----------



## bakechef

This has really got to stop

Came out of work today to find my hood scratched up and dented.  Looks like someone backed into it with the tailgate of their truck down.  $542 worth of damage!  Hit and run. 

UGH!


----------



## GotGarlic

Oh, Bakechef! That sucks doesn't begin to cover it! I'm so sorry.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> This has really got to stop
> 
> Came out of work today to find my hood scratched up and dented.  Looks like someone backed into it with the tailgate of their truck down.  $542 worth of damage!  Hit and run.
> 
> UGH!



You. Are. Kidding.  OMG.  

What a pain, Bakechef!  Does your store have a camera in the parking lot?


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> This has really got to stop
> 
> Came out of work today to find my hood scratched up and dented.  Looks like someone backed into it with the tailgate of their truck down.  $542 worth of damage!  Hit and run.
> 
> UGH!


Oh no! Not again. Will your insurance cover it, without too much deductible?


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> You. Are. Kidding.  OMG.
> 
> What a pain, Bakechef!  Does your store have a camera in the parking lot?



No camera unfortunately!


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> Oh no! Not again. Will your insurance cover it, without too much deductible?



I had the police make out a report, so I could prove that it was a hit and run if I decided to claim it on the insurance.  Since my deductible is $500, and the repair is $542, I'll just pay it out of pocket to avoid a claim.


----------



## bakechef

GotGarlic said:


> Oh, Bakechef! That sucks doesn't begin to cover it! I'm so sorry.



Thanks.  At least it's just a flesh wound.  I'll be able to leave it with the body shop while I'm on vacation so at least I can avoid the cost of a rental car.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I use Costco's Pharmacy.  Order my meds online a couple days before I plan on picking them up, they are always ready.  I fill my pill holders on Fridays nights, set up the meds that need to be ordered.  Order online and pick up on Monday after work.

If I get a scrip for a one time or med I need right now, I have them send it to Walgreen's and pick it up on the way home.  I only get my maintenance meds from Costco.  I can also have scrips sent to the pharmacy at work and pick them up there.  I get a better price out at Costco or I would just do that.


----------



## cave76

bakechef said:


> This has really got to stop
> 
> Came out of work today to find my hood scratched up and dented.  Looks like someone backed into it with the tailgate of their truck down.  $542 worth of damage!  Hit and run.
> 
> UGH!



*UGH indeed! El Jerkos!
*


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef said:


> This has really got to stop
> 
> Came out of work today to find my hood scratched up and dented.  Looks like someone backed into it with the tailgate of their truck down.  $542 worth of damage!  Hit and run.
> 
> UGH!


Well that bites! Is it general parking where you put your car, or is there a specific employee vehicle area? If employee cars are clustered together in a distant part of the lot, I would cruise around the parking area looking for a truck with a tailgate that would skim the top of your hood if the gate was down.


----------



## CatPat

I'm so sorry, bakechef. I certainly do know how it feels to find your car damaged. I'm so sorry, and I know this hurts you.

Now I forgot what I was unhappy about.

I'm sorry, bakechef.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Susan (might be) my New Best Friend.*

What's that? Is that a light at the end of the tunnel? And how much longer does this tunnel go on? 

Called the "Hell Connector" today about the two mailings. Susan worked her tail off, got all my info and checked with supervision on stuff she couldn't answer. It sounds like this is where I'm at:
1) I still have to send in the verification of residency and citizenship, but it seems like most folks are having to do that. Blame the computer? The state as much as admitted yesterday that when it had to make adjustments to the MA website to line up more with the federal one it completely "fuzzed" up the works. (Thanks for that great substitute work PF!)
2) The most recent piece of mail I got (the bill) shows a different I.D. number because (wait for it) that number is one assigned to my by *my selected insurance provider!* I will call them Monday to make sure I am, in fact, in their system, but all indications are that I am.
3) That check that was cashed in December and hasn't been applied to any premium payment? It is supposed to be applied to this first payment, due 2-21 for insurance effective 3-1. The EFT I set up will not start withdrawing premium payments until late in March for the April premium payment.

IF all those things are true, it would mean this saga is over. I hope so...I'm tired of being uber-careful so I don't break or cut off anything, and also trying to keep calm enough to not cause a stroke. So far, so good - thanks to you guys letting me vent and laughing along with me. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





*******************************



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just don't start having two bottle nights....  I wish I was having some problem with mine so you wouldn't feel so alone in the fight.  What a monumental fuzz up...I do have a few choice words you can borrow...


Alone? You guys are all in on this just by reading it! And two bottles? Nah, my nightly wine comes from a box. However, I'd be happy to share: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	






taxlady said:


> In a few years, this could make a really funny story. "CG, tell the one about the time you signed up for health insurance."...:


Yeah it's funny. Funny as a heart attack.   I tell ya though, after going through this much to figure out the MA system I'm rethinking the plan to move back to OH this year or next. Might just wait till I turn 65 and am on Medicare...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> What's that? Is that a light at the end of the tunnel? And how much longer does this tunnel go on?
> 
> Called the "Hell Connector" today about the two mailings. Susan worked her tail off, got all my info and checked with supervision on stuff she couldn't answer. It sounds like this is where I'm at:
> 1) I still have to send in the verification of residency and citizenship, but it seems like most folks are having to do that. Blame the computer? The state as much as admitted yesterday that when it had to make adjustments to the MA website to line up more with the federal one it completely "fuzzed" up the works. (Thanks for that great substitute work PF!)
> 2) The most recent piece of mail I got (the bill) shows a different I.D. number because (wait for it) that number is one assigned to my by *my selected insurance provider!* I will call them Monday to make sure I am, in fact, in their system, but all indications are that I am.
> 3) That check that was cashed in December and hasn't been applied to any premium payment? It is supposed to be applied to this first payment, due 2-21 for insurance effective 3-1. The EFT I set up will not start withdrawing premium payments until late in March for the April premium payment.
> 
> IF all those things are true, it would mean this saga is over. I hope so...I'm tired of being uber-careful so I don't break or cut off anything, and also trying to keep calm enough to not cause a stroke. So far, so good - thanks to you guys letting me vent and laughing along with me.



Yay!  Sounds like you might be on to something!  I hope this finally takes



Cooking Goddess said:


> Alone? You guys are all in on this just by reading it! And two bottles? Nah, my nightly wine comes from a box. However, I'd be happy to share:



At least, I am a cheap date, one gets me fuzzy, the second fuzzed up


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> This has really got to stop
> 
> Came out of work today to find my hood scratched up and dented.  Looks like someone backed into it with the tailgate of their truck down.  $542 worth of damage!  Hit and run.
> 
> UGH!



Yes, quite enough!  Sorry this has happened, but like you say in another post, you can get it taken care of while you are on vacation.


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well that bites! Is it general parking where you put your car, or is there a specific employee vehicle area? If employee cars are clustered together in a distant part of the lot, I would cruise around the parking area looking for a truck with a tailgate that would skim the top of your hood if the gate was down.



No, we park where the customers do, just a bit further out.  I actually park in a way to minimize the chance of my car being hit, or so I thought!  This person had to back up way too far.  If I had been pulled all the way ahead in the spot, they would have likely caused a lot more damage.  Even the police officer said that she didn't know why anyone needed to back up that far!


----------



## CharlieD

I love the continuing use of the word “tragic” in regards of the death of another junky who succumbed to his weakness. Tragic is a death of a young mother, the death of the soldier who went down in the helicopter at no fault of his own, tragic is when a child dies of incurable disease. Not the death of a drug user. I do not care how talented he was or was not for that matter. There hundreds or maybe thousands of them die around the country/world and nobody even knows that they died, sometimes not even relatives, as they have been missing from the life of said relatives for years. All of a sudden the Hollywood loses one of its own and the whole wide world has to start crying, has to look for the drug suppliers, condemn the drug use etc. At the same time only few month ago when couple of states legalized drug use (ok, only certain drug use) the Hollywood was up in arms praising the liberties of the people in those states. 
There is nothing “tragic” about it, though it is sad of course. Of course who am I to judge the use of English language.


----------



## bakechef

CharlieD said:


> I love the continuing use of the word “tragic” in regards of the death of another junky who succumbed to his weakness. Tragic is a death of a young mother, the death of the soldier who went down in the helicopter at no fault of his own, tragic is when a child dies of incurable disease. Not the death of a drug user. I do not care how talented he was or was not for that matter. There hundreds or maybe thousands of them die around the country/world and nobody even knows that they died, sometimes not even relatives, as they have been missing from the life of said relatives for years. All of a sudden the Hollywood loses one of its own and the whole wide world has to start crying, has to look for the drug suppliers, condemn the drug use etc. At the same time only few month ago when couple of states legalized drug use (ok, only certain drug use) the Hollywood was up in arms praising the liberties of the people in those states.
> There is nothing “tragic” about it, though it is sad of course. Of course who am I to judge the use of English language.



I think that any loss of life is tragic.

We all have weakness, most of us are just lucky that they aren't of the magnitude of drug addiction. 

 Having relatives dealing with it puts it in perspective.  My cousin who is my age is on the fast track to death, he has everything to live for, but doesn't see that.  He got into heavy drugs shortly after the suicide of his father who he was very close to, to numb the pain.  He has the support system but can't seem to kick it.  Even his ex wife will take him off the streets to get him help, but nothing has worked yet.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CharlieD said:


> I love the continuing use of the word “tragic” in regards of the death of another junky who succumbed to his weakness. Tragic is a death of a young mother, the death of the soldier who went down in the helicopter at no fault of his own, tragic is when a child dies of incurable disease. Not the death of a drug user. I do not care how talented he was or was not for that matter. There hundreds or maybe thousands of them die around the country/world and nobody even knows that they died, sometimes not even relatives, as they have been missing from the life of said relatives for years. All of a sudden the Hollywood loses one of its own and the whole wide world has to start crying, has to look for the drug suppliers, condemn the drug use etc. At the same time only few month ago when couple of states legalized drug use (ok, only certain drug use) the Hollywood was up in arms praising the liberties of the people in those states.
> There is nothing “tragic” about it, though it is sad of course. Of course who am I to judge the use of English language.



CharlieD; we may not agree on pancakes, but we sure do agree on this.  Tragic should not be mistaken for stupidity.  Tragic is someone who is just getting their life together, after years of struggling, and then is made a vegetable by a drunk driver (happened to a good friend of mine).  Tragic is when someone who is thoughtful and kind to their family, and who is of great benefit to all around them, through no fault of their own, is severely injured in such away as to ruin their lives, or taken from mortality.  Tragic is when through no fault of their own, a loving parent is removed from the family.  Tragic, is the state that our society is heading in, thanks in large part to the entertainment industry, and the greedy.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North.


----------



## cave76

CharlieD said:


> I love the continuing use of the word “tragic” in regards of the death of another junky who succumbed to his weakness. Tragic is a death of a young mother, the death of the soldier who went down in the helicopter at no fault of his own, tragic is when a child dies of incurable disease. Not the death of a drug user. I do not care how talented he was or was not for that matter. There hundreds or maybe thousands of them die around the country/world and nobody even knows that they died, sometimes not even relatives, as they have been missing from the life of said relatives for years. All of a sudden the Hollywood loses one of its own and the whole wide world has to start crying, has to look for the drug suppliers, condemn the drug use etc. At the same time only few month ago when couple of states legalized drug use (ok, only certain drug use) the Hollywood was up in arms praising the liberties of the people in those states.
> There is nothing “tragic” about it, though it is sad of course. Of course who am I to judge the use of English language.



I'm glad that this post is back on DC. Thanks to whoever did that.


----------



## forty_caliber

This thread has been moderated.  Please keep the discussion civil and centered on the topic at hand. 

40


----------



## taxlady

I think the word "tragic" is used too often. I find that dilutes the meaning.

When my 95 year old mother died, it was sad. I don't think it was tragic. As the Unitarian minister said at the memorial, "We are not relieved that Elisabeth died. We are relieved that she stopped dying."


----------



## cave76

taxlady said:


> When my 95 year old mother died, it was sad. I don't think it was tragic. As the Unitarian minister said at the memorial, "We are not relieved that Elisabeth died. We are relieved that she stopped dying."



That was a beautiful sentiment!


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Addie

Ditto Charlie.


----------



## Somebunny

*Venting*

Argh!  I just spent 45 minutes typing out a recipe on my iPhone for Whiskadoodle and it won't let me post it to the thread.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*If I only could read....*

(S'bunny, some days I think "smartphones" aren't so smart.)

******************

...I could have saved myself a little bit of "argh!". "Page 1" indicated that all I need to produce was proof of MA residency. *facepalm* As if the letter addressed to me at said MA address wasn't enough.  (I know, I know, I might be scamming the system by applying for a policy that provides doctors and facilities only in MA while living somewhere else...go figure.  Before you worry, emergency treatment are covered anywhere.) Proof of Residency is all I had to produce though. Apparently there is no question as to my citizenship status or incarceration history or, actually, lack thereof.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> (S'bunny, some days I think "smartphones" aren't so smart.)
> 
> ******************
> 
> ...I could have saved myself a little bit of "argh!". "Page 1" indicated that all I need to produce was proof of MA residency. *facepalm* As if the letter addressed to me at said MA address wasn't enough.  (I know, I know, I might be scamming the system by applying for a policy that provides doctors and facilities only in MA while living somewhere else...go figure.  Before you worry, emergency treatment are covered anywhere.) Proof of Residency is all I had to produce though. Apparently there is no question as to my citizenship status or incarceration history or, actually, lack thereof.



Gah, CG, we were gathering funds for your bail money!  Glad it finally worked out!  (Psst, refunds all around...)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks Dawg. I seem to have all the state ducks in a row right now, but I still haven't called the health insurance provider to make sure that 3rd ID number really does belong to a policy with my name. I'm waiting another day or so in case the i's haven't been crossed nor the t's dotted.


----------



## CharlieD

Somebunny said:


> Argh!  I just spent 45 minutes typing out a recipe on my iPhone for Whiskadoodle and it won't let me post it to the thread.



Ah, I hate when that happens. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*I'm really UNventing!*

Vented here during my health insurance saga so much I have to put the good here so you all can see that...

I (apparently) HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE!!!  I called the provider today and they had me in their system. Then when Himself brought the mail in I had a letter from the Health Connector telling me I've been accepted into my selected plan. Only one thing to follow up on...so far the insurance provider has not received payment for my March premium. I'll call the health connector on Friday to make sure the check they cashed in December has been processed to be applied to my March premium. I'd call tomorrow but the state offices will probably all be closed since we're getting at least one snowflake.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> Vented here during my health insurance saga so much I have to put the good here so you all can see that...
> 
> I (apparently) HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE!!!  I called the provider today and they had me in their system. Then when Himself brought the mail in I had a letter from the Health Connector telling me I've been accepted into my selected plan. Only one thing to follow up on...so far the insurance provider has not received payment for my March premium. I'll call the health connector on Friday to make sure the check they cashed in December has been processed to be applied to my March premium. I'd call tomorrow but the state offices will probably all be closed since we're getting at least one snowflake.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Vented here during my health insurance saga so much I have to put the good here so you all can see that...
> 
> I (apparently) HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE!!!  I called the provider today and they had me in their system. Then when Himself brought the mail in I had a letter from the Health Connector telling me I've been accepted into my selected plan. Only one thing to follow up on...so far the insurance provider has not received payment for my March premium. I'll call the health connector on Friday to make sure the check they cashed in December has been processed to be applied to my March premium. I'd call tomorrow but the state offices will probably all be closed since we're getting at least one snowflake.



Yay!!!  Bout time!!!


----------



## taxlady

Glad to read it CG.


----------



## CatPat

I thought I had health insurance, but I found out earlier my policy is cancelled. I tried to call my doctor, but I received just a recording.

I don't know what to do. I paid everything, but it is cancelled.

I have to see a surgeon now with no insurance. 

With love, ~Cat


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Call the insurance company ~Cat!!!  I had the same thing happen to me two days before my surgery, but everything was fine.


----------



## CarolPa

CatPat said:


> I thought I had health insurance, but I found out earlier my policy is cancelled. I tried to call my doctor, but I received just a recording.
> 
> I don't know what to do. I paid everything, but it is cancelled.
> 
> I have to see a surgeon now with no insurance.
> 
> With love, ~Cat




I hope you can get this worked out, Cat.  This is not a good time for you to be having insurance problems.


----------



## Andy M.

*Recipe Units of Measure*

Let me preface this by saying I'm a little anal.  I measure, weigh and count things.  It's what I do and is probably why I was good in finance.      
  As a result of my affliction, I get bent out of shape, probably more than I should, when I see imprecise measurements listed in recipes.  This was brought to the forefront of my waking thoughts recently when Menumaker mentioned that a stick of butter in Europe is about twice the size of a stick of butter in the USA.

  By way of example, a recipe calls for a 'small can' of tomato, a 'bunch' of parsley, scallions, cilantro, a 'handful' of anything.  A large can of tomato is 28 ounces.  Is the small one 15 ounces or 8 ounces?  Where I shop, bunches of greens vary in size based on whim.  Your hand or mine?  Do you fill just the palm or palm and fingers?  

  How big is a medium onion?  When does it cross the line from medium to large or medium to small?  Garlic cloves!  Yikes!  Do you know how much they can vary in size?

  I could go on…            

  We have available to us here in our global cooking community, a comprehensive system of weights and measure that are precise, exact and not open to interpretation.   Actually, we have several.  Let's use one.

  …and another thing.  Why the heck isn't the ENTIRE WORLD using the metric system?

  I'm not looking for answers here.  I already know my level of precision is often not important.  I can handle it.  I just don't think I should have to.  It's actually more of an issue for people new to cooking.

  I'm just venting.  Actually petty venting.


----------



## Dawgluver

DH would probably agree with you, Andy, he's a math freak.  I'm a bit on the artistic side, and DH describes my style as "swooshy".  I cook by taste and feel, and there's a good reason I'm not a baker!  A handful of this, a smidge of that, it makes sense to me!


----------



## cave76

Andy M. said:


> Let me preface this by saying I'm a little anal.  I measure, weigh and count things.  It's what I do and is probably why I was good in finance.
> As a result of my affliction, I get bent out of shape, probably more than I should, when I see imprecise measurements listed in recipes.  This was brought to the forefront of my waking thoughts recently when Menumaker mentioned that a stick of butter in Europe is about twice the size of a stick of butter in the USA.
> 
> By way of example, a recipe calls for a 'small can' of tomato, a 'bunch' of parsley, scallions, cilantro, a 'handful' of anything.  A large can of tomato is 28 ounces.  Is the small one 15 ounces or 8 ounces?  Where I shop, bunches of greens vary in size based on whim.  Your hand or mine?  Do you fill just the palm or palm and fingers?
> 
> How big is a medium onion?  When does it cross the line from medium to large or medium to small?  Garlic cloves!  Yikes!  Do you know how much they can vary in size?
> 
> I could go on…
> 
> We have available to us here in our global cooking community, a comprehensive system of weights and measure that are precise, exact and not open to interpretation.   Actually, we have several.  Let's use one.
> 
> …and another thing.  Why the heck isn't the ENTIRE WORLD using the metric system?
> 
> I'm not looking for answers here.  I already know my level of precision is often not important.  I can handle it.  I just don't think I should have to.  It's actually more of an issue for people new to cooking.
> 
> I'm just venting.  Actually petty venting.



*Count me in!* I call it 'fuzzy language' (no relation to all fuzzed up).

But it's always been like that for cooking and good cooks can get around it----not least of the reasons why is that very often a good dish can still be created even when a tiny clove of garlic is used rather than a larger one. I'm sure baking a cake needs more precision than making a stew though.

My ex-husband, who I'm still good friends with, is always trying to cook following a recipe that gives those same imprecise measurements  you mention. He goes crazy and calls me----- and really goes crazy when I say----- it doesn't really matter if it's a large clove or a small one. 

I have a lot of fun with him telling him to cook 'something' until just before it boils! I know how to do that----- but a new or anal or inexperienced cook would go crazy. (Evil laugh)

Oh, and I don't 'do' metric. I had a hard enough time learning our system.


----------



## taxlady

I'm with you Andy. It isn't always important, but I prefer it. That's one of the things I like about my Danish recipe site. They get precise enough to say how many grams of something like onions or potatoes, peeled weight.

Have a look at this excellent recipe for Moussaka (yes, I know it's Greek, not Danish, but it's a yummy recipe): Moussaka I med billede opskrift fra Alletiders Kogebog blandt over 37.000 forskellige opskrifter

If you hover over an underlined ingredient, it tells you info. E.g., 1 medium potato weighs 150 grams, peeled weight. If there had been a listing for "1 can of tomatoes", it would tell you how much is in that can. For some things where the recipe tells you in weight, the pop up gives the volume equivalents and vice versa.


----------



## GotGarlic

I combine in one recipe whole items like onions with precise measurements like which can size, because I prefer to use a whole one if possible and I don't want to measure 1 cup of onions. I do try to write recipes so they're not ambiguous, though. Zucchini can range from 6-12 inches long, so I'll specify that. 

Don't know what happened to the metric system here in the U.S. I remember learning about it in grade school in the '70s.


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> Let me preface this by saying I'm a little anal.  I measure, weigh and count things.  It's what I do and is probably why I was good in finance.
> As a result of my affliction, I get bent out of shape, probably more than I should, when I see imprecise measurements listed in recipes.  This was brought to the forefront of my waking thoughts recently when Menumaker mentioned that a stick of butter in Europe is about twice the size of a stick of butter in the USA.
> 
> By way of example, a recipe calls for a 'small can' of tomato, a 'bunch' of parsley, scallions, cilantro, a 'handful' of anything.  A large can of tomato is 28 ounces.  Is the small one 15 ounces or 8 ounces?  Where I shop, bunches of greens vary in size based on whim.  Your hand or mine?  Do you fill just the palm or palm and fingers?
> 
> How big is a medium onion?  When does it cross the line from medium to large or medium to small?  Garlic cloves!  Yikes!  Do you know how much they can vary in size?
> 
> I could go on…
> 
> We have available to us here in our global cooking community, a comprehensive system of weights and measure that are precise, exact and not open to interpretation.   Actually, we have several.  Let's use one.
> 
> …and another thing.  Why the heck isn't the ENTIRE WORLD using the metric system?
> 
> I'm not looking for answers here.  I already know my level of precision is often not important.  I can handle it.  I just don't think I should have to.  It's actually more of an issue for people new to cooking.
> 
> I'm just venting.  Actually petty venting.



I'm with you Andy, my anal retentive nature makes me a natural for baking, but cooking recipes sometimes drive me a bit batty.  The whole onion thing gets me, who decides what is large and small?  How much is a "bunch"?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Medium onion...tennis ball/1/2 cup diced, Large onion...baseball/1 cup diced.

Shrek will blorp something into a pot and ask me how much that was...I have no idea..."Well I wanted to write it down."  It was a blorp, not a blorp-blorp.  People who want precision after being imprecise chaps my, umm, fingers!


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Medium onion...tennis ball/1/2 cup diced, Large onion...baseball/1 cup diced...




What about minced?  You can fit more small pieces in a cup than large pieces.  

I think you're off by 100%.  A medium onion is a cup.

...and another thing.  When you measure grated cheese, do you pack it like brown sugar or just fill it with a light touch like flour?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> What about minced?  You can fit more small pieces in a cup than large pieces.
> 
> I think you're off by 100%.  A medium onion is a cup.
> 
> ...and another thing.  When you measure grated cheese, do you pack it like brown sugar or just fill it with a light touch like flour?



I did say diced onion in my example...and I just happen to have a tennis ball, a medium onion and measuring cup right here.  I'm really close...I didn't differentiate between small, medium or large dice.  Softball size onions yield about 2 cups...softball size cauliflower takes up room in the trash can.

Who measures grated cheese?


----------



## Dawgluver

Blorping is self-explanatory.  And I've never measured grated cheese either.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ...Who measures grated cheese?




Apparently you didn't read my post...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Apparently you didn't read my post...



I read it...in disbelief  Totally flummoxed, gobsmacked and quite frankly, bespectacled or is that skeptical?  All I know is it had a tickle in there...


I know, stop teasing Andy when he doesn't feel good...


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I read it...in disbelief  Totally flummoxed, gobsmacked and quite frankly, bespectacled or is that skeptical?  All I know is it had a tickle in there...
> 
> 
> I know, stop teasing Andy when he doesn't feel good...



Keep teasing.  I feel a lot better.  

I was just venting.  With things like mushrooms, onion, garlic and cheese, I don't mind a little extra.  Over time I have learned to deal with imprecise quantities.  I just do what I think is right.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's good, I think you gave it to me though...stuffy, irritating cough, headache...


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's good, I think you gave it to me though...stuffy, irritating cough, headache...



Could you be more precise!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> Could you be more precise!



Every 12 hours, that's when the meds wear off.  You really don't want to know any more...I have the same symptoms that I don't like to take care of in patients.  Erck!!!


----------



## Addie

I come home from Winthrop and my key won't work in the front door. The wind is blowing really hard and the snow is so thick you can't see the houses across the street. Fortunately there was someone on the inside and they opened the door for me. They inform me that the elevator is out and half the building of electricity. Oh great! That means my scooter will have to stay downstairs while I try to climb the stairs to the second floor. But before I can face that task, one of the tenants just got out of the hospital. She has had a serious episode with her heart and doesn't understand what happened. They put a pacemaker in her and she is scared to go near even her stove. So I went over all the papers she brought home with the doctors notes and instructions. It seems she has never had any kind of episode with her heart before. 

So I get her calmed down and face the daunting task of the stairs. It is a very long flight. I get half way up and my bad leg starts to give out on me. I sit down on the steps to rest and then attempt it again. I honestly didn't think I was going to make it. I poke around the apartment and I get a phone call from the pharmacy. They are making a delivery for me. The front door still is not working so I go downstairs AGAIN and he is not there at the door where I told him to wait for me. I am about to give up and attack those dang stairs again and I spot him. I get my meds and go to attack the stairs. This time I almost fell down the flight of stairs. Scared the holy crap out of me. I sat there for ten minutes and finished going up the stairs. 

I am hungry and I want to eat. The stove is not working. It only heats up to luke warm. And the micro won't even give me a sigh. I give up. I go to lay down and all of a sudden everything in the house goes on. Except for one lamp. And it is plugged into the same outlet as the computer. Oh well, I will let Spike worry about it. I am tired. I will go downstairs and bring up my scooter.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Addie))), what an "adventure". I'm glad to read that you are safe in your apartment and the power came back on.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> DH would probably agree with you, Andy, he's a math freak.  I'm a bit on the artistic side, and DH describes my style as "swooshy".  I cook by taste and feel, and there's a good reason I'm not a baker!  A handful of this, a smidge of that, it makes sense to me!


I'm "swooshy" too Dawg! That's why I tend to cook rather than bake.

Andy, maybe that's the answer. Do all the baking...and get take-out for all your meals from now on. Or just deal with it and get your math fix by balancing my checkbook.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm "swooshy" too Dawg! That's why I tend to cook rather than bake.
> 
> Andy, maybe that's the answer. Do all the baking...and get take-out for all your meals from now on. Or just deal with it and get your math fix by balancing my checkbook.



I am horrible with math. Not only am I horrible, I hate anything to do with numbers. Yet I have always been able to balance my checkbook the first time. Don't ask me why. I just am good at it. (As long as I have a calculator!)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I can balance it Addie. I just hate to do it!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I can balance it Addie. I just hate to do it!



I think the reason I like to do it is because it is so methodical. If you make no mistakes, it has to come out right. I always make it a point to not write any checks the last five days of the month. That way when I get my statement, I know what the balance is going to be.


----------



## Dawgluver

I pay all the bills, as well as the taxes here.  That way I know they're done correctly and on time.  I'm also in charge of my mom's estate, and her bills.  Maybe I'm a bit more anal than I previously thought!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I pay all the bills, as well as the taxes here.  That way I know they're done correctly and on time.  I'm also in charge of my mom's estate, and her bills.  Maybe I'm a bit more anal than I previously thought!



With both husbands, I cashed the paycheck and paid all the bills. Neither one had any idea what a bill was.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Addie))), what an "adventure". I'm glad to read that you are safe in your apartment and the power came back on.



Thanks TL. The next time I have to tackle those stairs, I am going to go up them on all floors and I don't give a dang what it may look like to others. At least I know I will be safe. When I almost fell down the flight of stairs, it scared me crapless. I was still shaking ten minutes later. Those stairs are all metal.


----------



## roadfix

Cooking Goddess said:


> I can balance it Addie. I just hate to do it!


Same here.  Now, I just log on to my checking account to check my balances.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I won't even get into a discussion about math and checkbooks...


----------



## CarolPa

Since I am not what I would call an experienced cook, I want a recipe to be exact the first time I make it.  I guess I wasn't paying attention when they taught the metric system, because I want to see oz instead of gm.  I have a few cookbooks that are very old, and they list  a "#10 can" of something.  What the heck is a #10 can?  As far as things like onion, garlic or spices, I improvise because we don't like as much as other people might like.  

Things that I'm used to making, I don't even use a recipe.  Just throw in some of this and some of that.  

Baking is very different.  The amounts of ingredients have to be more exact.  Our grandmothers didn't measure, but they could tell by the consistancy of the dough or batter.  There are probably some here who do the same thing.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> Thanks TL. The next time I have to tackle those stairs, I am going to go up them on all floors and I don't give a dang what it may look like to others. At least I know I will be safe. When I almost fell down the flight of stairs, it scared me crapless. I was still shaking ten minutes later. Those stairs are all metal.




Addie, I have a suggestion that may not be appropriate since I do not know all your circumstances.  I suggest that every day, you walk up 5 steps or so, and back down.  If you do this every day, eventually you might be able to do more, like 6 or 7.  Then, if a day every comes that the power is out again, you might not have such a hard time with the steps.  

I have a bad knee and I really struggle with our cellar steps, but I make sure I go up and down those steps at least once a day.  Someday I might need a stairlift, but I don't want to lose my mobility if I can help it. DH always offers to go down to get things for me, but I make myself do it.   In case of an emergency, I either have to go down those stairs, or down the cement steps in front of my house.  So I need to know I can do it.

I realize that this suggestion is not for everyone.  We all have different issues.


----------



## CarolPa

I don't know if it differs by state, but in PA you can get a refill when you have used 75% of your last fill.  I get some of my meds by mail order and the rest I get at Target.  I can call ahead and it will be ready in 24 hours.  Or I can go in the store and ask for it, and then shop for 20 minutes and it will be ready.  They want you to stay in the store and shop.  If I don't have any refills they will give me some pills to hold me over, 5 days or so, and then contact the doctor, but I always get my refill when I still have 10 days or so of meds left.  

You cannot do this with a controlled substance.  That requires a hand written script from the doctor.  No faxes or phone calls.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Since I am not what I would call an experienced cook, I want a recipe to be exact the first time I make it.  I guess I wasn't paying attention when they taught the metric system, because I want to see oz instead of gm.  I have a few cookbooks that are very old, and they list  a "#10 can" of something.  What the heck is a #10 can?  As far as things like onion, garlic or spices, I improvise because we don't like as much as other people might like.
> 
> Things that I'm used to making, I don't even use a recipe.  Just throw in some of this and some of that.
> 
> Baking is very different.  The amounts of ingredients have to be more exact.  Our grandmothers didn't measure, but they could tell by the consistancy of the dough or batter.  There are probably some here who do the same thing.



A #10 can is usually the size of a large can of tomatoes. The following should give you some idea of the sizes. 

http://www.mealtime.org/uploadedFiles/Mealtime/Content/yieldchart.pdf


----------



## cave76

CarolPa said:


> *They want you to stay in the store and shop*



I'm sure that's true----- that's one of the reasons I call ahead and ask a clerk to go back to the shelves,* hold my bottle in their ha*nd and tell me it's ready!
Sometimes I don't want to shop----- I just want to pick up my meds.


----------



## cave76

"I realize that this suggestion (walking up a few stairs each day) is not for everyone. We all have different issues."

CarolPa----- that's a very good suggestion for most people. Use it or lose it.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> A #10 can is usually the size of a large can of tomatoes. The following should give you some idea of the sizes.
> 
> http://www.mealtime.org/uploadedFiles/Mealtime/Content/yieldchart.pdf


Here's another one:

Can Sizes and Equivalents, Common Can Sizes


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Thanks TL. The next time I have to tackle those stairs, I am going to go up them on all floors and I don't give a dang what it may look like to others. At least I know I will be safe. When I almost fell down the flight of stairs, it scared me crapless. I was still shaking ten minutes later. Those stairs are all metal.


On all fours was what I was thinking.


----------



## GotGarlic

I was thinking, in a building for the elderly and infirm, is there no one available to escort a resident up the stairs when the elevator isn't working?


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I was thinking, in a building for the elderly and infirm, is there no one available to escort a resident up the stairs when the elevator isn't working?


That thought crossed my mind too.

I wonder if they have chutes for emergency exit in case of a fire.


----------



## Katie H

Well, here I go again...

Yesterday Glenn and I drove to Nashville to Vanderbilt Hospital to see an orthopedic specialist.  I had my right knee replaced in November 2012 and, in spite of telling my doctor that something was not right, things went nowhere.  In fact, things kept getting worse.

After 15 months of constant pain and not being able to fully use my knee and, in fact, losing use of it, I decided I needed to see another doctor.  Mine wasn't listening to me.

So off to Nashville we went.  Was x-rayed _thoroughly_, then saw an orthopedic specialist.  He was wonderfully thorough and after his examination and review of the x-rays, I will have to have the knee replaced...again.  The first available date for the surgery is the first week in April, which I gladly said "yes" to.

I'm relieved and can't wait to be _whole_ again, but I'm also disappointed and angry at having lost 15 months of my life, and countless $$$$ because of the first replacement.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Katie))). I'm glad you are going to get this fixed. Your first doctor should have to pay for it.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh Katie, sure hope this will take care of the problem!  How frustrating!  {{{{hugs}}}}


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> A #10 can is usually the size of a large can of tomatoes. The following should give you some idea of the sizes.
> 
> http://www.mealtime.org/uploadedFiles/Mealtime/Content/yieldchart.pdf




Thank you, that will help with those old recipes.


----------



## CarolPa

cave76 said:


> I'm sure that's true----- that's one of the reasons I call ahead and ask a clerk to go back to the shelves,* hold my bottle in their ha*nd and tell me it's ready!
> Sometimes I don't want to shop----- I just want to pick up my meds.




When it comes to Target, I always want to shop.  I usually go there knowing I will have the 15 min wait for the meds, then I can buy the other things I need while I wait.


----------



## CarolPa

Cooking Goddess said:


> I can balance it Addie. I just hate to do it!




I worked as an accountant for 33 years.  The last thing I wanted to do when I got home was balance a checkbook!  But I did it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Katie H said:


> ....After 15 months of constant pain and not being able to fully use my knee and, in fact, losing use of it, I decided I needed to see another doctor.  Mine wasn't listening to me.
> .....but I'm also disappointed and angry at having lost 15 months of my life, and countless $$$$ because of the first replacement.


Wow, sorry to hear it's still bad after this long! Glad you found a more sympathetic doctor. Be sure that when you finally calm down you file a complaint with KY's medical review board. If more people complained about doctors like that, the bedside manner and attention to their patients might improve with a little prodding from those that renew the doctor's license.


----------



## cave76

Cooking Goddess said:


> Wow, sorry to hear it's still bad after this long! Glad you found a more sympathetic doctor. Be sure that when you finally calm down you file a complaint with KY's medical review board. If more people complained about doctors like that, the bedside manner and attention to their patients might improve with a little prodding from those that renew the doctor's license.



I agree that he _should_ be reported. But always keep in mind that if your complaint goes on record all the other doctors in your state will  know about that. I've known doctors who ask on their intake form for a new patient "Have you ever filed a complaint against a doctor?"

Now it doesn't take much brain power for that patient to decide to lie about that.  But then when the prospective new doctor finds out you lied AND had filed a complaint---- there may be some blow-back.

The Old Boy White Coat Network is alive and working efficiently.


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> I worked as an accountant for 33 years.  The last thing I wanted to do when I got home was balance a checkbook!  But I did it.




I do virtually all my banking and bill paying online.  I maintain an Excel spreadsheet with transactions for all checking and savings accounts.  As I said in another thread - a little anal.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Don't call it anal Andy, call it organized. And precise. 

I keep thinking it's about time I did the checkbook balance online. With Himself no longer working and his unemployment having run out I never have to consider what money went into checking when it's time to pay bills. I'm always moving money from savings to checking, and always checking the account online before I pay bills...again, online. So when I'm ready to move money and pay bills, I see which payments have cleared since my previous visit. So WHY do I still get those paper statements every month???  I guess some habits die hard...I probably should murder this one. Less paper to destroy or move AND another sapling saved.


----------



## cave76

CG---- I still get paper copies of all my statements/bills etc even though I do almost everything online. Why? Because that gives me a hard copy to refer to IF I  HAVE TO when a computer glitch happens.


----------



## Katie H

I'm on the fence about reporting it.  On my last visit to the first doctor, he asked me if I was glad I had the knee replaced.  I looked him right in the eye and gave him a firm, "NO!"  I thought, perhaps, that would cause him to respond in some way.  He said nothing.  That told me...a lot.

I have submitted a review of him on his medical site and, needless to say, I did not give him stellar marks.

Glenn had his right knee replaced by his practicemate and it went flawlessly, which is one of the reasons I felt comfortable using the doctor I did.  Plus, he'd already repaired my right hand several months earlier and that went perfectly.  There were no signs that I'd have any difficulties.

The only difference in the two is experience.  My doctor is relatively young.  Glenn's is a seasoned physician.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> I do virtually all my banking and bill paying online.  I maintain an Excel spreadsheet with transactions for all checking and savings accounts.  As I said in another thread - a little anal.




I am afraid to do online banking or bill paying.  I'm afraid someone can get my account information that way, even though I know most people do this.  Even for making purchases online, I have 1 credit card that I use only for online purchases.

I want to continue to receive all my bills in the mail and send checks to pay them.  If something happens to me and the bills come online, DH will never know there's a bill.  He doesn't know how to write out a check but hopefully his children would help him with that.


----------



## CarolPa

cave76 said:


> I agree that he _should_ be reported. But always keep in mind that if your complaint goes on record all the other doctors in your state will  know about that. *I've known doctors who ask on their intake form for a new patient "Have you ever filed a complaint against a doctor?"
> *
> Now it doesn't take much brain power for that patient to decide to lie about that.  But then when the prospective new doctor finds out you lied AND had filed a complaint---- there may be some blow-back.
> 
> The Old Boy White Coat Network is alive and working efficiently.




I wouldn't hesitate to lie about that.  The intake form should be to inform the doctor of your past health information.  I would not consider it a legal document.  They should treat you to the best of their ability and there should be no blow-back.  Doctors don't always tell their patients the truth, or they omit facts that are not asked.


----------



## JoAnn L.

A few days ago I got one of those  phone calls where the guy says he is my grandson. He did kind of sounded like him with a cold. He asked if I could keep a secrete. I got on alert. I said, what is your first name and he said, come on grandma you know my name, I kept asking him and he had no answer. So I said what is my first name and he kept saying, come on grandma, you know this is your favorite oldest grandson and I said you sound awful old for 11 (my oldest grandson is 32). And he hung up. I have often heard of these phone calls but I never thought I would get one. I guess they say they are in trouble and ask you to send them some money.


----------



## taxlady

JoAnn L. said:


> A few days ago I got one of those  phone calls where the guy says he is my grandson. He did kind of sounded like him with a cold. He asked if I could keep a secrete. I got on alert. I said, what is your first name and he said, come on grandma you know my name, I kept asking him and he had no answer. So I said what is my first name and he kept saying, come on grandma, you know this is your favorite oldest grandson and I said you sound awful old for 11 (my oldest grandson is 32). And he hung up. I have often heard of these phone calls but I never thought I would get one. I guess they say they are in trouble and ask you to send them some money.


Good thing you were suspicious.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CarolPa said:


> *I am afraid to do online banking or bill paying.  I'm afraid someone can get my account information that way, even though I know most people do this.  Even for making purchases online, I have 1 credit card that I use only for online purchases.
> *
> I want to continue to receive all my bills in the mail and send checks to pay them.  If something happens to me and the bills come online, DH will never know there's a bill.  He doesn't know how to write out a check but hopefully his children would help him with that.



I agree!  

All of these things work fine most of the time, but when they go wrong they usually go horribly wrong.  The same with the information that people provide on social media sites.  It amazes me how people share every speck of information about themselves, family, daily routine etc...  Maybe I've watched too many television cop shows and scary movies, I just don't think it is a good idea to tell the world all of your business.


----------



## cave76

CarolPa----- a lot of people feel the way you do about online banking. And yes, it could get snagged sometime by  a clever hacker.

But what about the wait staff at a restaurant that takes your credit card and goes out of sight with that card and it's numbers? (grin)


----------



## Dawgluver

Please excuse my rant.  I am so angry now, I could spit. I just spent all afternoon trying to get a flight out to go to a niece's graduation near Las Vegas.  The blankety blank website booted me off 20 times after I put in all the info.  5 of those times I was able to put in my credit card info, then the little pop-up would come up stating, "Oops, something went wrong.  Please start over." I had to reenter our dates, seats, personal info, watching the outrageous overcharging (for a window seat, aisle seat, and one checked bag, everything is extra, including carryons).  And DH insisted that we coordinate with the other members of his side of the family, which meant spending an extra $700.  If we could have gone out and come back on different days, it would have been much cheaper.  But no, that would not be possible.  I told not-so-DH that he gets to book everything next time.


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> CG---- I still get paper copies of all my statements/bills etc even though I do almost everything online. Why? Because that gives me a hard copy to refer to IF I  HAVE TO when a computer glitch happens.





I can view my statements right on line and print it out if I need a hard copy. I have opted to go paperless with all my bills. Now I actually have empty room in my wastebaskets.


----------



## taxlady

I get statements online as much as possible. I download them. I lose stuff. I have yet to lose a computer. I can find all my statements without going online, well the ones I get online.


----------



## Aunt Bea

cave76 said:


> CarolPa----- a lot of people feel the way you do about online banking. And yes, it could get snagged sometime by  a clever hacker.
> 
> But what about the wait staff at a restaurant that takes your credit card and goes out of sight with that card and it's numbers? (grin)



I don't know about CarolPa, but I'll take my chances with an individual who has access to my information once rather than placing my information permanently on the internet. 

I use cash for most day to day items like restaurants.   I'm from the old credit is good, cash is King crowd!


----------



## Zhizara

I was a bookkeeper most of my working life.  I really enjoy the fact that with a debit card and account, I don't have to wonder.  If I call and check on my accound, I get the current balance, including the shopping trip(s) I just made.  It's instant.  

I've balanced my share of checking accounts, but it's really nice not to have to.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

JoAnn L. said:


> A few days ago I got one of those  phone calls where the guy says he is my grandson. He did kind of sounded like him with a cold. He asked if I could keep a secrete. I got on alert. I said, what is your first name and he said, come on grandma you know my name, I kept asking him and he had no answer. So I said what is my first name and he kept saying, come on grandma, you know this is your favorite oldest grandson and I said you sound awful old for 11 (my oldest grandson is 32). And he hung up. I have often heard of these phone calls but I never thought I would get one. I guess they say they are in trouble and ask you to send them some money.



I would love to play with one of those phone calls.  I'm such a brat on the phone.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Please excuse my rant.  I am so angry now, I could spit. I just spent all afternoon trying to get a flight out to go to a niece's graduation near Las Vegas.  The blankety blank website booted me off 20 times after I put in all the info.  5 of those times I was able to put in my credit card info, then the little pop-up would come up stating, "Oops, something went wrong.  Please start over." I had to reenter our dates, seats, personal info, watching the outrageous overcharging (for a window seat, aisle seat, and one checked bag, everything is extra, including carryons).  And DH insisted that we coordinate with the other members of his side of the family, which meant spending an extra $700.  If we could have gone out and come back on different days, it would have been much cheaper.  But no, that would not be possible.  I told not-so-DH that he gets to book everything next time.



Sorry, Dawg!!!  It is such a pain to try to do that kind of thing.  Turns out it was the cable company that was causing my woes with sites going dark when I got all my information in.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sorry, Dawg!!!  It is such a pain to try to do that kind of thing.  Turns out it was the cable company that was causing my woes with sites going dark when I got all my information in.



Thanks PF!  We use Verizon for everything. I have one shred of hair left!  I'll braid it, should look great.  I have no idea what was going wrong, tried to book it from everything that would book a flight, iPad, phone, PC.  And Not-So-DH was Monday Morning Quarterbacking.  Next time, he books it.  But then we'll have no walls or windows,


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That MMQB'ing is really why I am extremely happy to be getting back to fulltime next week...


----------



## Dawgluver

I hear ya, Sistah!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I hear ya, Sistah!



I'll send Shrek that way, you and Beagle come this way and we can take a few weeks vacation.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'll send Shrek that way, you and Beagle come this way and we can take a few weeks vacation.



Hmm.  Would love that!


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> On all fours was what I was thinking.



Those wrong dang keys jumped under my fingers again! 

I can almost run down stairs backwards just fine. But in my right leg where I have the graft, there is a very big hole under that graft where there is no tissue. Before they put the graft in, you could look into the front part of my leg and see the back. That leg is forever going to be my weak leg. So when I go up stairs, my left leg has to do all the work. Completely support me and lift me up at the same time. Those stairs are equal to two full flights. More than 30 steps from top to bottom. 

Before the surgery, I was in a wheelchair for just over a year. As a result, my 'good' leg became very weak and I have never regained full strength back into it. And according to my doctors, I won't. There is damage there also from the diabetes. So if I should come to visit any of you, your neighbors will get a sight! I am going to be going up your front steps on all fours. Almost falling down that flight of stairs really scared me.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I would love to play with one of those phone calls.  I'm such a brat on the phone.



Me too. I just love to jerk them around. One time I got a call from an investment firm. They wanted to help me plan my retirement and handle my investments for me. I had that lady going and making all plans for me. Then when she started to ask for more detailed info as to where my funds were presently, I told her the courts had control of them because they found me guilty of mail fraud and a few other charges related to RICOH. All of a sudden I hear a very loud "CLICK!" Hey it kept me entertained for about 15 minutes.


----------



## CarolPa

You were very smart, Joann, to ask for names.  So many people get taken in by these scams.  I would tell them that if they were really a family member they would know not to call ME for money, because they all know I don't have any!


----------



## CarolPa

cave76 said:


> CarolPa----- a lot of people feel the way you do about online banking. And yes, it could get snagged sometime by  a clever hacker.
> 
> But what about the wait staff at a restaurant that takes your credit card and goes out of sight with that card and it's numbers? (grin)




We never pay by credit card at a restaurant.  I realize that anyone who has access to your credit card number could steal you identity if they were able to get the rest of the required information about you.  But your bank account is not protected the same way as credit cards are.  If someone uses your credit card number to make purchases, in most cases, you are not responsible.  But if someone gets your bank info and wipes out your account you are SOL.  At least that's what I've heard.  We use our ATM card at the machine, mostly just at our bank.  We never use it as a debit card to pay for things.  We're very old fashioned about things like that.


----------



## JoAnn L.

CarolPa said:


> You were very smart, Joann, to ask for names.  So many people get taken in by these scams.  I would tell them that if they were really a family member they would know not to call ME for money, because they all know I don't have any!



I had another call were the man said he was from MSN and wanted to "talk to the person who used the computer". His accent was so bad I could hardly understand him. I told him that I was recording the phone call and he hung up. Later that week there was an article in our newspaper that it was some sort of scam.


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> We never pay by credit card at a restaurant.  I realize that anyone who has access to your credit card number could steal you identity if they were able to get the rest of the required information about you.  But your bank account is not protected the same way as credit cards are.  If someone uses your credit card number to make purchases, in most cases, you are not responsible.  But if someone gets your bank info and wipes out your account you are SOL.  At least that's what I've heard.  We use our ATM card at the machine, mostly just at our bank.  We never use it as a debit card to pay for things.  We're very old fashioned about things like that.



Yes and no, banks will often give you the money back in the bank account if your debit card is compromised, but it could take a bit.  If you are a long standing customer with good credit, they will often put the money back immediately while investigating, like floating you a loan.  If you are a new customer with shaky credit, you may have to wait with no money while they investigate.

Credit cards are safest after cash.  Even if they steal your card number in a restaurant, there isn't anything on that card that can compromise your identity.  That's why after this whole Target ordeal, I wasn't worried about identity theft.  What happened there is that they had personal information on people who signed up for their Red Card and they didn't secure it properly, which was a problem.

Cash is safe, but often I'm not going to carry a bunch of cash.  When traveling, especially out of the country, I use a credit card wherever I can, and have a bit of cash when I can't.  NEVER DEBIT.  You are smart to limit your use of debit.


----------



## cave76

bakechef said:


> Yes and no, banks will often give you the money back in the bank account if your debit card is compromised, but it could take a bit.  If you are a long standing customer with good credit, they will often put the money back immediately while investigating, like floating you a loan.  If you are a new customer with shaky credit, you may have to wait with no money while they investigate.
> 
> Credit cards are safest after cash.  Even if they steal your card number in a restaurant, there isn't anything on that card that can compromise your identity.  That's why after this whole Target ordeal, I wasn't worried about identity theft.  What happened there is that they had personal information on people who signed up for their Red Card and they didn't secure it properly, which was a problem.
> 
> Cash is safe, but often I'm not going to carry a bunch of cash.  When traveling, especially out of the country, I use a credit card wherever I can, and have a bit of cash when I can't.  NEVER DEBIT.  You are smart to limit your use of debit.



I think bakechef is correct but everyone should do it their way or people will blame ME or bakechef if something bad happens. 

Once someone 'stole' my credit card info from my cell phone account and bought stuff but my credit card picked it up IMMEDIATELY and I got the money back in a few hours.  The credit card picked that up even before I checked my account the next day.

I have a friend who still will not have mail delivered to his mail box at rural home because once someone stole his mail. He's used a P.O. box like---- forever----- and has to go to the post office to pick up his mail. He's happy doing that.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Last summer I went to help some friends who had locked their keys in their car.  I was sitting at a stop sign, at the end of m road, waiting for traffic to clear, when a car zipped past on the lane closest to me.  It threw a small stone that hit, and chipped my windshield.  I took the car into an auto-glass repair shop, and they put their special glue in it.  They said that it would keep the glass from cracking further.  

Today, as I was driving along in a -5 degree F. morning, I heard a cracking noise.  DW was sitting in the passenger seat and said; "What was that?"  We both then noticed that the little chip had suddenly become a crack that spanned the width of the windshield.  I guess I'm gonna have to got to my insurance agent on Monday.  I heard on the radio that this winter has been the coldest since 1979.  I'm getting tired of this subzero cold that has been with us for 2 months now.  And I'm certainly not happy about my windshield.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Chief, had you turned on the defroster a little while previous to the cracking noise?


----------



## roadfix

I get email alerts for any activity over $100 on both my checking account and CC.  I can set any dollar amounts for the alerts.  I use cash most of the time.
I don't have a debit card as someone can wipe out your entire account in a single transaction. 
I also like online banking as it is fast and convenient, I rarely have to visit the bank or use the phone.  Same goes for managing non-banking accounts, such as retirement and brokerage.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> Chief, had you turned on the defroster a little while previous to the cracking noise?



Yes I did.  And when the crack happened, what you are thinking is exactly what I was thinking, even though I'd turned on the defroster many times previously, on very cold days.

and about that being flagged for activity greater than $100, I've recently heard on NPR radio that identity thieves are charging small items, no more than $8 plus change, hoping that the smaller amounts won't be noticed.  So it's becoming more difficult to track credit card fraud.  Just saying...

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cave76

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I've recently heard on NPR radio that identity thieves are charging small items, no more than $8 plus change, hoping that the smaller amounts won't be noticed.  Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



When my credit card fraud was discovered it WAS for a small amount. But my card company also checks for 'unusual' items. time of purchase etc.

The numbnuts that used my card bought small stuff at around 3 A.M. I have never charged anything at that time. 

I also think that if I started buying porn videos my card company would be alerted.


----------



## roadfix

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> and about that being flagged for activity greater than $100, I've recently heard on NPR radio that identity thieves are charging small items, no more than $8 plus change, hoping that the smaller amounts won't be noticed.  So it's becoming more difficult to track credit card fraud.  Just saying...



This is true that smaller, petty amounts go unnoticed on CC's.  But in my case, if I see multiple under-$10 transactions, my CC provider will see that they do not fit my purchase profile at all as I never charge anything under, say, $25 on my CC.

I think that people who use their CC for every purchase they make, no matter how small, are more prone to these frauds which can slip by them...


----------



## Dawgluver

My CC company called me after someone tried to use an expired card, in France!  I've never been to France.  And I always shred old CCs.  We had to get new cards, but I was really pleased with the vigilance and service from Chase Freedom.  They delivered the new cards the very next day.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

We called the CC company when we got Shrek signed up for his prescription plan, it would be an every three month charge.  They about had a fit when I bought the last guitar for Shrek...the phone was ringing when we walked in the house.  But they are noticing the patterns and circumstances for when we use it.  If we go on vacation or like me using it for my trip to Helena, they like having a warning that it will be happening.

The only problem we have had, was a charge of $29.95 on Shrek's debit card online.  It was discovered quickly and the company who did the charge replaced the money in our account within 24 hours.  They then went after the person who used the information. I understand they were caught quickly.


----------



## roadfix

I need to get my dad to try online banking or at least get him to use his CC to make online purchases.  He's got this "fear" and do not trust anyone when it comes to these things.


----------



## taxlady

My CC company used to block my card every time I rented a car from Enterprise. Enterprise processes CC through one of their US branches, so the CC company would see the Canadian charge come in on the same day as the US one and assume it wasn't me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's why I call them, to let them know what types of charges will be coming in.  I don't want to be in a city I don't know and not be able to use the CC.


----------



## Andy M.

Before we went to Aruba I logged into SO's and my CC sites (same CC) and did an online notification giving them the dates we would be in Aruba.  Then we went to our usual jewelery store and she wanted to buy a ring.  The card was rejected.  They called the CC company (Capital One) and I talked to them.  They flagged it as a suspicious transaction even though we had notified them just in case the card had been stolen in Aruba.  We were able to make the txn. on MY CC and now she won't pay me back.  Later that day I got an email flagging the same transaction and telling me to call immediately.  I did and all is well.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> My CC company used to block my card every time I rented a car from Enterprise. Enterprise processes CC through one of their US branches, so the CC company would see the Canadian charge come in on the same day as the US one and assume it wasn't me.



Every time my mom travels and tries to use her Citi Expedia card, it gets flagged and shut down.  Kind of ironic that a card labeled with a travel agency logo would be useless for travel...

This past summer it was shut down twice while she was here.  Thing is, she makes this trip often, pays for the tickets with that card and baggage.  All they have to do is see that she made a purchase of plane tickets a few months prior and then paid for baggage the day or two prior.  It was shut down again at Christmas, so he had to call them yet again.  I told her that she needs to dump that card.

I've been very fortunate with Chase so far, they don't give me problems when I travel.  My friend has many issues with Citi being shut down, very frustrating.


----------



## Dawgluver

I used to call Chase everytime before we went to Cozumel, have since been informed that we don't have to call anymore.  They've apparently learned our purchase patterns.  And we have a Charles Schwab debit card that refunds any out of country ATM transaction fees.  I call them before we leave.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> My CC company used to block my card every time I rented a car from Enterprise. Enterprise processes CC through one of their US branches, so the CC company would see the Canadian charge come in on the same day as the US one and assume it wasn't me.



My mom tried to pay for her rental with her Citi card and it was shut down because she just used the card to fill the car with gas.  They let her leave even without the card working!  I'm not sure how she managed that!  We got home and got it straightened out and heard nothing from Enterprise so they must have tried again and got approval.

This is the same Enterprise that I rented from while getting my car fixed, and I don't think that I've had better customer service in a long long time, truly impressive.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's why I call them, to let them know what types of charges will be coming in.  I don't want to be in a city I don't know and not be able to use the CC.


But I wasn't out of town. They didn't cause any problems when I used the card in Denmark without telling them ahead of time. It was just that Enterprise Canada processes CC txns through the US. Then I would phone them and they would have it straightened out, but not until *the next day*.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We use Discover as our primary CC. Have been since 1987. Never a problem. We have been contacted by them when the account was used in multiple states on the same day, but I can't remember any transaction being denied for any length of time. When we moved to MA they knew that the two of us were up here, our daughter had a card on the account and she was back in OH, and our son also had a card and he was in college in AZ. In 16+ years they've initiated an account change a couple times, we had to request one once (our son lost his wallet...and credit card privileges shortly after), and (knock on wood) no problems. AND I've just doomed us...


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> I get email alerts for any activity over $100 on both my checking account and CC.  I can set any dollar amounts for the alerts.  I use cash most of the time.
> I don't have a debit card as someone can wipe out your entire account in a single transaction.
> *I also like online banking as it is fast and convenient,* I rarely have to visit the bank or use the phone.  Same goes for managing non-banking accounts, such as retirement and brokerage.



Don't you worry that hackers can get access to your account info?  That's what I worry about.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I only shop/pay bills online with the websites that have secure (https) sites.  I have never had a rpoblem.  Shrek had one site where he shopped that was not secure and that's where they got his card number.  Now he won't shop online, I still do.


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> Don't you worry that hackers can get access to your account info?  That's what I worry about.



Your account info is online whether you choose to access it or not.  Everything about you is online.  

Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## CarolPa

bakechef said:


> That's why after this whole Target ordeal, I wasn't worried about identity theft.  What happened there is that they had personal information on people who signed up for their Red Card and they didn't secure it properly, which was a problem.



I have a Red Card but only use it in Target because of the 5% discount.  Around the time they were having the credit card issues, we were in Target one time, but I had changed purses and didn't have the Redcard with me so we paid cash.  It just worked out well for me.  I haven't used it since, but we have only made small purchases and didn't need to use it.  There were several other retailers who were hacked around the same time but they didn't make it public the way Target did.


----------



## CarolPa

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I only shop/pay bills online with the websites that have secure (https) sites.  I have never had a rpoblem.  Shrek had one site where he shopped that was not secure and that's where they got his card number.  Now he won't shop online, I still do.




I shop online with a credit card all the time.  I have one credit card that is reserved just for online shopping.  If someone hacks my account, only that one credit card is at risk.  I am only concerned about doing online banking with my checking account, which can be easily drained and not covered.

One time I received a call from CitiBank stating that my credit card was used fraudulently.  They removed the charge, which was only $9, cancelled the card and opened a new account.  When I got the new card, *the interest rate was up a couple %. * I think they were lying about the fraudulent charge and thought I wouldn't notice the increased interest rate.  I never carry a balance over on any of my credit cards so the interest rate is of no consequence, but I no longer use my Citi card for that reason.  I have enough credit cards I do not have to deal with someone who is sneaky and devious.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CarolPa said:


> I have a Red Card but only use it in Target because of the 5% discount.  Around the time they were having the credit card issues, we were in Target one time, but I had changed purses and didn't have the Redcard with me so we paid cash.  It just worked out well for me.  I haven't used it since, but we have only made small purchases and didn't need to use it.  There were several other retailers who were hacked around the same time but they didn't make it public the way Target did.



I heard on a PBS report that in-store credit cards are a very bad idea, as they charge large interest rates that more than offset any supposed discounts that are offered by the store.  You end up paying much more, even with the discounts.  I just won't use them at all.  Retail takes more of my money than it should already.  I don't need them taking it in a sneaky way.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CarolPa

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I heard on a PBS report that in-store credit cards are a very bad idea, as they charge large interest rates that more than offset any supposed discounts that are offered by the store.  You end up paying much more, even with the discounts.  I just won't use them at all.  Retail takes more of my money than it should already.  I don't need them taking it in a sneaky way.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




I agree about the high interest rates on in-store credit cards.  I never carry over a balance on any of my credit cards so I never pay any interest or fees of any kind.  The Target Redcard give you a 5% discount on everything you buy in the store, so I am paying less than if I were paying cash.  

The other in-store credit card I use is Kohls.  If you pay 1/3 of your balance, you are not charged any interest or fees.  And credit card holders receive more coupon savings than non card holders.


----------



## bakechef

I have store cards just for the discounts.  I pay them of after purchase, before they are due and avoid the interest.

I really have no idea what the interest is on most of my cards.  I have one that has always been at 5.25% and that's the one we use for things that we want finance for a few months. The others gets paid of monthly.  We usually only have a couple going at a time.


----------



## CarolPa

bakechef said:


> I have store cards just for the discounts.  I pay them of after purchase, before they are due and avoid the interest.
> 
> I really have no idea what the interest is on most of my cards.  I have one that has always been at 5.25% and that's the one we use for things that we want finance for a few months. The others gets paid of monthly.  We usually only have a couple going at a time.




We have more credit cards than we need but we also don't carry balances on them.  We use one on a regular basis because it has the best cash back bonus plan.  The others I make sure we use at least once a year to keep them active.  We have them in case of emergency, but thankfully, have never had an emergency that forced us to use them.


----------



## roadfix

CarolPa said:


> Don't you worry that hackers can get access to your account info?  That's what I worry about.



Not really.......although I only keep just enough balance in my checking account for my monthly expenditures, and no more.  The rest are stash of cash at home and deposits in other non-banking institutions, but those accounts are also online accessible for convenience.

An employee in your banking institution can just as easily steal account info as a computer hacker can, I would imagine....  I would not worry about banking online.


----------



## taxlady

Don't most banks offer guarantees about online banking?


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Don't most banks offer guarantees about online banking?



If it's in an actual bank account (not a money market or investment account), it's insured by the FDIC up to $250,000. We use online banking and don't worry about it. Banks themselves have been moving money around electronically for decades.


----------



## roadfix

One thing I never do is to log onto any of my accounts using public wi-fi, if that makes any difference...


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> If it's in an actual bank account (not a money market or investment account), it's insured by the FDIC up to $250,000. We use online banking and don't worry about it. Banks themselves have been moving money around electronically for decades.


I thought the FDIC was like the Canadian, CDIC,

"CDIC’s  deposit insurance insures Canadians’ savings against the failure of a  bank or other financial institution if it is a CDIC member. CDIC’s  deposit insurance does NOT protect against fraud, theft or scams. - See  more at:  What Is Deposit Insurance?"

I tried, but couldn't find anything as definite about the FDIC.

My bank has a "security guarantee" against online fraud. RBC Online Banking Security Guarantee - RBC Royal Bank


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> I thought the FDIC was like the Canadian, CDIC,
> 
> "CDIC’s  deposit insurance insures Canadians’ savings against the failure of a  bank or other financial institution if it is a CDIC member. CDIC’s  deposit insurance does NOT protect against fraud, theft or scams. - See  more at:  What Is Deposit Insurance?"
> 
> I tried, but couldn't find anything as definite about the FDIC.
> 
> My bank has a "security guarantee" against online fraud. RBC Online Banking Security Guarantee - RBC Royal Bank




This is what I believe also, Taxlady.  I'm pretty sure that when I got this account I asked about it and was told I was not protected against fraud if I used online banking.  I realize so many people do it all the time without any problems.  Many people think I'm nuts when I say I still mail checks to pay my bills.  I guess I'm old fashioned.


----------



## GotGarlic

My bad. I should have checked before posting.


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> This is what I believe also, Taxlady.  I'm pretty sure that when I got this account I asked about it and was told I was not protected against fraud if I used online banking.  I realize so many people do it all the time without any problems.  Many people think I'm nuts when I say I still mail checks to pay my bills.  I guess I'm old fashioned.


I don't think you're nuts. I just think you are going through effort you don't need.

Ask your bank if they have something like that "security guarantee" that my bank has for online banking. The CDIC protects my money from the bank failing and my bank protects me from online banking fraud.

Most of the problems are from not being careful with the password, using a public computer and not clearing the cache when your done, etc. I haven't had any problems (7-9-13*) yet. I have been doing online banking since before it was done on the web. The bank gave me software on a floppy disk to do my banking online. 

* Danish superstition equivalent to knocking on wood.


----------



## Addie

I got rid of both my credit cards. Now when I shop on line, I use PayPal.


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> This is what I believe also, Taxlady.  I'm pretty sure that when I got this account I asked about it and was told I was not protected against fraud if I used online banking.  I realize so many people do it all the time without any problems.  Many people think I'm nuts when I say I still mail checks to pay my bills.  I guess I'm old fashioned.



Well think of it this way, all of those people handling your check have your account number,routing number, name and address.  An online payment may never be seen or handled by a person.


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> I got rid of both my credit cards. Now when I shop on line, I use PayPal.



I use PayPal for Ebay purchases and with other online merchants who use Paypal.  But I use my credit card only, no bank account.  Checkout is lightening fast like Amazon because credit card, billing, and shipping info are already there on file.  

And speaking of credit cards, I carry and use only one rewards card.  In the last 25 years or so I don't think I've ever paid a dime on credit card interest.  I pay in full each month and banks hate that.....)


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> I use PayPal for Ebay purchases and with other online merchants who use Paypal.  But I use my credit card only, no bank account.  Checkout is lightening fast like Amazon because credit card, billing, and shipping info are already there on file.
> 
> And speaking of credit cards, I carry and use only one rewards card.  In the last 25 years or so I don't think I've ever paid a dime on credit card interest.  I pay in full each month and banks hate that.....)




They may hate it, but they keep increasing my credit limit, even though I never come close to the limit I have now.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> I got rid of both my credit cards. Now when I shop on line, I use PayPal.



How do you get billed with PayPal?


----------



## roadfix

You can give PayPay your checking account or credit card info.  You can also keep a cash account/balance with them.  There are several ways to make payment using PayPal.


----------



## roadfix

CarolPa said:


> They may hate it, but they keep increasing my credit limit, even though I never come close to the limit I have now.



Simply having a very high limit on a line of credit can affect your credit purchasing power in some instances, like if you're trying to finance a new car or applying for a home loan, for example.  You can potentially max out on your credit, increasing your monthly payment obligations.


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> Simply having a very high limit on a line of credit can affect your credit purchasing power in some instances, like if you're trying to finance a new car or applying for a home loan, for example.  You can potentially max out on your credit, increasing your monthly payment obligations.




I've heard that, but I've never had a problem.  I have a very high credit score and any time I've bought a car my loan goes through right away with a low interest rate.  I have also heard that having a lot of available credit is good if you don't owe anything on the credit.  I don't know the terminology, something like the credit to debt ratio.  I also heard that canceling credit cards can lower your credit score.


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> You can give PayPay your checking account or credit card info.  You can also keep a cash account/balance with them.  There are several ways to make payment using PayPal.




I knew about giving them your credit card info, but Addie said she had cancelled her credit cards and now uses PayPal.  I was wondering how they bill her if she didn't have credit cards.  I didn't think about giving them your checking account number, but then, I wouldn't give them that info.  I tried PayPal once because it was the only way I could pay for the item I wanted.  Shortly after opening the PayPal account, the credit card number I gave them was compromised.  I cancelled the PayPal account right after that.  I don't know if it was compromised because of PayPal.  It could have been a coincidence.


----------



## vitauta

i consider paypal to be the safest way to pay for my online purchases.  i don't have any hard evidence to back up this confidence in paypal,  other than they appear to be very security conscious in their operations.  
i still use a cc for most purchases, though.  for me, paypal has been good for only about 1/3 of my purchases.


----------



## roadfix

Years ago when PP was still a new operation I withdrew my checking account info from them as I didn't feel comfortable with them having that info. But with CC info, no problem. I still use them today. In fact, I bought an Ebay item just last night and checked out using PP.

As far as having a high credit limit, take this extreme example. If you have a $100,000 credit limit with a current zero balance owed and you're applying for a home loan. That high credit limit equates to a potential monthly payment of $,1000 a month which gets factored into your debt to income ratio when applying for that loan. And that can mean getting your loan approved or not for some people regardless of a good credit score.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I think PayPal is safe.  The thing I don't like about them is that they are constantly trying to get more personal information from me.


----------



## roadfix

Aunt Bea said:


> I think PayPal is safe. The thing I don't like about them is that they are constantly trying to get more personal information from me.


Be very careful with that. That could be someone else pretending to be PP trying to phish personal info from you.  I never respond to those inquires.


----------



## Aunt Bea

roadfix said:


> Be very careful with that. That could be someone else pretending to be PP trying to phish personal info from you.  I never respond to those inquires.



No, it's them!  They block my account every time I reach $2,000.00 in purchases.  Then I have to close the account and open a new one.  They pestered me until I opened a credit card with them and then they told me I could not use it for my online purchases using PayPal.  They keep trying to get my bank account information, they are just a pain to deal with.  They are also the only company I have ever dealt with that it is impossible to eventually talk to a human being.  Not a customer friendly company IMO.


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> Years ago when PP was still a new operation I withdrew my checking account info from them as I didn't feel comfortable with them having that info. But with CC info, no problem. I still use them today. In fact, I bought an Ebay item just last night and checked out using PP.
> 
> As far as having a high credit limit, take this extreme example. If you have a $100,000 credit limit with a current zero balance owed and you're applying for a home loan. That high credit limit equates to a potential monthly payment of $,1000 a month which gets factored into your debt to income ratio when applying for that loan. And that can mean getting your loan approved or not for some people regardless of a good credit score.




Yes, my DIL who used to work at a new car dealership told me about that, but it hasn't had that effect for me.  I don't know all the criteria they take into consideration, but I would think my history would factor in.  They would see that I have never carried more than a small balance on any of my credit cards and always paid them off quickly, paying way more than the minimum balance.  Of course, at our age, we will not be applying for a mortgage, but so far have never had an issue with a car loan.  But I do understand what you're saying.  It might effect someone else in different circumstances.


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> i consider paypal to be the safest way to pay for my online purchases.  i don't have any hard evidence to back up this confidence in paypal,  other than they appear to be very security conscious in their operations.
> i still use a cc for most purchases, though.  for me, paypal has been good for only about 1/3 of my purchases.


I use PayPal whenever I can for online purchases. I don't like giving my CC info to more companies than I have to. When I use PayPal, the company gets paid; I have a copy of the receipt online at PayPal; and I haven't given out CC info to yet another company.


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> I use PayPal whenever I can for online purchases. I don't like giving my CC info to more companies than I have to. When I use PayPal, the company gets paid; I have a copy of the receipt online at PayPal; and I haven't given out CC info to yet another company.




Yes, it is a good concept.  I have no way to prove that my CC leak was due to PayPal.  At some point in time I might give PayPal another chance, if I happen to want something from Ebay.  So far I haven't had any other issues with giving out my one credit card number online.


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> Yes, it is a good concept.  I have no way to prove that my CC leak was due to PayPal.  At some point in time I might give PayPal another chance, if I happen to want something from Ebay.  So far I haven't had any other issues with giving out my one credit card number online.


So far, in many years of PayPal use, I haven't had an issue. I have a personal account and a merchant account with them. Once in a while it is the easiest way for a client to pay me. So, they have my biz account info or they wouldn't be able to deposit the money in my account.


----------



## Dawgluver

Good grief.  I brought a 4.6 lb. box of pictures and old newspaper articles to the post office to ship to a cousin in Canada.  Shipping would be $42, and I would have to fill out a Customs form.  I said, no thanks, it would probably be cheaper to drive them up and deliver them myself!   No wonder the postal service is in trouble!    Will have to check out UPS and FedEx rates.  The very nice lady at the PO did say it would be cheaper to break up the shipment and send the stuff in several padded envelopes.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> So far, in many years of PayPal use, I haven't had an issue. I have a personal account and a merchant account with them. Once in a while it is the easiest way for a client to pay me. So, they have my biz account info or they wouldn't be able to deposit the money in my account.



TL, how does PP make their money. As far as I know I have never had to pay a fee for using them.


----------



## Somebunny

Addie, I believe that the merchant/seller pays the fees. I have a merchant account with them,  I haven't used it yet
(I set it up so I could sell on eBay). My daughter is a merchant and she pays fees to PayPal.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> TL, how does PP make their money. As far as I know I have never had to pay a fee for using them.


They charge the merchants. I pay a bit more with PayPal to collect money than I do through my regular CC merchant service.


----------



## Addie

Thank you to both of you.


----------



## roadfix

Part of the reason why I stopped selling on Ebay years ago.......the combined Ebay and PP fees became a bit too expensive for small private sellers like myself.
 Today, Ebay is made up of mostly merchants.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Part of the reason why I stopped selling on Ebay years ago.......the combined Ebay and PP fees became a bit too expensive for small private sellers like myself.
> Today, Ebay is made up of mostly merchants.


Stirling sold a bunch of old comics and dragon magazines on Ebay years ago. After the shipping and all those fees, it really wasn't worth the effort. Sure, the buyer paid for shipping, but Stirling had to spend time buying all those envelopes, envelope padding, etc. and take it all to the post office and get tracking receipts.


----------



## CarolPa

Dawgluver said:


> Good grief.  I brought a 4.6 lb. box of pictures and old newspaper articles to the post office to ship to a cousin in Canada.  Shipping would be $42, and I would have to fill out a Customs form.  I said, no thanks, it would probably be cheaper to drive them up and deliver them myself!   No wonder the postal service is in trouble!    Will have to check out UPS and FedEx rates.  The very nice lady at the PO did say it would be cheaper to break up the shipment and send the stuff in several padded envelopes.




I have seen an advertisement on TV for one-price boxes, but I don't remember if it was FedEx or UPS.  It's priced by the size of the box, not the weight.


----------



## CarolPa

Somebunny said:


> Addie, I believe that the merchant/seller pays the fees. I have a merchant account with them,  I haven't used it yet
> (I set it up so I could sell on eBay). My daughter is a merchant and she pays fees to PayPal.




It's the same with credit cards.  Merchants pay a fee to the credit card company.  Accepting credit cards allows them to sell a lot more merchandise so it's worth it to them to pay the fee.  

My neighbor was a stay-at-home mom and she had a business going selling on Ebay.  She bought things at flea markets and thrift shops and sold them on Ebay.  She did her postage online and scheduled the mailman to pick up the packages.  You have to know what items will sell quickly and how much you can expect to get for them.


----------



## roadfix

I've actually had better luck selling on my local Craigslist.  Of course, you've got your share of shady "buyers" to deal with too but I've learned to weed them out before they got to my doorstep.  :)


----------



## Dawgluver

CarolPa said:


> I have seen an advertisement on TV for one-price boxes, but I don't remember if it was FedEx or UPS.  It's priced by the size of the box, not the weight.



Thanks, Carol, I forgot about those.  "If it fits, it ships."  Wonder if they ship to Canada.


----------



## roadfix

But 'If it doesn't fit, you must acquit'...     ....sorry, couldn't resist..


----------



## Dawgluver

I checked, it's even more than the quote I got at the PO yesterday.  Ridiculous.


----------



## CarolPa

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks, Carol, I forgot about those.  "If it fits, it ships."  Wonder if they ship to Canada.




Aww, I never thought about that.  Hope so! 

Just saw your post that the cost is higher than the PO.  That surprises me.


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> I've actually had better luck selling on my local Craigslist.  Of course, you've got your share of shady "buyers" to deal with too but I've learned to weed them out before they got to my doorstep.  :)




Our neighborhood has a lot of neighborhood yard sales and we sell a lot of thing that way, but otherwise we have used Craigslist for a few things.  Sold a car on Craigslist several months ago.  I have sold exercise equipment and a lot of baby items from my grandson.  If I lived alone I would be wary of having strangers coming to my home.


----------



## cave76

"If I lived alone I would be wary of having strangers coming to my home."

*Even if I didn't live alone! I won't sell* on Craigslist. 
There are too many numbnuts who say they'll come by between such and such a time----- and  never show up or even call/email to say they won't.  Arrggh!


----------



## Dawgluver

I'm very wary of Craigslist.  I don't like that folks selling or giving away dogs get their dogs used for dog fight bait.


----------



## CarolPa

cave76 said:


> "If I lived alone I would be wary of having strangers coming to my home."
> 
> *Even if I didn't live alone! I won't sell* on Craigslist.
> There are too many numbnuts who say they'll come by between such and such a time----- and  never show up or even call/email to say they won't.  Arrggh!




I don't worry about those who don't show up, I worry about the ones who do!  It could be someone just looking for a way to get into your home to rob you, or worse.  I was selling a piece of exercise equipment and a guy was going to come and look at it and he actually called back to say that he looked up the model number online and it's not the one he is looking for.  That was very nice of him to do that, but most people would just not show up.


----------



## CarolPa

Dawgluver said:


> I'm very wary of Craigslist.  I don't like that folks selling or giving away dogs get their dogs used for dog fight bait.





They always say not to list a dog "free" or at a low price.  It's better to find a home for an animal by word of mouth.


----------



## Dawgluver

CarolPa said:


> They always say not to list a dog "free" or at a low price.  It's better to find a home for an animal by word of mouth.



I agree.  I have a friend who posts daily horror stories about monsters who do this.


----------



## roadfix

I run a small business so I usually ask buyers to come to my shop instead of my home.  Most of my CL transactions have been dealt this way.  Buyers also feel more comfortable this way.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek sold his motorcycle on Craigslist...it was a good experience, but I made sure both of us were here when the guy was to show up and he brought a friend, too.


----------



## tinlizzie

Several years ago I sold a whole bunch of stuff when we were downsizing house-wise but that pretty much ended when we moved.  I'm out of practice and don't really want to get involved with it again but occasionally have something I'd like to sell on eBay.  I was wondering about using one of those services where they sell things for you and take a cut of the proceeds -- it works through eBay but I don't know how to go about it.  Has anyone tried it?  Maybe a local consignment shop would be better, but I've had some bad luck with them folding and stealing away in the night...


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> Several years ago I sold a whole bunch of stuff when we were downsizing house-wise but that pretty much ended when we moved.  I'm out of practice and don't really want to get involved with it again but occasionally have something I'd like to sell on eBay.  I was wondering about using one of those services where they sell things for you and take a cut of the proceeds -- it works through eBay but I don't know how to go about it.  Has anyone tried it?  Maybe a local consignment shop would be better, but I've had some bad luck with them folding and stealing away in the night...



If you find a good way to dispose of things please let me know.

I have thought about Ebay, I guess I'm just too lazy!  

Most of the old antique type things I have just don't seem to appeal to the average person these days.  I've pretty much come to the conclusion that it is cheaper to give the stuff to the Salvation Army than it is to spend more money attempting to sell it. 

It's depressing, for me, to find out the things I have cherished over the years have no meaning to anyone else.  Sometimes I feel like the pioneers heading west on the wagon train, dropping grandma's parlor organ or good dishes along the trail to lighten the load!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have spoken with the owner of the store where Shrek buys his guitars.  He has offered his services, in selling on consignment, when the time comes.  I trust him, that he will not take advantage of my situation and get me fair value on the instruments.  All but two guitars will be sold, the last two will go with Shrek.  One is unplayable and belonged to his Uncle, the other is his favorite.

I don't know what I'm going to do with the didgeridoo...


----------



## CarolPa

Aunt Bea said:


> If you find a good way to dispose of things please let me know.
> 
> I have thought about Ebay, I guess I'm just too lazy!
> 
> *It's depressing, for me, to find out the things I have cherished over the years have no meaning to anyone else*.  Sometimes I feel like the pioneers heading west on the wagon train, dropping grandma's parlor organ or good dishes along the trail to lighten the load!




This is what I often find when browsing a flea market.  Some things just sit and no one ever even looks at them.  You have to find just the right person who is looking for that item.  If you do, you get lucky.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> If you find a good way to dispose of things please let me know.
> 
> I have thought about Ebay, I guess I'm just too lazy!
> 
> Most of the old antique type things I have just don't seem to appeal to the average person these days.  I've pretty much come to the conclusion that it is cheaper to give the stuff to the *Salvation Army *than it is to spend more money attempting to sell it.
> 
> It's depressing, for me, to find out the things I have cherished over the years have no meaning to anyone else.  Sometimes I feel like the pioneers heading west on the wagon train, dropping grandma's parlor organ or good dishes along the trail to lighten the load!




We have two SA stores nearby. One in Chelsea, the next town over and one up on Route 1A. We also have a drop off box for clothing just a block away. I like the idea of giving your belongings to the Salvation Army. And it is tax deductible. Anything that is broken, they have a workshop that can fix almost anything. They hire the unhireables. And so does Goodwill. 

Sure we all would like to make some money by selling our stuff. But for those of us who live alone, it can be dangerous. When I wrote up my will, I have a paragraph that states anything that my kids don't want, it is to be packed up and donated to the SA. 

As far as Craig's List? I live in Boston and the Craig's List killer is still fresh in my mind. I know I am being paranoid about it, but I doubt if I will ever forget it. Every time I hear the words "Craig's List", it is the first thing I think about. Hopefully it will fade someday.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have two boxes of coffee mugs in the back of the car, I put them in there on Monday to drop off at Goodwill.  I remembered them when they clanked when I hit a toddler sized pothole.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have spoken with the owner of the store where Shrek buys his guitars.  He has offered his services, in selling on consignment, when the time comes.  I trust him, that he will not take advantage of my situation and get me fair value on the instruments.  All but two guitars will be sold, the last two will go with Shrek.  One is unplayable and belonged to his Uncle, the other is his favorite.
> 
> I don't know what I'm going to do with the didgeridoo...


Wow, you've made plans. Are you thinking of, um, getting rid of Shrek?   You'll be too far away for us to bring you the proverbial file in a cake. 

I have a totally unplayable guitar - my old Harmony my Dad gave me for Christmas one year. He quit drinking and used the money to get me that guitar for me and there is no way I'd part with it. I should get a mount for it and put it on the wall, but it just sits in the corner of the guest room instead.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I want to rant about idiots with no common sense. Another person driving in an unfamiliar area following their GPS to the letter. For Crying Out Loud, when the danged thing tells you to turn and that "street" you're turning onto is the frackin' railroad tracks *don't do it!* Seriously, that's what someone did in a town near us today. And guess what? A train was coming at him! He got out of the car and tried to flag down the train to stop...and at least had a little sense to move off the track before the train hit him. Another opportunity missed to thin the herd...


----------



## Somebunny

It really boggles the mind doesn't it CG?


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have two boxes of coffee mugs in the back of the car, I put them in there on Monday to drop off at Goodwill.  I remembered them when they clanked when I hit a toddler sized pothole.



All I have to do is put something I no longer want downstairs in the Community Room and it will disappear in a matter of minutes. I put down a bunch of those specialty mugs a few months back and they were gone by the next day. I was sick of using four ounce Christmas mugs.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Cooking Goddess said:


> I want to rant about idiots with no common sense. Another person driving in an unfamiliar area following their GPS to the letter. For Crying Out Loud, when the danged thing tells you to turn and that "street" you're turning onto is the frackin' railroad tracks *don't do it!* Seriously, that's what someone did in a town near us today. And guess what? A train was coming at him! He got out of the car and tried to flag down the train to stop...and at least had a little sense to move off the track before the train hit him. Another opportunity missed to thin the herd...



Was it Barnum or Bailey who said: "There's a fool born every minute."?

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Wow, you've made plans. Are you thinking of, um, getting rid of Shrek?   You'll be too far away for us to bring you the proverbial file in a cake.
> 
> I have a totally unplayable guitar - my old Harmony my Dad gave me for Christmas one year. He quit drinking and used the money to get me that guitar for me and there is no way I'd part with it. I should get a mount for it and put it on the wall, but it just sits in the corner of the guest room instead.



Hey, he's the one who won't take care of himself, I'm just trying to be practical.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> All I have to do is put something I no longer want downstairs in the Community Room and it will disappear in a matter of minutes. I put down a bunch of those specialty mugs a few months back and they were gone by the next day. I was sick of using four ounce Christmas mugs.



I don't have a Community Room...now if I can just remember to stop by Goodwill on the way to work.


----------



## cave76

Here's my  rant: Whether it's petty or not depends on whether a child gets hurt!

People who don't hold on to their toddler or larger child's hand in parking lots! No matter how careful a person is backing out of their space (esp. with a humungus SUV or pick-up truck next to them) a little kid is not always in their view!

A small child MAY be walking along obediently by it's parents side then WHOA! They will dash over to pick up a penny, look at a butterfly----etc. in a nano-second. Right behind you.

And  not just children! Just yesterday while backing out VERY slowly, looking both ways (but there's no way I can look in BOTH directions at the exact same time) and with my back-up lights working I was already about 2 feet out when a young woman ran behind me! I mean RIGHT behind me, with no more than a foot separating us.

She had to have seen my bumper but was in a hurry! A hurry? To the hospital? 

More likely  I would have been sued, insurance rate would go up and have guilt for her injury lingering with me the rest of my life!!!


----------



## taxlady

cave76 said:


> Here's my  rant: Whether it's petty or not depends on whether a child gets hurt!
> 
> People who don't hold on to their toddler or larger child's hand in parking lots! No matter how careful a person is backing out of their space (esp. with a humungus SUV or pick-up truck next to them) a little kid is not always in their view!
> 
> A small child MAY be walking along obediently by it's parents side then WHOA! They will dash over to pick up a penny, look at a butterfly----etc. in a nano-second. Right behind you.
> 
> And  not just children! Just yesterday while backing out VERY slowly, looking both ways (but there's no way I can look in BOTH directions at the exact same time) and with my back-up lights working I was already about 2 feet out when a young woman ran behind me! I mean RIGHT behind me, with no more than a foot separating us.
> 
> She had to have seen my bumper but was in a hurry! A hurry? To the hospital?
> 
> More likely  I would have been sued, insurance rate would go up and have guilt for her injury lingering with me the rest of my life!!!


That's one of the reasons I always make sure that my car is pointed nose out in parking spaces. When pulling out of a parking spot, I want to be going forwards. I had it suggested and explained to me by a truck driver.


----------



## cave76

taxlady said:


> That's one of the reasons I always make sure that my car is pointed nose out in parking spaces.* When pulling out of a parking spot, I want to be going forwards.* I had it suggested and explained to me by a truck driver.



I knew a couple of volunteer firemen who would only park their car (in their drive-way) nose out. Saved a few seconds when those seconds might count.

Although I used to be able to back a car into any tight spot (parallel parking) I'd hate to try that now! And I won't.  

Another solution, in a parking lot, is to pull into a spot then continue on into the empty spot in the next aisle. IF you can find one like that. That doesn't always happen in Handicapped parking spots though since there's often a barrier of some sort.


----------



## taxlady

cave76 said:


> I knew a couple of volunteer firemen who would only park their car (in their drive-way) nose out. Saved a few seconds when those seconds might count.
> 
> Although I used to be able to back a car into any tight spot (parallel parking) I'd hate to try that now! And I won't.
> 
> Another solution, in a parking lot, is to pull into a spot then continue on into the empty spot in the next aisle. IF you can find one like that. That doesn't always happen in Handicapped parking spots though since there's often a barrier of some sort.


I find those pull-through spots when I can. I find backing into a space far less stressful than backing out. At least when I'm backing in, I can see everything I could hit and nothing is moving, well, almost never.


----------



## Addie

My petty vent!   Mothers (and fathers) who don't dress their children warm enough for winter weather. So many times I see a child with no mittens on, no scarf, no boots, no hat and quite often not even socks. Yet the parent is dressed to the hilt and snugly warm. And my biggest vent is seeing babies without a hat on starting in early spring. Where were these mothers when it was announced that most of the body heat is lost through the head. Just because Mom thinks it is a beautiful warm spring day, doesn't mean it is suitable for a small baby to be in a sun suit and hatless.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Addie said:


> My petty vent!   Mothers (and fathers) who don't dress their children warm enough for winter weather. So many times I see a child with no mittens on, no scarf, no boots, no hat and quite often not even socks. Yet the parent is dressed to the hilt and snugly warm. And my biggest vent is seeing babies without a hat on starting in early spring. Where were these mothers when it was announced that most of the body heat is lost through the head. Just because Mom thinks it is a beautiful warm spring day, doesn't mean it is suitable for a small baby to be in a sun suit and hatless.



By the time my kids were in grade school, looking "cool" was more important to them than being warm.  We would put the warm clothes on them, and they would remove them, once they were out of our sight.  

On day, a blizzard hit.  I was enrolled in a University several miles from where I lived.  DW had our car in Canada, and the international bridge was closed down, leaving me without a vehicle.  I had to walk to the school where my kids were, as everything closed down due to the weather.  They would release the children until a parent showed up.  That was me.  Of course, the kids left the house without sufficient winter clothing, no hat, no mittens, light jackets.  It was about three blocks to my home from the school.  I had to snuggle then against me, and walk backwards against the wind to try and protect them from the driving snow.  As it was, we had to stop midway, at mom & pop store to let the frozen snow melt from their cheeks.  Then we walked the same way to our home.

It isn't always the parent's fault that a child isn't properly dressed for the cold.  I know this from experience.  I once had to walk 5 miles from town to home, through a blizzard, with no more protection than a light jacket.  I had suitable clothing available, but just didn't want to wear it.  It wasn't cool for a 16 year old.  That walk home from my after-school job taught me a lesson in preparedness that my parents couldn't.  I was a teen, full of hormones, and an immature brain, invincible, and without enough life experience.  It wasn't their fault.  It was mine.

But for those who don't give their children adequate protection from the weather, that truly is a terrible thing.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cave76

I agree with what the Chief said----- but if Addie is talking about babies then that may be another issue. However, my daughter, as a baby/toddler would whip a hat off her head as quick as a wink! She always hated anything on her head.

If I had lived in blizzard county I guess I could have stapled the hat on her head.

When it did snow and she was still young and played outside all the warm clothes I put on her were soaking wet from sledding, snow ball fights etc that  I wondered why I even put clothes on her. (just kidding guys, but you catch my drift.)


----------



## Andy M.

SO tells the story of how her son NEVER wore a coat or jacket when he went off to school or anywhere else.  Snow, cold, wind, it just didn't matter.  She'd buy him new jackets to entice him into wearing them and the would sit in the closet.

One day her son's teacher, the guidance counselor and school principal showed up at her home with a gift of a winter jacket for her son.  They explained they saw him coming to school without one and that it was OK for her to accept a gift for him.

She thanked them very kindly and showed them all the coats and jackets she had in the closet that he would not wear.  

When he turned 18, he moved to Florida and whenever he comes to visit now, all he does is complain about the cold (he's 43 YO now).


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> That's one of the reasons I always make sure that my car is pointed nose out in parking spaces. When pulling out of a parking spot, I want to be going forwards. I had it suggested and explained to me by a truck driver.


That's a good idea. It's gotten a bit easier to back up into any parking place since I got a car with a backup camera. Still not sure I would want to try this in downtown Akron though. One of their main streets has angle-in parking along the street, but you have to back into the parking spot. Yeah, like all the traffic behind you will wait patiently for THAT to happen. (I think) parallel parking would be easier.

I get annoyed with people who just don't pay attention and wander in the roadway. Maybe they're talking with friends, or maybe they are checking their cellphones, but they don't pay attention to what is happening around them. Their lack of awareness could end up causing me problems. Not fair!


----------



## taxlady

Yeah, angle parking is a nuisance. They angle it so it only makes sense to park nose in. I used to live on a fairly wide, one way street in Montreal. Whenever we got a lot of snow, people would angle park, because parallel parking got really difficult. But, everyone backed in. The angle was the other direction from what is usually painted in places with angle parking.


----------



## roadfix

I miss the wide parking spaces.  These days if you're trying to park anything wider than a mid-sized sedan in a crowded parking lot you're in trouble....


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I miss the wide parking spaces.  These days if you're trying to park anything wider than a mid-sized sedan in a crowded parking lot you're in trouble....


That's one of the nice things about going to "my" Costco. They repainted all of the spaces in their parking lot to make them wider. Unless someone has parked very badly, you can actually get the cart between the cars without risking the mirrors and paint jobs.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grrr. Slipped on a patch of ice. You know that stretch where you pull your foot towards your butt and how some people can actually touch their heal to their butt? I can't quite get that far but I can get within a couple inches and it's a good thing because that's how I landed. Right knee bent, my butt landed on my foot. Fortunately my calf was directly under my thigh so my knee didn't twist, but it did get over stretched and the initial fall was caused not just by my foot slipping on the ice but also by my ankle twisting when my foot slipped. I took a couple ibuprofen, elevated my leg, and iced my knee and ankle. No swelling or bruising of either but both are kind of achey. 

The hubby and I spent the day helping friends move so I'd already been lifting boxes and going up and down stairs all day. I was already fealing a bit stiff. We're supposed to help them finish up tomorrow. We'll see if I'm up to that. Will sleep in the recliner tonight so my leg stays elevated. Here's hoping.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Owie PAG!  Don't even try tomorrow if it's hurting.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Yeah, as much as I won't like not being able to help, I'd like further injuring myself less. They are good friends so I know they'll understand. Still really agravating.


----------



## taxlady

Don't have done that PAG. Ow! I hope it feels better soon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aw p.ag., you shouldn't have done that - the ice skating competitions are over at the Olympics.  Seriously, I hope your aches and pains go away quickly. Since it's good friends that are moving they'll know you didn't do this on purpose, right?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm not sleeping...I have, for the past few nights, been waking up at 4:30 wide awake.  5 hours of sleep is NOT enough.  But, the bad part is, the darned cats think this is when I should be up now, they started on me at 3:30.

And I'm so easily distracted going from one...SQUIRREL!!!!!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm not sleeping...I have, for the past few nights, been waking up at 4:30 wide awake.  5 hours of sleep is NOT enough.  But, the bad part is, the darned cats think this is when I should be up now, they started on me at 3:30.
> 
> And I'm so easily distracted going from one...SQUIRREL!!!!!


(((Hugs PF))). Not getting enough sleep is awful.

You aren't feeding those cats when you get up in the middle of the night, are you?


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm not sleeping...I have, for the past few nights, been waking up at 4:30 wide awake.  5 hours of sleep is NOT enough.  But, the bad part is, the darned cats think this is when I should be up now, they started on me at 3:30.
> 
> And I'm so easily distracted going from one...SQUIRREL!!!!!



PF, you and Beagle are apparently on the same schedule.  She's recently taken to getting up at 4:30 and barking like crazy at something outside.

Hope you can get back on track soon!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs PF))). Not getting enough sleep is awful.
> 
> You aren't feeding those cats when you get up in the middle of the night, are you?



Nope, not feeding them.  It's possible Latté is just really confused about what times I should be up and gone and home, what with the surgery, working half days, etc.  I have kinda messed with her schedule and me waking up at the same time two nights in a row, of course she gets petted and scritched when I get up, but no food.


----------



## CarolPa

PAG, you are lucky you didn't break a bone.  You will be quite sore, so take it easy.  Sometimes it takes a while for an injury to bloom.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Grrr. Slipped on a patch of ice. You know that stretch where you pull your foot towards your butt and how some people can actually touch their heal to their butt? I can't quite get that far but I can get within a couple inches and it's a good thing because that's how I landed. Right knee bent, my butt landed on my foot. Fortunately my calf was directly under my thigh so my knee didn't twist, but it did get over stretched and the initial fall was caused not just by my foot slipping on the ice but also by my ankle twisting when my foot slipped. I took a couple ibuprofen, elevated my leg, and iced my knee and ankle. No swelling or bruising of either but both are kind of achey.
> 
> The hubby and I spent the day helping friends move so I'd already been lifting boxes and going up and down stairs all day. I was already fealing a bit stiff. We're supposed to help them finish up tomorrow. We'll see if I'm up to that. Will sleep in the recliner tonight so my leg stays elevated. Here's hoping.



Good news, zero pain today. I'm still going to take it easy but we'll go to help our friends. Hubby can help with the lifting and carrying and I can help with light stuff (like holding doors open) and keeping their 2 y/o entertained. The stiffness from the work done yesterday is also gone and no achey muscles. Should be ok.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm not sleeping...I have, for the past few nights, been waking up at 4:30 wide awake.  5 hours of sleep is NOT enough.  But, the bad part is, the darned cats think this is when I should be up now, they started on me at 3:30.
> 
> And I'm so easily distracted going from one...SQUIRREL!!!!!



Toss her in a bath tub of water whenever she wakes you up. She'll stop.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Good news, zero pain today. I'm still going to take it easy but we'll go to help our friends. Hubby can help with the lifting and carrying and I can help with light stuff (like holding doors open) and keeping their 2 y/o entertained. The stiffness from the work done yesterday is also gone and no achey muscles. Should be ok.



Super glad you're not seriously hurt.  Now young lady, don't you be dropping like a stone anymore.  You make a dad worry with that kind of behavior.  And get boots with good, ice-sticky soles.  I'm the only one in this family that is immune to falls.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind, who never gets hurt from falling, of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Toss her in a bath tub of water whenever she wakes you up. She'll stop.



I'm hoping a spray bottle will have the same effect.


----------



## CatPat

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm hoping a spray bottle will have the same effect.



Perhaps some duct tape, yes? Ha!!

With love,
~Cat


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Only if I want a hairless cat!...


----------



## Dawgluver

princessfiona60 said:


> only if i want a hairless cat!...



duct taped Latte:


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

My phone has started randomly dropping the last character or two before the whitespace. So instead of, "understand" I end up with, "understan" or instead of, "Yesterday I watched a movie," I get, "Yesterday I watch a movie." Between this, typos, and my poor spelling it's a wonder I can post anything readable.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> duct taped Latte:
> 
> View attachment 20831



Now that's a kitty who needs a sweater...


----------



## taxlady

I wonder if most cats are that wrinkly under their fur.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> duct taped Latte:
> 
> View attachment 20831



Are you sure that critter isn't a gremlin, or maybe a bat whose wings have been clipped?  It looks pretty scary to me.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Are you sure that critter isn't a gremlin, or maybe a bat whose wings have been clipped?  It looks pretty scary to me.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


I saw this pic of a hairless cat on FB a while ago. I think the caption was, "My precious".


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

taxlady said:


> I saw this pic of a hairless cat on FB a while ago. I think the caption was, "My precious".


 
I just know I am going to have nightmares.


----------



## bakechef

roadfix said:


> Simply having a very high limit on a line of credit can affect your credit purchasing power in some instances, like if you're trying to finance a new car or applying for a home loan, for example.  You can potentially max out on your credit, increasing your monthly payment obligations.



That's actually an outdated concept.  Now high limits with very little utilized is great for your credit as lenders can see that you are very responsible.  Having high limits with very little utilized has helped my score climb.  I never have issues getting approved.  Any lender can look at my reports and see that I'm not leaning on my credit cards or spending more than I can afford. 

Your credit score will look a lot better if the reporting balance is $1000 on a $10,000 card than on a $2000 card, the $2000 card will be half maxed out where the other will only be 10%.  Keeping reported balances under 30% keeps the score healthy.  Even if you pay in full every month they will still report something depending on the date that it is set to report. 

Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That is pretty much how we've lived our credit life all along. High credit limit, responsible usage, pay off every month in full. Discover is now providing cardholders with a FICA score every month if you have their "It" card. FWIW, I didn't know the scale went higher than 800 ..till now.  It may just apply to our Discover use only, but since we manage all our bills the same I would think it's a good snapshot.


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> I agree with what the Chief said----- but if Addie is talking about babies then that may be another issue. However, my daughter, as a baby/toddler would whip a hat off her head as quick as a wink! She always hated anything on her head.
> 
> If I had lived in blizzard county I guess I could have stapled the hat on her head.
> 
> When it did snow and she was still young and played outside all the warm clothes I put on her were soaking wet from sledding, snow ball fights etc that  I wondered why I even put clothes on her. (just kidding guys, but you catch my drift.)



I was referring to young children, up to five or six years old. As far as the hats; I always bought hats that tied on and I did the tying. Tie it into a bow and then tie the bow again. Hats stayed on. I didn't have to much trouble with the girls. They were always getting earaches, so they knew the consequences of not wear their hat. Then when Poo came along he had the same problem and more often than not opted to stay in rather than bring on an earache. He got to the point that he wouldn't even tell me if he had one. He would just go and get the drops and take care of it himself. That kid was born to practice medicine.


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> That is pretty much how we've lived our credit life all along. High credit limit, responsible usage, pay off every month in full. Discover is now providing cardholders with a FICA score every month if you have their "It" card. FWIW, I didn't know the scale went higher than 800 ..till now.  It may just apply to our Discover use only, but since we manage all our bills the same I would think it's a good snapshot.



It's a Transunion FICO score, so it is a real one that reflects your Transunion credit report, so it is legit!  Usually to get all three REAL scores, you have to pay $30, so getting one free is a good thing.  I have Discover too.

There are lots of "credit scores" out there, but if they don't have the FICO logo than they aren't the real deal.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Addie said:


> I was referring to young children, up to five or six years old. As far as the hats; I always bought hats that tied on and I did the tying. Tie it into a bow and then tie the bow again. Hats stayed on. I didn't have to much trouble with the girls. They were always getting earaches, so they knew the consequences of not wear their hat. Then when Poo came along he had the same problem and more often than not opted to stay in rather than bring on an earache. He got to the point that he wouldn't even tell me if he had one. He would just go and get the drops and take care of it himself. That kid was born to practice medicine.



I think it's genetic.  I only enough to keep the wind off of my bare skin.  As I moved around (I was like the EverReady bunny, never stayed still), I rapidly overheated.  I still do.  I go out to shovel with a coat, a hat, gloves, and warm boots on.  5 minutes into the shoveling, I lose the hat.  The a few minutes later, the gloves gotta go.  Ten minutes or so after that, the coat is opened up.  Half the time, the coat gets laid on the car trunk before I'm done.  Mind you, it's usually snowing like crazy, with temps in the single digits when I'm shoveling.  I used to take short snowmobile rides in blue jeans and a tea shirt.

My kids are the same way.  And none of them stood still long enough for their body heat to be absorbed by the cold air.  It seems that their children are the same as well.  Some of us just generate lots of internal heat.  I guess you could say that in my family, we're "hot stuff".  That I roll is preemptive, so P.A.G. doesn't have to.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cave76

Addie;1347564 As far as the hats; I always bought hats that tied on and I did the tying. Tie it into a bow and then tie the bow again. Hats stayed on. I didn't have to much trouble with the girls. They were always getting earaches said:
			
		

> Addie---- Your children must have been much more compliant than my daughter. Too bad we can't travel back in time and I could lend you my daughter and let you see how 'the other kind' works.
> 
> She was a fairly well behaved daughter mostly. Just had a mind of her own from the git-go and hats on the head wasn't her idea of what she wanted!  I swear she was the daughter of Houdini!
> 
> I was a stay-at-home mom during her early years and we would go to a local lake to sun-bathe, dabble in the water. I watched with amazement when another woman brought her same age daughter to the beach. Spread a large beach towel. Plopped her on the towel, gave her a few toys and that kid stayed put! I swear there was Crazy Glue on  her bum!
> 
> My daughter in the meantime was going up and down the beach, collecting old cigarette butts, going a bit too far out in the water (I always kept an eye on her and brought her back), talking to young couples who would have rather not having a 2-3 year old kid talking to them (!) and in general having just a heck of a good time.
> 
> If I had had children as compliant as yours I might have had more than one.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I think it's genetic.  I only enough to keep the wind off of my bare skin.  As I moved around (I was like the EverReady bunny, never stayed still), I rapidly overheated.  I still do.  I go out to shovel with a coat, a hat, gloves, and warm boots on.  5 minutes into the shoveling, I lose the hat.  The a few minutes later, the gloves gotta go.  Ten minutes or so after that, the coat is opened up.  Half the time, the coat gets laid on the car trunk before I'm done.  Mind you, it's usually snowing like crazy, with temps in the single digits when I'm shoveling.  I used to take short snowmobile rides in blue jeans and a tea shirt.
> 
> My kids are the same way.  And none of them stood still long enough for their body heat to be absorbed by the cold air.  It seems that their children are the same as well.  Some of us just generate lots of internal heat.  I guess you could say that in my family, we're "hot stuff".  That I roll is preemptive, so P.A.G. doesn't have to.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I rolled my eyes anyway.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I rolled my eyes anyway.



I sense a redundancy in The Force...


----------



## LPBeier

A very dear lady, who has always referred to me as her 4 1/2 daughter, passed away last Thursday.  She is the Mom of my best friend from grade 8 on.  I was between my friend and her younger sister (no. 5) in age.  She sent me a birthday card last October, which she hasn't done in years, and I called to say thank you.  We had a short but delightful talk.

My vent is that my van has bald tires and I am still not well enough to handle transit so I am not able to go to the family graveside service tomorrow morning.  If there was no snow or chance of rain I would probably take the van, but with the current weather TB doesn't want me to risk it.  I have to go over a major bridge just at the tail end of rush hour.

We can't go anywhere but East without crossing a bridge


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

LPBeier said:


> A very dear lady, who has always referred to me as her 4 1/2 daughter, passed away last Thursday.  She is the Mom of my best friend from grade 8 on.  I was between my friend and her younger sister (no. 5) in age.  She sent me a birthday card last October, which she hasn't done in years, and I called to say thank you.  We had a short but delightful talk.
> 
> My vent is that my van has bald tires and I am still not well enough to handle transit so I am not able to go to the family graveside service tomorrow morning.  If there was no snow or chance of rain I would probably take the van, but with the current weather TB doesn't want me to risk it.  I have to go over a major bridge just at the tail end of rush hour.
> 
> We can't go anywhere but East without crossing a bridge



She knows you would be there if you could.  She's looking down on you, saying; "Don't fret child.  I'll be seeing you one of these days.  I'll have a place set for you at the table, and we'll talk, and eat, and remember good times."

I know of no one more loving, or considerate than you.  How could it be otherwise?

Seeeeeeya' Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) Laurie.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

LP, you'll be with them in spirit. Your bonus Mom knows that.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks, friends.  I know Mom M is looking down at all of us and I will be seeing her someday, I just really wanted to be part of the family and they wanted me to be there.

I called my friend and she understood completely.  I was going for my sake, but also for hers.  She and her Mom were close but not as close as she was to her Dad and she feels awkward in public situations.  She really was dreading today and I was going to be there for her to lean on.  I was relieved to find out that at the last minute her hubby was able to get the day off and go with her.  He is a rock.

I think I am also grieving that no matter what measures are taken to improve my health, I am always going to have to be aware of it and it will get in my way some times.  I just need to do the best I can to get my strength and immune system closer to normal.


----------



## MrsLMB

So we got this letter with our water bill yesterday.

It says:

"Our water system recently violated the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for TTHM. The average level of TTHM over the last four quarters was 0.089 MG/L. The standard for TTHM is 0.080 MG/L.

The levels detected do not pose an immediate risk to your health. 

For more information contact: Superintendant of Utilities."

Now what gets me about this is that the samples were taken between April 2013 and January 2014 .. why did they wait so long to notify us?

Gets my goat that they have apparently known but did not bother to inform.  Also what the heck does it mean there is no immediate risk to our health?  And just try to contact the superintendant .. voice mail ... it is all just so danged wrong !


----------



## cave76

MrsLMB said:


> So we got this letter with our water bill yesterday.
> 
> It says:
> 
> "Our water system recently violated the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for TTHM. The average level of TTHM over the last four quarters was 0.089 MG/L. The standard for TTHM is 0.080 MG/L.
> 
> The levels detected do not pose an immediate risk to your health.
> 
> For more information contact: Superintendant of Utilities."
> 
> Now what gets me about this is that the samples were taken between April 2013 and January 2014 .. why did they wait so long to notify us?
> 
> Gets my goat that they have apparently known but did not bother to inform.  Also what the heck does it mean there is no immediate risk to our health?  And just try to contact the superintendant .. voice mail ... it is all just so danged wrong !



Could that over-disinfection have been because of the West Virginia chemical spill?I don't know where you live in OH but the Ohio River and probably some tributaries were affected by it.


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB said:


> So we got this letter with our water bill yesterday.
> 
> It says:
> 
> "Our water system recently violated the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for TTHM. The average level of TTHM over the last four quarters was 0.089 MG/L. The standard for TTHM is 0.080 MG/L.
> 
> The levels detected do not pose an immediate risk to your health.
> 
> For more information contact: Superintendant of Utilities."
> 
> Now what gets me about this is that the samples were taken between April 2013 and January 2014 .. why did they wait so long to notify us?
> 
> Gets my goat that they have apparently known but did not bother to inform.  Also what the heck does it mean there is no immediate risk to our health?  And just try to contact the superintendant .. voice mail ... it is all just so danged wrong !



TTHM raises your risk for some diseases, but it's not like a microbe that would probably make you sick right away.

From West Virginia University

"*What are the health effects of THMs?*
According to a University of Florida report, exposure to THMs may pose an increased risk of cancer. According to Rebekah Grossman, two THMs, chloroform and dibromochloromethane, are carcinogens; and another THM, bromodichloromethane, has been identified as a mutagen, which alters DNA. Mutagens are considered to affect the genetics of future generations in addition to being carcinogenic. A California study indicates that THMs may be responsible for reproductive problems and miscarriage. The study found a miscarriage rate of 15.7 percent for women who drank five or more glasses of cold water containing more than 0.075 mg/l TTHM, compared to a miscarriage rate of 9.5 percent for women with low TTHM exposure. In addition to these risks, TTHMs are linked to bladder cancer, heart, lungs, kidney, liver, and central nervous system damage."


----------



## MrsLMB

Great info Tax .. ty !

Would have been nice if they had included something intelligent in the letter they sent to everyone ... so many people are really upset right now thinking they are all going to die .. geez .. this is a town of mainly elderly people and many do not have internet access to get info.

They are saying that decaying leaves got into the water and caused this.

Whatever it was ... I still say they really should be keeping us informed in real time .. not 9 months after they first detected the problem.

Thanks again for that info .. printed and taking it to a couple of my neighbors.


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB said:


> Great info Tax .. ty !
> 
> Would have been nice if they had included something intelligent in the letter they sent to everyone ... so many people are really upset right now thinking they are all going to die .. geez .. this is a town of mainly elderly people and many do not have internet access to get info.
> 
> They are saying that decaying leaves got into the water and caused this.
> 
> Whatever it was ... I still say they really should be keeping us informed in real time .. not 9 months after they first detected the problem.
> 
> Thanks again for that info .. printed and taking it to a couple of my neighbors.


From what I read, decaying leaves wouldn't do that. If they added extra chlorine to the water because of the decaying leaves, that could have caused it.

Well, the elderly don't have to worry about themselves being affected by the mutagenic problems or the increased miscarriages.


----------



## CarolPa

Recently our water authority had an issue with something found in one of the filters at the processing plant.  I don't recall what it was.  Some people were notified with a do not drink order, most were not.  It got around by word of mouth and a few days had passed before some even heard about it. Me, for instance.   Finally an article in the paper said that it did not effect the water supply because they caught it in time.  But they were fined for not handling the notification properly.  I usually drink bottled water, but I do cook with our tap water.  Never had a problem.


----------



## MrsLMB

taxlady said:


> Well, the elderly don't have to worry about themselves being affected by the mutagenic problems or the increased miscarriages.


 
The couple of people I gave that too had a good laugh and appreciated the information.




CarolPa said:


> I usually drink bottled water, but I do cook with our tap water. Never had a problem.


 
I have been drinking bottled water since the early 70's when I got really sick from tap water that was not properly treated where I lived in Sacramento. 

We got a Pur water filter that I use but still can not bring myself to drink from the tap. And probably a good thing since our house was built in 1927 and most of it is still original.

I do cook with tap water if it gets boiled. If not I use filtered water. I even give my dogs drink filtered water.


----------



## CharlieD

After CT scan doctor told me that I have two stones, 4 and 6 mm, stock somewhere in urethra (I think that is what he said it's called) If I do not pass them in 3 weeks, I will have to have surgery. In the mean time I'm in pain, not terrible, but it hurts. I'm not sure though what is worse to pass 6 mm (almost a 1/4 inc) rock or have the surgery.


----------



## Dawgluver

CharlieD said:


> After CT scan doctor told me that I have two stones, 4 and 6 mm, stock somewhere in urethra (I think that is what he said it's called) If I do not pass them in 3 weeks, I will have to have surgery. In the mean time I'm in pain, not terrible, but it hurts. I'm not sure though what is worse to pass 6 mm (almost a 1/4 inc) rock or have the surgery.



Gah!  That sounds terrible, Charlie. Drink plenty of cranberry juice and water, sure hope you can pass them on your own.  Stones are horribly painful, DH had kidney stones years ago, and he doesn't handle "regular" pain well.  It was torture for both of us.


----------



## LPBeier

On the subject of hairless cats, I am about to take a sticky lint brush to mine.

Monkey got up on the counter where I had a bowl of just made gluten free muffin flour mix.  I make it up and divide it into 12 x 1 dozen packs so I have it on hand.  Well I turned to get the bags and she jumped up and tipped over the whole bowl - all over the counter, sink, floor, me and her.  She is covered in the stuff and tries to lick it but it only makes it worse and she hates the taste.

Worst of all, she doesn't want me to catch her so she runs and jumps all over, sending yet more flour flying.

I love my cat, I love my cat, I ....


----------



## tinlizzie

Gosh, Charlie - that's awful.  Maybe the cranberry juice would chase them out.  I hope so.  Got any vodka?

Re the floury kitty -- I guess I know why this is not posted in 'the last thing that made you smile.'

Now if you had one of those hairless jobs...just hose it down.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) Charlie. I hope all goes well.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> After CT scan doctor told me that I have two stones, 4 and 6 mm, stock somewhere in urethra (I think that is what he said it's called) If I do not pass them in 3 weeks, I will have to have surgery. In the mean time I'm in pain, not terrible, but it hurts. I'm not sure though what is worse to pass 6 mm (almost a 1/4 inc) rock or have the surgery.



Charlie, drink 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in 8 ounces of water, you can add sweetener if you like, do this twice a day.  Extra water all day long.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Sorry to hear about your stones Charlie. Been there done that. I have to agree with PF's suggestions. I got the same recommendations from our Naturopath except she recommended using distilled water because its free of sediments which could possibly increase the size of the stone. Maybe that was just for our water here. She also recommended drinking lots of fruit and vegetable juices. These juices contain citrates which will aid in the breakup of the stones, the same as the lemon juice.
The plan is to drink, drink, drink. After four days mine had passed.


----------



## Addie

And one for you.   Charlie, here's praying that you pass those stones real fast. You have received some excellent advice from your friends here. Listen to them.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CharlieD said:


> After CT scan doctor told me that I have two stones...If I do not pass them in 3 weeks, I will have to have surgery....



Ye-ow! Hope everything comes out OK for you really soon and you feel better again.


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you for all the advises. I have been trying to drink a lot. Though I'm Terrible at that. I do not like water. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CharlieD said:


> Thank you for all the advises. I have been trying to drink a lot. Though I'm Terrible at that. I do not like water.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app



Charlie, I have nothing that I can add, except that I too hope your suffering is short lived, and that the stones flush themselves out soon, without the need for surgery.

I won't even make any jokes about this issue.  It's nothing to joke about, though it's a difficult thing.  Again, I hope the problem is over soon.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CarolPa

Charlie, click on How Kidney Stones are Treated.  It might convince you to drink more water and try to get them to pass!  My husband had them.  It was terrible.  He had a lot of pain, but got them to pass before the doctor had to go in.

Kidney Stones in Adults - National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse


----------



## GotGarlic

CharlieD said:


> Thank you for all the advises. I have been trying to drink a lot. Though I'm Terrible at that. I do not like water.



Does it help if you put some flavoring in the water, like lemon or lime or cucumber? As others have mentioned, cranberry juice has properties that help dissolve kidney stones. For me, cranberry juice is too tart, but I like cranapple juice.

I hope it passes soon and easily.


----------



## CharlieD

It does help to add a sweetener. But with the type of antibiotic I take I have to drink a lot more water than any normal situation. It's kind if hard. To even fit do much water in my stomach. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## CharlieD

Well, that antibiotic did not help in the end. I end up in the emergency room, at midnight, last night. And they had to admit me. Doctor wants to keep me till maybe Tuesday. But now the painkillers kick in and I better go close my eyes

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm sorry Charlie, no chasing nurses!!!  Get some rest!


----------



## Somebunny

Feel better soon Charlie!!


----------



## taxlady

Sleep well Charlie, and get well soon.


----------



## GotGarlic

Hope you feel better soon, Charlie!


----------



## LPBeier

Me too, Charlie - we want you healthy soon!


----------



## Dawgluver

Get better soon, Charlie!


----------



## CharlieD

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm sorry Charlie, no chasing nurses!!!  Get some rest!



Love it. Funny. Imagine, old, baldish, overweight, short man  running after cute Yong nurses with the catheter sticking out. Thanks I needed a smile to loosen up the pain.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> Love it. Funny. Imagine, old, baldish, overweight, short man  running after cute Yong nurses with the catheter sticking out. Thanks I needed a smile to loosen up the pain.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app



Sounds a lot like Shrek chasing after me...


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Get well Charlie. Jeez...chasing nurses...I'd like a vid of that.


----------



## taxlady

Chasing nurses, that's how you know they are getting better.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yup, time to go home once that starts.


----------



## Cheryl J

Best wishes for a very speedy recovery, Charlie.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hope you're healthy and out soon Charlie. Being sick isn't fun, add being in the hospital and it becomes intolerable. Unless you get Nurse PF. I bet THAT would be fun.


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you, thank you. Not quite OK yet. Hope they will re mm over the catheter today, then in two weeks its back for stone crushing.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## tinlizzie

Maybe after those two weeks all the snow will be gone.

Chasing nurses isn't bad, Charlie -- it's when you catch one that the problems begin.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

tinlizzie said:


> Maybe after those two weeks all the snow will be gone.
> 
> Chasing nurses isn't bad, Charlie -- it's when you catch one that the problems begin.



Ya gotta watch those nurses.  They carry around syringes, and are trained in the art of acupuncture.  You don't think its only purpose is to stop pain, do you?  Just ask PriFi.  How do you think she keeps Shrek in line.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Hope you're healthy and out soon Charlie. Being sick isn't fun, add being in the hospital and it becomes intolerable. Unless you get Nurse PF. I bet THAT would be fun.



Oh she's mean I tell ya! Makes you laugh so hard you bust your stitches...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Ya gotta watch those nurses.  They carry around syringes, and are trained in the art of acupuncture.  You don't think its only purpose is to stop pain, do you?  Just ask PriFi.  How do you think she keeps Shrek in line.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Shrek has a private nurse...he can't wait to get home so I can take over.


----------



## Mad Cook

CharlieD said:


> Love it. Funny. Imagine, old, baldish, overweight, short man running after cute Yong nurses with the catheter sticking out. Thanks I needed a smile to loosen up the pain.


  Whilst sympathising with your pain the rest was just a tad too much information. I will have that picture in my mind for the rest of the day.....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD describes most of my patients. LOL!!


----------



## bakechef

Finally did our taxes tonight, I've been putting it off, even though we're getting a refund.

I had to do them 3 times.  One "dummy" federal for each of us, so that we could file a state return because our state won't recognize our marriage and we have to file as single people, these have to be mailed in.

Then I did the final joint return, and that could be e-filed.  

Kind of a pain in the butt!  Now it's done and I can move on with life.


----------



## CharlieD

LOL indeed. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## LPBeier

Charlie, how are you feeling?


----------



## Dawgluver

I am extremely annoyed.  A 5 day round trip flying on Allegiant Air to Vegas for niece's graduation costs more than 2 weeks in Mexico which would include hotel.  Allegiant charges $30 for a carry on bag, and $50 for each checked bag, one way.  And, as I just found out, their checked bag weight allowance is 40 lb, not 50 lb, which is standard.  Our check in bag weighs 45 lb.  I pack very minimally, and we have gifts to bring.  I just went ahead and added the $30 for a carry on.  They better not even TRY to charge me for my purse!


----------



## Sprout

My 2 1/2-year-old is trying to kill me! She knocked me in the head with her head earlier, then hit me in the face with a thrown toy this afternoon, and just smashed me in the mouth with my phone. She didn't intend to hit me any of those times but that doesn't mean they hurt any less! Today seems dangerous. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Andy M.

I re-awakened my deep fryer last week.  I made some fries to go with a dinner last week.  I was planning to fry some potatoes tonight to go along with the pork souvlaki steaks I was going to grill.  The darned thing would not work.  Plugged it into different outlets, pressed the reset button, jiggled the cord.  No dice.  Dead as a doornail.

So I had to heat up the CI skillet with oil I ladled out of the fryer to cook up the potatoes.

I was planning fried chicken for Thursday night...


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I am extremely annoyed.  A 5 day round trip flying on Allegiant Air to Vegas for niece's graduation costs more than 2 weeks in Mexico which would include hotel.  Allegiant charges $30 for a carry on bag, and $50 for each checked bag, one way.  And, as I just found out, their checked bag weight allowance is 40 lb, not 50 lb, which is standard.  Our check in bag weighs 45 lb.  I pack very minimally, and we have gifts to bring.  I just went ahead and added the $30 for a carry on.  They better not even TRY to charge me for my purse!


What PITA. I hope all goes well.


Sprout said:


> My 2 1/2-year-old is trying to kill me! She knocked me in the head with her head earlier, then hit me in the face with a thrown toy this afternoon, and just smashed me in the mouth with my phone. She didn't intend to hit me any of those times but that doesn't mean they hurt any less! Today seems dangerous.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


(((Hugs))) I hope she stops the klutzing.


----------



## CharlieD

I'm better in the morning, but get worse at the night.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> TTHM raises your risk for some diseases, but it's not like a microbe that would probably make you sick right away.
> 
> 
> I know this is an old post, but I haven't read this thread for a while.
> 
> So you won't get sick right away.  Instead you will sit there for days, wondering when it's going to hit!
> 
> I'm sorry.  I don't mean to make a joke out of this, but after reading some of the other threads this morning, everything is funny to me.
> 
> I love this forum.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> I re-awakened my deep fryer last week.




Now I thought this said "I was awakened by my deep fryer"

I have to go do something else for a while.  I can't do this anymore this morning!!!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> Now I thought this said "I was awakened by my deep fryer"
> 
> I have to go do something else for a while.  I can't do this anymore this morning!!!!!



It appears you have you funny colored glasses om this morning.


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> taxlady said:
> 
> 
> 
> TTHM raises your risk for some diseases, but it's not like a microbe that would probably make you sick right away.
> 
> 
> I know this is an old post, but I haven't read this thread for a while.
> 
> So you won't get sick right away.  Instead you will sit there for days, wondering when it's going to hit!
> 
> I'm sorry.  I don't mean to make a joke out of this, but after reading some of the other threads this morning, everything is funny to me.
> 
> I love this forum.
> 
> 
> 
> I had to try to figure out what this was about, then I saw the "TTHM". Not sitting around for days wondering - wondering for years.
Click to expand...


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> CarolPa said:
> 
> 
> 
> I had to try to figure out what this was about, then I saw the "TTHM". Not sitting around for days wondering - wondering for years.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ok, so I don't know everything.  What is TTHM?
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Click to expand...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chief, it's times like this that google is my friend - my very good friend. 

Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) are a byproduct of chlorinating water that contains natural organics.

I didn't read the entire article, but just knowing that little bit of knowledge now makes me appropriately dangerous.


----------



## taxlady

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> taxlady said:
> 
> 
> 
> Ok, so I don't know everything.  What is TTHM?
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
> 
> 
> 
> You really mucked up that quote.
> 
> We discussed TTHM earlier in the thread. But, since Carol had also mucked up the quote, I couldn't just click the little arrow next to the name and go to the quoted post, so I could seen it in context.
> 
> Doesn't anyone use the "Preview Post" button?
> 
> Okay, apologies to the Chief and to Carol. The forum seems to be mucking up the quotes.
Click to expand...


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> Chief Longwind Of The North said:
> 
> 
> 
> You really mucked up that quote.
> 
> We discussed TTHM earlier in the thread. But, since Carol had also mucked up the quote, I couldn't just click the little arrow next to the name and go to the quoted post, so I could seen it in context.
> 
> Doesn't anyone use the "Preview Post" button?
> 
> Okay, apologies to the Chief and to Carol. The forum seems to be mucking up the quotes.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You thought I made a mistake!  Well, maybe I make one every 15 years or so. Oh, wait, that's every 15 seconds or so.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Click to expand...


----------



## taxlady

It's tax season, so of course my right wrist is acting up. I've put on the brace. Usually Stirling takes out the garbage, but with the broken rib, he can't carry anything heavier than a coffee cup. I couldn't carry all the garbage at once and was going to make two trips, but the temperature is dropping and the puddles are freezing over. It will just have to wait until Wednesday to go out. I'm not risking the icy walk again tonight.


----------



## Sprout

I hate that part when you're recovering from a stomach bug and your appetite returns before you're all the way better. I kept down some crackers earlier. I just ate a piece of bread and so far so good. I really just want to dig into a full meal, but know that's probably unwise at the moment! Fortunately the bug seems to be passing through my system pretty quickly! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I'm better in the morning, but get worse at the night.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app



Charlie, when I worked at Wyeth Pharmaceutical, I read an article about why patients feel worse at night, but seem all right during the day. It has something to do with the atmospheric pressure dropping at night when the temperature drops. I don't remember all of the explanation, but that was the whole gist of the article. 

Have you ever noticed that your kids are always a lot sicker at night and you swear you are going to take them to the doctor first thing in the morning? But by then they feel much better and you think it was something minor and don't bother with the doctor visit. Then come night again and you are kicking yourself for not going to the doctor with the child.


----------



## CharlieD

Wow. Interesting. Thank you. BTW, since I last posted, I had the stones crushed and removed and the a week latter they took out the stent. So I feel better now, thank G-d for modern medicine.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Charlie, I'm glad you're feeling better! Keep up the good work...and rest. I bet you feel better in the morning just because you got a nice night of sleep and rest. As the day wears, on so will you. Take it easy and don't do too much. 



Addie said:


> Charlie, when I worked at Wyeth Pharmaceutical, I read an article about why patients feel worse at night, but seem all right during the day. It has something to do with the atmospheric pressure dropping at night when the temperature drops...


Himself said that's known as "Gay-Lussac's Law". It's one of the four important Gas Laws he studied while majoring for three years at The Ohio State University. It wouldn't affect you on a day-by-day basis since it's such a minor difference daily. It IS what makes your joints ache when we're supposed to get rain or, in my case, what gives you a huge headache when a storm is approaching - namely, the sudden drop in the atmospheric pressure do to that approaching storm front. Daily? Not so much.


----------



## CatPat

Pets are also sicker at night.

I'm not complaining, but I am worried. DA is failing. She is requiring much more attention and to be honest, I know she is coming to the end of her days with me.

I just hope she will be well for to go back home in July. If not, Uncle Nicu has a small jet and that may be best for her. I may have to make a decision of this soon and I just hate it.

I am already of the option of Uncle's jet. It will make stops for fuel, but it will get her there in better comfort. 

If she continues, I will do this. I promised to take her home while she is alive, and I shall do this. I'm very worried.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## CarolPa

My husband has been in a lot of pain the past several days and he just showed me a rash on his side.  He has shingles!  I will call the DR tomorrow for meds.  I am very glad to know what was causing the pain since he would NOT go to the doctor, but he is in for some really miserable days ahead.  Shingles is terrible, and really bad in an older person.  He is 71.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CatPat said:


> Pets are also sicker at night.
> 
> I'm not complaining, but I am worried. DA is failing. She is requiring much more attention and to be honest, I know she is coming to the end of her days with me.
> 
> I just hope she will be well for to go back home in July. If not, Uncle Nicu has a small jet and that may be best for her. I may have to make a decision of this soon and I just hate it.
> 
> I am already of the option of Uncle's jet. It will make stops for fuel, but it will get her there in better comfort.
> 
> If she continues, I will do this. I promised to take her home while she is alive, and I shall do this. I'm very worried.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Hang on there my Dear Girl, I have some prayers and good thoughts going forth for you and DA.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> My husband has been in a lot of pain the past several days and he just showed me a rash on his side.  He has shingles!  I will call the DR tomorrow for meds.  I am very glad to know what was causing the pain since he would NOT go to the doctor, but he is in for some really miserable days ahead.  Shingles is terrible, and really bad in an older person.  He is 71.



Oh those are miserable, the first time I had them I was 15, have had them several times since.  I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy.  My condolences to your husband.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PF, shingles aren't a "one and done" problem?  I have my annual check-up with my doctor tomorrow (actually today per MA time) and I plan on asking about the vaccination. I'm surrounded by family that has had them. Mom was around 60 when she had a bout, our son was only 15 and in his freshman year of high school. When he got them we thought he had developed a rash from the wrestling mats at school. Imagine how surprised we all were to find out he had shingles. He's 33 now and, fingers crossed, hasn't had a repeat episode.

Carol, I hope those clear up quickly for him. Our son was young so he toughed it through OK, but I remember Mom being miserable for quite a while.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> My husband has been in a lot of pain the past several days and he just showed me a rash on his side.  He has shingles!  I will call the DR tomorrow for meds.  I am very glad to know what was causing the pain since he would NOT go to the doctor, but he is in for some really miserable days ahead.  Shingles is terrible, and really bad in an older person.  He is 71.



Carol have you had chicken pox? If you haven't, you should get the shot. When I told my doctor that I never had them, he called in the nurse and had her give me the shot right then and there in front of him. You can catch chicken pox from someone who has shingles. Don't be surprised if the Dr. wants him to come in so he can see how bad it is.


----------



## Addie

CatPat said:


> Pets are also sicker at night.
> 
> I'm not complaining, but I am worried. DA is failing. She is requiring much more attention and to be honest, I know she is coming to the end of her days with me.
> 
> I just hope she will be well for to go back home in July. If not, Uncle Nicu has a small jet and that may be best for her. I may have to make a decision of this soon and I just hate it.
> 
> I am already of the option of Uncle's jet. It will make stops for fuel, but it will get her there in better comfort.
> 
> If she continues, I will do this. I promised to take her home while she is alive, and I shall do this. I'm very worried.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



  One for you and one for DA. Cat, have you talked to your parents about this? They need to know. You also need to talk to her doctor and get  his opinion as well. Someone will have to go with her as Uncle Nicu can't take care of her personal needs while he is flying the plane. Stay strong Cat. I have faith in your ability to handle this and do what is best for DA. Prayers going up for the both of you.


----------



## CatPat

Addie said:


> One for you and one for DA. Cat, have you talked to your parents about this? They need to know. You also need to talk to her doctor and get  his opinion as well. Someone will have to go with her as Uncle Nicu can't take care of her personal needs while he is flying the plane. Stay strong Cat. I have faith in your ability to handle this and do what is best for DA. Prayers going up for the both of you.



This is the hard part. My whole family knows. She has an appointment with her doctor tomorrow and I may have to speak of this.

I will go with her, Addie. I may have to leave suddenly but this is what I must do. I must get her home alive, no matter what. I will care for her on the plane and make sure she is comfortable at home in Brasov.

I feel I am losing her. Uck, I am losing her, as no one lives forever. I just hope she can see me married before she leaves us. 

But I hope no one thinks I would put her on his plane without me there! No, that will not happen! Where she goes, I go. I owe her this.

The problem is, after she goes home, I come back alone. And right now, that idea is so frightening I don't want to think of it.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> PF, shingles aren't a "one and done" problem?  I have my annual check-up with my doctor tomorrow (actually today per MA time) and I plan on asking about the vaccination. I'm surrounded by family that has had them. Mom was around 60 when she had a bout, our son was only 15 and in his freshman year of high school. When he got them we thought he had developed a rash from the wrestling mats at school. Imagine how surprised we all were to find out he had shingles. He's 33 now and, fingers crossed, hasn't had a repeat episode.
> 
> Carol, I hope those clear up quickly for him. Our son was young so he toughed it through OK, but I remember Mom being miserable for quite a while.



Nope, not a "one and done" problem.  Get the shot!  I had a minimal reaction to the vaccine, but it's because I didn't have any protection against the virus, never developed the antibodies against it.

You know that statistic that 1 in 100 people can get chicken pox again?  Guess which group I fall into.  I've had chicken pox 4-5 times and the shingles a couple of times.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Cat)))


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CatPat said:


> This is the hard part. My whole family knows. She has an appointment with her doctor tomorrow and I may have to speak of this.
> 
> I will go with her, Addie. I may have to leave suddenly but this is what I must do. I must get her home alive, no matter what. I will care for her on the plane and make sure she is comfortable at home in Brasov.
> 
> I feel I am losing her. Uck, I am losing her, as no one lives forever. I just hope she can see me married before she leaves us.
> 
> But I hope no one thinks I would put her on his plane without me there! No, that will not happen! Where she goes, I go. I owe her this.
> 
> The problem is, after she goes home, I come back alone. And right now, that idea is so frightening I don't want to think of it.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



You won't be alone for long, you have Laki and Carl and US!  I know we are not DA, but we will continue to fill your life with joy.

Think of the Love and Trust you have received, the Privilege of caring for DA and learning more about her and her life.  Remember, this is her Journey and she wants you at her side as her Companion, but only for the first steps, after that Someone stronger will be there to Greet her and be her Companion for the rest of her Journey.


----------



## cave76

CarolPa said:


> My husband has been in a lot of pain the past several days and he just showed me a rash on his side.  He has shingles!  I will call the DR tomorrow for meds.  I am very glad to know what was causing the pain since he would NOT go to the doctor, but he is in for some really miserable days ahead.  Shingles is terrible, and really bad in an older person.  He is 71.



Shingles can be very painful, very debilitating in some. In others it's more like a bad rash and very annoying. I had the first kind. My shingles occurred just before I came down with a devastating case of Lyme disease that left me bed bound for months and very sick for a very long time. I'll always wonder if having  had the shingles made my Lyme disease so bad.

I had to be off work for a month from shingles and was horribly fatigued for quite a while after that.
Acyclovir is often rx'd for shingles. Or maybe another type of antiviral is now the preferred med.

A person with shingles should also avoid being around anyone who is pregnant or might suspect they're pregnant.

Also, from the CDC, but I'm sure his doctor will tell him this also:

_"A person with shingles can spread the virus when the rash is in the blister-phase. A person is not infectious before blisters appear. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longer contagious.
Shingles is less contagious than chickenpox and the risk of a person with shingles spreading the virus is low if the rash is covered."_

I hope your husbands shingles is very limited in it's scope. Keep us posted.


----------



## CarolPa

He is in extreme pain.  I was too when I had it.  We were headed to MedExpress but stopped at the PCP's office on a chance they could see him.  They did, and saved us $25 copay.  

*PF*, you are the first person I have heard that had it more than once.  It says online that it's possible, but rare.  The doctor really wants me to get the vaccine.  DH really doesn't want me to.  It also said online that you can still get shingles if you take the vaccine, but it will be a very mild case.  I don't want to get shingles again, but there's something about me, that if something can go wrong, it will.  I am the one who gets the very rare side effects of meds.  I am the one who gets the rare complications after surgeries or other medical procedures.  So I'm hesitant to have it.

My step daughter had it in high school.  Over the years her husband has had it, my step-son had it.  None of these people caught it from each other.  I was the only one who had it bad enough to need pain med.  They were all much younger than I.  I had the pain for 6 months afterwards, but I was only off work the first 6 days after diagnosis.  No matter who you talk to, most have a family member who had it.


----------



## CarolPa

Cat, I hope your DA is OK.  You have taken very good care of her.


----------



## Andy M.

Doc offered me the shingles shot when I was in my 50s.  I was easy to convince.  Got the shot and never had any issues with it.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> Doc offered me the shingles shot when I was in my 50s.  I was easy to convince.  Got the shot and never had any issues with it.




I think you did the right thing, Andy.  I am considering it, too.  I really don't want to wait until I get it again and have to say, "Yes, you can get it more than once."


----------



## taxlady

I think I will look into getting vaccinated for chicken pox or shingles. I may or may not have had chicken pox as a kid. All the other kids in the neighbourhood got chicken pox. I got sick, but didn't have any chicken pox symptoms. The doctor wasn't sure. I was exposed to chicken pox many times as a child, after that, and never got it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> He is in extreme pain.  I was too when I had it.  We were headed to MedExpress but stopped at the PCP's office on a chance they could see him.  They did, and saved us $25 copay.
> 
> *PF*, you are the first person I have heard that had it more than once.  It says online that it's possible, but rare.  The doctor really wants me to get the vaccine.  DH really doesn't want me to.  It also said online that you can still get shingles if you take the vaccine, but it will be a very mild case.  I don't want to get shingles again, but there's something about me, that if something can go wrong, it will.  I am the one who gets the very rare side effects of meds.  I am the one who gets the rare complications after surgeries or other medical procedures.  So I'm hesitant to have it.
> 
> My step daughter had it in high school.  Over the years her husband has had it, my step-son had it.  None of these people caught it from each other.  I was the only one who had it bad enough to need pain med.  They were all much younger than I.  I had the pain for 6 months afterwards, but I was only off work the first 6 days after diagnosis.  No matter who you talk to, most have a family member who had it.



I don't know anyone else who has had chicken pox and shingles as many times as I have.  I really had to be talked into the shingles shot, because I didn't want to deal with shingles again or chicken pox.  I'm the one that gave my baby brother chickenpox when I had the shingles.

I've had my blood checked, I have no antibodies to fight chicken pox or shingles.  I haven't had it checked since I got the vaccine.

I just hope your husband can get through his bout.


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I don't know anyone else who has had chicken pox and shingles as many times as I have.
> 
> I've had my blood checked,* I have no antibodies to fight chicken pox or shingle*s.



First---- Carol---- I'll be hoping your husband recovers from this quickly--- is the doctor going to rx a viral med?

PF-----Antibodies are strange things.  They can seem to appear then disappear (via blood tests).


----------



## CarolPa

Yes Cave, he got an rx for a viral med and pain pills.  The viral med makes him nauseated.  If there is no improvement in the nausea by Monday I will call the doc and ask for a different one.  It can't help him if he won't take it.  The pain meds are dulling the pain somewhat, but not as much as he would like.  This is only day 1.  He has nothing he has to do, so he can just rest.  Hopefully it will get better as time goes on.  He is not good at taking meds.  He doesn't want to take his blood pressure pills because he says you can't mix all these pills together.  He's wrong about that.  I take so many pills and they all get mixed together.  So I have to check on him to make sure he takes the blood pressure meds.


----------



## Cheryl J

Carol, I'm sorry to hear of your DH's bout with shingles.  I do hope it's short lived and that he feels better soon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Health (Hell) Connector. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 'Nuff said.


----------



## Addie

Four of my children had chicken pox twice. When my kids were growing up the only meds they had for childhood diseases was the DPT shot and the shot for polio. My mother had polio as a child and my sister came down with it before there was the Salk vaccine. 

I am one of those mothers who made sure all her children got all their shots when they were supposed to. And when the Salk vaccine came out, they were first in line for it. Now there is a law here in Mass. that children up through college must have all their vaccines before they can start school. Fortunately I kept Poo's medical record and when he went to college here in Mass., he had all his information. Four of my children had measles before there was an injection for it. (There was an epidemic that was bad enough that children were dying. ) Three were damaged. My oldest daughter lost her vision for three months, Poo's heart was severely damaged and Maureen's kidneys were damaged enough that she was placed on the transplant list. Two children up the street from me died from them. So now when anyone tells me that "It is only a childhood disease. Let them get it and get it over with it", I go spastic. When The Pirate got chicken pox the second time, he was sick enough to be in the hospital. He was 15 at the time. When the vaccine came out for the CP, he made sure he got the shot for shingles right away.  

 So for those of you that have not had their shot for the Chicken Pox or Shingles, please make sure you get it. I don't want to go spastic on you.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You won't be alone for long, you have Laki and Carl and US!  I know we are not DA, but we will continue to fill your life with joy.
> 
> Think of the Love and Trust you have received, the Privilege of caring for DA and learning more about her and her life.  Remember, this is her Journey and she wants you at her side as her Companion, but only for the first steps, after that Someone stronger will be there to Greet her and be her Companion for the rest of her Journey.



Cat, you will always have us. And I think it is safe to say Carl and Laki as well. When you get scared of losing DA, read PF's second paragraph. I would suggest that you print it out and put it where you will see it every day. You will never be alone as DA won't either. And I know for sure that when she starts her final journey, her thoughts will be of you. 

When you return, you will still have the suppers with your friends in your lair. You can invite her male companion and your Aunt along with Carl and Laki. You will sit around the table telling stories of DA. She will always be with you in your heart. You were given the privilege of caring for her and filling her life with laughter and love. When it is time to finish her journey here on earth, do not be sad. Remember to read what PF wrote. We all love you Cat. Be strong!


----------



## Addie

Good Saturday Morning. Or is it? I will have to get back to you on the "Good" part. 

The rest of the nation is getting the pictures of the Marathon Bombing as just a story. The anniversary is coming up. But here is Boston, it is the only news. Now I feel just as bad and upset as the rest of the population here in Boston. But as the anniversary gets closer and closer, it is the only news on all our local TV station. There are shows happening all over the city to raise additional monies for the *One Fund.* Every person it seems who was in the vicinity of the bombing, is being interviewed. Every person who might have taken a picture with their cell phones and sent it into the FBI, is being interviewed. Neighbors of every victim are being interviewed. And they are all asked the same dumb question.

"Did you ever expect something like this could happen in Boston?" 

 "Of course I did. That's why I went to see the runners cross the finish line. That is why I wanted to see legs and arms just laying in the street. And I am going to it again this year and hope for bigger bombs to go off." 

Okay my vent is over. I am just so sick of hearing about the Marathon Bombing around the clock.


----------



## cave76

CarolPa said:


> Yes Cave, he got an rx for a viral med and pain pills.  The viral med makes him nauseated.  If there is no improvement in the nausea by Monday I will call the doc and ask for a different one.  It can't help him if he won't take it.  The pain meds are dulling the pain somewhat, but not as much as he would like.  This is only day 1.  He has nothing he has to do, so he can just rest.  Hopefully it will get better as time goes on.  He is not good at taking meds.  He doesn't want to take his blood pressure pills because he says you can't mix all these pills together.  He's wrong about that.  I take so many pills and they all get mixed together.  So I have to check on him to make sure he takes the blood pressure meds.



I couldn't take the anti-viral med they gave me for shingles either---- I'd throw it right back up! No other med was offered by my doctor.Well meaning friends offered suggestions for alternative OTC methods----- but none of them worked.

Vicodin, for pain, was also thrown right back up.

About your husband saying "you can't mix drugs"---- well, he's partially right. There's a very well known situation called polypharmacy----which is a problem when a person is given TOO many drugs (usually by different doctors for different problems) but if just one doctor is overseeing a patient then that shouldn't  happen.

Anyway, there's a site on the Internet:

Drug Interactions Checker - For Drugs, Food & Alcohol

Perhaps if your husband sees for himself that there's no interactions between his drugs he'll be willing to take the med.* Or not, men being men!* 

It also covers supplements/herbs because just because it's a herb or OTC doesn't mean it's always safe and doesn't have side effects--- some can be serious.


----------



## cave76

Addie said:


> Okay my vent is over. I am just so sick of hearing about the Marathon Bombing arIound the clock.



I can imagine that where you live the coverage is more intense than it would be elsewhere. But I hear ya!


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> I can imagine that where you live the coverage is more intense than it would be elsewhere. But I hear ya!



Even National Geographic is having a special on it. I think I may have to go to Churchill, Canada and play with the polar bears to get away from it.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...Okay my vent is over. I am just so sick of hearing about the Marathon Bombing around the clock.



Addie, one of my major irritations is how the media overplays news stories.  Whether it's the weather, a disaster, the bombing or whatever.  It's in your face around the clock.  The more drama the better.  

Why is it better if some poor sap of a reporter is outdoors standing in the middle of a blizzard, hurricane, tornado, flood etc.  ARRGGGGHHHH!!


----------



## cave76

Andy M. said:


> *Why is it better if some poor sap of a reporter is outdoors standing in the middle of a blizzard, hurricane, tornado, flood etc.  *ARRGGGGHHHH!!



There's always the hope that he might get blown away by the hurricane winds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ni7ULcj94


----------



## cave76

Addie said:


> I think I may have to go to Churchill, Canada and play with the polar bears to get away from it.



I've always wanted to visit Churchill! When you go please be safe.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Addie, one of my major irritations is how the media overplays news stories.  Whether it's the weather, a disaster, the bombing or whatever.  It's in your face around the clock.  The more drama the better.
> 
> Why is it better if some poor sap of a reporter is outdoors standing in the middle of a blizzard, hurricane, tornado, flood etc.  ARRGGGGHHHH!!



Overkill!! I would love to overkill some of the news departments.


----------



## LPBeier

I have to agree about overblown news stories.  Here in Canada it is the mayor of Toronto.  I don't know how I feel about him, I just know I am tired of hearing about it.

My real vent is about my new cell phone.  It is great.  It is how we were treated and how we got ripped off.  My plan was due for renewal last Sunday.  Up until then the company we are with (Fido for Canadians) was advertising the Samsung S4 for $200 with renewal.  When we went there the person we have been dealing with for a few years was off.  The two that were there were speaking the whole time to each other in their own language.  They told us the phone was now $300 and if we wanted we could wait 2-3 weeks until the S5 comes out and the S4 would probably be lower.  My phone and my tablet both weren't working and TB wanted me to have the new phone ASAP so we paid the $300.  When I mentioned that we were regular customers the woman said we weren't in her system.  No deals were discussed and we were treated like we were buying a candy bar.

Just yesterday TB got an email from Bestbuy advertising the S5 (different providers) for $229.  

He is phoning Fido today saying either refund the entire price of the phone, give us the S5 instead and match the price or, cancel the whole thing and we will take our business elsewhere!

First the van and now this - why can't anything be simple anymore!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Nope, not a "one and done" problem.  Get the shot!  I had a minimal reaction to the vaccine, but it's because I didn't have any protection against the virus, never developed the antibodies against it....



Doc wasn't sure what my insurance would charge. He thought it should be $50? But then again it could be $200! I'm waiting until I check with the insurance company, not so much to decide if to get it as to figure out how big of a charge I have to brace myself for!  It's not like there's been a run on shingles around here, just a run on "get the singles vaccine ad" push around here on TV. Meanwhile, we also figured it was OK for me to forego my flu shot since the flu season winds down about now. Didn't get the shot and...the news last night said the flu is making a comeback. *sigh*


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You won't be alone for long, you have Laki and Carl and US!  I know we are not DA, but we will continue to fill your life with joy.
> 
> Think of the Love and Trust you have received, the Privilege of caring for DA and learning more about her and her life.  Remember, this is her Journey and she wants you at her side as her Companion, but only for the first steps, after that Someone stronger will be there to Greet her and be her Companion for the rest of her Journey.



Cat, ^this^. I couldn't have said it as eloquently as PF did. I have you, DA, and all your family and friends in my thoughts and prayers.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Good Saturday Morning. Or is it? I will have to get back to you on the "Good" part.....I am just so sick of hearing about the Marathon Bombing around the clock.


Thank goodness Himself and I aren't the only ones feeling this overload of remembrance. I've resorted to getting my news from the internet only for the time being. That way I have the choice to read just the current events and the weather.


----------



## CarolPa

Cave, I believe the pharmacies in our area are connected online in such a way that the pharmacist can see the prescriptions we have had filled elsewhere.  I know that's the way it was when I worked at the mail-order pharmacy.  In fact, they keep sending me emails suggesting that I switch my retail prescriptions over to mail-order.  So they can see what I'm getting elsewhere.  If there is a drug interaction the order is stopped dead and a call is made to the doctor to let him know there's an interaction and suggest that he choose another drug.   I am confortable with this set up.  DH is afraid to take a Rolaids when he takes his blood pressure med.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, I was in grade school when the Polio Vaccine came out.  All the kids got their first shot in school, administered free by the county.  We were supposed to follow up with the doctor for the boosters.  My parents did not have the money for this so we never got the boosters.  I guess we were just lucky not to get polio.  We got through chicken pox, measles and mumps without a problem, except for my younger brother.  He was born with the cord wrapped around his neck and already had problems because of that.  He caught chicken pox from one of us older ones, got a really high fever, which caused more severe brain damage and was profoundly retarded from that point on.  I know the word "retarded" is now politically incorrect, but that is the word that was used back in the 50's.  Now they say "mentally challenged."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Doc wasn't sure what my insurance would charge. He thought it should be $50? But then again it could be $200! I'm waiting until I check with the insurance company, not so much to decide if to get it as to figure out how big of a charge I have to brace myself for!  It's not like there's been a run on shingles around here, just a run on "get the singles vaccine ad" push around here on TV. Meanwhile, we also figured it was OK for me to forego my flu shot since the flu season winds down about now. Didn't get the shot and...the news last night said the flu is making a comeback. *sigh*



I only know what I paid for the vaccine itself which was my co-pay, I got it from the facility pharmacy and had one of the nurses give me the shot.  Only way I felt safe, was getting it done while i was at work and everyone was watching me for adverse effects considering my history with CP and Shingles.  Like I said, just a mild reaction.

I'm thinking the shot should only cost you what ever your co-pay is for a prescription.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Depends on what Tier it's in PF. Last year my three maintenance meds would cost under $20 for three months of all three. This year, for some rea$on, my pravastatin was bumped up to Tier 2. Just three months of that one med now costs me $40 through my new, higher premium/lower quality, "affordable" health plan. *grumble*grumble*


----------



## cave76

CarolPa said:


> Cave, I believe the pharmacies in our area are connected online in such a way that the pharmacist can see the prescriptions we have had filled elsewhere.  I know that's the way it was when I worked at the mail-order pharmacy.  In fact, they keep sending me emails suggesting that I switch my retail prescriptions over to mail-order.  So they can see what I'm getting elsewhere.  If there is a drug interaction the order is stopped dead and a call is made to the doctor to let him know there's an interaction and suggest that he choose another drug.   I am confortable with this set up.  DH is afraid to take a Rolaids when he takes his blood pressure med.



That's a good thing and it probably is getting more and more common. I still check for myself because my pharmacy, though a big one, has made so many errors/glitches (none of the life threatening kind, yet!) I don't trust them to give me the time.

Your DH sounds even more cautious!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh, I know...one of my meds is $85 a month for the co-pay, others are $35 for Brand Name and the rest $10 or less for generics. Some of them don't have generics, yet.  It's cheaper to keep Shrek ticking along.


----------



## CarolPa

I think shots are priced differently than meds, but it might depend on the insurance.  If I get a flu shot at my doctor's office it's free because I'm a senior citizen with health issues.  But if I get it somewhere else I pay.  If I decide to get the shingles shot I will call my insurance first and find out how much it is.  That will make the decision for me to get it or not.  I also might get the pneumonia shot.  I read online that it's hard to get Medicare to approve the shingles shot, but I have a supplement insurance so that might work differently.


----------



## CarolPa

Cave, when I was in the hospital once for my heart, I had to stop taking my Metformin 2 days before and 2 days after the procedure because Metformin interacts with the contrast dye.  The morning after my procedure a nurse brought my meds and I told her I wasn't supposed to take the Metformin.  She insisted I had to take it.  I argued with her, but I finally took it to make her go away.  In hindsight, I wish I had told her to call the doctor and tell him I'm refusing to take my meds.  I told the nurse on the next shift about the issue and she reported it and had the nurse reprimanded.  She said it was in my chart that I was supposed to take it, but I think they were just trying to cover their butts.  I think if I said I wasn't supposed to take it they should have checked that out before they insisted I take it.  I guess ultimately it was my fault, because I caved and took it.  They checked my kidney function and I was OK.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> I think shots are priced differently than meds, but it might depend on the insurance.  If I get a flu shot at my doctor's office it's free because I'm a senior citizen with health issues.  But if I get it somewhere else I pay.  If I decide to get the shingles shot I will call my insurance first and find out how much it is.  That will make the decision for me to get it or not.  I also might get the pneumonia shot.  I read online that it's hard to get Medicare to approve the shingles shot, but I have a supplement insurance so that might work differently.



The shots are based on what your insurance is willing to pay for, Medicare is the same.  If I could get Shrek to get the flu shot, it would be free at the doctor's office and would have to pay for it elsewhere.   

Otherwise for most insurance any shot is placed on the Tier Level your insurance is willing to pay for that vaccine.  I got the pneumonia shot at an early age, insurance only pays for it at age 60, but considering my health history my doctor wanted me to have it...it cost me the top tier price because the insurance can get away with it because of my age, 52.  If I had waited until 60, I would have paid the lowest tier price, from free to $10.

I get the flu shot free at work each year.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> Cave, when I was in the hospital once for my heart, I had to stop taking my Metformin 2 days before and 2 days after the procedure because Metformin interacts with the contrast dye.  The morning after my procedure a nurse brought my meds and I told her I wasn't supposed to take the Metformin.  She insisted I had to take it.  I argued with her, but I finally took it to make her go away.  In hindsight, I wish I had told her to call the doctor and tell him I'm refusing to take my meds.  I told the nurse on the next shift about the issue and she reported it and had the nurse reprimanded.  She said it was in my chart that I was supposed to take it, but I think they were just trying to cover their butts.  I think if I said I wasn't supposed to take it they should have checked that out before they insisted I take it.  I guess ultimately it was my fault, because I caved and took it.  They checked my kidney function and I was OK.



You have to be very proactive when in the hospital, refusing medications you know you are not supposed to take and those you are supposed to take.  I was considered non-compliant because  I refused to take the Lantus insulin.  I had no problem taking the regular insulin and insisted on taking my normal Victoza.  They also tried changing my cholesterol medications...didn't happen.

Don't cave in when in the hospital, just tell the nurse, "no".  You can also demand a different nurse.


----------



## CarolPa

I used to get flu shots free at work, but I quit getting them now that I'm retired.  For one thing, I have never had the flu in my life.  Bad colds, but no achy, fever,etc.  The other reason, a good friend of ours recently developed Gillian Barre syndrome after getting the flu shot.  He is in very bad shape now. I know, my doctor told me that is very rare, but it seems if something can go wrong, it will go wrong for me.  So I choose not to get it.  

I will never cave to a nurse again, PF.  In the past few years I have been in the hospital for 3 10day stays for surgery, and 2 5 day stays for other things.  I've learned a lot and realize that everyone can make a mistake and I have to look out for myself as much as I can.  Don't do something just because a nurse tells you to.  I respect them for what they do.  They have a hard job.  But no one is infallible.


----------



## CharlieD

I never get flu shots. Couple of years ago my doctor talk me into it, so I did. Guess what, this was the time I got flu in years, if ever.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> I used to get flu shots free at work, but I quit getting them now that I'm retired.  For one thing, I have never had the flu in my life.  Bad colds, but no achy, fever,etc.  The other reason, a good friend of ours recently developed Gillian Barre syndrome after getting the flu shot.  He is in very bad shape now. I know, my doctor told me that is very rare, but it seems if something can go wrong, it will go wrong for me.  So I choose not to get it.
> 
> I will never cave to a nurse again, PF.  In the past few years I have been in the hospital for 3 10day stays for surgery, and 2 5 day stays for other things.  I've learned a lot and realize that everyone can make a mistake and I have to look out for myself as much as I can.  Don't do something just because a nurse tells you to.  I respect them for what they do.  They have a hard job.  But no one is infallible.



As a nurse, I pay attention to what my patients say and I enjoy patients who are informed.  I would rather hold a medication and get clarification from the doctor.  One thing about being a patient lately, I've learned how helpless you feel when in the clutches of our healthcare system and nurses that act like robots, never questioning and being the patient advocate - which is what we are supposed to be...the _patient_ advocate.


----------



## bakechef

LPBeier said:


> I have to agree about overblown news stories.  Here in Canada it is the mayor of Toronto.  I don't know how I feel about him, I just know I am tired of hearing about it.
> 
> My real vent is about my new cell phone.  It is great.  It is how we were treated and how we got ripped off.  My plan was due for renewal last Sunday.  Up until then the company we are with (Fido for Canadians) was advertising the Samsung S4 for $200 with renewal.  When we went there the person we have been dealing with for a few years was off.  The two that were there were speaking the whole time to each other in their own language.  They told us the phone was now $300 and if we wanted we could wait 2-3 weeks until the S5 comes out and the S4 would probably be lower.  My phone and my tablet both weren't working and TB wanted me to have the new phone ASAP so we paid the $300.  When I mentioned that we were regular customers the woman said we weren't in her system.  No deals were discussed and we were treated like we were buying a candy bar.
> 
> Just yesterday TB got an email from Bestbuy advertising the S5 (different providers) for $229.
> 
> He is phoning Fido today saying either refund the entire price of the phone, give us the S5 instead and match the price or, cancel the whole thing and we will take our business elsewhere!
> 
> First the van and now this - why can't anything be simple anymore!



That's awful!  That it's way too much for that phone!  That it's a very good phone, but it has been out for a while so it shouldn't be nearly that expensive!  Here the s4 on Verizon is $99 (USD) on contract and the s5 is $199.  I believe that the s5 is even on a bogo deal right now.  

Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## cave76

CharlieD said:


> I never get flu shots. Couple of years ago my doctor talk me into it, so I did. Guess what, this was the time I got flu in years, if ever.



Rotten luck! 

I have never gotten the flu shot and I probably won't ever get one unless they hold me down. That doesn't mean that flu shots are dangerous or ineffective for the most part even though the flu vaccine for a present year is made on some educated 'guesses' which are usually right but sometimes not.

If a person is worried about the thimerosal (contains a tiny amount of mercury) then it's best to only get a flu shot from an individual vial (one shot per vial) instead of those used by places that give multiple shots from the same vial. (Those multiple shot vials contain the thimerosal as a preservative and the single dose ones don't.)

If getting the flu vaccine from say a drug store or other facility that uses the multiple dose vial, if that doesn't worry you, always make sure you see the nurse open the sterile syringe and needle package in front of you.

Some will be inclined to say-------oh, that could never happen here in the U.S. Yet why does the CDC put this warning out on their site if it's never  happened?
_
"A Patient Safety Threat – Syringe Reuse
Important Information!
Please read this fact sheet if you have received a letter stating that you may be at risk due to syringe reuse by your healthcare provider.
Patients need to be aware of a very serious threat to their health - the reuse of needles or syringes, and the misuse of medication vials. Healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, and anyone providing injections) should never reuse a needle or syringe either from one patient to another or to withdraw medicine from a vial. Both needle and syringe must be discarded once they have been used. It is not safe to change the needle and reuse the syringe - this practice can transmit disease."
_
CDC - Syringe Reuse - Injections Safety

I personally have been a patient in a doctors office where someone got Hep C from just that very thing! This was not a sleazy, dirty office but a very clean one with nice doctors and staff.

The decision whether or not to get a flu shot is individual but please be aware of some pros and cons first.

Sometimes the decision is 'made for you'----sometimes as a condition of employment (schools, nursing facilities, hospitals etc.) Some states (all?) require children in school and pre-school to get a flu shot. If I had a child that had to get a flu shot I'd try to have that child vaccinated by my personal doctor (single injection vial). If that's not possible, financially, then I'd sure stand by and make sure *both* a sterile syringe and needle is used and not just  have the needle changed.

CDC has also deemed the problem of multiple uses of syringes and/or needles prevalent enough to issue this warning:

*" A survey of US healthcare workers who provide medication through injection found that 1% to 3% reused the same needle and/or syringe on multiple patients " 
*
CDC also stated :
_"Whenever possible, use of single-dose vials is preferred over multiple-dose vials, especially when medications will be administered to multiple patients."
_
CDC - Safe Injection Practices - Injections Safety


----------



## LPBeier

bakechef said:


> That's awful!  That it's way too much for that phone!  That it's a very good phone, but it has been out for a while so it shouldn't be nearly that expensive!  Here the s4 on Verizon is $99 (USD) on contract and the s5 is $199.  I believe that the s5 is even on a bogo deal right now.
> 
> Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using Discuss Cooking mobile app


It looks like we are getting at least a partial refund for the phone, but don't know for sure yet.  They will call us back today.  They were really digging in their heals about it.  Canada just came up with new cell plan rules that were to make sure costs were regulated, but the companies have found ways around it of course.  

On another vent, Samsung emailed this morning saying that they will not cover my Taichi repair under warranty because it was most obviously dropped.  Huh? I am so careful with that thing it isn't funny.  TB even laughs about how if I had a baby he knows I would be a great Mom!   The power cable just stopped working one day but there were no obstructions or visible damage to it or the notebook/tablet.  

I am beginning to hate electronics


----------



## bakechef

LPBeier said:


> It looks like we are getting at least a partial refund for the phone, but don't know for sure yet.  They will call us back today.  They were really digging in their heals about it.  Canada just came up with new cell plan rules that were to make sure costs were regulated, but the companies have found ways around it of course.
> 
> On another vent, Samsung emailed this morning saying that they will not cover my Taichi repair under warranty because it was most obviously dropped.  Huh? I am so careful with that thing it isn't funny.  TB even laughs about how if I had a baby he knows I would be a great Mom!   The power cable just stopped working one day but there were no obstructions or visible damage to it or the notebook/tablet.
> 
> I am beginning to hate electronics



Check out if there are any local repair places for the tablet.  It sounds like maybe the charging port went bad.  If you have another charger that fits the port and it still doesn't work, it is likely the port.  We have had many cell phone repair shops open in the last couple years and they work on tablets as well.  If it is the charging port (that's a somewhat common failure) it shouldn't cost much to repair. 

I try to take good care of my electronics as well.  It amazes me to see the condition that some people's phones are in!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You have to be very proactive when in the hospital, refusing medications you know you are not supposed to take and those you are supposed to take.  I was considered non-compliant because  I refused to take the Lantus insulin.  I had no problem taking the regular insulin and insisted on taking my normal Victoza.  They also tried changing my cholesterol medications...didn't happen.
> 
> Don't cave in when in the hospital, just tell the nurse, "no".  You can also demand a different nurse.



I have been "non compliant" for so long, I wear the title like a badge. I know what meds I am on and what I am not on. And every time I go to any of my doctors for a visit, they always go over my complete list which is in the hospital computer as well as Winthrop. I also bring a complete printout from Winthrop with me. I have a couple of meds that neither Medicare or Medicaid will pay for. So my ESP pays for them. One is $105 a tube. Anytime I have had to go to the hospital, I grab the tube which is right by my bedside and bring it with me. Only ESP is willing to pick up the complete cost for this med. And the hospital does not have it. All the hospital has to do is check my record from Winthrop and the computer record of the hospital. 

The Elder Service Plan, (Winthrop) shares their patient information with the BMC. All their patients are instructed to go there as they have a contract with the hospital. ESP has complete access to Boston Medical Center records of their patients and visa versa. ESP has a list of meds that are listed "Upon request only" such as stool softener, inhaler, etc. that is separate from my daily meds. I love this system. There is no mix up on my meds ever at the hospital. Stool softeners as far as Medicare is concerned can be bought OTC. But should I ask for one in the hospital, they know that ESP will pick up the cost.

As much as I gripe about ESP, I am so grateful for them. I think I have the very best care anyone could ask for. I pay absolutely nothing for copay. I pay nothing for transportation. All meds are delivered right to me in my hand, in my home. If it is an OTC, all I have to do is ask for it. I get a large jar of Eucerin cream each month for my skin graph. If it  is after hours, and I need some attention, but not at the hospital, there is a nurse on 24 hr. call. And there is a duly trained medical aide in the building where I live around the clock. I have no complaints.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> I never get flu shots. Couple of years ago my doctor talk me into it, so I did. Guess what, this was the time I got flu in years, if ever.


I only started getting the flu shot in 2012. I had started getting the flu every winter. In 2013, Stirling came with me and got the flu shot for the first time. This past winter was the first time he ever got the flu. But, it was most likely a different strain than what he was vaccinated for. He would have gotten it whether or not he had the flu shot. He was appalled at how awful the flu is. He swore he would get the flu shot every year. He is going to do what he can to hopefully prevent ever getting the flu again. I haven't had the flu since I got my first shot. Yay!


----------



## Addie

I have never had the flu or the flu shot.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Norovirus is going around our sister facility that I worked at a couple of weeks ago.  Now we are getting their admits until they can resume admitting...so I'm going to be doing assessments and paperwork on people who will be with us just a couple weeks.


----------



## Addie

I just got through another bout of it also. Not fun!


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Norovirus is going around our sister facility that I worked at a couple of weeks ago.  Now we are getting their admits until they can resume admitting...so I'm going to be doing assessments and paperwork on people who will be with us just a couple weeks.



Norovirus is one of the nastiest things around! I had it once, about 10 years ago and hope I never get it again. And I hope you don't get it, PF. Have you had the vaccine for it?

"Significant outbreaks occur in* health care facilities*, childcare centers and other places where people are in close quarters, including in the military and on cruise ships."

Norovirus vaccine reduces symptoms by half - Medical News Today

When an outbreak occurred in the city I was living in, I scrubbed my hands so often I almost took the skin off. And I wore a mask when going shopping.

It's one big mutthah of a disease!


----------



## taxlady

I think C Difficile can give it a run for its money. A friend of mine contracted it in the hospital and it nearly killed her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_difficile


----------



## cave76

taxlady said:


> I think C Difficile can give it a run for its money. A friend of mine contracted it in the hospital and it nearly killed her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_difficile



There's no doubt that C. diff is a very serious problem. I hope your friend is o.k. now.
C. diff is a huge problem in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. That's probably  the 'best' way to get it---- or go on a cruise ship. 

But the notion that *just* 'over-use'of antibiotics is a crock which is the take-away-point of many articles about C. diff---- unless a person is in the hospital where nurses, doctors and other staff may be the people who help pass it along. Or on a cruise ship. 

Door knobs are major offenders of C. diff and norovirus. Learn to use your elbows. 

I took antibiotics for about 17 years with nary a C. diff problem. I'm not the only one---- go to any Lyme forum and just see how many cases of C. diff are reported---- all long time, heavy users of antibiotics. (Very rarely reported and usually after a hospital stay.)

The main difference between norovirus and C. diff is norovirus affects 'both ends' and C. diff is usually just the bottom end.

I'm not making light of C. diff because I know it's very serious.


----------



## taxlady

Yes, my friend is fine now. It was a couple of years ago. It took months, a visiting nurse, and the help of a number of friends. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't called when I did. She sounded so awful, I rushed right over. It's one of the reasons I try to make sure I frequently keep in touch with my single friends.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> As a nurse, I pay attention to what my patients say and I enjoy patients who are informed.  I would rather hold a medication and get clarification from the doctor.  One thing about being a patient lately, I've learned how helpless you feel when in the clutches of our healthcare system and nurses that act like robots, never questioning and being the patient advocate - which is what we are supposed to be...the _patient_ advocate.



One of the things I love about BMC is that when the nurse comes into your room, they pull up a chair to talk to you. They don't do it standing over you. Before they give me any meds, sitting down they tell me what they are giving me and the dosage. Then they tell me what the next pills will be and what time she will be back with them. They don't talk "down" to you.


----------



## cave76

O.K.---- major steam coming out of my ears!!

I had a suspected urinary tract infection, had the test done and my doc rx'd a drug I'd never taken before for one.
But I took it and started feeling a little worse (than normal). No big deal. Then one evening I got some very sharp pains in my left shoulder, migrating down my left arm and some pains near my heart!

I've never had any  heart problems but knew enough to think "maybe a heart attack"? But I didn't go to the ER and yes I know I should  have----- but I also know enough about  ERs and EKGs etc to think that they're never going to find  out what was wrong. So I went to bed, had a  hard time sleeping but survived (while thinking "come on! If you're gonna do it---- make it big time and get it over with!)

Next morning, after having survived, I checked the side effects of the drug. Guess what I found??  Shoulder pain, joint pain, feeling 'not good' yada yada. Read a Swedish medical journal article that spoke of just the same type of side effects with the conclusion that that drug should probably be removed from use!! 

Ok, finally to my vent! I emailed my PCP about the side effects I had. He emailed back "I've never  had a patient react this way to XXXXX  even if it is listed as possible side effects".

Well, it wasn't listed as 'possible' but as one of the most common side effects! And I don't give a hoot if he'd never had a patient react like that!!!! *I DID! *The wording really got to me. If he had just said ' I've never had any other patient react as you did. Let's try to find another med' ---- that would have sufficed. 

I'm pissed! There's a plaque in the waiting room telling patients how that office is 'patient centered'. I know where I'd like to put that plaque.

$&#@%##!!


----------



## Addie

CDC - Syringe Reuse - Injections Safety

I can honestly say I have never seen a nurse or doctor or any medical personnel not toss a used needle. I see them put the cap back on the needle and then bend it and place it in the Hazardous Waste container that is in every room. Whether it be BMC or Winthrop. Those containers cannot be opened without a certain key. 

I am not saying reusing the needles does not happen, just that I have never seen it.


----------



## LPBeier

After all the trouble with our van (and we still haven't gotten a settlement yet), we can't believe that the sales manager mailed a sale flyer to us personally today.

Last time he tried phoning here TB emailed and said we were dealing with GM Head office and everything must be in writing from now on.

We were expecting a letter of apology and a cheque, not an invitation to buy a 2013 Camaro!


----------



## Andy M.

LPBeier said:


> ...We were expecting a letter of apology and a cheque, not an invitation to buy a 2013 Camaro!




Clearly, customers who drive a van are your target audience for a Camaro.

What a tool!


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Clearly, customers who drive a van are your target audience for a Camaro.
> 
> What a tool!


I agree, but I'm still  about the wording of your reply.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cave76 said:


> Norovirus is one of the nastiest things around! I had it once, about 10 years ago and hope I never get it again. And I hope you don't get it, PF. Have you had the vaccine for it?
> 
> "Significant outbreaks occur in* health care facilities*, childcare centers and other places where people are in close quarters, including in the military and on cruise ships."
> 
> Norovirus vaccine reduces symptoms by half - Medical News Today
> 
> When an outbreak occurred in the city I was living in, I scrubbed my hands so often I almost took the skin off. And I wore a mask when going shopping.
> 
> It's one big mutthah of a disease!



It went through our facility a couple years ago, I was one of the least sick people and covered lots of shifts.


----------



## LPBeier

Andy M. said:


> Clearly, customers who drive a van are your target audience for a Camaro.
> 
> What a tool!



I can just see me pulling into the Handicapped stall in front of the Michael's store in my shiny red Camaro, getting out with my cane and filling the trunk full of wool and crochet hooks!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cave76 said:


> There's no doubt that C. diff is a very serious problem. I hope your friend is o.k. now.
> C. diff is a huge problem in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. That's probably  the 'best' way to get it---- or go on a cruise ship.
> 
> But the notion that *just* 'over-use'of antibiotics is a crock which is the take-away-point of many articles about C. diff---- unless a person is in the hospital where nurses, doctors and other staff may be the people who help pass it along. Or on a cruise ship.
> 
> Door knobs are major offenders of C. diff and norovirus. Learn to use your elbows.
> 
> I took antibiotics for about 17 years with nary a C. diff problem. I'm not the only one---- go to any Lyme forum and just see how many cases of C. diff are reported---- all long time, heavy users of antibiotics. (Very rarely reported and usually after a hospital stay.)
> 
> The main difference between norovirus and C. diff is norovirus affects 'both ends' and C. diff is usually just the bottom end.
> 
> I'm not making light of C. diff because I know it's very serious.



Anyone with C.diffcile in our facility has been admitted with it.  I have also had C. difficile caused by antibiotics, no fun at all!!!


----------



## CarolPa

Although I have never had a heart attack, I have heart disease and have had a lot of heart procedures...quadruple bypass surgery and several stents.  My first problem presented as extreme fatigue.  We went to the mall, and all I could do is slowly walk from one bench to the next.  I was walking so slowly DH was embarassed!  LOL  From that point on, my problems have presented with pain in the left side of my jaw.  As soon as I get that, I head for the ER.  My friend lost her mother that way.  They were going somewhere and her mother said she was staying home to lie down because her jaw hurt.  When the family came home, she was dead.  They never heard of the relationship between jaw pain and heart attacks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I never had pain with mine, just strange feelings, I felt like I had to push my shoulders through the gurney to relieve the pressure.  But there was no pain, that's why I was confused over it and didn't know I was having a heart attack.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I never had pain with mine, just strange feelings, I felt like I had to push my shoulders through the gurney to relieve the pressure.  But there was no pain, that's why I was confused over it and didn't know I was having a heart attack.



I have yet to hear of a woman having the same symptoms as a man. Every woman has told of a different set of symptoms here in this forum. Yet men often tell the same list of symptoms. That is why it is so IMPORTANT for women to be educated in all the possible symptoms of a heart attack. Spike has had eight heart attacks and every single one of them start in the middle of  his chest. He recognizes the very first symptom immediately and doesn't fool around or try to second guess it. He stops what he is doing instantly and heads for the hospital or our Relief Station that has an ER. I have had three heart attacks and the symptoms have been different each time. But each time I knew something was wrong and had the good sense to call 911. Who knows what symptoms I will have the next time.


----------



## cave76

Addie said:


> I have yet to hear of a woman having the same symptoms as a man. Every woman has told of a different set of symptoms here in this forum. Yet men often tell the same list of symptoms. *That is why it is so IMPORTANT for women to be educated in all the possible symptoms of a heart attack.*



I've never had a heart attack and hope I never do! 

But I do read this blog by Carolyn Thomas ----

Heart Sisters

---- and see that she reports on the difference between what women feel and those of men. It's amazing----- why would there be such a difference, but it exists.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cave76 said:


> I've never had a heart attack and hope I never do!
> 
> But I do read this blog by Carolyn Thomas ----
> 
> Heart Sisters
> 
> ---- and see that she reports on the difference between what women feel and those of men. It's amazing----- why would there be such a difference, but it exists.



I love her blog and have gotten superb support.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I love her blog and have gotten superb support.



+1!!


----------



## Addie

When Poo was old enough as a teenager, he took the full course in CPR. Past the basics. That part was attended mostly by people in the medical field. One of the evenings in class during the second part of the course, the instructor covered the emotional part of a heart attack. She told the class that one of the first questions people ask after a HA was, "Can I still have sexual relations with my spouse?" Other questions were also covered. He never forgot what he learned in that class. That class was where he realized and found out about the difference between men and women having a HA. 

Even today, when a woman comes into his ER with a HA, young women are worried about who is home taking care of her family. Even during the time their HA is happening, they are worried who is going to get the kids off to school in the morning. Thereby placing more stress on themselves. Very seldom does a man take a day off from work to stay home with a sick child. A lot of men never use up all their vacation time. So when they have a HA, they know they have the time to be sick. 

Women have to be more active in their care when they have had a HA. We have to be taught to let go and allow others to take care of us.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> When Poo was old enough as a teenager, he took the full course in CPR. Past the basics. That part was attended mostly by people in the medical field. One of the evenings in class during the second part of the course, the instructor covered the emotional part of a heart attack. She told the class that one of the first questions people ask after a HA was, "Can I still have sexual relations with my spouse?" Other questions were also covered. He never forgot what he learned in that class. That class was where he realized and found out about the difference between men and women having a HA.
> 
> Even today, when a woman comes into his ER with a HA, young women are worried about who is home taking care of her family. Even during the time their HA is happening, they are worried who is going to get the kids off to school in the morning. Thereby placing more stress on themselves. Very seldom does a man take a day off from work to stay home with a sick child. A lot of men never use up all their vacation time. So when they have a HA, they know they have the time to be sick.
> 
> Women have to be more active in their care when they have had a HA. We have to be taught to let go and allow others to take care of us.



So I am doubly cursed as a female and a nurse...whose going to take care of MY patients...


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, I think today, with most women working outside the home, child care and household chores are shared between the wife and husband.  Women are insisting on it.  Right this minute, I can't even think of anyone I know personally who is a stay-at-home mom.  When we had to pick my grandson up from daycare, we saw many fathers dropping kids off and picking them up.  It's becoming the norm.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CarolPa said:


> Addie, I think today, with most women working outside the home, child care and household chores are shared between the wife and husband.  Women are insisting on it.  Right this minute, I can't even think of anyone I know personally who is a stay-at-home mom.  When we had to pick my grandson up from daycare, we saw many fathers dropping kids off and picking them up.  It's becoming the norm.



My wife has been a stay-at-home mom since the day we were married, even though we didn't have children until about ten months later.  She is still a housewife though I do the cooking, the dishes, the snow shoveling, the gardening, any home fixes that have to be made, and I work 8 hours a day at work.  Couple that with my projects, like church activities, novel writing, fly tying, chocolate bunny making, creating new recipes, and fixing the car when it brakes.

I have been doing this since long before husbands helped significantly around the house.

It's hard to find time to go fishing.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Addie, I think today, with most women working outside the home, child care and household chores are shared between the wife and husband.  Women are insisting on it.  Right this minute, I can't even think of anyone I know personally who is a stay-at-home mom.  When we had to pick my grandson up from daycare, we saw many fathers dropping kids off and picking them up.  It's becoming the norm.



Boston is having a surge in mother's staying at home again. They are willing to do without all those doo dads that the neighbors have. They are lowering their standard of living in order to spend more time with their children. Instead of spending big bucks on that swing set in the back yard, they are taking their toddlers to the park and to the library for "kids hour." They have realized that they miss out on all those "firsts". First steps, first real words spoken, first tooth coming in, etc. The only time I went to work was when my husband was sick for an extended time. I made arrangements with my sister for child care and got any job I could find. But the day he returned to work, is the day I would quit. 

There is a town right next to Cambridge called Arlington. When I worked there for the church, all year round you would see mothers galore pushing baby strollers and heading for the park or library. Sometimes there would two or three going together. Not since I was a young mother myself have I seen so many mothers pushing a stroller.  No jumping in the car for them to make a quick run to the store. There was a sewing/knitting store just a couple of doors from the church. I used to go in there to get my threads. In the back, they had a playroom and caretaker for the mothers that would meet there everyday. Babies learned to socialize and mothers got a short break from childcare.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

All my married life (especially since the kids were born in 1980) I' said I want a wife. I *need* a wife to pick up half the stuff I do. Today, I've changed my mind. Today I decided I want a "Chief" of my own...



Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> ... I do the cooking, the dishes, the snow shoveling, the gardening, any home fixes that have to be made, and I work 8 hours a day at work.  Couple that with my projects, like church activities, novel writing, fly tying, chocolate bunny making, creating new recipes, and fixing the car when it brakes....


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Cooking Goddess said:


> All my married life (especially since the kids were born in 1980) I' said I want a wife. I *need* a wife to pick up half the stuff I do. Today, I've changed my mind. Today I decided I want a "Chief" of my own...



Sorry; I'm already taken by the woman I love.

Seeeeeya'; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Mad Cook

CarolPa said:


> Addie, I think today, with most women working outside the home, child care and household chores are shared between the wife and husband. Women are insisting on it. Right this minute, I can't even think of anyone I know personally who is a stay-at-home mom. When we had to pick my grandson up from daycare, we saw many fathers dropping kids off and picking them up. It's becoming the norm.


Don't you believe it. Fathers picking up children means very little when held against the no-go areas of housekeeping and childcare. Most of the women I know of all ages are the first in line of responsibility when it comes to the daily chores of life even when they work full time. 

In the UK paternity leave is allowed when a baby is born. Statistically, very few fathers take it.

I was lucky, my dad helped out with all the housework because my mother worked and when he retired and mum was still working he took over the housekeeping completely. He cooked, washed up, vacuumed and dusted, cleaned the kitchen and bathroom. Loading the washing machine was not an alien concept to him and he even did the ironing. And in and between he made beer.

However, he was the exception which proves the rule.


----------



## CarolPa

I guess I must associate with a different breed of people, because most of the couples I know, especially the younger ones, share household and child care duties.  The only ones I know who don't are the older ones, 60 and over who are holdovers from the 50's.  My husband does more around the house than I do.


----------



## cave76

Mad Cook said:


> Don't you believe it. *Fathers picking up children means very little when held against the no-go areas of housekeeping and childcare. Most of the women I know of all ages are the first in line of responsibility when it comes to the daily chores of life even when they work full time. *
> 
> In the UK paternity leave is allowed when a baby is born. Statistically, very few fathers take it.
> 
> I was lucky, my dad helped out with all the housework because my mother worked and when he retired and mum was still working he took over the housekeeping completely. He cooked, washed up, vacuumed and dusted, cleaned the kitchen and bathroom. Loading the washing machine was not an alien concept to him and he even did the ironing. And in and between he made beer.
> 
> However, he was the exception which proves the rule.



I was waiting for someone else to speak up before I got brave enough to post because I truly didn't know if the new(er) generations have really broken the chain.  I do see a lot of men wheeling strollers and having a baby clamped like limpets to their chest now----- where I never saw that in my child-bearing days.

But do the majority of men really 'share' in the housekeeping chores now (for working women)?


----------



## cave76

CarolPa said:


> I guess I must associate with a different breed of people, because most of the couples I know, especially the younger ones, share household and child care duties.  The only ones I know who don't are the older ones, 60 and over who are holdovers from the 50's.  My husband does more around the house than I do.



We were both posting at the same time-----so you say that the majority of young(er) households (where both work full time away from home) do share the housework---- all of it? That would be fantastic.


----------



## CarolPa

cave76 said:


> We were both posting at the same time-----so you say that the majority of young(er) households (where both work full time away from home) do share the housework---- all of it? That would be fantastic.




I can only speak about people I know.  I can't say it's the majority.  I recall when I was still working, from what the young married women had to say, they would not stand for working 8 hours a day and then going home and having to do everything at home while hubby sat there flipping the remote!  DH retired before me.  He had dinner ready when I walked in the door.  He vacuums twice a week, mops the floors, and does some laundry, still after I retired.  Plus does all the yard work and takes care of the car.  And the dog.  LOL  All while I play around on the computer.  

My son gets home before his wife.  Picks up the child, feeds him, gets dinner started.  Pitches in with bathing the child and putting him to bed.  I have often seen him vacuuming while his wife was doing laundry, or vice versa.  He did this stuff at home, because Mom was a working mother and everyone had to pitch in.  A lot of the other younger couples I know are their friends, and the situations are similar.  The younger women don't stand for that crap!  LOL


----------



## Sprout

Usually, DH does less housework than I do, but he also works more hours outside the home than I do. I work part time when he is home for the most part (we wanted one of us to be with our kids as much as possible), so he takes care of our kids when I'm not here and we both care for them when we're both here. He works second shift, so he ends up making them breakfast and lunch when I work. Granted, he doesn't cook much, but he prepares food, cleans up when he's here. He changed diapers from day one. I know a fair number of stay-at-home moms and most of their husbands help out at home too. If Mom is still working when Dad gets home from work, Dad starts helping until they can both relax. I do know families where the male barely picks up after himself, let alone help with actual cleaning, but of the people I know, those families are rare. Fairly often I do still see a more classic division in which responsibilities are whose primarily, with men focusing first on outdoor work, maintenance, taking garbage out, etc and women focusing fist on cleaning, organizing and child rearing, but even there usually one helps the other once they're done. 

This pregnancy was rough physically for the first half and emotionally and physically for the second and I can honestly say, in the past 8 months DH has done as much if not more around the house than I have. I'm more efficient and more detailed than he is, but he puts in the time, even though he works over twice the hours at his job than I do.


----------



## Dawgluver

Baby Bro does all the cooking, cleaning, and housework, along with his full time job.  His wife has a part-time business, and doesn't have time to do much else.  They both dote on their children.

I do all the cooking and cleaning, even when we both worked full time, but only because I prefer the way I cook, clean, load the dishwasher and do laundry to the way DH would do it.  He can mow the lawn.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek washes the dishes and vacuums, I do the rest.  He does those two jobs because he kept running himself out of dishes and I would let them stack up.  Why should i wash dishes that I didn't get dirty?  And he has always vacuumed, he has a lower tolerance for messy floors than i do.


----------



## Addie

Other than when he was injured, husband #1 went to work to earn the paycheck and I stayed home with the kids and spent it. You typical European attitude for the 50's. When he was home, he did all the cleaning, diaper changing, etc. Never complained, and neither did I. As far as I could see, he was doing a good job. He did discover that taking care of a home and four small children, is not an easy job.


----------



## Addie

Spike went to Staples yesterday to pick up two small items for me . The receipt is more than 1.5 feet long. There goes a whole patch of very healthy trees.


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek washes the dishes and vacuums, I do the rest.  He does those two jobs because he kept running himself out of dishes and I would let them stack up.  Why should i wash dishes that I didn't get dirty?  And he has always vacuumed, he has a lower tolerance for messy floors than i do.



I actually like to vacuum, but Rob does the majority of the vacuuming.  Rob is some kind of wizard at loading the dishwasher, I've never seen anyone get so much in there and still have the dishes get clean! With that said, I have to prod him a bit to load and unload the dishwasher.  I've seen him organize the dirty dishes in the sink (plates stacked according to size and silverware in cups)


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> I actually like to vacuum, but Rob does the majority of the vacuuming.  Rob is some kind of wizard at loading the dishwasher, I've never seen anyone get so much in there and still have the dishes get clean! With that said, I have to prod him a bit to load and unload the dishwasher.  I've seen him organize the dirty dishes in the sink (plates stacked according to size and silverware in cups)



I was looking at the iRobot vacuums. I have my heart set on one. I know I can save up for a mid priced one in just a couple of months. I simply cannot vacuum since my open heart surgery. I have only one room to vacuum, but it is the main room. My only concern is the cost of the upkeep of the machine. 

I stack my dirty dishes on the counter after rinsing them. Living alone and making full use  of paper bowls and plates, I have most dirty pans and silverware.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

When Shrek retired, he stopped doing anything...that was when I let the dishes stack up.  He started washing the dishes that he used during the day while I was sleeping, but got it into his head that it reverted to me on my days off.  I quickly told him that was his NOW job.  I don't complain about doing everything else except, he wants to use the biggest trash bags in the house and I can't lift them over my head into the dumpster.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> I was looking at the iRobot vacuums. I have my heart set on one. I know I can save up for a mid priced one in just a couple of months. I simply cannot vacuum since my open heart surgery. I have only one room to vacuum, but it is the main room. My only concern is the cost of the upkeep of the machine.
> 
> I stack my dirty dishes on the counter after rinsing them. Living alone and making full use  of paper bowls and plates, I have most dirty pans and silverware.



Drat.  I'd just gotten Mom a brand new Roomba a couple months before she died.  I ended up giving it to DH's brother, don't think he's appreciating it.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Drat.  I'd just gotten Mom a brand new Roomba a couple months before she died.  I ended up giving it to DH's brother, don't think he's appreciating it.





When you have open heart surgery, they saw your sternum bone in half. That bone NEVER heals back together. So sweeping and vacuuming are painful to do. As a result my kids have to do it for me. When they are in the mood. 

My girlfriend in Atlanta got one when they first came out. She named it "Big Daddy!" I already have a name picked out if and when I ever get one. "Little Buddy!"


----------



## Somebunny

Love my Roomba!  Addie, not sure what you mean by "upkeep" of the machine.  Mine has been running 5 days a week vacuuming at least 2000 sq ft., since I got it (Christmas 2012). I have yet to even change the edge brushes (it comes with extras). Just dump the dust collector every few days and clean the brushes periodically(I've done it once) Mind you, it is only cleaning hardwood and tile right now, but the first year I did have a 5x7 area rug in the living room (still no issues). The biggest issue is that you must keep small items off the floor.  Sometimes it bumps things a little hard
(I have a telephone table with a shelf about 8 inches off the floor, I had a "yellow pages" book on that shelf it got bumped off and run over a few times several pages were partially "eaten", lol!  We have Ekornes Stressless chairs with foot stools, we move the foot stools up on to the chairs every couple of days, so "Rosie" can vacuum under them (we often eat in the LR  "gasp"! 
"Rosie's" home.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> When Shrek retired, he stopped doing anything...that was when I let the dishes stack up.  He started washing the dishes that he used during the day while I was sleeping, but got it into his head that it reverted to me on my days off.  I quickly told him that was his NOW job.  I don't complain about doing everything else except, he wants to use the biggest trash bags in the house and I can't lift them over my head into the dumpster.



As small as my place is, I have five waste baskets. One by the computer, one by my bed, one in the bathroom and two in the kitchen. The two in the kitchen are right beside the two counters I use mostly for prep work. Just slide it off right into the basket. They are the perfect size and designed for the plastic bags from the grocery store. They even have a tabs that stick up to put the bag handles over. When one is full, I just tie up the handles and put it in a large green bag. Then when that is almost full, I take it to the trash room. There are large barrels there and I do have to lift them. The Pirate has a habit of filling that bag until it is heavy. When he does that, I make him take it to the trash room. Having a scooter is a big help. I just whiz down the hall dragging the big bag beside me. 

Four of the baskets are just plain white. I have been after Spike to pick me up a couple of rolls of Contact Paper so I can cover them. Right now my face is blue from holding my breath.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

AAArgh...Shrek cleaned out the fridge two days ago...he dumped everything in the kitchen trash. He didn't take it out...guess what I am smelling from 10' away.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> AAArgh...Shrek cleaned out the fridge two days ago...he dumped everything in the kitchen trash. He didn't take it out...guess what I am smelling from 10' away.



Does the urge to lovingly strangle get stronger of some days?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Does the urge to lovingly strangle get stronger of some days?



I was thinking "pillow therapy" I no longer have the strength in my hands.


----------



## cave76

PrincessFiona60 said:


> he wants to use the biggest trash bags in the house and I can't lift them over my head into the dumpster.



While living at the ranch my then husband had to take all our food garbage and stuff that wouldn't degrade eventually, like plastic, metals etc,  to  the dump in the ranch truck. Because there'd been a large-ish land slide not too far from the houses on the ranch the owner wanted wood, papers et al. thrown down into that chasm.  I wonder just how filled up it's gotten so far and what that will look like in a 1000 years! 

To pack more into the large-ish trash container in the house, he would stomp on the contents (covering it with a plastic bag or something) so that there was a large and HEAVY collection of garbage in the bag---- I could hardly lift it---and I was a lot younger and healthier then!

Plus there was an Eau de Garbage in the kitchen at times. Sigh.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I just took some trash out, the top of the dumpster is at chin level to me.  I just cannot lift things that are 40-50 lbs up to shoulder height anymore without pain.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I have a vanity-size waste basket under our sink that uses plastic grocery store bags, but it doesn't have tabs for the bunny ears on the bags. Doesn't matter, most of the bags are just tall enough to fold over the edge of the basket a bit.  That's where I put all my stinky kitchen garbage. Depending on what I've made that day Himself takes the bag out ever day or two. We also have a large kitchen waste basket at the end of the counter. That's where all the "dry" garbage goes - and that bag comes out only every-other week on our trash collection days.

We have to contract for our own trash hauler out here in the sticks. We have the options of pick-up either every week or, for a slightly lower cost, every other week. Two wheeled carts, one for garbage and one for recyclables, each about 96 gallons. We take the garbage one out every pick-up, but it is rarely even half full. I wonder how sparse our garbage would be if I got around to composting. Sometimes we don't need to take the recyclables out for two or even three pick-up cycles. We just don't generate much trash! Meanwhile, the couple across the street get a weekly pick-up and sometimes the lid on the garbage one is slightly ajar. Their cart must be full of empty pizza boxes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek thinks the bigger the trash can, the less he has to wander it outside...except I am the one doing the wandering.


----------



## CarolPa

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I just took some trash out, the top of the dumpster is at chin level to me.  I just cannot lift things that are 40-50 lbs up to shoulder height anymore without pain.



PF, I can't lift 40-50 lbs to* knee* level!  Not because of pain, just because of loss of strength.  I have trouble with a gallon of milk, especially when it's full.  I want to start buying half gallons but DH said they cost more that way.  @@@  Instead, we end up dumping some out because we don't use enough to be using the whole gallon.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie - How many years ago did you have your heart surgery?  Mine was in 2008 and my sternum healed well.  I have no problem with it at all.  I have heard of other people who do, though.  

Vacuuming was on my list of things I was not permitted to do after my surgery, so DH took it up.  That was only supposed to be during my recovery period, but 6 years later he's still doing it.  Now that he's sick I've been doing it, and I had to ask him how to empty it.  Last time I did it we still used bags.  LOL


----------



## Addie

Somebunny said:


> Love my Roomba!  Addie, not sure what you mean by "upkeep" of the machine.  Mine has been running 5 days a week vacuuming at least 2000 sq ft., since I got it (Christmas 2012). I have yet to even change the edge brushes (it comes with extras). Just dump the dust collector every few days and clean the brushes periodically(I've done it once) Mind you, it is only cleaning hardwood and tile right now, but the first year I did have a 5x7 area rug in the living room (still no issues). The biggest issue is that you must keep small items off the floor.  Sometimes it bumps things a little hard
> (I have a telephone table with a shelf about 8 inches off the floor, I had a "yellow pages" book on that shelf it got bumped off and run over a few times several pages were partially "eaten", lol!  We have Ekornes Stressless chairs with foot stools, we move the foot stools up on to the chairs every couple of days, so "Rosie" can vacuum under them (we often eat in the LR  "gasp"! View attachment 21116
> "Rosie's" home.



Thanks, you just answered all my questions about her. Love your name for her. (The Jetsons) When I was looking at them in Amazon, I noticed all the parts that you could replace if and when they broke down. That was what I was questioning.

I will have to pickup the wastebaskets. I can just see them being tipped over and all the contents being dumped out.  I will have to also put my scooter in the bathroom. Even though it doesn't come right down to the floor, it is still low enough that it might get caught under there. Looking around my room, I don't see any other problem it might have.


----------



## cave76

CarolPa said:


> I want to start buying half gallons but DH said they cost more that way.  @@@  Instead, we end up dumping some out because we don't use enough to be using the whole gallon.



Could you start buying the gallons and then use what MIGHT be left over in a recipe? There are many recipes that use milk, like chicken baked in milk or many yummy desserts like rice or tapioca pudding. (Those aren't the only ones, of course)

That might be one way around it but it would mean more work on your part.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Addie - How many years ago did you have your heart surgery?  Mine was in 2008 and my sternum healed well.  I have no problem with it at all.  I have heard of other people who do, though.
> 
> Vacuuming was on my list of things I was not permitted to do after my surgery, so DH took it up.  That was only supposed to be during my recovery period, but 6 years later he's still doing it.  Now that he's sick I've been doing it, and I had to ask him how to empty it.  Last time I did it we still used bags.  LOL



It has been 11 years since my surgery. I was back at work during my fourth week. I was going out of my mind "resting." So I went back without letting the doctor know until I saw him after my eighth week. I am every doctor's worst nightmare. I do not have the patience to be sick.


----------



## tinlizzie

I am sooooooo tired of struggling to open things.  I just wish I had back all the time I've wasted trying to open the packaging of the thing I just bought.  Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> I am sooooooo tired of struggling to open things.  I just wish I had back all the time I've wasted trying to open the packaging of the thing I just bought.  Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.



I agree about packaging.  I understand about making things harder for shoplifters and tamperers, but I would like to be able to get into the darned thing, without injury, once I get it home.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> I am sooooooo tired of struggling to open things.  I just wish I had back all the time I've wasted trying to open the packaging of the thing I just bought.  Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.


I hear ya.

And then there is the stuff in hard, tough plastic that defies scissors.


----------



## cave76

tinlizzie said:


> I am sooooooo tired of struggling to open things.  I just wish I had back all the time I've wasted trying to open the packaging of the thing I just bought.  Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.



I hear  ya! 

"The case remains unsolved and no suspects have been charged. A $100,000 reward offered by Johnson & Johnson, McNeil's parent company, for the capture and conviction of the "Tylenol Killer" has never been claimed."

And just think of all the plastics manufacturers who have profited from that!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

A few simple, inexpensive tools will suffice to open all packages.

1. Aviation Snips (Snips | MSCDirect.com
2. Kitchen Shears (https://www.gfs.com/files/pdf/gms/Professional_Cutlery_and_Utensil_Collections_POS.pdf)
Scroll down and look on the right hands collumn.

3. Sharp, locking folding knife (https://www.google.com/search?q=bok...rescue_knife_glassbreaker_327145.html;350;350)
With this knife, you also get a seat belt cutter, and a car window breaker. 

4. Husband, son, or handyman.

If you have these four items, you can open any container around.  I have all four, me being number four on the list.  DW has no problem getting packages open, nor do I, except for a jar of caramel that's been sitting in the fridge a while.  Even with the application of hot water, and a gar opener, I can't seem to get the lid off.  Maybe i'll just get a new jar of caramel.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
https://www.gfs.com/files/pdf/gms/Professional_Cutlery_and_Utensil_Collections_POS.pdf


----------



## taxlady

Well, scissors and a utility knife will usually do it. But, it can be a battle and one risks injury.

For opening jars, I put a fat elastic on the lid. If it still argues with me, I put another one on the jar. When I worked in hospitals in the '70s, I learned that trick. We would use a rubber hose, the kind used to cut off blood flow when drawing blood, to open bottles.


----------



## cave76

Here's one of the things I use:






Of course you'd need Chief to attach it to the bottom of the cabinet for you first


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## Andy M.

When a jar is hard to open, the first thing I do is turn it over and gently but firmly tap the top on the countertop.  That usually does the trick.

Yesterday I opened a jar that had such a good vacuum seal that, even after I had unscrewed it, the vacuum was still holding the lid on so I had to pry the edge up until the pressure released.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

tinlizzie said:


> ...Curses on whoever contaminated the first item, leading to the hermetical sealing of any and everything since.


I find myself uttering that curse often. Especially when it involves something like a bottle of pain reliever that has a foil protector glued over the top of the bottle...which had a shrink-wrapped band securing the lid to the bottle...which was sold in a sealed carton. ARG!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> When a jar is hard to open, the first thing I do is turn it over and gently but firmly tap the top on the countertop...


I do that too, but I also hold the jar with a kitchen towel, just in case the glass jar decides to break. My aunt had an incident with glass breaking and giving her an ugly gash in her palm.

I also tap-tap someone other than the counter since our builder used cheap-a$$ formica in the house. I usually open the door to the garage and whack the jar lid on the handrail of the platform just outside our door.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> When a jar is hard to open, the first thing I do is turn it over and gently but firmly tap the top on the countertop.  That usually does the trick.



I use a bottle opener as a lever between the rim and the lid to open a jar. If that doesn't work, I run hot water over the which causes it to expand, breaking the vacuum seal.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Lately I hand it to Shrek, he struggles with it and hands it back.  Then I can get the lid off.  I think Lehman's has a jar opener that will work for my.  

I learned the other day I could no longer cross my fingers, arthritis is really gaining a hold.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Lately I hand it to Shrek, he struggles with it and hands it back.  Then I can get the lid off.  I think Lehman's has a jar opener that will work for my.
> 
> I learned the other day I could no longer cross my fingers, arthritis is really gaining a hold.


Sorry to hear about the arthritis.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, I've been using a stress ball to limber them up more.  Biofreeze gel helps a lot.


----------



## CarolPa

I have had a hard time opening jars for years and now lately I have trouble lifting the little tab on lift top cans, like soda cans, and now they are putting them on other cans like soup.  I put the tip of a knife under it and lift, then it's sticking up high enough that I can get a grip on it.  I know, I'm dangerous with a knife in my hand.  My fingers don't hurt, they just don't work anymore.  
'
When I was very young, there was an elderly man who lived next door and he always had a little rubber ball in his hand, squeezing it.  I wanted that ball.  Now I realize what he was using it for.


----------



## mmyap

I have found that a piece of the rubber / bubbly textured cabinet liners really helps me a lot when it comes to opening jars.  I had a left over square when I lined by cabinets.  

My petty vent for this week is that I really wanted the Power Pressure Cooker XL I'm seeing on tv and advertised on this blog.  I have a 4 quart one and love it but I also wanted a larger capacity.  After I called and gave some stranger all my credit card information I was told that they didn't mail to Hawaii.  WTH!  Its not Timbuktu!

So then I ordered the 6 quart model they had on QVC.  It got here yesterday and I found that it looked like it had been dropped.  It was crushed in on the side.  Thwarted yet again!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Lately I hand it to Shrek, he struggles with it and hands it back.  Then I can get the lid off.  I think Lehman's has a jar opener that will work for my.
> 
> I learned the other day I could no longer cross my fingers, arthritis is really gaining a hold.



I only have one finger that gives me problems. Otherwise, I can make a tight fist with both hands. I think it is all the needle crafts I do that keep my hands limber. The pain in my hips and spine is a circulations problem. Not arthritis. There is very little arthritis in my whole system. Every time they send me for an X-ray, there is very little arthritis in the area that has been shown. You would think that at the age of 75, there would be some crippling arthritis. Nope. My sister had rheumatoid arthritis and had crippling pain. There were some days when she couldn't even hold a fork to eat. She would have to have someone to feed her. So after seeing what she went through, you have my sympathy Princess. I hope and pray you never get to the stage she was in when she died. 

BTW, I tried and found I could cross my fingers with no problem at all. I can bring my middle finger down to the knuckle on my index finger. No pain at all.


----------



## Addie

mmyap said:


> I have found that a piece of the rubber / bubbly textured cabinet liners really helps me a lot when it comes to opening jars.  I had a left over square when I lined by cabinets.
> 
> My petty vent for this week is that I really wanted the Power Pressure Cooker XL I'm seeing on tv and advertised on this blog.  I have a 4 quart one and love it but I also wanted a larger capacity.  After I called and gave some stranger all my credit card information I was told that they didn't mail to Hawaii.  WTH!  Its not Timbuktu!
> 
> So then I ordered the 6 quart model they had on QVC.  It got here yesterday and I found that it looked like it had been dropped.  It was crushed in on the side.  Thwarted yet again!



Call Customer Service at QVC immediately. They have the best CS I have ever encountered. I believe I can guarantee you will have a new Pressure Cooker in your home by the end of the week. And I believe they will tell you to send the damaged one back. I have never had a problem with their CS. They take your word for any problem, real or imagined.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Call Customer Service at QVC immediately. They have the best CS I have ever encountered. I believe I can guarantee you will have a new Pressure Cooker in your home by the end of the week. And I believe they will tell you to send the damaged one back. I have never had a problem with their CS. They take your word for any problem, real or imagined.



+1.  QVC's CS is outstanding.  My brother used to work for them, and my mom ordered from them all the time.


----------



## mmyap

Addie said:


> Call Customer Service at QVC immediately. They have the best CS I have ever encountered. I believe I can guarantee you will have a new Pressure Cooker in your home by the end of the week. And I believe they will tell you to send the damaged one back. I have never had a problem with their CS. They take your word for any problem, real or imagined.



QVC has a grade A return policy.  It's already on its way.  I just printed out a return address and requested a replacement on the paperwork.  After I noticed the dent I noticed that the box had been crushed in on that side as well.  Stuff happens I guess.  But now I have to delay my gratification!  Oh the humanity!


----------



## CarolPa

I wish I had enough money (or a large enough credit limit) that I could sit on the couch and order things from QVC all day.  I think that's what my neighbors across the street do.  The UPS truck is at their house several times per week.  They have a small 3 bedroom ranch.  I have no idea where they're putting all this stuff, but I'm so jealous!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, we know our UPS and Fed Ex guys by name.  Amazon has things I want that I cannot buy in the stores here.  We get shipments of my favorite perfume, soaps, shampoos, cleaners, etc.  I can get a lot of that stuff cheaper on Amazon and if ordered right, I get it with free shipping.  I have never ordered anything from QVC.


----------



## Sprout

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thanks, I've been using a stress ball to limber them up more.  Biofreeze gel helps a lot.



Have you tried parrafin dips? You can pick up an old crockpot from a thrift store and make a bath yourself, there are lots of instructions online. You just have to make sure the temperature is in the correct range. It's not a miracle, but it can be really helpful with inflammation from arthritis. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


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## PrincessFiona60

I wrap them in hot, wet towels. same effect.  Thanks, I will go look at the paraffin dips and see what the temp is.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> I wish I had enough money (or a large enough credit limit) that I could sit on the couch and order things from QVC all day.  I think that's what my neighbors across the street do.  The UPS truck is at their house several times per week.  They have a small 3 bedroom ranch.  I have no idea where they're putting all this stuff, but I'm so jealous!



Just remember, all that stuff they order, they have to take care of and clean.


----------



## cave76

Sprout said:


> Have you tried parrafin dips?



That's how I used to help with plucking ducks when I raised them for eating.


----------



## cave76

About Amazon---- I'm relying on them more and more. Sure I'd rather have the energy and health to 'go shopping' but since I can't do that so much anymore I use what's available---- and that's Amazon. Thank goodness it's there along with details and customer reviews. Not that ALL customer reviews are good. but you learn to discern which review is given one star simply because it was the wrong shade of mauve and which one is because the item really was defective!

And free shipping is available for a lot of the things I need or want. (There's a difference.  )

Amazon of course is in it to make money---- but Bezos has built Amazon do that while still giving pretty good service.


----------



## CarolPa

I have bought things from both Amazon and QVC.  I have to hold myself back not to go overboard.  HSN has a system that if you have an account with them you can order on your TV using the remote.  Boy, could I get carried away with that!  

When people mention things on DC I google them on Amazon and if I'm interested, I put them on my wish list.  Then when I have enough for free shipping I place an order.  I have bought some things through them that I was unable to find elsewhere.

Still can't find that doo-dad we've all been researching, though!  LOL


----------



## roadfix

I don't have Amazon's Prime account but whenever they offer a 30 day free trial I take advantage of it.  Over the years I've taken advantage of their free trial offers about a half a dozen times.  I'm currently signed up for Prime and the free trial expires in a week or so.  For an annual fee Prime offers free 2-day shipping on many items (no minimum purchase), plus includes their video streaming service as well.
I've ordered a bunch of stuff this month already.  In fact I'm awaiting delivery today of a large, 2 foot fake garden boulder which I ordered on Monday.  2-day free delivery.  Hope it looks real.....the many reviews say it does...


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> I don't have Amazon's Prime account but whenever they offer a 30 day free trial I take advantage of it.  Over the years I've taken advantage of their free trial offers about a half a dozen times.  I'm currently signed up for Prime and the free trial expires in a week or so.  For an annual fee Prime offers free 2-day shipping on many items (no minimum purchase), plus includes their video streaming service as well.
> I've ordered a bunch of stuff this month already.  In fact I'm awaiting delivery today of *a large, 2 foot fake garden boulder *which I ordered on Monday.  2-day free delivery.  Hope it looks real.....the many reviews say it does...



So then you can say "I've got a piece of the rock."  LOL

My neighbor, same one who gets all the UPS deliveries, put a real boulder in the corner of his yard because his neighbor kept driving over the corner of the yard.  Now the second neighbor has lots of dents in his fenders.  LOL


----------



## mmyap

Amazon is the next best thing to sliced bread.  I use then a lot for mundane things as well as self indulgent things.  I bought a large package of vacuum cleaner bags recently after having spent a half a day and way too much gas going across the island, fighting traffic,  trying to find them at a local Sears store.  They were all out.  What a waste of time that was.


----------



## Sprout

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wrap them in hot, wet towels. same effect.  Thanks, I will go look at the paraffin dips and see what the temp is.



Good deal. I have arthritis in my right index finger. I have this cycle where the inflammation will flare and instead of treating it, I just compensate with the other fingers, which eventually throws things off and then they're inflamed too, until finally my whole hand hurts. Last spring I got to a point where I couldn't open a jar of peanut butter with that hand. Spent last summer in PT for it and now I'm back to just the one finger and it's manageable. I'm trying to keep my hand strength up and the inflammation down this time so I can keep it in just that finger for a while! I'm really not excited for what that hand will feel like in 30 years or so.


----------



## CarolPa

I didn't know they still made vacuum cleaner bags.


----------



## mmyap

CarolPa said:


> I didn't know they still made vacuum cleaner bags.


 
They do but they are getting harder and harder to find.  Mine is indeed a dinosaur.  Hence ordering them on amazon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

If you guys want to "shop online" I could post pictures of all the things I should be cleaning out of our house!  I *have* to have a garage sale but I hate doing it. Since the kids haven't been small enough to sell their clothes - like almost 30 years now - it seems like too much work for so little results. And price? Arg! This time I think I'll do Burma Shave-style signs telling people "I hate to price/so make your offer/and I'll put money/in my moving coffer."


----------



## Dawgluver

Arrggh.  I am scrupulous about checking pockets for kleenex before laundering.  However, somehow I missed one.  Shreds of kleenex all over everything.  Thankfully, this was a load of lights, it usually happens when I do darks.  I need a pre-laundry kleenex detector.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Sprout said:


> Good deal. I have arthritis in my right index finger. I have this cycle where the inflammation will flare and instead of treating it, I just compensate with the other fingers, which eventually throws things off and then they're inflamed too, until finally my whole hand hurts. Last spring I got to a point where I couldn't open a jar of peanut butter with that hand. Spent last summer in PT for it and now I'm back to just the one finger and it's manageable. I'm trying to keep my hand strength up and the inflammation down this time so I can keep it in just that finger for a while! I'm really not excited for what that hand will feel like in 30 years or so.



I didn't know you had problems with a finger.  I knew you had other issues though.  Just know that my prayers go out for you daily.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sprout said:


> Good deal. I have arthritis in my right index finger. I have this cycle where the inflammation will flare and instead of treating it, I just compensate with the other fingers, which eventually throws things off and then they're inflamed too, until finally my whole hand hurts. Last spring I got to a point where I couldn't open a jar of peanut butter with that hand. Spent last summer in PT for it and now I'm back to just the one finger and it's manageable. I'm trying to keep my hand strength up and the inflammation down this time so I can keep it in just that finger for a while! I'm really not excited for what that hand will feel like in 30 years or so.



I'm going to see if the therapists have anyone getting paraffin treatment.  If they do they will let me dip my hands while they have it going.

Amazing how much pain you can handle and then one day it's just too much.


----------



## roadfix

mmyap said:


> Amazon is the next best thing to sliced bread.  I use then a lot for mundane things as well as self indulgent things.  I bought a large package of vacuum cleaner bags recently after having spent a half a day and way too much gas going across the island, fighting traffic,  trying to find them at a local Sears store.  They were all out.  What a waste of time that was.


You can also find commonly replaced appliance parts on Amazon. And these are parts stocked at Amazon's warehouses and do not come from third party merchants.  In the past few months I've replaced a defrost timer and defrost thermostat on my fridge, also parts for my clothes dryer.  They are much cheaper than on-line appliance parts sites or your Sears/Kenmore/Whirlpool or whatever local parts centers.


----------



## CharlieD

If there was a Petty Vent ever, emphasis on "Petty", there is one. It's my daughters big birthday this Sunday and I have to cook, but i so do not feel like it. I have a stupid cold and it is just, well, petty that I have to have it right now.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Arrggh.  I am scrupulous about checking pockets for kleenex before laundering.  However, somehow I missed one.  Shreds of kleenex all over everything.  Thankfully, this was a load of lights, it usually happens when I do darks.  I need a pre-laundry kleenex detector.



I think every pocket I have in all  my clothing has a Kleenex in it just waiting to go in the washer. I just tell myself I am helping to keep the environment clean of my germs. Then I shake off all the little pieces of Kleenex. Then my house looks like a snow storm hit it.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> If there was a Petty Vent ever, emphasis on "Petty", there is one. It's my daughters big birthday this Sunday and I have to cook, but i so do not feel like it. I have a stupid cold and it is just, well, petty that I have to have it right now.



Is she going to be 13 Charlie? That indeed is a big day for her. More questions Charlie. Can the 13th birthday be celebrated a week or so later or does it have to be right on the day? I know it is a BIG day for the boys, but do most Jewish families celebrate it as much for the girls? I feel sorry for the families that have only girls.


----------



## mmyap

roadfix said:


> You can also find commonly replaced appliance parts on Amazon.


 
Yes! Also have a TV that is a dinosaur and the remote control gave out.  Seriously, replacement remotes dot com or something similar.  I had a new remote within a week.  That dinosaur just keeps on going.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Is she going to be 13 Charlie? That indeed is a big day for her. More questions Charlie. Can the 13th birthday be celebrated a week or so later or does it have to be right on the day? I know it is a BIG day for the boys, but do most Jewish families celebrate it as much for the girls? I feel sorry for the families that have only girls.



I guess you haven't heard of the bat mitzvah: http://www.myjewishlearning.com/life/Life_Events/BarBat_Mitzvah/BarBat_Mitzvah_101.shtml


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> You can also find commonly replaced appliance parts on Amazon. And these are parts stocked at Amazon's warehouses and do not come from third party merchants.  In the past few months I've replaced a defrost timer and defrost thermostat on my fridge, also parts for my clothes dryer.  They are much cheaper than on-line appliance parts sites or your Sears/Kenmore/Whirlpool or whatever local parts centers.




You not only fix roads, but also appliances!


----------



## tinlizzie

Addie said:


> I think every pocket I have in all  my clothing has a Kleenex in it just waiting to go in the washer. I just tell myself I am helping to keep the environment clean of my germs. Then I shake off all the little pieces of Kleenex. Then my house looks like a snow storm hit it.



Ah, but nothing can compare to the joy of finding that Kleenex in your pocket when you really, really need one.  Yes, allergy season has begun down here.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> I guess you haven't heard of the bat mitzvah: Bar and Bat Mitzvah 101 - My Jewish Learning



I have. But I wonder if it is as big as it is for the boys.


----------



## Sprout

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I didn't know you had problems with a finger.  I knew you had other issues though.  Just know that my prayers go out for you daily.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



You've never seen my crazy crooked finger? It started with an injury during a wrestling match Junior year and by freshman year of college I was told it had turned into arthritis. It's usually tolerable, but gets pretty sore if it gets abused or if my hands get too cold. If it's already bugging me a little, it gets really sore with sudden weather changes.


----------



## Dawgluver

tinlizzie said:


> Ah, but nothing can compare to the joy of finding that Kleenex in your pocket when you really, really need one.  Yes, allergy season has begun down here.



Exactly, the Joy of Kleenex.  Can't live without 'em.  Panic sets in when I can't find one on me.


----------



## Dawgluver

Sprout said:


> You've never seen my crazy crooked finger? It started with an injury during a wrestling match Junior year and by freshman year of college I was told it had turned into arthritis. It's usually tolerable, but gets pretty sore if it gets abused or if my hands get too cold. If it's already bugging me a little, it gets really sore with sudden weather changes.



Sprout, you wrestled in HS?  Good for you!  Or was it with a boyfriend?


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I have. But I wonder if it is as big as it is for the boys.



I believe it depends on the congregation and how liberal or orthodox they are.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> Sprout, you wrestled in HS?  Good for you!  Or was it with a boyfriend?



I could tell you stories.  But I'll be a good Dad for a change and keep my lips sealed.

And Sprout, nope, never knew about the finger.  With as much attention as I paid to all of you during those years, I really don't understand how I could have missed that one.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Apparently I either need to wear a HazMat suit or bathe myself in Beagle's Frontline Plus.  Was out in the yard cleaning out the flower beds, came in and found yet ANOTHER tick under my clothes!  My second so far this spring, and we've only had 2 days of nice weather!  DH,  Beagle and I have all had ticks on us so far.  And these are the little (probably) deer ticks.  Beagle has been Frontlined, as has the couch and carpet as she hates it, but I still wish there was something that would work on people.  I sure wouldn't wipe it off on the couch or carpet.  End of rant.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Apparently I either need to wear a HazMat suit or bathe myself in Beagle's Frontline Plus.  Was out in the yard cleaning out the flower beds, came in and found yet ANOTHER tick under my clothes!  My second so far this spring, and we've only had 2 days of nice weather!  DH,  Beagle and I have all had ticks on us so far.  And these are the little (probably) deer ticks.  Beagle has been Frontlined, as has the couch and carpet as she hates it, but I still wish there was something that would work on people.  I sure wouldn't wipe it off on the couch or carpet.  End of rant.


Oh dear!

from Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases: Information for healthcare professionals - Lyme Disease - Public Health Agency of Canada

*Prevention*

 There is no vaccine for Lyme disease. The best way to avoid Lyme  disease is to protect against tick bites. Health professionals should  advise their patients to take the following measures:


If there are ticks in your area, cover up if you think you might  be exposed to them. Wear closed-toe shoes, long-sleeved shirts and  pants. Pulling your socks over your pant legs prevents ticks crawling up  your legs. Light-coloured clothing makes spotting ticks easier.
Use insect repellents that contain DEET
	
  (concentration between 20-30%) or Icaridin. Repellents can be applied  to clothing as well as exposed skin. Always read and follow label  directions.
Shower or bathe within two hours of being outdoors. Daily “full  body” checks for ticks should be performed: ticks attach themselves to  the skin so they can be found and removed, which usually prevents  infection if this is done early enough (within 24-48 hours). Be sure to  check children and pets for ticks as well.


----------



## Dawgluver

Even after bathing, they don't go away!  Isn't it something that there's no vaccine or preventative?  And who wants to spend their time outside on a beautiful 76°F or higher day in a HazMat suit.


----------



## Sprout

Dawgluver said:


> Sprout, you wrestled in HS?  Good for you!  Or was it with a boyfriend?



I was on the team. I was terrible at it, but I worked hard and enjoyed it. It really improved my soccer game, too. I just had to remember that there's a big difference in the amount of contact allowed on the field vs the mat! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## Dawgluver

Sprout said:


> I was on the team. I was terrible at it, but I worked hard and enjoyed it. It really improved my soccer game, too. I just had to remember that there's a big difference in the amount of contact allowed on the field vs the mat!
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2



Sprout, I am impressed!  One of my female students that I worked with fought to be on the wrestling team, and was, and another was on the football team.

Kudos!   (And sorry about your finger)


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Is she going to be 13 Charlie? That indeed is a big day for her. More questions Charlie. Can the 13th birthday be celebrated a week or so later or does it have to be right on the day? I know it is a BIG day for the boys, but do most Jewish families celebrate it as much for the girls? I feel sorry for the families that have only girls.



Addi, she is only 12. The traditional way was always 12. Until feminism penetrated the religious life too. Not to get distracted by roll of feminism in the society, that is totally separate subject. But somehow even in religious life women decided to prove that they equal to men. If you ask me they are better and had nothing to prove. It's us men, that have to constantly prove our worthiness to G-d. 
Anyways, we adhere to old tradition. 12 year old girls give a speech based on the Torah portion of the week. Reflecting how it relates to our everyday life. And it always does. It is not the size of the party that matters. Party you can have any day.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Even after bathing, they don't go away!  Isn't it something that there's no vaccine or preventative?  And who wants to spend their time outside on a beautiful 76°F or higher day in a HazMat suit.




I'm sure Frontline makes a collar in DH's size...


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Even after bathing, they don't go away!  Isn't it something that there's no vaccine or preventative?  And who wants to spend their time outside on a beautiful 76°F or higher day in a HazMat suit.


Well, that thing I quoted from the Public Health Agency of Canada said to use DEET based insect repellants.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm sure Frontline makes a collar in DH's size...



Ya squirt Frontline between the shoulder blades, no collar!  Though I wish....DH won't hold still.  And he keeps trying to wipe it off on the carpet.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Well, that thing I quoted from the Public Health Agency of Canada said to use DEET based insect repellants.



Sadly, Deet has never worked for anything but mosquitoes for me.  I'm on my second shower.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Sadly, Deet has never worked for anything but mosquitoes for me.  I'm on my second shower.


When I lived in the country we used to use a 94 or 96% DEET product (Muskol?).  They don't sell that strength anymore.

It worked for everything except deer flies. It worked for 8 hours and then seemed to sound a silent alarm that black flies, mosquitoes, noseeyums, etc. could here.

What about the Icaridin? I've never heard about that one before.


----------



## Dawgluver

I have a feeling that ticks don't care what you spray yourself with.  Including showers.

Canadian deer flies are the worst!  NOTHING repels them!

Cave just put some great info about ticks and Lyme disease in Off Topic.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I've never had a tick...be funny if I just jinxed myself and then needed a flea collar!!!


----------



## taxlady

Deer flies are awful. The other insects are little vampires that want your blood. Deer flies want meat!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I've never had a tick...be funny if I just jinxed myself and then needed a flea collar!!!



My school nurses had never seen a tick bite either, until one had to pull one out of the back of my neck, and another had to check the one DH helped me pull out of my side.  They leave quite a wound for such a little bug.  Like a big hole.  And when they're embedded, you know, they hurt!

BTW, if some of the tick parts are still in there, no worries.  They get absorbed.  Everyone freaks about the mouth parts left.  Unless they have Lyme disease.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Deer flies are awful. The other insects are little vampires that want your blood. Deer flies want meat!



Yes they do!  They have those triangular mouth parts that just take out chunks of flesh.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Put vaseline over a tick and it will back out, you've cut off it's oxygen.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Put vaseline over a tick and it will back out, you've cut off it's oxygen.




From my boy scout days I remember this:  Light a match then blow it out and touch the hop tip to the tick and it'll back out.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Put vaseline over a tick and it will back out, you've cut off it's oxygen.



Pointy tweezers are the way to go, pull straight out, no twisting or squeezing. They're already in your flesh, so there's nothing to smother.  Mom used to use a blown-out match, they'd back out for that, but there might be some collateral damage.  I would then put them on a fireproof surface, or in an ashtray, and incinerate them with a lighter.


----------



## taxlady

I've read that when you put a match to tickets they back out, but they vomit first.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I've read that when you put a match to tickets they back out, but they vomit first.



Oh good gravy.  Now I'm off to take another shower, with pumice stone, Beagle's last vial of Frontline, and bleach.  And I'm bringing my pointy tip tweezers with me.

The dog ticks we'd get at the lake were nice and big, easy to see.  These little deer ticks are the size of a pin head or smaller.  

I'm a big garden person, we need a vaccine!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Always worked when Dad did it, he tried the match once on my sister and burned her, after that he did the vaseline.  My sister is a tick and mosquito magnet.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Always worked when Dad did it, he tried the match once on my sister and burned her, after that he did the vaseline.  My sister is a tick and mosquito magnet.



  Back in the day.  Now we have Uuber ticks!  And Lyme disease!  I scratched what I thought was a tiny pin-sized scab off my chest yesterday, the scab had legs, and where I scratched bled enough that I had to put a bandaid on it.  I incinerated that legged scab pronto.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> Apparently I either need to wear a HazMat suit or bathe myself in Beagle's Frontline Plus.  Was out in the yard cleaning.... I still wish there was something that would work on people.  I sure wouldn't wipe it off on the couch or carpet.  End of rant.
> **********************
> Even after bathing, they don't go away! Isn't it something that there's no vaccine or preventative?



Oh. I. Wish...there was tick repellant for humans! Himself got a case of Lyme disease about 9-10 years ago. Fortunately it was caught early, he got the 3 or 4 week round of antibiotics, and he's been symptom and side-effect free since. Meanwhile, I am completely paranoid about going out to work in the gardens. Hence, my beds look like total crap. Gotta bundle up, suck it up, and hope the ticks don't land on me and do the same (sucking it up). In our time up here I've plucked only two ticks off of me. Since I am afraid to leave parts behind I've got my own system of cleaning them out: my cuticle clippers. Sterilize both the spot of skin and the blades of the clippers, then nip a bit of a channel good enough to use the tips and grab the little bugger's backside and pull him out. I've since gotten the pointy style tweezers but haven't had to use them. Yet. I HAVE to work in the yard this year if I want the house to have nice curb appeal.

Lyme disease: just one more reason to move back to OH. Per the CDC, last year OH had a total of 49 cases, MA had 3396. That's in spite of the fact that OH has almost twice as many people and is nearly 5 times larger than MA.


----------



## CarolPa

Now I have 2 reasons why I stay indoors most of the time.

1)  allergies
2)  ticks


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Apparently I either need to wear a HazMat suit or bathe myself in Beagle's Frontline Plus.  Was out in the yard cleaning out the flower beds, came in and found yet ANOTHER tick under my clothes!  My second so far this spring, and we've only had 2 days of nice weather!  DH,  Beagle and I have all had ticks on us so far.  And these are the little (probably) deer ticks.  Beagle has been Frontlined, as has the couch and carpet as she hates it, but I still wish there was something that would work on people.  I sure wouldn't wipe it off on the couch or carpet.  End of rant.



What about Off? For people, not for dogs. (There is a product for dogs also by that name to keep them off the furniture.) Keep a can by the door and every time you go outside for an extended time, spray you legs, feet and the bottom of your clothing. I have never liked the idea of spraying near the face. Or try one of those little clip-ons that have a small fan in them. Ticks can be very scary.

When we lived in Washington, I managed an apartment complex. I had all military tenants. One couple went back home to Oregon for a week's vacation. When they came back, Poo went down to their apartment and they brought him in and let him watch while they unpacked. That night when I undressed him for his bath, I noticed a little black spot on his testicle. Looking closer, I realized it was a tick. A run to the ER. They kept pouring alcohol over it until it backed out. They picked it up with tweezers and put it in a lab vial. A couple of days later I had a woman and man at my door from Wash. D.C. They were from the Federal Department of Health and The National Parks Dept. They wanted to know where my son had picked up the tick. I felt like I was being interrogated for an upcoming prison sentence. It seems that it was a *Rocky Mountain Tick! The kind that makes you very sick and can kill you. 

The next week I had the State's equivalent of the officials at my door. It seems that due to the Columbia River, there are no Rocky Mountain Ticks in the state. Next they knocked on my tenant's door. They fumigated their whole apartment. I ended up at a later date evicting these tenants. They had a dog that was against the lease. I left the apartment empty for a couple of weeks before I went to clean it. When I opened the door, my arms were instantly covered with very hungry fleas. I have some nice scars from the attack. A lot of the bites became infected. 

How can anything so small be so dangerous?  *


----------



## Addie

I can understand when someone posts pictures to the forum, they may not know how to size them and edit them. But isn't there a way that the site administrators can correct them so that they fit on the page properly? Just curious.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I can understand when someone posts pictures to the forum, they may not know how to size them and edit them. But isn't there a way that the site administrators can correct them so that they fit on the page properly? Just curious.


Addie, the forum software usually resizes the pictures and puts a bar on the top with instructions to click the bar for the full size. Sometimes it doesn't work. It would be a lot of work for the admins to resize all of those pix, especially when the software usually does it.


----------



## cave76

For information on how to remove a tick properly go to:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/information-about-lyme-disease-89653.html#post1359561


----------



## Chef Munky

Dawgluver said:


> Oh good gravy.  Now I'm off to take another shower, with pumice stone, Beagle's last vial of Frontline, and bleach.  And I'm bringing my pointy tip tweezers with me.
> 
> The dog ticks we'd get at the lake were nice and big, easy to see.  These little deer ticks are the size of a pin head or smaller.
> 
> I'm a big garden person, we need a vaccine!



We once had a dog who was a tick and flea magnet. They just loved him when we went camping we took him into the vet to get a shot to repel them.That was getting costly as my adopting ok, bad habit of picking up and bringing home dogs that other people dumped off was growing into 4 at one time.

We did some checking and have and still use on the dogs and around the house to keep those critters under control. It's cheap. Easily found.Non harmful if used correctly. Boric Acid.

Boric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scroll down to the uses section.
HTH.

Munky.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Munky!


----------



## cave76

Chef Munky said:


> We did some checking and have and still use on the dogs and around the house to keep those critters under control. It's cheap. Easily found.Non harmful if used correctly. Boric Acid.
> 
> Boric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> Scroll down to the uses section.
> HTH.
> 
> Munky.



I've never heard of boric acid used to to kill or control ticks.

I went to Wiki, as suggested:
"Boric acid was first registered in the US as an insecticide in 1948 for control of cockroaches, termites, fire ants, fleas, silverfish, and many other insects. The product is generally considered to be safe to use in household kitchens to control cockroaches and ants.[20] It acts as a* stomach poiso*n affecting the insects' metabolism..."

I also read the entry under Toxicology at Wiki.
*************************
Ticks are not insects* although they're commonly called an insect by laymen.
Ticks are not Insects: Consequences of Contr... [Parasitol Today. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI
*******************
"What boric acid will *NOT *kill.

*Insects (and non-insects such as ticks) that have piercing mouthparts and feed on plant juices or blood (e.g., bed bugs, lice, aphids) do not groom, so boric acid does not control them.*
The larva (immature stage) of insects with complete metamorphosis (beetles, flies, fleas, butterflies & moths, etc.) do not typically groom, so boric acid does not control this life stage. The larval stage is often the stage that does the damage (e.g., clothes moths, stored product beetles and moths, carpet beetles, etc.), so control of larvae is essential to eliminate the problem.

Conclusions.

Boric acid should be treated with respect because it is toxic. It is a pesticide/insecticide.
Boric acid must be properly applied to be effective.
*Boric acid will not kill or control insect and tick life stages that have piercing mouthparts.*
Boric acid will NOT kill/control bed bugs.
Boric acid will not kill the larval stage of insects."

*Toxicity.  Both borax and boric acid must be ingested for their toxicity to be expressed.
*
Borax and Boric Acid for Insect Control [228] | David Moore
************************
*If you've been using Boric acid for years I don't want to tell you to stop using it. It's your right to treat as you see fit.*


----------



## taxlady

I once had an exterminator use boric acid to get rid of cockroaches. He said that it messed up their breathing. They started crawling out of their hiding places and falling on the floor within minutes. I doubt they were all grooming that quickly. I had to leave the boric acid in place for six weeks so it would kill any newly hatched cockroaches, since it doesn't kill the eggs.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Addie, the forum software usually resizes the pictures and puts a bar on the top with instructions to click the bar for the full size. Sometimes it doesn't work. It would be a lot of work for the admins to resize all of those pix, especially when the software usually does it.



Okay, Thank you. 

And one for Sheddy!


----------



## Chef Munky

cave76 said:


> I've never heard of boric acid used to to kill or control ticks.
> 
> I went to Wiki, as suggested:
> "Boric acid was first registered in the US as an insecticide in 1948 for control of cockroaches, termites, fire ants, fleas, silverfish, and many other insects. The product is generally considered to be safe to use in household kitchens to control cockroaches and ants.[20] It acts as a* stomach poiso*n affecting the insects' metabolism..."
> 
> I also read the entry under Toxicology at Wiki.
> *************************
> Ticks are not insects* although they're commonly called an insect by laymen.
> Ticks are not Insects: Consequences of Contr... [Parasitol Today. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI
> *******************
> "What boric acid will *NOT *kill.
> 
> *Insects (and non-insects such as ticks) that have piercing mouthparts and feed on plant juices or blood (e.g., bed bugs, lice, aphids) do not groom, so boric acid does not control them.*
> The larva (immature stage) of insects with complete metamorphosis (beetles, flies, fleas, butterflies & moths, etc.) do not typically groom, so boric acid does not control this life stage. The larval stage is often the stage that does the damage (e.g., clothes moths, stored product beetles and moths, carpet beetles, etc.), so control of larvae is essential to eliminate the problem.
> 
> Conclusions.
> 
> Boric acid should be treated with respect because it is toxic. It is a pesticide/insecticide.
> Boric acid must be properly applied to be effective.
> *Boric acid will not kill or control insect and tick life stages that have piercing mouthparts.*
> Boric acid will NOT kill/control bed bugs.
> Boric acid will not kill the larval stage of insects."
> 
> *Toxicity.  Both borax and boric acid must be ingested for their toxicity to be expressed.
> *
> Borax and Boric Acid for Insect Control [228] | David Moore
> ************************
> *If you've been using Boric acid for years I don't want to tell you to stop using it. It's your right to treat as you see fit.*



Excuse me for not being more specific in my post.
What I had forgotten to mention after he picked a tick up while camping,no vet was around where we were camping, it's head was already inside his belly. We got it out completely with a lit cigarette.It backed right out.

My other point was in my mind but not typed up. We used and still use it as a preventive as a flea/ant repellant for living on an ant hill during spring and summer months. And that's using it sparingly.Living in the country all his 16 years of life and only picking up that one away from home wasn't too bad.

Munky.


----------



## cave76

Chef Munky said:


> Excuse me for not being more specific in my post.



That's fine.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I can understand when someone posts pictures to the forum, they may not know how to size them and edit them. But isn't there a way that the site administrators can correct them so that they fit on the page properly? Just curious.


You know that saying about a picture being worth a thousand words? Just think of those big pictures as saving you reading about 2000 words that could, quite possibly, be only mediocre anyway.


----------



## Mad Cook

cave76 said:


> I've never heard of boric acid used to to kill or control ticks.
> 
> I went to Wiki, as suggested:
> "Boric acid was first registered in the US as an insecticide in 1948 for control of cockroaches, termites, fire ants, fleas, silverfish, and many other insects. The product is generally considered to be safe to use in household kitchens to control cockroaches and ants.[20] It acts as a* stomach poiso*n affecting the insects' metabolism..."
> 
> I also read the entry under Toxicology at Wiki.
> **************************
> *Ticks are not insects* although they're commonly called an insect by laymen.
> Ticks are not Insects: Consequences of Contr... [Parasitol Today. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI
> *******************
> "What boric acid will *NOT *kill.
> 
> *Insects (and non-insects such as ticks) that have piercing mouthparts and feed on plant juices or blood (e.g., bed bugs, lice, aphids) do not groom, so boric acid does not control them.*
> The larva (immature stage) of insects with complete metamorphosis (beetles, flies, fleas, butterflies & moths, etc.) do not typically groom, so boric acid does not control this life stage. The larval stage is often the stage that does the damage (e.g., clothes moths, stored product beetles and moths, carpet beetles, etc.), so control of larvae is essential to eliminate the problem.
> 
> Conclusions.
> 
> Boric acid should be treated with respect because it is toxic. It is a pesticide/insecticide.
> Boric acid must be properly applied to be effective.
> *Boric acid will not kill or control insect and tick life stages that have piercing mouthparts.*
> Boric acid will NOT kill/control bed bugs.
> Boric acid will not kill the larval stage of insects."
> 
> *Toxicity. Both borax and boric acid must be ingested for their toxicity to be expressed.*
> 
> Borax and Boric Acid for Insect Control [228] | David Moore
> ************************
> *If you've been using Boric acid for years I don't want to tell you to stop using it. It's your right to treat as you see fit.*


The house we had in Spain was over-run with ants and the only successful treatment was borax laid where they were getting into the house. Worked wonders. Borax is no longer available in this country due to it's toxicity


----------



## Dawgluver

When I awoke this morning I found I can't close the right side of my jaw without a lot of pain.  Not sure if it's TMJ or some type of infection.  I had a crown put in last summer, and afterward the gum behind the crown felt weird.  When I got my teeth cleaned a couple months ago, X-rays didn't show anything unusual, and dentist didn't think it was anything.  But today I can't chew!  Guess we're not going out to dinner tonight.


----------



## mmyap

I hope your dentist / physician can work you in quickly to take care of that.  That sounds awful.  Best wishes, Dawgluver.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> When I awoke this morning I found I can't close the right side of my jaw without a lot of pain.  Not sure if it's TMJ or some type of infection.  I had a crown put in last summer, and afterward the gum behind the crown felt weird.  When I got my teeth cleaned a couple months ago, X-rays didn't show anything unusual, and dentist didn't think it was anything.  But today I can't chew!  Guess we're not going out to dinner tonight.


Aw phooey. I hope it feels better soon. Have you made an appointment for the dentist yet? (((hugs)))


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks guys, dentist is closed on Friday, so I'll have to wait until Monday.  It doesn't hurt unless I try to close my jaw, or chew.


----------



## cave76

Dawgluver said:


> When I awoke this morning I found I can't close the right side of my jaw without a lot of pain. /QUOTE]
> 
> As a Dental Hygienist I would put an ice pack on the patients joint first then immediately put a warm moist cloth on the TMJ.
> 
> What I would for myself (back when I had TMJ pain) was what is shown on this video* starting about 5 minutes and ending at about 7 minutes.
> *
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U7PSqKDCpg
> 
> *I didn't do anything else shown on the video----just the cold and hot and massage.*
> 
> Do NOT do this too much or with a heavy hand.
> 
> Sometimes (only sometimes) a slight change in the elevation of a tooth or crown or filling can cause TMJ pain and that's a job for the dentist to assess with a painless grinding of the high spot.
> 
> But TMJ pain after waking up almost always means the person slept wrong or ground his teeth at night.
> That's the short and simple explanation.
> 
> Warning---- I repeat, don't massage with a heavy hand or too much.
> *I hope the pain goes away soon.* Sometimes it just goes away on it's own.


----------



## Zhizara

Yikes, Dawg.  Good luck getting this fixed.  I hope it's something easily remedied, and not TMJ which I understand can be ongoing.

I guess it's time to break out your favorite soups recipes.  Take it easy!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Cave and Zhizara.  I told the dentist last time that I thought I had an infection.  Somethng just didn't feel right.  I'll ask about an antibiotic.

And I was hoping for a nice juicy steak tonight!  Though not in the blender....


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawg, if you notice any swelling before you can get to your dentist on Monday, you should go to Urgent Care or the ER.  If it's an abscess, you'll need to get some antibiotics right away if you can.  They're nothing to mess with.  I had one several years ago that got inflamed and infected really fast, my whole cheek got puffy, and naturally it was right before my dentist's 3 day weekend.   Urgent care gave me some strong antibiotics that helped reduce it till I could see my dentist.  Take care, I hope you don't have to go through your whole weekend eating soup.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Cheryl, I totally agree.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> The house we had in Spain was over-run with ants and the only successful treatment was borax laid where they were getting into the house. Worked wonders. *Borax is no longer available in this country *due to it's toxicity



Read the ingredient list on 20 Mule Team Borax. :It is still available here. angel:


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> When I awoke this morning I found I can't close the right side of my jaw without a lot of pain.  Not sure if it's TMJ or some type of infection.  I had a crown put in last summer, and afterward the gum behind the crown felt weird.  When I got my teeth cleaned a couple months ago, X-rays didn't show anything unusual, and dentist didn't think it was anything.  But today I can't chew!  Guess we're not going out to dinner tonight.



Well that stinks, I hope you get this figured out.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> When I awoke this morning I found I can't close the right side of my jaw without a lot of pain... But today I can't chew!  Guess we're not going out to dinner tonight.


Pardon my French, but that's a hell of a diet plan! Hope you're feeling better soon. Like you said, steak in a blender just wouldn't work.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks guys.  Got up today, and my jaw had unlocked!  I can chew again!  Very strange.


----------



## cave76

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks guys.  Got up today, and my jaw had unlocked!  I can chew again!  Very strange.



As I said----- sometimes they  just 'cure' themselves. Often when the person relaxes about it (such as sleeping). 

Glad it all worked out.


----------



## CarolPa

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks guys.  Got up today, and my jaw had unlocked!  I can chew again!  Very strange.




I think I would still get it checked out.  It could happen again if you don't really know what caused it.


----------



## Dawgluver

CarolPa said:


> I think I would still get it checked out.  It could happen again if you don't really know what caused it.



I think so too.  It was hard going through a whole day not being able to chew!  I didn't think my Friday night dinner of applesauce and Greek yogurt was really worthy of the What's for Dinner thread.


----------



## cave76

CarolPa said:


> I think I would still get it checked out.  It could happen again if you don't really know what caused it.



Dawg---- be very careful if you do go to a dentist to find out what happened.
TMJ disorders are often a cash cow for some dentists. I know because I worked for one.

There actually could be something that shows on an x-ray that might need attending to. One of those is a 'slipped disc' between the mandible and the maxilla. It produces a clicking sound.

I've lived with this crepitus for decades and never had anything done for it. On the very rare times my jaw got 'stuck' just heat and relaxing helped it.

But some dentists will tell you that needs to be 'adjusted'.

Be VERY careful.


----------



## Dawgluver

cave76 said:


> Dawg---- be very careful if you do go to a dentist to find out what happened.
> TMJ disorders are often a cash cow for some dentists. I know because I worked for one.
> 
> There actually could be something that shows on an x-ray that might need attending to. One of those is a 'slipped disc' between the mandible and the maxilla. It produces a clicking sound.
> 
> I've lived with this crepitus for decades and never had anything done for it. On the very rare times my jaw got 'stuck' just heat and relaxing helped it.
> 
> But some dentists will tell you that needs to be 'adjusted'.
> 
> Be VERY careful.



Thanks Cave.  My dentist and hygenist didn't see anything wrong, and both chalked it up to TMJ, as in there was nothing they could do about it.  I still think it might have had something to do with the crown and possible infection or an allergy to the new material that was used in it.  I'll have to be even more assertive.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks Cave.  My dentist and hygenist didn't see anything wrong, and both chalked it up to TMJ, as in there was nothing they could do about it.  I still think it might have had something to do with the crown and possible infection or an allergy to the new material that was used in it.  I'll have to be even more assertive.



I think you were jsut talking too much, and your jaw muscles were rebelling for a short time.

Seriously, I'm happy that the problem corrected itself.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I think you were jsut talking too much, and your jaw muscles were rebelling for a short time.
> 
> Seriously, I'm happy that the problem corrected itself.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Yeah, that must be it, Chief   If that's the case, you've never met DH!  He can talk a blue streak around me!  (and maybe you too!)


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> Yeah, that must be it, Chief   If that's the case, you've never met DH!  He can talk a blue streak around me!  (and maybe you too!)



All I can say to that is, WOW!

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> All I can say to that is, WOW!
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Whenever I tire of DH's verbal dissertations and pontifications, I only have to read one of your posts, Chief.  It resets my mind!  You are much less verbose!


----------



## cave76

*Poor spelling by people who should know better!*

I'm not talking about our conversations in a forum or private emails!

No, I'm talking about poor spelling by people who make their living by writing.

"Depricate" was used in an article I just read. Even spell check would ''bleep" at that. Did the author not bother to double check?

"Hire Wire" was used instead of "High Wire" in another article. Sure, spell check would let that through (being ignorant when it comes to grammar, just as I am) but a simple read-through should have caught the eye of someone!
*
What would Edwin Newman think?*

"In 1974 Newman's first book, Strictly Speaking: Will America be the Death of English? reached Number 1 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list."

Edwin Newman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

O.K. now I've shown my Codgerly-ness again!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Yep, this is truly a petty vent.  I lost 5 straight chess games to my computer.  I'm used to winning, or at least tying.  Now I'm just feeling stupid.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cave76 said:


> I'm not talking about our conversations in a forum or private emails!
> 
> No, I'm talking about poor spelling by people who make their living by writing.
> 
> "Depricate" was used in an article I just read. Even spell check would ''bleep" at that. Did the author not bother to double check?
> 
> "Hire Wire" was used instead of "High Wire" in another article. Sure, spell check would let that through (being ignorant when it comes to grammar, just as I am) but a simple read-through should have caught the eye of someone!
> *
> What would Edwin Newman think?*
> 
> "In 1974 Newman's first book, Strictly Speaking: Will America be the Death of English? reached Number 1 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list."
> 
> Edwin Newman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> O.K. now I've shown my Codgerly-ness again!



I get upset about local news reports I get in my e-mail.  The spelling and grammar are so bad, makes you wonder how they graduated out of college...then I remember they are updates from the TV news, they don't HAVE to know how to spell.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I get upset about local news reports I get in my e-mail.  The spelling and grammar are so bad, makes you wonder how they graduated out of college...then I remember they are updates from the TV news, they don't HAVE to know how to spell.



Without a doubt, internet blogs, etc. have increased our exposure to bad grammar, spelling and rambling sentences.  Drives me crazy.  

What's your excuse for misspelling words when you have spell checkers.  Does no one proof read anymore?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm forever editing because I see I've misspelled something.  People just have no sense of right anymore, it seems.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> ...What's your excuse for misspelling words when you have spell checkers.  Does no one proof read anymore?


Nope. I actually emailed a reporter for our town's paper, chiding her on poor spelling, grammar, and word usage. Her excuse? She has to research, interview, compose, and edit (apparently minimally) 12-14 stories per printing cycle. This is for a number of town weeklies! Somehow I find it hard to believe that she can't do 2-3 stories a day, unless she is paid by the piece and not hourly. In that case I can see how someone with a high tolerance of errors could hurry through. 

What really bothers me is when I find errors in books! Especially context errors. Did not one of the proofreaders or the editor actually read for content? *shaking my head*


----------



## Somebunny

PF, I thought I was the queen of "editing". Good to know I'm not alone.
Most of my edits are related to thumb typing on my phone.

CG, I recently read an e-book, that I accessed through a Facebook post.  There were several grammatical errors and some continuity errors. Since the book had a Facebook page, I wrote a post saying that I enjoyed the book, but that those errors detracted from what might otherwise have been a good book.  The author actually wrote a post back saying there were no errors!  WTH!
Bad form all the way around, I say!  I won't be purchasing any of her books.  Constructive criticism should help us 
grow.  The same for your newspaper reporter, (it's her job) making excuses is unacceptable, just take the information and learn from it.

And.......yes I did have to edit this post! 
 twice!


----------



## Dawgluver

Most of my Kindle books contain errors of some sort.  Nature of the beast?

I have a friend who lives in another country, we see each other as often as we can.  She cannot spell, and never proofreads anything!  She's on several boards that I'm on, and I just cringe every time I see one of her posts with misspellings.  She once posted in answering as to where to get cheap shirts, that she gets her sh*ts at .....  I thought it was hilarious, and pointed it out, telling her to proofread her post, as several others did as well.  Much merriment ensued, she didn't get it, then she took down her whole post.  She didn't speak to me for a week!  Then I caught her making fun of someone else's typo, and just shook my head.


----------



## Addie

The title of a book, article or other piece should have every word begin with a capital letter. Or so I was taught in school. Our large city (and national) newspaper decided years ago that this was a silly rule. So they just dropped it. When you children see such blatant misuse of our language, why should they strive to be correct? After all, if it is good enough for a nationally acclaimed publication like The Boston Globe, it should be good enough for my teacher and the rest of the world. I have seen the paper make such horrible errors like "Billy bulger gets life." Even proper names no longer have to have the rule applied? 

My daughter has always been terrible with her spelling. And so are a lot of her colleagues. But at least she recognizes her shortcomings. She was forever calling me from work asking me to spell a word for her. It got so bad that when her friends at work needed a correct spelling she was calling for them if she didn't know. She finally gave them my number to call. Then they got windows with Spellcheck. At last, peace for me. 

I have found that over the years, the cheaper the cost of the printed work, the more errors you will find. Very rarely do I find an error in a hardbound book. They have a very large staff of editors and proofreaders. But that is no excuse for the rest of the printing world. Not in today's world of "Spellcheck".


----------



## Zhizara

I'm thinking that bad spellers just don't care.  Usually their message  gets across anyway so why care?  If they care, it just reminds them that  they are bad spellers.  People don't want to be reminded of their  shortcomings.


----------



## taxlady

A friend of mine is, among other things, a copy editor. She was copy editing a book. Unfortunately, when the spell checker flagged a word, the author just added the word to the dictionary for that document. This was back in the early '90s. It made my friend's job much more work.


----------



## cave76

#@IC spling tk'd abt. Def bad! Pls retweet. BFN


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> #@IC spling tk'd abt. Def bad! Pls retweet. BFN



I have a clue what any of that means.


----------



## GotGarlic

Zhizara said:


> I'm thinking that bad spellers just don't care.  Usually their message  gets across anyway so why care?  If they care, it just reminds them that  they are bad spellers.  People don't want to be reminded of their  shortcomings.



That's probably part of it, but bad writing, spelling and grammar have become so common that many people probably don't even realize something is wrong.


----------



## cave76

Should we blame the Twittersphere?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

cave76 said:


> Should we blame the Twittersphere?


and texting, and TV, and popularization of urban slang, showing as "cool" for the youth.

Oh oh; I'm about to get on a soapbox about all of the ills of society, and what cause them.  Somebody, quick, remove the soapbox from my reach.  The health of DC, the nation, the very world may depend on it.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I don't even have to be reading something to get annoyed by composition errors. Personally I would like to see every sports person and politician get dinged with a $$$ fine for using the words or phrases "um", "like", "you know", and all the other fillers people use while trying to figure out how to get an idea across. Thanks to Miss Liguzinski, my 5th grade teacher, for drumming good speaking patterns into our heads. Each day one of the students was put in charge of The Notebook, which recorded when a student used any of those fillers. I think the fine was something like 5 cents per infraction. When the kitty got pretty full, we'd have a classroom party with pizza or a movie and popcorn. By the end of 5th grade every one of us in the class was competent and fluent. To this day I can go off with an extemporaneous speech on any subject that interests me - much to the amusement or annoyance of Himself, depending on his mood! 

Now the popular thing among young professionals and "the educated" seems to be starting out sentences with something like "And" or "So" even if all you're doing is replying to a question. It's not like you're using the word to string two sentences together! "Uptalk" too, that's another complaint of mine. Don't know what that is? Ending every danged sentence with a question mark? If you're making a declarative sentence then you don't end it in a question? GAH! As far as I can tell, it seems like you aren't sure about what you're stating and you need affirmation. To me it's a sign of weakness. OK, end of rant.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Cooking Goddess said:


> I don't even have to be reading something to get annoyed by composition errors. Personally I would like to see every sports person and politician get dinged with a $$$ fine for using the words or phrases "um", "like", "you know", and all the other fillers people use while trying to figure out how to get an idea across. Thanks to Miss Liguzinski, my 5th grade teacher, for drumming good speaking patterns into our heads. Each day one of the students was put in charge of The Notebook, which recorded when a student used any of those fillers. I think the fine was something like 5 cents per infraction. When the kitty got pretty full, we'd have a classroom party with pizza or a movie and popcorn. By the end of 5th grade every one of us in the class was competent and fluent. To this day I can go off with an extemporaneous speech on any subject that interests me - much to the amusement or annoyance of Himself, depending on his mood!
> 
> Now the popular thing among young professionals and "the educated" seems to be starting out sentences with something like "And" or "So" even if all you're doing is replying to a question. It's not like you're using the word to string two sentences together! "Uptalk" too, that's another complaint of mine. Don't know what that is? Ending every danged sentence with a question mark? If you're making a declarative sentence then you don't end it in a question? GAH! As far as I can tell, it seems like you aren't sure about what you're stating and you need affirmation. To me it's a sign of weakness. OK, end of rant.



As a prospective author, I spend a good deal of time writing and proofreading.  And yet, as careful as I try to be, every time I proofread my work, even if it's for the tenth time, I still find ways to improve a sentence, or find a dangling participle, or find "there" when I meant to write "their".  I'm also always finding ways to make sentences less wordy, and more clear at the same time.

Technical report writing was much easier than creative writing.  The rules are more clear.  I don't have to worry about transitions between character dialogue, especially when writing in first person.

I have been searching for a friend, or partner,who could help with my novels, with whom I would share sale profits with, literally for years.  I've been told by multiple agents that my work is almost ready for publishing, and that the stories are very good.  And yet, I just can't seem to be satisfied enough to pull the trigger.  I want to e-publish, but want my novels to be high quality work that's worth reading.

My gripe, creative fiction is darned, hard work, sometimes taking several years to get the work right.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cave76

Although I'm sloppy with emails when I need to be better I've always found The Elements of Style. William Strunk, Jr. to be my Go To reference.


----------



## CatPat

I made the bad mistake of wearing one of my favorite t-shirts to the store today. It has an American flag upon it, with "God Bless America" in words across the flag.

I didn't know of Cinco de Mayo today, and so the store manager told me to leave the store immediately. He said my shirt was offensive to Mexicans and I could come back if I wore a different shirt. 

I didn't know of this! I've never, ever been told to leave a store! I don't understand this. But I was respectful and polite, and I changed my shirt and went back, although I did feel so ashamed. I did not know we aren't allowed to wear shirts with American flags on them on Cinco de Mayo.

Is this a law? I always try to obey all the laws here.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Somebunny

Cat it certainly is not a law!  You live in America where you have the right to wear anything you like!  I'm really not sure why anyone would ask you to leave a store for wearing a patriotic shirt!  Shame on them! Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday it is a Mexican holiday.  Even if it were an American holiday, you are still entitled to wear whatever you want, and to believe what whatever you like.


----------



## CatPat

Somebunny said:


> Cat it certainly is not a law!  You live in America where you have the right to wear anything you like!  I'm really not sure why anyone would ask you to leave a store for wearing a patriotic shirt!  Shame on them! Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday it is a Mexican holiday.  Even if it were an American holiday, you are still entitled to wear whatever you want, and to believe what whatever you like.



I thought so as well, Somebunny, but he said my shirt was offensive to Mexicans and it wasn't allowed on May 5. He also said I needed to be more sensitive to Hispanic immigrants.

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cat, I would be offended by a store owner in the United States telling me I could not wear something that supported the United States. It would be different if he were a Hispanic merchant in Mexico and you were a visitor. If he had done that to me, I would have told him I would no longer support his business.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cat, that man was rude and it was ridiculous for him to say such a thing. You did nothing wrong and there's no reason for you to be ashamed. I agree with Cooking Goddess - if a store owner or manager said that to me, I would tell him it's none of his business what I choose to wear and I wouldn't go back.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Same here, ~Cat.  I would have told him to mind his own business and left, never going back.  I would also tell him why he just lost a customer.  He was not only rude but a bully as well.


----------



## roadfix

Cat.....the dumb store manager must have been drunk to treat you in this manner.  That's what they do in Mexico, get drunk, for those who actually celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  It's more of an American tradition to celebrate this day, mostly at Mexican cantinas across the US.
Express your shock and displeasure to the manager if and when he sobers up.
Proudly wear your American Flag t-shirt any time, any where.


----------



## cave76

CatPat said:


> I didn't know of Cinco de Mayo today, and so the store manager told me to leave the store immediately. He said my shirt was offensive to Mexicans and I could come back if I wore a different shirt.



Did the manager not realize that *he was earning his living in the USA? * Presumably American's were buying merchandise there? 

Should have asked him if he was a citizen of the U.S. Have the Immigration Services on speed dial.


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> #@IC spling tk'd abt. Def bad! Pls retweet. BFN



What does this mean?


----------



## cave76

Addie said:


> What does this mean?



It was my response to the talk about why spelling is so bad now. That's TwitterSpeak.

Twitter Dictionary: A Guide to Understanding Twitter Lingo - Webopedia.com


----------



## taxlady

Cat, I agree with what others have written. Those Mexican immigrants chose to live in the US.

On the other hand, if you had worn it to a demonstration by American Natives for treaty rights or similar, it would have been in poor taste.


----------



## roadfix

We all assumed the manager was Mexican.  Was the manager Hispanic or Gringo?


----------



## Dawgluver

The guy was a jerk, Cat.  Cinco de Mayo is more celebrated in the states than it is in Mexico.  http://www.latinpost.com/articles/11800/20140505/cinco-de-mayo-mexico-holiday.htm

Some banks and schools close, but to most Mexicans, it's no big deal.


----------



## GotGarlic

roadfix said:


> We all assumed the manager was Mexican.  Was the manager Hispanic or Gringo?



I didn't assume anything, and his origin and ethnicity don't matter. He had no business saying that to her, or anyone.


----------



## taxlady

Maybe if he was a gringo, he was trying to be politically correct.


----------



## roadfix

GotGarlic said:


> I didn't assume anything, and his origin and ethnicity don't matter. He had no business saying that to her, or anyone.


Oops, sorry.  I should have said most people assumed.
I also initially thought the guy was Mexican to say something like that.


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> Maybe if he was a gringo, he was trying to be politically correct.


Yes, highly unlikely that he was a gringo in this instance.  Unlike a gringo principal throwing out a student for wearing a patriotic t shirt.....  That happens everyday.


----------



## Somebunny

I assumed the clerk was NOT  Mexican.  Just a jerk!  And like GG said, it doesn't matter what his ethnicity is. 
The behavior is uncalled for.


----------



## CatPat

Both of them are Hispanic and I didn't wish to offend, but I am an American. I emailed a complaint to the store's main office and I did strongly require an explanation of this action, and I also requested an apology. I did say Cinco de Mayo is not a law and I'm very tired of political agendas meeting me in a grocery store. I am there to buy food and to conduct business, and NOT to be confronted of some political stuff of an entirely different country I have no idea of.

Let us see what happens, yes?

With love,
~Cat


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> It was my response to the talk about why spelling is so bad now. That's TwitterSpeak.
> 
> Twitter Dictionary: A Guide to Understanding Twitter Lingo - Webopedia.com



I do have a cell phone. It rings, I answer it and I talk. I dial a number, the person answers, I talk. I don't text, twitter, or anything else. I just talk. So twitter means nothing to me and a lot of other folks of my age. We just talk. 

This is a forum of folks who talk back and forth using the English language. I don't believe we have a thread for puzzles, do we anyone?


----------



## Addie

CatPat said:


> Both of them are Hispanic and I didn't wish to offend, but I am an American. I emailed a complaint to the store's main office and I did strongly require an explanation of this action, and I also requested an apology. I did say Cinco de Mayo is not a law and I'm very tired of political agendas meeting me in a grocery store. I am there to buy food and to conduct business, and NOT to be confronted of some political stuff of an entirely different country I have no idea of.
> 
> Let us see what happens, yes?
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



Good for you girl. And  you did it the American way. You lodged a complaint at headquarters. You constantly make me so proud of you.


----------



## cave76

Addie said:


> I do have a cell phone. It rings, I answer it and I talk. I dial a number, the person answers, I talk. I don't text, twitter, or anything else. I just talk. So twitter means nothing to me and a lot of other folks of my age. We just talk.
> 
> This is a forum of folks who talk back and forth using the English language. I don't believe we have a thread for puzzles, do we anyone?



Addie, I hope you realize I was making a joke in a back-handed way.


----------



## Sprout

CatPat said:


> Both of them are Hispanic and I didn't wish to offend, but I am an American. I emailed a complaint to the store's main office and I did strongly require an explanation of this action, and I also requested an apology. I did say Cinco de Mayo is not a law and I'm very tired of political agendas meeting me in a grocery store. I am there to buy food and to conduct business, and NOT to be confronted of some political stuff of an entirely different country I have no idea of.
> 
> Let us see what happens, yes?
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat



I really wish people would get it in their heads that saying "I love this," or "I support this," doesn't mean the same thing as "I hate everything else." The "offensive to immigrants" argument is ridiculous. How exactly is saying "I love and support the country you chose to live in" offensive?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> Addie, I hope you realize I was making a joke in a back-handed way.



No I didn't. So I apologize for being flippant. I thought maybe you hand your fingers on all the wrong keys.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie, "fingers on all the wrong keys" perfectly describes what most tweets look like!  Probably because a lot of those posting just can't get their point across in 140 characters or less - your limit per "tweet". I've thought about signing up for Twitter just to follow a couple sports writers but never bothered. I have enough time-wasters going on in my life as it is. Besides, the only tweets that are really important to me are when our town has needed to notify us during power outages, and I can read those same tweets on the town's website. The idea of tweeting for the sake of it seems so self-absorbed and narcissistic


----------



## cave76

Addie said:


> No I didn't. So I apologize for being flippant. I thought maybe you hand your fingers on all the wrong keys.



That's o.k.-----in one thread a couple or more of us were flippantly speaking Latin (and I took it a step further and posted in Klingon!) It was 'sanitized'(that's the term used) and those posts were deleted. 

Maybe it was thought that I was cussing ----- in Klingon???  Doesn't everything in Klingon sound like cussing? 

I learned Klingon by watching The Big Bang Theory.


----------



## CharlieD

For the last two days anything I eat brings a bitter taste in my moth, even a glass of water. Weird. Anybody heard of such thing?


----------



## Dawgluver

Are you on different medications, Charlie?  Any dental work lately?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Are you on different medications, Charlie?  Any dental work lately?



Same questions I would ask...


----------



## cave76

CharlieD said:


> For the last two days anything I eat brings a bitter taste in my moth, even a glass of water. Weird. Anybody heard of such thing?



As a couple of others ask---- always suspect a new medicine *or supplement*.


----------



## Addie

Yesterday, I was informed that my OLDEST grandchild is 37 now. How did that happen when I am only 36 myself! My youngest grandchild is 4 years old. That is quite a spread. My oldest great grandchild is 17. And the youngest is four. 

Well I keep telling folks how bad I am with math. Even simple addition.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My oldest child would have been 36 this year...


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs PF)))

Mine would have been turning 22 in July. It doesn't hurt so much anymore, but Mother's Day still isn't my favourite day.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs PF)))
> 
> Mine would have been turning 22 in July. It doesn't hurt so much anymore, but Mother's Day still isn't my favourite day.



{{{{TL}}}}


----------



## Addie

Mother's Day I can handle. This past Sunday, my daughter and I were talking about Memorial Day weekend. Every year it is the most difficult time of the year for us. My youngest daughter was murdered and left behind five children. Because it was a holiday weekend, they held her body over the holiday before they did the autopsy. And then the police wanted her body held for an extra 24 hours. Didn't they realize how difficult it was on the whole family waiting to bury her? And to have five small children asking where is their mother only added to it. 

The first year was so difficult. I took custody of the oldest. Trying to deal with her grief and my own at the same time left us both living in the pits of despair. I finally had the good common sense to look for help for both of us. 

Her youngest one was only an infant and doesn't remember anything about her mother. It has only been the last year of so that she even found out that she is adopted. She called me one day and needed to know some of the family's medical history. She has come to visit me a couple of times. She has felt so confused over the years. She knew who and what relation her sisters are to her, but couldn't figure out why they had a different mother than her. I blame her adopted mother for never telling her the truth. But I keep my mouth shut on that one. That was not my call to make. 

Finally one day when she came for a visit, we sat down together and I told her the whole truth. We talked for about three hours. I also told her, if she ever had any questions, about herself or the family, all she had to do was ask, and I would never lie to her. Good bad or indifferent, I would always tell her the truth. And I have kept my word. Both she and her middle sister had been adopted by the same family. Her adopted mother told the other four kids that they were to never tell Alligator the truth. What a terrible burden to place on children. And they never did. I am the one who told her the first time about being adopted. When she was about three years old, her adopted father dropped dead when he got up for work one morning. Another loss for the two youngest girls. As much as Alligator loves her adopted mother, she now harbors some resentment towards her for never telling her the truth. 

Family secrets are a bad thing to try to keep hidden. Too many folks get hurt. Mainly the children. 

It has been 15 years now and at least we can sit around and tell funny stories about her. We still have laughter in our lives.


----------



## CharlieD

No new meds, nothing. My wife read somewhere that pine nuts would do that. Witch I had some.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Addie

Remember that knob to my mixer that got lost? Well of course the new one came today in the mail right after I found the lost one. Isn't that always the way?


----------



## CharlieD

Murphy's law never fail

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Chef Munky

Addie said:


> Remember that knob to my mixer that got lost? Well of course the new one came today in the mail right after I found the lost one. Isn't that always the way?



Next time you can say I don't need you anyways. It will reappear in no time.

I lost mine once. Found it in the flour sack. One of those days.


----------



## vitauta

ebay's database was hacked WEEKS ago, potentially affecting 145 million ebay users, and i am just now hearing about it online?!!  so much for my 'security conscious' ebay i was praising just a short while ago.  i guess we all need to be changing our passwords--if it's not too late, that is...thanks a bunch, ebay, for being such a turtle.


----------



## CharlieD

I don't even know my password. I think I used it twice, a while ago. Now what?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> ebay's database was hacked WEEKS ago, potentially affecting 145 million ebay users, and i am just now hearing about it online?!!  so much for my 'security conscious' ebay i was praising just a short while ago.  i guess we all need to be changing our passwords--if it's not too late, that is...thanks a bunch, ebay, for being such a turtle.


I've been meaning to post about that here all day. Yeah, where's my email telling me about this?

I changed my password last night, but it was hard to find the link to change it. Here it is:

https://fyp.ebay.com/EnterUserInfo


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> I don't even know my password. I think I used it twice, a while ago. Now what?
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


Just go to log in and tell them you forgot your password. They will give you some way to reset it.


----------



## vitauta

in the latest drive-by shooting in santa barbara, california, we have a case of afluenza, a well-off young college student, elliot rodgers, armed with a sporty late model beemer, three guns, and a misogynistic and mentally disturbed mindset, killed six people and sent another half dozen to the hospital. despite posting violent, strange and threatening videos on the social media, elliot was able to legally purchase three guns, and shortly before the retribution shooting event, to convince the police that he was not a threat to himself or others.


----------



## taxlady

vitauta said:


> in the latest drive-by shooting in santa barbara, california, we have a case of afluenza, a well-off young college student, elliot rodgers, armed with a sporty late model beemer, three guns, and a mysogynistic and mentally disturbed  mindset, killed six people and sent another half dozen to the hospital. despite posting violent, strange and threatening videos on the social media, elliot was able to legally purchase three guns, and shortly before the retribution shooting event, to convince the police that he was not a threat to himself or others.


I don't consider the misogynistic killing of women to be a petty vent. This is major. As I understand it, he didn't even know those women. He just didn't like that they would probably turn him down if he made an advance.


----------



## tinlizzie

Given these circumstances and with these criteria, how can we ever stop -- or even reduce -- these tragedies?  It's not just guns, either.  He stabbed three of his victims to death.  So sad, so useless.


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> I don't consider the misogynistic killing of women to be a petty vent. This is major. As I understand it, he didn't even know those women. He just didn't like that they would probably turn him down if he made an advance.


I read some more about this. He killed 2 women and 4 men. He knew 3 of the men. Were they trying to stop him?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

There are so  many things that can cause someone to "go off".  An umbilical cord wrapped around an infant's neck at birth can do specific brain damage that makes them extremely spontaneous, with little control over the spontaneous action.  There is a particular condition that causes some people to fight against any and all authority.  There are conditions in which people feel no remorse.  And then there are people who are just plain self-centered to the extent that they are willing to hurt others to get what they want.

Like someone here mentioned, some feel cheated if someone else doesn't give them a chance, especially if they've lived a life of being bullied, or shut out of various groups or situations.

There are so many reasons why people to very bad, evil things that there is no chance at stopping all violence.  Taking guns away isn't the answer.  If they can't get a gun, they'll grab a knife, or a pipe, or use their bare hands if need be.  Of course, if they have a gun, it makes it easier for them to do more damage.  I am not a gun-control advocate.  I own various fire-arms and have used them safely since I was a child, starting with a bow, to a bb-gun, and on up.  I've never hurt anyone with any weapon that I've owned, and there are millions like me.  Unfortunately, that isn't true of some people.

Is there an answer to violence?  I don't really think there is.  The most we can hope for is that strong families, where parents take the time to teach strong moral principles, respect for others, and that there are consequences for bad behavior, and consequences for good behavior.  They also need to teach children coping skills for bullies, and help them to fit in.  Most of all, they need to truly love, and build up their children with positive life-styles.  

I believe that the media, and anyone who glorifies ideas such as revenge, take care of yourself, because nobody else will, and portray strong people as violent people, are a big part of the problem as well.

I wish I had the answers that would teach everyone to behave in a civil, and helpful way.  I just don't think that there are any single answers to that question.  But I think we can make a difference by living in a way that is an example good, to others to emulate.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

That won't get rid of all violence.  But it will help.


----------



## JoAnn L.

I love warm weather except for all the noise. All the lawn mowers,weed trimmers and leaf blowers. All day every day and even late in the evening. One neighbor in the back even cuts in the dark. He turns on his small yard light. He will still be cutting at 9:30. He gets off work at 3 in the afternoon.


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> I love warm weather except for all the noise. All the lawn mowers,weed trimmers and leaf blowers. All day every day and even late in the evening. One neighbor in the back even cuts in the dark. He turns on his small yard light. He will still be cutting at 9:30. He gets off work at 3 in the afternoon.



Three sides of our building is surrounded by push thick green grass without even one dandelion. Every morning at five the sprinklers go off and soak the lawns really good before they shut off at 6:30 a.m. So the grass is growing all the time. Every day starting this week, two men on driven lawn mowers will start mowing for at least an hour and longer when they put the weed killer on. Considering this used to be a school building, the south end of the building is where the playground used to be. It is now where the plots for the residents gardens are and the rest is all lawn. With two mowers running together at the same time just doubles the noise. I hate to close my windows after a long cold winter. I am enjoying the fresh air coming in.


----------



## CharlieD

I'm sorry, but I just need to scream AAAAARRR. I worked on this program yesterday, whole day. I've been saving probably every 15 minutes, I know I did, AND TODAY THE DARN PROGRAM IS NOT THERE. GRRRRRRRRRRRR, expletives,expletives, expletives... grrrrrrrrrrr


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> I'm sorry, but I just need to scream AAAAARRR. I worked on this program yesterday, whole day. I've been saving probably every 15 minutes, I know I did, AND TODAY THE DARN PROGRAM IS NOT THERE. GRRRRRRRRRRRR, expletives,expletives, expletives... grrrrrrrrrrr


Bummer.

Are you sure where the program was saved? I have had something similar happen, but found the saved document in the wrong place.


----------



## CharlieD

I have checked the whole PC, any place I could have saved, the whole network, even my thumb drive, even though I know I would not save any program there. It is simply gone. The weird thing is, I've been working on this program for a while, changing, improving, etc. Yesterday was at least a third time. So you would think I would at least have the version I had before I started yesterday, the second version, guess again, I have only the first rough draft, so to speak, of it. Makes me crazy. I already thought I saved it under wrong name , so I went and open anything and everything that I saved yesterday, nothing, gone. Ok, fine, something wasn't working yesterday and it did not save. But how is it possible that the program I had yesterday is gone, it was saved a week ago or so? That I simply cannot understand.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> I have checked the whole PC, any place I could have saved, the whole network, even my thumb drive, even though I know I would not save any program there. It is simply gone. The weird thing is, I've been working on this program for a while, changing, improving, etc. Yesterday was at least a third time. So you would think I would at least have the version I had before I started yesterday, the second version, guess again, I have only the first rough draft, so to speak, of it. Makes me crazy. I already thought I saved it under wrong name , so I went and open anything and everything that I saved yesterday, nothing, gone. Ok, fine, something wasn't working yesterday and it did not save. But how is it possible that the program I had yesterday is gone, it was saved a week ago or so? That I simply cannot understand.


That really stinks Charlie. Have you looked in the Recycle Bin?


----------



## CharlieD

Yeap.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## taxlady

When I lose a file and can't find it I do a search of the entire computer, using the file name or part of the file name as the search key. Then I go do something else, because it takes a while. I think you can specify the "modified date" to make the search faster.


----------



## Zhizara

Charlie you could try doing a System Restore.


----------



## CarolPa

We have a neighbor who works overnight.  Sometimes he comes home and cuts the grass before he goes to bed.  It's EARLY!  LOL  But when I think about it, I'm so much happier hearing the lawnmowers and weed whackers than I was hearing the snow blowers and snow plows.


----------



## Dawgluver

The gnats are HORRID this year!  Now the pesky Eye gnats have been joined by the Buffalo gnats, the ones that bite and leave big itchy welts.  Absorbine Jr only works for a brief period of time.  Does not make for fun gardening.


----------



## CarolPa

Dawglover, first it was ticks, now gnats!  You sure are having issues with the insects!   The only problem we have had is after DH tilled the garden behind the house we had an attack of ants.  I think he disturbed their nest!


----------



## Dawgluver

Life in the country!  And mosquito season is just starting!

I found some Afterbite, it seems to help with the itchy welts.  Picked a tick off Beagle the other day, thankfully haven't found any new ones on me lately.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Life in the country!  And mosquito season is just starting!
> 
> I found some Afterbite, it seems to help with the itchy welts.  Picked a tick off Beagle the other day, thankfully haven't found any new ones on me lately.



Dawg, when I was living in Hawaii, Poo got some nasty mosquito bites that became infected. I had a very large aloe plant growing outside my door. I pinched off a piece and squeezed out some of the gel. Instantly they stopped itching and showed improvement in just a couple of hours. The infection cleared up with just the aloe gel. Even when we came back stateside, I bought an aloe plant and used it every summer to take care of any insect bites.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Dawg, when I was living in Hawaii, Poo got some nasty mosquito bites that became infected. I had a very large aloe plant growing outside my door. I pinched off a piece and squeezed out some of the gel. Instantly they stopped itching and showed improvement in just a couple of hours. The infection cleared up with just the aloe gel. Even when we came back stateside, I bought an aloe plant and used it every summer to take care of any insect bites.



Aloe is amazing stuff, isn't it?  Great for burns too.  We always take a bottle with us when we head south for sun.

I'm impressed with Afterbite.  It also stopped the itching immediately.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Aloe is amazing stuff, isn't it?  Great for burns too.  We always take a bottle with us when we head south for sun.
> 
> I'm impressed with Afterbite.  It also stopped the itching immediately.



I have even put aloe on my sons shoulders when they got sunburned.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> I have even put aloe on my sons shoulders when they got sunburned.



Yes, it really helps with the pain and healing of sunburn.


----------



## Mad Cook

Dawgluver said:


> The gnats are HORRID this year!  Now the pesky Eye gnats have been joined by the Buffalo gnats, the ones that bite and leave big itchy welts.  Absorbine Jr only works for a brief period of time.  Does not make for fun gardening.



When we were in Spain for several years we had man-eating mosquitos. We found oil of citronella was the best repellent. The mozzies hated it and it didn't smell vile like a lot of the proprietary products.

As for Beagle (is he a dog?), will he eat food with garlic in it? I add 100% garlic powder (sold for horses) to Horse's food 365 days a year. It builds up in the system and he is free of fly bites all summer. It also worked on my old mare who was a martyr to sweet itch (caused by the culcoides midge) despite having her mane hogged and the only thing which worked was the garlic.  It doesn't work immediately and it needs to be fed all year round to be effective.


----------



## Dawgluver

Mad Cook said:


> When we were in Spain for several years we had man-eating mosquitos. We found oil of citronella was the best repellent. The mozzies hated it and it didn't smell vile like a lot of the proprietary products.
> 
> 
> 
> As for Beagle (is he a dog?), will he eat food with garlic in it? I add 100% garlic powder (sold for horses) to Horse's food 365 days a year. It builds up in the system and he is free of fly bites all summer. It also worked on my old mare who was a martyr to sweet itch (caused by the culcoides midge) despite having her mane hogged and the only thing which worked was the garlic.  It doesn't work immediately and it needs to be fed all year round to be effective.




We have a local company that makes a citronella based gnat spray, but it wears off in about 5 minutes.  It does smell nice though.

Garlic isn't good for dogs.  We do apply some gnat spray, or Absorbine Jr to her ears.


----------



## Addie

Mosquitos can smell. Who knew?

I forgot about the garlic. And old Italian remedy. How about just tying a couple of cloves of garlic in a small piece of netting to her collar? Or even rubbing some on her coat every day or two?


----------



## Dawgluver

The gnats don't bother Beagle like they do us.


----------



## CarolPa

I wonder if that's why mosquitos never bite me.  I eat garlic every day.  They head straight for DH.  He eats sweets all day.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wet dog and garlic, even if it is Beagle?  Pew!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Wet dog and garlic, even if it is Beagle?  Pew!




Pew indeed!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CarolPa said:


> I wonder if that's why mosquitos never bite me.  I eat garlic every day.  They head straight for DH.  He eats sweets all day.



When I was eating a lot of garlic, they stayed away from me as well.  My DW ate a lot of sweets (still does) and gets chewed on by every mosquito from three counties, or so it seems.

Eat more garlic everyone.!

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> I wonder if that's why mosquitos never bite me.  I eat garlic every day.  They head straight for DH.  He eats sweets all day.



They also don't like overly obese people. They give off an offensive odor.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> They also don't like overly obese people. They give off an offensive odor.



Really? Why is that? How about slightly obese people?


----------



## taxlady

Mosquitoes love to bite me. I eat a fair amount of garlic and not a lot of sweets. I have tried making sure to eat plenty of garlic every day and it didn't help. Stirling is obese and doesn't eat a lot of sweets. He enjoys his garlic too and they bite him even more than they bite me.

Mosquitoes like me so much that friends like walking with me in mosquito areas because they get bitten less.


----------



## Dawgluver

DH is the guy everyone likes to have at outdoor get togethers.  He's a skeeter magnet, drawing them away from everyone else too.  He's thin, eats no sweets, and enjoys a fair bit of garlic.


----------



## CharlieD

I should really have my daughter start eating garlic. Mosquitoes love her. Unfortunately her skin is so sensitive the bites get swollen up really bad.


----------



## taxlady

Skeeter magnet is a great term. It's both me and Stirling. And yes, stand near Stirling when there are skeeters around.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I should really have my daughter start eating garlic. Mosquitoes love her. Unfortunately her skin is so sensitive the bites get swollen up really bad.



Charlie, I had the same problem with Poo when he was small. Buy a bottle of Aloe Gel at your pharmacy and place a small dab on each bite. It stops the itching and helps prevents infection.


----------



## Zhizara

Also, witch hazel will soothe bites.


----------



## Cheryl J

We don't have many skeeters here.  It's too dry of a climate here to support them.  But up at the river about an hour away, they are abundant.  We have rattlesnakes and scorpions, though.   I guess there are nuisance critters everywhere.


----------



## Somebunny

Mosquitos love me too,I was told they like olive skinned folks over fair skinned people.  I have olive skin and I eat plenty of Garlic


----------



## taxlady

Cheryl J said:


> We don't have many skeeters here.  It's too dry of a climate here to support them.  But up at the river about an hour away, they are abundant.  We have rattlesnakes and scorpions, though.   I guess there are nuisance critters everywhere.


I would rather have rattlesnakes and scorpions. If you leave them alone, they leave you alone. Skeeters are the animal that kills the most humans. Just saw this today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKyrVzvjHWw&feature=youtu.be


----------



## LPBeier

Wow, nobody has had to vent in awhile - that's great!

Unfortunately I have to break that streak.  Our province is going through a tough time with teachers.  The government and the union are not getting anywhere and there have been rotating lockouts and walkouts.  

The ones who are really getting hurt in this whole thing are the high school students who want to get their grades so they can go on after graduation.  So, yesterday, which was the only day of the week teachers weren't out somewhere, the students set up their own walk out via Facebook.  They didn't go to school and instead picketed with signs saying "We matter too" and "where do we fit in all of this"?, etc.  

Well the students are getting slammed for their actions.  The press and much of the public are saying they just wanted another day off, they are making matters worse, if they are worried about the school they are missing why didn't they take advantage of the one day they could all be in class.

I agree with the students.  All of the ones interviewed were very sincere and worried about their cause.  Yes, I am sure there were many who just used it as an excuse not to go, but that's going to happen anyway. 

Now there is talk of a full out strike next week, right when the high school students are writing finals.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the teacher's position here, but I am also on the side of the students.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

LPBeier said:


> Wow, nobody has had to vent in awhile - that's great!
> 
> Unfortunately I have to break that streak.  Our province is going through a tough time with teachers.  The government and the union are not getting anywhere and there have been rotating lockouts and walkouts.
> 
> The ones who are really getting hurt in this whole thing are the high school students who want to get their grades so they can go on after graduation.  So, yesterday, which was the only day of the week teachers weren't out somewhere, the students set up their own walk out via Facebook.  They didn't go to school and instead picketed with signs saying "We matter too" and "where do we fit in all of this"?, etc.
> 
> Well the students are getting slammed for their actions.  The press and much of the public are saying they just wanted another day off, they are making matters worse, if they are worried about the school they are missing why didn't they take advantage of the one day they could all be in class.
> 
> I agree with the students.  All of the ones interviewed were very sincere and worried about their cause.  Yes, I am sure there were many who just used it as an excuse not to go, but that's going to happen anyway.
> 
> Now there is talk of a full out strike next week, right when the high school students are writing finals.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I understand the teacher's position here, but I am also on the side of the students.



I am more and more becoming fed up with the whole "money rules everything" idea.  I wish we could just abolish the stuff, and everyone put in an honest day's labor, then swap their produced goods for someone elses produced goods.  To have to compete with every living soul on the planet just seems to me to be a ridiculous idea.  How great would it be if we all decided to work together.  How great would it be to be able to eliminate greed.  Make no mistake about it; it's the desire to obtain an easy living that drives strikes and unrest.  I'm not saying that the teachers are greedy, or that the government is in the wrong.  I don't know who is the primary villain.  I just know that someone wants more at the expense of the students.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cave76

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I am more and more becoming fed up with the whole "money rules everything" idea.  I wish we could just abolish the stuff, and everyone put in an honest day's labor, then swap their produced goods for someone elses produced goods.  To have to compete with every living soul on the planet just seems to me to be a ridiculous idea.  How great would it be if we all decided to work together.  How great would it be to be able to eliminate greed.  Make no mistake about it; it's the desire to obtain an easy living that drives strikes and unrest.  I'm not saying that the teachers are greedy, or that the government is in the wrong.  I don't know who is the primary villain.  I just know that someone wants more at the expense of the students.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



What HAVE you been smoking????


----------



## CrazyCatLady

I'm getting really annoyed at a neighbor's dogs, who bark incessantly. I'm seriously thinking of duct tape.


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## Addie

What better time to strike than when the future of the next generation is at stake. That sure will get someone's attention. I would rather see them strike at the beginning of the year.


----------



## Aunt Bea

LPBeier said:


> Wow, nobody has had to vent in awhile - that's great!
> 
> Unfortunately I have to break that streak.  Our province is going through a tough time with teachers.  The government and the union are not getting anywhere and there have been rotating lockouts and walkouts.
> 
> The ones who are really getting hurt in this whole thing are the high school students who want to get their grades so they can go on after graduation.  So, yesterday, which was the only day of the week teachers weren't out somewhere, the students set up their own walk out via Facebook.  They didn't go to school and instead picketed with signs saying "We matter too" and "where do we fit in all of this"?, etc.
> 
> Well the students are getting slammed for their actions.  The press and much of the public are saying they just wanted another day off, they are making matters worse, if they are worried about the school they are missing why didn't they take advantage of the one day they could all be in class.
> 
> I agree with the students.  All of the ones interviewed were very sincere and worried about their cause.  Yes, I am sure there were many who just used it as an excuse not to go, but that's going to happen anyway.
> 
> Now there is talk of a full out strike next week, right when the high school students are writing finals.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I understand the teacher's position here, but I am also on the side of the students.



I don't understand the teachers position.  

I do understand people wanting to improve life for themselves and their families.  I do not think simply demanding more is the correct way to go about it.  What happened to improving your marketable skills and gaining experience so you have more to offer an employer and ultimately command a higher price for your time.  I think it would be fairly easy to fill these positions with well educated people who would enjoy a position with decent pay and benefits.  

If these teachers were in the same position as Oliver I might feel differently.

Oliver - please sir i want some more - YouTube


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## CarolPa

I don't think teachers should be allowed to strike.  I am only brave enough to say that because no one here knows where to find me!  LOL


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## GotGarlic

Aunt Bea said:


> What happened to improving your marketable skills and gaining experience so you have more to offer an employer and ultimately command a higher price for your time.  I think it would be fairly easy to fill these positions with well educated people who would enjoy a position with decent pay and benefits.



I don't know the specifics of this situation, but 1) teachers are public employees so improving your education and skills doesn't have the same rewards as the private sector and 2) it takes more than being educated to walk into a classroom and teach effectively. 

My dad used to be a teacher. The taxpayers wouldn't approve a tax increase to pay for teachers' raises - for five years. Is that fair? It doesn't matter if you got a master's degree during that time - no raise.


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## Addie

There are many school systems that will not hire without a masters degree. And also a lot of companies. So you may as well stay in school that extra year and get your masters. But then the cost of tuition becomes a factor.


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## Andy M.

Everyone should be paid fairly for their work.  Considering how much responsibility we put on teachers, it's amazing they don't get paid better.  That said, you also have to weigh the impact of their tactics to get the contract they want and the tactics of the opposition (city or town officials).  Parents and other residents of the community get hyper over the topic because it's their money the teachers want and IT'S ALL ON TV.


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## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> There are many school systems that will not hire without a masters degree. And also a lot of companies. So you may as well stay in school that extra year and get your masters. But then the cost of tuition becomes a factor.



With the national shortage of science, technology, engineering and math teachers, I'm surprised there are very many districts that can be that selective.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> With the national shortage of science, technology, engineering and math teachers, I'm surprised there are very many districts that can be that selective.



In this state, if you hold a license for any employment, you must keep up with your continuous education. And that goes for every teacher, nurse, doctor, lawyer, etc. in the state.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> In this state, if you hold a license for any employment, you must keep up with your continuous education. And that goes for every teacher, nurse, doctor, lawyer, etc. in the state.



That's true in every state. Continuing education doesn't necessarily lead to a master's degree, though. It's often professional development, like the class DH and his two colleagues teach to teachers in their district.


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## taxlady

*Overpaid Teachers*
TIRED OF THOSE HIGH PAID TEACHERS!​ 
I, for one, am sick and tired of those high paid teachers.  Their  hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten  months a year!

It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they  do, babysit!.  We can get that for less than minimum wage.  That's  right...  I would give the $3.00 dollars an hour and only the hours they  worked, not any of that silly planning time.

That would be 15 dollars a day.  Each parent should pay 15  dollars a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.  Now, how  many do they teach in a day....maybe 25. Then that's 15 X 25=$375 a day.   But remember they only work 180 days a year!   I'm not going to pay  them for any vacations. 
Let's see... that's  375 x 180=$67,500.00 (Hold on, my calculator must need batteries!)

What about those special teachers or the ones with masters  degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair. Let's  round it off to $6.00 an hour.  That would be $6 times 5 hours times 25  children times 180  days= $135,000.00 per year. Wait a minute, there is  something wrong here!!!

There sure is, huh????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

from Overpaid Teachers


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## Dawgluver

Taxy, I was thinking about that same article!


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## GotGarlic

TL, I just read that to DH - he says he'll happily take that $135,000! 

Actually, he no longer teaches in the classroom - he became an administrator 10 years ago after 13 years of teaching and 4 years in the Navy and would *still* love to have that salary. 

Sent from my VS840 4G using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> I don't think teachers should be allowed to strike.  I am only brave enough to say that because no one here knows where to find me!  LOL



In many places, it's illegal for public employees to strike. It was in Michigan in the late '70s when my dad didn't get a raise for 5 years, during 20% per year inflation. So they went on strike. The school board went to court, which ordered them back to work. They refused. They were arrested for contempt of court and put in jail for 30 days, taken away IN CHAINS ON TV. My dad spent his 40th birthday in jail. He quit teaching not long after that.


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## LPBeier

Money is definitely an issue for the teachers but so is class size and extra-curricular activities.  Which can be taken many ways.  1)they are worried about not being able to teach effectively in larger class sizes, 2)more work, more marking, 3) less money for more work.   

I just want it over for the sake of the students....and many of my friends are teachers and they hate the job action too.  They just want to teach their kids but the union is pressing for more and more and more.....

The government is not budging, but are threatening to legislate them back on an essential services bill.


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## GotGarlic

LPBeier said:


> The government is ... threatening to legislate them back on an essential services bill.



What does this mean?


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> What does this mean?




Same as what happened to your dad I'd guess.


----------



## LPBeier

GotGarlic said:


> What does this mean?





Andy M. said:


> Same as what happened to your dad I'd guess.



The teachers will start voting next week to go out on a full strike.  However, the government can deem them as an essential service which means they will fall under pre-existing laws stipulating that anyone classified as an essential service will be ordered back to work.  

Parents today went on picket lines standing up for their kids; some were in favour of the teacher's demands and others were not.

While the union is pushing for the teachers to vote yes to the all out strike, they are also saying that their funds are low and will not cover much in the way of strike pay if it is passed. 

Support staff are also out as they will not cross the picket lines so they lose money.  And graduation ceremonies (and dances) are having to be re-booked elsewhere as they can't use the schools.  As well, striking teachers will not be allowed to see their students receive their diplomas.  

This is just a total mess.  One of the girls I mentor needs her provincial exams to get finalize an application for a very tough program (Vet technician) and if she doesn't get them in, will be forced to wait another whole year to see if she is even accepted.


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## PrincessFiona60

I do not believe in Unions and will not work for a hospital or facility that requires me to join a Union.  There are some workers who should never be "subject" to the decisions of a Union.


----------



## LPBeier

TB is in a union but it hasn't helped him the couple of times he needed it.  They did stand up to the transit company regarding laying off drivers in favour of taxis but the taxi issue is still being tossed back and forth.  Thankfully though TB now has enough seniority he is not in jeopardy of lay-off or being bumped to a different depot for the taxi issue anyway.


----------



## CarolPa

GotGarlic said:


> In many places, it's illegal for public employees to strike. It was in Michigan in the late '70s when my dad didn't get a raise for 5 years, during 20% per year inflation. So they went on strike. The school board went to court, which ordered them back to work. They refused. They were arrested for contempt of court and put in jail for 30 days, taken away IN CHAINS ON TV. My dad spent his 40th birthday in jail. He quit teaching not long after that.




A friend's husband lost his job as an air traffic controller when Reagan ordered them back to work and they didn't go.  He was never allowed to work as an air traffic controller again.  They have struggled financially ever since.


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## CarolPa

My marriage seems to be fine, but maybe my husband has some hidden anger toward me.  Lately he has been hitting me in his sleep.  At least he SAYS he was asleep and didn't know he did it.  The first time was a couple weeks ago when he first tapped me on the back of the head and then punched me really hard, twice!  I jumped out of bet yelling "What are you doing?"  He said he was dreaming that he couldn't get the door open so he started to pound on it.  Then last night he started beating me on the back.  I yelled, and he said I was pulling on his toe.  I was NOT.  I was sound asleep!  I always sleep with my back to him because if I face him the air from my Cpap mask hits him in the head and bothers him.  I think maybe I should tell him that being used as a punching bag bothers ME!


----------



## taxlady

Oh Carol! (((Hugs))) Maybe he is having sleep issues. This doesn't sound good.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CarolPa said:


> My marriage seems to be fine, but maybe my husband has some hidden anger toward me.  Lately he has been hitting me in his sleep.  At least he SAYS he was asleep and didn't know he did it.  The first time was a couple weeks ago when he first tapped me on the back of the head and then punched me really hard, twice!  I jumped out of bet yelling "What are you doing?"  He said he was dreaming that he couldn't get the door open so he started to pound on it.  Then last night he started beating me on the back.  I yelled, and he said I was pulling on his toe.  I was NOT.  I was sound asleep!  I always sleep with my back to him because if I face him the air from my Cpap mask hits him in the head and bothers him.  I think maybe I should tell him that being used as a punching bag bothers ME!



I'm thinking straight jacket?  Maybe tie him to the bed?  Or, he hits you, you wallop him.

On the other hand, maybe he just needs some TLC (that's what I'd give DW, though I've thought of the other solutions.).  Stress could be causing him dreamland distress, which causes you night-time distress.

Stress can manifest itself in many ways.  You might talk to him about anything bothering him at work, at home, with his friends, etc.  Sometimes, all someone needs is a listening ear.  Sometimes, they need the straight jacket.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I'm thinking straight jacket?  Maybe tie him to the bed?  Or, he hits you, you wallop him.
> 
> On the other hand, maybe he just needs some TLC (that's what I'd give DW, though I've thought of the other solutions.).  Stress could be causing him dreamland distress, which causes you night-time distress.
> 
> Stress can manifest itself in many ways.  You might talk to him about anything bothering him at work, at home, with his friends, etc.  Sometimes, all someone needs is a listening ear.  Sometimes, they need the straight jacket.
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I was thinking, kick him to the guest room!


----------



## Dawgluver

Is he on sleep meds, Carol?  Or any other meds?  Or as Chief asked, under stress?  You might want to have him check with his Dr. if this continues.  He's probably sound asleep too, and doesn't know what happened.


----------



## CarolPa

He has always been one to be talking or yelling in his sleep, but until now was never physical.  Usually, it's funny.  This is not funny, at least not to me!  LOL

No sleep meds.  Just BP pills.  He is still having residual pain from the shingles and takes Advil for that.


----------



## LPBeier

Carol, I have panic attacks in my sleep where I hit myself, the bed or TB.  I am totally unaware I am doing it and he has to wake me to make me stop, which he says is not always easy.  I get very upset once I come to as I don't want to hurt him.

Your husband could be having similar attacks and not realize it.  His seem a bit different, but it may be an explanation.


----------



## CarolPa

DH just looked over my shoulder and saw that I'm telling on him.  He got mad!  I told him I wanted to make sure if I'm found bludgeoned to death someone will be able to testify against him!


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> DH just looked over my shoulder and saw that I'm telling on him.  He got mad!  I told him I wanted to make sure if I'm found bludgeoned to death someone will be able to testify against him!




I understand his anger.  He assumed this was a private matter between you and him.


----------



## JoAnn L.

How can I get rid of the ad from Pier 1 imports on either side of the post?


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## cave76

JoAnn L. said:


> How can I get rid of the ad from Pier 1 imports on either side of the post?



AdBlock (unless you want to help support Discuss Cooking)


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> I understand his anger.  He assumed this was a private matter between you and him.




Now you've made me feel guilty....

He tells people things that I do, but he tells family members and friends!  I just told a bunch of people who don't actually know him!


----------



## JoAnn L.

cave76 said:


> AdBlock (unless you want to help support Discuss Cooking)



These ads are on both sides of the post and are covering up alot of the post. I can't see who is posting at all. I don't mind the ads at the top, but these interfere with reading the post.


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## cave76

JoAnn L. said:


> These ads are on both sides of the post and are covering up alot of the post. I can't see who is posting at all. I don't mind the ads at the top, but these interfere with reading the post.



I understand. Did you understand that you can use AdBlock to get rid of the ads?

What browser are you using? Did this annoyance just start or has it been on going?


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## Mad Cook

cave76 said:


> I understand. Did you understand that you can use AdBlock to get rid of the ads?
> 
> What browser are you using? Did this annoyance just start or has it been on going?


My version of Adblock only blocks adverts that have already appeared not new ones.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CarolPa said:


> Now you've made me feel guilty....
> 
> He tells people things that I do, but he tells family members and friends!  I just told a bunch of people who don't actually know him!



CarolPa; we all slip up sometimes.  We are mortals, perfectly capable of making mistakes.  Just ask my wife.  I have spoken of things that I shouldn't have.  Fortunately, I don't do it nearly as often as I once might have.  We all make mistakes.  The trick is to learn from them.

Besides, you were doing this thing called venting.  I once made the mistake about venting to my wonderful MIL (and she is really great) about something DW did to make me angry.  Yeh, MIL thought our marriage was in trouble and called to talk to DW.  That didn't go over well at all.  

The point is, that though much of what I had said came from pure frustration, I said things that I wouldn't have said with a cooler head, and things that I didn't even mean or believe.

Stress, be it from anger, frustration, fear, or whatever can short-circuit our normal feelings, and our true thoughts, helping us to say things we shouldn't say, and probably don't even mean.

You didn't go so far as to say anything bad about your DH, just that you didnt' care to get punched while he was sleeping.

Learn from this experience, and let him know that you are sorry for breaking the privacy rules.  You'll work it out.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Chief, Carol didn't slip up.  There's a reason this thread is called "Venting".  We don't judge, we sympathize, empathize, maybe offer advice, or just listen.  There's no right or wrong!  

Carol, hopefully your DH can get his problem figured out!


----------



## CarolPa

I only shared this with you because actually, I thought it was funny!  He was mad that I shared it because he doesn't want anyone to think he's a bad person, but he's over it.  We get over things very easily.  I don't think this will ever go so far as to actually hurt me.  If it did, he would feel very bad about it.


----------



## Somebunny

Carol, be sure that DH knows that we don't think he is a "bad person" how could we, we don't even know him.  
From what you told us, he isn't awake or aware of what he is doing, so how could we think ill if him?  I hope he understands that you just thought if was "funny" and those that responded were only trying to help you figure out why it was happening.  . You know we have had this happen a couple of times too! We have each smacked the other while sleeping, usually just flailing in our sleep.  Hmmmm.........at least I think so! lol!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek often kicks me and I have been known to punch him in the back.  We are not responsible for what happens in our sleep.  I've also punched the bed cane, that usually wakes me up, hitting that hurts!


----------



## CarolPa

Oh, he was mad for about 10 seconds.  In fact, he might not have even been mad, but just wanted to make me feel guilty.  I'm sure he's forgotten all about it by now.  LOL


----------



## Mad Cook

CarolPa said:


> I only shared this with you because actually, I thought it was funny!  He was mad that I shared it because he doesn't want anyone to think he's a bad person, but he's over it.  We get over things very easily.  I don't think this will ever go so far as to actually hurt me.  If it did, he would feel very bad about it.


Carol, if he's on BP meds they could be causing the problem so a word with his doctor might be useful. 

I found the following info:

Beta blockers for High blood pressure, heart rhythm problems, angina
 Drugs:- (Inderal), atenolol (Tenormin), metoprolol (Lopressor), propranolol
can cause Insomnia, nighttime awakenings, nightmares

Clonidine(Catapres)  for High blood pressure.  Can cause Daytime drowsiness and fatigue, disrupted REM sleep; less commonly, restlessness, early morning awakening, nightmares


----------



## Addie

Every since the fiasco last year with the mix up with the gabapentin and the drug for Alzheimer's I have been checking my pills. I noticed that this last bunch had a change in it. It seems the patent ran out on the Norvasc so by State law, the pharmacy changed me over to the generic. They are supposed to notify me whenever there is a change regardless for the reason. Either by a sticker on the med container or a phone call. Needless to say I freaked out when I saw an unfamiliar pill in the container. I called the pharmacy in tears. I was hysterical. It took a while for them to answer my question. They now know, just in case they forgot, to notify me when there is a change.


----------



## cave76

Addie said:


> Every since the fiasco last year with the mix up with the gabapentin and the drug for Alzheimer's I have been checking my pills. I noticed that this last bunch had a change in it. It seems the patent ran out on the Norvasc so by State law, the pharmacy changed me over to the generic. They are supposed to notify me whenever there is a change regardless for the reason. Either by a sticker on the med container or a phone call. Needless to say I freaked out when I saw an unfamiliar pill in the container. I called the pharmacy in tears. I was hysterical. It took a while for them to answer my question. They now know, just in case they forgot, to notify me when there is a change.





Addie said:


> Every since the fiasco last year with the mix up with the gabapentin and the drug for Alzheimer's I have been checking my pills. I noticed that this last bunch had a change in it. It seems the patent ran out on the Norvasc so by State law, the pharmacy changed me over to the generic. They are supposed to notify me whenever there is a change regardless for the reason. Either by a sticker on the med container or a phone call. Needless to say I freaked out when I saw an unfamiliar pill in the container. I called the pharmacy in tears. I was hysterical. It took a while for them to answer my question. They now know, just in case they forgot, to notify me when there is a change.



They SHOULD have notified you, of course. My pharmacy puts a little sticker on the pill bottle and it's up to me to read it (oh, those little tiny letters!). But they may forget sometimes I guess and I just haven't noticed the sticker (not the change in the pill!)

Do you know about this?

Pill Identification Wizard from Drugs.com

State law in MA that you HAVE to switch to generic when a drug is out of patent??? Or is it your insurance plan?

Even if the brand name is still offered? (That can happen many times)

It may be Medicare/Medicaid that requires that switch to generic. But I wonder if (assuming the brand name is still be made) your doctor can't still write "brand name only" on the rx and that might over-ride Medicare/Medicaid? My doctor in California does but I have a secondary PPO that can step in them---- a secondary that isn't one of the Medicare/Medicaid supplementary insurances.

Since there are many things I don't know about your plan etc I may be off-track.

But please don't believe the FDA when they say that generics are exactly the same as brand name. Not true.


----------



## LPBeier

It looks like the teachers are going out on a full strike Tuesday and since they are taking Monday as a non-picketing/non-working day to go over all the negotiations from the weekend, tomorrow will probably be the last  day of school before summer.  Unless by some miracle, an agreement is reached on the weekend.

The government is working on a way to open schools for provincial exams (specially for grade 12 students) to take place and to be marked.  I would really hate for any student to miss out on fall placements because of this stupid standoff.

The vote was 87% in favour of a strike - and yet, all my teacher friends voted no.  Seems like maybe they were the only ones


----------



## Addie

cave76 said:


> They SHOULD have notified you, of course. My pharmacy puts a little sticker on the pill bottle and it's up to me to read it (oh, those little tiny letters!). But they may forget sometimes I guess and I just haven't noticed the sticker (not the change in the pill!)
> 
> Do you know about this?
> 
> Pill Identification Wizard from Drugs.com
> 
> State law in MA that you HAVE to switch to generic when a drug is out of patent??? Or is it your insurance plan?
> 
> Even if the brand name is still offered? (That can happen many times)
> 
> It may be Medicare/Medicaid that requires that switch to generic. But I wonder if (assuming the brand name is still be made) your doctor can't still write "brand name only" on the rx and that might over-ride Medicare/Medicaid? My doctor in California does but I have a secondary PPO that can step in them---- a secondary that isn't one of the Medicare/Medicaid supplementary insurances.
> 
> Since there are many things I don't know about your plan etc I may be off-track.
> 
> But please don't believe the FDA when they say that generics are exactly the same as brand name. Not true.



It is a state law. When I was one BC/BS Master Plan and not on Medicaid or Medicare, is when the pharmacist told me about it.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My vent goes like this:

For Father's day, I had done what I always do when selecting steaks.  I  went to our best meat market and purchased the best steaks I could find  over several pay periods.  I didn't purchase the steaks until I found  those that met my standards.

I prepped them simply with salt and  pepper before placing them onto the Webber over a solid bed of charcoal,  with the meat about 3 inches from the hot coals.  Cover and grill for 3  .5 minutes per side.  They were both grilled perfectly to our liking.   DW had Porterhouse, while I ate rib-eye.  I was disappointed with my  steak for two reasons.  First, when I took it out of the package, one  side looked like a perfect steak.  The other side had a fat cap that  rolled around it, showing me that it was an end cut.  That being the  case, it had more connecting tissue in it, and more fat chunks, rather  than great marbling.  The more important issue was that the meat had  very little "beef" flavor.  DW's porterhouse was more flavorful by far.

Occasionally,  I forget that rib eye and ribs steaks are two different cuts, with the  latter having better flavor.  I am no going to have to invest in a good,  bone-in rib steak (they are much harder to find than are rib eyes in my  neck of the woods) and see if the meat flavor is more pronounced.  If  not, I may switch to T-bone, Porterhouse, or Sirloin for the better  flavor.  I don't need the most tender meat on the planet.  I have good  teeth and strong jaw muscles (must be from all that talking.)   I crave strong beef flavor, slightly tangy, slightly salty, with the  flavor of iron included in the mix.  I'm tired of bland meat.  And I  hear that it's the way of the future, with producers trying to get more  bland meat.

It seems that consumers want mediocre food.  We don't  want to pay for good food, just good enough so that it isn't  disgusting.  By producing bland food, product can be sold to more people  as fewer people object to bland foods than to strong flavored foods.   With stronger flavors, people seem to either love them, or hate them.

I  feel like I'm in a heard that I don't want to be in, just following the  feed wagon because that's all there is.  I want to jump the fence and  get to the good stuff.

Eggs have lost the rich yolks, beef, pork,  and poultry are poor cousins of what they once were.  Fruit is sold  unripe, and flavorless, or so tart that you can barely eat it.   Virtually every food is sold to maximize volume, and quality suffers  greatly.  I made the mistake of being born in the mid fifties, and grew  up with great tasting food that was much fresher, picked when it was  fully ripened, was raised to be better tasting, etc.  When you have  tasted great, it's harder to accept mediocre.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

I hear ya Chief! 

You have to live in Texas, Florida or California to get today's fresh picked ripe fruits and veggies. The rest of us have to wait for it to travel cross country. But the warmer weather is here and farmers markets are springing up. That is if you live in an area that has one. Or you can plant your own garden. We have plots that maintenance has graciously tilled for us. Who planted? Certainly no one who lives in the building. They would rather have tasteless stuff from the supermarket. Yet every plot is full of plants of veggies. Being grown by the low paid maintenance workers of the company. After work you see them there lovingly weeding their little plots. Tying up the vines to the poles. Every morning , really early before their work day starts, you see one of them out there watering every plot. At night they have their kids with them helping with the weeding and pole tyeing. The kids are getting a lesson in where their food comes from. 

Those that plant tomatoes, always have a plethora of product. One worker takes them and sells what his wife doesn't turn into a canned salsa at the end of the season. 

The best part is you hear the family laughing as they work. Definitely a labor of love. Oh how I envy them.


----------



## JoAnn L.

In this morning's paper it said that a house right up the street from us had $500 dollars damage on their door. Someone tried to break in around 2:30 AM yeaterday. So scary.


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> In this morning's paper it said that a house right up the street from us had $500 dollars damage on their door. Someone tried to break in around 2:30 AM yeaterday. So scary.



Was anyone home?


----------



## Katie H

Right now I want to hit people and break things.

Two years ago I had my right knee replaced...to the tune of lots of $$$ out of my pocket after the insurance paid its part.

On November 2013 I had the one year follow up visit.  Just saw the doc for about 5 minutes.  Yep, you had your knee replaced. See ya.

So... A week or so ago I get a bill for that visit, with a collection fee included.  Huh?  First of all this is the only bill I've received AND it's dated six months after the visit.

There were two other charges with acronyms as their "name," made no sense to me, so I called the 800 number on the bill for an explanation.

Oh, Boy!!

The girl I spoke to sweetly told me that the collection fee wasn't a billing collection fee but one for drawing blood and having it sent to the lab.  Well, now, that's interesting because no blood was drawn that day.  The other charges had no relevance to the visit either.  Told her I wasn't going to pay a bill that had no resemblance whatsoever to what happened.  She assured me that she would have it "investigated," have it put on hold so I wouldn't be in any financial jeopardy because of nonpayment and phone me back.  I'm not holding my breath.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Addie said:


> Was anyone home?



I am not sure what the details are yet. I hope to hear soon from our neighbor who seems to know everything that goes on in our block.


----------



## Addie

I still have this stinking cold! And no, I don't feel any better. Looks like I will miss my PT on Thursday again. 

And now The Pirate has it. He told me that was the thanks he gets for taking care of me when I was at my worst. 

Right now I am waiting for my Roomba to arrive. I know it reached the Boston distribution center, but that is all I can find out. When I tried to register to receive update emails, it has this address as a commercial building and cannot register me. Evidently I am living in a warehouse or factory. Oh joy! Today it feels like I am living in Hell!


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> I am not sure what the details are yet. I hope to hear soon from our neighbor *who seems to know everything *that goes on in our block.



 Every neighborhood has one. We have a couple of them in this building alone. There is a new family across the street. I am of the opinion they do not speak English. One day UPS came to their door and even the driver was speaking Spanish to her. I was sitting out on the bench at the time. But according to one resident, they don't speak English because they don't want to. "Do you know them? Have you talked to them?" "No, and I refuse to. Not until I hear them speak English". Lucky family. They may never get to know her.


----------



## Chef Munky

Katie H said:


> Right now I want to hit people and break things.
> 
> Two years ago I had my right knee replaced...to the tune of lots of $$$ out of my pocket after the insurance paid its part.
> 
> On November 2013 I had the one year follow up visit.  Just saw the doc for about 5 minutes.  Yep, you had your knee replaced. See ya.
> 
> So... A week or so ago I get a bill for that visit, with a collection fee included.  Huh?  First of all this is the only bill I've received AND it's dated six months after the visit.
> 
> There were two other charges with acronyms as their "name," made no sense to me, so I called the 800 number on the bill for an explanation.
> 
> Oh, Boy!!
> 
> The girl I spoke to sweetly told me that the collection fee wasn't a billing collection fee but one for drawing blood and having it sent to the lab.  Well, now, that's interesting because no blood was drawn that day.  The other charges had no relevance to the visit either.  Told her I wasn't going to pay a bill that had no resemblance whatsoever to what happened.  She assured me that she would have it "investigated," have it put on hold so I wouldn't be in any financial jeopardy because of nonpayment and phone me back.  I'm not holding my breath.



Katie,
Note dates and times,who you talked to.What the discrepancy was about.
We went through something similar.I had an appointment to pick up medical supplies.When I got there what I needed was out of stock.They didn't know when they would have it back in stock.That was just great I had a week to get that info into my Dr before surgery.They charged my insurance company for that useless visit and for also the medical supplies.Lab techs services that never even happened.I knew nothing about that.

Insult to injury a few months after the fact I received a nasty phone call from them informing me that I had been sent to collections.I never received a bill.For what!? I demanded to speak to a supervisor.Told her that if I didn't have the matter corrected in a week that I'd Lawyer up.

Get everything in writing.


----------



## cave76

Katie H said:


> She assured me that she would have it "investigated," have it put on hold so I wouldn't be in any financial jeopardy because of nonpayment and phone me back.  I'm not holding my breath.




Take a hint from an old hand at these types of things: Any future communications with anyone regarding that bill GET IT SENT VIA EMAIL OR USPS! Then you have a hard copy of what went on and who said what and when.

Otherwise it's something that gets lost in translation/transition. Most places will say that they don't have the 'capability' to send you an  email. Snort!

Then, of course you ask for someone in charge. You then may be told that they're 'in a meeting' or 'away from their desk '. 

You may never reach the person in charge. 

I've also resorted to googling for the CEO or some high-up person in the company jerking me around. Then an email is sent to them. Or a letter.

If the billing office is near enough to you to physically go there---- do that. I've had to do that several times and things got settled right away because I  would stand at the front desk and explain my problem. They don't like that. 

If all that is too much for you to then at least get the name of the people you talk to, start your own documentation as who/when and what.

After all my words---- it may just happen that everything will be 'investigated' and found you correct.  I hope so because it's hard on the blood pressure to deal with this type of thing.

Edited to add--- I see Chef Munky wrote something along the same lines while I was writing. I never had to 'lawyer up' but I'm pretty assertive/aggressive (pick one) when it comes these types of things. And I don't charge me anything.  LOL


----------



## LPBeier

Well the teachers are officially on strike and the school year is officially out for the year. The talks went through the weekend but the two sides and the facilitator were all on different pages.

Parents have had to make hasty daycare arrangements, high school students are still unsure of their provincial exams and placements for special needs students in September are in jeopardy because they are set up now.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

We're really sad tonight. Our neighbors suffered a serious house fire. There are 8 of them, and we don't know what to do to help. 

The news story spoke of just one kitten, but my sweet hubby caught all three and they are in a huge dog cage in our guestroom for now. They are just adorable!

We saw the adult cats in their yard, so I took them food and water. It looks like all the cats are safe, too.

I'm so sorry to say they lost their parakeet in the fire. Hubby hopes to see them tomorrow to let them know we're taking care of the cats and kittens. He will ask them how we can help them. There are 8 of them and we don't have room for all of them but we might just have to be crowded here and handle it. 

We may just have to give up our bed and buy a lot of air mattresses. I just don't know yet. Somehow, someway, we MUST help them. 

We'll figure it out. Here are the news items:

Henderson County House Fire - WLOS News13 - Top Stories

And here, too:

Morning fire destroys Hendersonville home | BlueRidgeNow.com

It shows the address as 202 Fairfield Drive, we are 210 Fairfield Drive. 

I cried when I saw their poor little house so badly damaged. Cat told me many of you have kept her in your thoughts, and I appreciate this; sometimes she really did need our thoughts.

Would it be too much to ask to keep the Hernandez family in your thoughts? This is really awful; from looking at this, it's such an awful tragedy.

We're going to try to do everything we can to help them. I don't know what will happen, but we will take it one step at a time. 

I am still in tears. They are such a sweet family, and this is just awful.

Thank you for listening. This is devastating to us.


----------



## Dawgluver

What a terrible tragedy.  Bless you for taking care of the pets, and for being such good friends and neighbors.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Dawgluver said:


> What a terrible tragedy.  Bless you for taking care of the pets, and for being such good friends and neighbors.



Thank you! We don't know them very well, but we don't care about that. They've lost their home and we feel very badly..and now we need to figure out how we can help them.

We'll figure it out. Thanks for letting me be so angry and hurt here.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

How horrible, CCL, I'm glad they have a neighbor like you to help them out.


----------



## GotGarlic

CrazyCatLady said:


> Thank you! We don't know them very well, but we don't care about that. They've lost their home and we feel very badly..and now we need to figure out how we can help them.
> 
> We'll figure it out. Thanks for letting me be so angry and hurt here.



I'm so sorry to hear about this. Call the Red Cross right away. Taking care of people in this kind of situation is what they're there for. Best wishes.


----------



## taxlady

Sending good vibes to the Hernandez family. It's nice to read about such a good neighbour as you, CCL.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

The Red Cross has given them hotel rooms, and things are moving quickly. I'm glad to say Allstate was there on Wednesday, and First Restoration, a company which cleans and rebuilds fire damage has been there yesterday and today working on the house.

Our neighbors and I have been leaving bags of groceries, non-perishible items on their front stoop, and they're very grateful. We're feeding their adult cats there, and we've taken in the three kittens.

My five adult cats are having hissy fits because they know there's kittens in the guest room, although the door is closed. The kittens are weaned, but we felt they're too young to be outside for now. Plus, one had an awful eye infection, so we had to get that treated. He's fine now, his eyes are clear.

Right now, our household is very interesting with 8 cats and my very confused dog.


----------



## Dawgluver

Once again, bless you, CCL, and your poor confused dog!  Hope all goes well.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Thanks! There are just bumps in the road to helping neighbors, is all. But it's all worth it, because neighbors are neighbors and we all live here and care for one another.

Lilly would love to be friends with the kittens, but one of the kittens, I believe, has insulted Lilly by hissing and spitting at her. Poor puppers! She'll get over it.

The same one likes to climb my legs....when I'm wearing shorts. Ouch!


----------



## taxlady

The two Indian stores where I usually buy brown basmati rice were both out. I bought some overpriced organic brown basmati at the health food store. It hardly tastes basmati and it didn't cook quite like basmati. I just read the label, "Not suitable for consumption by persons with an allergy to milk, peanut, sesame, soy, sulphites, tree nuts and wheat." Come on guys. I shouldn't have to worry about that when I'm buying rice. I am not a happy camper. 25 years ago, I used to buy wonderful organic, brown basmati.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Got a tick on me on Friday.  Happened to brush the right side of my belly, just under the rib cage and felt something.  I looked down and thought I had a bloody skin tag where there had never been one.  I thought it odd that it could grow there, and so quickly.  I was concerned because of its color.  I had DW take a closer look.  She discovered that it was a tick.  Fortunately, it wasn't a deer tick.  There is no bulls-eye around it, and so I don't believe I've contracted any nasty microbes.  The tick was far too large to be a deer tick.  Even so, I had ticks even more than I hate mosquitoes.

In my part of the U.P. we have lots of wood ticks, but no cases of lyme disease as the deer ticks seem to stay on the western side of the peninsula.  We never had ticks through the 1980's.  But we do now.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> The two Indian stores where I usually buy brown basmati rice were both out. I bought some overpriced organic brown basmati at the health food store. It hardly tastes basmati and it didn't cook quite like basmati. I just read the label, "Not suitable for consumption by persons with an allergy to milk, peanut, sesame, soy, sulphites, tree nuts and wheat." Come on guys. I shouldn't have to worry about that when I'm buying rice. I am not a happy camper. 25 years ago, I used to buy wonderful organic, brown basmati.


Perhaps they are covering their backs (and fronts and sides!) against anyone suing them or perhaps it was packed in a factory where peanuts, wheat, etc are packed or used.


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## Mad Cook

*Addie?*

I was browsing this thread and saw that you were awaiting your Roomba a few weeks back. How are you getting on with it? I keep looking at them in the catalogue and wondering. What happens in the corners? Is it good enough at what it does to be a "stand alone" vacuum cleaner or would it be necessary to retain a more powerful cleaner for the weekly blitz?


----------



## cave76

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Got a tick on me on Friday.  Happened to brush the right side of my belly, just under the rib cage and felt something.  I looked down and thought I had a bloody skin tag where there had never been one.  I thought it odd that it could grow there, and so quickly.  I was concerned because of its color.  I had DW take a closer look.  She discovered that it was a tick.  Fortunately, it wasn't a deer tick.  There is no bulls-eye around it, and so I don't believe I've contracted any nasty microbes.  The tick was far too large to be a deer tick.  Even so, I had ticks even more than I hate mosquitoes.
> 
> In my part of the U.P. we have lots of wood ticks, but no cases of lyme disease as the deer ticks seem to stay on the western side of the peninsula.  We never had ticks through the 1980's.  But we do now.
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



That's awful that you were bitten by a tick but the good news is that most of them don't carry any disease. I hope that's true for you.

The not so good news is there are other tick-borne diseases carried by ticks in Michigan (plus other states) and by ticks other than the tick that conveys Lyme, which is _Ixodes scapularis_ (Black Legged tick or deer tick). Those are the* American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus*) and they look different from the 'deer tick'. 

I assume you tossed the tick after you thought it wasn't a tick that could make you sick. Too bad. But, as I said, most ticks don't carry any human pathogens so you are probably clear.

The problem is most people go to the CDC for their information on Lyme disease instead of the groups that are knowledgeable about Lyme and co-infections. 

Such a group, in your area, is the Welcome To The Michigan Lyme Disease Association!. Linda Lobes is an e-friend of mine and has been active in Michigan for more than a decade with the real truth about tick-borne diseases in her State. You can do no better than to contact her. I hope you do---- plus I sincerely hope you won't get sick with any of the* many co-infections* that a tick might give a person. The chances are you won't but believe me Lyme and other co-infections are nothing to be sanguine about!


----------



## Dawgluver

Dang.  I grabbed a box of hair color from under the bathroom sink as the grays were taking over.  My waist-length hair is now a beautiful, and very DARK shade of burgundy that is not normally found in nature.  The box said "medium reddish brown."  The picture on the box matched my original color perfectly.  The box lied.  Oh well, the grays are gone.


----------



## roadfix

Dawgluver said:


> The box lied.  Oh well, the grays are gone.



....and you also saved yourself about $75 by doing it yourself....


----------



## Dawgluver

Indeed!  It was on sale too!  I think I know why...


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Dang.  I grabbed a box of hair color from under the bathroom sink as the grays were taking over.  My waist-length hair is now a beautiful, and very DARK shade of burgundy that is not normally found in nature.  The box said "medium reddish brown."  The picture on the box matched my original color perfectly.  The box lied.  Oh well, the grays are gone.


You are retired. It's about time you started getting eccentric.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My grandson has some blue hair color, we could get you into a nice, deep purple.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Things are moving along! Everyone on our street is pitching in with food, clothes, and even mundane things like toothpaste, soap, towels, money, etc., etc.

I found out one of the girls' purse burned. She is 17. I had a lovely Coach purse with a matching wallet in my closet, intended for a friend's birthday gift, but she was killed in a car accident two days before her 58th birthday three years ago and I just kept the purse and wallet, sadly.

Now a precious little 17-year-old has a very nice purse and wallet. I unloaded some clothes on them which didn't fit me any more, and a horrendous set of dishes my sister gave me some years ago. I apologized for the dishes, but their Mom laughed and hugged me for them. I gave them a Walmart gift card, a couple of nice velour blankets ( I do LOVE re-gifting, lol!), and a bunch of microwaveable cookware. I don't use the nuker that much, so I didn't need it.

They came to visit their kittens today, and they were so happy to see them it made me cry. Here I was with 6 kids stuffed into our guest bedroom, playing with their kittens....wow, just wow. 

The other neighbors, everyone on our street, are giving all they can and it's like a miracle to this sweet family. I could kick myself for not knowing them better, and I have vowed to be a much better neighbor to everyone, and not wait for a tragedy to do it out of necessity. Life's too dang short. 

But this has brought us all closer, and if there is any silver lining to this nasty cloud, it's that. It's strange how you find out how much you really care for someone (or someONES) when all of a sudden something as horrible as this happens to them, even though you don't know them too well.

I think I'm starting to see the light at the end of this dark, awful tunnel and come what may, we will get them through this, no matter what.


----------



## Dawgluver

The shade would be very nice in a fabric or a set of sheets.  On my head, not so much.  The upside is that I scare DH every time he comes into the room and doesn't recognize me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks for the update, CCL.  I know I wish I had neighbors like you!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The fish are going to think you are even more exotic...


----------



## Dawgluver

What PF said.  What a wonderful neighbor you are!


----------



## Dawgluver

Arial ain't got nuthin' on me.  At least her hair was orange, a color found in nature.


----------



## Somebunny

CCL, bless you for helping these people.  You are truly a kind soul.  Many of us could take a lesson from you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawg, one of the local radio stations has a DJ who has burgundy-purple hair. I say "rock on"! BTW, I decided to let my gray hang out around age 53 and have never regretted it.  Just sayin'...


----------



## Dawgluver

It really is a pretty color.  It's just that I've never seen hair this shade before.  And it's so dark.

I'd happily let it go gray, but it's only partially gray, and just ages me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My hair is only gray in the front, still dark in the back.  I want to know what I am supposed to do with all this darned curl that is taking over.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> I was browsing this thread and saw that you were awaiting your Roomba a few weeks back. How are you getting on with it? I keep looking at them in the catalogue and wondering. What happens in the corners? Is it good enough at what it does to be a "stand alone" vacuum cleaner or would it be necessary to retain a more powerful cleaner for the weekly blitz?



Rosie does the floor pretty good. The Roomba has side brushes that get right up against the wall and in corners. For the floors, it is all right. But if you are one to vacuum the walls, cushions, drapes, etc. then you need a vacuum that will do that. Rosie only does the floors. I have a wall that all the wires in the room run up against. It has always been difficult for me to clean right up against the wall, and there has always been dust in that area. Rosie wouldn't leave there until she got the last bit. 

I have a very large room. At one end is my bed and TV. At the other is my computer desk, computer cabinet and table along with a small cabinet. It took a couple of runs to get her to go toward the end where the table is. She kept wanting to go under my bed. She is still in the learning stage of my floor plan. She is getting better each time I let her out. And she does head home for her port when she is done.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My hair is only gray in the front, still dark in the back.  I want to know what I am supposed to do with all this darned curl that is taking over.



You too? I have had the straightest hair all my life. NOW it decides to be curly. I like to keep my hair cut in a pixie. But I am gong to have to let it grow out so that when the curls are growing back in, they don't stick out all over my head. It look like I have my finger in a socket. 

I am going to have to get it cut to chin length. My whole head is all grey with mostly white. I wish it would hurry up and turn all white.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

I thank you all for your kindness, but every single person/people on our street has given things and money to them, too. All I did was bang on doors and ask if they could help me help them.

It's brought every one of us closer to each other, and I am so proud of my neighbors. So much has poured out from them to the family and to be honest, I've never been so proud and grateful to be a part of such a bunch of awesome people.

We're not done yet, and we won't be done until they move back into their home, all fixed up and beautiful again. I pray it comes very soon for them!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

At least WE all have hair to complain about. My SIL is nearly bald on top from meds that she's on. A 58-year-old cousin is so thin over her entire head you can see scalp easily. A friend of mine is equally thin-haired from chemo. Found out yesterday that it has metastasized.  :'(  Gave her an extra-big hug just in case I don't have a chance next time we visit OH.


----------



## Addie

Right after my youngest daughter's death, my oldest daughter developed Alapecia. The doctors told her it was stress from the death. They now think it was the start of the tumor. She developed very large bald spots all over her head. Enough that she had to resort to wearing wigs. 

When she was first placed on the chemo, she thought she was going to lose her hair. Not so. If anything, she now had a head of hair that a polar bear would be happy with in the dead of winter. But she is holding on to those wigs. You never know what the future may bring. 

My two oldest boys have a head of hair that they need a hair cut every three weeks. And Spike has a beard that is just as thick. Poor Poo. He is slowly losing his with pattern baldness. The Pirate baffles me completely. He is still blonde with no grey and his beard is also blonde. He is 52 y.o. and looks like he is in his early 30's. Spike is approaching 60 and looks like he is in his 40's. Where did those two come from? The odd thing is that all my kids have their father's coloring including the eyes, yet they all look like me. Thank heavens none of them ended up with my red hair.


----------



## CarolPa

Cooking Goddess said:


> At least WE all have hair to complain about. My SIL is nearly bald on top from meds that she's on. A 58-year-old cousin is so thin over her entire head you can see scalp easily. A friend of mine is equally thin-haired from chemo. Found out yesterday that it has metastasized.  :'(  Gave her an extra-big hug just in case I don't have a chance next time we visit OH.




My step-daughter in her 40's is losing her hair on top.  She has a very hard time styling her hair and has recently started using something that she brushes on to fill in where it's thin.  This started about 10 years ago.  It doesn't seem to be getting worse, but it's not getting better either.  She had her scalp analyzed once by one of those places that does hair replacement and they said her hair loss is from stress.  She won't try anything that I recommend, but what do I know.  I have the thickest head of hair known to man, and would gladly give her some!  I would like to have a little less.  I guess we're never satisfied.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> Rosie does the floor pretty good. The Roomba has side brushes that get right up against the wall and in corners. For the floors, it is all right. But if you are one to vacuum the walls, cushions, drapes, etc. then you need a vacuum that will do that. Rosie only does the floors. I have a wall that all the wires in the room run up against. It has always been difficult for me to clean right up against the wall, and there has always been dust in that area. Rosie wouldn't leave there until she got the last bit.
> 
> I have a very large room. At one end is my bed and TV. At the other is my computer desk, computer cabinet and table along with a small cabinet. It took a couple of runs to get her to go toward the end where the table is. She kept wanting to go under my bed. She is still in the learning stage of my floor plan. She is getting better each time I let her out. And she does head home for her port when she is done.


Thanks, Addie. Rosie sounds very well behaved. I really like the idea of having the vac'ing done while I'm out! And no. I don't vacuum walls etc., very often. I bought a Dyson upright last year and I love it but it requires my total attention so no sitting in the gardn while it does the cleaning.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> You too? I have had the straightest hair all my life. NOW it decides to be curly. I like to keep my hair cut in a pixie. But I am gong to have to let it grow out so that when the curls are growing back in, they don't stick out all over my head. It look like I have my finger in a socket.
> 
> I am going to have to get it cut to chin length. My whole head is all grey with mostly white. I wish it would hurry up and turn all white.


When I was little and complaining bitterly about my poker-straight hair my mother, who was a hairdresser, told me that she had been told at college that curly hair was a deformity and straight was the norm.

Dunno if this is true and it didn't make me feel any better. Much against Mother's better judgement I insisted on having mine in plaits (braids?) - could almost sit on it when it was loose. One day when I was about 16 I sat at the bowl to have my hair washed and I idly said that I was thinking of having it cut. Quick as lightning Mother whipped out her scissors and hacked my plait off. Sob!

After years of struggling with layers, heated tongs and rollers, permanent waves, hairdryers, sleeping in 40 rollers (ouch!), etc., etc., I gave it all up, grew the short layers into a chin length bob and all my problems ended. I wash it and let it dry and it just falls right. I can enhance the style with the hot brush and hairspray if I'm going out but for everyday I don't need to bother. Why didn't I try this when I was younger and working? 

It's not a bad colour. I started going grey when I was in my early 50s and I was stripey, like a badger, but now it's silver.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> Thanks, Addie. Rosie sounds very well behaved. I really like the idea of having the vac'ing done while I'm out! And no. I don't vacuum walls etc., very often. I bought a Dyson upright last year and I love it but it requires my total attention so no sitting in the gardn while it does the cleaning.



My girlfriend in California bought a Dyson when they first came out. It is so heavy she can't use it and poor hubby has to do all the vacuuming. I tried to lift it and I couldn't. 

I have to move Rosie's port. It is in the closet, (there is a plug there for the port) as I have to leave the door open so she can go back home. I was heading for the bathroom and walked right into the door and almost knocked myself out. As long as there is no obstacle, Rosie goes from carpet to tile (kitchen and bathroom) without any problem. So my whole apartment gets done. You do receive a virtual wall with one. It will stop the robot from going where you don't want it to go. If you have area rugs down, she goes right over them also without a problem. 

I call her Rosie after the Jetson's robot maid. I love my Rosie!


----------



## Mad Cook

Dawgluver said:


> Dang.  I grabbed a box of hair color from under the bathroom sink as the grays were taking over.  My waist-length hair is now a beautiful, and very DARK shade of burgundy that is not normally found in nature.  The box said "medium reddish brown."  The picture on the box matched my original color perfectly.  The box lied.  Oh well, the grays are gone.


There is a lady at our knitting circle who has just had her 70th birthday but even the most spiteful person would put her beyond 50-55. Beautiful bone structure and skin with hardly any lines, slightly hippy-ish dress and long wavy silver hair. She sometimes wears it loose (and doesn't look ridiculous) and often wears it in a plait over her shoulder. She has it coloured in wefts of pink and mauve which looks amazing with the silver wefts that have been left uncoloured. 

I am extremely jealous!


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> Mosquitoes love to bite me. I eat a fair amount of garlic and not a lot of sweets. I have tried making sure to eat plenty of garlic every day and it didn't help. Stirling is obese and doesn't eat a lot of sweets. He enjoys his garlic too and they bite him even more than they bite me.
> 
> Mosquitoes like me so much that friends like walking with me in mosquito areas because they get bitten less.


I'm the same! Garlic doesn't keep them off me either. What I do find useful is Oil of Citronella. I buy it at the pharmacy and dab it on behind my ears, on my hands and on my ankles and the smell keeps them away. It smells nice too. It even worked in Kenya and Menorca. (One evening in Menorca, before I discovered it the citronella, I was bitten 154 times on one lower leg and 40 times on the other!)


----------



## Addie

I can't remember the last time I had a mosquito bite. And I don't do anything to prevent them from biting. Maybe living in the city has its advantages. I do know that aloe gel is great for the bites when you do get them. Poo used to get eaten alive when we lived in Hawaii. We had a giant aloe plant right outside the door and I would break off the tip of a spike and squeeze the gel out. It would stop the itch instantly and also helped in clearing up the infected ones.


----------



## Mad Cook

cave76 said:


> It was my response to the talk about why spelling is so bad now. That's TwitterSpeak.
> 
> Twitter Dictionary: A Guide to Understanding Twitter Lingo - Webopedia.com


A couple of people I send text messages to think it's hilarious that I punctuate my texts, use capital letters where necessary and don't abbreviate. It's a matter of principle


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> A couple of people I send text messages to think it's hilarious that I punctuate my texts, use capital letters where necessary and don't abbreviate. It's a matter of principle



Fortunately for a lot of members here, spelling is off the table. As long as the message gets across. My problem is the wrong keys keep jumping under the wrong fingers. We all have a special talent. Math is not one of my talents. Not even close. But I am the one that others will ask on how to spell a word. I am just above so-so on grammar.  

I keep a blank word document on minimize. If I am not sure of the spelling, I will bring the blank page up, spell the word the way I think it is and then hit F7. If it is in the Microsoft dictionary, it will give me the right spelling. If not, then I find another word I am sure of.


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> A couple of people I send text messages to think it's hilarious that I punctuate my texts, use capital letters where necessary and don't abbreviate. It's a matter of principle


I do too.

It's easy with predictive typing. You just have to proof read before posting. Since I haven't taught my phone any of the internet slang, it's actually harder to use it than to type real words.


----------



## Cheryl J

taxlady said:


> I do too.
> 
> It's easy with predictive typing. *You just have to proof read before posting.* Since I haven't taught my phone any of the internet slang, it's actually harder to use it than to type real words.


 
Boy, is that the truth! I can't believe some of the words predictive text wants to use.  My daughters have gotten a good laugh over some of mine that I hadn't proofed. LOL


----------



## taxlady

Cheryl J said:


> Boy, is that the truth! I can't believe some of the words predictive text wants to use.  My daughters have gotten a good laugh over some of mine that I hadn't proofed. LOL


Some of them can be pretty funny. The 35 Funniest AutoCorrect Fails EVER. I'm Crying From Laughing So Hard!! Be forewarned, some of it is kinda raunchy, but it's hilarious. Sometime when you are bored, Google autocorrect fails.


----------



## taxlady

This afternoon we had serious internet connectivity problems. It seems that Time Warner had a problem in New York, so all the traffic was being re-routed and overloaded our paths to the internet. My mobile carrier didn't seem affected, or at any rate less. I thought I would USB tether my phone and laptop and connect the laptop that way.

Well, it worked for about two minutes and then my stupid laptop couldn't see the USB connection. I tried to get Windows help, but guess what? The help is online. What the heck are they thinking? I need help to get online, so I'm offered help that is only available to me if I can get online.


----------



## Cheryl J

taxlady said:


> Some of them can be pretty funny. The 35 Funniest AutoCorrect Fails EVER. I'm Crying From Laughing So Hard!! Be forewarned, some of it is kinda raunchy, but it's hilarious. Sometime when you are bored, Google autocorrect fails.


 
 Those were hilarious!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm about dead from laughing...Shrek had to yell at me to breathe.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

LOL!!!!!!!

I have terrorist kittens here and I just pray DHS or FEMA doesn't show up. I am bleeding on a regular basis, and you don't want to know what's happening to our guestroom.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CrazyCatLady said:


> LOL!!!!!!!
> 
> I have terrorist kittens here and I just pray DHS or FEMA doesn't show up. I am bleeding on a regular basis, and you don't want to know what's happening to our guestroom.



Maybe it's time for the kittens to be re-united with their family.


----------



## Mad Cook

Cheryl J said:


> Boy, is that the truth! I can't believe some of the words predictive text wants to use.  My daughters have gotten a good laugh over some of mine that I hadn't proofed. LOL


 Mine has a very bad habit of trying to replace a simple word with something really obscure that you probably wouldn't ever need to use.


----------



## GotGarlic

Mad Cook said:


> Mine has a very bad habit of trying to replace a simple word with something really obscure that you probably wouldn't ever need to use.



I have deleted some of those types of words from my phone's history. I also purchased an inexpensive app that learns my typing patterns so the prediction improves over time.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> My girlfriend in California bought a Dyson when they first came out. It is so heavy she can't use it and poor hubby has to do all the vacuuming. I tried to lift it and I couldn't.
> 
> I have to move Rosie's port. It is in the closet, (there is a plug there for the port) as I have to leave the door open so she can go back home. I was heading for the bathroom and walked right into the door and almost knocked myself out. As long as there is no obstacle, Rosie goes from carpet to tile (kitchen and bathroom) without any problem. So my whole apartment gets done. You do receive a virtual wall with one. It will stop the robot from going where you don't want it to go. If you have area rugs down, she goes right over them also without a problem.
> 
> I call her Rosie after the Jetson's robot maid. I love my Rosie!



My Dyson is a fairly new model (the D50) and it's a lot lighter than the 'Orrible 'Oover upright which required Charles Atlas to push it round and regularly went into sulks and on strike of you asked it to pick up more than dust.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> I have deleted some of those types of words from my phone's history. I also purchased an inexpensive app that learns my typing patterns so the prediction improves over time.



Spellcheck and Autocheck always trip over my last name, they suggest "Ambiguous" and it doesn't even start with an "A".  I am a compulsive proofreader, so it's not often something gets by me.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I have deleted some of those types of words from my phone's history. I also purchased an inexpensive app that learns my typing patterns so the prediction improves over time.


Are you using an iPhone? I have an Android phone and it just learns my typing patterns without an extra app. I vaguely remember being able to delete words from the predictive typing when I had an iPhone. I imagine there is a way to do it with Android phones, but I haven't felt the need yet, so I haven't tried to find out.


----------



## GotGarlic

No, I have an Android phone. I've been using the app for a few years; it works better than I remember the default app working, but maybe the default has improved. To delete a word, just press and hold on it when it's suggested, then confirm you want to delete it.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> No, I have an Android phone. I've been using the app for a few years; it works better than I remember the default app working, but maybe the default has improved. To delete a word, just press and hold on it when it's suggested, then confirm you want to delete it.


Thanks. My phone is a bit over a year old. I think the default app works quite well and even seems context sensitive. I get notifications by SMS from Google Calendar. I don't know if it's Google or my cell provider, but I get an SMS that tells me to reply "read" to get the notification. When I am replying to an SMS, "Read" is the second choice in the auto-suggest list, even before I start typing. Simplifies it for me.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> My Dyson is a fairly new model (the D50) and it's a lot lighter than the 'Orrible 'Oover upright which required Charles Atlas to push it round and regularly went into sulks and on strike of you asked it to pick up more than dust.




I mentioned to The Pirate about why I named mine Rosie. He informed me that I was fortunate I didn't get one from the Flintstone era. Where would I store a dinosaur?  Plus I am not fond of the name Dino!


----------



## CarolPa

I had to change my phone settings because my SIL's name is Sean but my phone wouldn't let me type it.  It kept changing it to Dean.  Even if I went back and corrected it, it still changed it to Dean.  Is there any way to override it?


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> I had to change my phone settings because my SIL's name is Sean but my phone wouldn't let me type it.  It kept changing it to Dean.  Even if I went back and corrected it, it still changed it to Dean.  Is there any way to override it?


What kind of phone? iPhone, Android, Windows, Blackberry, ...?


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, ever since my heart surgery DH has been doing the vacuuming even though I CAN do it now.  If he leaves this earth before I do I am getting a Roomba.  And a 4-door car.  And I'm going to turn the setting down on the air condition so I can wear summer clothes in the summer.  And turn the heat down in the winter so I can wear winter clothes in the winter.  I'm sure I could think of a few other things.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> I had to change my phone settings because my SIL's name is Sean but my phone wouldn't let me type it.  It kept changing it to Dean.  Even if I went back and corrected it, it still changed it to Dean.  Is there any way to override it?



Just use the initials SIL.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> I mentioned to The Pirate about why I named mine Rosie. He informed me that I was fortunate I didn't get one from the Flintstone era. Where would I store a dinosaur?  Plus I am not fond of the name Dino!


----------



## cjmmytunes

GotGarlic said:


> I have deleted some of those types of words from my phone's history. I also purchased an inexpensive app that learns my typing patterns so the prediction improves over time.



GG, where did you find the app that learns your typing pattern? I could use that myself. 

Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## GotGarlic

cjmmytunes said:


> GG, where did you find the app that learns your typing pattern? I could use that myself.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app



The Google Play Store. It's called SwiftKey.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Thank you. I'll look it up later.

Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We came back from our very nice visit with our kids back in Ohio and found a central air conditioning system that didn't want to cool.  Since we've had to have tiny leaks fixed and a freon charge done three years ago we weren't surprised. Just sad thinking it could cost a ton. Or three, since our system is a 3-ton. Turns out that our technician now had a new weapon to seal leaks, but the increase in cost for the no-longer-made older freon still made it cost $275.  Basically the cost of 3 nights in a cool hotel room.  With temps in the upper 80s yesterday, it was money well-spent.

AND, true to form, the weather has now taken a change. We'll be having moderating temps and dryer weather through the weekend. *sigh* At least we'll save on the electricity costs, only to start using the A/C again by Monday. At least it will work!


----------



## roadfix

We're having our old central ac system replaced and our contractor insists on replacing them (2 sets of units) with ones which use the older r22 freon.  I know they're getting phased out but he gave me a list of reasons why the old freon is better and many ac contractors prefer this.
By law, new units with r22 are no longer made but apparently new r22 units without freon are available for sale.  According to my contractor, they're called dry units and r22 freon is pumped into the unit upon installation and this is legal.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

So many rules and loopholes!  All we're interested in is limping the system on until we sell the house. Maybe next year. If a New England native buys it, there's a good chance they won't care if they have functioning A/C or not. These people come from tough stock! Me, I like to be comfortable. As Himself will attest, I have a "comfort zone" of about 2 degrees. And don't hand me a glass of iced beverage or an ice cream treat in the summer without expecting me to reach for the blanket.


----------



## CraigC

I'm so tired of being accosted by kids, begging for money for sports teams. They set up right outside the grocery store with their parents. At least the Girl Scouts sell something to earn money. It seems like these kids are being trained as the next generation of handout recipients and not trained that anything worthwhile is worth working for.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> So many rules and loopholes!  All we're interested in is limping the system on until we sell the house. Maybe next year. If a New England native buys it, there's a good chance they won't care if they have functioning A/C or not. *These people come from tough stock!* Me, I like to be comfortable. As Himself will attest, I have a "comfort zone" of about 2 degrees. And don't hand me a glass of iced beverage or an ice cream treat in the summer without expecting me to reach for the blanket.



I thank you for the compliment. But you folks from OH have nothing to be ashamed of. You have those winds and snows coming in off the lakes.


----------



## Addie

CraigC said:


> I'm so tired of being accosted by kids, begging for money for sports teams. They set up right outside the grocery store with their parents. At least the Girl Scouts sell something to earn money. It seems like these kids are being trained as the next generation of handout recipients and not trained that anything worthwhile is worth working for.



The ones that get me are those that stand on the median strip and when the light turns red, they all but throw themselves on top of your car. BTW my granddaughter told me a little secret. The never allow their can to get even half full. They will rattle the can with just a few coins in it so you will feel guilty thinking they are not doing to well and grab all that change you toss in that cup for tolls, etc.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I had the opportunity to make some sorority group earn their money.  They were camped in front of one of our local supermarkets on a cold, January night, trying to raise money, as they do every year, for the 4th of July fireworks display.  I told them that I would give them $10, but that they would have to earn it.  They eyed me suspiciously, and rightly so.  I proceeded to pull my blues harmonica from a pocket and play a little blues riff.  You know the one - da daaa da dun, rest, rest,    da daaa da dun.  I then told them they would have to improvise blues lyrics on the spot to earn the $10 bucks.  Of course there were young, universtiy age guys hanging around (where there's one, you always find the other) who loved the plan, and joined with me in getting them to improvise some lyrics.  One of the girls, all red faced finally submitted to our request and gave it a valiant effort.  Her blues lyrics include subject matter about how cold it was, that they were freezing, and being forced to sing in public.  It was a hoot.  Everyone was laughing when it was over.  That was a good time.

Had DW been there, I never could have gotten away with such behavior.  But when I told her about it, she laughed.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

I managed to cut a small hunk out of my finger last night while chopping veggies, and the dang thing still hasn't stopped bleeding.  In hindsight, I probably should have skipped the baby aspirin this morning.  Thankfully I have a good supply of bandaids.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> I managed to cut a small hunk out of my finger last night while chopping veggies, and the dang thing still hasn't stopped bleeding.  In hindsight, I probably should have skipped the baby aspirin this morning.  Thankfully I have a good supply of bandaids.



Super Glue is your friend.  I've stopped bleeding more than once with the stuff.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Super Glue is your friend.  I've stopped bleeding more than once with the stuff.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




I've used Super Glue on cuts, but this is a hole about the size of a small bb.  No skin to pull over it.  Would it still work?


----------



## taxlady

Yikes Dawg! Don't have done that. I hope it heals up quickly.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Yikes Dawg! Don't have done that. I hope it heals up quickly.




I know!  And DH had just sharpened the knives.  I must have nicked an artery.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> I managed to cut a small hunk out of my finger last night while chopping veggies, and the dang thing still hasn't stopped bleeding. In hindsight, I probably should have skipped the baby aspirin this morning. Thankfully I have a good supply of bandaids.


 
Ouch!  I'm sorry that happened. 

Cayenne pepper sprinkled on a cut will stop the bleeding almost immediately.  It has properties that coagulate the blood.  I first heard of this about 15 years ago when I was shucking oysters with friends up in Washington state, and cut my hand on an oyster shell.  My friend grabbed the cayenne pepper and told me to sprinkle some on it to stop the bleeding and by golly, it worked.  I don't remember it stinging much, other than the cut itself.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> Ouch!  I'm sorry that happened.
> 
> Cayenne pepper sprinkled on a cut will stop the bleeding almost immediately.  It has properties that coagulate the blood.  I first heard of this about 15 years ago when I was shucking oysters with friends up in Washington state, and cut my hand on an oyster shell.  My friend grabbed the cayenne pepper and told me to sprinkle some on it to stop the bleeding and by golly, it worked.  I don't remember it stinging much, other than the cut itself.




Huh.  I'm surprised it didn't sting!  Thanks Cheryl!

I think I'm just gonna keep changing bandaids...it's got to stop sometime.  It doesn't hurt, just messy.


----------



## Mad Cook

Cheryl J said:


> Ouch!  I'm sorry that happened.
> 
> Cayenne pepper sprinkled on a cut will stop the bleeding almost immediately.  It has properties that coagulate the blood.  I first heard of this about 15 years ago when I was shucking oysters with friends up in Washington state, and cut my hand on an oyster shell.  My friend grabbed the cayenne pepper and told me to sprinkle some on it to stop the bleeding and by golly, it worked.  I don't remember it stinging much, other than the cut itself.


When I was in my first year of secondary school (aged 11-12) whe had a book to read in English lessons called "Poo Lorn of the Elephants" (never heard of it before or since) about, yes, you've guessed it, elephants. When one of the elephants was injured the mahout put cayenne pepper in the cut which we thought was cruel but in view of what you've just said it sounds as if it was a well-known remedy for cuts.

After thought: Just looked on Amazon - There's a copy at £29!!!! (roughly $45) Crumbs!


----------



## Dawgluver

Mad Cook said:


> When I was in my first year of secondary school (aged 11-12) whe had a book to read in English lessons called "Poo Lorn of the Elephants" (never heard of it before or since) about, yes, you've guessed it, elephants. When one of the elephants was injured the mahout put cayenne pepper in the cut which we thought was cruel but in view of what you've just said it sounds as if it was a well-known remedy for cuts.
> 
> After thought: Just looked on Amazon - There's a copy at £29!!!! (roughly $45) Crumbs!




When I was in high school, I read all of the Mandingo series.  The slave owners routinely salted and peppered the wounds they had inflicted in the poor slaves from the whippings, just to make it hurt more.


----------



## Mad Cook

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I had the opportunity to make some sorority group earn their money.  They were camped in front of one of our local supermarkets on a cold, January night, trying to raise money, as they do every year, for the 4th of July fireworks display.  I told them that I would give them $10, but that they would have to earn it.  They eyed me suspiciously, and rightly so.  I proceeded to pull my blues harmonica from a pocket and play a little blues riff.  You know the one - da daaa da dun, rest, rest,    da daaa da dun.  I then told them they would have to improvise blues lyrics on the spot to earn the $10 bucks.  Of course there were young, universtiy age guys hanging around (where there's one, you always find the other) who loved the plan, and joined with me in getting them to improvise some lyrics.  One of the girls, all red faced finally submitted to our request and gave it a valiant effort.  Her blues lyrics include subject matter about how cold it was, that they were freezing, and being forced to sing in public.  It was a hoot.  Everyone was laughing when it was over.  That was a good time.
> 
> Had DW been there, I never could have gotten away with such behavior.  But when I told her about it, she laughed.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


Did they get the 10 bucks? and did lots of other customers put cash in their bucket?

A fund-raiser that's popular with groups like the scouts and the army cadets (a junior organisation for boys and girls of scouting and guiding age) and similar groups, is to pack groceries at the check outs in supermarkets for donations. Most customers play ball and the kids do well. It's safe as well because as well as their own supervisors there are lots of people around so there's less chance of interference from "nasty men" (use your imagination). Better than street collections where it's more difficult to monitor what's going on and because it's indoors there's no problem with the younger children taking part. (It's illegal for children to take part in even licensed street collections over here and if you have a dog with you while you are selling poppies or any other form of collection you can be arrested for vagrancy!)


----------



## taxlady

Kids do that packing groceries thing here too. I usually ask them not to and just give them some money. I hate finding hard things poking into my bananas, etc.


----------



## Andy M.

Mad Cook said:


> ...A fund-raiser that's popular with groups like the scouts and the army cadets (a junior organisation for boys and girls of scouting and guiding age) and similar groups, is to pack groceries at the check outs in supermarkets for donations...



Oh oh.  SO would freak out!  She insists on personally directing the placement of almost every item that comes down the conveyor belt from the cashier into bags we bring.  Trained packers can't do the job to her satisfaction.  I can't imagine her reaction to untrained school children.  

She's planning on retiring from her job at the end of August.  I think she should get a job as a bagger at the supermarket.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> Oh oh.  SO would freak out!  She insists on personally directing the placement of almost every item that comes down the conveyor belt from the cashier into bags we bring.  Trained packers can't do the job to her satisfaction.  I can't imagine her reaction to untrained school children.
> 
> She's planning on retiring from her job at the end of August.  I think she should get a job as a bagger at the supermarket.



She would probably do a better job than the "trained" bagger who put a heavy container of deli turkey on top of my freshly sliced Havarti cheese, making the slices stick together!


----------



## Addie

Dawg, on one of my many trips to the ER, the nurse didn't like the way the paramedics did the IV in the ambulance. She was going to move it. They use heavy duty tape. It *really* sticks to the skin. Now my skin is very thin due to the loss of collagen. I told her to be really careful as my skin is very delicate. She then proceeded to rip the tape off and took a hunk of flesh with it. Today I have a hole on top of my hand. It took almost three days to get the bleeding to stop. I ended up finding the heaviest  books I had in the house, put a 4x4 on the wound and let the  pressure of the books control the bleeding. It took 45 minutes. I just sat there with my arm extended with these books on the back of my hand. Of course that is when I wanted to get up and start doing anything. It just seems that the blood vessels are so close to the surface on the hand. 

I have heard of the cayenne pepper before. But I didn't have any in the house. So I had to go with pressure. Good luck.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Addie!  I haven't peeked, but so far it hasn't soaked the bandaid this time.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> She would probably do a better job than the "trained" bagger who put a heavy container of deli turkey on top of my freshly sliced Havarti cheese, making the slices stick together!



Your bagger didn't make a mistake. They are trained to pack that way. Put the gallon of milk in the same bag as the gallon of bleach. Bread and eggs always go at the bottom with all the canned goods on top of it. You get the idea! I should ask Poo about my theory. He bagged when he was a kid for about two weeks. Then he quit. Can't say that I blame him. Middle of a really cold winter and he was the only one the manager would send out to bring in the carriages when the checkouts were slow. Freezing cold out and he had no mittens. His bare hands were touching the freezing metal handles. I finally bought him a pair after he quit. 

I am such a thoughtful mother.


----------



## Andy M.

The first treatment for bleeding is to apply pressure to the wound.  You can only keep a finger(s) on the wound for so long.  I have had success with tightly wrapping a bandaid or two on the wound.  I like the fabric band-aids.  They stick really well.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> The first treatment for bleeding is to apply pressure to the wound.  You can only keep a finger(s) on the wound for so long.  I have had success with tightly wrapping a bandaid or two on the wound.  I like the fabric band-aids.  They stick really well.




Yes.  The fabric ones have worked best so far.  The plastic ones leak.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> The first treatment for bleeding is to apply pressure to the wound.  You can only keep a finger(s) on the wound for so long.  I have had success with tightly wrapping a bandaid or two on the wound.  I like the fabric band-aids.  They stick really well.



I am on two blood thinners. So that made it a lot more difficult to stop the bleeding. You should see my arms. I have *mark and blue backs * (childrenese) all over my two arms. I look like I am the victim of severe domestic abuse. I have to even apply heavy pressure when I get an injection.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> I am on two blood thinners. So that made it a lot more difficult to stop the bleeding. You should see my arms. I have *mark and blue backs * (childrenese) all over my two arms. I look like I am the victim of severe domestic abuse. I have to even apply heavy pressure when I get an injection.




I'm on 2 daily baby aspirin, along with the Dutoprol for high blood pressure.  A friend almost bled out, he was on Coumadin, and one of his cats scratched him.


----------



## Aunt Bea

My Grandfather used to use a spider web to stop bleeding in small cuts.  

He just twirled his cut finger in the web and instant bandage.

He still had ten fingers when he died so I guess it didn't hurt him any!


----------



## Zhizara

I rarely have a problem with my bags being bagged incorrectly.

I make it a point to unload my cart so that like items are bagged together, saving the produce and bread for last.

I keep the eggs, bread and produce in the smaller top basket and unload them last so I can keep them separate from all the hard stuff.

As I transfer filled bags back into my cart, I keep an eye on what goes where so my tender items are safe from smashing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek had a knife cut on his finger that kept opening up, even with super glue.  Now that it's stopped (this was a few days ago) I found the butterfly closures I knew I had.


----------



## Cheryl J

Aunt Bea said:


> My Grandfather used to use a spider web to stop bleeding in small cuts.
> 
> He just twirled his cut finger in the web and instant bandage.
> 
> He still had ten fingers when he died so I guess it didn't hurt him any!


 
I've heard of that one!


----------



## Cheryl J

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek had a knife cut on his finger that kept opening up, even with super glue. Now that it's stopped (this was a few days ago) I found the butterfly closures I knew I had.


 
Those would be handy to have.  I don't understand the super glue fix...doesn't it leave a 'ridge' type thing on the skin...?  Or does it get absorbed after a while?  Just curious.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Any extra super glue wears off.  An urban myth has Super Glue as originally a surgical glue for skin.  Shrek swears by it.  I prefer bandages and pressure.


----------



## Addie

Like most males on construction jobs, when Spike gets a finger cut, he wraps black electrical tape around his wounded fingers. I cringe when I see that. Sometimes I have threatened to sit on him if he doesn't let me put on a clean sterile dressing.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Addie said:


> Like most males on construction jobs, when Spike gets a finger cut, he wraps black electrical tape around his wounded fingers. I cringe when I see that. Sometimes I have threatened to sit on him if he doesn't let me put on a clean sterile dressing.



When I was cutting wood for a living, and had seriously burned my right shin, I used to put sterile gauze on it, and then put my leg into a clean bread wrapper to keep the dirt out.  Then, painful as it was, I was out in the woods again, either cutting trees, or bucking them into 8 foot lengths, then cutting into 18 inch chunks that I split with an 8 lb mall.  Never got an infection, and as I had no insurance at the time, no skin grafts.  To this day, if I gently bump that shin, the skin breaks and turns into a sore.  It scabs over and heals in a few days.

Funny how 30 seconds of time can change your whole life.  If you ever get flammable liquids on your clothing, remove it as soon as possible.  Nobody should have to endure the months of pain that I did.  Though I haven't delivered a baby from this body, I can't imagine that the pain is any more intense than the pain from that burn, and definitely didn't last as long.

In any case, I brought home the family income.  Not working was not an option.  I did what I had to do.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

When I was living in Hawaii, Poo was with his father for Christmas day. So I went down the street to the Shriners Burn Center for Children and read to the kids that couldn't get out of bed. I have a strong stomach, but not for the courage those kids had, some with 80% burns on their bodies. I had to go into the bathroom and vomit a couple of times. They kept a lot of them sedated most of the time. Specially come dressing changing time.


----------



## taxlady

Yikes Chief! Those burns sound awful. Good thing you never got infections from them. I guess that bag must have been loose. It's really risky to keep air away from a burn that has even a tiny break in the skin. The risk is an anaerobic infection.

You wrote, "I was out in the woods again, either cutting trees, or *bucking* them into 8 foot lengths,..." Does that mean you were using a bow saw?


----------



## Mad Cook

Aunt Bea said:


> My Grandfather used to use a spider web to stop bleeding in small cuts.
> 
> He just twirled his cut finger in the web and instant bandage.
> 
> He still had ten fingers when he died so I guess it didn't hurt him any!


That's a very old traditional carpenter's trick. They sometimes put honey on too as it deters bacteria


----------



## Mad Cook

Cheryl J said:


> Those would be handy to have.  I don't understand the super glue fix...doesn't it leave a 'ridge' type thing on the skin...?  Or does it get absorbed after a while?  Just curious.


Superglue melts in hot water (at least the stuff we get does)


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> Yikes Chief! Those burns sound awful. Good thing you never got infections from them. I guess that bag must have been loose. It's really risky to keep air away from a burn that has even a tiny break in the skin. The risk is an anaerobic infection.
> 
> You wrote, "I was out in the woods again, either cutting trees, or *bucking* them into 8 foot lengths,..." Does that mean you were using a bow saw?



Naw.  That's just what the guy I was working with called it.  I used a chain saw on that job.  I cut and split 10 chords of tamarack fire wood.  Years later I tried splitting wood with that same mall.  Three or four strokes and I was huffing and puffing, but other than for splitting wood, was still in pretty good shape.  The difference, when I did it all day long, for weeks, I was 26 years of age.  When I did it years later, I was in my late 40's.

Slitting wood with a mall is not something to be taken lightly.  It is both aerobic and body building at the same time.  It's no wonder that lumberjacks had such a reputation back before chain saws, and hydraulic wood splitters.  It was real work.  I used to do it with ease.  Now, I don't think I could lift the splitting mall (well, I can still lift and swing it, just not for very long),

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cjmmytunes

Dawgluver said:


> I'm on 2 daily baby aspirin, along with the Dutoprol for high blood pressure.  A friend almost bled out, he was on Coumadin, and one of his cats scratched him.



My grandmother was on coumadin for the longest time. She would have to go have her clotting factor checked every month. 

And speaking of blood thinners, when mom was in the hospital they were giving her preventative doses of heparin so she wouldn't develop blood clots. Her nurses said there were studies that it helped with all bed-bound patients and not just post-surgical patients. 

Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Smart...alecks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Where?  Where????


----------



## cave76

Cooking Goddess said:


> Smart...alecks.



They're all around us.


----------



## taxlady

I saw a skunk in my backyard the other night. It snuffled about and then started to dig. It was trying to get under the patio stone where Shreddy (my recently deceased 18 year old cat) is buried. I found another hole today. I packed both holes with dirt. I'll see if it happens again.

If I do, I'll start peeing in a can and use that as skunk repellent.


----------



## Addie

I didn't pay attention to how many minutes I was using on my free cell phone. I get 250 minutes each month for free. As a rule I will buy 250 more for just $5.00. I forgot to buy the extra minutes and today when I went to use my phone, I had no minutes left. (STUPID ME!) Since this is my only phone (I got rid of the land line) I need to make sure I always have enough for a 911 call. I know, they can be made even if I don't have any minutes. But I feel a lot better knowing that I have minutes to spare. 

So I go to purchase more minutes. I got so lost. They needed my pin number. Since Spike is the one who set it up for me at the beginning, he knew my pin number. I am sure he told me what it was but I forgot. Very simple. My pin number is my date of birth. DUH!  So you all can feel safe tonight. I have the market on STUPIDITY all to myself. Spike set up a folder for me with my pin number and other passwords. Now I won't have to go around scratching my head with my mouth hanging open and drooling.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I saw a skunk in my backyard the other night. It snuffled about and then started to dig. It was trying to get under the patio stone where Shreddy (my recently deceased 18 year old cat) is buried. I found another hole today. I packed both holes with dirt. I'll see if it happens again.
> 
> If I do, I'll start peeing in a can and use that as skunk repellent.



Moth balls will work also. At one house we lived in, a family of skunks set up housekeeping under our front  porch. Every time someone went out the front door, they would spray. We tossed some moth balls under the porch and they hastened to find new digs.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I didn't pay attention to how many minutes I was using on my free cell phone. I get 250 minutes each month for free. As a rule I will buy 250 more for just $5.00. I forgot to buy the extra minutes and today when I went to use my phone, I had no minutes left. (STUPID ME!) Since this is my only phone (I got rid of the land line) I need to make sure I always have enough for a 911 call. I know, they can be made even if I don't have any minutes. But I feel a lot better knowing that I have minutes to spare.
> 
> So I go to purchase more minutes. I got so lost. They needed my pin number. Since Spike is the one who set it up for me at the beginning, he knew my pin number. I am sure he told me what it was but I forgot. Very simple. My pin number is my date of birth. DUH!  So you all can feel safe tonight. I have the market on STUPIDITY all to myself. Spike set up a folder for me with my pin number and other passwords. Now I won't have to go around scratching my head with my mouth hanging open and drooling.


Is that a physical folder or a folder in the directory on your computer?

If it is on your computer, then it is possible for someone to hack into your computer while you are on the internet and get your passwords.

I use Password Safe to store all my passwords. It's encrypted. I only need to remember one strong password - the one that lets me see the passwords and user names in Password Safe. Maybe Spike can install it for you and show you how to use it.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Moth balls will work also. At one house we lived in, a family of skunks set up housekeeping under our front  porch. Every time someone went out the front door, they would spray. We tossed some moth balls under the porch and they hastened to find new digs.


Mothballs are carcinogenic. I am not putting them in my yard. I don't spray pesticides or herbicides either.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Is that a physical folder or a folder in the directory on your computer?
> 
> If it is on your computer, then it is possible for someone to hack into your computer while you are on the internet and get your passwords.
> 
> I use Password Safe to store all my passwords. It's encrypted. I only need to remember one strong password - the one that lets me see the passwords and user names in Password Safe. Maybe Spike can install it for you and show you how to use it.



It is on my computer. I will tell him about it tomorrow night when he comes tomorrow night. Thanks for the information and the angel.


----------



## taxlady

Today there are two new holes and one of the two I filled in has been re-excavated.

I'm starting to save pee. I am also starting to save the hair from my comb. I have read skunks don't like human hair.

Anybody know any other harmless skunk deterrents?


----------



## creative

Ironically enough, a peeve of mine is those that always complain and never balance this by noticing something positive, e.g. _to be grateful for_.  There are always those so much worse off than us.

Currently a tenant here is persistently irate by my front garden straying on to the communal path by a _few inches_.  She calls them weeds but they are beautiful wild flowers and not obstructing anything (the path is wide).  I find it pathetic that this should matter to her but the bottom line is
really that she dislikes these wild flowers.   If that is all she has to worry about her life must be great! I said she could cut them back if this is such a problem to her.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





She is normally so pleasant and easy going - it's puzzling.  I don't regard these flowers as unsightly. To me, it highlights conditioning.  Anything wild she probably sees as weeds and therefore not to be appreciated if you cannot buy it.  How sad is that?  Hollyhocks grow wild and are delightful.


----------



## Addie

creative said:


> Ironically enough, a peeve of mine is those that always complain and never balance this by noticing something positive, e.g. _to be grateful for_.  There are always those so much worse off than us.
> 
> Currently a tenant here is persistently irate by my front garden straying on to the communal path by a _few inches_.  She calls them weeds but they are beautiful wild flowers and not obstructing anything (the path is wide).  I find it pathetic that this should matter to her but the bottom line is
> really that she dislikes these wild flowers.   If that is all she has to worry about her life must be great! I said she could cut them back if this is such a problem to her.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> She is normally so pleasant and easy going - it's puzzling.  I don't regard these flowers as unsightly. To me, it highlights conditioning.  Anything wild she probably sees as weeds and therefore not to be appreciated if you cannot buy it.  How sad is that?  Hollyhocks grow wild and are delightful.



Could she possibly have allergies?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> Today there are two new holes and one of the two I filled in has been re-excavated.
> 
> I'm starting to save pee. I am also starting to save the hair from my comb. I have read skunks don't like human hair.
> 
> Anybody know any other harmless skunk deterrents?



Ornery dog, pet red-tailed hawk, certain species of owls.

Become a falconer and you will no longer have a skunk problem.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the north


----------



## taxlady

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Ornery dog, pet red-tailed hawk, certain species of owls.
> 
> Become a falconer and you will no longer have a skunk problem.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the north


 Not too likely.

That's right, some owls hunt skunk. The great horned owl thinks skunk is a delicacy. That's why you shouldn't walk in the country at night wearing a white hat. More than one moving white hat has been mistaken for a skunk. Apparently the owl figures it out when it's too late to completely stop the dive. They try to stop, but their talons hit first.   ow ow ow


----------



## Addie

You got my curiosity aroused so I went on the hunt. It seems that all home remedies call for cayenne pepper sprinkled liberally. One recommended castor oil mixed with the pepper. Another one recommended placing your dryer sheets where they are. And then there were just too far out to even mention. Myself, I would go for the hot powered pepper. Good luck.


----------



## Katie H

First, let me preface this by explaining that I come from the old school when it comes to language and grammar.  Suffice it to say, it makes me nuts when I see postings on sites such as Facebook where people, most likely unknowingly, write sloppily.  Texting, which is something our phones (Glenn's and mine - on purpose) aren't equipped to do, is another death knell for language.  I cringe when I see things such as "How R U?"  I'm getting the creepy crawlies just typing that, but that's me.

I came across something that Weird Al has done that humorously points out the craziness of today's language usage.  Take a look here and you'll see what I mean.  And, as usual, it's definitely Yankovic!


----------



## Andy M.

Katie H said:


> First, let me preface this by explaining that I come from the old school when it comes to language and grammar.  Suffice it to say, it makes me nuts when I see postings on sites such as Facebook where people, most likely unknowingly, write sloppily.  Texting, which is something our phones (Glenn's and mine - on purpose) aren't equipped to do, is another death knell for language.  I cringe when I see things such as "How R U?"  I'm getting the creepy crawlies just typing that, but that's me.
> 
> I came across something that Weird Al has done that humorously points out the craziness of today's language usage.  Take a look here and you'll see what I mean.  And, as usual, it's definitely Yankovic!




Great minds think alike, Katie.  Check out Today's Funnys.


----------



## Dawgluver

Taxy, I remember a lady I worked with years ago who had a skunk take up residence under her porch.  No exterminator service would deal with skunks.  Poor lady, the whole house smelled like skunk, including all her clothes.  IIRC she used a Havahart trap baited with cat food that's specially designed to prevent the skunk from lifting its tail to spray.  Then it's relocated far away.


----------



## Katie H

Andy M. said:


> Great minds think alike, Katie.  Check out Today's Funnys.



Thanks, Andy.  I will, then I'll go to the kitchen where I have the ingredients at the ready to make a bunch of "vanishing oatmeal cookies!"  Oven's already preheated so I'm ready to rock and roll.  Yum!


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> You got my curiosity aroused so I went on the hunt. It seems that all home remedies call for cayenne pepper sprinkled liberally. One recommended castor oil mixed with the pepper. Another one recommended placing your dryer sheets where they are. And then there were just too far out to even mention. Myself, I would go for the hot powered pepper. Good luck.


Thanks for the suggestions Addie. I already Googled and I don't think I'll be using cayenne. There are squirrels and I've heard they get it on their hands and then into their eyes. Then they scratch their eyes.  If the urine and hair don't work, I will probably buy some castor oil.



Dawgluver said:


> Taxy, I remember a lady I worked with years ago who had a skunk take up residence under her porch.  No exterminator service would deal with skunks.  Poor lady, the whole house smelled like skunk, including all her clothes.  IIRC she used a Havahart trap baited with cat food that's specially designed to prevent the skunk from lifting its tail to spray.  Then it's relocated far away.


Thanks for the suggestion, I sure hope I don't have to go that far. I'll try other methods first. I really don't mind having a skunk living in the neighbourhood, just not digging at Shreddy's grave.


----------



## Andy M.

Katie H said:


> Thanks, Andy.  I will, then I'll go to the kitchen where I have the ingredients at the ready to make a bunch of "vanishing oatmeal cookies!"  Oven's already preheated so I'm ready to rock and roll.  Yum!



What a great idea!  I've been trying to come up with something to make for a dessert.  That will fill the bill.


----------



## creative

Addie said:


> Could she possibly have allergies?


No Addie.  She has admitted that she doesn't like the "weeds", which I regard as wild flowers.  

I just had an interesting discovery.  I googled the wild flower to find that it is a _garden escape_ in my garden because it is a CULTIVATED flower!  A red valerian! 

I have just told her this (via email so she can see the link for herself) and it will be interesting to see if her perception now changes.


----------



## Katie H

creative said:


> No Addie.  She has admitted that she doesn't like the "weeds", which I regard as wild flowers.
> 
> I just had an interesting discovery.  I googled the wild flower to find that it is a _garden escape_ in my garden because it is a CULTIVATED flower!  A red *valerian*!
> 
> I have just told her this (via email so she can see the link for herself) and it will be interesting to see if her perception now changes.



Interesting, creative.  I sometimes take valerian root capsules before bed to achieve a more relaxed sleep.


----------



## creative

Katie H said:


> Interesting, creative.  I sometimes take valerian root capsules before bed to achieve a more relaxed sleep.


Well, red valerian is different from the "true valerian" but, I have just discovered that the leaves and roots of the red valerian can be eaten!


----------



## GotGarlic

creative said:


> No Addie.  She has admitted that she doesn't like the "weeds", which I regard as wild flowers.
> 
> I just had an interesting discovery.  I googled the wild flower to find that it is a _garden escape_ in my garden because it is a CULTIVATED flower!  A red valerian!
> 
> I have just told her this (via email so she can see the link for herself) and it will be interesting to see if her perception now changes.



Weeds are just plants where someone doesn't want them


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Weeds are just plants where someone doesn't want them


Exactly.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have to fight the temptation to buy a wild flower mixture and spread it all over the yard...I think the landlord would be upset.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have to fight the temptation to buy a wild flower mixture and spread it all over the yard...I think the landlord would be upset.




When new neighbors first moved in next door a number of years ago, the husband "kindly" offered to Roundup my little wildflower garden that separates our properties.  Of course, I had to explain they were wildflowers.  Dang city folks.

A weed is just a misplaced flower.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> A weed is just a misplaced flower.


Or a flower in need of a good press agent. 


I don't understand the wrath heaped upon crab grass.  It needs little water, fills in the bare spots, stays green no matter how hot and dry the summer is, and feels a little like Florida grass when you walk on it. Maybe that's it - Florida grass is rough!  Our grass is pretty much in a clipped naturalized state. Those clover plants sure know how to hide their heads when the mower blade comes around.


----------



## creative

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have to fight the temptation to buy a wild flower mixture and spread it all over the yard...I think the landlord would be upset.


I have transformed my lawn into a lawn meadow (becoming quite popular now ... at least here in UK).  I got fed up with the constant maintenance of a kept lawn that was rarely used (e.g. for sitting on etc).  Admittedly it looks straggly for some of the year (and I hand scythe it down after it has seeded), but I so prefer the long graceful grasses and the tall wild flowers.  Attracts butterflies too!  

My front garden - that this tenant complained about, i.e. spilling out (by a few inches) onto the wide path - was originally paved over with concrete.  I have allowed nature to take its course...with plants and flowers growing through the cracks.  I am a nature lover and much prefer to see her gifts than to look at dull, uninspiring grey concrete.  I guess this may be behind her complaint.  It just depicts a closed, conditioned mind to me. (She hasn't replied to my email, showing her that the "weeds" are in fact cultivated flowers that are garden escapes.  I guess she still holds some kind of bizarre grievance/hatred of them...maybe because they are not in pots?  



)


----------



## CharlieD

Washing a wound in detergent helps a lot with wounds.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Addie

A weed is a plant placed by God in a place that inconveniences man.


----------



## taxlady

Skunk update: the urine seems to work. Of course, the skunk may just have been wandering elsewhere last night. I'll put out more urine after it rains. Fingers crossed.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Good luck with that taxy. I hate skunky smells. We had one (or more?) that thought our first house was THEIR house. Every night the skunk(s) would walk all around the house, busy marking the foundation with their scent. No A/C in that house either, so it was wide-open windows every summer night!


----------



## taxlady

No skunky smells so far. I'm just worried about it trying to dig under the patio stone on Shreddy's grave. I do not want to bits of Shreddy in my yard.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Maybe a few patio stone pavers and a large pot with a plant in it on top of the "patio" might work as a deterrent. If all else fails, replace the plant with a chair, with you sitting in it and a shotgun on your lap.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Maybe a few patio stone pavers and a large pot with a plant in it on top of the "patio" might work as a deterrent. If all else fails, replace the plant with a chair, with you sitting in it and a shotgun on your lap.


There is a large, heavy patio stone, but the skunk tries to dig under it. It has gotten a few inches under it. Skunks are quite good diggers.

They only come out at night, so I would have to sit there a long time and I think I would get a lot of stinky bits if I used a shotgun on a skunk.  


Not to mention, I don't own a shotgun, I don't have a gun handler's permit, I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to discharge a firearm in this city.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Waking up too early...arrrgh.  I'll be drooping by 2 pm.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Waking up too early...arrrgh.  I'll be drooping by 2 pm.



I hate when that happens. That is what screws up my sleeping pattern. Really messes up my whole day.


----------



## creative

I find that *Vitamin B complex* is a boon for when you need more energy (e.g. through lack of sleep).  It is an established nerve tonic and stops you feeling irritable. You do need to keep replenishing through the day though if very low on energy.  They take about 90 mins to "kick in" and last almost 3 hours.

(If you have a yeast condition, e.g. candida, dandruff, athlete's foot) then you can buy them yeast free.


----------



## roadfix

Same problem here with critters.  I've got skunks and raccoons digging all over the back yard, nightly.  Gophers too.  I'm ready to fill a super soaker with ammonia and spray them.


----------



## JoAnn L.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Waking up too early...arrrgh.  I'll be drooping by 2 pm.



I know just how you feel. I have no trouble getting to sleep I just don't sleep for very long.


----------



## Mad Cook

creative said:


> I find that *Vitamin B complex* is a boon for when you need more energy (e.g. through lack of sleep).  It is an established nerve tonic and stops you feeling irritable. You do need to keep replenishing through the day though if very low on energy.  They take about 90 mins to "kick in" and last almost 3 hours.
> 
> (If you have a yeast condition, e.g. candida, dandruff, athlete's foot) then you can buy them yeast free.


Lavender oil from the chemists or the health food shop (diluted with ordinary oil if it's the essential oil). A dab under your nose and on your wrist pressure points when you go to bed works wonders. Well, it does for me, anyway. Also a warm bath with lavender oil works too.


----------



## creative

Mad Cook said:


> Lavender oil from the chemists or the health food shop (diluted with ordinary oil if it's the essential oil). A dab under your nose and on your wrist pressure points when you go to bed works wonders. Well, it does for me, anyway. Also a warm bath with lavender oil works too.


Yes, that would help prevent insomnia.  I was addressing how to stay _energised_ once you hadn't slept well, i.e. during the day ....Vit B complex is a real boon for that.


----------



## bakechef

Do the sizes on clothes mean anything?

So I go into one store and see a couple shirts that I like, they don't look generously sized so I grab the XL on both of them.  Try them both on and they fit my chest like a sausage casing (this is a common problem with me and shirts).  So I find a 2X in one of the shirts and try that on, it looks like a circus tent!  Honestly it looked double the size.

I go to another store and see a couple more shirts that I like, I pick up 2-large shirts, and go to try them on.  They fit, and have a little room to spare.  I'll get them tailored a bit for a better fit.

Today I learned, I have no idea what size I wear.


----------



## Aunt Bea

bakechef said:


> Do the sizes on clothes mean anything?
> 
> So I go into one store and see a couple shirts that I like, they don't look generously sized so I grab the XL on both of them.  Try them both on and they fit my chest like a sausage casing (this is a common problem with me and shirts).  So I find a 2X in one of the shirts and try that on, it looks like a circus tent!  Honestly it looked double the size.
> 
> I go to another store and see a couple more shirts that I like, I pick up 2-large shirts, and go to try them on.  They fit, and have a little room to spare.  I'll get them tailored a bit for a better fit.
> 
> Today I learned, I have no idea what size I wear.



I share your pain!

I go for the companies that use vanity sizing, everything they make seems to be one size larger than the label indicates.  

It's easier, for me, than dieting!


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> Do the sizes on clothes mean anything?...



BC, I feel your pain.  I live with this too.  L, XL, XXL can vary quite a bit from company to company.  I try to stick to one or two vendors that I can depend on.


----------



## bakechef

I'm finding Chaps seems to fit around the chest without looking too much like a tent.


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> I'm finding Chaps seems to fit around the chest without looking too much like a tent.



My issue is a little lower.  I need the tent around the waist.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> I'm finding Chaps seems to fit around the chest without looking too much like a tent.




Athletic cut seems to fit DH, it's bigger in the chest with a more tapered waist.  Though he doesn't need it as much as he used to


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> My issue is a little lower.  I need the tent around the waist.



That is called a dress...

Totally exhausted.  My sleep problems are a combination of age, chronic insomnia for years and a restless ogre.  I know the rubber mallet will take care of one of those problems


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That is called a dress......



No, not a dress.  The issue is above the waist but below the chest.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> No, not a dress.  The issue is above the waist but below the chest.



That's called an Empire waist...


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> No, not a dress.  The issue is above the waist but below the chest.



That is called pregnancy. Ask any mother in her third month. Too small for maternity clothes, too big for her regular clothes.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Psst, Addie, do we need to take up a collection for a baby gift for Andy? 





PrincessFiona60 said:


> ...My sleep problems are a combination of age, chronic insomnia for years and a restless ogre.  I know the rubber mallet will take care of one of those problems


So will a spare bed. I love *sleeping* alone. After all, once our Other Half is asleep the party is over, so why not get a good night's rest?


----------



## CarolPa

I woke up during the night and my Cpap had stopped working.  I tried to get it going again, and then noticed that the clock was out....along with our electricity.  I looked out to see if the nieghbors has lights, but from our battery clock I could see that it was 4AM.  Everyone was still asleep!  I called the electric company and reported it to a recorded message.  Within 15 min the electric came back on.  I looked out again and saw a light in the window of a neighbor who has an adult daughter with Systic Fibrosis....maybe she sleeps with electrical equipment that sets off an alarm when the power goes out and possibly they had called before me.  The power had been out for an hour.  I'm so glad it came back on because my grandson is coming for a visit today and no electricity with a 5 year old on a rainy day would not be fun.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Psst, Addie, do we need to take up a collection for a baby gift for Andy?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So will a spare bed. I love *sleeping* alone. After all, once our Other Half is asleep the party is over, so why not get a good night's rest?



I really don't like sleeping alone, cats are fine but I want the ogre.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Psst, Addie, do we need to take up a collection for a baby gift for Andy?
> 
> So will a spare bed. I love *sleeping* alone. After all, once our Other Half is asleep the party is over, so why not get a good night's rest?



Looks like it. That third month is when you can't go anywhere because nothing fits you. But then all of a sudden when it is time to shop for maternity clothes, you can dress faster than your partner.


----------



## Mad Cook

creative said:


> Yes, that would help prevent insomnia.  I was addressing how to stay _energised_ once you hadn't slept well, i.e. during the day ....Vit B complex is a real boon for that.


Better to deal with the cause (ie sleeplessness) than treat the result ie the lack of energy.


----------



## Mad Cook

Andy M. said:


> BC, I feel your pain.  I live with this too.  L, XL, XXL can vary quite a bit from company to company.  I try to stick to one or two vendors that I can depend on.


In women's clothing price often comes into it. Manufacturers of less expensive ranges tend to skimp on fabric and under-size their product and at the other end of the spectrum makers tend to be more generous. This isn't set in stone of course.

Really, "small", "medium" , "large", etc., doesn't mean anything unless you know what the manufacturer means by it.


----------



## Addie

I too stick with names that I know will fit me properly. My biggest complaint is tops. I never buy front button tops. I get gapitis. If I buy a top that doesn't gap at the buttons, then the shoulders are too big. If I buy to fit my shoulders, I get the dreaded gapitis! And then being as tall as I am, *EVERYTHING* I buy has to be altered. It's a good thing I learned to sew as a kid. (My father taught me.) Of course there is a benefit to that problem. Because I am under 4'10" tall, I am considered a legal midget according to the rules of the IRS. It is a medical condition. Should I have to pay someone to alter my clothing, it is tax deductible as a medical expense. Only once did I ever have enough in medical expenses that I could list, was I able to take advantage of that little quirk.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Hiccups - I have them right now and I can barely type without errors. 

Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> Hiccups - I have them right now and I can barely type without errors.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app



Remember, it is not that you are making mistakes typing, it is the keys fault. They keep moving around and jumping under the wrong fingers.


----------



## taxlady

Doesn't anyone check to see if things are true before pasting them on FaceBook? Three of my cousins posted this today:






It's bogus Next time that happens in August is in 2025. It will happen in May next year.

Feng Shui? Since when has Feng Shui been about chain letters? The Chinese had a 10 day week, so if this is Chinese, it isn't all that old. Aarg!

snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages is you friend.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

But...but...I read it on the Internet...


----------



## roadfix

I used to believe everything I read on the internet.


----------



## Andy M.

Gotta love it.  I remember a convoluted set of calculations based on the year number with adding, multiplying and dividing that resulted in your age. The caution was that THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR THIS WILL EVER WORK!  Rubbish.  All you had to do was change one number in the calculation and it would work every year.


----------



## Mad Cook

Andy M. said:


> Gotta love it.  I remember a convoluted set of calculations based on the year number with adding, multiplying and dividing that resulted in your age. The caution was that THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR THIS WILL EVER WORK!  Rubbish.  All you had to do was change one number in the calculation and it would work every year.


This reminds me of the Golden Numbers used to calculate when Easter falls. When I was twelve my grandmother bought me a copy of the Book of Common Prayer - then the form of service used in the Church of England - which gave the calculations. Maths not being my strong point I sat through the sermons on 2 consequetive Sundays trying to work out when the Easter eggs would start arriving before deciding it would be easier to look in my diary.


----------



## Andy M.

Easy peasy! Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Easy peasy! Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.



I learned that as a teenager. And the earliest it can fall on is March 22nd.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> Easy peasy! Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.



Not pagan at all!


----------



## GotGarlic

Truth.


----------



## Mad Cook

Andy M. said:


> Easy peasy! Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.


Yes, but that requires that you know when the first full moon after the vernal equinox is. The golden numbers allow you to work out when Easter Sunday falls on any year up to 50 years ahead IIRC.


----------



## CarolPa

I keep getting texts and robocalls from a phone company that isn't mine.  They are telling me they are going to be doing my requested repair before 9PM today.  I tried replying that I was not their customer, but that didn't change anything.  Finally, I called the company and talked to a tech who said they probably keyed in the wrong contact number for the person.  He said he would try to track it back to my cell phone number but couldn't promise anything.  I guess I will just continue to get these messages until the person's repairs are done.  Meanwhile, they are not getting any notifications!


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> Remember, it is not that you are making mistakes typing, it is the keys fault. They keep moving around and jumping under the wrong fingers.



How.right you are Addie. Haven't had them any more. 

Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

It always seems to go like this!  Weather forecast - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,, or partly cloudy.  I order materials to replace my roof last week.  I tear off the shingles on a nice Monday day.  Roof materials arrive on Tuesday, as ordered.  Morning - sunny, project is going very well.  Got the first layer of EPDM rubber roof down.  Glue has to be applied to dray surface of roof, and to rubber, allowed to dry, and then put the rubber in place.  Clouds roll in.  It rains for 10 minutes.  Can't do any more.  Hope the bad weather blows over.  Unroll more rubber to protect my house from more rain.  Use it like a tarp.  Put 5 gallon glue containers in strategic places to hold it down.  The wind picks up and nearly blows the rubber off, sends one unopened glue pail 2 stories to the ground where the top comes of and spills half the pail.  Fortunately, I bought extra.  Day is shot.  

Weather forecast for today is sunny.  Woke up to overcast, wind is gone at least.  It's supposed to start clearing up by noon.  I was supposed to have the rented ladder back to the hardware store by 9 a.m.  Instead, I'll have to start the project again at 10 a.m., when the sun can help dry the glue.  This should have been a two day project.  It was so easy when the weather was good.  Prayers have been said.  I guess this just was supposed to be one of my challenges to overcome.  But hey, I saved $1000 by doing it myself.  

1 scary incident: walked on a place where the glue had been applied before it started raining.  It was dry.  Had to gather some of the rubber roof and maneuver it into place.  It started raining.  The roof became as slippery as ice.  I was on the west edge of the roof, right on the edge.  My feet went out from under me and I fell straight down onto the roof.  Fortunately, my clothing provided sufficient friction to prevent me from sliding further westward and off of the roof, or Northward to slide off of the down-slopping roof.  Had to crawl to an area with no glue as standing was not an option.  I'm still alive and kicking, and the judo falling techniques are still working.  Those judo classes have saved me from so much pain and injury over the years.

Anyways, If the weather people are correct, I should be able to complete this project today.  I would have been able to complete it safely yesterday except for the rain and wind.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The weather never cooperates.


----------



## CarolPa

Chief, this is why we learned to call the roofing company.  Our last one was covered by home owners insurance....hail damage.


----------



## Addie

Murphy's Law at work again! You should have check with Murphy, not the weather man.


----------



## Mad Cook

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The weather never cooperates.


If anyone lives in a drought area feel free to send for me. I only have to peg a few items of laundry on the washing line outside or water my outdoor herb plants to guarantee that it will rain cats and dogs within the hour.


----------



## Addie

The pain in my left hip and the base of my spine has been the same for more than ten years. All of a sudden this past week, it has increased to right across from my left hip to my spine and on to my right hip. But now it is also going down my left leg right into my calf. And it is not a sometimes pain. It has been around the clock for this past week. 

This pain was diagnosed as a circulation problem. What I don't understand is if the pulse in both my feet is strong, then how can it be a circulation problem. According to the Cath Lab, they can not do anything else to help me. I already have five stents. And two of them are in my groin, one on each side. The Vicodin is not doing it anymore. I can either stand or lay down. To sit only increases the pain. I am going to Winthrop tomorrow and I need some answers. What has happened this past week, to cause so much change in my pain level. I can barely walk. And I am determined that I will not go back into that wheelchair again.


----------



## Addie

Now on top of everything, I get a call from Poo last night. He wanted to know if I had heard anything about him from anyone. No I hadn't. 

It seems he went down to NJ for a short vacation. He became very ill. The person he was with called one of his friends in Vermont and that friend called the ambulance company from Vermont to go get him. It seems he had advanced pneumonia and they rushed him to the hospital. Poo said at one point he was 30 minutes from dying. He was in ICU for five days. When he got discharged, two of his friends from Vermont, drove down to NJ and brought him home. One of them drove his vehicle back. He will be out of work for several weeks while he recovers and get his strength back. I asked him why wasn't I notified. He told me that he didn't want anyone to call me as there was nothing I could do with him in NJ. 

It never ends. It was a good thing both Spike and The Pirate were here with me when Poo called me. I am going to call Poo later today when I am calmer. 

Good grief. Just because your kids are grown and out the door on their own, doesn't mean they still don't need you. The worries never stop.


----------



## taxlady

Chief, glad that you are safe. That sounded really scary.

(((Hugs Addie))). I sure hope that pain goes away soon.


----------



## Josie1945

Addie
 I am sorry you are in so much 
pain. I hope it goes away soon.
A Couple angels for you 

Josie


----------



## Addie

Josie1945 said:


> Addie
> I am sorry you are in so much
> pain. I hope it goes away soon.
> A Couple angels for you
> 
> Josie



Thank you.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Chief, glad that you are safe. That sounded really scary.
> 
> (((Hugs Addie))). I sure hope that pain goes away soon.



Thank you. Winthrop called and they are sending my new prescription right away.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Your'e right Addie, once a parent, always a parent, even when you can see your grown kids being stubborn, and hard to deal with (roofing project
In any case, I only suffered some sore muscles, and a scraped up leg when a bone-headed neighbor helped me get the 35 foot ladder off of the house, and onto the ground.  He insisted I let my end drop, I said it's not a good idea, he demanded I let it drop.  I did.  He acted as a pivot point, as in the center section of a see-saw.  My end went skyward, caught my pantleg, and hoisted me into the air.  I landed on my back, all good, judo techniques still work fine.  But the bottom of the ladder scraped up my left shin in a couple of places.  There's a couple of scabs in the making.  To change an old "HeeHaw" line - if it weren't for bad help, I'd have no help at all.  Gloom, despair, and agony on me."

The roof is done.  The ladder has been taken back to the hardware store, for an extra day's rent (stupid weather) of $24.  But it's done, and is supposed to be good for 40 years.  I'll be 98 by the time it needs to be replaced again.  I'm sleeping in tomorrow.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CarolPa

This morning my DC notifications started appearing in my Spam folder again, along with an email from my DIL, whose emails have gone into my regular mailbox for years.  I logged off and back on again.  We'll see if that helps like it did last time.  Is AOL playing games with me again?


----------



## CarolPa

Logging off and back on didn't help, but as of this morning my notifications AND emails from my DIL are back where they belong.  I give up trying to understand why.


----------



## CharlieD

yesterday out of blue the crack appear in the glass on my Galaxy 3, then all of a sudden 3 or 4 more showed up. Ok, I understand if I dropped the phone or something, but out of the blue? I do not know. The phone is working just fine, but i'm afraid it is not going to last long. I honestly have not been happy with it after I switched from iPhone. Looking forward switching back to iPhone, I only wish stupid Apple would just come out and say it already when the new is coming out. Roomers have it that it is going to be a big phone, the only reason I switched to Galaxy to begin with. It's kind of annoying. Really.


----------



## Addie

Last night my cable company went on the disabled list for my computer. I can still get my TV service though. So I can't access any files through Comcast. So irritating. Spike stopped by for this nightly visit and said his was down also. It has been 24 hours. There had better be an adjustment on my bill. 

When Spike came I was sleeping. Teddy jumped up on my bed and barked right in my ear. That woke me right up.


----------



## Dawgluver

I'm ripping my hair out.  Got up this morning, tried to log on to various iDevices, nothing.  Nada.  Played around with them, even taking them outside.  My LTE didn't work.  My WiFi didn't work.  My 3G on my phone didn't work.  I finally did get some sporadic service, but it is soooo slooowww, like dialup only worse.  I could neither make nor take calls.  I finally called Verizon on the landline, thinking there must have been an outage.  No outage, the best they could offer is that I'm eligible for an upgrade.  Then I was put on hold to wait for a technician forever.  I finally hung up.

I am not happy.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I'm ripping my hair out.  Got up this morning, tried to log on to various iDevices, nothing.  Nada.  Played around with them, even taking them outside.  My LTE didn't work.  My WiFi didn't work.  My 3G on my phone didn't work.  I finally did get some sporadic service, but it is soooo slooowww, like dialup only worse.  I could neither make nor take calls.  I finally called Verizon on the landline, thinking there must have been an outage.  No outage, the best they could offer is that I'm eligible for an upgrade.  Then I was put on hold to wait for a technician forever.  I finally hung up.
> 
> I am not happy.


Well phooey on that. Is Verizon the only company you can use? What would an upgrade do?


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Well phooey on that. Is Verizon the only company you can use? What would an upgrade do?




Yes, Verizon is about it out here in the sticks.  It's also the only system that will work with my particular iPad.  A phone upgrade would apparently allow me to make and receive phone calls.  I'll try tech support again after I'm done being PO'ed about being put on hold for so long.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Well phooey on that. Is Verizon the only company you can use? What would an upgrade do?



I know the frustration. I have been three days without my comcast conection. And it is comcast that is my provider. So I call them through Skype. The technician asked me to shut off my computer. If I did that, I would lose my connection to her. So I just told her my son was a computer geek and I will have his take care of it tonight. There better be a reduction in my computer bill.

I took two Vicodin this morning before I went to physical therapy. At least that was a success. Instead of the five minutes, I went on to ten and didn't even realize it. I also found the position that gives my legs the most workout. I could feel it in my thighs. Then I too a short nap when I got home. Woke up and those Vicodin really kicked in. Most folks get sleepy when they take a seditive. I get ambitious. So I started to clean! And clean! And clean some more. Then when those two wore off, I could feel the pain. So I took two more. Back to cleaning. Washed floors, cleaned the oven, all the counters, everything in the kitchen. Then I came out into the big room. Now that room is spotless. The only thing I forgot to clean was the coffee maker. Boy will I feel it tomorrow. 

My order came today. I have been meaning to get me a garlic keeper for years. But everytime I placed an order anywhere that was kitchen stuff, I always forgot about it. So I finally ordered one. It came today and lo and behold, the lid was smashed into smithereens. I called the company right away and they are going to send one out for me immediately. They told me I could do what I wanted with the broken one. But the one item I am really happy about is my SS butter dish that has a lid and holds two sticks of butter. I also got a new kitchen scale. I looked at the digital ones, but then I would have to keep a supply of batteries on hand. And I guess the eyes are really getting old, because I always have a difficult time reading a digital readout. This one is a spring one and a knob for adjustment. The numbers are really big and very easy to read. But the best thing is it has a bowl on top and when I grind meat, it will go right into the bowl. No fuss, no mess. It is spring scale operated. 

But I am really ticked off about the lid to the garlic keeper. After all these years of forgetting to order one. 

But this month there will be no on line buying. I need to really stock up the pantry and freezer. Food stamps will help with the food, but it is the cleaning supplies that will kill me. I am out of everything.


----------



## Dawgluver

Dawgluver said:


> Yes, Verizon is about it out here in the sticks.  It's also the only system that will work with my particular iPad.  A phone upgrade would apparently allow me to make and receive phone calls.  I'll try tech support again after I'm done being PO'ed about being put on hold for so long.




Now this is just bizarre.  My systems seem to be restored, and the phone is working now.  Devices are no longer on "extension" services.  WiFi and LTE have been restored!  After not working all day!  I still think a local tower had an outage, or something got screwed up.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Now this is just bizarre.  My systems seem to be restored, and the phone is working now.  Devices are no longer on "extension" services.  WiFi and LTE have been restored!  After not working all day!  I still think a local tower had an outage, or something got screwed up.



Someone is just playing with your mind. Where is Rod Sterling when you need him? 

do do do do  
do do do do  
do do do do


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Someone is just playing with your mind. Where is Rod Sterling when you need him?
> 
> do do do do
> do do do do
> do do do do



Yep, it was the Verizon gremlins!


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> My order came today. I have been meaning to get me a garlic keeper for years. But everytime I placed an order anywhere that was kitchen stuff, I always forgot about it. So I finally ordered one. It came today and lo and behold, the lid was smashed into smithereens. I called the company right away and they are going to send one out for me immediately. They told me I could do what I wanted with the broken one. But the one item I am really happy about is my SS butter dish that has a lid and holds two sticks of butter. I also got a new kitchen scale. I looked at the digital ones, but then I would have to keep a supply of batteries on hand. And I guess the eyes are really getting old, because I always have a difficult time reading a digital readout. This one is a spring one and a knob for adjustment. The numbers are really big and very easy to read. But the best thing is it has a bowl on top and when I grind meat, it will go right into the bowl. No fuss, no mess. It is spring scale operated.
> 
> But I am really ticked off about the lid to the garlic keeper. After all these years of forgetting to order one.
> 
> But this month there will be no on line buying. I need to really stock up the pantry and freezer. Food stamps will help with the food, but it is the cleaning supplies that will kill me. I am out of everything.



My garlic keeper is a Mexican bowl I bought at the Mexican market in San Antonio.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> My garlic keeper is a Mexican bowl I bought at the Mexican market in San Antonio.



My garlic presently sits in a basket on a small kitchen cart. That's fine as long as the bulb is big. The basket has large openings. So when I have broken off too much, I can't put them in the basket. They have to go in a zippy bag of some sort.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Now this is just bizarre.  My systems seem to be restored, and the phone is working now.  Devices are no longer on "extension" services.  WiFi and LTE have been restored!  After not working all day!  I still think a local tower had an outage, or something got screwed up.



That's likely what happened.  The whole upgrade thing was ridiculous, why do they put people on phones that have ZERO idea what they are talking about.

We had an all day event with Rob's gaming group.  The local tower must have been on the fritz, because all day nobody on Verizon could get data to work well at all.  Either it would be painfully slow or not work at all.  Around 5 that evening, everything started working again.  Enough people must have called and had them reset the tower.  This is the first time that I'd had this happen.  As expensive and slimy as Verizon is, I have to hand it to them for coverage and pretty good reliability.


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> That's likely what happened.  The whole upgrade thing was ridiculous, why do they put people on phones that have ZERO idea what they are talking about.
> 
> 
> 
> We had an all day event with Rob's gaming group.  The local tower must have been on the fritz, because all day nobody on Verizon could get data to work well at all.  Either it would be painfully slow or not work at all.  Around 5 that evening, everything started working again.  Enough people must have called and had them reset the tower.  This is the first time that I'd had this happen.  As expensive and slimy as Verizon is, I have to hand it to them for coverage and pretty good reliability.




AhHA!  Mine started working again about the same time.  And yes, I agree with the expensive and slimy Verizon descriptor.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

"Expensive and slimy" pretty much sums up why we left! Fortunately, we had other options. I must say after being at our daughter's in the sticks and Himself using 3/4G just as often as he uses the WiFi at home (to listen to his precious NPR  ), our latest cell phone bill wasn't anywhere near what I thought it would be - and about 1/3 our old monthly Verizon bill.


I am annoyed all over again because of the Family Feud going on with my (and Addie's) favorite grocery store chain. Long pent-up anger and jealousy have crippled the 71-store chain, is wreaking havoc with 25,000 employees, is inconveniencing who knows how many shoppers (has to be well over a million), and is financially crippling all the farms who were promised their product would be sold in the chain's stores. Hopefully, the farmers all had contracts with the store so that they still see some monies even though the store isn't accepting deliveries.  It's like War of the Roses, except one of the Arties is looking more like a stinkweed.

If you are at all interested in a story that Hollywood would reject because it was too outlandish, this is about the best article I've seen so far that describes much of what has led up to this stalemate without being too confusing:  The Last Stand for the Middle Class Is Taking Place in a Parking Lot in Massachusetts - Esquire


----------



## CharlieD

it has been barely a year since the announcement came that our company got sold/bought. After, oh, about 370 employees got canned during this year, today we had e-mail seating in our e-mail boxes that this new (for us) company just got sold/bought.
What now? Who are they going to get rid of now? How more people are going to loose their jobs? Their lovely hood for the sake of a president who is going to walk out with millions? I am very much pro capitalism, but it is not capitalism any more. I do not know what it is.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> "Expensive and slimy" pretty much sums up why we left! Fortunately, we had other options. I must say after being at our daughter's in the sticks and Himself using 3/4G just as often as he uses the WiFi at home (to listen to his precious NPR  ), our latest cell phone bill wasn't anywhere near what I thought it would be - and about 1/3 our old monthly Verizon bill.
> 
> 
> I am annoyed all over again because of the Family Feud going on with my (and Addie's) favorite grocery store chain. Long pent-up anger and jealousy have crippled the 71-store chain, is wreaking havoc with 25,000 employees, is inconveniencing who knows how many shoppers (has to be well over a million), and is financially crippling all the farms who were promised their product would be sold in the chain's stores. Hopefully, the farmers all had contracts with the store so that they still see some monies even though the store isn't accepting deliveries.  It's like War of the Roses, except one of the Arties is looking more like a stinkweed.
> 
> If you are at all interested in a story that Hollywood would reject because it was too outlandish, this is about the best article I've seen so far that describes much of what has led up to this stalemate without being too confusing:  The Last Stand for the Middle Class Is Taking Place in a Parking Lot in Massachusetts - Esquire


Wow. Corporate greed and that mind set has gotten so entrenched that they don't even see that paying the workers well, at least in this case, has been giving really good profit.


----------



## CarolPa

Well, now I'm not getting any DC notifications at all.  Not in mail, not in Spam, not in my DC folder.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> Wow. Corporate greed and that mind set has gotten so entrenched that they don't even see that paying the workers well, at least in this case, has been giving really good profit.



The corporate revolution (that's what I call this) has been going on for longer than I've been alive.  That's why unions were started a century back.  The business owners, and boards of directors were getting more and more wealthy, while the working class became closer to slave labor, with minimum pay.  When things got bad enough, the workers rose up, united, and formed unions.  

Then the unions became a problem, allowing poor work ethic to become normal, with workers getting too much for too little.  And now, the pendulum is swinging back to the owner's side, rather than the worker's side.

It's a sure bet that corporations will give the workers the minimum that they can get away with to maximize profits, which puts money in their own pockets.

This pendulum swing has been going on for a long time.  It's time again for workers to rebel against overbearing corporate executives, and for consumers to start demanding fair prices for goods.  Do I see it happening in the near future, probably not.

We've created a society, and government that just doesn't function well.  The breakdown of nuclear families, and strong moral ethics has made money and personal wealth more important than values that support strong communities, more important that integrity, more important than doing the right thing, simply because it's the right thing.  Personally, to me, the right thing is that which lifts oneself, one's family, and one's community to a more ethical, and better life.

Ok, 'nuff said.  That's where I stand.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> Wow. Corporate greed and that mind set has gotten so entrenched that they don't even see that paying the workers well, at least in this case, has been giving really good profit.


Decades ago, that grocery chain was split between two cousins with differing opinions of what made a business successful. The stores ran very well under the CEO cousin who felt you had a successful chain by offering value to shoppers and rewarding your employees who made the stores successful. The other cousin managed to get the advantage on the board a year ago and replace his cousin with two CEOs with a record of killing companies off. It seems that the swing vote holder is tired of being in the family business and just wants to take her chips, cash out, and go do whatever rich people do. It's sad that ONE pouty, self-entitled rich witch can mess with the lives and livelihoods of 25,000 employees plus all the suppliers.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> ...It's sad that ONE pouty, self-entitled rich witch can mess with the lives and livelihoods of 25,000 employees plus all the suppliers.




I think this is an unfair characterization.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You're right Andy, that was too harsh. It's stubbornness on both sides wanting what they want and not willing to compromise that is really messing with workers and shoppers alike.

I especially feel bad for those workers and suppliers who need this to be resolved quickly for the sake of their financial stability. It would be interesting to see what the board would do IF everyone was able to call off work on Monday. What would they do if the only people reporting to work were the store managers, there only to unlock the doors? WooWee would that be fun!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

There are just some days that I'd rather be a mattress tester, or fishing lure tester, than a telecommunication technician, especially when I have to deal with AT&T!

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> There are just some days that I'd rather be a mattress tester, or fishing lure tester, than a telecommunication technician, especially when I have to deal with AT&T!
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Sorry you're having a bad day, Chief. I hope it gets better


----------



## CarolPa

Chief, you sound like my daughter.  When she was a young teen she wanted to be a video game tester!

I would like to be one of those secret shoppers who go around and eat in different restaurants to rate the food, service etc.


----------



## Addie

I went to Winthrop this morning. I am still recuperating from Tuesday. My legs are so sore I can hardly walk, but I decided to go anyway to see what I could accomplish. Very little. I started the day out with an upset stomach. So that put me in a sour mood. They did do my monthly check on my vitals. I have gone from 145 pounds on July 17th down to 132 pounds today. That is a lot of weight loss in a short time. No even a full month. Enough that even I am concerned. I am chalking it up to this cold that wants to hang on. I have no appetite. I am lucky if I can get one small meal a day down. They will start checking my weight each week for now and see how it goes. Exhaustion, a cold that won't go away and bringing up green phlegm, sudden weight loss, nasty mood, upset stomach, etc. ad nauseum. Tomorrow has to be a better day. This can't go on forever. Can it?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Addie said:


> I went to Winthrop this morning. I am still recuperating from Tuesday. My legs are so sore I can hardly walk, but I decided to go anyway to see what I could accomplish. Very little. I started the day out with an upset stomach. So that put me in a sour mood. They did do my monthly check on my vitals. I have gone from 145 pounds on July 17th down to 132 pounds today. That is a lot of weight loss in a short time. No even a full month. Enough that even I am concerned. I am chalking it up to this cold that wants to hang on. I have no appetite. I am lucky if I can get one small meal a day down. They will start checking my weight each week for now and see how it goes. Exhaustion, a cold that won't go away and bringing up green phlegm, sudden weight loss, nasty mood, upset stomach, etc. ad nauseum. Tomorrow has to be a better day. This can't go on forever. Can it?



Let's not extrapolate time into the future.  None of us know enough to be able to do that, short, or long term.  If there is an afterlife, then all will eventually be well.  If not, then I don't know any answers.  I believe that at some future point, all will be well.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Try to take better care of yourself Addie. :angle:


----------



## fairygirl69

*Canning and relatives opinions*

This just drives me crazy!  I have a MIL who I love very much but she refuses to let the point go that canning is expensive in her opinion. Yes, money is an issue with my hubby and me but for most ppl money will always be an issue. I try to buy in seasons and sales. If I can get seconds to can I jump right on it and still she nags. I love canning and I feel it's an art. I feel like when she gets on me about this issue she is minimizing what I do for my husband and me and our families when the canning is given as gifts. My husband has no problems with my caning but since my MIL does the rest of that side of the family will accept it as law and agree with her except my hubby. Does anybody else have this problem with friends or family?  Thanks for letting me vent. She really gets me down. :-(


----------



## GotGarlic

No, but I have other problems with friends and family and what I've learned is not to let their issues be my issues. I don't know what the root of your MIL's problem is, but I can almost guarantee that it's not about canning or money. I think it's more of a control issue. 

So I would suggest that you try to internalize the idea that it's about her, not you. When she says something about it, don't be defensive or try to change her mind. Just smile and say "Thanks for your input, but this works for us."


----------



## fairygirl69

Ty for the sage advice. Now to go practice. "Ty for your input, but this is what works for us."


----------



## Aunt Bea

IMO she is probably correct that canning is more expensive and I would concede the point.

Continue canning, maybe in spite of her and maybe to spite her, I'm not sure!  

Relax, enjoy your canning and enjoy your MIL.

Good luck!

I have added these two quotes because I enjoy them.  I have lots of these little thoughts posted above my computer, they help me understand why I'm me!

Mere parsimony is not economy.... Expense, and great expense, may  be an essential part in true economy.... Economy is a distributive  virtue, and consists, not in saving, but in selection. Parsimony  requires no providence, no sagacity, no powers of combination, no  comparison, no judgment.
     -- Edmund Burke

"If a man does not keep pace with his  companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him  step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." 
_--Henry David Thoreau_


----------



## fairygirl69

I like the quote. Very true!


----------



## Katie H

I'm sorry your MIL feels the way she does, but that's what _is_.

I enjoy canning, too, but because the end result tastes soooo much better that what I can buy commercially.

Case in point...basic tomato sauce.  This one ingredient makes its way into so many dishes in my house I can't even begin to enumerate.  Over the years I have developed my own recipe for tomato sauce and can it.  I couldn't tell you the last time I bought the stuff in the store.

In addition to tasting good, I know _exactly_ what's gone into the sauce and how healthy it is.  Can't put a price on that.


----------



## fairygirl69

Exactly!  And I'm a diabetic so cooking from scratch with high quality ingredients is one way I keep my blood sugar in check!


----------



## Zagut

It's the MIL. No matter what you do will be wrong. 

Smile and agree as best you can and then do what you want to that you believe is best for you and yours. 

Cost shouldn't enter into the picture because of quality and your caring about what you feed those your responsible for.


----------



## fairygirl69

You're right. That is how I feel. It's just hubby and me bc we've never been blessed with children but since I am the main cook, I feel responsible for feeding us. Besides, homemade tomato soup is way better with home canned tomatoes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> There are just some days that I'd rather be a mattress tester, or fishing lure tester, than a telecommunication technician, especially when I have to deal with AT&T!
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




OOOOHHHH  Mattress Tester...I want that job!


----------



## bakechef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> OOOOHHHH  Mattress Tester...I want that job!



I would be sooo qualified for that job!


----------



## taxlady

It may or may not be cheaper to do your own canning. But, it would cost more to buy the same quality. It's not really reasonable to compare the price without talking about the quality.

If I make soup from scratch, I'm pretty sure it cost more than a packet of ramen.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I went to Winthrop this morning. I am still recuperating from Tuesday. My legs are so sore I can hardly walk, but I decided to go anyway to see what I could accomplish. Very little. I started the day out with an upset stomach. So that put me in a sour mood. They did do my monthly check on my vitals. I have gone from 145 pounds on July 17th down to 132 pounds today. That is a lot of weight loss in a short time. No even a full month. Enough that even I am concerned. I am chalking it up to this cold that wants to hang on. I have no appetite. I am lucky if I can get one small meal a day down. They will start checking my weight each week for now and see how it goes. Exhaustion, a cold that won't go away and bringing up green phlegm, sudden weight loss, nasty mood, upset stomach, etc. ad nauseum. Tomorrow has to be a better day. This can't go on forever. Can it?



Eat, sleep, repeat...


----------



## fairygirl69

Lol yes it does but it all sodium and very few nutrients.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Katie H said:


> ...I enjoy canning, too, but because the end result tastes soooo much better that what I can buy commercially...In addition to tasting good, I know _exactly_ what's gone into the sauce and how healthy it is.  Can't put a price on that.


^ What Katie says.^

If you were me (and be glad you aren't  ) you could tell her "I like canning. It keeps me sane. And the cost of canning is far cheaper than the cost of a psychologist or drugs". Then give her a big, cheesy grin!


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> ^ What Katie says.^
> 
> If you were me (and be glad you aren't  ) you could tell her "I like canning. It keeps me sane. And the cost of canning is far cheaper than the cost of a psychologist or drugs". Then give her a big, cheesy grin!



Like


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> OOOOHHHH  Mattress Tester...I want that job!





bakechef said:


> I would be sooo qualified for that job!



Sorry guys, I'm afraid Himself has a lock on that job based by all the time he DOES spend in bed!


----------



## fairygirl69

Cooking Goddess said:


> ^ What Katie says.^
> 
> 
> 
> If you were me (and be glad you aren't  ) you could tell her "I like canning. It keeps me sane. And the cost of canning is far cheaper than the cost of a psychologist or drugs". Then give her a big, cheesy grin!




Hahaha!  That would be great lol.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Sorry guys, I'm afraid Himself has a lock on that job based by all the time he DOES spend in bed!



I'm applying for the job in the Mountain Time Zone...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

It WOULD be great - if it worked. Good luck with the MIL.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That's a good idea PF. He certainly doesn't travel fast enough to cover the entire country - more like the entire local bed. 


Lordy, I hope he never sees how I tease him mercilessly around here.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> It WOULD be great - if it worked. Good luck with the MIL.



Oh, to be able to have one more talk/discussion with my MIL.  Miss her, I do!


----------



## fairygirl69

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh, to be able to have one more talk/discussion with my MIL.  Miss her, I do!




You're right. I know I'll cry one day when she's no longer with us.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> That's a good idea PF. He certainly doesn't travel fast enough to cover the entire country - more like the entire local bed.
> 
> 
> Lordy, I hope he never sees how I tease him mercilessly around here.



I would be happy with 25% of the bed, between Shrek and the cats, I'm better off on the couch.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I would be happy with 25% of the bed, between Shrek and the cats, I'm better off on the couch.




Between Beagle and DH, I figure I get around 15-25% of the bed as well.  I call DH the burrito, he just rolls up in the sheet until I have about 3 inches of sheet left, enough to cover approximately one knee cap.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Between Beagle and DH, I figure I get around 15-25% of the bed as well.  I call DH the burrito, he just rolls up in the sheet until I have about 3 inches of sheet left, enough to cover approximately one knee cap.


That's why I like individual duvets.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself and I got along famously with each of the other's Mom. Both parents, actually. I had an advantage going into the marriage - I was best friend's with his sister from sophomore year of high school, so their parents were "Uncle P..." and "Aunt J..." to me for years. If I knew they would eventually be my in-laws, I might not have teased Dad about his balding head and pot belly.    In spite of that, they still loved me. Aww....


----------



## Addie

Canning is your therapy. Just like needlework and other crafts are mine. Thank her for her concern and then follow CG's advice. She is going to be your MIL as long as her son is your husband. (Hope it is for many, many years.) So you don't want her for an enemy. 

The only thing that concerns me is why is she so worried about your finances? I don't even discuss with my children what they do with their money. It is an area I have always considered private. If I should choose to buy a Porterhouse steak, that is my business, not anyone else's. The only reason my kids know mine is because of my advanced years. They have the NEED to know, not the desire.


----------



## CharlieD

Dawgluver said:


> Between Beagle and DH, I figure I get around 15-25% of the bed as well.  I call DH the burrito, he just rolls up in the sheet until I have about 3 inches of sheet left, enough to cover approximately one knee cap.



Since we got a king size bed, we've been constantly fighting over blanket. One tome one of the kids drag her blanket to our bed one sunday morning and she forgot it there. We slept well fallowing no night. Now we have two bkankets , sleep on the dufferent sides of the bed. There us no fighting though. We meet in the middle once in a while. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Try to take better care of yourself Addie.


Heaven knows I am trying. We have a neighbor across from me on the side of the building where I live. This "child" has a motor scooter and he must be sneaking out at night because he revs it up around one a.m. and then speeds down the street and keeps going around and around the block. The he starts again around five a.m. Since he doesn't want me to sleep, as soon as it warms up I am going to be sitting out there when I know he is due to start his run and see which house he comes out of. Then I am going to report him to the Police Officer for the Elderly Affairs in the community. Seargent Gonzalez. He has been very helpful in the past in addressing any issues we may have.

I am planning on spending the day just doing nothing. Something I do with advanced expertise. Our outdoor temps are in the low 60's. And so far no sunshine. A perfect day to follow my plan.


----------



## fairygirl69

She just...asks. It feels kind of intrusive honestly. The hubby's tried to get her to stop asking questions like that and it just fuels her forward more. She's not a very good listener. She'd rather do everything to make her point.


----------



## fairygirl69

Hubby and I think the best we can do is not mention canning. If the subject does come up anyway and we get a lecture that's it's expensive we just shut up and let her go on but then do as we want. Unfortunately it'd go right over her head that it's my art and my therapy.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Between Beagle and DH, I figure I get around 15-25% of the bed as well.  I call DH the burrito, he just rolls up in the sheet until I have about 3 inches of sheet left, enough to cover approximately one knee cap.



Covers, I don't need no stinking covers...


----------



## Aunt Bea

fairygirl69 said:


> Hubby and I think the best we can do is not mention canning. If the subject does come up anyway and we get a lecture that's it's expensive we just shut up and let her go on but then do as we want. Unfortunately it'd go right over her head that it's my art and my therapy.



I have a couple of people like that in my life, I believe they were sent to test me. 

Sometimes I pass, sometimes I fail!


----------



## fairygirl69

Me too! Lol


----------



## Addie

fairygirl69 said:


> She just...asks. It feels kind of intrusive honestly. The hubby's tried to get her to stop asking questions like that and it just fuels her forward more. She's not a very good listener. She'd rather do everything to make her point.



An old trick my mother taught me to stop a conversation, is to answer a question with a question.

"How much did you spend for that?" 

Does it matter what the cost was if it is something I want and enjoy?" But my favorite response is mostly, 

"Do you really have a need to know that?" I know it sounds rude, but so is asking me financial questions unless you are a loan officer at a bank.  

I also find just staring at them and saying nothing, will force them to repeat the question. Then I just shrug my shoulders like I don't know what they are talking about.


----------



## fairygirl69

Heeeey, not a bad idea!  Very constructive!


----------



## GotGarlic

FG, are you familiar with Carolyn Hax? She's an advice columnist for the Washington Post and has great insights on all types of relationship issues. She has a big thing about setting boundaries and couples dealing with problems like yours as a team. Here's a similar situation she spoke to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...5d9188-8609-11e3-b85b-b305db87fb90_story.html

As Addie indicated, you don't need to answer every question someone asks you. 

Btw, how long have you been married?


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Since we got a king size bed, we've been constantly fighting over the blanket. One time one of the kids dragged her blanket to our bed one Sunday morning and she forgot it there. We slept well the following night. Now we have two blankets, sleep on the different sides of the bed. There us no fighting though. *We meet in the middle once in a while*.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## bakechef

Whenever someone feels the need to force their opinion on me or criticize what I'm doing, I usually put on a big fake smile, muster up a good deal of snark and say "Well thank you for that unsolicited opinion on how I do things"  Unless they are dense, they usually get the clue.

My mother-in-law is dense, that's why we don't see her often.


----------



## fairygirl69

We'll be married fourteen years this September. She loves us very much but she can be very nosey and intrusive.


----------



## bakechef

That day where you have to slow down and collect yourself.

I'm baking the wedding cake layers for a cake that I'm making next week (I freeze them, then assemble).  I have the recipe that I used for our cake last year, each batch of batter makes 1 layer of each size 6", 9" and 12"  I should be making this recipe 3 times, each cake is going to be 3 layers with filling.  I'm wondering why the middle tier is cooking fast and is too thin (I weigh the batter for each pan).  Apparently somewhere in my scattered brain, I thought that the middle tier was 10" instead of 9" even though my printed recipe clearly states "9 inch layer, 400 grams of batter" I wrote the recipe 

Guess who now has to make an extra batch of batter


----------



## Aunt Bea

bakechef said:


> That day where you have to slow down and collect yourself.
> 
> I'm baking the wedding cake layers for a cake that I'm making next week (I freeze them, then assemble).  I have the recipe that I used for our cake last year, each batch of batter makes 1 layer of each size 6", 9" and 12"  I should be making this recipe 3 times, each cake is going to be 3 layers with filling.  I'm wondering why the middle tier is cooking fast and is too thin (I weigh the batter for each pan).  Apparently somewhere in my scattered brain, I thought that the middle tier was 10" instead of 9" even though my printed recipe clearly states "9 inch layer, 400 grams of batter" I wrote the recipe
> 
> Guess who now has to make an extra batch of batter



Now I suppose you are gonna make poor Rob clean up your mistake!


----------



## bakechef

Aunt Bea said:


> Now I suppose you are gonna make poor Rob clean up your mistake!



He was excited about the prospect of extra cake!


----------



## Katie H

Dawgluver said:


> Between Beagle and DH, I figure I get around 15-25% of the bed as well.  I call DH the burrito, he just rolls up in the sheet until I have about 3 inches of sheet left, enough to cover approximately one knee cap.



We don't have any challenges with covers.  Our bed is a queen and I make it up with king top sheets and blankets.  Never a problem having enough to cover up.


----------



## GotGarlic

Katie H said:


> We don't have any challenges with covers.  Our bed is a queen and I make it up with king top sheets and blankets.  Never a problem having enough to cover up.



That is brilliant.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Katie H said:


> We don't have any challenges with covers.  Our bed is a queen and I make it up with king top sheets and blankets.  Never a problem having enough to cover up.



I do the same, somehow they all end up on Shrek's side of the bed.  Then he gets hot and I get all of them back.


----------



## Dawgluver

Good lord, I'm becoming my mother.  A six hour trip back from Minneapolis after visiting Baby Bro's kids has me exhausted.  Beagle has not emerged from a deep sleep either, she had her share of being semi-molested by an almost 2 year old and an almost 7 year old with an attitude.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Good lord, I'm becoming my mother.  A six hour trip back from Minneapolis after visiting Baby Bro's kids has me exhausted.  Beagle has not emerged from a deep sleep either, she had her share of being semi-molested by an almost 2 year old and an almost 7 year old with an attitude.



Saw a picture of myself earlier and wondered when the pic of my Grandmother had been taken...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Saw a picture of myself earlier and wondered when the pic of my Grandmother had been taken...




  Mom took days to recover from ANY trip, driving, flying, donkey...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

you think I am kidding...this looks like my Grandmother...


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, Grandma was a nice looking lady!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm not supposed to look like her yet...


----------



## Dawgluver

The circle of life...


----------



## CarolPa

Katie H said:


> We don't have any challenges with covers.  Our bed is a queen and I make it up with king top sheets and blankets.  Never a problem having enough to cover up.




I do the same thing Katie.  First time in my life that something I did was considered "brilliant!"


----------



## CarolPa

Dawgluver said:


> Well, Grandma was a nice looking lady!




Looks too young to be a Grandma.


----------



## CarolPa

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Saw a picture of myself earlier and wondered when the pic of my Grandmother had been taken...




When I leave my hair the natural color and don't wear any eye makeup I look in the mirror and see my mother looking back at me.  The last time my uncle saw me I scared him half to death!  He thought I was Myrtle come back from the grave!


----------



## CharlieD

Dawgluver said:


> Good lord, I'm becoming my mother.  A six hour trip back from Minneapolis .....


Oh, that is too bad you did not have contacted me. I would have loved to meet you. 


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Dawgluver

CharlieD said:


> Oh, that is too bad you did not have contacted me. I would have loved to meet you.
> 
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app




That would have been fun!


----------



## CharlieD

Dawgluver said:


> That would have been fun!



Next time, alright? Maybe will get Steve on the board too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> When I leave my hair the natural color and don't wear any eye makeup I look in the mirror and see my mother looking back at me.  The last time my uncle saw me I scared him half to death!  He thought I was Myrtle come back from the grave!



I used to see my Mom looking back at me a lot...but this pic looks like my Grandmother.  Mom should look like Grandma.   (Shrek's kids made me a grandma when I was 29)


----------



## bakechef

I'm seeing my dad more and more in the mirror.  Lots of the things that come out of my mouth are things that he'd say, our sense of humor is pretty similar.


----------



## Mad Cook

bakechef said:


> I'm seeing my dad more and more in the mirror.  Lots of the things that come out of my mouth are things that he'd say, our sense of humor is pretty similar.


I'm not only seeing my mother in the mirror - I'm turning into her.

My mother was a very talented dressmaker and tailoress and made all my "best" clothes. When I was a student I bought a pattern and enough fabric for her to make me a winter coat. The first thing she said was "What do you want that for? It's very old-fashioned  (it wasn't in 1970!) I had one just like that when I was your age" (which would have been in 1941). I swore then and there that if I ever had children I would _never _say anything like that.

We move on another 30 years and god daughter comes for lunch wearing - guess what? A coat identical in all but colour to the afore-mentioned one. I swear I was not in control of my mouth because it announced "I like your coat._ I had one just like it when I was you age_" I knew what I was saying but I just couldn't stop myself! History repeats! I was mortified! 

That was when I knew I was turning into my mother.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> I'm seeing my dad more and more in the mirror.  Lots of the things that come out of my mouth are things that he'd say, our sense of humor is pretty similar.



Thank goodness I'm not resembling my Dad, but our sense of humor is the same.


----------



## Andy M.

Mad Cook said:


> I'm not only seeing my mother in the mirror - I'm turning into her.
> 
> My mother was a very talented dressmaker and tailoress and made all my "best" clothes. When I was a student I bought a pattern and enough fabric for her to make me a winter coat. The first thing she said was "What do you want that for? It's very old-fashioned  (it wasn't in 1970!) I had one just like that when I was your age" (which would have been in 1941). I swore then and there that if I ever had children I would _never _say anything like that.
> 
> We move on another 30 years and god daughter comes for lunch wearing - guess what? A coat identical in all but colour to the afore-mentioned one. I swear I was not in control of my mouth because it announced "I like your coat._ I had one just like it when I was you age_" I knew what I was saying but I just couldn't stop myself! History repeats! I was mortified!
> 
> That was when I knew I was turning into my mother.



Maybe it's just that we have gained the wisdom of advanced years and finally recognize the truth of what they said.


----------



## CharlieD

I am not even that old, but I already cannot remember anything. We had a thread going about building new house/kitchen advise, something like that. I cannot find it. Mostly because I do not remember the name of it. Help me please folks.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I am not even that old, but I already cannot remember anything. We had a thread going about building new house/kitchen advise, something like that. I cannot find it. Mostly because I do not remember the name of it. Help me please folks.



Some additional info neeed if you can. Do you have an idea how long ago, what was the thread about, new appliances, remodeling a whole kitchen? Was it about watching the new home being built in New Mexico by oone of our members?


----------



## CharlieD

Addi, it was about building the whole new house.


----------



## Andy M.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/my-proposed-new-house-85847.html


----------



## Mad Cook

The gas men have been digging up the road for a couple of weeks - renewing the gas main I think. Holes at regular intervals down the road. On Tuesday they reach my stretch. Nice men. I asked about progress and when they would get to me so I could plan food and hot water for when the gas was turned off as I might miss them when they came to turn me back on and do the purge and re-light. 

The day before yesterday they had commenced digging at the side of the entrance to my drive. My drive is at an awkward angle so two of the men kindly helped me reverse out. Since then they've positioned the barriers leaving me just enough room to get in and out if I'm careful. So far so good.

Late this am I went out to go shopping and what did I find? The excavation  had grown and now reached all the way across my drive. My car was out on the drive so they knew I was in so why didn't they come and warn me? I asked, politely for one of those metal sheets they usually use to bridge excavations but they didn't have one big enough on the van. I've had to phone the stables and ask them to muck out, do hay nets and feeds and bring Horse in from the field this evening. I could get the bus there but the last one comes back at something stupid like 4pm! 

Three telephone calls to the head office later and there's no sign of anything improving. The air will be blue if they haven't sorted it out by this evening - they don't work on Saturdays and there are no buses at all on Sunday. It's going to cost me an arm and a leg to have Horse on livery for 3 days or more. And no, the office say, they have no facility for reimbursing me for the expense and inconvenience they're putting to me. 

You can say what you like about state-owned utility companies but this never happened when British Gas was a nationalised industry and I was employed there part time between teaching jobs. And they didn't have competition like there is now that it's all split among several independent companies.

Rant over.


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> The gas men have been digging up the road for a couple of weeks - renewing the gas main I think. Holes at regular intervals down the road. On Tuesday they reach my stretch. Nice men. I asked about progress and when they would get to me so I could plan food and hot water for when the gas was turned off as I might miss them when they came to turn me back on and do the purge and re-light.
> 
> The day before yesterday they had commenced digging at the side of the entrance to my drive. My drive is at an awkward angle so two of the men kindly helped me reverse out. Since then they've positioned the barriers leaving me just enough room to get in and out if I'm careful. So far so good.
> 
> Late this am I went out to go shopping and what did I find? The excavation  had grown and now reached all the way across my drive. My car was out on the drive so they knew I was in so why didn't they come and warn me? I asked, politely for one of those metal sheets they usually use to bridge excavations but they didn't have one big enough on the van. I've had to phone the stables and ask them to muck out, do hay nets and feeds and bring Horse in from the field this evening. I could get the bus there but the last one comes back at something stupid like 4pm!
> 
> Three telephone calls to the head office later and there's no sign of anything improving. The air will be blue if they haven't sorted it out by this evening - they don't work on Saturdays and there are no buses at all on Sunday. It's going to cost me an arm and a leg to have Horse on livery for 3 days or more. And no, the office say, they have no facility for reimbursing me for the expense and inconvenience they're putting to me.
> 
> You can say what you like about state-owned utility companies but this never happened when British Gas was a nationalised industry and I was employed there part time between teaching jobs. And they didn't have competition like there is now that it's all split among several independent companies.
> 
> Rant over.


Oh dear, what PITA.

They don't have real competition now. It's not like you can choose which gas company serves you. The only competition I can figure out is that the town or whatever gets to choose which company services their area. If you know who gets to decide which company services you, complain to them. Maybe, even let the gas company know you will do that.


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## CarolPa

Oh, my, *Mad Cook*.  DH would be livid.  He would still be out there screaming at everyone!!  That's terrible.  I hope you aren't inconvenienced too long.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Mad Cook said:


> The gas men have been digging up the road for a couple of weeks - renewing the gas main I think. Holes at regular intervals down the road. On Tuesday they reach my stretch. Nice men. I asked about progress and when they would get to me so I could plan food and hot water for when the gas was turned off as I might miss them when they came to turn me back on and do the purge and re-light.
> 
> The day before yesterday they had commenced digging at the side of the entrance to my drive. My drive is at an awkward angle so two of the men kindly helped me reverse out. Since then they've positioned the barriers leaving me just enough room to get in and out if I'm careful. So far so good.
> 
> Late this am I went out to go shopping and what did I find? The excavation  had grown and now reached all the way across my drive. My car was out on the drive so they knew I was in so why didn't they come and warn me? I asked, politely for one of those metal sheets they usually use to bridge excavations but they didn't have one big enough on the van. I've had to phone the stables and ask them to muck out, do hay nets and feeds and bring Horse in from the field this evening. I could get the bus there but the last one comes back at something stupid like 4pm!
> 
> Three telephone calls to the head office later and there's no sign of anything improving. The air will be blue if they haven't sorted it out by this evening - they don't work on Saturdays and there are no buses at all on Sunday. It's going to cost me an arm and a leg to have Horse on livery for 3 days or more. And no, the office say, they have no facility for reimbursing me for the expense and inconvenience they're putting to me.
> 
> You can say what you like about state-owned utility companies but this never happened when British Gas was a nationalised industry and I was employed there part time between teaching jobs. And they didn't have competition like there is now that it's all split among several independent companies.
> 
> Rant over.




Your situation reminds me of a famous quote from U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission."  It seems like more and more people all over the world operate this way, very frustrating and very sad!  

Good luck!


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## CharlieD

Mad Cook, I feel your pain. I hate this incompetence. But in all honesty I think England been hit by the same bug that bit America in the last 20 years or so. It is not about private or state company. It is complete careless attitude. Nobody caress, nobody pays attention. The customer service runs from service when they see customer.


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## Addie

Pride in one's work no longer exists. Too bad. 

When I was doing Temp work, you would be surprised how many call backs I got from customers because of the quality of my work. At one company I did a job for was to catch up on the filing that the secretary seemed to never have time to do. Every time someone was looking for a piece of paper, they always had to go through piles of papers that had not made it to the file cabinets. One by one, folder by folder I got four filing cabinets in a neat order. Papers were sticking out or just jammed into a folder without ever taking the folder out to put the paper in it. 

It took me two weeks to get those four filing cabinets in order. And I filed the piles of papers the secretary never seemed to have the time for. The head boss came out to take a look at the cabinets when I was finished. He was astounded by the neatness. What a dressing down he gave the secretary. What it came down to was it would cost her the job if she found filing so beneath her. She made the mistake of telling him that she hated filing. That she had more important things to do. Wrong thing to say. About a month later I got a call back. The secretary was gone and I was to sit at her desk until they hired a new secretary. They offered me the job, but I turned it down. I loved doing Temp Work and didn't want to be tied down to just one job.


----------



## Mad Cook

CarolPa said:


> Oh, my, *Mad Cook*.  DH would be livid.  He would still be out there screaming at everyone!!  That's terrible.  I hope you aren't inconvenienced too long.


The plot thickens. What I didn't say was that the gas has been off all day. Before I went out at 3pm I was given a number to ring when I got home and "they" would come and turn the gas back on no matter what time it was  even (and I quote) "in the middle of the night". I got a lift home and as we turned into the road at 9pm the the gasmen I'd spoken to earier were standing chatting by their van. We stopped and I got out of my friend's car and said "Hello, I'm here now. Are you coming to do my purge and relight?" And the reply? "No, We finished at 8pm. Ring the office".

When I got in I rang the number I'd been given. "Oh yes, madam, the duty engineer will be round within a couple of hours". 3/4 of an hour later I was rung up by the engineer to say he was too busy and wouldn't be coming. Several phone calls later I was getting crosser and crosser. I decided it was time to play my trump cards - "I am an old age pensioner and I haven't had a hot drink or a meal all day" and "I used to work for the Gas emergency services and I know the score. And I also know your boss". Engineer was ringing my doorbell within the hour. I don't know which worked but one of them did.

I'm not a great shouter. I usually find that firm insisting does it but needs must and there was a fair bit of shouting going on tonight.

Still got the hole at the bottom of the drive and it'll still be there next week. But we'll worry about that then.


----------



## Cheryl J

Good for you, MC! Sometimes you have to pull out every card you can to get results. I sure hope it's all done soon and you can return back to your normal routine.


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## Dawgluver

Yes, good for you, MC!  I hear you about shouting, the one time I had to resort to it was when Yosemite Sam was supposed to install our DirecTV system but didn't feel like it and was perfectly content just to leave the equipment for us to install it ourselves, as he'd forgotten his ladder.  We found him a ladder.  Much merriment ensued (not).  I should have reported him.


----------



## Mad Cook

CharlieD said:


> Mad Cook, I feel your pain. I hate this incompetence. But in all honesty I think England been hit by the same bug that bit America in the last 20 years or so. It is not about private or state company. It is complete careless attitude. Nobody caress, nobody pays attention. The customer service runs from service when they see customer.


I think a lot of it comes down to the person answering the phone not being allowed to own his or her own calls anymore. When I first worked at British Gas a customer would ring up with a problem and I had to sort it out. If I didn't know the answer I had to promise to find out and ring her back. Which I did. But latterly the "customer service agents" dealt with an enquiry by filling in a form and putting it in a tray on the desk where it was collected by a floor walker who handed it on to someone else and eventually it got to the person who could give the information. This could result in the customer finally getting a result a week after the initial contact whereas if the agent had been allowed to follow it up herself it would have been dealt with in 10 minutes. 

This is all supposed to be more efficient.


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## taxlady

It's been about a month since my neighbour sprayed her anti-critter, garlic concoction in my yard and on Shreddy's grave. It worked. No more signs of skunk digging.

Well, today, it had stopped working. I guess all that rain we had washed it away. I found a biggish hole at the edge of the patio stone that covers Shreddy's grave. There were bits of Shreddy fur. I'm not a happy camper.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> It's been about a month since my neighbour sprayed her anti-critter, garlic concoction in my yard and on Shreddy's grave. It worked. No more signs of skunk digging.
> 
> Well, today, it had stopped working. I guess all that rain we had washed it away. I found a biggish hole at the edge of the patio stone that covers Shreddy's grave. There were bits of Shreddy fur. I'm not a happy camper.



Darn critters  I'm sorry, taxy.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> It's been about a month since my neighbour sprayed her anti-critter, garlic concoction in my yard and on Shreddy's grave. It worked. No more signs of skunk digging.
> 
> Well, today, it had stopped working. I guess all that rain we had washed it away. I found a biggish hole at the edge of the patio stone that covers Shreddy's grave. There were bits of Shreddy fur. I'm not a happy camper.




Oh no, that's not good.  Poor Shreddy.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> It's been about a month since my neighbour sprayed her anti-critter, garlic concoction in my yard and on Shreddy's grave. It worked. No more signs of skunk digging.
> 
> Well, today, it had stopped working. I guess all that rain we had washed it away. I found a biggish hole at the edge of the patio stone that covers Shreddy's grave. There were bits of Shreddy fur. I'm not a happy camper.



Oh TL, I am so sorry. Will your neighbor give you the recipe so you can keep the grave sprayed?


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## taxlady

Thanks ladies. Addie, yes, I'm sure she will. She already told me, but I don't remember the details. She seems to be out of town at the moment. She's probably visiting her daughter in Ottawa.

We put some big, heavy pieces of patio stone on the edges of the main patio stone. This is temporary. I just couldn't psyche myself up to shovel the dirt back into the hole today.


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## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> It's been about a month since my neighbour sprayed her anti-critter, garlic concoction in my yard and on Shreddy's grave. It worked. No more signs of skunk digging.
> 
> Well, today, it had stopped working. I guess all that rain we had washed it away. I found a biggish hole at the edge of the patio stone that covers Shreddy's grave. There were bits of Shreddy fur. I'm not a happy camper.


That skunk is a real stinker taxy.  I googled a garlic skunk repellent and a couple of links looked like possibilities. Do either of these look familiar?

Do It Yourself Skunk Repellent | eHow

‘Natural’ Ways To Rid Your Property of ‘Problem’ Wildlife Â« Windstar Wildlife Institute

Good luck. Hope you have success before your neighbor gets back home for your and Shreddy's sake.


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## bakechef

Why do people drive large vehicles with trailers so darned fast?

On our way back from the mountains a truck passed us (big dual tire tandem axle) hauling a trailer with a huge a/c unit, the type you would see on the side of an office building.  I was going 75, he had to be going over 80.  Not long after he passed us, we hear a loud BANG, see lots of black smoke and he starts swirving all over the road, steel belted rubber coming down like rain.  How he managed not to hit the person in the other lane is beyond me, that SUV did some pretty fancy maneuvering as did the rest of us.  

Either he was driving faster than those tires were rated or they were in poor condition.  Either way he came really close to hurting a lot of people or even killing someone.  That is a huge load to be driving that fast.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> That skunk is a real stinker taxy.  I googled a garlic skunk repellent and a couple of links looked like possibilities. Do either of these look familiar?
> 
> Do It Yourself Skunk Repellent | eHow
> 
> ‘Natural’ Ways To Rid Your Property of ‘Problem’ Wildlife Â« Windstar Wildlife Institute
> 
> Good luck. Hope you have success before your neighbor gets back home for your and Shreddy's sake.


Nope, I think it's just garlic whizzed in a Magic Bullet with water and then strained before putting in a spray bottle. I know she sometimes adds cayenne.

I think the heavy patio stone pieces will work for now.


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## taxlady

Scary stuff BC. I'm glad you didn't get involved in a collision.


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## Cooking Goddess

taxy, the best way to make those heavy stones "work" would be to suspend them over Shreddy's grave with a pulley system and let it lose when the skunk comes by.  Be sure to be wearing clothespins on your noses. 





bakechef said:


> Why do people drive large vehicles with trailers so darned fast?...


Because they're stupid? You can't fix stupid.

Glad you and all the other drivers made it through that adventure safely.


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## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> Nope, I think it's just garlic whizzed in a Magic Bullet with water and then strained before putting in a spray bottle. I know she sometimes adds cayenne.
> 
> I think the heavy patio stone pieces will work for now.



I wonder if you could keep  the skunks away by planting garlic in that corner of the garden.  This is about the time of year for fall planting, 6-8 weeks prior to a frost.  Just break up a bulb or two into individual cloves, cover them in a couple of inches of soil and a light mulch of leaves or straw.


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## CWS4322

Probably not a petty vent...this is affecting my bottom line. My email address has been the same for eons. A friend owns the domain. She cancelled my email addys on the 18th because my voice mail didn't pick up. I called her yesterday and asked her to re-activate the addys. Hasn't happened. I am so ticked. I sent her a cheque to cover the cost of hosting the site because she has MS and lives off of her disability cheque. She accepted the cheque, but didn't renew the domain because she had to have some repairs done to her house. I offered to buy the domain...she wants to keep it. Irony is that she has been off line for about 8 months because her computer died and she can't afford to replace it. Meanwhile, I've lost all my email addys and can't remember my gmail password. Trying to reset that, but my clients don't have my gmail addy and I don't know if I can remember their addys. GRRRRRRRR....


----------



## CWS4322

Aunt Bea said:


> I wonder if you could keep  the skunks away by planting garlic in that corner of the garden.  This is about the time of year for fall planting, 6-8 weeks prior to a frost.  Just break up a bulb or two into individual cloves, cover them in a couple of inches of soil and a light mulch of leaves or straw.


Rags soaked with household ammonia work to keep skunks (and other animals) away.


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## taxlady

Oh dear CWS! Do you have any other backup email? You could get a Yahoo email addy, so you have something. Have you used the password recovery options?


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## CWS4322

Problem is--it is my business account. I can get in it using her password...just haven't figured out how to reset the password back to mine for my accounts. Good thing is that my "pile" of mail on the server hasn't been deleted. Grrrr....still grring...grrrrrrrr.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> Problem is--it is my business account. I can get in it using her password...just haven't figured out how to reset the password back to mine for my accounts. Good thing is that my "pile" of mail on the server hasn't been deleted. Grrrr....still grring...grrrrrrrr.


I realize it's your biz account and that your clients don't have that email addy. But, you should still have backup email, and preferably, more than one.


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## GotGarlic

I have owned my domain name since 1996 and use it for email forwarding only. I have it set to forward to a Gmail account and then I download it to my laptop because I like Outlook. This way, my email is always available from anywhere. With Gmail, you can set different return addresses, so I can make it look like it's coming from my domain, my Gmail account, or my Cox account. But it all ends up in the same place. As an added bonus, Gmail catches a whole lot of spam, so I never see it.


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## taxlady

I got my own domain in ~1998. I added the .ca version in 2004, when it became easier to get a .ca domain. I gave up the .com version a few years ago. All my email forwards to my Gmail account, just like GG. I usually access it on the web, but I also access it using Thunderbird using IMAP, which means it stays in Gmail, but I can look at it and reply to it. I can also delete or move it with IMAP.


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## CharlieD

Yesterday, when we came home there were two messages on the phone, from some “officer Brad Williams”, yeah right. Heavy accent. “You have a criminal case #... against you, I am with investigating office of … in Washington DC “I do not even remember what office, mostly because I could not understand, ”you have to call this number …... to talk about your problem”

My wife almost had a hardtack; I was calm enough to call my friend, lawyer, who of course told me not to call anybody or to talk to anybody. After I spoke to him, I Googled the number. I guess it was a scam of a sort, there were a whole bunch of messages on line of the same exact call, same exact message. I guess they are targeting venerable people who would be scared and called back and give up all kind of personal information. Bastards.

P.S. I was not as scared of the call, I knew I have not done anything, but my wife's reaction scared even more, She probably thought I was a KGB operative, of some sleeper sell.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

CharlieD said:


> Yesterday, when we came home there were two messages on the phone, from some “officer Brad Williams”, yeah right. Heavy accent. “You have a criminal case #... against you, I am with investigating office of … in Washington DC “I do not even remember what office, mostly because I could not understand, ”you have to call this number …... to talk about your problem”
> 
> My wife almost had a hardtack; I was calm enough to call my friend, lawyer, who of course told me not to call anybody or to talk to anybody. After I spoke to him, I Googled the number. I guess it was a scam of a sort, there were a whole bunch of messages on line of the same exact call, same exact message. I guess they are targeting venerable people who would be scared and called back and give up all kind of personal information. Bastards.
> 
> P.S. I was not as scared of the call, I knew I have not done anything, but my wife's reaction scared even more, She probably thought I was a KGB operative, of some sleeper sell.



Charlie, they know you're trying to thrust your Russian Pancakes into  the homes of innocent Americans.  It's a well known conspiracy.  Buddy, you can come to my house and we'll eat pancakes together, with real Michigan blueberries.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## luvs

my petty vent is that some people think they're better than another, when they're not. they're people, too; sometimes i think that that gets to be somehow forgotten. to them. not to other folks. we've various personalities, & friends, & things we have in life &  stuff we love.


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## CharlieD

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Charlie, they know you're trying to thrust your Russian Pancakes into  the homes of innocent Americans.  It's a well known conspiracy.  ...
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I knew you are a good chef/cook Chef, but I did not know you are a stand up comedian on a side.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I knew you are a good chef/cook Chef, but I did not know you are a stand up comedian on a side.



The Chief is a man of many talents.


----------



## Mad Cook

bakechef said:


> Why do people drive large vehicles with trailers so darned fast?
> 
> On our way back from the mountains a truck passed us (big dual tire tandem axle) hauling a trailer with a huge a/c unit, the type you would see on the side of an office building.  I was going 75, he had to be going over 80.  Not long after he passed us, we hear a loud BANG, see lots of black smoke and he starts swirving all over the road, steel belted rubber coming down like rain.  How he managed not to hit the person in the other lane is beyond me, that SUV did some pretty fancy maneuvering as did the rest of us.
> 
> Either he was driving faster than those tires were rated or they were in poor condition.  Either way he came really close to hurting a lot of people or even killing someone.  That is a huge load to be driving that fast.


Most lorries/trucks over here seem to have speed limiters fitted. Not sure if it's the law or whether it is to stop driver's inadvertently (oh, yeah!) going over the speed limit for heavy goods vehicles, which is 60 MPH even on the motorways.

Over the last few years they have tightened up the "syllabus" for the driving test in the UK to include a written test as well as the driven one. It doesn't seem to have done any good. I was tailgated and horn-blasted last night for being so stupid as to drive at 39 MPH on a 40 MPH limited, very dangerous road. I wasn't aware that a 40 MPH speed limit meant you have to drive _*faster* _than 40 MPH (sarcasm off). The idiot doing the bullying (because that's what it amounted to) eventually overtook me on a double white line (ie "NO OVERTAKING") on a blind bend at about 60 MPH!!! Not a rare occurrence on that road.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> It's been about a month since my neighbour sprayed her anti-critter, garlic concoction in my yard and on Shreddy's grave. It worked. No more signs of skunk digging.
> 
> Well, today, it had stopped working. I guess all that rain we had washed it away. I found a biggish hole at the edge of the patio stone that covers Shreddy's grave. There were bits of Shreddy fur. I'm not a happy camper.


It's probably shutting the door after the horse has bolted but some years ago we had problems with a fox digging in Mum's garden where my cat had been buried. We settled its hash by getting some thin dowelling about the thickness of a pencil, cutting it down to a bout 12 inches and sticking it in the ground so that it stood about an inch above ground level all over and round the grave. It did the trick. Wouldn't help the smelliness though


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> It's probably shutting the door after the horse has bolted but some years ago we had problems with a fox digging in Mum's garden where my cat had been buried. We settled its hash by getting some thin dowelling about the thickness of a pencil, cutting it down to a bout 12 inches and sticking it in the ground so that it stood about an inch above ground level all over and round the grave. It did the trick. Wouldn't help the smelliness though


We haven't had any skunk smell issues. I wonder if that would work for a skunk. Skunks are awfully good diggers.

I think it was back last night, but it couldn't get very far with the heavy stones I piled around the edges.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Mad Cook said:


> ... I was tailgated and horn-blasted last night for being so stupid as to drive at 39 MPH on a 40 MPH limited, very dangerous road. I wasn't aware that a 40 MPH speed limit meant you have to drive _*faster* _than 40 MPH...



Huh, that sort of thing happens around here in the 40 zone...*if you're doing 45!* I swear the idiot drivers around here think that the speed limit posted indicates the SLOWEST speed you are to maintain.

When I get a tailgater and I feel I'm speeding enough, I usually slow down to the speed limit - or an MPH or two slower yet. Usually gets them to back off after a minute. Meanwhile, I'm busy scanning the side of the road to see if there is a wide enough strip of land I can pull off onto safely enough and let the jerk pass me.

I swear I'm going to print up and sell bumper stickers that say "I refuse to get a speeding ticket because you want to go faster". After all, the lead driver is the one who's going to get dinged.


----------



## taxlady

When someone tailgates me, I get nervous. When I get nervous, I drive slower. I often tap my brakes to signal that I don't want to be tailgaited. It even works more often than not.


----------



## Aunt Bea

taxlady said:


> When someone tailgates me, I get nervous. When I get nervous, I drive slower. I often tap my brakes to signal that I don't want to be tailgaited. It even works more often than not.



I do that on two lane country roads and sometimes put my turning signal on as I pull towards the side of the road.  It amazes me how many people refuse to pass me until I'm almost at a complete stop.  As they drive by they always look at me as though I'm completely nuts, how do they know?


----------



## tinlizzie

Aunt Bea said:


> I do that on two lane country roads and sometimes put my turning signal on as I pull towards the side of the road.  It amazes me how many people refuse to pass me until I'm almost at a complete stop.  As they drive by they always look at me as though I'm completely nuts, how do they know?



More than once I have signaled and turned into the next street -- meaning to let the tail-gater past -- only to have him/her turn into that street behind me.  Phooey.

I'm more and more apprehensive about other drivers texting, especially when the car in my rear view mirror is still coming up pretty fast as I wait for a light to change.  Are they paying attention to their driving or not?


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> More than once I have signaled and turned into the next street -- meaning to let the tail-gater past -- only to have him/her turn into that street behind me.  Phooey.
> 
> I'm more and more apprehensive about other drivers texting, especially when the car in my rear view mirror is still coming up pretty fast as I wait for a light to change.  Are they paying attention to their driving or not?



The older I get the more convinced I become that I'm the only good driver on the road! 

How is your hand doing!


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> Huh, that sort of thing happens around here in the 40 zone...*if you're doing 45!* I swear the idiot drivers around here think that the speed limit posted indicates the SLOWEST speed you are to maintain.
> 
> When I get a tailgater and I feel I'm speeding enough, I usually slow down to the speed limit - or an MPH or two slower yet. Usually gets them to back off after a minute. Meanwhile, I'm busy scanning the side of the road to see if there is a wide enough strip of land I can pull off onto safely enough and let the jerk pass me.
> 
> I swear I'm going to print up and sell bumper stickers that say "I refuse to get a speeding ticket because you want to go faster". After all, the lead driver is the one who's going to get dinged.


I'm thinking of "_I don't have to drive dangerously just because you're an idiot_"


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> When someone tailgates me, I get nervous. When I get nervous, I drive slower. I often tap my brakes to signal that I don't want to be tailgaited. It even works more often than not.


I put my hazard warning flashers on. That works too.


----------



## Mad Cook

tinlizzie said:


> More than once I have signaled and turned into the next street -- meaning to let the tail-gater past -- only to have him/her turn into that street behind me.  Phooey.
> 
> I'm more and more apprehensive about other drivers texting, especially when the car in my rear view mirror is still coming up pretty fast as I wait for a light to change.  Are they paying attention to their driving or not?


It's illegal here to operate a cell phone while driving unless it's hands-free. It doesn't stop them and there seems to be no enforcement of the law.

There was a piece on the radio the other day about arrests for dangerous driving in the UK and one of the examples was a guy doing the crossword in his newspaper while driving at 80mph in the fast lane of the motorway! 

Reading newspapers while coasting along the motorway seems quite common

Quite terrifying really.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

When she was young, my eldest sibling used to do her eye makeup in the visor mirror while driving.  I've known other women who did that two.  I always made a fuss about it if I was in the car with them.

I was driving south on I-75, just north of Saginaw Michigan when I noticed a very large pickup truck coming toward me from the rear, at a high rate of speed.  Just when I thought he was getting too close, he backed off.  I continued watching him from my rear view mirror.  His driving was eratic.  He would surge forward, making me nervous, then back off again.  This went on for about five miles.  I was on a 3 lane part of the highway at that point and pulled into the right hand lane, to get away from this clown.  

I have my driver side, outside mirror pointed so that I have elliminated blind spots in my car.  I watched the guy through my driver's side mirror, and was glad I did.  The guy who had been in front of me was getting the same treatment by the erratic driver as I'd seen.  Suddenly, this idiot surges forward and pulls into my lane, forcing me off of the road.  I was certainly glad I had my mirrors set up the way I do as he would have been in the blind spot found in most cars.  I was able to avoid a collision from this clown.  I had some choice words for the guy, none of them swear words.  I have no clue how someone can drive as badly as he did, unless he was drunk or something.

One time in San Diego area, I was driving on highway I15 South at 2 a.m.  I was in the far right hand lane, you know, the slow lane,doing the speed limit, which was at that time double nickle.  This goofball in a convertable sports car started tailgating me.  Now mind you, I was on a four lane highway with no other cars on the road.  Finally, the pinhead, yes, you heard me right, the pinhead moved into the next lane and passed me, flipping me the bird as he did so.

I really hope that my religious beliefs are correct, and that there will be an accounting at the end of it all.  People who purposely drive dangerously, and show no courtesy on the road should be restricted from driving, IMHO.

Can I drive fast, and a bit crazy by most people's standards, ask P.A.G. about my winter driving skills.  And yet, I've never done it in such a way as to put anyone else at risk.  I normally drive the speed limit, or drive appropriately for the conditions.  I have been known to push the envelope when I let emotions cloud my better judgement on the rare occasion.  But then again, I know the limits of my abilites, honed by dirt-biking, snowmobiling, and other such activities both on ice, and in places where a tree limb could knock you off of your vehicle, or you could plow into an immovable tree.  It quickens your reflexes, and forces you to watch everything all the time.  If not, it just hurts.  I don't play on the road, never have.  I saved my motorized play for ice, and dirt, and clay, and mud, and all kinds of snow.

But the point of this is that we all have to be both courteous, and responsible on the road.  If a situation suddenly develops, it's a very good thing to know your vehicle, and what it can and can't do, and what you can and can't do.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

S


----------



## Addie

My daughter works for the RMV. So she has to keep her driving record clean if she wants to keep her job. When she comes across an idiot that is tailgating she learns on her horn as if there is something in front of her and then slows down. It gets the tailgaters attention. He can't see in front of her and has no idea of what might be up ahead that is a problem. But it makes that driver more alert and stops the tailgating. Using  your cell phone is also illegal here.  So she refuses to answer her phone when she is driving. If the person keeps her phone ringing or keeps calling her, she will pull off into a parking lot or driveway to find out what is going on. She now realizes that most of the time it is her daughter with her latest disaster in life. "Pick me up some nail polish remover." Or some such foolishness. My kids are about the only people I feel safe with when in a vehicle. Sometimes I get very nervous in the pickup vans that Winthrop sends out for me. There is a really serious curve on the road to Winthrop. You are going from straight East to directly West in that curve. A lot of drivers take that curve really fast. I hold my breath every time.


----------



## tinlizzie

Aunt Bea said:


> The older I get the more convinced I become that I'm the only good driver on the road!
> 
> How is your hand doing!



Seems to me there are worse things than driving like a little old lady.  Especially since that is my only choice.

My cut hand -- turned out to include a severed nerve in my finger.  I'm finished now with a few months of occupational therapy, and it's gradually improving.  Doc, the hand surgeon, says it will probably be close to a year before it feels normal again.  Nice of you to ask, Bea.


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> Seems to me there are worse things than driving like a little old lady.  Especially since that is my only choice.
> 
> My cut hand -- turned out to include a severed nerve in my finger.  I'm finished now with a few months of occupational therapy, and it's gradually improving.  Doc, the hand surgeon, says it will probably be close to a year before it feels normal again.  Nice of you to ask, Bea.



Glad to hear you are on the mend!

Nothing wrong with driving like a little old lady, just ask Jan and Dean! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYxPgFUjDpA


----------



## JoAnn L.

taxlady said:


> When someone tailgates me, I get nervous. When I get nervous, I drive slower. I often tap my brakes to signal that I don't want to be tailgaited. It even works more often than not.



I hate it when they come speeding up behind you and don't pass until they are almost on your bumper. Why wait so long when they know they are going to pass. Its a 4 lane highway for goodness sake.


----------



## taxlady

JoAnn L. said:


> I hate it when they come speeding up behind you and don't pass until they are almost on your bumper. Why wait so long when they know they are going to pass. Its a 4 lane highway for goodness sake.


Oh yeah, those, I hate that too.


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> I hate it when they come speeding up behind you and don't pass until they are almost on your bumper. Why wait so long when they know they are going to pass. Its a 4 lane highway for goodness sake.



Because they think you should be driving in the slow lane and are trying to force you over where they think you belong. Don't let them. Just stick to the speed limit.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Addie said:


> Because they think you should be driving in the slow lane and are trying to force you over where they think you belong. Don't let them. Just stick to the speed limit.



But I am in the slow lane to begin with. So I don't know what their problem is.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> Because they think you should be driving in the slow lane and are trying to force you over where they think you belong. Don't let them. Just stick to the speed limit.




In PA it is illegal to drive in the left lane unless you are passing or making a left turn.  So if someone comes up behind you in the left lane you are to move to the right lane and let them pass regardless of how fast they are going.  The exception is if the right lane is full and you cannot pull over.  DH thinks the left lane was invented for him and everyone else should stay out of it.  LOL


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> ...DH thinks the left lane was invented for him and everyone else should stay out of it.  LOL




That's fine in PA, but in MA he should know the left lane belongs to me.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I'm having an awful afternoon!

This morning I made a change to my pc that required me to sign into all of my accounts.  The only two accounts that I do not have passwords for are FB and email.  I have been going around in circles with Microsoft trying to recover my email account and I think it is just about hopeless.  I saw a glimmer of hope when I found a telephone number on the internet for microsoft customer service 800-642-7676.  I called and a young man gave me another number to call 866-612-4220 for a company called Omni.  It started sounding like a scam or a sales pitch so I bowed out before giving them too much information.  

Do any of you have a clue on how I can get to a genuine Microsoft employee that can help me with my problem?


----------



## tinlizzie

Sorry, Bea - wish I had the smarts & info to help you out.  Good luck.


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> Sorry, Bea - wish I had the smarts & info to help you out.  Good luck.



Thanks, 

I may just say to heck with the computer, we'll see.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

At least you can still open the door to DC, so you have that. And us!


----------



## Zhizara

Aunt Bea, can't you do a System Restore to a restore point before you made the changes?


----------



## Aunt Bea

Zhizara said:


> Aunt Bea, can't you do a System Restore to a restore point before you made the changes?



I tried and had no luck.

I will probably just create a new FB and email account.

I should get rid of the computer, with internet fees and other odds and ends it costs me about $600.00/yr for a toy and that does not include the money I spend on unnecessary shopping! 

I would miss the social interaction, I spend more time with folks on the internet than I do with my own family and sad to say I enjoy it more!


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> Aunt Bea, can't you do a *System Restore *to a restore point before you made the changes?



I always forget that SR is there. It is only when I have screwed everything up that I remember or I have to call Spike to my rescue.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> That's fine in PA, but in MA he should know the left lane belongs to me.




If we're ever in MA I'll be sure to let him know!


----------



## bakechef

Aunt Bea said:


> I tried and had no luck.
> 
> I will probably just create a new FB and email account.
> 
> I should get rid of the computer, with internet fees and other odds and ends it costs me about $600.00/yr for a toy and that does not include the money I spend on unnecessary shopping!
> 
> I would miss the social interaction, I spend more time with folks on the internet than I do with my own family and sad to say I enjoy it more!



Don't you dare go anywhere!


----------



## Zhizara

Please, NOOOOOO, Aunt Bea.  I love you.  You make me laugh and give smart advice.  Please don't leave us.  What would you do without us?


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> If we're ever in MA I'll be sure to let him know!



Yeah. What Andy said. We own the roads that OUR taxes pay for so dearly. Just look at the Big Dig!


----------



## GotGarlic

Aunt Bea said:


> I'm having an awful afternoon!
> 
> This morning I made a change to my pc that required me to sign into all of my accounts.  The only two accounts that I do not have passwords for are FB and email.  I have been going around in circles with Microsoft trying to recover my email account and I think it is just about hopeless.  I saw a glimmer of hope when I found a telephone number on the internet for microsoft customer service 800-642-7676.  I called and a young man gave me another number to call 866-612-4220 for a company called Omni.  It started sounding like a scam or a sales pitch so I bowed out before giving them too much information.
> 
> Do any of you have a clue on how I can get to a genuine Microsoft employee that can help me with my problem?



Is your email account with Microsoft? Usually it's with your Internet service provider.

Also, a tip: Set a restore point before you make a big change.


----------



## CarolPa

GotGarlic said:


> Also, a tip: Set a restore point before you make a big change.




Very good tip GG.  Due to problems I've had in the past, I have a notebook that lists every account I have and the password.


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> Very good tip GG.  Due to problems I've had in the past, I have a notebook that lists every account I have and the password.



I've been using this for years: World?s Best Password Manager l RoboForm

Especially when I was working, I had tons of passwords. Still do. I wouldn't have wanted to carry around a notebook listing them all - that would have been a terrible security risk. Keys to the school's server, you know


----------



## taxlady

I use Password Safe. Same idea as RoboForm, but free. I can sync it to Google Drive, Dropbox, or something whose name I can't remember. It works with Windows. It also works with Mac and Linux in the java version. It works with Android. I think it works with Apple devices, but I'm not sure. I can also put it on a USB stick and run it on computers that don't have the software.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I finally made a complete list of all of my login id's, passwords etc...   

I put a copy in my things you need to know when I croak folder.


----------



## Dawgluver

Aunt Bea said:


> I finally made a complete list of all of my login id's, passwords etc...
> 
> I put a copy in my things you need to know when I croak folder.




  I also have a paper password list, figured I'd tell DH about it while I'm croaking.

I can't find my little red appointment book that has the airline frequent flier numbers, have torn the house apart a few times.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Dawgluver said:


> I also have a paper password list, figured I'd tell DH about it while I'm croaking.
> 
> I can't find my little red appointment book that has the airline frequent flier numbers, have torn the house apart a few times.



The sad part is that it will take my family weeks to find the folder so all of the information is completely safe!  

I love them but they ain't too bright!


----------



## Zhizara

Call me silly, but I use the same password or one variant  for everything.  No one has access to my computer, so I've had no problems.  Occasionally I've had to ask them to email me my password, but it has never been a problem.


----------



## bakechef

I use Lastpass, it generates passwords that I'd never be able to remember.  Hopefully I never forget my Lastpass password...


----------



## CharlieD

Here in MN you have a better chance to pass somebody on the right. In left lane everybody is a volunteer highway patrol. Making sure nobody drives over 54.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## GotGarlic

bakechef said:


> I use Lastpass, it generates passwords that I'd never be able to remember.  Hopefully I never forget my Lastpass password...



Roboform does that, too. It also stores personal information like addresses and credit card numbers so it can fill in Web forms for you automagically.


----------



## Cheryl J

CharlieD said:


> Here in MN you have a better chance to pass somebody on the right. In left lane everybody is a volunteer highway patrol. Making sure nobody drives over 54.


 
On many freeways in CA, the far left lane is the 'diamond lane', reserved for carpooling and busses. Carpooling is only defined by 2 or more people in a vehicle though, so not sure how well that cuts down on the congested freeways.


----------



## tinlizzie

Aunt Bea said:


> I finally made a complete list of all of my login id's, passwords etc...
> 
> I put a copy in my things you need to know when I croak folder.



I have a hurricane suitcase, containing stuff I can't do without if/when a big blow comes.  Yesterday I shredded a bunch of old outdated, no longer useful insurance papers, etc.  That's where I keep proof of purchase for the big stuff like my cherished Jenn Air fridge as well as the TV & player, laptop, printer and such for submitting insurance claims.  This is also where I have several hen-scratch handwritten pages of user names and passwords.

If I have any sense at all (arguable), I'll make a complete list like you did and use an off-site place such as the ones Taxy and others have listed.

Man, I would so much rather go out and weed the flower bed.


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> I have a hurricane suitcase, containing stuff I can't do without if/when a big blow comes.  Yesterday I shredded a bunch of old outdated, no longer useful insurance papers, etc.  That's where I keep proof of purchase for the big stuff like my cherished Jenn Air fridge as well as the TV & player, laptop, printer and such for submitting insurance claims.  This is also where I have several hen-scratch handwritten pages of user names and passwords.
> 
> If I have any sense at all (arguable), I'll make a complete list like you did and use an off-site place such as the ones Taxy and others have listed.
> 
> Man, I would so much rather go out and weed the flower bed.



I like the idea of a hurricane suitcase, sort of like Dorothy in the wizard of Oz, grab the suitcase and run!.

I fuss about my little folder and try to keep it up to date for the folks that will have to come in and sift through my things someday.  I think all they are really concerned about is how big a dumpster they will need and who will pay for it!


----------



## Mad Cook

Zhizara said:


> Call me silly, but I use the same password or one variant  for everything.  No one has access to my computer, so I've had no problems.  Occasionally I've had to ask them to email me my password, but it has never been a problem.


I am intensely secretive about my passwords and have different ones for every site I access and change them regularly. When I buy anything on-line I NEVER decline the seller's offer to hold my account and card details on the site and I change my password to the seller's site every time I purchase anything.

Despite having a 14 random character password for my bank account and no-one supposedly having access to it my account was hacked a couple of years ago. Fortunately, my bank believed me when I told them I had no use for 5 tickets to a heavy metal concert in Australia and refunded my money and the overdraft fees they'd charged. They did say, however, that had my bank account had the same p/w as anything else on my PC they would not have done so.


----------



## Addie

When I make a major purchase, I tape the receipt on the back or bottom of the item. When I got rid of my last TV, the receipt was still there. But very yellow with age and the ink had faded.  So now I wrap the receipt in plastic wrap first.


----------



## Zhizara

I keep all my receipts, but they do fade.  Does the plastic wrap keep that from happening?


----------



## taxlady

I scan important receipts. When they are printed using heat instead of ink, they always fade.


----------



## Caslon

What's the deal with re-releasing old movies to mainstream theaters?  Last week it was GhostBusters, this week Forrest Gump is opening.  I tell ya what, with all the stinkers being made now, Hollywood is trying to salvage anything they can I suppose.

Rotten Tomatoes: Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews


----------



## Andy M.

Caslon said:


> What's the deal with re-releasing old movies to mainstream theaters?  Last week it was GhostBusters, this week Forrest Gump is opening.  I tell ya what, with all the stinkers being made now, Hollywood is trying to salvage anything they can I suppose.
> 
> Rotten Tomatoes: Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews




Remaking old movies, re-releasing old movies.  I guess there really is nothing new under the sun.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I scan important receipts. When they are printed using heat instead of ink, they always fade.



I scan all kinds of things these days, rather than store more reams of paper. Although you wouldn't know it from looking at my office


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I scan all kinds of things these days, rather than store more reams of paper. Although you wouldn't know it from looking at my office



I scan all sorts of stuff and get as many of my bills electronically as possible. It's easier to find stuff on my computer.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I keep all my receipts, but they do fade.  Does the plastic wrap keep that from happening?



So far it has worked for me. I will know over the long run come some day. I have the one for the TV taped so that the print faces the solid part and not out toward the light. I think without the plastic film, the dust also can eat away at the print.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> When I make a major purchase, I tape the receipt on the back or bottom of the item. When I got rid of my last TV, the receipt was still there. But very yellow with age and the ink had faded.  So now I wrap the receipt in plastic wrap first.


I do the same and include the "user manual." Addie, are you sure we are not twins separated at birth or that I'm not your sister by another mother? Maybe the one doing the genealogy research could check into that?


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> I do the same and include the "user manual." Addie, are you sure we are not twins separated at birth or that I'm not your sister by another mother? Maybe the one doing the genealogy research could check into that?



I have an expanding file folder that I keep all the manuals in. When I give away something I always include the manual. I gave Spike my electric slicer and food saver recently. He also got the manuals with them. "I don't need any manuals. I know what I am doing." Typical Spike reaction. "Take the manuals or your don't get them." He took the manuals. I surprised myself that I still had the manual for the slicer. I bought that before Poo was even thought of. And he is 43 this month. 

I do think we are sisters through a previous life. And twins at that. Every so often I will find a manual in that folder of something that was completely broken and I tossed the item long ago. Remember the oral thermometers with the silver in them? Well I recently found the paper work for one of them. And to think I dragged that manual and receipt all over the country with me. I am not a pack rat. I just like to keep my paperwork in order. I still have my old glucose monitor that I hate along with the paperwork. And it has a brand spanking new battery in it. I am thinking of taking it to the homeless shelter for women here in my neighborhood. I have seen some of the women coming out of there and I know some of them have to got have Type 2 diabetes. And I can afford to supply a couple of containers of strips and lancets. 

I am in the process of slowly cleaning out the house of a lot of stuff I don't need any more or use. I am trimming down my life.


----------



## bakechef

Caslon said:


> What's the deal with re-releasing old movies to mainstream theaters?  Last week it was GhostBusters, this week Forrest Gump is opening.  I tell ya what, with all the stinkers being made now, Hollywood is trying to salvage anything they can I suppose.
> 
> Rotten Tomatoes: Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews



Nostalgia, people that saw these movies when they were young, can now take their kids to see them and have the movie theater experience.  Then there are some people who for nostalgia's sake just like to see them on the big screen again.  It costs the company almost nothing to re-release the movie, so it's almost pure profit!


----------



## Cheryl J

My petty vent....I went to the grocery store today and forgot to replenish my beloved ice cream.  Now that I've had a glass of wine, I cannot get behind the wheel and go get some.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> My petty vent....I went to the grocery store today and forgot to replenish my beloved ice cream.  Now that I've had a glass of wine, I cannot get behind the wheel and go get some.



Sit back, mellow out and enjoy your wine. The ice cream will be there when you are able to drive. Not to fret!


----------



## Dawgluver

Have another glass of wine.  Who needs ice cream when you have wine?


----------



## Cheryl J

I guess that will just have to do.


----------



## buckytom

someone snuck into my garden and stole a bunch of bell peppers. this is the second time i've noticed. there were at least 5 or 6 beauties just about to turn red.

you know, if it's someone who needs the food, i don't mind. not even the stealing part as i guess needing food might be embarrassing. but do they have to break entire braches off, thus killing any more production from the plant.

grrr.

i wish they would be curious about, then steal some of the ghost chiles. 
that way i could find them by the hopping around, waving at their mouth and screaming.


----------



## taxlady

BT, that sucks. Could it have been squirrels?


----------



## buckytom

no, most animals don't completely remove the entire fruit or veggie and leave no trace, nor do they snap branches in an upward motion. 

i had a pretty good haul today nonetheless:


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice  veggies bt! Time to set some sort of trap for the pepper poacher.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> My petty vent....I went to the grocery store today and forgot to replenish my beloved ice cream.  Now that I've had a glass of wine, I cannot get behind the wheel and go get some.


If it makes you feel any better I joined you in that glass of wine - both of them.


----------



## JoAnn L.

buckytom said:


> someone snuck into my garden and stole a bunch of bell peppers. this is the second time i've noticed. there were at least 5 or 6 beauties just about to turn red.
> 
> you know, if it's someone who needs the food, i don't mind. not even the stealing part as i guess needing food might be embarrassing. but do they have to break entire braches off, thus killing any more production from the plant.
> 
> grrr.
> 
> i wish they would be curious about, then steal some of the ghost chiles.
> that way i could find them by the hopping around, waving at their mouth and screaming.



buckytom, what do you use the ghost chiles in? Isn't that one of the hottest peppers there is? Adam on Man V Food always had a terrible time trying to  eat them.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Yes, BT, how to you use your ghost peppers.  I use mine in chili, and to show off as I can eat them without pain.  I grew some habanero peppers this year that, for whatever reason, seem to be hotter than my ghost peppers, and with a concentrated pepper flavor as well.  I've been using them very sparingly.  They're great when added to brothy soups.  They're also pretty tasty in bean soup.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, bt....nice crop of 'maters and peppers!


----------



## Addie

Grrrrrr!  I was in the middle of a post and we had a two second power loss! Had to start all over again.


----------



## JoAnn L.

My grandson was being bullied in his photo class today. The boy was kicking and shovlng him. He didn't know that one of their classmates was using a video camera and was filming what was happening. They took the film to the the office to show them what had happened. The bully was put on immediate detention and will be there all week and if anything else happens there will be more punishment. I am so glad it was on film. Un believeable.


----------



## taxlady

JoAnn L. said:


> My grandson was being bullied in his photo class today. The boy was kicking and shovlng him. He didn't know that one of their classmates was using a video camera and was filming what was happening. They took the film to the the office to show them what had happened. The bully was put on immediate detention and will be there all week and if anything else happens there will be more punishment. I am so glad it was on film. Un believeable.


Poor kid, but, yay for video.


----------



## GotGarlic

Glad to hear it was taken care of, JoAnn.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I am sorry it happened but glad there was proof it happened.  

It took 4 months to prove and get action when my nephew was being bullied.


----------



## JoAnn L.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I am sorry it happened but glad there was proof it happened.
> 
> It took 4 months to prove and get action when my nephew was being bullied.



It makes me sick to my stomach to think of all the kids that go through the pain of being bullied.


----------



## buckytom

try to get a copy of the recording, joanne. you never know if or when it might be needed again, if nothing more than to prove a point.

more evidence that bullies aren't too bright. in photo class?


----------



## JoAnn L.

buckytom said:


> try to get a copy of the recording, joanne. you never know if or when it might be needed again, if nothing more than to prove a point.
> 
> more evidence that bullies aren't too bright. in photo class?



Good advice, I will call his mother and see if she can get a copy.


----------



## buckytom

what you make of discovery is 9/10's of the case, my old law professor used to say.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Ya know, if it weren't for the bullies, I might be more self assured.  But, that being said, being bullied as a very small for my age child, inspired me to leave my  home town at 18 years of age and find out who I was.  I found that I still attracted bullies, got into judo, and found my first real successes.  Those bullies helped me find strengths of character that I didn't know I possessed.

Bullies are a problem, and will probably never go away.  But the paths we choose in life, the choices, can make all the difference in who we end up being.  A person can withdraw, and let bullies rule them, and their lives, or do something to strengthen themselves against the harsh people of the world.  

Being bullied also helped me to know that I need to treat people well, and gave me both sympathy, and empathy for the plight of others.

The lesson here is that we need to teach and build our children so that they learn coping strategies in life, and become sensitive to other people's welfare and happiness.

Of course when bullying happens, we need to make the bully accountable for his/her actions, through whatever legal means is available, be it teachers, school officials, parents, or even the police.  I think the described situation worked out well for the victim, and may teach the bully something too, I hope.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

Petty Vent #1 
Well, they finally straightened out my food stamps. I got the full amount. Since I already did a cash shopping, I was planning on going for a stock up shopping trip. Spike's sister-in-law has two of her cousins kids she is raising. And she has her father living with her, along with two of her own kids and husband. She ran out of money and food at the same time. Spike called me and asked me if he could use $100 of my food stamps to put some food in her house. What can you say? Let them starve? There goes my shopping trip.

Petty Vent #2
They are required to change by law, the HVAC system over to the heating by September 15th. Well, there has been a lot of controversy over that law. And it all was started by me. Come the first week of October we will most likely have an Indian Summer and the temperatures will be back in the 80's and 90's. And there is no AC. So I fought City Hall and they are allowing us to make our own choice of when to put the heat on. This morning temperatures were in the 40's. Some places in the state even had frost warnings. It is going to be cold all week. If just one resident complains about how cold they are, they will  have to turn the heat on. That's fine with me. I have a nice floor fan and can open my windows wide. Most of the tenants have nothing and can't open their windows even a little bit. This morning I had on a flannel nightgown, my housecoat and my heavy sweater. Plus I was under the blanket. Do I really want the heat turned on or not? I know we will have our Indian Summer. I am in a quandary.

Petty Vent #3
Last night at 12:50 a.m., my next door neighbor had a humdinger fight with her daughter. It seems the daughter came in drunk. I know the daughter is stay there and that is not allowed. This is not the first fight those two have had. But I am getting concerned about elderly abuse. The way the daughter was screaming at her mother, is definitely abusive. So I did what I thought I had to do. I reported it to the management. She also has been hearing stories about the fighting. But now it is affecting other tenants (me). 

I can understand how my neighbor feels. Her daughter is homeless along with being unemployed and it is difficult to tell her child to get out. But all in good conscience I can't just stand by and do nothing.


----------



## JoAnn L.

buckytom said:


> try to get a copy of the recording, joanne. you never know if or when it might be needed again, if nothing more than to prove a point.
> 
> more evidence that bullies aren't too bright. in photo class?



I talked to my grandson's mom today about the film and she is getting a copy made. Good idea. Thanks.


----------



## Mad Cook

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Ya know, if it weren't for the bullies, I might be more self assured.  But, that being said, being bullied as a very small for my age child, inspired me to leave my  home town at 18 years of age and find out who I was.  I found that I still attracted bullies, got into judo, and found my first real successes.  Those bullies helped me find strengths of character that I didn't know I possessed.
> 
> Bullies are a problem, and will probably never go away.  But the paths we choose in life, the choices, can make all the difference in who we end up being.  A person can withdraw, and let bullies rule them, and their lives, or do something to strengthen themselves against the harsh people of the world.
> 
> Being bullied also helped me to know that I need to treat people well, and gave me both sympathy, and empathy for the plight of others.
> 
> The lesson here is that we need to teach and build our children so that they learn coping strategies in life, and become sensitive to other people's welfare and happiness.
> 
> Of course when bullying happens, we need to make the bully accountable for his/her actions, through whatever legal means is available, be it teachers, school officials, parents, or even the police.  I think the described situation worked out well for the victim, and may teach the bully something too, I hope.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


I do so agree with this. Sadly, when I was teaching the school of thought prevalent in the UK was that the bully must be treated kindly because s/he is in some way suffering. Punishment for bullying was wrong and the perpetrators had to have kindness and counselling. The poor child who'd been on the receiving end of the bullying was swept under the carpet and ignored! 

I don't usually believe in physical punishment but when I was at school one of the boys was caught out in long term bullying of a younger girl. The Headmaster stood no messing. The bully was caned. He didn't do it again. I should add that in the 8 years I was a pupil in that school only 3 pupils were subjected to corporal punishment - the bully and two boys who were caught stealing. The latter pair were given the choice - the cane or the police. They chose the former and grew up to be upright citizens. 

Our Headmaster was not a thug but the school ran on the principle of "making the punishment fit the crime" and justice being seen to be done - people who were serial litter louts were given a detention which involved helping the janitor sweep the corridors after school, people who were rude got a detention writing an essay on good manners, you didn't hand in your homework you got to do it in detention, you were caught writing on your desk you had to scrub it clean during your lunch break. The point being that people, both the sinners and the sinned against, saw the consequences of misbehaviour. 

Corporal punishment is no longer allowed in British schools which is a good thing on the whole as in some schools it was often done for very trivial transgressions but there has to be a happy medium between beating and effectively rewarding bullies for their bullying.


----------



## bakechef

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Ya know, if it weren't for the bullies, I might be more self assured.  But, that being said, being bullied as a very small for my age child, inspired me to leave my  home town at 18 years of age and find out who I was.  I found that I still attracted bullies, got into judo, and found my first real successes.  Those bullies helped me find strengths of character that I didn't know I possessed.
> 
> Bullies are a problem, and will probably never go away.  But the paths we choose in life, the choices, can make all the difference in who we end up being.  A person can withdraw, and let bullies rule them, and their lives, or do something to strengthen themselves against the harsh people of the world.
> 
> Being bullied also helped me to know that I need to treat people well, and gave me both sympathy, and empathy for the plight of others.
> 
> The lesson here is that we need to teach and build our children so that they learn coping strategies in life, and become sensitive to other people's welfare and happiness.
> 
> Of course when bullying happens, we need to make the bully accountable for his/her actions, through whatever legal means is available, be it teachers, school officials, parents, or even the police.  I think the described situation worked out well for the victim, and may teach the bully something too, I hope.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I totally commend you for lifting yourself up, but...

Bullying seems different now.  Things have gone beyond simple cruelty.  Social media seems to have changed how bullying happens.  It takes mere seconds for bullies to spread lies about another.  Bullies can stalk kids very easily now.  I'm not wording this the way I want to, but bullying is different from when I was in school just 21 years ago.


----------



## CarolPa

I was hit once at school and more times than I can count at home.  My husband never hit his kids and neither did I.  They were my step children, but I raised them from very young.  I only hit 1 person in my life and I was young myself when I did it,  but the guilt from it still follows me.  There is nothing to be solved from hitting IMO.

The cyber bullying today is very out of hand.  Children have died over it.  It's so easy to be mean to someone when it's online and you are not face to face with the person.  It is the coward's way to handle things, and others are afraid to speak up and say that it's wrong out of fear of being the next victim.  What kind of kids are we raising?  They are the future of our country.  I'm glad I'm not going to be around for it!!


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> I was hit once at school and more times than I can count at home.  My husband never hit his kids and neither did I.  They were my step children, but I raised them from very young.  I only hit 1 person in my life and I was young myself when I did it,  but the guilt from it still follows me.  There is nothing to be solved from hitting IMO.
> 
> The cyber bullying today is very out of hand.  Children have died over it.  It's so easy to be mean to someone when it's online and you are not face to face with the person.  It is the coward's way to handle things, and others are afraid to speak up and say that it's wrong out of fear of being the next victim.  What kind of kids are we raising?  They are the future of our country.  I'm glad I'm not going to be around for it!!



Those episodes make news because they're emotional and horrifying, but I don't think they're so common that the future of the country is at stake. There are much more dangerous issues to worry about in that regard.


----------



## Addie

Carol, I have to agree with you. Children of today are the future of our country. And if we let the bullies of today win, then they will be the leaders of tomorrow.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

For me, it comes down to poor parenting.  Bullies usually learn to bully from parents, or at the least by the inaction of parents when the bully misbehaves.  There was a time when my eldest child, who at the time was 4 years old, was being bullied by an older child, who bullied all of the smaller kids in the neighborhood.  We went to the child's parents and explained what was going on.  The response was something like "Oh, you're wrong.  My little Billy wouldn't do that."  Nothing was done.  We got very frustrated to the point that we told our son to pick up a plastic ball bat the next time that kid came around and wallup him.  Unfortunately, our son picked up that plastic ball bat and and not only made a believer of the bully, but also found that he could intimidate other kids of his own age with said bat.  We go a knock on the door one day from a neighbor who described what was going on.  We had a serious talk with our son.  Fortunately, that was all that it took.  He changed his behavior and became the protector of other, smaller kids.  He also turned into one of the most caring and big hearted people you will ever meet.  I am proud of him as a man, as a husband to his wife, and as a father to his children.  He always puts his needs after the needs of others.

We, as parents had made a mistake, out of frustration, and anger at a bad situation.  But we corrected it as soon as we were made aware of the mistake.  That made all the difference.

It's not hard to be resonsible, and it brings such rewards.  I have a hard time understanding the desire to hurt others.  It just makes no sense to me.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Carol, I have to agree with you. Children of today are the future of our country. And if we let the bullies of today win, then they will be the leaders of tomorrow.



There is less tolerance and more awareness of bullying today than ever before. I don't think anyone advocates letting them "win."


----------



## CarolPa

Chief, I believe your son changed and became a protector because that was "the real him" all along.  I guess the reason I mentioned cyber bullying because many people who would not say or do something mean in person find it very easy to do online, when they are either anonymous, or just not having to be face to face with that person.  I know it's a big issue with teens on social media, but I also see it many times among adults on message boards.  They will make nasty comments that they would never think of making to their neighbors, co-workers, or church members.  In person they put on a facade.


----------



## taxlady

Put on a facade or realize the other person is a real human being? It's much easier to remember that in real life.


----------



## CarolPa

Yes, I guess that's true.  I was always taught if I can't say something nice, don't say anything.  I will voice my opinion, but try not to do it in such a way that I'm putting the other person down.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CarolPa said:


> Chief, I believe your son changed and became a protector because that was "the real him" all along.  I guess the reason I mentioned cyber bullying because many people who would not say or do something mean in person find it very easy to do online, when they are either anonymous, or just not having to be face to face with that person.  I know it's a big issue with teens on social media, but I also see it many times among adults on message boards.  They will make nasty comments that they would never think of making to their neighbors, co-workers, or church members.  In person they put on a facade.



CaroPA, you are right.  It was the real him.  Sometime he just needed to be pointed in the right direction, after the world tried so hard to lead him in the wrong direction.  But it was rare.  Of course the other kids were the same.  You know Sprout and PAG from their posts on DC.  As parents, it was our job to guide.  But the kids made the choices that made them who they are today.  Kudos to all of them.

It's good to be on this board, with a whole host of people who make the same kind of good choices.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Maybe I'm wrong, but I see this as the epitome of gall.  DH and I are flying out East for a niece's (second) wedding, and it ain't cheap.  We come back on a Sunday.  The SIL just sent DH an email stating she was planning a surprise birthday party lunch on Sunday for DH's brother and requested we stay another day longer, as it would be the first time the brothers would all be together in awhile.  My take on it is she should have told us about the party before we booked the non-refundable plane tickets.  Plus, we'll all be together the whole weekend anyway.  And our plane leaves Sunday afternoon, and we're staying with them the last two days.  

I was so mad I could've spit about the lack of consideration, but I told her that maybe they could move the party to Saturday.  The majority of DH's family lives out east, we're the only ones having to fly in.


----------



## GotGarlic

You're not wrong, Dawg. It's ridiculous that she didn't tell you and DH about this as soon as she had the idea. That really is inconsiderate.


----------



## taxlady

Wow, what an oblivitron. Your DH works, doesn't he? She expects you to re-book your flight and take an extra day off work on short notice? I think it's just lack of thinking and not actually evil.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thank you both.  I thought so too.  And poor Beagle has to stay home with the boarder.  I figured we'd all be sick of each other by Sunday anyway!  Thankfully, DH agreed to let me handle it, as he was willing to stay the extra day at double the expense.

I'm still mad


----------



## Addie

Dawg, just let her know that DH has to be at work and you can't stay the extra day. Let her know that had you prior knowledge, DH would have made arrangements for another employee to swap with him. This may be a small fib, not a lie, and it saves you and DH money, and hurt feelings on the in-laws side. Hopefully all will understand and SIL will learn that not everyone can just drop what they are doing, then respond to her bidding and last minute plans. (That is something that needs not to be said.) Just let DH know what you are going to say so he won't act surprised. Good Luck!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Addie.  As it's a surprise birthday party, DH's brother apparently miscommunicated the leaving date to SIL, at least according to her.  I'm sticking to my guns.  We leave when the plane leaves.  It was a real pain to get the flight booked in the first place, and I am not going to change it.  

I'm still mad, but I feel better now


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks Addie.  As it's a surprise birthday party, DH's brother apparently miscommunicated the leaving date to SIL, at least according to her.  I'm sticking to my guns.  We leave when the plane leaves.  It was a real pain to get the flight booked in the first place, and I am not going to change it.
> 
> I'm still mad, but I feel better now



Good for you. It doesn't matter who said what. Just that you and DH (and Beagle) are not taken advantage of and you make that plane. Bring a present so he can know you were thinking of him and am sorry that you couldn't make the party. This is one time a handwritten note with the present would be appreciated. Make sure DH signs it also.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Good for you. It doesn't matter who said what. Just that you and DH (and Beagle) are not taken advantage of and you make that plane. Bring a present so he can know you were thinking of him and am sorry that you couldn't make the party. This is one time a handwritten note with the present would be appreciated. Make sure DH signs it also.



Don't get me wrong, DH's brother and SIL are wonderful people, and we always have a great time with them.  Their humor is almost as corrupted as mine is.  Not quite.  But they have done stuff like this several times before, and we have just put up with it.  I finally decided we won't be taken advantage of anymore.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Don't get me wrong, DH's brother and SIL are wonderful people, and we always have a great time with them.  Their humor is almost as corrupted as mine is.  Not quite.  But they have done stuff like this several times before, and we have just put up with it.  I finally decided we won't be taken advantage of anymore.




Yea!


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Yea!


----------



## buckytom

the devil is in me tonight, so i'll play his advocate.

how many more days like this will you have, dawg? deal with it this time, but (if you're my wife) make a big freakin' deal of it and make everyone miserable. demand it doesn't happen another time. but do it. money doesn't matter.

wash, rinse, repeat, if your family is anything like mine.


and i'm supposed to be the black sheep!


----------



## Dawgluver

buckytom said:


> the devil is in me tonight, so i'll play his advocate.
> 
> how many more days like this will you have, dawg? deal with it this time, but (if you're my wife) make a big freakin' deal of it and make everyone miserable. demand it doesn't happen another time.
> 
> wash, rinse, repeat, if your family is anything like mine.



Oh, SIL got a scathing, but very polite, email from me.  I just told DH that we will no longer take their crap, and for once, he agreed.


----------



## buckytom

i edited  a bit before you responded.

you should still stay, though. pride and money don't matter. family does, for this LAST time.


----------



## buckytom

you can always tell her that she wasn't good enough for your family and that this crap ain't gonna fly anymore.

3 snaps up, and that head wiggle thing.


----------



## Addie

You are so fresh! Go to your bed and turn over and face the wall!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ride now I hade Hidself. He gabe me hid code. *sniff-cough*

Seriously, I woke up with a scratchy throat, my face has felt flushed most of the day, and I fell asleep sitting up while watching TV. It looks like this year's garage sale organizing will end up being next spring's sale. I know my body's schedule, and the way I feel today means I'll have a full-blown cold by Friday. Timing couldn't have been worse.



Dawg, if I were you I'd be tempted to strangle your SIL. I trust you have more self-control.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Ride now I hade Hidself. He gabe me hid code. *sniff-cough*
> 
> Seriously, I woke up with a scratchy throat, my face has felt flushed most of the day, and I fell asleep sitting up while watching TV. It looks like this year's garage sale organizing will end up being next spring's sale. I know my body's schedule, and the way I feel today means I'll have a full-blown cold by Friday. Timing couldn't have been worse.
> 
> 
> 
> Dawg, if I were you I'd be tempted to strangle your SIL. I trust you have more self-control.



Sounds like you need a hot toddy and some serious bed rest.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Ride now I hade Hidself. He gabe me hid code. *sniff-cough*
> 
> Seriously, I woke up with a scratchy throat, my face has felt flushed most of the day, and I fell asleep sitting up while watching TV. It looks like this year's garage sale organizing will end up being next spring's sale. I know my body's schedule, and the way I feel today means I'll have a full-blown cold by Friday. Timing couldn't have been worse.
> 
> 
> 
> Dawg, if I were you I'd be tempted to strangle your SIL. I trust you have more self-control.



I'm dealing with a head cold, too!  Miserable.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Sounds like you need a hot toddy and some serious bed rest.


The hot toddy sounds like tonight's "dessert" suggestion.  And bed rest? I get bored that way. I just keep moving and hope I outrun the cold sooner rather than later. 


PF, guess we're just a couple of snot-nosed brats. Runny nose=worst part of cold.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> The hot toddy sounds like tonight's "dessert" suggestion.  And bed rest? I get bored that way. I just keep moving and hope I outrun the cold sooner rather than later.
> 
> 
> PF, guess we're just a couple of snot-nosed brats. *Runny nose=worst part of cold*.



Oh how true. I have had a health problem that I was born with. If I am in an area where the temp goes to 69ºF. my nose runs and runs and runs. 70ºF. I am fine. Every month I buy four large boxes of Puff Plus and go through them as if they were a filet mignon. Excuse me, I have to go wipe my nose.


----------



## tinlizzie

I have a petty vent that I can only cure by, I know, just getting over it.  Having been around in the days of those oh-so-fashionable sack dresses (more proof that people will follow any fad that comes along), I can't get used to the present day clothing that seems to be a matter of pureeing the human body and then pouring it into a dress/pants.  I don't see how else it's possible to get into them.   And while I'm here, I'll just say that I don't like the form-fitting bridal gowns with sweetheart necklines to show off 'the girls' either.  Garumph.


----------



## JoAnn L.

At the store this morning I bought a 6 pack of the Sun-Maid Raisins. When I went to open them I was suprised that the little boxes seems so much smaller. Does anyone remember the size? It's says they are 1 oz., I know it's the same proce.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I think the little boxes were 1.5 ounces.  But I can't be sure.


----------



## CarolPa

I just googled it.  They used to be 1.5 and are now 1oz.  All the companies do that because they think we are so stupid we don't notice.  They think as long as they don't raise the price we will be happy.  NOT!

Wish I could reduce my size by 1/3.


----------



## CarolPa

Cooking Goddess, DH also does not believe in bed rest.  He continues doing what he always did.  Before retirement, he went to work no matter how sick he was.  He didn't want to waste a good sick day being sick!  LOL  

I'm different.  I want bedrest, but if it's a cold, lying down just causes more congestion.

My nose runs constantly.  I think it's allergies.  I have Claritin, but I take so many meds I hate adding one more to the mix, so half the time I don't take it, and I can't take the D because of blood pressure.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CarolPa said:


> I just googled it.  They used to be 1.5 and are now 1oz.  All the companies do that because they think we are so stupid we don't notice.  They think as long as they don't raise the price we will be happy.  NOT!
> 
> Wish I could reduce my size by 1/3.



The packages keep getting smaller and I keep getting bigger!


----------



## CarolPa

I remember when Tide switched to Ultra Tide.  They told us it was reformulated and we didn't have to use as much.  They gave us that little plastic cup in the box.  Since I am one who never throws anything away, I kept the first little cup instead of using the one that came in the new box.  Then one day I noticed that the new cup in the new box was almost twice as big as the one I got in the first box.  They were gradually increasing the amount we had to use.


----------



## CharlieD

Everything is going that way. We spend more money for less. And I've been here only 25 years

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Mad Cook

CarolPa said:


> I remember when Tide switched to Ultra Tide. They told us it was reformulated and we didn't have to use as much. They gave us that little plastic cup in the box. Since I am one who never throws anything away, I kept the first little cup instead of using the one that came in the new box. Then one day I noticed that the new cup in the new box was almost twice as big as the one I got in the first box. They were gradually increasing the amount we had to use.


What gets me is when they sell you the new wonder detergent for your laundry telling you that it will remove every stain known to woman and then some........and then they start trying to sell you a special washing machine additive that will remove all the stains the first detergent leaves behind!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Aunt Bea said:


> The packages keep getting smaller and I keep getting bigger!



That's like my extrapolation of specialist and generalist.  The specialist learns more and more about less, and less until he/she knows everything about nothing.  The generalist leans less and less about more and more until he/she knows nothing about everything.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CarolPa

LOL,  I love that, Chief!


----------



## Addie

Does anyone have a magic elixir to get me out of this nasty, bitchy mood I am in? First, I was in a dead sleep when Spike called me to go shopping early this morning. Now it is set for about 2:30 this afternoon. I hate grocery shopping. Spike called me three times. My cell phone was way under the computer desk where you put your feet. Took me a half hour to find it. I called myself from my computer, heard it yet couldn't locate it. Then the episode with The Pirate and the condensed milk didn't help any.

No cream for my coffee. Had to get dressed and run to the corner store for that. Just having my first cup of the day. Cold, raw, windy out. As I went to cross the street on my scooter, an 18 wheeler was coming, and I waved him on so he wouldn't have to down shift to let a handicap person cross. The truck driver blew me a kiss. That did make me laugh. 

I set Rosie loose to vacuum while I was out. I came back and she did the whole room except for in front of the computer desk. That is my fault. I forgot to move the chair.  

Then there is my finger. I have to keep a bulky bandage on it to keep me from banging it.   Doesn't help much with touch typing. I have a big problem with the O and the P. I keep hitting the [. Very annoying. But it does make for some interesting words. The bandage makes it look like I lost half my finger instead of just the tip. 

Last night The Pirate made a big pot of delicious beef stew. I could only eat a small bowl. Wasn't very hungry.  I could smell it as it was simmering. Was so looking forward to it. 

Okay, I am now done and am going to try to cheer up! 

Oh yeah. One more thing. We still have no heat!


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, the fact that you are still alive and kicking in spite of all the terrible things happening to you should be enough to cheer you up.  Consider the alternative!

{{{Hug}}}


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Addie, the fact that you are still alive and kicking in spite of all the terrible things happening to you should be enough to cheer you up.  Consider the alternative!
> 
> {{{Hug}}}



Thanks. I have had days when the alternative days looked good. Like when I had the Norovirus. One minute I thought I was going to die, and the next minute hoping I would. Today is not one of them. I will feel better once I get shopping out of the way. I love being in the comfort of my home. I hate shopping with all the crazies out there in the supermarket. If you hear of a crazed old lady who went berserk with the electric shopping cart, it will be me. And it wouldn't be the first time. Once I ask a lady if she would please move her cart from the middle of the aisle. She said no, and then walked away leaving her cart right there. So I pushed her cart about five aisles away and got off my cart so I could continue the journey halfway down that aisle. For all I know she is still looking for her cart. It was really full. 

Don't mess with a crazy old lady in an electric shopping cart!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*November 5th can't get here fast enough!*

Why? Am I expecting a big check? Getting to see a kid or two? Nope, but 11-5 is the day *after* elections. Since we live in a TV market region that covers eastern MA, plus parts of Rhode Island and New Hamster, we're subjected to those *$~#!!/* political ads for races in three states! Every time I see one, this is what I wish I could do to the politician or his/her supporters:


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Why? Am I expecting a big check? Getting to see a kid or two? Nope, but 11-5 is the day *after* elections. Since we live in a TV market region that covers eastern MA, plus parts of Rhode Island and New Hamster, we're subjected to those *$~#!!/* political ads for races in three states! Every time I see one, this is what I wish I could do to the politician or his/her supporters:



Gee, I feel deprived. I don't get Little Rhody!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Getting RI stations is not exactly a bonus during election times.  Even with just an 8' antenna in the attic (translate: free), we still have more shows to pick from that we can watch. Although if we miss one we really like to follow, they are usually only an internet connection away.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Getting RI stations is not exactly a bonus during election times.  Even with just an 8' antenna in the attic (translate: free), we still have more shows to pick from that we can watch. Although if we miss one we really like to follow, they are usually only an internet connection away.



Gee, RI politics are more fun than what we have going on here in Mass. The jailbird former mayor wants his job back. And he stands a good chance of it happening. They love him in RI. The first thing he did when released, was to announce he would be running again.


----------



## Addie

I think I am suffering from post menopausal PMS. (Is there even such a thing?) I really do not want to go to Winthrop today. Every morning when I wake up it is still dark out and we haven't even turned the clocks back. If God is playing games with me, then he is winning. Isn't there a disorder regarding not getting enough light? Maybe that is what is wrong with me today. 

As much as I love the ocean, it is this time of year I begin to wonder why. Sunday, sitting there on my scooter with just a light sweater on, we were only a half block from the water. The breeze was coming in from the ocean. The air temp said it was reasonably warm, the breeze gave me a different message. Today it is going to be the same thing. The building in Winthrop is just a couple of buildings from the ocean. I like to go out and sit there every so often to get away from all the folks inside. I will have to dress for that and not the real weather. 

Anybody have a PMS pill for a crazy old lady?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Heck, going to the doctor is the only social life I have...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Heck, going to the doctor is the only social life I have...



 I will have to change my outlook. But it does get me out of my apartment.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> I think I am suffering from post menopausal PMS. (Is there even such a thing?) I really do not want to go to Winthrop today. Every morning when I wake up it is still dark out and we haven't even turned the clocks back. If God is playing games with me, then he is winning. *Isn't there a disorder regarding not getting enough light?* Maybe that is what is wrong with me today.
> 
> As much as I love the ocean, it is this time of year I begin to wonder why. Sunday, sitting there on my scooter with just a light sweater on, we were only a half block from the water. The breeze was coming in from the ocean. The air temp said it was reasonably warm, the breeze gave me a different message. Today it is going to be the same thing. The building in Winthrop is just a couple of buildings from the ocean. I like to go out and sit there every so often to get away from all the folks inside. I will have to dress for that and not the real weather.
> 
> Anybody have a PMS pill for a crazy old lady?



We all have those days, they help us appreciate the good ones!

Seasonal affective disorder or SAD is a form of depression associated with low light, usually in the winter months.  I wonder if Uncle Fester suffered from SAD! 












We are going to hit 80 today, it is windy and humid!

Today was my Doctor day, one of the more or less worthless visits that I have to drive 70 miles round trip for.  I could have done it over the telephone with a nurse and saved us both a lot of bother.  Oh well, it creates jobs! 

A1C came in at 6.7! 

I have to schedule another A1C in January, after all the temptations of the holidays!


----------



## JoAnn L.

I have a very small vent. It's the shoe strings on my tennis shoes. They are so long even when I double knot them they are still way too long. I guess I'll just have to buy some shorter ones. Bummer.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> A1C came in at 6.7!
> 
> I have to schedule another A1C in January, after all the temptations of the holidays!



Yay!  Congratulations, that is hard to do!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

JoAnn L. said:


> I have a very small vent. It's the shoe strings on my tennis shoes. They are so long even when I double knot them they are still way too long. I guess I'll just have to buy some shorter ones. Bummer.



Buy the elastic ones...


----------



## JoAnn L.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Buy the elastic ones...



I thought you were kidding about elastic shoelaces. I looked it up on Amazon and there is such a thing. I will have to check them out.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

JoAnn L. said:


> I thought you were kidding about elastic shoelaces. I looked it up on Amazon and there is such a thing. I will have to check them out.



Best thing, once you get them tied comfortably, it turns your shoes into slip-ons...


----------



## JoAnn L.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Best thing, once you get them tied comfortably, it turns your shoes into slip-ons...



I should get some for my grandsons shoes, he doesn't untie his shoestrings, he just slips them on and off.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have these: HICKIES - Laces out, HICKIES in! Shoelaces just got stylish...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*sigh* Once again, our internet went down. This has been a recurring problem late at night. We figured they were doing some sort of updates on the line - probably because they figure everyone is sleeping in the wee hours. Well we showed them! Tonight was the final straw. Himself called to see what was going on. So, of course, I went into the room to kibitz. When she asked it there was anything else as they were wrapping up the call, I queried about a credit. Didn't expect much because we aren't out for that long (I think the longest was 1 1/2 hours) but it doesn't hurt to ask. We have $10 coming off our next bill! Better than nothing! The good news is, they are almost done with all of their updates and this should be ending soon.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Best thing, once you get them tied comfortably, it turns your shoes into slip-ons...



My grandson has these for his shoes.  I think they're a great idea.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

We had a visit from The Henderson County Animal Control people today. Someone (a lady from work) reported us for cruelty to animals, abuse, and neglect.

I had mentioned we had eight cats here, and that lady said she had a sister who worked for Animal Control. I didn't know she would report us to her sister.

It was heartbreaking. Our home is very, very clean, and we showed her all eight perfectly scooped and clean litterboxes (three times a day with 8 cats, of course), plenty of all foods and water, the immaculate back yard where my Lilly runs, everything nice and neat...the way we live.

This woman even inspected the bathroom, which of course was beautiful as always, and she went through both bedrooms and our computer room which are very nice and pretty. She commented that our house might be clean, but she said it was tacky.

We smoke, but never in the house and garage, so she found our ashtry on the table on our front deck and by that time I was furious. I told her we never subject our pets to second-hand smoke. She called me a liar and that's when I called the sheriff's department. Enough was enough. The deputy arrived, looked at the pet areas, met some cats and my dog, and sent her packing.

He said they're only supposed to check on the well-being of the pets in or out of the house, and she had no right to look in our bedrooms or bathrooms. He said our pet areas were pristine and we had nothing to worry about.

Of course we don't! Just because we have eight cats our home is nasty? 

When I get to work tomorrow, with the paperwork I have, I'm going to our store manager. This has to be harrassment or something. Many of my co-workers have visited here, our home is very nice and we love our pets and take very, very good care of them. They have all their vaccinations, although the cats don't go out. Everyone is fixed, we have wonderful and consistent vet care, and this happens?

I really have no use for nosy people!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Certainly cuts down on being chatty with your co-workers.


----------



## GotGarlic

CCL, your manager can't do anything about the Animal Control inspector's behavior; your co-worker isn't responsible for that, either. You would have better luck, and possibly prevent other people from having to go through that, by contacting the inspector's supervisor and sharing the sheriff's report with that person.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

The deputy called today, and he did that just this morning. He contacted the head of Animal Control and reported her and sent his report over to him.

The thing the deputy was concerned about was this: Had my co-worker ever come to our home? I said no, never at first, but then I did remember she had! Three years ago, she and her husband came to our house to pick up an almost-new Bowflex we had to give away and some other good things we weren't using any more for a store associate who lost everything he had in a flood. We loaded everything through the garage, but they never came inside. We had 5 cats then, and of course, our dog.

He said he'd add that to the report before he sent it, but that it really didn't matter. He said it was a breach of protocol to inspect a home without a formal, registered complaint filed through either the Sheriff's office or Animal Control, which is a part of the Sheriff's office. 

Grrrrrr!! I told our store manager about it today, and apparently she has done this to others in the store who have pets. I'm the fifth person she'd turned in! I only had a half day today, so the manager said she'd talk to her and possibly turn this over to our district manager. Good. The district manager is my husband's cousin. This should be fun!

I know there are so many people out there who really don't take care of their pets, and that does make me very angry. I know, believe me, how much work it takes and how expensive it is to take care of now eight cats and a dog, but they are like children to us. They're all fixed, healthy, flea-free, have all their shots, our vets are less than 2 miles from our home (yay!) and the litterboxes are scooped whenever there's a clump and every other day they are bleached and changed with fresh litter. It's a nasty job, but if I like a clean bathroom, so do they.

The deputy said he'd either be in touch for a follow-up or the Animal Control guy will call. We'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, I'd better go look for a clump!


----------



## GotGarlic

Glad things went so well, CCL


----------



## Addie

Good for you Crazy Lady. Make sure you follow through .


----------



## JoAnn L.

I know this is a small vent but it bugs me, I hate it when a checker or clerk in a store calls me dear, honey or sweetheart.


----------



## Aunt Bea

JoAnn L. said:


> I know this is a small vent but it bugs me, I hate it when a checker or clerk in a store calls me dear, honey or sweetheart.



I agree!

It also bugs me when the clerk starts commenting on my purchases!


----------



## JoAnn L.

Aunt Bea said:


> I agree!
> 
> It also bugs me when the clerk starts commenting on my purchases!



Oh my gosh, they do that here all the time. I want to say, please just ring me up and let me get out of here.


----------



## Mad Cook

JoAnn L. said:


> I know this is a small vent but it bugs me, I hate it when a checker or clerk in a store calls me dear, honey or sweetheart.


One of the check out assistants in a big DIY store in a nearby town has adopted the American (I think ) habit of commanding her customers to "Have a nice day". I have stopped shopping there as I fear that, should I be having a bad day when she says this to me, I might just tear her throat out!!!!

If she gave any hint that she actually gave a damn it might be slightly bearable but....


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> I think I am suffering from post menopausal PMS. (Is there even such a thing?) I really do not want to go to Winthrop today. Every morning when I wake up it is still dark out and we haven't even turned the clocks back. If God is playing games with me, then he is winning. Isn't there a disorder regarding not getting enough light? Maybe that is what is wrong with me today.
> 
> As much as I love the ocean, it is this time of year I begin to wonder why. Sunday, sitting there on my scooter with just a light sweater on, we were only a half block from the water. The breeze was coming in from the ocean. The air temp said it was reasonably warm, the breeze gave me a different message. Today it is going to be the same thing. The building in Winthrop is just a couple of buildings from the ocean. I like to go out and sit there every so often to get away from all the folks inside. I will have to dress for that and not the real weather.
> 
> Anybody have a PMS pill for a crazy old lady?


Addie, there is a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D) - at least that's what it's called over here. The following link might be helpful. As it's a UK government National Health site it has no financial axes to grind

Seasonal affective disorder - NHS Choices

There's also this American site but I'm not sure how independent it is

http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder.html

I hope one of them helps.


----------



## Mad Cook

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have these: HICKIES - Laces out, HICKIES in! Shoelaces just got stylish...


What a brilliant idea. I must look for them over here. I used to have a pair of trainers with Velcro (hook and loop) fastenings and when they gave up the ghost I couldn't find anymore and I hate laces. If I can find Hickies I can have trainers again.

(Actually "Hickies" would be an unfortunate brand name in the UK. Over here a "hickie" is a slang term for one of those red and inflamed spots with a white "head" that you get on your face when you're a teenager  !)


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> *sigh* Once again, our internet went down. This has been a recurring problem late at night. We figured they were doing some sort of updates on the line - probably because they figure everyone is sleeping in the wee hours. Well we showed them! Tonight was the final straw. Himself called to see what was going on. So, of course, I went into the room to kibitz. When she asked it there was anything else as they were wrapping up the call, I queried about a credit. Didn't expect much because we aren't out for that long (I think the longest was 1 1/2 hours) but it doesn't hurt to ask. We have $10 coming off our next bill! Better than nothing! The good news is, they are almost done with all of their updates and this should be ending soon.


Good for you. It pays to register your displeasure when "they" let you down.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> One of the check out assistants in a big DIY store in a nearby town has adopted the American (I think ) habit of commanding her customers to "Have a nice day". I have stopped shopping there as I fear that, should I be having a bad day when she says this to me, I might just tear her throat out!!!!
> 
> If she gave any hint that she actually gave a damn it might be slightly bearable but....



The standard answer to that is "Don't tell me what to do!" It tends to bring folks up short and think before they ever say it again.


----------



## Mad Cook

I'm at home today, nursing a "war wound". Our horses (geldings and mares) live in an "American barn" set-up, with loose boxes, each with its own gate, on either side of an aisle. The doors don't have grills above them so the horses can look out to see what's going on and the loose boxes have windows to see outside onto the yard.

One of the loose boxes is occupied by a Welsh Section D cob, who shows at high levels. He's a stallion so can only go out to pasture once a week when there's an empty field. He gets no other exercise. He doesn't even go on the horsewalker. When the mares in the barn are in season or an "interesting" mare is passing outside across the yard he goes absolutely crazy and throws himself round his loose box kicking, rearing, screaming and snorting and recently got one of his legs stuck over the loosebox gate. He is also fed enormous amounts and is, not to put it too finely, seriously obese. He kicks his door incessantly to get attention but when anyone goes near he is in such a state that he tries to bite them. 

He got me on Saturday. I was pushing the wheel barrow past his loose box
and thought I was well out of his range but he lunged over his door and bit my shoulder and wouldn't let go. He was off his front feet, leaning over the door and hanging on to my shoulder with a fair bit of his weight. Eventually my screams brought others running and he let go. I had a thick winter fleece and a woollen jumper on but he still left deep teeth marks on my shoulder which bled copiously. I reported the incident to the Yard Manageress who gave me the "Yeah, yeah" look until I showed her the damage at which she went quite pale and got out the accident book! She then telephoned the owners.

One of my rescuers is a Sister (senior nurse-in-charge) in the Accident and Emergency Unit at a big Manchester hospital and insisted on cleaning and dressing my wound after I'd spoken to the YM. No way was I going to sit in A&E at the hospital all afternoon!

A couple of inches over and he'd have got my neck and possibly I might not have been here today! And if he'd grabbed a child's shoulder or head I dread to think what the damage might have been.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sounds like a dangerous horse, sorry you got hurt!


----------



## Andy M.

MC that must have been very painful.  Glad it wasn't worse.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Addie said:


> The standard answer to that is "Don't tell me what to do!" It tends to bring folks up short and think before they ever say it again.



I frequently invite people, usually strangers to have a nice day.  Though I add the qualifier - I hope.." you have a nice day.  I sincerely hope they do have a great day, and if it's not going so well, I add - "I hope it gets better, and tell them a particular quick joke that always brings a smile.  Getting them to smile is the start of the day getting better for them.

With my kids, as they were growing up, occasionally, one of them would be sulking.  I'd walk up to them and try to find out what was wrong.  Often, even usually,  it would be something inconsequential, and they were just in the mood to stew about it.  I would say to them - Don't let me catch you smiling.  Don't smile.  Ah, I thought I caught you starting to smile.  Don't you dare smile."  By then they would burst out laughing, and the foul mood would be instantaneously gone.  They would then complain that they hated that I could make them laugh so easily.  But it would change their mood and allow them to have a good outlook for the remainder of the day.

I agree, if it is an insincere phrase - have a good day, that could be annoying.  But when it is given from the heart, you almost can't help but be thankful that there are good people around who really care about others, to the point that they don't want to see someone having a bad day.

Usually, when a person can be made to smile, and they get rid of the bad mood that's taken over their day, they are thankful to have turned around their mood.  I've even had people come back and thank me for making their day a bit brighter.

If we all tried to make each other's lives a little better, this world could be such a great place to live in.

That's from the POV of an eternal optimist, me.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> The standard answer to that is "Don't tell me what to do!" It tends to bring folks up short and think before they ever say it again.



Standard? I don't most people take it as a commandment. Coming from an ostensibly sweet old lady such as yourself, I'm sure it's quite a shock, though.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Standard? I don't most people take it as a commandment. Coming from an ostensibly sweet old lady such as yourself, I'm sure it's quite a shock, though.



As a rule, I am always in a good mood. I have a saying, "If you someone without a smile, give them yours." And I do. When I run up to CVS or Rite-Aid, there is always this old man sitting on his stoop with his walker beside him. I used to just pass him by. Now I stop and give him a big smile and a good morning to go with it. Sometimes I will even stop and talk to him. Once on the way back I stopped at Dunkin Donut and got him a large coffee with the cream and sugar on the side. I had to wait until his fixed his coffee. It had been years since anyone bought one for him. And he missed it. One day he informed me that he looks forward to my whizzing up the street on my scooter.

He used to have a dog, but his son thought it was too much for him to take care of. So his son took the dog away. My heart broke after hearing that. He misses his dog. I still don't know his name. Probably never will. But I enjoy his company. And when I see him, I know that if it wasn't for my scooter, that could be me. Sitting outside waiting for someone to talk to. 

After my little chats with him, I am in an even better mood. But when I am not, which is very rarely, leave me alone. It is my bad mood and I want to keep it for the day. I will get over it in time. All you have to do is leave me alone. There are many times when I see someone in the same nasty mood, I just leave them alone. But I do try to discern if it is just a bad mood or depression. Depression is another story and requires a different response.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I'm guilty of commanding people to "Have a nice day!"

I have never thought of it as being anything other than polite.  

What should a person say?


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> I'm at home today, nursing a "war wound". Our horses (geldings and mares) live in an "American barn" set-up, with loose boxes, each with its own gate, on either side of an aisle. The doors don't have grills above them so the horses can look out to see what's going on and the loose boxes have windows to see outside onto the yard.
> 
> One of the loose boxes is occupied by a Welsh Section D cob, who shows at high levels. He's a stallion so can only go out to pasture once a week when there's an empty field. He gets no other exercise. He doesn't even go on the horsewalker. When the mares in the barn are in season or an "interesting" mare is passing outside across the yard he goes absolutely crazy and throws himself round his loose box kicking, rearing, screaming and snorting and recently got one of his legs stuck over the loosebox gate. He is also fed enormous amounts and is, not to put it too finely, seriously obese. He kicks his door incessantly to get attention but when anyone goes near he is in such a state that he tries to bite them.
> 
> He got me on Saturday. I was pushing the wheel barrow past his loose box
> and thought I was well out of his range but he lunged over his door and bit my shoulder and wouldn't let go. He was off his front feet, leaning over the door and hanging on to my shoulder with a fair bit of his weight. Eventually my screams brought others running and he let go. I had a thick winter fleece and a woollen jumper on but he still left deep teeth marks on my shoulder which bled copiously. I reported the incident to the Yard Manageress who gave me the "Yeah, yeah" look until I showed her the damage at which she went quite pale and got out the accident book! She then telephoned the owners.
> 
> One of my rescuers is a Sister (senior nurse-in-charge) in the Accident and Emergency Unit at a big Manchester hospital and insisted on cleaning and dressing my wound after I'd spoken to the YM. No way was I going to sit in A&E at the hospital all afternoon!
> 
> A couple of inches over and he'd have got my neck and possibly I might not have been here today! And if he'd grabbed a child's shoulder or head I dread to think what the damage might have been.



We give shots to dogs in the event a person gets bitten and the dog may be rabid. Is there such a concern regarding horse bites?


----------



## Dawgluver

That sounds just awful, Mad Cook!  So sorry it happened to you.


----------



## Mad Cook

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I frequently invite people, usually strangers to have a nice day. Though I add the qualifier - I hope.." you have a nice day. I sincerely hope they do have a great day, and if it's not going so well, I add - "I hope it gets better, and tell them a particular quick joke that always brings a smile. Getting them to smile is the start of the day getting better for them.
> 
> With my kids, as they were growing up, occasionally, one of them would be sulking. I'd walk up to them and try to find out what was wrong. Often, even usually, it would be something inconsequential, and they were just in the mood to stew about it. I would say to them - Don't let me catch you smiling. Don't smile. Ah, I thought I caught you starting to smile. Don't you dare smile." By then they would burst out laughing, and the foul mood would be instantaneously gone. They would then complain that they hated that I could make them laugh so easily. But it would change their mood and allow them to have a good outlook for the remainder of the day.
> 
> I agree, if it is an insincere phrase - have a good day, that could be annoying. But when it is given from the heart, you almost can't help but be thankful that there are good people around who really care about others, to the point that they don't want to see someone having a bad day.
> 
> Usually, when a person can be made to smile, and they get rid of the bad mood that's taken over their day, they are thankful to have turned around their mood. I've even had people come back and thank me for making their day a bit brighter.
> 
> If we all tried to make each other's lives a little better, this world could be such a great place to live in.
> 
> That's from the POV of an eternal optimist, me.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


 
Talking about smiles, there was someone speaking on the radio yesterday about a British Army Officer, Jack Churchill aka "Mad Jack - Last man to kill an enemy in battle with a bow and arrow (in 1940!) - you must read his Wikipaedia entry, it's an absolute hoot. 

Apparently he said he smiled in battle because "people are less likely to shoot at you if you smile at them"

Read these, you will be convinced (if you weren't already) that the English are quite, quite mad!

Jack Churchill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and
Warfare History Network Â» “Mad Jack” Churchillâ€”A Rare Breed of Warrior


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> I'm guilty of commanding people to "Have a nice day!"
> 
> I have never thought of it as being anything other than polite.
> 
> What should a person say?



I find "Good morning" with a quick smile can produce wonders.


----------



## buckytom

Addie said:


> We give shots to dogs in the event a person gets bitten and the dog may be rabid. Is there such a concern regarding horse bites?




lol, i first thought you meant giving the shot to the dog or horse, as in euthanasia. 

then i read it again, lol.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> I'm guilty of commanding people to "Have a nice day!"
> 
> I have never thought of it as being anything other than polite.
> 
> What should a person say?



I agree, I was told once by a customer, "Don't tell me what kind of day to have."  It crushed me for the rest of the day.


----------



## GotGarlic

Aunt Bea said:


> I'm guilty of commanding people to "Have a nice day!"
> 
> I have never thought of it as being anything other than polite.
> 
> What should a person say?



It's a perfectly acceptable thing to say. I command you to continue telling people to have a nice day


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> We give shots to dogs in the event a person gets bitten and the dog may be rabid. Is there such a concern regarding horse bites?



Actually, we give dogs a rabies vaccine shot to prevent them from developing it.


----------



## buckytom

being bothered by the phrase "have a nice day" is a waste of things to be bothered by, imo.

and awfully cynical as you can never really know someone's intentions; good, bad, or indifferent. or cynical, lol.



Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> With my kids, as they were growing up, occasionally, one of them would be sulking.  I'd walk up to them and try to find out what was wrong.  Often, even usually,  it would be something inconsequential, and they were just in the mood to stew about it.  I would say to them - Don't let me catch you smiling.  Don't smile.  Ah, I thought I caught you starting to smile.  Don't you dare smile."  By then they would burst out laughing, and the foul mood would be instantaneously gone.  They would then complain that they hated that I could make them laugh so easily.  But it would change their mood and allow them to have a good outlook for the remainder of the day.
> 
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



we really are alike, although my method is a bit more well intentioned teasing (in my mind, of course, in keeping with my earlier statement) than purely being a good guy.

when my boy is sulking, or angry, or just simply bothered by something, i order him to sulk, or be angry, or frustrated, then say "good boy. good boy. always doing what your father tells you to."

if that doesn't work, i start repeating everything he says including "stop it", or "dad, you're being a jerk." 

if that _still_ doesn't work, i start telling him jokes he's heard a thousand times.

and if that *still* doesn't work, i start to sing "oh, canada" in baritone falsetto at which time he's begging me to stop and has completely forgotten what bothered him in the first place.

fatherhood is great, ain't it?


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> We give shots to dogs in the event a person gets bitten and the dog may be rabid. Is there such a concern regarding horse bites?


No. not really. Only general rules about washing a the wound if the teeth break the skin as with any cut . I don't think I've ever been intentionally bitten in anger by a horse before. Tetley nibbles my hand with his lips when taking a treat and has occasionally mistaken the feel of my fingers for a carrot and chomped down but has never done much harm. Like us they can't see what is touching their lips so go by feel.


----------



## buckytom

tetley probably feels very bad about biting you.

he walked into a bar and the bartender said, "why the long face?"

sorry, couldn't help it.


----------



## Kayelle

Mad Cook said:


> I'm at home today, nursing a "war wound". Our horses (geldings and mares) live in an "American barn" set-up, with loose boxes, each with its own gate, on either side of an aisle. The doors don't have grills above them so the horses can look out to see what's going on and the loose boxes have windows to see outside onto the yard.
> 
> One of the loose boxes is occupied by a Welsh Section D cob, who shows at high levels. He's a stallion so can only go out to pasture once a week when there's an empty field. He gets no other exercise. He doesn't even go on the horsewalker. When the mares in the barn are in season or an "interesting" mare is passing outside across the yard he goes absolutely crazy and throws himself round his loose box kicking, rearing, screaming and snorting and recently got one of his legs stuck over the loosebox gate. He is also fed enormous amounts and is, not to put it too finely, seriously obese. He kicks his door incessantly to get attention but when anyone goes near he is in such a state that he tries to bite them.
> 
> He got me on Saturday. I was pushing the wheel barrow past his loose box
> and thought I was well out of his range but he lunged over his door and bit my shoulder and wouldn't let go. He was off his front feet, leaning over the door and hanging on to my shoulder with a fair bit of his weight. Eventually my screams brought others running and he let go. I had a thick winter fleece and a woollen jumper on but he still left deep teeth marks on my shoulder which bled copiously. I reported the incident to the Yard Manageress who gave me the "Yeah, yeah" look until I showed her the damage at which she went quite pale and got out the accident book! She then telephoned the owners.
> 
> One of my rescuers is a Sister (senior nurse-in-charge) in the Accident and Emergency Unit at a big Manchester hospital and insisted on cleaning and dressing my wound after I'd spoken to the YM. No way was I going to sit in A&E at the hospital all afternoon!
> 
> A couple of inches over and he'd have got my neck and possibly I might not have been here today! And if he'd grabbed a child's shoulder or head I dread to think what the damage might have been.



Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry about your injury MC!! I've had a life long fear of horses since I was thrown off of one as a young child, and I've never gone near one again. I think they're beautiful and interesting and dangerous.
It never even occurred to me that they *bite *too!! 
Hope you heal quick!


----------



## Addie

Horses can be quirky animals. First there is their vision problems. Their eyes are on the side of their head so they don't see what is in front. That's why you see race horses with those fuzzy bands across their nose and blinders. It blocks what they can see on the ground and forces them to concentrate on their job of running. They have to place all their trust in the rider. Something they are not always wont to do. Yet they can be the sweetest, gentlest animal you could ever want.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> lol, i first thought you meant giving the shot to the dog or horse, as in euthanasia.
> 
> then i read it again, lol.



You are sick. You need some tender loving and care. Take two aspirins and call the doctor in the morning.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I agree, I was told once by a customer, "Don't tell me what kind of day to have."  It crushed me for the rest of the day.



Iv'e been told something similar by people who I wished a happy day to.  When that happens, I tend to look at the a little sideways, and think - man, what a grouch.  It may not be the most charitable reaction, but its kind of spontaneous.  And I still say to them, "I hope your day gets better."

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the north


----------



## buckytom

my response would be in song. 
"the love you get is equal to the love you give."

my singing is punishment enough.


----------



## Kayelle

People who tell you to have a good day, or call you a term of endearment are really vicious evil folks who spread that nasty fairy dust all over. How dare they!! 

Have a good day honey!


----------



## Dawgluver

Kayelle said:


> People who tell you to have a good day, or call you a term of endearment are really vicious evil folks who spread that nasty fairy dust all over. How dare they!!
> 
> Have a good day honey!




  +1, Sweetie!


----------



## buckytom

I would never call an adult a name like honey, or sweetie, or for a guy,  bro, chief, or boss.

you can never go wrong with ma'am or sir.

unless you mix them up because they are nj state troopers.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

buckytom said:


> I would never call an adult a name like honey, or sweetie, or for a guy,  bro, chief, or boss.
> 
> you can never go wrong with ma'am or sir.
> 
> unless you mix them up because they are nj state troopers.



Hey!  you call me Chief all the time.  Does that mean I'm inconsequential, huh, does it.  Well mister, I have five reasons that I'm not inconsequential - look at my right hand as I close each finger - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  My mentor was Lucy VanPelt.  Ya got that mister!

Ah, I was only kidding.  C'mon over and we'll crack a couple of root beers.

Seeeeya; *Chief* Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Mad Cook, I'm sorry to hear that the horse thought you were a sweet treat! I hope your wounds heal quickly and you feel all better again.


----------



## Addie

I was witness to a shopper doing some massive shoplifting. When the cops came, they asked me if I was a witness. I gave a polite answer of "Yes." The cop asked my name and I told him Mrs. So and So. Well, in a very nasty voice he asked me my first name and I gave it to him. He then began to call me by my first name. I asked the cop what his first name was. He thought I was being a smartass. Since he didn't want to give it to me, I ask him what his title was. "Officer." "Well, officer I will call you by your title and you in return will properly call me by mine. "Mrs.!" He got the hint. Unless I know you for a long time and consider a friend, I expect you to call me Mrs. I in return will do the same for you. When I introduce myself as Mrs., I expect you to address me as such. It is called very simply, Respect! Specially for an elderly person.


----------



## buckytom

sock it to me, sock it to me, 
sock it to me, sock it to me,
mister, when i get home.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> sock it to me, sock it to me,
> sock it to me, sock it to me,
> mister, when i get home.



And what medicine did you say you were taking bt dear?  It's okay bt. In a little while a pretty lady is going to come and visit you. She will have a present for you. A nice white jacket with very long sleeves. The sleeves will help you hug yourself. Just remember, we all love you and just want you to get better.


----------



## buckytom

lol, addie.
i was channeling aretha franklin.

i like doing background vocals to soul music. the pips, the supremes, and 4 of the jackson 5 ain't got nothin' on me.



Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Hey!  you call me Chief all the time.  Does that mean I'm inconsequential, huh, does it.  Well mister, I have five reasons that I'm not inconsequential - look at my right hand as I close each finger - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  My mentor was Lucy VanPelt.  Ya got that mister!
> 
> Ah, I was only kidding.  C'mon over and we'll crack a couple of root beers.
> 
> Seeeeya; *Chief* Longwind of the North



ooh, i love root beer. have you ever had homemade amish root beer?
their are little, hand painted, weathered wooden signs along the back roads in lancaster co., pennsylvania that invite people to visit amizh homes, usually only on saturdays, that advertise homemade root beer, farm fresh eggs, and homemade pies.

all are wonderful, and there's no worries about short cuts or artificial ingredients. but the root beer is outstanding. 

i won't even mention root beer floats with homemade, hand churned that day ice cream.
it wouldn't be fair.


----------



## Mad Cook

buckytom said:


> tetley probably feels very bad about biting you.
> 
> he walked into a bar and the bartender said, "why the long face?"
> 
> sorry, couldn't help it.


It wasn't Tetley who bit me. He is too much of a gentleman to bite the hand that feeds him.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> I was witness to a shopper doing some massive shoplifting. When the cops came, they asked me if I was a witness. I gave a polite answer of "Yes." The cop asked my name and I told him Mrs. So and So. Well, in a very nasty voice he asked me my first name and I gave it to him. He then began to call me by my first name. I asked the cop what his first name was. He thought I was being a smartass. Since he didn't want to give it to me, I ask him what his title was. "Officer." "Well, officer I will call you by your title and you in return will properly call me by mine. "Mrs.!" He got the hint. Unless I know you for a long time and consider a friend, I expect you to call me Mrs. I in return will do the same for you. When I introduce myself as Mrs., I expect you to address me as such. It is called very simply, Respect! Specially for an elderly person.


Way to go! Good for you, Addie. 

It annoys the hell out of my when I ring the power company or the insurance company and they address me by my first name without asking first. I didn't complete a substantial on-line order with a supermarket because their _website_ called me by my Christian name! 

However, I was filling in my details on line for something last week and there was a question I'd never come across before - " How would you like us to address you when we contact you?". Someone seems to be getting the message.


----------



## Zhizara

buckytom said:


> I would never call an adult a name like honey, or sweetie, or for a guy,  bro, chief, or boss.
> 
> you can never go wrong with ma'am or sir.
> 
> unless you mix them up because they are nj state troopers.



What I really hate is when I say ma'am or sir, I get the response "Don't call me ma'am, it makes me feel old." or "Don't call me sir, I'm not my Dad or an officer."

I'm only trying to be as polite as possible, just the way I learned while growing up.

It's a slap in the face.  

I wouldn't ever come back with a rude attitude to someone who's just being polite, no matter if it's a simple "Have a nice day."  I just answer, "You too."


----------



## buckytom

again with the objectivity of perception.

i would call a younger female stranger "miss".

for most young men, it's anywhere from dude, to buddy, to man, to " pull your pants up, straighten out your baseball cap, and don't use "yo" in most sentences.

i must be getting old.

btw, isn't funny that we agree on cops?


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> again with the objectivity of perception.
> 
> i would call a younger female stranger "miss".
> 
> for most young men, it's anywhere from dude, to buddy, to man, to " pull your pants up, straighten out your baseball cap, and don't use "yo" in most sentences.
> 
> i must be getting old.
> 
> btw, isn't funny that we agree on cops?



My g'daughter's husband is a cop. I saw him on the street one day in uniform and he stopped and said hi. There were other folks around us, so I returned with "Good Morning Officer." When someone I know is working at that moment, I never approach them except to say Good Morning. I would never put their job in jeopardy. That is not the place to be personal with them.


----------



## Addie

It is 10 p.m. I decide to do a load of laundry. I put the clothes in and four quarters. The machine won't take the last quarter and yet it won't release it back to me. So after trying every quarter in my possession, I remove the clothes, soap pods and put them in the machine next to it. In frustration I shook the coin box violently. The last quarter decides to drop in and the machine starts. So I take out all the clothes from the second machine and put them back in the first one. 

I hate coin operated washing and clothes drying machines!


----------



## Zhizara

I'm lucky.  Our laundry uses a coded card you just push into a slot.  There's a machine for adding $5, $10, or $20.

It's so much easier than having to maintain a supply of quarters.

I still have had some of the same problems of having to move my laundry.  I always wait until my clothes are in with the detergent, but sometimes the machine is out of order.  It doesn't take my money, though.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I'm lucky.  Our laundry uses a coded card you just push into a slot.  There's a machine for adding $5, $10, or $20.
> 
> It's so much easier than having to maintain a supply of quarters.
> 
> I still have had some of the same problems of having to move my laundry.  I always wait until my clothes are in with the detergent, but sometimes the machine is out of order.  It doesn't take my money, though.



Spike goes to a commercial laundry that has the card system. I wish we did. I did the colors last night. Now if I can get my hands on three more quarters, I can do the whites. Building maintenance is supposed to keep the machines clean. That is our joke of the week. Each load cost $1.25 per load and another $1.25 for the dryer. They do hold a double load. And we have one front loader. But the clothes come out wetter than the top loaders. 

I have an illegal washing machine in my apartment. But it beginning to get to me. Having to drag it out to the kitchen faucet, hook it up and then reverse the procedure when I am done. I have had it for more than ten years and it is beginning to show its age.


----------



## bakechef

Gee Madcook, that must have been intense!  Hope you heal quickly.

I grew up with horses and thought how much it would hurt to be bitten by those big teeth.  We were lucky though, our Appaloosa horse named BoJangles was basically a huge dog, faithful, gentle, just a love bug.  He would often find a dead spot in his electric fence and come to the house looking for an apple, if there wasn't anyone home, he would visit the neighbors.  They would give him an apple then would follow them back to his barn.  He also had this irresistible urge to swim, so if my sister wwas riding anywhere near the lake, she would go bareback, because he would "insist" on going for a swim at the beach, everyone got such a kick out of seeing my sister ride a swimming horse!

Our other was a mare, a retired race horse, she was a sweetie, but we had to keep a close eye on her, because if she got away, she would run like the wind!


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> Spike goes to a commercial laundry that has the card system. I wish we did. I did the colors last night. Now if I can get my hands on three more quarters, I can do the whites. Building maintenance is supposed to keep the machines clean. That is our joke of the week. Each load cost $1.25 per load and another $1.25 for the dryer. They do hold a double load. And we have one front loader. But the clothes come out wetter than the top loaders.
> 
> I have an illegal washing machine in my apartment. But it beginning to get to me. Having to drag it out to the kitchen faucet, hook it up and then reverse the procedure when I am done. I have had it for more than ten years and it is beginning to show its age.



It's been about 10 years since I had to use a laundromat regularly.  I went about a year ago to ash a big comforter and it cost me like $6 to wash and dry!  Back when I used to go there regularly it was around $10 a week for my weekly laundry.


----------



## Zhizara

Addie, I only pay $1 to wash and to dry, but there's only one top loader working.  There ar two other top loaders that aren't working.

I have a tall net bag that holds one load, so when it's full, I often have to make several trips to get my turn on it.  There are a bunch of front loaders, but they will only hold about a half a load and they involve bending over in such a way that they set my back pains off and the pain can last for days.

I tried using a front loader just once.  When it was done, some of the clothes weren't even wet!  They still cost $1 to run, too.


----------



## Addie

The washers and dryers used to be free. Then when they put the coin ones in, they were only supposed to be $.50 for each machine. In your dreams. They were set for $1.25. And we were supposed to get a certain percentage of the monies for functions. More pipe dreams. 

So since I am the only one with a computer and know how to write a business letter, they asked me to write one for the management company to let them know we wanted our share of the monies. All of the tenants said they would sign it. So I wrote it and only one tenant besides myself signed it. Everyone else were afraid to sign it. So I tore it up in front of them and told them, "Here are your monies. Enjoy them". Then I walked out. No one has ever asked me to write up anything again. Fine by me. Saves me ink and paper costs.


----------



## Dawgluver

Did something to my neck from below the ears to around the bottom of the back of skull and down the neck.  I have no idea what.  It started yesterday with just some stiffness, then progressively got worse.  The pain was severe enough that I only got an hour and a half of sporadic sleep, tried both lying down and sitting upright, and can't turn or nod my head without pain.  Lovely.  Aleve took some of the edge off this morning after aspirin didn't do anything.  What a PITA.


----------



## Kayelle

Dawgluver said:


> Did something to my neck from below the ears to around the bottom of the back of skull and down the neck.  I have no idea what.  It started yesterday with just some stiffness, then progressively got worse.  The pain was severe enough that I only got an hour and a half of sporadic sleep, tried both lying down and sitting upright, and can't turn or nod my head without pain.  Lovely.  Aleve took some of the edge off this morning after aspirin didn't do anything.  What a PITA.



Ykies Dawg!! Get in your bathtub. It doesn't even need to have water in it.
Lay your head back on the edge of the tub and roll your neck around on the edge. I had a neck thingy like that once and it really helped. I'm thinking you should see a Doctor, as it could be something really serious.


----------



## Kayelle

Grrrr...

I walk into one of the two *chain* drug stores we have in town and ask where are the shopping carts. He answered we don't have them anymore. "Why not? "I say. "Because everybody keeps taking them" says him. "Why don't you get more"? "Because they cost a lot of money" he says. I say "I planned on spending a lot of money here, but I'll go to the other drug store that has shopping carts." 
Guess who's writing a letter to Rite Aid Drug Stores Inc. ?


----------



## Dawgluver

Kayelle said:


> Ykies Dawg!! Get in your bathtub. It doesn't even need to have water in it.
> Lay your head back on the edge of the tub and roll your neck around on the edge. I had a neck thingy like that once and it really helped. I'm thinking you should see a Doctor, as it could be something really serious.




Thanks K, worth a shot!

No shopping carts??  That makes no sense.  Good for you for writing to RiteAid!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Did something to my neck from below the ears to around the bottom of the back of skull and down the neck.  I have no idea what.  It started yesterday with just some stiffness, then progressively got worse.  The pain was severe enough that I only got an hour and a half of sporadic sleep, tried both lying down and sitting upright, and can't turn or nod my head without pain.  Lovely.  Aleve took some of the edge off this morning after aspirin didn't do anything.  What a PITA.



Fever?  Check please.  If you do, go to urgent care.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Fever?  Check please.  If you do, go to urgent care.




No fever.  Really strange.


----------



## bakechef

Kayelle said:


> Grrrr...
> 
> I walk into one of the two *chain* drug stores we have in town and ask where are the shopping carts. He answered we don't have them anymore. "Why not? "I say. "Because everybody keeps taking them" says him. "Why don't you get more"? "Because they cost a lot of money" he says. I say "I planned on spending a lot of money here, but I'll go to the other drug store that has shopping carts."
> Guess who's writing a letter to Rite Aid Drug Stores Inc. ?



Well that's nuts!  They are very expensive, usually a couple hundred dollars each, but it's the cost of doing business.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Did something to my neck from below the ears to around the bottom of the back of skull and down the neck.  I have no idea what.  It started yesterday with just some stiffness, then progressively got worse.  The pain was severe enough that I only got an hour and a half of sporadic sleep, tried both lying down and sitting upright, and can't turn or nod my head without pain.  Lovely.  Aleve took some of the edge off this morning after aspirin didn't do anything.  What a PITA.



Hope that this is just a passing thing.  I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in my neck and it took me 2 months of physical therapy last fall to get full range of motion in my neck.  I hope that I can keep it healthy so that it doesn't happen again, but i'm never completely without pain.  All the riding in cars on my vacation really wreaked havoc on my neck, it's just now getting better.


----------



## Cheryl J

Ouch, Dawg...sure hope your neck pain eases up soon.  I hate when that happens, especially if I have to drive.  

Hmmm...Kayelle, I'll have to check our local Rite Aid and see if they've eliminated shopping carts.  I don't go there very often and when I do, it's only for a few things, so I've never really noticed.  Curious now.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Ouch, Dawg...sure hope your neck pain eases up soon.  I hate when that happens, especially if I have to drive.
> 
> Hmmm...Kayelle, I'll have to check our local Rite Aid and see if they've eliminated shopping carts.  I don't go there very often and when I do, it's only for a few things, so I've never really noticed.  Curious now.



This is a one horse town Addie, certainly not Boston. I'm sure it's not a RiteAid policy to get rid of shopping carts, but it ticked me off with that kind of "oh well" attitude. I did report the store number and complaint just as I wrote it above, so we'll see.

Whoops.....you're in a one horse town also Cheryl.....I thought I was responding to Addie. lol You have shopping carts?


----------



## Cheryl J

Yep, K....a one horse town and sometimes not even that....a couple of burros. 
I'll have to check our RiteAid as far as shopping carts.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> Did something to my neck from below the ears to around the bottom of the back of skull and down the neck....


Sorry you have a sore and stiff neck. Himself is getting over one, but he certainly knows how his happened. He slipped in the shower!  I had my earplugs and, sound asleep down the hall, didn't hear a thing. Maybe he needs an "I've fallen and I can't get up" button.


----------



## buckytom

there were a lot of medium length hairs in the shower making it slippery, wasn't there.

that woulda been my excuse.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Can't blame me. In over 14 years of living here I've never used the shower. With only two people in the house and two full-size bathrooms, we decided the happiest thing in the world would be a bathroom for Himself (the one off the master bedroom, with the shower stall) and I'd take the one with the tub. But all I do is shower in it.  I just like all the extra room. 

Life is better this way. Himself always lets a family of ducks play in the sink whenever he uses it. The counter is *always* wet all over. And then I lean against it and I'm wet all over. Life is good with His and Hers bathrooms.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Did something to my neck from below the ears to around the bottom of the back of skull and down the neck.  I have no idea what.  It started yesterday with just some stiffness, then progressively got worse.  The pain was severe enough that I only got an hour and a half of sporadic sleep, tried both lying down and sitting upright, and can't turn or nod my head without pain.  Lovely.  Aleve took some of the edge off this morning after aspirin didn't do anything.  What a PITA.



A number of years ago I had the same thing. My neck froze so that my head was tilted sideways. I had to go for physical therapy. The therapist showed me a trick that has kept me free of neck pain for more than 35 years now. Whenever I think my neck is going to get a cramp, I tuck my chin into my chest. It loosens up the neck muscles instantly.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Grrrr...
> 
> I walk into one of the two *chain* drug stores we have in town and ask where are the shopping carts. He answered we don't have them anymore. "Why not? "I say. "Because everybody keeps taking them" says him. "Why don't you get more"? "Because they cost a lot of money" he says. I say "I planned on spending a lot of money here, but I'll go to the other drug store that has shopping carts."
> Guess who's writing a letter to Rite Aid Drug Stores Inc. ?



Almost every building in Boston that has more than one floor and an elevator, has a shopping cart on the premises. We have two in this building. Building managers can sometimes call the stores and have them picked up. But for the most part, they stay where they are. One store said they considered it part of the expense of staying in business.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Yep, K....a one horse town and sometimes not even that....a couple of burros.
> I'll have to check our RiteAid as far as shopping carts.



Our Rite Aid has five stairs to get up to the next level and pharmacy. Has to be the smallest drug store I have ever seen. And the lift for the handicap is a joke.  Most of the time it doesn't work. And the aisles are so narrow, I doubt a shopping cart would fit in one. 

Has anyone in town considered having the burro carry your purchases up and down the aisles?


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> Can't blame me. In over 14 years of living here I've never used the shower. With only two people in the house and two full-size bathrooms, we decided the happiest thing in the world would be a bathroom for Himself (the one off the master bedroom, with the shower stall) and I'd take the one with the tub. But all I do is shower in it.  I just like all the extra room.
> 
> Life is better this way. Himself always lets a family of ducks play in the sink whenever he uses it. The counter is *always* wet all over. And then I lean against it and I'm wet all over. Life is good with His and Hers bathrooms.



Rob likes to have just about everything out on the counter, I like things tidy, we have separate bathrooms and it's wonderful!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I want separate bathrooms...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I want separate bathrooms...



I look at separate bathrooms as just one more room to clean.


----------



## Addie

Do any of you feel that your kids really take you as a parent for granted? That your belonging are not important. I have one kid (The Pirate) that thinks you can just go out the door and get another. What's mine is his also. Where did I go wrong with this kid? 

Anytime someone gives me a gift, I take care of it. He thinks it is just junk and not important. To me it is. I have two ceramic magnets on my fridge that were given to me by my granddaughter when she was three years old. She was so proud of them. She picked them out herself. She is now 22 y. o. Sure they collect dust and get greasy as the fridge is right next to the stove. So I clean them often. But I treasure them. He tried to throw them out. He thought the fridge would look better is there was nothing on the fridge. I dang near threw him out. He also informed me that he was taking the potato ricer. If he had asked me, I would have considered his request. I very rarely use it. Now he will never get it until after I am gone. 

The other day I was taking a shower. Now I had the curtain drawn yet he walks in and uses the toilet. "I don't know why you are making such a big fuss. I couldn't see you and you couldn't see me. My wife and I used to do it all the time." Well I am not his wife and that doesn't go in my home. He compared it to when he was a toddler and would come in to the bathroom no matter what I was doing. Well, he is not a toddler now. He seems to have forgotten the rules I have had in place ever since they became teenagers. Privacy between the girls and the boys was and still is upper most in my home. Don't violate that rule or you will feel my wrath. He walked out in a huff. 

 Why did I ever have kids in the first place.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie, I'm shocked that you didn't edit out that last line within the time allowed for editing. Surely you must have regretted ever typing those words. If on the other hand you don't regret those words, I think you might look at all those people around you who have children who don't give a hoot about their mothers.


----------



## CarolPa

buckytom said:


> I would never call an adult a name like honey, or sweetie, or for a guy,  bro, chief, or boss.
> 
> you can never go wrong with ma'am or sir.
> 
> unless you mix them up because they are nj state troopers.




Oh yes you can go wrong with "ma'am."  It tends to offend some because it sounds like "old lady."  Try "miss" instead.  

At least that's the way it is around here.


----------



## CarolPa

Can those Hickie Laces be bought in local stores, or at least something similar?  I hate to order things online unless I can't find them anywhere else.  I have white tennies that are made that way and I LOVE them.  I could use some of these for my black tennies.  When we are out and about, my shoe laces become untied.  I can't bend over very well to tie them so DH has to do it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I've only ever found them online, Carol.


----------



## buckytom

CarolPa said:


> Oh yes you can go wrong with "ma'am."  It tends to offend some because it sounds like "old lady."  Try "miss" instead.
> 
> At least that's the way it is around here.



it's not too difficult to guess someone's age or acceptance of the term. 

and if they have a problem with respect at a young age, the problem isn't mine. ma'am.


----------



## CarolPa

Aunt Bea said:


> I agree!
> 
> It also bugs me when the clerk starts commenting on my purchases!




My daughter used to work in a grocery store.  She has a very sensitive nose and she used to smell things people were buying.  One time she picked up some woman's deli roast beef and said it smelled bad.  The woman said No, it always smells like that!  LOL  I told her just ring them up and mind your own business.


----------



## CarolPa

buckytom said:


> it's not too difficult to guess someone's age or acceptance of the term.
> 
> And if they have a problem with respect at a young age, the problem isn't mine. Ma'am.




don't call me ma'am!  I'm only 68!!!  Lol

EDIT:  I typed that in all caps and it switched it to lower case.  How rude! LOL


----------



## CarolPa

PF, I googled "no-tie laces" and found there are a lot of similar items with different names.  One is sold in WalMart so I will check there, and also in Dicks, as some of them are advertised to be for runners and other athletes.  I don't exactly fit that description, I'm just an old lady with a big belly who can't bend over to tie her shoes!  LOL


----------



## Andy M.

I was thinking about getting some stretch laces for a pair of casual shoes I wear in the winter.  I like the idea of slipping into and out of them without the need to tie/untie the laces all the time.

My daughter buys them at a discount shoe store (Payless) for my grandson.


----------



## CarolPa

I found some online at Target.com.  Although I prefer not to order online, they are only $2.99 and free shipping.  They come in every color you could possible want.  I got 2 black and 1 white.

shark tank laces at Target


----------



## buckytom

Andy M. said:


> I was thinking about getting some stretch laces for a pair of casual shoes I wear in the winter.  I like the idea of slipping into and out of them without the need to tie/untie the laces all the time.
> 
> My daughter buys them at a discount shoe store (Payless) for my grandson.



we allowed our son to wear sneakers with a velcro strap for many years since he refused to learn how to tie his shoes. (notice he's _"our son"_ and not _"my boy"_" when there's a problem? )

he could tie a trilene knot, a double half hitch, and a sheet bend from the time he was 6. but shoes? no way jose'.

he eventually capitulated but i'm not sure if it was worth the battle. ya gotta pick the ones that matter, or start 'em out right before they know there's an option.


----------



## Andy M.

buckytom said:


> we allowed our son to wear sneakers with a velcro strap for many years since he refused to learn how to tie his shoes. (notice he's _"our son"_ and not _"my boy"_" when there's a problem? )
> 
> he could tie a trilene knot, a double half hitch, and a sheet bend from the time he was 6. but shoes? no way jose'.
> 
> he eventually capitulated but i'm not sure if it was worth the battle. ya gotta pick the ones that matter, or start 'em out right before they know there's an option.



My grandson had velcro sneakers when he was younger.  I was all for them as I didn't have to tie his shoes all the time.  It made him self-sufficient rather than relying on an adult to dress him.  Now his footwear is a fashion statement so the closure method is secondary and he uses the stretch laces.  He may never learn how to tie shoelaces.  That's OK. he'll never learn how to use a dial type phone or a VCR either.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Reminds me of the birthday when someone gave my nephew a digital watch.  His disparaging remark, "They think I don't know how to tell time!"


----------



## Addie

That day when they finally learn how to tie their shoes was always a big day in our house. I remember when my daughter learned, she kept untying and tying her shoes for anyone who would watch. Spike learned in school in the first grade. I guess the teacher was tired of tying shoes during her day, so she took the time to teach everyone how to do it. Bless her heart.


----------



## buckytom

i remember extorting my aunts and uncles when i learned.

my sisters taught me how to tie my shoes, but when my aunts and uncles would come to visit , i let each one "teach" me, then mention that another relative offered me a quarter if i tried really hard. 
 when i tied the laces successfully in front of them, cha-ching!!!

if i pretended to try all day then finally succeed just before they left, we were talking paper money.

true story.


----------



## Aunt Bea

This conversation made me think of the old shoes for boys called "mousetraps" or "grasshoppers".  The shoes had a leather covered lever that you pulled up, put your foot in and then snapped the lever back down.


----------



## Andy M.

Aunt Bea, I had a pair of those shoes!


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> i remember extorting my aunts and uncles when i learned.
> 
> my sisters taught me how to tie my shoes, but when my aunts and uncles would come to visit , i let each one "teach" me, then mention that another relative offered me a quarter if i tried really hard.
> when i tied the laces successfully in front of them, cha-ching!!!
> 
> if i pretended to try all day then finally succeed just before they left, we were talking paper money.
> 
> true story.



Extortion and bribery! I am impressed!


----------



## buckytom

that's not even close to some of my "business dealings" when i was a scout in 6th or 7th grade.

we were hiking up mount washington in n.h. on one summer trip and just after we had learned the laws of supply and demand at the end of the school year, i put my new found knowledge to work.

my mom always over packed my first aid kit whenever i went camping (i coulda performed minor surgery with it). so halfway up the mountain, many of the boys started to get nasty blisters on their feet from their shiny new hiking boots.

realizing i had several packs of moleskin (enough to re-make a dozen moles), first aid salve, and my feet were fine, i quietly sold the stuff out of my tent at night to those with weary feet. the stuff works so good to cover blisters i was certainly learning the demand aspect.

i think i was selling it for like a dollar per square inch, or at least 2 king sized candy bars. salve was extra.

it worked like a charm for a few days until the scoutmasters found out and made me give the money back.  well, how much money that i told them i had.  

when the assistant scoutmaster (a high school student and eagle scout) came to collect the money, i noticed his labored gait as he approached me from the other side of the campsite.

he had blisters!!! needing the moleskin badly for himself, i cut him in on my business. he got free moleskin and a tube of salve, 1/2 of the candy, and 40% of the money.
it was really about 20% after skimming. i thought i invented thst, but little did i know i was just fulfilling a joisey tradition.

that was a great trip and i learned a lot. supply, demand, how to tip someone to go fill your canteen from a half mile away, and so on.

interestingly enough, that eagle scout grew up to become a congressman from the great state of massachusetts.

i gues i taught him how to "play ball". 

and everyone thought i was going to grow up to be a lawyer, but that didn't happen.

i have _some_ decency in me. gimme a break.


----------



## Addie

And to think you missed your calling.  A Shylock! Damn that conscience!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

buckytom;...

and everyone thought i was going to grow up to be a lawyer said:
			
		

> some[/I] decency in me. gimme a break.



What do you call twenty sky-diving lawyers? ----- Skeet!
Ok, it wasn't that funny.ermm:

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## buckytom

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> What do you call twenty sky-diving lawyers? ----- Skeet!
> Ok, it wasn't that funny.ermm:
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



yes it was. 

i'm starting go infect you. mwahahaaaa.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> yes it was.
> 
> i'm starting go infect you. mwahahaaaa.



Yeh, it was Chief. Even The Pirate had a good belly laugh. I am proud of you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

buckytom said:


> we allowed our son to wear sneakers with a velcro strap for many years since he refused to learn how to tie his shoes. (notice he's _"our son"_ and not _"my boy"_" when there's a problem? )....


We have a braniac for a son. 140+ IQ, AP classes, college scholarship for academics, honors college...and to this day he cannot tie his shoe laces the traditional way. How does he tie them? Bunny ears!  Ah, God love 'im - I know I sure do.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Reminds me of the birthday when someone gave my nephew a digital watch.  His disparaging remark, "They think I don't know how to tell time!"


Our son's first real girlfriend could not read an analog watch to save her life. The car he was driving had an analog clock. If Katie didn't have her (digital) watch on when they went out, Goober would drive her nuts as to whether or not she'd be home in time for curfew.  She was an honors class student too. What is it with the elite smart? They just can't function in the real world...


----------



## CarolPa

I recently noticed that my 6 year old grandson has learned to tie his shoes.  I don't know when he learned, who taught him or how he ties.  I'm just glad I don't have to do it for him.  His father is from the generation who wore high-tops and never tied his shoes, although he did know how.  He ties them now, and I don't really know when that changed.  Probably when he realized that he's now an adult.

I hope I live to see my grandson become a teenagers.  I'm so curious as to how my son is going to handle it when his son starts to do some of the things he did when he was a teen.  DH calls it payback!  LOL  He didn't get in trouble, but he did some things that were very annoying!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Our son's first real girlfriend could not read an analog watch to save her life. The car he was driving had an analog clock. If Katie didn't have her (digital) watch on when they went out, Goober would drive her nuts as to whether or not she'd be home in time for curfew.  She was an honors class student too. What is it with the elite smart? They just can't function in the real world...



I worked for an atomic engineer. Absolutely brilliant. Dumb as a clump of dirt. I used to put his plane ticket in his jacket handkerchief pocket. Then I would have to make him look right at me while I told him and pointed to where his plane ticket was. And I would keep his briefcase open beside my desk. I would hear him mumbling that he had to take this document, or that one, and I would get it and put it in his briefcase. When he was ready to go, he would tell me he had to get his papers together for his briefcase. These documents were top secret. I would lock his case and then have to tell him where I put the key. This was a routine every single Friday as he headed out to visit the NRC in DC.


----------



## Kayelle

Kayelle said:


> Grrrr...
> 
> I walk into one of the two *chain* drug stores we have in town and ask where are the shopping carts. He answered we don't have them anymore. "Why not? "I say. "Because everybody keeps taking them" says him. "Why don't you get more"? "Because they cost a lot of money" he says. I say "I planned on spending a lot of money here, but I'll go to the other drug store that has shopping carts."
> Guess who's writing a letter to Rite Aid Drug Stores Inc. ?



*UPDATE: *I got a call this morning from "Ernie" the local store manager. He said the corporate office told him to call me about the new shopping carts being on order.  When I asked when they would be delivered he said they had been on back order for some time. I thanked him and told him to call me when they arrived, but until then I'll be shopping at CVS who has lots of shopping carts. Then he told me the hours he worked and that he would be happy to carry my purchases around the store for me.   Life in small town USA.


----------



## Dawgluver

Kayelle said:


> *UPDATE: *I got a call this morning from "Ernie" the local store manager. He said the corporate office told him to call me about the new shopping carts being on order.  When I asked when they would be delivered he said they had been on back order for some time. I thanked him and told him to call me when they arrived, but until then I'll be shopping at CVS who has lots of shopping carts. Then he told me the hours he worked and that he would be happy to carry my purchases around the store for me.   Life in small town USA.




LOL!  Something about the squeaky (shopping cart) wheel getting the grease...

Way to go, K!


----------



## Addie

For a few items that I may be buying in CVS or Rite Aid, I just use the little hand basket. If a 12 pack of paper towels or toilet paper are on sale, then I will get a shopping cart. At the Rite Aid in my community, there are five steps. Now steps are a BIG barrier for me. And the store is so small, that there is no room for carts. But if there is anything I need on the second level, I will ask an employee to go get it for me. They understand the barrier that the stairs presents for me. Very rarely does Rite Aid have any On Sale bargains that I am interested in. But for the few times there have been, they are always on the second level and I let the employee do my shopping. That is what they are there for. The shopper.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> For a few items that I may be buying in CVS or Rite Aid, I just use the little hand basket. If a 12 pack of paper towels or toilet paper are on sale, then I will get a shopping cart. At the Rite Aid in my community, there are five steps. Now steps are a BIG barrier for me. And the store is so small, that there is no room for carts. But if there is anything I need on the second level, I will ask an employee to go get it for me. They understand the barrier that the stairs presents for me. Very rarely does Rite Aid have any On Sale bargains that I am interested in. But for the few times there have been, they are always on the second level and I let the employee do my shopping. That is what they are there for. The shopper.



As much as I hate to admit it Addie, shopping carts are needed for those of us (like me) who need "some" assistance that hand baskets just don't provide. Thankfully, I need no other mobility assistance at this point, and I'll deal with that when I must. For now, I expect shopping carts!


----------



## Zhizara

The other thing about those hand baskets is that they hurt your fingers, especially when you get a few items in them.


----------



## Dawgluver

My mom relied on the shopping carts too.  She didn't use a scooter and they were a real help to her whenever she'd go shopping.


----------



## Katie H

Okay...yes...this IS a petty vent, but it's a vent just the same.

We're southerners and we're, sort of, country folks...and we like grits.  Prepared lots of ways.  Seems mundane so far, doesn't it?  Yes, until one needs to buy _more_ grits.

I thought that would be a simple task.  But, oh no, it's not!!  Well, not really, unless you want "quick" grits.  They are a dime a dozen and come in nearly every iteration imaginable.  I DO NOT want quick grits.  I want "old-fashioned" grits, which I thought wasn't asking much.

In my quest, I visited no fewer than 11 stores, including 4 Wal-Mart stores, and a couple (I considered "country-type" markets) and struck out.  Zero, zip, nada, goose egg.  I even called one of at least three Mennonite markets in our area and asked if they had grits.  The young girl I spoke to put the phone down.  Apparently they didn't have a HOLD feature on their phone.  I heard her say to someone, "What are grits?"  Hmmmm?!  I had a feeling I'd struck out again.  Yep.  She came back and reported that they didn't have any.

Well, heck!!!!

Now, I really had a _quest_!!

Today was my day to drive to what we call "the big city" to run some errands.  On my way into the town, there's a family-owned grocery store, a large, somewhat sophisticated one (for here, anyway), so I thought, "Why not?"  I stopped and hit the jackpot.

I marched out of the store with 10 pounds of Aunt Jemima old-fashioned grits.

One 5-pound bag filled a gallon canning jar, vacuum sealed with my FoodSaver attachment, the remaining 5 pounds will fill our tummies in the coming weeks.

Yeah!!!  I as victorious!!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Katie H said:


> Okay...yes...this IS a petty vent, but it's a vent just the same.
> 
> We're southerners and we're, sort of, country folks...and we like grits.  Prepared lots of ways.  Seems mundane so far, doesn't it?  Yes, until one needs to buy _more_ grits...
> 
> 
> Yeah!!!  I as victorious!!!



Happens to me all the time.  Not sure what I am going to do when I run out of my Dawn Fresh Steak Sauce.  I bought the last of it on clearance at the store that was carrying it.

Glad you found your grits, Katie.  Want me to keep track of them around here?


----------



## Steve Kroll

Katie H said:


> Okay...yes...this IS a petty vent, but it's a vent just the same.
> 
> We're southerners and we're, sort of, country folks...and we like grits.  Prepared lots of ways.  Seems mundane so far, doesn't it?  Yes, until one needs to buy _more_ grits.
> 
> I thought that would be a simple task.  But, oh no, it's not!!  Well, not really, unless you want "quick" grits.  They are a dime a dozen and come in nearly every iteration imaginable.  I DO NOT want quick grits.  I want "old-fashioned" grits, which I thought wasn't asking much.


Katie,

My wife and I are northerners and city folks, and guess what? We like grits, too. If you think they are hard to find where you live, you should shop here. They are impossible to find - and I've looked everywhere.

Oh, very, very occasionally I will see "instant grits" in the store. But they are even worse than quick grits.

I'll tell you my story. Earlier this year we were in Phoenix and shopping in a Wal-Mart for something. Sunscreen maybe. I don't remember. In any case, as I was wandering around this store I came across a 5 lb bag of Quaker old fashioned grits. Eureka!

So I bought the bag, and when we left to come home, I packed it in my suitcase. We arrived at the airport and did the automatic check-in of our luggage. Long story short, my grits made it back home safe and sound.

A few days later, I was going through the expenses when I found a charge of $100 on my credit card from Delta Airlines and freaked out a little. I called the airline to ask about the charge and, after being passed around from person to person, finally got someone on the other end of the line who was able to help. It turns out that my luggage was 3 pounds over the limit, and the charge was for having an oversize bag. 

That silly 5 pound bag of grits had cost me $100!

After a little begging and pleading, the nice woman credited me back the fee.

To this day, whenever I make up a batch of those grits, they are not your ordinary grits. We call them "hundred dollar grits." And yes, they do taste like a hundred dollars!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> My mom relied on the shopping carts too.  She didn't use a scooter and they were a real help to her whenever she'd go shopping.



My sister's walking disabilities were not as severe as mine. But she too had to rely on a shopping cart. I tried to get her to use the electric cart in the supermarket. But she flatly refused. And all because of vanity. I figured I don't know one person in that store and I don't care what others think. I am not there to amuse their thinking. 

For me, there are times when I can't even walk around my own small apartment without having to sit down every five minutes. For those who have to lean on a shopping cart, use them to their fullest. My sister let vanity interfere with her well being and comfort. It cost her, her toes. 

I let folks know. "I am elderly and handicapped." And I do expect to be treated as such. Being so, I *finally* qualify for a lot of benefits without filling out reams of paperwork and answering questions that have nothing to do with my problem. 

Fortunately for me, my CVS has nice wide aisles and my scooter can run up and down them with ease. Wheee! See me go! Hop on. I will give you the ride of your life.


----------



## Addie

Being a born and bred Yankee, I too like grits. With cheese or an egg with a nice runny yolk. 

When I visited a friend in Tenn. a number of years ago, we all went to Dollywood for the day. They have a barn there that grinds the corn for you while you wait. I bought a bag and it made the best cornbread I have ever had the pleasure of making. Sometimes I think living for more than five years in Texas, the south rubbed off on me more than I realize.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

When it comes to grits, we have all kinds in our local stores. I guess it helps when there is a high concentration of Hispanic people in the area. Works for me! Cheesy grits, creamy grits, fry-a-slab type grits. We eat them all.

Has anyone tried the bake-in-the-oven preparation method for grits? I've read that they turn out great and you don't have to stir or dodge splatters. Just wondering if anyone has first-hand experience. Thanks.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Kayelle said:


> As much as I hate to admit it Addie, shopping carts are needed for those of us (like me) who need "some" assistance that hand baskets just don't provide. Thankfully, I need no other mobility assistance at this point, and I'll deal with that when I must. For now, I expect shopping carts!



I have those days too!

I use the carts to do my shopping aerobics, my memory is so bad somtimes I have to do 3 or 4 laps around the store before I find everything I need!

The main thing is to keep truckin'!


----------



## Katie H

Cooking Goddess said:


> When it comes to grits, we have all kinds in our local stores. I guess it helps when there is a high concentration of Hispanic people in the area. Works for me! Cheesy grits, creamy grits, fry-a-slab type grits. We eat them all.
> 
> Has anyone tried the bake-in-the-oven preparation method for grits? I've read that they turn out great and you don't have to stir or dodge splatters. Just wondering if anyone has first-hand experience. Thanks.



Actually, CG, we do have a very large Hispanic community and, in fact, it's pretty easy to buy goat for cooking in our community than in many regions.

All the grits I found in any of the markets I visited were of the instant/quick variety, which is not what I wanted.

Yep, we love grits any way they can be prepared and I discovered a foolproof way of making them, minus splatters, etc., in the October issue of _Southern Living_ magazine.  They were the creamiest and most delicious grits I'd ever tasted, much less cooked.  Glenn loved them, too.


----------



## CarolPa

Dawgluver said:


> LOL!  Something about the squeaky (shopping cart) wheel getting the grease...
> 
> Way to go, K!




The squeaky wheel carts are reserved for me.  I always get a cart with a squeak.  DH said he can always find me in the store.  Squeak, squeak, squeak.  Or, I get the cart that always wants to pull to one side.


----------



## CarolPa

I have never tried grits.  I think one restaurant has them on their breakfast buffet.  I've never seen them on any other menus.  Probably at Cracker Barrel, but we don't go there.  I've seen them in stores, but never bought them.

I also use a shopping cart as a walker.  One time I tried one of their scooters and I was crashing into everything including another shopper.  That was one clue that I'd better keep my mobility up.  LOL  I was almost run down by someone else in a scooter.  I told him, "Handicapped or not, you should show some respect for the other shoppers."


----------



## CarolPa

My stretchy shoe laces came today.  Can't wait to put them in my shoes.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> The squeaky wheel carts are reserved for me.  I always get a cart with a squeak.  DH said he can always find me in the store.  Squeak, squeak, squeak.  Or, I get the cart that always wants to pull to one side.



You forgot the cart with the square wheels. I always got that one. The electric carts do have a beeper on them. Because I have my own scooter, I am a whiz on the store ones. They go snail pace compared to mine. I back up, turn around in the middle of an aisle, and race around like a maniac. But then I am at the store at seven in the morning and a lot of times it is only me and my son along with the help stocking the shelves.  

Today I made a run up to Rite Aid. I was thinking of Kayelle. Sure enough I needed something on the upper level. I called for  help. They are doing a major construction job on the sidewalk. I had to go out into the street. Two cops looked at me and I whizzed by them. They were all set to stop traffic for me. It dawned on them I was doing just fine on my own. But I did say thank you.


----------



## CarolPa

DH took some of my stretchy laces so I had to order more!  LOL


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> DH took some of my stretchy laces so I had to order more!  LOL



You should have hidden them. It is time for him to learn how to tie his own shoes.


----------



## Addie

A couple of days ago there were a couple of illegal posts for sneakers from China. I had to open them in order to report them. Now I have these banners across and on the side of my screen. Too bad I can't read them. But they are so annoying.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> You should have hidden them. It is time for him to learn how to tie his own shoes.




I don't hide things from him.....well, except for money.


----------



## Zhizara

CarolPa said:


> I don't hide things from him.....well, except for money.



Give him the site to order his own!


----------



## Andy M.

I hate being sick.  I have a cold and feel miserable.  I was supposed to go for a flu shot today but I'll wait a bit.  

I had to give in and turn on the heat today.  Too many chilly days.  The house too cool to be comfortable.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I hate being sick.  I have a cold and feel miserable.  I was supposed to go for a flu shot today but I'll wait a bit.
> 
> I had to give in and turn on the heat today.  Too many chilly days.  The house too cool to be comfortable.



First buckytom and now you. Take care of yourself. Chicken soup, and lots of rest. Keep warm and remember we all care about you.


----------



## Andy M.

Thanks, Addie.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I hate being sick.  I have a cold and feel miserable.  I was supposed to go for a flu shot today but I'll wait a bit.
> 
> I had to give in and turn on the heat today.  Too many chilly days.  The house too cool to be comfortable.



The Flu shot won't hurt you, if that is what is holding you back.  I'm sorry you have a cold...not fun.  

I have to drag Shrek in for his Shingles vaccine, I wish I could get him to get a Flu Shot.

I've had all my shots, distemper, rabies...


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The Flu shot won't hurt you, if that is what is holding you back.  I'm sorry you have a cold...not fun.
> 
> I have to drag Shrek in for his Shingles vaccine, I wish I could get him to get a Flu Shot.
> 
> I've had all my shots, distemper, rabies...



Thanks, PF.  I wasn't concerned about the shot so much as driving there and back.  I'd rather stay home and be miserable.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Thanks, PF.  I wasn't concerned about the shot so much as driving there and back.  I'd rather stay home and be miserable.



I hear you, I'd always rather stay home and be miserable by myself.  Eating ramen noodles and crackers, curled up under a blanket.


----------



## bakechef

Was out until 3 am this morning.  My straight friends wanted to go to a gay club, not really our thing but with it being Halloween we figured why not.  There were a lot of amazing costumes, I mean they had to spend a lot of time on them, and it was really fun to see.  

We're too darned old for this club thing though, lol!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The Flu shot won't hurt you, if that is what is holding you back.  I'm sorry you have a cold...not fun.
> 
> I have to drag Shrek in for his Shingles vaccine, I wish I could get him to get a Flu Shot.
> 
> I've had all my shots, distemper, rabies...



Anti-stinky toes shot, foul temper vaccine, be nice Jersey Kids vaccine, anti-frizzy hair vaccine..., Yup I think you've got all of your vaccines.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> I hate being sick.  I have a cold and feel miserable.  I was supposed to go for a flu shot today but I'll wait a bit.
> 
> I had to give in and turn on the heat today.  Too many chilly days.  The house too cool to be comfortable.


Get well quick Andy. It's no fun being sick, especially when the weather is as miserable as you feel. Don't know about you, but I feel less sick if the sun is shining. Rain is *bletch* weather.


----------



## Andy M.

Thanks CG.


----------



## CarolPa

Zhizara said:


> Give him the site to order his own!



Zhizara, He doesn't have a clue about going online and ordering things, and I want to keep it that way!  This way, he has to come to me and ask me to order something for him.  He can sometimes google and find the item he wants, but doesn't know how to order.

He used to not know how to use an ATM, and I rue the day I taught him.


----------



## CharlieD

Have to complain about myself. There is this job I do once in a while. Maybe 10 times over last 20 years. You would think I'd have enough sense to write down the details and instructions. I had to do it yesterday and I totally messed it up. Couldn't remember what or how to do it. So stupid.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Have to complain about myself. There is this job I do once in a while. Maybe 10 times over last 20 years. You would think I'd have enough sense to write down the details and instructions. I had to do it yesterday and I totally messed it up. Couldn't remember what or how to do it. So stupid.
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking




Don't feel bad Charlie. I had a job with the Tax Department. I was doing data entry for taxes received. I had been doing sales tax for a few months. Then they switched me over to the Celebrity Files. A lot of confidential information in them. Home addresses, personal phone numbers, SS numbers, etc. I was on them for about six months. Those were the tax files of entertainment folks who came here to entertain and had to pay Non-resident Taxes. Those files also had some higher up folks in there. It was my job to send out their tax bill. Then the Commissioner of Taxes started to pull some files of his friends and close out their bills. Big investigation. I was pulled off of them in a hurry because I had to testify against him. 

They put me back on Sales Taxes. I had completely forgotten how to do them. And I screwed them up royally. My mind had turned to mush.


----------



## Kayelle

CharlieD said:


> Have to complain about myself. There is this job I do once in a while. Maybe 10 times over last 20 years. You would think I'd have enough sense to write down the details and instructions. I had to do it yesterday and I totally messed it up. Couldn't remember what or how to do it. So stupid.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



Charlie, I'm confused. What job are you talking about?


----------



## JoAnn L.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Buy the elastic ones...



PF---I found some of the elastic laces at Payless this morning. They only cost $1.99. It says on the package to lace'em up and leave'em-no need to tie them. 
Thanks again for the advice. Jo


----------



## PrincessFiona60

You are welcome Jo.  I enjoy finding things that help folks get into their day faster and with the least amount of frustration.  Turning your walking shoes into slip-ons is one of those things.


----------



## Addie

I went with The Pirate to talk with Nancy, my NP today to get to the bottom of this excruciating pain in my hip. The Vicodin was no longer doing the job completely. There was always some pain left over, Just a little, but enough to be annoying and to keep me from being on my feet as long as I wanted to be. I was unable to complete even the simplest chore. I wanted to know what had changed in my left hip so much that it was no long completely responding to the medication. 

So my doctor talked to me on the phone and told me that he was going to put me on a new medicine tramadol with ibruprofen and acetamin. At no time did he mention that I should be taking these with the Vicodin.  Even when he talked to Poo, my medical proxy. So I thought that 'okay, I will give these a try.' Although I couldn't for the life of me figure how OTC was going to be any better. I tossed out what was left of my Vicodin. And then the pain started for real! I was in tears when I called Winthrop yesterday. 

So Nancy herself was surprised that the doctor hadn't been more explicit in his instructions. And no where was it writing with any of the meds that I should be taking them all at the same time. Failure to communicate complete instructions on how I should be taking the medicines and badly written instructions from the pharmacy. 

So Nancy ordered me the right amount of medicines I should be taking at the same time together. She told me to toss out everything I received the days previously to when all of this started. I started from new tonight. I took the first doze about thirty minutes ago and am already receiving full relief. BTW, she also noticed that I have lost a lot of weight since most of me meds were first prescribed eight years ago. She looked at my weight and the amount of dosages for the different meds and lowered some of the dosages. Like me, she felt some of them were too high for my weight and height. She also ordered me X-rays of both hips since the last set I had done was more than five years ago. I will go Wednesday morning for them. Then to the eye clinic to order my new reading glasses. Monday it is to the Neuropathy doctor to see how much damage there is to my leg. Then in December, off to the Gastrointestinal doctor to find out why I can't swallow. 

All this pain because the doctor failed to give me along with the pharmacy the proper directions on how all of them should be taken. Right now I am so angry, that I am going to work myself up to an ulcer. I am practicing taking deep breaths and trying to calm myself down.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie, I hope you feel better and do not need doctors, so you won't be a angry with them, so you would not get the ulcer


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Addie, I hope you feel better and do not need doctors, so you won't be a angry with them, so you would not get the ulcer&#55357;&#56841;&#55356;&#57145;
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



Thanks Charlie. I am calm now. It was finally all straightened out yesterday. We are now all on the same page. I am much better today and pain free once again. But I am receiving amphetamine and ibuprofen along with the Vicodin. It seems to be working. The problem was the Vicodin. They only gave me a 24 hour supply of it and not further instructions as to ordering again. Because they didn't say anything to me, I didn't know that. So I didn't order it the day before I would need it. Now I know. Order it the day before I need it so I will have it the next day. Thanks for caring Charlie.


----------



## Andy M.

Why do posts made from smartphones have to show the device (and app) used to send them?  I find it mildly annoying.


Sent from my 13" Apple MacBook Pro


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> Why do posts made from smartphones have to show the device (and app) used to send them?  I find it mildly annoying.
> 
> 
> Sent from my 13" Apple MacBook Pro



I do, too. The app does it - it gets the name of your device and puts the string in the signature area. I don't know why programmers think it's a good idea to do that. Maybe someone thinks it's good advertising for the app.


----------



## Dawgluver

You can shut it off, but the how to is buried.  I have to relearn it every time I update or get a new device.  Don't ask me how I did it, I think it's buried somewhere in Settings.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Why do posts made from smartphones have to show the device (and app) used to send them?  I find it mildly annoying.
> 
> 
> Sent from my 13" Apple MacBook Pro



I'm curious. Does it use up much memory? If it does, then before you know it I will have no memory left in a few years. Put all of them together and it can add up.


----------



## GotGarlic

It's in a setting called "Discuss Cooking Signature." There are three options: None, Sent from my X using Discuss Cooking mobile app, or Customize. With customize, you can add your own signature. 

It uses a teeny amount of storage space - the 30 characters or so in Andy's example won't make that much difference over time. And people can have much longer signatures.


----------



## Zhizara

I'm getting really annoyed with sites that include a big blob taking up space and covering stuff up to offer me the opportunity to like in facebook, or twitter, or any of the other social media sites.  

They stay on the page, and won't be hidden by adblock plus.  GRRRRrrrrr!


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I'm getting really annoyed with sites that include a big blob taking up space and covering stuff up to offer me the opportunity to like in facebook, or twitter, or any of the other social media sites.
> 
> They stay on the page, and won't be hidden by adblock plus.  GRRRRrrrrr!



I never go to any media to like something. I only go there if my g'kids have posted a new picture. So as far as I am concerned, they are wasting their time with me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

This message is sent from my 5 " Olive Green Love Seat...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> This message is sent from my *5 "* Olive Green Love Seat...





 You have a love seat that is only five inches long" Just how skinny are you? Tell me your secret, PLEASE!


----------



## Addie

My daughter asked me to make her an apple pie along with the pumpkin cheesecake. I don't mind making it, but she has to buy the apples. She was supposed to take me shopping for the apples, but I have heard anything from her. Looks like she is not going to be getting an apple pie. I have told her twice, now it is up to her. Looks like she is getting no apple pie this year. Less work for me.


----------



## Zhizara

Addie said:


> I never go to any media to like something. I only go there if my g'kids have posted a new picture. So as far as I am concerned, they are wasting their time with me.



That's why it really bugs me, Addie. I don't participate in any social media.  

Once upon a time my daughter as well as a friend convinced me to join facebook.  I never used it, never had a facebook page.  That's how my stalker managed to rattle my cage by asking me to befriend him.  Plus, I was getting friend requests from total strangers.  That really bothered me.  I'm a private person. 

It took me a long time to get myself free of facebook, but eventually I was able to get them to delete my subscription.   

DC is where I socialize.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> You have a love seat that is only five inches long" Just how skinny are you? Tell me your secret, PLEASE!



sorry that was 5 foot...stupid apostrophe key!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> sorry that was 5 foot...stupid apostrophe key!





I like the five inches better. I had visions of a very skinny Princess running from the ball.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I like the five inches better. I had visions of a very skinny Princess running from the ball.



Oh no, I am definitely Ogre sized...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We're supposed to go to the theatre tomorrow, but I still feel like a bus hit me. If I still feel like garbage in the morning, I can probably send a note to the director or stage manager to see if they could get rid of our tickets. Tomorrow is sold out, along with Saturday night. I really wanted to see my friends and the show though.


----------



## Zhizara

Sorry you're feeling so lousy, and might miss your show, CG. I'm sure you've been looking forward to a great night out.  {{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Was that a bus?  Must be a cross country trip, cause I was hit too!.


----------



## CarolPa

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Was that a bus?  Must be a cross country trip, cause I was hit too!.




LOL  Perfect response!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Okay, so I went with my husband to a doctor's appointment the other morning and I'm sitting in the waiting room, reading a magazine.
These two women come in and there's a TV on, so they position themselves so that can watch Kelly & Michael.  
Meryl Streep is being interviewed and the one women turns to her friend and says, "she's such a nice girl, but she's no teenager. She really should cut her hair short like the rest of us."
*WHAT?!*

This a pet peeve of mine, for sure!
I'd like to know _WHO_ made up the rule that once a women reaches a 'certain age' she must have her hair done by the same person who cuts her husbands'?!!!?

I wear my hair to just below my shoulders, in long layers AND I have bangs that I sweep to the side.
My DF in Prescott Arizona is a hairdresser, so we visit, chat, have some wine and she does my hair every couple of months.


----------



## Addie

I do like my hair cut in a pixie. But lately I have been letting it grow out. I now just push it behind my ears and wear the front brushed back off my face. I do like it short as in wash and wear. But right now, every so often while watching TV or just sitting, I will plug in my curling iron and play with my hair. I will admit it does look better with curls than just straight. But I think I have reach the length that I can stand. Time to go to the salon again and just tell her "OFF". Take it all of OFF. And she does. Just short of shaving it off. 

I have seen women my age with hair a lot longer than mine and it looks beautiful. I just wish mine would turn all white. No half and half like it is now.


----------



## bakechef

One more reason that I don't stop at Walmart.

I go to Walmart about once a year to get something I can't get anywhere else.  One of my deal blogs alerted me to a good deal at Walmart, so since I was going to be near one I stopped by.  I found the item brought it up and it rang up at 2.5 times the online price.  I was told that they could not price match themselves.  Here is the even crazier part, I could stand there and order it on my phone, watch an associate come over and pick one up, bring it to the pick up spot and go over there and pick it up for the lower price.  So how much sense does that make?  I don't have time to waste, so they aren't getting my money and I'll continue to shop elsewhere.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> One more reason that I don't stop at Walmart.
> 
> I go to Walmart about once a year to get something I can't get anywhere else.  One of my deal blogs alerted me to a good deal at Walmart, so since I was going to be near one I stopped by.  I found the item brought it up and it rang up at 2.5 times the online price.  I was told that they could not price match themselves.  Here is the even crazier part, I could stand there and order it on my phone, watch an associate come over and pick one up, bring it to the pick up spot and go over there and pick it up for the lower price.  So how much sense does that make?  I don't have time to waste, so they aren't getting my money and I'll continue to shop elsewhere.



I have this evil side. I would have stood there and ordered it from my phone just for the pure satisfaction of being a bitch. Grant you, it would have held up the line, but that is their problem, not mine.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> I have this evil side. I would have stood there and ordered it from my phone just for the pure satisfaction of being a bitch. Grant you, it would have held up the line, but that is their problem, not mine.



Oh trust me, I thought about it, I had it pulled up on my phone, but I had to get home to bake gifts for friends tonight, or I totally would have!  That's OK, I'll find it from another vendor, I'm not desperate to get it.


----------



## CarolPa

I think each person should wear their hair the length that they like,  the length that THEY feel looks best on them. No one else's opinion  matters.  My hair is very thick and coarse.  Since about age 40, I have  tried growing it a little longer because I see a hairstyle on someone  else, but it just doesn't look right on me.  Right now my hair is  shorter than usual because my hairdresser was off sick, but I still like  it, and it will be a good length by Christmas.  DH doesn't like it, but  it will grow. 

I shop Walmart often, because I like their prices, and they have some things I can't get anywhere else.  I have ordered a few things online for pick-up in the store, but they were items they did not have in my local Walmart.  

The only time I had an issue was when I saw a knife sharpener online and saved it to take some time to think about it before ordering.  A couple days later I went back and it was "out of stock."  I kept checking, and a couple days later it was back in stock for a couple dollars more than before, but still in my price range, so I ordered it and am happy with it.  

I do know of others who have had problems with Walmart...it just hasn't happened to me....yet.


----------



## Addie

I have never been in a Walmarts. There isn't one even near me. But the one complaint I hear about is that there is no one on the floor to help them. I guess you have to know the store really well to find what you want. Or drive the service desk where this is, where that is, etc.


----------



## bakechef

I've read articles about how they are chronically understaffed to the point of empty shelves but having plenty in the back room, just nobody to put it out.  This seems to ring true with the people that I know on the inside. It's too bad that they have become complacent, since this is the only or best option that some have in their area.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> I've read articles about how they are chronically understaffed to the point of empty shelves but having plenty in the back room, just nobody to put it out.  This seems to ring true with the people that I know on the inside. It's too bad that they have become complacent, since this is the only or best option that some have in their area.



It makes me wonder if their next step will be shoddy products.


----------



## GotGarlic

A new Kroger Marketplace store opened, right across the street from our local Walmart. They're well-staffed, well-stocked, the prices are as good or better than Walmart and they have a gas station where you can get a discount with your store card. We love it


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> A new Kroger Marketplace store opened, right across the street from our local Walmart. They're well-staffed, well-stocked, the prices are as good or better than Walmart and they have a gas station where you can get a discount with your store card. We love it



I am glad to see Walmart get some competition.


----------



## JoAnn L.

"Every" store I have been shopping in is understaffed. There is no floor help anywhere. There are stilled help wanted signs everywhere. I don't know what to think.


----------



## bakechef

JoAnn L. said:


> "Every" store I have been shopping in is understaffed. There is no floor help anywhere. There are stilled help wanted signs everywhere. I don't know what to think.



Our target seems to be well staffed almost all the time, I'm thinking that it must be well managed, they have kept many people for years and this is an area where you can get a retail job anytime they are plentiful.


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> "Every" store I have been shopping in is understaffed. There is no floor help anywhere. There are stilled help wanted signs everywhere. I don't know what to think.



It could be that they are positions that are low paying ones. And folks are thinking they are going to be making the same pay that they did before the recession. If you were making $20 an hour, today you are lucky if you get $18 an hour.


----------



## Zhizara

I have the same problem with Walmat.  It is my nearest and primary store.  Sometimes it takes a few months before an item is returned to the shelves.

Lately I have been wanting bay scallops to come back to give me a change from shrimo.  It was probably 4-5 months, before I finally found some this last payday.

It's especially frustrating when certain vitamins I take are missing.  I've worked hard to figure out which vitamins work for me and I can tell by the way I feel if something is missing.  Right now, I'm out of A&D as well as Hawthorn and their absence is noticeable.

When I went shopping last week, the vitamin/supplement shelves we half empty.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I have the same problem with Walmat.  It is my nearest and primary store.  Sometimes it takes a few months before an item is returned to the shelves.
> 
> Lately I have been wanting bay scallops to come back to give me a change from shrimo.  It was probably 4-5 months, before I finally found some this last payday.
> 
> It's especially frustrating when certain vitamins I take are missing.  I've worked hard to figure out which vitamins work for me and I can tell by the way I feel if something is missing.  Right now, I'm out of A&D as well as Hawthorn and their absence is noticeable.
> 
> When I went shopping last week, the vitamin/supplement shelves we half empty.



I have heard from a couple of employees that work up on the Lynnway, that there is plenty of stock in the backroom, but no one on the floor to fill the shelves. This is the worst possible time of year for their shelves to be half empty. They also told me that the back room is in total disarray. The truck driver just throws the boxes in as there is never anyone in the back room to take the merchandise in from the truck for stacking.


----------



## roadfix

If I were the district manager of Walmart things would be much different.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> If I were the district manager of Walmart things would be much different.




As a district or store manager, you have to meet profit goals to keep your job.  You do that by not hiring as many people.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> As a district or store manager, you have to meet profit goals to keep your job.  You do that by not hiring as many people.



I don't own any Walmart stock....


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> As a district or store manager, you have to meet profit goals to keep your job.  You do that by not hiring as many people.



Exactly!  Labor cost is the #1 controllable expense in retail, so you bet your bottom dollar that when numbers need to be met that labor is the first to be cut.  Every retailer that I've worked for does it this way usually there is a lot of pressure from the district manager to meet these numbers.  If you can't consistently meet those numbers as a store manager, you are gone!  If your district manager can't get their stores to meet those numbers then they are gone.  It's very cut and dry.


----------



## Zhizara

Andy M. said:


> As a district or store manager, you have to meet profit goals to keep your job.  You do that by not hiring as many people.




You have to keep stock on the shelves to sell.  It's a balancing act..


----------



## roadfix

I would send a mystery shopper in there to see if a clerk is willing to take the time to check stock on an item.  If not, I'll hear about this and let the store manger have it.


----------



## GotGarlic

roadfix said:


> I don't own any Walmart stock....



Not really the point, but I'm sure you know that.


----------



## JoAnn L.

When I worked retail we always had more of the items in the stockroom now they don't want to have all that money sitting in the back. They would rather run out of the item and then order.


----------



## roadfix

GotGarlic said:


> Not really the point, but I'm sure you know that.


I think you know me too well....


----------



## Aunt Bea

JoAnn L. said:


> When I worked retail we always had more of the items in the stockroom now they don't want to have all that money sitting in the back. They would rather run out of the item and then order.



I agree, we live in a zero inventory world, things are ordered as needed automatically by computer and the backroom is pretty much empty.

Like Clara Pelar said in the Wendy's commercials  "I don't think there's anybody back there!" 

My local Walmart appears to have plenty of staff.  I  stopped asking them questions because they never know the answer and that makes me grumpy, why ruin each others day!


----------



## CarolPa

The new Walmart 5 miles from my home is smaller than the one 12 miles away.  They don't carry as many items that the larger store carries, but I don't see many things out of stock.  Several times I have asked a stock clerk in grocery where an item is and instead of telling me what aisle it is in they take me over to the aisle and show me.  

Our Target doesn't have a clerk in every department for personal service, either.  Only in electronics.  I think that's the way retail sales is done these days.  You are on your own.  Even shoe stores are becoming self-serve these days.  Only in Macy's do you have to stand and wait for a clerk to get a pair of shoes for you to try.  I would rather go in and pull the box out and try them on myself.  No waiting around unless there is a line at the check-out.  

I know that certain items in WalMart are cheaply made, but if you buy a name brand product, such as Bounty Towels, they are Bounty Towels, same as in any other store.  Same with laundry detergent.  If I can get it a little cheaper, why not?


----------



## roadfix

If you want good, old fashioned service go to mom and pop shops.   I often get fed up with big box stores due to their lack of knowledge and good customer service.  I would rather pay a little more and get that Thank You and a smile when I leave the shop.
Of course, it all depends on what you're looking for.....


----------



## CarolPa

I agree that the smile and thank you are nice, but that doesn't pay my utilities.  I would rather do my own service and pay less.  Everyone has different priorities, and no one person is wrong.


----------



## roadfix

Another reason why I order practically everything on-line these days.......except for groceries, beer, nuts & bolts, and lumber.


----------



## CarolPa

Most of the time, I only order online if I can't find the item in a store, or if the online price is drastically lower than the store price.  I could get really carried away with spending if I got into the habit of ordering online.


----------



## Zhizara

Electronics is one of my pet peeves at my local Walmart.  There is usually just one clerk, and everything is locked up and if the clerk gets stuck at the register, you're out of luck.  

If I'm out of printer ink, I need it, but I never go to the store without a list of other things I need, all at the other end of the store.  Standing around waiting and waiting just makes my back hurt more and more.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Speaking of electronics...

I *VERY* much dislike _ANY_ #Apple device!
We changed our email address and tried to change that with our AppleID for all three, yes I said 3 different Apple devices.
What a [expletive]  nightmare! 
I still haven't got it figured out all of the way, but mostly and at the least the dang things will work now were as for the past week they did not.

If I had my way, DH would NOT have any of these three pains in my katooches, oy!


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> I agree that the smile and thank you are nice, but that doesn't pay my utilities.  I would rather do my own service and pay less.  Everyone has different priorities, and no one person is wrong.



I agree, I usually do my own research and likely know more about the product than the clerk at the store does.  I'll often stand in a store and google a product, look at user reviews and prices to see if it's priced right.


----------



## bakechef

roadfix said:


> Another reason why I order practically everything on-line these days.......except for groceries, beer, nuts & bolts, and lumber.



I haven't bought a single gift in a store yet this christmas, just so much easier to order online.  If I can manage to stay out of the post office, that would be wonderful too!


----------



## Andy M.

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Speaking of electronics...
> 
> I *VERY* much dislike _ANY_ #Apple device!
> We changed our email address and tried to change that with our AppleID for all three, yes I said 3 different Apple devices.
> What a [expletive]  nightmare!
> I still haven't got it figured out all of the way, but mostly and at the least the dang things will work now were as for the past week they did not.
> 
> If I had my way, DH would NOT have any of these three pains in my katooches, oy!




Do you have an Apple store near you?  Make an appointment at the genius bar and take your three devices to them.  They'll fix them for free.  Easy peasy.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Andy M. said:


> Do you have an Apple store near you?  Make an appointment at the genius bar and take your three devices to them.  They'll fix them for free.  Easy peasy.



hmmm, went there (after the first year of ownership was up) and they wanted too much money, (and don't get me started about these so called "Geniuses") when if I had great patience and time, I can 'Google' the answer to the problem with the correct wording of the question.  Of course this may take me a week to complete... oy! my sanity I DON'T LIKE APPLE!


----------



## roadfix

The sales floor IS the warehouse.  Just a loading dock in the back of the building.   As the trucks come in the stockers stock shelves all day long.  They're really not there to help customers, they're not trained for that, besides, most of them are not good dealing with people anyway.....you don't want to interrupt them while they're "working"....LOL


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...I DON'T LIKE APPLE!


As far as Himself is concerned, the only good Apple is one you can eat.


----------



## bakechef

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> hmmm, went there (after the first year of ownership was up) and they wanted too much money, (and don't get me started about these so called "Geniuses") when if I had great patience and time, I can 'Google' the answer to the problem with the correct wording of the question.  Of course this may take me a week to complete... oy! my sanity I DON'T LIKE APPLE!



Apple is great as long as you stay in their ecosystem, but trying to migrate out of it can be tricky, but that is all part of their strategy.


----------



## CharlieD

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> hmmm, went there (after the first year of ownership was up) and they wanted too much money, (and don't get me started about these so called "Geniuses") when if I had great patience and time, I can 'Google' the answer to the problem with the correct wording of the question.  Of course this may take me a week to complete... oy! my sanity I DON'T LIKE APPLE!




Go figure. I was only happy to get rid off my Samsung phones and get Apple. I had to go to store and use the help. The guy was very patient with me, explain everything in a simple language, helped setting up all the apps I needed. Now it is so much easier and so much more user friendly than Android. To each its own.  


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

I have heard it all now.

The students at Harvard want their mid terms delayed because they were out protesting. They didn't have the time to study.

 "It was necessary for them to protest unjust civil matters!" according to one student. 

Harvard told them to start studying in a hurry. Mid Terms will be taken on scheduled. Good for Harvard. 

Oh Mama and Papa are going to be so proud of you kid. Wait until you have to take out the loans in your own name for next year's tuition.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie, Himself and I were just discussing this. The students chose to protest knowing exams were coming up. Choices have consequences. Now that they decided the chose wrong. they want do-overs? Sorry, life doesn't give you do-overs.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Addie, Himself and I were just discussing this. The students chose to protest knowing exams were coming up. Choices have consequences. Now that they decided the chose wrong. they want do-overs? Sorry, life doesn't give you do-overs.



The Pirate and I were saying the same thing. What gets the both of us is that these people who are protesting, don't even live in or near the cities where these injustices happened. Save your protests for event that affect you directly in the city where you live. It will have more meaning. All these protests (?) are, are just an excuse to riot and cause mayhem. 

I want to be a fly on the wall in one home who has a child that flunked mid terms because he was busy protesting and didn't have time to study. There will be something to protest in that home when the next payment for tuition becomes due and the parents are saying NO! You flunked your mid exams. Go get a job! 

BTW, Mid Term Exams started today.


----------



## CharlieD

Don't even start with on those protestors. I almost missed my flight the other day because of some protests. I wonder if they even know what they are protesting. I bet some of them are thee just to make trouble. I bet if the had Togo to work to feed themselves and the family they would not be there. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Silversage

I was a student in the 60's and we protested, and we changed the world. 
Hooray for the students today who are taking a stand for what they believe in!


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Don't even start with on those protestors. I almost missed my flight the other day because of some protests. I wonder if they even know what they are protesting. I bet some of them are thee just to make trouble. I bet if the had Togo to work to feed themselves and the family they would not be there.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



We had them laying down on tracks, on the entrance to major Federal highways, etc. If one of them had been killed, they would have one more thing to protest about. It is much easier to protest than to study for exams.


----------



## Addie

We have two CVS's in Eastie. One down in Central Square and the really big one on the road to Winthrop. While The Pirate was out today I asked him to stop in the small CVS and get me a small bag for a  present with tissue paper. He went to check out thinking there would be a cashier to take his money. Nope. Not anymore.  They have *one* personal do-it-yourself checkout. The machine was not working properly and a small line was beginning to form. No a soul in site to assist. It wasn't until the manager saw the line that he came to fix the machine. I don't think we will be shopping in that store again. I really enjoy the personal touch of a live person being there.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> We had them laying down on tracks, on the entrance to major Federal highways, etc. If one of them had been killed, they would have one more thing to protest about. It is much easier to protest than to study for exams.



"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

- Edmund Burke


----------



## CWS4322

Is it just me? I hate it when s/one calls and doesn't leave a message. I only have one phone (that's all I need) and it is not always convenient to answer the phone (in the basement feeding the woodstove, about to get in the shower, outside letting the girls out, in the kitchen busy, just don't feel like talking to anyone right now). I don't have a cell phone (well, I do, but it is a pay-as-you-go and only a couple of people have the # and I don't refill it unless I need it). What is it about "I can't answer your call right now, please leave a message" that is not clear?


----------



## CharlieD

I hate those no message calls. My son on the other hand tells me not to leave a message, as he never checks them. And he can see that I called on his caller ID.  Drives me crazy. Oh, and another one I love is when I answer the phone and say hello I here on the end, instead of hello, who is this? Where did they learn to talk on the phone? 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> I hate those no message calls. My son on the other hand tells me not to leave a message, as he never checks them. And he can see that I called on his caller ID.  Drives me crazy.* Oh, and another one I love is when I answer the phone and say hello I here on the end, instead of hello, who is this?* Where did they learn to talk on the phone?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



I just tell them I'm not good at guessing games, I don't know who they are...it's my phone, I'm allowed to be a rude as I like on it, the person calling better be polite.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I just tell them I'm not good at guessing games, I don't know who they are...it's my phone, I'm allowed to be a rude as I like on it, the person calling better be polite.


I hate robo-calls. "Hello?" No one answers me, I hang up. Hate robo-calls.


----------



## Cheryl J

I have a landline but hardly ever get any calls on it. I have it because it's included in my package deal through Verizon internet.  I'm glad to have it though, just in case something happens to my cellphone and I need to reach someone.  

The last time I got a call on my landline was several weeks ago, someone  called to remind me I was late to volunteer at a charity.  They left a message.  I called them back and told them they reached a wrong number.  Everyone who knows me knows to call my cell.  A couple of times a year I might get a hang up on my messaging, but I don't pay it any mind.  If it's important, they'll leave a message.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I used to run to the phone every time it rang when my parents were still alive and when I was employed.  Now the telephone is for my convenience.  I check my messages when it is convenient for me, similar to sitting down and reading my mail.  The few people that know me understand how I do things and the rest of the world really doesn't matter.


----------



## CarolPa

We have a landline and I use caller-ID to decided if I want to answer.  DH likes to answer and argue with the people.  Our phone service is through out cable company so caller-ID comes up on the TV screen.  I love that.  If you are on the phone, it even shows who it is when another caller beeps in.  

I can't understand why I get so many telemarketing calls on my cell phone.  It started day one when I got the new number.


----------



## CarolPa

My DIL never answers her phone.  She looks at it to see who it is then lets it go to VM.  I don't like that, because I don't call to chat.  I usually need to tell or ask her something that I need answered right away.  Even if I leave a message, she doesn't  listen to it until she "has time."


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

okay so now Columbia is postponing midterms for students who were traumatized by the events in Missouri   I'm not getting that one


----------



## Addie

I am beginning to think the world is going to hell in a hand basket. I need to find a cause to be traumatized by. I wonder what it will get me.


----------



## GotGarlic

You say traumatized, I say standing up for injustice. 

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

- Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps.


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> My DIL never answers her phone.  She looks at it to see who it is then lets it go to VM.  I don't like that, because I don't call to chat.  I usually need to tell or ask her something that I need answered right away.  Even if I leave a message, she doesn't  listen to it until she "has time."



I'm kinda the same way, but that's because my mom tends to call while I'm eating or preparing dinner.  After that she usually texts me if she needs something.  When I hear the text come in, I can yell at my phone and say "OK Google Now, What's Up" and it will read me my text, comes in handy when I have my hands in raw meat.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> You say traumatized, I say standing up for injustice....


Protesting is good. Standing up for what you believe is wonderful. Whining that you didn't have time to study because you were out protesting? *sigh* The students knew finals were coming. Choices have consequences, but many in today's Generation Snowflake think someone needs to wave a magic wand to make everything all better when they chose and then that choice ends up biting them. They shouldn't get a do-over. If they end up flunking the test for their class, they just might learn an important lesson about life.  And then they can do-over the class material and exam.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Protesting is good. Standing up for what you believe is wonderful. Whining that you didn't have time to study because you were out protesting? *sigh* The students knew finals were coming. Choices have consequences, but many in today's Generation Snowflake think someone needs to wave a magic wand to make everything all better when they chose and then that choice ends up biting them. They shouldn't get a do-over. If they end up flunking the test for their class, they just might learn an important lesson about life.  And then they can do-over the class material and exam.



I am with you on this CG. Parents are not paying thousands of dollars to send their kids to a very expensive college so they can learn to protest. And exactly what does their protesting get them? A flunking grade!! Their parents are going to love them for this. If they lived in these cities where these events took place, I might understand a little bit. And now Columbia students are traumatized. Give me a break! Did they witness any of these events? Imagine if any of these students are studying to become doctors. I would love to be there when they are assigned to their own cadavers to dissect. Will anybody find a reason to protest that? Not if they want to graduate. Why not? Because they will have no grounds. All bodies are donated to the medical school by the wishes of the deceased or family. But as my son told me, a lot of them faint when first touching the body. Now there's something they can protest. Students fainting in the cadaver classroom and interrupting their lessons. And that makes as much sense as being traumatized by events they didn't even witness.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> Protesting is good. Standing up for what you believe is wonderful. Whining that you didn't have time to study because you were out protesting? *sigh* The students knew finals were coming. Choices have consequences, but many in today's Generation Snowflake think someone needs to wave a magic wand to make everything all better when they chose and then that choice ends up biting them. They shouldn't get a do-over. If they end up flunking the test for their class, they just might learn an important lesson about life.  And then they can do-over the class material and exam.



I agree that choices have consequences (Generation Snowflake ) and students should be prepared to pay them. I was referring to Addie's cracks about students being "traumatized" by events that happened somewhere other than their immediate vicinity. People are being unjustly abused and killed and I'm proud that college students recognize that and are standing against it. 

Btw, just so you know, Addie, students all over the country are doing the same. They're not doing it for themselves but for people who need help.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> I agree that choices have consequences (Generation Snowflake ) and students should be prepared to pay them. I was referring to Addie's cracks about students being "traumatized" by events that happened somewhere other than their immediate vicinity. People are being unjustly abused and killed and I'm proud that college students recognize that and are standing against it.
> 
> Btw, just so you know, Addie, students all over the country are doing the same. They're not doing it for themselves but for people who need help.



And they are all facing mid-terms this week. They are smart enough to study and not whine about having to protest. They are in their classrooms taking their mid-terms. We have students and other protesters tonight that are blocking all traffic on main thoroughfares. And they are stating they won't even move if an ambulance comes along. I hope it isn't a family member of one of those protesters.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

I was truly traumatized by the newsreels from Vietnam as a young women, but I didn't ask to let off from school because of it. 
I did my own quiet peace protests, but I didn't say to my job at the time that I couldn't come in because I was horrified by the events of the day.
I was shaken to my core by what I saw on television on September 11, 2001, but I still went to work that day with a very heavy heart and tears running down my cheek.
Sorry guys, I just don't get this.
I'll get off my soap box now
Peace everyone


----------



## PrincessFiona60

This has gone beyond Petty Vent and is skating along the edge of rudeness and bashing.  May I ask that all parties disengage on this subject?

Thank you.


----------



## Andy M.

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I was truly traumatized by the newsreels from Vietnam as a young women, but I didn't ask to let off from school because of it.
> I did my own quiet peace protests, but I didn't say to my job at the time that I couldn't come in because I was horrified by the events of the day.
> I was shaken to my core by what I saw on television on September 11, 2001, but I still went to work that day with a very heavy heart and tears running down my cheek.
> Sorry guys, I just don't get this.
> I'll get off my soap box now
> Peace everyone



It's a generational thing.  Today's kids feel entitled.  I wouldn't be surprised if the students' parents storm the university demanding a reschedule of the exams.


----------



## CarolPa

Bakechef, I understand that sometimes you can be involved in something and can't pick up the phone immediately, but I find it hard to believe that every time I call her she's too busy to answer.  Also, I only call her once every couple weeks or so, when I need to know something, never just to chat.  I guess my issue with my DIL is that I have seen her do that with her phone when she is sitting having a cup of coffee. One time I was at the hospital, with DH in the ER.  Neither she nor my son answered their phone, so I had to tell them on VM that his Dad was in the ER.  They responded the next morning.


----------



## CWS4322

I can relate to not answering the phone. Personally, I hate the phone. I prefer communicating by email. I can control when I check my email, which emails I answer, which ones I ignore until after work. 


When I'm working, I only answer the phone at the end of my work day (rarely do my clients call me). I do screen my calls--so if it were related to work, I would pick up. 


One of the reasons I do that is to restrict the interruptions. I am very focused and can lose my train of thought and have to backtrack if I'm interrupted when I am working on a particularly difficult concept to describe or editing s/thing written by a non-native speaker. Sometimes I can't get back to the wording I wanted (but my fingers weren't keeping up with my thoughts). That is very annoying. Especially if I had to do a lot of thinking to unravel what the author was trying to convey or a lot of research / background reading to grasp the bigger picture. 


A recent studied showed it takes 23 minutes to get back on track after a 3-5 minute interruption. My most productive hours to work are 6:30 - 3:30/4:00 p.m. If I get interrupted by non-work interruptions, I don't get the amount of work done that I've estimated to be able to do in a day. That hurts my bottom line. 


I do, however, always pick up if it is my dad, uncle, or brother.


----------



## Silversage

I think what we do for a living often has a bearing on our preferred form of communication.  I HATE email!  I HATE being on the phone.  And I usually prefer reading pleasant posts than actually replying to them.

I telecommute for work, therefore 100% of my day is spent emailing, teleconferencing, talking on the phone, working on the computer, and collaborating online via via GoToMeeting, etc.  My friends and family text me - that's the only thing I respond to after work hours.  I let my answering machine screen all phone calls and ignore personal emails.  Friends have learned just not to bother emailing me because I'm not going to answer. TEXT ME!  It's quick, simple, to the point, and let me go.  There are those who refuse to move into the 21st century, and I'm content to leave them behind.  

In the evening, I no longer want to stay home and cook - I want to get the h--- out of the house and see live people and talk to them face to face!


----------



## Andy M.

I guess I'm different from most.  If it rings I answer it.  First I check the caller ID.  If it's a telemarketer, I hang up.  Otherwise, I feel if someone I know is calling me, I owe them the courtesy of a response.

I also read all emails and respond to those that need a response.

I don't text.  Almost no one texts me.  If I get a text, I respond.

To each his own.


----------



## GotGarlic

I made slow-cooker apple butter for holiday gifts, and prepared to can it today. I gathered the jars, equipment, etc., got the canner water boiling, and... I can't find the dang canning tongs. I'm so freaking aggravated. I'm sick of Christmas already.


----------



## Chef Munky

GotGarlic said:


> I made slow-cooker apple butter for holiday gifts, and prepared to can it today. I gathered the jars, equipment, etc., got the canner water boiling, and... I can't find the dang canning tongs. I'm so freaking aggravated. I'm sick of Christmas already.



Don't get mad GG,Dahling...Get even!

Do you have an Oven Glove.Ov glove whatever the technical term is for them are today?

Had that happen to me.Once canning.Once having to reach into a hot smoker to retrieve a fallen rack of ribs.Got the glove both times worked great.


----------



## Chef Munky

Andy M. said:


> I guess I'm different from most.  If it rings I answer it.  First I check the caller ID.  If it's a telemarketer, I hang up.  Otherwise, I feel if someone I know is calling me, I owe them the courtesy of a response.
> 
> I also read all emails and respond to those that need a response.
> 
> I don't text.  Almost no one texts me.  If I get a text, I respond.
> 
> To each his own.



Don't you love caller ID? It's my best friend.
I don't answer unless I know the person calling.If it shows up as VOIP recording(Vote for me types) I press the off button.The phone still rings.I just don't hear it.


----------



## Addie

*Question*

I have a 6.5 slow cooker. I also have 18 canning jars (pints) that I have been carrying around from home to home. Can I use my slow cooker for canning? Does it have to be a special S.C.? It is too late this year, but next year I am thinking of making some presents of cranberry sauce. I already have the checkered cloth and straw ties for the lids.


----------



## GotGarlic

No, you can't use a slow cooker for canning. You can't be sure it will get to the proper temperature for safe infection control.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> No, you can't use a slow cooker for canning. You can't be sure it will get to the proper temperature for safe infection control.



Thank you. I wasn't sure. It does come to a boil when on high, but I don't want to take any chances. I will go with what I know best.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chef Munky said:


> Don't get mad GG,Dahling...Get even!
> 
> Do you have an Oven Glove.Ov glove whatever the technical term is for them are today?
> 
> Had that happen to me.Once canning.Once having to reach into a hot smoker to retrieve a fallen rack of ribs.Got the glove both times worked great.


Munky, I think the Ove-Glove works that way in only a dry environment. They may have come out with wet-use ones since Himself got me one years ago, but even steam goes through the original one.


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> Bakechef, I understand that sometimes you can be involved in something and can't pick up the phone immediately, but I find it hard to believe that every time I call her she's too busy to answer.  Also, I only call her once every couple weeks or so, when I need to know something, never just to chat.  I guess my issue with my DIL is that I have seen her do that with her phone when she is sitting having a cup of coffee. One time I was at the hospital, with DH in the ER.  Neither she nor my son answered their phone, so I had to tell them on VM that his Dad was in the ER.  They responded the next morning.



I understand what you mean completely, but now that we are in the day and age where your phone (for me it's my only phone) is with you all the time, I've had to pick and choose when to answer.  Friends and family know that if it's urgent, to ring me a second time and if I can, I'll answer it, if I can't they'll text and say "call me!"


----------



## JoAnn L.

DH and I just got home from our daughters house, where we spent Christmas day. We almost didn't make it up to their house. We were driving to a busy intersection, we had the green light, we were about '5 seconds'  away when a car ran the red light (he must have doing at least 70 to 80 miles an hour)because he was being chased by the police. I told my husband that we have never been that close to death before. When we got to my daughters house and told them what happened there were thankful hugs all around.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

JoAnn L. said:


> DH and I just got home from our daughters house, where we spent Christmas day. We almost didn't make it up to their house. We were driving to a busy intersection, we had the green light, we were about '5 seconds'  away when a car ran the red light (he must have doing at least 70 to 80 miles an hour)because he was being chased by the police. I told my husband that we have never been that close to death before. When we got to my daughters house and told them what happened there were thankful hugs all around.



Thank Goodness everyone is all right.


----------



## Cheryl J

Oh my gosh, what a close call that was.  So glad everyone is OK.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh good gravy.  What a scare, so glad you made it, JoAnn!


----------



## JoAnn L.

Thanks everyone. It is still scary to think what would have happened if we would have been just 5 seconds earlier. I can see my family waiting for us and wondering where we were.


----------



## CharlieD

JoAnn L. said:


> DH and I just got home from our daughters house, where we spent Christmas day. We almost didn't make it up to their house. We were driving to a busy intersection, we had the green light, we were about '5 seconds'  away when a car ran the red light (he must have doing at least 70 to 80 miles an hour)because he was being chased by the police. I told my husband that we have never been that close to death before. When we got to my daughters house and told them what happened there were thankful hugs all around.




Thank G-d you are ok. I don't know what wrong with people. Saw similar situation yesterday. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


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## GotGarlic

So happy you and DH are okay, Jo Ann! That's so frightening!


----------



## JoAnn L.

Do you know that in the last week I have seen 4 people run through red lights. It wasn't any certain age group either. Last week a lady was coming out of the WalMart parking lot onto a highway and the light just turned green and she started to go when a big semi couldn't stop in time and hit her broadside. She didn't get killed but she was hurt pretty bad.
I know after our experence I am going to be very aware at the traffic lights.


----------



## Dawgluver

We have to be super careful driving in Mexico.  Stop signs are taken as a suggestion, and stop lights are ignored.

We parked at a beach club, and heard a loud crash.  A pallet fell off a stack of other pallets not 3 feet away from us.  Would have crushed the hood of the rental had we parked there!


----------



## Kayelle

JoAnn L. said:


> Do you know that in the last week I have seen 4 people run through red lights. It wasn't any certain age group either. Last week a lady was coming out of the WalMart parking lot onto a highway and the light just turned green and she started to go when a big semi couldn't stop in time and hit her broadside. She didn't get killed but she was hurt pretty bad.
> I know after our experence I am going to be very aware at the traffic lights.



I'm so glad you're ok JoAnn...those cop chases are horrifying!! 

Speaking of the lady who was hit by the truck, thanks to Mom, I was taught to never be the first to go through the light when it turns green if you can help it. That good advice has saved me twice.


----------



## CharlieD

Darn, just my luck. Got a speeding ticket the other day. Went to talk to a hearing officer. Asked for "continue to dismiss", I have a clean driving record. She tells me she would do it, however I got ticket in Edina, and it is the only city in the area that doesn't allow "continue to dismiss". The stupidest part of course is that the street I got the ticket on, is the border line of that city, 20 feet to the right and I would be in a different city. Go figure. Not sure what to do now. If tickets goes on my record it stays there for 5 years. Crazy. Any lawyers here? Any advice?


----------



## CarolPa

*Charlie*, I am not a lawyer, but my advice is to quit speeding.  I know that's not what you wanted to hear.  

*Joann*, I am glad to hear that you and your family escaped that horrible situation.  Just recently there was an accident near here where a guy made a left turn in front of a police car who had his lights and siren on.  I don't know why he wasn't aware of the police car.  Both the policeman and the other driver were killed.  I don't know what the answer is.  I realize they have to catch the bad guys, but at what cost?


----------



## roadfix

Re: central heating and cooling.  Trying to convince my wife that simply turning up the thermostat is not going to pump "warmer" air.   We have this same argument during the summer also.....the lower the thermostat setting does not equal "cooler" air coming out of the vents.   We keep going in circles and argue about this every time outdoor temps hit way below or above average.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> Re: central heating and cooling.  Trying to convince my wife that simply turning up the thermostat is not going to pump "warmer" air.   We have this same argument during the summer also.....the lower the thermostat setting does not equal "cooler" air coming out of the vents.   We keep going in circles and argue about this every time outdoor temps hit way below or above average.



Mmmm, maybe.

The air coming out of the vents (warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer) is at fairly constant temperatures.  However, it will actually be warmer/cooler than the air already in the rooms, resulting in warming or cooling the rooms.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> Mmmm, maybe.
> 
> The air coming out of the vents (warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer) is at fairly constant temperatures.  However, it will actually be warmer/cooler than the air already in the rooms, resulting in warming or cooling the rooms.



We have high ceilings and the house does not have efficient insulation.  
Yes, the indoor temps will (might in our case) eventually hit or come close to whatever thermostat setting its set at.
But I'm trying to convince my wife that it doesn't matter whether she sets the thermostat at 80 degrees or 120 degrees, the indoor temp will never reach say, 75, when it is 35 outside due to our house not being able to hold/contain the heat.  The heating system will stay on continuously, fighting to catch up, to the heat being lost through our windows, skylight, lack of good insulation thru walls, etc...


----------



## Kayelle

Roadfix, just tell her the central heating doesn't work like a stove, it won't run hotter, just longer.


----------



## CarolPa

Here's my problem with heat.  Our thermostat is right across the hall from the bathroom.  It's a small bathroom and when you have the door shut, it gets really hot in there.  I have a habit of closing the vent.  Heat still come through, enough to keep the bathroom warm, but DH says that the furnace will keep running because the heat coming out of the bathroom tells the thermostat that the house is warm.  I say that it's sending a false message, because the bathroom air is so much warmer than the rest of the house, the rest of the house stays cooler because of the thermostat shutting off the furnace prematurely.  Who is right?


----------



## Andy M.

If the heat from the bathroom raises the temperature at the thermostat to the set level, the thermostat will shut off the heat before the rest of the house is warmed.  So if the thermostat is in a warmer than average location, the rest of the house will be cooler.

I have a similar problem because we have a town house on three levels.  I have to adjust the vents in different rooms to maximize the effect the A/C in the summer and the heat in the winter.


----------



## Dawgluver

We came back home on a plane last night.  There were at least 8 people on the flight hacking and coughing like crazy, several directly in front of, next to, and behind us.

Thinking I will bring a few surgical masks next time we fly.


----------



## roadfix

Yea, often times they mount thermostats at odd locations.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> We came back home on a plane last night.  There were at least 8 people on the flight hacking and coughing like crazy, several directly in front of, next to, and behind us.
> 
> Thinking I will bring a few surgical masks next time we fly.



It wasn't me, honest!


----------



## CarolPa

We adjust the vents in some rooms, too.  Since heat rises, is the third level of your townhouse warmer than the other 2 levels?


----------



## CarolPa

Dawgluver, when I fly, sometimes the people in front of me recline their seat back so far that they are almost in my lap.  I start to cough a bit, and they give me a dirty look and raise their seat.  

I hope you don't get sick!


----------



## Dawgluver

CarolPa said:


> Dawgluver, when I fly, sometimes the people in front of me recline their seat back so far that they are almost in my lap.  I start to cough a bit, and they give me a dirty look and raise their seat.
> 
> I hope you don't get sick!




Carol, that's a very good idea! I had a few folks in my lap as well.  Maybe I'll do a few hacks next time.


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> We adjust the vents in some rooms, too.  Since heat rises, is the third level of your townhouse warmer than the other 2 levels?



The bedrooms are on the top level.  When we switch from A/C to heat, I close the vents in the bedrooms so they'll be colder and more of the heat stays in the main living area.  

When we switch to A/C, I open the BR vents and close the vents in the main living area so more cold air makes it upstairs B4 the thermostat gets cold and shuts off the A/C.

We like our BR colder.  Also, we have heated mattress pads for the winter.  How nice to crawl into a nice warm bed.


----------



## CharlieD

CarolPa said:


> *Charlie*, I am not a lawyer, but my advice is to quit speeding.  I know that's not what you wanted to hear?




Ah, going 45 cannot even be consider speeding. My car doesn't even go slower than that.. These silly speeding limits were implemented when cars could barely go over 30, new cars fly compare to the old ones. They are so much better.  It's time to go to "use common sense" speed limits. You are on an empty road, on a clear sunny day, no traffic what so ever. Go 45-50, no problem. You are on a hwy during rush hour, driving in the ice and snow, jumping from lane to lane, trying to pass somebody. Arrest such driver and make him/her showed the roads by hand.



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## CharlieD

CarolPa said:


> Here's my problem with heat.  Our thermostat is right across the hall from the bathroom.  It's a small bathroom and when you have the door shut, it gets really hot in there.  I have a habit of closing the vent.  Heat still come through, enough to keep the bathroom warm, but DH says that the furnace will keep running because the heat coming out of the bathroom tells the thermostat that the house is warm.  I say that it's sending a false message, because the bathroom air is so much warmer than the rest of the house, the rest of the house stays cooler because of the thermostat shutting off the furnace prematurely.  Who is right?




You both are right in the end. I do not know why builders put thermostats in this weird places. Our is near kitchen. Go figure. 


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----------



## CarolPa

Andy, the way your manage your vents for heat/cooling makes sense.  Our house is one 1 floor, but we also have a basement.  We keep the heat vent open in the basement so the pipes don't freeze, but it is still much cooler than the living quarters upstairs.  That works great for me because my exercise equipment is in the basement and I like it to be a little cooler when I exercise.

I never knew they made heated mattress pads, but I googled, and saw them.  I think I will get one but will only use it to warm up the bed, not keep it on while we're sleeping.  No matter how warm it is in the house, the sheets are always so cold when you get in bed, until your body heat warms them up.  It would be nice to get in bed and have it already warm.  I remember that from years ago when we had a water bed.


----------



## CarolPa

Charlie, I understand completely what you are saying about the low speed limits, but until something is changed, it is best to follow the signs if you don't want to get a ticket.  I am one of the people you don't ever want to get behind on a 2 lane road with "no passing" signs, but DH feels as you do.  There is a stretch of Interstate 70 near our area that is 45 MPH.  He gets so angry *every time we go through there,* but I tell him to just do it and shut up about it!  LOL


----------



## GotGarlic

Flannel sheets are always warm when you get into them


----------



## CarolPa

DH doesn't like flannel sheets for some reason.  We've already discussed that option.


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> ...I never knew they made heated mattress pads, but I googled, and saw them.  I think I will get one but will only use it to warm up the bed, not keep it on while we're sleeping...




That's mostly how we use them.  We warm up the bed then turn them off.  However, sometimes you feel really cold and can leave them on all night.  They have a temperature controller with heat settings.  Ours has 1-10.  10 gets it heated up and up can turn it down to 1 or 2 for the overnight.


----------



## CharlieD

Honestly I simply did not see the sign, was in an unfamiliar part of town.. 


I don't have problem with people driving with the posted speed limit, or me for that matter, as long as they remember that "slower traffic move to the right" and in some states and a lot of places around the world "left lane is for passing only". I remember taking my wife to the hospital, her water broke, and we have this hwy 35 with 45 miles speed, this guy in the left was driving exactly 45, as well as the guy in the right lane.. You can imagine I am in the hurry and they are just cursing along next to each other. I don't care about guy on the right but one the left, I'm honking and honking, and the jerk flashes 4 and 5 to me. Thank G-d I did not ran him of the roads. I hate ars holes like that.


----------



## Chef Munky

Looking at a huge ugly unopened box sitting in my living room.
It's a brand new dishwasher.Yep, finally broke down and bought one.

We ordered it and all the recommended parts for it online.Gotta say I'm not too impressed with Home Depot right now.

The delivery date was set back.That was ok, things happen.
When  it finally got here the delivery driver already has his mind set he and  the other guy wasn't going to install it."Were here for a drop off" Hubby quickly corrected him  it's installation and removal +parts have been paid for.Yes you will.

The driver said something to his friend in spanish which btw way is completely rude of one to do if the others don't speak it.
He came in took a look under the sink.Went to his truck brought back some paper work after rereading the original order form that yes he's right.

We didn't know that this states plumbing codes require that all domestic dishwashers now have to have an air gap installed before a new one is installed.It prevents backflow.New law from the last time we bought one

We called Home Depot about it.They refunded us for the parts and also gave us a $50.00 in store gift card. Oh joy, joy my cup is runneth over. That should probably cover the additional parts.

The whole idea was to go easy pay to let someone else do the work.
Were still stuck doing it ourselves.

Can I kick that box?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Can I kick that box?



Absolutely, but don't burn it until you get the dishwasher and all parts and manuals out of it.


----------



## Souschef

Andy M. said:


> That's mostly how we use them.  We warm up the bed then turn them off.  However, sometimes you feel really cold and can leave them on all night.  They have a temperature controller with heat settings.  Ours has 1-10.  10 gets it heated up and up can turn it down to 1 or 2 for the overnight.


I have a small heating pad, and on cold nights,an hour or so before bed time, I put it in Kayelle's side on low to warm up the bed for her.


----------



## Somebunny

CharlieD said:


> Darn, just my luck. Got a speeding ticket the other day. Went to talk to a hearing officer. Asked for "continue to dismiss", I have a clean driving record. She tells me she would do it, however I got ticket in Edina, and it is the only city in the area that doesn't allow "continue to dismiss". The stupidest part of course is that the street I got the ticket on, is the border line of that city, 20 feet to the right and I would be in a different city. Go figure. Not sure what to do now. If tickets goes on my record it stays there for 5 years. Crazy. Any lawyers here? Any advice?




Charlie, I imagine each state is different, but in our state you can take a "deferred" which is asking for a "mitigation hearing, admitting to the infraction and paying the fine in full.  If you do not have a moving violation in the next year then the infraction does not go on your record. Many times you can get the mitigation by mail and do not have to appear at the court hearing.  This is not done in every jurisdiction, but it's worth a try asking.  Call the court clerk of the jurisdiction where you got the citation to inquire.  


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## Kayelle

Souschef said:


> I have a small heating pad, and on cold nights,an hour or so before bed time, I put it in Kayelle's side on low to warm up the bed for her.



I know, I know, he really is too good to be true. Just ask him how that heating pad to warm my rear on an Alaskan cruise almost got us busted by the TSA. lol


----------



## CharlieD

Somebunny said:


> Charlie, I imagine each state is different, but in our state you can take a "deferred" which is asking for a "mitigation hearing, admitting to the infraction and paying the fine in full.  If you do not have a moving violation in the next year then the infraction does not go on your record. Many times you can get the mitigation by mail and do not have to appear at the court hearing.  This is not done in every jurisdiction, but it's worth a try asking.  Call the court clerk of the jurisdiction where you got the citation to inquire.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking




Thank you. 


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----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> I know, I know, he really is too good to be true. Just ask him how that heating pad to warm my rear on an Alaskan cruise almost got us busted by the TSA. lol



My Ogre used to do things like that, now it's payback time.  And I don't have to worry about the TSA.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> I know, I know, he really is too good to be true. Just ask him how that heating pad to warm my rear on an Alaskan cruise almost got us busted by the TSA. lol



I love that you have a DH like mine  Such a sweetheart


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> If the heat from the bathroom raises the temperature at the thermostat to the set level, the thermostat will shut off the heat before the rest of the house is warmed.  So if the thermostat is in a warmer than average location, the rest of the house will be cooler.
> 
> I have a similar problem because we have a town house on three levels.  I have to adjust the vents in different rooms to maximize the effect the A/C in the summer and the heat in the winter.



We have a similar situation, three levels.  We can regulate the main and top levels with some trickery, but the basement is much less consistent.  What's nice is that it's cool in the summer, but in the winter when mom visits, she uses a space heater in the basement guest room.  Luckily our thermostat is in a sensible location.


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> We have a similar situation, three levels.  We can regulate the main and top levels with some trickery, but the basement is much less consistent.  What's nice is that it's cool in the summer, but in the winter when mom visits, she uses a space heater in the basement guest room.  Luckily our thermostat is in a sensible location.



Our basement level family room is the coolest in the summer and the warmest in the winter.  The vents for this room are the first ones off the furnace/air conditioner so the hottest/coolest air hits there first, even with the two vents shut tight.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Why is it that idiot pet owners who leave their dogs out in 16 degree weather for an hour never lock themselves out of the house? If only...


----------



## Cooking4to

Cooking Goddess said:


> Why is it that idiot pet owners who leave their dogs out in 16 degree weather for an hour never lock themselves out of the house? If only...



As I read your post I looked at my thermostat to see what the outdoor temp was and its exactly 16, we must live close, lol...  supposed to be 0 to 1 tonight, fun fun fun, they delayed school for 2 hours tomorrow morning, I don't ever remember missing school because it was cold, these kids have it too easy, I used to walk to school up hill both ways in the snow year round...


PS, if anyone ever has any HVAC questions about heating and venting, feel free to ask, thats what I do, WELL, what I did, I sold my company and retired a short time ago, I retired very young {mid 30's}, still own a real estate company to manage my rental properties but I still know a bunch of stuff, so feel free to contact me with any questions, I specialised in high end housing , high efficiency heating and cooling systems, I still hold 3 states of licenses...


----------



## Andy M.

The other day, I had to deal with two insurance companies and a mail order Rx company in order to straighten out a snafu with a new provider.  This all took 2 hours and 30 minutes start to finish.  Sadly, about 2 hours and 15 minutes of that time was spent on hold.  Fortunately, with speaker phone, I could be doing other things while I waited.


----------



## CarolPa

We never missed school because of weather, either.  Sometimes the teachers didn't make it, but the students were always there.


----------



## GotGarlic

Did you walk to school, Carol? Around here many kids take the bus. When there's no equipment to clear the roads, it's very dangerous to put buses out there in old neighborhoods with narrow streets.


----------



## CarolPa

I guess I was talking about all the 2 hr delays we're having around here because of the cold temperatures.  Maybe it's because they now know more about the dangers of frostbite, but in 12 years of school, I never knew anyone who got frostbite on the way to and from school.  The temperature isn't going to go up very much between 7 and 9 AM.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CarolPa said:


> I guess I was talking about all the 2 hr delays we're having around here because of the cold temperatures.  Maybe it's because they now know more about the dangers of frostbite, but in 12 years of school, I never knew anyone who got frostbite on the way to and from school.  The temperature isn't going to go up very much between 7 and 9 AM.



In my area the 2 hour delays are often related to problems getting the buses started.  It also allows them to wait until the roads have been cleaned up and the rush hour is mostly over.

I walked to school and never minded the cold or worried about frostbite, of course that was in the days before windchill had been invented.  When we did have a snow day we were always out playing much longer than the time it would have taken us to walk to school!


----------



## CarolPa

This morning on the radio they had a school administrator on who said that the wind chill is not at bad at 9 as it is at 7 and that's why the delay.  

Before Christmas we went to my grandson's school Christmas entertainment.  It was a very cold and windy day.  While we were waiting in line to get into the high school where the show was being held, we saw them walk the gradeschool kids across the parking lot from the elementary school to the high school.  My grandson was the only one who had a hat on, and that was because he wore his Santa hat to school that day.  I guess I'm just an old fashioned fuddy-duddy.


----------



## CharlieD

I just hate waiting at doctors office. If I were to come late they would have canceled my appointment, but it is ok for the doctor to be late. 


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----------



## CarolPa

You are spot on with that one, Charlie!  Most of my doctor's are pretty good, but one time at the cardiologist office, they weighed me and checked my blood pressure and put me in a room to wait for the doctor.  I waited so long that I finally opened the door and asked if they forgot me.  It turns out that something happened to a patient in another room.  DH was waiting out in the waiting room for me and was worried about me because everyone was running back to the rooms.  But you're right.  If it's you that's late because of an emergency that's just too bad.


----------



## GotGarlic

If I'm the patient having a cardiac emergency, making the doctor late, I sure do hope s/he won't rush taking care of me in order to keep to the schedule. I'll talk to the staff after an hour and if it's inconvenient for me to continue to wait, I'll reschedule the appointment.


----------



## CarolPa

I was not complaining that the cardiologist was taking care of the patient with the emergency.  I was just stating WHY the doctor was delayed seeing me.


----------



## GotGarlic

It sounded like you were agreeing with Charlie who was complaining about having to wait for the doctor. My point is that if the doctor is taking care of an emergency, I'm not going to complain or be upset about it. I'll just reschedule the appointment.


----------



## CarolPa

I WAS agreeing with Charlie.  About doctors who overschedule and therefore leave people sitting in the waiting room, because as Charlie said, if you are late for your appointment, they make you reschedule.  You could have had trouble with traffic, or parking. 

Then I mentioned a time when I was wondering why I was waiting so long and found that it was because of an emergency with another patient, not the doctor's fault.

I was pointing out that there are 2 sides to the coin.  

It seems to me that you tear apart every post I make.


----------



## GotGarlic

Sorry if I misunderstood.


----------



## tinlizzie

I get so tired of fussing with self-seal plastic bags.  It's a great idea when it works; makes me want to tear out my hair when it doesn't.    Sometimes it seals so tightly I have trouble getting it unsealed.  Or it looks resealed and isn't.


----------



## CharlieD

I was at the regular office. Physical. What emergency in a dedicated clinic? Not hospital, not Urgent care. I end up waiting for an hour and a half.


----------



## Cooking4to

tinlizzie said:


> I get so tired of fussing with self-seal plastic bags.  It's a great idea when it works; makes me want to tear out my hair when it doesn't.    Sometimes it seals so tightly I have trouble getting it unsealed.  Or it looks resealed and isn't.



I agree with this, I am ANTI zip lock, they are expensive and I would rather use tupperware, that new affordable thinner ziplock brand reusable container system is nice...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CharlieD said:


> I was at the regular office. Physical. What emergency in a dedicated clinic? Not hospital, not Urgent care. I end up waiting for an hour and a half.



If the doctor had to tend to an emergency, odds are he went to the hospital to deal with it.  He probably wasn't even in the same building you were.

I have also been the emergency that happened in the doctor's office, once with a heart problem and an other with a bleeding problem.


----------



## CharlieD

PrincessFiona60 said:


> If the doctor had to tend to an emergency, odds are he went to the hospital to deal with it.  He probably wasn't even in the same building you were.
> 
> I have also been the emergency that happened in the doctor's office, once with a heart problem and an other with a bleeding problem.




He was in the office.


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----------



## Aunt Bea

I paid my rent on New Years Day, the funds have still not been deducted from my checking account.  I called the office and they told me that they switched to a remote scanner check deposit system the first of the year.  The young lady informed me that the scanner doesn't like my check.  I offered to bring over cash or another check in exchange for the one that they already have and she told me that she will _*try, *big sigh*,*_ to process my check again.  Then she told me I may have to open a new checking account or pay with money orders going forward.  I told her that I've had this checking account since 1989 and no one has ever had a problem cashing my checks so she needs to have a talk with her scanner salesman or make a trip to the bank and deposit it like they have for the last three years! 

I hate progress!


----------



## CarolPa

tinlizzie said:


> I get so tired of fussing with self-seal plastic bags.  It's a great idea when it works; makes me want to tear out my hair when it doesn't.    Sometimes it seals so tightly I have trouble getting it unsealed.  Or it looks resealed and isn't.




And the companies thought they were HELPING us by inventing them!  LOL


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dear Google Chrome:

*Why* did you go and change the bookmarks to a tile format?  What used to be so easy and user-friendly has become a major pain. I was simply re-arranging my tiles when *poof* one sub-folder was sucked up into another sub-folder. Which one? It took me ten minutes and one glass of wine to find it and move it to it's original destination. Not a happy camper right now...


----------



## CrazyCatLady

LOL Dear Google Chrome!

That's hilarious and so true, CG. 

Now I have a letter; you gave me that idea!

Dear (Retail Store) Manager,
Thank you so much for installing the new card readers. I'm sure they are wonderful; however, you forgot that we have old registers with the old interface. These are like running a new Epson laser printer on DOS. I have to reboot the dang thing every time a customer pays with two or more forms of payment; ie, gift cards, cash, and/or debit or credit card.

Rebooting the dang thing takes about two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. That's if the buffer isn't full. If the buffer is full, it has to dump and recycle, which takes an additional one minute and twenty seconds. By now everyone in line is thoroughly ticked off having to wait for all this. Why in the world didn't you replace the registers?

Oh! Too much money, and it isn't in the budget. Tell me a billion-dollar corporation can't replace registers that are so old I'd have better luck with an abacus.

Since our store will be undergoing a remodel and refit beginning in February, let me make the following suggestions.

One, each cash register needs to have a trapdoor and a button. As soon as someone gets nasty, that customer will be dispatched off to the underground.

On the speedy registers, that trapdoor need to open automatically at 30 items. What is so hard about 20 items or less?

The customer service desk needs to be fitten with catapults. The next time a customer tries to return a *used* pregnancy test, she should be flung into the rafters and left there to think about it. The same should apply to the ones who try to return stuff they bought at another store. And I can't tell you how many grills have been returned after being used repeatedly and the guy "doesn't like it." Learn to use a grill, dingbat!

You wouldn't believe how many large-screen TVs are returned after the Superbowl. Wow, just wow.

And please train your sales associates to put the right prices into the system. I have actually lost weight running around the store with price checks. And for heaven's sake, put the NEW bar code OVER the old bar code. How hard is this?

And stop scheduling me outside of my availability. I am available from 7am to 11pm. That's enough. When I find myself on the schedule outside of my availability and I say something about it, the answer is always "But I need the coverage." No. The scheduling is your problem, not mine. I have a certain availablity and that is that. I'm tired of hearing you whine and complain about coverage.

And one of your poopy-brained assistant managers saw I wasn't parked out in the white spaces, but one row in the farthest yellow spaces. I'm a disabled veteran with a handicap license tag. I never use the handicap spaces for nine hours per day. He yelled at me to park "in the right place." So, I looked at him, looked at my car and hopped in and promptly drove into a handicap space. I put him in his place as well. Why don't you control your assistants?

I can say I do like my job, as I am able to help folks and be interactive. But you're not exactly helping and the front end (cashiers, service desk, CSMs) is a disaster because you're cutting costs by not having enough cashiers on the registers, only one person at the service desk, and only maybe two of us CSMs on duty.

I really wish common sense would rule, but it doesn't. By the way, have you ever wondered why I never answer my phone on days off? 

Just saying. 


Wooooooo! I feel better. I did address these issues and they said they're working on it, but I haven't seen it. Mercy! It's just crazy. 

Thanks for listening, folks. Bleah!


----------



## Mad Cook

CharlieD said:


> I was at the regular office. Physical. What emergency in a dedicated clinic? Not hospital, not Urgent care. I end up waiting for an hour and a half.


I went to the doctor's for a prescription review last year. The receptionist told me that there would be a slight delay and about five minutes later the paramedics came charging in. The patient before me had had a heart attack in the doctor's surgery! 

Emergencies _can_ occur in inconvenient and unusual circumstances!


----------



## Caslon

CrazyCatLady said:


> You wouldn't believe how many large-screen TVs are returned after the Superbowl. Wow, just wow.



I never thought of that. Funny.  Walmart has a very very forgiving return policy.  Also, you buy a $1200 LED TV at Walmart and they hand you a very non nondescript looking cash register receipt, one  that looks the same as if you bought a 99 cent candy bar!


----------



## Cooking4to

Caslon said:


> I never thought of that. Funny.  Walmart has a very very forgiving return policy.  Also, you buy a $1200 LED TV at Walmart and they hand you a very non nondescript looking cash register receipt, one  that looks the same as if you bought a 99 cent candy bar!



I returned a tv once, the kid at best buy dropped it when putting it in my truck, then I dropped it taking it out, I got it in the house and it was broken, I brought it back the next day, they asked "what is wrong with it" I said "It don't work" they said "ok heres a new one"......  As easy as that was, I wouldn't want to buy a tv to return it after a single football game, lol... makes no sense...


----------



## CarolPa

When the kid dropped it putting it into my truck I would have returned it right then and there.


----------



## Cheryl J

Same here!


----------



## Cooking4to

CarolPa said:


> When the kid dropped it putting it into my truck I would have returned it right then and there.



I should have but after waiting so long for that one I just didn't have it in me, I probably broke it when I dropped it, but it all blew up in my face anyway...
I have bad luck with TV's, I was wiring an above center speaker in once and my brother handed me a glass of whiskey, I took a sip and went to hand it back and spilt it in the TV I was balancing over.  Another time I went to toss a blanket into a basket we have near our fireplace, it opened up and caught the corner of the tv making it turn sideways on its mount, so that wasn't so bad until I walked over and went to pull the blanket off, the tv spun all the way around and fell from the mount, broke the tv and pushed the fireplace glass out of the gasket...  What a mess that was, it was the original reason I was buying a new tv...


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Oh wow! Yesterday a lady returned cat litter (USED) because it didn't clump like she thought it would, so she had to show us. Ick!!


----------



## CarolPa

We just got a new 50 inch TV and I'm a nervous wreck worrying that my 6 year old grandson will either throw something or bump into it and knock it over.  All the years raising our kids we never had a TV incident.  (Knock on wood!)


----------



## Cooking4to

CarolPa said:


> We just got a new 50 inch TV and I'm a nervous wreck worrying that my 6 year old grandson will either throw something or bump into it and knock it over.  All the years raising our kids we never had a TV incident.  (Knock on wood!)



If you have the tv on a table type stand and not hung on the wall, I would DEFINITELY buy a TV strap from either Quake hold or mono price amazon should have plenty to choose from and they are under from $9-20 so not much of an investment to protect your expensive TV and more importantly your grand children's safety...  I have one on my the tv in my bedroom, it is ontop of a dresser and close to the edge, $15 and 5 minutes to install it was well worth the piece of mind...


----------



## Dawgluver

DH was irritated by Beagle's nose prints on the window in the sun room.  So what does he get out?  Not the Windex.  Not the vinegar/rubbing alcohol/water mix.  Not the plain water.  He brought out the Clorox Bleach spray!!!  He sprayed it on the window right over the couch and carpet!  I couldn't catch him in time.  

I'm not very happy right now.    There is now another area from which he's banned.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Dawgluver said:


> DH was irritated by Beagle's nose prints on the window in the sun room.  So what does he get out?  Not the Windex.  Not the vinegar/rubbing alcohol/water mix.  Not the plain water.  He brought out the Clorox Bleach spray!!!  He sprayed it on the window right over the couch and carpet!  I couldn't catch him in time.
> 
> I'm not very happy right now.    There is now another area from which he's banned.



That may have been his diabolical plan all along!


----------



## Dawgluver

Aunt Bea said:


> That may have been his diabolical plan all along!




Heh.  You may be right, AB!  He's already banned from the pots and pans drawer under the stove, the dishwasher, and the freezers, both in the fridge and the deep freezer.

And I just realized if DH comes up, um, missing, it might be an issue.  Though I doubt any jury would convict me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Heh.  You may be right, AB!  He's already banned from the pots and pans drawer under the stove, the dishwasher, and the freezers, both in the fridge and the deep freezer.
> 
> And I just realized if DH comes up, um, missing, it might be an issue.  Though I doubt any jury would convict me.



Are you going to need a character witness?


----------



## Dawgluver

Probably!


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> DH was irritated by Beagle's nose prints on the window in the sun room. So what does he get out? Not the Windex. Not the vinegar/rubbing alcohol/water mix. Not the plain water. He brought out the Clorox Bleach spray!!! He sprayed it on the window right over the couch and carpet! I couldn't catch him in time.
> 
> I'm not very happy right now.  There is now another area from which he's banned.


 
Oh NO!!  I hope it didn't bleach out the color from your couch and carpet!  Bad DH!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thankfully for DH the ground is frozen right now...

The man has 2 degrees, one of which is in chemistry fer Pete's sake!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawg, my Mom used to call that "book smart, life stupid". The higher the IQ, the lower the common sense. I have a child who is living (so far) proof of that.

**************************

I have to vent about our electric bill. Although we heat with fuel oil (thank goodness that has gone down in price this winter) we heat our hot water with electric, as well as cooking, drying clothes, etc. In past winters, our bill was probably around $110 for the high bill, what with Christmas cooking and lights and such. This last bill was Oh My God! We were gone for 13 of the 35 days in this billing cycle. While we were gone (OH for Christmas with the kids, family funeral in PA early this month) we turned the hot water tank off. Obviously we weren't watching TV or cooking/baking. This bill? $160!!!  Damn, I despise National Grid right now...


----------



## Cheryl J

Good thing he doesn't read here!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawg, Himself said a sharp crack with a rolled-up newspaper usually does the trick.


----------



## Dawgluver

I didn't catch him in the act until it was already squirted.  I did have a newspaper handy had I known.


----------



## Caslon

CarolPa said:


> We just got a new 50 inch TV and I'm a nervous wreck worrying that my 6 year old grandson will either throw something or bump into it and knock it over.  All the years raising our kids we never had a TV incident.  (Knock on wood!)



Oooo, so sorry.  LG just this month came out with the first non glass OLED TV.  It 's a flexible plastic material.  Good for them.


----------



## roadfix

CarolPa said:


> We just got a new 50 inch TV and I'm a nervous wreck worrying that my 6 year old grandson will either throw something or bump into it and knock it over.  All the years raising our kids we never had a TV incident.  (Knock on wood!)



Then don't use the tv stand/base.  Instead, mount the screen on the wall, up a little high.  He may still throw things at it (my grandkids did) but at least he won't be able to knock it down.


----------



## CarolPa

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dawg, my Mom used to call that "book smart, life stupid". The higher the IQ, the lower the common sense. I have a child who is living (so far) proof of that.
> 
> **************************
> 
> .



My daughter-in-law is like that, AND she is a natural blonde.   She has a master's degree.  When my grandson was born she told me that "he weighed 7 lbs 8 oz, but I don't know how many oz make a lb."  What?  How can you go all through 12 years of school, 4 years of college and 2 years for the masters program and not know how many oz are in a lb?


----------



## CarolPa

Dawglover, I think some men do things wrong so they won't ever have to do them again.  I know I am going to get beat up over that comment, but guys, please note I said "some."  I am not including any of the male members of DC, whom I KNOW would NEVER think of doing that!!


----------



## Dawgluver

CarolPa said:


> Dawglover, I think some men do things wrong so they won't ever have to do them again.  I know I am going to get beat up over that comment, but guys, please note I said "some."  I am not including any of the male members of DC, whom I KNOW would NEVER think of doing that!!




There was an "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode that addressed that same issue!


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dawg, my Mom used to call that "book smart, life stupid". The higher the IQ, the lower the common sense. I have a child who is living (so far) proof of that.
> 
> **************************
> 
> I have to vent about our electric bill. Although we heat with fuel oil (thank goodness that has gone down in price this winter) we heat our hot water with electric, as well as cooking, drying clothes, etc. In past winters, our bill was probably around $110 for the high bill, what with Christmas cooking and lights and such. This last bill was Oh My God! We were gone for 13 of the 35 days in this billing cycle. While we were gone (OH for Christmas with the kids, family funeral in PA early this month) we turned the hot water tank off. Obviously we weren't watching TV or cooking/baking. This bill? $160!!!  Damn, I despise National Grid right now...


Perhaps they estimated the bill instead of reading the meter? Can you dispute it?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*MC*, "no" and "probably no". This was a read bill, and I tried to dispute an electric bill ages ago and got nothing but aggravation. Now that I'm old and have high blood pressure, it's probably cheaper to pay it than need to see the doctor!  We just had a rate increase on the cost of supply, but the transmission charges are pretty much the same. Our supply costs went up about 37%! Since we have to use National Grid for transmission BUT we can shop around for a supplier, I'll have to get Himself on track to start shopping around. Fortunately, he can do it from the comfort of his recliner.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> *MC*, "no" and "probably no". This was a read bill, and I tried to dispute an electric bill ages ago and got nothing but aggravation. Now that I'm old and have high blood pressure, it's probably cheaper to pay it than need to see the doctor!  We just had a rate increase on the cost of supply, but the transmission charges are pretty much the same. Our supply costs went up about 37%! Since we have to use National Grid for transmission BUT we can shop around for a supplier, I'll have to get Himself on track to start shopping around. Fortunately, he can do it from the comfort of his recliner.



I have National Grid pay more for the delivery charges than I do for the electricity and gas each month.  It's frustrating in months when people do not use a sufficient amount of electricity and gas for home heating we get hit with an additional service charge to make up for the reduced sales.  The whole thing defeats the idea of trying to conserve.  I miss the good old days when you just paid for what you used!


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> *MC*, "no" and "probably no". This was a read bill, and I tried to dispute an electric bill ages ago and got nothing but aggravation. Now that I'm old and have high blood pressure, it's probably cheaper to pay it than need to see the doctor!  We just had a rate increase on the cost of supply, but the transmission charges are pretty much the same. Our supply costs went up about 37%! Since we have to use National Grid for transmission BUT we can shop around for a supplier, I'll have to get Himself on track to start shopping around. Fortunately, he can do it from the comfort of his recliner.


Having recently had an estimated bill for a house I look after but which is vacant, I submitted a correct but lower electricity meter reading on-line. Got an email back. It didn't have "YOU ARE A LIAR" on the subject line but it was very close! They would have to send an official (not a meter reader, mind, but an "OFFICIAL") to check my reading because it was lower than THEY thought it should be and woe be-tide me if I had tried, feloniously, to give them an incorrect reading. "THEFT OF ELECTRICITY IS A CRIME" they said in capital letters!


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> Having recently had an estimated bill for a house I look after but which is vacant, I submitted a correct but lower electricity meter reading on-line. Got an email back. It didn't have "YOU ARE A LIAR" on the subject line but it was very close! They would have to send an official (not a meter reader, mind, but an "OFFICIAL") to check my reading because it was lower than THEY thought it should be and woe be-tide me if I had tried, feloniously, to give them an incorrect reading. "THEFT OF ELECTRICITY IS A CRIME" they said in capital letters!



That what I love about DC. We have all sorts of folks. Even thieves! I can't wait to hear how this saga ends. Get ready to tell them "I told you so!" 

I got my former landlord on a Felony Charge of stealing electricity. I had moved out and told the electric company to send me the final bill. The landlord called them and told them I decided to not move out, so they shouldn't shut the electricity off. He wanted the lights on so he could use it at night when he was working on the apartment. He got a hefty fine of $1000 dollars and six months probation. He was lucky I didn't push for jail time for him. I used to be his favorite tenant. But not anymore.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> That what I love about DC. We have all sorts of folks. Even thieves! I can't wait to hear how this saga ends. Get ready to tell them "I told you so!"
> 
> I got my former landlord on a Felony Charge of stealing electricity. I had moved out and told the electric company to send me the final bill. The landlord called them and told them I decided to not move out, so they shouldn't shut the electricity off. He wanted the lights on so he could use it at night when he was working on the apartment. He got a hefty fine of $1000 dollars and six months probation. He was lucky I didn't push for jail time for him. I used to be his favorite tenant. But not anymore.


Good for you Addie. 

With mine I just told them to come and check it out. The chap read the meter, told me I was right and I was off the hook. Apparently, it's a standard letter which I thought was a bit naughty. It would throw some customers into a panic.


----------



## CarolPa

After DH got a divorce from wife #1, his water bill dropped so drastically that the water company sent out a guy to check the meter.  They thought it was broken.  Going from baths and laundry for 4 people to bath and laundry for 1 person makes a real big difference!  Not to mention flushing the toilet!


----------



## Cooking4to

utility bills are getting out of hand, a tenant of mine has 2 kids {teenagers} and rents an apartment of mine that is just over 1600 sq ft, she was recently divorced and this is her first winter on her own.  The rent is $1700 per month with no utilities included {I gave her a discount the previous tenant was $1800 and the unit above her is $1800 and the unit on the side of her is $2000 per month}, anyway she called me and asked if she could come by my office for a meeting, I explained she had to talk to my office manager since she dealt with everything and I am hardly ever at the office, but she was upset so wanted to talk to me personally...

I agreed and had her come to the house to talk to me, she brought all her bills and her pay stubs, she showed me that she can not afford the gas and electric bills.  She could afford it in the summer but the winter added $200 or so a month and she can not afford it.  So she is a good tenant and most will just make you evict them after they dont pay for 4 months.  She asked if I could lower the rent for the cold months, so instead of doing that {it would be hard to keep track of} I lowered it $100 a month all year {as long as she promised not to tell the other tenants}..

This time of year is really hard on people, I hate wasting money on utilities, I have solar arrays and heat with coal {100% solar and coal} so our house {over 4K sq ft} costs about $1500 per year for electric and to heat and cool it year round.  My neighbors home is smaller than ours and costs $7500 per year just in oil!!!


----------



## Addie

Cooking4to said:


> utility bills are getting out of hand, a tenant of mine has 2 kids {teenagers} and rents an apartment of mine that is just over 1600 sq ft, she was recently divorced and this is her first winter on her own.  The rent is $1700 per month with no utilities included {I gave her a discount the previous tenant was $1800 and the unit above her is $1800 and the unit on the side of her is $2000 per month}, anyway she called me and asked if she could come by my office for a meeting, I explained she had to talk to my office manager since she dealt with everything and I am hardly ever at the office, but she was upset so wanted to talk to me personally...
> 
> I agreed and had her come to the house to talk to me, she brought all her bills and her pay stubs, she showed me that she can not afford the gas and electric bills.  She could afford it in the summer but the winter added $200 or so a month and she can not afford it.  So she is a good tenant and most will just make you evict them after they dont pay for 4 months.  She asked if I could lower the rent for the cold months, so instead of doing that {it would be hard to keep track of} I lowered it $100 a month all year {as long as she promised not to tell the other tenants}..
> 
> This time of year is really hard on people, I hate wasting money on utilities, I have solar arrays and heat with coal {100% solar and coal} so our house {over 4K sq ft} costs about $1500 per year for electric and to heat and cool it year round.  My neighbors home is smaller than ours and costs $7500 per year just in oil!!!



It is folks like  you that make this a better world to live in. Thank you for that small ray of hope for mankind.


----------



## CarolPa

I know I feel the pinch of utilities now that I'm retired. My income went down, but the utilities have gone up so much remembering back to what they were when I was still working.  My income is not low enough to qualify for any assistance, and I'm not really complaining.  I know that many others are not so fortunate.  My brother-in-law is very low income but won't apply for anything because of the red tape.  He just turned 65 and is eligible for a rent rebate of $500 per year.  He is afraid to ask his landlord to sign the form because he thinks if they know he is getting that money they will raise his rent.  He does not have a lease.  He is month-to-month.


----------



## Mad Cook

CarolPa said:


> I know I feel the pinch of utilities now that I'm retired. My income went down, but the utilities have gone up so much remembering back to what they were when I was still working. My income is not low enough to qualify for any assistance, and I'm not really complaining. I know that many others are not so fortunate. My brother-in-law is very low income but won't apply for anything because of the red tape. He just turned 65 and is eligible for a rent rebate of $500 per year. He is afraid to ask his landlord to sign the form because he thinks if they know he is getting that money they will raise his rent. He does not have a lease. He is month-to-month.


 I know things are different over there but surely he has some sort of tenants rights? Is there an organisation supporting older people where he lives? We have a charity called Age Concern over here which looks after the interests of the elderly. If there is something similar over there they may be able to advise him of his rights and help him with his form filling. They may even be able to stand up to his landlord for him


----------



## Addie

Excellent advice MC. Most cities and towns now had an Elderly Care office. It took a while but America finally woke up to the thought that Baby Boomers are now retiring and need help. 

Here in Massachusetts, we have a great law that if for any reason you need to report the landlord for any violations or they refuse to assist an elderly to receive benefits due them, they face a very large fine. They also cannot raise the rent or take any adverse action against the tenant for a year. Hopefully they have something similar in Pennsylvania. In Massachusetts, it is great being elderly. I love it. I finally qualify for something and I take full advantage of it everyday.


----------



## Cooking4to

I know its easy to think landlords are evil, but in 99.9% of the cases they are not.  Granted their are some "slum lords" out there but not many, the laws and regulations put on rental properties is very tight nation wide.

I retired very young {mid 30's} when I sold my business, I still own a lot of rental property {high mid to high end so by no means low income} and I treat my tenants very well, I have an office they can go with any issues 5 days a week 9-4.  They have access to 24 hour building service, {I pay 2 contractors to be on call and if one of them can not make it I will personally go}.  I also take care of all snow removal and landscaping.  I include gas grills with every single unit so in a 3 family I have 3 gas grills installed, also video recording systems on all corners of the outside of the properties with wired alarm systems for each unit {I have had people not want to move in because of the cameras, lol, but figured it was for the best}.
Them are the good things, now the bad.  Rent is due on 28th of every month and late after the 1st with a penalty {depending on the amount of rent and how late it is, it could be $500 if its late enough}. Condition is video documented and any damage including holes in walls for pictures costs money to fix {out of security deposit}.

I have had some angry tenants over the years, mostly because of security deposits, I recently had a woman have to pay over $900 of her security deposit because she painted a room {we had to repaint a neutral color she painted it lime green}, had a hole in a wall, a broken door handle {must have locked her key in, which all she had to do was call us and we would have opened it for her}, had a broken tile in a bath room, "lost" a mirror in the bathroom, etc...  We actually got a lawyers letter demanding the entire deposit back, which we responded to with the 2 video inspections pre and post as well as invoices for the repairs and they never replied after that.

I go through every apartment between tenants, I have NO carpets {all tile and hardwoods}, all granite counter tops, paved driveways, etc etc etc so its basically a thorough cleaning, repaint where needed, fix any defects at all from light bulbs to discolored plumbing fixtures, new toilet seats, new shower curtains, new blinds {depending on age} etc...  So its easy to see any damage after a tenant removes all their belongings...

ANYWAY, I would be surprised if your brother-in-laws landlord would raise his rent because he was getting a discount, if that is the case he should look elsewhere for shelter.  A tenant landlord relationship should be strict and civil, I try my best not to get too involved in their business, I make it a point to meet with them at least once to introduce myself, then I let my office manager deal with everything else, I know I am way too easy on them and a softy, so if someone comes to me crying about money, I know I have been very fortunate in life so always help.  I have one tenant that my office manager threatened to evict because I gave him 3 months free rent, he was in a custody battle for his kids and paying lawyers and I knew his exwife {not a nice person} so felt bad for him and told him not to worry about the rent until after the holidays, my office manager was NOT happy, {profits reflect on her bonuses}...

I would tell you bro in law to mention it to the landlord, if he is current and a good tenant I wouldnt think that signing a piece of paper would be an issue...


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking4to said:


> I know its easy to think landlords are evil, but in 99.9% of the cases they are not. Granted their are some "slum lords" out there but not many, the laws and regulations put on rental properties is very tight nation wide.
> 
> I retired very young {mid 30's} when I sold my business, I still own a lot of rental property {high mid to high end so by no means low income} and I treat my tenants very well, I have an office they can go with any issues 5 days a week 9-4. They have access to 24 hour building service, {I pay 2 contractors to be on call and if one of them can not make it I will personally go}. I also take care of all snow removal and landscaping. I include gas grills with every single unit so in a 3 family I have 3 gas grills installed, also video recording systems on all corners of the outside of the properties with wired alarm systems for each unit {I have had people not want to move in because of the cameras, lol, but figured it was for the best}.
> Them are the good things, now the bad. Rent is due on 28th of every month and late after the 1st with a penalty {depending on the amount of rent and how late it is, it could be $500 if its late enough}. Condition is video documented and any damage including holes in walls for pictures costs money to fix {out of security deposit}.
> 
> I have had some angry tenants over the years, mostly because of security deposits, I recently had a woman have to pay over $900 of her security deposit because she painted a room {we had to repaint a neutral color she painted it lime green}, had a hole in a wall, a broken door handle {must have locked her key in, which all she had to do was call us and we would have opened it for her}, had a broken tile in a bath room, "lost" a mirror in the bathroom, etc... We actually got a lawyers letter demanding the entire deposit back, which we responded to with the 2 video inspections pre and post as well as invoices for the repairs and they never replied after that.
> 
> I go through every apartment between tenants, I have NO carpets {all tile and hardwoods}, all granite counter tops, paved driveways, etc etc etc so its basically a thorough cleaning, repaint where needed, fix any defects at all from light bulbs to discolored plumbing fixtures, new toilet seats, new shower curtains, new blinds {depending on age} etc... So its easy to see any damage after a tenant removes all their belongings...
> 
> ANYWAY, I would be surprised if your brother-in-laws landlord would raise his rent because he was getting a discount, if that is the case he should look elsewhere for shelter. A tenant landlord relationship should be strict and civil, I try my best not to get too involved in their business, I make it a point to meet with them at least once to introduce myself, then I let my office manager deal with everything else, I know I am way too easy on them and a softy, so if someone comes to me crying about money, I know I have been very fortunate in life so always help. I have one tenant that my office manager threatened to evict because I gave him 3 months free rent, he was in a custody battle for his kids and paying lawyers and I knew his exwife {not a nice person} so felt bad for him and told him not to worry about the rent until after the holidays, my office manager was NOT happy, {profits reflect on her bonuses}...
> 
> I would tell you bro in law to mention it to the landlord, if he is current and a good tenant I wouldnt think that signing a piece of paper would be an issue...


 Oh, yes, I agree with you, Cooking4to. There are good and bad landlords as well as good and bad tenants. Unfortunately, one has to know where to go for help if one has the bad landlord. It may be that Carol's BiL is worrying unnecessarily but needs help in dealing with what to him is a very frightening situation.


----------



## CarolPa

Mad Cook said:


> I know things are different over there but surely he has some sort of tenants rights? Is there an organisation supporting older people where he lives? We have a charity called Age Concern over here which looks after the interests of the elderly. If there is something similar over there they may be able to advise him of his rights and help him with his form filling. They may even be able to stand up to his landlord for him




He has had social workers contact him trying to explain to him what to do, but he won't listen.  His landlord has never refused to help him...it's just in his mind that they will raise his rent if they know he is getting additional funds.  The landlord probably has a lot of tenants with the same issues. He does get assistance with his heating oil, but then he refuses to turn it up to a normal setting.  Before he was old enough to get these things he learned to scrimp and he won't change.  We try to explain to him that if doesn't use the oil, they will think he doesn't need it and his allowance will go down next year.  

It's the same with the doctor.  He didn't have insurance before.  Now he has medicare so he started going to the doctor.  She tells him what's wrong and tells him what to do about it but he doesn't do it.  I asked him why does he bother to go if he's not going to do what she advises?  I guess he goes because his mother always used to go, and she didn't do what the doctor advised, either.  LOL  

There are organizations to help him, and they try.  It's him and his attitude.


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## Aunt Bea

*No water! 

*It's amazing how the loss of "water on demand" can send my little world into a grimy tailspin so fast!


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## Cooking Goddess

Aunt Bea, didn't you pay your water bill.  ;-)  Seriously though, what happened? I hope your pipes didn't burst.


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## Addie

A couple of weeks ago I printed out two copies of a document that The Pirate needed. He kept one and decided he didn't need the second one. So it was lying on the desk waiting to be tossed. Spike decided it was still good for printing on the back side. I had to print out a couple of copies of his driving record and sure enough it was on the back of that form. 

If Spike had been here, I would have throttled him. I took all the printed pages out of the computer and tore them up. Put in fresh clean paper and printed out the copies that I needed.  The urge to kill some days is really strong! 

Second Vent! I noticed that I needed to plug in my new phone for charging. So I got the cord and found the plug opening on the side near the bottom of the phone, right next to the ICE button. I must have hit it accidently, as right after I plugged in the phone, it rang. It was 4:30 a.m. My heart dropped. I thought for sure that something had happened to one of my kids. No, it was Poo calling me from where he was working. He was just returning my call that I didn't even realize that I had made. Note to self: Be careful when you plug in your phone. And don't hit the 911 button by accident either.


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## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> Aunt Bea, didn't you pay your water bill.  ;-)  Seriously though, what happened? I hope your pipes didn't burst.



I live in the city of burst pipes! 

Our city water system was installed in 1889 and some of the pipes are from that original installation.  The city had 391 water main breaks last year and approx. 50 so far this year.  Our old gray mayor thinks it will cost $726 million to replace the system and she has gone off to Washington with her tin cup to beg for a federal grant.  

Why is it that politicians always kick the can down the road and then expect someone else to pay the bill?  It seems like setting aside a few bucks to maintain, repair and replace parts of the system every year should be a mandatory part of any infrastructure project.  

It's time to wake up America! 

P.S. The water is back on!  It's a lovely shade of brown, but it's on!


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## Cooking Goddess

Aunt Bea said:


> ...P.S. The water is back on!  It's a lovely shade of brown, but it's on!


Glad to hear that! After all, I'm downwind from you. 

Isn't it mandatory to "kick the can down the road" if you are in public service? The Boston Transit system is in a serious state of deterioration. Since we moved here in 2000 we've heard "we have to fix this *now*" in the news ever since. It's so bad with this weather they had to shut it all down for most of this week. Now they are talking about getting revenue from the entire state to fix something that should have been maintained from the fees collected from those who use it. Mostly people within a 20-25ish mile radius of Boston? Between that, the entire state looking to "contribute" to infrastructure for possible Olympics in 2024  and other money-draining issues, I keep reminding Himself that it's really about time we moved back to OH. I fully realize that OH isn't Paradise, it has money issues (but not at bad as MAs), infrastructure issues, etc. BUT at least I can be close to our kids. It will be worth it.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Glad to hear that! After all, I'm downwind from you.
> 
> Isn't it mandatory to "kick the can down the road" if you are in public service? The Boston Transit system is in a serious state of deterioration. Since we moved here in 2000 we've heard "we have to fix this *now*" in the news ever since. It's so bad with this weather they had to shut it all down for most of this week. Now they are talking about getting revenue from the entire state to fix something that should have been maintained from the fees collected from those who use it. Mostly people within a 20-25ish mile radius of Boston? Between that, the entire state looking to "contribute" to infrastructure for possible Olympics in 2024  and other money-draining issues, I keep reminding Himself that it's really about time we moved back to OH. I fully realize that OH isn't Paradise, it has money issues (but not at bad as MAs), infrastructure issues, etc. BUT at least I can be close to our kids. It will be worth it.



All of this broken infrastructure can be blamed on The Big Dig. All the monies from the Federal and State taxes that were collected for the maintenance of the Federal highways went instead to Boston for the Big Dig. There was so much overrun on costs that every time they needed money to finish the job, just go down to DC and hold out your hand. They would come back with millions of dollars. So Bea's broken water pipes and the very run down and old trains of the T can be blamed on The Big Dig. And in spite of all the Billions of dollars that it cost to construct this project, there are some very serious problems. One section of a tunnel, still leaks water. They often have to close the tunnel for cleanup. Tiles falling off the ceilings and killing people is an ongoing problem. And on and on.


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## CarolPa

My ink cartridges for my printer are getting empty.  I hate buying new ones.  They are so expensive!  

That's my petty vent for the day.


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## roadfix

CarolPa said:


> My ink cartridges for my printer are getting empty.  I hate buying new ones.  They are so expensive!



Reason why I don't have a color printer.  I only use monochrome printers.  Black cartridges are pretty cheap on Ebay.

When you buy an inexpensive color printer you're paying for the ink, the printer is free....


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> Reason why I don't have a color printer.  I only use monochrome printers.  Black cartridges are pretty cheap on Ebay.
> 
> When you buy an inexpensive color printer you're paying for the ink, the printer is free....



Interesting approach.  Everything is various shades of gray.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> My ink cartridges for my printer are getting empty.  I hate buying new ones.  They are so expensive!
> 
> That's my petty vent for the day.



Can I join you with your petty vent? My printer takes four cartridges for the printer and four more for pictures. I cringe when I have to buy cartridges. I just may break down into a deep sob.

Staples has the program where you turn in so many empty ones and you get credit towards your next purchase. Spike and I combined ours and much to my surprise, my whole purchase was free.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

I work in retail and a woman brought a box of diapers in for a refund at the service desk. They had been opened, and when I asked if they were defective, she said, "Yeah they are! Look at this." Then she plopped a USED diaper on the counter and said, "They leak! That's so nasty!"

Wow.......just wow. Twenty-five years in the Army never prepared me for retail.


----------



## Kayelle

Just wanted to pop in here.....don't often, for good reason. For today, I'm well and so is everyone else I love. Life is so much better than it could be, or has been.


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## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> ..Everything is various shades of gray.


From what I've heard, there are fifty shades of it.


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## Cooking Goddess

CarolPa said:


> My ink cartridges for my printer are getting empty.  I hate buying new ones.  They are so expensive!
> 
> That's my petty vent for the day.


Himself has resorted to refilling them himself (not too sloppy, or else he's very neat) and also ordering the replacements by mail. You send them empty ones in a self-mailer, they send full ones back. The company he has used is Printpal :: Discount Printer Ink Cartridges, Toners & DVD SuperStore. If you do "/coupons" at the end of the address you might be able to get an additional 10% off.


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## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle, I started the Thankfulness Club thread specifically because of your kind of comment. Sometimes we're thankful for something that isn't necessarily the last thing that made us smile, but we still want to share what makes us thankful. Just letting you know. After all, we could probably all find something to be thankful for without looking too hard, right?


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## CarolPa

There have been times when we bought a printer instead of new cartridges because it was the same price.  Right now I have a 3-in-1 that I really like and don't want to replace it.  There is a local store that refills cartridges at a good price, but they don't work as well printing pictures, so we use the original HP cartridges.  We also turn in our cartridges at Staples.  The problem is, you can't use the credit you get on your current purchase, and the only thing we buy from them is the cartridges.  By the time we need them again, the credits have expired.  It's a good deal for someone who buys there often.


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> Himself has resorted to refilling them himself (not too sloppy, or else he's very neat) and also ordering the replacements by mail. You send them empty ones in a self-mailer, they send full ones back. The company he has used is Printpal :: Discount Printer Ink Cartridges, Toners & DVD SuperStore. If you do "/coupons" at the end of the address you might be able to get an additional 10% off.


IIRC you can't refill HP cartridges as they have a chip in them.

When I was the "stationery monitor" at the utility company I had to order proper HP cartridges for the managers who had HP printers but Canon, Epson and Lexmark printers would accept "look-alike" ones. It annoyed the hell out of me because it fouled up my financial stats.


----------



## Cheryl J

My internet was out for 4 days.  FOUR. DAYS.   They finally fixed whatever the problem was and I got back online this afternoon.  I called several times and got the run around....it was to better serve me, they said.  It'll be fixed by this evening, they kept saying....sheesh.  

Oh well...it's back and I sure missed without it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Mad Cook said:


> IIRC you can't refill HP cartridges as they have a chip in them...


When you've worked in IT for 40 years like Himself did, you know an end-around for every "problem" like that.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> My internet was out for 4 days.  FOUR. DAYS.


Wondered where you had been! Make sure you call them back and ask for a credit. We were having intermittent issues with ours, we had to keep rebooting our router because they kept changing the code on their modem. We ended up getting $10 credit on our next bill - 1/3 the total of our $30 bill. Call, complain, and good luck!


----------



## Addie

I used to work from home. I had and still do have a 3 in 1 color printer. What I loved about it was I could fax my work right from my screen. No printing it out first and then feeding it into the fax. Saved a bundle on cartridges. On the rare occasion I did have to print out copies, the company paid for all my supplies. A dream job if ever there was one.


----------



## roadfix

I don't do pictures, text and solid blacks only, so I've been happy with my monochrome laser printers I've been using over the years.


----------



## Addie

I had an appointment this morning with my vascular doctor. With all this snow and ice, I do not leave the comfort of my home. I cancelled the appointment. When I called Winthrop to cancel the transportation, the nurse had a fit and yelled at me! "You can't just cancel appointments and not tell us. Only we can cancel appointments." You are never allowed to yell at any patient that is under the care of the Elder Care Service. Reason to be fired. 

"Well I am telling you now and yes I can cancel anytime I want. I am in charge of my own life."

She ticked me off big time. She didn't cancel transportation and they were at my door at seven this morning. So I called the Head Nurse. I am afraid Little Nurse Maria is in big trouble. It seems Sharon has had more than one talk with her to listen to me. I am not one of their Alzheimer patients. I am not only feisty and non compliant, but I know what I will do or won't. And I will not leave the comfort of my home in exchange for a broken hip. Sharon agrees with me. I do know how to make sensible decisions.


----------



## licia

What is this "authentication required" thing that pops up.  I haven't been here in a while and even tho I'm logged in it keeps popping up.  How do I get rid of it?  If I complete it it still comesback.
  Thanks.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

licia said:


> What is this "authentication required" thing that pops up...



licia, you might want to ask that over in the Tech Support Forum:
Forum Admin: Tech Support & Announcements - Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums 
You'll probably get a faster answer there. Good luck.


----------



## Addie

Kudos to you CG.  Sending her in the right direction and even giving the lead for where to go. Nice doing. Your good deed for the day!


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> When you've worked in IT for 40 years like Himself did, you know an end-around for every "problem" like that.


 Ah ha!


----------



## CharlieD

Kids. grrrr.... love them. Something going on with my son, 19, of course he is not talking. Called his teacher, he knows something but cannot talk till later on in the day. Now I'm sitting here all nervous.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Kids. grrrr.... love them. Something going on with my son, 19, of course he is not talking. Called his teacher, he knows something but cannot talk till later on in the day. Now I'm sitting here all nervous.



19 or 39, it never ends. Of course he is not talking. You're his father. Whatever it is, he is more concerned with pleasing you and not disappointing you. 

Charlie, you have a wonderful surprise in store for you. But you will have to wait. It takes time. When a child turns 25 or there about, that child becomes magically your friend more than your child. You should hear the conversations I have with all my kids now. I can now talk about "anything." And I mean *ANYTHING!* No subjects are off limits. It is nice having four new friends that grew up with you. I was 17 when I had my first child. So in a sense we all grew up together. I watched them go through the same pains I did as a child. And because of that I knew what they were experiencing. So be patient. Someday he will shock you and come to you first.


----------



## CWS4322

REALLY? This winter has been, to say the least, challenging. Not the snow--we haven't had a lot, but the frigging COLD. My drains to the bathtub and shower have frozen. Hauling wood in with the "crud" cold/flu has been difficult at best. Last night I got home from the commercial kitchen to discover the sump pump hose was frozen and the basement was flooded. REALLY?!!!? I was exhausted because of this "crud" I haven't been able to shake--all I wanted to do was curl up on the sofa and veg. Then I got a call from my dad--my older brother's house burned down. He lost everything, including his dog. Okay, a flooded basement and frozen sump pump hose are not that bad. Losing everything you own, and your canine companion, when you are 59 is hard. My brother was building his house on a "pay as you go" policy. He didn't have insurance because the interior wasn't finished yet. That was this summer's plan. He does own the land free-and-clear, the well is still there, the driveway, and the septic. But losing his dog was what has him the hardest. And, as he said, he has his family, his health, and a job. I guess I can't complain. My house is still standing. And, the sump pump isn't frozen any more. I just have to finish cleaning the basement.


----------



## Cheryl J

CWS, I am so sorry for your brother's loss.  

I hope you feel better soon - also sorry to hear of what you're dealing with right now while being sick.  This crud has sure made the rounds.  Take care.


----------



## Mad Cook

CWS4322 said:


> REALLY? This winter has been, to say the least, challenging. Not the snow--we haven't had a lot, but the frigging COLD. My drains to the bathtub and shower have frozen. Hauling wood in with the "crud" cold/flu has been difficult at best. Last night I got home from the commercial kitchen to discover the sump pump hose was frozen and the basement was flooded. REALLY?!!!? I was exhausted because of this "crud" I haven't been able to shake--all I wanted to do was curl up on the sofa and veg. Then I got a call from my dad--my older brother's house burned down. He lost everything, including his dog. Okay, a flooded basement and frozen sump pump hose are not that bad. Losing everything you own, and your canine companion, when you are 59 is hard. My brother was building his house on a "pay as you go" policy. He didn't have insurance because the interior wasn't finished yet. That was this summer's plan. He does own the land free-and-clear, the well is still there, the driveway, and the septic. But losing his dog was what has him the hardest. And, as he said, he has his family, his health, and a job. I guess I can't complain. My house is still standing. And, the sump pump isn't frozen any more. I just have to finish cleaning the basement.


Sorry to hear all this, CWS. I hope things improve soon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CW, that is so sad about your brother's fire. And losing a pet companion is far harder on the heart than mere possessions. Hope he can get back on his feet quickly.

You are one busy lady - that crud likes someone who is too worn down to fight back. Hope you feel better soon.


----------



## Mad Cook

I have an old-style Prestige pressure cooker which I tend to use for cooking a ham hock, pulses and soups, etc. The rubber sealing gasket needed replacing so I took myself off to the shop. 

Bought a prestige own brand rubber gasket with the same reference number as I've bought before. It doesn't fit - too small so lets out steam all round the edge of the lid and I end up with condensation dripping from the kitchen ceiling.

Went back to the shop and got a replacement. Guess what, it doesn't fit. 

Prestige were bought out some years ago by the company that owns the Meyer brand of saucepans, etc. They won't answer letters and phone calls are answered by a girl who puts on an air of half-wittedness as soon as she realises you have a problem.

I don't use my pressure cooker a lot but I still like it for some things as it's quick.


----------



## CarolPa

*CWS*, I'm sorry to hear of the fire at your brother's place.  

*Charlie,* I hope that whatever is going on with your son is minor, and can be worked out.

*Addie*, my 40 something step children tell us things I tell them not to tell us!  We are done dealing with their drama.  It's time for them to start dealing with OUR drama!  LOL

You know how they keep saying to "check on the elderly" with all this cold weather going on?  Well, everyone has been calling DH to see if he's OK and he's getting so mad that they consider him "elderly."  LOL


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> *CWS*, I'm sorry to hear of the fire at your brother's place.
> 
> *Charlie,* I hope that whatever is going on with your son is minor, and can be worked out.
> 
> *Addie*, my 40 something step children tell us things I tell them not to tell us!  We are done dealing with their drama.  It's time for them to start dealing with OUR drama!  LOL
> 
> You know how they keep saying to "check on the elderly" with all this cold weather going on?  Well, everyone has been calling DH to see if he's OK and he's getting so mad that they consider him "elderly."  LOL



I hear ya. Our front door down in the lobby has never been so busy. Where are all these caring kids the rest of the year. Between The Pirate and Spike I have one of them checking on me everyday. But the way I have been failing lately, I am glad that they do. I got so sick last night when Spike was here.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> ....I was 17 when I had my first child. :




I wanted to have kids early. Of course I was 26 when my first one was born. And 35 when that 19 was born. Unfortunately with him it is not "pleasing" that worries him or me.  He has made plenty of trouble for us. And still has not learn his lesson. His teacher unfortunately also knows that something is wrong, but doesn't know what. He is not talking to him either. Hope he talks to his shrink at least. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I wanted to have kids early. Of course I was 26 when my first one was born. And 35 when that 19 was born. Unfortunately with him it is not "pleasing" that worries him or me.  He has made plenty of trouble for us. And still has not learn his lesson. His teacher unfortunately also knows that something is wrong, but doesn't know what. He is not talking to him either. Hope he talks to his shrink at least.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



Hang in there Charlie. He is still "just a boy." Did you get that phone call you were waiting for?


----------



## Addie

I hate the sound of sirens in winter. Fortunately, in this city you can tell if it is medical or a fire. Between the police, ambulance and fire, they all have a different sounding siren. For medical you first hear one fire engine. Then five to ten minutes later the ambulance. In Boston, they are not allowed to have car chases. The streets are too narrow. 

For a fire, (oh how I hate to hear the sirens for that.) you hear the engine first, then the ladder truck. If you continually hear fire engines, you know it is a big fire. And an ambulance along with the fire engines, at least a three to five alarm. Each day you hear the sirens for a fire.

Mad Cook, close your eyes and ears. You won't want to read any further. 

There was a barn collapse from too much snow on the roof. They got most of the animals out except for two horses. They were crushed by the roof. I am so sick of hearing about all the folks who have died or roofs collapsing on homes. For some strange the TV stations are not showing any kids playing and having fun in the snow.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Hang in there Charlie. He is still "just a boy." Did you get that phone call you were waiting for?




Yeah, I did, but unfortunately he knew nothing more than I did. 


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I'd like to get my hands on that person with the voodoo doll of me. They were at it again tonight. While walking up from the basement, carrying the large crock pot, the Voodoo Master jabbed a skewer into my lower "cheek". I thought my leg was going to give out. Also, didn't think Himself could move so fast anymore!  Hoping this is just from doing too much on my feet today and not from any falling-apart issues. I'll find out tomorrow.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'd like to get my hands on that person with the voodoo doll of me. They were at it again tonight. While walking up from the basement, carrying the large crock pot, the Voodoo Master jabbed a skewer into my lower "cheek". I thought my leg was going to give out. Also, didn't think Himself could move so fast anymore!  Hoping this is just from doing too much on my feet today and not from any falling-apart issues. I'll find out tomorrow.



Why wasn't Himself carrying up that large heavy crockpot up the stairs for you? Stop being so stubborn and ask for help. Give him a sense of being useful. How do I know this? Because I was you a year or so ago.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Who said it was "heavy", Addie? I said it was big, as in my 6-quart pot rather than a 4-quart. It might weigh 2 pounds, or less than 10% of what is easy for me to carry up the steps easily. I can carry 25# with no problem, lift at least 40# with ease and do it safely. I doubt you were me a year ago.  Besides, Himself would still be looking for the crock pot if I had sent him down last night.  I'd still have to go down and up the steps, and I will put money on it that he wouldn't carry *me* up the steps.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Who said it was "heavy", Addie? I said it was big, as in my 6-quart pot rather than a 4-quart. It might weigh 2 pounds, or less than 10% of what is easy for me to carry up the steps easily. I can carry 25# with no problem, lift at least 40# with ease and do it safely. I doubt you were me a year ago.  Besides, Himself would still be looking for the crock pot if I had sent him down last night.  I'd still have to go down and up the steps, and I will put money on it that he wouldn't carry *me* up the steps.



My apologies. It seems I am apologizing a lot lately to you. I don't carry anything up a flight of stairs. I need both hands to hold onto or climb up the stairs on all four. My legs simply won't lift my body. And right now I don't weigh that much. My muscle mass has been lost over the past nine years due to the wound at the bottom of my leg.


----------



## Addie

Well, our second circus has started since the Whitey Bulger trial. The Marathon trial has started. The higher courts have given the final ruling that the trial is to stay right here in Boston. So again, security twice a day will snarl traffic up each day during morning and evening rush hour. I am so glad I am no longer part of the working public. And they are expecting it to last for four months. That means into the hat of summer. Tempers are going to be on the rise around 4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. For those folks who drive into Boston, let's hope the judge has the good sense to end the trial each day at 3 p.m. That way the circus will have ended and the prisoner is back in his cell. Or hold the prisoner in the courthouse jail and return him to Ft. Devens only on weekends. 

And of course our local news is going to cover it from the time the prisoner puts on his underwear in the morning until he finally closes his eyes at night. Well, CNN here I come. 

Why can't these events happen in the middle of Wyoming or Alaska? No one lives in the middle of Wyoming. In fact, I have my doubts that anyone lives in Wyoming. Name me one really well known celebrity that comes from Wyoming.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie, the local TV stations will be interrupting the Marathon Trial...with news about the Hernandez Trial.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Addie, the local TV stations will be interrupting the Marathon Trial...with news about the Hernandez Trial.



Oh dear heavens above. We are living with a very large criminal element.  Now where did Spike say the cartoon channel was?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Well, our second circus has started since the Whitey Bulger trial. The Marathon trial has started. The higher courts have given the final ruling that the trial is to stay right here in Boston. So again, security twice a day will snarl traffic up each day during morning and evening rush hour. I am so glad I am no longer part of the working public. And they are expecting it to last for four months. That means into the hat of summer. Tempers are going to be on the rise around 4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. For those folks who drive into Boston, let's hope the judge has the good sense to end the trial each day at 3 p.m. That way the circus will have ended and the prisoner is back in his cell. Or hold the prisoner in the courthouse jail and return him to Ft. Devens only on weekends.
> 
> And of course our local news is going to cover it from the time the prisoner puts on his underwear in the morning until he finally closes his eyes at night. Well, CNN here I come.
> 
> Why can't these events happen in the middle of Wyoming or Alaska? No one lives in the middle of Wyoming. In fact, I have my doubts that anyone lives in Wyoming. Name me one really well known celebrity that comes from Wyoming.



Ward Bond came from Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Dick Cheney...

I happen to know mine and Shrek's families live in Wyoming.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> ............ No one lives in the middle of Wyoming. In fact, I have my doubts that anyone lives in Wyoming. Name me one really well known celebrity that comes from Wyoming.


 
Jackson Pollock, (and some of my cousins and friends, while not well known), would be sad to know that no one lives in or comes from Wyoming.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Ward Bond came from Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Dick Cheney...
> 
> I happen to know mine and Shrek's families live in Wyoming.



I am sure  you know my remark was said in jest. I have ridden twice through Wyoming. I swear, I never saw one person. I did see a lone farmhouse way off in the distance. And I saw a ranch that raised bison. All I could think of was, "how fitting", and I could see in my mind's eye, herds of buffalo roaming over the beautiful hills. The beauty of those hills left quite an impression on me. 

And thank you for my lesson in history.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

What highway or road did you pass through on?  There's been too many people in Wyoming since at least 1965.


----------



## roadfix

We stopped at the world's largest gas station at the time (1976) as we drove through Wyoming.   Cool state.


----------



## Zhizara

I passed through Wyoming in 1964.  I remember the huge blue sky and the pronghorns running and playing.  Gorgeous.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> We stopped at the world's largest gas station at the time (1976) as we drove through Wyoming.   Cool state.



Ah, Sinclair, Wyoming!  I haven't been there in ages.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> I passed through Wyoming in 1964.  I remember the huge blue sky and the pronghorns running and playing.  Gorgeous.



I didn't even live there until 1965, we were on Guam in '64.  

The antelope still play...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> What highway or road did you pass through on?  There's been too many people in Wyoming since at least 1965.



I know we filled up in Bozeman in Montana and made it to Jackson Hole before filling up again. That was in the mid 80's.  Not being a driver, I didn't pay much attention to the gas gauge. I do know we stayed on I90 as much as we could. We knew where that would bring us to.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm pretty sure there were people in Jackson Hole...you also drove through a National Park or two...not many people live in the National parks.

Next time visit Rock Springs and Greenriver in the fall...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm pretty sure there were people in Jackson Hole...you also drove through a National Park or two...not many people live in the National parks.
> 
> Next time visit Rock Springs and Greenriver in the fall...



I love traveling by car. But then I don't drive and can enjoy the whole ride, including all the sights. In spite of my joking about Wyoming, I was really impressed with the beauty of the rolling hills. I even mentioned to Spike (he was driving) that those hills would be great to go sledding down. 

So a question. We saw miles and miles, and even more miles of those hills. Are they still open prairie land or in private hands? Spike and I both mentioned that surely one person doesn't own ALL that land. I am ashamed to admit, I am woefully ignorant of Wyoming history.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> I love traveling by car. But then I don't drive and can enjoy the whole ride, including all the sights. In spite of my joking about Wyoming, I was really impressed with the beauty of the rolling hills. I even mentioned to Spike (he was driving) that those hills would be great to go sledding down.
> 
> So a question. We saw miles and miles, and even more miles of those hills. Are they still open prairie land or in private hands? Spike and I both mentioned that surely one person doesn't own ALL that land. I am ashamed to admit, I am woefully ignorant of Wyoming history.



Most is owned but left open for migratory animals and open range for cattle.


----------



## Zhizara

Back to petty vents.  I'm still listening to the north wind whistling through my windows.  

It's beyond annoying.  I'm getting more and more nuts listening to it!!!!!!!!!


----------



## taxlady

*PayPal rant*

I just spent over an hour trying to log in to PayPal. It said I had been chosen for a special verification. So, it asked me about my credit card number. Then it told me to choose a new password and verification questions. Then it wanted to phone me because it didn't recognize my computer (it's probably been several to half a year since I logged in.) Then it asked me to change my password and verification questions again, and again, and again. It sent me, several times, to a page that said, "The link you used to access this page has expired. Please log in to your account or begin your password recovery again."

I phoned. It asked me what was my problem. I said, "Password". It sent me a link to reset my password. I went through the above nonsense again. I phoned again and waited on hold for ~10 minutes twice to get a person.

I finally sent them a help request using their webform. They promise an answer within 24 hours. Aarghhh


----------



## Cooking Goddess

How utterly frustrating, taxy. Computer and web problems bug the Hades out of me. Maybe it's the Internet Gods telling you not to shop online? Just kidding. Hope everything gets resolved for you by tomorrow.


----------



## taxlady

I don't shop online a lot. I wanted to donate to SumOfUs.org. They have been threatened with a lawsuit because they are campaigning for the banning of neonicotinoids, the pesticide linked with bee die off.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I figured it was something good-hearted like that. Hence my "Just kidding". I'm just glad to see you posting back in these parts.


----------



## CarolPa

I'm bored.  I thought with the cold weather in so many parts of the country there would be more people online, here and on other forums, but that's not the case.  The whole internet is dead.  I need someone to talk to besides DH.  LOL


----------



## Andy M.

Hi, Carol.  It's a bright cold day here in MA.  SO is off working today and won't be home until late tonight so I'm on my own for dinner.  I'm going to make something for my dinner that she dislikes.

What's up with you?


----------



## CarolPa

I have several things that I like that DH doesn't like, especially fish.  In that case, I usually grill a steak for him because although I will eat it, steak is not one of my favorites.  I can grill my fish and his steak at the same time.

It's always nice to have a day at home alone to just do your own thing.  

DH brought up going to the casino today because although it's cold, there is no snow predicted.  So that will keep me entertained for a few hours and I will have a good meal at the seafood buffet.

What is that picture in your avatar?  I always wondered.


----------



## Andy M.

We don't have a casino near us.  We gamble when we vacation in Aruba each year.  We go to the low budget casinos where I can get onto a $5 or $10 blackjack table and keep myself occupied for a couple of hours.

The avatar photo is from a park in Montreal where there is an artificial pond with water steps running into the river. It's a close up of the attached.


----------



## Zhizara

I hope you feel sure you were actually dealing with PayPal.  

I ended up once with a message supposedly from MacAfee.  I ended up downloading a registry cleaner before I realized what was going on.  Getting rid of the registry cleaner also managed to get rid of key elements to my System Restore.  If I need to do a System Restore, I'm screwed!

The information they were asking for could be a way to steal your identity in the wrong hands.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I hope you feel sure you were actually dealing with PayPal.
> 
> I ended up once with a message supposedly from MacAfee.  I ended up downloading a registry cleaner before I realized what was going on.  Getting rid of the registry cleaner also managed to get rid of key elements to my System Restore.  If I need to do a System Restore, I'm screwed!
> 
> *The information they were asking for could be a way to steal your identity in the wrong hands*.



That was my first thought also. I got a call last week supposedly from the IRS in Washington. They were telling me that my tax return had been hacked and my SS number along with other stupid stuff. The IRS, PayPal, your bank, etc. (any institution or retail) will never discuss any financial information over the phone. They will send you a letter with their letterhead telling you of any problems. The second he said "tax return" I knew what he was full of it! But I love to play with these idiots that think I am stupid and will fall for what they are selling. I kept him on the line for five minutes trying to remember my SS number. I think he bought 000-00-001 for my SS number. The minute any person asks for financial information, hang up! Unless you want to toy with them like I do. I also give them a false address. I give them the address of our police station. One time I made an appointment for the man to come to my house feigning interest in what he was selling. I never did find out if he showed up at the police station.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> I hope you feel sure you were actually dealing with PayPal.
> 
> I ended up once with a message supposedly from MacAfee.  I ended up downloading a registry cleaner before I realized what was going on.  Getting rid of the registry cleaner also managed to get rid of key elements to my System Restore.  If I need to do a System Restore, I'm screwed!
> 
> The information they were asking for could be a way to steal your identity in the wrong hands.


I did consider that, but the address in the address bar looked right. It wasn't a question of getting an email and clicking a link. I clicked a link to PayPal from a reputable site. I wanted to make a donation to their legal fund. They have been threatened with a lawsuit because they are campaigning to ban neonicotinoids, the pesticide associated with bee die off.

The problem seems to be too many cookies in my browser. I was able to login with no problems from a "private browsing" session.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> I just spent over an hour trying to log in to PayPal. It said I had been chosen for a special verification. So, it asked me about my credit card number. Then it told me to choose a new password and verification questions. Then it wanted to phone me because it didn't recognize my computer (it's probably been several to half a year since I logged in.) Then it asked me to change my password and verification questions again, and again, and again. It sent me, several times, to a page that said, "The link you used to access this page has expired. Please log in to your account or begin your password recovery again."
> 
> I phoned. It asked me what was my problem. I said, "Password". It sent me a link to reset my password. I went through the above nonsense again. I phoned again and waited on hold for ~10 minutes twice to get a person.
> 
> I finally sent them a help request using their webform. They promise an answer within 24 hours. Aarghhh



I had that happen with PayPal when I hadn't used it for a long time, WHAT A PAIN!


----------



## Zhizara

I figured you had it covered, Taxy.  But, like Addie, alarm bells started ringing when you listed all the information they asked for.

I don't use PayPal.  I don't have a checking account, just my debit account.  I only need 2 money orders a month @ 70¢ each.  I'd pay the electric online, but it charges $2.95 to pay it online.  I won't do it.  A stamp is cheaper!  I refuse to pay for the privilege of paying my bill online.


----------



## taxlady

PayPal is just so nice for online shopping and donations. The merchant gets the money, minus a fee, but they don't get any of my financial info. I don't much like giving out my CC# to stores all over the internet.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy, unfortunately, we have 3 casinos near us.  We have never been to the newer one in Pittsburgh because we have heard bad reports about it.  No one who goes there ever wins anything because too many politicians have their hand in the till, plus it's in a very high crime area.  There's one about an hour's drive from us and we go there occasionally.  But our favorite one is in Wheeling WV, 90 minutes from us.  We have our best luck there.  We only play the slot machines.  Last night was not one of our lucky nights, but they have a scrumpdilyicious buffet there which I always enjoy.

That's a beautiful picture of the park.  I love pictures that include water.  Now I understand your avatar.


----------



## CarolPa

I signed up for PalPal and used it once.  Right after that, the credit card I had used with it was compromised.  Didn't cost me anything and the problem was cleared up right away, but I blamed it on PayPal, cancelled it, and never used it again.  If something says the only payment method accepted is PayPal I look for the item elsewhere.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> PayPal is just so nice for online shopping and donations. The merchant gets the money, minus a fee, but they don't get any of my financial info. I don't much like giving out my CC# to stores all over the internet.



When I worked for KeyBank one of my jobs was to sort the mail. 90% of the mail was for payments toward college loans.


----------



## Zhizara

*I'm Hungry!*

I'm so hungry, but...

My feet, and ankles are really swollen, thanks to some things I ate yesterday.  

Almost everything I have for food has salt in it.  I'd love to eat something sweet instead, but diabetes 2 says  that's npt a good idea either.

Grrrrrrrr!

The only things I can think of are frozen fresh broccoli, onions and/or sliced peppers.  

I'd make a saute of them, but I'd have to use margarine, which has SALT in it.

Grrrrr!

I guess I'll just have a beer!


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I'm so hungry, but...
> 
> My feet, and ankles are really swollen, thanks to some things I ate yesterday.
> 
> Almost everything I have for food has salt in it.  I'd love to eat something sweet instead, but diabetes 2 says  that's npt a good idea either.
> 
> Grrrrrrrr!
> 
> The only things I can think of are frozen fresh broccoli, onions and/or sliced peppers.
> 
> I'd make a sauté of them, but I'd have to use margarine, which has SALT in it.
> 
> Grrrrr!
> 
> I guess I'll just have a beer!



Has your doctor told  you "no salt at all"? I have never been told "no salt, cut back on the salt, etc.". The only thing I have ever been told is to use my common sense when it comes to eating for a diabetic. I already knew about the carb intake. And my blood pressure has never been in the danger zone. Slightly elevated at times, but that is it. But then I have never been a salt person. I salt when I cook and the salt shaker stays on the shelf when I am eating. I do watch the sodium levels in the foods I buy. Even though I love chipped beef, I would never consider buying it now. It is cured in salt. And for that small jar, the price is now way out of my league. I no longer buy "cured" meats. And if I eat out, I don't even ask for the FF. Always a baked potato. 

Have you considered butter with no salt? It is cheaper than butter "with" salt.


----------



## CarolPa

My BIL is always having problems with low sodium.  Instead of getting to the bottom of the problem he just eats a lot of salty snacks.  I think it is due to one of the meds he's on.


----------



## Zhizara

Addie, my doctor has never mentioned salt at all, my ankles tell me when I've had too much.

When they are swollen, I take B12 which helps a lot.  It still takes a day or so to clear up, and only if I'm really careful with my salt intake.

I'd ask for a prescription for edema, but I had some for right after my last pregnancy, and they made me extremely irritable, so I don't want to try that again.

It just angered me that there are more things I have to add to my don't eat list.  I'm getting used to that, I just keep adding more things to the list.  No more chips, no more wheat pastas.

The wheat pastas were to be a substitute for regular pasta, but they are still carbs.

I'm gradually cutting out things that set my feet off (diabetic peripheral nerve pain).  Gabapentin cuts out the pains, but it doesn't hellp my blood sugar, just the pain.

I was so frustrated when I wrote that "Grrr" post because I had treated myself to some chips and my ankles didn't approve!  Of course, the major swelling in my ankles didn't really show up until the next day and by then I'd eater more chips.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> Addie, my doctor has never mentioned salt at all, my ankles tell me when I've had too much.
> 
> When they are swollen, I take B12 which helps a lot.  It still takes a day or so to clear up, and only if I'm really careful with my salt intake.
> 
> I'd ask for a prescription for edema, but I had some for right after my last pregnancy, and they made me extremely irritable, so I don't want to try that again.
> 
> It just angered me that there are more things I have to add to my don't eat list.  I'm getting used to that, I just keep adding more things to the list.  No more chips, no more wheat pastas.
> 
> The wheat pastas were to be a substitute for regular pasta, but they are still carbs.
> 
> I'm gradually cutting out things that set my feet off (diabetic peripheral nerve pain).  Gabapentin cuts out the pains, but it doesn't hellp my blood sugar, just the pain.
> 
> I was so frustrated when I wrote that "Grrr" post because I had treated myself to some chips and my ankles didn't approve!  Of course, the major swelling in my ankles didn't really show up until the next day and by then I'd eater more chips.



I guess I am one of the lucky ones. Oddly enough I had a doctor that failed to take care of her patients properly. It wasn't until I went to Elderly Services Plan that anyone cared how my diabetes was doing.

They gave me guidelines and told me how and what to watch for. They did give me quite an education in diabetes. But the important thing was they listened to me if I had a complaint. At first I was very resentful of what I conceived to be their intrusion into my life. I fought them at every turn. But the folks there were very patient and I came around. Now if I have any problem at all, even a hangnail, they are the first ones I call. I will never complain about my medical care again. 

Right now they are concerned about my recent weight loss. I am very happy about it. If and when I go down past 95 lbs., then I will start to worry. That is the normal weight for my height. I haven't been this weight since I was in the seventh grade. ESP thinks there is something going on inside. There's not. It is me determined to lose the weight. Right now I will stay at the weight I am. It will get them off my back. Then after I go in for my March checkup, I will start to work on losing another ten pounds. That will bring me to about two pounds above my goal. Then I will tell them the truth. That I was deliberately losing the weight on my own. Nothing wrong. 

ESP worries about everything that is going on with me. I get the mark and blue (childrenese) blacks that come from being on two blood thinners. They check them every visit. They check my skin head to toe. My skin graft that I had done almost nine years ago. I am thrilled with it and take excellent care. They examine it as if I am about to lose my leg again. But I keep my mouth shut being grateful for their care.


----------



## tinlizzie

I was just reading the thread by Kleenex about the sneaky snack bags that contain less product for the same price.  That reminded me of the pair of jeans I bought recently.  I would like to have had the old-fashioned Granny style with a waist line that comes to your waist.  These were slightly low-rise and I guess they'll do.  I realized, though, that because of the change in styles the manufacturer uses less material which must save some money but the price keeps going up.  And the pockets on these pants are only about half-size -- another saving on material but the pockets hold hardly anything.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> I was just reading the thread by Kleenex about the sneaky snack bags that contain less product for the same price.  That reminded me of the pair of jeans I bought recently.  I would like to have had the old-fashioned Granny style with a waist line that comes to your waist.  These were slightly low-rise and I guess they'll do.  I realized, though, that because of the change in styles the manufacturer uses less material which must save some money but the price keeps going up.  And the pockets on these pants are only about half-size -- another saving on material but the pockets hold hardly anything.



Years ago a soldier sent a suggestion to the Department of the Army telling them how they could save thousands of dollars. *Do away the pocket watch on the pants. No one carries a pocket watch anymore.* The suggestion was carried out and sent to all the military departments. The soldier received a very nice size check for the suggestion and millions of tax dollars in the following years were saved.

Who would of thought such a small piece of material was costing so much.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Not only the materials, *Addie*, but the time/cost involved in setting that small pocket in just right. Not as easy as a simple seam.




tinlizzie said:


> ...sneaky snack bags that contain less product for the same price...


Everything  is being reduced in size or volume so that they don't have to increase the price - but they do.  My latest complaint is about the width of a roll of toilet paper. Once upon a time, that roll extended nearly edge-to-edge on the holder. Now? Well let's just say if the TP roll gets any narrower, things could get...interesting.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> ...Everything  is being reduced in size or volume so that they don't have to increase the price - but they do.  My latest complaint is about the width of a roll of toilet paper. Once upon a time, that roll extended nearly edge-to-edge on the holder. Now? Well let's just say if the TP roll gets any narrower, things could get...interesting.




I've also noticed that facial tissues are shorter.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> Have you considered butter with no salt? It is cheaper than butter "with" salt.


G-r-r-r! Over here unsalted butter is more expensive than salted.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Actually, the Market Basket location that I shop at prices salted or unsalted (sweet) butter the same. It' only brand-to-brand where the price changes. But all "Market Basket" or "Land o' Lakes" or "whatever brand" is the same price for both with and without salt.


----------



## roadfix

I'd rather pay more and get the same size and quantity that I'm accustomed to.


----------



## bakechef

Cooking Goddess said:


> Actually, the Market Basket location that I shop at prices salted or unsalted (sweet) butter the same. It' only brand-to-brand where the price changes. But all "Market Basket" or "Land o' Lakes" or "whatever brand" is the same price for both with and without salt.



Same here, both salted and unsalted are the same price whether in the grocery store or club stores.  I buy unsalted for baking.  I buy Kerrygold for spreading on toast and of course, that is quite a bit more expensive, but Costco helps ease the pain on price!


----------



## bakechef

My siblings are useless.  

My mom is building a house in SC.  The deal that she had with my brother was that he would drive a moving truck with her stuff in it down to SC once her house was finished in exchange for her old car (it's very fuel efficient, in great shape and he does a lot of driving).  Well he has informed her that he isn't going to hold up his end of the bargain.   My mom has done a lot to help him in recent years financially to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars (most of which has been paid back), she also set up a legal owner financing on her house and business for him at 0% interest (for the record, I've been out of the house for 20 years and haven't borrowed a dime )

I have a feeling that I'm gonna have to fly north and get her stuff and drive it 23 hours.  I'd rather have dental surgery...  But I can't leave my mom hanging with no furniture in her new house.  

My sister told her that she had some furniture for her, but then informed her that she wanted over four thousand dollars for it.  

I don't get it.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> My siblings are useless.
> 
> My mom is building a house in SC.  The deal that she had with my brother was that he would drive a moving truck with her stuff in it down to SC once her house was finished in exchange for her old car (it's very fuel efficient, in great shape and he does a lot of driving).  Well he has informed her that he isn't going to hold up his end of the bargain.   My mom has done a lot to help him in recent years financially to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars (most of which has been paid back), she also set up a legal owner financing on her house and business for him at 0% interest (for the record, I've been out of the house for 20 years and haven't borrowed a dime )
> 
> I have a feeling that I'm gonna have to fly north and get her stuff and drive it 23 hours.  I'd rather have dental surgery...  But I can't leave my mom hanging with no furniture in her new house.
> 
> My sister told her that she had some furniture for her, but then informed her that she wanted over four thousand dollars for it.
> 
> I don't get it.


Bummer (((hugs)))

Just remember you should never be embarrassed by relatives. We all know you didn't choose them.


----------



## Andy M.

That must make you mom very sad.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

bakechef said:


> My siblings are useless.
> 
> My mom is building a house in SC.  The deal that she had with my brother was that he would drive a moving truck with her stuff in it down to SC once her house was finished in exchange for her old car (it's very fuel efficient, in great shape and he does a lot of driving).  Well he has informed her that he isn't going to hold up his end of the bargain.   My mom has done a lot to help him in recent years financially to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars (most of which has been paid back), she also set up a legal owner financing on her house and business for him at 0% interest (for the record, I've been out of the house for 20 years and haven't borrowed a dime )
> 
> I have a feeling that I'm gonna have to fly north and get her stuff and drive it 23 hours.  I'd rather have dental surgery...  But I can't leave my mom hanging with no furniture in her new house.
> 
> My sister told her that she had some furniture for her, but then informed her that she wanted over four thousand dollars for it.
> 
> I don't get it.



I have a sister like that.  My brother though, is always there if Mom and Dad need help.  I have a feeling we will be moving back to Eastern Wyoming in the near future, Shrek wants to be closer to his brothers and it will get me closer to M&D.


----------



## Dawgluver

I feel for you, Bakechef.  I have a really nasty sister who took any opportunity she could to stick it to Mom.

You'll be happy that you helped your mom out, even though it will be a PITA.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I feel for you, Bakechef. ...
> 
> You'll be happy that you helped your mom out, even though it will be a PITA.


This


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef said:


> My siblings are useless...


Which is why I no longer regret being an only child. When my Mom died, we were also going through our move from OH to MA. Himself was already living here when I was trying to settle her estate and sell our house. A bit stressed, I unloaded my troubles on our realtor's associate. She made me feel much better by telling me how her three siblings were beyond no help at all when their Mom died. She said at least all the work might be mine, but at least I didn't have the added stress of dealing with undesirable siblings. True dat! Hopefully, Rob is a good shoulder to lean on. Himself was a tower of strength, supporting me as best as he could from 600 miles away, and home every chance he got.

Now, for some sort of a negotiable deal, I would consider helping your Mom move. I could use a vacation south and I like to drive. Pretty sure Himself would not be interested in a road trip with two women though, so maybe your Mom could ship the furniture and stuff and I'll drive her and her personal possessions south?


----------



## bakechef

Thanks all!  My mom is already in sc, she's been there since November living with my best friend (who is a saint) who lives in the same neighborhood as where mom is building her house.  My best friend has helped her every step of the way and is pretty real estate savvy.  She even convinced my mom to get her knee replacement surgery done while the house was being built so that she'd have herself and husband to help if mom needed it!  I think that my mom has formed a better bond with her than she's ever had with her own daughter.  My best friend is a very special person.

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank goodness for your best friend, BC.  

I've been lucky as far as family - dad passed in 2000 and mom in 2011 - it's only been my brother and I and things went well as far as dealing with it and settling things.  I've been going through some of my mom's boxes of things over the past couple of days, so kind of a coincidence to see your post come up now regarding this subject.


----------



## Dawgluver

BC, am thinking your mom is probably in her 50's or early 60's?  If so, there's a lot of life left there!  Treasure her!  She's lucky to have such a loving son, and you are lucky to have such a good BFF!


----------



## Cheryl J

Cheryl J said:


> Thank goodness for your best friend, BC.
> 
> I've been lucky as far as family - dad passed in 2000 and mom in 2011 - it's only been my brother and I and things went well as far as dealing with it and settling things. *I've been going through some of my mom's boxes of things over the past couple of days*, so kind of a coincidence to see your post come up now regarding this subject.


Wow, I knew my mom was an autograph hound for celebrities back in the day, I just found her autograph book and there's a 13 year old Elizabeth Taylor's autograph and Lucille Ball's from 1945. Fun! I may be up for a while....


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> BC, am thinking your mom is probably in her 50's or early 60's? If so, there's a lot of life left there! Treasure her! She's lucky to have such a loving son, and you are lucky to have such a good BFF!


+1.  
My apologies for taking this off course.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I've also noticed that facial tissues are shorter.



When did this change take place? I buy Puff Plus and they are the same size as the ones I bought last month. I need to see if MB carries a house brand similar to Puff Plus. Since I blow my nose all the time, I need that extra protection from the Plus of the lotion.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> BC, am thinking your mom is probably in her 50's or early 60's?  If so, there's a lot of life left there!  Treasure her!  She's lucky to have such a loving son, and you are lucky to have such a good BFF!



She is a healthy and strong 66 this month.  That woman can run circles around me.  I'm really grateful that she's very proactive with her health. Trust me, she's a handful!  We have a very open dialog, so if she's driving me nuts, I can tell her and vice versa.  She's developed the same with my best friend, who's very outspoken.  

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> Actually, the Market Basket location that I shop at prices salted or unsalted (sweet) butter the same. It' only brand-to-brand where the price changes. But all "Market Basket" or "Land o' Lakes" or "whatever brand" is the same price for both with and without salt.


I think that unsalted butter is considered more "gourmet food" and salted butter more run of the mill over here. 

Although, more upmarket, there is a specialist very salty butter, made in Wales, called Shirgar and sometimes we can get French Isigny butter which has salt crystals in it. Neither are "everyday" butters but yummy on jacket potatoes, fresh crusty bread and hot toast


----------



## taxlady

Here unsalted butter is often slightly more expensive. When I lived in Denmark, unsalted was slightly more expensive too. I think it is because salted butter stays fresh longer than unsalted. Salt is a preservative.


----------



## Chef Munky

*Plastic No More*

Plastic shopping and food bags including restaurant take out bags have been officially banned here.
I understand the reasons why. Don't miss seeing them lodged into trees,flying all over the streets.

We went out to dinner the other night.Bought a few things to take home.The restaurant was using plastic bags.They aren't supposed to.

After that stopped by the drug store picked up a few things.We were charged .10 for paper bags that were so small we had to buy a few of them.The checker made the comment "Why don't you just use the reusable ones?" Well for starters they weren't selling any of them.

Went grocery shopping the store charged us .25 for every paper bag needed.Reusable ones were a $1.25.

I don't like the reusable ones.If something leaks into the bag it's a p.i.a to clean up.No to mention if it's not caught lots of germs can grow in them.

Why was it before plastic was used the consumers weren't charged for paper,but now we are? Like the rising cost of food hasn't been enough.

One of my sons refused to cave in.When the checker asked what he wanted.He replied politely "nothing,just ring up the groceries" When she was done he slid everything right back into the cart.
She was shocked.

I'm going to check out Amazon.Buy my own by the case.


----------



## bakechef

I like the idea of reusable bag, but they are never where I am. If I'm in the store, they are in the trunk of the car or forgotten in the pantry.  

I like how aldi does it, minimal charge for paper bags, but empty boxes are plentiful for free.  

Grocery stores here often give you a  five to ten cent discount for every reusable bag that you bring.

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Dawgluver

I have a couple of clip-on bags that attach to my purse.  They fold up into their own little pouch, Sakitome is one of the brand names.

We have a bunch of the reuseable bags in both cars, though DH usually scores my black ones, and I'm left with the Addams Family one that says, "Define normal."  Every so often I run them through the wash.

We've cut way back on plastic bags.  I sewed up a "bag lady" many years ago, and store the plastic bags in it.  I'm haunted by images of the area the size of the state of Texas floating around the Pacific ocean, entirely composed of waste plastic.


----------



## taxlady

Yup, that gyre of plastic garbage haunts me too. I think I read that there is one in the Atlantic Ocean too.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> I have a couple of clip-on bags that attach to my purse.  They fold up into their own little pouch, Sakitome is one of the brand names.
> 
> We have a bunch of the reuseable bags in both cars, though DH usually scores my black ones, and I'm left with the Addams Family one that says, "Define normal."  Every so often I run them through the wash.
> 
> We've cut way back on plastic bags.  I sewed up a "bag lady" many years ago, and store the plastic bags in it.  I'm haunted by images of the area the size of the state of Texas floating around the Pacific ocean, entirely composed of waste plastic.



It's still probably contains less plastic than the cabinet under the wall oven in the house I grew up in...  You'd open the door and poof out would come the bags.  We have one of those tube shaped cloth things, is that a bag lady?

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----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> It's still probably contains less plastic than the cabinet under the wall oven in the house I grew up in...  You'd open the door and poof out would come the bags.  We have one of those tube shaped cloth things, is that a bag lady?
> 
> Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app




Sort of.  Here's my bag lady:


----------



## Chef Munky

Dawgluver said:


> Sort of.  Here's my bag lady:  View attachment 22662



Awwww, 
My B-day is coming up.Can I have a bag lady to?
That's a clever idea.Love it!

On the other hand.My sons tease me I dress like a bag lady.
What's wrong with comfort?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nothing is wrong with comfort, Munky. It's most of what I have in my closet. "Hmm, should I wear my sloppy sweats, or my dress sweats?" 

Dawg, I love your bag lady! All I have is a fabric tube with a drawstring at the top and elastic at the bottom. Have had it for decades. That elastic is in desperate need of replacing...


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks guys!  She needs washing as she hangs out in the laundry room.  It's a half doll body made of stuffed muslin. She has yarn hair, and a dress with a slit in the back to stuff the bags in, and a drawstring at the bottom to pull them out.  She's pretty handy.  Or baggy.


----------



## Cheryl J

She's really cute, Dawg! 

I have Trader Joe bags that I* try *to remember to take into the grocery store with me.  Three of them are flat bags and one is an insulated square sided one that holds quite a lot.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Sort of.  Here's my bag lady:  View attachment 22662



I WANT  a bag lady! I WANT a bag lady! And I want  her now! Ouch!! I hurt my foot stamping it. 

Where did you get her? And what is her name? This is one of those days when I regret giving my sewing machine away.  

Well there is no grass growing under my feet. I went to etsy and found an adorable doll bag holder. She will be in my kitchen very shortly. Thank you for the idea.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl, check out the clip on bags.  They weigh absolutely nothing, stuff into 3x4 inches, and hold a lot!

Shoot, Addie, I would have made you a bag lady!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Sort of.  Here's my bag lady:  View attachment 22662




Love her!  Maybe I can sew up a favorite scrub shirt that's wearing out to make a bag holder.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Love her!  Maybe I can sew up a favorite scrub shirt that's wearing out to make a bag holder.




Thanks!  Why not?  It already would have the right openings!  You could even have the bags coming out a sleeve!

I sewed a loop in the back for hanging.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> Cheryl, check out the clip on bags. They weigh absolutely nothing, stuff into 3x4 inches, and hold a lot!
> 
> Shoot, Addie, I would have made you a bag lady!


 
I sure will Dawg, thanks!


----------



## taxlady

It has taken a while to remember to bring the reusable bags into the car when I go shopping, but I'm pretty good at it now.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

My vent? "Uptalk" If you are making a declarative statement, say it like you believe it. 

What Can Jeopardy Tell Us About Uptalk? | Innovation | Smithsonian

Yes, my internal editor DID want to remove the space between the "S" and the rest of the word "Sometimes.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> I sure will Dawg, thanks!



Right now I have a very large heavy plastic bag hanging on a nail in the kitchen and all the smaller grocery bags go into it as Spike puts the groceries away for me. It is ugly. In spite of the fact that I use them to line my trash cans throughout the house, I often run out of them and have to get some from Spike or my daughter. I wish there were a more environmental safer means of lining my trash cans. I certainly do not like the idea of all of these bags going to into landfill. When I look back, my mother had a metal trash can in the kitchen, and my father always would take it out and empty it, then put it in the hall downstairs. I would go and bring it up. Then she would wash it out and let it dry.

Without the grocery bag liners, I would have five waste baskets to empty down the hall and then wash each day. Considering I dump my coffee grounds into them, and the baskets are plastic, they would easily become stained and hold odors. So the grocery bag liners unfortunately have to be my answer to my problem.


----------



## CharlieD

What do you do when you hire a relative to do a job and the the job he did is piece of s****? That the situation I am in right now.. He is a construction and remodeling specialist, supposedly,  who totally messed up the work, but I just cannot start the war. I do not care about him personally, but everybody else involved.  No question here, just complaining. 


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> What do you do when you hire a relative to do a job and the the job he did is piece of s****? That the situation I am in right now.. He is a construction and remodeling specialist, supposedly,  who totally messed up the work, but I just cannot start the war. I do not care about him personally, but everybody else involved.  No question here, just complaining.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



To save your sanity and your wallet, tell him (and your wife on the side) that after looking at your finances, you both have decided to not continue with the project. Wait a month or two, then hire someone who you feel can do the work properly and to your liking. By then  your finances should improve. And he should be busy on another project.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Sort of.  Here's my bag lady:  View attachment 22662



Similar concept, but way more cute!


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> My vent? "Uptalk" If you are making a declarative statement, say it like you believe it.
> 
> What Can Jeopardy Tell Us About Uptalk? | Innovation | Smithsonian


That's interesting. I haven't really noticed any excessive usage of it  myself. I had never heard a name for it. I think it is perfectly  reasonable in a social setting to use uptalk to indicate that an answer  to a question is a guess.



> Yes, my internal editor DID want to remove the space between the "S" and the rest of the word "Sometimes.


???


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> My vent? "Uptalk" If you are making a declarative statement, say it like you believe it.
> 
> What Can Jeopardy Tell Us About Uptalk? | Innovation | Smithsonian
> 
> Yes, my internal editor DID want to remove the space between the "S" and the rest of the word "Sometimes.




A pet peeve for me as well.  But I do enjoy Jeopardy.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> A pet peeve for me as well.  But I do enjoy Jeopardy.



So do I. And when I hear one of the contestants answer with uptalk, I take to mean that they aren't too sure of their answer.


----------



## Andy M.

I think ALL outdoor ice should be bright dayglo orange so you can see it and not fall on your ass taking out the trash.


----------



## roadfix

CharlieD said:


> What do you do when you hire a relative to do a job and the the job he did is piece of s****? That the situation I am in right now.. He is a construction and remodeling specialist, supposedly,  who totally messed up the work, but I just cannot start the war. I do not care about him personally, but everybody else involved.  No question here, just complaining.


For starters, I wouldn't start a war but would be completely honest with him by pointing out all the flaws in his work and was not something you were expecting.
I was in a similar situation several years ago, pointed out the flaws, and ended up redoing more than 50% of the work myself.


----------



## Zhizara

I prefer the plastic bags.  They are so much easier to carry than paper bags (think canned goods).

I also tie the tops before transporting the groceries.  That way I don't end up chasing my groceries around the trunk.  I just cut the knots off when I'm putting groceries away and just ball them all up and put in the trash.  I don't feel they are strong enough to be used again safely.

When shopping at Sav-a-Lot where bags aren't supplied, I often forget to bring my own bags, but large plastic bags are available at the cash register, and only cost 10¢ each.  It only cost me 50¢ or less, and they are strong enough to be reused.  I figure paying for the bags is my punishment for not remembering to bring my own bags.


----------



## tinlizzie

I'm on both sides of the plastic bag fence:  I, too, tend to fret over the islands of plastic refuse in the oceans.  Our State has not yet banned plastic 'grocery' bags, but I'll surely miss them when they go -- that's where the used kitty litter goes.  If I don't have the free ones I get at the grocery store, I'll probably just have to buy some for this use.


----------



## Mad Cook

Zhizara said:


> I prefer the plastic bags. They are so much easier to carry than paper bags (think canned goods).
> 
> I also tie the tops before transporting the groceries. That way I don't end up chasing my groceries around the trunk. I just cut the knots off when I'm putting groceries away and just ball them all up and put in the trash. I don't feel they are strong enough to be used again safely.
> 
> When shopping at Sav-a-Lot where bags aren't supplied, I often forget to bring my own bags, but large plastic bags are available at the cash register, and only cost 10¢ each. It only cost me 50¢ or less, and they are strong enough to be reused. I figure paying for the bags is my punishment for not remembering to bring my own bags.


For years I was laughed at in shops for taking my old-fashioned wicker basket to carry home my goods.





I now find that I'm looked on as very up-to-the-minute! How things change.


On the rare occasions that I end up with a plastic carrier bag I don't consign it to landfill on just one use. I used to use them to line the kitchen waste bin but then the manufacturers started perforating them for safety so they were no longer any use as refuse bags. I now collect them and when I have a bagful I take them to the local charity/thrift shop who are always desperate for packaging for customers' purchases.


----------



## taxlady

You can also make "plarn" out of plastic bags and knit or crochet door mats or camping mats. Some people make mats for homeless people to sleep on. Here in Montreal we are asked not to do that. The people who work with the homeless want them to come to the shelters, especially in winter.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy M. said:


> I think ALL outdoor ice should be bright dayglo orange so you can see it and not fall on your ass taking out the trash.




Sounds like the voice of experience!  OUCH!


----------



## Andy M.

CarolPa said:


> Sounds like the voice of experience!  OUCH!



Sadly, yes.  Thought it's not as bad as the last time I slipped and fell on ice.  Then I broke my wrist and tailbone.  

This time I just have a pain in the butt.  A change from BEING a pain in the butt.


----------



## CarolPa

Here's a link.

How to Make a Rug from Plastic Grocery Bags

And for those of us who are more creative

18 creative Designs Made out of Plastic Bag – DesignSwan.com

I remember back when they were making the switch from paper to plastic.  If you chose paper, they would put a flyer in it telling you have it was killing all the trees to make all those paper bags.  My mother-in-law used to tell them she wanted a paper bag inside a plastic bag and they told her no, it was either or.  We still get plastic, but the stores have a big recycle bin where you can return the bags to be recycled.  We do that.  I wonder what they do with them?  

I have a couple reusable bags in the trunk for when I remember to take them into Aldi's.  DH usually just gets a box.  I saw some people with a great idea.  They had a couple boxes in the trunk.  They would wheel the cart out to the car and put their purchases in the boxes. That way they can separate them as to what goes where.  They use the same boxes over and over.  

If our stores ever start charging for bags I will start bringing the boxes in the trunk.  

How about those bags they are selling now that sit in the cart while you shop.  

Also, what ever happened to giving you a scanner when you came into the store and you scanned and bagged as you shopped.  Just pay the total at the end.  I guess too many people were taking things and not scanning them.  Ya think??????


----------



## taxlady

For some reason, Gmail thinks that email from DC is spam. I have fished every single DC email out of the spam folder. I made a filter "never send to spam" and one that marks it important.

Well, it doesn't go to the spam folder anymore. It gets a big orange message telling me that the reason it's not in spam is because of a filter. Would I like to edit the filter?

It refuses to mark the emails "important", so they aren't in the top section of my email with the "important" email. They are in the bottom section. Several times a day I page down to find the DC emails and mark them important. Stirling assures me that they will eventually stop this nonsense and just believe that it really is stuff I want to see. He said it took about three weeks when he had to do that. grrr


----------



## CarolPa

With AOL mail, I created a filter than sends DC mail to a folder all it's own.  Sometimes it fails and puts them in spam, but not often.


----------



## taxlady

I could do that, but then I would have to remember to look in that folder.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> You can also make "plarn" out of plastic bags and knit or crochet door mats or camping mats. Some people make mats for homeless people to sleep on. Here in Montreal we are asked not to do that. *The people who work with the homeless *want them to come to the shelters, especially in winter.



I understand what they are saying. We have a place here called Pine Street Inn. It can be a very dangerous place to stay at night. Shoes are stolen right off your feet, stabbings, etc. And surprisingly so, a lot of street people do not want to go inside. They are afraid. The Salvation Army understands this. The Pine Street Inn folks don't. The SA passes out blankets and hot drinks, Pine Street Inn folks try to talk them inside. And when they aren't successful, they walk on to the next one. 

 A lot of people in Boston are what are called the waffle people. They sleep on the grates that are over the steam pipes and wake up in the morning with the marking of the waffle like grate on their skin. The majority of them have one or more large plastic bags. They wrap themselves up in them and find a staircase to sleep in in they can't find a waffle grate. Some of them have been on the streets for so long, they simply do not want to change their lives now. Most of the street folks are schizophrenic. Approach them, and they can be dangerous. So if you have anything to make their life a little easier, you just leave it someplace where they can find it. I can't tell  you how many time I would drop a half pack of cigarettes when I would see some of them picking up butts from the gutter. A lot of half packs with the matches would suddenly fall out of my pocket. 

I used to have a friend that every Sunday morning before they changed the law, we would go over to South Boston. He carried a package of paper cups along with a half gallon of cheap whiskey in his trunk. He would see the ones who were really sick and about to go into the DDT's. He would give them a half cup of whiskey. Just enough to hold them over until the liquor stores opened. Why did he do this? Because he was one of "them" once." He was lucky. He found his way out. 

So if folks want to make the mats for them, they should. You don't know everyone's story.


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> I could do that, but then I would have to remember to look in that folder.




I think after you didn't get any emails for a day or so you would suddenly remember that you have a separate folder!  LOL  It's very nice to have them all together there.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cooking Goddess said:


> My vent? "Uptalk" If you are making a declarative statement, say it like you believe it.
> 
> What Can Jeopardy Tell Us About Uptalk? | Innovation | Smithsonian
> 
> Yes, my internal editor DID want to remove the space between the "S" and the rest of the word "Sometimes.





taxlady said:


> That's interesting. I haven't really noticed any excessive usage of it  myself. I had never heard a name for it. I think it is perfectly  reasonable in a social setting to use uptalk to indicate that an answer  to a question is a guess.
> 
> ???


taxy, I hear it all the time when watching some local TV programming. It seems to be an affectation prevalent among young (and sometimes not so young), highly educated speakers. It gives me the impression they really don't believe in what they are saying. Not a good quality when you are a professional trying to make a point. On the other hand, it probably should be the required speaking style of most things politicians say. After all, they can't seriously believe all the stuff they shovel at us, can they?  It doesn't annoy me as much in a social setting unless it's coming out of our son's mouth. I remind him when he tells me something he danged well better sound like he believes what he says.

As far as your "???". If you click on the Smithsonian article I linked to, the first word "Sometimes" has a space between the first "S" and the rest of the word.  I think I was born with a blue pencil in my hand.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> ...
> 
> As far as your "???". If you click on the Smithsonian article I linked to, the first word "Sometimes" has a space between the first "S" and the rest of the word.  I think I was born with a blue pencil in my hand.


Must be the font you have as default or something with your display. It looks fine to me. That's why I was baffled. I had looked at the link and couldn't find the S followed by a space.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> To save your sanity and your wallet, tell him (and your wife on the side) that after looking at your finances, you both have decided to not continue with the project. Wait a month or two, then hire someone who you feel can do the work properly and to your liking. By then  your finances should improve. And he should be busy on another project.




Unfortunately the project is finished according to him and we had to pay. And now I have to hire somebody to start over and fix everything that he did. 


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## CharlieD

Zhizara said:


> I prefer the plastic bags.  They are so much easier to carry than paper bags (think canned goods).
> 
> I also tie the tops before transporting the groceries.  That way I don't end up chasing my groceries around the trunk.  I just cut the knots off when I'm putting groceries away and just ball them all up and put in the trash.  I don't feel they are strong enough to be used again safely.
> 
> When shopping at Sav-a-Lot where bags aren't supplied, I often forget to bring my own bags, but large plastic bags are available at the cash register, and only cost 10¢ each.  It only cost me 50¢ or less, and they are strong enough to be reused.  I figure paying for the bags is my punishment for not remembering to bring my own bags.




When I first came to America and would talk to people they would ask if it was true that in Soviet Union people had Cary grocery bags at all times. I said it then that the bag waiting is going to have stop at some points. Well, we are almost there. In a few more years nobody will use plastic or paper bags. Unless pay for it and I'm afraid they will not be 10 cents only, but much more expensive. 


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


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## Addie

CharlieD said:


> When I first came to America and would talk to people they would ask if it was true that in Soviet Union people had Cary grocery bags at all times. I said it then that the bag waiting is going to have stop at some points. Well, we are almost there. In a few more years nobody will use plastic or paper bags. Unless pay for it and I'm afraid they will not be 10 cents only, but much more expensive.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



Are you saying I am going to have to buy plastic bags for my household trash baskets? 

Every since the big green bags became popular for the outside trash cans, a lot of city and towns now require that all your trash be in them. No more cans to be emptied. Just pick up the big green bag and toss it onto the truck. Plastic is here to stay folks.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Are you saying I am going to have to buy plastic bags for my household trash baskets?
> 
> Every since the big green bags became popular for the outside trash cans, a lot of city and towns now require that all your trash be in them. No more cans to be emptied. Just pick up the big green bag and toss it onto the truck. *Plastic is here to stay folks*.


You said a mouthful Addie. Plastic doesn't biodegrade, it does break down into smaller and smaller pieces.

I would imagine that when a city decides to ban plastic bags, concerned citizens should be able to convince them that they have to update their rules about garbage collection to allow for emptying of garbage cans with no plastic bags. They could make it sound really stupid to ban plastic bags at the same time as requiring them. 

When I was a kid we used the brown grocery bags for the garbage and hauled it outside to a garbage can. I have seen people use newspaper to line the indoor garbage can.

When I moved to Denmark in 1969, I was surprised that I either had to bring my own bag to the store or pay for a plastic bag. I don't think that ever changed in Denmark. Around here stores are supposed to charge for plastic bags and most do. Most of them sell reusable bags for ~$1. Some even sell reusable green bins.


----------



## Addie

The reason for the rule of the large green bags and no more trash cans was weight. It is easier for the collectors to grab the handle and just swing it onto the truck. Fewer back injuries. But I know of some folks who put a TV into the bag or some other large appliance and then tie it off. You have to schedule a special collection for electronics and pay for it. The fee is usually $1.00.


----------



## Addie

I was having a nice quiet time trying to take a nap. Then I heard a really loud bang. I looked out in the hall. No one there. Then I heard even a louder bang. I looked out again and saw on the floor the number from the door of #211 and broken in half. Now I am getting nervous. The next thing there is a knock on my door. I open it and standing there are four cops. Was I all right? I told them I was nervous and shaken up. I don't know what happened, but they took the tenant out in cuffs. My apartment is in an alcove. And it is #213. #211 is a bit to close for comfort if he is going to be a constant trouble maker. I don't even know who lives there or when they even moved in. 

I made a corned beef for sandwiches. It was a small one. I was looking so forward to a nice Reuben sandwich with the Gulden's mustard, Swiss cheese  and sauerkraut. This has caused me to lose my appetite. I even had the dark pumpernickel bread for it. Maybe later it will come back.


----------



## Addie

One of our TV stations is congratulating Bostonians for making it through setting a new snow record. Are these folks off their rocker? What is there to celebrate about that? And then we have more snow coming this Saturday and Sunday. Are we going to be congratulated for that too? Do we have a choice of getting through more snow? We have had a terrible winter. And it hasn't been easy for a lot of people. Folks couldn't get to work and lost pay. The kids had a lot of snow days that have to be made up during the Spring break or at the end of the school year. So many folks couldn't get to the stores for groceries. I think the City of Boston could have done a better job in snow removal. Our new mayor was more concerned with making sure the Patriots could have their parade after the Super Bowl win. And then his next concern was to make sure the St. Patrick's Parade could be a go. But why not? He is as Irish as they come. That Parade happens to be a private parade. Some streets never got plowed. And there has been no follow-up for the clearance of sidewalks. Fortunately we recently had a good amount of rain and that took care of a lot of the snow. So what is there to celebrate? Certainly not for the City of Boston. The Patriots didn't have to have a parade right after the first big snow storm. And with all the very low temperatures we have been having, do we really need a private parade? Does any good parent really want their small children standing out in those temperatures for about four hours? Ninety-percent of the parade consists of politicians. 

Sorry Mayor and the silly TV station. I am not celebrating. Grant you, we have a brand new Mayor who is still in the learning stage. But he needs to take a page from the man he replaced.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> You said a mouthful Addie. Plastic doesn't biodegrade, it does break down into smaller and smaller pieces.
> 
> I would imagine that when a city decides to ban plastic bags, concerned citizens should be able to convince them that they have to update their rules about garbage collection to allow for emptying of garbage cans with no plastic bags. They could make it sound really stupid to ban plastic bags at the same time as requiring them.
> 
> When I was a kid we used the brown grocery bags for the garbage and hauled it outside to a garbage can. I have seen people use newspaper to line the indoor garbage can.
> 
> When I moved to Denmark in 1969, I was surprised that I either had to bring my own bag to the store or pay for a plastic bag. I don't think that ever changed in Denmark. Around here stores are supposed to charge for plastic bags and most do. Most of them sell reusable bags for ~$1. Some even sell reusable green bins.


 
There will shortly be a UK tax imposed on plastic carrier bags which at the moment are given a way free in shops. It isn't clear whether the stores will pass on the cost by making customers pay for bags. I use a wicker basket and I have a few of those jute carrier "bags-for-life" that supermarkets sell so I don't usually have to take the free plastic carrier bags. If I do have to use the store's free carriers I save them until I have a few and then take them with any useful packaging, bubble wrap etc., which I have acquired, to one of the charity shops as they are always desperate for bags to put customers purchases in. I hate throwing them away into the trash.

We don't have to use bin liners for our garbage cans but most people do and of course we buy our own. We have biodegradable bags for our food waste which go in a special bin and they are given free by the local authority. These are fine in principle but the biodegradable bags melt when in contact with liquid (from used tea leaves, coffee grounds, etc.,) and make a horrible mess in the bin which then has to be hosed out which somewhat defeats the eco-logic of the biodegradable bags!


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> I was having a nice quiet time trying to take a nap. Then I heard a really loud bang. I looked out in the hall. No one there. Then I heard even a louder bang. I looked out again and saw on the floor the number from the door of #211 and broken in half. Now I am getting nervous. The next thing there is a knock on my door. I open it and standing there are four cops. Was I all right? I told them I was nervous and shaken up. I don't know what happened, but they took the tenant out in cuffs. My apartment is in an alcove. And it is #213. #211 is a bit to close for comfort if he is going to be a constant trouble maker. I don't even know who lives there or when they even moved in.
> 
> I made a corned beef for sandwiches. It was a small one. I was looking so forward to a nice Reuben sandwich with the Gulden's mustard, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. This has caused me to lose my appetite. I even had the dark pumpernickel bread for it. Maybe later it will come back.


That sandwich sounded delicious. I hope your appetite came back in time to enjoy it.

Hopefully the tenant of 211 will be gone for a while and you'll get a decent neighbour in that apartment.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> .... Plastic is here to stay folks.




but not for free. btw, i am not even sure what you are talking about, never seen it. 


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## roadfix

Addie said:


> Plastic is here to stay folks.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxihhBzCjk


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> That sandwich sounded delicious. I hope your appetite came back in time to enjoy it.
> 
> Hopefully the tenant of 211 will be gone for a while and you'll get a decent neighbour in that apartment.



Yeah, I did get to eat my sandwich. And it was delicious! I love a good Reuben sandwich. I am not fond of bread. But give me a fresh loaf of Pumpernickel, and I am one happy girl. 

My neighbor had a problem with her son. He may have been high. It seems he punch her and lost his temper. It took seven cops in all to get him into cuffs. 

He will be gone for a while. We have strict laws for elderly abuse. Stronger than family abuse. It covers even verbal abuse. Management got a restraining order against him. It was posted this morning. So when he gets out of jail, he will be arrested if just even seen on the property. Someone saw her last night with her three daughters. She was a little shaken, but otherwise seemed all right.


----------



## CarolPa

We have never had a garbage can.  We have always just put our trash into a plastic  trash bag and put that out at the curb.  Other peoples trash cans are seen rolling around, some even in our yard, because they go to work and can't bring them back in until after work.  People get a quarterly bill for trash collection.  I know for a fact that some people don't pay.  The trash collectors have no way of knowing who paid and who didn't.  As seniors, we don't have to pay the bill, but instead buy stickers to put on the bags.  $1 per sticker.  We rarely have more than 1 bag, so it's cheaper than paying the quarterly bill.  There have been times when we ran out of stickers and they took our trash anyway.  

We are not allowed to put televisions or computers, or any electronics out for the trash.  They will just leave it sit there.  Used to be someone would take them to fix, but no one wants those old TVs anymore.   We have to take those things to a recycling center.  Right now, the only place that takes them is Staples.  DH has some old computer monitors to get rid of and he better take them soon before they stop accepting them.  Every once in a while, there will be a "recycling event" somewhere.  They will have a day when you can take anything that's hard to dispose of...electronics, tires, old motor oil.


----------



## taxlady

Here, garbage collection is paid for by property taxes. They won't take electronic garbage here either. However, the city does have a place to drop electronic garbage. That was a relief when they got that. We had been going to places that would accept electronic garbage and even 10 years ago, most places wouldn't take monitors or would only take them if you paid them a fee.


----------



## roadfix

Here in L.A. garbage collection fee (sanitation) is part of the water and electricity bill.  Every property owner is assigned 3 garbage bins with wheels, a bin each for general, yard clippings, and recyclables, for weekly pick up.   And it's not cheap.


----------



## taxlady

I remember when L.A. didn't have garbage collection. People had incinerators. I don't know what was done with cans. Maybe the city did collect those. When incinerators were banned, garbage collection was once a week and cans once a month. We kept our garbage cans in the alley.


----------



## CarolPa

We used to have mandatory recycling for glass and cans but it is no longer mandatory.   We recycle our own cans and get money for them.  

We are not allowed to put yard clippings in the trash.  In the summer, they have special collections for yard waste at no extra charge, but you have to buy special bags from them for it, so there is, in effect, an extra charge.

According to Staples website, they give you points toward store credit for bringing in electronic recyclables, but don't charge you anything.


----------



## CarolPa

We are allowed to have a "burn barrel" but are only allowed to burn on certain days.  Has to be so far any house or shed, etc. Luckily we have newspaper recycling in our local neighborhood free of charge.  You have to take the newspapers to them and put them in a dumpster.  That cuts down on a lot of trash and burning.


----------



## Addie

When I was a kid, the trash men would come around early and take you barrels out to the curb for you. An hour later the truck would come around and collect the trash. For food items, there was a small barrel in the ground with a lid on it. You stepped on the handle of the lid and it would open. You didn't have to bend to open it and get a whiff of the garbage. The city sold the food garbage to the piggeries outside the city. 

Now, you put out your own barrels/trash bags. The city provides different colored barrels that are separate for your for recyclable items. Glass, paper/cardboard, and metal. You have to put a hefty deposit on the barrels. But you get it back if you return it, if and when you move from the city. Food items go into  your trash. No more separate collections. Some yards still have the little garbage cans in the ground. Kids always ask about it. Each section has an appointed day for pickup. If there is a Monday holiday, your pickup will happen the next day after your regular day. Our day is Thursday. For weeks that have a Monday holiday, pickup will happen on Friday.


----------



## Cheryl J

We have the Waste Management company here, they provide 2 bins - one for garbage and the other for recycling.  All recycling goes in the one bin and they sort it at the facility.  They have a program where they'll pay for unwanted electronics, I'm not exactly sure how that works, I've never used it.  The consumer probably just takes them to the facility on the edge of town.

We get billed every 2 months, it's around $45. each billing cycle.  4 times a year they'll pick up things that are too large for the bins, anything after that we have to call and schedule a separate pick up, for a fee.  Not sure how much the fee is, I've never had to do that.  

The trucks have those big electronic arms that pick up the bins, and there are cameras that record what falls into the truck, and a monitor in the cab so the driver can watch what goes is.  The camera records the bin number identifying the customer.  I think all garbage trucks have those cameras nowadays - I think it's mainly to identify large things that shouldn't be thrown away - TV's, bodies , and not to catch the occasional glass bottle or jar that gets thrown in the garbage instead of recycled.  

Who knew there could be such an ongoing conversation about trash in petty vents...?


----------



## roadfix

Cheryl J said:


> Who knew there could be such an ongoing conversation about trash in petty vents...?


I love trash talk...


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I love trash talk...


bahaha


----------



## Cheryl J

I guess I do too, Roadfix!


----------



## Addie

I have a telephone for my printer/fax. I fax my "at home" medical information to Winthrop. I wanted to pay the bill on line like I do for two other bills I have. Verizon wants $3.25 for every time I pay on line. No thanks. A postal stamp is so much cheaper. I am sorry, but they are not going to get rich on me.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I have a telephone for my printer/fax. I fax my "at home" medical information to Winthrop. I wanted to pay the bill on line like I do for two other bills I have. Verizon wants $3.25 for every time I pay on line. No thanks. A postal stamp is so much cheaper. I am sorry, but they are not going to get rich on me.


I think they are idiots. It costs them less to process a bill that is paid online, than to process a cheque in an envelope.


----------



## bakechef

Addie said:


> I have a telephone for my printer/fax. I fax my "at home" medical information to Winthrop. I wanted to pay the bill on line like I do for two other bills I have. Verizon wants $3.25 for every time I pay on line. No thanks. A postal stamp is so much cheaper. I am sorry, but they are not going to get rich on me.



Crazy thing is, I pay my Verizon wireless bill online without a fee (auto pay). 

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


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## Andy M.

I use my credit union's free online bill payer service to pay all my bills.  Now when I write checks it's for gifts.


----------



## CarolPa

I still pay my bills by check, in the mail, the old fashioned way.  Some I pay in person, like Kohls, since I'm going there anyway.  The only time I make a payment online is if I forget to mail one soon enough for the due date, then I will go online and pay it.  One time I was late with paying my Discover card and now they send me an email every month to remind me.  LOL  Verizon is another story.  They send me a bill in the mail.  I send them a payment in the mail.  They also send me my bill by email, then they send me a text to let me know my bill is available online.  Talk about overkill.

These companies WANT you to switch over to electronic billing and paying.  So why don't they offer a discount for it?  I remember when I tried to pay my dog license online and they wanted a $2.50 fee to pay for a $4 dog license.  Instead the dog died and saved me the money.


----------



## Andy M.

I have the option of paying my tax/water/sewer bills via credit card but there's a $35. fee for each payment!


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I have the option of paying my tax/water/sewer bills via credit card but there's a $35. fee for each payment!




Thank goodness that stuff is all part of property taxes here. I don't have to do anything to pay my property and school taxes. The bank that has my mortgage does that. That's fairly common here. Estimated property and school taxes are added to my regular mortgage payments.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I use my credit union's free online bill payer service to pay all my bills.  Now when I write checks it's for gifts.



I wonder if I did that would Verizon still charge? I am going to give them another call on Monday. The amount of the charge is outrageous. And I wonder if being a senior has any bearing of them possibly letting the fee go to the wayside. I am really P.O.'d about this. I am going to call my CU Monday to see if they can act as my advocate. I just get frustrated very easily now, when I find myself in a situation like this. I either start yelling or crying. Their CS sucks big time. Twice I got disconnected when I called them. 

Well, so much for my vent today. Stay tune for Chapter Two on Monday.


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> Thank goodness that stuff is all part of property taxes here. I don't have to do anything to pay my property and school taxes. The bank that has my mortgage does that. That's fairly common here. Estimated property and school taxes are added to my regular mortgage payments.



That's common here too.   Impounded.


----------



## Cheryl J

I don't have a mortgage on my home so when I pay property taxes, I pay by check via snail mail because they want an extra $15 "processing fee" if you pay online by credit card. That's not much, but it's the point of it that peeves me off.  It's ridiculous.  It's high enough already.


----------



## roadfix

Cheryl J said:


> I don't have a mortgage on my home so when I pay property taxes, I pay by check via snail mail because they want an extra $15 "processing fee" if you pay online by credit card. That's not much, but it's the point of it that peeves me off.  It's ridiculous.  It's high enough already.


They need to recover their credit card fees the banks charge them.
I pay my prop taxes on line and the funds come out of my checking account.  No processing fee for that.   Hefty late fee if you miss the due date though...


----------



## Addie

Years ago here in Massachusetts the banks would  hold back your money for your taxes and then pay them for you when due. The courts decided that they couldn't hold your money without paying interest on it. A lot of folks got some nice big checks of back interest that the banks never paid. My sister was one of them. It was for more than her mortgage payment. Now you have the option of if you want them to hold back the tax money or not. I think most banks though make it mandatory for first time home buyers. When my sister died, her home was mortgage free. And she never took out a reverse mortgage.


----------



## Andy M.

In MA, if your mortgage is 70% of the purchase price or less, you can opt to pay your own property taxes quarterly rather than paying them to the bank monthly as part of your monthly mortgage payment.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> In MA, if your mortgage is 70% of the purchase price or less, you can opt to pay your own property taxes quarterly rather than paying them to the bank monthly as part of your monthly mortgage payment.



Now that is something I didn't know. Having never owned a home of my own, I only know from what my sister did with her mortgage. I do know my sister's home was mortgage free for the last twenty plus years before she died.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> That's common here too.   Impounded.


Impounded???


----------



## taxlady

I get paid interest if they overestimate my taxes and there is money left in that account when all the taxes are paid. Here you get a month or two for the first instalment and the 2nd instalment is due in July.

Edit: I'm actually not quite sure how they figure it out, but I usually get paid some interest.


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> Impounded???


I think it's called an impound account when your mortgage and prop taxes are combined in your monthly statements.


----------



## Cheryl J

roadfix said:


> They need to recover their credit card fees the banks charge them.
> I pay my prop taxes on line and the funds come out of my checking account. No processing fee for that. Hefty late fee if you miss the due date though...


 
Didn't think of the credit card fees....I've just recently gone from mailing checks and paying utilities in person, to using online services on the advice of my daughters.  "Mom....you SERIOUSLY need to just start paying online..."  Small town here, the utilities offices are a half mile from my house and right next door to each other, I've just done it that way for years.  

And yes on the hefty fees for being late...they want $100 extra for late fees....which reminds me I've got one due by the 1st so better get that taken care of.


----------



## roadfix

The 2nd installment of my prop tax is due during April.  First quarterly estimated tax payment to the IRS is also due during April, plus any other money owed to the IRS.  I hate the month of April!


----------



## CarolPa

Our mortgage has been paid off for 15 years, so now I have to pay my taxes rather than having them included in my mortgage payment.  That made it very easy to forget that you were paying those property taxes.  The tax office is 1 mile from here, so we pay by check, in person.

When they put the casinos in PA they said that the revenue from them would make property tax go away.  Fat chance.  Now they want to increase sales tax, saying that it will make property tax go away.  As a taxpayer, I am not senile.  My memory is still very good, and I remember they already used that ploy!  

Of course, now I pay more to the casino than my taxes will ever be!  But that's fun!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> I have a telephone for my printer/fax. I fax my "at home" medical information to Winthrop. I wanted to pay the bill on line like I do for two other bills I have. Verizon wants $3.25 for every time I pay on line. No thanks. A postal stamp is so much cheaper. I am sorry, but they are not going to get rich on me.



Addie,

Could you scan your medical information to your computer and send them an email with it attached?  Then you could dump the phone line.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> Addie,
> 
> Could you scan your medical information to your computer and send them an email with it attached?  Then you could dump the phone line.





We aren't allowed to have any of the emails. They are for inter-office personnel only. And I also use the fax line for the tenants to fax something to their doctors and other business they might have. Otherwise they would have to go to the UPS store down in the square and pay a fee. It doesn't cost me anything and I don't mind doing it for them. 

Lately I have been faxing their taxes to the IRS and the state. I keep telling them if their income from SS is less than $35,000.00, they don't have to declare it. And for most of them their only income is from SS. But I guess when you are old, you are afraid of having them come for you. They have someone do their taxes for them. And why those folks don't tell them also, is beyond me. I glance at the forms when I am sending them, and the only spaces filled in are those for SS income. The Mayors office sent a supposedly Advocate for the Elderly here one day to help them with filing their taxes. I  just kept my mouth shut and faxed them. Thinking about it now, I should have called the Mayor's Office and registered a complaint about the idiot. If your income is high enough that you have to file taxes, then you don't qualify to live here at a reduced rate of rent.  

I am not impressed with this new Mayor at all. He has no clue regarding the elderly needs.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> We aren't allowed to have any of the emails. They are for inter-office personnel only. And I also use the fax line for the tenants to fax something to their doctors and other business they might have. Otherwise they would have to go to the UPS store down in the square and pay a fee. It doesn't cost me anything and I don't mind doing it for them.
> 
> *Lately I have been faxing their taxes to the IRS and the state. I keep telling them if their income from SS is less than $35,000.00, they don't have to declare it. And for most of them their only income is from SS.* But I guess when you are old, you are afraid of having them come for you. They have someone do their taxes for them. And why those folks don't tell them also, is beyond me. I glance at the forms when I am sending them, and the only spaces filled in are those for SS income. The Mayors office sent a supposedly Advocate for the Elderly here one day to help them with filing their taxes. I just kept my mouth shut and faxed them. Thinking about it now, I should have called the Mayor's Office and registered a complaint about the idiot. If your income is high enough that you have to file taxes, then you don't qualify to live here at a reduced rate of rent.
> 
> I am not impressed with this new Mayor at all. He has no clue regarding the elderly needs.


 
Addie, are you sure you don't mean $3,500?  I've never heard of anyone making that kind of yearly income just from SS - but I could be wrong.  lol


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Addie, are you sure you don't mean $3,500?



No, it is 35K. A lot of professional elderly that saved for retirement have a sizeable nest egg. Right now we have a resident whose husband died last year. She was collecting on her retirement from the City and her husband has his own funds. Between the both of them, they were just under the wire. When he died she received the balance of his retirement fund. She had to put it in her daughter's name so that she could continue to live here. 

She came to me for advice as to what she should do. I am not a financial advisor by any means. And even when I tried to tell her, she insisted I knew more that the professional people. So I went on line. You can't have more than $2,000.00 in savings to stay here. And her husbands retirement would have put her right over the top completely. So I told her what I would do. There is a chart down in the lobby stating what the income levels are, to be a resident in elderly housing. Lilly and another resident have to file income taxes every year because their incomes from retirement funds are up there. Lilly doesn't have to pay any additional taxes because she placed part of her income in her daughter's name. Pat does. And every year it ticks her off big time. You have to listen to it from April to June. They are the two residents with the most income. One is on top of her financial income and Pat isn't. Not until it is tax time. Then she bitches on and on. 

I don't know how it came to be, but I know almost as much as management regarding the income of the residents here. I have seen the W-... forms that SS and retirement funds sent out at tax time with their yearly amount of funds received. This is information I really don't want to know. But when they come to me for help, I find it very difficult to say "No" to these people. Their kids don't help them. They don't even visit their parents. I have the computer and fax. Two things they need to get information. So I look it up and print it out for them. If they have trouble reading it, I will read it to them. I think I know more about how our government operates, than government workers. More than I wanted to know. I never thought that in my retirement years I would still be working and helping people. 

We do have one other resident that has a computer. But, if it doesn't involve religion, then he can't be bothered. Nice man.


----------



## Cheryl J

If they have retirement income and nest eggs, that's a whole 'nuther story then.  I thought you were referring to strictly SS income.


----------



## Souschef

*SS and filing*

I have been trained to do taxes for low income and the elderly people through an AARP/IRS program.
In the chart for who must file,if your gross income EXCLUDING Social Security is less than $11,700 and you are over 65, you do not have to file.
As an example, if your income from other sources is $10,000, and your SS is $25,000, your total income may be $35,000, but you do not have to file.
BUT, if your income is $15,000 from other sources and $20000 from SS, you have to file for the same $35000 income
Confusing???


----------



## PrincessFiona60

More confusing than dealing with Medicare...both sides of Medicare.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> If they have retirement income and nest eggs, that's a whole 'nuther story then.  I thought you were referring to strictly SS income.



What really gets me is that I am the last person you want to ask for financial information. Even with a calculator, I am so mathematically impaired, I try to give the exact change all the time so I won't have to make sure I got the right amount back from a one dollar bill. But I keep the book we get every year from SS just so I can show it to someone when they have a question. I think I have read that book forward and backward. PF, I feel sorry for you having to deal with Medicare every day. I only go through this March and April. But at least I can rest my head easily at night.


----------



## Cheryl J

Souschef said:


> I have been trained to do taxes for low income and the elderly people through an AARP/IRS program.
> In the chart for who must file,if your gross income EXCLUDING Social Security is less than $11,700 and you are over 65, you do not have to file.
> As an example, if your income from other sources is $10,000, and your SS is $25,000, your total income may be $35,000, but you do not have to file.
> BUT, if your income is $15,000 from other sources and $20000 from SS, you have to file for the same $35000 income
> Confusing???


 
Thank you so much, Souschef!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> What really gets me is that I am the last person you want to ask for financial information. Even with a calculator, I am so mathematically impaired, I try to give the exact change all the time so I won't have to make sure I got the right amount back from a one dollar bill. But I keep the book we get every year from SS just so I can show it to someone when they have a question. I think I have read that book forward and backward. PF, I feel sorry for you having to deal with Medicare every day. I only go through this March and April. But at least I can rest my head easily at night.



Heh!  My Medicare Book at work is over 1200 pages.  The PDF file for it is here towards the bottom of the page: MDS 3.0 RAI Manual - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Over 1000 Kb on the PDF file.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie, in our little town of 29,000  taxes for the elderly and low income are done here for *free*, thanks to good people who volunteer like the SousChef during tax season.

Surely Boston has a program? You would do well with your neighbors to direct them to experts with their taxes.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Garbage, taxes, and checks - oh my!

~ We live more rural, in a town just over 11,000 residents. Each household is responsible for "hiring" their own trash hauler. We've always had our trash picked up every-other week since we moved here because it costs less. Even then we barely generate half a wheel cart (about 95 gallons big) of trash. Most times our separate recycling cart, same size, goes out once a month or every six weeks. We pay around $55 a quarter for our service. Our recycling earns us points for a program called "*Recycle Bank*", which we can redeem for goods, services, coupons and magazine subscriptions. When we have used it toward a restaurant reward we laugh about eating our garbage.  

~ We've never had the bank hold money for our real estate taxes because we  have always paid on our own. When we build our first house we put 30% down (we aren't rich, just really hard workers who save money because we are cheap thrifty) and so were deemed responsible enough to pay taxes and insurance on our own. It's always been that way for us. And like many of you, I write checks out for any business that charges me a fee for the privilege of paying online. Our credit union charges a monthly fee for enabling online payments, so we use the utility/retail business/etc's in-house auto-pay, charging everything to our Discover card...which we pay in full every month online directly to them. We basically write checks for National Grid (those people want to know everything before you can set up auto-pay...too danged invasive for their own needs) and any bills the town sends (water/sewer, real estate taxes, annual personal property tax). Since town hall is right on my way to the library, which I'm at several times a month, it's not a big deal to pull into their parking lot on my way to the library.

~ Himself is in charge of filing income tax around  here. Always waits till the last couple of weeks. I wish he'd get on it for this year though. Since we paid for my health insurance all year but our only income was one month of his social security in December, and a couple hundred dollars of interest from savings/checking accounts, I'm expecting a nice refund. Our shiny, new ACA* promised assistance based on income. We'll see.

*Affordable Care Act


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle, my Aunt had been a bookkeeper all her life. When she retired she became active in AARP and did that too. That was in suburban Cleveland. Our suburb probably had about 25,000 residents then, but I know some of the members would go elsewhere - probably also to neighborhoods in Cleveland, since we were contiguous to it.


----------



## Addie

Souschef said:


> I have been trained to do taxes for low income and the elderly people through an AARP/IRS program.
> In the chart for who must file,if your gross income EXCLUDING Social Security is less than $11,700 and you are over 65, you do not have to file.
> As an example, if your income from other sources is $10,000, and your SS is $25,000, your total income may be $35,000, but you do not have to file.
> BUT, if your income is $15,000 from other sources and $20000 from SS, you have to file for the same $35000 income
> Confusing???



Thank you. And these residents think I have all the answers. "Calgon, take me away!"


----------



## Addie

CG, in Massachusetts, if your financial institution has a Massachusetts Charter, they cannot by law charge those who are 65 and older or under 18 any fees. 

A number of years ago a young boy was putting his money in the bank to save up for a bike. He delivered newspapers. When he had enough he went to withdraw it and the account was empty. The bank had eaten it all up with stupid fees. His plight made the news and there was a very loud cry of foul everywhere. The bank was getting some very bad publicity and people and businesses were closing their accounts. That bank had a run on it. They decided to return all of the money to the boys account. Beacon Hill wasn't to happy either and passed the law unanimously. 

I have my account with a Federal CU. But they don't charge me any fees. And never have. If I make a withdrawal at a foreign bank, they take that charge off and put the fee back into my account.


----------



## bakechef

I just did our taxes two nights ago, I procrastinate every year, I hate doing them.  We always get money back, but I still hate it.


----------



## roadfix

I usually file extensions for filing our taxes simply because I'm so darn lazy.  That gives me up to 6 months to file the returns.   But this year I've been on the ball and have so far filed one return, and will file our 1040 and State by 4-15.  I use TurboTax and I've been using it for several years now.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I gave up and went to HR Block after my MIL died and there was those monies to think about and I hate the Social Security rules for Montana, nothing makes sense to someone who still counts on her fingers.

I got snazzy new glasses with my portion of the return and we paid off Shrek's lift chair with his portion.


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I gave up and went to HR Block after my MIL died and there was those monies to think about and I hate the Social Security rules for Montana, nothing makes sense to someone who still counts on her fingers.
> 
> I got snazzy new glasses with my portion of the return and *we paid off Shrek's lift chair with his portion.*




Why am I picturing a trebuchet!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I gave up and went to HR Block after my MIL died and there was those monies to think about and I hate the Social Security rules for Montana, nothing makes sense to someone who still counts on her fingers.
> 
> I got snazzy new glasses with my portion of the return and we paid off Shrek's lift chair with his portion.



I hate HR Block. My neighbor upstairs married a woman with five children. One belonged to the husband. HRB told him year after year that he could not claim her children. Even though the father was in prison and not contributing to the expense of the children. I finally read to him from the instruction book exactly who he could claim. I did his taxes that year and put down the children. I also helped him with the IRS in filing for changes on his previous years that HRB told him he couldn't claim the kids. He got a nice refund. And they went after the HRB office that had been dispensing wrong information. Then they had twins so now they had seven kids to claim each year. 

When his parents needed around the clock care, he brought them into his home. Eddie was paying for all their needs. Their SS checks went into the parents bank account until their death. Once the funds were cleared by the bank, they helped pay for the funerals along with the $55 SS paid.


----------



## taxlady

I worked for H&R Block for about nine years. It's really the luck of the draw. Some tax preparers love doing income tax and take the time to do a good job. Others are looking more at their commission and rush through it. I found that out when I worked in the verification department. I wasn't allowed to reject a tax return because there were obviously missing deductions/credits. It had to be an absolute error. I also got to see the work that some of the tax prepares who made the highest commissions. I was kinda shocked.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I worked for H&R Block for about nine years. It's really the luck of the draw. Some tax preparers love doing income tax and take the time to do a good job. Others are looking more at their commission and rush through it. I found that out when I worked in the verification department. I wasn't allowed to reject a tax return because there were obviously missing deductions/credits. It had to be an absolute error. I also got to see the work that some of the tax prepares who made the highest commissions. I was kinda shocked.



And now you know why I try to tell folks to stay away from them. For the elderly and those on welfare or low income, there are plenty of places that will help you with your tax return free. The Bunker Hill CC have their students that are studying finance, go to the public library every Friday and Saturday to help with filing taxes for free. The City of Boston have a slew of folks who will help the elderly and folks who live in the projects for free. There are so many places that help for free. No need to go to HRB.


----------



## roadfix

I would assume with the tax softwares preparers use these days errors are limited to clients' information they enter into the system


----------



## taxlady

I tell people only to go to H&R Block if they have recommendation for a good tax preparer or as a last resort. I also tell a lot of people to see how they like filing online. We have a few sites that let you file online. All of them allow people below certain income thresholds (varies by product) to file for free. It's usually around $18,000 - 20,000 per year of family income.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> I would assume with the tax softwares preparers use these days errors are limited to clients' information they enter into the system



Not necessarily. Sometimes they will tell the client that they can't claim that deduction. And when the information they give the client is wrong, then wrong information is entered. *Every year* there are changes in the tax code. You have to read that instruction booklet from front to back completely. It does point out what the changes are. Not all preparers are willing to study the updates and changes. Your best bet is to go to a CPA. Certified Public Accountant. They take a four year intensive course in all aspects of finances. Then another two years of the area they intend to specialize in. It is not an easy course. A lot fail and quit without getting their degree. Going to a CPA may be a bit more expensive, but it is worth it to protect your money.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I would assume with the tax softwares preparers use these days errors are limited to clients' information they enter into the system


I was talking about before tax prep software was common.

With tax prep software there are a number of ways to go wrong. There are typos, of course. There is being unaware of deductions/credits. There is putting info on the wrong line of a form. There are times that some income usually goes on a specific line, but there are exceptions. I have professional software, so I can override in the cases of exceptions. Often, the software available for non-professionals won't allow those overrides.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I tell people only to go to H&R Block if they have recommendation for a good tax preparer or as a last resort. I also tell a lot of people to see how they like filing online. We have a few sites that let you file online. All of them allow people below certain income thresholds (varies by product) to file for free. It's usually around $18,000 - 20,000 per year of family income.



If you are low income, filing on line is the only way to go. IRS now has a Spanish version for those whose English is not quite ready for it. Even IRS has folks available to give you free help. In English or any other language. You can sit down with a human.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> If you are low income, filing on line is the only way to go. IRS now has a Spanish version for those whose English is not quite ready for it. Even IRS has folks available to give you free help. In English or any other language. You can sit down with a human.


Not in all cases. Often it is better to get someone knowledgeable to do it through a free program. Some of the deductions/credits take a lot of reading to understand and are still clear as mud.

For example, Quebec has a refundable credit for seniors 70 or older. It's called "Tax Credit for Home-Support Services for Seniors". It allows seniors to get back a percentage of rent, grocery delivery fees, cleaning, gardening, and some other stuff. Most people don't even know this credit exists and if they do, they don't know all the stuff they can get a credit for. The form is a nightmare and not the least bit easy to fill in, even in software.

I recommend that anyone who does their own taxes, bring them to a good professional once every few years. The pro may well find a bigger refund. Then you can use the new knowledge to ask for amendments to previous years' returns and to use in future years.


----------



## Cheryl J

I'm tending to follow *tax*lady's advice.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> Why am I picturing a trebuchet!



Some days I wish...


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> I'm tending to follow *tax*lady's advice.



Her advice is right on spot. But remember she works on Canadian Taxes. The rules may differ from our. And they certainly have a lot more deductions for the elderly than we do.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I use H&R Block, the same person for the past several years.  I trust him and he takes care of us brilliantly.  While he was not recommended to me, I did take care of his Mother when she died.  I am happy to give him my business.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I use H&R Block, the same person for the past several years.  I trust him and he takes care of us brilliantly.  While he was not recommended to me, I did take care of his Mother when she died.  I am happy to give him my business.


You got lucky in the luck-of-the-draw. I think you are wise to keep going back to this tax preparer.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Her advice is right on spot. But remember she works on Canadian Taxes. The rules may differ from our. And they certainly have a lot more deductions for the elderly than we do.


That credit is actually only for Quebec. The QC government figured out that it was cheaper to help the elderly stay in their own homes than to put them in a retirement home.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Some days I wish...


Be careful what you wish for!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> Be careful what you wish for!


Actually, I keep trying to get him to take a nap so I can sit in the chair, Latte loves it, too!  Besides, it's too slow for a trebuchet...


----------



## CharlieD

My cousin went to HR last year, had to pay in several thousand. He knew it was wrong. Went to some private accountant and actually even got couple of hundred coming back to him.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> My cousin went to HR last year, had to pay in several thousand. He knew it was wrong. Went to some private accountant and actually even got couple of hundred coming back to him.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



Between TaxLady and myself have had to say, you can see why I am so against HRB. They are more interested in their own bottom line, than yours.

Your cousin can have a licensed accountant familiar with our tax laws, file an corrected amended tax form and get back those thousands of dollars.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> My cousin went to HR last year, had to pay in several thousand. He knew it was wrong. Went to some private accountant and actually even got couple of hundred coming back to him.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


He should complain to H&R Block.

It can go the other way too. A lot of accountants don't like to do income tax, but feel that they should do them.

While I was working for H&R Block, I did the same for a few clients who had their taxes done by Certified Accountants. And yes, I prepared requests for adjustments for previous years, when appropriate.

The enthusiasm and knowledge of the individual preparing the tax returns is important.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Have to buy a new garage door. Ouch!!


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> Have to buy a new garage door. Ouch!!



I use to work for an overhead door company. One day we got a call from one of the fire houses that they couldn't get the door up. Everyone was out on a job, so my boss sent me up to get it open. A firehouse full of big strong men and not one knew to yank on the pull to release the motor. Then I discovered why the door wouldn't open. One of the bolts on the hinge was loose and the panel was crooked. So I had them get me a large wrench and I tightened it. Door worked fine. They asked me not to tell their Captain. 

When I told my boss about it, he told me to charge them an extra $25 and when it came in from the city, that $25 was mine!


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> I use to work for an overhead door company. One day we got a call from one of the fire houses that they couldn't get the door up. Everyone was out on a job, so my boss sent me up to get it open. A firehouse full of big strong men and not one knew to yank on the pull to release the motor. Then I discovered why the door wouldn't open. One of the bolts on the hinge was loose and the panel was crooked. So I had them get me a large wrench and I tightened it. Door worked fine. They asked me not to tell their Captain.
> 
> When I told my boss about it, he told me to charge them an extra $25 and when it came in from the city, that $25 was mine!


Three cheers for that boss.


----------



## Mad Cook

Went to the doctors for an annual review of my prescription (nothing drastic - just Lansoprazole for GERD). Got into trouble with the doctor.

Last week I'd been to Book Group which is held in a room at the local pub. I got myself a drink and went upstairs and on entering the room tripped over a crease in the carpet. I had my arms and hands full of book, study notes, knitting bag, coat, handbag, bottle and glass (non-alcoholic apple and mango juice 'cos I was driving - Honest, guv'nor!) so I fell flat on my face! Pride more hurt than anything else but gave my bad hip a nasty wrench.

When I saw the doctor I let slip that I'd been taking an NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug) pain-killer for a few days as paracetamol (acetaminophen) doesn't work for me and anyway is dangerous in itself. Did I get it in the neck!! Shouldn't take NSAIDs when you have GERD. Yes, I know. However, since they often prescribe Lansoprazole in tandem with long-term prescribed NSAIDs in order to protect the stomach, and I am very sensible about self-medicating, I was a bit peeved to put it mildly. 

Don't like this Doctor (he's rude and patronising and talks down to patients) and usually insist on seeing another one in the practice but I needed my prescription and he was the only one available. 

My lovely doctor, who I'd been with for 30-odd years and who treated me like a grown-up, retired a couple of years ago and I'd moved house so had to change practices. Only seen this new chap twice in two years and I have nearly gone for his jugular both times. 

The first time I saw him he informed me that I was at a very "dangerous" age (I was 64 and "disgustingly healthy" - quote from my old doctor) and I would die if I got the 'flu so I MUST have a 'flu jab INSTANTLY (I never get 'flu but went along with the jab just to be obliging). Then he said that, due to my "dangerous" age, I would die if I didn't have the pneumonia jab at once (I didn't bother). He rounded it off by telling me that if I had surgery on my foot for an injury that interferes with my wearing shoes (I live in rubber wellingtons at the stables and sheepskin Ugg boots elsewhere even in summer), the general anaesthetic could kill me. Durr! Does he think I'm a complete idiot? They do orthopaedic surgery on feet and hips under epidurals these days rather than general anaesthetics! Doctors should look at the person, not the colour of their hair or the numbers on their birth certificate.

I suspect that the NHS pays the practices for persuading us to take 'flu and pneumonia jabs because that saves money in the long run but the surgery on my foot would be charged to the practice. (The NHS has a very strange accounting system. Treatment is free to the patient at point of service but some arcane system charges it to the doctor's practice, which pays for it out of the money the NHS pays them for running the practice. Don't try to understand this - I don't think anyone does.)

(Incidentally, the Book Group choice for the month was "Jonathon Livingstone Seagull" - now _there's_ a blast from the past!)


----------



## taxlady

Jeez, what a harpering idiot (Harper is our PM. I really hate what he is doing, so I use his name as a swear word.) (((Hugs))) and hoping you get all sensible doctors in the future.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> Jeez, what a harpering idiot (Harper is our PM. I really hate what he is doing, so I use his name as a swear word.) (((Hugs))) and hoping you get all sensible doctors in the future.


Fortunately, as I said I'm disgustingly healthy and don't take prisoners but if I was a little old lady with health problems who couldn't stand up for herself it would be horrid.


He's the senior partner in the practice so there is no-one to complain to. He has a reputation all over the village for having a bad attitude. The only alternative is the other practice in the village but they are up to numbers and can't take anymore patients at the moment. I wonder why......


----------



## CarolPa

I have always done our taxes, as we never had any out-of-the-ordinary deductions.  This year I would like to go to the free tax service run by the AARP but from what I've heard, it is always so crowded and there's a long wait.  I'm hoping that going toward the end of tax season the crowd will have diminished.  If not, then I guess I'll just do it myself.


----------



## Souschef

CarolPa said:


> I have always done our taxes, as we never had any out-of-the-ordinary deductions.  This year I would like to go to the free tax service run by the AARP but from what I've heard, it is always so crowded and there's a long wait.  I'm hoping that going toward the end of tax season the crowd will have diminished.  If not, then I guess I'll just do it myself.


It depends on the setup, Carol. In our town, we do a first come first served. My BIL on the East Coast does it by appointments. It would not hurt to check.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> I have always done our taxes, as we never had any out-of-the-ordinary deductions.  This year I would like to go to the free tax service run by the AARP but from what I've heard, it is always so crowded and there's a long wait.  I'm hoping that going toward the end of tax season the crowd will have diminished.  If not, then I guess I'll just do it myself.



Spike does taxes for a few couples he knows. One of the couples are both blind and work. Their income has a lot of deductions due to their blindness and expenses related to that. He always manages to get them a really good refund. 

Then there is a couple whose van he borrows when his car is up on the rack. He has known them since childhood and was married to the sister of the wife. She is disabled and he works for the city. Then in one year they had three very close relatives die. They paid for all the expenses for the three that the insurance was small and didn't cover. That year was a challenge for Spike. At the first funeral, he wisely told them to start a file for receipts for all funeral expenses. 

Sure enough, they got audited. Spike went with them with the thick IRS book in his hands with every page having a post-it note sticking out. They had all of their receipts and when the auditor took a look at them, he knew he was already go to lose. All he did was to make copies of all their receipts and told them they could leave. Haven't heard from them since. 

He also does his sons. That one has taken weeks to finish. He is in construction, and when one job is done, the union sends him on another job. So he can have several W-2's. This year there is one company he worked for and never received a W-2. He notified IRS. Still waiting to hear from them. He did receive a letter from IRS that they are looking into the company and the problem. All  his son could find was one pay stub. So Spike filed with that and a copy of the letters to and from IRS. For 2015, his son has been on the same job and will be until  2020. Yea! Every night I lose control of my computer. Spike has it doing taxes. April 15th is my favorite night of the year.


----------



## Addie

I had a horrible night last night. Neuropathy in both legs. Never in my feet. I spent four hours just standing and walking after taking four gabapentin in a period of four hours. It was the second dose that finally stopped the pain. I see myself back in my wheelchair in another year or so. Now I am fine and able to do some housework that need doing. 

My mental state is not so great today either. I need to have The Pirate come and stay for a day or two to help me. Time for me to get busy and get myself out of this funk. It is so not like me.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Addie)))

I broke my toe five weeks ago. It should be nearly healed by now, but it isn't. I wonder if it's the Sodium Risidronate (Actonel) that I take for osteoporosis. It "slows bone remodelling".


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Addie)))
> 
> I broke my toe five weeks ago. It should be nearly healed by now, but it isn't. I wonder if it's the Sodium Risidronate (Actonel) that I take for osteoporosis. It "slows bone remodelling".



Thanks for the hugs. I need them today. Any chance of reducing the dosage so the toe will heal faster? Even a major bone like the ulna or femur usually is healed in five to six weeks. As long as there are no complications like a compound fracture. The toe bone is so small, you would think it would heal faster. (((Hugs))) back attcha. I broke one of the really thin bones on the outside of my foot. It was healed in four weeks. I took the cast off myself in week five. Of course that was during my "I know it all. So don't tell me." days. I hope it gets the message and heals more quickly for you.


----------



## Addie

Oh boy! I am on the warpath today. Winthrop is trying to get everyone who has a computer at home and are computer savvy to use their new feature "My Chart." 

I can use it to make an appointment, order refills, etc. So they send me a list of upcoming appointments. At *6:00 am.* Do they really think I am going to go there at that hour? And they are set for just three minutes apart. Five of them are for blood work and they are allowing only three minutes. It takes them at least five minutes just to find a vein. 

So I do have an appointment tomorrow that I have known about for six months. I have printed out this stupid appointment list. Including their questionnaire. The same one for every appointment. The last question wants to know if I have been to South Africa and near anyone with Ebola. If they send one more, I am going to give them the answer they never expected. I will be making plans to go there two days ahead and leave for Sierra Leone. Then I will tell them I will be back in time for my appointment. I will start checking off "Yes" on their questionnaire. 

Six times they have sent the same notice for this appointment. They must think I am really stupid and won't keep the appointment. I want out of this "My Chart" program. Oooh, I can't wait for tomorrow!


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Thanks for the hugs. I need them today. Any chance of reducing the dosage so the toe will heal faster? Even a major bone like the ulna or femur usually is healed in five to six weeks. As long as there are no complications like a compound fracture. The toe bone is so small, you would think it would heal faster. (((Hugs))) back attcha. I broke one of the really thin bones on the outside of my foot. It was healed in four weeks. I took the cast off myself in week five. Of course that was during my "I know it all. So don't tell me." days. I hope it gets the message and heals more quickly for you.


Thanks for the hugs Addie.

It would be hard to cut down the dosage. I take one pill, once a week. I am going to phone my doctor. I'm just trying to get the energy to deal with the receptionist and possibly the answering machine. I don't even know if the medication is the problem. Yeah, every other time I have broken bones they have healed in six weeks or less, but I'm not getting any younger.


----------



## CarolPa

Souschef said:


> It depends on the setup, Carol. In our town, we do a first come first served. My BIL on the East Coast does it by appointments. It would not hurt to check.




My BIL went to the one in our area, and he's the one who told me that it's first come first served and he went a couple times and the line was so long he left.  Finally he went before they open and was 5th in line.  As long as I get there before Apr 15.  I have a feeling that now might be a good time to go because there might be a lot of people waiting until the last minute.  Some people are in a hurry to get their money back.  I know the sooner I get it, the sooner it will be spent.


----------



## Dawgluver

I washed my swimsuits in the machine, in cold water on delicate.  My favorite black and white suit came out with orange sunscreen stains on the straps and back.  I've seen the orange stains before, on tshirt swimsuit coverups.  So I did what I thought would be most effective, I soaked the swimsuit in Oxyclean.  Very bad idea.  Now it's oranger than ever.

After checking with my friend, Google, I found out the sunscreen ingredient reacts with Oxyclean, and along with our lovely hard well water, which helps set the stains, makes everything worse.  Grrrrrrr.

It's now soaking in Dawn dish detergent.  I have a feeling it's not salvagable.  And I'm not happy, it was a style I really liked, and expensive to boot.


----------



## taxlady

Aw phooey, Dawg.


----------



## Dawgluver

My feelings exactly, Tax.


----------



## Souschef

*Taxes*

After that red eye flight last week, I helped my BIL in Nassau County (Long Island) with the AARP group.
We were open today, and there were very few people coming in. We were done by 12:30


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I washed my swimsuits in the machine, in cold water on delicate.  My favorite black and white suit came out with orange sunscreen stains on the straps and back.  I've seen the orange stains before, on tshirt swimsuit coverups.  So I did what I thought would be most effective, I soaked the swimsuit in Oxyclean.  Very bad idea.  Now it's oranger than ever.
> 
> After checking with my friend, Google, I found out the sunscreen ingredient reacts with Oxyclean, and along with our lovely hard well water, which helps set the stains, makes everything worse.  Grrrrrrr.
> 
> It's now soaking in Dawn dish detergent.  I have a feeling it's not salvagable.  And I'm not happy, it was *a style I really liked,* and expensive to boot.



Dawg, Woolen one piece with leggings went out of style at the turn of the last Century! 

History of Bathing Suits (PICTURES)

Don't wait for them to come back.


----------



## Mad Cook

*OOO-ER!Sorry to hear about your health woes Addie and Taxi.*



taxlady said:


> Thanks for the hugs Addie.
> 
> It would be hard to cut down the dosage. I take one pill, once a week. I am going to phone my doctor. I'm just trying to get the energy to deal with the receptionist and possibly the answering machine. I don't even know if the medication is the problem. Yeah, every other time I have broken bones they have healed in six weeks or less, but I'm not getting any younger.


Sorry to hear about your health woes, Taxy and Addie. Hopw things are improving.

We have a General Election pending over here and a would-be Member of Parliament was speaking on the lunchtime news on the radio. He said he’s “in charge” of the National Health Service (for his party, if it gets in, presumably) and was speaking about hospital Accident and Emergency admission delays. He said "People are living longer and being admitted to hospital with more complex conditions" and announced, in a rather threatening voice, "WE HAVE A WAY OF DEALING WITH THIS”   
 
Somewhat disturbing, I feel. (Rat poison, string across the top stair?) Methinks we’d better start forging our birth certificates.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Dawg, Woolen one piece with leggings went out of style at the turn of the last Century!
> 
> History of Bathing Suits (PICTURES)
> 
> Don't wait for them to come back.


That was an entertaining link Addie. The part about the bathing machines reminded me of a spa in Denmark. I remember staying there as a kid. There weren't any bathing machines, but there was a ladies' and a mens' pier with a small house at the end. One walked to the house, disrobed, and climbed down a ladder nekkid to go for a swim. The ladder was in the floor of the dressing room. I don't remember if the walls of the dressing room went into the water or if there were flaps or something, but no one from outside could see you get into the water.


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> Sorry to hear about your health woes, Taxy and Addie. Hopw things are improving.
> 
> We have a General Election pending over here and a would-be Member of Parliament was speaking on the lunchtime news on the radio. He said he’s “in charge” of the National Health Service (for his party, if it gets in, presumably) and was speaking about hospital Accident and Emergency admission delays. He said "People are living longer and being admitted to hospital with more complex conditions" and announced, in a rather threatening voice, "WE HAVE A WAY OF DEALING WITH THIS”
> 
> Somewhat disturbing, I feel. (Rat poison, string across the top stair?) Methinks we’d better start forging our birth certificates.


Thanks MC, getting better slowly.

Some days I really hate politicians. How is the NHS holding up? Here, they keep claiming not-enough-money and the waiting times keep getting longer. I have a number of friends who can't find a GP who can take them as a regular patient. They have to go to walk-in clinics for everything.


----------



## CarolPa

We went up to the tax service this morning and they were full and turning people away saying come back on Thursday.  It's getting close.  When we got home we tried going online but didn't understand what we were doing and DH said we will go back on Thursday, early, before they open and wait in line.  I think if I could see it done online once I would understand how to do it in the future.  Actually, if we would stop having the taxes withheld from DH's pension check I don't think we would be resquired to file at all, but since we gamble, I like having that money paid in to cover the taxes on gambling winnings, of which we had none this year.  So we have to file to get it back.  

Taxlady, I'm glad that I established myself with a GP back in my 40's so I don't have to worry about finding a doctor who is taking new patients.  As long as I show up once a year for a general checkup I'm in his files.


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## roadfix

Instead of rushing during the last week of tax filing deadline you can always  file an extension (form 4868) by April 15 which gives you 6 additional months to file your 1040.   And if you know you'll owe money to the IRS an estimated amount should also be sent along with your extension.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> Thanks MC, getting better slowly.
> 
> Some days I really hate politicians. How is the NHS holding up? Here, they keep claiming not-enough-money and the waiting times keep getting longer. I have a number of friends who can't find a GP who can take them as a regular patient. They have to go to walk-in clinics for everything.


 The good old NHS struggles on. As a friend who is a senior nurse in A&E was saying the other day, if they employed fewer "bean counters" there'd be more money to pay for what the NHS is there for. 

As for GPs, they can't refuse to accept you unless they have really good reasons, which usually means their list is full up. They can't refuse you on the grounds that your illness is too expensive or for any reasons concerned with your life-style. There has been a recent change in the law which means you can sign up with a practice even if you aren't within their catchment area if they have room on their list.

Part of the problem is that people insist on clogging up the system by presenting with minor illnesses or injuries that could easily be dealt with at home. For example people go to the GP with colds or minor injuries. A problem, I suppose with a "free at the point of use" system.  

All things considered and despite it's faults, we are very lucky to have it. At least no-one here dies in childbirth or loses a baby because they can't afford the proper care.


----------



## taxlady

The main reason people here are having a hard time finding a GP is that all the GPs already have all the patients they can handle. I have had the same GP since the early '90s. I like her, so I didn't change GP when I moved. She's 23 km/15 miles from where I live now. Yep, even with the problems, it's really nice to have nationalized health care.


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> Instead of rushing during the last week of tax filing deadline you can always  file an extension (form 4868) by April 15 which gives you 6 additional months to file your 1040.   And if you know you'll owe money to the IRS an estimated amount should also be sent along with your extension.



Thursday is the next day for the AARP tax help, so we are going to be there an hour before they open.  If that doesn't work, then I will just file a paper return again.  I actually want to learn how to do it online.  I am one of those old people who are not very computer savvy.  Once I see it done, I will be OK for next time.  They owe me money!


----------



## Dawgluver

CarolPa said:


> Thursday is the next day for the AARP tax help, so we are going to be there an hour before they open.  If that doesn't work, then I will just file a paper return again.  I actually want to learn how to do it online.  I am one of those old people who are not very computer savvy.  Once I see it done, I will be OK for next time.  They owe me money!




Carol, have you looked into Taxact Online?  They are pretty straightforward, and have both online and telephone assistance.  

I've used them for years.


----------



## Zhizara

One of the last times I filed taxes I was able to do it electronically by phone  it was an easy return to do and I was even able to have my refund wired directly into my bank account.

I haven't had to file since then as I don't make the minimum amount to have to file.


----------



## roadfix

I like filing online.  The software walks you through step by step and you can spend as little time as you want each day or week if you choose to do so or as much time as you wish to complete the returns (Federal and State) in one evening and sent them electronically.  You're the boss.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> Thursday is the next day for the AARP tax help, so we are going to be there an hour before they open.  If that doesn't work, then I will just file a paper return again.  I actually want to learn how to do it online.  I am one of those old people who are not very computer savvy.  Once I see it done, I will be OK for next time.  They owe me money!



Carol,  what online filing product are you trying to use?


----------



## Mad Cook

*IE/Firefox? Computer Geek required.*

I am having endless problems with Internet Explorer and a couple of months ago I suddenly lost Flash Player and it won't re-install. I wasn't advised that it was time for an update before the disappearance and I didn't do anything to chase it away - it just wasn't there anymore. When I go through the motions to re-install it says it has installed successfully but when I come to try and use it I get a message telling me I need to load it. I'm not sure whether the IE problems and the Flash Player installation problems are connected.

I'm wondering whether, if I uninstall Internet Explorer and load Firefox, it will solve my Flash Player problems? I had to install Firefox to order a magazine subscription recently because the subscription company required it but I de-installed it afterwards (this didn't cause the Flash problem. I  had it before the Firefox installation/de-installation).

Any opinions on Firefox generally and my problem in particular? I'm on  Windows 7, 64bit.


----------



## Andy M.

I use firefox for browsing all the time.  Works great.  Can't answer your Flash Player question.  I have flash player also and have no problems.


----------



## JoAnn L.

The police are warning us of another scam in our area. The scammers pose as water department employees to gain access to homes. Once inside, one person will distract you while looking at the water meter and the other one quickly looks around  for small things to steal, (cell phones, jewelry, money, ect.).


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Mad Cook said:


> I am having endless problems with Internet Explorer and a couple of months ago I suddenly lost Flash Player and it won't re-install. I wasn't advised that it was time for an update before the disappearance and I didn't do anything to chase it away - it just wasn't there anymore. When I go through the motions to re-install it says it has installed successfully but when I come to try and use it I get a message telling me I need to load it. I'm not sure whether the IE problems and the Flash Player installation problems are connected.
> 
> I'm wondering whether, if I uninstall Internet Explorer and load Firefox, it will solve my Flash Player problems? I had to install Firefox to order a magazine subscription recently because the subscription company required it but I de-installed it afterwards (this didn't cause the Flash problem. I  had it before the Firefox installation/de-installation).
> 
> Any opinions on Firefox generally and my problem in particular? I'm on  Windows 7, 64bit.




I love Firefox! I won't use anything else.

As for Flash Player, completely uninstall from your control panel, re-download and reinstall, see if that works.  Remember to restart your computer after uninstalling and after you reinstall.


----------



## taxlady

Another vote for FireFox from me.


----------



## roadfix

I like both FireFox and Chrome browsers.   Currently using Chrome on my PC's.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I like both FireFox and Chrome browsers.   Currently using Chrome on my PC's.


Do you still have to install Chrome in administrator mode for it to be available to other users? I had a real battle with Chrome about that on a previous computer. No one warned me that I had to do it that way and then it wouldn't let me install it for other users.

I do like Chrome.


----------



## bakechef

Mad Cook said:


> I am having endless problems with Internet Explorer and a couple of months ago I suddenly lost Flash Player and it won't re-install. I wasn't advised that it was time for an update before the disappearance and I didn't do anything to chase it away - it just wasn't there anymore. When I go through the motions to re-install it says it has installed successfully but when I come to try and use it I get a message telling me I need to load it. I'm not sure whether the IE problems and the Flash Player installation problems are connected.
> 
> I'm wondering whether, if I uninstall Internet Explorer and load Firefox, it will solve my Flash Player problems? I had to install Firefox to order a magazine subscription recently because the subscription company required it but I de-installed it afterwards (this didn't cause the Flash problem. I  had it before the Firefox installation/de-installation).
> 
> Any opinions on Firefox generally and my problem in particular? I'm on  Windows 7, 64bit.



I like Firefox and Chrome.  If you use Firefox, you'll need to manually  install the flash plugin, it's pretty easy.  If you install Chrome,  Flash will be built in and ready to use.


----------



## Mad Cook

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I love Firefox! I won't use anything else.
> 
> As for Flash Player, completely uninstall from your control panel, re-download and reinstall, see if that works. Remember to restart your computer after uninstalling and after you reinstall.


Thanks PF but I've done that - repeatedly! I've tried everything suggested on several help forums including the adobe one and it'd getting me nowhere. I know Windows 7 is getting close to out of date but it shouldn't  be causing problems yet.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

roadfix said:


> I like both FireFox and Chrome browsers.   Currently using Chrome on my PC's.


Same here. I used FireFox for quite a while, then Himself added Chrome to the laptop. I switched, and have stayed with Chrome ever since.

What I especially like Chrome for is because Google keeps track of everything, like all my bookmarks. When our older laptop died on me about a month before vacation, I panicked. After all, links to ALL the places I was interesting in seeing were *gone!*  Um, no, they weren't. Himself started up the smaller notebook, had me log in to my Chrome account...and *poof*, like magic, my entire, intact bookmark bar was showing at the top of the browser window just like it was supposed to. Happiness ensued, and I've been using Chrome exclusively ever since.


----------



## taxlady

I don't like the way Chrome saves passwords. It saves them so anyone can see them. FireFox has a master password that you have to enter to see your passwords.


----------



## Zhizara

Speaking of Google keeping track of everything, lately I've been getting a lot of Google based ads.  They are difficult to add to AdBlock Plus.  They usually are random, unless I go looking for something.

Lately, i've needed to find a replacement personal shopping cart.  The ads now are almost all about personal shopping carts.  I hope AdBlock gets better at removing these unwanted ads.  Sometimes I can get rid of the message, but it often leaves a frame, that nothing will remove.  Grrrrr.

Is there a way to stop Google from using my history to flood me with ads?


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> Speaking of Google keeping track of everything, lately I've been getting a lot of Google based ads.  They are difficult to add to AdBlock Plus.  They usually are random, unless I go looking for something.
> 
> Lately, i've needed to find a replacement personal shopping cart.  The ads now are almost all about personal shopping carts.  I hope AdBlock gets better at removing these unwanted ads.  Sometimes I can get rid of the message, but it often leaves a frame, that nothing will remove.  Grrrrr.
> 
> Is there a way to stop Google from using my history to flood me with ads?



I know what you mean Z. If I mention the word bowls, ads about bowls will show up for days to come. Grrrr!


----------



## Zhizara

Until this latest barrage by Google, I had spent a couple of years without any ads at all.  

I once had a similar problem with a TV guide site.  I kept adding filters every time I saw an ad until finally I didn't see any at all.  I'm hoping that will happen here.


----------



## taxlady

Z, where are those ads showing up? What browser do you use? There may be a setting. Getting rid of the empty frames may be harder or impossible.


----------



## Zhizara

I use firefox with adblock plus, Taxy.  The ads show up in the space between the line near the top starting with User CP and before the Post Reply button.

This started about a month or two ago and is very annoying.  It seems to me that I remember that there was a place where I could tell Google  they weren't allowed to use my information.  I can't think where to look.  Any help would be really great!!


----------



## CarolPa

PF, I don't recall what site I was trying to use the last time I tried to do taxes online last year.  It said it was free, but when I got to the end it said I owed $19.95.  This time I was going to use Turbo Tax Free Site but then decided to go to the AARP to have them do it.  They are trying to recruit me to take the tax course they offer and become a volunteer.  I'm considering that, but have until next year to decide.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> PF, I don't recall what site I was trying to use the last time I tried to do taxes online last year.  It said it was free, but when I got to the end it said I owed $19.95.  This time I was going to use Turbo Tax Free Site but then decided to go to the AARP to have them do it.  They are trying to recruit me to take the tax course they offer and become a volunteer.  I'm considering that, but have until next year to decide.



If you do decide to do it, just be prepared to give up a lot of your free time. Specially during the last week. It should be interesting. The only thing is Himself might have you doing your own taxes forever. And start teaching Himself how to cook. When you come home you expect a hot meal on the table. But don't be surprised if he carts you off to "The Home"! He will tell you that they serve hot meals every day. You already have him doing all of the vacuuming. Get him a pretty apron with ruffles. If he rebels, tell him it was some crazy member of DC that made all these suggestions. Just don't give him my name.


----------



## CarolPa

No, Addie, they said you are only required to give 4 hours per week, it's up to you.  They said they really need volunteers.  If they would just do the taxes and not BS so much with everyone, they would have enough people!  Also, once you finish the course, if you decide you don't want to volunteer, that's your choice.  I think this is the definition of the word "volunteer."

And DH does half of the cooking already.  He's a good cook!


----------



## taxlady

I sort of volunteered one year. It's a program run by the Quebec and Federal governments. I took the course. Then, I found out that I would have to fill in the returns on paper. I would not be allowed to use my professional tax software, which by the way, has a tick mark that the tax return were prepared through the volunteer program. I was still willing to do a bit, but they never had anything when I had time.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> No, Addie, they said you are only required to give 4 hours per week, it's up to you.  They said they really need volunteers.  If they would just do the taxes and not BS so much with everyone, they would have enough people!  Also, once you finish the course, if you decide you don't want to volunteer, that's your choice.  I think this is the definition of the word "volunteer."
> 
> And DH does half of the cooking already.  He's a good cook!



Well then, I say go for it. It will get you out of the house and you may  just make a bunch of new friends. I would love to do volunteer work. But I can't walk more than about fifty feet. And I hate to keep asking for someone to drive me and pick me up. We do have a Senior Shuttle that is free. But it is mainly for  the elderly that have doctors appointments and shopping. Heck, four hours will go by so fast, you will see yourself staying there more than four hours without even realizing it.


----------



## CarolPa

This group only does online returns.  There go to several local towns, but you get to choose which area you want, regardless of their need.  They have it 4 hours each Tuesday and Thursday.  I don't know if they go to other areas on the other days. I think it's a good idea to help people, but I don't know if I would trust myself not to make a mistake.  It is supposed to be only for persons over 65, low to moderate income, and there are certain returns with certain categories that they will not do.  Also, you have no personal responsibility if you make a mistake.  AARP takes the responsibility.  But I would stll feel bad if I screwed up someone's taxes.

It is supposed to be from 9-1, but there were some volunteers who came in early, around 7 and started on anyone who was there early to get in line.  Once they have enough people in the door they close it, with a sign that says come back the next day.  People line up early.  So they let some people come in early, then other volunteers came in at 9.  We got there at 8 and were 5th in line, and each volunteer already had someone at their desk.


----------



## Andy M.

I've always done my own taxes.  An offshoot of my accounting background.  Every year I buy TurboTax at Costco and go from there.  This year I couldn't load TurboTax on my Mac because my operating system is too old!  So I went online to the TT website and completed my taxes through the website.

I took the TT I bought back to Costco for a refund.  I took a copy of the email confirming my online purchase for evidence.  Got a full credit.  The CS person told me she didn't care about the email, I was getting a refund anyway.


----------



## roadfix

I've been using Turbo Tax Deluxe for my personal returns for several years.  Starting 2014 they stopped including Schedule D, among other common schedules as well so I had to return the Deluxe and move up one level to their Premier Edition.   Massive negative reviews for TT on Amazon for this unannounced change.


----------



## Dawgluver

I like Taxact Deluxe online.  They import the previous year's info, and you can get any form, which is good as I have a bunch of unusual investment stuff.  The only issue I had with it this year was that I did it on the iPad, and it was a bit glitchy.  Sometimes the "continue" button wouldn't continue, so I had to back out, go to my emails or another site, then go back to where I had been.  Annoying, but not a deal breaker.  It costs $22 to file both federal and state.  There's also a free version.


----------



## Addie

Carol, over 65 is probably the easiest one to do. As long as they don't have a large bank account that collects large interest, you will do fine. And if their income is under $35,000 a year, there is nothing for them to claim. The usual ones for over 65, are you blind, etc. are simple enough to answer. What  most of them do not realize is that when you turn 65, and your income is under $35,000 and you have no deductions, then you don't have to file. 

I am just one step up from being The Family Idiot and even I can do them for the elderly. And don't forget they will train you and there is always someone there to ask for help. So relax. You will have fun and meet and make new friends.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CarolPa said:


> PF, I don't recall what site I was trying to use the last time I tried to do taxes online last year.  It said it was free, but when I got to the end it said I owed $19.95.  This time I was going to use Turbo Tax Free Site but then decided to go to the AARP to have them do it.  They are trying to recruit me to take the tax course they offer and become a volunteer.  I'm considering that, but have until next year to decide.



That's okay, I was just going to go look at it and give you some step by step directions if you still wanted to do it online.  Now I'll have time to go outside and look for tornadoes.


----------



## Souschef

*Tax advice*

As I stated before, I am a volunteer helping prepare taxes under an IRS AARP program for which I had to take classes.
I do not know where anyone got that $35,000 number, but it is incorrect.
Here is the data directly from the United States Internal Revenue Service(IRS). Please disregard any other sources
You have to file a return if your income other than from Social Security is as follows:
Single
Under 65-$10,500
Over 65-$11,700
Married filing jointly
Both Under 65-$20,300
One under 65-$21,500
Both over 65-$22,700


----------



## CarolPa

The gentleman who did our taxes said his daughter bought Turbo Tax to do her taxes and he was also doing them on his program to see if he came up with the same number.  Turbo Tax found a big item that he missed.  I don't remember the details, but it had something to do with her education expenses.  She went over the amount allowed for educational expenses, but Turbo Tax listed the difference as something else and she was able to deduct it.


----------



## taxlady

Zhizara said:


> I use firefox with adblock plus, Taxy.  The ads show up in the space between the line near the top starting with User CP and before the Post Reply button.
> 
> This started about a month or two ago and is very annoying.  It seems to me that I remember that there was a place where I could tell Google  they weren't allowed to use my information.  I can't think where to look.  Any help would be really great!!


Okay, I've been thinking about this. I don't get that and I use FF. I thought I was using Adblock Plus, but I checked my addons and I'm using: 
Updated Ad Blocker for Firefox 11+ 0.7.7


----------



## Cheryl J

Souschef said:


> As I stated before, I am a volunteer helping prepare taxes under an IRS AARP program for which I had to take classes.
> I do not know where anyone got that $35,000 number, but it is incorrect.
> Here is the data directly from the United States Internal Revenue Service(IRS). Please disregard any other sources
> You have to file a return if your income other than from Social Security is as follows:
> Single
> Under 65-$10,500
> Over 65-$11,700
> Married filing jointly
> Both Under 65-$20,300
> One under 65-$21,500
> Both over 65-$22,700


 
Thank you for this info.  Copied.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Okay, I've been thinking about this. I don't get that and I use FF. I thought I was using Adblock Plus, but I checked my addons and I'm using:
> Updated Ad Blocker for Firefox 11+ 0.7.7



Just checked mine, I have the same updated program, Tax.


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks, Taxy!  I downloaded it and hope it gives me some relief from this latest barrage of ads.

I didn't know or hear about it before.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Zhizara said:


> Thanks, Taxy!  I downloaded it and hope it gives me some relief from this latest barrage of ads.
> 
> I didn't know or hear about it before.



I didn't notice it was different until Taxy mentioned it, must have picked it when doing a FF update.


----------



## roadfix

Jury duty tomorrow.......bummer.....  Hopefully it'll be just tomorrow only.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Just found we will be losing an over 30 foot pine tree in our back yard. It has to be cut down because it is dying. So sad.


----------



## Dawgluver

JoAnn L. said:


> Just found we will be losing an over 30 foot pine tree in our back yard. It has to be cut down because it is dying. So sad.




I totally understand, JoAnn.  It always breaks my heart when we lose a tree.  We lost a Colorado blue spruce a couple years ago that was Rockefeller Center Christmas worthy.  It snapped in a storm when we were gone on vacation.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Dawgluver said:


> I totally understand, JoAnn.  It always breaks my heart when we lose a tree.  We lost a Colorado blue spruce a couple years ago that was Rockefeller Center Christmas worthy.  It snapped in a storm when we were gone on vacation.



These last few years in our neighborhood the Blue Spruce are also dying. I wonder what is wrong, they are so beautiful.


----------



## taxlady

JoAnn L. said:


> These last few years in our neighborhood the Blue Spruce are also dying. I wonder what is wrong, they are so beautiful.


Spruce beetles?


----------



## JoAnn L.

taxlady said:


> Spruce beetles?



Gee, I'm not really sure. I know years ago our city lost tons of Elm tree to a Dutch Elm Disease.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Jury duty tomorrow.......bummer.....  Hopefully it'll be just tomorrow only.



Thankfully I no longer have to do jury duty. I have a medical exemption and those over 70 can legally opt out without stating reason other than age. 

I got called once and it was for out in Greenfield. That is near the border to New York. I called the number to asked if I could get paid for travel expenses and did the court have handicap access. The man asked me where I live. When I told him, it dawned on him it was for the wrong county and I couldn't have been further from any point in the state. I was immediately excused. In this state your call for jury duty is supposed to be "One trial, one day." Unless of course you end up on the Hernandez jury. Or the Marathon Bomber trial. 

I just love being old and handicapped.


----------



## JoAnn L.

My DIL is on call for Federal jury duty. It is in a city about 1 1/2 hours away from where she lives. You are on call for 3 months. She had to drive in some pretty bad weather this winter to get there.


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> Just found we will be losing an over 30 foot pine tree in our back yard. It has to be cut down because it is dying. So sad.



They are beautiful trees. There was a huge Blue Spruce not too far from where I lived in Tacoma. Every time I walked by it, I would stop and stare at it. 

I don't know what kind of tree Nova Scotia sends us every year for Christmas, but it is always a stunning, beautiful one. We have great relations with Canada. But for some reason, we really love the Maritimes of Canada. On 9/11 the people helped those stranded by the event, that couldn't get back across the border and home.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> They are beautiful trees. There was a huge Blue Spruce not too far from where I lived in Tacoma. Every time I walked by it, I would stop and stare at it.
> 
> I don't know what kind of tree Nova Scotia sends us every year for Christmas, but it is always a stunning, beautiful one. We have great relations with Canada. But for some reason, we really love the Maritimes of Canada. On 9/11 the people helped those stranded by the event, that couldn't get back across the border and home.


That was in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, wasn't it? For reasons that I don't really understand, Newfoundland and Larbrador (one province) is not considered to be one of the Maritime Provinces.  It is grouped with the Maritime Provinces under the name, "Atlantic Canada".


----------



## Kayelle

roadfix said:


> Jury duty tomorrow.......bummer.....  Hopefully it'll be just tomorrow only.



I posted this sometime ago...



Kayelle said:


> Dawg, speaking of jury duty, I'm sitting here  thinking "I'm free at last" after a solid week. I was put on a jury late  last Wed. and we came to a verdict just before noon today. I counted up  today how many times I have been called over the years, and I have  shown up 21 times and served on four criminal trials including this one.  I don't begrudge any time I've served, but stick a fork in me, I'm  done.
> I'll turn 70 next month (gulp, shudder) and in this state one is no  longer required to serve if one doesn't feel up to it at that age. I  still feel up to snorkeling, but it's time to retire my "juror" badge  and let them call someone else.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> That was in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, wasn't it? For reasons that I don't really understand, Newfoundland and Larbrador (one province) is not considered to be one of the Maritime Provinces.  It is grouped with the Maritime Provinces under the name, "Atlantic Canada".



Which one has the big explosion on the waterfront? They send us the tree every year as a 'thank you' for sending relief supplies immediately. It could have been Halifax. Where is that located? 

I have enough trouble trying to remember how to go two blocks to the bus stop right here. I do remember we studied it in the fourth grade. I also remember we were taught that all the islands in that area are called the Maritime due to all the activity on their waterfronts. And when Phil was fishing out of Boston he always referred it to as the Maritimes. The boat would sometimes tie up in the Bay of Fundy. He hated going there. If he got drunk and it was low tide, he didn't do to well getting back on the boat. Of course that was all before 9/11 and you didn't need an ID to go ashore. We were all friendly neighbors then.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Which one has the big explosion on the waterfront? They send us the tree every year as a 'thank you' for sending relief supplies immediately. It could have been Halifax. Where is that located? ...




Boston gets its Christmas tree from Halifax, Nova Scotia every year.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Which one has the big explosion on the waterfront? They send us the tree every year as a 'thank you' for sending relief supplies immediately. It could have been Halifax. Where is that located?


Yup, there was a devastating explosion in Halifax in 1917. Halifax is in Nova Scotia, which is a Maritime Province.


> I have enough trouble trying to remember how to go two blocks to the bus stop right here. I do remember we studied it in the fourth grade. I also remember we were taught that all the islands in that area are called the Maritime due to all the activity on their waterfronts. And when Phil was fishing out of Boston he always referred it to as the Maritimes. The boat would sometimes tie up in the Bay of Fundy. He hated going there. If he got drunk and it was low tide, he didn't do to well getting back on the boat. Of course that was all before 9/11 and you didn't need an ID to go ashore. We were all friendly neighbors then.


Newfoundland and Labrador became part of Canada and became a province in 1949. Maybe they hadn't decided if it was a Maritime Province or not yet when you were in the fourth grade. It certainly is maritime (with a lower case "m").

The Bay of Fundy (World's biggest tidal range) is the bay between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A small part of the bay actually touches Maine. Yes, that is "The Maritimes" (with a capital M"").


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Yup, there was a devastating explosion in Halifax in 1917. Halifax is in Nova Scotia, which is a Maritime Province.
> Newfoundland and Labrador became part of Canada and became a province in 1949. Maybe they hadn't decided if it was a Maritime Province or not yet when you were in the fourth grade. It certainly is maritime (with a lower case "m").
> 
> The Bay of Fundy (World's biggest tidal range) is the bay between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A small part of the bay actually touches Maine. Yes, that is "The Maritimes" (with a capital M"").



So if Newfoundland and Labrador became part of Canada in 1949, what country did they belong to before that year?


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> So if Newfoundland and Labrador became part of Canada in 1949, what country did they belong to before that year?


They were an English colony until the early 20th century. Then they were a dominion and part of the Commonwealth. That was followed by a period where England ruled. I think they had a lot of debt and that was how they got it forgiven.

Last time I visited Newfoundland, in the '80s, there were some people who still referred to anywhere in the rest of Canada as "over in Canada".


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> They were an English colony until the early 20th century. Then they were a dominion and part of the Commonwealth. That was followed by a period where England ruled. I think they had a lot of debt and that was how they got it forgiven.
> 
> Last time I visited Newfoundland, in the '80s, there were some people who still referred to anywhere in the rest of Canada as "over in Canada".



 Evidently you folks who live "over in Canada" haven't done as much as you could to make them feel welcome. You need to introduce them to DC. We know how to give a proper welcome. 

BTW, I will only buy potatoes from Maine or P.E.I. In the summer though, we have some local farms that sell to Market Basket. I try to buy local as much as I can. But they aren't always available. I figure Idaho has enough customers buying their potatoes. I got a five pound bag this month that was from P.E.I. and were so clean, you could bite right into them without even washing them. (childhood memories.)


----------



## CWS4322

This this not a petty vent, this is a major vent. 


I pulled up to the commercial kitchen today to drop of the various products I'd picked up--12 #10 cans of hominy (they are heavy), 40 lb of fresh noodles, a 10 kg of feta, etc. Double-parked and ran into the building to see if one of the other tenants would please move their cars so I could off-load at the door. We do this all the time. While I was double-parked, by-law showed and threatened to write me a $95 ticket (this has taken--30 seconds), by-law? On this dead-end street? Really? Oh street cleaning. Tow truck is right behind the by-law officer and there are signs (paper) that read Street Cleaning 0900-1900. I thought they had to post those the day before, they weren't there yesterday. They weren't there at 2:30 p.m.. but now at 3:11 p.m., not only are the signs there, but by-law is there, the tow truck is there, and the street sweeper was there waiting. The nearest parking was a grocery store 5 minutes drive away.


The by-law officer (By-law court is a quasi judicial court) threatened to give me a ticket--I held my hand out and said, "give it to me, I need to off load this food. My boss would rather pay the fine than waste this food and if the perishables out of my car in the fridge in by 3:30, they are toast." He didn't give me a ticket, but he was really nasty--cursed at me, it was awful. The folks at the kitchen were all outside because their cars were parked on the street, had been all day, they didn't know what the frig was going on. On of the guys from the kitchen next door, had the foresight to take pics.  There were several witnesses to this. The signs weren't there before 3:00 p.m. (I arrived at 3:11), but by-law and the tow truck were. Signs are supposed to be up 4 hours in advance tickets cannot be issued if the signs weren't up then.


This is a money grab. The poor UPS driver got a ticket for delivering a package and double parking. He was right behind me. Really? Okay, I vented, but I'm not done yet. I'll be making some phone calls tomorrow.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> This this not a petty vent, this is a major vent.
> 
> 
> I pulled up to the commercial kitchen today to drop of the various products I'd picked up--12 #10 cans of hominy (they are heavy), 40 lb of fresh noodles, a 10 kg of feta, etc. Double-parked and ran into the building to see if one of the other tenants would please move their cars so I could off-load at the door. We do this all the time. While I was double-parked, by-law showed and threatened to write me a $95 ticket (this has taken--30 seconds), by-law? On this dead-end street? Really? Oh street cleaning. Tow truck is right behind the by-law officer and there are signs (paper) that read Street Cleaning 0900-1900. I thought they had to post those the day before, they weren't there yesterday. They weren't there at 2:30 p.m.. but now at 3:11 p.m., not only are the signs there, but by-law is there, the tow truck is there, and the street sweeper was there waiting. The nearest parking was a grocery store 5 minutes drive away.
> 
> 
> The by-law officer (By-law court is a quasi judicial court) threatened to give me a ticket--I held my hand out and said, "give it to me, I need to off load this food. My boss would rather pay the fine than waste this food and if the perishables out of my car in the fridge in by 3:30, they are toast." He didn't give me a ticket, but he was really nasty--cursed at me, it was awful. The folks at the kitchen were all outside because their cars were parked on the street, had been all day, they didn't know what the frig was going on. On of the guys from the kitchen next door, had the foresight to take pics.  There were several witnesses to this. The signs weren't there before 3:00 p.m. (I arrived at 3:11), but by-law and the tow truck were. Signs are supposed to be up 4 hours in advance tickets cannot be issued if the signs weren't up then.
> 
> 
> This is a money grab. The poor UPS driver got a ticket for delivering a package and double parking. He was right behind me. Really? Okay, I vented, but I'm not done yet. I'll be making some phone calls tomorrow.



 And please do let us know how this all ends!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Honestly CWS, there are some little people who get just a little authority, and they get all big-headed about it. I hope you have his name, and badge number, and copies of the pictures from the neighbor kitchen, and are able to get his superior to smack him back into the little hole he crawled out from.

I hope you get the chance to keep us updated about your results. Will they let you have a computer in jail?


----------



## taxlady

Good luck fighting it CWS.


----------



## Chef Munky

roadfix said:


> Jury duty tomorrow.......bummer.....  Hopefully it'll be just tomorrow only.



I was just summoned for jury duty again.
I just did that two years ago. It took them 3 weeks just to get to me.
This time they want me to show up when were going to be on vacation.

I'll ask to be rescheduled.


----------



## CarolPa

I hate to even say this for fear of jinxing myself, but I am way overdue for jury duty.  There are2 significant trials coming up in our county.  One is a teenager who went on a knife spree in the high school, and the other is the wife of an acquaintance who was stealing drugs from her employer, a small local pharmacy, and selling them, probably to support a gambling habit.  I could probably be excused from that one since I know these people, but the school stabbing scares me.


----------



## JoAnn L.

One time I was on jury duty and the trial began and I thought, oh my goodness, I do know something about this case. It turned out I worked with the plaintiff's sister. I raised my hand and told the judge and he asked me if it would make a difference in my decision on the case and I said no and he said I could remain on the jury. I was so glad that at lunch time they settled out of court.


----------



## roadfix

We usually get several months advance summons notice and also a chance to postpone for any reason.
I had jury duty last week but didn't have to show up until Thursday.   I showed up on Thursday and I was among about 150 in the room.   They kept calling up groups of people throughout the day and at the end of the day I was among a few left who were never called and at 4pm we were dismissed for good.    We wont be receiving another summons notices in the mail for at least another year.


----------



## Dawgluver

Last year I was called for jury duty, and actually was looking forward to it.  A very interesting case.  However, the defendant didn't bother to show up, so after waiting for quite a while, we were all sent home.  And the defendant got a warrent and was in a lot of deep trouble.


----------



## GotGarlic

I have been a registered voter for 33 years and have *never* been called for jury duty  I've always wanted to.


----------



## CharlieD

I've been called up few times, both federal and local cases. Honestly i do not want to seat on a jury. Luckily, i have been excused.


----------



## CarolPa

My step-daughter got a jury duty summons about a week after she turned 21.  LOL  We couldn't believe it.  It was a situation where you had to call the day before and she didn't have to go.  Her second time was just recently, at age 46, but she had to go for that one.  

I would like to go for an interesting trial, but the high school stabbing would not be my choice.  No one was killed, thank God.  I do feel sorry for the kid who did it, after being bullied for years.  And also for his family who said they had no clue.  But that does not relieve him of his guilt.  

I would like the drug trial, because I feel very strongly about that.  Not just the drug sales, but also the fact that she was stealing from her employers who was paying her a very good wage.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I was in a pool of possible jurors a few years after we moved here. Dear Himself drove me around Worcester two weekends in a row so I would have no trouble finding a place to park or find my way into the courthouse. After sitting in a huge room with about 150 other people, switching between working on cross stitch and reading a book, I was called into the courtroom with others. Turns out they picked jurors 1-12...and I was holding #13. Got to go home.

Himself did Grand Jury duty back in OH. It was for three consecutive months, going in the first workday of the month and going through possible cases. They never saw trials since the only job of a Grand Jury is deciding if there is enough evidence for an actual trial.




GotGarlic said:


> I have been a registered voter for 33 years and have *never* been called for jury duty  I've always wanted to.


I wonder if you'll be getting a summons in the next mailing...


----------



## roadfix

Dumb thief.
My daughter operates a beauty salon and after servicing a couple of clients yesterday morning she noticed her phone was missing.   She immediately called her husband to track the location of her phone using his phone.   They tracked the phone to a small apartment building a few miles away from her salon.   When they got to the doorstep they remotely triggered the alarm on the missing phone and clearly heard the alarm coming from that apartment unit.   Then all of a sudden a woman in her 50's steps out of that apartment with a blaring phone in her purse.   The woman, startled to see my daughter there immediately hands her phone back to her telling her that she found it.
That woman was my daughter's long time, regular client from that morning.


----------



## Dawgluver

Wow.  Glad it worked out, Roadfix!  Dumb thief indeed!  That's a real breach of trust.


----------



## taxlady

Glad your daughter got her phone back. I wonder if the dumb thief will be back as a client.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, roadfix....that does take a lot of nerve.  Dumb nerve, but nerve.   Would have like to see the thief's expression when your daughter caught her red handed.


----------



## roadfix

The thief stated she "found" the phone.  LOL....
She can clearly see that it was my daughter's phone.   The wallpaper showed a pic of her and her kids on the screen.
They're reviewing the salon's security camera records from yesterday to see exactly when and how it happened.
My daughter pretty much doubts she'll ever be back again.    Returning for service will be just too awkward.

This was my daughter's 2nd time tracking down her phone.  About 6 months ago she left her phone in a public restroom and later realized what she had done.   The phone was later tracked to a business location about 10 miles away but unfortunately in that incident she was not able to recover the phone.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Geez, roadfix, what a pain. Glad your daughter was able to get her phone back. I would have gone all postal on that client.



taxlady said:


> ...I wonder if the dumb thief will be back as a client.


If she's smart, she won't be back. I guess I'm expecting a lot, huh?  

IF she does return, I hope your daughter gives her a "very special" haircut, roadfix! Hee Hee!


----------



## Dawgluver

How stupid could you be to steal the phone of your beautician??  What a dumb-ss.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Geez, roadfix, what a pain. Glad your daughter was able to get her phone back. I would have gone all postal on that client.
> 
> 
> If she's smart, she won't be back. I guess I'm expecting a lot, huh?
> 
> *IF she does return, I hope your daughter gives her a "very special" haircut*, roadfix! Hee Hee!



So, I never stole a phone, so why did I get the special haircut?  A 1 inch layered look all over.  What did I do to deserve this?


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> So, I never stole a phone, so why did I get the special haircut?  A 1 inch layered look all over.  What did I do to deserve this?



You probably mentioned that you were moving and they figured you would not be a repeat customer!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aunt Bea said:


> You probably mentioned that you were moving and they figured you would not be a repeat customer!



I bet she didn't expect to give a free haircut that day...the hair will grow out, she still won't be paid...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

"But you SAID 'short'! I cut it "short". And that's how you got your special haircut, *PF*.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> "But you SAID 'short'! I cut it "short". And that's how you got your special haircut, *PF*.



She did "snip,snip, snip..." then asked how it looked.  I said I had no idea, I needed my glasses to see it.  That was an "Oh No!" moment.  When Shrek saw it, it was an "OH NO!!!!!" 30 minutes.


----------



## CarolPa

PF, I'm sorry to hear about your haircut!  What was she thinking?  I like the way my hairdresser cuts my hair, but I have to keep on her to go short enough to suit me.  This recent haircut is a little too long on top, and I will be going back sooner than usual.  Maybe that's why she does it?  More haircuts, more $$$$$.  My hair is very thick and if not cut short enough it gets too bushy.

Cell phones.  One time I was walking around Target and my cart started ringing.  LOL  I looked down and there was a cell phone in it.  I couldn't figure out how to answer it and it stopped.  I took it up to Customer Service and she said the guy had been up there and called his phone trying to locate it.  I don't know if he ever came back for it.


----------



## Zhizara

I always have kept my hair on the long side.  I learned long ago not to let anyone else cut it because they always got scissors happy and cut it too short.

I figured out how to even it up and remove split ends myself; even after my stroke where the surgeon shaved part of my hair and had to chop off the rest because it was left so tangled and sticky that I couldn't undo the mess.

I just part my hair in the middle then comb it all toward my face and trim shorter in the middle tapering to long on either side.  Job done!

The reason for the sharp point in the middle is because I have a habit of twisting my hair up and clamping it,  When I take it down, the middle hangs short because of the deeper curl from twisting it up.

Hey, PF - are there pictures of your new place that I can see?  If you already posted them, I must have missed it.  Pretty please show me the link again.  XOXOX


----------



## Dawgluver

My hair goes to the middle of my back, sometimes longer.   DH is my beautician, a few whacks straight across with my sewing scissors does the trick.  He works for food.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I always have kept my hair on the long side.  I learned long ago not to let anyone else cut it because they always got scissors happy and cut it too short.
> 
> I figured out how to even it up and remove split ends myself; even after my stroke where the surgeon shaved part of my hair and had to chop off the rest because it was left so tangled and sticky that I couldn't undo the mess.
> 
> I just part my hair in the middle then comb it all toward my face and trim shorter in the middle tapering to long on either side.  Job done!
> 
> The reason for the sharp point in the middle is because I have a habit of twisting my hair up and clamping it,  When I take it down, the middle hangs short because of the deeper curl from twisting it up.
> 
> Hey, PF - are there pictures of your new place that I can see?  If you already posted them, I must have missed it.  Pretty please show me the link again.  XOXOX



When my youngest daughter was murdered, my oldest daughter went into shock. She developed alopecia. Every time she put her hand to her head, a hunk of hair would come out. She ended up wearing a wig for almost a year. Finally her hair started to come back after a serious of steroid shots. She looked great in short hair. But that experience left her so shook up that she still wears it as long as it will grow. Then when she developed the brain cancer, she thought for sure she was going to lose her hair again. But fortunately the chemo she was on, didn't cause that to happen. 

Me? I tell my hairdresser the same thing every time. Off! Take it all off! I have a cowlick right at the left side of the back of my head. And all my kids have it. (The curse of my family) So when my hair starts to grow back in, it just sticks up there like the flag of the family name. I get an extremely pixie short cut to the scalp. Wash and wear. 

I have thick bushy hair. A pain to take care of. Off! Take it all off!


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I always have kept my hair on the long side.  I learned long ago not to let anyone else cut it because they always got scissors happy and cut it too short.
> 
> I figured out how to even it up and remove split ends myself; even after my stroke where the surgeon shaved part of my hair and had to chop off the rest because it was left so tangled and sticky that I couldn't undo the mess.
> 
> I just part my hair in the middle then comb it all toward my face and trim shorter in the middle tapering to long on either side.  Job done!
> 
> The reason for the sharp point in the middle is because I have a habit of twisting my hair up and clamping it,  When I take it down, the middle hangs short because of the deeper curl from twisting it up.
> 
> *Hey, PF - are there pictures of your new place that I can see?  If you already posted them, I must have missed it.  Pretty please show me the link again.  XOXOX*



http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/what-are-you-doing-73388-615.html Post 24574

Z, you will find them there.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/what-are-you-doing-73388-615.html Post 24574
> 
> Z, you will find them there.



Actually, you won't  You'll find them here: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/what-are-you-doing-73388-2458.html#post1420267


----------



## CharlieD

We have a freight trains go thru our neighborhood. It used come at 7:30, now at comes at 4:30 and sounds horn. It is absolutely crazy. This is heavily populated area. It wakes me up and I cannot go back to sleep. Then my whole day is messed up. There are other parts of the city where they have sign at crossings that says "no horn sound" or something like that. I do not know where to complain. 


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Trains sound like home to me, it should take me a day to get used to them.  Mom and Dad live right next to the tracks, with a train every 20 minutes during the day, you learn to pace your conversations and the TV is always loud.  With us being 2 blocks away, it will be a bit muted.  During the night they come back empty about every 40 minutes.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Trains sound like home to me, it should take me a day to get used to them.  Mom and Dad live right next to the tracks, with a train every 20 minutes during the day, you learn to pace your conversations and the TV is always loud.  With us being 2 blocks away, it will be a bit muted.  During the night they come back empty about every 40 minutes.



Kinda like living with an international airport in your back yard. Fortunately, I live at the service end. Very rarely do I ever hear an airplane overhead. And then it is a small two engine one way  up high.


----------



## CharlieD

I do not mind sound of train, but the "astronaut" behind the will, keeps sounding the horn like 20-30 times as he goes thru neighborhood, that is what I cannot stand.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I do not mind sound of train, but the "astronaut" behind the will, keeps sounding the horn like 20-30 times as he goes thru neighborhood, that is what I cannot stand.



Charlie, as crazy as it may sound, there are federal laws from the Dept. of Transportation covering the sounding of trains going through a crossing that has no gates. If I remember correctly, they have to keep blowing that horn for so many feet after the last car is past the crossing. And they are supposed to reduce their speed while going through that crossing. So it seems like it takes forever for the whole train to pass through. In the meantime, that dang horn is blowing and blowing and blowing.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Charlie, as crazy as it may sound, there are federal laws from the Dept. of Transportation covering the sounding of trains going through a crossing that has no gates. If I remember correctly, they have to keep blowing that horn for so many feet after the last car is past the crossing. And they are supposed to reduce their speed while going through that crossing. So it seems like it takes forever for the whole train to pass through. In the meantime, that dang horn is blowing and blowing and blowing.



Trains are required to sound their horn every time they cross a road on grade (at ground level).  They are not required to sound it as much as they do.  We have a train crossing not too far from our condo development and there is a wide variation in horn sounding.  Some take a perverse pleasure of going crazy on the horn at 3:00AM.  Not to mention what they do if you have the nerve to complain!


----------



## CarolPa

When I was 7 we lived in an apartment above a store while waiting for our house to be vacant for us to move in....a few months.  A train went right through our back yard.  The whole house shook when it went by.  As a kid I thought it was fun!


----------



## bakechef

We were at my friend's wedding, the subject of food and cooking came up with some people that I had just met.  They were quite nice, but proclaimed that they were "foodies", what came next was some of the most pretentious drivel that I've heard in a long time.  It was kind of obnoxious.  Why can't people discuss their love for food without saying "I'd NEVER use tomato sauce from a jar" or "the only bread worth eating is from La Farm".  

It's totally cool that they have these preferences, I'm OK with that.  When you make loud proclamations in mixed company, you just sound snobbish. Good for you if you enjoy $8 a loaf bread, or you are a master of marinara!  Just don't try to elevate yourself by your preferences, it's annoying.

rant over!


----------



## Dawgluver

bakechef said:


> We were at my friend's wedding, the subject of food and cooking came up with some people that I had just met.  They were quite nice, but proclaimed that they were "foodies", what came next was some of the most pretentious drivel that I've heard in a long time.  It was kind of obnoxious.  Why can't people discuss their love for food without saying "I'd NEVER use tomato sauce from a jar" or "the only bread worth eating is from La Farm".
> 
> It's totally cool that they have these preferences, I'm OK with that.  When you make loud proclamations in mixed company, you just sound snobbish. Good for you if you enjoy $8 a loaf bread, or you are a master of marinara!  Just don't try to elevate yourself by your preferences, it's annoying.
> 
> rant over!




I laugh too.  We run into folks like that all the time.  I keep my mouth shut, though it's hard.


----------



## Souschef

Dawgluver said:


> I laugh too.  We run into folks like that all the time.  I keep my mouth shut, though it's hard.


That was the reason I gave up going to wine tastings.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Souschef said:


> That was the reason I gave up going to wine tastings.



I only went to one, I was told that I had an unsophisticated palate!

I was in hopes that would qualify me for a handicapped parking sticker!


----------



## Dawgluver

Souschef said:


> That was the reason I gave up going to wine tastings.




Understand.  I like wine, and can tell what it tastes like.  I also like Velveeta and Rotel and Campbell's Cream of Something soups.  Food snobs, I like not so much.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Understand.  I like wine, and can tell what it tastes like.  I also like Velveeta and Rotel and Campbell's Cream of Something soups.  Food snobs, I like not so much.



Exactly!

A good friend of mine knows how much I like to cook most things from scratch and she was talking about a pot roast that she made, and said, "I cheat, but it tastes so good, you'd never make it though", then I told her that my recipe was a can of cream of mushroom soup, a packet of onion soup mix and some Worcestershire sauce over a browned roast in a crock pot.  If it ain't broke!  It really is my favorite pot roast, I couldn't care less if it comes from cans and packets!

I don't use cake mixes because I don't care for the taste or texture, but if one came out that tasted like scratch, I'd probably give it a try.  I know exactly why some people use cake mixes, scratch cakes can be tricky to get right sometimes.


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> ...I know exactly why some people use cake mixes, scratch cakes can be tricky to get right sometimes.



No lie.  I'm still trying to get a yellow cake I like.


----------



## taxlady

I hate when people call me a food snob for not using canned soups. For decades I could only find two soups that didn't have MSG. I avoid MSG because it makes my head feel weird. The two soups that didn't (and still don't) have MSG were Howard Johnson's Clam chowder and Habitant French Canadian Pea Soup. I have used those for years. I also don't buy salad dressing because they all used to have MSG, so I learned easy homemade salad dressings and now I can't be bothered to buy them.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> I hate when people call me a food snob for not using canned soups. For decades I could only find two soups that didn't have MSG. I avoid MSG because it makes my head feel weird. The two soups that didn't (and still don't) have MSG were Howard Johnson's Clam chowder and Habitant French Canadian Pea Soup. I have used those for years. I also don't buy salad dressing because they all used to have MSG, so I learned easy homemade salad dressings and now I can't be bothered to buy them.




Being a food snob is not about what you will and won't use when you cook.  It's about your attitude towards what others do when they don't do what you do.


----------



## Souschef

Aunt Bea said:


> I only went to one, I was told that I had an unsophisticated palate!


i have a confession- Kayelle and I had a layover at the Atlanta airport, and there was a wine shop featuring wine tastings. We got these three samplers and I commented on the nose and the taste of the wines. She was very impressed until she found I had read it off the tasting notes that was under the glass!
That is when she gave me the "roll eyes"


----------



## CarolPa

bakechef said:


> I don't use cake mixes because I don't care for the taste or texture, but if one came out that tasted like scratch, I'd probably give it a try.  I know exactly why some people use cake mixes, scratch cakes can be tricky to get right sometimes.



DH is very happy with a box mix cake.  He remembers his mother who would never made a cake from a box mix.  He said her cakes were all dry and tasteless.  If he is happy with Betty Crocker, why should I make more work for myself!!!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Being a food snob is not about what you will and won't use when you cook.  It's about your attitude towards what others do when they don't do what you do.



So well said Andy!


----------



## Dawgluver

Speaking of box cake mixes, I read something on FB that in order to make a bakery style cake, suggested adding to a box mix an extra egg or two, and using melted butter instead of or in addition to the oil.  Since I rarely bake or eat cake, I haven't tried these ideas.


----------



## taxlady

Duncan Hines used make (for all I know they still do) a snack cake that you just added water and mixed it in the pan. I liked those better than other cake mixes.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> DH is very happy with a box mix cake.  He remembers his mother who would never made a cake from a box mix.  He said her cakes were all dry and tasteless.  If he is happy with Betty Crocker, why should I make more work for myself!!!



She obviously never made Hershy's Chocolate cake.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Duncan Hines used make (for all I know they still do) a snack cake that you just added water and mixed it in the pan. I liked those better than other cake mixes.




I made those in college many eons ago.  They weren't bad.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Speaking of box cake mixes, I read something on FB that in order to make a bakery style cake, suggested adding to a box mix an extra egg or two, and using melted butter instead of or in addition to the oil.  Since I rarely bake or eat cake, I haven't tried these ideas.



Anytime I would use a yellow cake mix, I always added extra vanilla. And I only used the Ducan Hines butter mixes. They were always a lot more moist. 

Two days ago I made the Hershey's Chocolate cake again. Only I did it in three layers this time. I forgot to take a picture of it. How did it come out? I have no idea since I can't have any. Too rich for a diabetic.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I made those in college many eons ago.  They weren't bad.



College kids are always very inventive when it comes to using prepared foods. Look at what happened to Ramen noodles.


----------



## Addie

bakechef said:


> We were at my friend's wedding, the subject of food and cooking came up with some people that I had just met.  They were quite nice, but proclaimed that they were "foodies", what came next was some of the most pretentious drivel that I've heard in a long time.  It was kind of obnoxious.  Why can't people discuss their love for food without saying "I'd NEVER use tomato sauce from a jar" or "the only bread worth eating is from La Farm".
> 
> It's totally cool that they have these preferences, I'm OK with that.  When you make loud proclamations in mixed company, you just sound snobbish. Good for you if you enjoy $8 a loaf bread, or you are a master of marinara!  Just don't try to elevate yourself by your preferences, it's annoying.
> 
> rant over!



To put folks like that in their place, you expand the conversation. Go along and assume that they also can their own jellies and jams. Ask them leading questions such as which jams and jellies they prefer to can. Do they buy the berries from an organic farmer? After all you would never eat or use a jar from the store. So why should they. You make all your own jellies and jams. You let them know you are an organic farmer and grow you own berries. Whatever they brag about, you one up them. Your occupation is that of an organic baker. They do give up and finally walk away. And you just had a lot of fun at their expense.


----------



## Zhizara

I'm a fan of certain packaged mixes like taco seasoning.  It tastes the way I like it and all the spices are pre-measured so it comes out the same way every time.

When I braise a meat, I leave the braising liquid unsalted.  I measure the liquid to equal even numbers of cups, and add appropriately flavored packaged gravy mixes.  It always comes out wonderful.  Like BakeChef said, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> She obviously never made Hershy's Chocolate cake.




She would have screwed that up, too! DH doesn't eat chocolate cake.  It has to be white or yellow.  I've tried all the box mixes and Betty Crocker is my favorite, even though I can't eat cake anymore.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> She would have screwed that up, too! DH doesn't eat chocolate cake.  It has to be white or yellow.  I've tried all the box mixes and Betty Crocker is my favorite, even though I can't eat cake anymore.



Don't feel bad. I had the skinniest slice of that cake. So skinny that I got mostly crumbs. But I made it healthy. I had a glass of cold milk with it. That's my story and I am sticking to it. The milk made it healthy.


----------



## bakechef

CarolPa said:


> DH is very happy with a box mix cake.  He remembers his mother who would never made a cake from a box mix.  He said her cakes were all dry and tasteless.  If he is happy with Betty Crocker, why should I make more work for myself!!!



That's exactly what I mean, I'd rather have a box cake than a dry tasteless cake!  My dad loved yellow cake made from a boxed mix with homemade frosting and chopped walnuts.  

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> Speaking of box cake mixes, I read something on FB that in order to make a bakery style cake, suggested adding to a box mix an extra egg or two, and using melted butter instead of or in addition to the oil.  Since I rarely bake or eat cake, I haven't tried these ideas.



There are lots of recipes for "enhanced" cake mixes out there, I've made some and the texture and flavor do improve.  I know that a lot of wedding cake makers do this.  I was on a cake forum and a few years ago when all the companies downsized their mixes and added extra leavening so that they would still rise high, it messed up many people's enhanced recipes.  

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> I hate when people call me a food snob for not using canned soups. For decades I could only find two soups that didn't have MSG. I avoid MSG because it makes my head feel weird. The two soups that didn't (and still don't) have MSG were Howard Johnson's Clam chowder and Habitant French Canadian Pea Soup. I have used those for years. I also don't buy salad dressing because they all used to have MSG, so I learned easy homemade salad dressings and now I can't be bothered to buy them.



I'm finding it easier to find msg free canned soups, some of the Campbell's, especially the healthy request skip the msg.  Rob has some sensitivities to it, or at least he thinks he does, so we just avoid it.  I also found a store brand onion soup mix packet without msg.

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> I'm finding it easier to find msg free canned soups, some of the Campbell's, especially the healthy request skip the msg.  Rob has some sensitivities to it, or at least he thinks he does, so we just avoid it.  I also found a store brand onion soup mix packet without msg.
> 
> Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


I have heard that it's easier to find canned soup with no MSG. I have looked and it takes a lot of looking. I also have to make sure they don't have soy or sweet potato. After decades of just ignoring most canned soup, I don't often think to look.

I would love to find an onion soup mix packet with no MSG. There are so many recipes that use onion soup mix.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Charlie, as crazy as it may sound, there are federal laws from the Dept. of Transportation covering the sounding of trains going through a crossing that has no gates. If I remember correctly, they have to keep blowing that horn for so many feet after the last car is past the crossing. And they are supposed to reduce their speed while going through that crossing. So it seems like it takes forever for the whole train to pass through. In the meantime, that dang horn is blowing and blowing and blowing.




That's the thing, there are gates. And depend on city council they can decide to have no sound train. Need to go the council meeting and complain.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> That's the thing, there are gates. And depend on city council they can decide to have no sound train. Need to go the council meeting and complain.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



That's just one of the things that are so great in this country. You have the right to complain and have a resolution to your complaint. Get to that meeting. You have the right to peace and quiet in your own home.


----------



## Andy M.

CharlieD said:


> That's the thing, there are gates. And depend on city council they can decide to have no sound train. Need to go the council meeting and complain.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



Based on my experience with train whistles, I'll be surprised if that works.  I hope I'm wrong and you get your silence.  Good Luck Charlie.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> I have heard that it's easier to find canned soup with no MSG. I have looked and it takes a lot of looking. I also have to make sure they don't have soy or sweet potato. After decades of just ignoring most canned soup, I don't often think to look.
> 
> I would love to find an onion soup mix packet with no MSG. There are so many recipes that use onion soup mix.


TL--in about 2 minutes, you can mix up a batch of your own.

Dry Onion Soup Mix Recipe - Allrecipes.com I use beef stock that I dehydrated because I can't stand the sodium in bouillon granules.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> TL--in about 2 minutes, you can mix up a batch of your own.
> 
> Dry Onion Soup Mix Recipe - Allrecipes.com I use beef stock that I dehydrated because I can't stand the sodium in bouillon granules.



Extra good, add some dried porcini powder to that.  Thanks for the link, I already have all those ingredients.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> TL--in about 2 minutes, you can mix up a batch of your own.
> 
> Dry Onion Soup Mix Recipe - Allrecipes.com I use beef stock that I dehydrated because I can't stand the sodium in bouillon granules.


Thanks for the link. Not gonna take 2 mins for me. I don't buy bouillon granules or powder either. Not only is there usually excessive salt, most of them have MSG and some have soy.

Would you please explain how you dehydrate stock? I have a dehydrate setting on my toaster oven.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> Thanks for the link. Not gonna take 2 mins for me. I don't buy bouillon granules or powder either. Not only is there usually excessive salt, most of them have MSG and some have soy.
> 
> Would you please explain how you dehydrate stock? I have a dehydrate setting on my toaster oven.


My dehydrator has those "fruit leather" trays. I just cover those with homemade stock and dehydrate (at 140 F) overnight and grind the sheets of dried stock in the coffee grinder dedicdated for spices. I think you could use parchment paper in the toaster oven on the flat pan...not sure, but it wouldn't be a big loss if that failed. I dehydrated some lamb stock the other night so now I have lamb stock "bouillon" powder.

PF--I have added ground button or portebello mushrooms. I also make mushroom salt...


----------



## CWS4322

If one more person asks me how I stay so slim, I think I will bonk the person on the head. Would anyone dare ask someone "how do you stay so overweight?" I changed my eating habits 3-4 years ago. No white, very little bread. Lots of veggies, a good breakfast and smaller meals through the day. I shrunk from a size 14 to a size 6/8 now. I have spent a small fortune on having my favorite clothes altered. I've spent my evening sorting through my favourite clothes to take to the tailor and the others are going to the Goodwill. I don't eat processed food, white sugar, pasta, or bread (I cheat s/times). Luckily, I'm a protein freak, so don't crave those things. I think I've reached the limit re: how much I can shrink.


----------



## taxlady

CWS4322 said:


> My dehydrator has those "fruit leather" trays. I just cover those with homemade stock and dehydrate (at 140 F) overnight and grind the sheets of dried stock in the coffee grinder dedicdated for spices. I think you could use parchment paper in the toaster oven on the flat pan...not sure, but it wouldn't be a big loss if that failed. I dehydrated some lamb stock the other night so now I have lamb stock "bouillon" powder.
> 
> PF--I have added ground button or portebello mushrooms. I also make mushroom salt...


I don't have any special trays, but I have a grill tray bottom that is about 2 cm deep. I could put foil in that and dehydrate some stock.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> TL--in about 2 minutes, you can mix up a batch of your own.
> 
> Dry Onion Soup Mix Recipe - Allrecipes.com I use beef stock that I dehydrated because I can't stand the sodium in bouillon granules.



I came across this recipe about a year or so ago. I increased it to make eight one-ounce envelopes. And I use ground celery seed instead of the whole ones. I also reduce the size of the onion flakes with my small FP. When large, I find that they tend to want to sink to the bottom. And then every time you went to use it, you had to stir it again! You can also use the low sodium cubes. 

I am constantly surprised by the fact that I have become very sensitive to salty foods. Most of the time I will forget to put salt into something I am cooking on the stove like potatoes or pasta.


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> I don't have any special trays, but I have a grill tray bottom that is about 2 cm deep. I could put foil in that and dehydrate some stock.



Plastic wrap would probably work well and it would be easy to get the dried stock off from.  It should hold up at dehydrating temperatures.


----------



## taxlady

bakechef said:


> Plastic wrap would probably work well and it would be easy to get the dried stock off from.  It should hold up at dehydrating temperatures.




I might run a test with some plastic wrap on some tin foil in the roasting pan.


----------



## bakechef

I've seen people use it to line a pan before baking, I would think that it would totally melt, but it didn't seem to.


----------



## Aunt Bea

This morning I stopped at the local Walmart to pick up a few odds and ends that I can't find in other local stores.  I headed for the checkout and noticed that only two of the more than twenty checkout lines were open and that they both had several customers with heaping carts waiting in line.  I looked at the self check out and it was empty except for two employee's that were having a  chat.  I scanned my items and bagged them without incident, a real triumph for me!  I hit the button to finish and pay, up popped a screen with several payment options.  The only option that appeared to be missing was cash.  I asked the two employees for help and they happily informed me that I was at a self check out machine that does not accept, *CASH!!!*  The older lady scurried off and the younger one came over, cleared my transaction and directed me to another machine that did in fact take cash.   Why do I even bother to try these modern _*"conveniences"!*_


----------



## roadfix

These self serve check out stations often run out of cash (to make change).   Most will let you know if they're not accepting cash before you ring anything up.


----------



## Dawgluver

Those self checkouts at Walmart frighten me.  And I'm big and tough.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> This morning I stopped at the local Walmart to pick up a few odds and ends that I can't find in other local stores.  I headed for the checkout and noticed that only two of the more than twenty checkout lines were open and that they both had several customers with heaping carts waiting in line.  I looked at the self check out and it was empty except for two employee's that were having a  chat.  I scanned my items and bagged them without incident, a real triumph for me!  I hit the button to finish and pay, up popped a screen with several payment options.  The only option that appeared to be missing was cash.  I asked the two employees for help and they happily informed me that I was at a self check out machine that does not accept, *CASH!!!*  The older lady scurried off and the younger one came over, cleared my transaction and directed me to another machine that did in fact take cash.   Why do I even bother to try these modern _*"conveniences"!*_



The better question would be, "Why do you even bother to ask for help?"


----------



## Addie

I have yet to ever ask for help at Market Basket and receive an attitude instead. In fact the help will approach me before I even have to ask. I don't ask for help, I ask for assistance.


----------



## ardchoille

I'd like to find a store that doesn't keep putting these back when I try to buy one..


----------



## bethzaring

I would rather eat glass than go through any self check out counter.


I witnessed an interesting encounter today at the local hardware store.  A rather snippy older woman grabbed a can of paint from the clerk as he asked her if he could put the can in the shake-em up machine.  As she was leaving she turned and said to him, why?, there is no color in it.  He looked at me and mused, why did I even ask?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

ardchoille said:


> I'd like to find a store that doesn't keep putting these back when I try to buy one..



ROFL


----------



## Dawgluver

ardchoille said:


> I'd like to find a store that doesn't keep putting these back when I try to buy one..




  Me too!


----------



## CharlieD

Aunt Bea said:


> This morning I stopped at the local Walmart.....B][/I]




I hate Walmart. Any normal store employee would have helped you at the other register. Walmart, seems to have a policy of hiring rude and unhelpful people. 



Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## PrincessFiona60

+one!


----------



## CarolPa

I never have these problems in Walmart.  Anytime I have asked a stocker in the grocery dept where something is they didn't tell me, they took me to the item.  Since we are retired we are usually there during the day, on a weekday.  I have noticed that on weekends there are no stockers working in the grocery department.  We also always use a self-checkout if the store has them.  We did see one that didn't accept cash but there was a big sign there that said that.  I can't remember the last time I had a rude clerk in any store.  Sometimes they are grumpy, especially when it's a beautiful day out and they have to work.  Maybe I just have low expectations.


----------



## bakechef

My mother was in Walmart the other day waiting for someone to assist her and one of the employees yells "it's that old lady with the gray hair that needs help" she gave her a piece of her mind.  It seems like friendly, well trained Walmart employees are few and far between.

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## Dawgluver

One of my favorite students had a behavior disability, and received special services for it.  I was shocked to see him working at Walmart as a checker after he graduated.  He looked very angry and was muttering to himself the whole time while he worked the cash register.  His mother got him the job, and he didn't last long.


----------



## CharlieD

I needed help loading some heavy stuff one time. They send this guy to help me, all the time he was helping me, he was swearing. Ok, maybe he thought that I am a man and suppose to be able to handle it. And yeah maybe I can, but why should I?


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## Dawgluver

Sadly, Walmart doesn't pay well, and probably doesn't attract really good help.  I don't think any Walmart employee has ever helped me load anything, though the old gals at the checkout are really nice.  If I was going for an entry level job, I'd look at Costco.


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> ...If I was going for an entry level job, I'd look at Costco.




I've heard good things about Costco as an employer.  Also, you could be  free sample lady.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> I've heard good things about Costco as an employer.  Also, you could be  free sample lady.




Yeah, I'd be really good at that Andy.  "Get your hand out of there!"  "Wait until I'm done!"  "You already had five!"  "No soup for you!"


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawg, you would not last at Buehler's.  We had to be polite, and tactful when chasing away the gray-hairs that trolled the sample carts.  It was a great, fun job to have, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Dawg, you would not last at Buehler's.  We had to be polite, and tactful when chasing away the gray-hairs that trolled the sample carts.  It was a great, fun job to have, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.



OMG!  That's me you just described.  I can get a whole meal at Costco on the weekends.


----------



## CWS4322

Because I shop for the "exotic" ingredients once a week, I have developed a strategy. I have a list for each location. I go to the customer service desk (if it is a LARGE store), or to a cashier (hopefully one who speaks English), greet the person by name, tell the person that I shop for a "catering company" and have a few items I need. Perhaps you could tell me in which aisles I will find these items? I jot down the aisle,I then thank the person by name. When I'm done, I try to return to the same checkout person, mention that yes, Mary, I found everything, thanks again. I have had exceptional service using this approach. I needed 92 individually wrapped chicken breasts and 22.5 kg of "meat counter" sliced bacon that had 14 slices per lb. He weighed out three different kinds of bacon so we could figure out which one was the one that would work for the recipe (supplier supplied loved bacon, but it wasn't sliced thinly enough to wrap around the chicken pieces--chicken breasts were smaller so could not be cut in two...it was one of those days when I had wished the proteins had been delivered when one of us was there to open the boxes). So there I was on a Saturday afternoon having to buy enough chicken for the next day's order and replace all the bacon. The man was so nice. Of course, I told him the story of why I needed so much chicken (and bacon). I asked if they had a "food industry" price. He said no, but he could give me everything for 50% off. Bonus! At the checkout, the gal at the customer service counter came over, offered to help me get the stuff to the car. I was really impressed.


----------



## Addie

At my Market Basket, they have stockers around the clock. They are that busy. Drive by there at 11 at night, and the lights are on. It doesn't matter what time of day you go there, there are pallets in the aisles. But if what I want is on the pallet and not the shelf, an employee will gladly get the box from the pallet or go in the back room for it. The store is so clean. 

I can't praise the employees enough. They are so well trained to help the customer. And they are never grouchy about it. I can't say enough good things about this store. 

Of course the one I go to in Chelsea is their Flagship Store. When they started to rebuild the name, it started in Chelsea. The old store, you had to wait outside for a cart on weekends because the store was so small and had reached the capacity allowed by the fire departments. You could fit the old store into the new one. 

The employees get bonuses every year. Not may grocery stores offer that to their employees. I swear, if Arthur T. (the owner) were to walk in the store, the employees would go down on one knee and kiss his ring. He is that loved.


----------



## taxlady

I have a not very well organized, tiny rock garden just outside my fence. The lawn care guys used the whipper snipper on it. All the violets are gone.  

What were they thinking?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> ...What were they thinking?


The problem is, they weren't.


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> I have a not very well organized, tiny rock garden just outside my fence. The lawn care guys used the whipper snipper on it. All the violets are gone.
> 
> What were they thinking?




And you PAY these guys?


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> The problem is, they weren't.


Yeah, really


CarolPa said:


> And you PAY these guys?


The condo association pays them. They are still the best company we have had. They do a nice job keeping the lawns mowed without cutting them too short. They do a great job of snow removal. They get there really quickly when it starts snowing. Then they come back as needed.


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> Yeah, really
> 
> The condo association pays them. They are still the best company we have had. They do a nice job keeping the lawns mowed without cutting them too short. They do a great job of snow removal. They get there really quickly when it starts snowing. Then they come back as needed.




Ok, we forgive them, this time!  Were the flowers planted somewhere they weren't supposed to be?  I know at the cemetery you are allowed to plan in certain places and if you take too much room they just mow it down when they cut the grass.


----------



## Souschef

PrincessFiona60 said:


> OMG!  That's me you just described.  I can get a whole meal at Costco on the weekends.


My peeve at Costco is when the idiots get their samples, instead of moving on, stand there and block everyone else


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Souschef said:


> My peeve at Costco is when the idiots get their samples, instead of moving on, stand there and block everyone else



I know, they should be circling back to stand in line again like the rest of us.


----------



## Addie

Souschef said:


> My peeve at Costco is when the idiots get their samples, instead of moving on, stand there and block everyone else



Stomp on one of their feet. You will see them hopping on one foot towards the back of the line. And they can't yell. They will have a mouthful of food.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Or, *Souschef*, you could politely say "excuse me, but could you please share that with the rest of us?" "Sample Ladies" like it when another customer calls out a  so they don't have to.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Souschef said:


> My peeve at Costco is when the idiots get their samples, instead of moving on, stand there and block everyone else



That is my pet peeve everywhere I go!

People just seem to stop and "strike a pose". 

It is particularly irritating when they do it just inside the entrance to a store, I guess I'm just old and crotchety!


----------



## roadfix

Souschef said:


> My peeve at Costco is when the idiots get their samples, instead of moving on, stand there and block everyone else



They also park their carts right smack in the middle of the isles.   They're only focused on one thing and are completely unaware of their surroundings.
These same idiots also block the warehouse entrances with their carts as they search for their Costco cards.

I like to pose but I always move to the side or a corner.


----------



## bakechef

roadfix said:


> They also park their carts right smack in the middle of the isles.   They're only focused on one thing and are completely unaware of their surroundings.
> These same idiots also block the warehouse entrances with their carts as they search for their Costco cards.
> 
> I like to pose but I always move to the side or a corner.



Oh lawd yes! My favorite is when they park the cart on one side of the aisle then stand in the space between the other shelf and the cart, blocking the entire aisle.  Working in retail, I see this all the time.  Here's a thought, keep the cart on the same side of the aisle that you're on!

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----------



## Andy M.

It is my firm belief that ALL supermarket/discount store/warehouse store aisles should be painted black with a double yellow line painted down the middle.


----------



## taxlady

The example of the above that sticks in my mind: A family of about eight people spread themselves and their carts out in front of the entire, huge exit from Costco. There was plenty of space to stand and do whatever without blocking the exit.


----------



## Dawgluver

I run into friend and family reunions all the time at Walmart.  (Not my friends or family).  The whole fam damily takes over and blocks the aisle to visit.


----------



## GotGarlic

I give aisle blockers a big smile and say in a loud voice, "Excuse me, can I get through here?" 

The older I get, the less time I waste putting up with other people's crap.


----------



## roadfix

In huge people jams I've shamelessly yelled out "Hey, you're blocking traffic" several times in the past.   The older I get the bolder I become.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I run into friend and family reunions all the time at Walmart.  (Not my friends or family).  The whole fam damily takes over and blocks the aisle to visit.



I keep running into my niece. The one I dislike very strongly. If I spot her first, I change aisles very quickly. 

I really wish I could change my attitude toward her. I think that will be next year's resolution. These past couple of years it has been to not be so dang stubborn and be more cooperative. I think I have that one going good now. So definitely a new one is in order. "Learn to like my niece again. Like I did when she was just a child." I think I will ask her to come over for coffee. That should be a safe start. 

I do keep running into some of my sister's old friends. Folks I don't even know. I don't know their names, and I wish they would forget mine.


----------



## Dawgluver

DH also uses your technique, Roadfix.  One of my SILs, visiting from Joisey, manned the shopping cart on a trip to one of our polite midwest grocery stores.  She just ran everyone over, no apologies.  I picked up a cereal box and used it to cover my face, I was so embarrassed.  Hmm.  DH also originated from out east.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bakechef said:


> Oh lawd yes! My favorite is when they park the cart on one side of the aisle then stand in the space between the other shelf and the cart, blocking the entire aisle... that you're on!


I swear I'm going to get one of those old-time bicycle horns and "beep-beep" when people do that. I'm getting tired of pushing carts that aren't my own.


----------



## Addie

I use an electric cart when I go grocery shopping. One time a woman was blocking the aisle. I asked her nicely to please move her cart so I could get by. "No!" And off she walked with her cart right where it was when I asked her nicely. So, I backed up and lined up my cart with hers. And then I rammed her cart and sent it flying. Fortunately there were no people ahead. Then I went after it, and turned it down into another aisle. She is probably still looking for her cart.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> It is my firm belief that ALL supermarket/discount store/warehouse store aisles should be painted black with a double yellow line painted down the middle.



Good idea,  but I'm not sure it will work. I see the way people drive around here!  As my Mom would say, "Some people like their half in the middle".


----------



## Andy M.

Hmmm, it must be where you guys live.  I just gently say "excuse me" and people move out of the way, often apologizing as they do.


----------



## taxlady

I use both GotGarlic's and Roadfix's methods. The problem is that I live in Quebec and you never know if people speak English or French. Both Anglophones and Francophones will sometimes ignore you if you aren't speaking their language.


----------



## Dawgluver

I use the "excuse me" technique too.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> Hmmm, it must be where you guys live.  I just gently say "excuse me" and people move out of the way, often apologizing as they do.


It depends.   If there's a child close by I use the polite mode.

In worse case scenarios I've even had market rage, whether directed at shoppers or cashiers.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Hmmm, it must be where you guys live.  I just gently say "excuse me" and people move out of the way, often apologizing as they do.



I have to admit Andy, that because the help is so polite and quick to offer assistance, it sets the tone for all shoppers at MB. In my MB, I have never had a problem with any of the other customers. My biggest problem with other shoppers is always at Shaw's. The aisles are too close together, floors are dirty, and the employees are disgruntled. Shaw's is only when I really need an item. I would never get a full grocery order there. Most of the time I would rather wait until Spike is going to MB to pick up an item I need. Right now I have enough laundry pods for about five more loads. I let Spike know I needed it and asked him to pick me up a new supply the next time he is there. I don't like giving my money to Shaw's at all. 

BTW, Shaw's was rated as one of the worst supermarkets in the country.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I use both GotGarlic's and Roadfix's methods. The problem is that I live in Quebec and you never know if people speak English or French. Both Anglophones and Francophones will sometimes ignore you if you aren't speaking their language.



Maybe a shrill whistle for sports would work.  That would alert everyone around that they are blocking the aisle.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> Hmmm, it must be where you guys live...


Could be. Our Market Basket attracts a lot of shoppers from CT, out towards Springfield, and the greater Worcester area. Since they aren't there weekly, they gawk at the new stuff and can't find anything they have on their lists because they aren't familiar with the store.

Could be a time-of-day thing, too. I tend to shop later in the afternoon, thus running into (not literally - I'm a no-contact shopper  ) after work shoppers.

*Addie*, our MB was great, full of helpful people who cared. Then they opened the new stores, sent our manager to Attleboro, sent a lot of other people to assistant manage in the new stores, and left us with the dregs. The new store manager is waiting out his time so he can retire. Since he was assigned at the start of the year, I have seen him on the floor *once*. Frank used to be out there, working alongside his staff, and greeting customers by name. I miss Frank...


----------



## Addie

Because of my youngster's profession, I have to be careful of what I put out there on the internet. Sometimes it is a pain in the neck. I can't post any pictures of my other kids or their names. I can't mention what they do for a living or where they work. I am lucky I can mention Teddy, only because he is a dog. 

There are times when all of this puts up a wall from friendship with other members of this forum. And I am beginning to resent it. I doubt if I could convince him to find another profession.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle squatted for a two second pee in a common area when we went on our walk.  Neighbors from another two subdivisions who were visiting together accused her of pooping!  Based on some other dog's two week old poop!  The one woman told me I need to bring a baggie!  I almost showed her the baggie I always have in my pocket, then I thought, Beagle didn't poop, and when she does it on someone else's lawn, I pick it up.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Could be. Our Market Basket attracts a lot of shoppers from CT, out towards Springfield, and the greater Worcester area. Since they aren't there weekly, they gawk at the new stuff and can't find anything they have on their lists because they aren't familiar with the store.
> 
> Could be a time-of-day thing, too. I tend to shop later in the afternoon, thus running into (not literally - I'm a no-contact shopper  ) after work shoppers.
> 
> *Addie*, our MB was great, full of helpful people who cared. Then they opened the new stores, sent our manager to Attleboro, sent a lot of other people to assistant manage in the new stores, and left us with the dregs. The new store manager is waiting out his time so he can retire. Since he was assigned at the start of the year, I have seen him on the floor *once*. Frank used to be out there, working alongside his staff, and greeting customers by name. I miss Frank...



You need to send a letter to Tewksbury and let them know. That is not the goal that Arthur T has set for his shoppers. Like you, our manager is always up front if he is not out on the floor. One time I got a electric cart from Hell and he happened to be out on the floor. He told me to wait right where I was, Went to get me a better cart, and then transferred all my groceries to the new cart. There were a couple of other employees in the aisle stocking. He could have asked one of them to help, but he didn't. He took care of the problem himself. You gotta luv a manager like that. 

Sometimes when I don't know where something is, I ask an employee and they not only tell me what aisle, they go get it for me. I don't know if it is because I am elderly and using and electric cart, but I get the greatest service at my MB.


----------



## Addie

I used to join the ladies from the building on Tuesday night down in the community room for tea. I stopped going because all they do is gossip. They are some of the worst gossipers I have ever come across. I hate gossip. Even if it is true. 

So when I started to lose weight, I pretty much have been staying in my apartment and go down for me mail late at night. Then one afternoon, there was a knock at my door. It was one of the ladies asking me if I was all right. Then she commented on how much weight I had lost. I told her I was fine, and refused to comment on my weight loss. 

The next thing I hear is that I have a terminal illness and my apartment will be empty soon. For a while I ignored the gossip and kept my mouth shut. Then when I am down in the lobby waiting for my ride to go to an appointment, one of the ladies gets off the elevator. Oh Addie, I am sorry to hear about your illness. But you look good except for the weight loss. "Thank you. I have been cured." Then my ride arrived. 

I have been cured all right. Cured of gossip, and having tea with the ladies on Tuesday night!


----------



## CarolPa

Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  It's a miracle!  Addie has been cured!  I would love  to have someone say that I lost so much weight that I must be ill.  It  sounds like they were not concerned, except that your apartment would be  available!  LOL

When DH worked, if one of the older guys passed  away or retired, they got a "move-up." They were union, and they moved  up on the seniority roster.  One time an older guy who worked with him  who lived across the street was shoveling snow.  DH hollered over that he  was going to give himself a heart attack.  They guy replied "That would  be a move-up!"


----------



## Dawgluver

Gnats!  They're all over.  We get an organic spray, and I smell like clove-flavored cake batter, not that it's a bad thing.  Also, it's tick season again.  Having had a bunch on me over the past years I sure wish someone would invent a human Frontline or at least a decorative tick collar for people, preferably in silver.


----------



## Chef Munky

Addie said:


> Because of my youngster's profession, I have to be careful of what I put out there on the internet. Sometimes it is a pain in the neck. I can't post any pictures of my other kids or their names. I can't mention what they do for a living or where they work. I am lucky I can mention Teddy, only because he is a dog.
> 
> There are times when all of this puts up a wall from friendship with other members of this forum. And I am beginning to resent it. I doubt if I could convince him to find another profession.



You to?
I hear you Addie. People must think I'm quite the snob around here.
In the real world I'm quite the opposite.Except for the fact that I watch the company I keep. That's out of respect/safety of my family.
It's not that I don't see the questions from member's and not respond. It's just that I can't. Security reasons.

Geez and you know Addie. It's gone as far as removing family pics from the walls, so that if I have an outsider repairman come in they have no nosy questions of who's who. Which is typically the case. That's just creepy how 2 individuals are singled out. I give them nothing to work with but the disposal. So neh!


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> You to?
> I hear you Addie. People must think I'm quite the snob around here.
> In the real world I'm quite the opposite.Except for the fact that I watch the company I keep. That's out of respect/safety of my family.
> It's not that I don't see the questions from member's and not respond. It's just that I can't. Security reasons.
> 
> Geez and you know Addie. It's gone as far as removing family pics from the walls, so that if I have an outsider repairman come in they have no nosy questions of who's who. Which is typically the case. That's just creepy how 2 individuals are singled out. I give them nothing to work with but the disposal. So neh!



I told my daughter to be careful when she decided to join face book. She has worked for the past 32 years in the Registry of Motor Vehicles. She is the one who looks up your info when a cop calls in and wants to know if you have any warrants out on you. So when she tells the cop "Yes", in a sense she is the one at that moment that is sending you off to jail. That is how the suspect can and often does look at it. Even though the law has been changed in this state, that they can go back 10 years when checking your record, my daughter has the whole record right in front of her on her computer. Right back to day one of your start of your criminal career. So any day one of those nuts that get stopped, if they knew who she was, she could be in danger.

One of my youngest co-workers saved a gang bangers life. The kid that shot the patient in the first place followed my son's co-worker home. Or at least started to. The police got wind of it and caught up with him. One cop car pulled my son's friend over and let  him know what was happening. He escorted him home. The other cop car pull the shooter over after a car chase and arrested him. My son has had a mike and camera stuck in his face more than once. The language he has had to use to get rid of them, you will never hear on the six o'clock news. We just had another Craig's List murder here. 

It is strange. You are just doing your job, like you do every day. Then before  you know it, you and you family are in danger because of some crazed nut case.


----------



## CarolPa

My father worked as an investigator for the Alcohol Tax Unit of the US Government.  When he busted a group of gangsters in Pittsburgh, my mother's brother got the crap beat out of him.  That's why my dad got transferred to Philadelphia, to protect the family but my mother's family became fair game.  Moved back after he got sick and had to take early retirement.  When people used to ask mom what her husband did for a living she said he was working on the new bridge being built in Pgh.


----------



## Dawgluver

Not only is it gnat season, the mosquitos have also emerged.  Came in with blood all over my hands from me swatting them.  And don't get me started on ticks.  I really hate bathing in Deet, but it looks like it's a necessity now.  Life in the woods.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Not only is it gnat season, the mosquitos have also emerged.  Came in with blood all over my hands from me swatting them.  And don't get me started on ticks. * I really hate bathing in Deet, but it looks like it's a necessity now.  Life in the woods.*


I remember "bathing in DEET" when I lived in the country. It came in a stronger version back then. It said it worked for eight hours. They didn't mention the silent alarm that insects can hear that goes off after eight hours. I swear you could set your clock by it.


----------



## Dawgluver

I hear you on the alarm!  I got some high-test Deet from Amazon.  Just hate using the stuff.  We go to areas where malaria, dengue, and other bad mosquito transmitted stuff is, so might as well have it.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I hear you on the alarm!  I got some high-test Deet from Amazon.  Just hate using the stuff.  We go to areas where malaria, dengue, and other bad mosquito transmitted stuff is, so might as well have it.


With the high octane DEET, remember not to kiss your sweetie anywhere that has a coating of DEET. It burns on lips. I won't even mention eyes.


----------



## tinlizzie

taxlady said:


> With the high octane DEET, remember not to kiss your sweetie anywhere that has a coating of DEET. It burns on lips. I won't even mention eyes.



On a family fishing trip into Ontario (this was waaaay back, in the 50's) I recall the sleeves on my vinyl jacket 'melted' - got very sticky - where the DEET had been applied to my wrists.

My brother once told me about an entire suit with insect spray integrated in the material, a sort of netting, to wear over clothes for protection  against black flies.  Head covering was included, like a haz-mat suit.  I wonder if they still make those.


----------



## CarolPa

I never had issues with insect bites.  They just don't like me, I guess.  They eat DH alive!  He is a big sweet eater and I eat almost none.  Wonder if that has anything to do with it?


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> I never had issues with insect bites.  They just don't like me, I guess.  They eat DH alive!  He is a big sweet eater and I eat almost none.  Wonder if that has anything to do with it?



Carol, I read many years ago that skeeters do not like heavy people. So I always thought there was a benefit to being overweight. What am I going to do this summer now that I have lost all this weight.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Carol, I read many years ago that skeeters do not like heavy people...



I can testify from personal experience that statement is incorrect.


----------



## Dawgluver

I find my best mosquito protection is standing next to DH.  Mossies love him, and will leave me alone.  He's a hit at outdoor parties, better than those mosquito coils.  DH is not a sweets eater.  Wonder if it has anything to do with certain blood types.


----------



## GotGarlic

It looks like that is part of the reason, Dawg: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...s-bite-some-people-more-than-others-10255934/


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I can testify from personal experience that statement is incorrect.



I would have to agree with you. I didn't say it, only read it. According to the article, heavy people give off an odor that skeeters do not like. My first thought was "well maybe those folks need to take a shower or two. Then they will love them."


----------



## taxlady

Well, I'm not very big - ~145 lbs; my body temperature tends to be low; I don't often drink beer; but skeeters love me. I have been bitten enough to have a histamine reaction to the bites, twice. And my blood isn't type O.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Well, I'm not very big - ~145 lbs; my body temperature tends to be low; I don't often drink beer; but skeeters love me. I have been bitten enough to have a histamine reaction to the bites, twice. And my blood isn't type O.



Mosquitoes are also attracted to bright colors (some more than others) and perspiration. I think also darker skin vs. lighter skin.


----------



## taxlady

I get bitten as much now as when I used to sunbathe and tan. The only thing, other than DEET, that helps, is being near Stirling. He's the only person I know that skeeters like more than me.


----------



## Dawgluver

DH is blood type O and drinks beer.  I'm type B and rarely drink beer.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> DH is blood type O and drinks beer.  I'm type B and rarely drink beer.


I don't remember who you said was tasty to skeeters.


----------



## Dawgluver

If I'm by myself out in the yard, I am.  If I have DH, he is, and draws their attention away from me, which I much prefer.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself and I will sit out on the front porch every once in a while. When I start to go in for the night he grabs my hand and says "don't leave me". Is is because he loves me deeply and will miss me? Heck no. It's because he's losing his mosquito magnet.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Himself and I will sit out on the front porch every once in a while. When I start to go in for the night he grabs my hand and says "don't leave me". Is is because he loves me deeply and will miss me? Heck no. It's because he's losing his mosquito magnet.



Next time he reaches out for you, slap a can of OFF into his hand.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Good idea, Andy. I've learned from earlier in the discussion that I should not hand him a beer.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Himself and I will sit out on the front porch every once in a while. When I start to go in for the night he grabs my hand and says "don't leave me". Is is because he loves me deeply and will miss me? Heck no. It's because he's losing his mosquito magnet.


 
 That's funny! 

We don't have many skeeters here in the valley, it's too dry for them.  Sometimes they'll hang around homes where there are birdbaths or horse water troughs, but for the most part they're not a problem, thank goodness.  I'm a magnet too, when we go up to the river.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> That's funny!
> 
> We don't have many skeeters here in the valley, it's too dry for them.  Sometimes they'll hang around homes where there are birdbaths or horse water troughs, but for the most part they're not a problem, thank goodness.  I'm a magnet too, when we go up to the river.




I'll happily send you my mosquitos, Cheryl!  Along with our rain.  Talked with our dog boarder, who lives about a mile away, and she had 3" in her rain gauge.


----------



## Addie

You had me going there for a second. "How sweet. He enjoys having her at his side." Then I finished reading it.


----------



## Kayelle

I've had maybe 10 mosquito bites in my whole life. Mosquito's and other creepy critters aren't a problem here in general. However, when we are in Hawaii and other places, Steve will be eaten alive and not me. 

The latest study says it's all in your DNA so I'm very thankful for good genes. Now you can blame your family for your bites!! ...Check this out..
Mosquito bites: a matter of genetics


----------



## taxlady

I always figured it was genes.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I always figured it was genes.



It is  Genes determine blood type and other chemical characteristics of the body.


----------



## Dawgluver

Now this is just plain ridiculous.  Outside weeding and I'm swarmed with skeeters.

This year's crop is really tiny mossies, unlike years before.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> Now this is just plain ridiculous.  Outside weeding and I'm swarmed with skeeters.
> 
> This year's crop is really tiny mossies, unlike years before.



Aarrgghh! That sucks, pun unintended! Sorry, Dawg.


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> Aarrgghh! That sucks, pun unintended! Sorry, Dawg.




  Yes it does!  I have so much to do outside, but with all the bugs, I'm the one who gets sucked!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

The squitters in MA are tiny. And stealth-like. And come out way earlier than OH ones ever did. I miss those big, ol' mosquitoes like we had back home. They were big enough you could usually hear them coming. You had a good chance to get one before she got you. Not real bright, either. Himself watched one try to drill through the glass on his watch case before he put the poor thing out of its misery.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> The squitters in MA are tiny. And stealth-like. And come out way earlier than OH ones ever did. I miss those big, ol' mosquitoes like we had back home. They were big enough you could usually hear them coming. You had a good chance to get one before she got you. Not real bright, either. Himself watched one try to drill through the glass on his watch case before he put the poor thing out of its misery.




Worst I've ever seen was on our way to a whale shark tour in Mexico.  After getting off a small plane in Holbox, we were covered in teeny tiny skeets.  I found a small bottle of DEET in my bag that I had forgotten I had put there!  I was very popular, even the pilot needed it!


----------



## CharlieD

I hear, they do not like people who regularly eat garlic. Maybe I should change my diet and eat more garlic than sweets. I am a big time mosquito magnet.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Chef Munky

*You Know What's Disturbing?*

At the time I was told about what one of our local schools was doing forcing students, making it a mandatory thing that the kids make a public account not sure if it's fake book, tweeter or what. So that they can monitor what the kids post.The person who told me that said if they didn't do it the kids wouldn't pass the class.I thought, noooo way.Can't be true.Sure enough it is.
Now it's starting in other areas.

What ever happened to privacy? Parental rights to watch over our own without the school district stepping in and taking the control from us?
I remember being told in a hoity way to step back.Don't ask questions about my sons progress.Don't dare ask to volunteer.

Who's paying for the cell phones. Parents our the tax payers?
What if the family moves.The kids graduate.Does the monitoring continue?

I'm so glad we yanked one of ours out of the public school system here.
Knowing mine they would make fake profiles just to jerk the system around using disposable phones.LOL!

No wait, we would do it for them!


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> At the time I was told about what one of our local schools was doing forcing students, making it a mandatory thing that the kids make a public account not sure if it's fake book, tweeter or what. So that they can monitor what the kids post.The person who told me that said if they didn't do it the kids wouldn't pass the class.I thought, noooo way.Can't be true.Sure enough it is.
> Now it's starting in other areas.
> 
> What ever happened to privacy? Parental rights to watch over our own without the school district stepping in and taking the control from us?
> I remember being told in a hoity way to step back.Don't ask questions about my sons progress.Don't dare ask to volunteer.
> 
> Who's paying for the cell phones. Parents our the tax payers?
> What if the family moves.The kids graduate.Does the monitoring continue?
> 
> I'm so glad we yanked one of ours out of the public school system here.
> Knowing mine they would make fake profiles just to jerk the system around using disposable phones.LOL!
> 
> No wait, we would do it for them!



Pirate is one of those folks who would have the most pleasure jerking them around. Example: He was about 18 and the police were chasing him and one of his friends. All of a sudden Pirate stopped running and the cop almost knocked him down. When the cop asked him why was he running, Pirate said, "It is part of the game. You know your department insists you keep in shape. So I am contributing to your good health. I run, you chase. That is how the game is played." The cop told him "get out here!"


----------



## GotGarlic

He's lucky. People who run from police are more likely to be shot.


----------



## GotGarlic

Munky, it's because kids are using social media to harass and bully unpopular classmates and these days, schools are being held responsible for dealing with that. If parents handled it, rather than denying their perfect little angel would *ever* do that, the schools wouldn't have to.


----------



## taxlady

A disposable phone isn't necessary for a fake profile. FireFox, and probably Chrome, allow someone to open a "private browsing" window that doesn't store cookies. This is available on computer or phone.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> He's lucky. People who run from police are more likely to be shot.



In this section of Boston, 90% of the police and fire departments are manned with folks from the neighborhood. Pirate went to school with most of the men who are on the force in this part of Boston. Very rarely do they pull their guns. And only if they have been shot at first. Also, because of the streets being so narrow, no patrol car is allowed to do a chase. They try to get the plate number and work from that. This is not a city that riots. We may demonstrate, but not riot. Boston is loaded with college kids. They know if they riot, they WILL get tossed out of school. If that happens, they then have to face their parents who just paid out a few thousand dollars for their next semester. That tends to set the whole mood of the city. There are probably more college kids than bona fide citizens of the city. When Poo was in grade school then Jr. high, we knew the first names of most of the cops. And the majority of them were younger than me. Years ago when I was bartending, I used to serve the majority of the cops in this part of Boston. And I also worked for the BPD. So I know how they work. 

If they remove their gun from the holster, they have to go before a review board. In the meantime, they have to surrender their gun, until their hearing. They know most of the young folks in the area they patrol. Without their gun, they feel almost naked. So they think twice before they remove it from the holster.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> In this section of Boston, 90% of the police and fire departments are manned with folks from the neighborhood. Pirate went to school with most of the men who are on the force in this part of Boston. Very rarely do they pull their guns. And only if they have been shot at first. Also, because of the streets being so narrow, no patrol car is allowed to do a chase. They try to get the plate number and work from that. This is not a city that riots. We may demonstrate, but not riot. Boston is loaded with college kids. They know if they riot, they WILL get tossed out of school. If that happens, they then have to face their parents who just paid out a few thousand dollars for their next semester. That tends to set the whole mood of the city. There are probably more college kids than bona fide citizens of the city. When Poo was in grade school then Jr. high, we knew the first names of most of the cops. And the majority of them were younger than me. Years ago when I was bartending, I used to serve the majority of the cops in this part of Boston. And I also worked for the BPD. So I know how they work.
> 
> If they remove their gun from the holster, they have to go before a review board. In the meantime, they have to surrender their gun, until their hearing. They know most of the young folks in the area they patrol. Without their gun, they feel almost naked. So they think twice before they remove it from the holster.



That may have been true years ago. Things are different now, all over. It's much more dangerous out there for police, and they don't always wait till they're shot at to defend themselves. I'm sure almost every cop thinks a dozen times before pulling their gun. That doesn't mean it's a good idea to test them by running.

And who's talking about riots? I was talking about your own son who ran from the police to "jerk them around."


----------



## CarolPa

Of all the things mentioned that draws mosquitos, DH is average size, not obese, does not drink beer, eats a lot of sweets and no garlic.  I think it's the sweets.  I am smaller than he is, but more overweight than him for my gender.  I eat garlic daily, but no sweets.  I am type O but he doesn't know his blood type.  

Long ago I heard that using some Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil is supposed to be a good mosquito deterrant, but DH won't use it.  Too girly for him.  I guess he'd rather get bit.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CarolPa said:


> Of all the things mentioned that draws mosquitos, DH is average size, not obese, does not drink beer, eats a lot of sweets and no garlic.  I think it's the sweets.  I am smaller than he is, but more overweight than him for my gender.  I eat garlic daily, but no sweets.  I am type O but he doesn't know his blood type.
> 
> *Long ago I heard that using some Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil is supposed to be a good mosquito deterrant,* but DH won't use it.  Too girly for him.  I guess he'd rather get bit.



I have heard the same thing about Bounce Outdoor Fresh fabric softener sheets, not sure if it is true or not.


----------



## taxlady

Aunt Bea said:


> I have heard the same thing about Bounce Outdoor Fresh fabric softener sheets, not sure if it is true or not.


We were told to stick one or more to your clothing. Stirling walked around with the dryer sheets sticking out of pockets, etc. He got bitten just as much as usual.


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> We were told to stick one or more to your clothing. Stirling walked around with the dryer sheets sticking out of pockets, etc. He got bitten just as much as usual.




DH puts them (dryer sheets) under the car seats and also the living room sofa as an air freshener.


----------



## Addie

fairygirl69 said:


> We'll be married fourteen years this September&#55357;&#56842;. She loves us very much but she can be very nosey and intrusive.



I am the best MIL in the world. Not once have I ever intruded into the marriages of my children. I figure, it's their marriage not mine. I don't have to live it. Even when I have asked my kids if they can remember anytime I have ever intruded where I was not wanted, I always get a "No" for an answer. Sure there has been lots of times when I wanted to. But I walked away and busied myself with other activities. If they want to confide in me, all they get in return is "I understand, uh huh, etc.


----------



## Addie

Okay, the stupid version on Addie did it again.  This is the second time. The breakfast sausages are kept on the top shelf. An area I cannot see, so I stretch as best as I can and grab the package closest to the edge. I just opened the package up and when cutting out the label for the freezer bag, I noticed "Maple Flavored". I hate maple flavored breakfast sausages. Too late. The package is already opened. Pirate can eat them. Lesson learned. The next time I will ask for help and emphasize, REGULAR FLAVORED ONLY!


----------



## CarolPa

My step-daughter has a terrible habit of asking people how much they paid for things.  When she was a teen I berated her for that all the time.  She says she wants to know, so she asks!  LOL  I told her to ask where they got it, then go there and see what it cost.  She also asks people how much they make.  Grrrrrr  She's 46...old enough to know better.

Come to think of it, my MIL did both of those things, too.


----------



## CarolPa

DH butts into his kids business all the time.  It's very irritating.  They are no longer children.  Some things I tell them not to tell him because he will harp on it forever.  Sometimes they ask for his advice, and then he will say "Oh, do what you want!!"  LOL


----------



## Addie

fairygirl69 said:


> Exactly!  And I'm a diabetic so cooking from scratch with high quality ingredients is one way I keep my blood sugar in check!  &#55357;&#56836;



Let her know that poor health practices are more costly.


----------



## CarolPa

Addie said:


> Let her know that poor health practices are more costly.



And dangerous to your health.


----------



## CarolPa

There are a lot of things that I enjoy making that are a lot more work than buying in a store.  Home made tortilla chips are one.  I like to cut up leftover tortillas, spray with Pam and salt, and bake in the oven.  A friend asked why I would do that when you can walk into any store and buy them in a bag?  It's just something I like to do.  And I like to make my own Hummus.  One time I went to a get together at my son's and they had Hummus.  I stupidly asked "Who made the Hummus?" and my DIL picked up the carton and read off the brand name.  LOL


----------



## Addie

I hear you Carol on that one. I like to bake cakes. I suppose I could use a box, but I like baking. It takes time and I certainly have plenty of that. Grant you, I can't eat any of it, but I enjoy seeing others eating it. It always taste better than a box. One time when I made a box cake, one of my kids told me that it tasted like the box. I considered that a compliment.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I make my own liver pate's.  I was at friend's home with DW a couple of years back, for our annual New Year's celebration.  I'd already made my own chicken liver pate, all smooth and silky, with a touch of ginger to give it a little something special.  The lady of the house produced two cans of store bought pate, not knowing that I had made my own.  She had a big grin on her face, expecting something wonderful.  We both tried the canned pate and both thought that they were disgusting.  She was very happy that I'd brought my home-made version.  It tasted very good and saved the night.

Do I think there are good pate's available commercially, yes, but probably not in local grocery stores.  And I've never, ever had a slice of cheesecake from a restaurant, or store that can compare with home made either.

Besides, I take great care making whatever it is that I'm making, and am thrilled when I meat my goal.  Sometimes home made comes out extraordinary, sometimes the dog wouldn't eat it.  But the process of making it is just as fun to me as is eating the successful experiments.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

My family has two ultra favorite cheesecakes. The first one the Chocolate Chip Cheesecake from Eagle Brand condensed milk. The second one is the Pumpkin with a Ginger Snap crust. They have had both in restaurants and from this day forward, only will eat Mom's. Every Christmas and Thanksgiving they get their wish. Pumpkin for Thanksgiving and the CCC for Christmas. The only problem is have to make a small one at Christmas. It is so rich that anyone who has tried it can only eat a very thin slice. So a small one can feed everyone around except me.


----------



## Chef Munky

CarolPa said:


> My step-daughter has a terrible habit of asking people how much they paid for things.  When she was a teen I berated her for that all the time.  She says she wants to know, so she asks!  LOL  I told her to ask where they got it, then go there and see what it cost.  She also asks people how much they make.  Grrrrrr  She's 46...old enough to know better.
> 
> Come to think of it, my MIL did both of those things, too.



I once over heard a woman ask another how much a gift she received cost.She wasn't being that polite about how she asked.It was more of a demanding tone.

The woman politely replied "I don't know.I was told it was purposely re gifted to me. What a thoughtful thing to do.I really needed that."

I guess she told her.She showed a lot of class.


----------



## taxlady

Chief, any tips on making homemade pate? I have made pork liver pate that came out wonderful and some that tasted a bit too cooked. Yes, I used a hot water bath in the oven. I guess it's the French influence, but I can get really good pate in the pre-packed deli section of just about any grocery store around here.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> Chief, any tips on making homemade pate? I have made pork liver pate that came out wonderful and some that tasted a bit too cooked. Yes, I used a hot water bath in the oven. I guess it's the French influence, but I can get really good pate in the pre-packed deli section of just about any grocery store around here.



I'll make a seperate thread tonight with my recipe and technique.  It's probably far different than what you're used to, but it works.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cheryl J

Chef Munky said:


> I once over heard a woman ask another how much a gift she received cost.She wasn't being that polite about how she asked.It was more of a demanding tone.
> 
> The woman politely replied "I don't know.I was told it was purposely re gifted to me. What a thoughtful thing to do.I really needed that."
> 
> I guess she told her.She showed a lot of class.


 
What a polite response to a rude question.  Love it.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CarolPa said:


> _*My step-daughter has a terrible habit of asking people how much they paid for things.*_  When she was a teen I berated her for that all the time.  She says she wants to know, so she asks!  LOL  I told her to ask where they got it, then go there and see what it cost.  She also asks people how much they make.  Grrrrrr  She's 46...old enough to know better.
> 
> Come to think of it, my MIL did both of those things, too.



I know a couple that does the opposite, they make a point of telling people how much they paid for everything.  I have had drinks and dinner at their house and felt like I should tuck a fifty under the rim of my plate to compensate them for everything I consumed!


----------



## roadfix

I agree, it's generally rude to ask how much they paid for things just for the sake of being curious.   
But on the other hand I've asked people what they paid for certain things they've purchased, but in the context of the relevant conversation we were having, whether it was a laptop, a car, a refrigerator, a house, etc....


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I agree, it's generally rude to ask how much they paid for things just for the sake of being curious.
> But on the other hand I've asked people what they paid for certain things they've purchased, but in the context of the relevant conversation we were having, whether it was a laptop, a car, a refrigerator, a house, etc....


Yes, exactly. Context matters. If it's just nosiness, it better be a really good friend.


----------



## CWS4322

I give up! I went through six recipes today from the company that specializes in "recipe development and brand development." I was able to identify recipes "developed" (and paid for) a year or more ago that were almost identical. Change one ingredient (lemon instead of lime). I have had to test, revise, fix, almost every recipe from this company. What is worse, a Chef I know has told me that 3 of the people who develop those recipes have said that it is fun to develop recipes on paper and have the company I work for test drive them--not on the company's dime that develops them. Am I the only one who thinks it is wrong to recycle recipes as "new" when only one ingredient has been replaced and the methodology is the same?


----------



## Andy M.

For a minor change such as lime for lemon, I'd say that's inappropriate.


----------



## CWS4322

What do you mean, Andy? The company charged as if it was a new recipe. I assume that is what you meant that it was inappropriate to charge as if a new recipe had been developed? I think it is dishonourable to cut and paste recipes already developed, change one ingredient, and charge as if it were a new recipe.


----------



## Andy M.

CWS4322 said:


> What do you mean, Andy? The company charged as if it was a new recipe. I assume that is what you meant that it was inappropriate to charge as if a new recipe had been developed? I think it is dishonourable to cut and paste recipes already developed, change one ingredient, and charge as if it were a new recipe.




I was agreeing with you.


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> I once over heard a woman ask another how much a gift she received cost.She wasn't being that polite about how she asked.It was more of a demanding tone.
> 
> The woman politely replied "I don't know.I was told it was purposely re gifted to me. What a thoughtful thing to do.I really needed that."
> 
> I guess she told her.She showed a lot of class.



I very rarely ask the price. And if I do it is to a very, very close friend. But I don't ask for the price outright. I ask "Is it expensive?" My friends know the limits of my pocketbook. So they know whether I can afford it or not. I will get a yes or a no. If the answer is yes, I drop the subject. If no, then I might ask where they found it. (meaning which store) The only thing I have no qualms about asking the price of, is groceries. And aren't we all looking for a bargain in that area.


----------



## taxlady

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I'll make a seperate thread tonight with my recipe and technique.  It's probably far different than what you're used to, but it works.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


That would be great.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Got hit in the back again in my poor Subaru. This time was like the last; a driver on the cellphone. They were older in a Mercedes, and apparently he's a retired lawyer and tried to convince the highway patrol trooper that the accident was my fault.

He said I had no reason to stop, as I was about to turn left in a turning lane when the light turned from green to yellow, and I was a way from the turning place so I just slowed down gradually and stopped. He said I just stopped very suddenly in front of him and he had no choice but to hit me.

What was really funny was this -- he was still on his phone talking to someone when the trooper arrived. The trooper asked him to get off the phone so he could talk to the driver, and the driver told the trooper to hang on, as he was in the middle of a conversation.

That went over like a fart in church with the trooper, and we both had to wait until he got off the phone. Unfortunately in NC, it's illegal to snatch a phone out of someone's hand.

What a shame.

The trooper cited him with following too closely, failure to yield, and using a cellphone while driving. The guy told the trooper he was a retired lawyer, he would have the trooper's job, and insisted it was my fault. He was berating the trooper when I finally had enough, and I said:

"Since when is it okay for you to hit me when I was slowing down in a turn lane and gradually stopping AFTER the light turned yellow?"

He replied, "You had plenty of time to turn. You stopped in front of me for no reason, and you're at fault and I'll prove it in court."

Yay. The trooper made him give his insurance information to me, but the retired lawyer  said neither he nor his insurance company is liable, so the trooper said that was between him and his insurance company and the court.

Now I am going to call his insurance company and follow up tomorrow. I have the accident report which shows he was clearly at fault, and I won't be bullied.

My car is driveable; her bumper is a mess though. No one was hurt. When the trooper asked me for my cell phone (they do this now) I gave it to him and he saw I had not had anything I ever answered to long before this accident (about 4 hours when I was at work) so he could rule that part out on my behalf.

Grrrrrr!! I have never understood why some people think they are above the law. 

I do have to admit, however, when the trooper inspected my phone, my wallpaper shows a picture of all 8 cats curled up amongst them on our couch.

He said, "Are these your cats?"

I replied, "Yes."

He handed the phone back to me and said, "You're a slacker. I have 22 cats."

LOL!!

So....I guess I'm going to court over this. Bleah. We'll just see what happens tomorrow.

I must say my sweet Subaru Forester still drove perfectly despite the damage.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aw CCL, it sounds like your sweet Subaru is a magnet for accidents! 

Hope this gets resolved quickly. Like maybe the judge will throw that lawyer into jail right after he/she takes the guy's phone away.  Fortunately, you had a nice trooper. My only accident ended up with a nice one, too. It wasn't so bad, even though I was the "hitter" and not the "hittee". I had a stick shift at the time, took my foot off the break, and then started to roll forward. Lucky me, the guy in front had just been rear-ended recently, did have his car inspected by the insurance company, and was waiting for the check so he could get his car repaired. He said all the damage was the old damage, and that I probably hadn't added anything to it. Then there was his wife.  Poor guy, he was actually married to her? She was something else.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Cooking Goddess said:


> Aw CCL, it sounds like your sweet Subaru is a magnet for accidents!
> 
> Hope this gets resolved quickly. Like maybe the judge will throw that lawyer into jail right after he/she takes the guy's phone away.  Fortunately, you had a nice trooper. My only accident ended up with a nice one, too. It wasn't so bad, even though I was the "hitter" and not the "hittee". I had a stick shift at the time, took my foot off the break, and then started to roll forward. Lucky me, the guy in front had just been rear-ended recently, did have his car inspected by the insurance company, and was waiting for the check so he could get his car repaired. He said all the damage was the old damage, and that I probably hadn't added anything to it. Then there was his wife.  Poor guy, he was actually married to her? She was something else.



I know what you mean about the other spouse, be it man or woman.  I was driving a pickup truck with my DW and at that time, 2 kids in the cab.  Everyone was wearing seat belts.  We were on a two lane highway heading out of Spokane, Wa. toward out little area called Moab Junction.  A station wagon pulled out right in front of me and I had no time to avoid it.  I hit the rear, left quarter panel and nearly skidded into a very large ditch.  The station wagon was spun around 180 degrees and sat on the opposite side of the road from which it started (to my right).  The man, a driver in his late 50's/early 60's got out of his car, asked if we were alright, and apologized profusely.  He started giving me the name of his insurance company.  His wife, on the other hand, got out and started raving that we were in so much trouble because we had struck their car.  She stated that her son was a state trooper and the law said that if you hit someone, you're at fault.  I tried to explain to her the rules of right-of-way, and the skid marks were clearly visible from when I hit the brakes and tried to swerve to avoid hitting them.  The husband also tried to tell her it was his fault, but all to no avail.  She just kept going on in a heated manner.  When the state trooper arrived, what happened was obvious because of the skid marks, and the driver's testimony.  The woman was still going on.  He finally just wrote the ticket and handed it to the other driver and said if it went to court, he would testify.  We got in the truck, which had a crunched bumper, and left.  There insurance paid for the repairs and that was all there was to that.  

It's happened to me three times that the vehicle I was driving was crunched, or nearly destroyed by the actions of someone else who wasn't paying attention, or made a mistake, and tried to blame the accident on me.  Two times it was by uninsured motorists, once by the woman described above, even though her husband was honest and honorable.  Each time the evidence pointed to my obvious innocence and there were witnesses.  That's three out of four vehicular accidents in my life of driving, and in three, people were lying about what happened.  The other one was my fault, and not my fault.  I didn't get ticketed for it, but I hit the other car due to being temporarily blinded on an unfamiliar road, by the sun.  I was 16 years old, and totaled two cars.  Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt in either car.  The first thing I said when I awoke from unconsciousness was "It was my fault: to the police officer on the scene.  My passenger was busy saying, "Be quiet.  Don't say anything."  But I knew it was my fault.  I didn't get a ticket as the circumstances that created the accident were such that I wasn't held accountable.

It is sad to me that people won't take responsibility for their actions.  And I can't say that it's a generational thing.  In the cases listed above, every driver was a middle aged, or older adult, not a punk kid with a bad attitude.

I am sorry that you had to put up with a pin-head that thought he could intimidate and bully his way through.  I hope it all goes well, and quickly for you.  I understand how you feel.  I've been there, more than once.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CharlieD

Aunt Bea said:


> I know a couple that does the opposite, they make a point of telling people how much they paid for everything.  I have had drinks and dinner at their house and felt like I should tuck a fifty under the rim of my plate to compensate them for everything I consumed!




It is very common practice in Russian communities when invited to a restaurant for wedding or other type of celebration, people find how much restaurant cost per person and that is how much money they bring for the present. I grew up with it. Makes a lot of sense to me. Parents pay for wedding, guests return that money to young couple. All sides win.


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## CharlieD

*Venting*

I am not a FIL, yet. My oldest is 29, I keep bothering him with questions. When? He has a serious GF. He says I am annoying. Now, what am I to do? I am his father, I want to know. Am I wrong?


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## CharlieD

Speaking of accidents. I was on a HWY, during the rush our. Traffic is bumper to bumper. When I had an opportunity to move to the left I did. I should have known better, the guy was busy with some paper work. About a mile later he of course hits me. No damage to my Toyota van, his Ford truck lost front bumper. He tells police guy I cut in front of him. I said yeah, I did about a mile ago, but you were to busy to notice, since you were writing something in your papers. The officer went to his car and found the paper that had a smudge, like probably when he hit me and pan went thru the paper. I guess he was filling in some work sheets. People sometimes are unbelievable.


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## Aunt Bea

CharlieD said:


> It is very common practice in Russian communities when invited to a restaurant for wedding or other type of celebration, people find how much restaurant cost per person and that is how much money they bring for the present. I grew up with it. Makes a lot of sense to me. Parents pay for wedding, guests return that money to young couple. All sides win.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



That custom was pretty standard in my family, the wedding present had to meet or exceed the cost of your families drinks and dinner.  I'm glad that in my family the whole wedding thing has become much simpler.  The days of the big hotel/country club weddings of the 60's and 70's have been replaced with informal receptions, barbeques and potluck style events.  Heck we're just glad the kids are getting married, that fell out of fashion for a number of years!


----------



## Addie

My daughter was hit about three blocks from her home. She was just feet from the store she was headed for. There is an exit from Rt. A1 and the car that hit her was making an exit. She didn't have her wallet with her. But she keeps her DMV ID in the glove compartment. So she reached in and told the driver she had to go back to her home and get her wallet. But she showed him her DMV ID. "Oh sh*t. I am so screwed." He was still there when she got back just a few minutes later. She had checked her car over and since there wasn't much damage to either vehicle, decided to not report it to her insurance company. He was so grateful to her for not causing his insurance to go up a couple of points, she received a HUGE bouquet of flowers the next day. She almost started crying when they arrived. My daughter told me that the amount of damage to her care wouldn't have even amounted to her deductible. And his was even less. Some accidents do have a happy ending.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I am not a FIL, yet. My oldest is 29, I keep bothering him with questions. When? He has a serious GF. He says I am annoying. Now, what am I to do? I am his father, I want to know. Am I wrong?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



Don't feel bad Charlie. My grandson gave his GF a beautiful diamond last year. But no plans for marriage in the near future, if ever. It was just the symbolic meaning of the ring for the both of them. Commitment. Neither one wants children. They enjoy traveling and going on vacation. Then there is his little sister. She is approaching her mid 20's and has no interest in marriage or a permanent relationship. So my daughter and her husband are screwed big time for grandchildren. Looks like they will have to grow old together without any grand kiddies underfoot.


----------



## GotGarlic

CharlieD said:


> I am not a FIL, yet. My oldest is 29, I keep bothering him with questions. When? He has a serious GF. He says I am annoying. Now, what am I to do? I am his father, I want to know. Am I wrong?



Yes. Be patient. You don't really know what anyone's relationship is like. Bugging him about it will only cause anger and resentment. And if/when they do get married, don't start bugging them about grandchildren.


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## Addie

Charlie, I remember when I first got married and had my first baby. Everyone wanted to know when was I planning on having the second one. I was still a teenager. I was thrilled to death with having my daughter. A second child was the farthest thing from my mind. Then when I finally did have the second baby, the next question everyone kept asking me was, "Are you two planning on having a big family?" And these folks weren't even family relations. 

But I will admit that having grandchildren are nice. Then all of a sudden there is an explosion. Nineteen grand and great grands. And there are still a few that have yet to have their first. But one of the great grand kids is almost ready to get married and start her family. I stand an excellent chance of becoming a great, great grandmother in a few years. 

Be patient. Your turn is coming. When he is ready, he will come home all excited to tell you she said "Yes!"


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> Yes. Be patient. You don't really know what anyone's relationship is like. Bugging him about it will only cause anger and resentment. And if/when they do get married, don't start bugging them about grandchildren.




Yes.  And there is absolutely nothing wrong with not wanting to get married, and/or not wanting to have children.


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## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> Yes.  And there is absolutely nothing wrong with not wanting to get married, and/or not wanting to have children.



+1...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Charlie*, our kids are 34. Neither our son nor our daughter are married, and it doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon. Doesn't matter to us, they are both happy with how their lives are going. Raising a happy, reasonably successful child is better than being a FIL.




Addie said:


> ...Then when I finally did have the second baby, the next question everyone kept asking me was, "Are you two planning on having a big family?" And these folks weren't even family relations...


When the kids were little and wearing us down, we used to dress them pretty and head to the mall. Here we were with Loverly in pink, Goober in blue, side-by-side in the twin stroller, walking the mall and enjoying people telling us "how cute" and "you are so lucky" until we felt human again. Then there were *those* people who would ask when we were having another. I finally settled on telling them "well, we have a boy and a girl. If God comes up with a third gender, we'll try again".


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## Cooking Goddess

When I first logged onto DC, I had a petty vent I wanted to post. After reading through my subscribed threads, I've forgotten what it was!  Guess it was pettier than I thought.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Don't feel bad Charlie. My grandson gave his GF a beautiful diamond last year. But no plans for marriage in the near future, if ever. It was just the symbolic meaning of the ring for the both of them. Commitment. Neither one wants children. They enjoy traveling and going on vacation. Then there is his little sister. She is approaching her mid 20's and has no interest in marriage or a permanent relationship. So my daughter and her husband are screwed big time for grandchildren. Looks like they will have to grow old together without any grand kiddies underfoot.




That's what I told him. You are denying me the pleasure of having grandchildren.


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## CharlieD

In all truth I do not understand what all these kids are looking or waiting for. I asked his mother to marry me after 3 days. 


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

CharlieD said:


> In all truth I do not understand what all these kids are looking or waiting for. I asked his mother to marry me after 3 days.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



I know what you mean.  They seem to be gunshy at the prospect of marriage.  It took me a few weeks, but no more, and our first child was born ten months later(No sex until after we were married and two of my four followed the same rule),

I knew that i was born to be a husband and a father, in that order, and as soon as I could.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## roadfix

I've had enough with the racoons, possums, and skunks tearing up my urban backyard so I bought a pellet gun to take care of the problem once and for all....


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## NickeeCoco

GotGarlic said:


> +1...



Thank you.  I am married.  We're not having children.  One of the most annoying questions to ever be asked as a couple is "why not?"


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## Dawgluver

roadfix said:


> I've had enough with the racoons, possums, and skunks tearing up my urban backyard so I bought a pellet gun to take care of the problem once and for all....




A pellet gun works really well.  Don't ask me how I know...


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## roadfix

Dawgluver said:


> A pellet gun works really well.  Don't ask me how I know...


This is my last resort as I've tried everything else during the past couple of years...


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## Dawgluver

*Venting*



roadfix said:


> This is my last resort as I've tried everything else during the past couple of years...




I've just given in to them.  My little vegetable garden is now fenced in, which keeps the deer out, but the bunnies still get in.  The moles continue to tunnel up my yard.  The groundsquirrels dig up almost everything I plant, and then I have to re-plant it. And don't even talk to me about the raccoons and possums!

I used to be fastidious about having a nice lawn, tried traps and such, but now I've learned to live with all the critters.


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## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> A pellet gun works really well.  Don't ask me how I know...


SO glad you quoted *roadfix*. At first, my mind processed your comment as a reply to NickeeCoco's comment about people questioning her about having children.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> SO glad you quoted *roadfix*. At first, my mind processed your comment as a reply to NickeeCoco's comment about people questioning her about having children.




Heh.  I would not recommend a pellet gun on children!


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## CWS4322

CharlieD said:


> That's what I told him. You are denying me the pleasure of having grandchildren.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


CharlieD, it is not the obligation of the child to produce grandchildren. I do not have children. I was busy with my career, etc., in my 30s. In hindsight, I wish I had had children. Not for my parents so they could enjoy having grandchildren, but now I have come to the realization I do not have any heirs or someone who will take care of me, help me when I can no longer live in my own home, etc. One doesn't think of these things when they are young.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> Heh.  I would not recommend a pellet gun on children!


Not on the kids, Dawg!  For those nosy, annoying people who ask someone "why don't they have kids". THEY are the ones who need a little *boom*.


----------



## GotGarlic

CWS4322 said:


> CharlieD, it is not the obligation of the child to produce grandchildren. I do not have children. I was busy with my career, etc., in my 30s. In hindsight, I wish I had had children. Not for my parents so they could enjoy having grandchildren, but now I have come to the realization I do not have any heirs or someone who will take care of me, help me when I can no longer live in my own home, etc. One doesn't think of these things when they are young.



A friend of mine who also doesn't have children used to talk about having a "Golden Girls" situation with a helper paid by all the residents. 

And remember, Charlie, not all women, or men, can have children. Some have medical issues that can prevent it and infertility treatment is incredibly expensive.


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## Dawgluver

*Venting*

OK.  On soapbox.  Children do not define you.  Anyone can pop out a kid.  There is nothing wrong with not having your own.  It doesn't mean you are defective.

Off soapbox.


----------



## NickeeCoco

Cooking Goddess said:


> SO glad you quoted *roadfix*. At first, my mind processed your comment as a reply to NickeeCoco's comment about people questioning her about having children.



Haha.  That's quite the response to have to that question.

It is a very personal and invasive question that people, for whatever reason, feel they are allowed to ask.  Strangers, even.  I don't go asking if people have hemorrhoids or why they can't afford a bigger house.  

I am lucky in that both my parents and my in-laws respect our decision.  They may be disappointed, but they've never questioned it or hounded us.  My mother still has my sister and brother to procreate for her if they so choose.  However, neither one are married or seeing anyone.  My husband is an only child, so there isn't anyone else for my mother-in-law.  Some friends of my husband's have children, and they live near my  in-laws, so they've become their surrogate grand parents and spoil them.


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## Addie

Being a grandparent is not all it is cracked up to be. Your children think they have a built-in at any hour babysitter. They forget that you just may have plans of your own. Their plans are always more important than yours. If you are still working, they think it is all right for you to lose a day or two of work instead of themselves. Then should you have a free weekend and want to see the kids, they have plans of their own that include the kids. Your wishes don't always count in their eyes. 

Has all this happened to me? No. Only because I made it clear that I don't babysit for free and am not available at a drop of a hat. I only babysit in the event of a medical emergency. If I can raise five kids alone, then two parents can raise one child together.


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## NickeeCoco

Addie said:


> Has all this happened to me? No. Only because I made it clear that I don't babysit for free and am not available at a drop of a hat. I only babysit in the event of a medical emergency.



That's what my mom told me if we ever chose to have kids.  She said it has to be planned in advance and only if she's free.  I get that.  It is inconsiderate otherwise.


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## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Being a grandparent is not all it is cracked up to be. Your children think they have a built-in at any hour babysitter. They forget that you just may have plans of your own. Their plans are always more important than yours. If you are still working, they think it is all right for you to lose a day or two of work instead of themselves. Then should you have a free weekend and want to see the kids, they have plans of their own that include the kids. Your wishes don't always count in their eyes.
> 
> Has all this happened to me? No. Only because I made it clear that I don't babysit for free and am not available at a drop of a hat. I only babysit in the event of a medical emergency. If I can raise five kids alone, then two parents can raise one child together.



Never happened to me either.  My daughter always asks without assuming I will say yes.  I've been helping care for my grandson since his birth and every season (school year, summer) she comes to me and asks if I will do it all again before she makes a schedule.

Maybe children taking parents for granted isn't all that common.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Being a Grandparent isn't as rewarding for me as being a father was, simply because all of my my children have had to move away to find jobs, and take their kids with them.  When I have the opportunity to be with them, I will babysit any time I can, and play with the young'ens, or sing with them, or read to them.  I will design paper airplanes, or kites, with them.  I will teach them to make my pancakes, or fry a pork chop, whatever I'm allowed to do.

Doing things for and with my kids, and my grandkids is a blessing beyond measure.  They aren't an imposition.  They are a big part of my purpose in life.  In my opinion, if you find children and grandchildren as something that get in you way, then you shouldn't have children.

The service of others, giving love and effort, is more rewarding than any other thing a person can do in this world.  This is true for me, even though I've had and taken the opportunity to live in both worlds, one where it was all about me, and one where it's all about my family.

the one that was all about me was after I'd struck out on my own as a young adult, and before I got married.  In that short time I got to be a passenger in a navy jet, where the pilot did aerial acrobatics.  I got to scuba, climb a mountain, lots of dirt biking, running with friends, softball, learning advanced electronic theory and troubleshooting, and the list goes on and on.

Though those things were exciting, they paled in comparison to holding my baby children, helping them learn to ride bicycles, teaching them how to tie proper knots, teaching them to safely use a canoe, to make cookies without a recipe, guiding them with their science projects, and everything else that goes with being a dad.

The tag line at the bottom of my posts says it all for me.  It is my favorite quote ever.

Our families should be more important to us than any other thing we can do or accomplish.  I don't believe that what I have just said is an opinion, I believe it's a fundamental fact of life in this world.

Being a grandpa is bittersweet.  I have to step back and allow my kids to be the dads and moms, to have the same blessings I enjoyed raising them.  I still get to teach the grandkids, and guide them.  But my job now is to reinforce and support the actions of my own children in the role of parent.  They're good at it, and they make me very proud.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CarolPa

My son's in-laws go to AZ for the winter, so we are the only family around for them during the winter months.  We babysat a lot before they moved, but when they told us they were moving I told them they would be losing their instant babysitter.  They could call us at 7AM and we could run and pick up DGS, but now they are an hour away.  We will watch him if it's an emergency.  Another thing...they got used to us picking him up and bringing him home.  They never think to bring him to us, or come to pick him up.  

We went through a hard time when my son and his first wife divorced.  She had a son from a previous marriage, but he was still like a grandson to us, even though it was not bio.  When they got divorced, wham! He was gone from our lives, just like that.  We could not even invoke grandparents rights since we were not real grandparents.


----------



## bakechef

Dawgluver said:


> OK.  On soapbox.  Children do not define you.  Anyone can pop out a kid.  There is nothing wrong with not having your own.  It doesn't mean you are defective.
> 
> Off soapbox.



People ask us all the time if we are going to adopt.  We're always being told "you guys are so great with kids".  Kids love Rob, I think they see a kindred spirit with him, he's got an almost childlike exuberance.  We're in a position that we are fairly comfortable as adults, but having kids would be a huge financial strain.  We're lucky that we aren't able to produce an "oops" kid.


----------



## Dawgluver

*Venting*



bakechef said:


> People ask us all the time if we are going to adopt.  We're always being told "you guys are so great with kids".  Kids love Rob, I think they see a kindred spirit with him, he's got an almost childlike exuberance.  We're in a position that we are fairly comfortable as adults, but having kids would be a huge financial strain.  We're lucky that we aren't able to produce an "oops" kid.




DH and I are both good with kids.  We're both pretty goofy.  I've worked with kids for over 30 years, and have also fostered a couple of them.  I also have plenty of nieces and nephews that we practice our goofiness on, and they like it.


----------



## Addie

Unfortunately in today's world, more and more grandparents are raising their grandchildren due to drugs. I had three of my daughter's off and on for about six years. Then when she died, I knew there was no way I could care for them until the last one reached adulthood and keep working. So I decided to take the oldest one right when she was just entering her teens. I had had her for a couple of years when she was just a toddler. Then her mother got her act together and I really missed having her. But she always knew I would always be there for her. So often she would have a fight with her mother and come to stay with me for a month or so. I managed to get her through H.S. while she continued to get straight A's. She had to be home schooled. That meant I had to readjust my own schedule because the teacher could not be left alone with the pupil in the home. It was the school policy as well as the law. 

In spite of having to get her through her grief of losing her mother, I managed to get her to graduation and a wedding. She is still married and has three children of her own. They now live out of state and I never get to see any of them. Three of her siblings make it a point of coming down from Maine to visit me. There is only one grandchild that would be in need of a babysitter. But I don't see him but once every couple of years. I have no idea when I might see him again if ever. 

I did enjoy taking my very first grandchild for the day. I would put him in his stroller and off we would go. He was just an infant, but still a lot of fun to care for. He is now 37 and has no children of his own. I have lost track of how many grand and great grands there are. Too many for Christmas gifts.


----------



## CWS4322

bakechef said:


> People ask us all the time if we are going to adopt. We're always being told "you guys are so great with kids". Kids love Rob, I think they see a kindred spirit with him, he's got an almost childlike exuberance. We're in a position that we are fairly comfortable as adults, but having kids would be a huge financial strain. We're lucky that we aren't able to produce an "oops" kid.


Bakechef--fast forward to when you are 70. You do not have anyone to help you with taking care of the home, your partner. Think of all you can offer a child. Also, you can wait to adopt until you are in your 40s, even 50. Then you would be in the financial position to do so. don't rule it out now. I wish we had not ruled it out. Hindsight is always 20/20.


----------



## GotGarlic

CWS4322 said:


> Bakechef--fast forward to when you are 70. You do not have anyone to help you with taking care of the home, your partner. Think of all you can offer a child. Also, you can wait to adopt until you are in your 40s, even 50. Then you would be in the financial position to do so. don't rule it out now. I wish we had not ruled it out. Hindsight is always 20/20.



Don't you think it's a tad selfish to have children for the purpose of having someone to take care of you when you're old? Did you miss my last post on this topic?


----------



## CarolPa

CWS4322 said:


> Bakechef--fast forward to when you are 70. You do not have anyone to help you with taking care of the home,



I can vouch for the fact that having kids does not guarantee that you will have someone to help you when you get older.  If you have that you are very fortunate.


----------



## CarolPa

Our other dog loved to be outside and would go out every 15 minutes if you let him.  This dog only wants to go out when he has to "go."  Meanwhile, DH is thinking of the other dog and asks him if he wants to go outside, all day.  The dog thinks that's the only thing he knows how to say!  LOL


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CarolPa said:


> I can vouch for the fact that having kids does not guarantee that you will have someone to help you when you get older.  If you have that you are very fortunate.



I am very fortunate.  Don't need to say more than that.  It will be a while before I have to have much help, but the day will come, and I've been told by all of my kids that they will be there.  Oh, I want to change my first statement: I'm not fortunate, I'm blessed.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CWS4322

GotGarlic said:


> Don't you think it's a tad selfish to have children for the purpose of having someone to take care of you when you're old? Did you miss my last post on this topic?


In hindsight, I think it was a tad selfish not to have had children because one wanted to forward one's career, etc. I'm in the position of having to take care of elderly parents. However, I will be an elder orphan. Is the State supposed to care for me when I can't????? It used to be families took care of family members. 


Hindsight is always 20-20. One needs to consider both sides of the coin. Just saying.


----------



## roadfix

Couples choose to have or not have kids for various reasons, some selfish, some not, for either personal, financial, or whatever.....  I think the choices they make also depend on the couple's cultural background.
For instance, I get the financial reasons for not having children, but does that mean couples with meager household income shouldn't have kids?


----------



## GotGarlic

CWS4322 said:


> In hindsight, I think it was a tad selfish not to have had children because one wanted to forward one's career, etc. I'm in the position of having to take care of elderly parents. However, I will be an elder orphan. Is the State supposed to care for me when I can't????? It used to be families took care of family members.
> 
> Hindsight is always 20-20. One needs to consider both sides of the coin. Just saying.



I guess you didn't read my last post on this. There are other options.


----------



## GotGarlic

roadfix said:


> Couples choose to have or not have kids for various reasons, some selfish, some not, for either personal, financial, or whatever.....  I think the choices they make also depend on the couple's cultural background.
> For instance, I get the financial reasons for not having children, but does that mean couples with meager household income shouldn't have kids?



They shouldn't have more than they can reasonably take care of. People don't need to be rich to have children, but imo they should be able to raise them without financial help from the state. 

I'm happy to have the government help people temporarily when they come on hard times, but it should be the goal to be as self-sufficient as possible.


----------



## bakechef

GotGarlic said:


> Don't you think it's a tad selfish to have children for the purpose of having someone to take care of you when you're old? Did you miss my last post on this topic?



Rob feels that the only reason that his mother tries to have a relationship with him is so that there will be someone to take care of her.  He also has a disabled brother that he'll need to be responsible for if she passes first.  He often feels that is the only reason that she had kids. 

Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


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## Kayelle

bakechef said:


> Rob feels that the only reason that his mother tries to have a relationship with him is so that there will be someone to take care of her.  He also has a disabled brother that he'll need to be responsible for if she passes first.  He often feels that is the only reason that she had kids.
> 
> Sent from my XT1080 using Discuss Cooking mobile app



That's so sad to hear about Rob. I have a dear friend who died with cancer, and her mother's first reaction to the news of her impending death was "who will look after *me *when you're gone". When my sons were born, the last thing on my mind was me. My first thoughts are for my children, always. I truly pray I never become their burden.


----------



## Aunt Bea

All this talk about kids or no kids makes me think of Doris Day! 

_ Que sera, sera, Whatever will be, will be, The future's not ours to see_...


----------



## CarolPa

There are more than enough unwanted children in the world.  People who do not want to have them should not have them just to please someone else, parents, friends, etc.  If everyone was supposed to have children they wouldn't have invented birth control.


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> There are more than enough unwanted children in the world.  People who do not want to have them should not have them just to please someone else, parents, friends, etc.  If everyone was supposed to have children they wouldn't have invented birth control.



Carol, prior to the invention of the birth control pill, you could go to prison for even saying the words "birth control." And that included your doctor. You could be fitted for a diaphragm for the sole purpose of preventing the spreading of STD. Condoms were purchased for the same purpose. It didn't matter if the mother's health was in jeopardy if she continued to give birth. 

And to some degree, this law served a useful purpose. Male offspring were needed on the farm to help in the fields and barn. Female children were needed in the kitchen to help put up the canned harvest and to feed the field hands. 

Then came drought, and an influx of immigrants. Farm families saw the money that could be made in a factory. They saw that males made more income than the women. So they sent their sons off to the city to earn money to send home. Before you knew it, the whole family moved to the city and abandoned the farm. Every member of the family went to work in the factories. 

Depending of what country the immigrant came from, determined their skill in building our cities. Boston is a city of red brick. That is when most of the Italians came and built this city. We still have red brick sidewalks that were built in the late and early 1700-1800's. The women went to work in factories that required highly skilled hand-sewing hands. Try to walk on the red brick sidewalks today when it is raining, and it can be very dangerous. They bricks are worn down to smooth and very slippery. But they are very much a part of our history. The same goes for NY, Baltimore and most large coastal cities. They have kept their heritage alive through the skills of the new arrivals. They don't tear down the old red brick buildings, they gut them and put them to a new purpose with smaller rooms. Less room for those large families.

Families from the Baltic states are the farmers of yesterday. That's why you find large German populations in Texas. (Who knew?) And along the eastern seaboard. Think Amish. Countries like Greece and others that relied on the seas for their living, bring us our seafood today. Think Scandinavian countries. Each country brought their own specialized skills. And they passed them down to their kids. Yeah, I think it is not selfish to expect your children to look after you when you are aged. If the parents have done their job right, then it will be a given for them. 

I had my family at the end of when having a large family was the norm. Five children, four left. Today, two children are the norm. Three of them drive me crazy. Every single day, (without missing even one) one of them shows up to check up on me. But I keep my mouth shut. The day will come when I will need one of them to show up and check up on me. And they are only doing what I taught them from day one. Family! Always family! Family comes first. It is why animals in the wild will die trying to protect the family of little cubs in the den. And in turn, those cubs grow up and learn how to hunt for the family. 

Just a footnote. My kids know that just a phone call does not do. "Ma, how are you doing today?" "Fine, I feel fine." The next thing you know they are getting a phone call from the hospital. Your mother has just had a heart attack. 

Okay I am off my soapbox. 

And one for all those families that look after each other. The day will come when you will need each other.


----------



## CarolPa

My grandparents had 11 children in a 2 bedroom house.  As soon as they were old enough to go out and work they had to quit school and go to work.   Unfortunately, they only had 2 boys and they joined the service as soon as they were old enough.  The girls took off as soon as boys started to notice them, but came back long enough to drop off the babies for their mother to raise, then off they went with another man.  That was no way for any of them to live.  

Addie, you are very blessed that your children look after you.


----------



## NickeeCoco

Ok.  Venting.  About two different things.

First.  The stove situation.  So, two years ago my in-laws bought a new gas range.  Their 'old' range was four years old and a beautiful 30", double oven KitchenAid.  They asked my husband if we would like it.  He, without saying anything to me, told them no, ours worked fine.  Says the man who only knows how to cook eggs and homefries.

Well, our range wasn't fine.  One of the big burners didn't work, and still doesn't.  And, it's only a 24" single oven.  I mean, upgrade!  But by the time I heard about it, they had already given it to someone else.

Fast forward last week.  Suddenly, my other big burner stops lighting.  And now today, the oven.  This range is an incredibly old Danby.  My husband said he was going to look at it this weekend to see if he just has to switch the ignitor.

At any rate,  the whole situation makes me mad, because I could have had an absoloutely beautiful range if my husband had only said something to me before he told his parents we didn't need it.  And now we've got a range that I'm pretty sure will die any moment now, and since I'm going back to school and only have a single income coming in, I'll be stuck with some cruddy electric range, because that's all we'll be able to afford.   So I'm grumpy about that.

And to the other thing.  It's about a friend.  She has been a close friend for the last three years and a dinner party staple at my house.  But for the last four months, she has only responded to about 30% of my calls or texts.  Even texts that ask if she wants to go out for drinks or dinner, or come over for dinner, etc.  

Last week she posted on facebook about how some kid broke her van windows with his skateboard.  He was apprehended.  Today, she posted that she was selling the van as is.  Now, my mother's van is done, so I was interested.  Seriously, I asked, "with or without windows?"  A few minutes after I ask that in the comments section of her Facebook post, she texts me saying that she didn't want the public to know about the windows.  Being Canadian I apologized, and responded that she had posted it on facebook so I had no idea it was supposed to be a secret.  In my mind facebook=public.  Apparently it had been a private post only sent to certain friends?  Well, how the heck was I supposed to know that?  And why is she trying to make me feel bad because I'm not a mind reader?  Ugh.  Not to mention it's a little underhanded to sell a car and not disclose its history (insurance paid for the windows). 

And I've got a head ache.

/end rant


----------



## taxlady

Nickee, your reply was no more public than her post. That's how it works on FB. Once someone sets the privacy level for the post, all the replies are at the same privacy level.


----------



## NickeeCoco

Yes.  But the "I'm selling my van" post was public.  And I responded to that asking about the windows.  I don't know about anyone else, but I don't look to see who people are posting things to.  Facebook is public, no matter how you control it.


----------



## taxlady

NickeeCoco said:


> Yes.  But the "I'm selling my van" post was public.  And I responded to that asking about the windows.  I don't know about anyone else, but I don't look to see who people are posting things to.  Facebook is public, no matter how you control it.


Oh, I see. Well, she can delete your reply. I often check to see if a post is friends only or public. Some of my opinions on politics, religion, etc. are not something I want publicly connected to my, very unique, name.


----------



## NickeeCoco

taxlady said:


> Oh, I see. Well, she can delete your reply. I often check to see if a post is friends only or public. Some of my opinions on politics, religion, etc. are not something I want publicly connected to my, very unique, name.



See, I just avoid all of that on Facebook.  Personally, I don't think its the proper platform for that sort of thing.  I think that's where the problem stems from.  I'm coming from a "anything on the internet is public domain" stand point, whereas she, like you, thinks privacy settings make things ok.  And that's something that is big in the HR and business world right now.  Parameters have not been set and they're still being hammered out, which is why I stay on the safe side.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> ...
> 
> Has all this happened to me? No. Only because I made it clear that I don't babysit for free and am not available at a drop of a hat. I only babysit in the event of a medical emergency. If I can raise five kids alone, then two parents can raise one child together.



Wow, you are tough.


----------



## taxlady

NickeeCoco said:


> See, I just avoid all of that on Facebook.  Personally, I don't think its the proper platform for that sort of thing.  I think that's where the problem stems from.  I'm coming from a "anything on the internet is public domain" stand point, whereas she, like you, thinks privacy settings make things ok.  And that's something that is big in the HR and business world right now.  Parameters have not been set and they're still being hammered out, which is why I stay on the safe side.


What parameters do you mean.

BTW, I'm under no illusion that stuff I post or reply to on FB is completely private. It's just a lot harder to access or find, when it's "friends only", if you aren't one of those "friends".


----------



## NickeeCoco

What is private and what is public?  People have lost their jobs due to things they have posted to Facebook.  Now, there is the camp that says it was a private thing to people on their friend's list only.  There are others who say what I say, and that the internet is a public sphere and is not private.  These are social parameters that are still being worked out.  As in, there's no law about them at this time.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Wow, you are tough.



Yes, I see the wink. But can you find a viable argument to the opposite? Even my kids agree with me. 

A number of years ago my SIL was found to be in stage 4 for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. They gave him four weeks to live. Told him in the next 48 hours to get all his life in order and then come back and check into the hospital. They aggressively attacked his cancer. He was one sick puppy. The hospital set up a bed right beside his for my daughter. They would fall asleep holding hands. A year and a half later he was told that he was in total remission. My daughter took all that time off from work to be at his side. Fortunately, I lived in the downstairs apartment of their home. Their two children still needed to be cared for. I had no objection to taking on that role. When my SIL and daughter came home to stay, I gave it all back to them. That was a medical emergency. I gladly stepped up. 

Who would have thought that three years ago I would get the call that this time my daughter was the one with brain cancer.


----------



## Souschef

Addie said:


> Carol, prior to the invention of the birth control pill, you could go to prison for even saying the words "birth control." And that included your doctor. You could be fitted for a diaphragm for the sole purpose of preventing the spreading of STD. Condoms were purchased for the same purpose.
> Okay I am off my soapbox.
> .


Addie, I have to admire you, now you are also a medical expert.  I cannot abide any advice that is dangerous.
For your information, a diaphragm will NOT prevent STD! It is only a barrier to prevent conception.


----------



## taxlady

NickeeCoco said:


> What is private and what is public?  People have lost their jobs due to things they have posted to Facebook.  Now, there is the camp that says it was a private thing to people on their friend's list only.  There are others who say what I say, and that the internet is a public sphere and is not private.  These are social parameters that are still being worked out.  As in, there's no law about them at this time.


I have checked. If I make a post "friends only", it isn't visible. Of course if someone hacks FB, it isn't private and if the government wants to see it and FB lets them, it's visible. But, to the general public, it's private.

Those people who lose jobs over stuff they post to FB were usually "outed" by a "friend". There is nothing stopping someone from taking a screenshot and sending that to the boss. Of course, some people aren't careful of who is on their "friends lists" and some even have their boss on that list.


----------



## NickeeCoco

taxlady said:


> I have checked. If I make a post "friends only", it isn't visible. Of course if someone hacks FB, it isn't private and if the government wants to see it and FB lets them, it's visible. But, to the general public, it's private.
> 
> Those people who lose jobs over stuff they post to FB were usually "outed" by a "friend". There is nothing stopping someone from taking a screenshot and sending that to the boss. Of course, some people aren't careful of who is on their "friends lists" and some even have their boss on that list.



Well, she wasn't too selective about who she posted it to, because a friend of mine, who has only met this woman twice, saw it on Facebook as well.

At any rate, I am the type of person who keeps my Facebook locked tight.  I have less than a hundred people on my friends list.  I will not have anyone associated with work on my list.  I do not have anyone that I go to school with on my list (I'm going back for the third time.  I'm just collecting degrees, it seems), because they could very well become future co-workers/bosses.  It is not a private space.  It's akin of being at a busy party with everyone you know there, standing on the table and shouting something out.

And, if the windows were fixed by the insurance company, what's the problem?

And, she could have been polite about it.  She did not have to be rude.  But that seems to be her MO.  There's been other issues with her, and quite frankly, I'm through.


----------



## CarolPa

NickeeCoco said:


> Not to mention it's a little underhanded to sell a car and not disclose its history (insurance paid for the windows).



If insurance paid to repair/replace the windows, why is it even an issue?  I don't think any buyer would care as long as they were repaired properly and worked properly.  It's not the same as an accident that involved a bent frame.  That should be disclosed.


----------



## Addie

Souschef said:


> Addie, I have to admire you, now you are also a medical expert.  I cannot abide any advice that is dangerous.
> For your information, a diaphragm will NOT prevent STD! It is only a barrier to prevent conception.



And there lies the problem. I know that, the doctor knows that and so do you. The legislature obviously didn't. Don't ask for birth control or you will go to prison. What were they thinking of when our legislature wrote that little gem. It included all methods of birth control. Or what they thought were. Of course there were no women sitting with that august group of men. And the law was still on the books when the pill became available. So you told your doctor that you were having excessive menstrual cycles. The pill could control that problem. Both the patient and the doctor knew it was always a lie no matter what you ask for. 

If someone overheard you say the words "birth control" in public they could report you and you would face the possibility of prison. "Birth Control" was right up there with using those four letter words that were considered foul language in public. Dirty, dirty words.


----------



## NickeeCoco

CarolPa said:


> If insurance paid to repair/replace the windows, why is it even an issue?  I don't think any buyer would care as long as they were repaired properly and worked properly.  It's not the same as an accident that involved a bent frame.  That should be disclosed.



Exactly.  I don't understand why it was a big deal in the first place.  Unless it is for legal reasons.  They did apprehend the kid that did it, and charges were made.  But if that was the case, why didn't she just say, "hey, for legal reasons I can't talk about it, so I deleted your post."  I'm just confused about the whole situation.


----------



## Addie

NickeeCoco said:


> Ok.  Venting.  About two different things.
> 
> First.  The stove situation.  So, two years ago my in-laws bought a new gas range.  Their 'old' range was four years old and a beautiful 30", double oven KitchenAid.  They asked my husband if we would like it.  He, without saying anything to me, told them no, ours worked fine.  Says the man who only knows how to cook eggs and homefries.
> 
> Well, our range wasn't fine.  One of the big burners didn't work, and still doesn't.  And, it's only a 24" single oven.  I mean, upgrade!  But by the time I heard about it, they had already given it to someone else.



Nickee, my mother had an upstairs neighbor whose husband felt that if it was good enough for his mother, then it should be good enough for his wife. Of course his mother was an immigrant that crowded seven kids into a slum apartment and cooked with one hot plate. And that is how Hazel for years fed her family. Finally she smartened up. One pan, one burner and one ingredient. Today, a veggie, tomorrow a piece of meat. After about two weeks of this, he got the message and bought her a second hand stove. And it HAD GAS! She was in heaven. Of course the electric bill went down, but now he had a gas bill to pay each month. And he never let her forget it until the day she filed for divorce. 

No, I am not suggesting that you go to that extreme. But I thought you might enjoy the story. Her oldest child had already moved out and the youngest was old enough to understand why she was leaving. Even though they loved their father, they all agreed he was a jerk of the biggest kind. He stayed in their six room apartment alone and she and her remaining children moved into a four room apartment. They were all so happy. Except for him. He never did understand why she left him. As he was wont to tell anyone who would listen. 

Eventually she found someone else, remarried and he treated her and the remaining kids like they were royalty. Even paid for two of them to go through college.


----------



## NickeeCoco

Addie said:


> Nickee, my mother had an upstairs neighbor whose husband felt that if it was good enough for his mother, then it should be good enough for his wife. Of course his mother was an immigrant that crowded seven kids into a slum apartment and cooked with one hot plate. And that is how Hazel for years fed her family. Finally she smartened up. One pan, one burner and one ingredient. Today, a veggie, tomorrow a piece of meat. After about two weeks of this, he got the message and bought her a second hand stove. And it HAD GAS! She was in heaven. Of course the electric bill went down, but now he had a gas bill to pay each month. And he never let her forget it until the day she filed for divorce.
> 
> No, I am not suggesting that you go to that extreme. But I thought you might enjoy the story. Her oldest child had already moved out and the youngest was old enough to understand why she was leaving. Even though they loved their father, they all agreed he was a jerk of the biggest kind. He stayed in their six room apartment alone and she and her remaining children moved into a four room apartment. They were all so happy. Except for him. He never did understand why she left him. As he was wont to tell anyone who would listen.
> 
> Eventually she found someone else, remarried and he treated her and the remaining kids like they were royalty. Even paid for two of them to go through college.




Hehe.  Definitely won't be going to that extreme.  He fixed it yesterday.  Something about the igniter was wonky.  I don't know the details, I just grabbed my wine and went into the study to "keep the dog out of the way". He gets grumpy when he fixes things.    He's really not much of a handyman (which is funny 'cos he's an engineer), so it always takes twice as long to do something than it should.


----------



## Addie

NickeeCoco said:


> Hehe.  Definitely won't be going to that extreme.  He fixed it yesterday.  Something about the igniter was wonky.  I don't know the details, I just grabbed my wine and went into the study to "keep the dog out of the way". He gets grumpy when he fixes things.    He's really not much of a handyman (which is funny 'cos he's an engineer), so it always takes twice as long to do something than it should.



If he can fix things, then he is definitely a "keeper". Even if it takes twice as long. It just gives you more time to enjoy your wine!


----------



## taxlady

NickeeCoco said:


> Well, she wasn't too selective about who she posted it to, because a friend of mine, who has only met this woman twice, saw it on Facebook as well.
> 
> At any rate, I am the type of person who keeps my Facebook locked tight.  I have less than a hundred people on my friends list.  I will not have anyone associated with work on my list.  I do not have anyone that I go to school with on my list (I'm going back for the third time.  I'm just collecting degrees, it seems), because they could very well become future co-workers/bosses.  It is not a private space.  It's akin of being at a busy party with everyone you know there, standing on the table and shouting something out.
> 
> And, if the windows were fixed by the insurance company, what's the problem?
> 
> And, she could have been polite about it.  She did not have to be rude.  But that seems to be her MO.  There's been other issues with her, and quite frankly, I'm through.


I agree that you have to be careful what you post and who is on your friends lists. Obviously this woman doesn't understand that.

Yes, she definitely should have been polite about it. Well, you found out more about her character. I would be through with her too.

Nowadays, even if you aren't on FB or other social media, you have far less privacy than we had when we were young. Cameras on phones are ubiquitous. Someone can take a picture and post it on their FB page. Youthful indiscretions can become public very easily. I've heard of someone drinking to excess at a party and the boss got to see the photos, just as an example


----------



## roadfix

I've really cut down on my friends' list on FB over the last couple of years.  And even at my current list of about 25 friends I still feel I'm overexposed.  
I also have many friends and family members who don't want anything to do with FB.


----------



## CarolPa

When my stove that I loved needed repaired, DH priced the parts and they were almost as much as a new one.  So we sold it (got $20 for it) and got a new one.  Then another new one after that.  None has ever baked as good as that old broken down one.


----------



## CarolPa

I have a FB account but all that's on it is my maiden name.  No friends, no pics, no comments.  I got 1 friend request which I ignored.  Step-daughter set it up for me so I could look at her account.  Then we figured out that it was just as easy for me to sign in to her account to look at it.  DUH!


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> I have a FB account but all that's on it is my maiden name.  No friends, no pics, no comments.  I got 1 friend request which I ignored.  Step-daughter set it up for me so I could look at her account.  Then we figured out that it was just as easy for me to sign in to her account to look at it.  DUH!


That only works if there is enough trust.


----------



## roadfix

Why don't people unfold their paper currencies when handing money over?  Half folds I can deal with but I don't like when customers hand me money that's been folded down to a quarter their size or even smaller as they pull them out of their purses, wallets, or pockets.   I politely ask them to unfold them if they're folded down to less than 1/8 their size.  
But of course, there are also many considerate customers that'll unfold the money before handing them over to you.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Why don't people unfold their paper currencies when handing money over?  Half folds I can deal with but I don't like when customers hand me money that's been folded down to a quarter their size or even smaller as they pull them out of their purses, wallets, or pockets.   I politely ask them to unfold them if they're folded down to less than 1/8 their size.
> But of course, there are also many considerate customers that'll unfold the money before handing them over to you.


Because some people are inconsiderate, just don't think.

I don't understand why anyone would keep their money folded more than once, unless they are jamming it into a coin purse. Folded once to fit in a small section of a wallet (particularly when dealing with more than one kind of currency) I understand. I have on rare occasion, when in a big hurry, jammed paper money in a pocket, but if you don't put all the bills together in a pocket, they tend to hop out when you take anything out of that pocket. I sometimes keep bills in a pocket, but always in one wad. I have to unfold it to take off one or more bills.


----------



## Aunt Bea

My mother became a folder when her vision started to fade.  By using various folds and then storing bills in various compartments in her wallet she could keep track of the various denominations.

I only fold when I'm trying to slip someone a gift or donation and don't want them to know how much or how little I'm giving them until after I'm gone!


----------



## roadfix

The worst folders are teenagers.  Many keep their bills folded down to a size of a quarter.

Also, some adult males keep their currencies crumbled in their pockets.  It's funny to watch them pull money out of their pockets and lay them on the counter.....like little kids.   These people don't like cqrrying wallets.


----------



## Andy M.

I'm just the opposite.  I want all my bills laying flat in my wallet, arranged in denomination order, all facing in the same direction, all right side up.

On occasion, when it's really busy at the checkout, I take the bills I get in change and stick them in my pocket so I don't hold up the line arranging my wallet.

My two daughters, who both started out working retail, taught me to hand neatly arranged bills to the cashier when I pay.  They are well beyond retail now but I still hand neatly arranged bills to the cashier.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> *I'm just the opposite.  I want all my bills laying flat in my wallet, arranged in denomination order, all facing in the same direction, all right side up.
> 
> On occasion, when it's really busy at the checkout, I take the bills I get in change and stick them in my pocket so I don't hold up the line arranging my wallet.
> *
> My two daughters, who both started out working retail, taught me to hand neatly arranged bills to the cashier when I pay.  They are well beyond retail now but I still hand neatly arranged bills to the cashier.


 You just described me. But, when you stick those bills in your pocket, aren't they all together and folded once or twice?

I got ripped off at the bank. I counted my money carefully while standing in line. I handed the pile of twenties to the cashier. She arranged all the bills neatly while counting. She counted one twenty less than I had counted. I thought I must have miscounted. Then it happened again. I figure with all that rearranging of my money, she managed to drop a twenty somewhere. That was when I started arranging my money neatly. It never happened again, even though I kept going to that bank.


----------



## Cheryl J

Same as Andy and Taxy here.  All the bills in order, facing the same way, right side up.  That's the way the cashiers have to put it in their cash drawers, so I figure it's only considerate to them and anyone who might be waiting behind me.  I wouldn't want to hold up a line while they reconfigure the bills before they go in the cash drawer.  Coins go on top of the open and unfolded bills.   

I don't use cash very often, though.  Almost always credit or debit.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> ...But, when you stick those bills in your pocket, aren't they all together and folded once or twice?...




Folded once and into the pocket briefly.  When I get back home, they go into the wallet.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> Same as Andy and Taxy here.  All the bills in order, facing the same way, right side up.  That's the way the cashiers have to put it in their cash drawers, so I figure it's only considerate to them and anyone who might be waiting behind me.  I wouldn't want to hold up a line while they reconfigure the bills before they go in the cash drawer.  Coins go on top of the open and unfolded bills.
> 
> I don't use cash very often, though.  Almost always credit or debit.




Same here.  I also usually use the CC.  I'll also jam the change into my pocket so as not to hold up the line, then take it out later, smooth it out, and put it in my wallet according to denomination.

DH uses a wide rubber band as a "wallet".  His bills are folded twice and rubber banded to his license and CCs.


----------



## JoAnn L.

How about when the checker hands you back your change? In what order do you like it?


----------



## Chef Munky

I've seen kids hand over quarter sized bills to a cashier.Boggled my mind as to why are you hiding something or just trying to be being cool messing around with the cashiers time? Chalked it up to after watching his behavior with his buddies.Must be a street cred thing. Jerkdom!

My kids have stopped shoving money into their pockets.
They found out if I find it doing laundry.I keep it.
They hate those txts "Thanks for the $20.00"


----------



## Andy M.

JoAnn L. said:


> How about when the checker hands you back your change? In what order do you like it?




I'd *LIKE* it ready to go into my wallet but that doesn't happen.  I don't expect a lot when I get bills back from a cashier.  They are often turned every which way but are usually in denomination order.


----------



## taxlady

I get annoyed when the money comes out of the ATM all higgeldy-piggledy.


----------



## Addie

JoAnn L. said:


> How about when the checker hands you back your change? In what order do you like it?



Very rarely does your receipt come out even with two zeros. It is usually $37.34. Somewhere around that. So out of two 20 dollar bills she is going to give me back $2.66. Start with the four pennies and then the two dimes and next the two one dollar bills, or one two dollar bill. I can see the amount of change in the cash register window, so she should be counting it back to be so it totals what the register is showing what my change should be. 

BTW, how come there are very few male cash register workers. They are always female. It is the males that are the baggers. I wonder if it is because they pay females less than a male in the same job? And cash register does pay more than a bagger.


----------



## roadfix

I do exactly the same as Andy as described.

I also don't like cashiers giving back cash change and the receipt together.   I realize it saves them time to do this in one motion and the most practical way to hand out change and receipt.   I don't think there's any other way.   I remember back when cashiers used to ask if you wanted the receipt thrown in the bag...




Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> Very rarely does your receipt come out even with two zeros. It is usually $37.34. Somewhere around that. So out of two 20 dollar bills she is going to give me back $2.66. Start with the four pennies and then the two dimes and next the two one dollar bills, or one two dollar bill. I can see the amount of change in the cash register window, so she should be counting it back to be so it totals what the register is showing what my change should be.
> 
> *BTW, how come there are very few male cash register workers. They are always female. It is the males that are the baggers. I wonder if it is because they pay females less than a male in the same job?* And cash register does pay more than a bagger.


Huh? I see both in every capacity in every retail store I walk into, even in this small town. Males are not just baggers.


----------



## Cheryl J

taxlady said:


> I get annoyed when the money comes out of the ATM all higgeldy-piggledy.


 
Me too.  ATM cash never comes out all even.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Huh? I see both in every capacity in every retail store I walk into, even in this small town. Males are not just baggers.



Not in this area. And the baggers are usually elderly men who are supplementing their retirement. Or sometimes they are elderly women.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Not in this area. And the baggers are usually elderly men who are supplementing their retirement. Or sometimes they are elderly women.




We have both male and female cashiers and baggers here.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Not in this area. And the baggers are usually elderly men who are supplementing their retirement. Or sometimes they are elderly women.



Interesting. Both cashiers and baggers are usually high school or college students here. And both genders do both jobs.


----------



## Andy M.

In our Market Basket, I see mostly women but some men (including handicapped ones) as cashiers.  Most baggers are men.  Some seniors and some teens.  SO always wants to get into the register line that has her favorite bagger.  Then she tells him what to do anyway.


----------



## Addie

In my MB, the old men bag, teen boys collect the carts in the parking lot, and the cashiers are all girls. If it real slow at your register, the girls are expected to go to a line that is long and help bagging there. When males are bagging they are expected to cover two registers that are next to each other. You may not think so, but they do have a system. And it works.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Like *Andy*, I like my money all nice and neat. I used to have a wallet with a high-low section for the bills. I would put my "working money" in the upper section so it was easier to access, then the $20s would go into the lower level. Kinda like a restaurant having you sit at the bar while you wait for your table to be readied.  Now that I have just one section, I fold each $20 in half and tuck the cut edges into the side seam. That way if I need another $20 it's easy to grab. Pretty much, though, we just charge every danged thing over $10 and then pay off the entire bill each money. You need to have good money management skills to trust yourself, though. We're good - I'm a tightwad. 



JoAnn L. said:


> How about when the checker hands you back your change? In what order do you like it?


Coins first, then the paper. It seems like whenever a cashier puts the coin on top of the paper we both end up picking coins up from everywhere!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Whether I'm shopping the little grocery up the corner or Market Basket, the age or gender of either bagger or cashier is a mixed bag. At MB, usually see the older front-end workers if it's early in the day - school hour times. But once school is out either for the day or for the summer, it's usually the younger set. 

I don't care if I get old or young, male or female as a cashier, but I do prefer teen girls or elder gents to pack my goods. They tend to NOT put the ice cream under the boxes of tissues.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Whether I'm shopping the little grocery up the corner or Market Basket, the age or gender of either bagger or cashier is a mixed bag. At MB, usually see the older front-end workers if it's early in the day - school hour times. But once school is out either for the day or for the summer, it's usually the younger set.
> 
> I don't care if I get old or young, male or female as a cashier, but I do prefer teen girls or elder gents to pack my goods. They tend to NOT put the ice cream under the boxes of tissues.


It's the pointy corner of a milk carton in my bananas that I hate or soft things under the cans. Why are my tomatoes squished?


----------



## taxlady

We went to supper at a mid-range resto. The waiters wore white shirts and ties. So did the bus boys. We dressed a little nice. Why do most people go somewhere nice and wear shorts and a t-shirt when it isn't even hot? Almost no one was dressed "nicely". I really wish people would dress up a little. It wouldn't bug me if some of the customers dressed that casually, but almost all of them?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> We went to supper at a mid-range resto. The waiters wore white shirts and ties. So did the bus boys. We dressed a little nice. Why do most people go somewhere nice and wear shorts and a t-shirt when it isn't even hot? Almost no one was dressed "nicely". I really wish people would dress up a little. It wouldn't bug me if some of the customers dressed that casually, but almost all of them?



Many years ago I was just entering a restaurant. It was a somewhat fancy one with tablecloths and napkins, several pieces of silverware, etc. My partner and I were just entering and behind us was another couple. The owner was just about to seat us and asked us to please wait a moment. He asked the couple behind us to follow him. We were watching to see what was happening. He brought them outside to the big picture window and pointed to a sign. Jacket and tie required for the men. No jeans allowed. 

"See, I told you to dress nicely. You always look like a slob. Give me the credit card. I am going to eat without you. Go home and wait for me." 

He handed her the card and then slunk away. I felt so bad for her. I asked my partner if he minded if I invited her to come to our table. The three of us had a lovely meal, and my partner picked up her tab also. I have the feeling that there was a big fight in that home that night.


----------



## Addie

My youngest son had a semi-formal wedding. A lot of the guests who were friends of the bride came from out of state. On the wedding at the bottom, it stated that the wedding was a formal affair. The wedding was at eight p.m. with the reception after. Evidently some of them (make that a lot) young folks can't read or just didn't care. Who do you know that wears short and a tank top to a wedding? My son was horrified. He wanted to ask them to leave. His bride talked him out of it. But she never acknowledged their presence at the reception. Poo and his bride went to every table to thank them for coming. Except for the one with the improperly dressed guests. I am sure the improperly dressed guests felt very uncomfortable. The majority of women were in gowns and the others had fancy cocktail dresses on. I hope the young people learned a lesson that night. 

My son and his new bride told the photographer not to take any pictures of the offending guests. He didn't want them in their wedding album. I told him was behaving in a very rude manner. After all they came from out of state. And I didn't raise him to be rude. 

"No one is going to insult my wife and turn our wedding into a circus for themselves." I walked away. I had my say. And her mother felt that her daughter and my son were doing the right thing. Not my place to interfere. We don't talk about it to this day.


----------



## CharlieD

Andy M. said:


> I'm just the opposite.  I want all my bills laying flat in my wallet, arranged in denomination order, all facing in the same direction, all right side up.
> 
> On occasion, when it's really busy at the checkout, I take the bills I get in change and stick them in my pocket so I don't hold up the line arranging my wallet.
> 
> My two daughters, who both started out working retail, taught me to hand neatly arranged bills to the cashier when I pay.  They are well beyond retail now but I still hand neatly arranged bills to the cashier.




Exactly the same here.


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## CharlieD

Maybe it's the culture I was brought in, maybe I am too old fashion, but I can't stand jeans at the weddings or other such affairs. People go to church and synagogue like that, drives me crazy. Was at the funeral one time, this one girl was wearing skirt so short you could see her tonsils. Disgusting.  


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## JoAnn L.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Like *Andy*, I like my money all nice and neat. I used to have a wallet with a high-low section for the bills. I would put my "working money" in the upper section so it was easier to access, then the $20s would go into the lower level. Kinda like a restaurant having you sit at the bar while you wait for your table to be readied.  Now that I have just one section, I fold each $20 in half and tuck the cut edges into the side seam. That way if I need another $20 it's easy to grab. Pretty much, though, we just charge every danged thing over $10 and then pay off the entire bill each money. You need to have good money management skills to trust yourself, though. We're good - I'm a tightwad.
> 
> 
> Coins first, then the paper. It seems like whenever a cashier puts the coin on top of the paper we both end up picking coins up from everywhere!



Around here they lay the paper in your hand first and then they lay the coins on top of that, then receipt on top of that. I don't like it that way but what are you going to say??


----------



## roadfix

JoAnn L. said:


> Around here they lay the paper in your hand first and then they lay the coins on top of that, then receipt on top of that. I don't like it that way but what are you going to say??



Around these parts the receipt is at the bottom.  The coins are not hidden under the receipt......less chance of coin droppage.


----------



## taxlady

Driving home from getting the propane tank filled, I had to honk at a driver doing something stupid. We were making a left turn from one of two left turn lanes, while the left arrow was on. The driver in the lane to my left obliviously decided to change into my lane in the middle of the turn, without checking if the space was vacant. 

Not only is it illegal in Quebec to change lanes in an intersection, it's just plain not a good idea. It's also not such a hot idea to change lanes without making sure there isn't someone else there. What is the matter with people? \end rant.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxy, I'm glad you safely won the dodge-em car game. Sounds like that guy did not know two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.  There's probably a Physics term for that, but I got only as far as Chem.

******************************



CharlieD said:


> ... I can't stand jeans at the weddings or other such affairs. *People go to church and synagogue like that, drives me crazy...*


I always thought that way, too. Then we moved to MA and settled into our new parish. It seemed that Father was a bit more liberal about attire than our pastor back in OH. When I mentioned to him that one of the younger Eucharistic ministers seemed to be lightly clad in her shorts and tank-top, he said something that made me rethink things. He said "I would rather the youth actually show up and participate in church and community than stay away because I wanted them to dress up". Skirts and shorts were still held to a modern Catholic length, though. With hands straight down along the leg, the hem better not come above a finger tip!


----------



## CharlieD

There is the concept in Judaism, of bringing people to Torah, rather than Torah to people. Meaning not to bring Torah to the lower level, rather bring the people higher up. But, that is not even the point. I am in airport in line right now, the family in front of us has thus Yong teenager daughter. She is wearing a bra and a ripped tank top over it. How or why anybody would allow their 13/14 year old do something like that is beyond me. The boarders between nice/modest/casual/sloty / formal/business have been erased. Maybe I am to much of a snob, but I do not like it. Never will. 


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## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> ...Skirts and shorts were still held to a modern Catholic length, though. With hands straight down along the leg, the hem better not come above a finger tip!



Ill bet you wore a plaid skirt and blazer to catholic school.


----------



## Souschef

CharlieD said:


> There is the concept in Judaism, of bringing people to Torah, rather than Torah to people. Meaning not to bring Torah to the lower level, rather bring the people higher up. But, that is not even the point. I am in airport in line right now, the family in front of us has thus Yong teenager daughter. She is wearing a bra and a ripped tank top over it. How or why anybody would allow their 13/14 year old do something like that is beyond me. The boarders between nice/modest/casual/sloty / formal/business have been erased. Maybe I am to much of a snob, but I do not like it. Never will.
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


Tovarich! My grandparents came from Odessa! I agree with you. Kayelle and I remember that many years ago, a slip showing was a ladies' embarrassment. 
Nowadays, they think nothing of having their bra straps showing. What's up with that??


----------



## CrazyCatLady

We went to a classical music concert tonight which was absolute heaven! My DH looked absolutely astounding in his grey suit, bold blue dress shirt, and multi-colored paisley tie.

I was dressed in a long sleeveless teal dress that reached nearly to the floor with a matching teal shrug, suntan knee-high hose and black ballet flats. I wore my pearl drop earrings, the matching pearl strand necklace and bracelet, and my marquise sapphire and diamond ring.

When we arrived at the auditorium, we were horrified to see everyone dressed casually, even in t-shirts and shorts! This was a Mozart and Schumann concert, and we were completely taken aback.

The musicians were wearing black dress pants and white dress shirts. We stood in line to congratulate the musicians for a superior performance, and they thought we looked terrific! 

The musicians actually thanked us for dressing appropriately. However, this was in a college campus auditorium. Maybe that makes a difference, I guess, but *really*?

Did we miss something here? Does no one dress up for these classical music concerts any more? Holy cow!


----------



## Addie

Pirate and I got into a conversation one day. He asked me about the dress code when I was just a kid. We were watching an old B&W movie from the 40's. He thought it was so neat that all the men wore hats and tipped them if they passed a women. Men wore suits, women dresses, except during WWII when they went to work in the factories. Women put on a hat just to go grocery shopping. Gloves were an absolute! And they always wore heels. Sensible heels. Even little kids had a dress code. 

We always wore boots when it was raining. Sensible shoes, go to church shoes on Sunday. We always changed our clothes when we came home from school, or from church. Even little girls wore a slip. Boys wore T shirts under their shirts. 

Baseball players wore baseball caps. Everyone else wore a hat. Pirate always states that he wishes he lived in that time. So much so, that I may give up watching any movie from the 40's when he is home. 

Just a footnote. My second husband came from the south. During the whole time we were married, he always stood up when I entered the room. Along with a decent dress code, proper manners seem to have gone out the window.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I like casual. At home, I live in sweatpants and sweatshirts, or cut-off sweatpants and t-shirts. However, I do have standards when I go beyond my property line. IF we ever go someplace nice, I don't wear jeans. We just don't go to those places often just because we don't. The fact that many people now wear more casual wear to church for regular services doesn't bother me. After all, people for millennium have dressed in the fashion of the day when attending church. At least I have a pair of "Sunday jeans". 



CharlieD said:


> There is the concept in Judaism, of bringing people to Torah, rather than Torah to people...


Without getting all theological, it's the difference between "the letter of the law" and "the spirit of the law". That teaching seemed to have caused a little trouble about 2000 years ago. 



Andy M. said:


> Ill bet you wore a plaid skirt and blazer to catholic school.


Yes, I did. However, I attended school when the minimum length was no shorter than touching the floor when kneeling. I'm old.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> ...
> 
> Yes, I did. However, I attended school when the minimum length was no shorter than touching the floor when kneeling. I'm old.


I went to public school and that was the rule when I was in junior high, what's called middle school now.


----------



## CarolPa

I worked as a cashier right out of high school and was taught to keep bills all facing the same way, so I keep my money in my wallet the same way as Andy, all the same direction, by denomination.  When I am given change, I walk away from the register, then stop and put it in my wallet.  At that time it does not go by denomination, but when I get home I fix it.  

Dress codes.  I believe that fancy restaurants have the right to request a certain dress code if it's posted, but otherwise, I don't think it matters what a person is wearing.  I see a lot of very casual clothes in church but I don't think God cares what a person has on.  The important part is that they are in church.  A friend was getting married and one of the guys in our group always wore jeans.  Never dress clothes.  The other guys told him he was going to have to get a suit etc to wear to the wedding but the girl spoke up and said he is her friend and she wants him at her wedding no matter what he wears.  When I was young and went out to the dance clubs, we never trusted the guys who were dressed in suits.


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> That only works if there is enough trust.



Believe me, I don't know enough about Facebook to do anything I shouldn't be doing.  What could I do?  All I do is look at pictures my family members have posted.  I don't post any comments.


----------



## Andy M.

I grew up in a different era.  When I was 14 I went on my first airplane.  Mom dressed my up in a shirt, tie and sports jacket to fly on the plane.  

Today I still tend to overdress for occasions.  When I go to a "classy" restaurant, I wear slacks and a shirt with a collar.  Most people do.  When I see a guy come in wearing jean shorts, a muscle beach shirt and a beat up old cap, It bothers me.  I realize that's my problem.  If it's OK with the restaurant, it should be OK with me.


----------



## CarolPa

Andy, I grew up in the same era as you.  LOL  I used to feel the same way as you do. I always made my step-children dress up for church, holidays, etc.  I still dress up when I go most places.  It's fine to wear what makes you feel good.  I just no longer judge others by what they are wearing.  I think this is because DH is a very casual dresser compared to me and I know he is a good decent person in spite of his blue jeans and tennis shoes.  After 37 years, I'm used to it.


----------



## CarolPa

Here is an article that popped up on my AOL screen this morning and reminded me of the discussion we had recently about mosquitos.

9 Foods That Make You Tastier to Mosquitos | The Daily Meal


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I grew up in a different era.  When I was 14 I went on my first airplane.  Mom dressed my up in a shirt, tie and sports jacket to fly on the plane.
> 
> Today I still tend to overdress for occasions.  When I go to a "classy" restaurant, I wear slacks and a shirt with a collar.  Most people do.  When I see a guy come in wearing jean shorts, a muscle beach shirt and a beat up old cap, It bothers me.  I realize that's my problem.  If it's OK with the restaurant, it should be OK with me.


35 years ago slacks and and shirt with a collar would have been considered awfully casual for a classy resto.


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> Believe me, I don't know enough about Facebook to do anything I shouldn't be doing.  What could I do?  All I do is look at pictures my family members have posted.  I don't post any comments.


What could someone do? Post rude comments; post embarrassing pictures; make inflammatory posts; harass people on the friends list; change profile info; etc. etc.


----------



## CharlieD

Cooking Goddess said:


> ".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Without getting all theological, it's the difference between "the letter of the law" and "the spirit of the law". That teaching seemed to have caused a little trouble about 2000 years ago.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> :




Not sure what you meant 


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## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> 35 years ago slacks and and shirt with a collar would have been considered awfully casual for a classy resto.




I know.  35 years ago I would have worn a suit and tie.

I was referring to modern times.


----------



## Kayelle

Since we're talking about dress up attire that's no longer done, even for dress up, how about bare legs with dresses? I sure never liked panty hose, but they were better than nothing! I refuse to wear a dress now because of that. Heels without hose feel terrible, and flawless legs are rare even for the very young. There's just something so unfinished about someone in a dress and no hose.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle, the "no-stockings" thing bugs me, too. It annoys me to see pretty, all-dressed-up TV anchors with their pricey dresses...and bare legs. Yuck. Looks completely unfinished.




CharlieD said:


> Not sure what you meant


It's long and theological, Charlie. Check your Personal Messages.


----------



## roadfix

Cooking Goddess said:


> It annoys me to see pretty, all-dressed-up TV anchors with their pricey dresses...and bare legs. Yuck. Looks completely unfinished.


Being the leg man that I am, I completely agree!   Take me back to the early 70's!


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> Believe me, I don't know enough about Facebook to do anything I shouldn't be doing.  What could I do?  All I do is look at pictures my family members have posted.  I don't post any comments.



I am there only to see the pictures of the grandkids. Every so often one of their friends will post something I consider inappropriate. I will remark that Mary (not the real name) please remind your friends that your grandmother reads this stuff. That is all I ever have to say about it. One of them told her friends that her grandmother was very old fashion. So please don't use bad language. Or she will yell at me for having friends with no class. She then sent me a private email telling me she hopes her little white lie works. She doesn't like it when they swear either. But it works. I am seeing less and less swearing on my grandkids sites. 

My grandson's wife watches what is posted on her daughter's site real closely. If she doesn't like what is on there, she will block that person from viewing her daughter's site or posting on it. She checks her site every day. Sometimes two or three times a day. I have to give her credit. She is one heck of a Mom.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Addie said:


> Pirate and I got into a conversation one day. He asked me about the dress code when I was just a kid. We were watching an old B&W movie from the 40's. He thought it was so neat that all the men wore hats and tipped them if they passed a women. Men wore suits, women dresses, except during WWII when they went to work in the factories. Women put on a hat just to go grocery shopping. Gloves were an absolute! And they always wore heels. Sensible heels. Even little kids had a dress code.
> 
> We always wore boots when it was raining. Sensible shoes, go to church shoes on Sunday. We always changed our clothes when we came home from school, or from church. Even little girls wore a slip. Boys wore T shirts under their shirts.
> 
> Baseball players wore baseball caps. Everyone else wore a hat. Pirate always states that he wishes he lived in that time. So much so, that I may give up watching any movie from the 40's when he is home.
> 
> Just a footnote. My second husband came from the south. During the whole time we were married, he always stood up when I entered the room. Along with a decent dress code, proper manners seem to have gone out the window.



I think you're right! I remember the time when Mom and I went out shopping and we dressed nicely. I wasn't allowed to wear jeans until college. They always felt uncomfortable so Mom made me long skirts I wore with decent shirts. 

However....I'd jump at a chance to hear Shumann any time, even if I need to wear a.............oh no never mind! LOL!


----------



## CarolPa

taxlady said:


> What could someone do? Post rude comments; post embarrassing pictures; make inflammatory posts; harass people on the friends list; change profile info; etc. etc.



Well, I would do none of those things.  Not to my step-daughter or anyone, for that matter.  I know there are people who do such things, but I don't understand what happiness they get out of that.  I just want to look at the pages of my relatives, look at the kids pics, etc.  I do not comment.  They don't even know I'm there.  I also don't pay any attention to comments that others make to my step-daughter.  Those are her friends and none of my business.  She's in her 40's, way beyond needing or wanting my interference.  Actually, I haven't noticed anything innapropriate.  Off color maybe, but they are adults.

The reason I don't want to do this with my own account is that when I set it up, I instantly got a friend request from a cousin who hasn't bothered with me all our lives.  All of a sudden she wants to be friends on Facebook.  If I friend her, I will get friend requests from all the other relatives that are on her list of friends.  If you couldn't be friends with me in 69 years, don't start now.


----------



## CarolPa

When I met DH back in the 70s I didn't own a pair of jeans.  He rarely wore dress pants and I think I made him uncomfortable being in slacks all the time.  I now own jeans but still wear a lot of slacks but it doesn't bother him now.  He wears what he wants and I wear what I want.


----------



## Addie

My grandson's daughter is only 11 y.o. so her parents keep a close eye on her. She has long natural blonde hair and huge blue eyes. An absolute stunner. Scary! And she is just discovering boys. Oh dear. Her father is having a quiet mental fit!


----------



## taxlady

Carol, I didn't think YOU would do any of those things. But the ability to do those things is why it requires trust to give someone a password to FB.


----------



## Addie

I got tired of having so many passwords for all the sites I go to. So now (even against the advice of all the experts) I have just one password for everywhere I go. The only difference is I sometimes will capitalize it. So if I put it in wrong, I know that I have to use a capital at the beginning. My son Spike knows what it is. He needs to know so he can notify people in the event of my demise. And for the financial sites such as PayPal. 

Spike also needs to know my computer password because I can screw up this computer really bad. He is the one I run to for HELP! I don't know what I would do without him. When he is finished fixing it, he walks around shaking his head. Every so often he will give me a look. Like as if he is saying, "I don't believe you did that."

I have done some things to protect my computer against a possible hacker. Such as having the first name in my list of phone numbers as a7Aa1aBa for the name and then an overseas type phone number. When a hacker is trying to get in, they often go for the address book. And they start with the letter. This was on the advice of a friend that helped install and now works on their system for 911 for the county where she lives. She has a Doctorate in Computer Sciences. So I do trust her when she says something about computers.


----------



## Dawgluver

Our idiot neighbor decided to mow his lawn with his huge rider at 7:30 this morning.  We have rules in the subdivison covenants that state that no mowing, weed whacking or other equipment is to be used before 9 am, but this guy doesn't feel any of the rules apply to him.  I thought about going out and ripping him a new one, but he wouldn't care.


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> Our idiot neighbor decided to mow his lawn with his huge rider at 7:30 this morning.  We have rules in the subdivison covenants that state that no mowing, weed whacking or other equipment is to be used before 9 am, but this guy doesn't feel any of the rules apply to him.  I thought about going out and ripping him a new one, but he wouldn't care.



Are there any penalties for this infraction?


----------



## Dawgluver

Nope.  This is the same guy who parked all his 6 landscaping trucks in his driveway.  The County Attourney had to ban his equipment after we all complained as we're zoned residential, not business, and even though the sheriff banged on his door every day, he refused to answer.  They also don't pay the rec assoc. dues, but still use the pool, they just show up with the family when someone else is there and the gate is unlocked.  He's also wiped out a number of my pine tree branches with his trucks and he and his wife have both taken out my mailbox several times, though his wife is the only one to admit to it.

Lovely folks


----------



## Caslon

El Pollo Loco is a fast food drive thru. I like their chicken. Upon reading the tons of wasteful junk mail I receive every week, I saw an El Pollo Loco coupon that read like this....

A big $5 on the top left corner of the coupon along with a picture and words saying a 2 pc. meal.  

It only saves you $5 with that coupon when you read the fine print and order a ton of other items with that so called 2 pc meal $5 coupon.   Not fair.  It's like, they draw you in with a promise of savings, but you have to read the really small fine print on that small coupon.  Not fair!


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> El Pollo Loco is a fast food drive thru. I like their chicken. Upon reading the tons of wasteful junk mail I receive every week, I saw an El Pollo Loco coupon that read like this....
> 
> A big $5 on the top left corner of the coupon along with a picture and words saying a 2 pc. meal.
> 
> It only saves you $5 with that coupon when you read the fine print and order a ton of other items with that so called 2 pc meal $5 coupon.   Not fair.  It's like, they draw you in with a promise of savings, but you have to read the really small fine print on that small coupon.  Not fair!



Like I always get coupons for items that I usually buy. Read the small print before you start cutting out. "For use at Walmart only." I don't shop Walmart and don't even have one close by. I can find the same coupons without the small print in other flyers I receive. I now have the Walmart flyers blocked.


----------



## Caslon

When I complained to the local district manager, she almost said the same...read the small print! I still say they got me driving to El Pollo Loco with that coupon under almost false pretenses.  Lesson learned.

A coupon exclaiming a 2 pc meal with a large  $5  printed in the top left corner of that coupon...come on! Not fair.  The print is tiny.  Clever if devious advertising, if you ask me.


----------



## GotGarlic

Life is not fair, Caslon. Don't let this eat you up.


----------



## Andy M.

Fine print of that kind is nothing more than an overt attempt to deceive you.  Not something a reputable business should do.


----------



## roadfix

My eyes are old.   I have trouble reading the fine print with my reading glasses.
They should do away with putting restrictions like that in fine print.  They bait you. 
"Cannot be combined with other offers" or "coupon expires on 6/30/2015" are acceptable in fine print.


----------



## Andy M.

Some of the fine print is so small I need a magnifying glass to read it.


----------



## Caslon

That district manager who manages the owners 3 El Pollo Loco stores    emailed me a very sarcastic reply too.  She probably won't even bother to send me a coupon for a free 2 pc. meal.

It used to be district representatives  of major companies would try and do anything to avoid bad public relations.   
She pretty much replied to me with an insult condescending email reply, and asked me.."what will please you?"  Really sarcastic like.  I'm not getting any free meal coupon in the mail. 

I said her off with the joke about the genie who grants 2 workers and a manager their wishes at their lunch break.  The first two wish for their hearts desire and it is granted by the genie.  The manager uses her wish that the   two be back after lunch as usual.  Cruel !


----------



## roadfix

Most upper management of El Pollo Loco got rid of their company stock since it went public almost a year ago.   That says a lot about the company.
As a retail investor I own a bunch of shares of LOCO.   At this point in time I wish I didn't own any.   But I do like their chicken.


----------



## taxlady

I think that coupons like that are very poor marketing. What's the chances that Caslon goes to a Polo Loco soon?


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> Nope. This is the same guy who parked all his 6 landscaping trucks in his driveway. The County Attourney had to ban his equipment after we all complained as we're zoned residential, not business, and even though the sheriff banged on his door every day, he refused to answer. They also don't pay the rec assoc. dues, but still use the pool, they just show up with the family when someone else is there and the gate is unlocked. He's also wiped out a number of my pine tree branches with his trucks and he and his wife have both taken out my mailbox several times, though his wife is the only one to admit to it.
> 
> Lovely folks


 
Ugh, what a nightmare neighbor, Dawg.   Hopefully the law will catch up to him before he does any more damage or tries to skate under the radar.  Can't stand it when people get away with stuff like that, when everyone else is following the rules.   

We don't have an HOA here in my neighborhood, but I (and other neighbors close by) are so frustrated with the guy who lives directly behind me.  We share a common fence, his back yard is next to mine.  He is in love with his godforsaken leaf blower and uses it EVERY SINGLE MORNING between 8 and 9.  That's not particularly 'early', but he is the only one on the block who disturbs the quiet enjoyment of this neighborhood.  I dislike those things so much.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's so irritating, Cheryl.  Some people just have no respect.  I remember the previous guy (who lived in the house before the neighbor from hell) using his leafblower at 6:30 am on a Sunday morning.  I did go out in my jammies and ripped him a new one, and it never happened again.  The current guy couldn't care less, and just does whatever he wants.  And takes no responsibility for his actions.


----------



## taxlady

That's unacceptable. Aren't there city bylaws about noise?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> Our idiot neighbor decided to mow his lawn with his huge rider at 7:30 this morning...


Suddenly, the Wicked Witch to my north doesn't seem so evil. Dawg, I'm sorry to hear you have to put up with such a...jerk.

I had to admit that my neighbor-from-hell has softened up a bit. We talk pleasantly to each other. Almost friendly-like. It's amazing what happens to a person when a big change occurs in their life. For my neighbor, her son decided to go into the military after one year of college. He told her college seemed too easy, he wanted a challenge, and he figured it wouldn't hurt to have the advantage of financial support for college from his military service. He wanted to be a Marine. She was afraid for him, so she talked to a friend who is an Army recruiter. He, in turn, convinced the young man that the Army was good...and he then trained to be a Ranger!  After a year in Korea he came home for a few weeks leave. Sadly, it looks like he'll be part of the group being sent to the middle east on this latest round of deployments.


----------



## Addie

Early in the morning and I have a case of severe frustration. I am looking for the post that I think taxlady made about removing the top of the McCormick grinder for the peppercorns. Someone please come to my rescue. 

How can I use the peppercorns in the McCormick grinder for my personal grinder? I asked my son to pick me up some peppercorns.  And he brought home the more expensive one. I just wanted some peppercorns. My personal grinder has a nice handle on it and is so much easier to use for my old, very old hands. 

SO HOW DO I GET THE DANG GRINDER OFF THE MCCORMICK JAR? Help Please!!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> Early in the morning and I have a case of severe frustration. I am looking for the post that I think taxlady made about removing the top of the McCormick grinder for the peppercorns. Someone please come to my rescue.
> 
> How can I use the peppercorns in the McCormick grinder for my personal grinder? I asked my son to pick me up some peppercorns.  And he brought home the more expensive one. I just wanted some peppercorns. My personal grinder has a nice handle on it and is so much easier to use for my old, very old hands.
> 
> SO HOW DO I GET THE DANG GRINDER OFF THE MCCORMICK JAR? Help Please!!



I remember a post from Kayelle about this refillable grinder from Trader Joe's.


----------



## Addie

Thanks Aunt Bea. Hopefully she will come on today and see my plea. Thanks. If not I will send her a personal note.


----------



## Caslon

Addie said:


> Early in the morning and I have a case of severe frustration. I am looking for the post that I think taxlady made about removing the top of the McCormick grinder for the peppercorns. Someone please come to my rescue.
> 
> How can I use the peppercorns in the McCormick grinder for my personal grinder? I asked my son to pick me up some peppercorns.  And he brought home the more expensive one. I just wanted some peppercorns. My personal grinder has a nice handle on it and is so much easier to use for my old, very old hands.
> 
> SO HOW DO I GET THE DANG GRINDER OFF THE MCCORMICK JAR? Help Please!!



The Trader Joe's refillable grinder looks like the ticket, but not everyone has a store near them.
One YouTube video shows this big black guy who looks as strong as an ox and is able to muscle the grinder top off the McCormick bottle with one hand.  Not everyone is that strong.  Here's a link to another method.

Reuse a "disposable" spice mill


----------



## Caslon

taxlady said:


> I think that coupons like that are very poor marketing. What's the chances that Caslon goes to a Polo Loco soon?



I like their chicken tho!  I'm still doing a slow burn about the email reply sent to me by the manager of 3 owned Loco franchises. Did I mention that I emailed her with the amount I was charged with that coupon in order to explain my case to her? She replied that yes, I was overcharged by 1.444  cents!
SARCASTIC AS ALL GET OUT!  

Has anyone had bad experiences with a bad property management  company manager or an apartment complex manager?  This El Pollo Loco manager representative  treated me exactly like that. I'm almost sure she had a previous job as one of those.

Anyways, I've saved her sarcastic reply to me.  I'm looking into finding a regional district manager that represents El Pollo Loco at a corporate level, not some hired management company hired by the owner of 3 of their stores.

Let me give you a contrasting experience with other company reps who are true public relations rep types.

I lamented to a local major bakery public relations rep about how the bread I've been buying was small and really spongy. As some may recall, I posted a topic about here. Many of you replied.
He not only called me and talked with me about it (very sympathetic too)  but he brought over a box with 7 loafs of bread by different brands to try.  7 loafs for free!   

Another example of how a good public relations rep should act...
I got a six pack of 7 UP with one of the cans totally empty. We have a 7UP bottling plant here and I took it to their public relations guy.  He apologized and came out with a free CASE of 7 Up!  24 cans! 

Now contrast that to that sarcastic email I received from that El Pollo Loco rep for a franchise owner.  

I need to bump this issue and her sarcastic reply upstairs more, if I can.  I'm looking into doing so. A truly *corporate regional public relations rep*, if I can contact one.  Not necessarily about the coupon issue, but rather, her response to me.

Thanks for letting me vent about it here.


----------



## Dawgluver

We picked up one of the worst pizzas ever last year from one of our local pizza franchises whose quality had always been consistently good.  I emailed their website, and the manager got right back to me, apologized profusely, and gave us $20 credit on our next purchase.


----------



## Caslon

Dawgluver said:


> We picked up one of the worst pizzas ever last year from one of our local pizza franchises whose quality had always been consistently good.  I emailed their website, and the manager got right back to me, apologized profusely, and gave us $20 credit on our next purchase.



Funny you should mention pizza. I bought a Dominos medium 12" pizza last night.  When I opened the box, it looked kinda small.  I measured it and it wasn't 12" but rather barely 11" in diameter.  I'm not saying it was intentional, but I'm taking my tape measure next time I go for a carry out pizza at that Dominos store. Remember the controversy Subway got into when it was discovered their "foot long" subs weren't 12" long?

I just sent an email form to Dominos describing this occurrence along with the store address and time I walked in.    That site says "A representative will contact you shortly." I'm waiting to see what type of response I get.


----------



## Cheryl J

A few years back, maybe 8 years or so, I bought 2 lbs. of Farmer John bacon for our family Christmas breakfast.  The strips were so thin they wouldn't pull apart without breaking, and were almost all fat.  I emailed the company, and 2 weeks later I got a handwritten apology letter with *6* $5 off coupons good for any Farmer John product.


----------



## Caslon

I got a reply email from corporate Dominos thanking me for my concerns and that he will contact the owner of that store and let him know about it.  It seems that franchises that are locally owned don't exactly bend over backwards to keep you happy.  You could send corporate a photo of the worst looking restaurant product and all corporate will do is thank you and send along your concerns to the local owner of that franchise,  nothing more, not even an apology or maybe a gift coupon to make up for it. It's just feedback to them. I wonder why they ask for your address on that form?  We'll see if I get anything in the mail from them. I doubt I will.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> The Trader Joe's refillable grinder looks like the ticket, but not everyone has a store near them.
> One YouTube video shows this big black guy who looks as strong as an ox and is able to muscle the grinder top off the McCormick bottle with one hand.  Not everyone is that strong.  Here's a link to another method.
> 
> Reuse a "disposable" spice mill



Thanks Caslon. I will let my son play Strong Man when he wakes up. I just want to get the pepper out so I can put it in my own grinder. I have no desire to use the McCormack one again and again. My own grinder is much easier for me to use. It has a big knob on it that my small hand can fit around with out the arthritis acting up.


----------



## Caslon

Addie said:


> Thanks Caslon. I will let my son play Strong Man when he wakes up. I just want to get the pepper out so I can put it in my own grinder. I have no desire to use the McCormack one again and again. My own grinder is much easier for me to use. It has a big knob on it that my small hand can fit around with out the arthritis acting up.



You like them McCormick pepper corns do ya? 

I'm gonna to see if  my local store stocks that McCormick jar that has pepper and red pepper flakes mixed in with it, for my beef jerky.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> You like them McCormick pepper corns do ya?
> 
> I'm gonna to see if  my local store stocks that McCormick jar that has pepper and red pepper flakes mixed in with it, for my beef jerky.



I don't care what the peppercorns are. I just want to get them out of the jar and into my own grinder. It is so much easier to use. I can't use pepper. Really tears up my stomach.


----------



## Dawgluver

Caslon said:


> You like them McCormick pepper corns do ya?
> 
> I'm gonna to see if  my local store stocks that McCormick jar that has pepper and red pepper flakes mixed in with it, for my beef jerky.




You could always mix your own pepper and red pepper flakes if you can't find that premix.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> Early in the morning and I have a case of severe frustration. I am looking for the post that I think taxlady made about removing the top of the McCormick grinder for the peppercorns. Someone please come to my rescue.
> 
> How can I use the peppercorns in the McCormick grinder for my personal grinder? I asked my son to pick me up some peppercorns.  And he brought home the more expensive one. I just wanted some peppercorns. My personal grinder has a nice handle on it and is so much easier to use for my old, very old hands.
> 
> SO HOW DO I GET THE DANG GRINDER OFF THE MCCORMICK JAR? Help Please!!





Aunt Bea said:


> I remember a post from Kayelle about this refillable grinder from Trader Joe's.





Addie said:


> Thanks Aunt Bea. Hopefully she will come on today and see my plea. Thanks. If not I will send her a personal note.



Here I am. 

I don't know about getting the grinder off the top of a McCormick jar, it's likely you can't. 

I was tickled to find Trader Joes grinder spice jars are refillable for other uses simply by unscrewing the top.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> I don't care what the peppercorns are. I just want to get them out of the jar and into my own grinder. It is so much easier to use. *I can't use pepper. Really tears up my stomach. *



Now I'm really confused  If Pirate wants pepper, let him grind his own in the McCormick grinder!


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Now I'm really confused  If Pirate wants pepper, let him grind his own in the McCormick grinder!



So true. Great idea. If he had his way, he would put pepper in everything. I have to remind him no pepper when he cooks something that both of us will eat. He made me scrambled eggs and was reaching for the grinder. I almost had a fit. I think he has learned though. I told him he would be the one to take care of me when I get sick and am vomiting. That thought made an impression. He saw me through the Noro Virus. Doesn't want a repeat of that.


----------



## Kayelle

Along with grinding his own pepper, I bet he can cut up his own food too.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Are turn signals on some cars optional these days? Or have people forgotten how to use them?

I just love it when people just stop in the middle of the road and make me assume they're turning. It's like, "Well, are you turning or did your transmission just fall out?"

Gaaaaaahhhh!!


----------



## taxlady

CrazyCatLady said:


> Are turn signals on some cars optional these days? Or have people forgotten how to use them?
> 
> I just love it when people just stop in the middle of the road and make me assume they're turning. It's like, "Well, are you turning or did your transmission just fall out?"
> 
> Gaaaaaahhhh!!


Someone did a survey of why drivers don't bother to use their turn indicators. The majority didn't want to make the effort. Good grief! You just move a finger. How much effort is that?


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Along with grinding his own pepper, I bet he can cut up his own food too.



 That is more than I can do now. My fingers cannot stand the pressure required to push with the knife. He has to cut up my meat. My two index finger are now useless.


----------



## Addie

I wish the Princess would hurry up and get settled. I miss her so much. 

Hey princess!! Yoo Hoo! Are you out there? We need you. Hurry up and come back.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I wish the Princess would hurry up and get settled. I miss her so much.
> 
> Hey princess!! Yoo Hoo! Are you out there? We need you. Hurry up and come back.


I miss our ogress too. I hope all is well with her and Shrek.


----------



## Dawgluver

PF mentioned that her internet service would be limited to her mom's house for awhile, so she'd be checking in very sporadically.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> PF mentioned that her internet service would be limited to her mom's house for awhile, so she'd be checking in very sporadically.


Yeah, I know, but I still miss seeing her here.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Yeah, I know, but I still miss seeing her here.




We all do!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Yeah, things are a little less magical with PF being incommunicado. I'm sure hoping that everything is moving along smoothly so they can get into that new house she showed us, get settled, and GET INTERNET!


----------



## Aunt Bea

I miss PF too.

I wish I could lug some boxes or wash some windows to help her get settled!

Trust me, I don't have those thoughts very often or for very many people!


----------



## GotGarlic

I'm really upset right now. I've been feeling really crummy all day - weak, jittery and my feet hurt more than usual. So I can't attend the memorial service for my neighbor who passed away last week. DH is going, but I'm really unhappy that I can't go. At least I took the family some food yesterday and DH will let his wife know why I'm not there. But it sucks.


----------



## Dawgluver

That does suck, GG.  But your friends will understand.  {{{hugs}}}


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Yikes, *GG*, I hope there isn't anything seriously wrong! Like Dawg said, I'm sure the neighbor will understand your absence. Hope you feel better soon.


----------



## GotGarlic

Thank you. I'm starting to feel better. I have a lot of complicated stuff going on and some days I run out of spoons early.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Thank you. I'm starting to feel better. I have a lot of complicated stuff going on and some days I run out of spoons early.



Glad to see you're feeling better.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Thank you. I'm starting to feel better. I have a lot of complicated stuff going on and some days I run out of spoons early.


(((Hugs))) I'm glad you are starting to feel better. I understand about running out of spoons. Some days are just like that.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My rant might seem trivial to many, but to me is important.  At one time, vulgar language was owned by persons who generally worked in hard-labor invironments, such as the military, contruction, and mostly by males.  This has changed over the years.  Our language speaks to the world what kind of people we are.

One phrase in particular has bothered me for many years.  That phrase is - "This sucks!"

I was in the military as a young man when I first heard it.  But it wasn't in the truncated form that is spoken by the majority of our common society today.  I knew the whole phrase, and at that time, when I hadn't yet chosen to be the man I am now, I swore and used vulgarities like a sailor.  Then again, I was a sailor.

There are so many better ways to say that we don't like a situation than to use that phrase.  In my opinion, when I have found myself using it, I have felt like I just dropped an f-bomb.  I chose to improve my language, and quit using such phrases, and quit swearing almost forty years ago.  It's a personal bar I set for myself.  I just wish everyone would set a similar bar for themselves, not to be better than anyone else, just to be better.

There, I said it.  I hope no one thinks I'm being preachy.  That's not my intent.  I just needed to take a stand against one of the many things that debase us.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> My rant might seem trivial to many, but to me is important.  At one time, vulgar language was owned by persons who generally worked in hard-labor invironments, such as the military, contruction, and mostly by males.  This has changed over the years.  Our language speaks to the world what kind of people we are.
> 
> One phrase in particular has bothered me for many years.  That phrase is - "This sucks!"
> 
> I was in the military as a young man when I first heard it.  But it wasn't in the truncated form that is spoken by the majority of our common society today.  I knew the whole phrase, and at that time, when I hadn't yet chosen to be the man I am now, I swore and used vulgarities like a sailor.  Then again, I was a sailor.
> 
> There are so many better ways to say that we don't like a situation than to use that phrase.  In my opinion, when I have found myself using it, I have felt like I just dropped an f-bomb.  I chose to improve my language, and quit using such phrases, and quit swearing almost forty years ago.  It's a personal bar I set for myself.  I just wish everyone would set a similar bar for themselves, not to be better than anyone else, just to be better.
> 
> There, I said it.  I hope no one thinks I'm being preachy.  That's not my intent.  I just needed to take a stand against one of the many things that debase us.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I hear ya Chief, loud and clear. No, you are not being preachy. Many years ago I adopted the slang (if you can call it that) words of dag nab it, dang, and other words of this nature. We didn't swear in my home. Yet when my kids got out into the world and on their own, they can make a sailor blush. Growing up, Poo would tell his friends not to swear before he would bring them in the house. My mother hates it and won't allow it in her home. As a result after seeing some of their friends along with themselves, getting tossed out the door and not allowed back in until an apology came forth. They learned to not swear in my home. Today along with his three siblings, they all swear. In my home and think nothing of it. I am so tired of correcting them.

And now, dang it, I find myself when I get mad at them, swearing right back at them in their own language. It is a language that is contagious. Being in the business world during my working days, I was afraid to develop the habit of swearing. It doesn't go over too big in an office of professionals. 

We have a resident here in the building that has one of the filthiest mouths you will ever hear. Everyone cringes when she is talking. But in her defense, I owe her a lot. Hearing her, I now know how I sound. Hearing a man swear is or can be unnerving. Hearing a woman do it, makes your blood curdle and crawl. So now you will hear my dab nab it, dang thing, and other really strong words from me. 

I had a neighbor who told of one day when he was in the service. He was in the mess hall and asked to have the f--k salt passed down to his end of the table. An officer was just walking by and asked him what kind of salt? My neighbor felt his face go beet red. The officer told him they don't serve that kind of salt in this branch of the service. They save that salt for the Marines. He got the message loud and clear. As a result, he never developed the habit of swearing like a Marine.


----------



## taxlady

My mother almost never swore. She wouldn't even say, "I hate his guts." She would say, "I dislike his guts." On the rare occasion that she did swear, everyone knew that she was really, really angry and it made the point.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> My mother almost never swore. She wouldn't even say, "I hate his guts." She would say, "I dislike his guts." On the rare occasion that she did swear, everyone knew that she was really, really angry and it made the point.



I once read an article that stated folks who persist in swearing usually have a small vocabulary. And they are poor readers. Makes sense to me. They lack the ability to find the right word that fits in the situation of the moment.


----------



## Cheryl J

I can handle swearing here and there. What really chaps me is hearing people out in public places throwing f bombs around (and worse) without a second thought to those around them.  Last Sunday morning I was in the grocery store and a young woman was on her cell phone, practically yelling on it, f this and that  - completely oblivious to the families with young children right next to her.  She could be heard from the next aisle.  Pretty disgusting behavior, IMO.


----------



## Kayelle

I certainly don't like offensive language, but on the other hand, occasionally it fits.


----------



## Cheryl J

That was a major biggie back then!


----------



## Kayelle

Yep, and people were horrified then Cheryl! Now days REALLY foul language is heard every day and the shock value has missed the mark. It's pointless, silly, and boring.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Cheryl*, I think I would have gone over to that woman on the phone and given her a talking-to. What an obliviot!


I've heard opinions on swearing from two different views. My Mom swore. Not the big, "major key" kind of words, but she wasn't shy to let a "minor key" d___, cr__, or h___ slip out now and then. She always told me that HER Mom would say that if you said "dang" or "shoot" but really wanted to use the swear word, use the swear word. If you didn't, you were being dishonest. I'll admit to being "honest" on an occasion or two.

Meanwhile, Himself had a high school teacher who told the class that there were hundreds of thousands of words in the English language. If they had to resort to to using a swear word, they had better expand their language. To this day, I almost never hear Himself swear. If he does, I run for cover! Needless to say, when he told me he was laid off he sounded a lot like my Mom.


----------



## Cheryl J

CG, I gave her the eyeroll  but she was oblivious to everything around her.  In today's crazy world, one has to be careful - people have been shot for less! 

I agree with you Kay - it doesn't have the shock value it used to, but I just wish people would be more considerate of little kids within hearing distance.  Not going to happen though. As CG said they're "obliviots" - love that word.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Obliviot - credit where credit is due*

Thanks, Cheryl, I like the word too. I can't take credit for it though. It was coined (or popularized) by Randy Cassingham, creator of the weekly humor newsletter "*This is True*". After posting a real newspaper story about the follies of individuals, he gives his own one-sentence take on the story from an off-kilter view. Some weeks I practically roll on the floor laughing by the time I'm done with the newsletter. I highly recommend subscribing. It's a great way to end the week.

I'm also amused by the fact that I'm recruiting new subscribers for the newsletter here at DC. It was through "This is True" that I found out about DC! In the past (but no longer), Randy would mention a Bonzer Website of the Week. DC was that week's web site, I signed up, and (as the saying goes) the rest is history.


----------



## Caslon

Caslon said:


> I got a reply email from corporate Dominos thanking me for my concerns and that he will contact the owner of that store and let him know about it.  It seems that franchises that are locally owned don't exactly bend over backwards to keep you happy.  You could send corporate a photo of the worst looking restaurant product and all corporate will do is thank you and send along your concerns to the local owner of that franchise,  nothing more, not even an apology or maybe a gift coupon to make up for it. It's just feedback to them. I wonder why they ask for your address on that form?  We'll see if I get anything in the mail from them. I doubt I will.



Wrong!  I was wrong.   A regional manager emailed an apology to me and I now have credit for 4 free pizzas any size any toppings, 4 sides, and 4 drinks.  I have to phone in my order and give them  my telephone number so it works out on their accounting end,  not a big deal to me.  Sweet.  I emailed the rep back thanking him.  I was expecting nothing.  

See? now that is what I call good public relations.  I'd like to have a job like that. I  realize his job entails a lot more. I like Dominos.


----------



## taxlady

Nice to "hear" that Caslon.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks, Cheryl, I like the word too. I can't take credit for it though. It was coined (or popularized) by Randy Cassingham, creator of the weekly humor newsletter "*This is True*". After posting a real newspaper story about the follies of individuals, he gives his own one-sentence take on the story from an off-kilter view. Some weeks I practically roll on the floor laughing by the time I'm done with the newsletter. I highly recommend subscribing. It's a great way to end the week.
> 
> I'm also amused by the fact that I'm recruiting new subscribers for the newsletter here at DC. It was through "This is True" that I found out about DC! In the past (but no longer), Randy would mention a Bonzer Website of the Week. DC was that week's web site, I signed up, and (as the saying goes) the rest is history.


 
Thank you, CG!  I'll check it out!  I first heard about DC from a former member here who hasn't been on in ages....not sure I even remember her name - we used to belong to the same crime following forum about 12 years ago.


----------



## taxlady

Stirling woke me to let me know that he was hearing that siren/horm noise they make when you have to move your car. I usually park in the underground garage, but it is being cleaned and fixed, so we were asked to park on the street.

Sure 'nuff, there were some No Parking signs up. Luckily I didn't have to move my car. They were installing the unwanted, ugly "superboxes" where we will have to go to get our mail. I drove to the health food store and parked my car closer to home. Then, this afternoon, they started installing one on my side of the street, right next to my car. Had me a bit worried. I was blocked in by the flatbed truck with the superboxes and concrete bases. That's my "lunar gold" Volvo next to the truck.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> ...They were installing the unwanted, ugly "superboxes" where we will have to go to get our mail...


Oh No, taxy!  Those are horrid contraptions. Those became very popular in our part of OH in the 1980s. When we were looking to build our second house we made sure we didn't look in any neighborhood that would be required to get them. We were lucky and dodged that bullet. I'm sorry that you're having to use them. 

Our daughter's condo neighborhood has them. Has for decades. They're all rusted, the doors are difficult to operate, and when she gets a big package there is this whole circus act to go through to make sure you get to the rental office at the right time to pick your package up. Big, Big Pain.


----------



## CarolPa

Cooking Goddess, when I was a teen, the minister of our church talked to the youth group about swearing, and said the same thing that your mother said.  If you use the substitute word, it's the same as using the actual word.  Well, let me tell you, I baby sat for him and when he got angry, he said "Oh Fiddlestix."  Now what word was that a substitute for?


----------



## taxlady

I had a look at our garage. It doesn't look like they have done any cleaning or anything else. That really annoys me, that I have to park on the street for no good reason. grrrr


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> I had a look at our garage. It doesn't look like they have done any cleaning or anything else. That really annoys me, that I have to park on the street for no good reason. grrrr


I was right. They haven't done anything. Today we got another harpering letter from the condo association, telling us that the company will be starting work today, 2015-07-02 for a week to 10 days. It's the exact same letter, but that one said the work would start 2015-06-29.

I am really angry that they didn't inform us of this change, after requesting that we park on the street. My condo fees are higher than the condo fees of people who have a parking spot in one of the lots. I'm going to have to clean bird poop off my car.


----------



## Addie

I am so P.O.'d at myself right now. I never miss the 4th celebration on TV with the Boston Pops on the Esplanade. 

This past month I have been having some serious health problems. The medications that I have been given have been knocking me for a loop. I can be talking to you and in the middle of a conversation, I am sound asleep. With the snoring and all. So I don't travel too far from my bed. I wake up say hello, carry on a conversation, and back to sleep. And the best part is I never remember waking up and talking to Spike or Pirate. Not a single word. I don't even remember if I ate or had anything to drink. 

Well I woke up just as the concert was starting. Back to sleep in a nano second. I missed the whole thing. When I came to again, Pirate had something else on and I start yelling at him for changing the station. He tells me to look at the clock. I just missed five hours of life again! I need a change in medications. I do not want to spend the last years of my life sleeping it away. 

But I do have to admit, it has been a fun game with Pirate asking me if I remember talking to him or asking him to cook something for me or any other little tidbit. Nope, not a bit of it. Now, I wake up for maybe five minutes and do not remember what I did or said in that short time. I personally think it is part of sleep walking. It is a lot of fun playing with his mind. And I am not even doing it deliberately.


----------



## Addie

Aha! I did not miss the Pops concert after all. What I saw on the TV last night was a short piece from last years concert. And the rehearsal for tonight's concert. So I am all set to listen to it tonight.  Oh please let me stay awake.


----------



## Addie

*I am so sorry you have to miss the greatest part of our celebration*

To all our members who live in California. Our newscasts here are telling us that so many communities are banning fireworks due to the drought. What better way to end the celebrations of our country's freedom. It is almost like they are taking away one of America's rights of celebration. Here's hoping there are controlled fireworks near you that you can even see from your own home. Here, it is a tradition that those Bostonians that don't make it down to the waterfront or in town to see ours, they take to their flat roofs. I know of a lot of folks that even have parties up there where it is cooler on a hot summers eve. 

God has been so good to this country. And now he sends not only a devastating drought, but because of it, another freedom of expression, has to be denied. Hopefully, right behind all of this concern for the danger of wildfires, a dang good one hell of a rainfall comes your way. One can only pray. I feel your pain.


----------



## Caslon

Chip clips.   Shouldn't they be 45 cents each instead of 3 for $5.84?   2 cents worth of plastic and 1 cent worth of steel paperclip to make it work.  I'm gonna have to hit up Dollar Tree.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Caslon said:


> Chip clips.   Shouldn't they be 45 cents each instead of 3 for $5.84?   2 cents worth of plastic and 1 cent worth of steel paperclip to make it work.  I'm gonna have to hit up Dollar Tree.



LOL...mercy! I keep the hangers that pants and shorts come on from the stores, and cut the clip ends of them off and use those along with wooden clothespins and even jumbo paper clips for lighter stuff.

We've had a bunch of rain so the ant battle is on again in the garage. We sprayed the outside of the house and in the entry point in the garage. Bleah! This is twice now!


----------



## Dawgluver

CrazyCatLady said:


> LOL...mercy! I keep the hangers that pants and shorts come on from the stores, and cut the clip ends of them off and use those along with wooden clothespins and even jumbo paper clips for lighter stuff.
> 
> 
> 
> We've had a bunch of rain so the ant battle is on again in the garage. We sprayed the outside of the house and in the entry point in the garage. Bleah! This is twice now!




I do the same!  Use a pruning shears and whack them off, free chip clips!  They're also good for rolling up toothpaste.  I also have used wooden clothespins to close bags.

Ants suck.  The best repellant I've found is Terro, but that's for inside.


----------



## taxlady

I use clips like these. I get 18 for $1.25. at Dollarama. There are four sizes in a bag. They close bags fairly air tight.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

In a pinch,  I use binder clips or clothespins instead of a chip clip. The binder clips work really well on tubes of toothpaste and the like.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*I am so annoyed that more and more threads are becoming shouting matches or venting forums.*





  If you have small thing to crab about, put it into the Petty Vents thread. If you are crabbing about something major, put it in this-here Venting thread.

I miss the nice, friendly DC that used to discuss the topic in the thread. Even Rodney King wised up and said "Can we all get along?" So, can we???

This message was brought to you by NOT The Management, just one crabby, old broad.  Thank you.


----------



## Cheryl J

taxlady said:


> I use clips like these. I get 18 for $1.25. at Dollarama. There are four sizes in a bag. They close bags fairly air tight.


 
I like those, too.  I got a big bag of them the last time I was at IKEA for about the same price.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> I like those, too.  I got a big bag of them the last time I was at IKEA for about the same price.



I had them also. Then every time my daughter showed up at my home, some thing else like a new spatula would disappear along with a handful of those clips. She finally got the last of them. In exchange I had her bring me home a baggie full of Acco clips from her office. I like the Acco clips better. 

I think over the years I have outfitted my kitchen about three times. My kids are always "borrowing" something. And I never see it again unless I go to visit them. But I guess that is why I am a mother. To make their lives easier. Once it goes out the door, I know I will never see it again in my kitchen where it should belong.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I had them also. Then every time my daughter showed up at my home, some thing else like a new spatula would disappear along with a handful of those clips. She finally got the last of them. In exchange I had her bring me home a baggie full of Acco clips from her office. I like the Acco clips better.
> 
> I think over the years I have outfitted my kitchen about three times. My kids are always "borrowing" something. And I never see it again unless I go to visit them. But I guess that is why I am a mother. To make their lives easier. Once it goes out the door, I know I will never see it again in my kitchen where it should belong.


Acco type clips are handy, but they don't make an air tight seal unless you twist the bag and not even always then. I don't want to try twisting the chip bag.


----------



## roadfix

We always reclaim a bunch of our missing tupperware each time we visit our daughter.


----------



## Cheryl J

roadfix said:


> We always reclaim a bunch of our missing tupperware each time we visit our daughter.


 
It goes both ways here.   My daughter and I only live a mile from each other and we're always sharing food.  Every couple of weeks or so we trade back our tupperwares.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> We always reclaim a bunch of our missing tupperware each time we visit our daughter.



In this family we call it sending a care package to another member of the family.


----------



## roadfix

But my wife gets ticked everytime her good Tupperware are taken instead of the cheaper Zip Loc containers which we have plenty of.  Sometimes weeks will pass before she realizes one of her favorite Tupperware is missing....LOL


----------



## Cheryl J

I hear ya, RF.  My Anchor Hocking glass food containers are the ones I definitely want back.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> We always reclaim a bunch of our missing tupperware each time we visit our daughter.



We gladly give stuff to our Indian neighbors.  Their custom is to never return a container empty!  We get some tasty stuff.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> We gladly give stuff to our Indian neighbors.  Their custom is to never return a container empty!  We get some tasty stuff.




I like this custom!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We aren't Indian, but my Mom taught me you never return someone's container empty. Sometimes, though, I've had to go retrieve a dish before the receiver even considers returning it empty. Now, unless it's my dear SIL, any food I move along to someone else is sent in an old cottage cheese container, or a plastic carry-out from take-away Chinese food. If you aren't related to me, I don't trust you with my good stuff.


----------



## CharlieD

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> My rant might seem trivial to many, but to me is important.  At one time, vulgar language was owned by persons who generally worked in hard-labor invironments, such as the military, contruction, and mostly by males.  This has changed over the years.  Our language speaks to the world what kind of people we are.
> 
> One phrase in particular has bothered me for many years.  That phrase is - "This sucks!"
> 
> I was in the military as a young man when I first heard it.  But it wasn't in the truncated form that is spoken by the majority of our common society today.  I knew the whole phrase, and at that time, when I hadn't yet chosen to be the man I am now, I swore and used vulgarities like a sailor.  Then again, I was a sailor.
> 
> There are so many better ways to say that we don't like a situation than to use that phrase.  In my opinion, when I have found myself using it, I have felt like I just dropped an f-bomb.  I chose to improve my language, and quit using such phrases, and quit swearing almost forty years ago.  It's a personal bar I set for myself.  I just wish everyone would set a similar bar for themselves, not to be better than anyone else, just to be better.
> 
> There, I said it.  I hope no one thinks I'm being preachy.  That's not my intent.  I just needed to take a stand against one of the many things that debase us.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




I hear you loud and clear.. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the whole society has become more vulgar. Tattoos used to be for sailors and criminals. The way people dress, especially women, only street walkers used to dress like that. Modesty in dress code is nearly nonexistent. Into your face mentality seems what rules this world. I remember my grandfather, he never used bad language, never. I have a filthy mouth, mostly because I'm compensating for my poor English. Sad. 


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> I hear ya, RF.  My Anchor Hocking glass food containers are the ones I definitely want back.



I have a set of glass fridge containers from the early 40's. They never leave my home. Heaven knows, my kids have tried though.


----------



## Addie

I watch the TV and the women have their skirts right up to the bottom of their rump. When they go to sit down, they have to assume an uncomfortable position in order to keep their legs closed. I love watching them squirm. 

But what really turns my stomach is seeing women who have tattoos up their neck and onto their face. Why would anyone want to mark up their face for the rest of their life? Is it that I am just not with it?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

*4th & 5th of July*

For three months I've been browsing my favorite butcher shop, selecting the best steaks I could find.  If there were none in the meat case that met my standards, I wouldn't by what was there.  So, I finally found enough really nice rib-eyes, porterhouse, and flat iron steaks to feed the family, that would be Sprout, her husband, and two kids, my son the professional cook, DW, and me.

So next on the list was to buy lump charcoal for the Weber.  Bought some.  Ok, got fresh corn, made up some really good baked beans, from dried beans, with pork in it of course.  The carrot salad was made, two large racks of ribs, untrimmed were purchased, milk in the fridge, watermelon, I'm ready.  The kids got here about 3p.m. on Saturday.

I fired up the grill and prepared the steaks.  When the charcoal was hot, I put the lid on to cool everything down to a good cooking temperature.  I took the steaks out and lifted the lid.  The fire seemed to have cooled too much.  I put the steaks on and there was no instant sizzle going on.  I left the lid off to check something in the house.  I was only away from the grill for 3; to 4 minutes at most.  I walked back outside to check everything, and the charcoal had gone from too cool to inferno.  The bottom of the steaks were completely blackend.  The smell of burnt meat filled the air.  I flipped them and let the other side cook for 1 minute.  I removed the meat to a platter and hoped I could cut the burnt layer off.  

I cut the burnt layer off and served up edible, but well done steak to everyone.  I went from pit-master, to the pits in about 6 minutes.  Heavy, heavy sigh.

Ok, now, on the 5th  Removed the thawed ribs from the fridge.  rubbed on rack with my brown sugar and chili powder dry rub (yes there are other ingredients, but I can't give all of my secrets away).  I had pre-heated the oven to 350'F, and then turned it down to 200'F.   I wrapped the rib rack into an sealed, aluminum pouch and place into roasting pan, then into the oven.

Mae a savory rub of salt, pepper, oregano, basil, cumin, and a few secret ingredients, then rubbed the mixure all over the 2nd rib rack.  Oh, and of course, I removed the silver skin from both racks.  I massaged the dry rub into the ribs rack.  The same charcoal was used from the day before, but just a few chunks, enough to produce the level of heat I wanted, and only on one side.  The smoking box was filled with hardwood chips and placed on the side of the charcoal pile, to create that required smoke.  I put the ribs on the other side, sitting in a kind of aluminum foil bowl, on a rack so that the smoke could engulf every nook and cranny of those ribs.  I covered the grill and closed all vent to the half-open position.  I made a North Carolina style mop of vinager, honey, water, with a hint of ginger.  Every twenty minutes, I mopped the ribs and maintained the fire.

At the four hour mark, I reduced the oven temp to 170'F.  The ribs on the barbecue were looking great.

At 5 hours, the meat was removed from the grill and the oven.  The corn was then thrown onto the barbecue, and the left-over baked beans were re-heated.

According to Sprout, those were the best ribs she had ever eaten, and it didn't matter which rack she picked from.  She eats meat sparingly, but ate so many ribs that she was afraid of having a *meat hangover* the next day.

The meat was very juicy and tender, though not fall-off-the-bone tender.  And ther rubs created a flavor that didn't overpower the natural good flavor of the pork, but enhanced it.  The smoke ring in the meat was delicate so that the smoke didn't overpower the meat either.  The flavors were so wonderfully balanced.  

From _*in the pits*_ to _*pit-master*_ in 5 hours.

Lesson learned, know the cooking properties of your fuel before you put expensive steaks over the fuel.

Over all, in spite of the burnt steaks, there was good food and great times had by all.  I got to play with the granddaughters, serve then home-made French vanilla ice cream, swirled with home made chocolate/Nutella fudge, and give them those sweet, not very good for you cereal in the little boxes, where they could each pick the one they wanted to eat, and of course, Grandpa's blueberry pancakes, with bacon on the side.  I got to goof off with my daughter and SIL.  We completed the task of removing the left-over pieces of demolished garage, and now I can order the supplies to build the new one.

Saturday through Tuesday evening was a glorious time, even with burnt steaks.

Oh, and the petty vent, I ruined expensive steaks because I was arrogant enough to think I knew how to cook anything, on anything.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My vent is that we need vents.  Yeh, and sometimes we just need them.

Didn't we used to have a topic that was just the opposite of venting, but rather tried to lift each other up?  I haven't seen any posts on it for so long that I can't even remember the name of it.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> My vent is that we need vents.  Yeh, and sometimes we just need them.
> 
> Didn't we used to have a topic that was just the opposite of venting, but rather tried to lift each other up?  I haven't seen any posts on it for so long that I can't even remember the name of it.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


Last Thing That Made You Smile and Venting on a Happy Note, or something along those lines.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> We gladly give stuff to our Indian neighbors.  Their custom is to never return a container empty!  We get some tasty stuff.


Now that's sound good!  
I wish I had neighbors like that, but this being L.A. neighbors rarely associate with one another, and we've been living in this house for 25 years.  We hardly know our neighbors beyond our immediate next door folks.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> M...Didn't we used to have a topic that was just the opposite of venting, but rather tried to lift each other up?  I haven't seen any posts on it for so long that I can't even remember the name of it...


Maybe you just haven't been looking hard enough?  It's been less than a week since Cheryl posted something in *"Last thing that made you smile?"*

When you're done catching up on happy things there, you might want to have a few chuckles reading through the *"Today's Funny"* posts, if you have time.


----------



## Cheryl J

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> *.......Lesson learned, know the cooking properties of your fuel before you put expensive steaks over the fuel.*
> *........*
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


 
And never walk away from the grill, even for a minute.  Those fat flare-ups happen so quickly.  Glad to hear your ribs were such a success Chief, they sound really good.


----------



## Kayelle

About loosing containers, I love to give away food to favorite widowed neighbors. They all live just steps away. If I've made a big pot of soup, I've taken to calling them and telling them to come over with a container, as the soup kitchen is open. 

I also was taught to never return an empty container, even if it's just filled with store bought candy.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> And never walk away from the grill, even for a minute.  Those fat flare-ups happen so quickly.  Glad to hear your ribs were such a success Chief, they sound really good.



Yep, you took the words outa my mouth. I do all the grilling, and keep the house phone out there with me. That way I can use the intercom mode to have Steve bring me something or check the oven. Never *ever* leave your grill!


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Yep, you took the words outa my mouth. I do all the grilling, and keep the house phone out there with me. That way I can use the intercom mode to have Steve bring me something or check the oven. Never *ever* leave your grill!



Since my surgery, DH and I have our cell phones with us all the time. So we text each other when we need something, or just want to say I  u


----------



## Kayelle

GotGarlic said:


> Since my surgery, DH and I have our cell phones with us all the time. So we text each other when we need something, or just want to say I  u



That sure works too GG. We aren't so modern though. We don't even have a clue how to text anyone. Thumb typing just isn't for me.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> That sure works too GG. We aren't so modern though. We don't even have a clue how to text anyone. Thumb typing just isn't for me.



On my smartphone, the electronic keyboard anticipates sentences and supplies up to five words that I just have to tap on to put in a sentence. It took me a while to get DH to want and then buy a smartphone, but now he loves it. It's especially handy when he goes to the grocery store and has a question about something on my list


----------



## GotGarlic

My only petty vent is that I have so many veggies from the garden to put up before we leave for our NC beach trip Sunday! Lots of Roma tomatoes picked by our cat/plant caretakers, but they're not ripe enough to roast yet! Hopefully by Saturday.


----------



## Cheryl J

GotGarlic said:


> *On my smartphone, the electronic keyboard anticipates sentences and supplies up to five words that I just have to tap on to put in a sentence. *It took me a while to get DH to want and then buy a smartphone, but now he loves it. It's especially handy when he goes to the grocery store and has a question about something on my list


 
Isn't that a handy feature? I love predictive text and use mine all the time.    My local daughter and I text more than we talk unless we're together, of course - my out-of-town daughter and I talk more than we text.  LOL


----------



## CharlieD

roadfix said:


> Now that's sound good!
> 
> I wish I had neighbors like that, but this being L.A. neighbors rarely associate with one another, and we've been living in this house for 25 years.  We hardly know our neighbors beyond our immediate next door folks.




I had neighbors like that. Actually they were Indians. They were the nicest, the friendliest couple, so we're their kids. Unfortunately now we have Pakistanis living there and they are not jus opposite, they are openly hateful, because we are Jews. We had a swing set in between two properties that we bought with previous couple half and half, we never had problems kids sharing. Not so these days. I finally told kids not to go there if neighbors are there.  


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## CarolPa

Cooking Goddess said:


> *I am so annoyed that more and more threads are becoming shouting matches or venting forums.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you have small thing to crab about, put it into the Petty Vents thread. If you are crabbing about something major, put it in this-here Venting thread.
> 
> I miss the nice, friendly DC that used to discuss the topic in the thread. Even Rodney King wised up and said "Can we all get along?" So, can we???
> 
> This message was brought to you by NOT The Management, just one crabby, old broad.  Thank you.




I live a very boring life.  There's nothing I like more than a good shouting match to liven things up.  Of course, I try to stay out of them myself.  I guess I'm not here often enough because I seem to have missed what you're referring to.  Another good reason to keep in touch with DC.


----------



## CarolPa

I am missing one of my favorite serving spoons.  Unless someone threw it in the garbage by mistake, the only place it could be is at my son's, where I took several dishes on Easter.  I always take serving spoons when I bring a dish.  If I ask them, they will say they don't have it, but the next time I'm there I'm going to ask to check their downstairs kitchen, where they cooked and served Easter dinner and keep a lot of their odds and ends.  I'm hoping I find it there.  It is old, and a little bit smaller than my other serving spoons.  It fits well into small jars.


----------



## taxlady

Good luck finding that serving spoon Carol. Yeah, sometimes people don't bother to check carefully for something like that. You are more motivated.


----------



## Addie

Carol, I know it would be presumptive of you, but can't you check her silver drawers yourself? It would probably border on being rude. But I am just gutsy enough to do just that if the spoon were very important to me. I have a silver spoon that belonged to my great grandmother. It has a Gregorian A engraved on it. I don't let it go anywhere outside this house. My kids know about it, and my daughter wants it at the end.


----------



## CharlieD

What is Gregorian A?


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> What is Gregorian A?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



It is a very old type of writing from Georgia, Russia. Why it was done in that language, I have no idea. It could be that my great grandmother was from there. But I do know her husband was English. When I first saw it, I didn't recognize it for what it was. I had never seen one. Or any part of that language. I had to ask my mother what it meant. It was supposed to stand for my great grandfather's last name which was Adams.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> What is Gregorian A?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



It's the letter "A" in an old-fashioned font:


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> It's the letter "A" in an old-fashioned font:



Whoever wrote those characters is far better with a pen that me.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> It is a very old type of writing from Georgia, Russia. Why it was done in that language, I have no idea. It could be that my great grandmother was from there. But I do know her husband was English. When I first saw it, I didn't recognize it for what it was. I had never seen one. Or any part of that language. I had to ask my mother what it meant. It was supposed to stand for my great grandfather's last name which was Adams.



It's not from Georgia, which has been its own country since 1991 and is not part of Russia. That font was developed in the Middle Ages in Europe when monks wrote down the Gregorian chants of the Catholic Church. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_chant


----------



## Addie

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Whoever wrote those characters is far better with a pen that me.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Did you learn to use an ink pen with a pen that you had to insert the nib and then dip it into the ink? Shake some of it off so that you didn't have too much?

Pirate sees some folks doing that like in old Western movies. He asked me if I wrote like that. He is under the impression that ball point pens have been around forever. I will have to get some ink and a pen with nibs. Oh and I better not forget the ink blotter.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CharlieD said:


> What is Gregorian A?





GotGarlic said:


> ...(the) font was developed in the Middle Ages in Europe when monks wrote down the Gregorian chants of the Catholic Church.
> 
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/[B][SIZE="3"]Gregorian_chant[/SIZE][/B]


Here I thought it was a musical term denoting the "A" above the staff, the one I need to squeeze my butt cheeks together*  in order to reach.

* Don't laugh, it's the best description I could think of to describe how you force more air from your diaphram. Don't knock it, it works.


----------



## Dawgluver

We just got home from 10 days in Cozumel, and I went out in the rain to check on my little fenced in vegetable garden.   My bush beans that were lush and all abloom when we left are chomped back to bare stems!  Something ate all the leaves and blossoms off!  I suspect the veritable plethora of bunnies we have this year, no way a deer could have entered the enclosure.  Grrrrrr!!


----------



## taxlady

Bummer DL


----------



## GotGarlic

Jeez, Dawg, that's so disappointing! I'm sorry.


----------



## Souschef

*Dahlia*

So sorry Dawg! i had the same problem with my dahlia. It did not sprout as it usually does in spring, but when I dug it up I discovered that all the shoots had been eaten down!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks guys! Will just have to replant.  

My formerly beautiful bush beans:


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I see wabbit stew in your future, Dawg!  Just hope the recipe doesn't include beans.


----------



## Dawgluver

Had Beagle been on guard, this would not have happened!  The baby bunnies are so cute, I don't think I could stew them...

Voracious little twerps.  DH is highly suspicious of the finches he saw, he thinks they might have had some part in the decimation of the bean plants.


----------



## Cheryl J

Oh no, Dawg....what a sad thing to come home to!  I'm sure you're a favorite among the bunnies, they're probably all talking about what a nice feast you provide.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> Oh no, Dawg....what a sad thing to come home to!  I'm sure you're a favorite among the bunnies, they're probably all talking about what a nice feast you provide.




I don't understand it, Cheryl.  The little vegetable garden is totally fenced in with parts from an old dog kennel.  I used to plant my beans out in the open, and the deer and ground squirrels would munch them down, so I'd replant.  But I've not seen the total devastation like I did today!


----------



## Kayelle

Dawg, it looks like human harvest to me, didn't you say you had a nasty neighbor?


----------



## taxlady

Kayelle said:


> Dawg, it looks like human harvest to me, didn't you say you had a nasty neighbor?


Good point


----------



## Dawgluver

Yes, we have one evil neighbor, but this is definitely non-human.  

The neighbor that took care of the plants while we were gone said he watered the veggies, came back the next day, and the beans were gone!


----------



## Kayelle

Dawgluver said:


> Yes, we have one evil neighbor, but this is definitely non-human.
> 
> The neighbor that took care of the plants while we were gone said he watered the veggies, came back the next day, and the beans were gone!



Why does that mean the nasty neighbor didn't do it?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks guys! Will just have to replant.
> 
> My formerly beautiful bush beans:
> View attachment 23107



So sorry about your beans.  Where's Elmer Fudd when you need him?  I think you could use a good nimrod right now. 

"A hunting we will go
A hunting we willgo.
Now where's that wascilly wabbit!"

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## CarolPa

Addie, after asking if they have a spoon around that they don't recognize I intend to ask if I can look in the downstairs kitchen to see if it's there.  Upstairs they have their things they use on a day-to-day basis and would know right away if there was an odd piece there.  Downstairs is a lot of "extras."  Odds and ends.  Normally they do their cooking upstairs and my step-son uses the downstairs kitchen for canning.  For entertaining they use the downstairs because it has a big table and also connects right to the family room with the bar and people are able to spread out more.

The spoon is not a good piece, but something I use often because of it's smaller size.


----------



## CarolPa

Dogluver, I have heard that scattering some moth balls through the garden will keep critters away from it.  Never tried it myself.  One time I put some under the deck so no critters would make a home under there and DH complained that every time he sat out he smelled mothballs.  LOL


----------



## CharlieD

taxlady said:


> It's the letter "A" in an old-fashioned font:
> 
> ]




Thank you



Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## taxlady

CarolPa said:


> Dogluver, I have heard that scattering some moth balls through the garden will keep critters away from it.  Never tried it myself.  One time I put some under the deck so no critters would make a home under there and DH complained that every time he sat out he smelled mothballs.  LOL


A friend of mine tried mothballs for squirrels. He saw them playing with them. Another friend had been having issues with squirrels and finally found something that works: Deer Repellent | Plant Protection | Plantskydd Repellents USA It's made of blood and some other stuff, so it even fertilizes the plants.http://www.plantskydd.com/prodfaq.html


----------



## Dawgluver

Kayelle said:


> Why does that mean the nasty neighbor didn't do it?




He'd have to pick off every single leaf, eat or discard them, and leave toothmarks on the tops of the bare stems.  The tomato plants remained intact.

The baby bunnies are so cute, and we have a bumper crop of them this year.   The coyotes have not been doing their job.

Over the years I've tried many things to hold off the critter destruction.  We live in a heavily wooded area, and there's a steady supply of critters, so now I just let nature take its course and replant when I need to.


----------



## Chef Munky

This isn't really a vent.More of a I said I would to help someone.Now I'm thinking it's not a good idea.

My neighbor had a medical emergency the other day.Her daughter laid in on my door bell to get some help.She told me her Mom was having a stroke, had collapsed twice was out unconscious for 30 seconds.She didn't call for help.When I asked her if she did she told me no.Then she called handed me the phone for me to talk to the people.She was just flipping out running around in a frantic rant all over the yard.I had to tell her to STOP! Take a deep breath, hold it, let it out slowly and calm down! This while I'm trying to talk to her mom who was laying out it the driveway.Every time I got her calm she ranked back up again.I wasn't about to move her mom.She could have had possible broken ribs hip arm head injuries that I could tell by just looking at her.

Anyways she left in an ambulance.Was home by that night.Unbelievable huh? It happened to my surprise.

Now he daughter has been calling me all the time.She's asked me to sit with her mom while she's out doing errands.Who knows how long that's going to take.

With them it's starts out as a small favor that I usually wouldn't mind doing.The problem is they in turn start expecting it as a daily, weekly thing.

Would it be rude if I just gave her my cell # to check on her.If she doesn't reply.I'll knock on her door.No answer I call for help?


----------



## GotGarlic

I think that would be reasonable, Munky. You can tell her truthfully that you have things to do but arrange for the mother to call or text you every half hour or hour to let you know she's okay. If you don't hear from her, then go check on her. 

You could also suggest that they look into senior services in your area.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I think that would be reasonable, Munky. You can tell her truthfully that you have things to do but arrange for the mother to call or text you every half hour or hour to let you know she's okay. If you don't hear from her, then go check on her.
> 
> You could also suggest that they look into senior services in your area.


I agree.


----------



## bethzaring

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks guys! Will just have to replant.
> 
> My formerly beautiful bush beans:
> View attachment 23107


 
I've got a Mossberg .22 Chuckster you can borrow.


----------



## Dawgluver

bethzaring said:


> I've got a Mossberg .22 Chuckster you can borrow.




Might need to take you up on that!


----------



## Chef Munky

GotGarlic said:


> I think that would be reasonable, Munky. You can tell her truthfully that you have things to do but arrange for the mother to call or text you every half hour or hour to let you know she's okay. If you don't hear from her, then go check on her.
> 
> You could also suggest that they look into senior services in your area.



Thank you,
Whew, was thinking I'd be a terrible person asking to check on her that way instead of physically being there. 

My husband locked up their house.He took a look inside and told me they've become whole hog hoarders.They've got a lot more going on there then it appears.

If I went over and sat with her she would have had me cleaning up that place.I'm not about to go through the trails that they have to get something done.Probably make her something to eat as well.

I'm nice, but I'm also not a piece of linoleum.


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> Thank you,
> Whew, was thinking I'd be a terrible person asking to check on her that way instead of physically being there.
> 
> My husband locked up their house.He took a look inside and told me they've become whole hog hoarders.They've got a lot more going on there then it appears.
> 
> If I went over and sat with her she would have had me cleaning up that place.I'm not about to go through the trails that they have to get something done.Probably make her something to eat as well.
> 
> I'm nice, but I'm also not a piece of linoleum.



Munky, if they are hoarders of the worst kind, it can be construed by the authorities as elder abuse if the mother who is now considered ill and unable to care for herself, continues to live in those conditions. We have had a couple of cases here in Mass. this past year. Only it involved small children. The children had to be removed from the home and the building condemned. And it just might be in your best interest also. In order to protect your own property from the influx of rats and mice. 

Two years ago we did have a hoarder. Her children were called and were told that her mother was being moved to a 24 hr. care facility. The child was fit to be tied. She didn't see what the problem was. Evidently they found some critters because the next thing you know is every apartment in the building was being treated for mice and roaches. Fortunately, I never did see either one in my apartment.


----------



## Chef Munky

*Sigh* was hoping all night that I'd be forgotten about.It didn't happen.

Wish I was a Genie.Had my hair long like the one on tv once.Did that thing where she folds her arms nods her head.Not a good idea.Damn near took my eye out.WHAP! my braid smacked my eye! It hurt, stop laughing.

Her daughter just called.She's not impressed that I told her I'd come over and stay a few minutes then leave.Her mom is to call me every hour.She's not going to be home until late tonight.I'll take some dinner over to her mom.

I gave the truthful excuse that I have a garage to clean and sort today for the local charities to pick up on Tuesday.That I'll be busy organizing a whole lot of things.

Hubby isn't at all impressed.He doesn't like that I did a nice thing and now it's been turned around to the point that I now owe them.

What am I really going to see?Well wish me luck.


----------



## Chef Munky

That's *NOT impressed*


----------



## GotGarlic

She's not impressed? She should be grateful. It's not your responsibility to take care of her mother, but it's nice of you to help them out.


----------



## Chef Munky

GotGarlic said:


> She's not impressed? She should be grateful. It's not your responsibility to take care of her mother, but it's nice of you to help them out.



That was clearly the tone she gave me.Like what do you mean YOU have things to do? WE come first!

Seriously? Next time I might look the other way.


----------



## Dawgluver

Sadly, no good deed goes unpunished, Munky.  Hope that crazy woman starts leaving you alone.  Maybe the mother needs one of those Life Alert necklaces.


----------



## taxlady

Remember, her urgent isn't your important.


----------



## Andy M.

Tell her you've done what you could and that she should look elsewhere for help from now on.


----------



## CarolPa

It's a shame that she is taking advantage of you this way.  Don't let her walk all over you.  The elderly couple across the street has a son but he must have radar.  No sooner does one of the neighbors get finished cutting their grass then he pulls in.  The daughter shows up every day with food and supplies.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chef Munky said:


> ...Hubby isn't at all impressed.He doesn't like that I did a nice thing and now it's been turned around to the point that I now owe them...


The neighbor's daughter is just like a mosquito: Give her an inch, she'll take your entire foot.


Andy M. said:


> Tell her you've done what you could and that she should look elsewhere for help from now on.


+1


----------



## Kayelle

Andy M. said:


> Tell her you've done what you could and that she should look elsewhere for help from now on.



That's certainly the best advice but easier for some to say than others. 
Nevertheless, it's the perfect thing to say.


----------



## Chef Munky

I'm home, but on call.
She's to call me in 1 hour.Her daughter won't be home until late.
I'll go back over again in a while and check on her.

I can't put into words exactly what I saw right now.Thinking of my own work that had to slip today.

I did make them a nice chicken dinner with Andy's Mom's rice pilaf and some mixed veggies.She hadn't eaten lunch yet.I made her a plate.She ate everything but some of her veggies.

Thank you Andy for the recipe.She truly enjoyed it.

Yeah she did want me to start cleaning.Even wanted my sons to come over and get things organized.I told her no.Both ways.I fixed her plate and sat and talked.No more no less.

the place is bad. I really feel the need for a shower.


----------



## Caslon

Sites that lead you to believe you can add a social commentary remark to a news story.  If not having actually registered for that particular site and you want to leave a comment, you're giving the convenience of logging in using your Google, Facebook, etc. accounts.  Fine.  

You go and click on one of those to allow you to post a comment.  Then you're taken thru a mire of passwords and logins that end up not being that convenient at all...logging in using your well established Facebook, Yahoo, Google accounts.  It's not that convenient..at all and ends up in fail.

So much for sites saying..."not registered with us? No problem...link and log in and comment with one of these huge major social network icons  ".  It's just a matter of a click or two.  
Fail.


----------



## CharlieD

Munky, The woman must get one of those calling  bracelets , they advertise on TV all the time. My mom finally got one. Took a bit of convincing, but if something happens, push the button and emergency crew comes with in minutes. I think that what needs to be suggest to your neighbor.  You are not her assistant, if something happens, G-d forbid, they will blame you. You need to tell that to the daughter. 


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Munky, The woman must get one of those calling  bracelets , they advertise on TV all the time. My mom finally got one. Took a bit of convincing, but if something happens, push the button and emergency crew comes with in minutes. I think that what needs to be suggest to your neighbor.  You are not her assistant, if something happens, G-d forbid, they will blame you. You need to tell that to the daughter.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



Charlie is right Munky. You don't want to end up being her ICE (In Case of Emergency) number. You don't want that responsibility. You will have the hospital calling you for permission to move her or for you to come and take her home. Etc. Step away while you can. They have already started fulfilling your fears.


----------



## Chef Munky

CharlieD said:


> Munky, The woman must get one of those calling  bracelets , they advertise on TV all the time. My mom finally got one. Took a bit of convincing, but if something happens, push the button and emergency crew comes with in minutes. I think that what needs to be suggest to your neighbor.  You are not her assistant, if something happens, G-d forbid, they will blame you. You need to tell that to the daughter.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



My mother has one of those bracelets.She hated it at first.The more she tried to take it off the worse her attitude got, she was very violent unit she got used to the idea that it can't be removed.She also has a 24 hr nurse and a security system that won't let her stray at all.She's also had her picture taken that's on file for as they say "Silver Protection" Elderly patients with Dementia.

As far as my neighbor,you know my sons told me yesterday the exact same thing you did.I would be blamed if anything should happen.She's a liability that I don't want or need.

Yesterday was the first time in 18 years that I've been invited into their home.Now as I'm typing her daughter is txting me like mad over stupid things. I'm playing the Monkey today.See nothing,say nothing,do nothing.
LOL!!!

Self protection I think.


----------



## CharlieD

Good, keep it safe. It is your safety too.


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> My mother has one of those bracelets.She hated it at first.The more she tried to take it off the worse her attitude got, she was very violent unit she got used to the idea that it can't be removed.She also has a 24 hr nurse and a security system that won't let her stray at all.She's also had her picture taken that's on file for as they say "Silver Protection" Elderly patients with Dementia.
> 
> As far as my neighbor,you know my sons told me yesterday the exact same thing you did.I would be blamed if anything should happen.She's a liability that I don't want or need.
> 
> Yesterday was the first time in 18 years that I've been invited into their home.Now as I'm typing her daughter is txting me like mad over stupid things. I'm playing the Monkey today.See nothing,say nothing,do nothing.
> LOL!!!
> 
> Self protection I think.



Absolutely. Me thinks the daughter is tired of caring for her mother and looking for a scapegoat. And you have been elected even though you weren't even on the ballot. You may have to have a verbal confrontation with her letting her know that your husband does not approve. Let him in on it. It is easier when you can place the blame elsewhere. Advise her to find elderly services that can meet the mothers needs. Do some homework and have some  phone numbers she can call. Then walk away. Don't look back.


----------



## CarolPa

I would love to take meals to the elderly couple across the street occasionally but DH won't let me.  Another neighbor does it, and their son called him one day and told him his mother got sick from the food.  They have 2 adult children and the daughter is constantly there bringing food, doing laundry, etc, but the son won't do anything.  The neighbors cut the grass, etc.  I would not want to take the chance on someone getting sick after eating something I made, even if that wasn't the reason they got sick.  You could be blamed and held accountable for a lot of things.  Suggest getting the Medical Alert system and get yourself out of this situation.  Maybe asking to be paid for your services would get you off the hook.


----------



## Addie

Unfortunately, we have become a sue happy country. The problem with feeding the elderly, is you don't know about their allergies, food sensitivities, food likes/dislikes, are they diabetic, etc. Even favorite ethnic dishes. They may ask you to make a favorite dish and not tell you they can't have that any more. Today we live in a world of peanut butter. You just never know who is allergic to peanuts.


----------



## Addie

Petty vent? Maybe I should go to the major vent thread. 

My Senior Charlie Card (public transportation card for reduced price) expired last February 2014. I didn't bother to renew it because I also had The Ride. (Vehicle transportation at reduced priced.) At my last evaluation it was determined that I only needed The Ride if there was snow on the ground or it is raining out. Today it is sunny out and our 70 foot high pile of snow from this past winter finally melted this past week. 

Now I know I still have some monies on my Charlie Card. I call the number, press 1, press 2, press 3, press this! Then hang up on me. Three times. According to all their recordings, if I wish to renew the card over the phone it can take as many as 6-8 week to process. By then we will have more snow on the ground. Or I can go in town on the T and go to Downtown Crossing that requires a lot of walking for me to change from the Blue Line to the Orange Line. I can get my card right then and there. If I could walk that much I wouldn't need the card. I am going to have to dose myself up with every pain killer I have in the house just to get there. I hope all their elevators or escalators are in working order. 

Don't you just love government agencies that encourage your use of the phone services?


----------



## taxlady

Well that's a bummer Addie. And I'll bet you have to pay full fare to get there.

One of these days I have to get a senior's pass. At least I can drive to the place where I can get it.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Well that's a bummer Addie. And I'll bet you have to pay full fare to get there.
> 
> One of these days I have to get a senior's pass. At least I can drive to the place where I can get it.



Actually, I won't, one look at me an the bus driver will allow me to pay in cash $.80 instead of the $2.50 regular fare. I look like a senior.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Actually, I won't, one look at me an the bus driver will allow me to pay in cash $.80 instead of the $2.50 regular fare. I look like a senior.


You're lucky it works like that. Here, you have to have the official senior's card. I don't think the machine will accept a reduced fare without that card.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> You're lucky it works like that. Here, you have to have the official senior's card. I don't think the machine will accept a reduced fare without that card.



Our bus drivers can override the fare box. A lot of our seniors just never caught onto the program. So the bus drivers are given some leeway for using their own judgment. Also children 11 y.o. and younger when traveling with an adult go for free. 

As soon as I turned 55, I applied and was instantly approved with my card in hand to use on the way home. But of course I hate my picture. But I am stuck with it. Maybe they will take a new picture for me when I go in. Hopefully my picture is not still in the system. 

I have my State ID and love the pic on that one. Too bad they can't use that one. That ID never expires. The new ones do. I will never have to get a new State one. Sometimes you get to hit the Lucky Button.


----------



## Chef Munky

CarolPa said:


> I would love to take meals to the elderly couple across the street occasionally but DH won't let me.  Another neighbor does it, and their son called him one day and told him his mother got sick from the food.  They have 2 adult children and the daughter is constantly there bringing food, doing laundry, etc, but the son won't do anything.  The neighbors cut the grass, etc.  I would not want to take the chance on someone getting sick after eating something I made, even if that wasn't the reason they got sick.  You could be blamed and held accountable for a lot of things.  Suggest getting the Medical Alert system and get yourself out of this situation.  Maybe asking to be paid for your services would get you off the hook.



I've been told not to make them any more dinners.Period!
Not after the other days request.Hubby's livid.He's now going to be dealing with them.It's already started.

Her daughter came knocking at my door before 9 am.I had just woken up.Was still in my jammies.So I didn't answer the door.Later when I opened it to leave to run errands.She had left garbage on my door step.
Unbelievable!

While out and about she txts me, she's assuming I'm her errand girl now.
She requested that I pick them up 10 whole chickens at a certain place.
Those chickens sell for $15.50 plus tax.

Still out, here's where Hubby is stepping in.He bought us a new phone that screens calls.Actually tells you whose calling.With an answering machine.

Her daughter came over while we were gone to bring our sons a frozen pizza.Made a comment to my son that she wanted more chicken.
She went home. Then Mom calls.You could tell that the answering machine threw her.
I was to call her back and set up a time to meet up with her.She didn't say why.

It's over.I went silent.Didn't answer anything.Keeping a low profile to the point I now have to sneak out of my own home or be bombarded.


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> I've been told not to make them any more dinners.Period!
> Not after the other days request.Hubby's livid.He's now going to be dealing with them.It's already started.
> 
> Her daughter came knocking at my door before 9 am.I had just woken up.Was still in my jammies.So I didn't answer the door.Later when I opened it to leave to run errands.She had left garbage on my door step.
> Unbelievable!
> 
> While out and about she txts me, she's assuming I'm her errand girl now.
> She requested that I pick them up 10 whole chickens at a certain place.
> Those chickens sell for $15.50 plus tax.
> 
> Still out, here's where Hubby is stepping in.He bought us a new phone that screens calls.Actually tells you whose calling.With an answering machine.
> 
> Her daughter came over while we were gone to bring our sons a frozen pizza.Made a comment to my son that she wanted more chicken.
> She went home. Then Mom calls.You could tell that the answering machine threw her.
> I was to call her back and set up a time to meet up with her.She didn't say why.
> 
> It's over.I went silent.Didn't answer anything.Keeping a low profile to the point I now have to sneak out of my own home or be bombarded.



Definitely let hubby handle them. Keep a record of every time and date that there is any word or action on their part. And make sure to record all of your reactions also. Including how you felt. Upset, furious, etc. Do not erase any txts. Starting with the garbage incident. You might also consider reporting the condition of the home to the authorities. Do it as reporting a health and fire hazard to the neighborhood. The condition of the home is an attraction to vermin. They will be so busy dealing with the authorities, they won't have time for you. Good luck and let us know how it goes.


----------



## Dawgluver

Strangest thing.  DH told me, "You've got to see this," the other day.  "This" was a 3 foot pile of gravel blocking off a part of our cul de sac driveway from the garage.  We thought one of our nice neighbors just cleaned out his grate and was helping to fill a rut in our gravel driveway.  But I'd just talked with him, and he never mentioned doing something like that.  We ran into the nice neighbor when we were coming back from our walk today.  He said he did NOT put the gravel in our driveway.  It was the evil neighbor.  NN told EN that we wouldn't be able to back our cars out, and to not dump the gravel there.  EN said, "Well, the gravel has to go somewhere."

What a jerk!  My first thought was to wheelbarrow it all back and dump it in EN's driveway.  DH has plans for the gravel though, we'll smooth it out and fill a few ruts.  Guess it beats paying for a load of gravel.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Strangest thing.  DH told me, "You've got to see this," the other day.  "This" was a 3 foot pile of gravel blocking off a part of our cul de sac driveway from the garage.  We thought one of our nice neighbors just cleaned out his grate and was helping to fill a rut in our gravel driveway.  But I'd just talked with him, and he never mentioned doing something like that.  We ran into the nice neighbor when we were coming back from our walk today.  He said he did NOT put the gravel in our driveway.  It was the evil neighbor.  NN told EN that we wouldn't be able to back our cars out, and to not dump the gravel there.  EN said, "Well, the gravel has to go somewhere."
> 
> What a jerk!  My first thought was to wheelbarrow it all back and dump it in EN's driveway.  DH has plans for the gravel though, we'll smooth it out and fill a few ruts.  Guess it beats paying for a load of gravel.


What a jerk, " EN said, "Well, the gravel has to go somewhere." yeah, somewhere on his property or at the dump.


----------



## roadfix

I'm always buying gravel.  I could use some of that.


----------



## Dawgluver

Isn't that something,Taxy?  Same guy who's taken out our tree branches and mailbox on a few occasions and won't admit responsibility, even though we've seen him do it.

We're making lemonade from lemons, or rut fillers from free gravel.

Yeah, Roadfix, we figure it's a bonus.  Just wish he would have asked before he blocked our driveway with it!


----------



## taxlady

Just think how differently you would have felt if he had asked. What a doofus for not asking.


----------



## Dawgluver

Just glad we saw the gravel mound before we backed over it to get out of our driveway!

The guy is certifiable.  Not sure where the gravel originally came from, but it's not ours.  Nice neighbor did say evil neighbor was very angry while he was dumping it on our property.  Then again, he's usually angry.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, Dawg....unbelievable that a neighbor would behave that way. He must be a really miserable person to try to make everyone around him as miserable as he is.  

Maybe you should send him a thank you note for the gravel....that ought to make his day!


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl!  Ruts are filled, another nice neighbor on the other side got a big kick out of the story, he's also watched the drama and has been a recipient of the guy's wrath.

The evil neighbor is out of his element.  His parents bought him the house.  He couldn't afford it otherwise. He sided 3 sides of his house, can't afford the back.  Didn't pay the sider guys so they stopped.  We do love their kids though, have no idea where they got their sweetness.


----------



## Cheryl J

He's married with children?!   I pictured this guy as a crotchety and bitter old man.  My brother has a C&BOM for a neighbor.


----------



## Dawgluver

What I found funny, from what the other nice neighbor told us, was the guy making his 13 year old son, and his wife shovel the gravel onto our driveway!  He was just pointing and dictating. The dude is at least 400 pounds, probably could have used the exercise.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

As many of you know, I'm part Native American, though I don't look it.  I once had a neighbor who was full blood, and with an angry attitude, or at least a superior attitude.  He used to shovel the snow from his driveway onto mine.  I'm a peaceful guy, but eventually got tire of it.  I asked his to stop.  He said, why?  He said that I never shoveled my driveway anyhow.

I did shovel my driveway, but as I worked for a living, I couldn't shovel it until I got home from work.

This guy had no problem with his kids playing in our yard, but not the other way around.  His bad attitude rubbed off on his youngest boy, who was very cute, playful, and lovable, as a toddler.  As a young teen, he and two others of the same age group beat a man to death with a ball bat because he wouldn't give them the passcode to his debit card.  All three were tried as adults and given life sentences.

I hope those kids of you angry neighbor grow up better than my EN's kids did.  He taught his children to disrespect everyone by his own example.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Sad story.  I've worked in the schools for 35+ years, and have seen what you've seen, Chief.  The neighbor kids have always been welcome here.  They also love Beagle, and she loves them.  The family has had two dogs, and the dad has gotten rid of both of them, to the distress of the kids.  I just don't get these people.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawg, your stories keep making my EN look sweeter and sweeter! Actually, since her boy went into the military, she' been rather...human! Needless to say, I pray for the safety of her son every night. And he needs it. Last I heard he was probably shipping out to the Middle East. He's an Army Ranger. Tough on his Mom, but at least this all has scared her nice.

I hope Karma finds your EN real soon. Whenever he gets on your nerves, just channel this thought in his direction:


----------



## Dawgluver

A very useful phrase, CG, thanks!


----------



## CharlieD

Hey, let me tell you about neighbors. We have this Pakistani family, a religious one at that. The wife wears full garb, well all 3 times that I have seen her in the last 6-7 years that they been living next to us. My old neighbors, an Indian couple, the nicest people there is, and us bought a swing set together and put it right in the middle of our two yards, when they sold the house the new Pakistani neighbors were told that play set is mine. However his kids, and he has few, would not only occupy the whole set, they would kick my kids out telling them that it is their set, "our father told us it is ours” they would tell my kids. Then they started telling my kids “you Jews have everything wrong” and so on and so forth. 
   For the last year he send them back to Pakistan for school, so in summer they came back even nastier. I finally told him that my kids do not use the swing and he can buy it if he wants or I will sell to somebody else.


----------



## taxlady

That's a shame Charlie. I would love to see their faces when you sell that swing set.


----------



## CharlieD

well, i did sold to them. He ran with money as soon as I posted for sale sign. So, no funny faces. But that's just shows want kind of people they are.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> well, i did sold to them. He ran with money as soon as I posted for sale sign. So, no funny faces. But that's just shows want kind of people they are.


shakes head


----------



## Caslon

*Inaccurate photo of shoes you buy*

Grrrr. You see a pair of shoes or sneakers you like for sale at places like Amazon.  You order them, receive them, then open the box and the shoes look a completely different color than the ones that were depicted when you ordered them.  On top of that, I have to pay the shipping to send them back. 

These are the shoes as depicted in the ad when I ordered them (overexposed picture).







These are what I received.


----------



## Dawgluver

I ordered a pair of sandals from Zappos once.  I got a pair of men's size 12 beige boat shoes instead in the sandals box.  Thankfully Zappos paid for me to send them back.


----------



## roadfix

I've returned items back to Amazon that weren't up to my satisfaction.   I never had to pay return shipment.   In fact, they email you a return authorization form and a carrier will pick up your return package.
This is one thing I like about Amazon.   For an online merchant Amazon may not have the best prices but their return policy is pretty much hassle free so I use them for most of my online purchases.


----------



## Caslon

roadfix said:


> I've returned items back to Amazon that weren't up to my satisfaction.   I never had to pay return shipment.   In fact, they email you a return authorization form and a carrier will pick up your return package.
> This is one thing I like about Amazon.   For an online merchant Amazon may not have the best prices but their return policy is pretty much hassle free so I use them for most of my online purchases.



I ordered them from Amazon's site!  Then printed out the return shipping label and at the top right of that printed return label it says, "Attach postage" !!!   I didn't realize I was buying from a shoe store called MSS Shoes thru Amazon. MSS Shoes is some snooty small fashion online site.  I need to more carefully read the return policy on some Amazon items.


----------



## CharlieD

Unfortunately pictures on line do not always show exact color. Personally, I hate buying on line.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Unfortunately pictures on line do not always show exact color. Personally, I hate buying on line.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking



There is a song by Gilbert and Sullivan from H.M.S. Pinafore called: _Things Are Seldom What They Seem_. I think of that song every time I order anything on line.


----------



## Chef Munky

*Who Said No Good Deed Goes Unpunished?*

The neighbors are still at it.They do have some will power in them.It's just a shame they can't use it to help themselves.

It's been more requests.I've graduated up to being asked to do yard work now.They've also upped the anty to actually paying me to $30, but didn't say if it's per hr or not.

When I said no.I got a quick txt back "Thank you!"
An hour later she responded again to my reasons why I can't with a load of...
We can't do this, that or the other because..Completely disregarding me.Can your sons do it instead? NO they can't!

I've never read so many lies, or manipulations in a txt before.
I'm still sneaking out of the house.Keeping a low profile and not answering the phone or txts from them.This is fun!


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> The neighbors are still at it.They do have some will power in them.It's just a shame they can't use it to help themselves.
> 
> It's been more requests.I've graduated up to being asked to do yard work now.They've also upped the anty to actually paying me to $30, but didn't say if it's per hr or not.
> 
> When I said no.I got a quick txt back "Thank you!"
> An hour later she responded again to my reasons why I can't with a load of...
> We can't do this, that or the other because..Completely disregarding me.Can your sons do it instead? NO they can't!
> 
> I've never read so many lies, or manipulations in a txt before.
> I'm still sneaking out of the house.Keeping a low profile and not answering the phone or txts from them.This is fun!



Absolutely! Make a game out of it all and protect your sanity at the same time.


----------



## Zhizara

Well!  @#!$^%!!!

I called the number to check the balance on my debit card and was told there was "an important message" regarding my account. then I was transferred to a customer service representative where a recording saying that they had a heavy volume of calls and to call back later and then they disconnected my call.

According to their website, their response time is 78 minutes!

Since today is a Social Security payday for so many people, I don't think I'll be able to get through today at all.

Now I'm stuck waiting to call back and have to wait and worry.

Of course, I'm ready to go shopping, but I don't dare leave until I know what's going on.


----------



## Zhizara

I finally decided to check my mail (I don't bother going every day).

There is a letter from Direct Express Fraud Services Department.

There was a different phone number and this time it's letting me hold.

Of course, after holding for 10 or 15 minutes it disconnected.  I called back immediately, but lost my place in the queue.  GRRRRRrrrrr!


----------



## CarolPa

I don't think today is SS day.  They have a new system now that you get your SS on Wednesday's going according to your BD or name.  I think only people on SS disability get theirs on the first day of the month.

I hope you get through soon and find out what's going on.  That's very annoying.  For the fraud department, there should be more open lines.  For your sake, I hope it's something stupid, like wanting to sell you fraud protection or something similar.


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> I've returned items back to Amazon that weren't up to my satisfaction.   I never had to pay return shipment.   In fact, they email you a return authorization form and a carrier will pick up your return package.
> This is one thing I like about Amazon.   For an online merchant Amazon may not have the best prices but their return policy is pretty much hassle free so I use them for most of my online purchases.




Check the credit you receive from them.  I'm not sure if it's Amazon or someone else, but even though they give you the label to use that does not require you to pay at the time of pickup, they deduct the amount from the credit they issue to you.  

I no longer order anything online if there's a chance I will want to return it, unless it's something I can return to a local brick and mortar store.


----------



## Andy M.

I think for Amazon, the difference is whether Amazon is fulfilling the order or if they are acting as an agent for another retailer. 

When Amazon is acting as an agent, the cost of the item does not count towards the $35 minimum for free shipping and there are different return policies.

You have to be on your toes with them, it can be confusing.


----------



## Andy M.

I've discovered that when SS tells you your check will arrive and when it actually arrives are not related.  My check is supposed to arrive on the third Wednesday of the month.  I receive it on the first Friday after the 2nd of the month.


----------



## taxlady

Z, I hope it's something that can be cleared up quickly and easily. What a PITA, especially since you were going to go shopping today.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Zhizara said:


> Well!  @#!$^%!!!
> 
> I called the number to check the balance on my debit card and was told there was "an important message" regarding my account...Of course, I'm ready to go shopping, but I don't dare leave until I know what's going on.


There is no pain in the butt like a government-induced pain in the butt. Sure hope you're able to clear this up fast and that there isn't any problem with your account.


----------



## roadfix

I usually make sure the items are Amazon stocked warehouse items and not third party.  If they are third party, Ebay is usually cheaper for that same free shipping item (and often from same vendor on Amazon) and on top of that, no sales tax added in most cases.

And I think with Amazon returns if you are returning simply because you changed your mind they probably will charge you return shipping.    I always check defective or deceptive description when returning something as they are always the case when I decide to return something.


----------



## bakechef

Went to visit my mom down in SC this weekend. Started getting a scratchy throat on Wednesday, which turned into a very sore throat by friday with blister like lesions forming up both sides of my tongue.  Apparently there was a lesion on the back of my throat causing the discomfort.  I couldn't take anymore so I went to urgent care on Sunday morning tested negative for strep, and negative for viral.  Said it was likely bacterial.  I was expecting her to prescribe an antibiotic, but instead she prescribed Prednisone which I thought odd, but it seems to be working.  I feel better today.

Drove home dosing with Cloraseptic spray, (still better than driving home from Florida with the flu..).  I've been eating mashed potatoes, jello and pudding for the last couple days.  Today I ate some ham without much pain.  Hopefully I'm on the upswing.


----------



## bakechef

It becomes a bit easier with Prime.  Things marked with Prime include free return shipping.  Even without prime, Amazon is likely to give a courtesy credit if you receive something unsatisfactory even if they aren't the seller, it would be worth a try.  

I really enjoy Zappo's for shoe shopping (now owned by Amazon).  It's much easier to shop, having to sift through multiple listings to find the combination of color, size, width etc.. is a pain on Amazon, but very straight forward on Zappo's.  Zappo's includes free return shipping on everything, no membership required.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

If my neighbor's puppy keeps escaping, I'm going to start charging a return fee!


----------



## Dawgluver

Old teeth truly annoy.  We watched the premier of Frozen a couple years ago, and I bit into an old maid from the popcorn bucket, and broke a molar.  Now my dentist said it needs to be fixed.  I opted for a filling instead of a crown, but am NOT looking forward to the Novocain shot!


----------



## taxlady

BC, I hope you feel better soon. Will you be going to see your own doctor?


----------



## Cheryl J

Take care bakechef, and I hope you feel better very soon.


----------



## taxlady

Z, did you ever find out what was going on with your bank account?


----------



## bakechef

taxlady said:


> BC, I hope you feel better soon. Will you be going to see your own doctor?



If I'm not all cleared up soon, I'll definitely go see my doctor.  I have no idea what the bill is going to look like from the urgent care in SC, even with insurance! I'll still have a bill with insurance if I go to my doctor.  I pay out of pocket until I reach my deductible of $1250 then 20%, excluding vaccinations, physicals and other minor routine things.

I've never had anything like this in my life, kinda freaked me out a bit.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hope you feel better soon, bakechef. Nothing worse in the summer than being sick. Did the doctor say anything about "thrush"? Himself had that ages ago. Took about two weeks to clear up, but meds were more primitive in the 1980s. Whatever it is, get well.


----------



## Caslon

Dawgluver said:


> Old teeth truly annoy.  We watched the premier of Frozen a couple years ago, and I bit into an old maid from the popcorn bucket, and broke a molar.  Now my dentist said it needs to be fixed.  I opted for a filling instead of a crown, but am NOT looking forward to the Novocain shot!



I was into the health craze in the mid 80's.  I bought a bag of almonds.  The plastic bag that contained these almonds weren't of national brand name, but rather the dull plastic bag with some local name written on it.  I was enjoying them until I bit hard on a fossilized almond. It cracked my molar and from then on I've had 2 root canals (one failed), a new crown after each root canal, then my quality dentist extracted the tooth, cut off the bad root stem and reinserted back in my gums.  That worked for about a year.  I then had an implant put in with another charge for a new crown ($ 1500 each ya know).  Haha, now the abutment has loosened so I paid a specialist to cut off that crown ($1350) All is fine, and my implant is awaiting a new abutment and crown to be put on...another $1500+.  All in all, I figure I'll have spent close to $10,000 for one molar by the time I get my new abutment and crown put on.  All to think I bit hard onto a fossilized almond.

The ironic thing of all is that almonds don't have natural vitamin E.   It's added into almonds.
The same goes for sunflower seeds.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Old teeth truly annoy.  We watched the premier of Frozen a couple years ago, and I bit into an old maid from the popcorn bucket, and broke a molar.  Now my dentist said it needs to be fixed.  I opted for a filling instead of a crown, but am NOT looking forward to the Novocain shot!



Dawg, I was in the second grade or somewhere in that area, we were all going to file downstairs to the auditorium and get our booster shots for DPT. Our class was to be last. I watched all the other kids get theirs and then it was our turn. I was last in line. I had been noticing that no matter what you did, cry, scream, try to run away, you still got that shot. I knew I was doomed. So I just held my breath, and tried to relax. Hey, it didn't hurt. A deep breath works wonders.

I had all my teeth removed with just Novocain. And anytime I end up in the hospital, they can poke me all they want trying to find a vein. The secret is total muscle relaxation.


----------



## Addie

Zhizara said:


> I finally decided to check my mail (I don't bother going every day).
> 
> There is a letter from *Direct Express Fraud Services *Department.
> 
> There was a different phone number and this time it's letting me hold.
> 
> Of course, after holding for 10 or 15 minutes it disconnected.  I called back immediately, but lost my place in the queue.  GRRRRRrrrrr!



Are you a subscriber to that service? If not, don't call back.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> There is a song by Gilbert and Sullivan from H.M.S. Pinafore called: _Things Are Seldom What They Seem_. I think of that song every time I order anything on line.




Good one


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## roadfix

Just noticed on my last returned item to Amazon last week, they refunded me money ($92) two days before they actually received my return package.   Their automated return and refund processing system are too efficient if you ask me.......they need to slow down and let a human being examine the returned items before issuing refunds.  But of course if they did that there will be a mega back log of unprocessed returned goods.......LOL


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Just noticed on my last returned item to Amazon last week, they refunded me money ($92) two days before they actually received my return package.   Their automated return and refund processing system are too efficient if you ask me.......they need to slow down and let a human being examine the returned items before issuing refunds.  But of course if they did that there will be a mega back log of unprocessed returned goods.......LOL



I had my birthstone ring with diamonds on the side that I ordered from QVC. I loved that ring. Standing at the stove one night, the main stone fell out. I ran to the phone and talked to a CR. I told her what happened and that my ring was out of warranty. No problem. It was a Friday night, Monday was a holiday and I wouldn't be able to mail it back until Tuesday. Saturday by special delivery I had a new ring in my hand, and come Tuesday I mailed back the damaged one. When I got home Tuesday night from work, there was another ring in my mailbox. I called QVC to let them know about the second ring.  "Keep both rings. And good luck." I gave the second one to my granddaughter since her birthday is in the same month as mine. I still have my ring. And so does she.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

I honestly thought to complain today. Then I realized I was so wrong.

I complained today about cleaning my home; then I realized there are people living in their cars who would gladly clean a home.

Then I fussed about the radio in my car when it cuts out. There are people who don't have cars who would love my old one, radio or no.

I fussed about scooping all eight litterboxes, until I realized these three young kittens may have been put down, and I'm so happy all eight cats get along so well.

I gripe about my job; I need to hush about that because there are so many people who would love to have a job.

Sometimes when I'm exhausted from work and have to cook dinner, do laundry, and change beds....again, there are people who would give anything to have what I have.

My petty vent is this: I must never complain, and I really need to work on this and understand how I am so blessed. I look around our simple home with new eyes now, and wow, just wow; I am so thankful.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CrazyCatLady said:


> I honestly thought to complain today. Then I realized I was so wrong.
> 
> I complained today about cleaning my home; then I realized there are people living in their cars who would gladly clean a home.
> 
> Then I fussed about the radio in my car when it cuts out. There are people who don't have cars who would love my old one, radio or no.
> 
> I fussed about scooping all eight litterboxes, until I realized these three young kittens may have been put down, and I'm so happy all eight cats get along so well.
> 
> I gripe about my job; I need to hush about that because there are so many people who would love to have a job.
> 
> Sometimes when I'm exhausted from work and have to cook dinner, do laundry, and change beds....again, there are people who would give anything to have what I have.
> 
> My petty vent is this: I must never complain, and I really need to work on this and understand how I am so blessed. I look around our simple home with new eyes now, and wow, just wow; I am so thankful.



Your attitude is one that I too try to embrace.  This is one of the best posts I've read on DC, ever.

I'll be going to the hospital to see DW shortly.  A bit of a revalation came to me.  She is going to pull through this, and we just may have been given this challenge to remind us of the depth and strength of our love for each other.  

Sometimes, as life goes on, no matter how strong the love, a couple can begin to take each other for granted.  This wiped all that away, and our love is at the absolute forefront in our lives.  It will be a long road to complete recovery and will require some intense therapy to get her muscle strength back.  But I'll be with her every step of the way.  I'm thankful for the challenges in my life.  In the hands of my creator, I started as raw ore.  I was challenged by fire, with blessings of just the right sort to turn me into steel.  The proper quenching of the fire, that would be humility and taking time to give thanks, has properly tempered me to be the best steel I can be.

Setbacks and challenges, even pain are not thrust upon us.   Rather, they are allowed so that we can overcome them and become stronger.  Often, they are cause by our own actions, or lack of action, or the actions of others.  Sometimes, they are just there with no fault of anyone.  But we can grow from all of our challenges, in compassion, in strength, in honor, and in love.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

OK you two, stop spreading happy thoughts in the "Petty Vents" thread.  Not that I don't enjoy the joy - trust me, thinking happy thoughts is how you get lifted up - but maybe it's about time we kicked "*The Thankfulness Club*" thread back up to the top. Wouldn't it be pleasant if we could keep this thread higher up the list than either of the venting threads?


----------



## CarolPa

Chief, I'm sorry DW had to go through this but I'm glad to hear she is improving.  She and your whole family will be in my prayers.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Carol, in case you haven't found it yet, this is the thread Chief started that he used to keep us up-to-date.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/need-all-the-help-i-can-get-93435.html


----------



## NickeeCoco

If you ask me to travel two hours to where you live and do a dinner party for you, please give me more than a days notice before you CANCEL ON ME!!!

I'm full of rage.  Everything is packed.  Hours of work, planning, list making, shopping, money spent, etc.  Gone.  For nothing.

He's a relative, so there's not much I can do except silently simmer over here.


----------



## GotGarlic

That's awful, Nickee. You can ask for reimbursement. You shouldn't have to pay for that.


----------



## taxlady

NickeeCoco said:


> If you ask me to travel two hours to where you live and do a dinner party for you, please give me more than a days notice before you CANCEL ON ME!!!
> 
> I'm full of rage.  Everything is packed.  Hours of work, planning, list making, shopping, money spent, etc.  Gone.  For nothing.
> 
> He's a relative, so there's not much I can do except silently simmer over here.


That was truly inconsiderate of your relative.

If it were me, I would use a text editor to compose an email (not an email program, where it could accidentally get sent before I was ready). Then I would wait until I was calm and not nearly so angry. I would work on it. I would try to explain about the wasted time and money. Then I would set it aside. I would look it over again later and maybe edit it some more. I have learned not to respond too quickly when I get annoyed/angered/upset. This is obviously a relative that you like well enough to do this for.


----------



## Kayelle

taxlady said:


> That was truly inconsiderate of your relative.
> 
> If it were me, I would use a text editor to compose an email (not an email program, where it could accidentally get sent before I was ready). Then I would wait until I was calm and not nearly so angry. I would work on it. I would try to explain about the wasted time and money. Then I would set it aside. I would look it over again later and maybe edit it some more. I have learned not to respond too quickly when I get annoyed/angered/upset. This is obviously a relative that you like well enough to do this for.



Excellent advice Taxi. Nicki there's just *no way* I could let this go.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nickee, my first thought is "wow". So much time and effort, and then that. If that had happened to me, I'd drive the two hours, then punch his/her lights out.   However, I think *taxy* has a much better suggestion.

I would try to slip in something towards the end of your message along the lines of "I'll never be able to recover the time I spent planning, but I would really appreciate you reimbursing me the money spent on the perishables". If you end up eating all that food, I'd even be happy for half the money back.


----------



## Andy M.

NickeeCoco said:


> If you ask me to travel two hours to where you live and do a dinner party for you, please give me more than a days notice before you CANCEL ON ME!!!
> 
> I'm full of rage.  Everything is packed.  Hours of work, planning, list making, shopping, money spent, etc.  Gone.  For nothing.
> 
> He's a relative, so there's not much I can do except silently simmer over here.




Do you know the reason for the cancellation?  Perhaps it was unavoidable and the relative did the best they could.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Do you know the reason for the cancellation?  Perhaps it was unavoidable and the relative did the best they could.


Good point.


----------



## Kayelle

Andy M. said:


> Do you know the reason for the cancellation?  Perhaps it was unavoidable and the relative did the best they could.



Regardless if there was good reason for canceling, the relative should at least be responsible for the financial cost to Nickee.


----------



## Kayelle

Cooking Goddess said:


> Nickee, my first thought is "wow". So much time and effort, and then that. If that had happened to me, I'd drive the two hours, then punch his/her lights out.   However, I think *taxy* has a much better suggestion.
> 
> I would try to slip in something towards the end of your message along the lines of *"I'll never be able to recover the time I spent planning, but I would really appreciate you reimbursing me the money spent on the perishables". *If you end up eating all that food, I'd even be happy for half the money back.



Insert amount here Nickee.


----------



## Aunt Bea

I would let it go.  

In the future I would require a nonrefundable deposit on all catering, that would at least cover the cost of the perishables.

If you have a large quantity of food that you cannot use or freeze maybe you could donate it to a local soup kitchen or food pantry and at least get a receipt for a tax deduction.

Don't get discouraged!


----------



## roadfix

Unless that relative had a family emergency that day I would definitely put that relative on my manure list.


----------



## Caslon

Petty vent. I visited Pinterest.com to check out a recipe. It lets you check it out for 15 seconds, then brings up a big box requiring you to register. You're blocked from there on.  Those sites are annoying as hell to me. When you get thru and register with FaceBook or some other auto log in, Pinterest floods your email box.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> Petty vent. I visited Pinterest.com to check out a recipe. It lets you check it out for 15 seconds, then brings up a big box requiring you to register. You're blocked from there on.  Those sites are annoying as hell to me. When you get thru and register with FaceBook or some other auto log in, Pinterest floods your email box.



You can change the settings so they don't send you the notifications.


----------



## GotGarlic

Shocked and saddened about the shooting of a reporter and cameraman in Roanoke, Virginia, live on the air this morning, by a former employee of the TV station. I guess I shouldn't be, since there have been so many shootings in the United States in recent years. So sad for their families, friends and colleagues. 

It's especially horrible that the cameraman was a freshman at Virginia Tech when the massacre occurred there in 2007.

The suspect shot himself after being confronted by law enforcement officers. He's in critical condition.


----------



## Kayelle

GotGarlic said:


> Shocked and saddened about the shooting of a reporter and cameraman in Roanoke, live on the air this morning, by a former employee of the TV station. I guess I shouldn't be, since there are so many shootings in the United States in recent years. So sad for their families, friends and colleagues.
> 
> It's especially horrible that the cameraman was a freshman at Virginia Tech when the massacre occurred there in 2007.
> 
> The suspect shot himself after being confronted by law enforcement officers. He's in critical condition.



I've been watching it being covered on the Today Show this morning and wondered if you "knew" them GG. Shocking indeed.


----------



## GotGarlic

No, Roanoke is about a five-hour drive from here. The details are just unimaginable. The shooter apparently posted his own videos on Twitter and Facebook (his accounts have been suspended). The cameraman was engaged to the woman who was producing the morning show, so she saw it happen. It's insane.


----------



## Silversage

Caslon said:


> Petty vent. I visited Pinterest.com to check out a recipe. It lets you check it out for 15 seconds, then brings up a big box requiring you to register. You're blocked from there on.  Those sites are annoying as hell to me. When you get thru and register with FaceBook or some other auto log in, Pinterest floods your email box.



You can also log in with Twitter.  I don't use twitter - don't ever plan to, either.  So I made a dummy twitter account, and linked it to a free email account (***junkmail@gmail.com).  I use the twitter account and the junkmail account to sign up for anything that I don't want in my email.  

I never check them - never know how much stuff is in there - don't care.  My real family/friends/associates have my real email.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Caslon said:


> Petty vent. I visited Pinterest.com ... Those sites are annoying as hell to me. When you get thru and *register with FaceBook* or some other auto log in, Pinterest floods your email box.


I NeverNever sign in anywhere using Facebook (my only social account - don't do Instagram or anything else). FB has their tentacles in enough of my life; I don't need them linking to other's. I use my main email, set the preferences like *GG* said, and don't get slammed with junk mail.



Silversage said:


> ... I made a dummy twitter account, and linked it to a free email account (***junkmail@gmail.com).  I use the twitter account and the junkmail account to sign up for anything that I don't want in my email.
> 
> I never check them - never know how much stuff is in there - don't care.  My real family/friends/associates have my real email.


Genius, *Silversage*! But wait, how do you then find out the changes to their User Policy?  You never know when they might sneak in something evil...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> Shocked and saddened about the shooting of a reporter and cameraman in Roanoke, Virginia, live on the air this morning, by a former employee of the TV station...


That is sad and terrible, *GG*. I don't bother with the TV until the 5 PM news comes on, so I read this online a little earlier. So many angry ex-employees have done this over the years that it must make bosses very leery to cut anyone, no matter how bad their job performance is.


----------



## Caslon

GotGarlic said:


> You can change the settings so they don't send you the notifications.



I'm talking about the initial pop up box when new to the site requiring you to register in order to continue reading that page (Adblock won't help).  Stop following me around here.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> Stop following me around here.



Excuse me? What are you talking about?


----------



## Caslon

My petty vent was about Google hit results.  You go and check out that recipe on that site. Pinterest site lets new users hang there for a few seconds, then that site brings up a big grey square box wanting you to register and prevents you from going on.  Pinterest is that kind of site.  I'm venting I don't like sites like those.  So, then I sign up using some form of social media.  Immediately afterwards they flood my email box.   Hey!  I just dropped by that site to get a recipe.  Other recipe sites are hassle free, no registration required.

I don't like sites that let you enter their site and browse for 20 seconds, then bring up a registration box in order to continue reading.  That was my petty vent.  Maybe Pinterest site is cool and worth signing up for, only...don't let me get into your site for half a minute  (new to your site)  and then block all further reading until   I register.  That bugs me.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Caslon said:


> My petty vent was about Google hit results.  You go and check out that recipe on that site. Pinterest site lets new users hang there for a few seconds, then that site brings up a big grey square box wanting you to register and prevents you from going on.  Pinterest is that kind of site.  I'm venting I don't like sites like those.  So, then I sign up using some form of social media.  Immediately afterwards they flood my email box.   Hey!  I just dropped by that site to get a recipe.  Other recipe sites are hassle free, no registration required.
> 
> I don't like sites that let you enter their site and browse for 20 seconds, then bring up a registration box in order to continue reading.  That was my petty vent.  Maybe Pinterest site is cool and worth signing up for, only...don't let me get into your site for half a minute  (new to your site)  and then block all further reading until   I register.  That bugs me.



That bugs me too!

and another thing!!!!

I hate it when I want to watch a short news video and I have to sit through a commercial before the news item starts.  It actually gives me a bad feeling about the item or cause that they are pitching!


----------



## FoodieFanatic

I hate when you click on a story and it's a video!  I want to read the story, not watch it!


----------



## Chef Kenny

*My vent*

Nine tenths of a cent.

You know they know we are stupid because they still have 9/10 at the end of gas prices! Even when gas is at $4 a gallon!

Ever see 4/10¢? Nope! Never! It would make sense if it actually changed once in a while. I have even seen new gas signs erected with the 9/10 permanently molded or printed on it! That's right, its just permanent now!

I would drive out of my way and pay 10¢ more a gallon or even more to patronize the first gas station that stops this insanity.

All the "sheeple" out there...it's amazing we can function as a nation in the U.S. 

Speaking for myself, ever since learning fractions and rounding in grade school my mind has always rounded 9/10 to the next whole integer and anything 4/10 and below down to the next integer.

"Tap, tap...hello...is this thing on?"

Dropping the mic...


----------



## Chef Kenny

*More*

(Picking the mic back up)

Oh yea...and $.99

Anything priced with a $.98 or $.99...even $.97 ticks me off a little, I get less angry at $.96 and lower but they still think you are stupid...or know it, one or the other.

We could be rid of the penny except for heinous taxes and jerks that price things just below the next integer to trick the stupid people..."hey, at least it's less than $5"...UNTIL TAXES...FOOL!

Yep, we are clearly stupid as a people, otherwise this nonsense would not exist.

I had an old ISP provider explain this to me many moons ago. People are really that stupid. He used to price his dial-up service at $20 even and I liked that because of my $.99 and 9/10 psychosis. When he changed to $19.95 I asked him why. He said people actually told him they were going to another company for the service because he was $20 and they were $19.95 a month. 

As a society, our people demand this stupidity.


----------



## Andy M.

Kenny, I don't think it's as bad as you portray.  If you're buying gas based on price, you tend to just ignore the fraction and look at the dollars and cents.  Station A sells regular for $2.24 and station B sells it for $2.28.  The fact that the fraction is fixed at 9/10 makes such comparisons easier. JMHO


----------



## bakechef

Chef Kenny said:


> Nine tenths of a cent.
> 
> You know they know we are stupid because they still have 9/10 at the end of gas prices! Even when gas is at $4 a gallon!
> 
> Ever see 4/10¢? Nope! Never! It would make sense if it actually changed once in a while. I have even seen new gas signs erected with the 9/10 permanently molded or printed on it! That's right, its just permanent now!
> 
> I would drive out of my way and pay 10¢ more a gallon or even more to patronize the first gas station that stops this insanity.
> 
> All the "sheeple" out there...it's amazing we can function as a nation in the U.S.
> 
> Speaking for myself, ever since learning fractions and rounding in grade school my mind has always rounded 9/10 to the next whole integer and anything 4/10 and below down to the next integer.
> 
> "Tap, tap...hello...is this thing on?"
> 
> Dropping the mic...



Maybe it's just me and I drive an economical car, but I really don't pay much attention to gas prices.  I know which areas of town are more expensive and which places like club stores are usually the most reasonable.  I THINK that I paid around $2.20 a gallon last time.  I don't even pay attention to the 9/10ths nonsense, it only means 12-13 cents a tank in my case.


----------



## Cheryl J

I *think* gas was $3.45/gallon here when I filled up a couple of weeks ago.  I don't pay attention to the 9/10 of a cent either.  That .99 cents price is rounded up automatically in my mind whether it's at a gas station, grocery store, or wherever - I'm not fooled into thinking it's anything less than a dollar and think most people probably see it that way too.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

I don't pay attention either. Always get twenty dollars worth no matter what the price. Lasts me 2-3 weeks


----------



## Chef Kenny

Well it's just me then. I don't sweat gas prices either...I just notice stupid stuff.

I suppose I made the mistake of thinking "humorous" in a "venting" thread. 

Both subjects are "rant" level stuff. Y'all kind of proved my point yet methinks missed the point. But it's great that you don't sweat the small stuff!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

What bothers me about gas pricing is that when a barrel of sweet crude cost around $90, we paid close to, or just above $4 for a gallon of gas.  Now that the price for a barrel of sweet crude is close to $40 per gallon, we're still paying, in my town, just over $3 per gallon of gas.  And it always seems to go up just before the holidays when people drive the most.

What I dislike is that the wages from the largest employe, back in the 1960's, GM, would be about $90 per hour at today's dollar value.  Now, the largest employer is WalMart, with a pay of about $9  per hour with the current dollar strength.  Our standard of living is 1/10th of what it was back in the 1960's.  I had as much take home money when I made $13/hr., as I do now making $23/hr., due to the rising cost of health care, increased income tax, and other factors.  My take home pay is the same, and the dollar won't purchase as much.  With all of my married children, who have children, it takes two incomes to support the family.  The family has taken 2nd fiddle to the corporate need to float the elite on a sea of personal wealth.

And we keep voting in the same idiots year after year in our, for all practical purposes, two-party governments.  As a protest vote, I haven't voted republican, or democrat for a few elections now.  Somehow, we need to send a message to our representatives that they need to represent us, not the elite.

And of course, that's my humble opinion.  I'm not bashing one party.  I'm bashing them all.

Now this post will probably be pulled, which it kind of should be, for being too political.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Chef Kenny

I am totally with you Chief Longwind. The middle class is being  squeezed...and this is on purpose. I could explain why but it would make  me a lot of enemies on this site I'm sure. 

I am also  neither a Republican or a Democrat, the two party system and adversarial  nature of people's politics are what is killing us. People treat their  parties like their hometown football team, it doesn't matter what they  do, they are going to vote for them anyway regardless of available  facts.

As far as corporate? We've come a long way from company towns and company stores...yep such a long way they don't exist! We've lost most of those companies to globalization. Blame those who want that "new world order"...in both major political parties. They want globalization then set the U.S. up as one of the most difficult nations to do business in. There is a reason we cant compete and it's self inflicted. 

We ran companies off with high taxes and outrageous regulations that go far beyond simply keeping pollution at bay. We are now a consumer economy...we're only good at using and selling stuff anymore. I've seen the decline as I come from a welding and metalwork career...we've raised our kids in recent decades as a nation to be soft, sensitive, politically correct and little Johnny is far too "special" to be a plumber or construction worker. So we have Mal-educated politically indoctrinated skulls full of mush graduating college and still have to live with mommy till age 30 and beyond.

I don't think your post is out of bounds at all. This IS an off-topic VENT thread.

Whats funny is people thought my posts above were complaining about prices...my real point blew right past folks.

I'm new here...is there a place for humor and quirky wit somewhere around here? Even adding smilies didn't help me on this one


----------



## Andy M.

Chef Kenny said:


> ...Whats funny is people thought my posts above were complaining about prices...my real point blew right past folks...



Your point was clear.  We were being duped by the 9/10 of a cent on gas prices.  That gas companies thought we were stupid.

The fractional suffix is irrelevant if everyone does the same thing.  Same with $1.99 pricing.  Am I fooled into thinking the price is a dollar instead of two?  If every retailer uses the same "let's trick the masses" logic, the trick becomes ineffective.  You are, after all, comparing one retailer's price to another.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> Kenny, I don't think it's as bad as you portray.  If you're buying gas based on price, you tend to just ignore the fraction and look at the dollars and cents.  Station A sells regular for $2.24 and station B sells it for $2.28.  The fact that the fraction is fixed at 9/10 makes such comparisons easier. JMHO



I agree.   To me, fraction of a cent posted is somewhat analogous to a fine print in an ad.


----------



## GotGarlic

Chef Kenny said:


> Well it's just me then. I don't sweat gas prices either...I just notice stupid stuff.
> 
> I suppose I made the mistake of thinking "humorous" in a "venting" thread.
> 
> Both subjects are "rant" level stuff. Y'all kind of proved my point yet methinks missed the point. But it's great that you don't sweat the small stuff!



Yes, the venting thread is meant for serious topics. For joking around, try this forum: Jokes and Games - Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums


----------



## GotGarlic

I just found out via Facebook that one of the winners of the baking contest I entered recently apparently sells baked goods at the downtown farmer's market. i don't know if that's her full-time gig, but to my mind, someone who makes money from an activity is not an amateur. Contestants are supposed to be amateurs. I'm pretty aggravated about this. If it was my category, I would definitely say something, but since it's not, I'm not sure what to do. Just wanted to vent a bit.


----------



## taxlady

That would really tick me off too GG.


----------



## Kayelle

That's just not right GG. She must have a license to sell her baked goods, and that makes her a professional. Grrr.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> I just found out via Facebook that one of the winners of the baking contest I entered recently apparently sells baked goods at the downtown farmer's market. i don't know if that's her full-time gig, but to my mind, someone who makes money from an activity is not an amateur. Contestants are supposed to be amateurs. I'm pretty aggravated about this. If it was my category, I would definitely say something, but since it's not, I'm not sure what to do. Just wanted to vent a bit.



Not right at all, GG!  I'm with you on this one!


----------



## roadfix

That baking contest winner should do the honorable thing and set a good example.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Had a similar thing happen last year. Entered a cooking contest and really had high hopes for my dish. When I went to drop off the dish, the woman who was the one checking in the entries, also had entered a dish. Guess who won? Right, not me, not the next person, but the woman checking us in. I'm not bothering this year, she's probably a shoe in to win this year.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> I just found out via Facebook that one of the winners of the baking contest I entered recently apparently sells baked goods at the downtown farmer's market...


Good thing it wasn't your category. I would be right there beside you shouting "Rigged!" in front of her stand. 



FoodieFanatic said:


> ...the woman who was the one checking in the entries, also had entered a dish. Guess who won? Right, not me, not the next person, but the woman checking us in...


Instead of not entering, maybe you should while pointing out the conflict of interest with the people who run the contest using that check-in person. The contest organizers should be responsible enough to make that person choose between being involved on the organizational level or as a contestant, not both. Unless you live in a town of 12. Kinda hard to run a contest when only one person is able to enter.


----------



## Chef Kenny

Andy M. said:


> Your point was clear.  We were being duped by the  9/10 of a cent on gas prices.  That gas companies thought we were  stupid.
> 
> The fractional suffix is irrelevant if everyone does the same thing.   Same with $1.99 pricing.  Am I fooled into thinking the price is a  dollar instead of two?  If every retailer uses the same "let's trick the  masses" logic, the trick becomes ineffective.  You are, after all,  comparing one retailer's price to another.



LOL! It was  NOT that we were being duped...that's why I said most didn't get my  point. It was the fact that you, me...you know...smart folks  automatically make mental adjustments for something as blatantly silly  as 9/10 of a cent that never changes on gas prices and is irrelevant at  modern day gas prices.

It's a relic from when they used to  dispense gas in to a clear vessel so you could see it before it went in  to your tank...and when gas was priced in cents...and a tenth of a cent  actually meant something.

It is the fact that this relic remains  and why? No one is being fooled and in fact...like you all made a point  in telling me...it is irrelevant...so why would they still have that on  the price signs? I was simply saying "THEY" must think people are  fools...or know some are, otherwise they would not continue such  foolishness.

I'll drop it now...like my jaw did when I saw how far off people perceived my posts. A lesson learned. Thanks for your reply.




GotGarlic said:


> Yes, the venting thread is meant for serious topics. For joking around, try this forum: Jokes and Games - Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums



That appears to be sage advice G.G. there is definitely a whole lot of "Serious" in here. Mine was a proper vent in my mind, albeit a little tongue in cheek but _whoosh_...right on past the crowd...

Your advice is well taken. I am a newbie and still figuring out where the prickly spots are...and there appear to be some to avoid here. Discovered that on my very first post.

I have life tragedies, ills, and aggravations like everybody else but cooking to me is the escape from that. I'm here as part of that "escape"...not to take stuff too seriously.

Thank you!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*ARGH!!*

Okay, so my younger sister married (her 2nd) 2 months ago.
We were unable to attend the festivities and sent a very nice card
along with a _substantial_ amount of cash (of which I DID NOT want to do, but DH insisted, I feel she's a ingrate) .
Today in the mailbox I had something from her (I recognized her handwriting).
I open the envelope and I find a slip of paper with a handwritten note in Sharpie, "Thanks".  That's it!
SAY WHAT?!  (I could use stronger language but I'm lady )
Funny, I was just thinking last night that I probably WON'T get a thank you card from her, because, well that's how she is, and I know it and honestly didn't except any different from her. (you'd never know that we were raised by the same Mother and Father)... 
ARGH!


----------



## Kayelle

Kenny, when you keep insulting and insisting we missed the point of your very long rant, it could be that many of us just tune out, move on, and simply don't care. My apology for being clear with just a few words.


----------



## Cheryl J

+1..


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kayelle said:


> Kenny, when you keep insulting and insisting we missed the point of your very long rant, it could be that many of us just tune out, move on, and simply don't care. My apology for being clear with just a few words.



yup, +1


----------



## taxlady

I think this would have been better in http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/petty-vents-81685.html. Venting is usually for more important venting.


----------



## Caslon

Ever looked at a savings coupon?  It has a value of 1/10 of one cent cash value  printed on it. If you collect 10 of them, does that mean together they're worth one cent?  I don't get it.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

What has happened to the days when ad agencies WROTE jiggles?  So many products being advertised use songs from our past that meant something to us....be it a relationship, a special time in our life, are now being used to advertise mops, cleaning products, cars, etc.  Have copywriters become a thing of the past?  "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what relief it is!" "My balony has a first name, it's M A Y E R, my balony has a second name it's O S C A R" "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent!"  These make you think of the product, the songs make me think of my life, not a MOP or whatever they are attaching the song to.  Drives me CRAZY!  (Yes, I'm a former advertising executive from the Mad Men era, when we wrote jiggles that people could identify with the products.)


----------



## taxlady

You mean jingles, not jiggles, right?


----------



## FoodieFanatic

LOL! Auto check puts in a little humor? Yes, jingles, thank you!


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, I dunno, I kind of like jiggles!  Made me giggle!


----------



## Chef Munky

*Why Don't People Read Signs Anymore?*

We've had such a problem with solicitors and j/w's ringing our door bell at all hours of the day and night that we put up in a clearly visible area a No Soliciting sign.

Why do they still ring the bell?
You should have seen what was just ringing my door bell.

Yeah, I'm going to answer the door for someone who has her hand in her purse the whole time.Dark glasses, big hat.I don't think so!


----------



## taxlady

Chef Munky said:


> We've had such a problem with solicitors and j/w's ringing our door bell at all hours of the day and night that we put up in a clearly visible area a No Soliciting sign.
> 
> Why do they still ring the bell?
> You should have seen what was just ringing my door bell.
> 
> Yeah, I'm going to answer the door for someone who has her hand in her purse the whole time.Dark glasses, big hat.I don't think so!


I have found that if the JWs won't quit coming around, having a naked man answer the door puts a stop to them.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I have found that if the JWs won't quit coming around, having a naked man answer the door puts a stop to them.




Works for us.  It's DH's usual weekend attire.  No wonder we haven't had any solicitors for years...

Come to think of it, the neighbors don't stop by very often either...


----------



## Caslon

"A dollop of Daisy"   remember that Sour Cream jingle ad music? I liked that little tune.  They had to change it. It probably infringed on an existing music copywrited song.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

From the first time I heard it, it brought back familiar memories but I just couldn't place where I heard that before. It sounds like a tune from the 50's or 60's but for the life of me can't put my finger on it.


----------



## Silversage

Caslon said:


> *They had to change it*. It probably infringed on an existing music copywrited song.




Says who?  I don't think this is true. Just because they change something doesn't mean they had to.


----------



## Dawgluver

Once again, Verizon annoys me.  How can I blow through 20 Gbs in less than a month when I don't watch videos, don't dare hook up to free Amazon Prime movies for fear of using up my bandwidth, and the only things I use internet for are DC, FB, and emails?  We're rural, and Verizon is the most reliable internet service, but they're sending me to the poorhouse!  I had to add an additional 10 Gbs for an obscene amount.


----------



## Chef Munky

Dawgluver said:


> Once again, Verizon annoys me.  How can I blow through 20 Gbs in less than a month when I don't watch videos, don't dare hook up to free Amazon Prime movies for fear of using up my bandwidth, and the only things I use internet for are DC, FB, and emails?  We're rural, and Verizon is the most reliable internet service, but they're sending me to the poorhouse!  I had to add an additional 10 Gbs for an obscene amount.



Yes they do have a way of putting us in the poor house.

While on vacation my husband called them to add a a little more Gbs to my phone.So that I could watch something while on long stretches of road.We were driving in places that had my nerves on edge.Needed a distraction.<<Munky...doesn't like cliffs>>

They gave him such a hard time about it that we almost cancelled our services to 4 phone plans.It was as though they didn't want us to purchase it.Wonderful customer service they have.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> Once again, Verizon annoys me.  How can I blow through 20 Gbs in less than a month when I don't watch videos, don't dare hook up to free Amazon Prime movies for fear of using up my bandwidth, and the only things I use internet for are DC, FB, and emails?  We're rural, and Verizon is the most reliable internet service, but they're sending me to the poorhouse!  I had to add an additional 10 Gbs for an obscene amount.



Dawg, check your Facebook video settings. By default, when there's a video in your timeline - even if you can't see it yet - Fb starts playing it, usually with no sound, but it eats up bandwidth. You can turn it off in your settings.


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> Dawg, check your Facebook video settings. By default, when there's a video in your timeline - even if you can't see it yet - Fb starts playing it, usually with no sound, but it eats up bandwidth. You can turn it off in your settings.




I know, it drives me crazy.  I have to relearn how to turn it off any time I update my settings.

I still wonder if someone isn't tapping into my bandwidth.  Some months there's hardly any used, other times the whole thing is gone after two weeks!  Verizon doesn't let you carry over unused bandwidth.

Munky, I would love to watch Netflix or Amazon Prime movies like the city folk do.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I dislike *demands* for source info and citations, if you think information is bad you should look for the information yourself. Confrontations are discouraged.

Thank you, stepping off my soapbox.


----------



## Addie

Fortunately, as much as I hate Comcast, I keep hearing horror stories about Verizon Fios. This building is hardwired for cable only. When RCN was laying cable in the hopes of getting the contract for this part of Boston, our former mayor signed a long term contract with Comcast. RCN laid this whole part of Boston with underground cables. Verizon has chosen to go the telephone pole route with their special fiber optic cables. They started to do the work and stopped instantly when they heard that Comcast had the contract. So this section of Boston will never know Verizon Fios. For any service that provides fiber optic service for any purpose. 

Spike and Pirate were talking earlier tonight about how bad Verizon is.


----------



## taxlady

Oh boy am I glad that our internet plan is for unlimited.


----------



## Dawgluver

Mine used to be unlimited, then I ordered a defective MiFi from Verizon, and sent it back.  Verizon is no longer unlimited.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Oh boy am I glad that our internet plan is for unlimited.



Me too! One monthly flat fee for Internet. And then one for cable TV. I know exactly what my bill will be every month. Both are unlimited. The only additional costs would be on the cable end. For movies to purchase and other special shows. I am patient. Sooner or later every movie shows up on the small screen free.


----------



## JoAnn L.

We just had a 66 year old lady raped and murdered by a 19 year old in our town. He said that "he didn't have any thing better to do and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time". This happened early in the morning when she was jogging before going to work. This is beyond horrible. I just don't know what else to say.


----------



## GotGarlic

JoAnn L. said:


> We just had a 66 year old lady raped and murdered by a 19 year old in our town. He said that "he didn't have any thing better to do and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time". This happened early in the morning when she was jogging before going to work. This is beyond horrible. I just don't know what else to say.



I sympathize, JoAnn. It's very upsetting when something so senseless happens.


----------



## Dawgluver

This is so disturbing, JoAnn.


----------



## JoAnn L.

He is being held on a $1 million dollar cash bond.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Just awful, *JoAnn*. What is wrong with some people these day? That vicious murder by you. A 62 year old woman in Manchester, NH was shot randomly while out on her evening walk. The punk in Charleston shooting so many people praying in church, the crazed ex-employee of the TV station killing two former co-workers on live TV. The world has gone completely nuts. I could go on, but enough. ENOUGH! So very sad...


----------



## Caslon

"Don't go out after Dark".  Reviews..."A movie that will scare you" (made up).  

You should be able to wander around after midnight...but these days, I dunno if you should.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Why don't advertisers give us over, let's say over 50, commercials about our skin? I'm so sick of 20 something's saying "do you miss your soft, wrinkle free skin?"  Are u kidding? I didn't have fine lines until 50! Now, I could use information on products for us classic women.


----------



## taxlady

FoodieFanatic said:


> Why don't advertisers give us over, let's say over 50, commercials about our skin? I'm so sick of 20 something's saying "do you miss your soft, wrinkle free skin?"  Are u kidding? I didn't have fine lines until 50! Now, I could use information on products for us classic women.


Do you mean those commercials for anti-aging creams where the models are far too young?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Oh lordy, have our lives become so petty that we consider jingles and coupons something to VENT about? Hardly on the same level as the shameful murders that have happened or the royal shrew jobs that *k-girl* (ungrateful sister) and *Nickee* (last minute catering cancellation), and *GG* (pie check-in lady also had an entry) just had done to them. But jingles? And coupons? Come ON! Like *taxlady* mentioned a page or two ago, these things are more suited for the *PETTY VENTS* thread. And lighten up - life is too short.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

FoodieFanatic said:


> Why don't advertisers give us over, let's say over 50, commercials about our skin? I'm so sick of 20 something's saying "do you miss your soft, wrinkle free skin?"  Are u kidding? I didn't have fine lines until 50! Now, I could use information on products for us classic women.



I'm about to hit the big 60 and still have no fine lines.  but like that country song says, I just don't look good naked anymore.  I'm afraid my superman days are long gone.  Still got spunk and the ability to do most of what I want to do.  But that 70# compound bow, with the 20% letoff, well I don't shoot it anymore.  Handed it down to my oldest boy.  And walking the fishing streams in the U.P. is a challenge for a 20 year old, but I'm still doing it, albeit slower than I used to.  And I think it would hurt more driving off of a thirty foot cliff on a dirt bike than it did.  And I definitely don't want to step off of a two story roof again.  Those things didn't give me any problems in my early forties, but I'm pretty sure they would hurt now.

So my petty gripe is that our older bodies may still look wrinkle free (at least mine is)  But it sure doesn't act wrinkle free.

Oops, I mistook this thread for the petty gripes thread.  Had to edit this to say, sorry 'bout that.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Sorry, CG, if this wasn't appropriate to vent about. I don't think it was petty, just an observation that older citizens are overlooked by so many. FYI,  went back and re read the original intro to this thread by Alix and it said "let's keep this to petty stuff."


----------



## GotGarlic

FoodieFanatic said:


> Sorry, CG, if this wasn't appropriate to vent about. I don't think it was petty, just an observation that older citizens are overlooked by so many. FYI,  went back and re read the original intro to this thread by Alix and it said "let's keep this to petty stuff."



That's true, it started that way. But posts in that thread became more than petty, so she started this one: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/petty-vents-81685.html


----------



## Dawgluver

Grrrr.  My in-fridge icemaker is not working.  I've done the usual stuff, pulling it out, jamming it back in, jostling, poking, pleading and begging.  I've flipped the on/off switch and let it sit for awhile.

Next I may have to do some electrical work, it's been awhile.  I am not happy with my lukewarm, iceless screwdriver.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Time to go old-school with the ice trays, Dawg. IF you can find room in the freezer, that is! I'd be doomed right now if I had to make room. Hope you get it fixed soon.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> Grrrr. My in-fridge icemaker is not working. I've done the usual stuff, pulling it out, jamming it back in, jostling, poking, pleading and begging. I've flipped the on/off switch and let it sit for awhile.
> 
> Next I may have to do some electrical work, it's been awhile. *I am not happy with my lukewarm, iceless screwdriver.*


 
That's no bueno, for sure!  Hope you can get it fixed soon.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks CG and Cheryl.  I realize this, and I have no room in my freezer for anything.

Right now I'm having a glass of wine.  I miss my screwdriver!  With ice!

I will take that scoundrel apart, and find out why it's messing up!  It will not beat me!


----------



## Caslon

Cooking Goddess said:


> Oh lordy, have our lives become so petty that we consider jingles and coupons something to VENT about?



Hell, you're right, I threw in my reply about coupons having 1/10 of one cent cash value for comedy relief sake.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

It's good to see petty vents with a sense of humor about them.


----------



## Chef Munky

Dawgluver said:


> Grrrr.  My in-fridge icemaker is not working.  I've done the usual stuff, pulling it out, jamming it back in, jostling, poking, pleading and begging.  I've flipped the on/off switch and let it sit for awhile.
> 
> Next I may have to do some electrical work, it's been awhile.  I am not happy with my lukewarm, iceless screwdriver.



Lets hope it's a simple remedy.Let Youtube be your guide

We just replaced ours glad to finally get that done.Just in time.Expected high today is 105.Low to medium 90's for the rest of the week.

Lets hope the repairman that I got up early for will have some good news about my dishwasher.If not maybe I'll call Whirlpool and ask them if replacing it would be cheaper than to have the repairman they chose to come out again next time something goes on it.They are really expensive.


----------



## Andy M.

The ice maker in our old fridge failed twice so I too it out and used ice cube trays.  Worked for us.  Have since bought a new fridge and the ice maker works great so far.


----------



## Addie

*Petty Vent? I am not sure. Upset? You bet!*

My granddaughter is a teller at a bank up on A1. Probably one of the busiest stretches of road in the state. No matter what you need, you will find it on that stretch of road.

Unfortunately they also have plenty of banks. And my granddaughter was the chosen teller to hold up today. Someone had to drive her home. She was shaking too bad to drive and couldn't stop crying. Understandably.


----------



## Andy M.

I'm sorry to hear that, Addie.  I'm glad she wasn't hurt.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's terrifying, Addie, so glad she wasn't hurt.


----------



## Chef Munky

Addie said:


> My granddaughter is a teller at a bank up on A1. Probably one of the busiest stretches of road in the state. No matter what you need, you will find it on that stretch of road.
> 
> Unfortunately they also have plenty of banks. And my granddaughter was the chosen teller to hold up today. Someone had to drive her home. She was shaking too bad to drive and couldn't stop crying. Understandably.



Not a petty Vent Addie.
I'm glad she wasn't hurt.She has a lot to be thankful for.Remind her of that.
Without going into details about what could have happened.


----------



## CarolPa

We have never installed the ice makers that come with our refrigerators.  We don't use many ice cubes so trays work fine for us.


----------



## CarolPa

*Kenny,* DH and I comment on the .9 on the gas prices all the time.  He goes to the same gas station all the time no matter the price.  He knows the guy.  One time he asked how much he was going to pay if he bought 1 gallon.  He was told $3.50 (or whatever the going price was at the time.)  DH said, "But the sign says $3.49.9.  That went right over the guy's head.  

Anytime we sell something, DH has me price it lower.  Instead of selling something for $100, he tells me to price it $99, saying that it will look like a lot less to people.  I tell him people are not that stupid, but he doesn't believe me.  We are the stupid ones, cheating ourselves out of $1.  Also, no matter what price you advertise, they will make a lower offer.  So I always try to price things $5 more or so than what I really want.  Do people realize that, too?


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I'm sorry to hear that, Addie.  I'm glad she wasn't hurt.



She did manage to get the dye package in the bag. Now the police are patrolling past her home every ten minutes or so.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Dawgluver said:


> Grrrr.  My in-fridge icemaker is not working.  I've done the usual stuff, pulling it out, jamming it back in, jostling, poking, pleading and begging.  I've flipped the on/off switch and let it sit for awhile.
> 
> Next I may have to do some electrical work, it's been awhile.  I am not happy with my lukewarm, iceless screwdriver.



We just had that happen and the ice maker gears burned and melted!  We had no idea that had happened.  Had to get the entire unit replaced and it's working great.

However, here is a tip the technical support gave us.  Do you use a filter on your fridge for the water and ice?  If it is at 10% or lower, they suggest replacing it and within 24 hours the ice maker will start to work.  Honestly, we did that last year and that was all it took.  Worked like a charm! 

Good luck!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, FF!  Yes, I do have a filter, and the fridge lets me know when to replace it.  I'm wondering if the new well we had to dig for the subdivision last year, with lots of iron in the water, may have jammed it up even more and confused the system.  I have an extra filter, and will try that.

Right now I have an ice cube tray in place of the maker.  I can live with that, but we have company coming tomorrow, so it might end up being the old-fashioned "buy a bag of ice and stick it in the cooler" method.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Ours tells us when to replace it as well, however, for some strange reason when the filter gets low, long before you need to replace it, it effects the ice maker.  We had to buy bags of ice for a week before they were able to get here.  The weather had been 90+ and we went through ice like crazy.  Of course, it goes out during the hottest days....Murphy's Law, right?


----------



## Dawgluver

DH is all set to sell the house and its acreage.  Mowing the lawn is like mowing a lumpy sponge cake due to the mole tunnels.  He's really PO'ed.

I've told him that I'm not ready to move into the old folks home yet, fer Pete's sake!


----------



## Addie

*A good laugh, for a bad beginning!*



Addie said:


> She did manage to get the dye package in the bag. Now the police are patrolling past her home every ten minutes or so.



I just talked to my daughter. My GD was hysterical by the time she got to the bank. The police had the bank surrounded within two minutes. The stupid woman actually sat down in a chair to count the money and make sure there was the $20,000 she demanded. The dye package went off on her in the bank. 

The police demanding that everyone get down on the floor when they entered the building, did nothing to calm my GD down. Her manager had to yell at the officer that my GD was the victim, not the perpetrator. The fact that she was behind the window and not in front should have told him something. 

If it is possible, there is a funny side to this. When the woman handed her the note, my GD thought it was a joke and started to laugh. She turned to go show her manager and the woman yelled at her that she has a gun. GD still thought it was a joke and started to walk away. Her manager heard the woman and immediately came to my GD's rescue. 

Today, GD is still very upset. But there is a good side. She is moving into her very first own apartment in the basement of her parents building. They totally renovated it for her. All new flooring, painted from top to bottom, etc. Today all her new furniture (a present from her parents.) is being delivered and she will be sleeping in her own new home. Right now they are waiting for the furniture truck.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> I just talked to my daughter. My GD was hysterical by the time she got to the bank. The police had the bank surrounded within two minutes. The stupid woman actually sat down in a chair to count the money and make sure there was the $20,000 she demanded. The dye package went off on her in the bank.
> 
> The police demanding that everyone get down on the floor when they entered the building, did nothing to calm my GD down. Her manager had to yell at the officer that my GD was the victim, not the perpetrator. The fact that she was behind the window and not in front should have told him something.
> 
> *If it is possible, there is a funny side to this. When the woman handed her the note, my GD thought it was a joke and started to laugh. She turned to go show her manager and the woman yelled at her that she has a gun. GD still thought it was a joke and started to walk away. Her manager heard the woman and immediately came to my GD's rescue. *
> 
> Today, GD is still very upset. But there is a good side. She is moving into her very first own apartment in the basement of her parents building. They totally renovated it for her. All new flooring, painted from top to bottom, etc. Today all her new furniture (a present from her parents.) is being delivered and she will be sleeping in her own new home. Right now they are waiting for the furniture truck.


 
Addie, I'm glad your granddaughter is OK and that no one in the bank was seriously injured or killed....but *your GD should have been trained to take every threat seriously and hit the panic button immediately.*  I don't think this was a 'funny side' to the story at all.  It could have been deadly.


----------



## Chef Munky

Cheryl J said:


> Addie, I'm glad your granddaughter is OK and that no one in the bank was seriously injured or killed....but *your GD should have been trained to take every threat seriously and hit the panic button immediately.*  I don't think this was a 'funny side' to the story at all.  It could have been deadly.



So the saying goes three strikes and your out.
1.Note...Laughs
2.Has a gun...giggles and walks away
3.She just got lucky.Not laughing now.Is she.

Addie:
She could have been a little more professional in her job.The woman actually sat down to count the money after saying she had a weapon.Seriously?
Your GD not only put her life in jeopardy, but the customers lives as well.

Your comments about what the police did.Excuse me? They were walking into a dangerous situation, what did you really expect them to do? Say excuse me Ma'am.Get down please while we hug this situation out? What would you do?

Until you've been or are one or live with one.You have no idea.


----------



## Addie

In defense of my GD, she is a part timer and has been at this job only a couple of weeks. She actually thought her co-workers were playing a prank on her. She is scheduled for training for emergencies next week. She is presently receiving teller OJT as she works. When she completes all of her training classes she will be full time. 

She just had a bank robber pointing a gun at her. And now a police officer is holding an assault weapon just inches from her head. The fact that these people are behind the counter and that they already had the woman in question in cuffs, should have told them something. Screaming in a person's face while holding a gun to their head, hardly creates an atmosphere of cooperation. Did they think the person behind the counter who was sobbing and hysterical was an accessory? 

They had the gun and culprit in custody. It was time for them to calm down and remember there are victims to every crime. It wasn't my GD's fault that this woman decided to rob a bank. And the police were acting as if it was. It was akin to blaming the woman for being a rape victim.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> In defense of my GD, she is a part timer and has been at this job only a couple of weeks. She actually thought her co-workers were playing a prank on her. She is scheduled for training for emergencies next week. She is presently receiving teller OJT as she works. When she completes all of her training classes she will be full time.
> 
> She just had a bank robber pointing a gun at her. And now a police officer is holding an assault weapon just inches from her head. The fact that these people are behind the counter and that they already had the woman in question in cuffs, should have told them something. *Screaming in a person's face while holding a gun to their head, hardly creates an atmosphere of cooperation. Did they think the person behind the counter who was sobbing and hysterical was an accessory? *
> 
> They had the gun and culprit in custody. It was time for them to calm down and remember there are victims to every crime. It wasn't my GD's fault that this woman decided to rob a bank. And the police were acting as if it was. It was akin to blaming the woman for being a rape victim.



I'm sorry this happened to your GD, but the police had the gun and the culprit THEY KNEW OF in custody. They had no way of knowing immediately whether anyone else in the bank was an accomplice who had gotten behind the counter by holding someone else at gunpoint. And criminals have been known to pretend to cry hysterically in an attempt to deflect suspicion. Just be grateful no one was hurt.

No wonder FoodieFanatic is confused about what is a Petty Vent and what is an important Vent!


----------



## Chef Munky

Addie said:


> In defense of my GD, she is a part timer and has been at this job only a couple of weeks. She actually thought her co-workers were playing a prank on her. She is scheduled for training for emergencies next week. She is presently receiving teller OJT as she works. When she completes all of her training classes she will be full time.
> 
> She just had a bank robber pointing a gun at her. And now a police officer is holding an assault weapon just inches from her head. The fact that these people are behind the counter and that they already had the woman in question in cuffs, should have told them something. Screaming in a person's face while holding a gun to their head, hardly creates an atmosphere of cooperation. Did they think the person behind the counter who was sobbing and hysterical was an accessory?
> 
> They had the gun and culprit in custody. It was time for them to calm down and remember there are victims to every crime. It wasn't my GD's fault that this woman decided to rob a bank. And the police were acting as if it was. It was akin to blaming the woman for being a rape victim.



Your defense is admiral Addie, but lacking.I'll buy in training aspect of it.
What I won't buy is she thought it a prank from her co workers.They were there to train her, not mess with her.If that's the actual case they need to be fired!That's not the time or the place to be messing around.

@what GG said yes it's been known to happen.Accomplices can and will get behind that counter,then chicken out, pretend to be a victim.That cop could have been shot.Do you have issues with cops?It's not the first time you've mentioned  (pranks your son pulled on one) before.You thought that was funny to.

What happened to her was a terrible thing.To compare it with a rape victim.That's a   backhanded slap in the face to those victims.

It wasn't her fault she was targeted..Hold up there Tonto.She's the one who thought it a laughing matter and walked away.It cold have been prevented.

So maybe what you said to FF,to "Get a thicker skin" you should be saying that to you GD.


----------



## Cheryl J

I'm just going to add one more thing, trailing on GG and Munky's post, then I'm done with this.  

Addie, my son-in-law has been a cop for 16 years and I can guarantee you their first priority is to protect the citizens by making sure the crime scene is cleared and the suspect(s) are apprehended.  They were actually protecting your GD by not taking the time to coddle her.  

If the police arrived at the bank within 2 minutes, was the robbery suspect still sitting there counting the money?  Just curious....


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> I'm just going to add one more thing, trailing on GG and Munky's post, then I'm done with this.
> 
> Addie, my son-in-law has been a cop for 16 years and I can guarantee you their first priority is to protect the citizens by making sure the crime scene is cleared and the suspect(s) are apprehended.  They were actually protecting your GD by not taking the time to coddle her.
> 
> If the police arrived at the bank within 2 minutes, was the robbery suspect still sitting there counting the money?  Just curious....



Yes she was. With a stunned look on her face and covered in red ink. The dye package had explodes all over her.


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> Yes she was. With a stunned look on her face and covered in red ink. The dye package had explodes all over her.


Good example of a dumb criminal.   Now, why didn't she run with the loot to the waiting getaway car instead of wasting time counting the money?


----------



## dcSaute

Addie - 
this may sound a bit off key, but put bluntly, your grand daughter needs to find another occupation.

"playing a prank" - seriously, as in next time likely dead seriously - and really dead by gun shot is actually quite serious, anyone who is working at a bank and thinks their co-worker is going to prank them with a robbery note in an open-for-business joint needs to seriously seriously rethink their opinions.

and if she absolutely insists that being a teller is her calling, she needs to find another bank who takes training a whole lot more than BANG you're dead seriously.

sorry - but as explained, the situation is absurd and your GD needs to exit as fast as possible.

oh, the explanation about the cops putting everyone on the floor under weapons - yeah - that's real and that's how it has to happen.  which, if the dumbaxx bank had any kind of training, would have been explained to her long before she got behind a counter.

she needs a new bank; what can I say.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

GotGarlic said:


> I'm sorry this happened to your GD, but the police had the gun and the culprit THEY KNEW OF in custody. They had no way of knowing immediately whether anyone else in the bank was an accomplice who had gotten behind the counter by holding someone else at gunpoint. And criminals have been known to pretend to cry hysterically in an attempt to deflect suspicion. Just be grateful no one was hurt.
> 
> No wonder FoodieFanatic is confused about what is a Petty Vent and what is an important Vent!



Yes, it was a horrible event and happy your GD is ok.  I've had a couple of friends who work at banks experience a holdup and it is a difficult thing to ever get over.  Both were transferred to different branches after it happened so they wouldn't have to relive it everyday walking into work.  Hope they do that for your GD.

In regard to my confusion as to where to post, there are _way too many _threads to have to search to find the right one. I think I find the right one only to find out I was wrong!  I wouldn't mind being directed to the right one, I don't appreciate the "Oh, Lor...y!" remarks, like I'm some kind of nut that can't read.  Please be kinder to us newbies, we are just trying to participate and contribute.  Sarcasm isn't necessary, thank you.


----------



## Chef Munky

dcSaute said:


> Addie -
> this may sound a bit off key, but put bluntly, your grand daughter needs to find another occupation.
> 
> "playing a prank" - seriously, as in next time likely dead seriously - and really dead by gun shot is actually quite serious, anyone who is working at a bank and thinks their co-worker is going to prank them with a robbery note in an open-for-business joint needs to seriously seriously rethink their opinions.
> 
> and if she absolutely insists that being a teller is her calling, she needs to find another bank who takes training a whole lot more than BANG you're dead seriously.
> 
> sorry - but as explained, the situation is absurd and your GD needs to exit as fast as possible.
> 
> oh, the explanation about the cops putting everyone on the floor under weapons - yeah - that's real and that's how it has to happen.  which, if the dumbaxx bank had any kind of training, would have been explained to her long before she got behind a counter.
> 
> she needs a new bank; what can I say.



They have online banking.That's   an option.If and I mean IF that's her calling.

Glad my money isn't at THAT bank.I'd be closing out all accounts in a heartbeat.If the Teller can't tell (no puns intended) a prank from reality I see some problems.Especially if the Teller says that person had a "gun" to saying having an "Automatic Weapon" The police don't show up at a situation like that carrying a Red Ryder B-B-Gun! They bring the bad boys in.


----------



## Dawgluver

No worries, FF.  We were all once newbies.  I've been enjoying your contributions!

Regarding my previous petty vent, apparently my ice maker goes on vacation during Labor Day week.  I'd pulled the unit and put in a couple of ice cube trays, and it decided to start working again this morning.  I wondered why the plastic recycling bin was in front of the fridge.  DH said it had been shooting ice cubes on the floor.  Of course, he didn't think to put the original ice bin back in...


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Good example of a *dumb criminal*.   Now, why didn't she run with the loot to the waiting getaway car instead of wasting time counting the money?



You answered that question yourself. The percentage of bank robberies on that highway is high. Only because you can head out onto the highway really quick and make a fast getaway. 

My question would be, "Why did she want $20,000 specifically?" She even sat down to count it to make sure she got what she specified.


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> My question would be, "Why did she want $20,000 specifically?"



Because they could have given her just bundles of singles instead to make it look like a lot of money if she didn't specify?   And $20,000 is only 10 bundles of 20's and most teller stations keep at least that much, I think...


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*My Petty Vent*

Okay, so for the past couple of years, DH and I have been visiting with Dear Niece-In-Law, she's such a doll!
Anywhos, she has a Keurig Coffee Maker and got my husband HOOKED on that style of coffee.  So much so, that he asked Santa for one last year. (and yes, I realize the eco-pact of those stupid K-Cups, so much so that I use the re-fillable K-Cup, DH doesn't care for it).

So here's my vent:

I shopped around for sometime, looking for the prefect/best priced K-Cups that I could find.  What I found is at Costco, Pacific Bold for approximately $0.03USD per cup.  I've been buying this brand for about a year now.

The vent?
This most recent box of 100 count are EXPLODING in the machine!
As it shoots that super-heated water through the K-Cup, the foil top is blowing it's seam and making quite the mess.
Now mind you, it's not EVERY pod, but most. 
We're just about done with this box, so I'm hoping that this was simply a fluke in the manufactoring, `cuz I've got three other boxes in my pantry that I hope I don't have to return, I don't thave the receipt from them!!! 

Okay, I'll drop the mic now


----------



## Andy M.

That's an unbelievable price for K-Cups.  We buy Starbucks House Blend at Costco for about $0.54 per.

You don't need a receipt for a return at Costco.  They'll have it on their computer.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Great, right Andy M?
Sometimes, alot of times, there's a "Instant Savings" which will bring them down a touch, $3 off or so per box.  You certainly need room to stow these large containers though.
I was paying over sixty cents per K-Cup at Walmart and then we went to a dinner party last winter and the hostess set out her Keurig machine with a variety of flavors.  The host asked DH if he liked really dark roast coffee, "SURE!"
He plunks a Kirkland Brand Pacific Bold in and DH was in love!

Good to know that I don't need a receipt Andy, Mahalo, thanks for that!
We'll see what happens with the next 100 count box... OY!


----------



## FoodieFanatic

I realize many people love the K-Cup but what is the fascination?  You can make small amounts of coffee in any coffee maker and they taste like coffee.  I've tried the K-cups and they taste like dirty water, no real deep, intense coffee flavor.  I'll stick with my coffee make.  I like coffee to taste strong and robust.  JMO


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*K-Cup Vent*

FF, I myself an not a coffee devotee but DH is and he feels that the bolder the better and the hotter the water the better the coffee, in HIS opinion. 

The thing about coffee is that the water needs to be FORCED through the grounds to make that 'perfect cup'.  Such as with a French Press, same idea.
If your cup is like dirty water, you may want to look for a better brand of beans.
JMO


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Andy M. said:


> That's an unbelievable price for K-Cups.  We buy Starbucks House Blend at Costco for about $0.54 per.
> 
> You don't need a receipt for a return at Costco.  They'll have it on their computer.



UMMM, I should probably hone my math skills Andy, what I meant to say was it's $0.33 per cup OOPS!


----------



## Cheryl J

kgirl, I was wondering if you meant to say 30 cents per cup instead of 3 cents.  Glad you clarified that, I was wondering where in the world you'd get such a great deal!  

FF, I really enjoy my Keurig and dark roast kcups, they don't taste like 'dirty water' to me at all.  Guess it's just a matter of opinion.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> FF, I myself an not a coffee devotee but DH is and he feels that the bolder the better and the hotter the water the better the coffee, in HIS opinion.
> 
> The thing about coffee is that the water needs to be FORCED through the grounds to make that 'perfect cup'.  Such as with a French Press, same idea.
> If your cup is like dirty water, you may want to look for a better brand of beans.
> JMO



The K Cups are what I was referring to . No matter which one I've tried far too weak. It was created out here but PNW coffee lovers don't use them. We have 7 Starbucks within two miles,  Dutch Bros., the Peets coffee places and numerous independent places. We grind our beans before brewing, dark roast usually Italian. I love the coffee we make. The joke locally is as soon as you finish one cup stop at the next corner and buy another!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

well, FF, you enjoy your coffee your way 
and we'll enjoy our's our way and 
the world goes `round 
let's just leave it at that, shall we?


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Next Vent ...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Okay, so for the past couple of years, DH and I have been visiting with Dear Niece-In-Law, she's such a doll!
> Anywhos, she has a Keurig Coffee Maker and got my husband HOOKED on that style of coffee.  So much so, that he asked Santa for one last year. (and yes, I realize the eco-pact of those stupid K-Cups, so much so that I use the re-fillable K-Cup, DH doesn't care for it).
> 
> So here's my vent:
> 
> I shopped around for sometime, looking for the prefect/best priced K-Cups that I could find.  What I found is at Costco, Pacific Bold for approximately $0.03USD per cup.  I've been buying this brand for about a year now.
> 
> The vent?
> This most recent box of 100 count are EXPLODING in the machine!
> As it shoots that super-heated water through the K-Cup, the foil top is blowing it's seam and making quite the mess.
> Now mind you, it's not EVERY pod, but most.
> We're just about done with this box, so I'm hoping that this was simply a fluke in the manufactoring, `cuz I've got three other boxes in my pantry that I hope I don't have to return, I don't thave the receipt from them!!!
> 
> Okay, I'll drop the mic now



If the tops are rounded and firm, push them onto the bottom pin until the bottom spike goes through, that will relieve the pressure.  I got that tidbit from a Keurig rep when I had the same problem.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

PrincessFiona60 said:


> If the tops are rounded and firm, push them onto the bottom pin until the bottom spike goes through, that will relieve the pressure.  I got that tidbit from a Keurig rep when I had the same problem.



OOHH!!  Okay. I'll give that a try with DH evening cup. Mahalo PF!!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Petty Vent:

Got a text that DH's med refills were ready for pick up.

Now I may have made mention in the past that we live out in the sticks, ie-the drug store is 15 miles away, so I combined my trip to Walmart.

I go to the drug store first, as I'm going to buy ice cream at Wal-mart. 
I give the nice young lady behind the counter my information and my credit card.
She hands me the injectables with no sharps 
She says to me that it's now the stores policy that they must have a separate prescription for needles and syringes  umm, sooooo how are we to administer the drug then?  

So now I'm going to have to wait another week for the doctor's office to fax over a prescription for the needles and drive another 15 miles to pick them up.
Don't you think that the personnel who asked the doctor's office in the first place to refill this `script would have SAID that they needed two different `scripts in the first place ?  I mean, I know they're young and inexperienced in life but really, really?


----------



## Caslon

300  9"  microwaveable paper plates that stick together.  I have to pry them apart.  They got pressed too much together.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> OOHH!!  Okay. I'll give that a try with DH evening cup. Mahalo PF!!



You are welcome.


----------



## Chef Munky

*Hunted Again.*

I thought  sucker season was over already.It's  been really quiet and peaceful around here for the last month.Until last night.

Here we go again.Neighbors long txt, about the neighborhood gossip that I could really care less about.She goes on with an attempt  (gearing herself up) again to ask me to Mom sit probably.Or if I REALLY needed anything from them to txt back.That's not going to happen.

I didn't appreciate her snide comments about my garbage cans left on the street.Which was a total lie.The garbage man had refused to pick up my can.
They were brought back into the driveway.

She also commented on not being able to talk to as she put it (can't remember his name) when I saw him come home from work yesterday. 

He's hiding out to.
Today I'll have to sneak out of the house again.
I just want to move.TODAY!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wanna change neighbors, *Munky*? Won't be any better, but it will be different.

Our Monday viewing of the season premier of "Castle" was interspersed with checking outside our front door. Himself took a quick glance out the door's sidelight when he kept hearing car doors closing and an engine running. Says to me "that's a funny place to put your car". I checked, and then said "not when your car is black-and-white".   We checked every commercial break to see what was happening, and except for a growing number of police cars and SUVs (maximum number at one time was 5), "Castle" was still looking like it was the more exciting option. Until the end of the outside drama: a male unrecognized by us was led to a cruiser in handcuffs and put into a car. I told Himself that was a good thing, since I actually was afraid that crime scene tape would be around the house right after a bus took a body to the morgue.  I swear one of our neighbor's is going to kill the other before we move. I'm cheering for the husband to come out the survivor.


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, I'm annoyed.  I made a nice crockpot lasagna with some frozen and then defrosted Jimmy Dean Extra Hot Sausage, which I browned.  Problem is, the sausage is freezer-burned.  Cooked the lasagna most of the day on low, the noodles are perfect, the cheeses are just right, but the sausage just tastes nasty to me.  Thankfully DH thinks it's great.  I can't eat it.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> Well, I'm annoyed.  I made a nice crockpot lasagna with some frozen and then defrosted Jimmy Dean Extra Hot Sausage, which I browned.  Problem is, it's freezer-burned.  Cooked the lasagna most of the day on low, the noodles are perfect, the cheeses are just right, but the sausage just tastes nasty to me.  Thankfully DH thinks it's great.  I can't eat it.



Ok, so just to get that nasty flavor out of your mouth, gently fry up a perfect pork chop, with sweet spuds dressed with butter, and a side of your favorite green veggie.  Season the pork chop with salt, pepper, and sage, and maybe top with a little apple sauce.  There your go.  Problem solved.  Yoru hubby already likes the lasagna.  Let him enjoy it.  No reason you should suffer.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Ok, so just to get that nasty flavor out of your mouth, gently fry up a perfect pork chop, with sweet spuds dressed with butter, and a side of your favorite green veggie.  Season the pork chop with salt, pepper, and sage, and maybe top with a little apple sauce.  There your go.  Problem solved.  Yoru hubby already likes the lasagna.  Let him enjoy it.  No reason you should suffer.
> 
> 
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




Sounds like a plan, Chief!


----------



## Chef Munky

*I should Have Sent It Back!*

If I had known it would take Eureka to send the repairman the part needed I wouldn't have bothered to call them to begin with.Send that defect back.Refund my money.Pick another.

I just called the repairman to see if my vacuum was ready.I was rudely told that it will be fixed and ready when Eureka gets around to sending them the part.It's almost   been a month.The guy sounded irritated that I had asked if it was ready to be picked up.

All I want is a clean house.Is that asking just a little too much?

Munky ain't happy.It's  like when  Mamma isn't happy, nobody's going to be happy! We all know that's a fact Jack!


----------



## Cheryl J

Oh no, Munky - what a pain.  Especially not OK to be treated rudely by the repairman.  Is he on Yelp?


----------



## CharlieD

Have you noticed that customer services have gone down? Way down? It is disgusting what is going on. Used to be be you walk in a store a sales person runs to you. Nowadays you walk in a store, two of them are running away from, so they would not be bothered answering questions or even worse have to help you. Where is this country going?


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Caslon

CharlieD said:


> Have you noticed that customer services have gone down? Way down? It is disgusting what is going on. Used to be be you walk in a store a sales person runs to you. Nowadays you walk in a store, two of them are running away from, so they would not be bothered answering questions or even worse have to help you. Where is this country going?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



It's bad at home improvement stores too.  One lone employee pages someone to come to aisle 14 to assist me. 10 minutes later, noone showed.  I just moved on.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CharlieD said:


> Have you noticed that customer services have gone down? Way down? It is disgusting what is going on. Used to be be you walk in a store a sales person runs to you. Nowadays you walk in a store, two of them are running away from, so they would not be bothered answering questions or even worse have to help you. Where is this country going?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



I agree Charlie!

I try to do as much of my banking as possible at an ATM rather than deal with a human inside the bank.  I also find myself doing more and more research on the computer before I go shopping instead of just walking into a store and asking for help.  My assumption is that this is a calculated shift in the way we do business being developed by some highly paid corner office guys way up in the clouds of some gigantic office buildings in a land far far away! 

While I'm on a rant I also get upset when a cashier just plops my change in my hand instead of counting it back to me properly.  I was always taught to state the price of the item and then count back the change to total the amount of the bill that was offered for payment.  I suppose the cashiers are no worse than those automated checkout machines that just spit your change back at you and order you to *"PLEASE REMOVE YOUR CHANGE FROM THE SLOT BELOW"!!! 

*It won't be long before cash is a thing of the past, we will do all of our business on a mobile device and every new home will be  equipped with a landing zone for drones to deliver our purchases. I can't wait for that day to come, we will all need to wear helmets when we leave the house!


----------



## CharlieD

personally i think it is the move away from decency as a whole. not just service, everything. modesty, honesty, you name it.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


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## Caslon

I like getting my metal change in that little grey container.


----------



## Andy M.

I'm sad to hear Charlie and Aunt Bea (and any others) are experiencing such abysmal behavior.  We enjoy pleasant and helpful store personnel.

I have no issue with self-checkout but only use it in certain places.


----------



## Chef Munky

Cheryl J said:


> Oh no, Munky - what a pain.  Especially not OK to be treated rudely by the repairman.  Is he on Yelp?



I have no idea what Yelp is.Oh no! maybe I should get out of the house a little more.

I told my husband what the repairman had said.He's been in sales before for many years he told me he'd never talk to a customer like that and think he'd have a job the next day.He'd be fired.

He did suggest that I call Eureka again.So I did.They brought up my case file.I told them what the repairman had said.Her exact words were "WE (Eureka) don't like that, unacceptable!" They directed me to that shop.

I had asked if I could just go pick it up and send it back to the seller and get a new one.Explaining it's a 55 mile trip one way.She said it's up to the original sellers policies.Well ok fine on that.And that they Eureka (she was talking to her supervisor about it while she was talking to me) If I had bought it directly from Eureka I could return it.But since I didn't I would just have to wait.Here I had been buying Eureka's for 20 years and had been going to that shop to buy belts and such for them.I told her I was just a bit irritated.She was very apologetic about it all.I appreciated that.It wasn't their fault.

This morning I got a call from Eureka.I think they followed through with the threat that they were going to contact that repairman.What they said, I have no idea.Probably wasn't good.

Eureka is sending me out today a brand new vacuum directly from them.
They apologized again for my inconvenience.And to have a nice day.

WOW!!!! That's some awesome service!


----------



## roadfix

These people should not be working in jobs or have careers where they have to deal with the public in the first place.


----------



## CharlieD

Andy M. said:


> I'm sad to hear Charlie and Aunt Bea (and any others) are experiencing such abysmal behavior.  We enjoy pleasant and helpful store personnel.
> 
> I have no issue with self-checkout but only use it in certain places.




Sad indeed. I am not even talking Target, I am talking Macy's, supposedly a finer store.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


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## CarolPa

I think part of the problem is the companies are cutting back on the number of employees.  

Twice recently, DH went to the self checkout at our local grocery store and the previous customer had left their change in the machine.


----------



## cinisajoy

Bought some groceries yesterday. 
Coffee was one of the items.   It was on clearance for $8.   The clerk just scanned it.   Didn't notice until we got out of the store.
Took it back in.   The customer service guys were very polite.
Funny thing was rather than refunding the difference on the credit card, they asked if we had 2 cents.   He wanted to give us a 10 dollar bill rather than giving us 98 cents in change.  Difference was $9.98.


----------



## Caslon

They do that sometimes. It  was quicker him doing it that way if you didn't mind getting unexpected paper money back instead of him going thru the procedure to credit back your card. You could/may have insisted on it being credited back. You got a $10 bill you probably weren't expecting or needed at the moment. You having 2 cents on you made it that much easier and quick for him. You end up with the original charge on your statement, but you just got a $10 bill!


----------



## Caslon

Petty vent. I'm fed up with my recently bought fillable dishwashing brush.  It has only this one rubber button on the handle that is incredibly hard to depress.  All it does is force some air into the handle to force the liquid soap out. It doesn't even send much liquid to the bristles even tho I thinned down the liquid soap a little.  The brand name is Home Sense and is found in most grocery stores. Before this, I liked the one made by Dawn soap company, but it has a design defect.  While pressing down to scrub a little too hard, the handle snapped off near the brush part. I'm trying to be thrifty and feel guilty about buying a new soap filled dishwashing brush, but I've had it with this one.  I saw an OXO brand soap filled dish wand and am going to toss away my present one and buy it.  The OXO one appears to dispense soap easier (like Dawn's) than one having only an incredibly hard to push down rubber button on the handle!  End of petty vent.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Since we had pretty full cloud cover this evening, Himself decided we *needed* to hand out treats. Very nice night for sitting on the porch and instructing the little ghouls and goblins to "take one". Most kids were good and did just that, so by our count we had over 400 individuals at our door.  Our favorite costume was a little girl dressed as Ariel from "Little Mermaid", and her little dog was Sebastian the crab. So Cute!

But how old is "too old" to trick-or-treat? It's one thing if you're an adult neighbor playing a trick on someone (I never suspected that old lady WAS my neighbor!!  ), but I always figured once you're old enough to drive you should retire from beggars' night unless you're taking your little sibling around. Tonight we had a few guys who sported full beards (better than our 35-year-old son can grow...) - or as Himself said "when you're old enough to buy a case of beer, it's time to quit".


----------



## Caslon

Ah yes..."Beggers Night." I remember that from eons ago.  Isn't that Oct 30th?  I mentioned that to someone and they didn't have a clue. Eons back, Halloween had so much potential for candy booty that trick or treaters went out the night before Halloween night.


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## taxlady

This is appropriate after a certain age. It's from FB.


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## Caslon

How avant garde of them!


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## CarolPa

My mother-in-law used to have 2 bins of candy.  Full size bars for the little kids, and lollypops for the "too old" kids.  She refused to give them the good stuff.


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## taxlady

My grumble is about rude drivers. I was driving home from shopping. The guy behind me was tailgating. I was going at the speed of traffic and keeping my two second following distance. Why tailgate? He wasn't going to get there any faster. We both wanted to turn left, so we got in the left turn lane. I stopped about two car lengths behind the car in front of me. Guy behind pulls up too close; honks; and throws his hands in the air. We make our turn. He saw me turn on my right turn signal, so he started to move into the right lane. I had enough space to make my lane change, so I did, since I had to turn right at the first intersection. He obviously didn't need to turn right, because he promptly swerved into the number one lane (the furthest left lane for your direction). Of course he didn't make a full stop at the stop sign. I think there was steam coming out of his ears. Grrr. It wouldn't have taken him one second longer if he hadn't been rude (and dangerous), in fact, if he hadn't been rude, he would have saved himself two lane changes in one block and maybe saved a second.


----------



## cinisajoy

My petty vent is if your sign says Paperbacks 4 for 99 cents, I expect one to be 25 cents.
Do not ring one up and tell me 53 cents and that I have to buy 4 to get the discount. 
Please fix your sign to say 4 for 99 cents or 49 cents each.
Oh and by the way, I won't be back and you lost an extra 47 cents because if you had honored the sign, I would have done your round up to the nearest dollar.
Yes, I will let your big boss know.
And I might tell them about the other customer that walked out because of your funky pricing.


----------



## cinisajoy

I know you were told as a child because "your mother does plastic canvas, it must be easy" does not mean that it really is easy.
Your aircraft carrier idea will not work.
We discussed the whys the last time you thought about it.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Note: said child is now grown.


----------



## taxlady

cinisajoy said:


> I know you were told as a child because "your mother does plastic canvas, it must be easy" does not mean that it really is easy.
> Your aircraft carrier idea will not work.
> We discussed the whys the last time you thought about it.
> Thanks for letting me vent.
> Note: said child is now grown.


That was a bit vague.


----------



## Andy M.

cinisajoy said:


> I know you were told as a child because "your mother does plastic canvas, it must be easy" does not mean that it really is easy.
> Your aircraft carrier idea will not work.
> We discussed the whys the last time you thought about it.
> Thanks for letting me vent.
> Note: said child is now grown.




Sorry, I don't know what this means or what it refers to.


----------



## cinisajoy

taxlady said:


> That was a bit vague.


My daughter has decided she wants to make an aircraft carrier out of plastic canvas.   She was told growing up that because I did plastic canvas work, it was very easy. So therefore my daughter thinks she should be able to just use plastic canvas and it will look great.

Note the well meaning relative did not say I made it look easy but it must be easy if I can do it.

I just wish my kid would actually finish a small project.
Before getting grand ideas.


----------



## roadfix

All it needs is a good framework.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Crooks and thieves and disreputable people. Hate them all.

Got a credit card fraud alert today. Some *%#!!/* jerk somehow managed to get our Discover card number and attempted to make two charges to our account. Discover is GOOD, shut them right down. AND our account, too.  Oddly enough, just last week I mentioned to someone that Discover is so good they know you have a fraudulent purchase on your card even *before* it happens! Snap! I must have jinxed us.

The one funny take-away from this? The attempted big charge was for over $1500. Payee was "First Progress": "If you are looking for ways to build or rebuild credit, our full-feature Platinum MasterCard® is one of the best solutions available." The crook tried to roll over their balance from this company! Apparently, they haven't really grasped the concept of establishing *good* credit.


----------



## Chef Munky

All the hard work cleaning, sorting, boxing everything up just went up in trash!

I'm  so tired right now it's not even funny.I put everything out on the curb  for the donation truck last night for pick the up this morning. Just  checked to see if it was. It wasn't.
What I did see was nothing but shattered glass.Nothing was picked up.

My son had forgotten and ran a few boxes over.He said he was running late for work, and was sorry about that when I called him to ask about it.

Now  I have to get out there and sweep and clean it all up or buy a new set  of tires.Just great, now I'm really going to get stuck dealing with my  neighbors.

If I hear one "We need you to do this for us comment" I'll really lay into them.


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## taxlady

Oh no Munky! What a PITA. I'm sorry to read that happened. (((Hugs)))


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## Chef Munky

Got the mess cleaned up, reboxed just in time.I had just finished taping on the donation tag the truck pulled up.

Hubby and son are thankful I caught that.Tires for their trucks aren't cheap.
I didn't get caught by my neighbors either.That was close!


----------



## Kayelle

taxlady said:


> My grumble is about rude drivers. I was driving home from shopping. The guy behind me was tailgating. I was going at the speed of traffic and keeping my two second following distance. Why tailgate? He wasn't going to get there any faster. We both wanted to turn left, so we got in the left turn lane. I stopped about two car lengths behind the car in front of me. Guy behind pulls up too close; honks; and throws his hands in the air. We make our turn. He saw me turn on my right turn signal, so he started to move into the right lane. I had enough space to make my lane change, so I did, since I had to turn right at the first intersection. He obviously didn't need to turn right, because he promptly swerved into the number one lane (the furthest left lane for your direction). Of course he didn't make a full stop at the stop sign. I think there was steam coming out of his ears. Grrr. It wouldn't have taken him one second longer if he hadn't been rude (and dangerous), in fact, if he hadn't been rude, he would have saved himself two lane changes in one block and maybe saved a second.



I hear you loud and clear Taxi! Little upsets me more than drivers like you just described, it just makes my blood boil. 

On the other hand, *deadly road rages* happen every day and you never can tell just how out of control the other guy is.


----------



## taxlady

Kayelle said:


> I hear you loud and clear Taxi! Little upsets me more than drivers like you just described, it just makes my blood boil.
> 
> On the other hand, *deadly road rages* happen every day and you never can tell just how out of control the other guy is.


I get rid of any incipient road rage by calling them hosers, with the windows shut. I used to say rude things, but I realized they might be able to read my lips. As you wrote, you never know how out of control the other guy is.


----------



## Dawgluver

Kayelle said:


> I hear you loud and clear Taxi! Little upsets me more than drivers like you just described, it just makes my blood boil.
> 
> On the other hand, *deadly road rages* happen every day and you never can tell just how out of control the other guy is.




DH lets fly with many hand gestures and epithets if another driver is being a jerk.  I respond by singing, "I'd like to teach the world to drive, in perfect harmony."  It doesn't work.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> DH lets fly with many hand gestures and epithets if another driver is being a jerk.  I respond by singing, "I'd like to teach the world to drive, in perfect harmony."  It doesn't work.



I love that! I'm going to have to remember that one. Hearing me sing will definitely distract DH from his anger


----------



## Addie

God bless my daughter. I have been in the car with her many times when some ignorant driver decides to get a serious case of road rage. Fortunately none of it has ever been towards her. But I have been sitting next to her as she starts to make mental notes. Plate number if she can see it, color of hair of offender, actions taken on both sides, etc. Twice she has had to testify in court. 

The only time I have ever gotten nervous was at a rotary. Both drivers got out of their car and my daughter took off in the opposite direction. They were already exchanging some serious blows.


----------



## CarolPa

Yesterday we were traveling in the left lane of a 4 lane highway when we came upon a house fire.  The person in the car in front of us decided to make a dead stop to watch the firemen fight the fire.  You don't do that on a 4 lane highway.  Good thing DH was watching the traffic in front of him instead of gawking at the fire.


----------



## taxlady

Glad to read that your DH was paying attention to traffic. No, you don't stop on the highway for stupid reasons. OTH, I wonder which is worse, stopping for a stupid reason or gawking while driving.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Glad to read that your DH was paying attention to traffic. No, you don't stop on the highway for stupid reasons. OTH, I wonder which is worse, stopping for a stupid reason or gawking while driving.



Like most big cities, we have cameras on our main highways and they show what the traffic is like during rush hour. One station here reports situations like that as the "rubber neck effect." Traffic backed up for miles because of the rubber necks looking at the accident. It doesn't which side of the highway the accident is on.


----------



## Caslon

Some rare older movies were never released on DVD, just VHS.  However, Amazon has older movie titles never released to DVD which you can either rent or download to your pc.  I don't want to watch it on my pc, I want to be able to view that purchased title and back it up to DVD to watch on my home entertainment system. Amazon won't allow that.

I don't condone copyright infringement however when you have paid for something as in 'bought', then it should be available for backup to a DVD-R to play on any unit. Rentals don't apply because that would be stealing.

I'm going to buck the system and their rules and find a program to remove the content protection so I can burn it to DVD.  Please don't call the FBI on me.


----------



## taxlady

Caslon said:


> Some rare older movies were never released on DVD, just VHS.  However, Amazon has older movie titles never released to DVD which you can either rent or download to your pc.  I don't want to watch it on my pc, I want to be able to view that purchased title and back it up to DVD to watch on my home entertainment system. Amazon won't allow that.
> 
> I don't condone copyright infringement however when you have paid for something as in 'bought', then it should be available for backup to a DVD-R to play on any unit. Rentals don't apply because that would be stealing.
> 
> I'm going to buck the system and their rules and find a program to remove the content protection so I can burn it to DVD.  Please don't call the FBI on me.


I'm not a lawyer, so don't rely on my advice. But, as I understand it, you are well within your rights to make backups of copyright stuff that you have purchased. What you aren't allowed to do is sell those DVDs.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I'm not a lawyer, so don't rely on my advice. But, as I understand it, you are well within your rights to make backups of copyright stuff that you have purchased. What you aren't allowed to do is sell those DVDs.



Well, no, this is not correct. Purchases are made subject to the specific rights included in the purchase agreement. It's the same as with written works, which we have discussed before.


----------



## Caslon

I told you, I may be up to no good. muuahahaha!  Hope I don't go to prison. Let us refrain from this kind of talk.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> I told you, I may be up to no good. muuahahaha!  Hope I don't go to prison. Let us refrain from this kind of talk.



So I guess you do condone copyright infringement after all...


----------



## Caslon

I'd rather Amazon charge me whatever money, just let me own it  (old titles they have that I want not out on DVD).  

But you have me on this account...Terms of Agreement.

I should be in compliance and not petty vent about it.

I've not said I've circumvented the law, yet, but I've gotten to thinking about it.

It  was a petty vent that shouldn't be carried too far.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Well, no, this is not correct. Purchases are made subject to the specific rights included in the purchase agreement. It's the same as with written works, which we have discussed before.


I don't remember the discussion of written works.

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripping#United_States and DMCA Backup of Copyrighted Content | LegalZoom: Legal Info, it isn't clear that it is legal or illegal to make a copy as a personal backup in the US. It's illegal to make or distribute software that lets someone circumvent the copy protection.

At least I know for sure that when I make a backup copy of copyrighted material, it is legal here in Canada, as long as I don't violate a digital lock. The bill described in the following article, has been passed into law.

Copyright changes: how they'll affect users of digital content - Canada - CBC News


----------



## PrincessFiona60

By discussing it in an open forum such as this, you have already outed yourself to the authorities.  They have bots just looking for this kind of thing.


----------



## CarolPa

From what I've heard recently, the authorities are no longer getting down on the little guys making copies for personal use, but more on those people doing it on a larger scale and selling them.  I could be wrong, though.  This was in the US.


----------



## roadfix

CarolPa said:


> From what I've heard recently, the authorities are no longer getting down on the little guys making copies for personal use, but more on those people doing it on a larger scale and selling them.  I could be wrong, though.  This was in the US.



I agree.    
For, example, we regularly watch pirated first run movies on dvd.   The Feds are not going to go after the occasional purchaser of these $5 dvd's from the street corner vendor.   They go after the big fish operating here in the US who most likely get their supplies of bootlegs copies from China.


----------



## Caslon

If possible, I will search every source and BUY a LEGIT copy of a hard to find movie I am after, one that was never issued on DVD (at least not in the US).  I just purchased the 1954 movie "Beau Brummell" from a site in England. It cost me around $30. 

One old title that was not put out on DVD is available on Amazon in digital form. You can either rent it for one viewing on your pc (or other device able to download) or view it limitless times on the downloaded machine. You cannot, however, view it on any other device than were it was downloaded to.  You cannot back it up to a DVD. 

I resent Amazon using the word "Buy" when in all actuality you are more accurately "Leasing" it. Therefore I am looking into how to circumvent these restrictions which, with some doing, can be done.

As for obtaining hard to find titles that were never released on DVD, some have ripped it to a DVD and offer it on file sharing sites like Torrent.  However, Torrent isn't what it was years ago. Most file sharing sites have been shut down or contain a virus or make you jump thru many hoops to get it. Often times those "hoops" contain a virus that make you spend hours ridding your PC of it.  Add to that that older titles aren't being shared as much today.  

eBay has a titles for sale never released on DVD which were ripped to DVD, includes the full poster art (taken from the VHS case) and put in a nice large retail looking DVD case. The item description says that a TCM logo appears every 30 minutes for 10 seconds at the bottom of the screen. I wonder why they're not being busted.

I've stopped going after hard to find titles on Torrent for reasons I stated above, I've decided it's just not worth getting a virus or a long download with inferior quality. I'll just pay for it, if possible. Therefore I've turned to Amazon and am going to use programs that allow me to back up my purchase from them onto a DVD and play it on a regular player.  It may be unethical, but that's just tough.  Also, I can't be subject to arrest as they cannot detect me doing such.  Do I feel guilt?  Nope.


----------



## taxlady

Some old movies are legally available free, because the copyright ran out and someone made it available.


----------



## Caslon

taxlady said:


> Some old movies are legally available free, because the copyright ran out and someone made it available.



True, I forgot about that. One such movie I bought there was made in 1971 and the copywrite ran out in 1995, so I guess those eBay sellers of it are off the hook.


----------



## CharlieD

why are smart phones so dumb? Why can't they learn the way I speak? I have accent, they should have a program that teaches the darn phone how I speak, I , not an average perfectly speaking American.


----------



## Dawgluver

Charlie, Siri needs to practice.  She'll eventually understand you, just keep talking to and correcting her.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> why are smart phones so dumb? Why can't they learn the way I speak? I have accent, they should have a program that teaches the darn phone how I speak, I , not an average perfectly speaking American.



Charlie write to the phone company and make the suggestion to them to have their phones learn yours and other accents like the Dragon Program does. If they are successful in accomplishing this, you may end up with a small financial pittance from them as a thank you for bring this to their attention.


----------



## CharlieD

I highly doubt about the "thank you". I have posted on Apple board about it. NO comments from the company just yet.

On the other issue. Macy's is having 1 day (really 3) day sale. And they have this awesome electric griddle, I want, i just cannot come up with the justification to spend money.


----------



## CharlieD

There goes my restrain, when it comes to appliances I have none. I found the justification and bought it. The existing e was "I want". Now I have to make sure my wife doesn't find out. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> Therefore I've turned to Amazon and am going to use programs that allow me to back up my purchase from them onto a DVD and play it on a regular player.  It may be unethical, but that's just tough.  Also, I can't be subject to arrest as they cannot detect me doing such.  Do I feel guilt?  Nope.



Congratulations on your honesty regarding your thievery!


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> There goes my restrain, when it comes to appliances I have none. I found the justification and bought it. The existing e was "I want". Now I have to make sure my wife doesn't find out.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



Your justification - You want to see what it feels like to be a Christian for just one day and give yourself a Christmas gift.


----------



## cinisajoy

Why did he have to pop the button on his shirt.   Doesn't he realize the entire closet is in front of the thread?
OK so technically it is just everything that was stored in that closet where we had a water leak.   Leak was under the house and had to empty the closet to get to it.   
Haven't put the stuff back up yet.   Not till we are sure it won't spring another one.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> Some rare older movies were never released on DVD, just VHS.  However, Amazon has older movie titles never released to DVD which you can either rent or download to your pc.  I don't want to watch it on my pc, I want to be able to view that purchased title and back it up to DVD to watch on my home entertainment system. Amazon won't allow that.
> 
> I don't condone copyright infringement however when you have paid for something as in 'bought', then it should be available for backup to a DVD-R to play on any unit. Rentals don't apply because that would be stealing.
> 
> I'm going to buck the system and their rules and find a program to remove the content protection so I can burn it to DVD.  Please don't call the FBI on me.



Look into this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I don't remember the discussion of written works.]



http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f17/at-what-point-can-you-claim-a-recipe-as-your-own-91948.html



taxlady said:


> According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripping#United_States and DMCA Backup of Copyrighted Content | LegalZoom: Legal Info, it isn't clear that it is legal or illegal to make a copy as a personal backup in the US. It's illegal to make or distribute software that lets someone circumvent the copy protection.
> 
> At least I know for sure that when I make a backup copy of copyrighted material, it is legal here in Canada, as long as I don't violate a digital lock. The bill described in the following article, has been passed into law.
> 
> Copyright changes: how they'll affect users of digital content - Canada - CBC News



He isn't really talking about backing up something he purchased. He's talking about copying it to another medium so he can play it in a manner for which he does not have permission.


----------



## GotGarlic

cinisajoy said:


> Why did he have to pop the button on his shirt.   Doesn't he realize the entire closet is in front of the thread?
> OK so technically it is just everything that was stored in that closet where we had a water leak.   Leak was under the house and had to empty the closet to get to it.
> Haven't put the stuff back up yet.   Not till we are sure it won't spring another one.



Is this a riddle?


----------



## cinisajoy

GotGarlic said:


> Is this a riddle?


It was a short vent about husband losing a button and me having to move a dozen containers to find our sewing thread.


----------



## GotGarlic

cinisajoy said:


> It was a short vent about husband losing a button and me having to move a dozen containers to find our sewing thread.



Ah. Now it makes sense  Bummer.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Your justification - You want to see what it feels like to be a Christian for just one day and give yourself a Christmas gift.



I hate auto-correct, as if it is not bad enough that I cannot spell or type, auto-correct makes it even worse. 

never the less, my excuse of wanting it worked for me. Of course being a sucker that I am. I already told my wife. I'm sure she'll love it. 

Oh, and Chanukkah is early this year, so I'm good.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I hate auto-correct, as if it is not bad enough that I cannot spell or type, auto-correct makes it even worse.
> 
> never the less, my excuse of wanting it worked for me. Of course being a sucker that I am. I already told my wife. I'm sure she'll love it.
> 
> Oh, and *Chanukkah* is early this year, so I'm good.



So glad to hear that. So save the other excuse for when you might need it. Insert "birthday", "anniversary"  "St. Patricks Day", "Graduation Day for your child, for whatever occasion, etc.


----------



## Andy M.

CharlieD said:


> I hate auto-correct, as if it is not bad enough that I cannot spell or type, auto-correct makes it even worse.
> 
> never the less, my excuse of wanting it worked for me. Of course being a sucker that I am. I already told my wife. I'm sure she'll love it.
> 
> Oh, and Chanukkah is early this year, so I'm good.




Charlie, you can turn off Auto-Correct.  Select the Settings icon, then the General category.  Scroll down to Keyboards and select it.  Auto-correct is one of the options.


----------



## Caslon

I'm not exactly terrible at spelling, but I depend on auto word checker out of sheer laziness. That feature is   gradually eroding my spelling skills, no doubt.


----------



## Dawgluver

Hate autocorrect, so it's turned off on all my devices.  Though there are many hilarious posts and faux pas using it on FB.


----------



## Cheryl J

Unless I'm using normal everyday words and those that are already in my predictive text, this is what usually happens....


----------



## Caslon

Cheryl J said:


> Unless I'm using normal everyday words and those that are already in my predictive text, this is what usually happens....



Sometimes I wanna yell at auto spell checker. "Spell checker...why do you keep suggesting hyphenating word corrections that I KNOW don't have a hyphen in them?"


----------



## taxlady

For anyone who doesn't know about it yet, there are some hilarious auto corrections online. Just Google, "Damn You Auto Correct" or "DYAC". Warning, these are NSFW (Not Safe For Work, in other words, they can be rather coarse).


----------



## Caslon

Common words that don't need a space between them...spell checker suggests that.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I had a boss who was such a slave to auto-correct that she told me my last name was spelled wrong when I spelled it for her.  Auto-correct was trying to tell her how to spell it, I guess I am not an expert on my own name.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I had a boss who was such a slave to auto-correct that she told me my last name was spelled wrong when I spelled it for her.  Auto-correct was trying to tell her how to spell it, I guess I am not an expert on my own name.



I would hate to see what it could do with my last name. I get some very weird corrections from AC. When I created my personal email address, I had to leave the last letters off. AC didn't like what my son entered for me. Then I got my first computer with AC, Spike entered all the last names of family members. Everyone but me married an Italian or Pole.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> So glad to hear that. So save the other excuse for when you might need it. Insert "birthday", "anniversary"  "St. Patricks Day", "Graduation Day for your child, for whatever occasion, etc.




 Thumbs up. (not sure if they show up in the thread).


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> &#55357;&#56397;&#55356;&#57339;&#55357;&#56397;&#55356;&#57339;&#55357;&#56397;&#55356;&#57339; Thumbs up. (not sure if they show up in the thread).
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


They showed.


----------



## Andy M.

I am currently without my laptop. Friday morning I could not start it up so I got an appointment at the Apple Store. I was hoping it was a software issue so they could fix it on the spot.  Sadly, it was not.  My hard drive is shot and needs replacing.  

As the laptop is over six years old, they no longer stock the part.  They sent me to an authorized repair facility to get the work done.  Waiting for a call back from That shop so I can take it in.  Meanwhile, I'm making do with SO's iPad and my iPhone.  

I have a backup that's about five days before the crash so that should be no issue.  Not having access to vital documents in the interim is a pain.  I should be working on the condo association's budget for 2016.  All the key data is on that hard drive or my backup that I can't access.

This is the second hard drive failure I've had.  The last one was about two years ago.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I am currently without my laptop. Friday morning I could not start it up so I got an appointment at the Apple Store. I was hoping it was a software issue so they could fix it on the spot.  Sadly, it was not.  My hard drive is shot and needs replacing.
> 
> As the laptop is over six years old, they no longer stock the part.  They sent me to an authorized repair facility to get the work done.  Waiting for a call back from That shop so I can take it in.  Meanwhile, I'm making do with SO's iPad and my iPhone.
> 
> I have a backup that's about five days before the crash so that should be no issue.  Not having access to vital documents in the interim is a pain.  I should be working on the condo association's budget for 2016.  All the key data is on that hard drive or my backup that I can't access.
> 
> This is the second hard drive failure I've had.  The last one was about two years ago.



My sympathies Andy. Been there, done that. Lesson learned? Use a flash drive.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Had that happen when I was writing a term paper, it always seems to happen when you have something that needs done.

Our Internet and phone were out when we needed them for discussions on the house closing about a week ago.  

We still have not closed on this house, I am suspecting a lot of foot dragging on the lending officer's part and every time I talk to him he sounds like he has been drinking.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> My sympathies Andy. Been there, done that. Lesson learned? Use a flash drive.




Use a flash drive for what?  I back up to an external hard drive?


----------



## roadfix

I back up important files onto my external flash drive.   I also back the same files up on those little thumb flash drives as well, just to be redundant, just in case.....because any of these flash drives can fail at any time.


----------



## taxlady

Is there a way to boot your laptop from an external hard drive or CD/DVD? Is it possible to set that up for another time? I'm not familiar with Mac OS. I know you would be able to do it with Linux.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> I back up important files onto my external flash drive.   I also back the same files up on those little thumb flash drives as well, just to be redundant, just in case.....because any of these flash drives can fail at any time.



I've been backing up my computer to an external hard drive weekly for years.  This was valuable two plus years ago when my original HD failed and I was able to restore with minimum data lost. That's not the issue. Without a working computer I can't access data I need.  I won't have lost anything of significance, just time.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

A flash drive without a computer to connect to is just a hunk of plastic and metal.  It's the computer that has a problem, not the back up.  Clearly Andy has been backing up his work, just like we all should, if it's important to you.


----------



## taxlady

Wait a minute Andy, you guys only have one working computer in the house? 

Okay, I know that my home isn't normal (we have at least five working computers), but still...


----------



## roadfix

Ok, now I got it!   It's still early here on the left coast and I haven't had my cup of coffee yet.....LOL...


----------



## Andy M.

*Venting*



taxlady said:


> Wait a minute Andy, you guys only have one working computer in the house?
> 
> Okay, I know that my home isn't normal (we have at least five working computers), but still...




One laptop (currently NOT working), one iPad and 2 iPhones.  It's probably more than we can afford.


----------



## GotGarlic

Any magnetic media, including external hard drives and flash drives, can fail at any time. I've heard too many stories over the years from people who suffered a computer hard drive failure only to find out that their backup media was corrupted or otherwise unavailable. So I've been using the online service Backblaze for the last several years to back up to the cloud. 

Read more about it, and other options, here: http://lifehacker.com/five-best-online-backup-services-1006345049


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Wait a minute Andy, you guys only have one working computer in the house?
> 
> Okay, I know that my home isn't normal (*we have at least five working computers*), but still...




Sounds like Spike. He found a brand new colored laser printer in the trash behind the store that his boss owns and he set it up and it is working just fine. He also has about three or more computers that other folks didn't want. He fixes them up and when someone's 'puter goes out, he has one they can borrow.


----------



## taxlady

taxlady said:


> Is there a way to boot your laptop from an external hard drive or CD/DVD? Is it possible to set that up for another time? I'm not familiar with Mac OS. I know you would be able to do it with Linux.


I got curious and found that, yes, you can boot from an external hard drive, an optical disk, or even a USB key. The USB key or whatever has to have a bootable OS.

I don't know if you have the software you need installed on your external hard drive. If you don't and it's Excel, then you could work on your files in a portable version of Open Office or Libre Office (The portable versions can be on a USB key or the external HD). They will save in Excel formats.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I got curious and found that, yes, you can boot from an external hard drive, an optical disk, or even a USB key. The USB key or whatever has to have a bootable OS.
> 
> I don't know if you have the software you need installed on your external hard drive. If you don't and it's Excel, then you could work on your files in a portable version of Open Office or Libre Office (The portable versions can be on a USB key or the external HD). They will save in Excel formats.



If you have a Gmail account, you can also use the apps in Google Drive that work with Office file formats.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> If you have a Gmail account, you can also use the apps in Google Drive that work with Office file formats.


True. I thought of that before and forgot to mention it.

Oh, and that could probably be done from the iPad or phone. I can do it with my Android phone. The problem would be getting the files from the external HD to Google Drive.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> True. I thought of that before and forgot to mention it.
> 
> Oh, and that could probably be done from the iPad or phone. I can do it with my Android phone. The problem would be getting the files from the external HD to Google Drive.



That's when you phone a friend  Or maybe someone at the Apple Store can help.


----------



## Andy M.

While I appreciate your looking into this on my behalf, I can only imagine I'd fail and screw something up. I think my best option is to wait for the repair. 

Thanks


----------



## Souschef

I worked with a guy whose last name was Dioszegi. On the outside of his office he taped mailing labels with all the different spellings of his name


----------



## Addie

My sister's last married name was Guimond. The most usual pronouncement of it was "gooeemond." The correct way was Gi mond, hard G. The spellings of the name was incredible. When her husband died, the stone mason called her every day to check the spelling for a week. My maiden name is Keyes and a lot of people would pronounce it like the Spanish Reyes. 

And a lot of people think my name is a nickname for Adelaide. And when I correct them, they still insist on calling me Adelaide. That is when I stop responding to them.


----------



## Caslon

Everyone with a  boring last name like Smith has it all over some others.


----------



## Andy M.

I talked to the repair facility just now. I'm leaving shortly to deliver the laptop for repair.


----------



## GotGarlic

I hope it's a simple fix, Andy.


----------



## Andy M.

Just got back. $200 for the new hard drive plus they will load a more current OS.  The tech thought he'd be able to recover the data from my HD so i don't have to rely on my backup.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's good news.


----------



## taxlady

Andy, glad to read that your laptop is salvageable. How long do you plan to keep it? You might want to ask them to make you a bootable DVD for emergencies.


----------



## Addie

I am so tired of folks asking me "how can you stand to live to close to the airport?" I live at the service end. I can walk to the end of my street, find myself standing on airport property and never hear an airplane. 

Over the years we have fought back at Massport and won a lot of battles. Our building along with hundreds of others such as all our schools have been soundproofed by Massport. And only for severe wind conditions do planes fly over East Boston. 

I will admit that private planes fly over. And they are so high, you can barely hear them. So now I need to find a polite answer to anyone else asking me "How can you stand living so close to the airport?"


----------



## cinisajoy

Addie, 
I have lived close to a major airport twice.
The answer is you get to where you don't hear it.
I actually lived right off the flight line.
The only time it got really noisy was during air shows.


----------



## MarcD

I wouldn't get much done if I lived that close to an airport......I like watching the planes. Some of the larger planes fly right over my house and I usually head to the back porch for a look when I hear one........they fly low and slow. MedFlight is another frequent flyer in my area with a major trauma center nearby. 

If I vented I could keep this thread going for a long time......I better hadn't get started.....


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Andy, glad to read that your laptop is salvageable. How long do you plan to keep it? You might want to ask them to make you a bootable DVD for emergencies.




Thanks for the tip, TL. I'll do that.


----------



## Addie

MarcD said:


> I wouldn't get much done if I lived that close to an airport......I like watching the planes. Some of the larger planes fly right over my house and I usually head to the back porch for a look when I hear one........they fly low and slow. MedFlight is another frequent flyer in my area with a major trauma center nearby.
> 
> If I vented I could keep this thread going for a long time......I better hadn't get started.....



I can walk just five minutes and sit at the beach and watch them line up for takeoff. The first line up starts around 5 a.m. for the morning flights going to NY. Then again around noon. In the summer I go up there and sit doing my needlework. I live at the service end. It is where all the trucks carrying the freight go to unload. They even have a brand new road to get there.

The funny part is that as a kid, I used to ride my bike on the runways, and the tower was only two stories high. They used to yell at me to get off the runway because a plane wanted to land. 

There is one runway that was closed many years ago after a long fight between the citizens and Massport. The only time it is used is when the President comes to Boston. One afternoon my son was standing on top of the bridge that brings you over to the beach. He heard a loud plane and looked up. It was Air Force One flying overhead just about 500 feet or less over him. Today, when he knows the President is coming, he makes it a point to be there waiting for that plane to come in.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> *I am so tired of folks asking me "how can you stand to live to close to the airport?"* I live at the service end. I can walk to the end of my street, find myself standing on airport property and never hear an airplane.
> 
> Over the years we have fought back at Massport and won a lot of battles. Our building along with hundreds of others such as all our schools have been soundproofed by Massport. And only for severe wind conditions do planes fly over East Boston.
> 
> I will admit that private planes fly over. And they are so high, you can barely hear them. So now I need to find a polite answer to anyone else asking me "How can you stand living so close to the airport?"


 
I can't imagine anyone asking such a rude question, but if they did I would probably just respond with a blank stare and ask them why they would like to know. People live where they live, and sometimes there are few choices.

Sounds like you love your area though, Addie, and that's a good thing!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> I am so tired of folks asking me "how can you stand to live to close to the airport?" I live at the service end. I can walk to the end of my street, find myself standing on airport property and never hear an airplane.
> 
> Over the years we have fought back at Massport and won a lot of battles. Our building along with hundreds of others such as all our schools have been soundproofed by Massport. And only for severe wind conditions do planes fly over East Boston.
> 
> I will admit that private planes fly over. And they are so high, you can barely hear them. So now I need to find a polite answer to anyone else asking me "How can you stand living so close to the airport?"



Just tell em "Ya grow where you're planted!"


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> I can't imagine anyone asking such a rude question, but if they did I would probably just respond with a blank stare and ask them why they would like to know. People live where they live, and sometimes there are few choices.
> 
> Sounds like you love your area though, Addie, and that's a good thing!



I do Cheryl. Growing up here myself and then my kids, they will tell you they never had to leave their neighborhood for anything they wanted or needed. Five times I picked up and moved to other parts of the country. But I always came back. Very few non-Italians here growing up. My family was one of them. Today, it has become multi-national. I was looking at the obits. There was one of an Italian soldier from WWII. He had been a POW at the camp out on Wood Island Park and decided to stay when the war ended. We had a lot of them and now they are dying off.


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> Just tell em "Ya grow where you're planted!"



I like that. Thanks.


----------



## Souschef

*Airport*

We live a half mile from the airport I fly from. I can sit on my porch with my air band radio and watch and listen to the planes


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful farmland you live in, Kay and Souschef.  I love that coastal area of SoCal.


----------



## Cheryl J

Aunt Bea said:


> Just tell em "Ya grow where you're planted!"


 
 Perfect.  Love this, AB.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Glad to hear you'll be back among the easily wired soon, *Andy*. However did we survive before computer and internet? I seriously don't know...




MarcD said:


> ... I usually head to the back porch for a look when I hear one........they fly low and slow. MedFlight is another frequent flyer in my area with a major trauma center nearby...


We have an all-glass sunroom off the back of our house - three walls and a ceiling of clear views (well, except for the support structures). When my bat-ears hearing picks up the sound of the LifeFlight chopper I usually head to the sunroom to look straight up and watch him fly overhead, saying a little prayer for the crew and passengers. However, when the wack-a-doodle a few streets over starts flying his little silver bumble bee (personal helicopter) in circles around and around and around  our neighborhood, I kinda wish looks could kill - or at least ground his danged flying noisebox.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm getting irritated with people dissing others posts.  Say something nice, whether you like the idea or not.  No need to say, "I don't do that!"  How rude.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Glad to hear you'll be back among the easily wired soon, *Andy*. However did we survive before computer and internet? I seriously don't know...



For one thing, we didn't know nearly as many people and didn't eat as many diverse foods as we do now.


----------



## MarcD

Addie said:


> There is one runway that was closed many years ago after a long fight between the citizens and Massport. The only time it is used is when the President comes to Boston. One afternoon my son was standing on top of the bridge that brings you over to the beach. He heard a loud plane and looked up. It was Air Force One flying overhead just about 500 feet or less over him. Today, when he knows the President is coming, he makes it a point to be there waiting for that plane to come in.



Air Force One is an impressive sight. I had traded houses with one of my sons and was living SW of Columbus a few years ago. As I was sitting at my desk I could hear a large, low flying aircraft spooling the engines up and down. Naturally I went outside to have a look.....the neighbors were worried that it was going to crash. I told them there was little chance of that after I recognized it as AF 1......only the POTUS getting a view of the city while letting the citizens take a gander at the royal chariot.



Cooking Goddess said:


> Glad to hear you'll be back among the easily wired soon, *Andy*. However did we survive before computer and internet? I seriously don't know...
> 
> 
> 
> We have an all-glass sunroom off the back of our house - three walls and a ceiling of clear views (well, except for the support structures). When my bat-ears hearing picks up the sound of the LifeFlight chopper I usually head to the sunroom to look straight up and watch him fly overhead, saying a little prayer for the crew and passengers. However, when the wack-a-doodle a few streets over starts flying his little silver bumble bee (personal helicopter) in circles around and around and around  our neighborhood, I kinda wish looks could kill - or at least ground his danged flying noisebox.



Many times over the years I've thought about enclosing my back porch with glass.......12' X 28' with a roof. The roof provides some nice shade from the hot afternoon sun.......great place to have a nice cold beer..

*VENT*

I just restocked the bathroom vanity with a roll of toilet paper.....main supply is in the hall closet but I make sure there is a spare roll available for those who do not check the holder before having a seat. The girls have no problem retrieving the extra roll that is stocked in a strategic location but always fail to restock one for others. I guess they know grumpa has that pretty much under control........sometimes I _am_ a nice guy.


----------



## Aunt Bea

MarcD said:


> *VENT*
> 
> I just restocked the bathroom vanity with a roll of toilet paper.....main supply is in the hall closet but I make sure there is a spare roll available for those who do not check the holder before having a seat. The girls have no problem retrieving the extra roll that is stocked in a strategic location but always fail to restock one for others. I guess they know grumpa has that pretty much under control........sometimes I _am_ a nice guy.



It has been my experience that people learn quicker if you allow them to run out every once in a while.


----------



## MarcD

Aunt Bea said:


> It has been my experience that people learn quicker if you allow them to run out every once in a while.



I can't stand the forlorn cries emanating from the bathroom......... I constantly remind the g-kids of self reliance and thinking ahead but get 0 support from the parents.......I sound like a broken record. Getting them to keep their dirty laundry in a specific location is impossible......unless one considers the entire house and the yard as a specific location.....


----------



## Addie

MarcD said:


> I can't stand the* forlorn cries *emanating from the bathroom......... I constantly remind the g-kids of self reliance and thinking ahead but get 0 support from the parents.......I sound like a broken record. Getting them to keep their dirty laundry in a specific location is impossible......unless one considers the entire house and the yard as a specific location.....



Trust me. It works. Go outside and you won't hear them. They will find themselves checking the supply on hand before they sit down. 

And their dirty laundry? Create a new place for it. Under their bed. Come laundry day, their clothing will not get done. When they are looking for that special top and it is under their bed dirty, remind them where the laundry should have gone to get washed. When I started doing that and making them wash the item out by hand, they started to get the message. Kids fail to get the message unless it affects them directly. 

By the time they are fifteen, they are old enough to be responsible for most of their own direct needs. Check the paper holder. Empty? Take a roll in with you and take it with you when you are through. Keep it in your room. If they tell you it is not their job to keep a roll on the holder, remind them it is not your job to wipe their backside either. They will learn very quickly.


----------



## Addie

If Infanticide were legal I would be committing it today. Spike has a bad cold.  Thank you Spike for sharing it with me.


----------



## cinisajoy

By the time I was 15, I was doing the family laundry.   Sometimes out of my own pocket.   I was so glad when one of mom's friends gave us a washer and dryer.
Oh and on that topic, when I was 17 I accidentally left a pair of panties at a friend's house.  The next time I saw them, her mother was wearing them.   Her statement, you left, I liked, I keep.
So to those with teenagers, make them do their own laundry.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Beautiful farmland you live in, Kay and Souschef.  I love that coastal area of SoCal.



Thanks Cheryl..we do love it here. The SousChef didn't mention, our airport is only for small panes that are so interesting to watch, and they can't fly at night as there's no runway lights. He needs to be home by sundown.  I love when he flies over and waves the wings to me. Here's some interesting history of our lovely little historic airport. The sundown picture shows the Channel Islands off the coast, and the river when it had water in it. 

History


----------



## roadfix

I've bicycled through Santa Paula a couple of times........very nice little community just north of L.A.


----------



## GotGarlic

I'd like to remind people that we have a petty vents thread for, well, minor annoyances: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/petty-vents-81685-475.html


----------



## Kayelle

Most everyone who's been to our travel web site, knows our last name is *Goch*. Steve is always quick to say it rhymes with *Scotch*.


----------



## Kayelle

Seems to me the two threads are pretty much interchangeable as petty vents. Politics are off the table completely for major vents for example.


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> Thanks Cheryl..we do love it here. The SousChef didn't mention, our airport is only for small panes that are so interesting to watch, and they can't fly at night as there's no runway lights. He needs to be home by sundown. *I love when he flies over and waves the wings to me.* Here's some interesting history of our lovely little historic airport. The sundown picture shows the Channel Islands off the coast, and the river when it had water in it.
> 
> History


 
How fun!!  Thanks for the history link, Kay - that sure is a beautiful sunset and river picture. And for such a tiny little airport, it sure does get a lot of flights!


----------



## Dawgluver

I have some dear friends who can't spell to save their lives.  They post often on major websites, and I just facepalm.  

I see so many misspells on FB.  I'm not perfect, but I do proofread before posting.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Seems to me the two threads are pretty much interchangeable as petty vents. Politics are off the table completely for major vents for example.



I just came back from seeing my MIL barely able to speak or move after a stroke. Complaining about someone asking why you live in a certain place seems in a different league to me.


----------



## Dawgluver

I think Venting means discussing a major life experience, and Petty Vents is about the minor things that honk us off.


----------



## Souschef

GotGarlic said:


> I just came back from seeing my MIL barely able to speak or move after a stroke. Complaining about someone asking why you live in a certain place seems in a different league to me.


GG, I completely understand. I remember when my wife came out of surgery after her subarachnoid hemorrhage. Everything else pales by comparison.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I think Venting means discussing a major life experience, and Petty Vents is about the minor things that honk us off.


That's how I understand it too.

I think a lot of people just see the title of the thread, "Venting" and put whatever here because they didn't know or remember there was a "Petty Vents" thread.


----------



## Dawgluver

*Venting*



taxlady said:


> That's how I understand it too.
> 
> I think a lot of people just see the title of the thread, "Venting" and put whatever here because they didn't know or remember there was a "Petty Vents" thread.




Yes.  It's a big difference from a relative having a stroke, and a cake falling.


----------



## GotGarlic

Thank you, Souschef and Dawg. 

Taxlady, I agree with you. And we have new members who I'm sure don't know we have different threads for different purposes. So I just wanted to mention it.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Thank you, Souschef and Dawg.
> 
> Taxlady, I agree with you. *And we have new members who I'm sure don't know we have different threads for different purposes. So I just wanted to mention it.*


That's what I figured.


----------



## Kayelle

Much love {{GG}}...I get it.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My vent, and this has been coming for 60 years:  there are individuals who love to be in a sour mood, and who believe it's their right to be angry, and hateful to everyone around.  There are also those who relish causing other people grief, whether they know the other people or not.  Furthermore, there are people who believe that hatred is an acceptable life strategy, and that somehow, if they can hate someone else hard enough, in nullifies their inability to succeed in the world.  There are a significant number of people who believe if they hold others down, it will put them on top.  There are people who love hurting others simply because it brings them joy, makes them feel powerful.

None of these people will take ownership of their own failures.  It's always someone else's fault.

Whether these people are the bullies who harass someone until they jump off of a bridge, or terrorize another child to steel his or her lunch money, or are that group that loves to strap bombs to people and tell them lies to get them to sacrifice themselves for the cause, they are the same.

My rant, there are people who make the conscious choice to be evil.  Sometimes it's due to poor parenting, sometimes it's due to alienation by a society, sometimes it desperation, and sometimes, there's just something wrong their brains.

Fortunately, the good people outweigh the bad, by a huge margin.  It's just that the bad can inflict fear because they have the ability to hurt a great many good, and innocent people in a very short period of time.

This year has got me down.  We are into the holidays, a time that used to be magical, where often times, people of all faiths, or all beliefs were willing to set aside their differences, and try for a little while to be at their best behavior, where they put the joy of others before their own wants.  Now, there are those who simply  want everyone to despair.

Yes, there is great evil in this world, and we don't have to look very far to find it.   But in my house, we will celebrate this Thanksgiving by being thankful for the blessings we have.  This will continue throughout the Holiday season, and I hope, continue through every day of our lives.

I invite all of my friends on D.C. to forget the evil, so much as is possible, and dwell on the blessings we all have, and put the joy of others before our own.  If we all take care of each other's needs, we will all have our own needs taken care of.  I hope that all of you get, and take time off to share you talents, and joys with your families, friends, and neighbors.  Have a joyful (meaning full of joy) Thanksgiving.  And it's ok, be a kid and watch the Macy's parade tomorrow morning, no matter your age.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Well said, Chief.  Thank you!


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> I think a lot of people just see the title of the thread, "Venting" and put whatever here because they didn't know or remember there was a "Petty Vents" thread.



This.

I'm aware of the distinction between the two whenever I post but often times I'll reply to folks in the "Venting" thread without giving much thought to whether that poster's vent should rather have been in the "Petty vents" thread or not.    I don't think any of this is intentional.   Maybe, perhaps, the mods should simply move these posts to their appropriate threads.


----------



## taxlady

Well said Chief. In difficult times like these, I try to remember:


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I have some dear friends who can't spell to save their lives.  They post often on major websites, and I just facepalm.
> 
> I see so many misspells on FB.  I'm not perfect, but I do proofread before posting.



Pirate can't spell to save his life. I can't do math to save mine. So I help him with his spelling and he does all my math problems. He is a whiz with math. Give him a column of figures, and he can give you the answer immediately.


----------



## Addie

So true Chief, so true. Thank you for a heartfelt post.


----------



## CharlieD

was walking thru an airport a week or so ago. They had a commercial on a big screen TV, not even sure what it was. There was this young actress in it. She's been in few movies as a child and now she is very pretty blond young adult. For a life of me I cannot remember what movies she was in or her name. For some reason it is bugging me to no end. Even woke up last night and could not fall back to sleep, kept trying to remember who she is. Weird.


----------



## Kayelle

Was it Brooke Shields Charlie or maybe Drew Barrymore?


----------



## Dawgluver

Sounds like Drew.  Brooke is brunette.  And not so young anymore, but still gorgeous.


----------



## CharlieD

after posting that i went on internet and search for blond kids actresses. i found her. already can't remember her name again. butt she was in Hugo and a whole bunch of other movies.



Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## cinisajoy

Chloe Grace Moretz.  That is the actress in Hugo.


----------



## Andy M.

Andy M. said:


> Just got back. $200 for the new hard drive plus they will load a more current OS.  The tech thought he'd be able to recover the data from my HD so i don't have to rely on my backup.



Update. I wish this had been the end of it. Got the computer back only to have more problems. New hard drive defective. Also cannot update new OS. First to Apple store then back to repair shop-one hour round trip each time. 

Told the shop to replace HD, add memory and update to newest OS. picked up the computer again only to find all contacts, all saved emails and all calendar data missing. Also, MS Office missing. Back we go again. Along with my old hard drives and my external backup drive to try to restore missing data. That was Friday. I may get it back tomorrow. I am really sick of this. 

If a new computer wasn't so expensive, I'd just trash this one and buy a new one.


----------



## CharlieD

Yes, you right. Can't remember any new/young actors names. Too many to remember.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## CarolPa

I had to turn off auto-correct on my phone because every time I tried to say something about my SIL Sean, it changed it to Dean.


----------



## Cheryl J

Carol, I don't know what kind of phone you have, but my Samsung Galaxy has an icon in the bar right above the keypad.  It's a little arrow pointing to the right.  When I type a name or word and then press it, it allows me to enter that word in my predictive text.  I discovered that a couple of years ago when I was trying to abbreviate my grandson Tyler's name to Ty, and it kept trying to change it to "To".  

I'm not real smart phone savvy, but I text a lot.  Maybe your phone has something similar to instruct it to change Dean back to Sean.


----------



## cinisajoy

CharlieD said:


> Yes, you right. Can't remember any new/young actors names. Too many to remember.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


IMDB is a great brain.


----------



## bakechef

Andy M. said:


> Update. I wish this had been the end of it. Got the computer back only to have more problems. New hard drive defective. Also cannot update new OS. First to Apple store then back to repair shop-one hour round trip each time.
> 
> Told the shop to replace HD, add memory and update to newest OS. picked up the computer again only to find all contacts, all saved emails and all calendar data missing. Also, MS Office missing. Back we go again. Along with my old hard drives and my external backup drive to try to restore missing data. That was Friday. I may get it back tomorrow. I am really sick of this.
> 
> If a new computer wasn't so expensive, I'd just trash this one and buy a new one.



Good gawd, $200 for a new hard drive? It better be gold plated!  Hope you get this sorted soon!


----------



## Andy M.

bakechef said:


> Good gawd, $200 for a new hard drive? It better be gold plated!  Hope you get this sorted soon!




My bad, bakechef.  The cost was substantially less than that when I went there and got the bill.  

I'm using the computer right now and it seems to be fine.  Much faster with the new OS and expanded RAM.


----------



## Caslon

I'm sorry the migration of data to your new HD was troublesome, that should not happen.
SSD? I love my 6 month old Samsung 840 EVO solid state harddrive. 12 second boot ups rather than 65 seconds. Earlier SSD's had issues with reliability. Believe it or not tho, while SSD's have their failure rate, statistics show that disk harddrives have a greater failure rate than SSD's. I was surprised at that. I'm so impressed with the small lightweight size of my Samsung 840 EVO 240GB SSD, that I bought another one ($79) and used Samsung's free Migration Software Utility to flawlessly migrate my OS and data to it for backup purposes.


----------



## Dawgluver

I was so looking forward to watching "Mary Poppins" on ABC.  Instead, I got football.  

So "Cops" it is.  Why does Saturday night TV have such issues? Absolutely nothing worth watching.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> *I was so looking forward to watching "Mary Poppins" on ABC.* Instead, I got football.
> 
> So "Cops" it is. Why does Saturday night TV have such issues? Absolutely nothing worth watching.


 
What a classic, I haven't seen Mary Poppins in YEARS!  Thanks so much for the heads up, Dawg!  It's coming on in an hour and 15 minutes here, and I just DVR'ed it. No one here to control the TV here but me...YAY! 

And yes, I agree....Saturday night TV is usually pretty dismal.


----------



## Dawgluver

Glad you get to see it, Cheryl!  I know and can sing every song from MP, though you probably don't want to hear me...


----------



## Cheryl J

I'm sure after I watch it, the songs will be playing in my head for the next several days...


----------



## Dawgluver

Heh.  Was making DH lunch, turned on TV, it was on ABC, and guess what's on!


----------



## GotGarlic

Supercalifragilisticespialidocious!


----------



## Andy M.

I actually watched a bit of it last night.  As a much younger guy I had a crush on Julie Andrews.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Crazy Drivers*

Himself and I went for a test drive today. Not that we're buying a new car, but he wanted to make sure he could drive for long periods of time and not have his back hurt. That part of today was a success, and our planned trip to OH for Christmas with the Kids is a go. 

No, what I'm complaining about is inattentive, impatient, reckless drivers. Please do NOT make that right turn in front of me *from the lane to the left of me!*  Came real close to losing the front-left fender on that one. Also, put the danged phone *down!* You should not be looking at the phone screen, but you should be watching the backside of our car that you are gaining on. If you were paying attention, you would not have had to stand on your brake in lieu of hitting our rear bumper. And let's not talk about that year or two you took from my life span, either. 

Most times when we drive through the busier parts of this state, a good deal of my time is spent watching my life pass before my eyes. Sadly, what I see most from the last 15 years is watching myself watch my life pass before my eyes. *sigh*


----------



## taxlady

CG, I feel for you. I hate inattentive drivers.

I lost a very dear friend because of an inattentive driver.


----------



## CharlieD

Oh, don't even start me on the way people drive. Two days ago I am parked on the street. I get in the car put on my left signal and start pulling out. I am about half way out, but there is traffic so I'm waiting. I see red light com up and the last car is coming up. Guess what that b**** doing. She stops right next to me so I can't pull out even though there is at least two cars open space in front of her. So I hunk, do you think she moved ? No, sh just looked at me like she did not know what was going on. Good thing I don't have a bat in my car.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## CharlieD

taxlady said:


> CG, I feel for you. I hate inattentive drivers.
> 
> I lost a very dear friend because of an inattentive driver.




That is absolutely horrible, I'm so soy to hear that.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## CarolPa

Cheryl J said:


> Carol, I don't know what kind of phone you have, but my Samsung Galaxy has an icon in the bar right above the keypad.  It's a little arrow pointing to the right.  When I type a name or word and then press it, it allows me to enter that word in my predictive text.  I discovered that a couple of years ago when I was trying to abbreviate my grandson Tyler's name to Ty, and it kept trying to change it to "To".
> 
> I'm not real smart phone savvy, but I text a lot.  Maybe your phone has something similar to instruct it to change Dean back to Sean.




Cheryl, I have a Samsung phone but it's a cheap model.  I will have to look for that feature next time.  I am so not tech savvy!  LOL


----------



## Addie

Okay, now I am starting to get upset. I still have this stinking cold and a sore throat has decided to join in the fun. I have an appointment with Winthrop today and that creates another problem. 

My granddaughter is driving down from Aroostook County with her friend. They live way up by the Canadian border. The headed out the door at five last night. I don't know how long it will take them to get here. But it is supposed to be a surprised and I am not supposed to know about it. So I need to be here so they can surprise me. 

I haven't asked Winthrop for any meds for the cold. Time to speak up.


----------



## Addie

There was an article yesterday that the antidepressant Zorloft could possibly be the cause of autism if the mother took the drug during the second and third trimester of their pregnancy. 

Maybe I have blinders on. But isn't pregnancy a happy time? It always was for me. For all five pregnancies. So where does the need for a tranquillizer come in? I fail to understand the need to take any medication other than an iron and vitamin pill. You may have the need of other medications, such as I did. Thyroid medication. But that should be up to your doctor. And I would think he would know the dangers of over medicating  during pregnancy. 

Is this a repeat of the Thalidamine scandal all over? 

Grrr! When you hear the side effects on you, don't you realize that you could be passing them on to your baby?


----------



## GotGarlic

People who suffer from depression do need medication, which is obviously prescribed by their doctor. Being pregnant doesn't make the depression disappear. It's a medical illness like any other. 

But why is this in this thread? It doesn't seem like something you would be thankful for.


----------



## GotGarlic

Also, the study shows a small increase in risk and it shows a correlation but no cause and effect. 

I find this site useful for a balanced discussion of medical news: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/antidepressants-and-autism/


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> People who suffer from depression do need medication, which is obviously prescribed by their doctor. Being pregnant doesn't make the depression disappear. It's a medical illness like any other.
> 
> But why is this in this thread? It doesn't seem like something you would be thankful for.



I thought I had the venting thread. My boo boo.


----------



## Addie

Dang! Today is football again. I am so sick of hearing about the Patriots. I know. I am an ungrateful citizen of Boston. But today I just don't care about football. 

Here it is the 20th of the month. My package was supposed to arrive on the 18th. I sent an email to the vendor. They answered me with the explanation that FedEx is having problems in their Northeast facilities with deliveries. So now the date has been changed to the 23rd. I ordered this item on the 12th.

The next time I order on line, I will make sure they don't use FedEx for delivery service. 

And I am still sick with this cold. And nothing that Winthrop has given me is helping. I am better off with OTC meds. They work on me. Winthrop sent me a nasal spray. I looked it up at several sites. They all said the same thing. Consult your doctor or pharmacist. All it would tell me about side effect is that it is highly addictive. Oh joy! I have a cold that it seems I have become addictive to. Now they want to add another problem to my life. Drug addiction! 

I want to be standing right now in Africa right in the middle of a stampeding herd of Wilderbeasts. That sounds like more fun than the way I am feeling this morning. 

Can you tell that I am not in a good mood today? Please pick a fight with me so I can let off some steam!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Addie said:


> Dang! Today is football again. I am so sick of hearing about the Patriots. I know. I am an ungrateful citizen of Boston. But today I just don't care about football.
> 
> Here it is the 20th of the month. My package was supposed to arrive on the 18th. I sent an email to the vendor. They answered me with the explanation that FedEx is having problems in their Northeast facilities with deliveries. So now the date has been changed to the 23rd. I ordered this item on the 12th.
> 
> The next time I order on line, I will make sure they don't use FedEx for delivery service.
> 
> And I am still sick with this cold. And nothing that Winthrop has given me is helping. I am better off with OTC meds. They work on me. Winthrop sent me a nasal spray. I looked it up at several sites. They all said the same thing. Consult your doctor or pharmacist. All it would tell me about side effect is that it is highly addictive. Oh joy! I have a cold that it seems I have become addictive to. Now they want to add another problem to my life. Drug addiction!
> 
> I want to be standing right now in Africa right in the middle of a stampeding herd of Wilderbeasts. That sounds like more fun than the way I am feeling this morning.
> 
> Can you tell that I am not in a good mood today? Please pick a fight with me so I can let off some steam!



Maybe a Snickers would help! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW6ZXHWvaGc


----------



## GotGarlic

Aunt Bea said:


> Maybe a Snickers would help!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW6ZXHWvaGc



LOL! I get cranky when I'm hungry, too


----------



## Aunt Bea

GotGarlic said:


> LOL! I get cranky when I'm hungry, too



I never got cranky until I got old, now I'm cranky most of the time!


----------



## Addie

I hate being cranky. It is so not me. I am usually always in a good mood. Even when I am sick. But this dang cold is beginning to wear thin with me. 

So just stay away from me for today. I don't think even a Snickers would help. I am giving the word "bitch" a whole new meaning.


----------



## CWS4322

I have shrunk several sizes since 2012. I would never ask s/one how he/she gained so much weight...I don't mind when people ask me how I shrunk 5 five sizes... What I do mind is when people call me skinny. I would never tell a person that he/she is fat. Why is it okay to call S/one skinny in that Tone?


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> I have shrunk several sizes since 2012. I would never ask s/one how he/she gained so much weight...I don't mind when people ask me how I shrunk 5 five sizes... What I do mind is when people call me skinny. I would never tell a person that he/she is fat. Why is it okay to call S/one skinny in that Tone?



I get "you have lost so much weight. Are you sick with something?" And it is always someone who could stand to lose 20 or more pounds. I certainly don't comment on their size. I personally think it is jealousy that they haven't lost any weight. 

It is called "eating sensibly.


----------



## CWS4322

Stress and changing my eating habits. I didn't "need" to lose weight. Just glad a friend is a Tailor!


----------



## Addie

I am on a "rant" today. Thursday someone wished me a "Happy Holiday." 

"Which holiday?" asked. "Christmas, New Years, Quanza? Which one." 

All I got in return was a stare. "Well I guess I mean Christmas."

"Then wish me a Merry Christmas. If I am not Christian, I will let you know. Stop worrying about being so PC. It is not becoming to anyone. Remember, it 'tis the reason for the season." 

All I see on the TV is Happy Holiday. I want to see Merry Christmas.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> I am on a "rant" today. Thursday someone wished me a "Happy Holiday."
> 
> "Which holiday?" asked. "Christmas, New Years, Quanza? Which one."
> 
> *All I got in return was a stare.* "Well I guess I mean Christmas."
> 
> "Then wish me a Merry Christmas. If I am not Christian, I will let you know. Stop worrying about being so PC. It is not becoming to anyone. Remember, it 'tis the reason for the season."
> 
> All I see on the TV is Happy Holiday. I want to see Merry Christmas.


 
I'm not surprised at the 'stare'.  If someone cares enough to wish me a holiday greeting (no matter how it's worded), I respond in kind and with a smile. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad...*etc*....whatever, doesn't matter to me!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Addie said:


> I am on a "rant" today. Thursday someone wished me a "Happy Holiday."
> 
> "Which holiday?" asked. "Christmas, New Years, Quanza? Which one."
> 
> All I got in return was a stare. "Well I guess I mean Christmas."
> 
> "Then wish me a Merry Christmas. If I am not Christian, I will let you know. Stop worrying about being so PC. It is not becoming to anyone. Remember, it 'tis the reason for the season."
> 
> All I see on the TV is Happy Holiday. I want to see Merry Christmas.



I've been complaining about this for a few weeks now.  I reiterate what another said, paraphrasing here, When I wish someone a Merry Christmas, I am wishing that Christmas day, even the Christmas season is a time when they will be merry and joyful, no matter what holiday suits their beliefs.  If someone wishes me a Happy Hanukkah, I expect that they are wishing good will and joy.  If someone gets upset because I wish them a Merry Christmas, then it's their problem.  I'm simply hoping they have a great day.

I believe it's absurd that people can get angry about someone wishing them a good day, no matter the holiday.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cheryl J

+1, Chief.  Nicely said.


----------



## Andy M.

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I've been complaining about this for a few weeks now.  I reiterate what another said, paraphrasing here, When I wish someone a Merry Christmas, I am wishing that Christmas day, even the Christmas season is a time when they will be merry and joyful, no matter what holiday suits their beliefs.  If someone wishes me a Happy Hanukkah, I expect that they are wishing good will and joy.  If someone gets upset because I wish them a Merry Christmas, then it's their problem.  I'm simply hoping they have a great day.
> 
> 
> 
> I believe it's absurd that people can get angry about someone wishing them a good day, no matter the holiday.
> 
> 
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




IMHO such sensitivity is getting ridiculous. I believe it is at Oberlin College that the cafeteria is being charged with racism because their ethnic recipes are not authentically prepared.


----------



## CharlieD

Indeed. I'm Jewish and is somebody wishes me MC I totally do not have problem with it. If person knows that I am Jewish and still does it, then I'll wish that person Happy Chanukah. As a joke obviously. 
I think the only people who are bent out of shape are the people who are not sure who they are. What they are, people who are not stable in their beliefs. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> I am on a "rant" today. *Thursday someone wished me a "Happy Holiday."
> 
> "Which holiday?" asked. "Christmas, New Years, Quanza? Which one."
> *
> All I got in return was a stare. "Well I guess I mean Christmas."
> 
> "Then wish me a Merry Christmas. If I am not Christian, I will let you know. Stop worrying about being so PC. It is not becoming to anyone. Remember, it 'tis the reason for the season."
> 
> All I see on the TV is Happy Holiday. I want to see Merry Christmas.



I can't imagine attacking someone who wishes someone "Happy Holidays". There's no "Christmas Spirit" in doing such a nasty unkind thing.


----------



## taxlady




----------



## Cheryl J

I like that, Taxy.  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## GotGarlic

Taxy, that is perfect. Happy Holidays!


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I am on a "rant" today. Thursday someone wished me a "Happy Holiday."
> 
> "Which holiday?" asked. "Christmas, New Years, Quanza? Which one."
> 
> All I got in return was a stare. "Well I guess I mean Christmas."
> 
> "Then wish me a Merry Christmas. If I am not Christian, I will let you know. Stop worrying about being so PC. It is not becoming to anyone. Remember, it 'tis the reason for the season."
> 
> All I see on the TV is Happy Holiday. I want to see Merry Christmas.



Mm hmm. It's weird how, every so often, you make a point of telling everyone how intolerant you are.


----------



## roadfix

I tell my employees to wish customers Happy Holidays.   It's a no hassle greeting and covers all bases.    Our shop is decked out with Christmas decorations, not generic holiday decorations.


----------



## Josie1945

CharlieD said:


> Indeed. I'm Jewish and is somebody wishes me MC I totally do not have problem with it. If person knows that I am Jewish and still does it, then I'll wish that person Happy Chanukah. As a joke obviously.
> I think the only people who are bent out of shape are the people who are not sure who they are. What they are, people who are not stable in their beliefs.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking




Well said CharlieD

Josie


----------



## taxlady

Pretty much the only time I get "bent out of shape" if someone says "Merry Xmas" to me is when it's meant rudely. Those are the times that someone who knows I don't celebrate Xmas says "Merry Xmas" to me with "that tone of voice". I might ignore it or I might say something snarky.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I am on a "rant" today. Thursday someone wished me a "Happy Holiday."
> 
> "Which holiday?" asked. "Christmas, New Years, Quanza? Which one."
> 
> All I got in return was a stare. "Well I guess I mean Christmas."
> 
> "Then wish me a Merry Christmas. If I am not Christian, I will let you know. Stop worrying about being so PC. It is not becoming to anyone. Remember, it 'tis the reason for the season."
> 
> All I see on the TV is Happy Holiday. I want to see Merry Christmas.


I have a number of my Mom's and my Aunt's vintage brooches. Vintage 1950's. Guess what one of my favorite ones is? The one that says "Happy Holidays". Greetings like that have been used as well-wishes at this time of year for well over a half-century. As the graphic that *taxy* posted points out, there are many holidays in the last two months of the year. If someone wishes me "Happy Holidays" I figure they want me to enjoy ALL of them, and not just Christmas. Besides, WHICH Christmas do you want them to wish you a Merry for? December 25th? Or maybe it's the Orthodox date of January 7th?  Next time, just smile and reply "Merry Christmas".


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> IMHO such sensitivity is getting ridiculous. I believe it is at Oberlin College that the cafeteria is being charged with racism because their ethnic recipes are not authentically prepared.


Oberlin is getting raked over the coals for all sorts of perceived offenses. It's sad, too, because Oberlin has always been a very progressive place, both the college and the town. It was a stop along the Underground Railroad, it's always been a community accepting of all sorts of alternate lifestyles. And now? One wonders what "oops" in the college cafeteria caused a group of students to get their knickers in a twist.


----------



## CharlieD

I have been having really hard time sleeping, due to lousy pillows. I am not used to American style pillows, but cannot find a good quality european pillow. The square ones. They are available on Amazon, but I am afraid to buy something and then deal with returns, could be a pain in the neck, literally. Does anybody have experience with european pillows?


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> I have been having really hard time sleeping, due to lousy pillows. I am not used to American style pillows, but cannot find a good quality european pillow. The square ones. They are available on Amazon, but I am afraid to buy something and then deal with returns, could be a pain in the neck, literally. Does anybody have experience with european pillows?


I think you can get them at Ikea. I know you can get the square pillow cases, or at least could.


----------



## Kayelle

Charlie, other than the square shape, what do you want inside? Personally, I can't sleep on anything but down.

Both Target and Penney's claim to have them.


----------



## CharlieD

Kayelle said:


> Charlie, other than the square shape, what do you want inside? Personally, I can't sleep on anything but down.
> 
> Both Target and Penney's claim to have them.




Yes down. I never seen them in target, thanks, will have to check. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Andy M.

CharlieD said:


> Yes down. I never seen them in target, thanks, will have to check.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



Charlie, I googled https://www.google.com/search?clien...n+style+square+down+pillows&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

I got a lot of hits.


----------



## CharlieD

There are a lot of hits. I know. Problem half of those pillows are decorative. Can't sleep on them. I've bought some from BB&B and some from Macy's. Had to return both times. They were terrible to sleep on. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Can't resist posting this in light of the conversation a few posts back:







Mmmm, eggnog.


----------



## GotGarlic

CG!


----------



## Caslon

Okay, I want to use USPS to print me a shipping label online in order to ship a package via First Class box shipping (NOT PRIORITY SHIPPING).  I go to USPS's site and the only shipping services they offer for label printing is Priority or Priority Overnight. Yet, if I sell an item on eBay, both eBay and Paypal offer to print me out a USPS First Class shipping label using USPS First Class shipping, not just Priority Shipping (which requires that you use their boxes btw). 

Do eBay and Paypal have some exclusive arraignment with the USPS for online printing of shipping labels?  Maybe I'm not using their sight correctly. All I see as a shipping choice (drop down box) is Priority Mail or Priority Mail Overnight. Guess I'll try UPS's site. 

It's so convenient to print a paid shipping label with my PC. That way I can drop it off at a mom and pop mail store down the street, which I have done in the past using eBay's and Paypal's label printing service after an eBay auction.


----------



## Dawgluver

Caslon, I've had the same experience with USPS online.  The labels for regular boxes are there, but you really have to dig for them.  They hide them well.


----------



## Caslon

USPS has only Priority services at their online site.  That's all they offer. I wanted Standard Delivery.

With eBay and Paypal,  you're offered multiple choices to have USPS print out a shipping label.

When you go  to USPS's site, all they offer for shipping service is Priority Shipping.  Gimme a break, throw me a bone here.


----------



## Dawgluver

Caslon, after much digging and frustration with the USPS website, trust me, it's there.  They are annoying as hell, and bury and hide everything like a cat does in a litter box, but I refuse to buy a new box to send stuff.

Now I just use Amazon Prime, much easier.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Caslon, after much digging and frustration with the USPS website, trust me, it's there.  They are annoying as hell, and bury and hide everything like a cat does in a litter box, but I refuse to buy a new box to send stuff.
> 
> Now I just use Amazon Prime, much easier.



The way their Priority works is each size box has a set price. No matter what the weight is. The boxes are free. In fact the mailman will deliver a set of different size boxes right to your home. 

Every couple of months I send to my girlfriend in Atlanta two huge pieces of Parmasean Cheese cut from the wheel. She has hunted and hunted and can't find a place that has a wheel of it. Not even a cheese shop that advertises that they carry imported cheeses. The weight often comes close to ten pounds. It only costs me $5.00 total. There is a smaller box than the one I use and cost even less. That one is great for shipping a single clothing item. 

But the bonus is that my package arrives much sooner than a plain regular package does. In fact I can almost count on it being delivered the next day in Atlanta. It goes out that day on the next flight to Atlanta.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Petty Vent*

I have been coloring my own hair for many years; since we moved here to the mainland, I can now purchase professional products at Sally Beauty and the like, and get a great look.  I go to the "pro" only to have my hair cut, they're always amazed that I "do" my own hair.  Not to blow my own horn, but it looks great, not like it's been colored at all.

Today I realized that I _NEEDED_ to color my hair before this party that we're invited to.  

So I call the gal you cuts my hair; I ask if she could color my hair today (`cuz I'm just too dang tired to do it myself), "...sure, come on in we can touch up your roots". 

She, as well as all the other gals in the shop say that it looks like a perfect match, hmmm.  I get home and inspect it in the comfort of my own very well lite bathroom, NOPE!  

Very flat and one dimensional and I spent *WAY* more money than I do for my own products and my own time... oh and it took the same amount of time to boot!  
Don't get me wrong, it's okay, but not like my color that I get at Sally's and do myself, AND this was for convenience sake after all.

I KNEW I was better off being a miser as my husband calls me ... "Treat yourself, let someone else do your hair for a change" ... LAST TIME I SAY!
ARRGGHH!

Now, the next time I do my own hair, I'll have to color from root to tip, not a super healthy practice for hair.  
Oh well, live and learn, right?

I'll get off my box now, thank you all for listening


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Give in to the gray! _Give in to the gray!_ Give in to the gray!

Seriously, just go natural. I colored my gray from around age 42-43 until a couple years into my 50s. I figured I WAS 50 (52, actually) and so I could consider every one of my gray hairs as a badge well earned. I was surprised by how many compliments I got! Now I have to admit I'm not all gray. When I had hair long enough to pull up, I looked like I was all gray since a lot of it is around my face. Other than my hairline, I'm probably around 35-40% gray on the rest of my head. And it's a nice, silvery shade of gray. But I have never regretted giving up coloring my hair. Then again, IF wearing your hair gray would make you look older, keep coloring! Thanks to inheriting my Mom's skin type, I have virtually no wrinkles at age 64.


----------



## taxlady

I'm 65 and don't colour my hair. Okay, I don't have a lot of white ones, but there are a few small, white streaks. The reason I don't colour it is because I look younger that way. Now I can prove that I don't colour it.  People didn't believe that for quite a while.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Because of my heritage, I look WAY WAY _WAY_ younger than I am (only Miss Clairol knows for sure ).
I don't have that much gray, which I inherited from my Dad, who is Hawaiian, nor do I have thinning hair that my Mother does.... so thanks Dad, all the way around. 
Wrinkles?  None here, again, thanks Dad.
So, coloring my hair is simply to "enhance" that "Hawaiian Beauty"... 

SHAKA!


----------



## Kayelle

I'm all silver now, but I started going silver (it's never been grey) in my 30's. It was silver and pepper in those days, and I was actually stopped by strangers asking where I got my hair colored so beautifully. It was kinda fun in those days with a 30yr old face and hair like mine. When I got to be in my 50's it wasn't so fun anymore and I thought being an ash blonde would be nice. I colored it myself for several years and although I liked it, I never got any more compliments about by beautiful hair. My late husband had always loved my silver and pepper hair and he wanted me to again have the hair he loved. Sadly he died when we were both 61 yrs old, and I've never colored it again. Once more, I get compliments on my sliver hair from strangers, and people I love.
I don't like talking about myself much, but there you have it.


----------



## Addie

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Because of my heritage, I look WAY WAY _WAY_ younger than I am (only Miss Clairol knows for sure ).
> I don't have that much gray, which I inherited from my Dad, who is Hawaiian, nor do I have thinning hair that my Mother does.... so thanks Dad, all the way around.
> Wrinkles?  None here, again, thanks Dad.
> So, coloring my hair is simply to "enhance" that "Hawaiian Beauty"...
> View attachment 24075
> SHAKA!



Except for one streak on top of my head that is salt and pepper grey, the rest is all silvery white and I love it. Once I noticed some grey hairs, I just let it all come in at will.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek made the grey hair, so he has to look at it.  Okay, that was for a funny.  He loves my grey hair and comes unglued when I think about coloring it.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek made the grey hair, so he has to look at it.  Okay, that was for a funny.  He loves my grey hair and comes unglued when I think about coloring it.



I'm always OK with natural.  If it's gray it's OK.  Overall, if it's not my hair, I have no say in the matter.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek made the grey hair, so he has to look at it.  Okay, *that was for a funny.*  He loves my grey hair and comes unglued when I think about coloring it.



I did laugh.

My hairdresser told me that a lot of her clients say that as long as they are working, they color their hair. But once they retire, they stop. They tell her that they don't get the promotions or biggest pay raises with their hair grey. Nothing like silent discrimination.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

When I signed up to come down here to mortality, and straighten all you people out, I knew what I was signing up for, a body that would wear out, hair that would turn grey (though it hasn't yet, but the beard is nearly all white), and body parts that would just not work as well, after time had passed.  So the rest of you, suck it up and get down and give me fifty, on your fingertips.  And do it quick!

Oh, wait, I came down here to do the learning, not the teaching, but the part about the aging body is true, and my hair color is not showing much grey yet.  No hair color has ever, nor will it ever touch my head.  If you can't love me for my good looks, then you will for my pancakes.  Now is that humble or what?

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, this truly makes me very unhappy.  I apparently caught something, and have been napping for four days straight.  I haven't napped since I was a baby, and even then reluctantly.  I'm dizzy, exhausted, and don't trust myself to stand upright for long.  I usually zip around like crazy.

DH brought me some coconut ice cream as I haven't felt like eating for a few days.  I like coconut ice cream.


----------



## CWS4322

I still have that Nordic hair that turns  blonde in the summer...darker in the winter. Some of the blonde is more white than blonde...the purple highlights are the wild side I can't control...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I hope you feel better soon.

Airplanes + strangers =


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I hope you feel better soon.
> 
> Airplanes + strangers =




Thanks!  I keep telling people not to breathe on me.  I also wipe everything down with homemade Dawgwipes (aloe and rubbing alcohol on half sheets of Bounty Select-a-Size.)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks!  I keep telling people not to breathe on me.  I also wipe everything down with homemade Dawgwipes (aloe and rubbing alcohol on half sheets of Bounty Select-a-Size.)



Still does not stop the airborne junk in the air.  Type in "Vogmask" at Amazon.  They are reusable.


----------



## Kayelle

I'm so sorry you're sick Dawg. You gotta be good and sick as I've never heard you complain. Feel better soon!! I don't know if "Airborn" really works but we've used it before, during and after our last two airplane trips, and we haven't gotten sick like we always do. You might want to try it next time.
Check this out..
http://www.airbornehealth.com/


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Dawg))) God bedring (Danish for good bettering).


----------



## Cheryl J

Hoping you feel better very soon, Dawg.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, guys.  I don't think I've been sick for at least 20 years.  Not sure how to handle it!  I'm stumbling like a zombie.  Thinking that's trendy now.

I didn't want to go out walking on the sidewalk for fear of passing out.  Starting to feel a bit better, at least I'm able to be upright for more than 30 seconds!


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks, guys.  I don't think I've been sick for at least 20 years.  Not sure how to handle it!  I'm stumbling like a zombie.  Thinking that's trendy now.
> 
> I didn't want to go out walking on the sidewalk for fear of passing out.  Starting to feel a bit better, at least I'm able to be upright for more than 30 seconds!



Goodness, Dawg! That's scary! Be careful and feel better soon


----------



## CharlieD

You need chicken soup. Jewish penicillin you know. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Kayelle

Dawg, I'm worried you have something serious. How about at least going to Urgent Care?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> Well, this truly makes me very unhappy.  I apparently caught something, and have been napping for four days straight.  I haven't napped since I was a baby, and even then reluctantly.  I'm dizzy, exhausted, and don't trust myself to stand upright for long...


Does not sound good, Dawg. I sure hope you either get well or get checked out soon. We don't want a sick dawg around here. 




CharlieD said:


> You need chicken soup. Jewish penicillin you know.


You've got that right, Charlie. I made a gallon (literally!) of that today since our son is sick, we've been fighting it off, and our daughter can NOT get it since she has too much to do to BE sick!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Well, this truly makes me very unhappy.  I apparently caught something, and have been napping for four days straight.  I haven't napped since I was a baby, and even then reluctantly.  I'm dizzy, exhausted, and don't trust myself to stand upright for long.  I usually zip around like crazy.
> 
> DH brought me some coconut ice cream as I haven't felt like eating for a few days.  I like coconut ice cream.



If this lasts more than a week, get thee to a doctor, PRONTO!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I keep finding "Just one more load!" of laundry...


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Shhh.  Don't let everyone know.  Loads of laundry are like Tribbles, you know, from StarTreck - The Trouble with Tribbles.  They multiply until they suffocate you because they take up so much space.  You have to eliminate all of those loads.  They breed five times faster than rabbits.  Don't let them multiply for a day.  You will have wall-to-wall-to ceiling, in every room of the house, filled with laundry loads.  If it looks like you can't keep up, *Run!*

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Shhh.  Don't let everyone know.  Loads of laundry are like Tribbles, you know, from StarTreck - The Trouble with Tribbles.  They multiply until they suffocate you because they take up so much space.  You have to eliminate all of those loads.  They breed five times faster than rabbits.  Don't let them multiply for a day.  You will have wall-to-wall-to ceiling, in every room of the house, filled with laundry loads.  If it looks like you can't keep up, *Run!*
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



And above all...keep it away from the quadrotriticale.


----------



## Caslon

UPS, USPS and other package shippers must still be hungover from Christmas shipping.
I have at least 5 orders placed around or well before Dec 25th that still haven't been delivered. Not only that, but the tracking information on some online orders list Dec. 19th as the last update on tracking. A word of warning when ordering online.  Check what shipping company the seller is using.  DHL shipping has the worst reputation of them all. I ordered something off eBay on Dec 14th from a USA seller. My last DHL tracking update shows Dec 19th as the latest from a shipping point that is less than 150 miles away from me. Some days it says my package has been handed off to UPS (which DHL does), then the next day that line of data has been removed from the tracking update.

This Christmas season was said to be the busiest for online buying ever, maybe that's why.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> UPS, USPS and other package shippers must still be hungover from Christmas shipping.
> I have at least 5 orders placed around or well before Dec 25th that still haven't been delivered. Not only that, but the tracking information on some online orders list Dec. 19th as the last update on tracking. A word of warning when ordering online.  Check what shipping company the seller is using.  DHL shipping has the worst reputation of them all. I ordered something off eBay on Dec 14th from a USA seller. My last DHL tracking update shows Dec 19th as the latest from a shipping point that is less than 150 miles away from me. Some days it says my package has been handed off to UPS (which DHL does), then the next day that line of data has been removed from the tracking update.
> 
> This Christmas season was said to be the busiest for online buying ever, maybe that's why.



If everything is dated the 19th, you might want to restart your computer or refresh the window  

Some items I ordered for DH that were backordered for Christmas were just delivered yesterday, as was my new laptop I ordered last Saturday. And today I got a delivery I ordered Sunday.


----------



## Caslon

Okay. One thing I noticed today is that you get much more accurate tracking information if you go to that  companies shipping site and enter your tracking number there instead of using the email notice tracking button from a seller. I went to UPS's site and they predicted an updated arrival date of Jan 8th, not Jan. 5th as that email tracking link from an Amazon seller reported.

I stand by my comment about DHL shipping.  Worst shippers of any. They have a one star rating and hundreds of complaints.
DHL is cheaper and is used by sellers who ship mass quantities of low cost merchandise. They hand it off to UPS for the local delivery.


----------



## Souschef

To be blunt DHL stinks. I had a small package help up there for about 10 days with no movement.


----------



## GotGarlic

I'm not sure I've ever noticed whether something I've bought has been shipped with DHL. I'll take your words for it


----------



## Caslon

GotGarlic said:


> I'm not sure I've ever noticed whether something I've bought has been shipped with DHL. I'll take your words for it



When buying online low cost items, and that seller offers Free shipping by "Economy" shipping, you take your chances. 
First Class shipping is basic low cost and has good reliability, but DHL offers volume sellers a cheaper shipping rate.

It's not a huge loss to me, it was a low cost item from a big volume seller.  They use DHL.  Lesson learned.


----------



## Caslon

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I keep finding "Just one more load!" of laundry...



My brother-in-law's stackable washer-dryer was going 24/7 almost. They had young ones.


----------



## CarolPa

*Dawaglover,* I hope you are feeling better by now.  You sound like I was before my pneumonia was diagnosed.  Hopefully it's not that!

I didn't get in on the gray hair discussion.  My parents died in their 60s but neither of them had any gray hair, so I inherited their genes.  I have highlighted my hair since my late 20s because I liked it, and the times that i let it grow out my hair was so dark it looked terrible, but the only gray I had was a few gray hairs around the temples.  Everyone always thought I dyed it.  Now I am back to highlighting again because the dark hair is too harsh with my complexion.  I also do my own with products I buy at Sally's.  DH pulls the hair through the cap and I do the rest.  I doubt if a professional hairdresser could do a better job.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Some men dye their hair.  I don't.  My dad was grey by thirty, and white by thirty-five.  I have a few grey hairs on my head at 60, but not many.  My beard on the other hand is salt and pepper, mostly salt, with a few pepper strands stubbornly holding on.

I'm not concerned at all with what color my hair is.  I don't style it, cut it, or anything but keep it clean, brushed, and in a ponytail.  I like it long as it, and the beard help keep my face warm in the sometimes extreme cold we get up here in the U.P.  Besides, with my shaggy mustache blending into my beard when I pinch my limps together, I can magically make my lips disappear for the munchkins of family and friends.  I love amusing small children.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Addie

My father had red red hair. I got his red hair. And then three of my kids got his red hair. I hated it growing up, was so glad to turn grey. Now most of my hair is white. 

My two oldest boys are now greying on their head, but their beards are still red. Like you Chief, Spike has a long pony tail. The tip of it is still a bit red, his beard is red mixed with salt and pepper. That dang red hair to me is a curse. Fortunately there is only a couple of G,kids that have been cursed with it. They were born blonde with a tint of red when they stand in the sunshine.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I changed my avatar picture to an image taken by our son. I thought I cropped it small enough to see the sign on the door, but apparently not so. If I crop it any smaller it won't have the same "feel", so I guess I'll just tell you all what it says.

Apparently, the business is a catering company. Their name?  "Or Derv Foods".  I thought it was funny-cute. Hope you do, too.


----------



## CharlieD

I am a murderer, that is a rye starter murderer. It is third or maybe even fourth time that I kill my starter. I don't understand. 3-4th day it's doing exactly what it supposed to do. And then it just dies on me. Grrrrrrr


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

The section of Boston that I live in has been considered one of the safest areas. Very little violent crime. Lately there has been an increase in murders. Today two people were shot in the major subway station right on the train. Of course it had to happen right at the time people were beginning to come home from work. So you know the trains were crowded. Packed is more like it. All train service has been halted. And it is the line that serves Logan Airport. Looks like a lot of folks are going to miss their flight. 

Poor Pirate. He got caught in this mess. He was in town at the stop just before where the shooting happened. The T rushed buses in town to get people to this side of the harbor. Now he is stuck on this side and in a store across the street waiting for a bus here to bring him home for the rest of his journey. If he starts walking in this bitter cold wind and low temperatures, he might make it home in a little more than an hour. Good luck to him. So much for feeling safe in my community.


----------



## jd_1138

My vent/gripe is that the use of turn signals seems to be optional these days?    Half the people don't signal lane changes or turns around here.  

I was following a guy yesterday (safe distance) but he did a panic stop and zipped around a corner without signaling.  The streets were icy and he slid around.  I was maintaining a safe distance, but still, it's silly and dangerous the way people drive.


----------



## Addie

jd_1138 said:


> My vent/gripe is that the use of turn signals seems to be optional these days?    Half the people don't signal lane changes or turns around here.
> 
> I was following a guy yesterday (safe distance) but he did a panic stop and zipped around a corner without signaling.  The streets were icy and he slid around.  I was maintaining a safe distance, but still, it's silly and dangerous the way people drive.



At the side of the building I live in is a street that comes off a one way street on a  hill. The police often have a car parked right outside my window and catches the fools that come racing down the hill as they turn the corner. The cop already has his engine running. So he is right after them as they pass him. A lot of times, at least once a week, a car doesn't make that turn. And sure enough it crashes into the guard rail right at the turn. Last week a car crashed. And you could tell he had crashed there before by the damage to his car. So he got a ticket for speeding and for damaging the guard rail again. They never learn. I consider these crashes as part of my entertainment package for living here.


----------



## Dawgluver

DH was walking Beagle on her leash, and a neighbor's big weimeraner dog, who was not on her leash despite DH's instructions, attacked Beagle.  Beagle put up a good fight, protecting DH.  These people should not let this dog run loose.  It's already bitten two people in the neighborhood.  We have a lot of children here, as well as other dogs.  DH plans to have another "talky-to" with this dog owner!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Dawgluver said:


> DH was walking Beagle on her leash, and a neighbor's big weimeraner dog, who was not on her leash despite DH's instructions, attacked Beagle.  Beagle put up a good fight, protecting DH.  These people should not let this dog run loose.  It's already bitten two people in the neighborhood.  We have a lot of children here, as well as other dogs.  DH plans to have another "talky-to" with this dog owner!



I would tell DH to save his breath and call the police and or animal control to file a formal complaint.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> DH was walking Beagle on her leash, and a neighbor's big weimeraner dog, who was not on her leash despite DH's instructions, attacked Beagle.  Beagle put up a good fight, protecting DH.  These people should not let this dog run loose.  It's already bitten two people in the neighborhood.  We have a lot of children here, as well as other dogs.  DH plans to have another "talky-to" with this dog owner!


Well that stinks. Aren't there any laws about nuisance dogs? Especially ones that have already bitten?


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Well that stinks. Aren't there any laws about nuisance dogs? Especially ones that have already bitten?




We're out in the country.  No laws.  I'm carrying the baseball bat next time I walk Beagle.


----------



## Dawgluver

Aunt Bea said:


> I would tell DH to save his breath and call the police and or animal control to file a formal complaint.




It wouldn't do any good.  DH works with the dog owner, he will have a few words with him after he calms down.  He's pretty furious right now.


----------



## Addie

You are required to report any and all dog bites here. Teddy was playing with me and one of his canines scraped my skin and broke it. Had to bring his dog license down to the police station along with the vets report of what shots Teddy had for the year and file a report. Even though Teddy is a family dog, and he just scraped my skin, it still is required to be reported. And you can't get a dog license in Boston, unless the animal has had his rabies and other required shots. And you have to get a new license each year along with the new report from the vet. A great money maker for the city.


----------



## Dawgluver

We're sort of in the Wild West here.  Out in the country.  A friend's house across the highway caught on fire, and the city fire dept. let it burn, as they didn't pay taxes for the fire dept.

I'll let DH kick his butt.  If that doesn't work, then I'll step in.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> We're sort of in the Wild West here.  Out in the country.  A friend's house across the highway caught on fire, and the city fire dept. let it burn, as they didn't pay taxes for the fire dept.


Are they covered by a volunteer fire department?


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Are they covered by a volunteer fire department?




We're covered by a little town's volunteer fire dept., about 8 miles away.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> We're covered by a little town's volunteer fire dept., about 8 miles away.


Sigh, you would think the fire departments would have some kind of arrangement. What happens when another town has a huge fire and asks for help? Do they refuse to go?


----------



## Dawgluver

They go.  We don't pay town taxes since we don't live in town.  We pay taxes in the little town.  I just found it cruel that the town fire department let their house burn down.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> They go.  We don't pay town taxes since we don't live in town.  We pay taxes in the little town.  I just found it cruel that the town fire department let their house burn down.


It is mean. So, could it happen to you if your house caught fire?


----------



## Dawgluver

Probably.  We pay school and other taxes, but they get strange around here.


----------



## CharlieD

Dawgluver said:


> DH was walking Beagle on her leash, and a neighbor's big weimeraner dog, who was not on her leash despite DH's instructions, attacked Beagle.  Beagle put up a good fight, protecting DH.  These people should not let this dog run loose.  It's already bitten two people in the neighborhood.  We have a lot of children here, as well as other dogs.  DH plans to have another "talky-to" with this dog owner!




I say get Black Russian terrier or some other wishes dog like that, so he will snap that Weimaraner  dog in a half. That will teach them a lesson.  


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Kayelle

Dawg, I think both you and DH should carry a can of pepper spray when you walk "our" Beagle. That should settle it, if there's no law out there!
When DH talks with him again he can be warned *it will be used*.


----------



## Dawgluver

The baseball bat will be be accompanying me.  I also wear some good sturdy boots, and am not afraid to use them.  Beagle is a very peaceful dog.  If the other dog ambushes her, weimeraner will have the heck kicked out of her.  I am concerned, as she bit the neighbor's butt, and tried to attack another friend.  DH talked to the owner after the first time his dog attacked Beagle, but he's become lax again.

It's very strange to me, usually weimeraners are very nice dogs.  One of Beagle's best friends is a weimeraner.  She's known him since he was a puppy.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> You are required to report any and all dog bites here. *Teddy was playing with me and one of his canines scraped my skin and broke it. Had to bring his dog license down to the police station along with the vets report of what shots Teddy had for the year and file a report.* *Even though Teddy is a family dog, and he just scraped my skin, it still is required to be reported. *And you can't get a dog license in Boston, unless the animal has had his rabies and other required shots. And you have to get a new license each year along with the new report from the vet. A great money maker for the city.


 
Addie...you actually went through all that for a minor scratch from a family pet?  Lordy....if we went to the police station here and reported a small scratch from my kitty or my daughter's inoculated playful dogs, we'd be in there every other day and laughed out of the place. 
And I'm pretty sure it's not just Boston that requires shots to license a pet.


----------



## rodentraiser

I'd buy a taser. You can keep the other dog off your beagle, but if he goes for you, that's a whole 'nother situation.

I don't know why people won't leash their dogs. I used to trot my Dobie alongside my bike (on leash) because he needed more exercise than I could give him jogging. I was always amazed at the number of dogs loose in their front yards that used to run out in the street after him. Usually with their owners right there.

My dog wasn't aggressive, but he'd surely stand up for himself, so I'd drop the bike and walk him toward the chasing dog. Chasing Dog would slide to a stop, turn tail and run back to its owner and when the owner saw his dog almost got himself into a fight he couldn't win, there'd be apologies and promises of keeping the dog on a leash in the future.

We must have made an impression. No dog ever chased us twice and my dog never even got near to a chaser. 

Oh, and just to stay on topic, my petty vent is wondering how it is I love chocolate and everything that causes me to gain weight, and why couldn't I be born loving to eat broccoli instead.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> The baseball bat will be be accompanying me. I also wear some good sturdy boots, and am not afraid to use them. Beagle is a very peaceful dog. If the other dog ambushes her, weimeraner will have the heck kicked out of her. I am concerned, as she bit the neighbor's butt, and tried to attack another friend. DH talked to the owner after the first time his dog attacked Beagle, but he's become lax again.
> 
> It's very strange to me, usually weimeraners are very nice dogs. One of Beagle's best friends is a weimeraner. She's known him since he was a puppy.


 
 Oh gosh Dawg...I sure hope this situation is resolved soon.  I know how you love to walk Beagle, and you should be able to do that without being in fear for anyone's safety.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> The baseball bat will be be accompanying me.  I also wear some good sturdy boots, and am not afraid to use them...DH talked to the owner after the first time his dog attacked Beagle, but he's become lax again.
> 
> It's very strange to me, usually weimeraners are very nice dogs...


Maybe if DH tells the neighbor they would rather leash their dog rather than hope your DH restrained you it might make an impression? Warn the guy you might go all vigilante on him and his dog.  Of course the neighbor doesn't need to know you're really as gentle as Beagle, right?

Kinda makes you wonder how that dog is treated by his master, eh?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> ...And I'm pretty sure it's not just Boston that requires shots to license a pet.


I know they've been required in suburban Cleveland since the late 1950s. My parents always had a dog, and I can still see the little tag dangling from our dog's collar verifying her vaccination each year. Heard it, too, since it would jingle up against the bone-shaped one with all the owner information.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> Oh gosh Dawg...I sure hope this situation is resolved soon.  I know how you love to walk Beagle, and you should be able to do that without being in fear for anyone's safety.




There are no bad dogs, just bad owners.  DH plans to take care of this.  If he doesn't, I will.  (Puts on boxing gloves).

Strangely, this is the sweetest dog inside.  However, mess with the Beagle, you get the horns.


----------



## Caslon

Dawgluver said:


> Caslon, after much digging and frustration with the USPS website, trust me, it's there.  They are annoying as hell, and bury and hide everything like a cat does in a litter box, but I refuse to buy a new box to send stuff.



I've discovered after recently trying, that if you want to print your own shipping label using "Flat rate" shipping prices, your weight limit with UPS and USPS and Paypal is 13 ounces max. Otherwise you have to use USPS Priority or UPS's  and Paypal's more expensive shipping options. After much searching and being frustrated that eBay let's you choose the cheaper "First Class Standard" shipping rate for an item you've auctioned, no matter the weight, I found that if you are an eBay member, and you've sold an item, and if you can bring up that item, there's an option to "Ship Additional Items"  and that brings you to eBay's  shipping label page for both USP and USPS to print "Flat Rate" shipping labels, with no weight limit, even tho you auctioned off that item months ago.   Jeesh! Finally!  This means I can print UPS labels here at home, arrange a pickup online for free by UPS here at my place, OR...print a USPS label and set it out at my mail kiosk area for the mailman to pick up.  I don't have to drive to the post office. 

 I even tried Stamps.com to accomplish all this, but they charge $15 a month for their premium label shipping service.
Why these other sites limit the weight if you want to ship low cost First Class and print labels at home, I don't know.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Addie...you actually went through all that for a minor scratch from a family pet?  Lordy....if we went to the police station here and reported a small scratch from my kitty or my daughter's inoculated playful dogs, we'd be in there every other day and laughed out of the place.
> And I'm pretty sure it's not just Boston that requires shots to license a pet.



Yeah. He broke the top layer of skin with his canine tooth. It was my own fault. And I am sure a lot of cities and towns require shots to license their pet.


----------



## Chef Munky

Waiting to hear from the mechanics on how bad the damage was done to my car.

My son was driving it when the alternator went on it. He was able to get it off the road out of traffic before he caused a collision on the freeway in the pouring rain.

He called AAA and asked for a flatbed truck to tow the car. Because of the make and model a dolley pulled from the front wouldn't do.

They sent out a tow tuck and the guy hooked it up in the front. Causing an air carriage (?) something under my car serious damage. It's just hanging by a thread. Damage to the back was also seen.
He had the audacity to say "That's normal" 

You just trashed my car and that's normal? What an idiot!

Were hoping he didn't damage the transmission. I'll be pissed!
If that's the case somebody's buying me a new one, and it won't be on our dime either.

My sons with the mechanic who always works on my car. He knows what's normal and what's not.Pics are being taken in the daylight. They could only see the damage in the dark last night.

The complaint has been filed.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs Munky))) That just stinks.


----------



## Addie

Oh Munky. I wouldn't call this a Petty Vent. Roaring Rage is more like it. 

I hope you get good news from your mechanic. Is this your only vehicle?


----------



## Chef Munky

Addie said:


> Oh Munky. I wouldn't call this a Petty Vent. Roaring Rage is more like it.
> 
> I hope you get good news from your mechanic. Is this your only vehicle?



It's petty until the new alternator is put in.
Monday I might be livid. The mechanic will let us know. Won't know until they take it out for a test drive and open up that V-8 to the hilt.

It's not our only vehicle Addie. It just happens to be my hot rod.


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> It's petty until the new alternator is put in.
> Monday I might be livid. The mechanic will let us know. Won't know until they take it out for a test drive and open up that V-8 to the hilt.
> 
> It's not our only vehicle Addie. It just happens to be my hot rod.



When a person has more than one of an item, I have noticed that they always have a favorite between them. I have the feeling that this car is your baby. Here's hoping that she passes that test drive with flying colors. Good Luck to you and your baby.


----------



## CharlieD

Dealing with insurance is a disaster. They are blood sucking animals. Slept me with $2,500.00  dollars bill. Trying to fight them is impossible.


----------



## jd_1138

CharlieD said:


> Dealing with insurance is a disaster. They are blood sucking animals. Slept me with $2,500.00  dollars bill. Trying to fight them is impossible.



Is this medical insurance?  You can go to the state insurance commission/board/ombudsman.  

My mom is on Medicare and has some insurance co. like Blue Shield or United (can't remember) as the supplement.  Anyway, she had to get a pacemaker, and the local hospital said it was covered 100%, she's in the network, etc..  After the procedure, she received a bill for $95,000.  

So she called the hospital and surgeon's office, and no one put her mind at ease to tell her it was covered.  Then a few weeks later they sent a revised bill of $12,500.  So she called back and again nothing was said to her to re-assure her.  Then finally a few months later, the new bill is like $500.


----------



## Dawgluver

I'm thinking Charlie is in his 40's or maybe 50's, so no Medicare.  The insurance companies are bloodsuckers.


----------



## Kitchen Barbarian

Addie said:


> Yeah. He broke the top layer of skin with his canine tooth. It was my own fault. And I am sure a lot of cities and towns require shots to license their pet.



I have to ask - municipal codes not withstanding - whyever would you report such a minor injury from your own pet?  There's no way I'd give them any ammunition to start a file on any pet of mine.  He has had his rabies shots, right?

IN the 50+ years that I've had pets I've been scratched several times by cats, bitten once by a cat while trying to pill her, and had a similar scratch form a very elderly poodle-terrier mix who was nearly blind - he simply did not realize I was there.  Reported none of them.  No issues at the doctor's, either.  If I had a doctor who tried to insist on filing a report for such a thing, I'd switch doctors.


----------



## Addie

Kitchen Barbarian said:


> I have to ask - municipal codes not withstanding - whyever would you report such a minor injury from your own pet?  There's no way I'd give them any ammunition to start a file on any pet of mine.  He has had his rabies shots, right?
> 
> IN the 50+ years that I've had pets I've been scratched several times by cats, bitten once by a cat while trying to pill her, and had a similar scratch form a very elderly poodle-terrier mix who was nearly blind - he simply did not realize I was there.  Reported none of them.  No issues at the doctor's, either.  If I had a doctor who tried to insist on filing a report for such a thing, I'd switch doctors.



Because I am 77 years old and here it is February 4th, and it is still healing. I am diabetic and a simple little injury turns into a major problem for me. 

Secondly, because it is the law. My skin was broken. It was broken with the teeth of the animal. Not from his claws. The incident is now on record. The dog belongs to my son. If the wound should turn into something more than it has, I do not want to leave my child with regrets for having this animal. I want him to know that I did whatever was necessary and required of me.


----------



## GotGarlic

It would never even occur to me to report my own dog to the police. Whatever the law is, it has nothing to do with the fact that you have diabetes.


----------



## CharlieD

It is work comp. insurance. I got hurt at work. And was getting Phisical therapy. But the insurance claims that they never received the doctor orders and never have approved the treatment. That's why they are denying the payment. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## CatPat

Of pets, I do remember of a time when Azia was as of a puppy and I took away of a toy and she bit of my hand.

It did bleed much but she had of her shots. I hit her very hard of her head and her rear and put her in the crate for of a very long time. She has never done this again.

Perhaps some discipline is necessary, yes?

Love,
~Cat


----------



## Chef Munky

Addie said:


> Because I am 77 years old and here it is February 4th, and it is still healing. I am diabetic and a simple little injury turns into a major problem for me.
> 
> Secondly, because it is the law. My skin was broken. It was broken with the teeth of the animal. Not from his claws. The incident is now on record. The dog belongs to my son. If the wound should turn into something more than it has, I do not want to leave my child with regrets for having this animal. I want him to know that I did whatever was necessary and required of me.



Addie, 
You were the one at fault with Teddy. You chose to play with him at your age. Assume the risk. You've allowed your son to bring him to your home many times and this is the first time an incident has happened?

How is your relationship with your son after reporting him and his dog  with the authorities? It would be down right chilly with me.

Did you file a an incident report for future purposes to possibly sue your son if it doesn't heal when you want it to. Do you know by filing you just opened up that that gate for future problems for your son? 

It would be a cold day in H...! before I'd ever let my dog around you again. As a daughter the only regret I'd have is not getting my parent under control starting with all the early stages of Dimentia tests.


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> Addie,
> You were the one at fault with Teddy. You chose to play with him at your age. Assume the risk. You've allowed your son to bring him to your home many times and this is the first time an incident has happened?
> 
> How is your relationship with your son after reporting him and his dog  with the authorities? It would be down right chilly with me.
> 
> Did you file a an incident report for future purposes to possibly sue your son if it doesn't heal when you want it to. Do you know by filing you just opened up that that gate for future problems for your son?
> 
> It would be a cold day in H...! before I'd ever let my dog around you again. As a daughter the only regret I'd have is not getting my parent under control starting with all the early stages of Dimentia tests.



I did what was right. And I would do the same thing again. Spike was all for it. The only thing that happened with the report was it became a statistic for the number of incidents in the city with dogs. There was no need for a follow up with the police or the animal officer. I made it clear that I was following the law and just reporting it. I have no intentions of suing my son. And he knows it. He still brings Teddy here every night. And he will continue to do so. I still play with him. In fact when he comes through the door he runs to me right away and then up on my bed so I can give him his scratchies. Teddy knows if I have slacks on, he can put his front legs on my thighs. If I don't he pulls on my skirt so I can tell him "up". Which means up on the bed. We have a routine and I broke the rules the day he bit me. And he let me know it.


----------



## Silversage

Chef Munky said:


> Addie,
> You were the one at fault with Teddy. You chose to play with him at your age. Assume the risk. You've allowed your son to bring him to your home many times and this is the first time an incident has happened?
> 
> How is your relationship with your son after reporting him and his dog  with the authorities? It would be down right chilly with me.
> 
> Did you file a an incident report for future purposes to possibly sue your son if it doesn't heal when you want it to. Do you know by filing you just opened up that that gate for future problems for your son?
> 
> It would be a cold day in H...! before I'd ever let my dog around you again. As a daughter the only regret I'd have is not getting my parent under control starting with all the early stages of Dementia tests.



Not just the dog - it would be a cold day in H... before I'd come around again.  What a mean thing to do!


----------



## CharlieD

Wait, am I missing something or are you attacking Addie? Thing is if you go to doctor and it is dog bite, you either have to present the dog or get rabies shots and those are not pleasant to put it mildly. I am sure it was easier to bring all the dog paperwork from doctor rather than get those shots.


----------



## GotGarlic

CharlieD said:


> Wait, am I missing something or are you attacking Addie? Thing is if you go to doctor and it is dog bite, you either have to present the dog or get rabies shots and those are not pleasant to put it mildly. I am sure it was easier to bring all the dog paperwork from doctor rather than get those shots.



The doctor doesn’t need anything from the police. They get information about the dog from the veterinarian.


----------



## Cheryl J

Love ya and all Charlie, but I don't think anyone is 'attacking' Addie.  She brought it up on her own and in my very humble opinion, reporting a slight bite from a family pet to the authorities (who govern too much of our lives anyway), is a little over the top.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I did what was right. And I would do the same thing again. Spike was all for it. The only thing that happened with the report was it became a statistic for the number of incidents in the city with dogs. There was no need for a follow up with the police or the animal officer. I made it clear that I was following the law and just reporting it.



This sense of what's right seemed to be missing when you were selling your Internet access to your neighbor. 

Whatever you think you're "making clear," once you report something to the police, you have no control over what happens next. I don't understand what you think you were accomplishing by doing this.


----------



## taxlady

I think it's a bit much to report a small bite to the police too. She did say Spike was "all for it". But, we don't know all the details. Addie is on medicare. I think that is why she mentioned the diabetes. I don't know, but is it possible there could be repercussions with medicare if she doesn't report an injury immediately? Especially if it doesn't heal properly and needs to be taken care of later?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I think it's a bit much to report a small bite to the police too. She did say Spike was "all for it". But, we don't know all the details. Addie is on medicare. I think that is why she mentioned the diabetes. I don't know, but is it possible there could be repercussions with medicare if she doesn't report an injury immediately? Especially if it doesn't heal properly and needs to be taken care of later?



There is no way I could hide a huge scab on the side of my leg. When I went to Winthrop a couple of days later, they immediately saw it. If I hadn't taken the info to the police, they would have. Then, it would have been blown way out of proportion. If I hadn't reported it, the police would have been called and they would have come to Winthrop immediately. I would have been questioned. Why didn't I report the bite? Was I trying to protect the owner? Why didn't I seek medical care immediately? And on and on. I did exactly what the law required me to. And TL is right. Being on Medicare and Medicaid, (MassHealth) if the bite had not been reported, they could have refused to pay for any care if it got infected. Then I would have had a bill to pay that I can ill afford.

I did *what the law required *of me. In doing so I protected myself in the event of complications. Teddy is taken for long walks three times a day by Spike. That dog will turn his nose up at the best steak in town to pick up a dead pigeon in the street, before he can be stopped. He drinks out of muddy puddles. He does what dogs do because he is a dog! I would hardly call his mouth and teeth healthy and clean. He gave me a small bite to get my attention because I turned my back on him and wouldn't play. That is what he does. I failed to say "Stop!" It lets him know play time is over. The information will go into a compilation of numbers of how many incidents involving dogs in the city there were for the year. The paper work will go down into the archives in the basement of City Hall. I doubt if the police officer or animal control officer even remembers my name  or that of Teddy's. 

I doubt the government is really interested in controlling my life. The week Teddy bit me, there were three murders in this part of Boston due to gang activity. And we are supposed to have one of the safest neighborhoods in the city. The government doesn't even remember my name or that of Teddy. 

Thank you TL.


----------



## GotGarlic

You are making this up left and right. The police have nothing to do with compiling dog bite records. 

No one is suggesting that you hide the bite from medical personnel. But Massachusetts law, like most (if not all) other states, requires health care providers to report dog bites to the local health department, which reports them to the state department of health. The local department will decide whether an investigation regarding rabies is needed. 

https://www.animallaw.info/statute/ma-dog-consolidated-dog-laws

Medicare will not refuse to pay for health care needed in relation to a dog bite; however, they may seek reimbursement from the owner of the dog, or from the victim if there is a financial settlement with the owner. Since I'm on Medicare due to disability and I have a dog, I checked this out to be sure.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> You are making this up left and right. The police have nothing to do with compiling dog bite records.
> 
> No one is suggesting that you hide the bite from medical personnel. But Massachusetts law, like most (if not all) other states, requires health care providers to report dog bites to the local health department, which reports them to the state department of health. The local department will decide whether an investigation regarding rabies is needed.
> 
> https://www.animallaw.info/statute/ma-dog-consolidated-dog-laws
> 
> Medicare will not refuse to pay for health care needed in relation to a dog bite; however, they may seek reimbursement from the owner of the dog, or from the victim if there is a financial settlement with the owner. Since I'm on Medicare due to disability and I have a dog, I checked this out to be sure.



In this city the police take the reports. they enter them into the system. My Medicare is paid for by MassHealth. And they DO go after payments they feel due. Even after death. When my sister died and her house was sold, they expected to be reimbursed for all of her medical expenses they had paid from the proceeds of selling the house. Unfortunately for the Commonwealth, the bank had first priority on the profit.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Isn't it time we let this dog lie down and sleep?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

+1!!!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> +1!!!



 Thank you CG.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> In this city the police take the reports.



No, they don't. Just so you know for next time: http://www.bphc.org/whatwedo/infectious-diseases/DiseasesFromAnimals/Pages/Dog-Bite-Prevention.aspx


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Thank you CG.


You know, *Addie*, it takes two to tango. Just sayin'...


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> You know, *Addie*, it takes two to tango. Just sayin'...



I know.. I have sat down and stopped dancing. I don't care to dance with bulldogs. I prefer a more gentler dog with less teeth.


----------



## CarolPa

Charlie, you might not be responsible for that bill.  One time there was an issue with a medical treatment for DH.  Insurance wouldn't pay, but they told us not to pay it, because it was the responsibility of the medical provider to make sure they had approval before providing the service.  They fought it out between them and I don't know if it was every paid or not, but we didn't pay it.  I don't know if it's the same with Comp.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Another bad night's sleep, another lazy day for me. If I get any lazier I'm going to turn into a cat. 







Meow...


----------



## GotGarlic

I've always said, I want to be reincarnated as a beloved house cat


----------



## Dawgluver

Grumble.  It's either Verizon or me, but our internet is shot.  Can no longer get LTE to work for DC, though it works for everything else.

I have to poke at this teeny iPhone screen.


----------



## Cheryl J

Had a terrible night's sleep last night, too.  Sheesh.  I used to be able to sleep at least 4-5 hours straight not that long ago, now I'm lucky if it's 2 hours without waking up.


----------



## Kayelle

CG and Cheryl......there's nothing worse than a bad night's sleep, don't I know!

I've found a world of difference since I started taking Melatonin. Look into it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Grrr...me, luddite.*

Thank goodness for Dropbox. If it weren't for that, I would no longer have photos of my last kitty, trips to see our kids, vacations.... *sigh* Went to delete ONE photo from my phone "Gallery". When the main screen came up with all of my folders, the first photo in the "Camera" folder was the one I was planning on dumping. Sadly, I did not go to the individual photo, only selecting "delete" when I checked off what I had seen on my phone screen. *poof* Off into the ether went about 300 photos.   

At least they are still in Dropbox. This will teach me to move a photo into its album as soon as I take that picture! The punishment you get when you procrastinate...


----------



## taxlady

Eek!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

It's been a very mild winter.  3 days back, it snowed enough to break out the snowblower.  I cleared the driveways and walkways.  Last snow to clear was around the Webber Kettle.  I move the barbecue grill and began to clear the snow.  Suddenly, the machine came to an instantaneous stop, with the motor stalling.  I checked, and the ash catcher had fallen off of the Webber and had been buried in snow.  The auger scooped in up and the ash catcher wedged between rear tines of the auger and the auger bowl.  No damage was done except that I can't move the auger, and the ash catcher is so tight that I can't pull it out.  I have to remove the auger to get the ash catcher out.  And wouldn't you know it, the night before last, and yesterday until about 5 p.m. we had snow and a blizzard, the first one of the year.  Out came the shovel and me doing what I'd been doing for most of my life.  I only bought the snowblower last year.  It's what I get for using an old Webber whose leg sockets were welded onto the kettle bowl by my BIL.  After I take DW to a doctor's appointment, I'll go out and start taking things apart.  I have done my homework and found a repair manual online, and have studied it.  Fortunately,  I have a high mechanical apptitude and this should not be difficult.  A few well wishes sent this way wouldn't hurt though.  

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I'm just in a melancholy mood today.  Too many mistakes in too few days.  It just gives me a headache, which I have.  Sorry I'm not a fun guy right now.  It will pass.  I'll get the snowblower fixed, and chores done, and maybe find something fun to do.  I need someone to stand against the house, with their arms straight out, so that I can outline their body with snowballs.  Yep, that would be fun.  Any voluteers?

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Aunt Bea

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I'm just in a melancholy mood today.  Too many mistakes in too few days.  It just gives me a headache, which I have.  Sorry I'm not a fun guy right now.  It will pass.  I'll get the snowblower fixed, and chores done, and maybe find something fun to do.  I need someone to stand against the house, with their arms straight out, so that I can outline their body with snowballs.  Yep, that would be fun.  Any voluteers?
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Fire when ready!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Forget trying to catch anything, Chief. I'm more interested in finding out how your DW is after you...


Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> ...take DW to a doctor's appointment...


I hope she's fully recovered, or at least very close to being back as good as new. Still keeping you two in my thoughts. An update for us here would be nice, right?


----------



## Cheryl J

I hope your day is getting better, and sending best wishes to Mrs. Chief.


----------



## jd_1138

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> It's been a very mild winter.  3 days back, it snowed enough to break out the snowblower.  I cleared the driveways and walkways.  Last snow to clear was around the Webber Kettle.  I move the barbecue grill and began to clear the snow.  Suddenly, the machine came to an instantaneous stop, with the motor stalling.  I checked, and the ash catcher had fallen off of the Webber and had been buried in snow.  The auger scooped in up and the ash catcher wedged between rear tines of the auger and the auger bowl.



That sucks.  Thankfully we have a nice neighbor with a lot of toys.  When there's snow, he drives over with his 4 wheeler ATV that has a snow blade.  Only takes him a few minutes to push all the snow out of the driveway.  There still is a little in between our cars that I have to shovel but that only takes a few minutes.


----------



## CharlieD

Insurance, how many times can one complain about one? Apparently every time you deal with them. I sent a claim, made sure three times it had all necessary information. What do you think they did. They sent me a letter back stating that I didn't provide necessary information. I was so mad. Called them back. Person tells me not to worry. They have all the info they need. I almost exploded. I bet they do it on purpose just so they don't have to process the claim. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## roadfix

CharlieD said:


> Insurance, how many times can one complain about one?



That reminds me.....State Farm (my insurance co) still owes me the $250 deductible I had to pay out of my own pocket after my wife's vehicle was side swiped back in Dec of 2014.  The other party admitted fault and their insurance were supposed to reimburse State Farm for the total repair bill.   When I made my first inquiry to SF about my refund they told me that they had trouble collecting from the other party.....that was about 3 months ago...
I think I'll call again during the week.


----------



## Dawgluver

Asian ladybugs and errant queen wasps.  They're all over my sunroom, and my handheld vac is in constant use.  I have no idea how they've been getting in, but they're all over.  Someone had the brilliant idea years ago of importing Asian ladybugs to help control aphid populations on soybeans, and it backfired.  And to add to the joy, the little suckers bite.  Native ladybugs don't come inside, and don't nip.

The queen wasps are slow-moving and easy to catch and squish in a kleenex, but care is needed as they can sting.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Dawg*, I hear you about those ugly lady beetles. We get a huge crop of them every spring in a family room window. It faces east, but it's as close as you can get to the south side of the house without going around the corner. And in my bathroom. I've found one laying in the bottom of my water cup more than once. 

*************************************

Decades ago, Himself gave me a really nice le Creuset frypan like this one:






After I used it yesterday, I set it bottoms-up on the stove top...and, apparently, too close to the edge. It slid past the edge and bounced off of the floor.  At least it wasn't my foot, and I did have a throw rug in front of the stove. However, the drop cracked the pan straight through the metal down one side of the handle and partway across the underside of the handle.  Himself said it's still OK to use, but I'm the one handling it with hot foods in it! I think I'll go with his suggestion of relegating it to grill duty. He said after he cooks on it he'll just leave it in place until it cools.

I'm really bummed about this. Until I started reading stuff about CI here at DC and also Serious Eats, this pan had hid in the cupboard. I didn't use/clean it correctly when I first got it and the interior of the pan looked like something you wouldn't want to cook on. Now it's nice and shiny, black as new...and, now, broken.


----------



## taxlady

Oh noes CG. That stinks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Mouses...in my cupboards...I found an entire 1 pound bag of Celtic Sea Salt spread all over the bottom shelf. I got a couple of the sonic pest chasers for the kitchen, now I have tinnitus.  They say you can't hear them, but my tinnitus goes away when I unplug them. The cats are okay with it, so far, and they are staying off the counters.


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Mouses...in my cupboards...I found an entire 1 pound bag of Celtic Sea Salt spread all over the bottom shelf. I got a couple of the sonic pest chasers for the kitchen, now I have tinnitus.  They say you can't hear them, but my tinnitus goes away when I unplug them. The cats are okay with it, so far, and they are staying off the counters.



Cats are ok with it! 

It's time to have *the talk* with those cats!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Aw, CG, I'm sorry. It sucks losing a favorite tool. Makes you feel kind of lost in the kitchen.
--------------
PF, sorry about your kitchen woes, too. Mice! With cats in the house! One of ours is pretty lazy, but the other is a good hunter. Got one of those dastardly squirrels last year. Mice I don't think we'd have to worry about.


----------



## CharlieD

roadfix said:


> That reminds me.....State Farm (my insurance co) still owes me the $250 deductible I had to pay out of my own pocket after my wife's vehicle was side swiped back in Dec of 2014.  The other party admitted fault and their insurance were supposed to reimburse State Farm for the total repair bill.   When I made my first inquiry to SF about my refund they told me that they had trouble collecting from the other party.....that was about 3 months ago...
> I think I'll call again during the week.



Hate State Farm. Every house around me, and I mean all around every house,  had roof replaced. We are on a small lot. Me, not so fast. I got only half of the roof due to heil damage.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The mice are in the cupboards where the cats can't get to, the cats also are not allowed on the counters...


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The mice are in the cupboards where the cats can't get to, the cats also are not allowed on the counters...



The upper cupboards? Hmmm. Sounds like you need to find out how they're getting in. There may be a teeny hole under the eaves or something like that. I understand mice can squeeze through some pretty small spaces.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The cupboard in question is on the wall where the plumbing comes into the house, I don't keep any food in the bottom cupboards.  Have not found any carcasses, so they are not out in the living area, Django would have got them.  He is great for hunting flies.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The cupboard in question is on the wall where the plumbing comes into the house, I don't keep any food in the bottom cupboards.  Have not found any carcasses, so they are not out in the living area, Django would have got them.  He is great for hunting flies.



Gotcha. Our house is on a crawl space about four feet above ground and the furnace and water heater are in a small closet in a corner of the kitchen. There's an opening under the floor in there so that, in case the water heater leaks, the water will drain out into the crawl space and not into the kitchen. I don't know what it looks like - never been in there, or that far under the house 

We've gotten insects in there occasionally, but I guess the opening isn't big enough for rodents to get in.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, a crawlspace here, too!


----------



## Cheryl J

Hope you get your mouse prob under control soon, Princess.  I haven't had any mice in my house, but a couple of years ago my kitty left me a present on the patio , a rat about half his size! Ewwww. I didn't know we had rodents that large lurking about at night here. 

So sorry to hear about your frying pan, CG.  

Odd, Charlie...I've had State Farm for car and homeowners for over 30 years now and have been very happy with them so far. 

My petty vent...I bought a pound of Farmer John bacon the other day and it looked good through the 'window', but when I opened it up to cook it, the rest of the bacon was thick and fatty (and not the good kind of bacony fat that crisps up nicely - it was more like gristle).  It was inedible and I had to throw it out.  I think I'll email the company - if I can get a coupon, I'll be content with that.  Bacon is expensive.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh yuck, Cheryl.  Gristle is my least favorite flavor.

Sure hope you get some compensation!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Dawg... if I even get a response I'd be surprised - deceitful packaging is so annoying....


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Mouses...in my cupboards....


Well, crud. Hope you get rid of those little black-rice droppers real quick.



GotGarlic said:


> Aw, CG, I'm sorry. It sucks losing a favorite tool. Makes you feel kind of lost in the kitchen...


At least it wasn't a long-time favorite. I used it frequently when I got it, but then kinda relegated it to the cupboard when the cooking surface got funky looking. It was just in the last year that I got it all seasoned up right and started to use it again. Still, I'm bummed.

********************************************************
New Vent:

Poor Himself. We went out to eat last night, now he's laying in bed "not feeling too good". Upset tummy.  Hmmm, guess we won't be going back to THAT restaurant again.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Hope you get your mouse prob under control soon, Princess.  I haven't had any mice in my house, but a couple of years ago my kitty left me a present on the patio , a rat about half his size! Ewwww. I didn't know we had rodents that large lurking about at night here.
> 
> So sorry to hear about your frying pan, CG.
> 
> Odd, Charlie...I've had State Farm for car and homeowners for over 30 years now and have been very happy with them so far.
> 
> *My petty vent...I bought a pound of Farmer John bacon the other day and it looked good through the 'window', but when I opened it up to cook it, the rest of the bacon was thick and fatty (and not the good kind of bacony fat that crisps up nicely - it was more like gristle).  It was inedible and I had to throw it out.  I think I'll email the company - if I can get a coupon, I'll be content with that.  Bacon is expensive. *



Next time, stick it in the freezer with the receipt Cheryl. Take it with you when you shop next, and they will give you a credit for being unacceptable. We've done that several times with the meat department, and it works.
By the way, we only buy bacon by the pound from the meat case. It goes on sale often, and is far superior to pre packaged bacon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Not so much a vent, but a bit of a sad note. Our primary care doctor is retiring.  We've been going to him for years, really like the guy, and knew this day was coming. Still, a sad day for Chez Goddess. There are two doctors coming into his practice (see, he was THAT good that it takes two to replace him!) and their credentials sound fine, so we'll give them a chance. 

I've been kinda hoping our reason for changing doctors was because we had moved back to OH. Unfortunately, we wore out the one we had here before we had a chance to make our escape back home.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Not so much a vent, but a bit of a sad note. Our primary care doctor is retiring.  We've been going to him for years, really like the guy, and knew this day was coming. Still, a sad day for Chez Goddess. There are two doctors coming into his practice (see, he was THAT good that it takes two to replace him!) and their credentials sound fine, so we'll give them a chance...



That happened to me years ago when my tried and true Dr. finally retired.  He hooked me up with a young Dr. in the practice assuring me I'd like him.  He was right.  This guy is just right for me except for no sense of humor.  SO even switched over to him.  So you could be in for a pleasant surprise.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Kayelle said:


> Next time, stick it in the freezer with the receipt Cheryl. Take it with you when you shop next, and they will give you a credit for being unacceptable. We've done that several times with the meat department, and it works.
> *By the way, we only buy bacon by the pound from the meat case.* It goes on sale often, and is far superior to pre packaged bacon.



I started doing that too.  

The price per pound is usually higher than prepackaged bacon but it actually works out to be cheaper and healthier for me because I only buy a 1/4 pound at a time.  I do that with other fresh meats, deli meats and cheeses when I only need a small amount.  I'm becoming the customer that everyone hates to be behind at the deli counter, you know the one _"two nice slices of turkey, 1/4 pound of mozzarella sliced thin, 3 slices of *lean* ham sliced thick..."_ !!!_ _


----------



## taxlady

I explained that to a young man who was looking for the smallest, cheapest package of ham. He was also bemoaning the fact that he would have to eat ham sandwiches for several days in a row, because he lived alone and if he didn't, it would go off. It had never occurred to him that he could buy two slices of ham or some other cold cut.


----------



## jd_1138

taxlady said:


> I explained that to a young man who was looking for the smallest, cheapest package of ham. He was also bemoaning the fact that he would have to eat ham sandwiches for several days in a row, because he lived alone and if he didn't, it would go off. It had never occurred to him that he could buy two slices of ham or some other cold cut.



Plus if he visited the market's deli, he could not only buy 3 or 4 slices of ham but it would also taste way better than that pre-sliced crap that's packaged up.


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> *Next time, stick it in the freezer with the receipt Cheryl. Take it with you when you shop next, and they will give you a credit for being unacceptable. *We've done that several times with the meat department, and it works.
> By the way, we only buy bacon by the pound from the meat case. It goes on sale often, and is far superior to pre packaged bacon.


 
I'd have done that Kay, but I bought it on impulse when I stopped for coffee and a gallon of milk at a 'Drive Thru Dairy' we have here.  They don't give itemized receipts so I couldn't prove I bought it there, plus I'd have had to wait in line behind a bunch of cars to return it and make the people behind me wait. LOL.  Later, I thought I should have fried it all up anyway just for the bacon fat. I'll see what Farmer John's has to say, just for the heck of it. 

I usually buy bacon from the meat case at the grocery store, too - never have been disappointed in the quality.


----------



## Cheryl J

Aunt Bea said:


> I started doing that too.
> 
> The price per pound is usually higher than prepackaged bacon but it actually works out to be cheaper and healthier for me because I only buy a 1/4 pound at a time. I do that with other fresh meats, deli meats and cheeses when I only need a small amount. I'm becoming the customer that everyone hates to be behind at the deli counter, you know the one _"two nice slices of turkey, 1/4 pound of mozzarella sliced thin, 3 slices of *lean* ham sliced thick..."_ !!!_ _


 
 You sound like me at the grocery store deli counter, *AB*! A quarter to a third of a pound is the usual weight I request for most deli meats and cheeses for sandwiches - unless I'm expecting family to join me.  

I usually find the bacon at the meat counter less expensive than pre-packaged though, and as you say it's handy to buy less than a pound at a time.  Usually though I just get a pound, portion it out in several slices, and freeze. 

*Taxy - *I bet that young man you talked to at the store will remember that tip from now on - the deli counter is SO handy for buying for one, and as mentioned, better quality.


----------



## Souschef

Andy M. said:


> That happened to me years ago when my tried and true Dr. finally retired.  He hooked me up with a young Dr. in the practice assuring me I'd like him.  He was right.  This guy is just right for me except for no sense of humor.  SO even switched over to him.  So you could be in for a pleasant surprise.


Kayelle cracked up after that post. Her family Dr., who delivered her younger son retired some years ago, and we now have a very competent younger Dr., who gets busy typing everything on the computer. My last Dr.was like that, but it was a new experience for her.


----------



## Kayelle

Souschef said:


> Kayelle cracked up after that post. Her family Dr., who delivered her younger son retired some years ago, and we now have a very competent younger Dr., who gets busy typing everything on the computer. My last Dr.was like that, but it was a new experience for her.



AND let me add our new Doctor is soooo enthralled with his laptop, not only does he have no sense of humor, he is annoyed when I interrupt his typing train of thought. I feel like I'm intruding on his time. Just not my idea of Marcus Welby, for those of us old enough to remember him. Sigh.


----------



## Andy M.

Cheryl J said:


> ...I usually find the bacon at the meat counter less expensive than pre-packaged though, and as you say it's handy to buy less than a pound at a time.  Usually though I just get a pound, portion it out in several slices, and freeze...



I buy 4 pounds of bacon at Costco and freeze it.  Frozen bacon thaws quickly.  I cook two pounds at a time in the oven and freeze the excess rolled up in paper towels.  It's simple to unroll the paper towel and take out the number of slices I need and nuke it for 10-20 seconds.

Of course, I save the bacon fat in the fridge for cooking.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> That happened to me years ago when my tried and true Dr. finally retired...So you could be in for a pleasant surprise.


It looks like the new doctor isn't too young. He graduated from Med school in 1991, so I'm figuring he's one side or the other of 50. Certainly won't be wet behind the ears! I'm already figuring I'll like him - he's Polish. However, we won't be talking to each other in Polish since it seems the only words my Mom ever "taught" me were the ones you don't say in polite company. 



Souschef said:


> ...we now have a very competent younger Dr., who gets busy typing everything on the computer. My last Dr.was like that, but it was a new experience for her.


Our retiring doctor is a year younger than I am - 63. He's used a laptop to take notes the last 3-4 years. Before that, paper and pen.



Kayelle said:


> AND let me add our new Doctor is soooo enthralled with his laptop, not only does he have no sense of humor, he is annoyed when I interrupt his typing train of thought...


Meanwhile, our doctor interrupts his own train of thought when he's taking notes! He'll say to me "now where were we?". He's a talker. And has a great sense of humor. I hope the new doc makes me forget all about Dr. Jeff.


----------



## Addie

The plan was my daughter would pick me up at 1 p.m. She arrives 15 minutes early. (vent #1) I rush out the door and forget my handicap plaque. I tell Pirate to finish the laundry and keep an eye on the corn beef in the slow cooker, put the veggies in when the time is ready. 

We go to eat Fried clams and scallops. Each dish cost $50!!! I would have rather gone hungry than have her pay that much (#2). And that was cheap. The only reason she mentioned it was because we were discussing how expensive seafood has become because it is winter. Then we head out to Assembly Mall. Fortunately we found a handicap spot and she used her own plaque. She forgot that it was in the glove compartment. But it was quite a way from the leather store she wanted to bring me to. (#3) So I start walking and fortunately found a bench I could sit on to catch my breath and rest my hip. We sit for about five minutes and continue on. To buy a leather coat for me I would have to get an "Omar the Tent Maker" size. Leather does not stretch too well across my top. 

We start to leave and I spot a rack with blue coats. My whole house is in blue, most of my clothes are blue, etc. So we stop and try one on. IT FIT! And it is so pretty. Has snaps along with buttons. Easier on my fingers. I can reach the bottom of the pockets. It has a detachable hood. A belt long enough to tie instead of fooling with the buckle. Just the perfect length on my arms and body. And on and on. I LOVE this Spring coat. I have never had a coat for Spring. Only Winter. 

I get home and there is the laundry not done. (Big #4) And the corn beef is cooking away to almost nothing. Veggies still in the fridge in the pan of water. (Bigger #5) I go into Pirate's room. He has his blanket and mine on him and he is shivering. I put my hand on his forehead and he is burning up with fever. I calm down. (All gone #'s) What in heaven's name has he got. 

I head out to the kitchen and take care of the corn beef and tackle the laundry. Then I start to remember buying the perfect coat and the staff and customers in the store. They had just put the coat out last night after the store closed. 

My daughter had been in the store just a couple of days earlier to get a coat for herself. Because of her return as a customer, she got a 20% off the sale price. I asked the gentleman that was checking us out to remove all the theft articles because I wanted to wear it out. I mentioned that it was my birthday today and the coat was a present. He started to sing Happy Birthday to me and soon others also. Before you knew it even the customers in the store joined in. I started to cry. I am welling up right now thinking about it. Oh, and he gave her an additional 10% off for my birthday. But he forgot to remove one theft prevention piece and as I walked out the door wearing my new blue coat, sure enough the warning went off. I had to laugh. I have never had that happen before. Who cares about Petty Vents.


----------



## CharlieD

I don't know either to complain or to be thankful. Our refrigerator died the other day. Everything got defrosted. Had to throw some stuff away. It was fixed the same day, thank G-d we have service, but the best part refrigerator now is absolutely clean and organized. 
I don't think it was that cleaned when we bought it 18 years ago. 

Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Last Wednesday I found my basement flooded with about 3 inches of water.  I tried to find teh cause of the problem and pulled the sump pump from the sump whole.  The float was stuck on it.  A piece of debris has been caught between the pump motor and the float.  I removed the debris and the pump turned on properly when submerged.  Still, the water didn't seem to be draining.  But I figured that it was probably not noticeable as there was a lot of water to drain.  Thursday morning, I got up and checked the basement.  The water was deeper, but I had to go to work.  Thursday afternoon, I removed the drain pipe from the pump discharge and found a stuck check valve.  I removed the check valve and let the pump shove water through to the discharge pipe and out into the yard, underground drainage.  I checked Friday morning and the basement was clear of water, but the furnace had quit working on Thursday night.  I took the day off.  I then troubleshot the furnace and after a few hours was able to get it to work, except for the main blower motor.  Further troubleshooting revealed that the motor had been damaged by the water from the flooded basement.  I now get to find the correct motor from my furnace, and order it to the tune of between $97 to $150.  And I have to lay this 60 year old body on the cement floor, covered by a piece of unused vinyl flooring so that I don't have to lie on the still damp, and dirty cement floor, extract the old pump, order the new one, and install it.

Ah well, just another adventure in this thing we call mortality.  Many people have worse problems.  That's why this is a petty vent.  I will get beyond this problem.  I wish all of life's problems could be solved so easily.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Lognwind of the North


----------



## Addie

Oh Chief, you definitely have my sympathy. When I was living in the basement apartment of my daughter's house, the ground water level was very high. So every time it rained, I would hear the sump pump kick on. Well one time it was an horrendous downpour and I was sitting at my computer. All of a sudden I felt cold water surrounding my feet. The water was coming in faster than the pump could handle. Next day there were two sump pumps. The first on in the closet and the new one on the furnace room. That winter, the snow melted really fast at the end of the season. The best sound I ever hear was when both pumps kicked on at the same time. 

This is not a good time of the year for you to have furnace problems. Here's hoping that you get it fixed for the smallest cost. Good luck.* * Here's one for you to keep an eye on you and send you good vibes for you and your furnace.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aww Chief, so sorry you are going through this, especially this time of year.  Sending you good thoughts and wishes.


----------



## Addie

It is time for my six month checkup. I HATE this. Today I go for my physical with my doctor. I have no major problems except for this stinking cold that has left me with a cough and I am constantly bringing up phlegm. Between now and when I get there I have to decide if I am going to let him know. I just want to get this whole process over with.


----------



## taxlady

Aw Chief, that stinks. I'm sending positive vibes for a quick, easy, and as inexpensive as possible fix.


----------



## roadfix

Yeah, I hate dealing with sump pumps (sewage pump in my case).    Over the years, I had to replace mine twice but it gets messy when it fails and sewage start seeping up and over the holding tank and over onto the concrete slab.   I've since installed an alarm.


----------



## jd_1138

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Last Wednesday I found my basement flooded with about 3 inches of water.  I tried to find teh cause of the problem and pulled the sump pump from the sump whole.  The float was stuck on it.



Basements are rare out west where I am from, so when we moved here to Ohio I was kinda irritated that the basement here would flood a little when it rained.  Just a thin layer of water, but I don't want any water at all coming into the basement/house.  

I had about 5 tons of dirt delivered that I shoveled around the foundation to slope away from the house, and it helped a little.  Finally had to hire a contractor to dig out an interior french drain along the north wall of the basement.  It doesn't even have an electric sump pump -- just drains to the sewer.  But no more water in the basement.  Wasn't too pricey -- $1,500 I think for labor/materials.

Sounds like you're getting a lot of water at the footings.  Sometimes strategically placed dirt can remove a lot of that water.  And of course having proper rain gutters on the roof and downspout extensions.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Chief LotN*, sorry to hear about the water in your basement. Hope the sump pump issue is all fixed up and you're low is dry. 

***********************

I invited SIL and her hubby over for Easter on Friday. Saturday I called to tell her I wasn't sure if I was going to have to come up with a Plan B. Why? Well, when I fished around my 1-quart Chinese soup take-out container for a little scrapper thing for cleaning the counter seams...I also found about two inches of  water in that container.  Upon further investigation, and a few well-positioned cell phone pictures, I decided that our disposal was leaking. As was some part of our faucet. Now the faucet is a Kohler and all parts are lifetime-guaranteed. If it needs something, they'll send something. I think I know where it is leaking, so Himself can check that come Monday. The disposal, though, looks like we're going to need a new one. That can be a job for next week. Meanwhile, I had not planned on cleaning out the cupboard under the sink  but it's all washed down now. Everything is on the side that looks like it will stay dry, while anywhere that might leak has a tub of some kind to catch the water. Just so long as I can fix, serve, and clean up from Easter dinner I'll be a happy bunny.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> I had not planned on cleaning out the cupboard under the sink  but it's all washed down now. Everything is on the side that looks like it will stay dry, while anywhere that might leak has a tub of some kind to catch the water.



These things seem to always happen on or around a holiday!

A tip I learned a long time ago is to keep all of the "stuff" under the kitchen sink in a pair of inexpensive rectangular plastic dish pans.  Easy to pull out quickly and keeps the bottom of the cabinet free of rust rings and gunk spots.  The downside is that sometimes they fill with water before you realize that you have a leak! 

Good luck!


----------



## Addie

Aunt Bea said:


> These things seem to always happen on or around a holiday!
> 
> A tip I learned a long time ago is to keep all of the "stuff" under the kitchen sink in a pair of inexpensive rectangular plastic dish pans.  Easy to pull out quickly and keeps the bottom of the cabinet free of rust rings and gunk spots.  The downside is that sometimes they fill with water before you realize that you have a leak!
> 
> Good luck!



Me too. I use a couple of those wash basins you are given in the hospital. Fits perfectly under the sink.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Addie*, I don't have those basins around my house. Thankfully, my only trip to the hospital was to have our kids 35 years ago. Luckily, the Dollar Store isn't far away. MUCH cheaper than any hospital stay, too. 



Aunt Bea said:


> ...A tip I learned a long time ago is to keep all of the "stuff" under the kitchen sink in a pair of inexpensive rectangular plastic dish pans...


I've done that in all three of our houses. Probably did it in the apartments, too. Learned it all from my Mom. It's a great idea when it works! And it works if you have said container right where the drip will start. Sadly, I ended up with  rusty water under the plastic basket, in the plastic basket, and in the quart container inside the basket under the disposal leak. Had not anticipated a need to shove something small and narrow under the faucet fittings. At least THAT leak was clean water! Small blessings.


----------



## roadfix

We have those plastic dish pans under every sink in our house.


----------



## taxlady

Why have I never heard of or thought of using plastic dish pans for stuff under the sink? Sounds like a good idea to me. I'll get some as soon as I'm well.


----------



## Addie

Unfortunately, in this family, we have all brought home more than our share of those wash basins. The only problem is that is they are always pink. I do not have one pink item in my home. Well, at least they are out of sight under the sink.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Mother Nature took the ball and went home...*

I wait all winter, and put up with spring training, until Baseball Season gets here. WHY northern teams don't start south of the Mason-Dixon Line or in domed ballparks to start the season is beyond me. Sadly, no Cleveland Indians game today. Hope we get to play the Red Sox each of the next three days so we don't have to figure out shared days off during the season. Doesn't look promising.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> I wait all winter, and put up with spring training, until Baseball Season gets here. WHY northern teams don't start south of the Mason-Dixon Line or in domed ballparks to start the season is beyond me. Sadly, no Cleveland Indians game today. Hope we get to play the Red Sox each of the next three days so we don't have to figure out shared days off during the season. Doesn't look promising.
> 
> 
> 
> Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.




When you count how many warm weather teams there are and how many domed stadia there are, you'd think its a no-brainer to schedule early season games out of the weather.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Apparently, the schedule has been set up via a computer system the last several years. I guess "Watson" figures if the weather doesn't bother him, it won't bother us.

Oh, bother...


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Apparently, the schedule has been set up via a computer system the last several years. I guess "Watson" figures if the weather doesn't bother him, it won't bother us.
> 
> Oh, bother...



That just makes it easier to plan ahead and schedule games in warm weather climate and domed stadia.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

I'm in tears tonight. I was a Mentor in my writing forum, but they decided to take that away.

They don't think I'm mentally up to the job, and it isn't fair, for I mentored several folks about their work. I was always kind and helpful.

I guess that nurse isn't the only one who thinks I'm retarded. Wow, this hurts.


----------



## Souschef

CrazyCatLady said:


> I'm in tears tonight. I was a Mentor in my writing forum, but they decided to take that away.
> 
> They don't think I'm mentally up to the job, and it isn't fair, for I mentored several folks about their work. I was always kind and helpful.
> 
> I guess that nurse isn't the only one who thinks I'm retarded. Wow, this hurts.


Dear CCL,
That breaks my heart. My late wife was brain injured, and I can understand the frustration you feel. It is not fair for you to be treated that way.


----------



## Kayelle

I'm here for you too {{Joyce}}. The SC is right, don't let them get you down, but it must hurt so much to be treated so badly. If you fell and broke your body most would give you time to heal. How ignorant people can be.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh Joyce, I am so sorry this has happened.  Hugs from Wyoming.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Souschef said:


> Dear CCL,
> That breaks my heart. My late wife was brain injured, and I can understand the frustration you feel. It is not fair for you to be treated that way.



Oh no! I'm so sorry. ((HUGS)) for you, and I'm so sorry to hear of your wife's passing. Thank you soooooo much for saying that; I appreciate you so much. I didn't feel it was fair, either. I need challenges, and it's gone now. Thank you for sharing about your wife. I am sorry for your loss, and it must have hurt you to post this. Thank you so much.



Kayelle said:


> I'm here for you too {{Joyce}}. The SC is right, don't let them get you down, but it must hurt so much to be treated so badly. If you fell and broke your body most would give you time to heal. How ignorant people can be.



((HUGS)) back at you, Kayelle. You're right. I'm really hurt. I don't mean to be rude but if I fell and broke my hip or leg, you're right.



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh Joyce, I am so sorry this has happened.  Hugs from Wyoming.



Hugs from NC, my Ogress. It will be okay, I guess.

I PM'ed the admins begging to don't do this to me and please let me handle challenges. I don't know where to go now with my writing.

I'll never be taken seriously ever again.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's terrible, CCL, so hurtful.  {{{hugs}}} from here along the river too.


----------



## Souschef

*tbi chatroom*

Here is the link tbihome.org & Homepage: Brain Injury, TBI, ABI, Closed Head Injury, Survivors & caregivers
I was very active here after my wife's braininjury
http://www.tbihome.org/


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Dawgluver said:


> That's terrible, CCL, so hurtful.  {{{hugs}}} from here along the river too.



(((Hugs)))) back atcha, Dawg. Thank you!



Souschef said:


> Here is the link tbihome.org & Homepage: Brain Injury, TBI, ABI, Closed Head Injury, Survivors & caregivers
> I was very active here after my wife's braininjury
> http://www.tbihome.org/



Okay, thanks! I'll go look!


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Oh dear, it's offline.


----------



## Souschef

CrazyCatLady said:


> Oh no! I'm so sorry. ((HUGS)) for you, and I'm so sorry to hear of your wife's passing. Thank you soooooo much for saying that; I appreciate you so much. I didn't feel it was fair, either. I need challenges, and it's gone now. Thank you for sharing about your wife. I am sorry for your loss, and it must have hurt you to post this. Thank you so much.


Dear CCL, thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I lost my wife in 2005, and now have a new life with Kayelle.
You do not get over a loss, but you get past it. My wife was afflicted with the same thing that killed her father, but recovered enough to live another 12 years. She died from cancer, which was not a result of her brain injury.
When my wife was in ICU, the nurses would look at me and sadly shake their heads. A few months later, my wife went back to the ICU and gave the nurses "the finger"


----------



## Addie

Souschef said:


> Dear CCL, thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I lost my wife in 2005, and now have a new life with Kayelle.
> *You do not get over a loss, but you get past it.* My wife was afflicted with the same thing that killed her father, but recovered enough to live another 12 years. She died from cancer, which was not a result of her brain injury.
> When my wife was in ICU, the nurses would look at me and sadly shake their heads. A few months later, my wife went back to the ICU and gave the nurses "the finger"



SC, we just had a death in the family two days ago. I was very close to her mother and I know what it is like to lose a child. Thank you for those words. I have been struggling to find the words to say to her. And your words are perfect. She will be hearing them from me tomorrow. Thank you very much.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CrazyCatLady said:


> I'm in tears tonight. I was a Mentor in my writing forum, but they decided to take that away.
> 
> They don't think I'm mentally up to the job...


I'm sorry to see this, CCL, but I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here. Maybe they took you off the mentoring job because they thought it would hamper your recovery. Perhaps they did it because they think that giving you that extra time will help you recover faster. Whether or not that's their intention, I hope you get back to doing what you enjoy soon.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Addie said:


> SC, we just had a death in the family two days ago. I was very close to her mother and I know what it is like to lose a child. Thank you for those words. I have been struggling to find the words to say to her. And your words are perfect. She will be hearing them from me tomorrow. Thank you very much.



Oh no. I am so sorry.God bless them.



Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm sorry to see this, CCL, but I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here. Maybe they took you off the mentoring job because they thought it would hamper your recovery. Perhaps they did it because they think that giving you that extra time will help you recover faster. Whether or not that's their intention, I hope you get back to doing what you enjoy soon.



Thank you. I hope.


----------



## Souschef

Addie said:


> SC, we just had a death in the family two days ago. I was very close to her mother and I know what it is like to lose a child. Thank you for those words. I have been struggling to find the words to say to her. And your words are perfect. She will be hearing them from me tomorrow. Thank you very much.


You are welcome. At some point in the future, I remember the words of a mother who lost her child:  "Just because you have moved forward, it does not mean you have left the ones you lost behind."
 I still light a memorial candle for my mother, father, and wife, but I have moved forward to a new life.


----------



## CrazyCatLady

Addie, you know you have my prayers and condolences. I'm so sorry, dear.

Sous, I didn't know you were married to Kayelle, and that is wonderful!

I am sorry for your loss. I was a widow at 38. I understand.

Gosh dang, I love you folks!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Right now, I believe I hate my Hyundai more than I hate this election cycle. You may recall that our Sonata was recalled and repaired because there was a problem with metal particles left behind in the engine when it was manufactured. The new engine is less than 1000 miles old. Right after merging onto the highway a puff of smoke poofed from the back of the car and the temp gauge needle shot right to "H". After calling our local car dealer, who had us call Hyundai roadside assistance, and setting up arrangements for both a tow and loaner car, Himself checked the radiator fluid. Appeared full, no moisture in the engine compartment, hoses OR under the car on the ground. Started up for the tow guy so he could pull it onto his trailer bed. No water under the car then, either. Himself thinks it may have burst a ring gasket.

Got our loaner. We'll find out in the morning what the mechanic finds. I hope whatever it is turns out to be a quick fix, because if we end up having to come back for the car Hyundai had danged well better comp our room for the night we'll end up staying. We can't do 600 miles in just one day anymore.


----------



## taxlady

Bummer. Where are you? I hope all is cleared up very quickly.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Taxy, we're in Pennsylvania, near Philly, about 300 miles from home. We came in on Sunday for Himself's cousin's funeral on Monday. Fortunately, it sounds like my car didn't die, too. I got a voicemail from the service advisor saying it was something minor and silly that caused the problem. We'll get the details when we pick it up. Hopefully, the next time I post about this will be from my laptop at home!


----------



## GotGarlic

I hate getting stuck without alcohol in Pennsylvania   They have crazy laws there.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's not fun, CG.  Hope you get it fixed pronto.

Yes, I agree, GG.  PA liquor laws are very strange.  They remind me of Ontario's laws.  You buy your booze at one store, your beer at a completely different store.


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> That's not fun, CG.  Hope you get it fixed pronto.
> 
> Yes, I agree, GG.  PA liquor laws are very strange.  They remind me of Ontario's laws.  You buy your booze at one store, your beer at a completely different store.



NH has similar laws.  NH has state liquor stores that sell everything but beer.  Grocery stores (and some others) can sell beer and wine only.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

At Wal-Mart, in Nebraska, I can buy any type of beer or Liquor.  Shocked the heck out of me when I saw an end cap of Jim Beam.


----------



## GotGarlic

In PA, though, you can't buy just a six-pack at those beer-only stores. You have to buy a case. You can only buy six packs in a restaurant or bar! Too weird


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> There was an article yesterday that the antidepressant Zorloft could possibly be the cause of autism if the mother took the drug during the second and third trimester of their pregnancy.



I think times have changed. The younger people are not prepared for real life. SOme of them are not. I think it could always have been a problem, but to me, I am no authority of course, that is what is going on. It could be the older generation fault too, including me. We spoil our kids, we protect them from anything and everything. They have no idea what it means to work hard. They don't know what it takes to make living. They don't know what it means to survive in the real world. I might be wrong, but I think I am at least partially right.


----------



## CharlieD

Off topic. When I clicked on this thread I end up on the first page. Saw who started the thread, Alix. What ever happened to her? Does anybody know?


----------



## GotGarlic

CharlieD said:


> I think times have changed. The younger people are not prepared for real life. SOme of them are not. I think it could always have been a problem, but to me, I am no authority of course, that is what is going on. It could be the older generation fault too, including me. We spoil our kids, we protect them from anything and everything. They have no idea what it means to work hard. They don't know what it takes to make living. They don't know what it means to survive in the real world. I might be wrong, but I think I am at least partially right.



Autism is a genuine developmental disorder. It's not a behavioral problem. 

This is a fascinating article about a doctor in Massachusetts who surveyed and examined people there and described autism for the first time, although it didn't have a name yet: History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian


----------



## taxlady

GG, thank you for that link. It really was an interesting article.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Silly little problem*

The good news is, the car issue was a very minor one. The service advisor guessed that when the new engine was installed, the clip that holds the radiator hose to the engine (I think - I'm not the mechanic in the family) wasn't clamped far enough along the pipe, allowing the hose to work its way down to the end of the pipe and slip off. Since Himself pulled the car off immediately after it happened, all the diagnostics came back as AOK. I have to admit that everyone we've dealt with, from our first call to our MA dealer all the way to shaking hands with the tech today, has been the most pleasant bad experience I've ever had. 

BTW, Himself said he completely understood how you can end up not clamping the hose far enough along a pipe - he almost did the same thing when he installed our garbage disposal.   Good thing he checked, checked, and checked again before we ran water! 



GotGarlic said:


> I hate getting stuck without alcohol in Pennsylvania   They have crazy laws there.


They've loosened things up a bit. On one of our recent trips through PA, maybe last year(?), we were actually able to buy a six-pack of beer in the Wegmans grocery store along our route. When I tried buying a six-pack of something he had at a family wedding in 2003 I had no clue where to go. Actually stopped at the police department (I figured they knew all of the trouble spots) to ask. When the dispatcher told me I would have to go into a bar to get a six-pack OR a distributor for an entire case of 24 bottle, I told her to point me towards the distributor. No way was I going into a bar alone to buy beer.



CharlieD said:


> Off topic. When I clicked on this thread I end up on the first page. Saw who started the thread, Alix. What ever happened to her? Does anybody know?


Last time she stopped by, she mentioned how busy her life has been. Here's the link to that post, if you would like to read it: http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f43/iso-cereal-snaps-95048.html#post1455173



GotGarlic said:


> Autism is a genuine developmental disorder. It's not a behavioral problem...


How did you think of autism as related to *Charlie*'s post? I figured he was more likely talking about an unofficial condition, Peter Pan Syndrome. I still read your linked article, just because. Got about half-way through, then bookmarked it for a day when my brain is fresher. What I read was really interesting. And made me think of Dustin Hoffman's "Rain Man".


----------



## GotGarlic

Charlie's post was in response to something Addie said about autism.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks, *GG*. I didn't see that quote appear on either my tablet or phone, but there it was right here on the laptop.

Nice as it is to keep in contact with DC and Facebook and all, it seems mobile platforms just aren't "all that" when it's compared to a standard computer.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks, *GG*. I didn't see that quote appear on either my tablet or phone, but there it was right here on the laptop.
> 
> Nice as it is to keep in contact with DC and Facebook and all, it seems mobile platforms just aren't "all that" when it's compared to a standard computer.



Yeah CG. I send my daughter an email and she only gets half the message on her tablet. She also mention to me that happens when she sends her daughter an email also. And my kids laugh at me for insisting on an old fashion desk computer. But I have more memory than they ever will. And I get all my messages. Completely!


----------



## jd_1138

Addie said:


> Yeah CG. I send my daughter an email and she only gets half the message on her tablet. She also mention to me that happens when she sends her daughter an email also. And my kids laugh at me for insisting on an old fashion desk computer. But I have more memory than they ever will. And I get all my messages. Completely!



Yeah tablets are nice for watching Netflix or whatever on (media consumption device), but nothing beats a laptop or a desktop.

Can't write a school report, email, or a story on a tablet.  Well you could if you use an external keyboard, but it's definitely not ideal.

My wife's best friend had to come over to our house every time she needed to print documents, forms, do her taxes, etc., as all she had was a Kindle Fire tablet.  Her husband refused to get her a laptop -- "you have a computer already!  I bought you that Kindle!"  I told her "you earn as much money as him; go to Staples and get a $250 laptop and a printer, sheesh."    Women's Liberation!


----------



## rodentraiser

Reading back a few posts, I'm not sure having a Peter Pan syndrome is the worst thing in the world. I'm almost 60 and I still love to decorate my dollhouses or collect model horses or have rats and mice as pets. I had a boss who was just a couple years older than me and was horrified that I still "played with dolls". I had to bite my lips to keep from reminding her that I also dived straight into the internet when we first got our computers at work (because it was _fun_ and I'm never too old for new things that are fun) and she still couldn't figure out how to use the back button. 

That's what happens when you let your mind get old and inflexible.


----------



## jd_1138

rodentraiser said:


> Reading back a few posts, I'm not sure having a Peter Pan syndrome is the worst thing in the world. I'm almost 60 and I still love to decorate my dollhouses or collect model horses or have rats and mice as pets. I had a boss who was just a couple years older than me and was horrified that I still "played with dolls". I had to bite my lips to keep from reminding her that I also dived straight into the internet when we first got our computers at work (because it was _fun_ and I'm never too old for new things that are fun) and she still couldn't figure out how to use the back button.
> 
> That's what happens when you let your mind get old and inflexible.



That's awesome.  Too bad your boss could not see your hobbies as being a form of collecting instead of thinking you still "played with dolls."

I know a 60 year old geeky guy who goes to Toys R' Us every week to buy the latest action figures (sci-fi, horror).  He keeps them in their packages.


----------



## taxlady

Almost all the men I know spend too much money at Toys r Us, not counting stuff for the kids.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Yeah CG. I send my daughter an email and she only gets half the message on her tablet. She also mention to me that happens when she sends her daughter an email also. And my kids laugh at me for insisting on an old fashion desk computer. But I have more memory than they ever will. And I get all my messages. Completely!


I used to cart the laptop whenever we went out of town, even if it was just for a night or two. Since I don't do anything that needs a secure internet connection when we're out of town, all I take is the tablet now. Since we were gone a whole three days for a family funeral, just the phone and tablet were enough. We were much too busy having fun spending time with family that I wasn't online often anyway.

I went back through the thread to find your original post about autism. December 17th of last year? No wonder I didn't see it only the tablet! It was such a non sequitur to the most recent posts that it totally threw me off.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

rodentraiser said:


> Reading back a few posts, I'm not sure having a Peter Pan syndrome is the worst thing in the world. I'm almost 60 and I still love to decorate my dollhouses or collect model horses or have rats and mice as pets...


Decorating dollhouses or collecting things isn't exactly *Peter Pan Syndrome*. After all, you admit to having a job! It's more along the lines of letting Mommy and Daddy support you even if you're a perfectly healthy, able-bodied adult. Think of the joke about the 35-year-old guy, playing video games while sitting around in his skivvies in him parents' basement, calling into sports talk shows to make stupid comments. THAT is the new Peter Pan.


----------



## Addie

jd_1138 said:


> Yeah tablets are nice for watching Netflix or whatever on (media consumption device), but nothing beats a laptop or a desktop.
> 
> Can't write a school report, email, or a story on a tablet.  Well you could if you use an external keyboard, but it's definitely not ideal.
> 
> My wife's best friend had to come over to our house every time she needed to print documents, forms, do her taxes, etc., as all she had was a Kindle Fire tablet.  Her husband refused to get her a laptop -- "you have a computer already!  I bought you that Kindle!"  I told her "you earn as much money as him; go to Staples and get a $250 laptop and a printer, sheesh."    Women's Liberation!



Better still let the  husband do the taxes by hand, take them when he is through and pay to have copies made, or pay an outside company to do them. It will cost him almost half of what a computer and printer would cost him. Also remind him that by doing that, he has to leave his information regarding his address, phone number, SS numbers, ect., on someone else's computer. Unless they use a zip drive.  And in today world of identity theft, it becomes a matter of who can you trust. Do you really want to trust a total stranger?


----------



## rodentraiser

Cooking Goddess said:


> Decorating dollhouses or collecting things isn't exactly *Peter Pan Syndrome*. After all, you admit to having a job! It's more along the lines of letting Mommy and Daddy support you even if you're a perfectly healthy, able-bodied adult. Think of the joke about the 35-year-old guy, playing video games while sitting around in his skivvies in him parents' basement, calling into sports talk shows to make stupid comments. THAT is the new Peter Pan.



Ah, I do collect the houses to the point where I may not live long enough to build them all, but after decorating them and getting all the furniture and accessories, I find I am arranging and rearranging all the time and having a blast. So yes, I really do "play" with them. Of course, we call it "interior design in miniature" and that sounds a lot better than "playing with the dollhouses".


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I believe that we are on this Earth, in this mortal form to grow, to experience heartache, exuberance, the joy of children, the love a good spouse, the anguish of hard times, especially when it affects out families, the bliss of a great meal, the wonders that surround us every day, to make mistakes, and to learn how to resolve problems of all kinds.  In short, we are here to experience and to learn.

That being said, in the last two years, I've had to put money into the car, replace the roofing and repair a section of the roof, watch my wife come withing a breath of dying, fix my furnace, take on major projects at work that involve learning whole new systems, without any training, my basement flooding, a large tree branch falling onto my aluminum canoe, destroying it, help bolster my wife to help make her life livable, and now, my water pump, just today, failed.  This bugger is 90 feet deep and I have to pull it up by hand to determine if the wire has rubbed against the casing and shorted out due to the insulation wearing away, or if the pump itself has failed.  Oh, and the fund I have for building a new garage is slowly being eaten by all the other more pressing projects.  

I'm not saying - Why me?  I am saying - can I have a break in the challenges for a short time?

I'd love to find a way to give my wife a day, just a day without pain and suffering.  I'd love for her to be able to step outside, on a warm day in the forest, without biting bugs.  I'd love to come home from work feeling energetic and fresh, raring to do dive into one of the many projects that need to be completed.

But I have faith that all of this is form my good, and for my learning, by a power wiser than me.

I envy the fictitious Huck Finn, lying on a bank, snoozing on a warm summer day, with cool breezes keeping him cool, and a fishing line tied to his toe to wake him when a fish bites.  The world has not progressed.  It has simply become more complex, with more things to fail.  And society, while not getting substantially meaner in most places, isn't as friendly and trusting as it once was.

I'm just not looking forward to pulling that pump tomorrow.  Fortunately, I have a son at home who is willing to help.  I have a reason to be thankful.  He and I get to work together, without any reason to disagree, or argue.  It should be a good day, except for the expense of fixing, or replacing the pump.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh Chief!  Good gravy, you've been through the fire!  Many hugs for you and your wife!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Oh Chief!  Good gravy, you've been through the fire!  Many hugs for you and your wife!


That's what I was thinking. Yes (((hugs))) for both of you. And positive thoughts.


----------



## Cheryl J

Sending along good thoughts to you and yours, Chief.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dang, it's been trouble after trouble for you lately. I sure hope the cheap fix is the right fix. Good luck, and keep us posted on your pump problems.



Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> ...I envy the fictitious Huck Finn, lying on a bank, snoozing on a warm summer day, with cool breezes keeping him cool, and a fishing line tied to his toe to wake him when a fish bites...


Um, I hate to break it to ya, *Chief*, but in case you haven't noticed...you ain't 14 anymore.


----------



## Andy M.

Sorry to hear of your problems, Chief.  I know you have the strength to get through it all.


----------



## GotGarlic

So sorry, Chief. {{{hugs}}}


----------



## Addie

Chief, I know you can get through this also. You are very strong and have enough faith to face anything. I am glad you have your son there. It will make the chore of that pump go faster and a lot easier.

Take care and good luck with your pump problems. We all are in your corner and pulling for you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

So sorry Chief...but if anyone can make lemonade out of lemons, it's you.  Keep your spirits up and feel free to vent when needed.  Hugs!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Thanks everyone.  The person that needs well wishes and prayers is my wife.  I am still able to get around, go to work, and do things.  There are just more things to do now.  She's the one who is hurting, mentally, and physically.

I appreciate your well wishes, and prayers, for those who pray.  Yes, this is just another speed-bump on road of life.  As CG said, I'm not 14 anymore.  At 60, things that used to be almost effortless become a challenge.  But as I said, I have my son here to help.  I'm just so used to doing everything myself.  It's hard to let go of the reins, to have to rely on others.  But you know, when you allow others to help, it strengthens the bonds between you, and gives them a chance to feel useful, and strong.

We all have to realize that there will come a day when we can no longer walk beside a rugged fishing stream, or just start walking a two-track for a day, just to see where it goes, or fix the furnace, or the car, etc.

The worst part of growing older, or like my wife, becoming completely dependent, is the sorrow that comes from thinking that you are simply a burden to your loved ones, and living through constant pain.  That's why she needs your kind spirits, and thoughts, and prayers.

By this afternoon, the pump will be fixed, and I'll have a little less money in the bank.  However, like you said, at my age and health, I'm still a survivor.  It states in scripture that God will give us no challenge, except that he will provide a way for us to get through that challenge.  That's always been the case in my life, though the challenges have some times taken serious work to get through.  There are so many people who would love to have my simple challenges, as their own lives are far more difficult than mine.  Well, I suppose I should start getting something done around here.

Seeeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North.


----------



## Addie

Chief, I can empathize with you completely. At 77 I am constantly reminded that I am no longer 20 years old. I tire so easily now. I have reverted to using paper plates, because to stand at the sink for any length of times, exhausts me. I can make it doing just the silverware and pans. But I am fortunate in that I have Pirate here with me. But at 53 his health is failing him also. He has arthritis and neuropathy in his feet. That came from 20 plus years of carpet installing and kicking it in with his knees. A hazard of the occupation. So walking for him is very painful right now, and he is constantly falling. One of these days he will break a bone. Then what do I do. But I don't want to lay that thought on him. We both have our own worries.

It is very frustrating when you realize that age has caught up with your body. During my working days my plan was to work until I was 70 and then do volunteer work for the Boston Opera Co. and Ballet Co. Open heart surgery along with three heart attacks killed that idea real quick.

When my kids would tell me, "it's not fair!," I would ask them who promised you fair? Well now my words are haunting me. No one promises us fair. We do our best to care for our family and can only pray for the best. That is about the fairest it is ever going to get. 

I know it is hard to stand by and watch your wife to be in her condition. But you still have her. I have buried two husbands and a child. "It is just not fair." But who promised me fair? 

So my heart goes out to you. You have the fortitude to see yourself through this latest setback. And you also have your faith. Hang in there. There is light at the end of the tunnel. It is called "Faith" and "believing!" 

God luck my friend.  It will get better. Keep your faith.


----------



## CarolPa

Sorry to hear of all this Chief.  It is definitely not a "Petty" vent!  When you find yourself at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!  FDR


----------



## CarolPa

Very petty vent....

Why do credit card companies waste the time and money to send you a bill telling you that you have a $0 balance?  And include a return envelope?


----------



## roadfix

CarolPa said:


> Very petty vent....
> 
> Why do credit card companies waste the time and money to send you a bill telling you that you have a $0 balance?  And include a return envelope?


All the more reason to go with paperless billing...
I don't receive billing in the mail for anything.   I get enough junk mail as it is.....  and they get tossed out without opening.


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> Very petty vent....
> 
> Why do credit card companies waste the time and money to send you a bill telling you that you have a $0 balance?  And include a return envelope?



Because the system is automated?

Roadfix is right. Go paperless!


----------



## Aunt Bea

CarolPa said:


> Very petty vent....
> 
> Why do credit card companies waste the time and money to send you a bill telling you that you have a $0 balance?  And include a return envelope?



That is just sloppy work by the credit card servicer.  The major credit card issuers use intelligent inserting or at least that is what it was called in my day.  A setting in the statement inserting script to eliminate the pp envelope on zero balance or zero payment accounts was not set properly.


----------



## rodentraiser

I am venting right now. Maybe it's petty, maybe it's not.

I live in subsidized housing that houses a lot of people who have been through rehab. Most of them are just people who got themselves straight and some of them are just normal people. And some of them are the people you read about on notalwaysright.com .

Yesterday I had someone knocking on my door asking to borrow $3. I said all I had was 20¢. The person then asked me to drive them down to the store. Now, I have two things I don't do here. I don't loan money to people and I don't give rides. I am one of the few people who have a car and it's an old car that I have to keep running as long as I can, so I try to do a limited amount of driving. I also pay the cheapest insurance I can get away with. It covers virtually nothing, but it's legal for my state. 

In the last month, more than a couple of people have asked me to give them rides and a few of them more than one or two times. Since I don't like getting dressed and going out when I don't have to and because I ration my gas pretty carefully, plus I don't really feel like being anyone's personal chauffeur, I turned everyone down. I tell people I hope they understand I can't play favorites so I won't be giving anyone rides.

So I explain that again and the person wanting the $3 goes off. Today I'm doing my laundry (takes $2 in quarters) and I meet this person in the hallway. This is the conversation that ensued:

Him: Where'd you get the money to do laundry?

Me: I saved up my quarters.

Him: But you told me yesterday all you had was 20¢.

Me: I did. Oh, I see what you're saying. Yes, I had the quarters, but I needed them for my laundry today.

Him: Well, I don't know why you would tell me you only had 20¢ when  you had money for laundry.

Me: Why would I? I wouldn't have loaned you that money anyway, because I needed it to do laundry.

Him: Well, the reason I was asking was because I needed to do _my_ laundry. I think if you had money you shouldn't have lied to me. I really needed to do my laundry.

Me: I hate to tell you this, but no matter how bad you needed to do your laundry, you couldn't have done it anyway because I wasn't going to loan my laundry money to you.

Him: I don't know why not. That's really cold, saying you don't have any money so you don't have to loan it out to someone who needs to do their laundry. *takes off*



Some days it's not worth chewing through the straps.


----------



## roadfix

^^^^  Yep, it's best to stand your ground, be firm, and have a blanket rule about loaning money and giving them rides.


----------



## Addie

Next time let the person know that they can purchase a scrubbing board like their grandmother used, at the local hardware. They still make them. That and a bar of yellow soap along with some elbow grease will do the job.


----------



## Cheryl J

roadfix said:


> ^^^^ Yep, it's best to stand your ground, be firm, and have a blanket rule about loaning money and giving them rides.


 
+1.  It's not your responsibility to take care of others needs before your own.  It must be a very difficult situation though, to come face to face with those who want your money and free taxi service.  I'm so sorry, RR.  Take care and above all, keep yourself safe. (((hugs)))


----------



## Addie

I have a free government cell phone. I get 120 minutes a month and then for five dollars more out of my own pocket, I get and additional 120 minutes. I try not to use them all in one month. So I like to make calls from my computer. But it is in the same room where the television is. In order to make the call, I have to turn the sound on the TV to mute. Having Pirate underfoot 24 hours some days is beginning to wear thin on me. There is not much to do here except cook, clean house and watch TV. Now that the good weather is starting to come around I am hoping that he tries to go out for walks or see some of his friends. As long as it is not raining. On rainy days, he falls a lot. the neuropathy has really done a number on him. 

I want my life of living alone back. I am one of those folks who like living alone. Pirate right now is in the best of health that he is ever going to be. Time for him to find his own housing. The clinic where he goes has a social worker whose job is to help people who are disabled, senior citizens, etc. find affordable subsidized housing. In his own way, he has been a tremendous help to me financially. Now it is time for him to put his money where it will do the most good for him, not me. It is time for me to turn into a nag. "Make an appointment for housing with the social worker." Did you call the social worker today?" Nag, nag, nag.


----------



## Chef Munky

rodentraiser said:


> I am venting right now. Maybe it's petty, maybe it's not.
> 
> I live in subsidized housing that houses a lot of people who have been through rehab. Most of them are just people who got themselves straight and some of them are just normal people. And some of them are the people you read about on notalwaysright.com .
> 
> Yesterday I had someone knocking on my door asking to borrow $3. I said all I had was 20¢. The person then asked me to drive them down to the store. Now, I have two things I don't do here. I don't loan money to people and I don't give rides. I am one of the few people who have a car and it's an old car that I have to keep running as long as I can, so I try to do a limited amount of driving. I also pay the cheapest insurance I can get away with. It covers virtually nothing, but it's legal for my state.
> 
> In the last month, more than a couple of people have asked me to give them rides and a few of them more than one or two times. Since I don't like getting dressed and going out when I don't have to and because I ration my gas pretty carefully, plus I don't really feel like being anyone's personal chauffeur, I turned everyone down. I tell people I hope they understand I can't play favorites so I won't be giving anyone rides.
> 
> So I explain that again and the person wanting the $3 goes off. Today I'm doing my laundry (takes $2 in quarters) and I meet this person in the hallway. This is the conversation that ensued:
> 
> Him: Where'd you get the money to do laundry?
> 
> Me: I saved up my quarters.
> 
> Him: But you told me yesterday all you had was 20¢.
> 
> Me: I did. Oh, I see what you're saying. Yes, I had the quarters, but I needed them for my laundry today.
> 
> Him: Well, I don't know why you would tell me you only had 20¢ when  you had money for laundry.
> 
> Me: Why would I? I wouldn't have loaned you that money anyway, because I needed it to do laundry.
> 
> Him: Well, the reason I was asking was because I needed to do _my_ laundry. I think if you had money you shouldn't have lied to me. I really needed to do my laundry.
> 
> Me: I hate to tell you this, but no matter how bad you needed to do your laundry, you couldn't have done it anyway because I wasn't going to loan my laundry money to you.
> 
> Him: I don't know why not. That's really cold, saying you don't have any money so you don't have to loan it out to someone who needs to do their laundry. *takes off*
> 
> 
> 
> Some days it's not worth chewing through the straps.



I'm glad you said no. If that person had no money for laundry why would they need a ride to the store? With what?

It's NOT your problem they're fresh put of rehab. Rehab is supposed to fix stupid. Not to to have the exited rehaber's bothering you to the point of harassment as he did!

You said no and that's where it should have ended.
He pushed the point that has me wondering what his true motivations were. "How much money does she keep in petty cash around the house?"
You see what I mean? That's a safety issue.

I think your a nice person. Not a piece of linoleum.
The best thing to do is avoid him. Keep up with what your doing.

On a side not here* not long ago the police has arrested an aggressive panhandler at an intersection stop light. When they searched him they found that he had well over $1,800.00 on him.

So you were right not to give him your money. Your door probably wasn't the only door he knocked on that day.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

rodentraiser said:


> I am venting right now. Maybe it's petty, maybe it's not...


Wow, that's not only annoying, it's scary. Like *Munky* pointed out, you have to hope that this neighbor's confrontation doesn't make him think that you hide money and he needs to find it. I hope you have a building manager that you can notify. Perhaps they can add an extra lock to your door. And provide a tall, dark, and handsome body guard? 




Chef Munky said:


> ..Rehab is supposed to fix stupid...


Sorry, *Munky*. You can fix practically everything, but you can't fix stupid.


----------



## Addie

A number of years back a reporter asked street people who were rattling paper cups for donations how much money they are able to collect in one day. 

Not surprising, many of them reported over $1,000 a day. Now if they are out there every day, that makes $7,000 tax free per week. And to think of all the days I dragged myself to work. 

There were several other little tidbits as to what was considered prime spots to collect the most money. Where they get the most harassment from the police. Etc.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*When it rains...*

I'm not in the wrong thread because I'm not talking weather. When driving home from the second of two trips to the oral surgeon last week (root canal, two trips, $1981.70 + $470.25), Himself said the "low air" light for a tire came on. Same tire he had just filled the night before. Stopped at our mechanic, who swapped the flat tire with the emergency donut, and sent him on his way. Just got a call back today. Our mechanic had been calling around for a replacement tire because the one that came off Himself's car could not be fixed. Oh, well, that's about $200.00 for the new tire. Meanwhile, Himself is getting ready to schedule an appointment with the dentist to get his crown. Making him king will cost about another $1200.00 

Meanwhile, down in the basement, this laundress moves a load of hand towels from the washer to the dryer, pushes the button, and...carrr-rrraaaap. No "start". Nothing. Dead. Geez, I got only 20-couple years of service from that thing.  Hung the towels on skirt hangers and across the bars on pants hangers and have they all over the basement, hanging off of heating duct straps and water lines. I've been looking at dryers at Lowe's online, finding that we'll take a $350+ hit to the budget by the time they figure in the tax. I'm hoping they have perfectly serviceable units available in their scratch-and-dent aisle. Everyone please cross your fingers, OK?

It's a good thing we're just dull people who go nowhere and do nothing exotic with our lives. At least we have money on hand for emergencies. But please, no more emergencies for a while!


----------



## Dawgluver

Gee whiz, CG, sounds like when it rains...

Hoping for no more emergencies!


----------



## Addie

Gee, I wish you were a little closer to NH. At least you could save on the sales tax. My son lived up in Methuen at the time when I needed a new vacuum and a washer. And he owned a pickup truck. So I placed the order on line and he went up and picked them up for me. Saved me quite a bundle alone on sales tax. Now I have a grandson that lives in North Andover. Again, the same arrangement. Every two weeks he goes up there to get cigarettes for Pirate and myself. Then brings them down here. Sometimes he has the two kids with him. I save money on the tax and get to see the two kids if they don't have anything planned. Such as track, cheerleading, Boy Scouts, and anything other activity you can think of. Or if my GS hasn't been called into work as a firefighter. They do all their grocery shopping up there. Mainly to buy taxable items. And the prices on the food seem to be less expensive up there. Specially the fresh produce. In the area you live, RI and CT, the sale tax is higher than here. Somewhere is all of these problems that keep popping up, there has to be a break for you. Sending up a word or two for you. It is time you got some smooth sailing. Sunshine and nice weather due for you.


----------



## taxlady

Phooey on that CG. Sending positive vibes.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks for the well-wishes, ladies. As I type, darling Himself is pulling apart the control panel on the dryer. Between the 20-year-old owner's manual I dug out of the files and the videos he watched online, he's troubleshooting the thing to see if it's fixable so we don't have to replace it. I might complain about the man, but he is a gem. Sometimes diamond, sometimes CZ, but a gem nonetheless. 

*Addie*, even if we had a van, the cost of driving a dryer from NH to southern Worcester county isn't worth the time or money. Besides, between a $10. off coupon I got from Lowe's plus the 5% discount we get when we use our Lowe's credit card, it's like we won't pay any tax. I'm hoping our daughter is able to find a nice "friends and family" deal for us when she calls the CT store. She's going to do her best sweet-talking since she also works for Lowe's.  If not, we'll just suck it up and buy something. 

You know, as annoying as this is, it could have been much worse. The start switch might have worked, but something might have ignited inside the controls. By the time we found out a load of towels in the dryer was on fire, we would have had a whole lot more troubles than just needing to buy a new one. Sometimes a problem just might be a good thing. Gotta think positive, right?


----------



## rodentraiser

Chef Munky said:


> I'm glad you said no. If that person had no  money for laundry why would they need a ride to the store? With what?



Who knows? Friends to loan him money? Write a check for cash back?

I  learned to say "no" a long time ago, even though it's hard for me  because I also want to believe there's good in people. But I also have a  selfish streak and so while I find I'm fighting with myself once in a  while, the selfish me can take a strong practical stand once in a while.  



Cooking Goddess said:


> Wow, that's not only annoying, it's scary. Like *Munky*  pointed out, you have to hope that this neighbor's confrontation  doesn't make him think that you hide money and he needs to find it. I  hope you have a building manager that you can notify. Perhaps they can  add an extra lock to your door. And provide a tall, dark, and handsome  body guard?



A tall, dark, handsome body guard would quit the day he saw who he was supposed to protect. 

Not  to worry. This is a single room occupancy building and as it receives  federal funding, the rules are pretty well laid down. You know going in  that if you smoke inside your room or if drugs are found in your room,  it's an automatic 10 day vacate notice. We need to activate the locks  with our card before we can get in. They're VERY strict on not letting  in people we don't know and everyone follows that rule, from what I've  seen.

Once in the building, the doors are heavy and I always have  the deadbolt on mine when I'm in the room. The biggest problem to me  is the bathroom. I have to share a bathroom (sucks, totally) and for  now, my bathmate wouldn't steal or anything. Having said that, she's  afraid she'll need medical emergency care one day and so leaves her door  unlocked AND she drags home the weirdest people (she's been written up  for that). So I always have my bathroom door locked as well.

I  really don't have to worry about losing any money because I don't have  any. Fifty cents in pennies and maybe $4 in quarters is all I ever have  in cash.




Addie said:


> I want my life of living alone back. I am one of those folks who like living alone. Pirate right now is in the best of health that he is ever going to be. Time for him to find his own housing. The clinic where he goes has a social worker whose job is to help people who are disabled, senior citizens, etc. find affordable subsidized housing. In his own way, he has been a tremendous help to me financially. Now it is time for him to put his money where it will do the most good for him, not me. It is time for me to turn into a nag. "Make an appointment for housing with the social worker." Did you call the social worker today?" Nag, nag, nag.



That could be hard, Addie. I had a friend who invited someone to stay with her temporarily. Three years later she ended up selling her house to get her to move. And don't forget the law. In some states if someone is living someplace for 30 or more days, you have to use the eviction process if they don't want to leave, and that can take ages.

I enjoy living alone as well. I always say, if I ever got married, we'd buy a duplex together and he'd live in one side and I'd live in the other. Maybe share a dining room or a bedroom, but not much else!


----------



## CrazyCatLady

I was surfing You Tube and heard this. 

Holy cow. I've changed, but yet I haven't changed. Life is is such a challenge, such a joy, a one-day-at-a-time bugger ... 

I'm so glad to be alive, no matter my mess.

I have small issues. I get up in the morning and hope I remember where my glasses are. 

A friend came over, and told me I had gone through nothing. 

I had a blood clot in my brain, I've gone through nothing?

I could have died.

She said, "You know nothing. My son is in jail for forgery."

Ouch ... maybe she has a point. But at least he's alive with no health issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJzcpUKKxzM

I've learned ... some days are diamonds and some days are stones.


----------



## rodentraiser

Kidney stones, I think  you meant to say.


----------



## CharlieD

Leaving Miami. Or rather we were supposed to leave at 3:40. It's 7:40. We are still seating on the plane, with no information when we would move. It's raining outside. I thought planes nowadays can fly any time. I guess I thought wrong. 


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----------



## jd_1138

CharlieD said:


> Leaving Miami. Or rather we were supposed to leave at 3:40. It's 7:40. We are still seating on the plane, with no information when we would move. It's raining outside. I thought planes nowadays can fly any time. I guess I thought wrong.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



You've been sitting on the plane for 4 hours?  Wow.  Be sure to stand up and move around.  Don't want blood clots .


----------



## CharlieD

No, on the plane only for hour and a half. But now we are back to gate. 


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----------



## CharlieD

13 hours later we finally landed in Mpls. 


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----------



## medtran49

CharlieD said:


> Leaving Miami. Or rather we were supposed to leave at 3:40. It's 7:40. We are still seating on the plane, with no information when we would move. It's raining outside. I thought planes nowadays can fly any time. I guess I thought wrong.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


 
I heard that on the 5 p.m. news last night.  I think it was more the lightening, besides the fact that it had been a long time since this area had any substantial rain and it was coming down pretty hard.  Craig was working on the west coast yesterday and that's where the storms were coming from so he got it all the way across the state.  Lots of fun driving on Alligator Alley when it storms (not).  There were flash flood warnings for all of Miami-Dade and central and southern Broward.  In particular, the worst part of the storm was over the airport area and a bit north.  You should have seen the radar and street shots they were showing of the flooded streets.  

Glad you got home okay though.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> 13 hours later we finally landed in Mpls.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



Glad to hear the good news.


----------



## Aunt Bea

CharlieD said:


> 13 hours later we finally landed in Mpls.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



After that ordeal you need a vacation!


----------



## taxlady

I posted Happy Mother's Day, on FaceBook, to friends and family who celebrate it and that I would ignore anything else about Mother's Day, because it is a painful holiday for me.

One of my "friends" replied that she understood completely. Would I like to come over for drinks and dinner on Sunday?

Why would I want to go celebrate Mother's Day with a mother and her child (and her s.o.)? Was she just not thinking?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Maybe she didn't want to celebrate. Maybe she was just offering an alternative option of a dinner cooked by someone else, with the addition of drinks. Maybe LOTS of drinks.  I tend to stay off of Facebook on Mother's Day. I haven't had a chance to be home with the kids on this day since we moved. Until we move back, I'm just not in the mood to see all the "Mom" stuff.

Speaking of Facebook, WHY do people have to attack others when they're there? I had posted the same "Gap Year" comment there as I had posted here. Next, I'm getting attacked by a real, published, well-known author whom I "friended" way back when celebrities didn't have "Like" pages. I had met him once, decades ago, and thoroughly enjoyed his books. However, I was aware of his political leanings (as in, so far from any viewpoint I might hold he would fall over on that side if I were to gently blow his way...) and therefore do not have his personal comments appear in my news feed. I guess he still sees my few "Status Update" posts in his feed, however. Before I know it, I'm reading words that would make my Mother blush , and she was a good one at swearing. I did reply, with a measured tone and civility. Back with the attacks on his part. Again, I reply politely. Finally, I had enough. I told him he need not reply again; I was considering my thread "closed". So far, he hasn't bothered to challenge that. If he did, I'd just delete his post. 

I enjoy using FB for its social connection aspect. As far as politics or modern social issues? On FB, I have no opinion.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Maybe she didn't want to celebrate. Maybe she was just offering an alternative option of a dinner cooked by someone else, with the addition of drinks. Maybe LOTS of drinks.   ...


Yeah, that is undoubtedly what she was thinking. But, how likely does it seem that there wouldn't be any Mother's Day celebrating? She has a 4 or 5 year old daughter and she is still very proud of finally succeeding at becoming a mother in her forties. As to drinks, she knows I'm the only driver in the family, so I don't drink much when I go out.

Thank you for reminding me of this. It is far from the first time she has said or done something that really makes me wonder about her intentions. I just have to remember that, in spite of being smart, she is occasionally a total oblivitron.

Oh well, I'm not exactly perfect either.


----------



## Dawgluver

Taxy, I think she was just trying to be a friend.  Oblivitron, maybe, but she wants to enjoy your company.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> ...
> Speaking of Facebook, WHY do people have to attack others when they're there? I had posted the same "Gap Year" comment there as I had posted here. Next, I'm getting attacked by a real, published, well-known author whom I "friended" way back when celebrities didn't have "Like" pages. I had met him once, decades ago, and thoroughly enjoyed his books. However, I was aware of his political leanings (as in, so far from any viewpoint I might hold he would fall over on that side if I were to gently blow his way...) and therefore do not have his personal comments appear in my news feed. I guess he still sees my few "Status Update" posts in his feed, however. Before I know it, I'm reading words that would make my Mother blush , and she was a good one at swearing. I did reply, with a measured tone and civility. Back with the attacks on his part. Again, I reply politely. Finally, I had enough. I told him he need not reply again; I was considering my thread "closed". So far, he hasn't bothered to challenge that. If he did, I'd just delete his post.
> 
> I enjoy using FB for its social connection aspect. As far as politics or modern social issues? On FB, I have no opinion.



What a wienie! Yeah, personally, if I violently disagree with someone, I either ignore it or say something, politely. I guess Stirling and I have been lucky. In nine years on FB, there has only been one serious case. An old friend of ours, who had moved to the US replied to one of Stirling's posts in a very antagonistic manner. Stirling replied something polite and the dude wrote something about hoping Stirling would just drop dead. Stirling "unfriended" him and banned him from his feed. I was pleased. Ex-friend's posts had been getting more and more obnoxious. Yes, this was a case of being on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Generally, we don't "unfriend" people for their political views. It's healthy to see views that differ from our own.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> What a wienie! Yeah, personally, if I violently disagree with someone, I either ignore it or say something, politely. I guess Stirling and I have been lucky. In nine years on FB, there has only been one serious case. An old friend of ours, who had moved to the US replied to one of Stirling's posts in a very antagonistic manner. Stirling replied something polite and the dude wrote something about hoping Stirling would just drop dead. Stirling "unfriended" him and banned him from his feed. I was pleased. Ex-friend's posts had been getting more and more obnoxious. Yes, this was a case of being on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Generally, we don't "unfriend" people for their political views. It's healthy to see views that differ from our own.




I'm very lucky.  Have never been flamed on FB.  Have friends who are extremely political, but I don't get involved.  I did have to put a guy on my "ignore" list, as he posted every time he had a cup of coffee, a donut, went to the bathroom, or had a fight with his wife, all of which was every five minutes.  We're still friends, I just don't have to see 40 posts from him at a time.


----------



## Addie

I so seldom go on FB. Only when I am notified of new pictures of the  gkids. I get all the social interaction I need right here and with my personal friends in my community.


----------



## roadfix

I just spent over an hour on the phone (included several holds, plus being bounced around to 3 different reps) with an AT&T rep in the Philippines to make a small change and a small dispute on my business phone account.    She sounded very sweet, perhaps in her teens, but had no idea what she was doing.  I got a confirmation number but also her full name just in case....
I remember something like this used to just take minutes once you got someone on the phone, back in the day....


----------



## CharlieD

I hate speaking to those darn foreigners. Being foreigners my self it is really hard to talk and to understand them. It's like as if we speak different language, even though we both are speaking English. Forget about that they have no idea what they are talking about. Nada, zilch. Stupid companies are looking for one thing cheap labor. 


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----------



## Caslon

I can't understand a word you're saying.  Start over and don't run your sentences together as if you're bored and think we understand your unclear automaton gibberish.  Can you do that for me?   Can we start over?


----------



## Dawgluver

I had to make a couple calls today, and also couldn't understand what the folks were saying.  My hearing is fine.  Part of the problem may be that they were probably wearing headsets, and sounded all muffled and garbled.  Slight accents didn't help either.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I had to make a couple calls today, and also couldn't understand what the folks were saying.  My hearing is fine.  Part of the problem may be that they were probably wearing headsets, and sounded all muffled and garbled.  Slight accents didn't help either.



I immediately ask for a supervisor that speaks clear English. At my age, I no longer have the patience. Nor do I wish to. I refuse to kowtow to foreigners that can not or are not willing to speak so that others can understand them. 

I realize that English is a difficult language to use. And I do have to admit that there are times when Charlie gives me a laugh or two with his spelling. But I would never publically embarrass him. If I think he might want to know the correction, I do it privately.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Addie*, that works if the call center in located in the U.S. If it's in India, I'm afraid you'll get an Indian supervisor! 

For our major credit card, I like dealing with Discover. When the live rep comes on, not only do they give their name, they give their location. All in the U.S. Over the years I've managed to "visit" Denver, Phoenix, and Columbus - all from the comfort of my kitchen chair!  I've been in all three places in the flesh, too. I have the credit card charges to prove it.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Addie*, that works if the call center in located in the U.S.* If it's in India, I'm afraid you'll get an Indian supervisor!*
> 
> For our major credit card, I like dealing with Discover. When the live rep comes on, not only do they give their name, they give their location. All in the U.S. Over the years I've managed to "visit" Denver, Phoenix, and Columbus - all from the comfort of my kitchen chair!  I've been in all three places in the flesh, too. I have the credit card charges to prove it.



Yeah, I have run into that problem also. But at least I can understand them. Their English is slightly more pronounced.  They usually will talk slowly to me so I can understand them. If I can't understand a word, I ask them to please spell it.


----------



## Dawgluver

I still think some of the problem is caused by cheap headsets.  Sometimes the person on the other end sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher, "Wamp wamp wamp wamp."  

The worst experience I ever had was years ago when my newish Dell had a meltdown.  They sent me to India for at least 6 hours for two days apiece.  I would get the same schpiel at least 15 times, and then whoever I'd been talking to went off to eat dinner with his/her family, promising he/she would get back to me soon, just hold.  Finally, Keith from Texas, who spoke Texas English, got back to me on the third or fourth day, and sent me a new monitor, as he agreed that mine was defective and fried.  I offered to marry him.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I don't generally have a hard time with accents, but why do people have to talk so fast?  You ask them to slow down and it's an affront to them.  I just tell them I can't hear as fast as they talk.  Of course they are probably wondering why I talk so slow...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I don't generally have a hard time with accents, but why do people have to talk so fast?  You ask them to slow down and it's an affront to them.  I just tell them I can't hear as fast as they talk.  Of course they are probably wondering why I talk so slow...



I am one of those fast talkers. The further north you go in N.E., the faster we talk. Except for those folks who live in rural Maine.


----------



## Dawgluver

Agree, PF.  The two different companies I spoke to today just blurted.  Didn't help that both folks had accents.

Addie, years ago, DH called his brother, who lives out east, at his brother's workplace.  Guy who answered the phone yelled to DH's brother, "Hey, Scott, this guy sounds just like you, but he tallkks reeaal sloowww."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Agree, PF. The two different companies I spoke to today just blurted. Didn't help that both folks had accents.
> 
> Addie, years ago, DH called his brother, who lives out east, at his brother's workplace. *Guy who answered the phone yelled to DH's brother, "Hey, Scott, this guy sounds just like you, but he tallkks reeaal sloowww.*"


 
LOL!!!  My sister talks fast, years of being in Chicago and in New Jersey.  She says she hates conversation, it's like each word is a cliffhanger.


----------



## CharlieD

Caslon said:


> I can't understand a word you're saying.  Start over and don't run your sentences together as if you're bored and think we understand your unclear automaton gibberish.  Can you do that for me?   Can we start over?




Exactly my point. And you do speak English unlike me. That is why it so hard to understand the foreigners.  


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----------



## roadfix

And the sad part is after you've had enough of this you just give up and just pay the disputed bill by the due date no matter what so no late charges accrue and hope there's a credit of some sort on your next bill.


----------



## hotdog

My petty rant is I get annoyed when I have set up camp on a relatively empty beach and someone comes and sits right on top of you. What is worse is when they have a dog which is not on a lead and it proceeds to cock its leg on your possessions to mark its territory and the owners are totally oblivious.

Is it just me?


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Petty Vent/Rant*

So ... 

My husband and I have moved two counties away in the past month.
More than a year ago, I really can't recall when, I sent in my potential jurors questioner form in.

What do you think I found in our new Post Office Box, two counties and a three hour drive away from?

Jury Summons for June 24th.

My husband has put together a very precise document, requesting that I be excused, along with copies of our close of escrow on both our sold and our new, purchased home, two counties away.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem doing my civic duty and serving on a jury panel.  I've done it in the past, although, since marrying my husband, I have always been graciously thanked and promptly excused.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ...but why do people have to talk so fast?...



When I get a rep like that, I say "I'm sorry, but I can't listen as fast as you can talk". They usually slow down. It's something I resort to frequently with our own daughter!


----------



## Caslon

Bad enunciation too.  One word leading into another making it really hard to follow. Add in the scratchy audio.


----------



## emmaline

My energy provider sends me a letter to say they are _doubling_ my monthly payments because my account now stands at £195 in the red..They didn't bother to contact me when one year it amounted to my account being £350 in CREDIT! 
I phoned them and they asked if I could pay the £195 off straight away in order for the payments to remain the same ..£78p.m. After a lot of waffling on I got very annoyed and told them in no uncertain terms that either they put my payment at my suggested £90p.m. or I would find another supplier.
Job done!
Why do they have to wait until you get very annoyed and stressed before being reasonable?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Umpires can be idiots*

Oddly, my rant has nothing to do with a call made on a play. Rather, it's about the logic of rain delays, at times. I was listening to my baseball game online, as is my wont during the season, and the rains moved in. Now I'm not a meteorologist, but I can figure out that when there is a lot of yellow, orange, and red stretching from the baseball park westward towards the state line, it's gonna take awhile. When the game was delayed we were in the middle of the 6th inning. Indians were up on the Royals by a score of 5-0. And the entire time it took to play to that point? A mere hour and a half. After five innings it's an official game. The umps could have called it quits at anytime. Both teams need to fly out to play Monday games, too. Royals are headed only to Baltimore, but the Indians have to fly cross-country to play in Seattle. They *finally* resumed play after THREE hours and TEN minutes!!! 

IMHO, I think a rain delay should not go any longer than the game has been played once it's an official game. This game, heck the entire weekend, has looked like the Royals were completely baffled by Tribe pitching. I think everyone should have been sent on with a "have a good day, thanks for playing".


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> Oddly, my rant has nothing to do with a call made on a play. Rather, it's about the logic of rain delays, at times. I was listening to my baseball game online, as is my wont during the season, and the rains moved in. Now I'm not a meteorologist, but I can figure out that when there is a lot of yellow, orange, and red stretching from the baseball park westward towards the state line, it's gonna take awhile. When the game was delayed we were in the middle of the 6th inning. Indians were up on the Royals by a score of 5-0. And the entire time it took to play to that point? A mere hour and a half. After five innings it's an official game. The umps could have called it quits at anytime. Both teams need to fly out to play Monday games, too. Royals are headed only to Baltimore, but *the Indians have to fly cross-country to play in Seattle. They finally resumed play after THREE hours and TEN minutes!!!
> *
> IMHO, I think a rain delay should not go any longer than the game has been played once it's an official game. This game, heck the entire weekend, has looked like the Royals were completely baffled by Tribe pitching. I think everyone should have been sent on with a "have a good day, thanks for playing".



and then there is the delay at the airport!


----------



## roadfix

All baseball stadiums should have retractable roofs. (except Dodger Stadium)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*roadfix*, that would be great, but it adds a whole lot of money to something that costs (mostly) taxpayers a whole lot of money to begin with. Now if the richie-rich owners would just pick up the tab...:

***************************

I sure hope not, *AB*, they fly charter!

Game just ended a couple of minutes ago. It took 2 hours, 21 minutes to play. The delay lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes.  Go figure.


----------



## roadfix

CG, I think all future baseball stadium construction should include retractable roofs.
I think it'll be almost impossible to retrofit most existing stadiums with roofs anyway.


----------



## LizStreithorst

I don't know but bet that they called the game due to the threat of lightning.  If thunderstorms are even close there is danger of a lightning strike.  Ask any golfer.


----------



## roadfix

A golfer with a metal stick in hand in an open field is asking for it....


----------



## Addie

*New breed of Eastern coyote*

There is a new breed of Eastern coyote. Somewhere down the line a few of the coyotes mated with some wolfs. They have no fear of humans. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coywolf

I have no problem with letting animals of the wild live. But when they become a danger to humans they need to be either caught and relocated or shot on the spot. 

 So when one is spotted on a busy downtown city street and are threatening passing folks, there isn't always time to call animal control. The animal gets shot on the spot. Here come the animal lovers. I would suggest to them that they try to walk up to one of these creatures and try to calm and pat it. Think they will take me up on that suggestion?

There is a show on National Geo. called "Dr. K, Doctor to Exotic Animals" I refuse to watch her show. Her patients are animals that were caught and sold as pets. The owners of these animals are as guilty as the people who catch them for profit. Leave the animals in the wild alone. Let them live their lives naturally. 

Another show is about a Vet in the Rocky Mountains who does spaying and neutering on the cheap. He serves the community that have normal pets like dogs and cats. Not some animal that comes from South America. There have been shows of his where someone spotted a big horn sheep that was hurt. He will got out and try to catch it to treat it. But it is ALWAYS let go to live its life where it belongs. In the wild. 

The Yukon Vet serves wild animal preserves. These are animals that are endangered. These animals are kept on property that is expansive and they have the room to roam. They are fed out in the field and only brought in for needed care for hoofs, teeth, etc. Then they go back out with the herd. 

Dr. Po serves the farming community. Cows, cattle, goats, horses, chickens, etc. Animals that are the income for the farm. He also serves family pets. But occasionally some one will bring in a lizard or other pet that belongs in the wild. He will take care of it, but you can tell by the tone in his voice, what he is thinking. 

Vent over!


----------



## Mad Cook

There's an excellent series running on television in the UK at the moment called "Monkey Life" following the work of "Monkey World" in Dorset, England.

"Monkey World" is a huge sanctuary for rescued primates from all over the world. It concentrates on rescuing primates kept as pets or used illegally for commercial purposes and they also have a breeding programme for endangered species of apes and monkeys. The monkeys, none of which can be returned to the wild, live as closely as possible to the way they would live in the wild.

It was founded and is owned and managed by Dr Alison Cronin (and her late husband Jim who founded it). Very worth a look if it comes up on TV where you are as it shows what can be done for the animals.


----------



## CharlieD

working for a big company stinks in many ways, but my vent is about a petty thing. We do not get to update our software, it's all done by IT, when we are all asleep. And every time they do updates and upgrades I loose all my passwords and all my login information.
And now I have to go back and login into all the sites I use. Some of them I use so rarely I have no idea what my login is.


----------



## Andy M.

Charlie, I learned years ago to keep all my user names and passwords on a password protected Excel spreadsheet so I wouldn't have that problem. That way you only have to remember one password.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My Petty vent - I've read on this site and heard all about America's Test Kitchen being all that, and be trusted for their pick of everything from apples to the best tasting zebra meat (just kidding about the zebra meat, but you get the idea).  If they say ABC knife is the best, well you'd better rush right out and get yourself an ABC knife.

I was looking for the best meat to use for carne asada tacos.  As I browsed the internet, I came across an ATK recipe that stated it had the perfect recipe for carne asada.  I read through all of the explanations, and the research, and the reasons why the author chose the ingredients they chose.  At the end of it all, the recommendation was to use skirt steak, as it was buttery tender and had great beef flavor. now mind you, usually I go with sirloin as my go to meat for carne asada, as when made right, it's buttery tender and has great beef flavor.  But alright, I'll bite.

I ordered skirt steak from our local meat market and happily picked it up, hoping for something special.  I mean, ATK said it was the best meat ever for carne asada, right?  So, I marinated it, as suggested, but with my own choice of flavorings that met the acid and flavor profiles given by ATK.  I fired up the Webber and cooked it until it was threw it into,  the frying pan with the bell peppers, onion, and cilantro, with lime juice sprinkled over top, and cooked until the peppers and onions still had a little crunch to them.  Tasted it all, and my carne asada had the perfect flavor.  But the diced meat (yes I forgot to say that I diced the meat after it came off the hot grill) had the texture of little rubber dice, and tough rubber at that.

I should have known better.  Some of the reasons that the author said that the meat was perfect looked suspect to me.  And some of the stuff he said was just plain wrong.  Lesson learned, just because someone calls themselves expert, doesn't mean that they know what they are talking about.  I've lived 60 years without ATK.  I think I'll just stick to what I know.  It seems to serve me better.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Andy M.

Chief, I understand.  ATK always has the best of everything.  If you don't believe that, just listen and they'll tell you so.  

That said, they do have some really good recipes.  Skirt steak is like flank steak in that it's not edible if you over cook it.  Anything beyond medium and it's little rubber dice.

P.S. skirt steak is the recommended cut for carne asada.


----------



## rodentraiser

Chief, my understanding is that skirt steak, like flank steak (and for all I know they may be the same thing) was originally a cheap, inferior, tough cut of meat. Then all of a sudden, like chicken wings, TV chefs and the media started making it the best thing next to sliced bread and the price shot sky high. Which is why I've never made it. But gilding the lily doesn't make it gold.


----------



## rodentraiser

My petty vent today is about when I go to put pepper on something. I shake that freaking bottle like there's no tomorrow and get maybe, MAYBE, 6 little specks of pepper on the meat. But when I go to clean up, there's pepper on the stove, there's pepper on the counter, there's pepper on the burners, there's even pepper on the floor! The pepper is everywhere but where I want it.


----------



## medtran49

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I fired up the Webber and cooked it until it was threw it into, the frying pan with the bell peppers, onion, and cilantro, with lime juice sprinkled over top, and cooked until the peppers and onions still had a little crunch to them. Tasted it all, and my carne asada had the perfect flavor. But the diced meat (yes I forgot to say that I diced the meat after it came off the hot grill) had the texture of little rubber dice, and tough rubber at that.


 
ATK said to cook it twice, on the grill and in the skillet?  It was grossly overcooked.  No wonder it was tough rubber.  

We've used skirt steak multiple times for fajitas.  It has to be thin sliced against the grain and NOT overcooked.  Done that way, it's great!


----------



## medtran49

rodentraiser said:


> My petty vent today is about when I go to put pepper on something. I shake that freaking bottle like there's no tomorrow and get maybe, MAYBE, 6 little specks of pepper on the meat. But when I go to clean up, there's pepper on the stove, there's pepper on the counter, there's pepper on the burners, there's even pepper on the floor! The pepper is everywhere but where I want it.


 
We grind small amounts in the spice grinder and keep it in a small plastic container with a screw-on/off lid, same for salt.  Finger pinches work good for salting and peppering.


----------



## Andy M.

rodentraiser said:


> My petty vent today is about when I go to put pepper on something. I shake that freaking bottle like there's no tomorrow and get maybe, MAYBE, 6 little specks of pepper on the meat. But when I go to clean up, there's pepper on the stove, there's pepper on the counter, there's pepper on the burners, there's even pepper on the floor! The pepper is everywhere but where I want it.



I have pepper mills.   A smaller one set to a finer grind for the table and a big one set for a coarser grind for the stove.


----------



## roadfix

rodentraiser said:


> My petty vent today is about when I go to put pepper on something. I shake that freaking bottle like there's no tomorrow and get maybe, MAYBE, 6 little specks of pepper on the meat. But when I go to clean up, there's pepper on the stove, there's pepper on the counter, there's pepper on the burners, there's even pepper on the floor! The pepper is everywhere but where I want it.


There's something wrong there!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I have pepper mills.   A smaller one set to a finer grind for the table and a big one set for a coarser grind for the stove.



Ditto here Andy. You get a much better flavor from ground peppercorns. Sounds like he is holding the shaker too far up in the air. 

If you don't have a pepper mill, then pour some into a small bowl that you can keep covered and use your fingers to spread the pepper evenly over the food. When I had the bowl next to my stove, (before I got my mills) I had a small spoon from a salt cellar that was me mother's. Perfect for using for spreading small amounts of seasoning at the stove. Then at a yard sale, I saw a children's play dish set with parts missing. That I didn't care about. I wanted the little spoons that came with the set. I still have a couple. My mother's spoon has been retired and saved for my kids.


----------



## rodentraiser

Addie, if it's me you think is holding the pepper shaker too high, then I'm a she.

I don't have a pepper mill and I don't particularly want one. Just one more thing sitting out on the counter that takes up space.

Anyhoo, I now have 30 jars of McCormick seasonings, most empty, a few not. I also have exactly 30 spices right now, so in the next couple of weeks I will be transferring all my spices out of their teeny tiny jars back into the McCormick ones. And their shakers let things in the jar fall out. So hopefully I won't be doing a St. Vitus dance to get pepper on anything in the future.


----------



## Caslon

I too save empty McCormick spice jars. They have that shaker top with lid that hold my made up spice mixes such as hamburger seasoning and the like.  The tiny printed expiration dates are really hard to read on McCormick's  containers tho.


----------



## cinisajoy

I found a set of small plastic canisters and the holder that I put my salts and pepper in if I actually need to measure.  I added magnets to the bottom of the holder and it sits on the back of the stove.  That area doesn't get hot.  I also stole on of my husband's magnetic trays and put it on the back of the stove for my salt and pepper grinders.
If you don't have a husband that brings home odd stuff, you can buy the magnetic trays at Harbor Freight.


----------



## rodentraiser

Well, as I use my spices until they're gone or I'm gone, whichever comes first, I'm really not going to worry about the expiration date right now. Most of mine are only about 1 1/2 years old anyway and the ones I use the most have been replaced at least three times now, which is how I got 30 bottles.

I just wanted matching spice bottles (all the labels will come off and my labels will go on) with a decent cap and McCormicks seems to fit the bill. The caps are easy to take off and I can fit a measuring spoon in the jar, which I can't with ones I have now. Plus all their caps include a shaker. I bought 25 cute, 1960s spice jars before I realized that none of them have a shaker top and no one makes a shaker top to fit them. 

Only I could do that.

I found a shop on Etsy that sells spice racks for up to 48 spice jars, but man, oh, man, are they pricy. More than $100. So I think I'm just going to make my own. I made the one I have now, but it won't hold more than 24 McCormicks' jars. And I want them ALL out of my cupboard!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

True story.  Many ears ago, I was at MIL's and was going to prepare a spaghetti dinner for me, DW, and the crew at grandma's  Now my FIL was known to be a huge eater, and so I started with a large pot, and multiple cans of tomato products.  I began building the flavors with my favorites - Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, and others.  I reached for a bottle that sat in her spice fac labeled garlic.  after opening it, I shook it vigorously into the sauce.  To my surprise and horror, my DMIL had reused the garlic jar and put cinnamon into it.  I had just dumped a significant amount of cinnamon into my pasta sauce.  I gave a valiant effort at saving the sauce, but to no avail.  We ended up dumping it.

The moral of this story is that if you are going to reuse spice and herb bottles, change the label to accurately tell the contents of the bottle.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

No label at all would have been better than one that lies.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh the horror, Chief!  Cinnamon spaghetti sauce, ack puh!

I got a bunch of magnetic spice tins, which I make sure to clearly label, and stick to the side of the fridge next to the stove.  Works for me.


----------



## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> Addie, if it's me you think is holding the pepper shaker too high, *then I'm a she.*
> I don't have a pepper mill and I don't particularly want one. Just one more thing sitting out on the counter that takes up space.
> 
> Anyhoo, I now have 30 jars of McCormick seasonings, most empty, a few not. I also have exactly 30 spices right now, so in the next couple of weeks I will be transferring all my spices out of their teeny tiny jars back into the McCormick ones. And their shakers let things in the jar fall out. So hopefully I won't be doing a St. Vitus dance to get pepper on anything in the future.



Sorry 'bout that.

I have both a salt and pepper mill, but not a regular shaker. Sea salt in one and peppercorns in the other. I no longer even own a regular salt and pepper shaker set. I had my son install some adjustable shelves next to the stove on the wall. I keep the mills there right within reach.


----------



## cinisajoy

My mother has never owned a salt shaker.
When I was dating a guy,  I never realized how much salt his mother cooked with because she never put a salt shaker on the table.  After his father had a stroke, she had to quit using salt.  At the first meal that the dad was home, she put 2 salt shakers on the table.  For 9 adults and 3 children.   They literally emptied one and a half salt shakers.  Over the next week, I pretty much lived in the bathroom and lost 5 pounds of water weight.
Oh one person did notice I hadn't salted my food.  He told me thank you but I didn't have to do that for him.  I told him that it wasn't that, it was just my mother had never used much salt.  Meals after that, he put me in the chair beside him so neither one of us had to even touch that shaker.


----------



## Addie

You know half the time I forget to salt food when I am cooking. I have lost count of how many times I have forgotten to salt the pasta water. Sure makes for a yucky pasta dish.


----------



## rodentraiser

taxlady said:


> No label at all would have been better than one that lies.



None of those old spice jars I got had labels, either. So I just put the spices in them and set them in the order I thought I could remember them. The only ones I ever got mixed up were onion powder and garlic powder (and I got those two straightened out) and the allspice and nutmeg. I'm pretty sure I know which is which though. 

The dumb thing I did was get orange peel and lemon peel from McCormicks. I can't tell which one is which either by taste or by sight. *sigh*


----------



## rodentraiser

I have a petty vent about myself today. Went to the grocery store. I had $20 left on my EBT card, $5 in cash on the EBT card, and $7 in real cash.

So I got $20 worth of food, some paper towels and freezer bags that  added up to $5, and a head of lettuce and two packs of cherry tomatoes that totaled $7. How hard can this be?

So I go to pay and surprise, surprise, I forgot that I had bought $7 worth of bacon (on sale) a couple days ago and I don't have $20 on my EBT card, I only have $13. So I had to make a quick decision and passed back the lettuce and tomatoes. 

Then I was so flustered, I forgot to ask for three separate transactions. Reason being, because now all the items are totaled together. This means that I'll use the food amount up first, the cash on the EBT card up second, and then pay what's left with what cash I have in my wallet. Problem is, when the cashier does this, she needs to know_ exactly_ how much the food amount on the card is so she can put that total in manually, or the card rejects the amount because the amount is more than what's on the card.

The only way to get the amount left on the card to be entered manually, is to run the card the first time and let it be rejected. Then we redo the transaction for the food. This is the same scenario for the cash left on the card.  FINALLY, what's left over is $7 to be paid and I pay that with cash I had in my wallet. The worst thing? I had managed my money so well this month I have food to last till the  middle of July and what am I buying at this store? Well, I had decided to  treat myself. I was buying shrimp on sale.

So now I have had to give back two perishable food items and run 5 transactions for what normally would have been one transaction and the line had 8 people in it, all watching me use an EBT card to buy shrimp. I was so mortified.

I usually keep the previous transaction of my EBT card on my bulletin board, so I always know how much is left on it, but I had forgotten to check that day. I guess I'm not going to forget again real soon.


----------



## rodentraiser

One more petty vent for the day and then I'm done.

It's June, and the HEAT JUST KICKED ON!

Two weeks ago we were breaking heat records, today it's so cold the heat goes on. What's with this crazy weather?!?


----------



## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> None of those old spice jars I got had labels, either. So I just put the spices in them and set them in the order I thought I could remember them. The only ones I ever got mixed up were onion powder and garlic powder (and I got those two straightened out) and the allspice and nutmeg. I'm pretty sure I know which is which though.
> 
> The dumb thing I did was get orange peel and lemon peel from McCormicks. I can't tell which one is which either by taste or by sight. *sigh*



It would drive me crazy not having labels on my spice jars. Here - all you need is some printer paper and some packing tape. 

http://blog.worldlabel.com/2015/pantry-spice-jar-labels-for-your-spring-redo.html


----------



## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> One more petty vent for the day and then I'm done.
> 
> It's June, and the HEAT JUST KICKED ON!
> 
> Two weeks ago we were breaking heat records, today it's so cold the heat goes on. What's with this crazy weather?!?



Perfectly good reason for it. Mother Nature's hormones are running amok!


----------



## cinisajoy

rodentraiser said:


> One more petty vent for the day and then I'm done.
> 
> It's June, and the HEAT JUST KICKED ON!
> 
> Two weeks ago we were breaking heat records, today it's so cold the heat goes on. What's with this crazy weather?!?


It appears Mother Nature sent us your heat to help evaporate the standing water from Saturday night and Early Sunday morning storm.  I will gladly tell her to give you back at least 10 degrees.  Yesterday was over 100 here.


----------



## roadfix

rodentraiser said:


> One more petty vent for the day and then I'm done.
> 
> It's June, and the HEAT JUST KICKED ON!
> 
> Two weeks ago we were breaking heat records, today it's so cold the heat goes on. What's with this crazy weather?!?



They say we might break records beginning the tail end of this weekend.
But at least for now I'm enjoying the low 70's daytime highs for now here.   In fact, I'm doing a hike/bike overnighter camping tonight instead of this hot weekend.


----------



## cinisajoy

rodentraiser said:


> I have a petty vent about myself today. Went to the grocery store. I had $20 left on my EBT card, $5 in cash on the EBT card, and $7 in real cash.
> 
> So I got $20 worth of food, some paper towels and freezer bags that  added up to $5, and a head of lettuce and two packs of cherry tomatoes that totaled $7. How hard can this be?
> 
> So I go to pay and surprise, surprise, I forgot that I had bought $7 worth of bacon (on sale) a couple days ago and I don't have $20 on my EBT card, I only have $13. So I had to make a quick decision and passed back the lettuce and tomatoes.
> 
> Then I was so flustered, I forgot to ask for three separate transactions. Reason being, because now all the items are totaled together. This means that I'll use the food amount up first, the cash on the EBT card up second, and then pay what's left with what cash I have in my wallet. Problem is, when the cashier does this, she needs to know_ exactly_ how much the food amount on the card is so she can put that total in manually, or the card rejects the amount because the amount is more than what's on the card.
> 
> The only way to get the amount left on the card to be entered manually, is to run the card the first time and let it be rejected. Then we redo the transaction for the food. This is the same scenario for the cash left on the card.  FINALLY, what's left over is $7 to be paid and I pay that with cash I had in my wallet. The worst thing? I had managed my money so well this month I have food to last till the  middle of July and what am I buying at this store? Well, I had decided to  treat myself. I was buying shrimp on sale.
> 
> So now I have had to give back two perishable food items and run 5 transactions for what normally would have been one transaction and the line had 8 people in it, all watching me use an EBT card to buy shrimp. I was so mortified.
> 
> I usually keep the previous transaction of my EBT card on my bulletin board, so I always know how much is left on it, but I had forgotten to check that day. I guess I'm not going to forget again real soon.



I would much rather see a person buy shrimp instead of a frozen meal or worse frozen P B & J sandwiches.    
Plus the fact you said you had cash.  For all I know you might have FS, and money on the Ebt, and somebody gave you the cash to buy the shrimp.  Or in other words none of my business. 

Once when I was on food stamps, I needed formula and nail polish.   The cashier refused me until I said I will go find your manager.  I need the less than a dollar nail polish for my work.
And it is baby formula so you would let a baby go hungry because you don't approve of my purchases.   She said well this time you can buy the formula.  
Strange, there was another employee standing behind her.  I never saw her in that store again.

Funniest one I ever saw was went to a cafeteria.  My two year old was very picky about meats.  So I just asked if I could substitute a vegetable for the meat.  The lady doing the serving told me that I must feed my child meat.   The manager heard and made the woman hand me the money for my daughter's meal.  Oh and it was 2 vegetables for the one meat and if the child wanted she could have more.


----------



## CraigC

cinisajoy said:


> I would much rather see a person buy shrimp instead of a frozen meal or worse frozen P B & J sandwiches.
> Plus the fact you said you had cash.  For all I know you might have FS, and money on the Ebt, and somebody gave you the cash to buy the shrimp.  Or in other words none of my business.
> 
> Once when I was on food stamps, I needed formula and nail polish.   The cashier refused me until I said I will go find your manager.  I need the less than a dollar nail polish for my work.
> And it is baby formula so you would let a baby go hungry because you don't approve of my purchases.   *She said well this time you can buy the formula.  *
> Strange, there was another employee standing behind her.  I never saw her in that store again.
> 
> Funniest one I ever saw was went to a cafeteria.  My two year old was very picky about meats.  So I just asked if I could substitute a vegetable for the meat.  The lady doing the serving told me that I must feed my child meat.   *The manager heard and made the woman hand me the money for my daughter's meal.  *Oh and it was 2 vegetables for the one meat and if the child wanted she could have more.



Regarding that cashier, she was completely right about not allowing you to purchase nail polish. If I were the manager, I would of backed up that cashier, as the Feds could take away my ability to accept food stamps for selling items they can't be used for.

Quite honestly, I can't swallow your cafeteria incident because the manager could have told the server to go ahead with the substitution, but can't force the server to pay for a meal out of their own pocket. That would be illegal.


----------



## Addie

CraigC said:


> Regarding that cashier, she was completely right about not allowing you to purchase nail polish. If I were the manager, I would of backed up that cashier, as the Feds could take away my ability to accept food stamps for selling items they can't be used for.
> 
> Quite honestly, I can't swallow your cafeteria incident because the manager could have told the server to go ahead with the substitution, but can't force the server to pay for a meal out of their own pocket. That would be illegal.



Craig, I have been in some cafeterias where you pay before you get in line for your food.


----------



## cinisajoy

CraigC said:


> Regarding that cashier, she was completely right about not allowing you to purchase nail polish. If I were the manager, I would of backed up that cashier, as the Feds could take away my ability to accept food stamps for selling items they can't be used for.
> 
> Quite honestly, I can't swallow your cafeteria incident because the manager could have told the server to go ahead with the substitution, but can't force the server to pay for a meal out of their own pocket. That would be illegal.



I was paying cash for the nail polish.   Even paid for it first.  I had the CASH in my hand.  Do not accuse me of cheating the government. 
So I was not trying to buy it with food stamps.

Now I remember why I left.   Accuse first.


----------



## CraigC

Addie said:


> Craig, I have been in some cafeterias where you pay before you get in line for your food.


How is that possible unless it is an All-You-Can-Eat buffet? Is the prime rib the same price as the creamed corn? Even with the All-You-Can-Eat buffet, drinks aren't included and the bill doesn't come until the end of the meal.


----------



## cinisajoy

CraigC said:


> How is that possible unless it is an All-You-Can-Eat buffet? Is the prime rib the same price as the creamed corn? Even with the All-You-Can-Eat buffet, drinks aren't included and the bill doesn't come until the end of the meal.



Back then it wasn't all you can eat.


----------



## CraigC

cinisajoy said:


> I was paying cash for the nail polish.   Even paid for it first.  I had the CASH in my hand.  Do not accuse me of cheating the government.
> So I was not trying to buy it with food stamps.
> 
> Now I remember why I left.   Accuse first.



You did not state that you were going to pay for the polish with cash! Read your own words:

"Once when I was on food stamps, I needed formula and nail polish.   The  cashier refused me until I said I will go find your manager.  I need the  less than a dollar nail polish for my work."


----------



## Addie

CraigC said:


> How is that possible unless it is an All-You-Can-Eat buffet? Is the prime rib the same price as the creamed corn? Even with the All-You-Can-Eat buffet, drinks aren't included and the bill doesn't come until the end of the meal.



Craig, we have one up on Route 1 in Saugus. Wednesday is Senior Citizen Day. Every week. When they first started this practice, they had to quickly change their way of service. The elderly were piling their plates with food. Much more than they could eat. No doggie bags. So they would grab a pile of napkins and wrap it up to take the food home. The meats were always cut by someone standing behind to cut it. 

Now on that day, the meats are precut and there is still someone there to watch how much they each take. The old timers know what the new limit is per person. There is a floor person who floats around to help any that may need it. Handful of napkins are no longer available. They are handed one napkin at the end of the line. If you need more as you are eating, the floater will bring you one. You can go back for seconds, but bring your empty plate. 

I am sorry to say, they ruined it for themselves. I have been there on a few occasions. The food is good and being a small eater, I only take a piece of meat and a veggie. One time when the person I was with saw how little I eat, got upset because he thought he wasn't getting his money's worth. It is a buffet. According to his logic, I should have taken a full plate of food along with the dessert. (which is included in the price.) Needless to say that was the last time I saw him. 

If you asked the elderly why they took so much food home with them, they will tell you it is for their pet. 

Other than Wednesdays, the price for the full buffet is higher. And yes, it is all you can eat. But the clientele is a lot different. A bit more class. And it serves all day long to their customers from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Whereas for the elderly, it is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.


----------



## rodentraiser

We used to go to Old Country Buffet and we paid first, including for our drinks, then ate. The plates were sort of small, so we'd just get what we felt like eating, finish that off, then go back for seconds. It's easy to jam a lot of food on the plates, but I would rather take a little and make sure I could eat that and then go back to seconds rather than get a bunch of food at one time I might not be able to eat. I don't think it ever occurred to me to eat everything I could just because it was all-you-could-eat.

I wonder if all the elderly people were taking food home because they didn't have enough to eat at home. 

The people I went with were what was left of my mom's family - my mom and her twin sister were the youngest and they were 82 at the time. I never saw anyone wrapping up food to take home.



CraigC said:


> You did not state that you were going to pay for the polish with cash! Read your own words:
> 
> "Once when I was on food stamps, I needed formula and nail polish.   The   cashier refused me until I said I will go find your manager.  I need  the  less than a dollar nail polish for my work."



Sometimes  it's worse when you do have cash in hand to pay for some stuff. Then  you get the "if you have money, why are you using food stamps?" look.


----------



## Addie

I have never heard a cashier make any comment on the method of payment. If there are any remarks to be overheard, it is usually the folks standing in line behind the one with food stamps. When I see a young Hispanic using food stamps, she usually has a heavy accent. So I can pretty well guess without asking, that she has a low paying job and most likely from the size and contents of the order in her carriage, has small children. 

For the elderly, there were two years in which there was no increase in their SS checks. Yet the cost of food started climbing that first year that there was no increase. I have helped more than half the residents in this building apply for food stamps. I have heard it all. "Oh no, I don't want charity." Or "My children won't let me apply." I have to remind them that it is their tax dollars they paid over the years that allows them to now get the benefit of those taxes. Depending on the amount of your income, the least amount you will receive is $10.00. That ten dollars is a roast for Sunday dinner, milk, eggs, or  bread, if spent wisely.


----------



## rodentraiser

When I first started using food stamps, I didn't know what could and couldn't be bought with them. So I had some paper towels with me about the second time I used them and the cashier said I would have to pay cash for those. I told her I hadn't known and in a snotty voice she said, "Well, that's why they're called *food *stamps." 

Addie, they're basing the COL for Social Security on the price of gas, if you can believe it. So when gas doesn't go up or drops, there's no COL for those on Social Security. Like people can eat gas. Jerks.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Actually, *rr*, there are all sorts of goods and services that comprise the Consumer Price Index, which is used to figure Social Security Cost Of Living Adjustments. Not just gasoline.

That is an old chart, from 1-2014, but you can see the percentage shift from the previous year for all the items used in the "basket" that the CPI is based on. Social Security benefits don't increase when "the numbers" say there hasn't been any inflation. Sadly, each year the deductible for Medicare coverages DOES increase. Those who rely on only SS as their income take a hit. 

I'll be moving from self-pay individual health insurance (purchased through the ACA Health Connector since I can't be trusted to actually shop on my own..  ) and my insurance costs will plummet. Old rate? $528.00 a month. New cost to me for both Medicare A & B AND my own supplemental C & D? Just under $200.00 a month. It's a Buy One/Get One (and a half) Deal!


----------



## CraigC

rodentraiser said:


> Sometimes  it's worse when you do have cash in hand to pay for some stuff. Then  you get the "if you have money, why are you using food stamps?" look.



You do understand that a store could loose taking Government issued assistance for accepting it for products they aren't supposed to. How inconvenient would it be if the store closest to you lost the ability to accept FS, EBT, etc.?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CraigC said:


> You do understand that a store could loose taking Government issued assistance for accepting it for products they aren't supposed to. How inconvenient would it be if the store closest to you lost the ability to accept FS, EBT, etc.?



You do understand that RR had the cash and was not expecting to pay for the nail polish with food stamps.  Let it go.


----------



## CraigC

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You do understand that RR had the cash and was not expecting to pay for the nail polish with food stamps.  Let it go.



You do understand it wasn't RR purchasing the polish? The person purchasing the polish never mentioned the cash in the post I originally quoted.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Let it go...


----------



## Addie

CraigC said:


> You do understand that a store could loose taking Government issued assistance for accepting it for products they aren't supposed to. How inconvenient would it be if the store closest to you lost the ability to accept FS, EBT, etc.?



We have had a few Mom and Pop stores lose their Govt. permission to accept food stamps. One store in my neighborhood would give you $.50 in cash on the dollar. No purchase necessary. The 7-11 store up the street from me can no longer accept any purchases to be paid with their EBT card. It is not only the holder of the card, but the owner of the store who is at fault. They get greedy. I have never heard of a large supermarket store having this problem. 

When a recipient first receives their EBT card, they many not understand the restrictions that come with it. Remember please that for a lot of them, English is not their first language. In this state every correspondence regarding their acceptance comes with a translation in several languages. And for those women who come from the Middle East countries, a lot of them can't even read their own language. The little store just a block from my building that I frequent has a new owner. And this is the problem his wife has. They come from Pakistan. Right now she is trying to learn English. Her husband has her working in the store every so often, but he is right at her side. When it comes to using the EBT card, or WIC purchases, he handles them himself. I asked him why he is not teaching her how to ring them up. "Baby steps. She is overwhelmed trying to learn English, and all the rules of Sales tax items."  

Supermarkets are computer programmed to separate cash only and taxable items from the food. A taxable cash item such as detergent can be scanned between the middle of a bag of apples and several jars of baby food. At the end of the receipt will be two totals. One for the food and one for the EBT card. 

You really need to know all the rules of having an EBT card. For those who have never had to apply for food stamps, they don't always understand all the rules. If you also receive a cash stipend, it is put on your EBT card. You no longer get a check in the mail. So the person behind the recipient may not realize this. All they know is that the recipient walked out of the store showing no cash payment. And there were several cash taxable items in her order.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Let it go...



Thank you.


----------



## Addie

Okay, I have had it. If one more bigwig comes to Boston, I am going to become a hermit. It is hard enough for me when I am on my scooter, to cross a street safely. I think every driver knows that a pedestrian or any person in or on a vehicle for a handicap, ALWAYS has the right of way. I always cross in the crosswalk. There is one crosswalk that has to be fixed. I stay on the sidewalk until it is safe enough for me to go off the handicap accessible into the crosswalk. I live in an area that there are a lot of Park and Fly lots. That creates a traffic backup between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. 



Now here comes Mr. Bigwig. He lands at 2:30 and a lot of streets to and from the airport are closed so the drivers use the back streets. Trying to cross a street from 7 to about 3:30 is a nightmare. And when they do open the streets, the coming home traffic along with all the traffic from the backups make it almost impossible for any pedestrian or handicap person to cross the street safely. 



Please stay home Mr. Bigwig. Go somewhere else. To another city. I feel sorry for the drivers in town. It is even worse. Those streets stay closed all day.


----------



## Souschef

Addie,
Your problem is so trivial compared to when Obama comes to LAX. He shuts down 20 airports in Los Angeles, causing many companies to lose a lot of money because they cannot fly.
The traffic nightmares are horrendous, especially when he comes out for a $35K per person fundraiser!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Okay, I have had it. If one more bigwig comes to Boston, I am going to become a hermit....


*Addie*, I don't remember you complaining like this every time the streets of Boston were shut down for the parades "Rolling Rallies" for the Red Sox when they won the World Series. Or for the Patriots when they won the Super Bowl. Or for the Celt....you get the idea. Then again, they don't drive those duck boats past the airport, so you probably weren't impacted in those cases. 

What about the impact when the Democrats held their convention at the Garden? I guess that isn't by you either. But the mucky-mucks still had to fly in. I remember the news talking about all of the road closures and the poor businesses that were seriously impacted because of security. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena is getting ready for a Cavaliers watch party for the last game of the basketball playoffs. When the Cavs are playing their "away" games, over 20,000 buy $5 tickets (ALL money goes to charity) to sit in the arena to watch the game, and about another 2,000 do the same to stand in the plaza area between the basketball arena and the baseball field. Sunday will have an afternoon baseball game, an evening basketball game, and a police force going crazy! Immediately on Monday, Cleveland and "The Q" need to prepare for the Republican convention less than a month away. We plan on heading to see the kids, and Cleveland, and be back home before any convention folks start to trickle into the city. Crazy times indeed!


----------



## roadfix

Souschef said:


> ...... when Obama comes to LAX. He shuts down 20 airports in Los Angeles, causing many companies to lose a lot of money because they cannot fly.
> The traffic nightmares are horrendous, especially when he comes out for a $35K per person fundraiser!



I was about to post something similar the other day.   And he's done this at least a dozen times, and during peak hours.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It's been the same for every president, presidential candidate, etc.  'nuff said.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> It's been the same for every president, presidential candidate, etc.  'nuff said.



Thank you.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Thank you.



Criminy, Addie. You're the one who started this line of complaints


----------



## Kayelle

Here's my vent, and it's not petty.

 I hardly ever come to this thread because it's so dang petty it's pathetic and boggles the reasonable mind. I've  just caught up on multiple pages I've ignored and I'm more convinced than ever, this thread continues to be a constant downer. 
One poster in particular dominates the pettiness with constant whining, and she can have at it without any further attention from me or anyone else.


----------



## Caslon

Why is frozen food so bad?  Textured vegetable protein.  Outlaw that stuff.

The package shows a delicious looking burrito cut in half with what looks like delicious crumbled hamburger.  Almost like a burrito you might buy at Taco Bell.

In reality, you get a mush of textured vegetable protein, nothing like what was depicted on the package.


----------



## rodentraiser

Cooking Goddess said:


> Actually, *rr*, there are all sorts of goods and services that comprise the Consumer Price Index, which is used to figure Social Security Cost Of Living Adjustments. Not just gasoline.



I didn't know that. Gas being so low was the only reason given in the news article I looked at.





CraigC said:


> You do understand that a store could loose taking Government issued assistance for accepting it for products they aren't supposed to. How inconvenient would it be if the store closest to you lost the ability to accept FS, EBT, etc.?



Um, not trying to beat a dead horse here, but I have both food stamps and cash on my EBT card. The cash comes from state disability. So although there are certain things I can't use my food stamps for, I can use the cash portion of the EBT card to pay for those, like toilet paper and paper towels. Likewise, I can take that cash off the card to buy other things I need, like a MO for my rent. 

I don't always take all the cash off, so some months I end up with a food stamp amount left on the card, a cash amount left on the card, and some cash left over in my pockets. That's what happened this month.

There are no food stamp cards as we knew them anymore. The food stamp amount is put on the EBT card the same way my disability amount is put on the EBT card. So I use the same card for both.

Back to petty vents:

I received a new dollhouse (sold the old one, made a little profit, reinvested in another one - sort of like moving up in real estate). I got it home and promptly opened the box on my bed, resulting in wood splinters in my fanny, enough packing material to keep an army of rabbits in nesting material for a couple decades (all over my room), enough wood to build a tiny house (a real one - this was supposed to be a SMALL house, for crying out loud), and two extra pieces of wood in the kit that aren't on the instructions list.

I also took out a few pieces of miniature furniture to see how they'd fit in the rooms, dropped the wooden stove and broke it, and stepped on the sofa. 

I was going for something I could lift by myself unlike my last dollhouse that took two brawny lumbermen to carry and that only if they'd had their Wheaties. Unfortunately, when I picked my house up at FedEx, the guy behind the counter had to carry it out to my car for me. Just call it a hunch, but I have a premonition my best laid plans regarding this dollhouse are about to derail.


----------



## CharlieD

Now this is seriously p***ing me off. I have a cherry tree. I came home today to find the tree completely plucked. It's sour cherry, it is not available in the store. I am really mad. I wish I could find what son of a gun did it. 
The cherries were not even ripe yet.


----------



## Dawgluver

CharlieD said:


> Now this is seriously p***ing me off. I have a cherry tree. I came home today to find the tree completely plucked. It's sour cherry, it is not available in the store. I am really mad. I wish I could find what son of a gun did it.
> The cherries were not even ripe yet.




Your cherries and my blueberries must be related, Charlie.  Every dang ripe or almost ripe blueberry is gone from one of my shrubs.  I got to eat one blueberry.  I have no idea what took them.


----------



## medtran49

CharlieD said:


> Now this is seriously p***ing me off. I have a cherry tree. I came home today to find the tree completely plucked. It's sour cherry, it is not available in the store. I am really mad. I wish I could find what son of a gun did it.
> The cherries were not even ripe yet.


 
Do you or a neighbor have a lawn service?  Or do you live in a homeowner's association that has a lawn service for the common areas?  Where we used to live, we had some problems with the guys taking homeowner's fruit without asking.  Had to nip that in the bud real quick.


----------



## roadfix

B of A sends me an email alert that a new, replacement CC is on its way.   Due to security precautions, they had to cancel my currently active CC and all other users of this VISA card ending in xxxx.
I think this is like the third or fourth time this has happened to me in the past 5 years or so.  I don't mind this, but it's a hassle contacting the merchants I deal with regularly with my new CC info, especially with automatic recurring monthly charges I have with several merchants.
I use only one CC just to keep things simple...


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> B of A sends me an email alert that a new, replacement CC is on its way.   Due to security precautions, they had to cancel my currently active CC and all other users of this VISA card ending in xxxx.
> I think this is like the third or fourth time this has happened to me in the past 5 years or so.  I don't mind this, but it's a hassle contacting the merchants I deal with regularly with my new CC info, especially with automatic recurring monthly charges I have with several merchants.
> I use only one CC just to keep things simple...



Maybe the issue is with your bank.  We've had VISA cards forever with different banks and this has happened once, many years ago.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> Maybe the issue is with your bank.  We've had VISA cards forever with different banks and this has happened once, many years ago.


No issue with my wife's BofA VISA card.  ....same acct # for years.
When I called my bank (before I received my email alert) to see why my CC was declined at a gas purchase the night before they explained to me that there was a security breech with one of the merchants I deal with.    They couldn't tell me who.  I received a new card the very next day, via UPS next day delivery.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wal-mart declines my card every time, I can use it anywhere else with no problems.


----------



## Dawgluver

My Visa card, with an expired date, was attempted to be used in France.  I've never been to France.  Visa called and alerted me, and I got a new card the next day.  But it was a royal pain to have to contact all my auto-pay places and change my account.

I can imagine how annoying it would be to have to do this 3 or 4 times.  Once was enough.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Our main card is Discover. Been with them since 1987. I think they've had to cancel-and-reissue our cards due to fraud two or three times altogether. They also get replacement cards with a new account number to you quickly.  They are quick to spot fraud, so we've never even had to be the ones to initiate investigation. Except once, and it wasn't due to fraud. Our son had lost his wallet - fell into Lake Erie while taking photos. Saved the camera, but a school of perch were eyeing that Discover card.


----------



## roadfix

Cooking Goddess said:


> ..... but a school of perch were eyeing that Discover card.



Had it been a Mastercard it would have been priceless...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> Had it been a Mastercard it would have been priceless...



ROFL!!


----------



## CharlieD

Had to replace card once. Called the customer service to repair lose. The first question they ask what's the card number. Had to repeat like 3 times that I lost the card and do not have the number. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## roadfix

Just about fed up dealing with AT&T and U verse.    
So I decided to try their new device.   A wireless base unit where you can plug your regular land line telephone into.   I was able to transfer my business landline number onto this new wireless device.  We'll see how this works out.    Only $20/month plus taxes for unlimited domestic calls....24 month contract.    I was paying over $80/month for my business, single landline service.   No more of that chit....


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Just about fed up dealing with AT&T and U verse.
> So I decided to try their new device.   A wireless base unit where you can plug your regular land line telephone into.   I was able to transfer my business landline number onto this new wireless device.  We'll see how this works out.    Only $20/month plus taxes for unlimited domestic calls....24 month contract.    I was paying over $80/month for my business, single landline service.   No more of that chit....


I have one of those devices for my biz phone. It's with my cell phone provider, Fido. It's been working well for me. I've had it about a year. I was paying $10/month, but they just put it up to $13/month. I get all the bells and whistles: voice mail, conference calling, unlimited Canada wide calling, etc. One really neat thing is that I can take it with me anywhere in Canada that Fido has service and it will work, with no extra charges. It's a neat feature, but I don't really see me bringing the base station and the a landline phone with me when travelling.


----------



## Caslon

roadfix said:


> We'll see how this works out.    Only $20/month plus taxes for unlimited domestic calls....24 month contract.



When shopping for plans, a lot of sites show you nothing but 12 and 24 month trial plan prices and make you have to really search to find out how much it will cost after the trial period is up. Very annoying.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> ...but I don't really see me bringing the base station and the a landline phone with me when travelling.


Can't see why you can't dedicate a small travel bag for just that purpose. My dear MIL used to take coffee service with her when they would travel, back in the days before every motel room had a small coffee pot. She took a 4-cup hot pot, 2 cups with saucers, a coffee cone with filters for FILs coffee grounds and tea bags for her cups of tea, along with all the extras like sugar, powdered creamer, lemon juice packets...:


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Can't see why you can't dedicate a small travel bag for just that purpose. My dear MIL used to take coffee service with her when they would travel, back in the days before every motel room had a small coffee pot. She took a 4-cup hot pot, 2 cups with saucers, a coffee cone with filters for FILs coffee grounds and tea bags for her cups of tea, along with all the extras like sugar, powdered creamer, lemon juice packets...:


I can just forward the calls to my cell phone, which also has unlimited calling in Canada. I usually bring coffee equipment, coffee, and tea. The guys at the airport were all talking, giggling, and pointing at the X-ray of my luggage, 'cause they could see one of these:


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> When shopping for plans, a lot of sites show you nothing but 12 and 24 month trial plan prices and make you have to really search to find out how much it will cost after the trial period is up. Very annoying.



It's not an introductory rate like a credit card. They don't list what the rate will be two years out because that would be offering a contract and they can't know now what the prevailing rates will be.


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> I have one of those devices for my biz phone. It's with my cell phone provider, Fido. It's been working well for me. I've had it about a year. I was paying $10/month, but they just put it up to $13/month. I get all the bells and whistles: voice mail, conference calling, unlimited Canada wide calling, etc. One really neat thing is that I can take it with me anywhere in Canada that Fido has service and it will work, with no extra charges. It's a neat feature, but I don't really see me bringing the base station and the a landline phone with me when travelling.



Glad it's working out for you!
I wanted the base unit instead of a regular cell phone because a cell can get lost in a place of business where others have access to that phone.

Incidently, AT&T does not offer this plan under their business category. Hmm....I wonder why..   This base unit is only available under their home wireless plan but had no problem transferring my business number to this device for use in my place of business.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Glad it's working out for you!
> I wanted the base unit instead of a regular cell phone because a cell can get lost in a place of business where others have access to that phone.
> 
> Incidently, AT&T does not offer this plan under their business category. Hmm....I wonder why..   This base unit is only available under their home wireless plan but had no problem transferring my business number to this device for use in my place of business.


Yeah, I had to transfer my biz number to "home phone". It means I won't be in the Yellow Pages, but that's okay, since I'm pretty much retired now.


----------



## Caslon

GotGarlic said:


> It's not an introductory rate like a credit card. They don't list what the rate will be two years out because that would be offering a contract and they can't know now what the prevailing rates will be.



Quite actually, I was looking for existing prices and speeds for my brother who has an AT&T DSL account already. I had to dig on that site more than I would have liked to, to get that info.  It got a little frustrating getting past the promotional offerings and finding info about what current net plans they have and at what cost per month.    I eventually managed to navigate to the page with the info I wanted, but they didn't make it that easy.

I remember not long ago, when they would put that info in parenthesis right below the promotional offering.


----------



## CharlieD

You mean you have them written down? If that's the case I do that too. But I still have to enter them. 


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----------



## Andy M.

Charlie, you said this:



CharlieD said:


> ...Some of them I use so rarely I have no idea what my login is.



That's why I suggested writing them down.  Yes, you still have to enter them.


----------



## taxlady

I use Password Safe. It's free. I use a very strong password to protect the passwords in Password Safe. I can easily drag (or copy) the user name and the password to wherever. It also has room for notes and the URL.


----------



## CharlieD

Andy M. said:


> Charlie, you said this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's why I suggested writing them down.  Yes, you still have to enter them.




Yes, you are right. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Folks, I have a petty vent, petty, because it isn't important enough to start world war III over.  But I keep seeing Bruschetta sold as everything but bruschetta.  I see it sold as a topping, in jars, looking like salsa.  I see it as a potato chip flavor, I see it in recipes to top toasted bread.  Bruschetta is not a topping.  What it is, is a bread roll that's been cut in half, lengthwise, then dipped, or slathered with first pressed olive oil, then toasted over a fire.  Finally, raw garlic is rubbed on the toasted bread roll.  Bruschetta was the means for testing the quality of the first pressed olive oil.  It has nothing to do with toppings, or jarred this, or potatoes.

If you want to make a tomato-flavored topping for potato chips, or a topping for toast, call it something else.  It's not bruschetta.  If you don't believe me, look up the culinary history of bruschetta.  There are a boatload of articles on the stuff, and from trusted sources.

Ok, I'm done now.


----------



## GotGarlic

+1, Chief. That's one of my pet peeves, too


----------



## CraigC

I love toasting the bread that has been drizzled with olive oil, then rubbed with raw garlic and raw tomato! Maybe a sprinkle of kosher or sea salt.


----------



## CharlieD

Just my luck. Suppose to be flying from NY. Flight delayed from 9PM till 12AM. 
This time I'm smart, I brought food 


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----------



## Cheryl J

I'm sorry to hear that, Charlie!  I hope once you board your flight, that it's a smooth and uneventful one. Take care.


----------



## CharlieD

Finally boarded the plane. 1:12 AM. 


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----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Finally boarded the plane. 1:12 AM.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



Think of your flight as catching a Red Eye flight. Good luck and happy and safe landing.


----------



## Caslon

A political pet peeve not having to do with the upcoming election or the candidates or either party. So don't go there.

The US Navy has requested that an ongoing production of a new class of small attack ships be halted or drastically scaled back. The ships in question have had numerous sea trial failures. Cracked hulls, failed engines that caused them to be out of sea trials for weeks, rusting parts, etc.  Sen John McCain stated he doubts those ships could take on more than a few small craft at a time. AP Photo


"Congress Buys the Navy a $400 Million Pork Ship
In the nearly eight years since the first Littoral Combat Ship was delivered to the Navy, it hasn’t won many ardent fans beyond the Navy, its home-state lawmakers or the employees of the two shipbuilders producing dueling models. The ships’ maiden voyages have been marked by cracked hulls, engine failures, unexpected rusting, software snafus, weapons glitches and persistent criticism of how vulnerable they are to an attack".

“The ship is not reliable,” the Pentagon’s operational test and evaluation director said in a report released in January..."

They're getting them anyways, whether they want them or not.  Why you ask????

The contractor building these flawed vessels donated millions in campaign contributions to these congressional politicians who are forcing continued construction of them even tho the DOD says* they don't want more of them*.  They're being forced down the Navy's throats by the congressional politicians and lobbyists who need to pay back the ship's building contractor, who donated millions to their campaigns, along with those same congressmen who want to keep the lucrative contract going for their districts.  I repeat, the Navy wants the production of these ships drastically scaled back or halted. The ship is a ridiculous failure.  Tough luck US Navy, you're getting them whether you want them or not.

Just another example of the power some in the US Congress have to perpetuate lunacy in order to return a favor.  Situation normal.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/littoral-combat-ship-congress-navy-pentagon-400-million-pork-214009


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I feel that until money is taken out of politics, this county is sliding down a slippery slope to destruction.  The special interests who provide millions to campaigns don't care about what is right.  They only care about lining their own Pockets, in my opinion.

So Caslon, we are in agreement.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Caslon, ticks me off too. Chief, I agree.

I won't say more here, 'cause I would just start a whole political rant.


----------



## Andy M.

The system is broken for sure.  I choose not to encourage those who have broken it.


----------



## Caslon

It irks me.


----------



## CharlieD

Grrrrrrrrrrr ......


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Caslon

uh-huh

"...urge to kill rising...rising...rising...fading..."

Homer S.


----------



## Dawgluver

A might bit irked.  I pay hefty bucks for DirecTv to provide me with satellite, as we live out in the sticks and no cable is available.  The local stations kept disappearing yesterday, though the Food Network worked fine, and local channels were in and out today.  OK.  I called DTV yesterday, went through the usual rigamarole of press 1, etc., and finally got to talk to an actual person.  Who's native language is not English, though she was very sweet, and felt my pain.  Which still didn't fix my issue of having local channels stuttering and blanking out.  She told me there's a satellite that's malfunctioning, and DTV will send out a technician two Fridays from now.  Well, that will be helpful.


----------



## roadfix

Dawgluver said:


> She told me there's a satellite that's malfunctioning, and DTV will send out a technician two Fridays from now.



Now, that's cool job!


----------



## Dawgluver

roadfix said:


> Now, that's cool job!




Heh.  I would like that job too, though it might be an issue now that DH and I don't climb ladders anymore.

We did have Yosemite Sam a few years ago to work on our satellite dish, who didn't bother to bring a ladder.  No problem, says we.  We got him a ladder.  He still didn't want to do what he was supposed to do, just wanted to drop the bunch of satellite parts off and then leave.  The last couple DTV guys were sweeties though.  One was totally incompetent, the other seemed to know what he was doing.

First world problems...


----------



## Dawgluver

Drat.  Dang TV is still stuttering and popping in and out.  I'm sick of Food Network.  This issue is on DTV, not me.

Bwahahaha.  DH said he will "take care" of it.  I wrote down the DTV number for him.  DH has the patience of a gnat.  He will not last being put on hold for more than 30 seconds.  "Here I Come To Save the Day". Either Mighty Mouse or an imitator.  Thinking Andy Kaufman, it might be someone else.

Thinking I will put Beagle to work on this.  She's a good listener, and can probably explain the situation better.


----------



## roadfix

Sorry to hear that.....   It's still going to be a few days before they can send a technician out into orbit to fix that satellite.


----------



## Dawgluver

I know.  First world problems...

So far DH has gotten as far as I did, but he's more verbose.  He thinks that since he's in business and a man that he might have more pull.  HA!  Screech away, DH.

My technique is to be nice, soothe and salve, and, well, just be nice.  The fangs are just below the surface, be careful, you never know.


----------



## tinlizzie

While I am generally satisfied with DirecTV, it's rainy season here and nearly every day showers block the signal from the satellite until the rain passes.  So while local news is on, upcoming in the next news segment is how to tell if there is a 'skimmer' that will steal credit card info at the gas pump.  Uh oh,  here comes the rain -- just a recent example.


----------



## roadfix

We have the Dish Network and for the most part has been trouble free.


----------



## Dawgluver

Drat and double drat.  It's doing it again.  For the last three days, it works fine until around 11:30 am, then starts the stuttering and  blocking out.  I'm going to go out and look for a drone that might be causing this.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> Drat and double drat.  It's doing it again.  For the last three days, it works fine until around 11:30 am, then starts the stuttering and  blocking out.  I'm going to go out and look for a drone that might be causing this.



Its the Jovian scouts that will precede the invasion.  They are monitoring the television signal that normally would stream to your antenna, and absorbing all of the RF energy.  Be aware.  Martians dissect you, study you, then put you back together and send you back home.  Jovians eat humans.  Lock your doors, windows, and all places where they could cane entrance to your home.  Use titanium shutters, and place titanium bars  on your stink tube (on the roof), and chimney.  I'm telling ya, Jovians may be diminutive in size, but that's because the gravity of Jupiter is so much greater than that of our own planet, they need to be rediculously strong, and small, just to be able to stand up.  On earth, that stregth allows the average Jovian the ability to life an elephant, with one hand.

Be afraid, my freind.  Be very afraid.  Muahahahahahaha.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Chef Munky

Dawgluver said:


> Drat and double drat.  It's doing it again.  For the last three days, it works fine until around 11:30 am, then starts the stuttering and  blocking out.  I'm going to go out and look for a drone that might be causing this.



Something is going on. We have Roku. With it Sling and other channels as well. For the last few weeks we've been having the same problems as you.
Channels don't work, slow to load. We end up watching a DVD.

The last time we had Direct tv here to install a new dish was the last time.
I had to call my husband at work to tell him this guy doesn't want to do his job. He's telling me what to do in a not so nice way. Very arrogant person.  Hubby insisted I put that guy on the phone.
So I dd. By the time that conversation was over, not only did the guy have a new happy attitude he did his job.


----------



## rodentraiser

Since it's illegal to shoot, capture, or harm a drone that's spying on you and since they all have cameras attached to them to see who you are, the best thing to do is go out and get a Megadrone, armed with torpedoes and giant claws. 

Megadrone will actively engage with any trespassing drone and finish it off, including disabling the camera, so you can safely approach and pick up the invader and throw it out.

I can see Youtube now. Instead of having all those MIT students building robots that fight in a ring, drone wars will soon be on the air.


note: there is no such thing as Megadrone. Yet.


----------



## Dawgluver

rodentraiser said:


> Since it's illegal to shoot, capture, or harm a drone that's spying on you and since they all have cameras attached to them to see who you are, the best thing to do is go out and get a Megadrone, armed with torpedoes and giant claws.
> 
> Megadrone will actively engage with any trespassing drone and finish it off, including disabling the camera, so you can safely approach and pick up the invader and throw it out.
> 
> I can see Youtube now. Instead of having all those MIT students building robots that fight in a ring, drone wars will soon be on the air.
> 
> 
> note: there is no such thing as Megadrone. Yet.




I'm a deadeye with my pellet gun.  It will never see what's coming.  Along with any Jovians.

Now the satellite is working perfectly fine after a big storm!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> *I'm a deadeye with my pellet gun*.  It will never see what's coming.  Along with any Jovians.
> 
> Now the satellite is working perfectly fine after a big storm!



I have no doubt that any drone in your neighborhood is in mortal danger. Then as it lies on the ground dead, Beagle can finish it off for you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> ...Now the satellite is working perfectly fine after a big storm!



I guess all you needed was a little atmospheric cleaning? Dust all gone=radio waves get through.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> I guess all you needed was a little atmospheric cleaning? Dust all gone=radio waves get through.




We shall see at 11:30 am tomorrow!


----------



## GotGarlic

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Its the Jovian scouts that will precede the invasion.  They are monitoring the television signal that normally would stream to your antenna, and absorbing all of the RF energy.  Be aware.  Martians dissect you, study you, then put you back together and send you back home.  Jovians eat humans.  Lock your doors, windows, and all places where they could cane entrance to your home.  Use titanium shutters, and place titanium bars  on your stink tube (on the roof), and chimney.  I'm telling ya, Jovians may be diminutive in size, but that's because the gravity of Jupiter is so much greater than that of our own planet, they need to be rediculously strong, and small, just to be able to stand up.  On earth, that stregth allows the average Jovian the ability to life an elephant, with one hand.
> 
> Be afraid, my freind.  Be very afraid.  Muahahahahahaha.



Here, Chief. This should help.


----------



## rodentraiser

Andy M. said:


> The system is broken for sure.  I choose not to encourage those who have broken it.



I hate to say it, but I really identify with Monk's helper, Sharona, when she said she never votes because "it just encourages them".


I had a Grrrrr moment today. Last Sunday coming home from Seattle, my car started to surge when I accelerated and the engine light went on. I made it home, but I made an appointment to bring it in to the mechanic. That's this Tuesday.

Last Friday I took it out to see if the car would start. It started fine and had no problems being driven. The surging problem was gone. But the engine light was still on, so I decided it should still go in to the mechanic.

Today I dropped my friend Lisa off at her car (she parks at her work parking lot, on account of there's no other place in this idiot town to park). On the way home, my engine light went off. I ask you!

I'll call the mechanic tomorrow and see if I should still bring it in.


----------



## CharlieD

I hate cars


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> I hate to say it, but I really identify with Monk's helper, Sharona, when she said she never votes because "it just encourages them".



What that actually does is disrespect the memory and the suffering of the women who worked, and were tortured, to secure for all women the right to vote. 

http://iron-jawed-angels.com/synopsis_1.htm


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> What that actually does is disrespect the memory and the suffering of the women who worked, and were tortured, to secure for all women the right to vote.
> 
> http://iron-jawed-angels.com/synopsis_1.htm




Isn't that something?  How have women been subdued for so many years?  We're smarter, tougher, more industrious, and matriarchal societies like elephants have done a pretty good job.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> Isn't that something?  How have women been subdued for so many years?  We're smarter, tougher, more industrious, and matriarchal societies like elephants have done a pretty good job.



In general, men are heavier and have more physical strength. Before reliable birth control, women were not in control of their fertility and so they often submitted in order to protect their children. 

And of course, through most of history, most religions required women to be submissive to men. Cultural and social norms are powerful incentives to conform.


----------



## rodentraiser

GotGarlic said:


> What that actually does is disrespect the memory and the suffering of the women who worked, and were tortured, to secure for all women the right to vote.
> 
> Iron Jawed Angels - Synopsis: 1912 to 1914



It wasn't meant to be taken seriously. 

But you could say the same thing about women who have had their tubes tied in the face of women who are desperate to have a baby. I'm under no obligation to have a baby just because someone else can't and I'm also under no obligation to vote because someone else couldn't.


----------



## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> It wasn't meant to be taken seriously.
> 
> But you could say the same thing about women who have had their tubes tied in the face of women who are desperate to have a baby. I'm under no obligation to have a baby just because someone else can't and I'm also under no obligation to vote because someone else couldn't.



This thread is for venting. I always assume what people say here is meant to be taken seriously. 

No you aren't but yes you are. 

Another woman having or not having a child has nothing to do with you. The women who worked for the vote did that *so that you, and the rest of us, could vote also.* Your obligation arises not because they couldn't but because they got the Constitution changed so that you *can*.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

It was said by a wise man that you should always vote for the most qualified, and ethical candidate, whether you believe that person has a chance or not.  To do otherwise defeats the ability of the people to select a responsible, and effective government.

I would also add that it is our responsibility to learn about the people we vote for, and not by simply listening to their rhetoric.  Until we, as a people, take our voting rights seriously, we will have the same ineffective governments that are controlled not by conscience, or a desire to do what is right for our countries, they will continue to be controlled by special interests, and big money.  That's MHO.

It is said that we get the government we deserve.  Looking at our society, I'd say that is a correct statement.  So my pet peve in this is that we are not a responsible people who believe that we can make a change for the better by voting for men and women of strong moral character, who are not swayed by greed and power.  Those people exist, but are never taken seriously in our social eye, at least not when politics is involved.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

I would not say never, Chief. My congressman is a good man with an excellent record of not just rhetoric but action. They're out there; they just don't get as much national public attention as the people who are controversial.


----------



## Caslon

Every internet shopping site should be mandated to show you what your shipping cost will be (typing in zip code) *before* making you fill out your name, address, phone, email, payment choice, etc. It's like..."Fill out every line on the order form (your personal info, payment method)...THEN we will tell you what you'll pay in shipping cost."  It's very annoying.


----------



## taxlady

Caslon said:


> Every internet shopping site should be mandated to show you what your shipping cost will be (typing in zip code) *before* making you fill out your name, address, phone, email, payment choice, etc. It's like..."Fill out every line on the order form (your personal info, payment method)...THEN we will tell you what you'll pay in shipping cost."  It's very annoying.


I agree. If the shipping is too high, I don't want them to have my personal info.


----------



## roadfix

One way is to use Pay Pal as most merchants these days give you the option to check out using Pay Pal.    Pay Pal has your CC and shipping info and your shipping charge pops right up before checking out.   It very convenient using PP.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> One way is to use Pay Pal as most merchants these days give you the option to check out using Pay Pal.    Pay Pal has your CC and shipping info and your shipping charge pops right up before checking out.   It very convenient using PP.


Yes, convenient, if they take PayPal. I prefer it, because then I'm not giving CC info to nearly as many different places.


----------



## Caslon

roadfix said:


> One way is to use Pay Pal as most merchants these days give you the option to check out using Pay Pal.    Pay Pal has your CC and shipping info and your shipping charge pops right up before checking out.   It very convenient using PP.



The sites that do accept Paypal, that is useful. However, I wouldn't say most merchants use Paypal, big sites do. A lot of smaller mom and pop type sites, with not as sophisticated a web service, do not. Most merchant sites I visit use rudimentary check out services that don't offer paypal checkout.

I also agree with Taxlady that sites making you fill out personal info to check shipping cost (then you decline) may be doing so to collect data on the side, which should be illegal if it isn't already.


----------



## rodentraiser

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> It was said by a wise man that you should always vote for the most qualified, and ethical candidate, whether you believe that person has a chance or not.  To do otherwise defeats the ability of the people to select a responsible, and effective government.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



 If that were the case, I wouldn't be voting at all in November. I don't think either candidate is either ethical _or_ qualified to be president. 

Well, getting off that subject, here's a petty vent. My car, which seemed to be working fine (AFTER I cancelled the appointment with the mechanic) is acting up again. It's surging again and the engine light is on again. So I called and rescheduled my appointment. Cars............ 

Want to bet it will be working fine on Friday?


----------



## taxlady

rodentraiser said:


> If that were the case, I wouldn't be voting at all in November. I don't think either candidate is either ethical _or_ qualified to be president.
> 
> Well, getting off that subject, here's a petty vent. My car, which seemed to be working fine (AFTER I cancelled the appointment with the mechanic) is acting up again. It's surging again and the engine light is on again. So I called and rescheduled my appointment. Cars............
> 
> Want to bet it will be working fine on Friday?


But, will it do its trick for the mechanic? I hate when they won't.


----------



## rodentraiser

taxlady said:


> But, will it do its trick for the mechanic? I hate when they won't.



Oh, probably not. When I had my Pinto, it started making a horrendous clatter while being driven. I think I had that thing into the shop at least 6 times and it never once clattered for them.

Finally one day it was clattering and I drove straight over there and hauled the mechanic out while the car was still running so he could hear what was going on. I guess I didn't need to. The mechanic told me later all he did was take something apart underneath and a loose bolt fell into his hand. Problem solved.

Then there was the time I kept bringing in my car because I told him the car jumped into the air when I shifted gears, which of course, it never did when I dropped it off. The mechanic would laugh his head off. So I left the car, vowing it could live at the shop until it was A) fixed or B) rusted away, whichever came first. 

Got a call a day later from the owner of the shop who had to fix the car himself. I guess the mechanic got in, the car jumped into the air, and scared the living daylights out of him. He wouldn't get in the car again. Maybe he thought it was possessed. Hey, can't say I didn't warn him!


----------



## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> Well, getting off that subject, here's a petty vent...



We actually have a thread for petty vents. 

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/petty-vents-81685-515.html


----------



## rodentraiser

In that case, instead of moving my post, we'll just leave it here and consider it a real vent. Because now I've found out the problem with my car is the cam shaft sensor and who knows how much that will be?


----------



## rodentraiser

OK, NOW it's a real vent. The car cost $300 to fix. Grrrr..........


----------



## CharlieD

Some 25 years ago, I got a free alarm clock for opening checking account. Simple radio easy to use, no problem for 15-maybe 16 years. Finally it gave up. Listen how much can you expect from free clock, right? Was very happy with it. Next one lasted maybe 4-5 years, also easy to use, also no problem, outside the fact that it cost $20 and did not last even the half time of the free one. Ok, fine, 20 bucks, I can handle that. From then on it's been a disaster. Not only we cannot find alarm clock that works normally, none of what we have bought was normal. Either the sound was weird, practically all of them required a PHD to set it up and operate, none, none of them had a simple OFF button, the last one is so light/bright, it is almost as it was a day light in the room, impossible to sleep, had to return next day. What the flippity flip, flip, flip is going on. It is an alarm clock not a nuclear reactor, why can't they make it simple clock. Grrrrr......

         Beware of Amazon Prime free deal. I did not even realised that I sign for it until I got credit card bill. Good thing the CC guy gave me Amazon number to call and cancel it. That went without problem, but if I did not get the number from CC I could not find it on the site.


----------



## CharlieD

P.S. Funny story with one of the alarm clock. After it stop working, no more than  a year in use, my wife put it in give away/throw away bag which of course she did not give or throw away for more than a year. All of a sudden there is this quite alarm going of same time of the night. In the middle of the night of course. For weeks we could not figure out what was going on. Finally we realised the sound comes from inside the bag. For the life of me I don't understand how or why it was not happening before, why it took nearly a year for it to start working again. Apparently it came with a battery, which we did not know.  Weirdest thing ever.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Beware of Amazon Prime free deal. I did not even realised that I sign for it until I got credit card bill. Good thing the CC guy gave me Amazon number to call and cancel it. That went without problem, but if I did not get the number from CC I could not find it on the site.



True Charlie. I too signed up for their free trial period. I should have marked my calendar for a reminder about canceling it. For me though, it was to my benefit. During those thirty days, I took full advantage of it. So I am glad that I didn't cancel it. I am still enjoying all the benefits of Prime Time. I do, other than groceries, all my shopping on line. What I can't buy on Jet.com I go to Amazon. But come this October, I will notify Amazon, that I do not wish to renew. Why should I. I pay no taxes at Jet, delivery is ever so fast with Jet, and if there is a product I need that they don't carry, they get it for me. 

Oh, BTW, Walmart's has just purchased Jet.com. I have to place an order later this month. I intend to include a note asking how this purchase will impact my future purchases.


----------



## Andy M.

I also signed up for Prime in July.  I logged on a cancelled it yesterday.  We managed to pick up a few things we needed/wanted with free shipping.  I put an event on my calendar to remind me.


----------



## roadfix

I've always cancelled my free 30-day Prime trial about mid way through the deal.   But they will still honor your free trial for the full 30 days, regardless.

I think it was a glitch on their part but last month when my free 30-day trial was up they immediately offered me another free 30-day trial.    This may be their tactic for you to order more stuff.   And I tend to spend more money during these free trial periods.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> ...This may be their tactic for you to order more stuff.   And I tend to spend more money during these free trial periods.



It worked.  We ordered a few things we wouldn't have ordered because of the shipping charges.


----------



## Silversage

I love amazon prime!  Besides free two-day shipping, there's a nice selection of free e-books, free television and movie downloads, and if you  get their store card, an automatic 5% cash back on everything we both buy.  For us, it more than pays for itself.


----------



## Dawgluver

Prime fan here too.  I just let them renew it.  More than pays for itself in shipping.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> Prime fan here too.  I just let them renew it.  More than pays for itself in shipping.



Ditto. They also have a bigger selection for a lot of items than many local stores.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was upset that there wasn't an inquiry of whether I liked the prime service or not, did I want to keep it, etc.  Nothing like having an $100 charge to your debit card on payday before your paycheck is deposited.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I was upset that there wasn't an inquiry of whether I liked the prime service or not, did I want to keep it, etc.  Nothing like having an $100 charge to your debit card on payday before your paycheck is deposited.



Well, at least now you know that you can cancel it if you choose.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That's fine with a credit card, *Addie*, but it sounds like *PF*'s problem is that Amazon when ahead and withdrew the membership fee from her bank account BEFORE her check was credited to that same account. Debit cards need you to have the money on hand at the time of the transaction. Unless she had a cool $100 extra hanging around before payday, she would be considered overdrawn and get hit with all the extra charges that come with that. A real pain in the butt, for sure.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> That's fine with a credit card, *Addie*, but it sounds like *PF*'s problem is that Amazon when ahead and withdrew the membership fee from her bank account BEFORE her check was credited to that same account. Debit cards need you to have the money on hand at the time of the transaction. Unless she had a cool $100 extra hanging around before payday, she would be considered overdrawn and get hit with all the extra charges that come with that. A real pain in the butt, for sure.


 
You are so right, I only keep a limited amount in the Debit Card account, on payday, I remove what I won't be needing to pay bills and put it in regular checking or the savings account.  If I know I'll be shopping online, I transfer money into it.  I wore that account out this past couple of weeks with the purchase of the stove...it was down to it's last $100.


----------



## Caslon

A couple wired in money to a legit site in a lottery state that allows you to draw off what you pay into it, to play the lottery online with an account that you pay into. There account got low, so they wired in the money to the site to play that nights lottery. They believed they deposited in plenty of time to play the next lotto draw via online.  They picked all 6.  The next day they found out the site had not posted the credit to that account in time for their lotto pick. Therefore, it was an invalid lottery submission.  Ouch!

I'm basically reply posting about submission of funds to a bank or whatever and having those funds actually there.  That couple thought they easily got their funds to their lottery debit account in time.

Missed it by that much!  I think they sued/challenged, but lost.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> That's fine with a credit card, *Addie*, but it sounds like *PF*'s problem is that Amazon when ahead and withdrew the membership fee from her bank account BEFORE her check was credited to that same account. Debit cards need you to have the money on hand at the time of the transaction. Unless she had a cool $100 extra hanging around before payday, she would be considered overdrawn and get hit with all the extra charges that come with that. A real pain in the butt, for sure.



She can still notify her bank that it was not an approved withdrawal. They will put the money back into her account and go after Amazon.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> A couple wired in money to a legit site in a lottery state that allows you to draw off what you pay into it, to play the lottery online with an account that you pay into. There account got low, so they wired in the money to the site to play that nights lottery. They believed they deposited in plenty of time to play the next lotto draw via online.  They picked all 6.  The next day they found out the site had not posted the credit to that account in time for their lotto pick. Therefore, it was an invalid lottery submission.  Ouch!
> 
> I'm basically reply posting about submission of funds to a bank or whatever and having those funds actually there.  That couple thought they easily got their funds to their lottery debit account in time.
> 
> Missed it by that much!  I think they sued/challenged, but lost.



If you make any transaction on a weekend, legal state or federal holiday or after hours of your bank's regular business hours, it may not be posted to your account until regular business hours of your bank.

Or you can use this site.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/cust...14X0F8CP8J2IP&forumID=Fx1SKFFP8U1B6N5&ie=UTF8

It has the CS #'s  for the U.S. and Canada


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> Some 25 years ago, I got a free alarm clock for opening checking account. Simple radio easy to use, no problem for 15-maybe 16 years. Finally it gave up. Listen how much can you expect from free clock, right? Was very happy with it. Next one lasted maybe 4-5 years, also easy to use, also no problem, outside the fact that it cost $20 and did not last even the half time of the free one. Ok, fine, 20 bucks, I can handle that. From then on it's been a disaster. Not only we cannot find alarm clock that works normally, none of what we have bought was normal. Either the sound was weird, practically all of them required a PHD to set it up and operate, none, none of them had a simple OFF button, the last one is so light/bright, it is almost as it was a day light in the room, impossible to sleep, had to return next day. What the flippity flip, flip, flip is going on. It is an alarm clock not a nuclear reactor, why can't they make it simple clock. Grrrrr......
> 
> Beware of Amazon Prime free deal. I did not even realised that I sign for it until I got credit card bill. Good thing the CC guy gave me Amazon number to call and cancel it. That went without problem, but if I did not get the number from CC I could not find it on the site.



Charlie, do you still have the phone number for Amazon? If so would you please post it so others can avoid this troublesome trap? Thank you.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> She can still notify her bank that it was not an approved withdrawal. They will put the money back into her account and go after Amazon.



Credit cards work that way; debit cards may not. They have different rules. This is why we only use debit cards for emergency cash withdrawal, in case I leave my credit card at home. Never for an automatic withdrawal. We don't leave much more in that account.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You are so right, I only keep a limited amount in the Debit Card account, on payday, I remove what I won't be needing to pay bills and put it in regular checking or the savings account.  If I know I'll be shopping online, I transfer money into it.  I wore that account out this past couple of weeks with the purchase of the stove...it was down to it's last $100.



PF I only leave a measly $10 in my account. After I pay my bills, I transfer any other monies to my savings or PayPal account. That way should say Amazon try to use my debit account for anything above $10.00, they are out of luck. And no one has authorization to go into my savings or PayPal accounts except me. And if it should happen, I won't like it, but I can afford to lose that $10.00. 

I really like PayPal. Unless you are sitting at my computer and know my password, PP, won't let you in. And more and more online businesses are now accepting PayPal.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> Credit cards work that way; debit cards may not. They have different rules. This is why *we only use debit cards for emergency cash withdrawal*, in case I leave my credit card at home. Never for an automatic withdrawal. We don't leave much more in that account.


Yup, for us it is strictly an "ATM" card. So much so that I have a sticker that says "For ATM Only" on my card so I don't forget.  We use it at the Bank in the Box when we need to have cash in our wallets before vacations. Otherwise, we might go two months or more before we ever need to replenish our small amount of carry-around cash. Any purchase we make that's over $10 goes right on our Discover card. The exception is when dealing with a small business owner with one location. We use cash or check in those instances so that the merchant doesn't have to pay a service charge. Support the local business in any small way!

Banks don't pay much in interest, but I'll be danged if I keep money anywhere for any length of time if it doesn't earn me some bit of interest.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> PF I only leave a measly $10 in my account. After I pay my bills, I transfer any other monies to my savings or PayPal account. That way should say Amazon try to use my debit account for anything above $10.00, they are out of luck.



It doesn't work that way. If you don't have enough in your account - even a debit account - to cover a payment or withdrawal, the bank will pay the charge and then, unless you have overdraft protection, assess you an overdraft fee, which I think averages about $35. That's why it's important to PF that she didn't realize that charge was coming.


----------



## Dawgluver

This is timely!  I just checked my debit card statement, the one we use for trips and vacations, and saw we had a grand total of $6.66 left.  Yikes!  Thankfully we didn't quite get to overdrawing.  Off goes a check to Charles Schwab to replenish.


----------



## Caslon

A local news story here has a women getting a Publishing Clearing House winner check for $5,000.  She deposits it.  It shows up in her account.  Immediately she starts paying off her bills to the tune of thousands of dollars. 3 days later, the check is deemed invalid by the bank.

She's suing the bank for the slow process. She won't win.

Checks $10,000 or more by law have to arrive via certified mail.  Checks below $10,000...it's open season for fraudsters.


----------



## roadfix

Caslon said:


> A local news story here has a women getting a Publishing Clearing House winner check for $5,000.  She deposits it.  It shows up in her account.  Immediately she starts paying off her bills to the tune of thousands of dollars. 3 days later, the check is deemed invalid by the bank.
> 
> She's suing the bank for the slow process. She won't win.



Ed McMahon used to send me Million dollar checks in the mail.....I always thought of depositing one of those checks, just for fun....


----------



## Caslon

Back in my poor days, I deposited a worthless check on a Friday and the bank allowed me to immediately draw cash from the ATM, even tho my bank account balance didn't have squat to back it up.  I made good on that check by Monday, but got free cash over the weekend.  They've since closed that loophole, lol.


----------



## Dawgluver

Every single snitch of my dill seeds that I planted are  gone.  They were lovely, now they're no longer.  No fronds, no seeds, no roots, nada.  I have no problem sharing with the swallowtail caterpillars, but I have a feeling the bunnies did it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I bet you're right, Dawg. I found a poster you could put up - maybe someone could catch that bandit.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Every single snitch of my dill seeds that I planted are gone. They were lovely, now they're no longer. No fronds, no seeds, no roots, nada. I have no problem sharing with the swallowtail caterpillars, but I have a feeling the bunnies did it.


 
Shhh!  Be vewy qwiet, I'm hunting wabbits...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shhh!  Be vewy qwiet, I'm hunting wabbits...




The bain of my existance.  Beagle is not doing her job.


----------



## Chef Munky

I don't get this $%$@!!!! Loom.! 

Usually if it's something that's hard and really intricate I can master it no time. Give me something as simple as this weaving loom and everything goes to pots! 

I can't get it to pick up the yarn to weave. The warping is correct. Tension is ok. (My Tension is through the roof)

It has to be something simple. I just don't see it.

Taking classes for it are out of the question for a while.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Munky*, I thought this loom was to help you relax. 

Have you checked Youtube for videos on weaving? I ask this seriously, because they have videos for practically everything. When I took a pottery class, I had trouble holding my hands "just so" in order to mold the clay as it spun on its disc base. Watching a couple of videos (and looking like a fool at the laptop, cupping my hands around air) helped me a lot when I went back the next week.  And it's how Himself has found out the best ways to replace the headlight in his Milan (there is a little trap door you access from under the car, I think) and the best way to drop in a new garbage disposal when your old one dies.

*Youtube*! Good luck. AND relax!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> The bain of my existance.  Beagle is not doing her job.



Turns out the dogs (Allie, a border collie and the baby-10 weeks, an Aussie Shepard) next door to Mom's are frequent yard visitors (Baby can squeeze through the fence).  No critters stand a chance in the two yards.  Poor Jethro, he was so excited to see me, he scratched my arm all over, Mom had a fit and he came to me for comfort, we sat in the shade and hugged each other.  Baby is soooo soff and floofy...Dad let Allie in and I was covered in dog bodies and slobber.

I also hunted the wild blackberries while I was there...


----------



## medtran49

Munky, I agree with CG, check Youtube.  I know it's certainly easier for me to learn something new when I can SEE it being done rather than reading how.  I picked up crocheting watching my grandmother easily.  Nobody in my family or friends knitted so I tried to book learn it.  Finally managed to.get 1 project done but had a horrible time doing it and have never used knitting needles again except to use them as poking tools.  Tried to teach myself to tat, gave up on that!


----------



## Addie

Dawg, have you considered letting Beagle stay out during part of the time tied up near the garden patch? If there is any shade there for him. Or if they are visiting the garden at night, taking him out at dusk for his evening walk. 

My thinking is evidentially the rabbits will start to stay away from there, not knowing if the dog will be there.


----------



## Addie

medtran49 said:


> Munky, I agree with CG, check Youtube.  I know it's certainly easier for me to learn something new when I can SEE it being done rather than reading how.  I picked up crocheting watching my grandmother easily.  Nobody in my family or friends knitted so I tried to book learn it.  Finally managed to.get 1 project done but had a horrible time doing it and have never used knitting needles again except to use them as poking tools.  Tried to teach myself to tat, gave up on that!



As a teenager I had friends whose grandmother taught them to tat. Too difficult for me. I am quite happy with crochet, knitting and embroidery. Enough to keep my hands busy.


----------



## Chef Munky

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Munky*, I thought this loom was to help you relax.
> 
> Have you checked Youtube for videos on weaving? I ask this seriously, because they have videos for practically everything. When I took a pottery class, I had trouble holding my hands "just so" in order to mold the clay as it spun on its disc base. Watching a couple of videos (and looking like a fool at the laptop, cupping my hands around air) helped me a lot when I went back the next week.  And it's how Himself has found out the best ways to replace the headlight in his Milan (there is a little trap door you access from under the car, I think) and the best way to drop in a new garbage disposal when your old one dies.
> 
> *Youtube*! Good luck. AND relax!



Relaxing was the general idea. I spent close to an hour at the yarn shop where we bought this loom just playing around with it. But of course it was already set up, people were also practicing with the shaft. (See I'm warped already! just had a dirty thought run though my mind.) SORRY...OK,... I'M SORRYYYY!...

I've been looking all over youtube. Might have found a video that might help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QgJxS7VAG8

Her loom looks almost identical as mine. I did buy a book. It's not for newbies like myself. Passed on buying yarn for it. I think 6 fully boxed cases in my stash is enough.

I think the problem was I had been keeping it in the neutral position.
It was preventing it from doing the actual weaving. We'll see. Need to practice and find out. A little WFI won't hurt me much.

Great now I have to relearn a stick shift all over again.


----------



## roadfix

roadfix said:


> I've always cancelled my free 30-day Prime trial about mid way through the deal.   But they will still honor your free trial for the full 30 days, regardless.
> 
> I think it was a glitch on their part but last month when my free 30-day trial was up they immediately offered me another free 30-day trial.    This may be their tactic for you to order more stuff.   And I tend to spend more money during these free trial periods.




Ok,  so my last free trial ended on Aug 20.   Yesterday, Aug 21, I was looking for an axe on Amazon and when I placed the item in my shopping cart they offered me another 30-day free Prime trial....   Now, that's 3 straight months in a row of Amazon Prime free trials....   
I think they're baiting me to spend more....


----------



## Caslon

roadfix said:


> Ok,  so my last free trial ended on Aug 20.   Yesterday, Aug 21, I was looking for an axe on Amazon and when I placed the item in my shopping cart they offered me another 30-day free Prime trial....   Now, that's 3 straight months in a row of Amazon Prime free trials....
> I think they're baiting me to spend more....



That's a good thing right?  Cool.


----------



## Caslon

Getting glued on bottle top safety seals to peel off.   Urge to kill rising...rising...rising...fading...fading.


----------



## Katie H

roadfix said:


> Ok,  so my last free trial ended on Aug 20.   Yesterday, Aug 21, I was looking for an axe on Amazon and when I placed the item in my shopping cart they offered me another 30-day free Prime trial....   Now, that's 3 straight months in a row of Amazon Prime free trials....
> I think they're baiting me to spend more....



I LOVE Amazon Prime and have had it for nearly 10 years.  I can't imagine how much I've saved over and above the membership fee.

The two huge (weighty) items that immediately come to mind that we've bought via Amazon Prime are a 15-foot above ground swimming pool and a 5-cubic foot chest freezer.

Also, those two items were purchased from vendors who lived where we didn't have to pay sales tax.  That's another 6% bonus for us.

We have 16, soon to be 18, grandchildren who live scattered all over the country.  Sure is nice to have things sent to them without having to pay shipping and/or go to the package store or post office.  Both of those outlets here are at least 18 miles away and are usually "stand in line" capacity no matter what time of day or day we go.

We've appreciated the 2-day shipping feature several times when time mattered for something that broke or need a replacement part, pronto.  In a few of the cases, we would have had to have ordered from a local retailer and waited no fewer than 5 days to a week to get what we needed.

Another positive thing we partner with Prime is that both of us have Amazon VISA cards, which allow us to earn "points" toward purchases.

REALLY paid off in May when we ordered a $500 Dyson vacuum cleaner and paid $84.16 for it.

Just my take on Prime.  We love it.


----------



## Addie

I agree with you Katie. If you can't get to the brick and mortar store, then you sit at home and order on line. And in some cases, the savings in gas alone makes it work for them. 

It is no wonder so many of the big stores like Sears, Macy and others are cutting back and closing some of their stores. They can't compete with online shopping. Jet.com is just more competition for them along with Amazon.


----------



## Caslon

Addie said:


> They can't compete with online shopping. Jet.com is just more competition for them along with Amazon.



Walmart just purchased Jet.com.


----------



## expatgirl

I live overseas and have for many years and Amazon Prime is a lifesaver especially for Christmas time.........I start lining up gifts in November and by Christmas when we return to the US it's not a nightmare of mall traffic, headache highways, restaurant waits, etc.........those who can't think of anything get ca$h.........everyone is


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Caslon said:


> Walmart just purchased Jet.com.



Yes, and the first time the new owners fail me will be the last.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> Walmart just purchased Jet.com.



And they paid a pretty penny. 3.3B dollars. Ouch!


----------



## expatgirl

Addie said:


> And they paid a pretty penny. 3.3B dollars. Ouch!



Wow!  Hope they get their money's worth.........


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Caslon said:


> Walmart just purchased Jet.com.





Addie said:


> And they paid a pretty penny. 3.3B dollars. Ouch!


That means it probably does not bode well for those of you who love Jet. With Wal-Mart coughing up that much money, they'll have to recover the cost somehow. Just like when Market Basket came back from their non-strike strike, pricing probably won't be as good as it was before.

Wonder how long it will be before Amazon buys out Wal-Jet, or vice-versa.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> That means it probably does not bode well for those of you who love Jet. With Wal-Mart coughing up that much money, they'll have to recover the cost somehow. Just like when Market Basket came back from their non-strike strike, pricing probably won't be as good as it was before.
> 
> Wonder how long it will be before Amazon buys out Wal-Jet, or vice-versa.



I just placed a very large order with Jet. Saw no difference this time. Next month I will place a much small one of household cleaning products and will see if there is any difference.


----------



## expatgirl

Addie said:


> I just placed a very large order with Jet. Saw no difference this time. Next month I will place a much small one of household cleaning products and will see if there is any difference.


Do let us know.........


----------



## Addie

expatgirl said:


> Do let us know.........



I certainly will.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I just placed a very large order with Jet. Saw no difference this time. Next month I will place a much small one of household cleaning products and will see if there is any difference.


Well they weren't going to do it all at once and right away.  Watch for a price creep. Since they had their non-strike strike, I've noticed a price creep at Market Basket. First, they eliminated the extra 4% off your total bill. Then they nickel'd and dime'd their increases in things that I now find for a lower price at other stores. In spite of their name, "Price Chopper" has had some of the highest prices among the stores in my shopping circle. I used to shop them for strictly loss-leaders and fried fish. Now, I can find common things I use cheaper and easier at P-C than I can at Market Basket. 

You might not have the same problem with finding things in stock at your store, though. The one I shop (and the only one close enough to make it worth driving to) has been going downhill since they replaced the original manager with a guy who seems to be interested in only biding his time until he retires. THAT won't happen soon enough...


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> That means it probably does not bode well for those of you who love Jet. With Wal-Mart coughing up that much money, they'll have to recover the cost somehow. Just like when Market Basket came back from their non-strike strike, pricing probably won't be as good as it was before.
> 
> Wonder how long it will be before Amazon buys out Wal-Jet, or vice-versa.



Walmart's sales were $472 billion last year. $3.3 billion is a drop in the bucket. They're just picking off a competitor and incorporating their online purchasing and distribution systems.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well they weren't going to do it all at once and right away.  Watch for a price creep. Since they had their non-strike strike, I've noticed a price creep at Market Basket. First, they eliminated the extra 4% off your total bill. Then they nickel'd and dime'd their increases in things that I now find for a lower price at other stores. In spite of their name, "Price Chopper" has had some of the highest prices among the stores in my shopping circle. I used to shop them for strictly loss-leaders and fried fish. Now, I can find common things I use cheaper and easier at P-C than I can at Market Basket.
> 
> You might not have the same problem with finding things in stock at your store, though. The one I shop (and the only one close enough to make it worth driving to) has been going downhill since they replaced the original manager with a guy who seems to be interested in only biding his time until he retires. THAT won't happen soon enough...



The article that I read in the business section stated that Walmart wants to diversify. Their on-line sales are not as strong as they hoped they would be this past year. So since Jet is strictly for On-line shopping, they are hoping this will increase their on-line profit. 

I have never been to a Walmart's. There is one up in Lynn on Route 107. I have friends that swear by them. There has been so much bad press over the years about them. I only shop at MB. Only because shopping really leaves me exhausted. It takes a lot out of me. I have noticed this past year, if I go somewhere, and have an appointment the next year, I just can't keep it. Two days in a row shopping is more than I can handle. And I will only consider shopping in stores with an electric cart.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> Walmart's sales were $472 billion last year. $3.3 billion is a drop in the bucket. They're just picking off a competitor and incorporating their online purchasing and distribution systems.


$3.3 billion=drop in the bucket. It would be nice to have a drop from that drop, wouldn't it *GG*? Well, I'm still thankful for all we have.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> $3.3 billion=drop in the bucket. It would be nice to have a drop from that drop, wouldn't it *GG*? Well, I'm still thankful for all we have.



I know, right? Crazy world. I'm thankful we have good health insurance and a terrific pharmacist (we go to an independent pharmacy). I picked up a pack of EpiPens today. With the coupon the pharmacist obtained, we only had to pay $40. It's recommended that beekeepers keep it on hand because after repeated bee stings, people can develop a sensitivity and have a serious reaction. Neither of us has reacted so far, but you never know.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I hope neither of you ever need to use that EpiPen, *GG*. It would be the best waste of $40.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> I hope neither of you ever need to use that EpiPen, *GG*. It would be the best waste of $40.


Not a waste. It's probably like an umbrella - it seems like you are less likely to need it if you have it.


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> That means it probably does not bode well for those of you who love Jet. *With Wal-Mart coughing up that much money, they'll have to recover the cost somehow*. Just like when Market Basket came back from their non-strike strike, pricing probably won't be as good as it was before.
> 
> Wonder how long it will be before Amazon buys out Wal-Jet, or vice-versa.


They'll do what they always do - they'll further exploit their workers.

We have a supermarket chain in the UK called ASDA which was taken over by Wal-mart some years ago. Whilst employment law seems to be tighter over here than in the US, ASDA/Wal-mart still manage to get away with murder.


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> I hope neither of you ever need to use that EpiPen, *GG*. It would be the best waste of $40.


My friend's daughter has been saved twice by her Epi-pen. Mind you, she gets it free on the National Health Service.


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> The article that I read in the business section stated that Walmart wants to diversify. Their on-line sales are not as strong as they hoped they would be this past year. So since Jet is strictly for On-line shopping, they are hoping this will increase their on-line profit.
> 
> I have never been to a Walmart's. There is one up in Lynn on Route 107. I have friends that swear by them. There has been so much bad press over the years about them. I only shop at MB. Only because shopping really leaves me exhausted. It takes a lot out of me. I have noticed this past year, if I go somewhere, and have an appointment the next year, I just can't keep it. Two days in a row shopping is more than I can handle. And I will only consider shopping in stores with an electric cart.


Addie, can't you order on-line for home delivery? Most supermarkets, including the smaller ones, do it free of charge for orders over a certain value (about £60 is the cut-off for free delivery which sorts me out for a month when I use it). In fact one company delivers free for an order as little as £25 ($40-ish).


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> Addie, can't you order on-line for home delivery? Most supermarkets, including the smaller ones, do it free of charge for orders over a certain value (about £60 is the cut-off for free delivery which sorts me out for a month when I use it). In fact one company delivers free for an order as little as £25 ($40-ish).



Gee, I know several folks here in this building, do order their groceries for delivery. But I notice that it is a higher end store. And I have an EBT card for my groceries. It is like a credit card for food. I don't get cash. As far as I know, you have to pay cash for the groceries and a delivery fee. And of course the driver expects a tip. The grocery store I go to doesn't have delivery. I don't mind having to go shopping for groceries. At least my store has electric carts. That makes it so much easier for me. And I have Spike with me. He gets the second half of the store and does all my shopping in that end. If I had to do my whole list alone, it would take me at least 1.5 hours. I go shopping only once a month. If I need something in the middle of the month, Spike will pick it up for me.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> $3.3 billion=drop in the bucket. It would be nice to have a drop from that drop, wouldn't it *GG*? Well, I'm still thankful for all we have.



Their problem is "on line sales". Not the whole profit line. I am with you CG. I would love to have a drop, but I am satisfied with what I have. I would never want so rich enough to the point that *more* is never enough. Greed us very ugly.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> The grocery store I go to doesn't have delivery.



Nope. http://www.betaboston.com/news/2014...grocery-delivery-boston-somerville-instacart/


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*GG*, I love to grocery shop! I wonder if there is a job for me at Instacart.  Aw, who am I kidding. I don't want to WORK work anymore!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> *GG*, I love to grocery shop! I wonder if there is a job for me at Instacart.  Aw, who am I kidding. I don't want to WORK work anymore!



I will often take a look at "work at home" offers. Of course they want you to pay. I refuse to pay for the privilege of working for them. Even part time. So far all I have seen are rackets, in my eyes. 

I figure with all the time I spend sitting here at the computer, maybe I should turn it into money. I used to do surveys for money. All totaled I made about $50. Then I got tired of stupid questions.


----------



## expatgirl

You, know, I think one of the best jobs out there (we're talking Houston) are the people who hand out samples in grocery stores....I looked into this business a while back and they are paid a decent salary and if you're a people person (which I am) it's a fun job..........  the place I talked to said that you're responsible for setting up your table and taking it down and then mingling with the public to hand out free food)  there's this old-timer in our local HEB that is always selling  this and that, any time of the week and I swear it's what keeps him young (and probably out of his wife's hair)  he's always in a good mood......(and I bet his wife is, too)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*expat*, I used to do food demos! I worked for/at Buehler Foods in Medina, OH. It was fun, but the store had a pretty sweet set-up. They had an in-store cooking school, complete with a kitchen and small auditorium seating. We would demo on Fridays and Saturdays. They had carts that we would set with our equipment and samples, then roll out into the store promptly at 10:00 AM, with people trailing after us like puppies following a bone!  You knew the regulars, but it took me months to figure out that the one guy who showed up every Friday and Saturday, spent hours in the store, and had just a few items in his cart...was actually one of our security guys. Oops...


----------



## GilliAnne

I had lunch in a hotel today with my husband and our youngest son. I ordered roast beef, which the menu said was served with seasonal vegetables, mashed potato and roast potato. When the food came the vegetables turned out to be covered by a cheese sauce, which I cannot eat, so I told this to the waiter and he brought me another portion without the cheese sauce.

My gripe is, why do restaurants assume diners will be able to eat something they add to a dish, but don't mention on the menu? Another example of this happening to me is when I order ice cream and it comes served with chocolate sauce - something else I can't eat. I know it sounds minor, but these surprise embellishments can ruin a meal for me.

Gillian


----------



## expatgirl

oh, my goodness...........I bet you were good at it, though!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

It WAS fun, *expat*! Besides that, when I left the job in late 1999/early 2000, I was getting paid $9 an hour! Just to stand, smile, and offer food to people. Win-win all around.


----------



## taxlady

GilliAnne said:


> I had lunch in a hotel today with my husband and our youngest son. I ordered roast beef, which the menu said was served with seasonal vegetables, mashed potato and roast potato. When the food came the vegetables turned out to be covered by a cheese sauce, which I cannot eat, so I told this to the waiter and he brought me another portion without the cheese sauce.
> 
> My gripe is, why do restaurants assume diners will be able to eat something they add to a dish, but don't mention on the menu? Another example of this happening to me is when I order ice cream and it comes served with chocolate sauce - something else I can't eat. I know it sounds minor, but these surprise embellishments can ruin a meal for me.
> 
> Gillian


I hear ya. We went out to eat the other night and I ordered a steak with asparagus and French fries. When the food arrived, the French fries were a funny orange colour. I asked if they were sweet potato fries. Yes they were. I had to send them back because, I am not supposed to eat sweet potato. I had already gone through the rigmarole of asking if there was soy in anything and if the cooking oil was soy or vegetable oil. The annoying part was how long I had to wait for my mashed potatoes to arrive, after I got my other food back, with no sweet potatoes.

And I would be annoyed with chocolate added to stuff too. I can eat chocolate, but most chocolate is made with soy lecithin. I don't eat that.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> It WAS fun, *expat*! Besides that, when I left the job in late 1999/early 2000, I was getting paid $9 an hour! Just to stand, smile, and offer food to people. Win-win all around.



 But how many of those samples did you eat yourself?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Just one, before we went out. And only if we were unfamiliar with the product. Not a big deal. When you're standing there behind food for six hours (five and a half, since we did get a lunch break) you really aren't interested in eating it.


----------



## expatgirl

I tell you.......I have bought many new items based on what I sampled.......the last being this wonderful, delicious kielbasa sausage from San Antonio.......to die for!  The lady who had her table set up was soooooooooooo busy......she was like a queen bee in a hive of hungry worker bees.........but she was just beaming the whole time......that's what I want to be........a queen bee!


----------



## Addie

We have a sausage place up on Rte. 1. He never advertises, and is set back off the road. If you are driving fast you go right by the place. Yet he does a great business. And on Saturday, he has a line waiting to get in. I have had his Kielbasa and it is to just die for. It is his biggest seller. 

He also makes other national sausages. From what I understand, he won't make any other national sausage unless he has an original one from 'that' country. Today he makes ones from Mexico, Spain, Italy, Portugal and a few other countries including his Kielbasa from his native Poland. 

He works night making the sausages, and his wife and children tend to the store during the day.


----------



## expatgirl

would love to see it..............


----------



## CharlieD

I was traveling past few days and I had a small 4 oz hammer with me (don't ask). Out of curiousity (I knew I had to check it in) I ask TSA agent about and was told that it can be used as a weapon (4 oz Weapon) and as such must be checked in. On the plane with me there was this kid, who had a skateboard. Really 4oz is a weapon and skateboard is just a toy? 
I am not complaining, I am all for safety, but really is there any common sense?

P.S. Just posted this question on TSA facebook page, wonder if they will answer.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I was traveling past few days and I had a small 4 oz hammer with me (don't ask). Out of curiousity (I knew I had to check it in) I ask TSA agent about and was told that it can be used as a weapon (4 oz Weapon) and as such must be checked in. On the plane with me there was this kid, who had a skateboard. Really 4oz is a weapon and skateboard is just a toy?
> I am not complaining, I am all for safety, but really is there any common sense?
> 
> P.S. Just posted this question on TSA facebook page, wonder if they will answer.



The rules do seem ludicrous. When I have something that I think will raise questions, I pack it in my luggage that has been checked. 

 I hope that kid with the skateboard wasn't planning on skating up and down the aisle!


----------



## Dawgluver

CharlieD said:


> I was traveling past few days and I had a small 4 oz hammer with me (don't ask). Out of curiousity (I knew I had to check it in) I ask TSA agent about and was told that it can be used as a weapon (4 oz Weapon) and as such must be checked in. On the plane with me there was this kid, who had a skateboard. Really 4oz is a weapon and skateboard is just a toy?
> I am not complaining, I am all for safety, but really is there any common sense?
> 
> P.S. Just posted this question on TSA facebook page, wonder if they will answer.




No common sense with TSA.  I had my crochet hook confiscated.  I like to have one to fix snags on sweaters.  Obviously crochet hooks are also very dangerous.

After the Shoe Bomber thing, DH and I were going back through FL, and NO liquids of any kind were allowed.  They took my little one inch foil packet of moisturizer.  I told the lady, "Give that back, please, I'll just use it now."


----------



## taxlady

It's all just security theatre.


----------



## expatgirl

on this last flight with British Air, the flight attendant told me that their #1 Pilot got stopped for one of the teeny sample (little bitty packets--not even an ounce) of nice hand lotion that you're given if you fly business or first class...held him awhile as it was Heathrow........you're right, Charlie D., a lot of damage could be done with a skateboard......just think how fast you'd get off if you pulled that hanldle and set off the excape chute on that skateboard!!!


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> It's all just security theatre.


----------



## CharlieD

The stupidity continues, this is TSA response: "Sorry for the frustration. Tools greater than 7 inches in length are not allowed in carry-on." 

Idiots, I did not ask you about the tool, I wanted to know about the skateboard. 

I asked them again, no response yet.


----------



## Souschef

We have run into this absolute stupidity everywhere. Kayelle had a 4 oz bottle of cough syrup. she even took a shot of it, but they took it anyhow.
The same with a 4 oz bottle of contact lens solution. It had passed in LA, London, Moscow, and St. Petersburg, but some jobsworth idiot in Heathrow gave her a hard time. She poured some into her contact retainers, but they still took it.


----------



## Dawgluver

Exactly.  And so far, not a single terrorist has been caught.  Despite the 4 ounce hammers, crochet hooks, and contact lens solution confiscations.

My nose runs, and I get pulled out of line for a pat-down after the whirly screening thing because I have to carry kleenex in my pockets.  I always tell the agents they should be happy I have kleenex in my pockets.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> The stupidity continues, this is TSA response: "Sorry for the frustration. Tools greater than 7 inches in length are not allowed in carry-on."
> 
> Idiots, I did not ask you about the tool, I wanted to know about the skateboard.
> 
> I asked them again, no response yet.



So do any of you think if I bring my embroidery with me, they will confiscate the needle because the tip may have poison on it and if I prick the skin of the pilot who is behind a securely locked door, the plane will crash or the pilot may go to sleep for 100 years like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty did?


----------



## medtran49

Addie said:


> So do any of you think if I bring my embroidery with me, they will confiscate the needle because the tip may have poison on it and if I prick the skin of the pilot who is behind a securely locked door, the plane will crash or the pilot may go to sleep for 100 years like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty did?


 
I've taken my petit point with me before, as well as my 3-4" inch scissors as the guidlines AT THAT TIME said I could.  I checked on-line and called because the scissors are extremely sharp and pointed, and aren't cheap so I wanted to be sure before taking them since all I had was carry on luggage.  The flight attendants, happened to be all female, were cooing over my petit point as I pulled it out and was working on it during the flight but a couple of them were really surprised I was allowed to bring my scissors on board.  Just told them I had done the above and didn't have a problem at all going through security with them.  Their response was oh, I didn't know that.


----------



## Addie

medtran49 said:


> I've taken my petit point with me before, as well as my 3-4" inch scissors as the guidlines AT THAT TIME said I could.  I checked on-line and called because the scissors are extremely sharp and pointed, and aren't cheap so I wanted to be sure before taking them since all I had was carry on luggage.  The flight attendants, happened to be all female, were cooing over my petit point as I pulled it out and was working on it during the flight but a couple of them were really surprised I was allowed to bring my scissors on board.  Just told them I had done the above and didn't have a problem at all going through security with them.  Their response was *oh, I didn't know that*.



Exactly! It should be a requirement that before reporting to work, that they read the latest rules update of the Home Security. There is absolutely no consistent interpretation of the daily rules of what can and what can't be brought on board.


----------



## Silversage

You save yourself a lot of hassle when you fly if you get yourself TSA Prechecked.  It's only $80 and it's good for 5 years.  You skip all that nonsense with taking off shoes, opening your laptop, showing your bag full of lotions, etc.  

The process is simple.  Fill out an application online, then go to a TSA spot and get fingerprinted.  In just a couple days you have your clearance number.  You still have to show ID and put carry-ons through the scanner, but you get to skip the real aggravating stuff - and you get to go in the shorter line.

If you only make 1 round trip per year, it comes to just $8 per flight for the convenience.  If you travel more, the cost per flight drops to almost nothing.  

BTW Charlie,  I know that skateboards are banned on Delta as carry-on, and I think several of the other carriers.  It's up to the individual airline, not a TSA issue.


----------



## Addie

Does anyone know if I can bring my own food on board? I am a diabetic and just graze for most of the day to keep my sugars level. I am not too fond of airport food. And besides, it can be expensive buying food there.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Does anyone know if I can bring my own food on board? I am a diabetic and just graze for most of the day to keep my sugars level. I am not too fond of airport food. And besides, it can be expensive buying food there.




Depends.  If it's liquid, like salad dressing or condiments, it will need to go in your 1 quart ziplock.  You can bring stuff like carrot sticks and sandwiches from home.  There are several good websites with suggestions as to what to take for food.  Here's an idea: https://consumerist.com/2016/06/27/...foods-you-can-bring-through-airport-security/ I always bring an empty water bottle and fill it up at the water fountain after clearing security as I don't feel like paying $5 for a bottle of water.

And I too love the TSA precheck, though our closest little airport doesn't always honor it.  When they do, it's a breeze getting through.  We also have Global Entry, so can blow through the huge lines going through immigration.


----------



## medtran49

Silversage said:


> You save yourself a lot of hassle when you fly if you get yourself TSA Prechecked. It's only $80 and it's good for 5 years. You skip all that nonsense with taking off shoes, opening your laptop, showing your bag full of lotions, etc.
> 
> The process is simple. Fill out an application online, then go to a TSA spot and get fingerprinted. In just a couple days you have your clearance number. You still have to show ID and put carry-ons through the scanner, but you get to skip the real aggravating stuff - and you get to go in the shorter line.
> 
> If you only make 1 round trip per year, it comes to just $8 per flight for the convenience. If you travel more, the cost per flight drops to almost nothing.
> 
> BTW Charlie, I know that skateboards are banned on Delta as carry-on, and I think several of the other carriers. It's up to the individual airline, not a TSA issue.


 

The last time I flew, which was just under a year ago, I did the pre-check-in on-line where I had to fill out social, DL#, DOB, and some other info at the time I bought the ticket.  When I went to go through security, the initial TSA agent sent me down another line than she had been sending everyone else and I thought #*$# I'm going to have to go through one of those invasive searches.  Nope, I just had to walk through a metal detector and my stuff went on the conveyor, no opening luggage, taking shoes off or anything else.  No waiting, no muss, no fuss.  I talked to one of the TSA agents on the other side and asked why I got such quick treatment, not that I was complaining, just curious.  She said because I did the on-line pre-flight info that I was already cleared.  Didn't have to pay any extra for it.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Depends.  If it's liquid, like salad dressing or condiments, it will need to go in your 1 quart ziplock.  You can bring stuff like carrot sticks and sandwiches from home.  There are several good websites with suggestions as to what to take for food.  Here's an idea: https://consumerist.com/2016/06/27/...foods-you-can-bring-through-airport-security/ I always bring an empty water bottle and fill it up at the water fountain after clearing security as I don't feel like paying $5 for a bottle of water.
> 
> And I too love the TSA precheck, though our closest little airport doesn't always honor it.  When they do, it's a breeze getting through.  We also have Global Entry, so can blow through the huge lines going through immigration.



Here at Boston's Logan Airport, all foreign and domestic planes coming from another country, that are carrying foreigners go to Terminal E. American citizens returning home go to their own sections of Customs, foreigners to another. 

Because I can't walk more than about ten feet, I have to use a wheelchair. I don't have to stand in line. Handicap folks are breezed through. I just have to let them know before I arrive at the airport, that I am handicapped and need assistance. I am also the first passenger they let off the plane. My wheelchair is waiting for me. And off to grab my luggage. The airport has volunteers that push wheelchair passengers to their destination. They depend on tips for their income. I am very grateful for their service and always tip well. Airports are huge and they do a lot of walking just depending on tips.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie...just curious.  When was the last time you flew the wild blue yonder?


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Addie...just curious.  When was the last time you flew the wild blue yonder?



About two or three years ago. I went down to Georgia to spend a week with a very dear friend. I am now contemplating another trip for Thanksgiving.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Exactly! It should be a requirement that before reporting to work, that they read the latest rules update of the Home Security. There is absolutely no consistent interpretation of the daily rules of what can and what can't be brought on board.



It's not the job of the flight attendants to determine what is brought on board


----------



## CharlieD

Silversage said:


> BTW Charlie,  I know that skateboards are banned on Delta as carry-on, and I think several of the other carriers.  It's up to the individual airline, not a TSA issue.




It was Delta. 
Also I thought pre-check is only good for one year 


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## CharlieD

I tell you some waiters have hutzpa. How do you say that in English. He did not ask me how I want my hamburger and I totally forgot to mention that I like it as row as they would make it. He tells me I wanted well done. He says I have it on the ticket. He is lucky I was too hungry and with the family. I would have put that plate over his head. 


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## Dawgluver

Chutzpah.  Audacity, assumption, cheekiness.


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## taxlady

Charlie, we usually just say "chuptzpa".


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you. Chutzpah it was. 


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## Cooking Goddess

Toilet bowl cleaner bottle caps. 

I completely understand the reason for making the cap childproof. But why do they have to make it impossible for someone with slightly arthritic hands to open it???


----------



## CakePoet

I am disliking my neighbors today.  Everyday  between 6.55 and 7. 20  an alarm goes of to wake the next door  nutter, it take that long before it shuts off.  Mine goes off at 7.00, I wake at  6.55 from his alarm, even on Saturdays.  And my  "posh, I am so much better then you neighbor" started  vacuuming sludge  out of their house at  7.30  , it still going on 1½ hour later. 
Why couldn't they wait to normal hours which be waiting 1 more hour? 

They never think of other people, they even removed the trees that protected us from their  nightly naughtiness.  Yes , we can see in to their bedroom, all 5 apartments  can,  it not like we can avoid using half of our apartments due to them.

This humming noise making me cranky.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Toilet bowl cleaner bottle caps.
> 
> I completely understand the reason for making the cap childproof. But why do they have to make it impossible for someone with slightly arthritic hands to open it???



Grrr.... I have the same problem with bleach bottles. And I always made sure I buy only "elderly friendly" OTC medicines. Manfs. need to make both types of caps. Then it is up to the store to put the non child proofs up where little hands can't reach.


----------



## medtran49

CakePoet said:


> I am disliking my neighbors today. Everyday between 6.55 and 7. 20 an alarm goes of to wake the next door nutter, it take that long before it shuts off. Mine goes off at 7.00, I wake at 6.55 from his alarm, even on Saturdays. And my "posh, I am so much better then you neighbor" started vacuuming sludge out of their house at 7.30 , it still going on 1½ hour later.
> Why couldn't they wait to normal hours which be waiting 1 more hour?
> 
> They never think of other people, they even removed the trees that protected us from their nightly naughtiness. Yes , we can see in to their bedroom, all 5 apartments can, it not like we can avoid using half of our apartments due to them.
> 
> This humming noise making me cranky.


 
I'd be speaking to my landlord, hopefully along with the other neighbors.


----------



## CakePoet

I did the Swedish thing and put angry note on the  Door to our house, say Change alarm tone so  you wake up, I want to sleep.

The other nutters, lives in their own house,  they can do as they please but they always act like they more then us and  honestly, I hope they move soon.  Yeah, they have money, " good" looks, lousy taste in underwear, the most modern **** in their house , the wrong wines for dinner and  all that jazz, but they could be nice and polite to their neighbors.

They have been trying to sell the house for over it value for sometime now. A house were your neighbors can see into isnt worth that much, even if you  paint every  square inch white and write  Carpe Diem everywhere.

Am I cranky today, YES.


----------



## medtran49

Don't you guys have curtains or blinds?  I understand if you are outside, but inside, I'd just close my curtains/blinds so I didn't have to see them. 

If they painted carpe diem all over their walls, I'd definitely agree with the "nutters" and also say they must not want to sell their house very badly.

Be glad it's just a hum.  I lived in a condo for a couple of years.  Every Saturday, the vacuum would start upstairs, as well as screeching and screaming.  A young couple lived upstairs and we started to wonder if he was beating on her and using vacuum to try to cover the noise.  We were debating whether or not to call the cops after this kept happening for several weeks.  Finally saw her out on their balconey, started talking to her and ended up flat out asking her.  She busted out laughing and said it wasn't her but their parrot who hated the vacuum.


----------



## CakePoet

Well we used to live in the apartment, that all its window  towards  their house, we spent most of life   with shut  blinds in the evening due to them. Sometimes we forgot to shut the kitchen blinds when we got water in the evening and yes,  they only drew down half the way, we are above, we are on a angle.  My landlord has forced them to replace the trees they removed that actually belonged to this property, so now in a few years there be a cypress hedge between us.

We have tried to talk to them, well  they above and acts  all snotty when we do.

I got hold of the neighbor with the alarm at least, he promised to change alarm signal so gets up in the morning.


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## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> Toilet bowl cleaner bottle caps.
> 
> I completely understand the reason for making the cap childproof. But why do they have to make it impossible for someone with slightly arthritic hands to open it???


A very arthritic friend has been giving the bottle to her grandson to open for her since he was about old enough to have strong enough hands!

What happened to storing such things out of the reach of children and teaching the children not to touch? I knew the bleach was under the sink from the time I could toddle but also knew that all hell would land on my head if I even touched the cupboard door (and no, my mother wasn't a child beater - just a sensible mother who had grown up with her own sensible mother).


----------



## expatgirl

`i've been lucky......most people are more than willing to help arthritic people open containers, shove their stuff on board and for pushing through on airline checkpoints.......`i'm overwhelmed with the kindness of others.......


----------



## medtran49

Last night, I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize so let it go to voice mail.  When I listened to the voice mail, I was informed that the call was a reminder for an appointment for Monday in the middle of the day for an eye exam.  It's been a year since I last went.  Okay, I KNOW I did not make that appointment because: 

1.  I don't make appointments that far in advance, won't even make a 3-month appointment at my primary doc's office. 
2.  I only make appointments on my days off, and Monday is not, nor has it even been a day off for me unless it's a holiday (when the eye doctor would be closed anyway). 
3.  I don't make appointments in the middle of the day, it's either early in the day or late in the day so that I don't have a split day on my day off when I'm generally trying to get things done around the house, work on a project or run errands.  

This has happened to me a couple of other times in the last 6 months or so, not necessarily healthcare associated.  One was the cable company when we moved and were having trouble getting things connected (ordered a DIY kit).  My call got disconnected after the guy went off to check something/ask somebody a question, and by then I was so irritated and frustrated with them that I didn't bother calling back, just figured out the problem myself.  

Okay, I know it's petty, but why should I have to waste my time calling these people back to tell them I don't want the appointment when I DIDN"T MAKE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?


----------



## Addie

medtran, that is an old ploy all medical offices use. It puts more money in their coffers.  If they waited until the patient was at death's door or just about blind to come into the office, they would have to close their doors. And if you don't show up, you get billed for the missed appointment.


----------



## Addie

expatgirl said:


> `i've been lucky......most people are more than willing to help arthritic people open containers, shove their stuff on board and for pushing through on airline checkpoints.......`i'm overwhelmed with the kindness of others.......



I have one finger that is presently intent to make my life miserable. The last time I went shopping, it decided it had been quiet for more than one day. I had just reached and grabbed a glass jar off the shelf. All of a sudden my finger started to burn and hurt at the same time. The pain caused tears to start running down my cheeks. The jar went flying and smashed into smithereens. An employee was close by and came running to my aid. He offered me the corner of his apron to wipe away the tears. He then got me another jar and sent me on my way on the scooter. Then he cleaned up the mess.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> medtran, that is an old ploy all medical offices use. It puts more money in their coffers.  If they waited until the patient was at death's door or just about blind to come into the office, they would have to close their doors. And if you don't show up, you get billed for the missed appointment.



All medical offices?  Maybe medical offices that have elderly patients who receive public benefits. The only doctor of mine that sets up appointments for me is my GI doctor and we have agreed that quarterly appointments are appropriate. 

Doctors have more patients than they have time to see. They certainly do not need to drum up business that way. 

That said, I don't know why medtran's eye doctor did that. There are some conditions that require doctors to try to follow up, but they should have called to confirm.


----------



## expatgirl

Addie said:


> I have one finger that is presently intent to make my life miserable. The last time I went shopping, it decided it had been quiet for more than one day. I had just reached and grabbed a glass jar off the shelf. All of a sudden my finger started to burn and hurt at the same time. The pain caused tears to start running down my cheeks. The jar went flying and smashed into smithereens. An employee was close by and came running to my aid. He offered me the corner of his apron to wipe away the tears. He then got me another jar and sent me on my way on the scooter. Then he cleaned up the mess.



oh, Addie, I know how you feel!  You were so lucky to have such a great samaritan on hand.......just like when `i was in line at the airport and being rushed to hurry up and move along......`i just replied that `i was doing the best I could with arthriitis and everyone around me pushed in to help.....`i couldn't believe it......it was amazing..........`i could have cried.....


----------



## medtran49

We were out grocery shopping Friday and while we were driving around looking for a place to park, I noticed a car that was having difficulty parking and it looked like they hit the car in the spot next to them.  After we parked and were walking in, I told Craig I thought they had hit that car so we stopped to look and sure enough there was a scrape on the already parked car and paint from that car on the car that was parking.  No note of course on the "victim car."  So, I wrote down the license plates of both cars, and the make and model of the offender and went into the store, explained what had happened and asked them to page the victim car's owner.  I waited outside while Craig went ahead with our shopping.  Apparently, the owner of the car never heard or understood the PA announcement because they came out and the man got in the car without even noticing the damage (how I don't know).  Fortunately, the woman getting in was a little slower so I was able to flag them down and tell them about it.  I thought he was going to put the car into reverse before she even got all the way in the car, he was in such a hurry.   Apparently, he was already having a bad day because he was very brusque and dismissive, even though the woman was upset about it.  Personally, I don't get it because it was a very nice car, newer, no body damage or other scrapes, and I'd have been furious, especially with the person not leaving a note.  He just told the woman he didn't want to be bothered and let's go.  She at least said thank you for letting us know and getting the info in case the other person left, and she did take photos.  And they had a Marine Corp sticker on the car.  

I told Craig, I'm going to quit trying to do the right thing by other people and just mind my own business because it seems like every time I do, I either end up with somebody mad at me or just blown off.


----------



## expatgirl

Well, you'd love Texas, medtran........ some people here have no hesitation in keying someone's car for the pure h''' of it........I park in the netherzones so I can avoid such wretches........and still.......I don't know how many times I  have had to python-squeeze out of my car or crawl across to the passenger side (and that ain't easy being 62 years old) so that I don't have my car door opening on someone elses........and yes, I have grrrrrrrrred at some of the uncaring owners of the vehicles around me..........but I could never bring myself to damage someone's car out of sheer nastiness.......


----------



## roadfix

one reason why drive a clunker....


----------



## expatgirl

hahaha!


----------



## roadfix

My wife, on the other hand, needs a new car every 4 years....


----------



## expatgirl

That's just not fair!!!!  And good for her!!!  Yes, you definitely need to drive the clunker!!!    When you visit Houston, bring the clunker!  That's for sure!


----------



## expatgirl

forgot to add:  just be sure your autos are up to date on insurance, licensing, inspections, etc.........they're pretty serious over here if you ever do visit TX........bet Florida is the same way......


----------



## Cooking Goddess

expatgirl said:


> ...I don't know how many times I  have had to python-squeeze out of my car or crawl across to the passenger side (and that ain't easy being 62 years old) so that I don't have my car door opening on someone elses...


 Love the phrase "python-squeeze"! 

That kind of parking isn't exclusive to just TX. I don't know if the parking spaces in MA are narrower than those in OH, but I do know that the people up here just loove driving their behemoth vehicles. ~ Then there are the drivers who think the lines are just a suggestion, with the left front tire in the spot to the left of the car, and the right rear tire on the line to its right. 

I swear one of these days I'm walking out the door with a stack of printed notes in my hand, all with the same message: "Next time you park, please try and stay between your lines. Thank you." I know I'll never do that, though. With my luck, I'd probably be putting a note under the wiper blade just as the car owner approached his car...and he'd be some 6'5" in guy who was just as much of a behemoth as his car.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

expatgirl said:


> forgot to add:  just be sure your autos are up to date on insurance, licensing, inspections, etc.........they're pretty serious over here if you ever do visit TX........bet Florida is the same way......


When our son headed to college his first year, his twin sister and I drove out with him. Poor Himself couldn't go because of a fussy customer that just couldn't bear the thought of another tech support being on hand in case they needed help (they didn't  ), so he and his friend "Jim" spent the first night getting very well re-acquainted. Meanwhile, we were driving through the panhandle of TX on day two, baby boy Goober behind the wheel, and cruise control set at "the 10%" speed - ten percent added to the posted speed limit of 70. Um, we didn't know you were supposed to do at least one MPH under the posted speed... Got stopped, and the trooper said he clocked us at 81. I told him that wasn't possible since we had the cruise control set...and shut up before I admitted we were at least speeding. Didn't matter, he ticketed Goober for 81. Turned out that was the starting speed for the second tier of fines. Had he been cited for going 77 we would have paid at least $50 for speeding.

Funny thing is, when we were done with the trooper and got back on the road, Goober said he was afraid that  had I argued with the trooper he would have pulled a portable electric chair from the trunk, set it up right there on the side of the road, and administered justice right there.


----------



## expatgirl

oh, my, I'm crying tears I'm laughing so hard, CG............no, in Texas, or at least my neck of the woods it's ok to go 5 miles over the limit and not be harassed.......someone who worked  with judges informed me that officers would get into trouble if citations were issued to miscreants going less than that........they just threw them out.......so with that in mind I've never been pulled over........7 miles might be a different story........your  boy Goober must have made their day.........yes, we do have speed traps here in TX and they will take you in for anything...........you just have to google and find out what cities they're in........Sealy outside of Houston on the way to San Antonio is a definite slow down area.............


----------



## Addie

Here in Mass. the speed limit is 65 mph on every highway. But if all the traffic is traveling 70-75 mph, and you are keeping up with it, it is very doubtful you will get stopped. It is when you are in the passing lane and going 45-50 mph and impeding the traffic that you will get pulled over. Or if you are weaving in and out of traffic and changing lanes. You will definitely pulled over. 

Our cops hate paper work. Although in the event you take it to court, they are only too happy to appear against you. That counts as overtime. 

Do not expect to get anywhere in a hurry in the early morning or late afternoon. Bumper to bumper cars trying to get to work in a hurry or home. The south shore is notorious for accidents and horrible traffic jams. No worry there about getting a ticket for speeding. 

The North Shore is not much better. We have all the folks from NH coming to work in Mass. I do wish they would find work in their own state.


----------



## expatgirl

oh, my, Addie...........just when you think your life is bad......that's what's great about these sites.......we're all swimming in the same boats...........and all over the continent.........well you hang in there, Girlfriend


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## CharlieD

Darn. It is so beautiful outside and I am sick like a dog. The timing could not be worse. 


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## Kayelle

Addie said:


> Here in Mass. the speed limit is 65 mph on every highway. But if all the traffic is traveling 70-75 mph, and you are keeping up with it, it is very doubtful you will get stopped. It is when you are in the passing lane and going 45-50 mph and impeding the traffic that you will get pulled over. Or if you are weaving in and out of traffic and changing lanes. You will definitely pulled over.
> 
> Our cops hate paper work. Although in the event you take it to court, they are only too happy to appear against you. That counts as overtime.
> 
> Do not expect to get anywhere in a hurry in the early morning or late afternoon. Bumper to bumper cars trying to get to work in a hurry or home. The south shore is notorious for accidents and horrible traffic jams. No worry there about getting a ticket for speeding.
> 
> The North Shore is not much better. We have all the folks from NH coming to work in Mass. I do wish they would find work in their own state.



Groan. For someone who has never had a drivers license, your expertise on the subject is laughable Addie.


----------



## JoAnn L.

CharlieD said:


> Darn. It is so beautiful outside and I am sick like a dog. The timing could not be worse.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



So sorry to hear you're under the weather-get better soon. Jo


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> Here in Mass. the speed limit is 65 mph on every highway. But if all the traffic is traveling 70-75 mph, and you are keeping up with it, it is very doubtful you will get stopped. It is when you are in the passing lane and going 45-50 mph and impeding the traffic that you will get pulled over. Or if you are weaving in and out of traffic and changing lanes. You will definitely pulled over.
> 
> *Our cops hate paper work. Although in the event you take it to court, they are only too happy to appear against you. That counts as overtime*.
> 
> *Do not expect to get anywhere in a hurry in the early morning or late afternoon. Bumper to bumper cars trying to get to work in a hurry or home. The south shore is notorious for accidents and horrible traffic jam*s. No worry there about getting a ticket for speeding.
> 
> The North Shore is not much better. We have all the folks from NH coming to work in Mass. *I do wish they would find work in their own state.*


 
Don't know how I missed this post, but Addie....seriously. Speaking on behalf of my son-in-law who has been a police officer going on 15 years now....trust me. They are NOT "only too happy to appear in court *for the overtime*"... that is inaccurate on *so* many levels.  I'm wondering where you get your information.

And as far as traffic....MA isn't the only state with bumper to bumper traffic. Have you driven (or been a passenger) on the Southern California freeways in the past few decades? There is no such thing as early morning or late afternoon 'rush hour'.  It's constant. 

As far as your last statement about wanting to keep the working out-of-staters out of MA...not sure what to even say about that...


----------



## Cheryl J

CharlieD said:


> Darn. It is so beautiful outside and I am sick like a dog. The timing could not be worse.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


 
Sure hope you feel better soon Charlie, and are able to enjoy your nice weather.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CharlieD said:


> Darn. It is so beautiful outside and I am sick like a dog. The timing could not be worse.


Fingers crossed that your "sick" is all gone while the weather is still nice.


----------



## CakePoet

We have speed control in this village to  day, it is the cadets in training  with handler doing it.  If you are going over 10 km, you will get fined but any lower, no.  it just so they can learn how to handle people  in a nice and polite way. Man, they are well trained and nice looking.

My  idiot neighbor  got caught for drunk driving and it is 8 in the morning.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Weather is nice and cool and I have lifting/digging restrictions...by the time I can it will be hot again.


----------



## Chef Munky

Addie said:


> Here in Mass. the speed limit is 65 mph on every highway. But if all the traffic is traveling 70-75 mph, and you are keeping up with it, it is very doubtful you will get stopped. It is when you are in the passing lane and going 45-50 mph and impeding the traffic that you will get pulled over. Or if you are weaving in and out of traffic and changing lanes. You will definitely pulled over.
> 
> Our cops hate paper work. Although in the event you take it to court, they are only too happy to appear against you. That counts as overtime.
> 
> Do not expect to get anywhere in a hurry in the early morning or late afternoon. Bumper to bumper cars trying to get to work in a hurry or home. The south shore is notorious for accidents and horrible traffic jams. No worry there about getting a ticket for speeding.
> 
> The North Shore is not much better. We have all the folks from NH coming to work in Mass. I do wish they would find work in their own state.



I have a suggestion for you Addie. MOVE!

We all know how much disdain you have for the police. You've made comments in the past that were so off the wall and inaccurate. I could have spent all day just sitting here poking holes in your comment. You are absolutely clueless as to what their jobs are truly like.You seem to think that they do it for the over time pay. Honey, the over time checks are taxed. Not only that. Over time in a lot of cases are forced. They have no choice but to do it. Or lose their jobs! That's not something you have to worry about. You just made a reference "Our cops" Stop gathering all of them into one basket. I guess you don't know that when they appear in court they are targets? That is one of the most dangerous places for them to be in.

As for your comments: "The North Shore is not much better. We have all the folks from NH coming  to work in Mass. I do wish they would find work in their own state." 
I DO wish you could get it through your head, people commuting to and from work most likely aren't doing it for kicks,just to annoy you sweet Addie. They most likely have families to support.They to have no choice.

But you do...Why don't YOU relocate?

Munky Badger.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Just want to ask one small favor;  Would somebody come and take the word off of my shoulders, just for a little while?

I have determined that I chose the wrong career.  Right nwo, I think I should have gone into the hammock testing business.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Minor complaint:
I have never eaten cheescake, from any store, or from any restaurant, even cheesecake vendors in Pike's Place Market, that domes anywhere close in texture in flavor, as the quality that I can make at home.  I've also had some phenominal cheesecake from other homes, homemade of course.  Oh, let me state, my late brother in law used to work for a place called - The Cheesecake Factory, out of Beverly Hills, Ca.  Their nNew Yourk Cheesecake, with sweetened sour cream topping was absolutely amazing.  It was the cheesecake that inspired me to learn how to make a great cheesecake.  But that is the only purchased cheesecake I've ever tasted that was truly excellent, and for what you pay for cheesecake, it should always be excellent.

That's all I have to say about that.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Chef Munky said:


> I have a suggestion for you Addie. MOVE!
> 
> We all know how much disdain you have for the police. You've made comments in the past that were so off the wall and inaccurate. I could have spent all day just sitting here poking holes in your comment. You are absolutely clueless as to what their jobs are truly like.You seem to think that they do it for the over time pay. Honey, the over time checks are taxed. Not only that. Over time in a lot of cases are forced. They have no choice but to do it. Or lose their jobs! That's not something you have to worry about. You just made a reference "Our cops" Stop gathering all of them into one basket. I guess you don't know that when they appear in court they are targets? That is one of the most dangerous places for them to be in.
> 
> As for your comments: "The North Shore is not much better. We have all the folks from NH coming  to work in Mass. I do wish they would find work in their own state."
> I DO wish you could get it through your head, people commuting to and from work most likely aren't doing it for kicks,just to annoy you sweet Addie. They most likely have families to support.They to have no choice.
> 
> But you do...Why don't YOU relocate?
> 
> Munky Badger.



+1. Addie has to be one of the least empathetic people I have ever known. It's unlikely she'll move, though, since she's supported by the government. She'll just keep on knocking the government employees who keep her alive, fed and sheltered.


----------



## Dawgluver

My bottom drawer freezer is truly annoying me.  I have many bad words for it, it won't shut up its door alarm.  I can't get the drawer open, despite being about as McGuyver as I can get.  I may need to use a hairdryer or blowtorch.  It will be emptied and defrosted tomorrow if I can get the dang thing open.


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, this takes the cake.  I couldn't get the freezer drawer open, despite using a hairdryer on it.  Asked DH to open it when he got home.  I needed my frozen jalapenos for salsa.

Bad word bad word bad word.  The whole freezer door broke and came off!!  More bad words.

I guess I'll haul out the duct tape.  More bad words.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Oh man, Dawg, that's awful.  Looks like you need to have a marathon cooking session.


----------



## taxlady

Well that's a major bummer Dawg. Gonna get it repaired or replaced?


----------



## roadfix

Yep, what a bummer.   I can almost hear those three swear words....


----------



## Dawgluver

Called the store we bought the fridge from, the repair people won't be open until Monday.  We unloaded all the freezer stuff into coolers.

Thinking I may get rid of this piece of crap.  I'm probably going back to my side-by-side.  Heck with the bottom drawer monstrosity.

Thankfully, our neighbor has an empty freezer in his basement.  He's out of town, but graciously is allowing us to use it.  I turned it on, and am letting it cool.  I have his garage door code.  DH and I dragged two heavy coolers over and plunked them down his basement.  Many more bad words.  We'll head back later to unload when the freezer gets to temp.


----------



## Dawgluver

roadfix said:


> Yep, what a bummer.   I can almost hear those three swear words....




You know me all too well, roadfix.


----------



## dragnlaw

Gads Dawg.  That's not only frustrating, aggravating and a miserable steam building blood pressure %&*()*.  I'd have blown it!  

Keep us posted as to what exactly happened to the drawer.  It sounds like a rare thing but it might help someone else somewhere along the line.  

My vent at the moment is having pneumonia while my daughter is visiting. Curtailing any excursions we were going to do.  
She stayed with me last year for a couple of month when I had my rotator cuff op.  We thought we would have more fun this year without the nurse and patient aspect.   HA!!


----------



## Dawgluver

How disappointing, dragn.  Sure hope you can kick it, and you girls can go have some fun!

My assessment is the ice maker kept leaking into the freezer, causing an ice buildup and making the door stick.  When we were emptying it, we pulled out several pounds of ice.  Pulling on the drawer door broke it off.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

This wouldn't happen to be an LG refrigerator with french doors, and a bottom freezer door.  If so, I have one too, but haven't yet hooked up the auto ice maker.  Just freezing ice trays and storing the ice in the appr0priate bin.  Had to do maintenance once as I occasionally drip water onto the top sliding tray when filling the ice trays.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Mine's a Maytag.  Soon to be an ex-Maytag.  French doors, bottom freezer.  Bought it in 2010, and it's no longer under warranty.

We have size restrictions, as there's an overhead cabinet in a built-in space.  I'd have to remove the whole cupboard in order to fit a bigger fridge in the space, and I'd already cut off 3 inches from the bottom of the cabinet.

Now I'm needing recs for good replacement fridges.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> Now I'm needing recs for good replacement fridges.



Take a look at K'girl's thread on that last year. 

You won't want a rec from me, since I have the same make and model you do  although we purchased ours in 2007. We've never had any problems with it.


----------



## Andy M.

I'm in the process of changing ISPs. Every time I've changed in the past (or the ISP has changed its own name) I've had to send out emails to all my contacts notifying them of the change and log into all the sites SO and I are registered at to change our emails there.  I finally got smart and signed up for Gmail accounts to maintain some continuity in the future.

My beef is this.  Why is it that commercial and entertainment sites allow you to change your email address then don't have the processes in place to make that transition a smooth one?  There are several sites where I couldn't effectively make a change so I logged in with new credentials. One site has me locked out and will not respond to my tech support emails asking them for help.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I'm in the process of changing ISPs. Every time I've changed in the past (or the ISP has changed its own name) I've had to send out emails to all my contacts notifying them of the change and log into all the sites SO and I are registered at to change our emails there.  I finally got smart and signed up for Gmail accounts to maintain some continuity in the future.
> 
> My beef is this.  Why is it that commercial and entertainment sites allow you to change your email address then don't have the processes in place to make that transition a smooth one?  There are several sites where I couldn't effectively make a change so I logged in with new credentials. One site has me locked out and will not respond to my tech support emails asking them for help.


Because they don't seem to give a rat's arse about standards. It should be simple. People have been changing email addresses practically since the beginning of the internet.

Reminds me of one of my pet peeves. There is a standard that when you sign up for something where you will receive email, they are supposed to send an email to that email address to verify that you gave the correct email address. Simple, they put a link and you click it or copy it into your browser or sometimes it's reply to the email. Other people sign up for stuff with my email address all. the. time. Most of the places don't verify the email address. There are two that I get nearly daily updates of someone else's stuff. I phoned. They won't take me off their email list because I don't have the password for the service I didn't sign up for.


----------



## dragnlaw

Taxy, you could possibly just tag those emails as Junk and they would automatically start going there.


----------



## dragnlaw

Dawglover, I wouldn't call a broken fridge where you 'HAVE TO' buy a new one, a "petty" vent!   I would call it a major one! 

What is the cost of repairing the drawer?  Perhaps you should go with that and just turn off the tap to the ice maker.  I had one in a new fridge but we finally disconnected it. The water supply was yechy, not so much for the ice maker but for the water spout tap thingy in the door.  The filter had to be constantly changed it. Made the water smell bad and I was afraid it would affect the ice as well.   Never missed it.  Just filled our trays the old fashioned way. 

So you perhaps have a choice, repair costs and no ice maker.  Or cost of shopping and chance of needing reno's to the cupboard again.  Just sayin'


----------



## CakePoet

ARGH! Ugh! And I have  frying pan to my face please?  I just got banned from a forum for suggesting  a person to  go to ER.  It was out of line, since that wasnt what the person asked for.. hehum,  bleeding and pussy wounds do need medical attention, not  hot water and bicard .

*sigh*

I will just  add this up to the list of weird reason I been banned,   I am not sure it trumps  not liking American beers or having ketchup on sausage ( normal in Sweden by the way).


----------



## CharlieD

Cooking Goddess said:


> Fingers crossed that your "sick" is all gone while the weather is still nice.




Thank you. Certainly hope so here. I get this cough if I catch a cold in the winter and then nothing helps. I cough whole winter. Nothing helps. Doctor thinks that I am allergic to cold. I asked him to write prescription: "Move to Florida " and insist insurance pay for it. But it is yet to happen. 
The older I get the harder it is to deal with cold weather. And I was born and raised in cold weather. Go figure. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## dragnlaw

Cakepoet,
If it's a forum you really enjoy, perhaps you could appeal to the admin.  It obviously sounds like it was the OP who filed a complaint.  

Some people just can't take helpful suggestions of other methods, especially fi it is only confirmation and sanctification (think I just made up a new word?) to what they are already doing.  They were certainly not looking for perceived negative thoughts.

No harm in hot water and Bicarb, but just be prepared to head for the ER if or when it doesn/t work.


----------



## CakePoet

dragnlaw: The puss is green and the wound is about 2 inches across according to the person and hasnt stopped bleeding since the boil broke two days ago. To me that isnt  bicard and water time, that is ER.

Well I  will wait for Monday morning and see what happens  because now they banned  their only  OP for the  food board.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> Mine's a Maytag.  Soon to be an ex-Maytag.  French doors, bottom freezer.  Bought it in 2010, and it's no longer under warranty.
> 
> We have size restrictions, as there's an overhead cabinet in a built-in space.  I'd have to remove the whole cupboard in order to fit a bigger fridge in the space, and I'd already cut off 3 inches from the bottom of the cabinet.
> 
> Now I'm needing recs for good replacement fridges.



I too have size restrictions and had to remove a built in, overhead cupboard.  But the fridge is working well, and I found a place to relocate the cupboard.  I hope you find a fridge that will work well for you.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Taxy, you could possibly just tag those emails as Junk and they would automatically start going there.


Well, yeah, I do that. Then I have more stuff to look through when I check for the good stuff that sometimes accidentally goes to the spam folder.

Besides, it shouldn't be my job to deal with it. There are standards on the internet about this sort of thing. I think verifying email addresses was one of the things mandated in the US anti-spam legislation.


----------



## medtran49

taxlady said:


> Well, yeah, I do that. Then I have more stuff to look through when I check for the good stuff that sometimes accidentally goes to the spam folder.
> 
> Besides, it shouldn't be my job to deal with it. There are standards on the internet about this sort of thing. I think verifying email addresses was one of the things mandated in the US anti-spam legislation.


 
They don't have an unsubscribe link down at the bottom?  Sometimes they hide them in tiny print or light colors you can barely see.  I've never had to use a password when I use the unsubscribe feature.  There is a doctor that keeps using my e-mail addy to sign up for continuing education, job offerings, etc.  It stopped for a while after I did some sleuthing and process of elimination based on the types of e-mails I was getting and blast (literally and figuratively) e-mailed 3 docs about using other people's e-mails, but I've noticed it's starting to creep back again occasionally. 

Oh, just remembered, I did have 1 I couldn't get unsubscribed from.  I looked up the company, got the VP of something'd addy and e-mailed him.  Told him I wasn't the one that signed up for his company's e-mail  and that I was going to report his company as a spammer to my ISP if he didn't get me removed PROMPTLY.  Got a reply back from him that he would see it was taken care of and they stopped.  So, you might try that if there's no unsubscribe.


----------



## Kayelle

dragnlaw said:


> Dawglover, I wouldn't call a broken fridge where you 'HAVE TO' buy a new one, a "petty" vent!   I would call it a major one!
> 
> *What is the cost of repairing the drawer?  Perhaps you should go with that and just turn off the tap to the ice maker.  *I had one in a new fridge but we finally disconnected it. The water supply was yechy, not so much for the ice maker but for the water spout tap thingy in the door.  The filter had to be constantly changed it. Made the water smell bad and I was afraid it would affect the ice as well.   Never missed it.  Just filled our trays the old fashioned way.
> 
> *So you perhaps have a choice, repair costs and no ice maker.  Or cost of shopping and chance of needing reno's to the cupboard again.  Just sayin'*



I'd agree with the above, *Dawg*. That's a fairly new, very expensive fridge!

When we got our new fridge, we disconnected and removed the ice maker for several reasons. We found the perfect solution for producing all the ice we could ever want, with a portable ice maker we keep in the garage. We use bottled water for it, and fill an ice container in the freezer drawer for easy access. Check them out..
Best Portable Ice Maker Reviews: A Comprehensive Guide for Buyers


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks guys.  The repair people are supposed to call me Monday.  I'll see what it costs to reattach the freezer door.  They're out of town, and I'm cheap, so if repairs are more than $500, I may dump the Maytag.  We've never liked it that much anyway, it spits ice cubes on the floor (thankfully Beagle's water dish is nearby), and I find the bottom freezer drawer to be a pain.

A separate icemaker is a good idea, Kay.  I usually don't have room in the freezer for trays, and I use the filtered water for the coffee maker.


----------



## Kayelle

I know you'd be very happy with a portable ice machine Dawg, no matter what you decide to do. I love that I have more room for food in my freezer, rather than a machine, and more ice than I need stored there.
Here's my ice container I use, that I fill from the portable machine.


----------



## Souschef

*Ice maker removal*

To remove the ice maker completely. remove the 2 screws holding to the side of the freezer, then unplug it. When we got our new refrigerator, I asked the installer to remove the ice maker. He told me he could not because it was wired in. BS!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Knock on wood, we've never had issues with any automatic ice maker; we've had three different refrigerators with them over the decades. This last one, in the LG, doesn't interact with the freezer drawer at all. Instead, it has a small unit installed in one of the refrigerator doors, where the dispenser for water/ice is located. All I lost was a bit of depth space to the in-door bins. Still, they're big enough to accommodate jelly jars and such. That ice maker set-up is a big reason why we bought the LG...which ended up with its own set of issues. *sigh*

*******************************

I'd been battling a persistent headache the last few days. Nothing serious, just an annoyance. Still, never felt like doing anything or even playing in my online playgrounds. Thankfully, today has been headache free from the start.  I think it's been too much excitement with the playoff baseball games.


----------



## GotGarlic

Glad you're feeling better, CG. I had an almost constant headache a couple weeks ago when I had that cold. I know how miserable it is. Makes it hard to do anything. Take care.


----------



## CakePoet

Why do people think they will be masterchefs with out knowing the basic??  
I been trying to help some one learn how to cook, well the person doesnt want to know the basic  but  just jump into hard things, things that even I after 37 years of cooking have problem with and my friend the chef says  is not for beginners.
And now  the person is going around saying I am bad teacher..  *sigh*  I honestly want to give up..

Oh well nothing  a little whisky and dark chocolate cant cure... or should I go for the German plum brandy?


----------



## Andy M.

CakePoet said:


> Why do people think they will be masterchefs with out knowing the basic??
> I been trying to help some one learn how to cook, well the person doesnt want to know the basic  but  just jump into hard things, things that even I after 37 years of cooking have problem with and my friend the chef says  is not for beginners.
> And now  the person is going around saying I am bad teacher..  *sigh*  I honestly want to give up..
> 
> Oh well nothing  a little whisky and dark chocolate cant cure... or should I go for the German plum brandy?



Your experience reminds me of my grandson.  He expects that when he does something the first time it will be perfect and just as he envisioned it.  I keep trying to get him to accept that you have to learn the method then PRACTICE.  But he's not quite ten years old yet so he will learn.  There's no excuse for adults. Many people don't want to put in the work to develop a skill.


----------



## Dawgluver

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks guys.  The repair people are supposed to call me Monday.  I'll see what it costs to reattach the freezer door.  They're out of town, and I'm cheap, so if repairs are more than $500, I may dump the Maytag.  We've never liked it that much anyway, it spits ice cubes on the floor (thankfully Beagle's water dish is nearby), and I find the bottom freezer drawer to be a pain.
> 
> A separate icemaker is a good idea, Kay.  I usually don't have room in the freezer for trays, and I use the filtered water for the coffee maker.




Drat.  The repair guy just called, a replacement freezer door is $527.  Guess I'll be going shopping.


----------



## CakePoet

Andy M. said:


> Your experience reminds me of my grandson.  He expects that when he does something the first time it will be perfect and just as he envisioned it.  I keep trying to get him to accept that you have to learn the method then PRACTICE.  But he's not quite ten years old yet so he will learn.  There's no excuse for adults. Many people don't want to put in the work to develop a skill.



I have a four year old who has figured out she has to practice to make perfect. 
It is annoying when it comes to adult, some seam to think since they have lived with a chef once, that they can also cook the same way even though they never tried to even boil water before.

It is just annoying.  

Oh and I had plum and dark chocolate and some cherry icecream.  


If anyone one wondered what happened to banned and the person who should gone to ER. Well I am still banned and some one drove the person to ER and the person is in hospital for sepsis, Swedish health care is very affordable, an ER visit is like 10- 30 dollar.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh geez, CP, sepsis is nothing to mess with.  You gave good advice.

So sorry your "student" is so ignorant.  Life is too short to waste it on unappreciative people.


----------



## roadfix

CakePoet said:


> Why do people think they will be masterchefs with out knowing the basic??
> I been trying to help some one learn how to cook, well the person doesnt want to know the basic  but  just jump into hard things, things that even I after 37 years of cooking have problem with and my friend the chef says  is not for beginners.
> And now  the person is going around saying I am bad teacher..  *sigh*  I honestly want to give up..
> 
> Oh well nothing  a little whisky and dark chocolate cant cure... or should I go for the German plum brandy?



That's like people who want to learn to play the piano or guitar but do not want to waste time learning to read music.


----------



## CakePoet

I know one person who cannot read music at all, but  play a tune and she can repeat it perfectly and she can learn new instrument in a week or two but testing her self and listen to others and her voice is like an angel.  Sadly this all she can do, she has Savant syndrome and cant speak. 

But I do understand that too, I been among a lot of musicians and wannabes and sometimes  you just want carve off your ears with a dull guitar string.


----------



## roadfix

But of course, on the other hand, there are a few famous musicians, namely guitarists, who can't read music.    
So perhaps, maybe, one can teach someone with no basic cooking knowledge, but someone with basic skills who can follow instructions to the T to prepare an exquisite dish......almost like programming a robot to create a complicated dish.


----------



## Andy M.

Setting the exceptions aside for the moment, before you can make music, you have to be able to play the instrument.  Which keys, valves or strings make which sounds, how to change those sounds with technique and how to put that all together.  

If you can hear a tune and replicate it without reading music or create original music, great.  That's exceptional and not the norm.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> Setting the exceptions aside for the moment, before you can make music, you have to be able to play the instrument.  Which keys, valves or strings make which sounds, how to change those sounds with technique and how to put that all together.



Yes, of course.    With basic guitar handling skills, for instance, you can go to the internet and follow tabs to play entire songs.   No traditional music reading skill required.


----------



## Andy M.

As this conversation started out being about learning to cook, let's go there.

Learning basic concepts for sautéing, braising, baking, etc are important to turning out consistently great results.  Learning to use your tools properly and safely is important for for your fingers and the ease with which you can prepare a meal.


----------



## CakePoet

And the woman I was talking about was more like a human parrot and that felt weird.


And Oh yes when it comes to cooking , you need to learn how to use the tools correctly, how to prep , know the terminology to some degree and not just guess, google is your friend.   
One of the worse students I had, had this idea  since he had a better degree then me, he had therefor better understanding in English, he didnt understand words like  fold and  coat   when came to cooking terms and he refused to admit he was wrong or didnt understand and I gave up on him when it came to food safety, he wouldn't listen at all.

I usually start with something simple, how to make a basic tomato sauce, then a basic white milk sauce and  so one and then show what you can do more.   And yes it comes with whole dinner.  Like pasta and tomato sauce   and  white milk  sauce and fried pork and potatoes  ( something we eat here) and then go for lasagna or what ever.  Every lesson has an advancement in the end of the week.  It not repetitive and boring but some people will go beyond the advanced directly.


----------



## CharlieD

Tomato sauce is far from basic. It takes patience, time know how to use seasoning properly, etc. 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## medtran49

Dawgluver said:


> Drat. The repair guy just called, a replacement freezer door is $527. Guess I'll be going shopping.


 
Not sure how DYI-able you are, but I found a good parts supply store that has always given us good service and excellent prices when we've had to repair something.  Actually, I should say when Craig has had to repair something as he is a very good DYI'er.  Not sure if I can post a link for something like that so PM if you are interested.


----------



## CakePoet

Charlie D, I didnt say an Italian  tomato sauce, I said a basic tomato sauce and  all you need for a basic tomato sauce according to a few of the 300 + cookbooks I have is   tinned tomatoes ( yes fresh tomatoes is only summer time special here) , onion, garlic, fresh basil or dried oregano, salt ,  tomato paste, sugar and vinegar. It cooks in 1 hour on low heat. This a  basic sauce that you can build on, it very basic.  It for building on so you can make other dishes or even soup.  So yeah isnt as lovely as Italian one but it do if you are starving.


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> Well, yeah, I do that. Then I have more stuff to look through when I check for the good stuff that sometimes accidentally goes to the spam folder.
> 
> Besides, it shouldn't be my job to deal with it. There are standards on the internet about this sort of thing. I think verifying email addresses was one of the things mandated in the US anti-spam legislation.



I agree, should not be your job.  E-mail them, tell them you've lost your password - when they send you a temporary one, change it and then "unsubscribe".


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> I agree, should not be your job.  E-mail them, tell them you've lost your password - when they send you a temporary one, change it and then "unsubscribe".


I seem to remember having told the thing that asks for the password that I had forgotten my password, but then it asked some sort of question, like mother's maiden name or account #.


----------



## Dawgluver

medtran49 said:


> Not sure how DYI-able you are, but I found a good parts supply store that has always given us good service and excellent prices when we've had to repair something.  Actually, I should say when Craig has had to repair something as he is a very good DYI'er.  Not sure if I can post a link for something like that so PM if you are interested.




Thanks, Med.  I'm a big DIYer, the McGuyver of our house, and will continue to monkey around with the dang door.  I inspected it further, and the whole plastic interior is cracked around each of the four places where it was attached.  Not sure it's salvageable, but I have duct tape and some good drills.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks, Med.  I'm a big DIYer, the McGuyver of our house, and will continue to monkey around with the dang door.  I inspected it further, and the whole plastic interior is cracked around each of the four places where it was attached.  Not sure it's salvageable, but I have duct tape and some good drills.


I would have thought fibre glass tape and epoxy.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I would have thought fibre glass tape and epoxy.




DH has the patience of a gnat, and the door's too heavy to hold by myself.  Fibre glass tape is a very good idea though.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> DH has the patience of a gnat, and the door's too heavy to hold by myself.  Fibre glass tape is a very good idea though.


I guess you need a way to hold up the door while epoxy cures. Maybe the duct tape would be good enough for that. Might have to do it in two rounds, so you can fibre glass & epoxy in some places and then go back and do the places that had duct tape.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dawgluver said:


> DH has the patience of a gnat, and the door's too heavy to hold by myself.  Fibre glass tape is a very good idea though.



Though epoxy is a great glue for many purposes, depending on the plastic your pull-out drawer is made from, the cement used py plumbers to join PFC pipes may work better.  The solvents in that glue partially dissove the plastic into a semi-liquid state.  The to pieces of plastic are chemically welded together when the solvents have completely evaporated, creating a nearly unbreakable bond that should be stronger than the original unbroken plastic.  Again though, it depends on the plastic used.  The glue works with polystyrene, and PVC for sure, and probably other plastics, as they are all similar in a carbon-based molecular structure.  The glue is inexpensive, and you can test on a small area.  There are two parts, a cleaner, and the adhesive.

Good luck, and if you use the stuff, keep windows open for ventillation.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Dawgluver

Great advice, Chief.  DH is very impatient.  Guess I'll be going on a road trip.  We don't have a good appliance store in our little town, we used to have a Sears and a Penneys, but no longer.


----------



## JoAnn L.

I had shingles in the month of July, thank goodness they only lasted about a month. I had read that they can stay with you for a year. Well, this week I have been getting a few on the back of my hair line and on and in my ear again. I am happy to say that it seems to be a mild case this time and very little pain. Can't wait for them to be gone again.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh dear.  Shingles are awful.  Had them.

I need to get the vaccine, but they won't cover it here until you're 60+.


----------



## CakePoet

I love you all here and you all sweet.   And this not against any of you at all but here it goes anyway.

I have a group of American friends, they all over the place, I got to know them through food.  BUT I am ready to strangle them all, it is  to the  point of  over barely PC, you are not allowed to  offended any one unless they none Americans or  Muslims.

If they dont understand something, they will either see it as threat to their American way  or perversion or rude.  They refuse to google or realize there is more to history then they where taught in School.

I have now been scolded by 5 of these for being a pervert and all I did was  a reference  to the Picts / na Cruithnich.  Oh and they are also made up , they where never real... *SIGH*

Thank God you all exist , at least you have brains and no how to use them!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Brains?  Brraaaiiins....(insert favorite Zombie joke here)

We are glad to be here for you CakePoet!


----------



## CakePoet

Today qoute> If it isnt  in the bible it hasnt happened...

And this was not a joke, so this means WWI or WWII has ever happened, nor USA.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

CakePoet said:


> I love you all here and you all sweet.   And this not against any of you at all but here it goes anyway.
> 
> I have a group of American friends, they all over the place, I got to know them through food.  BUT I am ready to strangle them all, it is  to the  point of  over barely PC, you are not allowed to  offended any one unless they none Americans or  Muslims.
> 
> If they dont understand something, they will either see it as threat to their American way  or perversion or rude.  They refuse to google or realize there is more to history then they where taught in School.
> 
> I have now been scolded by 5 of these for being a pervert and all I did was  a reference  to the Picts / na Cruithnich.  Oh and they are also made up , they where never real... *SIGH*
> 
> Thank God you all exist , at least you have brains and no how to use them!



I have been many places in the world and have found very good people in every country/nation I have visited, who were warm and friendly, and treated me like a true friend.  I have also seen the bad in every country/nation I have visited, and known enough to stay away from them.  The U.S. si the same.  Some of us are great people, who would give their right arm to help someone, or make them feel welcome, no matter the religion, race, or nationality.  And others, well they look to blame anyone not in their tight little circle of causing all the wrongs of the world, or maybe even they want to cause the wrongs in the world.  Fortunately, almost everywhere, the good are in far greater numbers than the bad.

I'm sorry you got flamed on other boards by people who use ignorance as a crutch to behave badly.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

CakePoet, I think I will not be the first to suggest that this group is not a group you should stay with...   

If I were you I would just bow out - don't even say good-bye. Less said, better off you are. Do not be drawn into their world. 

They are scary people who would probably like to convert you.  don't even try to understand or conjole them into understanding your way - you will not win.

Cooking talk or not - just leave...  I'm sure as interesting as some of their threads on cooking may be, the slightest deviation could be a catalist...  just saying.


----------



## CakePoet

Well most av them are voting for  Trump and I am leaving, this isnt the close knit group we used to be.  We got really close after we lost a friend  after 9/11. 

So yes, I am leaving, I am staying with you lot, you are much nicer, it just hard to say good bye when we been through so much. But I also  having a hard time  ignoring being called social communist and that my state run daycares is feeding kids  propaganda  ( like learning colours are propaganda).

And I know there are good and bad people of all countries, trust me, I worked with music here in Sweden and you get to see it all then.  But sadly it always they bad  who sticks out.

And the fun part is I just realize I own the forum that the  idiots are on...


----------



## CharlieD

CakePoet said:


> Well most av them are voting for  Trump and I am leaving, this isnt the close knit group we used to be.  We got really close after we lost a friend  after 9/11.
> 
> So yes, I am leaving, I am staying with you lot, you are much nicer, it just hard to say good bye when we been through so much. But I also  having a hard time  ignoring being called social communist and that my state run daycares is feeding kids  propaganda  ( like learning colours are propaganda).
> 
> And I know there are good and bad people of all countries, trust me, I worked with music here in Sweden and you get to see it all then.  But sadly it always they bad  who sticks out.
> 
> And the fun part is I just realize I own the forum that the  idiots are on...



I know nothing about you, or your friends, or what your day cares are feeding to your children, neither do ii care. You are entitled to your beliefs and your opinion. However your statement about "most av them are voting for  Trump " shows that you are not as liberal and as opened minded as you would like to present yourself to be.
Chief said it best. There good and bad people everywhere. However i would not judge anybody's goodness by their voting choice. Never mind if I agree or disagree with that choice.


----------



## CakePoet

No I am not liberal, I am a social communist!


----------



## CharlieD

I could not care less. English is not my first language, maybe I miss used word "liberal" .


----------



## taxlady

CakePoet said:


> No I am not liberal, I am a social communist!


----------



## roadfix

Our family and friends are divided but we usually keep politics out when we socialize so it's never been an issue, even with the current turmoil.   Besides, I have thick skin so nothing bothers me.  I'm good!


----------



## Kayelle

CP, the fact is nobody knows anything about the board you're talking about and all of this is only your side of the story anyway. Why bring up those problems here? None of us know those people or the problems of that mysterious board. 
If you actually own the board as you claim, just shut it down and be done with it. JMO


----------



## CakePoet

Sorry,  I didnt know we where only allowed to went about things that happeneds here, not our life. I wont make this mistake again.


----------



## GotGarlic

CakePoet said:


> Sorry,  I didnt know we where only allowed to went about things that happeneds here, not our life. I wont make this mistake again.



No, of course it's about things that happen in your life. There are a lot of elements to this that we don't understand, though, like what your reference to Picts / na Cruithnich means. And your exchange with Charlie is hard to follow.


----------



## roadfix

I belong to a cycling forum and also to a cigar forum where they allow politics and religion.   I sometimes lurk in those sub-forums and it is down right nasty and brutal in there.


----------



## Dawgluver

To me, it's very refreshing that DC doesn't allow talk of politics or religion.  It's hard, at times, to look at Facebook with all the "stuff" going on there.


----------



## Kayelle

CakePoet said:


> Sorry,  I didnt know we where only allowed to went about things that happeneds here, not our life. I wont make this mistake again.



You made no mistake CP. You are free to vent however you wish..vent away but you must understand, nobody here knows what you're talking about.


----------



## Dawgluver

No worries, CP.  Please feel free to vent away.  As most of us here are from North America, an explanation may be needed, as we may not be familiar with some of the European/Swedish terms.  No offense intended.  I for one find you and your sense of humor delightful!


----------



## taxlady

CakePoet said:


> ...
> I have now been scolded by 5 of these for being a pervert and all I did was  a reference  to the Picts / na Cruithnich.  Oh and they are also made up , they where never real... *SIGH*
> 
> Thank God you all exist , at least you have brains and no how to use them!


They never heard of Picts? Well, I hadn't heard of na Cruithnich, which I assumed was another name for Picts. I Googled and it's Scots Gaelic for Picts. There is far too much written history and archaeological evidence for their existence for you to have made them up.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> To me, it's very refreshing that DC doesn't allow talk of politics or religion.  It's hard, at times, to look at Facebook with all the "stuff" going on there.


+1, Dawg. Except for the funny memes that poke fun at both/either candidate. Those I look at. 

Meanwhile, allow me to lobby for my choice:


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh yeah, CG!


----------



## GotGarlic

Hic!


----------



## Dawgluver

I would also vote for your candidate, GG.


----------



## dragnlaw

Well, my mother was American.  She was born in Detroit on July 4th, how patriotic can you get.  Does that qualify me to vote  with CG and GG?


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> Well, my mother was American.  She was born in Detroit on July 4th, how patriotic can you get.  Does that qualify me to vote  with CG and GG?



It counts for her, but not for you. Sorry, sweetie!


----------



## GotGarlic

A friend just posted this on Fb.


----------



## roadfix

Dawgluver said:


> To me, it's very refreshing that DC doesn't allow talk of politics or religion.



I agree. 

Now, OTOH, if DC had a P&R sub-forum it's one's choice to go in there or not.  But, I can also see potential problems where members can discover fellow members' political or religious views and might stop interacting with those members all together on DC, creating friction outside of the P&R board.


----------



## LPBeier

A young man who I have known for what seems like forever got married today in Toronto. Since I am not able to travel much, the five hour flight was out for us. However, one way we know him is he was part of the tech team TB and I headed up at the church. So, of course he would have a live stream of the wedding for all those who couldn't make it. The wedding was almost an hour and a half late and the feed was not a good one so the two hours stopped exactly as the pastor was finally about to get to the vows...

They will have a video of the whole thing, but the point was we could watch it (close to) live!

We will be attending a reception held here on the west coast in a few months before they go back to Laos where they met at a flying school.

And the best thing is I don't have to make cake! My young protege will be doing the honours.


----------



## medtran49

Since we moved the old house account keeps showing as the "main" account for Comcast.  No way to get rid of it myself.  Finally got tired of it and went to chat with Comcast.  Two people and 30 minutes later finally got rid of the account that is closed and will never be used again.  30 minutes......


----------



## taxlady

medtran49 said:


> Since we moved the old house account keeps showing as the "main" account for Comcast.  No way to get rid of it myself.  Finally got tired of it and went to chat with Comcast.  Two people and 30 minutes later finally got rid of the account that is closed and will never be used again.  30 minutes......


Crikey!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> To me, it's very refreshing that DC doesn't allow talk of politics or religion.  It's hard, at times, to look at Facebook with all the "stuff" going on there.



It is because of those two rules that makes this forum pleasant.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

medtran49 said:


> Since we moved the old house account keeps showing as the "main" account for Comcast. No way to get rid of it myself. Finally got tired of it and went to chat with Comcast. Two people and 30 minutes later finally got rid of the account that is closed and will never be used again. 30 minutes......


 
I'm having the same problem with our gas bill...I lived at the old address for a month...been in the current one for over a year.


----------



## Addie

When I left my old address in Everett, I notified gas and light company of the date of the move. Six months later and after numerous phone calls to both utilities, I finally took the old landlord to court. What he had done was call the utilities the day I moved and told them I had changed my mind and would continue to live there. It seems he had a new tenant ready to move in, but couldn't show the apartment until night time. He certainly didn't want to show it with a flashlight. 

I won the court case for all the back bills times three. In this state you can sue for three times the amount of damages. And I did!


----------



## Caslon

My monthly USAA credit card statement was crazy to figure out when USAA recently decided to switch from Master Card to Visa.  I got two confusing statements the next month of charges and credits and gobbligook (as they made the switch) that strained my mind to try and decipher. I suppose and trust that it all evened out. I'll never know because it was confusing gobbligook to figure out. I called them about it, but within about a minute, they were talking confident sounding gobbligook to me.


----------



## roadfix

I'm happy for the Dodgers and am a fan but I'm not looking forward to the heavy traffic heading home from work the next three nights of the championship series with the Cubs.   I live less than a mile from Dodger Stadium and surface street traffic will be horrendous despite many residential streets with traffic cops restricting access to residents only.   It's not a problem during regular season games.
Go Dodgers!


----------



## Cheryl J

Ugh....be safe, RF.  

I don't think I could handle that, I'm so used to living in an isolated little town where there's no traffic and it takes 5 minutes to get from one end of town to the other.  Go Dodgers!


----------



## roadfix

Cheryl J said:


> Ugh....be safe, RF.
> 
> I don't think I could handle that, I'm so used to living in an isolated little town where there's no traffic and it takes 5 minutes to get from one end of town to the other.  Go Dodgers!



Thanks.   The last time we had this much traffic around here was back in 1988 during the World Series, and a couple of big name rock concerts.   It took me over 2 hours to get home from work, and we're only talking 5 miles.

Otherwise, I live on a very quiet, secluded hill top street where there's virtually no traffic at all.   The problem is all the roads below us can get jammed.


----------



## Dawgluver

roadfix said:


> Thanks.   The last time we had this much traffic around here was back in 1988 during the World Series, and a couple of big name rock concerts.   It took me 2 hours to get home from work, and we're only talking 5 miles.
> 
> 
> 
> Otherwise, I live on a very quiet, secluded hill top street where there's virtually no traffic at all.   The problem is all the roads below us can get jammed.




This reminds me of when we went to an out of town Rolling Stones concert years ago with friends.  We looked at the line to get out, and then DH took a detour right through a park.  We went around all the playground equipment and didn't hit anything.  We beat the line, but it probably wasn't legal.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Probably???  Himself said that you should be glad DH wasn't stopped.

*roadfix*, First World Problems. Be glad your team is still playing. I know I am.

Oh, yeah, and Go Tribe!


----------



## roadfix

Dawgluver said:


> This reminds me of when we went to an out of town Rolling Stones concert years ago with friends.  We looked at the line to get out, and then DH took a detour right through a park.  We went around all the playground equipment and didn't hit anything.  We beat the line, but it probably wasn't legal.



That's funny.    
In fact, one huge traffic mess here was created during the Rolling Stones concert for 2 evenings, I think a couple or three years ago.

The few fans who know the area pretty well will sometimes park on our street (also known as lovers' lane) and will walk across the park and down to the stadium.    That also saves them $20 in parking fees....


----------



## dragnlaw

roadfix, any place you can safely park your car "down below" - would probably be faster for you to walk home!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I'm currently guarding my domain - The Kitchen. Himself got the idea to mix his batch of "play-dough" *now*; he needs it for an astronomy program he will be presenting to about 30-35 6th graders Thursday morning.  Meanwhile, I have to be up, dressed, and semi-functional before noon - the garage door service guy (who came at 11:45 AM for a 1-1:30 PM slot on Monday - I was "indisposed") will be showing up "anytime after noon". My mind tells me I need to be presentable by 11:00 AM.

Love the guy, but I'm going to kill him tonight...

Think I'll shower while he's playing Romper Room.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm currently guarding my domain - The Kitchen. Himself got the idea to mix his batch of "play-dough" *now*; he needs it for an astronomy program he will be presenting to about 30-35 6th graders Thursday morning.  Meanwhile, I have to be up, dressed, and semi-functional before noon - the garage door service guy (who came at 11:45 AM for a 1-1:30 PM slot on Monday - I was "indisposed") will be showing up "anytime after noon". My mind tells me I need to be presentable by 11:00 AM.
> 
> Love the guy, but I'm going to kill him tonight...
> 
> Think I'll shower while he's playing Romper Room.



CG, a number of years ago I worked for an overhead door service. One day I got a call from an elderly man that broke down in tears while talking to me. From what I could make out, he had lost his wife of many years, just a few days earlier. It seems that his door was squeaking when it went up and down. So when he was able to stop crying I told him to have one of his neighbors call me. 

A hour later his neighbor did call and I told her to tell one of her sons or husband what to do. Get a can of 40 weight auto oil and run it down the tracks. "Oh, I can do that for him. We have some right now in our garage." She called me back a couple of hours later to tell me problem had been solved. Otherwise, it would have cost the old man $65.00 plus for the oil. 

My heart broke for that old man. I just let him cry his eyes dry.


----------



## roadfix

dragnlaw said:


> roadfix, any place you can safely park your car "down below" - would probably be faster for you to walk home!


I can just as easily put on my spandex and cycle to work like I've done in the past many times...


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I can just as easily put on my spandex and cycle to work like I've done in the past many times...


Five miles isn't that long a bike ride. Sounds like a good idea.



You know the dirty old ladies in the forum want pix.


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> Five miles isn't that long a bike ride. Sounds like a good idea.
> 
> 
> 
> You know the dirty old ladies in the forum want pix.



Well, the ride coming home is grueling as it is mostly all up hill.


Here's one photo from one of our "Beer Ride"....You can clearly see what beer does to some of us...   I'm one of them.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Well, the ride coming home is grueling as it is mostly all up hill.
> 
> 
> Here's one photo from one of our "Beer Ride"....You can clearly see what beer does to some of us...   I'm one of them.


You're the good looking one, eh? 

Uphill cycling, not my favourite.


----------



## dragnlaw

That was my litany... 
Change gear...  change gear...  change gear...  change gear...  change gear...  

ahhh poop,,,,  get off and walk!  but that was actually harder to do!  Go figure!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ...Get a can of 40 weight auto oil and run it down the tracks...


*Addie*, Himself maintains our household equipment. This ain't no "WD-40" job. He's done all he can do, but he will not touch tightening the springs. Doesn't have the tools, and likes living. It's the one part of garage door maintenance that needs a pro.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Addie*, Himself maintains our household equipment. This ain't no "WD-40" job. He's done all he can do, but he will not touch tightening the springs. Doesn't have the tools, and likes living. It's the one part of garage door maintenance that needs a pro.



CG, did you read the whole post? I stated that his complaint was that it made a sqeaky noise when it when up and down. And I stated that he needed 40 weight *auto oil.* Not WD-40. I am well aware of how dangerous the springs can be. I never stated that he had a spring problem. When I was in the office alone, customers often came in to get springs. They all are colored. White, blue, green and finally red, according to size. Those springs are only for single car doors. Anything above those colors, I would not sell, for the very reason you stated. It needs a pro. It needs specials tools. This company services all the doors at the produce center and Logan Airport along with other companies that have extremely large overhead doors. Those doors require two men to work on them. 

BTW, I don't ever recall seeing a can of WD-40 in or on the premises of that company. I know the differences between the two. But they do have a 100 gallon drum of auto oil for the sole purpose of oiling the tracks.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> CG, did you read the whole post? I stated that his complaint was that it made a sqeaky noise when it when up and down. And I stated that he needed 40 weight *auto oil.* Not WD-40. I am well aware of how dangerous the springs can be. I never stated that he had a spring problem...



So in other words, your post wasn't relevant to CG's comment. Right?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> CG, did you read the whole post?...


Of course I read the entire post, *Addie*.  Twice. I was trying to figure out what your crying customer and squeaking door had to do with my post about Himself messing up my kitchen and needing to be up early.   I always read full posts AND all of the posts within a thread I'm participating in.

Himself was surprised that you would tell that man to use auto oil since it would drip when the weather got around 50 degrees. We've owned a home for 39 years this week  and he has always used WD-40 white lithium grease. He's a smart guy and knows what he can do and what he can't, and what tools to use for the jobs he can do. I think I'll stick with Himself's ideas.


----------



## Dawgluver

roadfix said:


> Well, the ride coming home is grueling as it is mostly all up hill.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here's one photo from one of our "Beer Ride"....You can clearly see what beer does to some of us...   I'm one of them.




Hm.  I think you're all pretty cute, especially the guy in orange on the end!

We dirty old ladies like our pics!


----------



## Cheryl J

Agreed, Dawg!


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Of course I read the entire post, *Addie*.  Twice. I was trying to figure out what your crying customer and squeaking door had to do with my post about Himself messing up my kitchen and needing to be up early.  I always read full posts AND all of the posts within a thread I'm participating in.
> 
> Himself was surprised that you would tell that man to use auto oil since it would drip when the weather got around 50 degrees. We've owned a home for 39 years this week  and he has always used WD-40 white lithium grease. He's a smart guy and knows what he can do and what he can't, and what tools to use for the jobs he can do. I think I'll stick with Himself's ideas.


 
CG, I was a little confused by Addie's response too, and to be honest I cannot imagine using motor oil. Since there have been garage doors and automatic openers, there have been much better alternatives.  

I've been using '3-In-One' spray for mine, but will check out the lithium grease spray that Himself uses when I eventually run out of what I've got - three full cans still in the garage. LOL.  I think they're both made by WD-40 anywho, and in my mind that company ranks right up there with duct tape.  
https://www.lowes.com/pd/3-IN-ONE-11-oz-3-in-One-Garage-Door-Lubricant/3348342


----------



## Dawgluver

We had the door guy install an automatic door opener for DH's garage door side a couple weeks ago.  He noticed my spring on my side had sprung (it had been sounding funny) and fixed it for me.  Don't think duct tape or WD 40 or any kind of oil would have done much good had I done it myself, and he already had all the equipment.  Nicest guy.


----------



## roadfix

My screw drive (verses chain drive) GDO always starts squeaking when the weathers gets cold.
I usually use what I have on hand at that moment to lubricate and quiet down the long drive shaft.    I've used WD-40 spray, automotive bearing grease, lithium bicycle grease, bicycle chain oil, motor oil, sewing machine oil, and maybe some other types of lubricants over the years and they've all worked, some better than others.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Motorcycle chain oil works great as it is formulated to stick, and work even when dirt is thrown around.

By the way, I'm glad you had the garage door repair guy take a look.  He found an actual problem that needed specialized tools, which most of us just don't have, and don't want to purchase.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the NOrth


----------



## GotGarlic

I don't even have a garage


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> I don't even have a garage




You need to get one.  They're very nice.  I mainly store my barn board, table saw, and mitre saw in mine.  Sometimes we can fit in the cars.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> You're the good looking one, eh?
> 
> Uphill cycling, not my favourite.



You look good in orange and I don't see a beer 6 pack, your buddies on the other hand...


----------



## roadfix

GotGarlic said:


> I don't even have a garage




Well, we sort of have a garage.  We've never been able to park our vehicles in our 2-car garage in the 26 years we've lived in this house because we've had so much stored junk in the garage since the day we moved in.   We park our cars in the drive way.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> ...By the way, I'm glad you had the garage door repair guy take a look.  He found an actual problem that needed specialized tools...


No so much "take a look" as a purposeful appointment. Himself had done all the other maintenance on the door/opener and he knew it needed the springs adjusted/tightened. Himself is a pretty smart guy.  He not only didn't have the right tools, he also didn't have the right skillset. He kinda likes living...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I think of the garage as a self-storage unit I don't have to pay rent on...


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> You need to get one.  They're very nice.  I mainly store my barn board, table saw, and mitre saw in mine.  Sometimes we can fit in the cars.



We do have a shed. I should say, DH has a shed  He's got tools, our tandem bicycle, kayaks, etc. I don't go in it very often ... stuff everywhere.


----------



## Souschef

roadfix said:


> Well, we sort of have a garage.  We've never been able to park our vehicles in our 2-car garage in the 26 years we've lived in this house because we've had so much stored junk in the garage since the day we moved in.   We park our cars in the drive way.
> Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


When we bought our condo, my late wife gave me 30 days to build a workbench and shelves. After that both cars have to fit in the garage. Fortunately, I had a Hyundai


----------



## roadfix

Souschef said:


> When we bought our condo, my late wife gave me 30 days to build a workbench and shelves. After that both cars have to fit in the garage. Fortunately, I had a Hyundai



Well, almost 20 years ago I threw out about half the junk in the garage and made space for and built a large work bench and added wall to wall 24" deep steel shelving.    Junk started to accumulate again and occupy all the shelving and my work bench eventually got buried under even more junk.   So I cant use the work bench anymore.    We have to walk over junk on the garage floor to get to junk on the shelves.     A serious fire hazard,  I keep telling my wife....but she continues to hoard....
Oh, and we also have a large "once used to be" rec room....


----------



## Cooking Goddess

roadfix said:


> Well, we sort of have a garage.  We've never been able to park our vehicles in our 2-car garage in the 26 years we've lived in this house because we've had so much stored junk in the garage since the day we moved in.   We park our cars in the drive way.


I'm guessing you don't have a basement? We've parked our cars in our garage from the day we moved in. Then again, we get snow and we like to keep our cars forever, so we think of garages as safe havens for our vehicles.

You either need to get rid of the junk, or get rid of the wife. Looks like you'll be living with a cluttered garage, eh?


----------



## roadfix

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm guessing you don't have a basement? We've parked our cars in our garage from the day we moved in. Then again, we get snow and we like to keep our cars forever, so we think of garages as safe havens for our vehicles.
> 
> You either need to get rid of the junk, or get rid of the wife. Looks like you'll be living with a cluttered garage, eh?



Yep, we don't have basements out here in the West.

I seriously don't know which will be easier to get rid of, junk or the wife.   But since I've lived with the junk for as long as we've been married I don't see any change happening, besides, they're not affecting my well being or the quality of life....   What's 20 or 30 more years of the same...


----------



## Caslon

Petty vent: Packaged salad bags in supermarkets now. It used to be you could pour the salad into a bowl, add dressing, tasted fresh. Nowadays, if you don't use a salad spinner with bagged lettuce, you get an earthy dirt flavor. Two years ago, salad bag makers rinsed their product a lot more than now.  Water shortage, cost, etc. changed all that. 

Yes yes, I know...rinse ALL salads now to prevent Salmonella. I bought a salad spinner a couple of months ago. I'm too lazy to make my own salad.  My current fave bagged salad is Mainly Romaine.  

Hehe, Romaine lettuce scares me, I've never used it. I've seen it in fancy sandwiches and bagged lettuce.


----------



## Dawgluver

Caslon said:


> Petty vent: Packaged salad bags in supermarkets now. It used to be you could pour the salad into a bowl, add dressing, tasted fresh. Nowadays, if you don't use a salad spinner with bagged lettuce, you get an earthy dirt flavor. Two years ago, salad bag makers rinsed their product a lot more than now.  Water shortage, cost, etc. changed all that.
> 
> Yes yes, I know...rinse ALL salads now to prevent Salmonella. I bought a salad spinner a couple of months ago.




You might even get a free frog!

I spin my bagged salad too.  I prefer my frogs out in the garden.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> Yes yes, I know...rinse ALL salads now to prevent Salmonella. I bought a salad spinner a couple of months ago. I'm too lazy to make my own salad.  My current fave bagged salad is Mainly Romaine.
> 
> Hehe, Romaine lettuce scares me, I've never used it. I've seen it in fancy sandwiches and bagged lettuce.



Rinsing lettuce will not remove microbes, just dirt. 

I just planted romaine in my garden, as well as a few other lettuces. It's delicious. You should give it a try.


----------



## Kayelle

Calson, we use nothing but those bags of three hearts of Romaine for salads you find in the produce dept. It's so easy to remove a few leaves, rinse and shake dry to chop for a mixed glorified salad. Easy Peasy
Those leaves are also great for lettuce wrap "sandwiches".


----------



## Caslon

Kayelle said:


> Calson, we use nothing but those bags of three hearts of Romaine for salads you find in the produce dept. It's so easy to remove a few leaves, rinse and shake dry to chop for a mixed glorified salad. Easy Peasy
> Those leaves are also great for lettuce wrap "sandwiches".


 

I should treat myself using Romaine lettuce more.       It's kind of pricey.


----------



## CarolPa

Kayelle said:


> Calson, we use nothing but those bags of three hearts of Romaine for salads you find in the produce dept. It's so easy to remove a few leaves, rinse and shake dry to chop for a mixed glorified salad. Easy Peasy
> Those leaves are also great for lettuce wrap "sandwiches".




Kayelle, I love these.  I cut them in half lengthwise, so they hold together, spray with some olive oil, and grill cut side down on my stove-top grill pan, until the lettuce gets warm and has some dark grill marks.  I sprinkle it with some bacon bits and a creamy dressing.  I love the combination of the warm lettuce leaves with the cold dressing.  Blue Cheese dressing works well.  

Also like to use the leaves for wraps.


----------



## GotGarlic

CarolPa said:


> Kayelle, I love these.  I cut them in half lengthwise, so they hold together, spray with some olive oil, and grill cut side down on my stove-top grill pan, until the lettuce gets warm and has some dark grill marks.  I sprinkle it with some bacon bits and a creamy dressing.  I love the combination of the warm lettuce leaves with the cold dressing.  Blue Cheese dressing works well.
> 
> Also like to use the leaves for wraps.



We love that, too, Carol. I put grilled tuna or salmon on top. DH likes his with bleu cheese and I like Italian vinaigrette on mine


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> I should treat myself using Romaine lettuce more.       It's kind of pricey.



How much are the bags o'salad you buy? And what is the unit cost for each?


----------



## Dawgluver

Caslon said:


> I should treat myself using Romaine lettuce more.       It's kind of pricey.




I've been buying Romaine.  I find it really outlasts bagged mixed greens, which tend to turn into science experiments before we can use them up.  Saves money in the long run.


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm guessing you don't have a basement? We've parked our cars in our garage from the day we moved in. Then again, we get snow and we like to keep our cars forever, so we think of garages as safe havens for our vehicles.
> 
> You either need to get rid of the junk, or get rid of the wife. Looks like you'll be living with a cluttered garage, eh?


In my early car owning days I was told quite seriously by a garage mechanic that cars were more likely to rust when kept in a garage than when kept outside. I have no idea if there is any scientific evidence for this. 

I've never had a garage until recently so never been able to test this one out. None of my cars have rusted much, though.


----------



## Mad Cook

Caslon said:


> Petty vent: Packaged salad bags in supermarkets now. It used to be you could pour the salad into a bowl, add dressing, tasted fresh. Nowadays, if you don't use a salad spinner with bagged lettuce, you get an earthy dirt flavor. Two years ago, salad bag makers rinsed their product a lot more than now.  Water shortage, cost, etc. changed all that.
> 
> Yes yes, I know...rinse ALL salads now to prevent Salmonella. I bought a salad spinner a couple of months ago. I'm too lazy to make my own salad.  My current fave bagged salad is Mainly Romaine.
> 
> Hehe, Romaine lettuce scares me, I've never used it. I've seen it in fancy sandwiches and bagged lettuce.


I'm not a lettuce lover but I do like romaine lettuce. It has flavour! Over here we can buy baby lettuces that look like miniature Romaines. They aren't bad either.


----------



## GotGarlic

Mad Cook said:


> In my early car owning days I was told quite seriously by a garage mechanic that cars were more likely to rust when kept in a garage than when kept outside. I have no idea if there is any scientific evidence for this.
> 
> I've never had a garage until recently so never been able to test this one out. None of my cars have rusted much, though.



Interesting. That doesn't make sense to me. We have never had a garage, so our vehicles are always outside and we have no problems with rust. OTOH, when we lived in Michigan, it was common for cars to have problems with rust. The reason was that it snowed much more there than here and the salt put on the roads to deal with ice and snow caused corrosion and rust on the undersides of vehicles.


----------



## taxlady

We are told that cars rust more in a heated garage. That has to do with the salt they use on the roads to melt the snow. The slushy snow sticks to the underside of the car. In an unheated garage the reaction of salt, water, and metal is slow. When the garage is heated, the reaction is speeded up. Plain old chemistry. OTH, in a heated garage, the slushy snow melts and falls off the car. I don't know if the smaller amount of salt left on the car in a heated garage balances out with the speedier reaction.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> We are told that cars rust more in a heated garage. That has to do with the salt they use on the roads to melt the snow. The slushy snow sticks to the underside of the car. In an unheated garage the reaction of salt, water, and metal is slow. When the garage is heated, the reaction is speeded up. Plain old chemistry. OTH, in a heated garage, the slushy snow melts and falls off the car. I don't know if the smaller amount of salt left on the car in a heated garage balances out with the speedier reaction.



 I can't imagine paying to heat a garage, but I guess people do.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> I can't imagine paying to heat a garage, but I guess people do.



It really depends on how you use the garage.  In some cases, it's an extension of the house where the nature of its use requires it.


----------



## bethzaring

GotGarlic said:


> I can't imagine paying to heat a garage, but I guess people do.




Because my house was built in a valley with a very high water table, my foundation is a "raft slab". Think of a raft on water.  When my foundation moves, it moves as a unit.  My home needs the foundation uniformly heated, including the garage.


----------



## taxlady

The underground garages in my condo association (there are four of them that each has ~20 cars) are heated to around 3 or 4°C. When it's -20°C out, it's really nice to get into a car that isn't that icy cold.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> The underground garages in my condo association (there are four of them that each has ~20 cars) are heated to around 3 or 4°C. When it's -20°C out, it's really nice to get into a car that isn't that icy cold.



I grew up in Michigan; I know how cold it gets in winter. My parents never had heated garages when I was growing up. I can imagine it's nice, but I also imagine it costs quite a bit to heat. I'm pretty sure the garages my parents had were not insulated. That would make a big difference.

Beth, your situation makes sense.


----------



## Aunt Bea

My car is in an underground heated garage and I don't think it costs much, it is similar to having an unheated basement in a house.  The garage gets some benefit from the natural heat below ground and in my case the returns for the steam heat run through the garage on the way back to the boiler building that heats the entire complex.  

I do think it would be prohibitively expensive if the garage was above grade and had a dedicated heating system with a thermostat located in the garage.


----------



## dragnlaw

Garages attached to the house, on the side, under the master bedroom, etc. are heated - but certainly not like the house itself. Bloody cold in them comparatively speaking.  Garages separate from the house would not be heated.  

Our house in Mahtomedi, Minn. had the garage sort of under the dining room area.  There was the laundry room on one side with a bedroom over and the recreation room on the other side with kitchen and family room over.  To get to the laundry you made a dash across the cold garage and slammed the door quickly.  Things did not freeze but it was cold!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

dragnlaw said:


> Garages attached to the house, on the side, under the master bedroom, etc. are heated - but certainly not like the house itself. Bloody cold in them comparatively speaking.  Garages separate from the house would not be heated.
> 
> Our house in Mahtomedi, Minn. had the garage sort of under the dining room area.  There was the laundry room on one side with a bedroom over and the recreation room on the other side with kitchen and family room over.  To get to the laundry you made a dash across the cold garage and slammed the door quickly.  Things did not freeze but it was cold!



Cold is relative.  To me, If I'm doing any kind of physical labor, it doesn't get cold unti around 10'F.  If I'm working hard, i.e. shoveling snow, after five minutes, I'm in a t-shirt and a hat.  40 to 45' F. is the temp I like if i'm doing something like splitting wood with a maul, or raking leaves, or waling through rugged terrain.  It's light jacket weather.  But then again, I've been known to jump on a snowobile at 16 to 20 degrees in just a t-shirt.  While in Judo, I used to go out in just the Judo-gi pants, which ran from the waist to about 2 ' below the knee to cool off, barefoot, in the middle of Michigan, U.P winter, to refresh myself.

But then again, I have shivered violently with minor hypothermia after a 45 minute ride on a motorcycle, wering a thin jack in 45' weather.  

Summertime - 60'F. mornings found me in 62' water, swimming most every day.  I lived on the St. Mary's River, which flowed from Lake Superior to Lake Huron.  We thought nothing of it.

On the other hand, my DW is shivering cold at 70'F. in the house, when there is snow on the ground.

Like I said, it's all relative.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Cold is relative. *** shoveling snow,*** doing something like splitting wood *** It's light jacket weather.
> 
> But then again, I have shivered violently with minor hypothermia after a 45 minute ride on a motorcycle, wering a thin jack in 45' weather.
> 
> On the other hand, my DW is shivering cold at 70'F. in the house, when there is snow on the ground.
> 
> Like I said, it's all relative.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



shoveling, hauling wood - yep - body gets mighty warm!
Of course you are gong to shiver on a m/bike, your body is not active... just the bike - bet that get hot!
But on the other hand, like your DW - I too shiver at the end of a long day when I'm winding down and just sitting.

It's all relative!


----------



## GilliAnne

Medtran, your story about the car scratching the other car reminded me of the time I parked in a supermarket car park and noticed that someone had left their key in the lock of their car - this was in the days before central locking. As soon as I went into the shop I approached an employee and told her what had happened, giving her the registration details of the car. Usually when this happens an announcement will be made over the tannoy requesting the owner of that car to come to customer services. When the owner does that, they are informed as to what has happened. Well, the young woman I spoke to was not so bright and she announced for all the world to hear, "Will the owner of car registration.........please return to your car - you have left your key in the lock."! AAAGGGHHH! I never did find out if the car was still there when the owner returned.

Gillian


----------



## dragnlaw

*Pork tenderloin*

I've just come across another recipe for pork tenderloin to be done in the slow cooker.    

What part of Pork *Tender*loin don't they understand.  Who in their right mind would commit such sacrilege?  The most tender part of the pork and around these parts often the most expensive cut.

It boggles my mind, I just can't wrap my brain around that.


----------



## Andy M.

dragnlaw said:


> I've just come across another recipe for pork tenderloin to be done in the slow cooker.
> 
> What part of Pork *Tender*loin don't they understand.  Who in their right mind would commit such sacrilege?  The most tender part of the pork and around these parts often the most expensive cut.
> 
> It boggles my mind, I just can't wrap my brain around that.



I agree.  Slow cookers are for less tender cuts with more fat.  Shoulder, ham, butt, etc.  These cuts cooked low and slow with give you a great result.


----------



## Kayelle

dragnlaw said:


> I've just come across another recipe for pork tenderloin to be done in the slow cooker.
> 
> What part of Pork *Tender*loin don't they understand.  Who in their right mind would commit such sacrilege?  The most tender part of the pork and around these parts often the most expensive cut.
> 
> It boggles my mind, I just can't wrap my brain around that.



That's just crazy!!
Just for fun, I googled crock pot Filet Mignon recipes. Gahhhh......there they were.


----------



## taxlady

I think those stupid crock pot recipes are for people who want supper ready when they get home from work.

A friend of mine used a recipe for pork in coconut milk, cooked low and slow in the oven. She came up with the brilliant idea of substituting pork tenderloin for whatever pork was called for in the recipe. It was dry in a bunch of coconut milk. A real shame.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Loin vs Tenderloin*

And don't forget the recipes that exchange tenderloin for loin and vice versa... 

Only with really reading methods and times can you sometimes figure it out. 

I don't really mind generalizing certain parts of recipes but to interchange the main ingredients????   

nope - not legal - I'm hoping the recipe police will be coming down on them real soon and with all pans firing!  Sear those Butts!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Um, you guys do realize that *tenspeed* does tenderloin in his crockpot frequently? Time to dial it back and realize that Your Mileage May Very. (YMMV)


----------



## dragnlaw

Ooops...  so sorry *tenspeed*  but maybe you can explain why?  cause I still have a hard time understanding.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> We are told that cars rust more in a heated garage. That has to do with the salt they use on the roads to melt the snow. The slushy snow sticks to the underside of the car. In an unheated garage the reaction of salt, water, and metal is slow. When the garage is heated, the reaction is speeded up. Plain old chemistry. OTH, in a heated garage, the slushy snow melts and falls off the car. I don't know if the smaller amount of salt left on the car in a heated garage balances out with the speedier reaction.


Heated garages - my goodness - such luxury!


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> Heated garages - my goodness - such luxury!


Our heated garage is underground parking in our condo association. There's 18 or 19 cars that all park in their assigned spots. The real luxury is the heated seats. Both of these luxuries are greatly appreciated in the cold and we get cold down to -40°C most years.


----------



## CharlieD

Really mad at myself. I spent 4-6 month to make a sourdough starter sometimes last year and into this year. I kept it in the refrigerator, did not have time to bake or to even feed the starter last month, of course it died on me, just my luck. People talk about how their starters less for a year in the fridge. Grrrr....


----------



## CharlieD

How do you deal with unreasonable parents?


----------



## Chef Munky

CharlieD said:


> How do you deal with unreasonable parents?



Just say "Ok" and take that high road out.
Shine them on. Do as you please.

That worked with my Mother when her Dementia was really bad.
We just let her have it her way. Within a certain degree.

Or is it you who's the Unreasonable Parent here?


----------



## Dawgluver

CharlieD said:


> How do you deal with unreasonable parents?




When Mom was alive, I just let her talk.  And talk.  And talk.  Our phone calls were never less than an hour, usually more.  Just smile and nod.


----------



## taxlady

Or is it your kids' friends' parents?


----------



## Kayelle

Assuming their reason isn't impaired by illness? Or do you just mean they don't see things your way? Either way, the answer is the same. Be kind.


----------



## Chef Munky

taxlady said:


> Or is it your kids' friends' parents?



Didn't even think about that possibility.
Lets get the elections started early. Just for boops and giggles

Vote here....

Charlie's Parents?
Charlie?
Friend's Parents?

My vote...His Parents.

Hope my monitor stays alive long enough to see the results.It's    getting darker by the minute.Can barely see anything.
C'mon UPS.Show up early today.


----------



## blissful

To have a mutual emotionally healthy relationship, it takes 3 things.
The relationship and communications are respectful.
The relationship is reciprocal. (both parties get something out of it)
If mistakes are made or expectations unreasonable, then the party responsible for that is able to acknowledge the mistake, apologize, and change their behavior in the future.

Since you mention 'unreasonable', then, you cannot reason with them as it will do no good. You still have choices. You can do everything they want and hopefully this doesn't violate anyone's safety or health. Or you can draw a line, or make a boundary and withdraw from the situation, until it improves. (I guess  )


----------



## CakePoet

One thing I do not like and yes I know it doesnt have to do with this forum  but  my   microwave oven  decided it was bonfire night tonight and well yeah,  sparks, flames and smoke.  
Thanks so much for that.  Now I have to figure out what heck to have on stand by when I am not home.


----------



## dragnlaw

CakePoet said:


> Now I have to figure out what heck to have on stand by when I am not home.



That shouldn't be too much of a problem. 

Teach them what an oven looks like. 
Teach them where the knobs are to turn it on.
Just be sure all products are in oven proof packaging. 
Teach them where to place the object IN the oven. 
Teach them what are good temperatures, which you will specify on each product. 
Teach them how to time said product in the oven for best heating results. 

Good Luck!


----------



## CakePoet

dragnlaw: he is  47 , has lived on his own for many years and well he is a master tin opener and tin food is oddly enough hard to find in Sweden, it like 5 dishes.   He can do 3  dishes from scratch but he prefers to nuke some  I made because it taste good and doesnt make the kid cry. 

Oh well, we cant afford one  right now so he have to learn.


----------



## CharlieD

My parents. They are losing their minds and of course are refusing to admit that it is them that could be wrong. My mother claims that my son told her we would not be home, when they wanted to come, even though I clearly told her that we would. And then my father showed up announced digging in his garden (my house, my yard, But It Is His Garden!) and saw our friends come over. That's it War. How dare we lie to them? Who lied? I told you we will be home. No, you told your son to call and lie to us. What the flippity flip. And there is no way to convince them otherwise. And it's been going on for a while. Week before that I invited them for dinner, all the kids were home. I asked them what time they eat lunch. At 2 PM, ok I say come at 2 PM. They showed up at 11 and announced that they cannot wait till 2, they are too tired by then. Oh, and I purposely sent kids away so they would not be able to see them, kids and I were in a store. I can't deal with that. They both are mad, both are not talking to me. What am I to do. I am not going to apologize any more, I am just too tired.


----------



## dragnlaw

Well Charlie - I truly don't think I could personally do it, but reading your predicament...  one way out is to just admit guilt and beg forgiveness. It just might work - once or twice. 

I know others more experienced in care of the elderly will have far better answers.  You could also (more work, I know, and could I do it - probably not) is to constantly call them and double check instructions and plans with them.  This "might" help keep their memories on track.  But dementia has many problems and I have absolutely no training in it.  Many others here do have the proper training thou...  good luck and bless you.

and by training I mean also with hands on experience - not just book learning ideas


----------



## Dawgluver

Charlie, I adopted a couple of Southern phrases when dealing with my parents:  "That's nice", and "Bless your heart".  Smile, nod, agree.  Both basically mean back off, but with fewer foul words.  I can even shut down my evil sister with those phrases.

You are so lucky to still have both of your parents!  I miss mine every day.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

How far away do your parents live, Charlie?  My main concern is that they should not be driving.

They need a big calendar with all plans written on it.  A dry erase board would be perfect.  Only one communicator should call them, directing them to write it on the board.

The good thing about Dementia is that they will forget what occurred, the bad thing is you will not.  Don't argue, they are adults and they know better _in their own minds_.  _They think:_ you are their child and how dare you argue with them, defy them, even lie to them.  People with Dementia have their own world they live in, you cannot pull them out.  It is best for all if you enter their world for time you are spending with them.

It is your parent's perception that is at fault, they probably know that something is wrong and it scares them.  They take that fear out on you, someone they love and trust.

Go to Alz.org  for answers, I think they also have a support forum.  There is plenty of venting going on there and they are very supportive.

I hope some of this helps, Charlie, feel free to PM me and we can brainstorm solutions to things that come up.


----------



## CharlieD

PF, I don't think it's dementia, actually my mom doesn't drive anymore, but mostly because of Phisical abilities, or rather disabilities. It's selfishness 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## CakePoet

CharlieD one of the sign of dementia is selfishness. There are also other form ages diseases that  give these symptom.  I cry up with  a bunch of elders and we all knew when  It not me , it you and I am never wrong starts, then it wasnt long  before they where gone.


----------



## blissful

There are also people not in the 'old age' demographic that throughout their lives, they believe that their needs are more important than anyone elses. They believe their children should be subservient, to honor and respect them, to be obedient, to give up all they believe in, to sacrifice themselves for the purposes of their parents happiness, whims, and wishes. This is a personality trait, not particular to old age. This kind of a serious imbalance in adult relationships goes further, requiring the adult children to mind read, to anticipate their needs, to bend, until they break. This can go even further, where reason is left behind, no rational explanations will give relief. Where fabrications, paranoia, judgments built on lies, circular conversations, unfair blame and shame are laid, and guilt is used as a weapon. Don't beat yourself up, you are not alone.

Alzheimers, and Frontal Temporal Dementia, may come later, and complicate, or relieve some already long standing personality traits. 

You might get more relief giving your situation a name. Check out 'personality traits'. My condolences go out to you, CharlieD.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I swear those danged no-see-ums were one of the Plagues of Egypt.


----------



## CharlieD

blissful said:


> Don't beat yourself up, you are not alone.
> 
> ...



 That is exactly my father, add in  a lot of anger, serious, serious anger into the picture and it is him. He should have been locked up a long ago, the way he has been treating my mother all their lives. Not that he treated me any better, but when mom was younger she tried to shield me from his anger outbursts, now she is just too old and too tired to deal with him. 
I am trying to relax and not pay attention, but it is just not easy.


----------



## blissful

CharlieD said:


> That is exactly my father, add in  a lot of anger, serious, serious anger into the picture and it is him. He should have been locked up a long ago, the way he has been treating my mother all their lives. Not that he treated me any better, but when mom was younger she tried to shield me from his anger outbursts, now she is just too old and too tired to deal with him.
> I am trying to relax and not pay attention, but it is just not easy.



Once you've identified the offending behavior (serious anger=raging), you can have a boundary. A boundary is not a line you tell them not to cross. A boundary is what you will do when confronted with the offending behavior, such as leaving the room or leaving the house. You need NOT tell him that you are going to do this, just do it. Most people that rage at others, don't do it all the time, to everyone, therefore they CAN control themselves around certain people. You want to be one of those people that he chooses to control himself when he is near. By consistently removing yourself from him when he is offensive, it teaches him not to be offensive. I also had a father like that and my life was just so much more peaceful when I removed myself from the offending behaviors. Walking, the act of walking away, also helped me deal with my internal anger.


----------



## Kayelle

Blissful, let me say I'm very impressed with your good advice for our Charlie. I doubt a professional would be giving better advice, and I'm guessing you are one.


----------



## Dawgluver

Excellent advice, Blissful.  I am/was a professional, and couldn't have said it better myself.


----------



## blissful

Kayelle said:


> Blissful, let me say I'm very impressed with your good advice for our Charlie. I doubt a professional would be giving better advice, and I'm guessing you are one.


Thanks Kayelle. I'm not a professional. I have experience though. There is just nothing can be done to change other people, not really, not at their core, we can only teach them how to treat us, and even that is difficult as you never know how it will turn out. We can only change ourselves. 

After I taught my dad that he could not be abusive to me or my children, by removing myself and the kids, he stopped talking to me, the silent treatment. What a gift that was to me! It was a relief. When we finally did talk briefly one day, he started talking OVER everyone at the table. I politely asked him not to interrupt the conversations. He blew a fuse and left the table. If nothing else, it kept the conversations civil, polite, or non-existent.


----------



## Cheryl J

In complete agreement here with Kay and Dawg, blissful.  Excellent advice.  And let me just also say that I'm sorry you had to go through that with your father.  I've known others who have had to do similar, and it takes a lot of strength.


----------



## dragnlaw

Bless you Charlie, you are in a difficult situation and doing the best you can.  The fact that you reached out here shows you are willing to listen, to try and to accept hugs to give you courage.  I urge you to go and see a professional, either in your place of worship or social services.  You could ask at the local hospital what services are available, it need not be private.  

That person on hearing your story would be best to advise you, possibly (probably!) the exact same words you are hearing here.  But they will be better able to judge the situation while talking with you face to face and understand what you are saying.  

We are all cheering for you and sending you hugs of encouragement.


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you, thank you everybody. For now I just try to ignore him. Pretend that nothing happened. He is giving me a silent treatment. Once in awhile says a few words if he needs something. If it was not for my mother, and the fact that they are living in my rental property, I would really have nothing to do with him.


----------



## CakePoet

Meh,  both me and little one  are ill. We were supposed to go to  a dear friend this weekend, but no.  So I sent  my husband to my dear friend so they can have fun and I can be home missing them both. Meh


----------



## Dawgluver

Dang it to heck.  I think I broke another bone in my foot.  Again.  Last time I did this, doc said yup, you broke the sucker.  He did absolutely nothing else.   And that will be 892 dollars please.  This time, I just wrapped it up in an Ace bandage.  Did not bother with the doc.  Wrapping I was instructed to do the last time.  Except I got a bill for $892.  When I already knew the bone was broken.

I am a klutz, can trip over my own socks or Beagle.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Dang it to heck.  I think I broke another bone in my foot.  Again.  Last time I did this, doc said yup, you broke the sucker.  He did absolutely nothing else.   And that will be 892 dollars please.  This time, I just wrapped it up in an Ace bandage.  Did not bother with the doc.  Wrapping I was instructed to do the last time.  Except I got a bill for $892.  When I already knew the bone was broken.
> 
> I am a klutz, can trip over my own socks or Beagle.



Well, that is a silly thing to do. When I broke my foot the first time I ended up with a cast up to my knees. I only broke that tiny skinny bone on the outside of my foot. The second time I broke that bone, I just stayed off my foot for a couple of days. My foot doctor wrapped it in an ace bandage and gave me a boot to wear. When I got home, the boot got tossed into the closet and the bandage came off.


----------



## taxlady

Oh noes Dawg! Which foot? Will you be walking with a cane?


----------



## Dawgluver

Naw, it's the little bone on the outside of my left foot.  My bone doc has never done anything.  Other than charge me a lot of money and agree, yeah, you broke that sucker.  Good for him.  Guess I'm putting myself on limited activity for awhile.

Oh well.  It's sort of like a chicken bone.  Ya think that that will stop this Dawg?  Things could be much worse.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Well, that is a silly thing to do. When I broke my foot the first time I ended up with a cast up to my knees. I only broke that tiny skinny bone on the outside of my foot. The second time I broke that bone, I just stayed off my foot for a couple of days. My foot doctor wrapped it in an ace bandage and gave me a boot to wear. When I got home, the boot got tossed into the closet and the bandage came off.




My bone doc, who moved away (how dare he!) never casted me up for anything.  Broken a few bones.  Wrist, a couple feet.  I am a total klutz.  Part of my problem is I can't see, and tend to trip over stuff.  Don't like to wear glasses.  I use braces and wraps.  Works for me.

I will power through the pain.


----------



## blissful

I feel for you dawg.  I'm a toe breaker, all of them at one time or another.


----------



## taxlady

blissful said:


> I feel for you dawg.  I'm a toe breaker, all of them at one time or another.


Me too, but I haven't broken all of them. It's why I wear shoes all the time.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pain is really bad right now, can't sleep.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Pain is really bad right now, can't sleep.



Is it the same bone you broke before? BTW have you had a density test done for your bones? It only takes about two minutes and is totally painless. 

Like you, I too an a klutz. But my bone density is the same now as it was 30 years ago. Really healthy. That's because I drink a LOT of milk.


----------



## CakePoet

Dawgluver, you are not a klutz, you are just stubborn. If you need glasses wear them or get lenses.  Yes a new pair of glasses takes time to break in and get comfy, it like a pair of  shoes.  I been wearing glasses for 34 years now,  cant have lenses  due to my eyes and I just live with it because the option is worse.


----------



## Dawgluver

Naw, I'm just a klutz.  Had a bone density test done a few years ago, I too have the bones of a thirty year old.  I've had monovision all my life.  One eye for close up, the other eye for distance.  That may be part of the problem.  And my night vision is terrible.  I always wear my glasses when driving, though.


----------



## CakePoet

You should wear them constantly because it helps your brain.


----------



## Dawgluver

There is no helping my brain, 

I also use one contact lense when we go out.  Then I can see people.


----------



## CakePoet

Have you gotten proper help with your eyes?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawg, cold and ibuprofen to get the swelling down, prop that sucker up, too.  I have to go find my knee brace so I can get through cardiac rehab this morning.


----------



## dragnlaw

Dawg - if it is really painful - it sounds like it is out of alignment still.  

I once broke a bone in my foot and was in awful pain for several days, then one day I had to pick something up from the floor - I lost my balance and put down the sore foot - there was a click and more horrid pain - but then...  gone!

Still sore for quite a while but the swelling slowly went down and the pain had subsided tremendously -  I figured I had "reset" the bone myself! 

Since starting to wear glasses full time I am constantly bashing my head on things.   I hate it but hate squinting and taking twice the time to focus on things so I wear them. 

In tests - they congratulate me on 'excellent peripheral vision' - but they never do the tests with glasses on.  Brings that "excellent vision" down to "tunnel vision"!


----------



## dragnlaw

Dawg - open a bottle of wine - when it is half gone have someone pull your toes
straight out.  Might help.


----------



## Dawgluver

You guys are dolls!  I took the ace bandage off, and was finally able to get some sleep.  Foot is feeling much better today.  I propped it up on a pillow.


----------



## dragnlaw

Well, that's good!  but go ahead and have the wine anyhow!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thinking I will take your advice, Dr. Dragn!


----------



## dragnlaw

and I don't charge hundreds of $$$  (maybe just a few of your kitchen toys, hmmm?)


----------



## blissful

I just wanted to assure anyone, everyone, that you can be educated in a few areas, experienced in a few areas, smart here or there, and a compassionate human being and still glue your thumb to your finger with superglue. Fingernail polish still takes it off.


----------



## Dawgluver

How did you manage that, Bliss?


----------



## blissful

Dawgluver said:


> How did you manage that, Bliss?


I had previously bought some beads, that had metal edges that are glued to the opening on both sides of the bead, but some had come disconnected. They look like this: 


So I decided to glue the metal edges onto the 30 beads, to their openings, so they would look nice. Just as I was finishing up, I glued my thumb and finger together. I believe this was to teach me to be humble. It worked.


----------



## taxlady

It's probably not a great idea to glue fingers to each other. Just sayin'


----------



## Dawgluver

At least it wasn't to her hair or forehead!  How do you explain that to the mailman or grocery store?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> It's probably not a great idea to glue fingers to each other. Just sayin'



Wise advice.


----------



## blissful

You can hope you don't glue your fingers together, you can wish for luck in not getting glue on your fingers and thumb, you can pray that you don't glue yourself together, you can have previous experience with gluing with superglue, and yet, it still can happen.


----------



## Addie

blissful said:


> You can hope you don't glue your fingers together, you can wish for luck in not getting glue on your fingers and thumb, you can pray that you don't glue yourself together, you can have previous experience with gluing with superglue, and yet, it still can happen.



 So Bliss, does this happen often to you?


----------



## blissful

I've never had it happen before.


----------



## taxlady

blissful said:


> I've never had it happen before.


Then I guess it was time. I've done it once.


----------



## dragnlaw

Law of averages = the more you use it - the more likely it will happen. 

so speaks the voice of experience


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

*Thanksgiving Missed Me this Year*

I prepped the food and cooked some of the sides on
Wednesday evening.  Cooked the turkey, and remaining sides on Thurday.  The pumpkin pie perfect.  The turkey was juicy and tender, all was ready for my youngest son, DW. and me to have a good meal and enjoy the day.  The Detroit Lion even did their part and beat the Vikings.  And then family squabbles started.  Son didn't want the traditional Sea Breeze Salad made.  So to avoid a fight, I omitted it.  DW's colostamy bag broke before she got out of the bedroom.  It took a couple hours for me to help he get everything cleaned up and get her to the table.  As I knew it would take significant time, I told son to eat without us.  He did so and left.  Got DW to the table and now since the Seabreeze salad was not made, Thanksgiving is ruined.  I made an attempth to soothe her, but it's too late to make the salad, according to her.  Thanksgiving is ruined.

I left the room.  Later, I re-entered the room and exclaimed that I'm tired of being caught in the middle of DW and youngest son, as no matter what I say, someone is going to be mad at me for not totally supporting their side.  I'm always the bad guy when I'm the only one trying to find a solution that will work for everyone.  Friday wasn't much better.

This is the first ever Thanksgiving day That has been an utter failure for me.  I did my part, no one else did. The rest of the family left for Ohio, to have Thanksgiving with my younger sister down there.  We all usually get together and share the meal together.  No one bothered to even tell us that we weren't getting together this year.

Yep, I'm in the middle fo my first ever Holiday blues.

I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving day.  I spoke with my young'ens who live downstate.  They got together and had a wonderful time.  I am thankful for that.  So the world isn't completely lost.  And I'm still thankful that we have the resoures to make a terrific meal, even if no one wants to behave at it.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Aw Chief (((hugs))). I'm sorry to read that your Thanksgiving didn't turn out well. I think your poor DW was feeling bad / sorry for herself about the colostomy bag breaking. She probably thought that was what ruined Thanksgiving, but didn't want to think that. You're such a trooper. That can't have been pleasant to clean up and deal with. You're son, on the other hand, sounds like he was just behaving like a little prxxk.


----------



## Cheryl J

I'm sorry to hear that, Chief.  Hopefully the Christmas gathering will be better for all of you. 

Next time, put DW's traditional faves first, regardless of what Son says.  If he doesn't want a particular dish, he certainly doesn't have to eat it.


----------



## dragnlaw

So sorry Chief, like Cheryl, I certainly hope things will take a turn for the better now.  

Some one here has the slogan (think it is Mad Cook?) Don't wait for the light at the end of the tunnel - stomp on down there and turn the flipping thing on yourself.  Sounds like you are doing the first step - declaring you are tired of being caught in the middle.   Next step - tradition is tradition, don't change it for a malcontent, they don't have to eat it, just fixed a 2nd different one with no comments.  Further step - be proactive and start asking everyone what is happening with them for the holidays.  Can but try with little steps - these particular holidays are about traditions and family.

I'm sure the rest here join me in sending you hugs and warm happy thoughts.  (Right after you give them all an imaginary good swift kick in the arse! 'cause that always makes you feel better!)


----------



## Chef Munky

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I prepped the food and cooked some of the sides on
> Wednesday evening.  Cooked the turkey, and remaining sides on Thurday.  The pumpkin pie perfect.  The turkey was juicy and tender, all was ready for my youngest son, DW. and me to have a good meal and enjoy the day.  The Detroit Lion even did their part and beat the Vikings.  And then family squabbles started.  Son didn't want the traditional Sea Breeze Salad made.  So to avoid a fight, I omitted it.  DW's colostamy bag broke before she got out of the bedroom.  It took a couple hours for me to help he get everything cleaned up and get her to the table.  As I knew it would take significant time, I told son to eat without us.  He did so and left.  Got DW to the table and now since the Seabreeze salad was not made, Thanksgiving is ruined.  I made an attempth to soothe her, but it's too late to make the salad, according to her.  Thanksgiving is ruined.
> 
> I left the room.  Later, I re-entered the room and exclaimed that I'm tired of being caught in the middle of DW and youngest son, as no matter what I say, someone is going to be mad at me for not totally supporting their side.  I'm always the bad guy when I'm the only one trying to find a solution that will work for everyone.  Friday wasn't much better.
> 
> This is the first ever Thanksgiving day That has been an utter failure for me.  I did my part, no one else did. The rest of the family left for Ohio, to have Thanksgiving with my younger sister down there.  We all usually get together and share the meal together.  No one bothered to even tell us that we weren't getting together this year.
> 
> Yep, I'm in the middle fo my first ever Holiday blues.
> 
> I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving day.  I spoke with my young'ens who live downstate.  They got together and had a wonderful time.  I am thankful for that.  So the world isn't completely lost.  And I'm still thankful that we have the resoures to make a terrific meal, even if no one wants to behave at it.
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I'm sorry to read that all of your hard loving work went south.
Your dealing with a lot right now and have an absolute right to feel the way you do.

Your kids really need to grow up. They are adults now aren't they?
They should have been grown up enough to realize Mom is sick and should have stepped up to the plate and ask you "What can I do to help you Dad?" 
Your wife is in no condition or should have to be forced into a position that upsets her at any time. Especially a position where she has to chose a side!...They should know by now it's one side. Mom and Dad. Together.
You guys are second. Simple as that.

Wishing you a belated Happy Thanksgiving.

Oh, wait!
Before I forget..Remember a few years ago when I was having trouble finding your pie recipe and technique? When I did find it. I was sick at the time and it took all 3 of us to make a pie for Thanksgiving.To this day it's now a tradition that we have a square pumpkin pie.That was my guys first attempt at making a pie from scratch.It's still the best one we've ever had.

Thank you Chief!

Munky Badger.


----------



## Addie

Cheer up Chief. The day will come when even the youngest one will strike out on his own. Then it will be just the two of you. You both will be sitting there at the holiday table and looking back on all the holidays you had with the whole family sitting around the table. One of the things I told all my children when they had their first born was, "to keep the child safe, to let it know it was loved, and to build happy memories for them." And that last one is what you and your wife have done over the years of holiday dinners. 

Don't be too hard on her or your son. Remember, this is her baby and the last to leave home. And we all here in DC love you. Tomorrow the sun will come out, you will be eating leftovers and the youngest will have no idea of the problem he caused. He is a growing boy and lives by his stomach. 

Start now and see if you can't get all the kids to agree to come home for just one more holiday dinner all together around the table next year. Or divide the holidays. Part of the family for Thanksgiving, and the other half for Christmas.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie....I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Chief's son is not a growing boy, but *well* into adulthood.


----------



## Cheryl J

Chef Munky said:


> I'm sorry to read that all of your hard loving work went south.
> Your dealing with a lot right now and have an absolute right to feel the way you do.
> 
> Your kids really need to grow up. *They are adults now aren't they?*
> *They should have been grown up enough to realize Mom is sick and should have stepped up to the plate and ask you "What can I do to help you Dad?" *
> *Your wife is in no condition or should have to be forced into a position that upsets her at any time. Especially a position where she has to chose a side!...They should know by now it's one side. Mom and Dad. Together.....*


 
+1, Munky Badger.


----------



## buckytom

Aww, GW, that sucks. I'm so sorry to hear this. 

Just so you know, any one of us whom you call friends at DC would be greatly honored and culinarily lucky to be at your table for Thanksgiving. 

You are a better man on your worst day than most of us  are on our best. Certainly me. 

I could name a few others, but that's not the point. 

Always remember this: that even through this disproportionately shallow and even fake medium of the internet, you have encouraged, helped, and supported many people in their difficult journeys through life. 

That is an incredible thing to do.

My rosary tonight will be that God kicks your son''s ass into line.


----------



## GotGarlic

buckytom said:


> Aww, GW, that sucks. I'm so sorry to hear this.
> 
> Just so you know, any one of us whom you call friends at DC would be greatly honored and culinarily lucky to be at your table for Thanksgiving.
> 
> You are a better man on your worst day than most of us  are on our best. Certainly me.
> 
> I could name a few others, but that's not the point.
> 
> Always remember this: that even through this disproportionately shallow and even fake medium of the internet, you have encouraged, helped, and supported many people in their difficult journeys through life.
> 
> That is an incredible thing to do.
> 
> My rosary tonight will be that God kicks your son''s ass into line.



Love this. +1. 

Take heart, Chef. I was pretty evil at times to DH after my surgery last year, but I am eternally grateful that he understands that it's hard to deal with those kinds of problems, and that he is not the problem. DW knows how devoted you are to her, trust me


----------



## Kayelle

{{{{Chief}}}}}} I can hear the hurt in your voice and my heart hurts because yours does. I won't be criticizing your kids though because I personally don't want anyone but me doing that with mine. That's a privilege reserved for only a mama or papa bear, nobody else imo. At any rate, I hate they have hurt you and let you down when you have so much to deal with and need loving support.  I wish you the best my friend.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Chief*, I think you could use another (((hug))). Sounds like you had a turkey of a Thanksgiving day. I hope and pray your Christmas goes much smoother. And perhaps a lump of coal in your youngest one's stocking.  And I, too, second (or third or so...) what Bucky said:


buckytom said:


> ..Just so you know, any one of us whom you call friends at DC would be greatly honored and culinarily lucky to be at your table for Thanksgiving.
> 
> *You are a better man on your worst day than most of us  are on our best.* Certainly me.
> 
> I could name a few others, but that's not the point.
> 
> Always remember this: that even through this disproportionately shallow and even fake medium of the internet, you have encouraged, helped, and supported many people in their difficult journeys through life...


----------



## CWS4322

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I prepped the food and cooked some of the sides on
> Wednesday evening.  Cooked the turkey, and remaining sides on Thurday.  The pumpkin pie perfect.  The turkey was juicy and tender, all was ready for my youngest son, DW. and me to have a good meal and enjoy the day.  The Detroit Lion even did their part and beat the Vikings.  And then family squabbles started.  Son didn't want the traditional Sea Breeze Salad made.  So to avoid a fight, I omitted it.  DW's colostamy bag broke before she got out of the bedroom.  It took a couple hours for me to help he get everything cleaned up and get her to the table.  As I knew it would take significant time, I told son to eat without us.  He did so and left.  Got DW to the table and now since the Seabreeze salad was not made, Thanksgiving is ruined.  I made an attempth to soothe her, but it's too late to make the salad, according to her.  Thanksgiving is ruined.
> 
> I left the room.  Later, I re-entered the room and exclaimed that I'm tired of being caught in the middle of DW and youngest son, as no matter what I say, someone is going to be mad at me for not totally supporting their side.  I'm always the bad guy when I'm the only one trying to find a solution that will work for everyone.  Friday wasn't much better.
> 
> This is the first ever Thanksgiving day That has been an utter failure for me.  I did my part, no one else did. The rest of the family left for Ohio, to have Thanksgiving with my younger sister down there.  We all usually get together and share the meal together.  No one bothered to even tell us that we weren't getting together this year.
> 
> Yep, I'm in the middle fo my first ever Holiday blues.
> 
> I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving day.  I spoke with my young'ens who live downstate.  They got together and had a wonderful time.  I am thankful for that.  So the world isn't completely lost.  And I'm still thankful that we have the resoures to make a terrific meal, even if no one wants to behave at it.
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


So sorry, Chief. I had the opposite. I did the kitchen turkey dance because I am very much aware that this could have been our last T'giving together. I didn't want to remind my folks that last year, my brother was here. He died in April and I am trying to get through this holiday season honoring him. My Mom is bedridden, incontinent, and can barely use her fork and spoon to feed herself. I set the table with the finest off the fine China (had 5 sets to pick from), polished the silver, hauled out the Waterford crystal. Even though it was just Mom, Dad, and myself, I pulled out all the stops, and invited one of the caregivers (neighbour) and her husband to join us. It was one of the best T'givings ever. Why? Because there no arguments, the amount of food was not excessive, and we counted out blessings. It has been a very bad year for us, but there are still the things for which we are thankful. My Dad said a beautiful grace and honour my brother's memory and gave thanks that despite my Mom is now bedridden, she is still alive and with us. There are times when things just don't work. My Mom will not eat. She will throw her food at me. Tell me she doesn't care and it doesn't matter. It is very, very hard caring for the person you love the most when things don't go right. My only surviving brother lives 30 minutes away. He only calls when he needs $ and he has not been out to see our Mom in over 18 months. And no, he doesn't provide my Dad or me with respite. My Dad pays for that. I pick the battles I want to fight in and haven't yet picked the hill I want to die on. 

Hugs. Hang in there. You are doing the best you can. That is all you can do.


----------



## CakePoet

Chief Longwind Of The North, *hugs'  It aint fun being in the middle of every ones else argument. 
My mum get angry at me for not talking to one of my siblings, but when I do she gets angry and  mum tells me it my fault... yeah.

That sister wont eat my food, nor will my mum if my sister is there, well my dad has started to pass it off as  his food,  so they will eat it.

That sister will also start fight with a 4 year old and blame me. Yeah I cant do anything right.  So I  am now living on the other side of the country.... Sweden is narrow, I live in the south 2 hours from Denmark and they live in the  North.


----------



## Addie

CakePoet said:


> Chief Longwind Of The North, *hugs'  It aint fun being in the middle of every ones else argument.
> My mum get angry at me for not talking to one of my siblings, but when I do she gets angry and  mum tells me it my fault... yeah.
> 
> That sister wont eat my food, nor will my mum if my sister is there, well my dad has started to pass it off as  his food,  so they will eat it.
> 
> That sister will also start fight with a 4 year old and blame me. Yeah I cant do anything right.  So I  am now living on the other side of the country.... Sweden is narrow, I live in the south 2 hours from Denmark and they live in the  North.



You can console yourself with the fact that they get the worst of winter weather.


----------



## CakePoet

Addie and the best of the summers...


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Usually, everyone on DC is so uplifting, and hold their troubles to themselves.  I am not happy that any of you has any problems.  But I am glad that me mentioning my own issues (which are not a severe as many) has opened the ability for others to vent a little as well.

Life is full of challenges, and we have all be blessed with the strength to get through them, albeit with maybe a little prayer, and some place to vent once in a while.

All of the well wishes, and hugs have brightened my own attitude.  And I offer the same, and a prayer for all of you.  It is my prayer that Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate is wonderful for each of you.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I'm glad you think we cheered you up, *Chief*, but 'fess up and tell the truth. It's because your birthday brother, *Buckytom*, coming on back to DC that has you smiling today. 

Hope things are going better with your wife. It must be tough for her right now with the holidays coming and she can't help. Let the rest of the family fuss with each other - you two lovebirds make this Christmas all your own.


----------



## Caslon

...my packaged salads have been tasting like dirt lately, even tho I twice filled up my newly bought salad spinner, swished the lettuce around, and drained and spun it. Then repeated.  The spinner worked great, I spun it good. The salad still had a strong dirt taste. I may have to rinse and spin 3 or 4 times ???

For those buying packaged salads, I think they may have halted one or more rinsing procedures.


----------



## Addie

I don't think I have ever bought a prepackaged salad. For one thing, I never see radishes in them. So I just bypass them. With all the effort and time you have put into removing the taste of dirt, you could have made your own with individual items that you really care for.


----------



## Farmer Jon

This might get long winded but here we go. 

So everyone knows that a time share is the worst investment a person can make. Well we have one. In Pigeon Forge.  Didn't buy it we inherited it from my wife's dad when he passed a few years ago. $500 a year in maintenance fees. Fine. We don't use it every year but  pretty close. When we do stay we stay a full week. You wont find a hotel for less than a $100 a night. Especially in Pigeon Forge. So I figure were even money. Probably money ahead because we don't have to eat out like in a hotel.

So then some punks came in under their parents name and trashed a cabin. Just trashed it. Broke furniture left trash all over.  Broke into the game room tried stealing the arcade games. Just scum bags all around. Soooo now we get an extra cleaning fee of $120 tacked on every time you stay. 1 night $120. Stay a month that's $120. Bunch a crapola because they don't even clean. You have to tear the bedding off before you leave. Run the dishwasher. Put towels in the washer. All they do is vacuum put dishes away and make the beds. Maybe wipe down the shower. They don't even dust. 

Last year about this time we get a bill for an extra $1000. Other owners are not paying maintenance fees, went over budget. Bla bla bla. Well my wife is livid. Im mad too but I don't understand all this. So Jen calls the owner him self. Her dad was one of the very first owners when he opened the place. She has known him since she was a little girl. Well just like the letter said. So many people blew off their maintenance fees and they had a new book keeper that didn't do a very good job so it was a mess. My theory is not all of them blew it off so much as maybe they passed away or put in a home and the kids said screw it. Not paying. But whatever its done.

They have meetings and conference calls with other owners. Hundreds of emails. Its hard to have a meeting with a 100 people scattered all over the country. I guess they got something figured out. This year we only have to pay an extra $250.

Now with all these fires going on I don't know whats going to happen. We are headed there again this summer. Wife's family is all in Kentucky so that's the one time a year we all get together and hang out.


----------



## dragnlaw

Feel for you Jon!  How very frustrating for you.  

Perhaps they should put together a type of forum like this one where everyone can talk together.  Seems to work here.  Not as big nor complicated as the inner workings here. I belong to another forum very very much like this one, but it is a fledgling and just starting to grow.  Doesn't have to ever get this big. 

Or there must be some sort of program wwhere individuals can input.  Just a thought..


----------



## Addie

Right now Pigeon Forge is facing the possibilities of a major forest fire. And Dollywood is right in the middle. It has been built at the bottom and up the mountain side. This town is a major tourist attraction. Here's hoping it is bypassed by the fires.


----------



## CharlieD

Farmer Jon said:


> This might get long winded but here we go.
> 
> .....



I am sorry to hear that. On the other hand i am glad hearing that because by some miracle I did not invest in one such deal. Was very close to it. My son stopped me. And not even because he knew anything about, it was just a hunch. 

I hope it gets better Jon. If not sell the darn thing if you can.


----------



## Cheryl J

Yikes, Jon....I'm so sorry to hear that.  People can be so destructive, I'll never understand the pleasure they get out of that.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> I am sorry to hear that. On the other hand i am glad hearing that because by some miracle I did not invest in one such deal. Was very close to it. My son stopped me. And not even because he knew anything about, it was just a hunch.
> 
> I hope it gets better Jon. If not sell the darn thing if you can.



Ditto here. If the land is not providing an income for you, then sell it. At today's prices folks are paying, you should come out on the long end.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Ditto here. If the land is not providing an income for you, then sell it. At today's prices folks are paying, you should come out on the long end.



The land? Time share properties don't usually come with land. The ones I've seen are typically townhouse or apartment type places. And they are generally very difficult to sell at a profit. 

Sorry for your difficulties, Jon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sell at a profit, *GG*?  I feel sorry for anyone who bought into a new place. They have only the hope of not losing too much. Dad sold us his for $1. I think we overpaid. 



Farmer Jon said:


> This might get long winded but here we go.
> 
> So everyone knows that a time share is the worst investment a person can make. Well we have one. In Pigeon Forge....Now with all these fires going on I don't know whats going to happen. We are headed there again this summer. Wife's family is all in Kentucky so that's the one time a year we all get together and hang out.


I hope this all works out for you. Time shares are a real pain, but we haven't had financial snafus like you're going through. It sounds, however, like you want to keep it pretty much for the sake of the family. Hope it makes it through the fires OK so you can all gather next year and be thankful for that blessing.

We have one in FL that my FIL gave us near the end of his life. More than once I've wanted to walk away from it (since, if you know anything about timeshares, they are impossible to sell off...), but Himself loves FL. Since he gave up the chance of retirement in FL to marry me, I think I can give him one week down there in exchange. 

BTW, cute boys, *Jon*. Good to see them learning how to operate those Deere at an early age.


----------



## CWS4322

CakePoet said:


> Chief Longwind Of The North, *hugs'  It aint fun being in the middle of every ones else argument.
> My mum get angry at me for not talking to one of my siblings, but when I do she gets angry and  mum tells me it my fault... yeah.
> 
> That sister wont eat my food, nor will my mum if my sister is there, well my dad has started to pass it off as  his food,  so they will eat it.
> 
> That sister will also start fight with a 4 year old and blame me. Yeah I cant do anything right.  So I  am now living on the other side of the country.... Sweden is narrow, I live in the south 2 hours from Denmark and they live in the  North.


CakePoet, hopefully, at some point, your siblings will wake up and realize that in the big picture, there are a whole lot of things that don't matter. My Dad is very set in his ways. We got in a stupid argument today (over where a chair was placed--I had moved it to make it easier to wheel my Mom around). At one point, I told him, "just because it has always been there, doesn't mean it has to be there. Things change and there's nothing you can do to stop life from changing. It doesn't matter where the d@#med chair is." He then informed me that he has given up his life to care for my Mom. You can imagine where that went. My parting line was "at the end of the day, where the chair is, isn't going to make a d@#med bit of difference. Mom will still be bedridden/wheelchair bound, and my brother will still be dead." Later he apologized and admitted that it really doesn't matter where the chair is. Sometimes, when people can't control other aspects of their lives, they try to grab control of the minutiae. The little things really don't matter. There are a whole lot of things that no longer matter in my life. I only have so much energy and so much of me that can go around. Pick your battles and pick the hill you want to die on.


----------



## CakePoet

Doesnt work that way,  this sister is my mum's favorite and she has un diagnosed form of autism, there is no question about it but my mum  dont want to see it, even if she used to work with people with  autism.

I have dad and my second sister, we get along and they all get along with  my children which is most important.  So long as my kids likes their aunts, it all fine.  She will never apologize or believe me and I can live with that.  

My dad knows  about my life, 100% and he knows there is things we cant tell mum, as he says her  round head wouldnt fit in that square hole.


----------



## dragnlaw

Addie said:


> Ditto here. If the land is not providing an income for you, then sell it. At today's prices folks are paying, you should come out on the long end.



Nice metaphor *Addie*.  

Jon, guess you might have to sit and list your pros and cons.  It is the chance to visit your wife's family with the cost of the Time Share as against bunking in with them or paying for hotel/motels.  I've never been there but sounds like there is lots to do in the area as well as visit family.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Well were going to keep it but its frustrating. We have a ton of points built up. Every year you get so many points. the days you stay are based on a point system. Say you stay of 4th of July its cost 400 points. Some random Wednesday in winter might only be 50. I told the wife one of these days 20 years from now we are going to go down there and stay for a month. Just because. 

There is no land just a group of cabins in the hills you get to choose from.

No way im bunking with her family. I drag the camper down there and park in the mother in-laws driveway. 

I have to say in the back of my mind I was kinda hoping the place would burn down.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Caslon said:


> ...my packaged salads have been tasting like dirt lately, even tho I twice filled up my newly bought salad spinner, swished the lettuce around, and drained and spun it. Then repeated.  The spinner worked great, I spun it good. The salad still had a strong dirt taste. I may have to rinse and spin 3 or 4 times ???
> 
> For those buying packaged salads, I think they may have halted one or more rinsing procedures.



I find that the blends that contain carrots sometimes have a musty burlap bag taste.  I also have found that sometimes cheapest is best, I have had good results with Aldi's "Little Salad Bar" 12 ounce bag for 99 cents.


----------



## CWS4322

Today was the only day I could use the car because my Dad's social schedule, except for Sunday, is booked for the next 10 days. I told him on Monday that I had two appointments with people at the local bank to deal with my brother's estate stuff that is here. 

Since I was in town, I also tried to pick up my cell phone (it is not ready), and did pick up dry cleaning, looked for a 6 ft. long scarf for him (didn't find one), went and got barley malt syrup for some bread recipes, got my hair cut, and went to Walmart and got things on his list. Oh, I called him around 3, and told him to take out pork chops. He has a cold--couldn't do that. I suggested chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese--thought he could do that. 

On the way home, I almost hit two deer, the roads were really icy, pulled over at a store where one of the caregivers' worked, used the bathroom (almost peed my pants when I went between the two deer and not in the ditch), asked her to call my Dad after I used the facilities to tell him I had those two value BK meals. I also had over $1k to reimburse him for expenses he's paid out for my brother's estate. I got told I had been crabby all day (I left at 10:15--I wasn't even home, how could I be crabby???) and that he thought my priority was my Mom. It is, but I also have a legal obligation to take care of my brother's estate. I don't inherit a dime, it all goes to my parents. I am just doing the heavy lifting. I have deadlines I have to meet. I couldn't believe it. I'm gone 6 hours, and my Mom isn't my priority? She is, definitely, but I also have a legal obligation to deal with my brother's estate. GRRRRRR....I know my parents miss my brother beyond belief and this is the time of year he was here, but really, I'm gone six hours and my Mom isn't my priority???? And those BK meals? Not healthy. My response was that they were a treat--he eats processed stuff, etc. when I don't cook. What was that about? 

I want to click my heels together and trade places with someone.


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs CWS)))


----------



## Farmer Jon

Cooking Goddess said:


> Sell at a profit, *GG*?  I feel sorry for anyone who bought into a new place. They have only the hope of not losing too much. Dad sold us his for $1. I think we overpaid.
> 
> 
> I hope this all works out for you. Time shares are a real pain, but we haven't had financial snafus like you're going through. It sounds, however, like you want to keep it pretty much for the sake of the family. Hope it makes it through the fires OK so you can all gather next year and be thankful for that blessing.
> 
> We have one in FL that my FIL gave us near the end of his life. More than once I've wanted to walk away from it (since, if you know anything about timeshares, they are impossible to sell off...), but Himself loves FL. Since he gave up the chance of retirement in FL to marry me, I think I can give him one week down there in exchange. [emoji813]
> 
> BTW, cute boys, *Jon*. Good to see them learning how to operate those Deere at an early age.


If you want to swap sometime let me know. I'd like to go to Florida. My brother is in the Tampa area. You can stay in our place in Pedgion forge. LOL.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> I want to click my heels together and trade places with someone.



I wish you could, too!  

Remember, your Father is losing his life mate, he is angry, scared...going through the stages of grief.  So are you, even if you don't see it.  So we have two people with raw nerves bumping into each other daily.  You need more "Me Time".  Your Father's many activities, trying to keep things the way they were in the past is a coping mechanism for his grief.  You both also had a recent loss and still have not recovered from that.  The Holidays are the worst. 

Read some Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, this site is a simple explanation, there are other sites that go into more detail.

Love ya, PM or email me when you need to, I'm here for you.


----------



## CWS4322

PF, Thank you for the reality check. I know all of these things...but sometimes, it really feels good to vent! I know I need more "Me Time"--and I didn't deserve to be berated for taking some on Wednesday. My other "Me Time" is between the hours of 3-5 a.m. when they are both asleep. This is the rockiest road I've had to ever walk in my life. I miss my brother so damned much, there isn't a day that doesn't go by when I don't miss him. Every time I have to say that I am dealing with the estate of xxxx pierces my heart. And, the nasty side of me told my Dad today that we should send the "Other Brother" (the one who lives 30 minutes away and hasn't had any interaction with the family since 2003) a card for Christmas telling him a donation was made to a charity in his name...


----------



## rodentraiser

Hmmm...that idea has merit. My brother is a tea partier and pretty vocal and nasty about it, too. Maybe I should have sent in a donation to Hillary's campaign in his name. 

I don't think that's your nasty side acting. Call it your practical side. You've been handed lemons. Now you're making lemonade.


----------



## CWS4322

rodentraiser said:


> Hmmm...that idea has merit. My brother is a tea partier and pretty vocal and nasty about it, too. Maybe I should have sent in a donation to Hillary's campaign in his name.
> 
> I don't think that's your nasty side acting. Call it your practical side. You've been handed lemons. Now you're making lemonade.


Thanks. I think every family has that one person...maybe that is a good way to deal with that person...give a donation to a charity and send the person a card instead of fretting over how to get the person back into the fold.


----------



## CWS4322

rodentraiser said:


> Hmmm...that idea has merit. My brother is a tea partier and pretty vocal and nasty about it, too. Maybe I should have sent in a donation to Hillary's campaign in his name.
> 
> I don't think that's your nasty side acting. Call it your practical side. You've been handed lemons. Now you're making lemonade.


When I called to tell the Other Brother that our brother had died (I was the one who found him dead---horrible, horrible, horrible--I hope I only have to find one dead body in my lifetime, probably not), his response was "How much money did he leave me and can I have his bike." I was dealing with the fact he was dead--trying to figure out which funeral home, etc., etc. I hadn't even gotten to the point of thinking about my brother's estate and how it would be handled or how much it might be worth. I had just gotten off the phone with my Dad and Mom and having to tell them that xxxx had died.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> When I called to tell the Other Brother that our brother had died (I was the one who found him dead---horrible, horrible, horrible--I hope I only have to find one dead body in my lifetime, probably not), his response was "How much money did he leave me and can I have his bike." I was dealing with the fact he was dead--trying to figure out which funeral home, etc., etc. I hadn't even gotten to the point of thinking about my brother's estate and how it would be handled or how much it might be worth. I had just gotten off the phone with my Dad and Mom and having to tell them that xxxx had died.



I hope you had the good sense to tell him no to the bike. You would be better off donating it to a charity to send to an auction house.


----------



## CharlieD

rodentraiser said:


> Hmmm...that idea has merit. My brother is a tea partier and pretty vocal and nasty about it, too. Maybe I should have sent in a donation to Hillary's campaign in his name.
> 
> I don't think that's your nasty side acting. Call it your practical side. You've been handed lemons. Now you're making lemonade.




Please do not bring politics into this forum 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Addie

I bought a personal chicken pot pie for Pirate. He hates carrots. So he started to pick them out one by one. By the time he go through, the filling was down to 1/4. I will never buy them again. Oh, there was three pieces of chicken in there. Along with what little gravy/sauce there was.


----------



## rodentraiser

CharlieD said:


> Please do not bring politics into this forum
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking



It wasn't politics. I was just trying to think of the worst thing I could do to him, considering how he's treated me.


----------



## Souschef

CWS4322 said:


> When I called to tell the Other Brother that our brother had died (I was the one who found him dead---horrible, horrible, horrible--I hope I only have to find one dead body in my lifetime, probably not), his response was "How much money did he leave me and can I have his bike." I was dealing with the fact he was dead--trying to figure out which funeral home, etc., etc. I hadn't even gotten to the point of thinking about my brother's estate and how it would be handled or how much it might be worth. I had just gotten off the phone with my Dad and Mom and having to tell them that xxxx had died.


Dear CWS,
I am so sorry for your loss and the shock you had finding him. Your other brother story reminds me of one that happened in my office. A woman's husband died, and a son flew down for the funeral. He told his mom he would be taking their new RV home with him. His mom told him she would be selling it, and he caught the next plane home.
Ben Franklin once said,"To know the true character of a person, inherit with them" So sadly true.


----------



## CWS4322

Souschef said:


> Dear CWS,
> I am so sorry for your loss and the shock you had finding him. Your other brother story reminds me of one that happened in my office. A woman's husband died, and a son flew down for the funeral. He told his mom he would be taking their new RV home with him. His mom told him she would be selling it, and he caught the next plane home.
> Ben Franklin once said,"To know the true character of a person, inherit with them" So sadly true.


So true, so true. I so do not care about the $ in my brother's or parents' estates. If you knew me, you would know that I am not about the money. Probably the best person to deal with my brother's estate because Iso don't care about the $, I want to honor him and know that he would be here taking care of our parents. . But I have to deal with my brother's estate and, I will have to deal with my parents' estates, I don't want to deal with the Other Brother. 

When I finally got my Dad to change his will to remove my brother as executor (being that he is deceased), he asked me who I wanted to be co-executor with me. I named my cousin who is also my godfather. I know he will be there for me. I don't want to do it alone. again. If you haven't had this conversation with your children/family, please do so. Leaving these things to your loved ones without instructions, etc., is very, very painful for the survivors. Not only that, trying to unravel everything if you do everything electronically is almost impossible. If you love someone, please don't leave them to deal with these matters without a road map.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> *PF, Thank you for the reality check. *I know all of these things...but sometimes, it really feels good to vent! I know I need more "Me Time"--and I didn't deserve to be berated for taking some on Wednesday. My other "Me Time" is between the hours of 3-5 a.m. when they are both asleep. This is the rockiest road I've had to ever walk in my life. I miss my brother so damned much, there isn't a day that doesn't go by when I don't miss him. Every time I have to say that I am dealing with the estate of xxxx pierces my heart. And, the nasty side of me told my Dad today that we should send the "Other Brother" (the one who lives 30 minutes away and hasn't had any interaction with the family since 2003) a card for Christmas telling him a donation was made to a charity in his name...



You are Welcome. {{hugs}}


----------



## Addie

CWS, I have been doing exactly that for the past several years. All my kids know exactly what I want them to do and who is to handle it all. Even my hospital and doctors office are aware that I wish to be an organ donor.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> I hope you had the good sense to tell him no to the bike. You would be better off donating it to a charity to send to an auction house.


I told him if he wanted it, it was his, but he had to come up to Ontario to get it. I wasn't shipping it and I wasn't going to haul it to MN with me. At the time, I was still trying to figure out which funeral home to use, etc. I wasn't in a very generous mood.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> I hope you had the good sense to tell him no to the bike. You would be better off donating it to a charity to send to an auction house.


I had 30 days to get everything moved. I just put everything in storage. I have to do an inventory for the estate, but I just needed to get everything moved so I could get to MN and be there for our parents. My brother's stuff will still be in storage when I am through with this part of the journey. It can wait.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> I had 30 days to get everything moved. I just put everything in storage. I have to do an inventory for the estate, but I just needed to get everything moved so I could get to MN and be there for our parents. My brother's stuff will still be in storage when I am through with this part of the journey. It can wait.



Once you go through everything, you do know that Goodwill or the Salvation Army will do an Estate cleanout. You take what you want first, then they come in and take all the rest. 

I would give him a time limit of when your brother can go to Ontario and pick up the bike. And when you have the time to be there also.


----------



## CakePoet

My husband hurt his back,  so I my Christmas  to do list is now swamped.  I have to do the cleaning and cooking and  decorating and go to the hugmyself course( which I dislike) and well I only have one body with muscle pains and it already screaming stop.

Can I pretend that jackdaw **** on the windows are snowflakes?


----------



## CharlieD

CWS4322 said:


> .... so I could get to MN and be there for our parents...



are you going to be in the city at all?


----------



## Caslon

My vent isn't petty. This is my yelp review of my dermatologist company, and, to an extent, my insurance (Medi-Cal). 


1.0 star rating 12/20/2016

"Everytime I get approval from my insurance for a procedure (The diagnosis return call itself takes 2 weeks, then the Insurance approval after diagnosis takes 2-3 weeks!), the 
receptionist tells me the doctor is on vacation (again???) and that it will be 6 weeks to remove a squamous cell cancer. This doctor (Venkat) must vacation a lot. 

Let's add this all up. Ready? 1 month wait for the initial consultation. Biopsy taken. 2 more weeks waiting for phone call with results of biopsy. 3 weeks for approval by insurance company to go ahead with removing squamous cell cancer. 6 weeks to wait until the doctor will do the procedure. GRAND TOTAL 15 weeks!!!!!

Another thing. I paid out of pocket ($125) for up to five skin tags to be removed. He froze two of them and one of them needs another freeze because it's still there. They also overlooked that they owe me 3 additional skin tag removals ($125 for up to 5 skin tags removed). I had to call them and show them the flaw in their logic before they admitted they owe me 3 more freeze offs.

Anyone who's thinking about giving Dermatology Specialists, Inc. 5 stars, read the above again.


----------



## mcrx

I haven't even read anything, but I feel this might be a fun release for me. ha! 

Hey folks, how do you bookmark threads or subscribe or something or see where you've posted before?? I'm still super new so don't quite know my way around. Ok  thanks.


----------



## Caslon

mcrx said:


> I haven't even read anything, but I feel this might be a fun release for me. ha!
> 
> Hey folks, how do you bookmark threads or subscribe or something or see where you've posted before?? I'm still super new so don't quite know my way around. Ok  thanks.


 

Here's a start. Click on "User CP", it's on the tool bar up top on the left. Click it open and click on "Your Profile." Then, click the "Statistics" tab. They'll be a list of all your previous posts. This helps if you've forgotten where your post was placed, and when.

Actually, your question and  topic should be moved by an admin to the "Forum Admin: Tech Support & Announcements"  area.


----------



## mcrx

Caslon said:


> Here's a start. Click on "User CP", it's on the tool bar up top on the left. Click it open and click on "Your Profile." Then, click the "Statistics" tab. They'll be a list of all your previous posts. This helps if you've forgotten where your post was placed, and when.
> 
> Actually, your question and  topic should be moved by an admin to the "Forum Admin: Tech Support & Announcements"  area.



Thanks. Hey, just so you know. I found the "Quick Links" tab works good too.  I'm sorry. I mean, I literally just got lucky and found it before logging out, so I genuinely was asking and I really appreciate the response. Trying to return the favor, if you will.


----------



## Caslon

mcrx said:


> Thanks. Hey, just so you know. I found the "Quick Links" tab works good too.  I'm sorry. I mean, I literally just got lucky and found it before logging out, so I genuinely was asking and I really appreciate the response. Trying to return the favor, if you will.



Before, I never bothered clicking on "Your Profile" because it wasn't underlined.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hi *mcrx*, and welcome to DC! You asked "how do you bookmark threads or subscribe". You need to go to the "User CP" link near the upper-left corner again. When you get to your Control Panel (see, "CP"  ), go to the "Settings and Options" tab and select "Edit Options". There are choices in the "Messaging & Notification" box titled "Default Thread Subscription Mode". Since "Subscribe" is the default setting at DC, you should see a list of "New Subscribed Threads" when you first land on your "User CP" page. If not, check your setting in that "Default Thread Subscription Mode" box. 

You can also subscribe and unsubscribe from a thread individually. Just use the drop down bar just above the first post on that page that says "Thread Tools". You can subscribe or unsubscribe from threads individually from there.

I hope my explanation is clearer than mud.  If not, give another shout-out. Someone will be along to help.


----------



## CWS4322

For those who don't know, I have been providing Eldercare since the end of May. My Mom has dementia and suffered a stroke in January 2016. My father is a prostate cancer survivor and my brother died unexpectedly in April. 2016 has been a really, really crappy year. Because my brother died intestate in Ontario, I had to apply to be appointed Trustee. That took months (November). So, I have been taking care of my Mom 24/7 in MN but I have to bee-bob back to ON to deal with estate matters. I am the person taking care of my Mom except for when the caregivers come. I do more loads of laundry each day than I ever thought a person could do, I provide 3 meals a day, yadda, yadda, yadda. Yesterday, I went to town (OMG, I got to leave the house!). I was gone for three hours. Why did I go to town? To deal with some Estate matters and pick up the missing ingredients for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. You would have thought I had flown to the moon. I got home and all my Dad could do was rant and rave about how I was supposed to be here taking care of my Mom and did he have to hire someone else? Really, I was gone for THREE hours. Some days (most days) he drives me CRAZY!!!!


----------



## CakePoet

*hugs*
By the way to ease your mother dementia, cook something she used to eat as child.  If she was born in Sweden I can find recipes for you.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I really feel for you taking care of your elderly parents. They can act worse than  children. I had to take care of my boss when he had his knee replaced. I could not believe how a grown man could act like such a spoiled little child. The worst is he would lie. The Dr said this and this. NOOOO I was there you cant do that. Sorry. You are on pain meds. So he said fine I don't need them anyway. He quit taking them so he could drive. Wasn't 36 hours and he was back on them. (insert whiny little voice here) They push on me too hard in physical therapy. They don't need to work me so hard. It hurts....Um yea that's their job. I had Knee work myself right before he did and had the same therapist.   
He will be 70 this year. No family. Just me and my brother here working for him. We got a small preview of whats to come in the future. I hope he lives a long healthy life.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have 25-31 of those each night at work...a couple of 100 years old, too!


----------



## Addie

I once had someone say to me, "No matter how bad it is, you just never complain." I had to stop and think about that. He was right. 

There are those who just dig in and solve the problem at hand. And then there are the ones who need attention and whine constantly. I fall into the first group. But I do understand the second group. Sometimes the load just gets too heavy to carry around. It seems that no matter how hard you try,  life is not getting any better. No one appreciates any of the effort one puts forth. So why try. 

Well for those of you who have a heavy load to carry this holiday season, let loose here. The folks here at DC *DO* care. We do understand the stresses the season puts upon all of us. We do understand the load of concern we all carry throughout the year. Illness, financial, relatives, you name it. It all just makes the load heavier. 

But fortunately, here at DC, we have a thread called Petty Vents. So vent my friends. We all are listening. And we do understand the pressures that the holidays bring. We are here for you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I once had someone say to me, "No matter how bad it is, you just never complain." I had to stop and think about that. He was right....


  Um, *Addie*, I'm guessing you're talking about how you are in real life?  I mean, um, no offense, but I guess you feel *really* comfortable around us here at DC because you seem to be sharing, um, a lot of stuff that bugs you with us. Just sayin'...


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> Um, *Addie*, I'm guessing you're talking about how you are in real life?  I mean, um, no offense, but I guess you feel *really* comfortable around us here at DC because you seem to be sharing, um, a lot of stuff that bugs you with us. Just sayin'...



That must be it. Because wow,  Winthrop staff and appointments and grocery shopping and neighbors and building management and... Maybe we have different definitions of complaining.


----------



## CWS4322

I am a very private person. I have had a lot of crap happen since 2008. The only thing that I can do is get through it. One of our caregivers' husband died unexpectedly at the age of 48 on the 19th. His wife, now a widow, is going to have to get through it. I can't imagine her pain, I just know my pain and how much I miss my life friend--my brother. I do know, however, that her priorities and world shifted and things that were important, no longer are. Dad and I will be going to the visitation on Tuesday. My uncle is coming up, so he can be here with Mom while Dad and I go to pay our respects. You never know what life will toss your way--hold tight to the ones you love. I am reaching deep to get through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day without my brother.


----------



## CWS4322

GotGarlic said:


> That must be it. Because wow,  Winthrop staff and appointments and grocery shopping and neighbors and building management and... Maybe we have different definitions of complaining.


Projecting again? Addie has had to get through a child being murdered, she has buried her husbands, she has a lot of health issues. If DC is where she feels she can reach out for empathy, so be it.


----------



## CWS4322

CakePoet said:


> *hugs*
> By the way to ease your mother dementia, cook something she used to eat as child.  If she was born in Sweden I can find recipes for you.


Thanks. My Grandma was born in Sweden. Mom here in the States. I have been making things my Grandma used to make--thankfully, I have her handwritten cookbook and recipe box. I have baked all my Mom's favourite cookies and have the menu for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day based on what my Grandma used to make. What I would like is a really good recipe for Knackerbrot. I have made that but my recipe is in Ontario and I am here in MN. This Christmas is all about food.


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## GotGarlic

CWS4322 said:


> Projecting again?



No. What a strange thing to say.


----------



## buckytom

This reminds me of The Music Man.

Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little.
Pick pick pick, talk a lot, pick a little more.


GG, if you want to pick on someone, try me.

This is a thread about bitching about stuff. You should expect to hear it. Why not just be supportive? Why try to make things worse for folks?


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## PrincessFiona60

Reminds me of Julius Caesar...


----------



## GotGarlic

Of course I expect people to bitch about stuff in this thread. I don't expect people who bitch about stuff to pop in and marvel at how they never bitch about stuff.


----------



## buckytom

I'm bitching about how you are bitching at other members. So there.



My point was about being helpful or supportive in the face of others' troubles.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Cooking Goddess said:


> Um, *Addie*, I'm guessing you're talking about how you are in real life?  I mean, um, no offense, but I guess you feel *really* comfortable around us here at DC because you seem to be sharing, um, a lot of stuff that bugs you with us. Just sayin'...



The thing about internet friends is you CAN share your deepest darkest secretes with each other. You CAN share your problems.  Maybe someone has been in the same place and can help. With real life friends you have to be careful. A listening ear may also be blabbing mouth. Most of us don't know each other in "real life" so I don't care if you talk about the the things I say in your circle of "real friends". 

There is not really much odd stuff to talk about on this forum but over on my chicken forum. WOW there are some dumb people in this world. I mean I know there is no such thing as a stupid question but a little common sense will go a long way. Somebody actually asked this question. "Can chickens go 2 days without food and water?" Hello? Any body home?  
SaveSaveSave​


----------



## GotGarlic

Hi 





buckytom said:


> I'm bitching about how you are bitching at other members. So there.
> 
> 
> 
> My point was about being helpful or supportive in the face of others' troubles.



You're missing my point, but that's okay. Bitch away. I'll support you


----------



## buckytom

But you're not, and that's the real thing going on here.
You can play word games all day, but in reality you're just being mean.


----------



## GotGarlic

buckytom said:


> But you're not, and that's the real thing going on here.
> You can play word games all day, but in reality you're just being mean.



Again - you're missing the point. I'm not mean. I have a low tolerance for certain behaviors. Sorry if that offends you.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Again - you're missing the point. I'm not mean. I have a low tolerance for certain behaviors. Sorry if that offends you.



Your behavior not only offends buckytom, but others also. Maybe this forum is not the one for you. Ever since I joined, you have had it in for me. I am sorry you don't like my behavior, but the one thing I do try to do is be nice to others. Not pick, pick, pick on what you perceive to be irritating behavior traits. 

I don't know if you have noticed it or not, but when you come at me in what I perceive to be an attack, I very rarely respond. Most of the time I have you blocked along with a few others. But I know that you are very knowledgeable so I unblock you every so often. I find that you have a lot to contribute. I have noticed how you often take the time to provide a site with more info for the subject at hand. Not everyone will do that for strangers. You contribute a lot of excellent and helpful information to this forum. Too bad it is often tainted with sarcasm and meanness. That is not becoming to any person.  

No need to respond. I am going to put you the block list again!


----------



## buckytom

Well, there's no need for that. 

Merry Christmas to everyone.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

buckytom said:


> ...This is a thread about bitching about stuff...


*bt*, no one is bitching that people complain. It's just that if you DO do it, own it. Don't say you aren't a complainer when it doesn't look that way at DC. That's all. 




Addie said:


> ...No need to respond. I am going to put you the block list again!


*Addie*, if you're going to block someone, block me. I pointed out the inconsistency of your statement "I once had someone say to me, 'No matter how bad it is, you just never complain'. I had to stop and think about that. He was right." and what we see here on DC. You are a complainer, dear, so own it. Admit it! Embrace it! Let the truth set you free! And if you don't complain to people face-to-face, well good for you. And I'm sorry I started this entire mess...




Farmer Jon said:


> The thing about internet friends is you CAN share your deepest darkest secretes with each other. You CAN share your problems....With real life friends you have to be careful. A listening ear may also be blabbing mouth. Most of us don't know each other in "real life" so I don't care if you talk about the the things I say in your circle of "real friends"....


^This^ Oh my gosh, *^THIS^!* You have given me new "eyes", as the comic Gallagher would say. I will have to keep this mind when I see things that don't quite add up. Thanks. ~ By the way, cute story about the chicken. Maybe that person should become a vegetarian? 

***************** And now, time for a Board Flip:

Yes, *bucky*, and everyone else, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and any other blessings and peace of the season. God bless us, EVERYone.


----------



## buckytom

Cooking Goddess said:


> *bt*, no one is bitching that people complain. It's just that if you DO do it, own it. Don't say you aren't a complainer when it doesn't look that way at DC. That's all.


 
I understood, but it seems to be a trend with some folks, constantly pointing out inconsistencies or short comings.

I know I do it at times, but it's often just that it struck me as funny, not that I felt a need to be someone else's moral or behavioural compass.

Unless it's funny.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Well I hate to change the subject here but its gotta be done.

So, I got these dumb ducks. They run all over the yard. Ive had them several months now. They seem to like to hang out on the south side of the house. That's where the window well for the basement egress window is. 2 evenings in a row Ive had to get these dumb ducks out of the window well so they can go back to the barn. The geese just stand there honking. Like they are saying hey dummy don't do that. But they still do. I jump in there to get them then they freak out. I'm going to have to make a fence.


----------



## Dawgluver

Farmer Jon said:


> Well I hate to change the subject here but its gotta be done.
> 
> So, I got these dumb ducks. They run all over the yard. Ive had them several months now. They seem to like to hang out on the south side of the house. That's where the window well for the basement egress window is. 2 evenings in a row Ive had to get these dumb ducks out of the window well so they can go back to the barn. The geese just stand there honking. Like they are saying hey dummy don't do that. But they still do. I jump in there to get them then they freak out. I'm going to have to make a fence.




Heh.  Window wells remind me of one of my neighbors, years ago, who pointed out dozens of toads in it, doing what, um, toads do.  She and I had never witnessed such a thing.  We gave them their privacy, then she got some of those plastic window well guards.  They might work for you too.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Biology lesson, *Dawg*.  The better for your guidance counseling job.

***************************************
I'm guessing I won't have to kill Himself to achieve widowhood. It seems like he's determined to do it himself. 

Dumb-butt watched THREE different newscasts. Three different stations. Three different-but-same weather reports. They ALL said it was getting colder and outside surfaces would be icing up and getting slippery. Well, after *insisting* that we needed to get our family room tree up since we're still here, and then watching *me* place all the ornaments from the box on the tree (you see what he did there? Ack!), he decides to go out to look at the tree. In his slippers. Down the wooden porch steps...which he slid down earlier this year because it was (you guessed it) cold and icy. What does he do? Vwoopa on his doopa.  Bounced himself on his back, his shoulder, and for good measure, a bit of his head. Refuses to go to the hospital to find out if anything is seriously damaged. Since he ate dinner just fine and can still move around, I guess I won't drag his butt to the car. But the Good Lord help him if we can't leave for OH on Monday...


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh dear, CG!  This sounds very not good!  Hope Himself is OK!  Sure hope you don't become a widow sooner than you think, and that you get back to Ohio before that happens!

I find if a relative is cremated, they're a lot lighter to carry around.  You may yet get back to Ohio.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Oh dear, CG! This sounds very not good! Hope Himself is OK! Sure hope you don't become a widow sooner than you think, and that you get back to Ohio before that happens!
> 
> I find if a relative is cremated, they're a lot lighter to carry around. You may yet get back to Ohio.


 
ROFL!!!!!  Trying to kill me!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> ...I find if a relative is cremated, they're a lot lighter to carry around.  You may yet get back to Ohio.


I'll just mail him. Regular mail, not Priority. Not that he isn't worth it, it's just that he has never hurried for anything in his life. No sense in starting now...


----------



## medtran49

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'll just mail him. Regular mail, not Priority. Not that he isn't worth it, it's just that he has never hurried for anything in his life. No sense in starting now...


 
Tell him he has to take everything down and LEAVE IT UP until he does, even if that's June.  

Sorry, but you are going to have to fork over the big bucks.  He'll have to be Express mailed and tracked.


----------



## medtran49

Yesterday, we got the e-mail for the sales at Penn Dutch starting today.  Veal shanks were going to be on sale.  So, Craig goes over there this morning, he's there by shortly after 8 a.m. because we knew they'd sell out quickly.  They have *2 packages* (1 shank per), yes *2.  *It really torques me when companies put things on sale and then don't have ample supplies to fill demand.  He went ahead and bought the 2 but it would have been nice to have a couple more.


----------



## Addie

Pirate's new insurance kicked in on January 1st. It seems that SS and the wonderful Commonwealth of Mass. deemed him to be disabled until death. Which may come sooner than he planned. We have an ER here is Eastie. Only because we are shut off from a direct route to any big hospitals without paying what for some is big bucks. 

I am so sick of hearing about how bad his stomach is, how much pain in his legs and feet, etc. GO TO THE DANG ER! Nope, he has an appointment in February and that is when and only then, he will address all his health complaints. 

*AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY FOR ADOPTION.* One run down 54 y.o. Pirate. Loves to do housework. Adopting person should be deaf!


----------



## CWS4322

I have this thing about my Mom being dressed in clothes that match, aren't stained, and look nice on her. I know that she is wheelchair/bedridden, but that doesn't mean she can't be in clean clothes that match. I get annoyed when the caregivers don't match her top to the bottom...I went through her closet tonight and hung the bottoms and tops that match together. I don't want anyone to ask "who dressed her? She looks like a bag lady." Why is it so hard to match the clothes? Whatever she has worn that day is put in the wash. Her clothes get washed more often than mine or my Dad's do, but why is it so hard to match things? I have taken to picking out her outfit for the next day the night before. My Mom always dressed nicely and I still want her to be dressed nicely. Is that too much to ask?


----------



## Addie

And aside from all else, during her lucid moments she will notice how she looks. And that is good for her spirits. Stay on it CWS. The longer her spirits are on the upside, the longer she will live. It gives her incentive to try and please.


----------



## CWS4322

I kinda whacked myself upside the head today. My Dad redid his will as my Christmas present (told him that was what I wanted AND POA). I was the one who told him he had to leave 15% to the Other Brother. Actually, I'd like my Dad to leave that to the charity of his choice and leave a letter for the Other Brother telling him why his diminished share was given to charity. Don't show up, don't help when help is needed, why should he be able to live in his little world and get money from our parents' estate when I am working my butt off and gave up my job, home, friends, life to be here so I can change my Mom's diaper and wipe her butt. Hardly seems fair.. Conversation I have to have with Dad in the next couple of days. 

I am taking care of my Mom out of love. But, why does the OB get a percentage when he could not be bothered to visit Mom when she was in the hospital, couldn't come out to get the bro's clothes that are here that would fit the OB, said he would in June, what? You can't come out to see your Mom? You can't offer me a few hours of respite? Yet you will be at the door asking how much money did they leave you and can you have their ... generator? Dad's bike? I know it will be something.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> And aside from all else, during her lucid moments she will notice how she looks. And that is good for her spirits. Stay on it CWS. The longer her spirits are on the upside, the longer she will live. It gives her incentive to try and please.


She is more lucid than not. I just want everyone to remember that she can hear what they are saying and it is not appropriate to talk around, under, above or s/ways of her.


----------



## Farmer Jon

medtran49 said:


> Yesterday, we got the e-mail for the sales at Penn Dutch starting today.  Veal shanks were going to be on sale.  So, Craig goes over there this morning, he's there by shortly after 8 a.m. because we knew they'd sell out quickly.  They have *2 packages* (1 shank per), yes *2.  *It really torques me when companies put things on sale and then don't have ample supplies to fill demand.  He went ahead and bought the 2 but it would have been nice to have a couple more.


Thats how they get you in the store. You go for what's on sale but they are out so you buy something else.


----------



## medtran49

Well, that's all he went for so they didn't get any other money out of us.  Called them a bit after I posted to ask if they were getting anymore in and to complain if they weren't.  Was told that they had plenty and the man I spoke to didn't know why Craig was told that.  So, he goes back on his way home.  Slim pickings, most of them were basically just a little meat around the bone, but he managed to get 2 more packages like the first ones that were far more meat then bone.  He did ask if they had any more, and was again told no, that's all they had.  I told him I think they are parceling them out since they rarely have them.


----------



## buckytom

That's the exact opposite of a loss leader. It obviously doesn't work and just pisses of the customers.

You have to wonder how some people stay in business.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> Pirate's new insurance kicked in on January 1st. It seems that SS and the wonderful Commonwealth of Mass. deemed him to be disabled until death. Which may come sooner than he planned. We have an ER here is Eastie. Only because we are shut off from a direct route to any big hospitals without paying what for some is big bucks.
> 
> I am so sick of hearing about how bad his stomach is, how much pain in his legs and feet, etc. GO TO THE DANG ER! Nope, he has an appointment in February and that is when and only then, he will address all his health complaints.
> 
> *AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY FOR ADOPTION.* One run down 54 y.o. Pirate. Loves to do housework. Adopting person should be deaf!


My Dad's deaf and I could really use a "new"  brother who does housework!


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> I kinda whacked myself upside the head today. My Dad redid his will as my Christmas present (told him that was what I wanted AND POA). I was the one who told him he had to leave 15% to the Other Brother. Actually, I'd like my Dad to leave that to the charity of his choice and leave a letter for the Other Brother telling him why his diminished share was given to charity. Don't show up, don't help when help is needed, why should he be able to live in his little world and get money from our parents' estate when I am working my butt off and gave up my job, home, friends, life to be here so I can change my Mom's diaper and wipe her butt. Hardly seems fair.. Conversation I have to have with Dad in the next couple of days.
> 
> I am taking care of my Mom out of love. But, why does the OB get a percentage when he could not be bothered to visit Mom when she was in the hospital, couldn't come out to get the bro's clothes that are here that would fit the OB, said he would in June, what? You can't come out to see your Mom? You can't offer me a few hours of respite? Yet you will be at the door asking how much money did they leave you and can you have their ... generator? Dad's bike? I know it will be something.



Have you told your father about how you feel? Remember, like you he is not a mind reader. You might be surprised that he agrees with you. And if he agrees with you after your talk, have him add a codicil to his will. Have it state that per instructions from his deceased brother, he is leaving that 15% to the charity of your father choice in his older brother's name. 

I don't know how the law works in that part of the country. In this state, you cannot leave your spouse out of your will, but you can your children. If your father has a bank account, he should also make you co-owner. That way your brother can't get at it. Just list your father's name first. According to his age, he will pay less tax on any interest, not you. 

But the most important information I can pass on to you is, make a list of all the things he wants, to be in the will and take that to a lawyer to write up a legal and proper will that will be recognized by the court should it ever come to that. Make sure you have a copy, and have the lawyer keep a copy. 

CWS, I can't tell you the number of wills I have had to type up and sign my name to as a legal secretary, then witness as a Notary Public. I still have a packet of gold seals. I should throw them out. I have also been witness to families screaming and fighting in the office at the reading, to the point of calling the police. Remember, not every will has to go through Probate if it is properly written and witnessed.


----------



## JoAnn L.

We went looking for a new gas clothes dryer. When we went to Menards they only had one gas dryer in stock and said they would have to order any of the other models. When I asked if there was a delivery charge she said yes, that it was $59 and another $10 to bring it into the house. I had never heard of the $10 charge before.


----------



## Andy M.

JoAnn L. said:


> We went looking for a new gas clothes dryer. When we went to Menards they only had one gas dryer in stock and said they would have to order any of the other models. When I asked if there was a delivery charge she said yes, that it was $59 and another $10 to bring it into the house. I had never heard of the $10 charge before.



It's just another way to get your money.  Keep shopping.


----------



## roadfix

JoAnn L. said:


> We went looking for a new gas clothes dryer. When we went to Menards they only had one gas dryer in stock and said they would have to order any of the other models. When I asked if there was a delivery charge she said yes, that it was $59 and another $10 to bring it into the house. I had never heard of the $10 charge before.


.....and another $20 for hooking it up to your gas line...
Yep, shop elsewhere.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> It's just another way to get your money.  Keep shopping.



Ditto.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

JoAnn L. said:


> We went looking for a new gas clothes dryer. When we went to Menards they only had one gas dryer in stock and said they would have to order any of the other models. When I asked if there was a delivery charge she said yes, that it was $59 and another $10 to bring it into the house. I had never heard of the $10 charge before.


Our daughter works for Lowe's. She said 1) most stores do not warehouse appliances - they all need to be ordered 2) even more so with gas, since they aren't sold as much as electric models 3) Lowe's charges for appliance purchases under $399.00, after that they deliver for free and 4) Lowe's doesn't charge to "bring into the house", but they do charge a $15 old appliance removal fee. For what it's worth, it would cost me more than $15 to have our trash service take an old dryer away.

Just something to compare by. Good luck.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> Have you told your father about how you feel? Remember, like you he is not a mind reader. You might be surprised that he agrees with you. And if he agrees with you after your talk, have him add a codicil to his will. Have it state that per instructions from his deceased brother, he is leaving that 15% to the charity of your father choice in his older brother's name.
> 
> I don't know how the law works in that part of the country. In this state, you cannot leave your spouse out of your will, but you can your children. If your father has a bank account, he should also make you co-owner. That way your brother can't get at it. Just list your father's name first. According to his age, he will pay less tax on any interest, not you.
> 
> But the most important information I can pass on to you is, make a list of all the things he wants, to be in the will and take that to a lawyer to write up a legal and proper will that will be recognized by the court should it ever come to that. Make sure you have a copy, and have the lawyer keep a copy.
> 
> CWS, I can't tell you the number of wills I have had to type up and sign my name to as a legal secretary, then witness as a Notary Public. I still have a packet of gold seals. I should throw them out. I have also been witness to families screaming and fighting in the office at the reading, to the point of calling the police. Remember, not every will has to go through Probate if it is properly written and witnessed.


We just had this talk tonight. I have asked him to gift the others out and have them sign off. Or, change the will to have their shares go to charity because they are not here helping. I know that sounds bitter--but I am not here for the money but I am doing the heavy lifting--not only with my parents but with my brother. If they can't frigging send my Dad a birthday card or call him on his birthday or couldn't visit my Mom when she was in the hospital or send a card once a month or call, well hello, sorry, your share is going to charity.


----------



## CWS4322

CWS4322 said:


> We just had this talk tonight. I have asked him to gift the others out and have them sign off. Or, change the will to have their shares go to charity because they are not here helping. I know that sounds bitter--but I am not here for the money but I am doing the heavy lifting--not only with my parents but with my brother. If they can't frigging send my Dad a birthday card or call him on his birthday or couldn't visit my Mom when she was in the hospital or send a card once a month or call, well hello, sorry, your share is going to charity.


I don't believe that parents owe their adult children anything. Adult children should be able to make it on their own. However, I also don't believe that parents owe their adult children an inheritance if the adult children don't honour their parents. My OB is not honouring his parents. His share, if it were up to me, would go to charity.


----------



## Dawgluver

My younger brother and sister were waiting like vultures when my mom died.  Took me two years to have an auction, and sell her cars and her house.  Plus settle all her bills and stuff.  They wanted their cut immediately.  It takes time.

I feel for you, CWS.


----------



## CWS4322

Dawgluver said:


> My younger brother and sister were waiting like vultures when my mom died.  Took me two years to have an auction, and sell her cars and her house.  Plus settle all her bills and stuff.  They wanted their cut immediately.  It takes time.
> 
> I feel for you, CWS.


Vulture: "How much money did he leave me and can I have his bike." That's what the OB said when I called to tell him our brother had died. VULTURE. I am sure he will say about the same when the Elders die.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> My younger brother and sister were waiting like vultures when my mom died.  Took me two years to have an auction, and sell her cars and her house.  Plus settle all her bills and stuff.  They wanted their cut immediately.  It takes time.
> 
> I feel for you, CWS.



Same here CWS. 

When my youngest daughter died, her three youngest children had already entered the adoption process. When the parents heard that there was a major suit to be settled from a car accident, both sets of parents called me to let me know that they expected to be included in the settlement. In response all they got from me was "uh huh, I see, hmmm." It was their tone of voice that ticked me off. So they petitioned the court. The judge said, since the children were already in the adoption process, they were not entitled to any monies from the settlement. He had a lot more to say to them, but that was his last sentence. They left court with a stunned look on their faces. About a week later I got a call from one of the fathers. "What happens if we decide we decide to not adopt the two kids." I told them that DSS would find another family for them. And they still wouldn't be entitled to any of the money if I said so. And I did say so. I never heard another word about any settlement. I did set up a small trust fund for the two oldest children though. When they each turned 18, they got their money.


----------



## CWS4322

For me, it definitely isn't about the money, never have seen a hearse with a U-haul or with bank cards attached. It is about the fact that the OB lives 45 minutes away and can't be bothered to come and see his mother or father but he expects them to give him something. He can't be bothered to come and see me either and he wasn't there as I grieved the loss of our other brother. I had to find him dead (and you don't want me to tell you what that was like--I had nightmares for 6 weeks every night), I had to empty his apartment, make arrangements for his cremation, etc., etc., alone. My Dad couldn't come up to Ontario because of Mom, so I did that alone and I have to handle the estate alone. All the OB wanted was to know how much money and could he have his bike. For those who have never gone through this, alone, it is h#ll. That is all I can say. And my Dad's prostate cancer is not in remission and my Mom is double incontinent and bedridden/wheelchair bound. Ain't life fun. I wake in the morning dreading to find out if one of my parents have died. Your car can't start? Your stove is broken, I'll trade you, I'd like those teeny-weeny problems.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> For me, it definitely isn't about the money, never have seen a hearse with a U-haul or with bank cards attached. It is about the fact that the OB lives 45 minutes away and can't be bothered to come and see his mother or father but he expects them to give him something. He can't be bothered to come and see me either and he wasn't there as I grieved the loss of our other brother. I had to find him dead (and you don't want me to tell you what that was like--I had nightmares for 6 weeks every night), I had to empty his apartment, make arrangements for his cremation, etc., etc., alone. My Dad couldn't come up to Ontario because of Mom, so I did that alone and I have to handle the estate alone. All the OB wanted was to know how much money and could he have his bike. For those who have never gone through this, alone, it is h#ll. That is all I can say.



I know CWS. And the worst part is you don't even have a date for when it will end. When do you get your life back. So vent to your hearts content. We're here for you! Any time you may need us.


----------



## medtran49

Addie said:


> Same here CWS.
> 
> When my youngest daughter died, her three youngest children had already entered the adoption process. When the parents heard that there was a major suit to be settled from a car accident, both sets of parents called me to let me know that they expected to be included in the settlement. In response all they got from me was "uh huh, I see, hmmm." It was their tone of voice that ticked me off. So they petitioned the court. The judge said, since the children were already in the adoption process, they were not entitled to any monies from the settlement. He had a lot more to say to them, but that was his last sentence. They left court with a stunned look on their faces. About a week later I got a call from one of the fathers. "What happens if we decide we decide to not adopt the two kids." I told them that DSS would find another family for them. *And they still wouldn't be entitled to any of the money if I said so. And I did say so.* I never heard another word about any settlement. I did set up a small trust fund for the two oldest children though. When they each turned 18, they got their money.


 

Addie, you posted this under Culinary Gifts, post #10 

_I understand completely. When I lost my *daughter*, she had a very large settlement coming from an automobile accident. So I asked the lawyer to ask the court to name me executrix of the estate. The court gave me a booklet explaining the rules and my responsibilities. Since three of her *children* were already in the process of being adopted, I did not have to include them in the final settlement. But I did. I felt it was only right and what my *daughter* would have wanted. *I explained to the adopting parents that the money was to be deposited into a trust fund* and could only be used for their education costs or extreme medical needs. The same day they got the checks, they cashed them and the kids never say a cent. I should have brought them to court over it. But I let it go. Only one parent lived by the instructions. She sent the child she adopted to an expensive private school. _

So which is it?  I'll explain why I remembered and why the contradiction bothered me enough to bring it up.  

I'm adopted.  My father died a little over a year ago.  As some of you may remember, a couple of years prior, my step-mother was involved in a serious car accident and I had to move to Mississippi for a while to care for my father because he was advanced enough into his dementia that he couldn't live alone or be trusted to pay bills, deal with finances, etc.  A couple of years after he married my stepmother (when I was in my late 20s) he told me that he was changing his will to leave his pension and a payout he was getting annually from his mother's estate (her home that he and his brothers were carrying the mortgage on).  I was okay with that because I knew they were doing okay, but didn't have a whole lot extra at the time.  Fast forward to a few years ago when I discovered their finances had VASTLY changed, about 70% due to my father's SS, pension and estate payouts.  Their wills were such that the surviving spouse would get everything, with them in turn leaving equal amounts to their respective children (me and her 2 children).  She was 12 years younger than my dad so it had always been assumed that he would pass first.  

Side note, I had to go through all their papers because we needed to apply for vet benefits and/or any other benefits due to the need for in-home care once she was able to come home and my dad essentially needing care at least 18 hours a day.  It wasn't like I was snooping.  It was done with full knowledge of all the rest of the family. 

Well, during my stay with my dad, her son and I were having lunch together while my dad was visiting his mom in the hospital to give them some alone time.  I was informed by him that his mother had changed her will to give him the house when she passed.  Okay, I can understand that, I don't live close and he lives only about an hour and a-half away.  His sister, who is mentally-challenged, will probably also need a place to live eventually since she for some reason stays with an abusive husband.  She can't hold a job, but can take care of household duties and volunteers some for their church.  

I suspect that stepmom's son has convinced her to change her will to leave me out because she let drop in 1 of our conversations that he had taken her to the lawyer's office a couple of times, as well as a couple of other things that have happened and/or been said.  Of course, depending on how long she lives there may not be anything left anyway, since she has to have someone come in 6 days a week to help her out due to health issues resulting from the accident.  

I know I'm not owed anything from my father, but it torques me that more than likely her kids or maybe even just her son are going to get whatever is left and I'll end up with nothing when the majority of the money came via by father.  It especially bothers me because neither her son, nor his wife ever stayed in the hospital with stepmom.  Her son called other family members to stay with her.  Nor did either of them volunteer to stay with my dad for a couple of days so I didn't have to drop everything and rush up there the day after she had the accident.  He only started to really get involved in her care after I discovered the state of their finances.


----------



## JoAnn L.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Our daughter works for Lowe's. She said 1) most stores do not warehouse appliances - they all need to be ordered 2) even more so with gas, since they aren't sold as much as electric models 3) Lowe's charges for appliance purchases under $399.00, after that they deliver for free and 4) Lowe's doesn't charge to "bring into the house", but they do charge a $15 old appliance removal fee. For what it's worth, it would cost me more than $15 to have our trash service take an old dryer away.
> 
> Just something to compare by. Good luck.



Thanks for all the information. I guess each store has their own fees. It really pays to look around.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> I know CWS. And the worst part is you don't even have a date for when it will end. When do you get your life back. So vent to your hearts content. We're here for you! Any time you may need us.


You got that right--do I ever get my life back? Will it be the life I want? Living in the here and now.


----------



## CWS4322

medtran49 said:


> Addie, you posted this under Culinary Gifts, post #10
> 
> _I understand completely. When I lost my *daughter*, she had a very large settlement coming from an automobile accident. So I asked the lawyer to ask the court to name me executrix of the estate. The court gave me a booklet explaining the rules and my responsibilities. Since three of her *children* were already in the process of being adopted, I did not have to include them in the final settlement. But I did. I felt it was only right and what my *daughter* would have wanted. *I explained to the adopting parents that the money was to be deposited into a trust fund* and could only be used for their education costs or extreme medical needs. The same day they got the checks, they cashed them and the kids never say a cent. I should have brought them to court over it. But I let it go. Only one parent lived by the instructions. She sent the child she adopted to an expensive private school. _
> 
> So which is it?  I'll explain why I remembered and why the contradiction bothered me enough to bring it up.
> 
> I'm adopted.  My father died a little over a year ago.  As some of you may remember, a couple of years prior, my step-mother was involved in a serious car accident and I had to move to Mississippi for a while to care for my father because he was advanced enough into his dementia that he couldn't live alone or be trusted to pay bills, deal with finances, etc.  A couple of years after he married my stepmother (when I was in my late 20s) he told me that he was changing his will to leave his pension and a payout he was getting annually from his mother's estate (her home that he and his brothers were carrying the mortgage on).  I was okay with that because I knew they were doing okay, but didn't have a whole lot extra at the time.  Fast forward to a few years ago when I discovered their finances had VASTLY changed, about 70% due to my father's SS, pension and estate payouts.  Their wills were such that the surviving spouse would get everything, with them in turn leaving equal amounts to their respective children (me and her 2 children).  She was 12 years younger than my dad so it had always been assumed that he would pass first.
> 
> Side note, I had to go through all their papers because we needed to apply for vet benefits and/or any other benefits due to the need for in-home care once she was able to come home and my dad essentially needing care at least 18 hours a day.  It wasn't like I was snooping.  It was done with full knowledge of all the rest of the family.
> 
> Well, during my stay with my dad, her son and I were having lunch together while my dad was visiting his mom in the hospital to give them some alone time.  I was informed by him that his mother had changed her will to give him the house when she passed.  Okay, I can understand that, I don't live close and he lives only about an hour and a-half away.  His sister, who is mentally-challenged, will probably also need a place to live eventually since she for some reason stays with an abusive husband.  She can't hold a job, but can take care of household duties and volunteers some for their church.
> 
> I suspect that stepmom's son has convinced her to change her will to leave me out because she let drop in 1 of our conversations that he had taken her to the lawyer's office a couple of times, as well as a couple of other things that have happened and/or been said.  Of course, depending on how long she lives there may not be anything left anyway, since she has to have someone come in 6 days a week to help her out due to health issues resulting from the accident.
> 
> I know I'm not owed anything from my father, but it torques me that more than likely her kids or maybe even just her son are going to get whatever is left and I'll end up with nothing when the majority of the money came via by father.  It especially bothers me because neither her son, nor his wife ever stayed in the hospital with stepmom.  Her son called other family members to stay with her.  Nor did either of them volunteer to stay with my dad for a couple of days so I didn't have to drop everything and rush up there the day after she had the accident.  He only started to really get involved in her care after I discovered the state of their finances.


I get that. I am working on my Dad to leave the others' shares to charity. They couldn't be here now, they should not be bugging me for their shares. Sorry. You didn't have time to spend with the Elders when they were alive, you sure as heck don't deserve to get that $. For those who have difficult relationships with family, make peace. Life is too short to bear grudges.


----------



## Souschef

Dear Medtran and CWS,
You might want to post your problems on the sister site to this one:
Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community

There is a tremendous amount of advice from folks who have been there. Do not let the URL dissuade you. 
There have been many discussions on the problems you face.


----------



## Addie

Two of the children got a ten dollar bill in their birthday cards that year. The baby nothing. She doesn't remember her mother and didn't even find out she was adopted until she was in her teens. 

There is still some anger left from the whole experience between myself and the adopting parents. But it is never brought up. 

The only time it has been mentioned is when the "baby" had questions and wanted to know about her mother. I promised her that if she ever had any questions, just pick up the phone and I would always tell her the whole truth about her mother. 

Except for the youngest one, the whole family has let sleeping dogs lie.


----------



## Dawgluver

Our sweet little neighborhood store is closing.  It's the closest one to DH's work, and an easy stop for milk and such, plus they have the best meat, and he gets an old fart's discount on Wednesdays.  Not a horrible hardship for us since we live out of town and have cars, but I feel really bad for the south end, which is pretty much low income, and many walk to to the store as they can't afford transportation.  This will be an issue for many.


----------



## CakePoet

I just slipped and hit my bad hip...  I am in agony and I am going away this weekend.. *sigh*


----------



## medtran49

Addie said:


> Two of the children got a ten dollar bill in their birthday cards that year. The baby nothing. She doesn't remember her mother and didn't even find out she was adopted until she was in her teens.
> 
> There is still some anger left from the whole experience between myself and the adopting parents. But it is never brought up.
> 
> The only time it has been mentioned is when the "baby" had questions and wanted to know about her mother. I promised her that if she ever had any questions, just pick up the phone and I would always tell her the whole truth about her mother.
> 
> Except for the youngest one, the whole family has let sleeping dogs lie.


 
So, are you going to answer my question about the contradiction?  In 1 post you say the 3 children WERE given money via the adoptive parents to be put in a trust fund but that wasn't done and the APs blew it.  In another post, you say they WEREN'T given any of the money.  Both of your posts were referenced in my post #5618.


----------



## medtran49

Thanks Souchef.  I'll check it out.  I've been thinking about contacting a laywer in Mississippi to see if I have any recourse just to be prepared because she's been in and out of the hospital due in large part to issues stemming from the accident.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Our sweet little neighborhood store is closing.  It's the closest one to DH's work, and an easy stop for milk and such, plus they have the best meat, and he gets an old fart's discount on Wednesdays.  Not a horrible hardship for us since we live out of town and have cars, but I feel really bad for the south end, which is pretty much low income, and many walk to to the store as they can't afford transportation.  This will be an issue for many.



I doubt Boston could survive without their corner stores. I can't recall of ever living in an area where there wasn't a "corner store." The corner store was the backbone of our immigrants. Either that or a pushcart. Stores such as 7-11 and others like it are replacing the corner store. Here in Boston though, immigrants are the folks who are buy the franchises. What they are doing here though is two or three friends will pool their funds to buy the franchise. That way at least one owner is always working. I hope DH can find another corner store on the way home.


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## PrincessFiona60

Just got back from Greeley, CO...another heart attack and stent placed.  Okay, I have a broken heart and it needs to be babied...but dang it, we just went through this in October.

On the bright side...my health insurance deductible has been met for 2017.


----------



## Andy M.

That sucks, PF.  Please take care of yourself.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> That sucks, PF.  Please take care of yourself.



Thanks, Andy.

This time I get two weeks off from work and another stint in Rehab.  I spent two days in ICU on a nitro drip.  I've been sitting here for about 30 minutes and already time for another nap.


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## Dawgluver

Oh no, PF!  Gentle {{{hugs}}}. Please recover soon!


----------



## Chef Munky

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just got back from Greeley, CO...another heart attack and stent placed.  Okay, I have a broken heart and it needs to be babied...but dang it, we just went through this in October.
> 
> On the bright side...my health insurance deductible has been met for 2017.



Awe Princess,
I'm very sorry to hear you had to have another one. Let's hope it's the last one. Your needed around here. Are you ready to take it easy now? Or do I need to make a road trip and get all Badger on ya to rest?

BIG HUGGS
Feel better soon.

Munky.


----------



## medtran49

Damn PF, that sucks.  Feel better soon!


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## Cooking Goddess

Geez, *PF*... Be a good patient and listen to what those other professionals tell you to do to get yourself right. We all know you're a great go-to for medical advice, but let others help you this time.  More gentle (((hugs)))


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## taxlady

(((Gentle hugs PF))) I hope you feel better soon. And take care of yourself.


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## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just got back from Greeley, CO...another heart attack and stent placed.  Okay, I have a broken heart and it needs to be babied...but dang it, we just went through this in October.
> 
> On the bright side...my health insurance deductible has been met for 2017.



So sorry, PF. Take care of yourself! Glad there's a bright side. Took me all the way to August last year to reach mine


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## CharlieD

PF, feel better. Relax, regain your strength. Good luck.


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## taxlady

Had a migraine Monday, starting at supper time. The headache wasn't too bad. But, yesterday and today I am dealing with postdrome. I have headache off and on and I'm feeling fragile. So, though the headache is no worse than it was on Monday, it's bothering me more with my "fragility".


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Had a migraine Monday, starting at supper time. The headache wasn't too bad. But, yesterday and today I am dealing with postdrome. I have headache off and on and I'm feeling fragile. So, though the headache is no worse than it was on Monday, it's bothering me more with my "fragility".



I hate that feeling  Hope it goes away soon.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I hate that feeling  Hope it goes away soon.


Thank you. I hope so too. Often the postdrome is worse than the migraine, for me.


----------



## JoAnn L.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Just got back from Greeley, CO...another heart attack and stent placed.  Okay, I have a broken heart and it needs to be babied...but dang it, we just went through this in October.
> 
> On the bright side...my health insurance deductible has been met for 2017.



So sorry you are going through this. Hope you'll be back to your old self again really soon! Jo


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> Awe Princess,
> I'm very sorry to hear you had to have another one. Let's hope it's the last one. Your needed around here. Are you ready to take it easy now? Or do I need to make a road trip and get all Badger on ya to rest?
> 
> BIG HUGGS
> Feel better soon.
> 
> Munky.



Go get her Chef Munky. Remember how she fought for her DH. And take a look at how well  he is doing. Now rest. We will all still be here when you are healthy enough. Good heavens, we just can't have this. I am sure you know that prayers are flying right now. And we all love you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, Everyone.

One day at a time, tomorrow I will be stronger...


----------



## Josie1945

Hi Princess
 I am so sorry you are having to go thru
this again.We will be praying for you.

Love you
Josie


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thanks, Everyone.
> 
> One day at a time, tomorrow I will be stronger...




You are our bionic woman, PF!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> You are our bionic woman, PF!



Part Borg...

Feeling a lot puny right now!!

Thanks Josie, Love you, too!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> Awe Princess,
> I'm very sorry to hear you had to have another one. Let's hope it's the last one. Your needed around here. Are you ready to take it easy now? Or do I need to make a road trip and get all Badger on ya to rest?
> 
> BIG HUGGS
> Feel better soon.
> 
> Munky.



Yes, you will have to Badger me and make up the guest room yourself so you can settle in for the duration.


----------



## Addie

It never fails. Today I have an appointment for my monthly checkup. So as usual I took my daily shower last night, and set my hair.

I usually wear my hair in a pixie style. But my hairdresser has been sick for a couple of months. So it has grown so fast. It is past my shoulders. If I am not going anywhere I just wear it down straight and the front brushed back off my face. But since I have to go out today, of course it is going to rain all day. 

I should check the weather forecast before I try to do anything with my hair. 

The good news is that my hairdresser is back at work and is only taking certain customers. I happen to be one of them. But no transportation to get there. I hate this mop on top of my head. 

Dang Rain!!!


----------



## Caslon

I was about to fall asleep listening to TV on my pillow when a commercial from Waterpik came on. They had testimonials about how using their Waterpik eliminated "morning breath".  "No more morning breath" she exclaims!  Further on in that ad, another testimonial exclaims how nice and white her smile now looks, using Waterpik.

This instrument was never meant to do that kind of thing. 

1.Morning breath is just something that happens.   Waterpik can't do anything about that.
2.There's no way a stream of water has anything to do with whitening teeth.

To tell you the truth, I could hardly believe what I was watching. I thought Waterpik was a reputable product, lol.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I had to take my boss to the hospital for cataract surgery. I killed some time by wandering around at menards. Looking for some door latches for the smoker. Struck out on that. Then I decided I could make some chicken feeders out of PVC pipe. It took me an hour of putting pieces together. They got Y pipes and triple pipes 90 degrees 45s 60s. I finally did it simple. 5 ft long 3 inch pipe with 2 90s on the* bottom. A 5 ft chunk cost $6.80. A 10 ft piece cost $7.99. I got the bosses Caddy. A 10 footer ain't going in. And I'm not paying double for a pre cut piece. I put everything back. On my way out the light bulb came on. Hey dummy you are in a fracking hardware store. Go buy a saw and cut the 10 footer in half. Found a $5 hack saw. Went back and got all my pieces. Had a worker measure 5foot out and mark it for me. I Had to explain what I was doing twice before he got it. So I basically got a free saw and saved 2 bucks. Over buying 2 pre cut 5 footers. I've been wanting a new hack saw anyway.



Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk


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## PrincessFiona60

Farmer Jon said:


> I had to take my boss to the hospital for cataract surgery. I killed some time by wandering around at menards. Looking for some door latches for the smoker. Struck out on that. Then I decided I could make some chicken feeders out of PVC pipe. It took me an hour of putting pieces together. They got Y pipes and triple pipes 90 degrees 45s 60s. I finally did it simple. 5 ft long 3 inch pipe with 2 90s on the* bottom. A 5 ft chunk cost $6.80. A 10 ft piece cost $7.99. I got the bosses Caddy. A 10 footer ain't going in. And I'm not paying double for a pre cut piece. I put everything back. On my way out the light bulb came on. Hey dummy you are in a fracking hardware store. Go buy a saw and cut the 10 footer in half. Found a $5 hack saw. Went back and got all my pieces. Had a worker measure 5foot out and mark it for me. I Had to explain what I was doing twice before he got it. So I basically got a free saw and saved 2 bucks. Over buying 2 pre cut 5 footers. I've been wanting a new hack saw anyway.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk



I wish it had been that easy for me to get 6 2x6x8's home.  Had them stuffed in the Subaru (no top rack), I felt like I was driving a log cabin.  Hadn't planned on getting those, it just happened.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Farmer Jon* ....  *Pictures please!!!! of the finished feeder*.
Anything to keep them critters from wasting the feed!

Don't have chickens at the moment but yuh never know...  might change my mind.


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## dragnlaw

*Princess* you take care please, I know it's not easy but you do need to let your body mend.   If not for yourself then for all the rest of us!!


----------



## Farmer Jon

dragnlaw said:


> *Farmer Jon* ....  *Pictures please!!!! of the finished feeder*.
> Anything to keep them critters from wasting the feed!
> 
> Don't have chickens at the moment but yuh never know...  might change my mind.


This is one I made from a bucket. And a 3 inch  60 degree elbow. I had to trim a little off the end because I didn't think they could reach the feed. Glued it in with silicone. I will be putting this out this out tomorrow. If it works I will at least one maybe 2 More elbows in. Bucket was free. Elbow was just at 2 bucks with tax. However the hole saw cost $20. ( I charged it to the shop).
	

	
	
		
		

		
			








Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk


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## dragnlaw

*Thank you Jon! *  That is really clever.  I will be passing that on to my chicken friends!


----------



## rodentraiser

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I wish it had been that easy for me to get 6 2x6x8's home.  Had them stuffed in the Subaru (no top rack), I felt like I was driving a log cabin.  Hadn't planned on getting those, it just happened.



There was a guy who worked at a Home Depot type store that used to have customers come in and buy long pieces of board with no way to get them home. The funniest thing he said he saw was when someone opened the front windows of his car and then wrapped rope around and around through the open windows and over the lumber on top. When the (proud) customer was done, he went to get in his car and failed because, of course, he had tied his door shut. 




My petty vent for today is that I went to see the ophthalmologist (4th time in a month) and finally had my eyes dilated. It was an overcast day, so I thought I was home free. Uh-uh. Every car on the road had their headlights on. That's not my petty vent though.

My petty vent is I had my eyes dilated at 2:30 and it's now almost 6 hours later and they're still dilated and still blurry. Grrrrr......

I can only type here because I'm literally eyeball to eyeball with the monitor....


----------



## taxlady

rodentraiser said:


> ...
> 
> My petty vent is I had my eyes dilated at 2:30 and it's now almost 6 hours later and they're still dilated and still blurry. Grrrrr......
> 
> I can only type here because I'm literally eyeball to eyeball with the monitor....


I have to have my eyes dilated when I see my ophthalmologist once a year. They always tell me it will only last about an hour. Yeah, right. It almost always lasts about eight hours for me. I just give in and take the bus or a taxi there and a taxi home. If it's sunny out, just trying to walk to the bus stop is more than I can stand.


----------



## Dawgluver

I'm one of the lenghthy eye dilation people too.  It takes forever to wear off.


----------



## roadfix

Old age.    
My dilated eyes used to return to normal in about an hour......but that was almost 30 years ago....


----------



## Dawgluver

Maybe.  But back a few eons ago, when I was in college and my eyes were dilated, I had to pick up a hitch-hiker to drive my car back to my apartment with me.  The sun was too bright, and I didn't bring my sunglasses.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Old age.
> My dilated eyes used to return to normal in about an hour......but that was almost 30 years ago....





Dawgluver said:


> Maybe.  But back a few eons ago, when I was in college and my eyes were dilated, I had to pick up a hitch-hiker to drive my car back to my apartment with me.  The sun was too bright, and I didn't bring my sunglasses.


It maybe be worse because of age, but it took hours for my pupils to contract again twenty years ago.


----------



## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> There was a guy who worked at a Home Depot type store that used to have customers come in and buy long pieces of board with no way to get them home. The funniest thing he said he saw was when someone opened the front windows of his car and then wrapped rope around and around through the open windows and over the lumber on top. When the (proud) customer was done, he went to get in his car and failed because, of course, he had tied his door shut.
> 
> My petty vent for today is that I went to see the ophthalmologist (4th time in a month) and finally had my eyes dilated. It was an overcast day, so I thought I was home free. Uh-uh. Every car on the road had their headlights on. That's not my petty vent though.
> 
> My petty vent is I had my eyes dilated at 2:30 and it's now almost 6 hours later and they're still dilated and still blurry. Grrrrr......
> 
> I can only type here because I'm literally eyeball to eyeball with the monitor....




I have found that the older I get, the longer it takes for the drops to wear off. At my age, I find now that I wake up the next morning and am finally at the end of the blurries. 

BTW, you have the right to refuse to have your eyes dialated. I have mine done every other month. This is not advisable though if you have high risk diabetes. Or if you have had cataract surgery.


----------



## taxlady

I'm not about to refuse pupil dilation. I may not enjoy it, but it makes it much easier for my ophthalmologist to see inside my eye properly. I have glaucoma and I really want my ophthalmologist to monitor it really well.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I'm not about to refuse pupil dilation. I may not enjoy it, but it makes it much easier for my ophthalmologist to see inside my eye properly. I have glaucoma and I really want my ophthalmologist to monitor it really well.



Right. Every doctor, including ophthalmologists, should ask for your medical history and current medication list at every visit and make recommendations for testing and treatment accordingly. If they don't, I would find another provider.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I'm not about to refuse pupil dilation. I may not enjoy it, but it makes it much easier for my ophthalmologist to see inside my eye properly. I have glaucoma and I really want my ophthalmologist to monitor it really well.



Wise decision TL. 

GG, excellent advice! Fortunately for me, my ophthalmologists  is part of the medical team for my overall health. I have my diabetes under total control. But he isn't taking any chances. He sees me every six months instead of just once a year. He just checks my vision to see if there has been any changes for my prescription of my lens. Then on the next visit, I get the whole works. With drops. 

Many years ago my sister had a wisdom tooth that was coming in really askew. It became infected and the infection went up to her eye. She lost her peripheal vision in one eye. Her eye doctor told her that when someone has an ailment that the doctors have no answer for, they look to the teeth. The also told her that hidden dental problems can emulate or create all kinds of medical problems. Even a heart attack. 

I wish our society would place as much emphasis on dental care like they do for eye care.


----------



## Kayelle

Like everyone, I hate to have my eyes dilated but refusing to have it done is just ridiculous!
The worse experience I ever had was when they dilated just *one* eye. I can't even explain how awful that was! I'll never have that done again, and insist they dilate both of them.


----------



## rodentraiser

Dawgluver said:


> Maybe.  But back a few eons ago, when I was in college and my eyes were dilated, I had to pick up a hitch-hiker to drive my car back to my apartment with me.  The sun was too bright, and I didn't bring my sunglasses.



LMAO

I'd have done that, but I couldn't tell the difference between a hitchhiker and a sign post!


I didn't have a choice in the dilation. I've been having numerous floaters and flashing lights in my left eye, so they had to check for retinal detachment. Right now the diagnosis is either ocular migraine, possible macular degeneration, or vitreous separation of the macula. Or maybe all three. We're on top of it. I understand there's a laser treatment that will take care of the problem and give me perfect sight. I asked if I could have it now and in both eyes, and the doctor just looked at me. Oh, well.

Anyway, I woke up yesterday and my eyes are back to normal again, or as normal as they're ever going to get again.


----------



## rodentraiser

Addie said:


> Wise decision TL.
> 
> GG, excellent advice! Fortunately for me, my ophthalmologists  is part of the medical team for my overall health. I have my diabetes under total control. But he isn't taking any chances. He sees me every six months instead of just once a year. He just checks my vision to see if there has been any changes for my prescription of my lens. Then on the next visit, I get the whole works. With drops.
> 
> Many years ago my sister had a wisdom tooth that was coming in really askew. It became infected and the infection went up to her eye. She lost her peripheal vision in one eye. Her eye doctor told her that when someone has an ailment that the doctors have no answer for, they look to the teeth. The also told her that hidden dental problems can emulate or create all kinds of medical problems. Even a heart attack.
> 
> I wish our society would place as much emphasis on dental care like they do for eye care.



Amen to that. I'm on Medicaid and unless my visits are a medical emergency, I can only get eye checks once every two years. And if ACA is dismantled, I won't even get those any more. Thanks to ACA, I just had my first dental check up in 8 years.


----------



## CWS4322

Arggh. So my Dad and I got in this big argument today. I have signing authority on my brother's estate. The stock broker recommended that Dad, Mom, and I be on the stocks to make the transfer in kind easier. My Dad doesn't want me on the stocks. I tried to explain to him that I don't want to be on them either, but I want to make the transfer of my brother's stocks easier. I don't want the MONEY or the STOCKS. I just want to get this done. Why is it that people think I want the money????


----------



## jd_1138

CWS4322 said:


> Arggh. So my Dad and I got in this big argument today. I have signing authority on my brother's estate. The stock broker recommended that Dad, Mom, and I be on the stocks to make the transfer in kind easier. My Dad doesn't want me on the stocks. I tried to explain to him that I don't want to be on them either, but I want to make the transfer of my brother's stocks easier. I don't want the MONEY or the STOCKS. I just want to get this done. Why is it that people think I want the money????



Wow, that sucks.  I was trying to help my mom with her finances, and I'd give her advice and she too would get defensive and testy.

Your dad ought to trust you.  You're just trying to help.  If he instantly thinks you're trying to take the money, that's not cool of him to think that.  He should instead know that probate law is complicated and tricky.


----------



## jd_1138

Rude waitress brought my wife turkey last night instead of the chicken on biscuits that she ordered.  Wife questioned it and said "I ordered chicken, is this chicken?"  

Waitress replied "it's whatever you ordered, ma'am" in a kind of snarky tone.  So I said "she did order chicken, I heard her, and she always orders chicken".  So the waitress sighed and swept the plate of chicken away, and wife had to wait 10 minutes to get the correct order out to her.  I looked on the bill and it said "turkey".  The waitress never apologized.  Lady, you made a mistake, who cares?  Just say sorry and leave out the snark.

Her tip would've been way higher.  lol.  I usually leave 25% because going out is a rare event for us (wife has a bad spine condition).  We never asked for the manager like a lot of people would have.  Waitress's ego is too inflated over something stupid.


----------



## CWS4322

jd_1138 said:


> Wow, that sucks.  I was trying to help my mom with her finances, and I'd give her advice and she too would get defensive and testy.
> 
> Your dad ought to trust you.  You're just trying to help.  If he instantly thinks you're trying to take the money, that's not cool of him to think that.  He should instead know that probate law is complicated and tricky.


2016 was a year of hell for me. My Dad tells me to get over the emotional experience (his words) for finding my brother dead. I don't know how a person gets over that. I miss my brother terribly and never thought I would live my life without him. I still have nightmares of finding him dead. I have had to deal with his estate, etc., and none of the money comes to me. Not that I want it, but I have had to deal with everything and my Mom being bedridden and dual incontinence. I never wanted to change my Mom's diapers, but I do that three times a day and every thing else. I am tired. I have given up my life. I hope I can have my life back some day.


----------



## Dawgluver

What a terrible year for you, CWS!  Many hugs.  You are a tough, strong woman, you will get through this.


----------



## buckytom

You will, CWS. You will get your life back.

We took care of my mil for many years with the same condition. In fact, we were changing lots of diapers when we had our son, and were were caring for DW's mom at the same time. Her dad, too, in his last years just before that. He had his own set of issues. All I can say is thak God for the carpet cleaner.

But years later, we look back and know we did right by them. It's a weird feeling. It's not pride, or a feeling of accomplishment in any way. It was just right, and had to be done. There's no reward for it. Well, not immediate, anyway. 

Stay strong. I'll keep you in my thoughts today while I say my rosary.


----------



## jd_1138

CWS4322 said:


> 2016 was a year of hell for me. My Dad tells me to get over the emotional experience (his words) for finding my brother dead. I don't know how a person gets over that. I miss my brother terribly and never thought I would live my life without him. I still have nightmares of finding him dead. I have had to deal with his estate, etc., and none of the money comes to me. Not that I want it, but I have had to deal with everything and my Mom being bedridden and dual incontinence. I never wanted to change my Mom's diapers, but I do that three times a day and every thing else. I am tired. I have given up my life. I hope I can have my life back some day.



Maybe it's time you look into putting your mom into an assisted living facility nearby, so you can get your life back?  You deserve to be happy and have your own life.  I know a lot of people who wrecked their own health caring for others.

I hope things get better.


----------



## Farmer Jon

CWS4322 said:


> Arggh. So my Dad and I got in this big argument today. I have signing authority on my brother's estate. The stock broker recommended that Dad, Mom, and I be on the stocks to make the transfer in kind easier. My Dad doesn't want me on the stocks. I tried to explain to him that I don't want to be on them either, but I want to make the transfer of my brother's stocks easier. I don't want the MONEY or the STOCKS. I just want to get this done. Why is it that people think I want the money????


Greedy people think everyone is greedy.


----------



## Dawgluver

DH likes to play a game I call, "Hide the TV remote". He turns on a sports channel, then goes to bed and leaves the TV on.  I can't find any TV remote.  When I go to bed, I have to turn the light on in order to turn the TV off upstairs, as he has hidden it.  This annoys DH.  I have explained until I'm blue in the face that we have a specific place to put the TV remotes.  It needs to be in view.


----------



## buckytom

Your hubby sounds nearly helpless from the way you describe him, Dawg. 

Do you have a smartphone? Many of them have an infrared output and apps that you can program as a remote for the TV.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> Your hubby sounds nearly helpless from the way you describe him, Dawg.
> 
> Do you have a smartphone? Many of them have an infrared output and apps that you can program as a remote for the TV.



I have two remotes. Mine and Pirate's. He also has a smart phone. I change the channel and look at him. He is busy on his 'smart phone'! Hummpf! He uses it to change the channel on me. There his remote is sitting on the foot stool. I swear I am going to smash that smart phone on him some day.


----------



## Dawgluver

Yeah, I need to get the Find the Remote app.  It doesn't help if DH is sleeping on top of it, though.  If I roll him over, it will annoy him.

We have too many TVs and remotes in this house.  DH tends to mix them up.  Don't get me wrong, he's a smart guy, 3 degrees, good job, but no walking-around (or remote) sense.


----------



## CWS4322

buckytom said:


> But years later, we look back and know we did right by them. It's a weird feeling. It's not pride, or a feeling of accomplishment in any way. It was just right, and had to be done. There's no reward for it. Well, not immediate, anyway.
> 
> Stay strong. I'll keep you in my thoughts today while I say my rosary.


Thank you. I know, I complain and I will get through this. It is true, being a caregiver for a family member is extremely hard. It took me a month to get over the emotional response when she would fuss or cry--that hurt like you would not believe. But there really is no other place I'd rather be. Today my mom kicked the bathroom door open with her toe. Way to go, Mom! 

I hear horror stories of parents' in nursing homes. I don't want my Mom in one. She deserves to be cared for by those who love her. She always is dressed in clean clothes (I don't want her looking as if she's a bag lady, so I am very fussy about her outfits and that she has warm socks on, etc.) Today she wore a Winnie-the-Pooh sweatshirt and red "slacks" (all with elastic waists). 

And, I think she gets better food at home than she would in a long-term care facility.


----------



## CWS4322

jd_1138 said:


> Maybe it's time you look into putting your mom into an assisted living facility nearby, so you can get your life back?  You deserve to be happy and have your own life.  I know a lot of people who wrecked their own health caring for others.
> 
> I hope things get better.


Not going to happen. My parents have too much $. The monthly cost would be far more than what we pay to have caregivers come in 2x/day. We may have to get the caregivers in for longer shifts.Or, buy more equipment. I want a lift--she is dead-weighting during transfer.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> Not going to happen. My parents have too much $. The monthly cost would be far more than what we pay to have caregivers come in 2x/day. We may have to get the caregivers in for longer shifts.Or, buy more equipment. I want a lift--she is dead-weighting during transfer.



CWS, there are two ways of transferring a patient. The first one takes two people. You each place your arm all the way together under hers up by her arm pits and lift her. That method is great when trying to lift her up on her pillow or in a chair if she is slipping down a bit. The second is to have her put both her arms around your neck and have her clasp her hands together. That way you can lift her to her feet easily by her waist. If your father is available at the time, he should be helping with the lifting. If he is able. Or willing. 

I can understand his reluctance in helping with the caring of his wife if he is showing it. It is hard on you to see your mother in this condition and with this hideous disease. Imagine what it is like for him to see his wife that he has cared for all these years. He would rather remember her like she was ten years ago. Or the day he married her. 

About fifteen years ago after receiving numerous complaints about the care given to patients in nursing home, the State (Massachusetts) decided it was time to do something about it. No more can you tie a patient in a chair to just sit all day. You have to allow them to use the bathroom if they can walk. Even if an attendant has to stay there with them. Nor can you leave them in their bed for the day. And no more diapers. Any patient who can walk should have a walker available to them. And for those who can't walk, then they should have a wheel chair and be able to go by themselves to any area that is safe for them and where an attendant is available to keep an eye on them. If there is a danger of a patient falling, there has to be an electronic pad on the seat that beeps and it notifies an attendant that the patient is standing. At Winthrop where I get my medical care, they have stickers that they place on the back of the patient that is very visible to all. It is shaped like a BAM sign, bright yellow and in big red letters on it, says DANGER!. Many times I have been walking by and see a patient standing that shouldn't be. Her chair alarm is working, but the attendants are not near enough to get to the patient fast enough. I don't push them down in their chair, That's not my job. But I will stand close by until the attendant can reach them. I will pick up stuff that they have dropped. You don't want them bending down. Today, our nursing homes face unexpected visits from the Dept. of Health. And they will close you down in a heartbeat if your facility is not up to snuff. You have ten days to make any correction for minor infractions of a condition that they have found deficient. Major deficiencies get you closed. 

Check into the laws covering nursing homes. Just in case you find that you simply cannot take care of her anymore. You don't know what the future holds. Arm yourself with all the knowledge you can gather for the "just in case" scenario. And if you never have to use it, I will be the first one to let you know how happy I am for you and your mother.


----------



## CakePoet

CWS:  I dont know  how it is USA, but in Sweden there are caregiver courses and groups , so you do things right and dont damage your self. Dont you have any more relatives who are alive? If you have, then  they should step up for one weekend a month so you can relax.  No human can handle to work  24/7 as you do.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> CWS, there are two ways of transferring a patient. *The first one takes two people. You each place your arm all the way together under hers up by her arm pits and lift her. *



Please, don't use this method to lift, you run the risk of dislocating your loved one's shoulders.  Use a gait belt and get proper instruction on how to use it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_irfJdCL2Dw


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Please, don't use this method to lift, you run the risk of dislocating your loved one's shoulders.  Use a gait belt and get proper instruction on how to use it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_irfJdCL2Dw



Thanks Princess. It has been years since I had to move or lift patients. Come to think of it, I do see the attendants at Winthrop wearing one incase they need it. And any time I had to use my wheelchair in the van, the driver always had a belt. And how I hated that thing! Nothing made me feel more helpless than that belt. I resented even being in the wheelchair. But I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut. They're just doing their job.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> CWS, there are two ways of transferring a patient. The first one takes two people. You each place your arm all the way together under hers up by her arm pits and lift her. That method is great when trying to lift her up on her pillow or in a chair if she is slipping down a bit. The second is to have her put both her arms around your neck and have her clasp her hands together. That way you can lift her to her feet easily by her waist. If your father is available at the time, he should be helping with the lifting. If he is able. Or willing.
> 
> I can understand his reluctance in helping with the caring of his wife if he is showing it. It is hard on you to see your mother in this condition and with this hideous disease. Imagine what it is like for him to see his wife that he has cared for all these years. He would rather remember her like she was ten years ago. Or the day he married her.
> 
> About fifteen years ago after receiving numerous complaints about the care given to patients in nursing home, the State (Massachusetts) decided it was time to do something about it. No more can you tie a patient in a chair to just sit all day. You have to allow them to use the bathroom if they can walk. Even if an attendant has to stay there with them. Nor can you leave them in their bed for the day. And no more diapers. Any patient who can walk should have a walker available to them. And for those who can't walk, then they should have a wheel chair and be able to go by themselves to any area that is safe for them and where an attendant is available to keep an eye on them. If there is a danger of a patient falling, there has to be an electronic pad on the seat that beeps and it notifies an attendant that the patient is standing. At Winthrop where I get my medical care, they have stickers that they place on the back of the patient that is very visible to all. It is shaped like a BAM sign, bright yellow and in big red letters on it, says DANGER!. Many times I have been walking by and see a patient standing that shouldn't be. Her chair alarm is working, but the attendants are not near enough to get to the patient fast enough. I don't push them down in their chair, That's not my job. But I will stand close by until the attendant can reach them. I will pick up stuff that they have dropped. You don't want them bending down. Today, our nursing homes face unexpected visits from the Dept. of Health. And they will close you down in a heartbeat if your facility is not up to snuff. You have ten days to make any correction for minor infractions of a condition that they have found deficient. Major deficiencies get you closed.
> 
> Check into the laws covering nursing homes. Just in case you find that you simply cannot take care of her anymore. You don't know what the future holds. Arm yourself with all the knowledge you can gather for the "just in case" scenario. And if you never have to use it, I will be the first one to let you know how happy I am for you and your mother.


I understand all that, Addie. It is just so hard and I know my brother would be with me on this, but he is not here.


----------



## CWS4322

CakePoet said:


> CWS:  I dont know  how it is USA, but in Sweden there are caregiver courses and groups , so you do things right and dont damage your self. Dont you have any more relatives who are alive? If you have, then  they should step up for one weekend a month so you can relax.  No human can handle to work  24/7 as you do.


No, I don't have any more relatives. And PF, that is why I am buying a lift when my brother's US funds are transferred to the estate here. Until then, that is the best we can do. But darned right, I am getting that lift, to heck with my Dad. That will be my brother's last gift to my Mom. I know it is wrong to do the two-man lift when she is dead-weighting.


----------



## CakePoet

Can you check if there any form of support you can get so you get days of otherwise you   will crash soon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

The metal cutting edge on a box of aluminum foil.  Danged thing bit the back of my hand, right along a "seam line". Probably should have taken a trip to the ER for a couple of stitches, but I'm hoping the butterfly bandage and the three band-aid strips get it under control. Heading to shower soon, so I'll encase my hand in a food service glove and strap it down at my wrist with one of those velcro strips they use to bind up romaine lettuce. Wish me luck!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> The metal cutting edge on a box of aluminum foil.  Danged thing bit the back of my hand, right along a "seam line". Probably should have taken a trip to the ER for a couple of stitches, but I'm hoping the butterfly bandage and the three band-aid strips get it under control. Heading to shower soon, so I'll encase my hand in a food service glove and strap it down at my wrist with one of those velcro strips they use to bind up romaine lettuce. Wish me luck!



I hear ya CG!  Bummer! Finally after these many years I have given up and bought a box of commercial size pop up foil sheets. It is heavy, and sheets are more than large enough and the edge of the cardboard roll can never get dented in so that the whole width of the foil doesn't roll off. It was a big expense for me, but I was ready to give up any food that required foil to cook with. 

If I need a sheet wider or longer that what I can just pull out of the box, I just create a sheet to the size I need by folding over the ends of two or more sheets. No cut hands, no half sheets coming off the roll, no more frustrations!! 

If they put the cutter on the bottom of the box, you would have some still sticking out. Enough to grab and still keep your hands away from that dang saw like metal cutter edge. Hope your hands heals real soon.


----------



## buckytom

Cooking Goddess said:


> The metal cutting edge on a box of aluminum foil.  Danged thing bit the back of my hand, right along a "seam line". Probably should have taken a trip to the ER for a couple of stitches, but I'm hoping the butterfly bandage and the three band-aid strips get it under control. Heading to shower soon, so I'll encase my hand in a food service glove and strap it down at my wrist with one of those velcro strips they use to bind up romaine lettuce. Wish me luck!




My wife has a weird habit of destroying boxes of aluminum foil and plastic wrap. I don't understand how she does it. Within a few days, the corner seams of the box are busted, and it's difficult to pull out the foil or wrap. And then the next time that I use it, I get cut. Every time.

 I mean, I sort of expect it now a lot like knowing you're going to scrape your knuckles when you're working on your car.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> The metal cutting edge on a box of aluminum foil.  Danged thing bit the back of my hand, right along a "seam line". Probably should have taken a trip to the ER for a couple of stitches, but I'm hoping the butterfly bandage and the three band-aid strips get it under control. Heading to shower soon, so I'll encase my hand in a food service glove and strap it down at my wrist with one of those velcro strips they use to bind up romaine lettuce. Wish me luck!



Ouch! Is it a jagged cut?  The butterflies should work, you can make more with regular tape if you need them.Dry gauze to cover.  The butterflies will stay on even when wet, bandaids may not.  Wish I was there to do the first aid.


----------



## rodentraiser

I was 55 before I finally found out those boxes have little tabs you push in on the sides to keep the rolls from popping out. I'm always the last to know anything, though.


----------



## Dawgluver

rodentraiser said:


> I was 55 before I finally found out those boxes have little tabs you push in on the sides to keep the rolls from popping out. I'm always the last to know anything, though.




I just learned about those tabs a couple years ago!  Who knew?


----------



## buckytom

rodentraiser said:


> I was 55 before I finally found out those boxes have little tabs you push in on the sides to keep the rolls from popping out. I'm always the last to know anything, though.


 
I push those tabs in, and I've even bought the boxes with a strip cutter on top. My wife destroys all of them.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*BT*, your DW must be a wild woman in the kitchen!  I don't lose too many battles with my kitchen gear. 



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Ouch! Is it a jagged cut?  The butterflies should work, you can make more with regular tape if you need them.Dry gauze to cover.  The butterflies will stay on even when wet, bandaids may not.  *Wish I was there to do the first aid*.


Aw, love you, *PF*!  It's a straight cut made by a jagged edge.  Himself did a great job of patching me up. Butterfly, covered by a Curad flex, tacked down on either side with a waterproof Curad, all covered up with a 3x4 adhesive pad. Cover that all with a food-service glove, fasten at wrist with rubber-band. Got me through my shower last night and washing my hair this morning. All dry! The cut looks like it's "together", and all I have on it now is a precautionary butterfly and one Curad fabric flex. 



Addie said:


> ...and bought a box of commercial size pop up foil sheets...


*Addie*, those pop-ups won't work when I'm covering a 10# ham or an 9zx13 cake pan unless I blanket-stitch a bunch of them together!  Besides, if the plan is to prevent me from getting cut, keep this in mind: this is the first time I can think of that I have cut myself like this on a cutting strip. If I'm supposed to keep myself safe, I'm going to have to throw out every knife that isn't a butter knife. I've cut myself WAY more times with knives than aluminum foil cutters. Heck, I've cut myself with a sheet of paper more often!


----------



## Dawgluver

Guess I'm lucky.  Most of the time I can't find the rip-off thing, much less shred my hand on it.  Guess I'm a slow learner.

I use my teeth.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

On aluminum foil???


----------



## Dawgluver

Yes, I use it to make my hat.


----------



## PrincessFiona60




----------



## Dawgluver

Hm.  I was just going to make it pointy, but this bill cap thing interests me.  I'm a bit of of a sculptor.  I think I can handle this.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


>





Dawgluver said:


> Hm.  I was just going to make it pointy, but this bill cap thing interests me.  I'm a bit of of a sculptor.  I think I can handle this.


I'm pretty sure that a proper tin foil hat is pointy. I'm less sure about a proper aluminium foil hat.


----------



## Farmer Jon

This a link to an incident that happened the other day.   http://www.wowt.com/content/news/Gi...ehead-family-says-412615673.html?abc=0jLoOWIv

I hate a bully. My 6 year old is dealing with some bullies at school now. The teacher evidently can't do anything about it. Some older kids want to take his eye out and come at him with raised fist.  I'm fed up and about to in and raise holy heck with the principal. Its a good thing he don't know thier names because I would likely be beating on some doors.


----------



## Dawgluver

Farmer Jon said:


> This a link to an incident that happened the other day.   http://www.wowt.com/content/news/Gi...ehead-family-says-412615673.html?abc=0jLoOWIv
> 
> I hate a bully. My 6 year old is dealing with some bullies at school now. The teacher evidently can't do anything about it. Some older kids want to take his eye out and come at him with raised fist.  I'm fed up and about to in and raise holy heck with the principal. Its a good thing he don't know thier names because I would likely be beating on some doors.




OK.  I've been in education for over 35 years.  Firstly, demand a meeting with the teacher and principal.  Express your concerns.  If that doesn't work, tell them you want the superintendant involved.  If that doesn't work, contact the school board.

You will get results.  Also, go to the school's website and kick up some dirt.  It's public.

Schools are not tolerating bullying anymore.  We have aides riding on the busses here too.


----------



## Addie

Bullying is unacceptable for any child or reason. When my son Poo entered middle school, right at the start on day one, there were two high school kids that started bullying him. He finally told me about it after he refused to go to school two days in a row. I immediately called the principal. No, I do not want to speak to the secretary, no I do not want to speak to his teacher, I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE PRINCIPAL! When I told him the problem he immediately knew who the kids were. They had threatened other kids also. One with death. The School Department along with the victim's parents decided to bring felony charges against them. Found guilty. Suspended for life from ever returning to the school district to finish their education. Also served a six month sentence locked up. Case closed. I didn't like the idea of the kids being locked up, but at the same time thought the sentence was appropriate.


----------



## Farmer Jon

The principal finally returned our call and assured us there is no bullying in this school. Period. Zane finally told us who the kid is and I know his dad pretty good. I'm going to go talk to him. If it was just some teaasing that's one thing. Kids will always tease each other. But when you have first graders threatning kindergarten kids. That can't be tolerated.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle spotted the neighbor's dog, whom she despises.  Australian shepherd.  Three times her size.  For some reason she detests him.  He's a nice dog, but is terrified of Beagle.

So as I was taking her out for her afternoon walk,she spotted him and went nuts.  She yanked me and I leapt down 5 concrete steps in one jump and didn't faceplant.  I landed on my feet!   I've never seen such a strong 22 lb dog.

The neighbor's dog does like to poop in our yard.  Maybe that's what angers Beagle.


----------



## Addie

For some unknown reason, God has given humans the capacity to just love our pets, no matter what they do. 

We had a short very heavy downpour while Spike was walking Teddy. He then came here. They enter my apartment, Teddy jumps up on my bed while I am sleeping and then proceeds to shake every single raindrop onto me. But I still love the little bugger. 

Stop laughing! I can hear you. Next time Teddy comes to your house.


----------



## Andy M.

With the advent of the smartphone camera, crappy pictures are taking over the internet.  My particular pet peeve is backlit photos.  

You cannot take a decent photo if the subject is between the photographer and the light source.  Your camera/phone will adjust exposure based on the bright light source, throwing the subject into darkness.

You have to reposition the photo or use a flash.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> With the advent of the smartphone camera, crappy pictures are taking over the internet.  My particular pet peeve is backlit photos.
> 
> You cannot take a decent photo if the subject is between the photographer and the light source.  Your camera/phone will adjust exposure based on the bright light source, throwing the subject into darkness.
> 
> You have to reposition the photo or use a flash.



So right Andy. Think of a pro photographer. The always have the light source in front of you or just slightly overhead in front of the subject. That picture you posted, needs to be removed from the camera. All it does is show how dumb the taker is. And it is using up storage space.


----------



## Dawgluver

I am famous for my crappy pictures.  And proud of it!

No backlighting.  I take them on my floor or stove, or on a pillow or something.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> *BT*, your DW must be a wild woman in the kitchen!  I don't lose too many battles with my kitchen gear.
> 
> 
> 
> *Addie*, those pop-ups won't work when I'm covering a 10# ham or an 9zx13 cake pan unless I blanket-stitch a bunch of them together!  Besides, if the plan is to prevent me from getting cut, keep this in mind: this is the first time I can think of that I have cut myself like this on a cutting strip. If I'm supposed to keep myself safe, I'm going to have to throw out every knife that isn't a butter knife. I've cut myself WAY more times with knives than aluminum foil cutters. Heck, I've cut myself with a sheet of paper more often!



My foil arrived. I am surprised how wide the foil is. 18"X500ft.! I thought I had ordered the sheets. Instead I ordered restaurant size box of foil. It is a roll instead. It is heavier and easier to use than the thin foil. Next time I will read a lot closer what I am ordering.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I am famous for my crappy pictures.  And proud of it!
> 
> No backlighting.  I take them on my floor or stove, or on a pillow or something.



I have a dark blue chair. It is in a darkish part of the room.  I took a picture of it and notice I have a flash on my camera. The picture came out fine. I don't take pictures often. Maybe I need to start learning just what my phone can do.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> With the advent of the smartphone camera, crappy pictures are taking over the internet.  My particular pet peeve is backlit photos.
> 
> You cannot take a decent photo if the subject is between the photographer and the light source.  Your camera/phone will adjust exposure based on the bright light source, throwing the subject into darkness.
> 
> You have to reposition the photo or use a flash.


That's what fill flash is for.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Got a cell phone for emergency use only...yes, I buckled under.  Sitting here in the cell phone dead zone, have to wait until I go to town tomorrow to finish setting it up.  Shrek is freaking out about not being able to use it "right now".  It's for emergencies, like the next time I end up in the ER, not for phoning Mom and Dad for a chat.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

"The next time"?  I sure hope you don't end up in the ER again. The way you worded it, it sounds like you expect it to be inevitable. Get and stay healthy-ish, *PF*, your dear Shrek and family love you. Us, too!


----------



## dragnlaw

My "smart" TV which is barely 6 years old has died...  so I'm watching Netflix on my laptop which...
... is barely 3 years old is also in the process of gasping and about to die... 

Between my stove dying last year, the humidex giving me a problem, the heat exchanger was grumbling, the propane fireplace (barely a year and my main source of home heat) is still not working properly...

I truly believe someone/thing is out to get me...  I'm not just being a little paranoid, am I????


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> My "smart" TV which is barely 6 years old has died...  so I'm watching Netflix on my laptop which...
> ... is barely 3 years old is also in the process of gasping and about to die...
> 
> Between my stove dying last year, the humidex giving me a problem, the heat exchanger was grumbling, the propane fireplace (barely a year and my main source of home heat) is still not working properly...
> 
> I truly believe someone/thing is out to get me...  I'm not just being a little paranoid, am I????



Of course not! I swore, every time I entered my kitchen, I would have to stop what I was doing and make a fast run to the bathroom. I just knew my kitchen was  haunted. Then I got a couple of pieces of mail for a "Margaret Sullivan." Same apt. number. Aha! I knew it. It was Margaret that was haunting my kitchen. My kids thought I was losing it. But then Pirate noted the same thing to be happening to him. 

Well to speed the story up, we now along with Spike, talk to Margaret. Sometimes we yell at her, sometimes we ask her how today is going to be. Since we have more or less adopted her into our family, she stays out of the kitchen more and more. She does so like sitting back and watching TV while I cook up a fast snack.


----------



## caseydog

Addie said:


> So right Andy. Think of a pro photographer. The always have the light source in front of you or just slightly overhead in front of the subject. That picture you posted, needs to be removed from the camera. All it does is show how dumb the taker is. And it is using up storage space.



Thanks for thinking about us! And please hire us!!! 

That is definitely a bad photo, but we pros actually don't always light subjects one way. In fact, food is most often lit from behind. It gives food dimension. Slightly overhead and in front makes the food look "flat." 

Below is my basic food set-up. It is the starting point. I add more reflectors as needed, but the primary light source is behind the food. 

Oh BTW, my living room is a photo studio, with a 24-foot ceiling and no furniture. It is also next to my kitchen. Anyone want to co-publish a cook book?  

CD

.


----------



## taxlady

I discovered, on my Android smart phone, that I can "tell the camera" where to look. If I tap something on the screen, it will assume that is what you want to concentrate on in the photo. It will focus there and adjust speed and aperture. I discovered it while taking this picture. I wanted that gorgeous pink in the sky, but the sun made it wash out in pix. I decided to try to make the camera focus on a bit of sky away from the sun and noticed that it changed the apparent brightness of the rest of the sky.


----------



## dragnlaw

Whoa!  that's interesting Taxy...  I'll have to give it a try.  Thanks!


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Thanks for thinking about us! And please hire us!!! [emoji2]
> 
> That is definitely a bad photo, but we pros actually don't always light subjects one way. In fact, food is most often lit from behind. It gives food dimension. Slightly overhead and in front makes the food look "flat."
> 
> Below is my basic food set-up. It is the starting point. I add more reflectors as needed, but the primary light source is behind the food.
> 
> Oh BTW, my living room is a photo studio, with a 24-foot ceiling and no furniture. It is also next to my kitchen. Anyone want to co-publish a cook book?
> 
> CD
> 
> .


I am an excellent editor [emoji2]. And not a bad photographer. I did have a show in a coffee shop once. Sold one photo, to the owner.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I discovered, on my Android smart phone, that I can "tell the camera" where to look. If I tap something on the screen, it will assume that is what you want to concentrate on in the photo. It will focus there and adjust speed and aperture. I discovered it while taking this picture. I wanted that gorgeous pink in the sky, but the sun made it wash out in pix. I decided to try to make the camera focus on a bit of sky away from the sun and noticed that it changed the apparent brightness of the rest of the sky.


That feature has been around for a long time. The photographer where I used to work showed me that several years ago. 

Digital cameras have lots of cool features. Mine has a setting where I can give it a voice command and it will take the picture, so I don't have to fiddle with finding the right spot on the screen.

"Say cheese!"


----------



## roadfix

Last night we got mail delivered after 9pm.   I noticed this trend a few months ago when mail delivery started getting progressively late in the afternoon.     
Same thing at work too.    Deliveries around 6pm now.   We close shop at 6, and like most businesses, we don't have a mail slot.   What's going on with the USPS?


----------



## Andy M.

Beats me.  I think they've been going downhill too.

We live in a condo complex.  We have a mail house with 500+ mail slots in it.  A postal employee is there all day stuffing boxes.  First with junk mail then first class when it's ready. It's the softest job in the PO.  Indoors with heat and air.  Currently we have a loser there who is a goof off milking the job.  The postmaster often has to send helpers to finish the first class.  We often get mail a day or two later than should happen.


----------



## CakePoet

I am just pissed off with people making fun of my language and not it not dead yet, we are 10 miljon speaking it.


----------



## GotGarlic

CakePoet said:


> I am just pissed off with people making fun of my language and not it not dead yet, we are 10 miljon speaking it.


Try not to let it get to you. Some people are apparently easily amused by potty language, like middle-schoolers (think 12-13-year-old boys).


----------



## CakePoet

It just so annoying for people not understanding that my langauage is actaully dear to me and many who speak it.

This is a friend , 2 weeks in Sweden learning Swedish by  us Swedes. There serveral lessons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66fULfwb2X4


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> Beats me.  I think they've been going downhill too.
> 
> We live in a condo complex.  We have a mail house with 500+ mail slots in it.  A postal employee is there all day stuffing boxes.  First with junk mail then first class when it's ready. It's the softest job in the PO.  Indoors with heat and air.  Currently we have a loser there who is a goof off milking the job.  The postmaster often has to send helpers to finish the first class.  We often get mail a day or two later than should happen.



Speaking of junk mail, my parents live in a large townhouse complex and I can't believe the amount of junk mail they receive each day.   I visit them often and pick up their mail.   The mail person spends hours in the mail room sorting out mostly junk mail, seems like.


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> Last night we got mail delivered after 9pm.   I noticed this trend a few months ago when mail delivery started getting progressively late in the afternoon.
> Same thing at work too.    Deliveries around 6pm now.   We close shop at 6, and like most businesses, we don't have a mail slot.   What's going on with the USPS?



Two words, budget cuts. I am lucky to have an outstanding mail carrier in my neighborhood. All of us in the hood hope we never lose him. He and I chat from time to time -- he's a car nut, too. 

The USPS has been hurt for income by the major shift from snail mail to email, for one thing. They depend on junk mail for survival. The USPS is also a favorite whipping boy for politicians. Not as low on the totem pole as AMTRAK, but not much above it. 

Like the rest of us, the USPS is having to adapt to a changing world. 

BTW, I use USPS Click-n-Ship and Priority Mail Flat Rate shipping a lot for my business. Great service, and dirt cheap compared to FedEx and UPS. 

CD


----------



## medtran49

Well, I try to avoid USPS as much as possible.  I sent a very important document Express mail (overnight) and it ended up setting in Miami for 3 days and was late because of that.  It was addressed correctly.  They just failed for whatever reason.   When I went to complain and get a refund at my local P.O., I had to wait 30+ minutes for the post-mistress to make multiple calls to figure out what happened.  Frankly I didn't give a #*$% about what happened.  They failed royally and I wanted my money back, not to stand there while she futzed around with something that, at that point, had absolutely nothing to do with me.  I was livid by the time she finally showed her face back at the counter and let her know it.  The 1 clerk on duty refused to go get her when I complained, guess she was afraid she'd go off on her from what she said.  Well, I certainly went off on her.


----------



## taxlady

CakePoet said:


> It just so annoying for people not understanding that my langauage is actaully dear to me and many who speak it.
> 
> This is a friend , 2 weeks in Sweden learning Swedish by  us Swedes. There serveral lessons.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66fULfwb2X4


No disrespect intended, but that video is an example of what's weird and funny about Swedish. They didn't even try to get someone to say the Swedish for "seven hundred and seventy-seven sea sick sailors".


----------



## caseydog

medtran49 said:


> Well, I try to avoid USPS as much as possible.  I sent a very important document Express mail (overnight) and it ended up setting in Miami for 3 days and was late because of that.  It was addressed correctly.  They just failed for whatever reason.   When I went to complain and get a refund at my local P.O., I had to wait 30+ minutes for the post-mistress to make multiple calls to figure out what happened.  Frankly I didn't give a #*$% about what happened.  They failed royally and I wanted my money back, not to stand there while she futzed around with something that, at that point, had absolutely nothing to do with me.  I was livid by the time she finally showed her face back at the counter and let her know it.  The 1 clerk on duty refused to go get her when I complained, guess she was afraid she'd go off on her from what she said.  Well, I certainly went off on her.



I took a very important package to the FedEx Office to ship overnight to my best customer. I printed the label from my online account, and paid around fifty bucks for it. I took it to a FedEx office to make sure I could hand it to a human, not stuff it in a drop box.

My customer didn't get the package, and FedEx INSISTED that they never got the package from me. I actually handed the package to a FedEx Office employee. But, I didn't ask for a receipt. BIG mistake. They would not budge. In their view, I was a liar, and never turned a package over to them. My word against theirs. 

CD


----------



## Addie

We had a mailman named Bob for a number. Everyone in the building loved him and he gave great service. Then they transferred him to a different route. In his place we got a girl. Below our bank of locked boxes, is our mailbox. She refused to pick up the mail. Her reason? 

The Union said she did not have to bend over if she didn't want to. Nearly every person in the building called her supervisor. Needless to say, she no longer has to bend over at any time. She was sent on her way without her mailbag or truck. 

I don't know if any of you have noticed, but street mailboxes on the corner are far and few between. For anyone in this building to find a corner mailbox, they would have to drive to the post office which is about 3/4 of a mile away. Or stand in the lobby and wait for the mailman to arrive and hand it to him. And our new mailman does collect the mail from the box that is below our boxes.


----------



## caseydog

Addie said:


> I don't know if any of you have noticed, but street mailboxes on the corner are far and few between. For anyone in this building to find a corner mailbox, they would have to drive to the post office which is about 3/4 of a mile away. Or stand in the lobby and wait for the mailman to arrive and hand it to him. And our new mailman does collect the mail from the box that is below our boxes.



I live in the North Dallas burbs. We have individual street mailboxes, which I believe used to be called "rural" mailboxes. Our carrier drives a mail truck, that mush be at least 20 years old, and delivers AND picks up every day. 

His biggest gripe is people parking cars in front of the mailboxes. The rules say he doesn't have to deliver mail to blocked mailboxes, but he does it, anyway. I was gathering mail for one of my neighbors while she was in Canada for a month last summer, and one of her neighbors parked his Honda Ridgeline in front of here mailbox -- right up against the mailbox. He was told multiple times to stop doing it, but didn't care. The mail man got out and made his delivery. I made sure to slam my friends mailbox door into the butthole's Ridgeline when I collected the mail. I was hoping he'd hear it and come out, but he never did. Scratched the heck out of his truck. 

My mailman is great! I give him a bottle of CaboWabo tequila at Christmas. 

BTW, if you do have a good mail carrier, tell them you appreciate them, and tip them at Christmas, whether with an envelope with cash, a gift card, or like me, some top-shelf tequila. 

CD


----------



## Addie

There are rules in the mail folks contract. They are there to help prevent them from being hurt on the job. Such as they don't have to deliver the mail if the following applies"

A known dog that bites is running loose on the property
A known dog that bites is running loose on the street
If your sidewalk or steps have not been shoveled
If your rural mailbox is too low or too high. It should be at the height of reachability from the window of his truck.
If you don't have a mailbox or slot for your mail
If a package is too heavy
If the mailbox is blocked
Even if you don't have your name on your box
There are many more rules. 

They are also trained to notice if an elderly person lives in the home. If their mail is piling up, they then call the police so they can make a "wellness call."

That 'not having to bend' rule was being carried to the most foolish end. She ended up losing a great paying job over it. How many times have I heard the Temp Christmas help state, "I wish I could get on at the post office permanently."


----------



## GotGarlic

In my neighborhood, the mailboxes are on the porch. No one has their name on it that I have seen.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Addie said:


> There are rules in the mail folks contract. They are there to help prevent them from being hurt on the job. Such as they don't have to deliver the mail if the following applies"
> 
> A known dog that bites is running loose on the property
> A known dog that bites is running loose on the street
> If your sidewalk or steps have not been shoveled
> If your rural mailbox is too low or too high. It should be at the height of reachability from the window of his truck.
> If you don't have a mailbox or slot for your mail
> If a package is too heavy
> If the mailbox is blocked
> Even if you don't have your name on your box
> There are many more rules.
> 
> They are also trained to notice if an elderly person lives in the home. If their mail is piling up, they then call the police so they can make a "wellness call."
> 
> That 'not having to bend' rule was being carried to the most foolish end. She ended up losing a great paying job over it. How many times have I heard the Temp Christmas help state, "I wish I could get on at the post office permanently."


We are on a rural route.  We had the same mail man for years. Real nice guy. He retired and we got a real jerk. First it mail box was too low. So raised it. Then it was too high. We got the post master out here to inspect it the third time. My boss has known him for years so it wasn't a big deal. I live on the farm I work at. My mail box and my bosses are on the same post.


----------



## CakePoet

TaxLady: They use a harder one  in lesson 3 I think.
This is the orginals  https://www.slayradio.org/home.php#mastering_swedish_lesson_1


----------



## Mad Cook

Think yourselves lucky. Royal Mail has been privatised and sold off to God knows who. Mail can arrive days after it was posted even if sent (and paid extra for) First Class. If there aren't many letters for our lane "They" don't bother with authorising a delivery until it's "worth" sending a postman/woman who then struggles with an over-filled bag or trolley.

They are closing our local sorting office so if we miss a parcel delivery and we have to go and collect it we will have to go to one 5 miles away (not the nearest one!) where there is no customer parking or road-side parking and there isn't a bus service within a mile - great for elderlies who don't drive.

Ok, stopped grumbling now.


----------



## roadfix

I'm actually thinking about installing a new mailbox next to my driveway for easier access.    My current mailbox is built in a cement wall and tucked between rows of cacti, many with pointy needles.   Access to the mailbox can be a bit tricky (for the delivery person) when there are vehicles parked alongside the "sidewalk".   (I can retrieve mail from the other side of the wall, no problem)   And now with mail delivery conducted after dark I'm a bit concerned due to safety issues and not getting mail at all.


----------



## medtran49

At our old house, we had this HUGE woman mail carrier.  I don't know how many times I'd see her squeeze out of her truck (and it was a squeeze in and out) and walk  (waddle) just far enough to toss a package at a neighbor's front door that was too big to fit in the mailbox.  On days that it was raining, she'd leave a delivery note in your mailbox like she had tried to deliver the package but nobody was home (I work from home and my office area was about 15' away from the front door then).  

One time I just got totally ticked off cause I asked for a redelivery and she did the same thing to me again so I called to complain.  It was right before Halloween and back then we always did the house up really cool complete with a masoleum, graveyard, walls to make the house look like a castle, coffins, iron cages with skeletons, gargoyles, huge spiders, heads on pikes, etc.  I had been outside working on the decorations earlier in the week and she stopped to chat when she delivered our mail about how cool our house was.  Well, when I called to complain, the postmaster of that branch came to deliver my package personally.  He said she told him that she was too "scared" to come into our yard.  I told him that was really odd since she had just told me a few days ago how cool it was, and I also told him about the package throwing and about all the "coincidental" not at home delivery notes and rain days.  His response was yeah, I know, I've heard all this before, it's just really hard to get rid of someone.  She finally disappeared, don't know why, was just glad she did.  

Must be nice to have a civil service job.


----------



## mcrx

Can I start a new one??

It's cooking related (as sadly the majority of my petty ranting is), thing is, I was planning on chicken breasts for today, but as the meat thawed out, it turned out to be whole chicken pieces instead. See, this requires EXTRA cleaning/processing time and just a whole different type of recipes to capitalize on the natural flavors with the bones and all.... so just, 

why when I am already sooo behind and ready to jump into so many other interests right now, that I get sidetracked by this ****??!! 
(oh, can we curse on here?? :P )


----------



## GotGarlic

mcrx said:


> Can I start a new one??
> 
> It's cooking related (as sadly the majority of my petty ranting is), thing is, I was planning on chicken breasts for today, but as the meat thawed out, it turned out to be whole chicken pieces instead. See, this requires EXTRA cleaning/processing time and just a whole different type of recipes to capitalize on the natural flavors with the bones and all.... so just,
> 
> why when I am already sooo behind and ready to jump into so many other interests right now, that I get sidetracked by this ****??!!
> (oh, can we curse on here?? [emoji14] )



Ah, yeah. That sucks. It sure can derail your afternoon. But it's not too late to make a good meal with it. Roasting to the rescue! [emoji2] C'mon, you can do this! 

And a suggestion for the future: I keep Sharpies, small pads of stickies, a pen and transparent tape in a kitchen drawer with the silverware. Anytime I put something in the freezer, I write the contents on the freezer bag or tape a stickie on the lid of the container, including the weight (if applicable, like a roast) or the number of pieces (like chicken or pork chops). It's been a very easy, helpful system.

If you curse, it will be replaced with asterisks


----------



## caseydog

Mad Cook said:


> Think yourselves lucky. Royal Mail has been privatised and sold off to God knows who. Mail can arrive days after it was posted even if sent (and paid extra for) First Class. If there aren't many letters for our lane "They" don't bother with authorising a delivery until it's "worth" sending a postman/woman who then struggles with an over-filled bag or trolley.
> 
> They are closing our local sorting office so if we miss a parcel delivery and we have to go and collect it we will have to go to one 5 miles away (not the nearest one!) where there is no customer parking or road-side parking and there isn't a bus service within a mile - great for elderlies who don't drive.
> 
> Ok, stopped grumbling now.



That is our possible future. There are politicians who want to privatize our postal system -- and pretty much everything else, too. 

As much as people complain about the USPS, we actually have it pretty good. If privatized, my mail in the relatively wealthy suburbs would not change a whole lot, but rural mail service would probably be horrible, if it even remained. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> That is our possible future. There are politicians who want to privatize our postal system -- and pretty much everything else, too.
> 
> As much as people complain about the USPS, we actually have it pretty good. If privatized, my mail in the relatively wealthy suburbs would not change a whole lot, but rural mail service would probably be horrible, if it even remained.
> 
> CD


Yup. Just a year or two ago, the main post office in Norfolk (across the river from us) was closed. Now all the mail for a metropolitan area of close to two million people goes two hours north to Richmond to be sorted before returning south to be delivered. Somehow that is more efficient


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> Yup. Just a year or two ago, the main post office in Norfolk (across the river from us) was closed. Now all the mail for a metropolitan area of close to two million people goes two hours north to Richmond to be sorted before returning south to be delivered. Somehow that is more efficient



Not more efficient, just "cheaper," at least on paper. Some bean counter figured that the USPS could save X-amount of dollars by closing down that post office. Under pressure from politicians to cut costs, the bean-counter's bosses approved of the closing. Did they really save X-amount of real dollars, maybe, and maybe not. It all depends on what you include on the spreadsheet. 

CD


----------



## roadfix

I don't mind paying more for better, efficient service.    Among most all developed countries around the world we have one of the lowest domestic postage rates here in the U.S.


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Not more efficient, just "cheaper," at least on paper.



Yeah, I know. Their excuse to us was that it was more efficient.


----------



## Cheryl J

Same here, GG.  Small town here....letters and packages are routed to an even smaller town an hour away for processing.  

If I had a say, I would make the budget cuts by doing away with Saturday mail delivery altogether. But they didn't ask me for my opinion. 

My little neighborhood has 2 mailboxes on a post for every 2 houses, out near the sidewalk.  Some here in town have personal mailboxes, and some neighborhoods have locked community mailboxes for every 6 houses or so.


----------



## caseydog

Cheryl J said:


> My little neighborhood has 2 mailboxes on a post for every 2 houses, out near the sidewalk.  Some here in town have personal mailboxes, and some neighborhoods have locked community mailboxes for every 6 houses or so.



My not-so-little town (140K pop) is the same. My hood has 20 boxes per post. My previous hood had the six-per lock boxes. I like my current arrangement much better, and so does my mailman. 

CD


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> I'm actually thinking about installing a new mailbox next to my driveway for easier access.    My current mailbox is built in a cement wall and tucked between rows of cacti, many with pointy needles.   Access to the mailbox can be a bit tricky (for the delivery person) when there are vehicles parked alongside the "sidewalk".   (I can retrieve mail from the other side of the wall, no problem)   And now with mail delivery conducted after dark I'm a bit concerned due to safety issues and not getting mail at all.



Wouldn't it be easier to remove the cactus? *Ouch, Ouch! Dang it! Ouch!!*Forget this dang cactus.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Same here, GG.  Small town here....letters and packages are routed to an even smaller town an hour away for processing.
> 
> If I had a say, I would make the budget cuts by doing away with Saturday mail delivery altogether. But they didn't ask me for my opinion.
> 
> My little neighborhood has 2 mailboxes on a post for every 2 houses, out near the sidewalk.  Some here in town have personal mailboxes, and some neighborhoods have locked community mailboxes for every 6 houses or so.



We actually have three sorting centers. The big one is in Boston at Fort Point Channel, one at the airport and one in Chelsea. Out of state goes to the Boston one or at the airport. Mail from in state goes to Chelsea. The sorters at Boston and Airport take up one whole huge floor. And as a rule, we get our mail in one day. The Boston one is where they hold the bi-annual auctions. All the trucks here in Boston have a GPS follower on them. If a worker is parked for too long in one space, they want to know why. When gas was on the high side, our mailman was told to not swing into our driveway, but park on the street. That order didn't last more than a day. It meant he had to leave some of the mail unsorted in the building, while he went back out to get the second basket. He came back in with the second basket and found the Building Busybody going through it to find her mail. She didn't want to wait for him. 

Our mail goes from Boston to Chelsea. They also have a major sorting centers for UPS, FedEx and DHL at the airport. Then there is a sorting center for smaller carriers. If the package is small enough, it is sent to USPS right there at the airport for delivery. From there it is sent to Chelsea. 

The Boston one is the sorting center for all of New England. For packages and mail.


----------



## rodentraiser

When I bought land and had a house put on it, I had the unique experience of putting up my own mailbox. I gotta say, there's nothing that makes you feel more like a pioneer breaking sod on the claim than putting in your own mailbox.



My petty vent today is my computer. I'm on a puzzle site and I was  starting to put together a 450 piece puzzle. I had all the pieces  sorted, the border done, and half the sky filled in, all in 45 minutes.  Then my computer hiccuped and when I got back to the site, I found I was  set back to 8 minutes and all the pieces hadn't been sorted yet. 

*grrr-RUMBLE*


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Addie*, when I get my coffee shipped from Orange, MA it first goes to Shrewsbury, MA, then to our neighbor town, then to our town. My coffee never has to go through Boston. Same route for Christmas gifts our daughter has mailed from OH before we could go back home every Christmas.

**************************

Let's see...if I drop something off at my town post office for somewhere else in my town, it goes from my PO to the next town over. From there it is bulk-shipped out to the Shrewsbury sorting location. Once it is sorted to return to my town's post office, it first goes to the neighboring post office  where they (mis)sort it for drop-off at my town's PO to be delivered. OR...I could just walk to wherever it is the mail is supposed to go and probably faster, in spite of gimpy hip/sore ankles/bad feet and all.

At least our regular mail carrier is sharp. They usually catch all the mis-sorts and straighten the mail out before it hits our boxes. I can always tell when we have a sub carrier.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have a free PO box at the post office since they do not deliver mail in town.  Now if they would only open on my schedule...


----------



## Addie

Many moons ago the PO hired part time sorters. They went in early in the morning and sorted each carrier's days delivery. It was put in order of their route and by house number. Now each mailman has to sort their own. They only do by street.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Addie*, when I get my coffee shipped from Orange, MA it first goes to Shrewsbury, MA, then to our neighbor town, then to our town. My coffee never has to go through Boston. Same route for Christmas gifts our daughter has mailed from OH before we could go back home every Christmas.
> 
> **************************
> 
> Let's see...if I drop something off at my town post office for somewhere else in my town, it goes from my PO to the next town over. From there it is bulk-shipped out to the Shrewsbury sorting location. Once it is sorted to return to my town's post office, it first goes to the neighboring post office  where they (mis)sort it for drop-off at my town's PO to be delivered. OR...I could just walk to wherever it is the mail is supposed to go and probably faster, in spite of gimpy hip/sore ankles/bad feet and all.
> 
> At least our regular mail carrier is sharp. They usually catch all the mis-sorts and straighten the mail out before it hits our boxes. I can always tell when we have a sub carrier.



I bought 20 "forever" stamps two years ago. I have three left. I communicate over the internet. I even invoice my customers that way, and my biggest customer pays my invoices via EFT, so it is all paperless, and nothing gets mailed. 

BTW, I love to talk about my 84-year-old father. And, I'm going to do so right now. He has the newest iPhone, a MacBook Pro, an iMac, an iPad that my mom uses to read books, and a seriously badass Audi that syncs to his iPhone. My 84-year-old father has a car that is "speed limited" from the factory to 154 MPH. 

When he first got into the high-tech stuff, he called me a couple times a week to help him out. Now, it is maybe twice a year, and it is for a problem I have difficulty with. We generally work those out together as a team effort.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Caseydog,* could I please have your dad's nbr? I have a few issues with my gadgets and would like to have some help!


----------



## caseydog

dragnlaw said:


> *Caseydog,* could I please have your dad's nbr? I have a few issues with my gadgets and would like to have some help!



Ummmm, I'm sure you will understand my hesitation to give out my dad's phone number to someone I've never met other on a cooking forum on the internet, but I certainly understand your issues. 

I always try to make sure his badass car blocks mine in his driveway, so it is "easier" to use his. Payback. He did the same thing with my badass cars back in the day. He always needed to run to the store when my 5.0 litre mustang was parked in the driveway somewhat behind his car. I could hear him from many blocks away. 

He doesn't complain. I still remember very clearly the day he experienced 70-plus MPH on my boat. 30 MPH over what his boat could do. He went and bought a faster Audi than mine the next week. SOB! 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I think I love your Dad a little bit, *CD*.


----------



## dragnlaw

Aw Casey, I was only kidding!  Why do think a lot of us use "handles".  

I rarely ask for people's phone nbrs.  If I want to start connecting to someone, I give them mine - then it is up to them to decide if they want to communicate.  Same when someone asks me for someone else's phone nbr. I tell them give me yours and I will give it to them...  

Hat's off to your Dad, he sounds really cool!


----------



## caseydog

dragnlaw said:


> Aw Casey, I was only kidding!  Why do think a lot of us use "handles".
> 
> I rarely ask for people's phone nbrs.  If I want to start connecting to someone, I give them mine - then it is up to them to decide if they want to communicate.  Same when someone asks me for someone else's phone nbr. I tell them give me yours and I will give it to them...
> 
> Hat's off to your Dad, he sounds really cool!



I knew you were kidding. Now, if you had asked for his date of birth and social security number, I might have been a wee bit suspicious. I'm not going to fall for that one, again. 

CD


----------



## dragnlaw

caseydog said:


> I'm not going to fall for that one, again.
> 
> CD



LOL - I don't believe you!


----------



## dragnlaw

Update on some of my petty vents... 

Propane fireplace has been fixed...  no longer makes explosive booms when it starts up. Would you believe a simply adjustment to the flue.!

TV is now working. Reset needed.  Unplug, hold the power button down for 30 seconds, leave unplugged for 24 hours.  IT WORKS!!!

With the money saved from NOT having to buy a new TV I can take my tiime over deciding how to handle my whining computer. 

ALL IN ALL - - -  A GOOD DAY!  

till the next annoyance


----------



## rodentraiser

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have a free PO box at the post office since they do not deliver mail in town.  Now if they would only open on my schedule...



I have a PO just across the street from where I live. They no longer accept packages for pick up. So if I get something on eBay, I have to drive to the _other_ PO halfway across town to get it.


----------



## caseydog

dragnlaw said:


> Update on some of my petty vents...
> 
> Propane fireplace has been fixed...  no longer makes explosive booms when it starts up. Would you believe a simply adjustment to the flue.!
> 
> TV is now working. Reset needed.  Unplug, hold the power button down for 30 seconds, leave unplugged for 24 hours.  IT WORKS!!!
> 
> With the money saved from NOT having to buy a new TV I can take my tiime over deciding how to handle my whining computer.
> 
> ALL IN ALL - - -  A GOOD DAY!
> 
> till the next annoyance



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkzE23pyME4

CD


----------



## medtran49

caseydog said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkzE23pyME4
> 
> CD


 
Thanks for reminding me of that!  I knew as soon as I saw the picture that I had seen that before but forgot how funny it was.


----------



## dragnlaw

Thank you Caseydog! 

Our family watched that faithfully every week.  No PVR or VCR in them days so if we missed it...  I was really upset.    Great Show!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

rodentraiser said:


> I have a PO just across the street from where I live. They no longer accept packages for pick up. So if I get something on eBay, I have to drive to the _other_ PO halfway across town to get it.



We have no other Post Office and I too have to drive halfway across town to get my mail...all one block


----------



## mcrx

GotGarlic said:


> Ah, yeah. That sucks. It sure can derail your afternoon. But it's not too late to make a good meal with it. Roasting to the rescue! [emoji2] C'mon, you can do this!
> 
> And a suggestion for the future: I keep Sharpies, small pads of stickies, a pen and transparent tape in a kitchen drawer with the silverware. Anytime I put something in the freezer, I write the contents on the freezer bag or tape a stickie on the lid of the container, including the weight (if applicable, like a roast) or the number of pieces (like chicken or pork chops). It's been a very easy, helpful system.
> 
> If you curse, it will be replaced with asterisks



not sure if you will see this. maybe just a thanks would have worked.

thing is tho, i DO usually keep track, but my hubby has been doing the meat shopping lately and we've just had sooo much going on, he'd put them away before...maybe i should tell HIM to do it!  but nah, usually it is fine.
Ended up making...hmm oh! like a dopiaza chicken. found some recipe. it wasn't great, but it was not bad either. (my cooking, not necessarily the recipe btw)

Chicken and Onion Curry (Chicken Dopiaza) Recipe | SAVEUR


-----
today's VERY petty vent. dont really even need to vent perse, but...why is there never enough sauce!? :P


----------



## mcrx

actually, reading an above post, i AM very upset about missing Lucifer show last Monday (Mon? or Tues?)!!!


----------



## medtran49

mcrx said:


> actually, reading an above post, i AM very upset about missing Lucifer show last Monday (Mon? or Tues?)!!!



Don't be, huge cliffy, ticked me and DD off royally.  They'll replay it right before Luci starts again.


----------



## mcrx

medtran49 said:


> Don't be, huge cliffy, ticked me and DD off royally.  They'll replay it right before Luci starts again.



ohh! did the repeat the season ending?? i saw that one! I am so lost in time, idk when stuff comes back on, i just listen to hubby! haha


----------



## Addie

There are very few TV programs that I sit and stare at totally wrapped up in the program. If it doesn't challenge my brain, I just kind of follow what is going on while I am involved in some other activity. But Jeopardy is just that program. And I noticed that the questions are dumbing down. 

Even though the dumbing down has happened, I need to speak up and let Spike and Pirate to please find some other time to chat for 30 minutes straight. They don't even notice if I turn the TV up full volume. They just continue to try to talk over it. It is three minutes to seven p.m. Spike is about to arrive with Teddy. Pirate is sleeping. Teddy will walk around looking for him. If he doesn't come out of his room in about ten minutes he will either bark loud enough to wake him or go in and jump up on his bed. At least I will get ten minutes to watch quietly.


----------



## medtran49

mcrx said:


> ohh! did the repeat the season ending?? i saw that one! I am so lost in time, idk when stuff comes back on, i just listen to hubby! haha


 
Oh, don't know.  I thought you were talking about the season finale episode.  Has it been longer than a week or 2 since they played that?  I lose track of time on TV shows.


----------



## caseydog

Addie said:


> There are very few TV programs that I sit and stare at totally wrapped up in the program. If it doesn't challenge my brain, I just kind of follow what is going on while I am involved in some other activity. But Jeopardy is just that program. And I noticed that the questions are dumbing down.
> 
> Even though the dumbing down has happened, I need to speak up and let Spike and Pirate to please find some other time to chat for 30 minutes straight. They don't even notice if I turn the TV up full volume. They just continue to try to talk over it. It is three minutes to seven p.m. Spike is about to arrive with Teddy. Pirate is sleeping. Teddy will walk around looking for him. If he doesn't come out of his room in about ten minutes he will either bark loud enough to wake him or go in and jump up on his bed. At least I will get ten minutes to watch quietly.



I'm not sure who or what Spike and Pirate are, but Teddy sounds like a dog. Either that or your kids bark. 

My dog's name is Teddy, too -- AKA Psycho-Poodle. 

CD


----------



## Caslon

I went shopping at my local Ralph's supermarket (big store chain) and bought $15 of nice fresh flank steak ($8.99 lb.). I open the pack expecting the flank steak to unfold into a thinner slab like most packages of flank steak do. Instead, it's just a huge 1- 1/2" thick hunk with this layer of fat running thru the middle thickness. It's impossible to slice it in half horizontally to get that fatty part out. I've already used about a quarter of it for beef jerky, but I'm taking the rest back with my receipt. Ralph's won't give me any argument and they'll refund my money, but still! I plan to complain about it to their meat department. They had another package that I suspect was butchered the same improper way. 

Thanks for letting me petty vent.


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> I'm not sure who or what Spike and Pirate are, but Teddy sounds like a dog. Either that or your kids bark.
> 
> My dog's name is Teddy, too -- AKA Psycho-Poodle.
> 
> CD



Teddy is my son Spike's dog. He is a very spoiled Maltese dog. He has all of us very well trained.


----------



## mcrx

medtran49 said:


> Oh, don't know.  I thought you were talking about the season finale episode.  Has it been longer than a week or 2 since they played that?  I lose track of time on TV shows.



i was talking about last week but maybe there wasnt a show last week. probably not. and yea it has been over 2 weeks! lol i think??


---
not enough time!!! rush rush rush! well, my lifestyle dont like that! :P (im trying to be responsible, but embaracing my chill attitude too! some days are easier than others)


----------



## rodentraiser

I'm not sure this shouldn't be a big vent. What the heck - I'm petty, I'll post it here.

Last week I spackled the  little shadowbox I've been working on. Last night I sanded the spackle. Dust all  over the place, even with paper underneath. I turned the shadowbox  over to tap the dust out, then used a brush to brush it out, then got  the bright idea to use canned air. This goes on the list of Do. Not.  Ever! Sort of like when you get a little flour on the lip of the flour canister, you Do. Not. Ever. try to blow it off (yeah, I'm a slow learner).

So when the dust all died down and I had my room cleaned up  an hour later, I decided to prime the shadowbox. After it was primed, I  looked around for a clean piece of paper to set it on while it dried. I  noticed the ads I had rolled and stuffed into my little wastebasket.  Perfect. I yanked the paper out and.......well, I had sanded on a piece  of paper, but had forgotten I had rolled it up after I was done and  thrown it out. Guess what paper I yanked out of the wastebasket?

So  several hours later when I finally had my room cleaned up again, I  decided to call it a night and hit the hay. I'm still wondering if it's  too late to pick another career, like raising parakeets, for instance.


----------



## medtran49

rodentraiser said:


> I'm not sure this shouldn't be a big vent. What the heck - I'm petty, I'll post it here.
> 
> Last week I spackled the little shadowbox I've been working on. Last night I sanded the spackle. Dust all over the place, even with paper underneath. I turned the shadowbox over to tap the dust out, then used a brush to brush it out, then got the bright idea to use canned air. This goes on the list of Do. Not. Ever! Sort of like when you get a little flour on the lip of the flour canister, you Do. Not. Ever. try to blow it off (yeah, I'm a slow learner).
> 
> So when the dust all died down and I had my room cleaned up an hour later, I decided to prime the shadowbox. After it was primed, I looked around for a clean piece of paper to set it on while it dried. I noticed the ads I had rolled and stuffed into my little wastebasket. Perfect. I yanked the paper out and.......well, I had sanded on a piece of paper, but had forgotten I had rolled it up after I was done and thrown it out. Guess what paper I yanked out of the wastebasket?
> 
> So several hours later when I finally had my room cleaned up again, I decided to call it a night and hit the hay. I'm still wondering if it's too late to pick another career, like raising parakeets, for instance.


 
Brave the cold outside and use the compressed air first.  No mess to clean up.  We've always done that with things that were dust collectors like blinds or fake plants or things that had been sanded and needed to be cleaned before priming/staining.


----------



## Andy M.

Telemarketers suck!

There current gimmick is to have various different IDs show up on your phone to get you to answer their call. Just got a call from a local business in our town.  Not really!  It was a telemarketing call.  Of course I hung up immediately.  

It amazes me they think getting me to answer is the solution and that I won't just hang up!

Grrrrr!


----------



## GotGarlic

A couple of months ago, a fax machine was calling my phone several times a day, for days. Finally, I searched for a way to block it and found this app: https://www.shouldianswer.com

It works great. It's community-driven, so you can download a list of numbers identified as telemarketers and other nuisance calls and add your own. It will display the number and what it thinks the problem is and then hang up. I just checked and it's saved me from answering 625 calls [emoji2]


----------



## Dawgluver

I don't answer anything on my landline.  It's sort of my Spam folder.  Friends who don't call my cell phone know enough to leave a message on the landline phone, and I'll call them back, or pick up once I know who it is.


----------



## rodentraiser

medtran49 said:


> Brave the cold outside and use the compressed air first.  No mess to clean up.  We've always done that with things that were dust collectors like blinds or fake plants or things that had been sanded and needed to be cleaned before priming/staining.



I thought about going outside but it was raining and besides, it was 8pm at night. I always seem to start my projects at night. Anyway, I live in an apartment building and the only outside is an uncovered parking lot.


----------



## Caslon

Caslon said:


> I went shopping at my local Ralph's supermarket (big store chain) and bought $15 of nice fresh flank steak ($8.99 lb.). I open the pack expecting the flank steak to unfold into a thinner slab like most packages of flank steak do. Instead, it's just a huge 1- 1/2" thick hunk with this layer of fat running thru the middle thickness. It's impossible to slice it in half horizontally to get that fatty part out. I've already used about a quarter of it for beef jerky, but I'm taking the rest back with my receipt. Ralph's won't give me any argument and they'll refund my money, but still! I plan to complain about it to their meat department. They had another package that I suspect was butchered the same improper way.
> 
> Thanks for letting me petty vent.



Update:  I drove back to my Ralphs supermarket and not only did they refund my $15, but they gave me another $15 flank steak for free!  The butcher apologized and explained that someone must have requested a flank steak be one big hunk instead of "rolling out" (unfolding flat) like it's supposed to.


----------



## dragnlaw

GotGarlic said:


> A couple of months ago, a fax machine was calling my phone several times a day, for days.



GG, this happened to me a looooong time ago.  I finally hooked up the call to my printer/fax machine and received the fax.  Got their company name, number and the company name and number they were trying to reach. 

I then faxed THEM, AND the company they were trying to reach, a blistering letter about how after 3 days and umpteen million tries that the fax did NOT go thru that maybe that was a clue that it was a wrong number? I also made sure the sender knew that I had copied the letter to their customer... 

The calls stopped immediately.


----------



## buckytom

Andy M. said:


> Telemarketers suck!
> 
> There current gimmick is to have various different IDs show up on your phone to get you to answer their call. Just got a call from a local business in our town.  Not really!  It was a telemarketing call.  Of course I hung up immediately.
> 
> It amazes me they think getting me to answer is the solution and that I won't just hang up!
> 
> Grrrrr!



I like to keep them on the line as long as possible. In fact, I've made it a game as to try to break my record of stalling each time. I amswer as if I'm really interested in whatever they are up to, but then I either keep excusing myself here and there to stall,  or become a complete idiot until they finally give up. Sometimes I threaten them, if they try to argue, that I will do things like a tracert or iplocate to see where they are.

Hey they called me, so they will suffer me... Mwahahahaa.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> GG, this happened to me a looooong time ago.  I finally hooked up the call to my printer/fax machine and received the fax.  Got their company name, number and the company name and number they were trying to reach.
> 
> I then faxed THEM, AND the company they were trying to reach, a blistering letter about how after 3 days and umpteen million tries that the fax did NOT go thru that maybe that was a clue that it was a wrong number? I also made sure the sender knew that I had copied the letter to their customer... [emoji3]
> 
> The calls stopped immediately.


I don't have a fax machine and I really don't care to spend my time that way. Back in the day, I made my share of faxes to incorrect numbers and I figured out all by myself that, when it didn't work repeatedly, it was a wrong number.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> I like to keep them on the line as long as possible. In fact, I've made it a game as to try to break my record of stalling each time. I amswer as if I'm really interested in whatever they are up to, but then I either keep excusing myself here and there to stall,  or become a complete idiot until they finally give up. Sometimes I threaten them, if they try to argue, that I will do things like a tracert or iplocate to see where they are.
> 
> Hey they called me, so they will suffer me... Mwahahahaa.



You too? I love to play games with them sometimes. I make believe every so often that I am being interrupted and hold an imaginary conversation with someone out of earshot. Sometimes I will mention the words "bleeding profusely" or "how severe are the pains" "are they coming fast?" "did you call 911?" Then I get back to the caller with several apologies while they keep trying to pick up where they left off or were rudely interrupted by my imaginary person. Then all of a sudden we get interrupted by a "click". Sometimes they try to call back, but most don't. 

A lot of times I will let them go through their whole spiel and when they are through I tell them I am hard of hearing and forgot to put the speaker on loud. Could they repeat that again please?


----------



## Cheryl J

Not here.  I don't have time for that, nor would I get pleasure out of it even if I did. I just don't answer calls from unfamiliar numbers and 99% of the time they don't leave a msg. Problem solved. 

Once in a while they're legit, though.  Yesterday someone called my cell and left a voicemail:  "This is Dr. ****'s office.  Hailey is ready to be picked up." I recognized the local dentist's name, knew the receptionist, and called them back to say they had the wrong number.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

When we had a land-line, and no Caller ID, I would wait until the caller started talking before I would pick up. My poor SIL had to start a ton of "messages" before I would answer. Now with just a cellphone, if the party isn't in my Contact List, I don't answer. ~ *Andy*, if I didn't have current business with that company, I would have just let it roll to voicemail. You can always check for messages. 




Cheryl J said:


> Not here.  I don't have time for that, nor would I get pleasure out of it even if I did. I just don't answer calls from unfamiliar numbers and 99% of the time they don't leave a msg. Problem solved. ...


^This^ I did do telemarketing for a while when we needed money for extras when building Home Two. At least I worked for a courteous agency owner who insisted we be polite and allow the person to end the call immediately if they so chose. My biggest time-eater was when I got a lonely old person who was so happy to have any human contact that they droned on and on. Again with the courteous boss, she said we should listen to those people, no matter how annoying, because it could very well be their only contact with a real person that day.  To this day I can remember her name, Charlotte, and can picture what she looks like from memory. A real quality person. 

And about that miss-dialed call from the dentist? One time a dry cleaner left a message that someone's cleaning was ready. Not mine! I called the dry cleaner back to let them know they needed to figure out what the right phone number was.


----------



## Andy M.

I have no patience to engage a caller. I check the display then hang up. Once a doctors office called and I hung up because the number was not their main number. They called right back.


----------



## dragnlaw

Considering the fax episode that happened to me, suffice it to say we did not have Caller ID back then and Message devices were external and purchased at your local electronics store.  So when the phone rings and you had kids - you answered...  but to then have a fax machine squeal in your ear...  was not fun. 

I did that company a favour, not to mention my own ear plus the vindication for my pain.  I'm sure the sending company quickly educated the staff who did not seem to have the most basic common sense to figure it out.  If not educated she(he) would probably receive the wonderful "pink slip" with the next pay cheque.


----------



## Dawgluver

My basement smoke/CO2 detector started screeching and beeping.  The batteries need to be replaced.  I get that.  So far I've broken 3 fingernails trying to open the battery door.  I looked up the manual online, and it was of no help.  Can't get the dang thing open.  DH's solution would be to take a hammer to it.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> My basement smoke/CO2 detector started screeching and beeping.  The batteries need to be replaced.  I get that.  So far I've broken 3 fingernails trying to open the battery door.  I looked up the manual online, and it was of no help.  Can't get the dang thing open.  DH's solution would be to take a hammer to it.


Screeching while you were trying to get the battery door open? Yikes! I would be getting out the hammer too. (It's probably a carbon monoxide, not a carbon dioxide detector)


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Screeching while you were trying to get the battery door open? Yikes! I would be getting out the hammer too. (It's probably a carbon monoxide, not a carbon dioxide detector)




  Yes, CO3.  You knew what I meant.  Still can't get the battery door open.  I pushed the button, and it's quit screeching.  DH gave up immediately.  He's useless in these matters.


----------



## taxlady

Phew. You should be able to figure it out without the screeching, even though maybe not until tomorrow.


----------



## Andy M.

CO3 = carbon trioxide 
CO2 = carbon dioxide
CO   = carbon monoxide


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> CO3 = carbon trioxide
> CO2 = carbon dioxide
> CO   = carbon monoxide




Ha!  I should have known that.  Duh.

Mono=one


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> I like to keep them on the line as long as possible. In fact, I've made it a game as to try to break my record of stalling each time. I amswer as if I'm really interested in whatever they are up to, but then I either keep excusing myself here and there to stall,  or become a complete idiot until they finally give up. Sometimes I threaten them, if they try to argue, that I will do things like a tracert or iplocate to see where they are.
> 
> Hey they called me, so they will suffer me... Mwahahahaa.



I very rarely take those calls, but every once in a while, when I'm really feeling like a smartass, I will mess with them. This year, I had one guy that was as much of a smartass as I am. We had multiple call exchanges. I couldn't help but laugh. He was a PITA, but a funny one. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Dawgluver said:


> Ha!  I should have known that.  Duh.
> 
> Mono=one



CO and CO2 -- neither one is good for you. Never heard of CO3. 

CD


----------



## Farmer Jon

Cooking Goddess said:


> When we had a land-line, and no Caller ID, I would wait until the caller started talking before I would pick up. My poor SIL had to start a ton of "messages" before I would answer. Now with just a cellphone, if the party isn't in my Contact List, I don't answer. ~ *Andy*, if I didn't have current business with that company, I would have just let it roll to voicemail. You can always check for messages.
> 
> 
> 
> ^This^ I did do telemarketing for a while when we needed money for extras when building Home Two. At least I worked for a courteous agency owner who insisted we be polite and allow the person to end the call immediately if they so chose. My biggest time-eater was when I got a lonely old person who was so happy to have any human contact that they droned on and on. Again with the courteous boss, she said we should listen to those people, no matter how annoying, because it could very well be their only contact with a real person that day.  To this day I can remember her name, Charlotte, and can picture what she looks like from memory. A real quality person. [emoji813]
> 
> And about that miss-dialed call from the dentist? One time a dry cleaner left a message that someone's cleaning was ready. Not mine! I called the dry cleaner back to let them know they needed to figure out what the right phone number was.


People like this annoyed the crap out of me. They say hey call me when you on your way to pick me up. Ok. I call. Machine picks up. I hang up and leave. Guy shows up 2 hours late. Mad as heck. Why didn't you pick me up? I called you no answer. Figured you already left. Lol after a couple times missing party's that broke him of that. He answered that phone on the second ring!


----------



## Mad Cook

I don't have answering machine. If it picks up a sales call the number registers as current and you'll get more calls from that line. I have a phone with a caller display panel. If I don't recognise the number or it's number withheld I don't pick up. Amazing how few of these calls you get after a while.


----------



## dragnlaw

Dawgluver said:


> My basement smoke/CO2 detector started screeching and beeping.  The batteries need to be replaced.  I get that.  So far I've broken 3 fingernails trying to open the battery door.  I looked up the manual online, and it was of no help.  Can't get the dang thing open.  DH's solution would be to take a hammer to it.



Sometimes you just have to twist the whole thing off.  In other words don't try to open the battery door. Take the whole thing down and it will be easier.  Often it is two screws that you just need to twist the gizmo to line up the larger holes.  

Also wouldn't Carbon Monoxide detectors be near the floor?  I have both - one goes on the ceiling and one is plugged in near the floor.  (I have propane gas)


----------



## Andy M.

Smoke detectors on or near the ceiling.

CO detectors a couple feet off the floor.


----------



## Dawgluver

Haha.  The smoke/CO detector in the bedroom started to chirp last night.  Thankfully, I just had to twist off the base, and there were the batteries!  Much better design.  The basement one that I can't get open was on the desk.  DH had put a pillow over it, apparently it annoyed him this morning.  I thought, why is there a pillow on the desk?  Oh.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> My basement smoke/CO2 detector started screeching and beeping.  The batteries need to be replaced.  I get that.  So far I've broken 3 fingernails trying to open the battery door.  I looked up the manual online, and it was of no help.  Can't get the dang thing open.  DH's solution would be to take a hammer to it.



My first reaction would be to throw it out into the street...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My first reaction would be to throw it out into the street...




Thinking about that, though I don't litter.  I may run over it with my car a few times and throw it in the trash though.  Then it can chirp and screech at the garbage men.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I would have to run it over, waiting for someone to drive down the street would be an all day venture.  A sledge hammer would work, too.


----------



## dragnlaw

LOL - I like the sledge hammer.  Very satisfying to weld and smoosh/crunch/

You might as well. If you can't change the batteries, what is the point of keeping it. It can't do the job and you are unprotected.

'Nother idea...  mail it back to the manufacturer!   ('cept the P.O. would probably call the bomb squad!  but the job would be done though!


----------



## roadfix

My pendulum keeps stopping!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Smoke detectors on or near the ceiling.
> 
> CO detectors a couple feet off the floor.



This dumb management company bought the combination type detectors. They are hardwired and on the ceiling. Oh well, they accomplished what they wanted to. Great for smoke detection, no so for CM. Less money spent!


----------



## caseydog

Dawgluver said:


> Thinking about that, though I don't litter.  I may run over it with my car a few times and throw it in the trash though.  Then it can chirp and screech at the garbage men.



One of my clients booked me and my team into a crappy hotel once, and at 2AM, the smoke alarm in my room started beeping. I got up on a chair, removed it, and tossed it into the trunk of my rental car until morning, when I delivered it to the front desk with a good measure of hairy eyeball. 

BTW, of the three rooms we had, I had the best one. 

CD


----------



## roadfix

roadfix said:


> My pendulum keeps stopping!


Ok, upon further inspection I discovered a broken suspension spring in the clock.   I found a replacement part on Ebay for $7.


----------



## CakePoet

Was supposed to have a nice , fun, childfree  weekend with Mr Perfect and I been coughing and vomiting since Friday.  This isnt what I planned for and I am not having fun, so far only thing that stays down is cheese sandwiches.


----------



## taxlady

CakePoet said:


> Was supposed to have a nice , fun, childfree  weekend with Mr Perfect and I been coughing and vomiting since Friday.  This isnt what I planned for and I am not having fun, so far only thing that stays down is cheese sandwiches.


God bedring. (For everyone else, that means good bettering in Danish.)


----------



## CakePoet

And for once my danish is up to par.  Yeah , I dont know much I that much.  I manage  to both drink and eat a little bit more today.


----------



## Dawgluver

Dawgluver said:


> Thinking about that, though I don't litter.  I may run over it with my car a few times and throw it in the trash though.  Then it can chirp and screech at the garbage men.




But she persisted.  Broke another four fingernails, but I finally got the battery door open, and replaced them.  All is right with the world again.  No more chirping and screeching.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Fingernail?  Wait, what. You're a handy girl. Couldn't you find and use a standard screwdriver? It's probably my number one go-to tool when things are...resistant. Screwdriver first, hammer next. BwaHaHa!


----------



## Dawgluver

I tried a screwdriver.  It's not wood.  Wood is easy.  Dang stubborn plastic.  DH was ready to take a hammer to it.  

Brute strength, much yanking, and it finally popped open along with some collateral fingernail damage.  Getting the batteries popped out did involve a screwdriver.


----------



## taxlady

You have reminded me of the description of a handyman/superintendent by the landlord, "His favourite tools are a screwdriver and a hammer. Of the two, he prefers the hammer."


----------



## caseydog

taxlady said:


> You have reminded me of the description of a handyman/superintendent by the landlord, "His favourite tools are a screwdriver and a hammer. Of the two, he prefers the hammer."



I have a garage full of tools, and a big rolling tool cabinet. There is an old saying with guys like me, that one essential tool is a ridiculously large screwdriver with a lifetime warranty. It is amazing how many times that comes in handy. 

CD


----------



## Dawgluver

I have a basement full of tools.  DH has a garage full of tools.  We have his and hers workshops, they're just in different locations.

I'm a bit more, um, careful.  DH is not allowed to unscrew, dismantle, dismember, or fix anything.  His solution is always to bonk it with a hammer.  I do all the electrical and plumbing work, along with the wood fixing-up.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Home repair rules: If it sticks, use WD-40. If it's broken, use duct tape. That's all.

Actually, I'm a firm believer in having a nice assortment of bungee cords. One can never have too many...


----------



## CharlieD

I'm not, venting, I am not complaining, I honestly am  laughing  right now at how persistent Murphy law is. I live about 4 miles from a major HWY I take to work on the daily bases. There 5 intersection lights before I enter that road. First, fourth and the fifth are about half and half of the time either red or green when I hit them. Second and third are consistently red, probably 99% of the time. And even if the second one is green then third one is for sure red. Not sure how this is even possible. Today I started driving and my glasses fogged up pretty bad, could not see anything. I had to take them off and though I can kind of see the road without them, especially if I do not have to look for street signs, it is hard to drive at night, well 5 in the morning, when it's dark. So I think to myself, oh well I'll just clean the glasses when I hit the red light. Guess what. I hit all the green lights today. Had to drive without glasses until car gor warm.   Murphy law. Never fails.


----------



## CharlieD

medtran49 said:


> Don't be, huge cliffy, ticked me and DD off royally.  They'll replay it right before Luci starts again.



Love that show


----------



## CWS4322

I am so sick of "friends" so offer to help by storing things, and then put an ultimatum. A friend said I could park my car on her 25-acre property, but now it is an eyesore and if I don't move it by the end of March (I am 1400 miles away) she will sell it. She doesn't have the right to sell it and she agreed I could park it there until I could move it. Really? I am dealing with my mother who is terminally ill and my father who has sever medical issues and she thinks she can sell my car or I can get back there to more it? Really, I thought these people were decent people? Gotta call my lawyer on Monday, again. Really,. what kind of people do this? Really? In the big picture, just take a breath and relax. It doesn't matter. So what?


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I tried a screwdriver.  It's not wood.  Wood is easy.  Dang stubborn plastic.  DH was ready to take a hammer to it.
> 
> Brute strength, much yanking, and it finally popped open along with some collateral fingernail damage.  Getting the batteries popped out did involve a screwdriver.



Next time heat up the blade of the screwdriver. Then when it is almost red hot, put it to the plastic and melt the dang door to the batteries. When all done, tape the door back on.


----------



## Addie

CWS4322 said:


> I am so sick of "friends" so offer to help by storing things, and then put an ultimatum. A friend said I could park my car on her 25-acre property, but now it is an eyesore and if I don't move it by the end of March (I am 1400 miles away) she will sell it. She doesn't have the right to sell it and she agreed I could park it there until I could move it. Really? I am dealing with my mother who is terminally ill and my father who has sever medical issues and she thinks she can sell my car or I can get back there to more it? Really, I thought these people were decent people? Gotta call my lawyer on Monday, again. Really,. what kind of people do this? Really? In the big picture, just take a breath and relax. It doesn't matter. So what?



Next time you talk to her, ask her which neighbor of hers was complaining of it being an eyesore. If she sells it, I would charge her with car theft.


----------



## CWS4322

Addie said:


> Next time you talk to her, ask her which neighbor of hers was complaining of it being an eyesore. If she sells it, I would charge her with car theft.


No neighbors. Already emailed her and told her that she doesn't have the right to sell it (grand theft auto) and she said I could leave it there. And, send the email to my lawyer. I really can't deal with more of this c@@p. It is parked by her garage. It is a Volvo--not a junk car. 

I did mention in my response that I have been storing her grandmother's bedroom set and paying for that in my storage unit for 5 years. Like to clear that out so I'd have that space for my stuff.

What did I do to deserve these people in my life?


----------



## dragnlaw

I hear you CWS...  same thing happened to me.   I purchased a horse from a friend, he knew I was building a barn and it was not yet ready and offered to keep the horse for me til I could take him.  Then a short while later told me it was time for the horse to go!  The barn was no were near done and he knew that. So...  

Lesson learned...  be specific.  Offer to keep something but specify when it will go or not go.  She should have said she would want it out by the spring and perhaps you should have said you would not be able to move it til after a certain date... or whatever.  How to keep friends 101.  from my own personal 'how to' book.  

sorry to hear it has gone so far as to need a lawyer, that's really sad.


----------



## Farmer Jon

CWS4322 said:


> I am so sick of "friends" so offer to help by storing things, and then put an ultimatum. A friend said I could park my car on her 25-acre property, but now it is an eyesore and if I don't move it by the end of March (I am 1400 miles away) she will sell it. She doesn't have the right to sell it and she agreed I could park it there until I could move it. Really? I am dealing with my mother who is terminally ill and my father who has sever medical issues and she thinks she can sell my car or I can get back there to more it? Really, I thought these people were decent people? Gotta call my lawyer on Monday, again. Really,. what kind of people do this? Really? In the big picture, just take a breath and relax. It doesn't matter. So what?


What part of the country is it in? I guess it don't really matter. Just curious.


----------



## CWS4322

Farmer Jon said:


> What part of the country is it in? I guess it don't really matter. Just curious.


Eastern Ontario. I just don't understand why people behave that way. I never would behave like that. If I


----------



## CWS4322

On a happy note, I have found a place to store my car with person I met while doing dog rescue. Gotta love people who love dogs. And, it can stay there as long as I need it to stay there because she took care of her Mom with Parkingson's out in Alberta and understands. You just can't drop everything to take care of the little things. Moving my car to MN is a little thing. Getting a lift for my Mom was a big thing.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I friggin hate daylight savings time. That is all I will say about that.


----------



## CharlieD

Farmer Jon said:


> I friggin hate daylight savings time. That is all I will say about that.



Speaking of which. I got tired of my old alarm clock changing time according the old "daylight saving time", decide to buy new one so I don't have to deal with changing time manually, as I can never remember how to do that. Was in Sam's couple om month ago, saw slick looking alarm clock, only 15 bucks or so. Got it. Guess what, it did not change time at all. Which probably means it will still change it later on. Oy, not again ....


----------



## taxlady

Farmer Jon said:


> I friggin hate daylight savings time. That is all I will say about that.


I couldn't agree more. It's useless. They tell city folk that it's for the farmers and they tell farmers that it's for the city folk.


----------



## caseydog

Farmer Jon said:


> I friggin hate daylight savings time. That is all I will say about that.



I absolutely love DST. I think it depends on your typical day. I like it because it gives me time in the evening to work in my garden, or cook on the grill, or just sit on the patio in daylight, after my paying work is done. If it were up to me, I'd have us on DST all year long. 

Just curious, why do you hate it?

CD


----------



## Dawgluver

I've never minded it, though when I was working it was hard to watch the kids (and teachers) shambling along like zombies for a week after the time change.

Cozumel has gone to no time change.  They're sticking with Eastern all year 'round now.  Everyone is still confused, even after a year.  Something to do with cruise ships.  They did not consult me.


----------



## Kayelle

Farmer Jon said:


> I friggin hate daylight savings time. That is all I will say about that.



Why is that Jon?

I love it, and detest the dark. It's depressing.


----------



## taxlady

I don't understand why people would rather mess around with the time twice a year to get some extra sunlight. Why not just get up an hour earlier? I mean, basically that's what you're doing anyways. How does having the clock say that the time is an hour earlier than it really is make anything better?


----------



## caseydog

taxlady said:


> I don't understand why people would rather mess around with the time twice a year to get some extra sunlight. Why not just get up an hour earlier? I mean, basically that's what you're doing anyways. How does having the clock say that the time is an hour earlier than it really is make anything better?



People on a regular work schedule can't show up for work an hour earlier, or get off work an hour earlier. If you work 8-5, you drive home in the dark, which sucks, IMO. 

If it were up to me, it would be DST all year. I don't care if it is dark when I get up in the morning. I want to have some time at the end of a work day to actually do something outdoors. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> I don't understand why people would rather mess around with the time twice a year to get some extra sunlight.


Hear, hear, *taxy*! I'm in full agreement with you, even though that means I see dawn break on my way to bed some summer days!



caseydog said:


> People on a regular work schedule can't show up for work an hour earlier, or get off work an hour earlier....If it were up to me, it would be DST all year....


Time for the boss to get with flex-time. When I did office work in the 1970s, it was a "thing" in my company. And my company was the telephone company - an industry that was very hesitant to change!

You just need to move somewhere where the time zone has later sunrises and sunsets. God and my old body willing, before I die I will make it back to OH where the sun keeps better hours. Once I'm in the ground or an urn, it won't much matter when the sun comes up since I won't be seeing it!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Well color me stupid and throw out the crayons...*

I was down for the count on Sunday (a case of the collywobbles...), so I thought I would make up for it today. Had three senior citizen bananas just right for my Mom's banana bread, and wanted to make a loaf of oatmeal bread because I found oat bran when I shopped last week.

I was oh-so-organized. Had everything perfectly mise-en-place for the two breads. Mixed all of the ingredients into the bread machine (I let it do the heavy lifting, then bake in the oven) and started the banana bread. I had the timing perfect to have the banana bread partway through its oven bake time so that it was finishing off as the bread was doing its final rise in the pan. Although when I looked into the the bread machine, the dough ball looked awfully small for being only 12 minutes away from finishing off the "Dough" cycle. Oh, well. It will rise in the pan, I hoped.

Started to add the banana bread flour mix to the butter/sugar/eggs in the mixer bowl and...*why are there oat flakes in this flour???*  Dang, I got the flour bowls mixed up. 

Himself tried to console me by saying "it's not a big deal, I don't know why you're upset". Easy for him to say. HE wasn't the one mixing and measuring and standing on his feet this afternoon. He needs to read from the script where it says "that's terrible, dear. I feel bad for you, but at least you didn't cut yourself or give yourself a burn". THAT is the consoling I want!


----------



## Addie

CG, we all have our Boo Boo's in life. And this was yours. Turn it into a lesson of learning. "One loaf at a time." 

Today you are not going to going to be out in this weather. Find a cookbook you have been meaning to read, along with a cozy chair and corner and enjoy the warmth of your home.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> I was down for the count on Sunday (a case of the collywobbles...), so I thought I would make up for it today. Had three senior citizen bananas just right for my Mom's banana bread, and wanted to make a loaf of oatmeal bread because I found oat bran when I shopped last week.
> 
> I was oh-so-organized. Had everything perfectly mise-en-place for the two breads. Mixed all of the ingredients into the bread machine (I let it do the heavy lifting, then bake in the oven) and started the banana bread. I had the timing perfect to have the banana bread partway through its oven bake time so that it was finishing off as the bread was doing its final rise in the pan. Although when I looked into the the bread machine, the dough ball looked awfully small for being only 12 minutes away from finishing off the "Dough" cycle. Oh, well. It will rise in the pan, I hoped.
> 
> Started to add the banana bread flour mix to the butter/sugar/eggs in the mixer bowl and...*why are there oat flakes in this flour???*  Dang, I got the flour bowls mixed up.


Does that mean there's yeast in your banana bread batter?


> Himself tried to console me by saying "it's not a big deal, I don't know why you're upset". Easy for him to say. HE wasn't the one mixing and measuring and standing on his feet this afternoon. He needs to read from the script where it says "that's terrible, dear. I feel bad for you, but at least you didn't cut yourself or give yourself a burn". THAT is the consoling I want!


I hear ya.


----------



## CakePoet

argh!!   So everyone got ill and now I have to wait 40 minutes more before I meet little one again..   Yeah no meeting up at the train, just waiting and waiting and argh.. Silly vent  but I miss her.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> CG, we all have our Boo Boo's in life. And this was yours. Turn it into a lesson of learning. "One loaf at a time."
> 
> Today you are not going to going to be out in this weather. Find a cookbook you have been meaning to read, along with a cozy chair and corner and enjoy the warmth of your home.


*Addie*, I didn't want sage advice. I just wanted to vent.

I'm not hiding in a corner reading today. I'm sitting at my kitchen table, sipping on my coffee (tea later), looking out the sliding glass doors at the storm. As long as I'm snug in the house, I enjoy watching Mother Nature pitch a hissy fit! 


Ooo, look, it's a witch on a bicycle!  Mom Nature looks like she's on a mission.





taxlady said:


> Does that mean there's yeast in your banana bread batter?


Nope. Each oatmeal bread ingredient got its own small prep dish, but I did use one mixing bowl per bread for the flour blends. For the banana bread, I did mix in the baking powder/soda/salt into the flour. So I guess the oatmeal bread got both yeast and baking powder. No wonder the poor thing was confused! 


taxlady said:


> I hear ya.


Love my man, but I swear they cannot be trained...


----------



## GotGarlic

CakePoet said:


> argh!!   So everyone got ill and now I have to wait 40 minutes more before I meet little one again..   Yeah no meeting up at the train, just waiting and waiting and argh.. Silly vent  but I miss her.



You have the most cryptic posts  I feel like I'm missing half the story...


----------



## roadfix

CakePoet said:


> argh!!   So everyone got ill and now I have to wait 40 minutes more before I meet little one again..   Yeah no meeting up at the train, just waiting and waiting and argh.. Silly vent  but I miss her.



I don't even let my little one kiss me on the cheek when I'm under the weather.   But at least I still get to see her....


----------



## CakePoet

My daughter has been at my parents for 2 weeks. I have missed her so much, we all have. After some more mishaps , she got home 1 hour later then she should and is now sleeping.


----------



## roadfix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QblkQ-J6zio


----------



## Farmer Jon

Kayelle said:


> Why is that Jon?
> 
> I love it, and detest the dark. It's depressing.


I got it double this week. Lost an hour to daylight savings time a d I'm spending a week in Ohio so I lost another hour dut to the eastern time zone. As far as daylight savings time I just wish they would leave it alone. Its harder on the farm animals than anything.


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> I got it double this week. Lost an hour to daylight savings time a d I'm spending a week in Ohio so I lost another hour dut to the eastern time zone. As far as daylight savings time I just wish they would leave it alone. Its harder on the farm animals than anything.



Teddy was very confused. He kept jumping all over Spike while he was sleeping. Something he never does. All he wanted was to go out for his morning walk. Spike finally gave in and gave up his extra hour he was trying to snatch. Dairy cows really get confused. You can almost set your watch by the time they head in for milking in the afternoon.


----------



## CharlieD

Hi, not really a vent. More of a request. CakePoet, we have this thread about kitchens. Would you post pictures of your kitchen? Is it a typical Kitchen for where you are from? Is it a typical kitchen as far as European kitchens go? Tell us a bit more.


----------



## CakePoet

I have typical Swedish 1950 kitchen, updated.  I am not please with it, because they thought people wouldnt cook in the future.  It is smaller then my 1 bedroom apartment kitchen and  this a 2 bedroom and my God, it always look like I never do dishes. So when I ever get it to a state  , I dare to show it in, I will. 

By the way,  Dutch kitchens are often smaller then Swedish, English and Scottish are different too.  Swedes run their pipes in a different way then Dutch and Brits.


----------



## roadfix

Japanese apartment kitchens are usually the tiniest....


----------



## CakePoet

roadfix: Maybe so,  well the idea of Swedish kitchen was to make it  work safe and efficient  for the Swedish housewife, so they started doing test and  research how to improve a  house wife's life.  This kitchen is after that idea , even if it  is missing ½ meter due to a large vent duct, which is annoying.


----------



## CharlieD

CakePoet said:


> I have typical Swedish 1950 kitchen, updated.  I am not please with it, because they thought people wouldnt cook in the future.  It is smaller then my 1 bedroom apartment kitchen and  this a 2 bedroom and my God, it always look like I never do dishes. So when I ever get it to a state  , I dare to show it in, I will.
> 
> By the way,  Dutch kitchens are often smaller then Swedish, English and Scottish are different too.  Swedes run their pipes in a different way then Dutch and Brits.




Please, get in the mood soon . Cannot be possible worse than my kitchen.


----------



## GotGarlic

CharlieD said:


> Please, get in the mood soon . Cannot be possible worse than my kitchen.


Have we seen pictures of your kitchen, Charlie?


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Have we seen pictures of your kitchen, Charlie?



We do love "Food Porn!" 

My kitchen is nothing special. The only thing they got right is that it is narrow, and should I ever fall, I can grab either counter. It is a simple galley kitchen. We aren't allowed to make any changes. But Spike did put in a backsplash behind the stove and also behind the sink doing the whole length of that wall. So much easier to keep it clean. Management did say that the tiles did increase the value of the property, no problem. 

One thing. I hate dish drainers! When not in use, there is no place to store them. And they certainly don't add to the décor just sitting there empty. So instead I have a large white cloth that was leftover from a craft I worked on. That is what I put my dishes on to dry. When there are no dishes, I allow it to dry, fold it and put it away.


----------



## roadfix

I'm going to tell the next idiot customer who hands me folded money to unfold it before handing over the money.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> One thing. I hate dish drainers! When not in use, there is no place to store them. And they certainly don't add to the décor just sitting there empty. So instead I have a large white cloth that was leftover from a craft I worked on. That is what I put my dishes on to dry. When there are no dishes, I allow it to dry, fold it and put it away.



I have a double sink, so the dish drainer lives in one.


----------



## roadfix

GotGarlic said:


> I have a double sink, so the dish drainer lives in one.


   Same here...


----------



## Cheryl J

GotGarlic said:


> I have a *double sink*, so the dish drainer lives in one.


 
Same here.  It sure comes in handy for the things I don't put in the dishwasher.


----------



## Cheryl J

roadfix said:


> I'm going to tell the next idiot customer who hands me folded money to unfold it before handing over the money.


 
That would be annoying.  If they have change coming back in bills you could probably fold it a few times before giving it to them, but it might not be too good for business.


----------



## roadfix

Cheryl J said:


> That would be annoying.  If they have change coming back in bills you could probably fold it a few times before giving it to them, but it might not be too good for business.



In fact, I've done just that (just to be funny) so that they can slip the folded change money neatly into their credit card holder.   People just don't carry wallets anymore, seems like...


----------



## Cheryl J

roadfix said:


> In fact, I've done just that (just to be funny) so that they can slip the folded change money neatly into their credit card holder. People just don't carry wallets anymore, seems like...


 
Using cash seems to be becoming rarer for the most part.  I hardly ever carry anything much over $20 or so.  If I do pay in cash for something, I make sure the bills are in order and facing the same way since that's the way the merchant puts it into their cash drawer.


----------



## roadfix

It's mostly the yuppie crowd.    They rarely carry cash and whatever cash they carry (usually an emergency $20 bill) it's folded neatly and hidden inside one of the credit card slots.


----------



## Dawgluver

Looks in wallet.

Hm.  $16 and 27 cents.  I usually use my CC, but if I pay cash, I always unfold it and sort it according to denomination.  I have one of those wallets that wears a tinfoil hat so my CC won't get skimmed.


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> It's mostly the yuppie crowd.    They rarely carry cash and whatever cash they carry (usually an emergency $20 bill) it's folded neatly and hidden inside one of the credit card slots.



At 55 years old, I am certainly not a yuppie, and I rarely carry cash. I use my debit card for pretty much everything. It is quick, easy, and I have a record of every penny I spend, and where I spent it. My bank accounts are linked to Quicken on my computer, so at any time, on any day, I can look at my spending habits, which helps me change spending habits, if needed. 

Plus, if my wallet is lost or stolen, I can call my bank, and immediately, my debit card becomes useless to anyone who has it. 

BTW, a couple of months ago, I found someone's debit card on the ground. I called the issuing bank, and told them I found it, and they canceled it. If I had found a 100-dollar bill on the ground, what could I do for the person who lost it? Nothing. That money would almost certainly be lost to them forever. 

I think cash is slowly going the way of the horse and buggy. It is like land-line phones -- some people won't give them up, but I ditched mine at least ten years ago. My iPhone is all I need. 

CD


----------



## CharlieD

GotGarlic said:


> Have we seen pictures of your kitchen, Charlie?



Yes, in the kitchen thread


----------



## roadfix

We're still pretty much old school....  but we can accept CC in a pinch...


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> At 55 years old, I am certainly not a yuppie, and I rarely carry cash. I use my debit card for pretty much everything. It is quick, easy, and I have a record of every penny I spend, and where I spent it. My bank accounts are linked to Quicken on my computer, so at any time, on any day, I can look at my spending habits, which helps me change spending habits, if needed.
> 
> Plus, if my wallet is lost or stolen, I can call my bank, and immediately, my debit card becomes useless to anyone who has it.
> 
> BTW, a couple of months ago, I found someone's debit card on the ground. I called the issuing bank, and told them I found it, and they canceled it. If I had found a 100-dollar bill on the ground, what could I do for the person who lost it? Nothing. That money would almost certainly be lost to them forever.
> 
> I think cash is slowly going the way of the horse and buggy. It is like land-line phones -- some people won't give them up, but I ditched mine at least ten years ago. My iPhone is all I need.
> 
> CD


We use credit cards because debit cards are like cash - if you lose it and you don't discover that before someone else uses it, you're SOL for that money. Otherwise, we have the same benefits, plus points toward goods and the legal right to dispute purchases and limit our losses in case one is stolen.

I carry very little cash. Sometimes I prefer to tip in cash instead of on the bill.


----------



## roadfix

My purchases are about 50% cash and 50% CC.    I don't use a debit card.    
I pay my CC bills in full each month so there's no interest payment.


----------



## CharlieD

The only thing I buy with cash are the cigarettes, so DW wouldn't see the CC bill and would not know. Started smoking again recently. 

Otherwise I never have cash. Direct deposit, no reason to even go to bank.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> We use credit cards because debit cards are like cash - if you lose it and you don't discover that before someone else uses it, you're SOL for that money. Otherwise, we have the same benefits, plus points toward goods and the legal right to dispute purchases and limit our losses in case one is stolen.



My bank uses the _Visa Check Card_ for debit cars, which is covered by Visa's "Zero Liability" protection policy. Any money lost from fraudulent activity would be refunded to my account. 

CD


----------



## Dawgluver

I have a Schwab debit card I use for travel.  I have a limited amount on it, and pull money from the ATM with it when we go to Mexico.  Also use it for the rental car.  They rebate all fees.

Otherwise I use my Chase Visa and earn cash points.


----------



## Andy M.

Hmmm.  I have a debit card I rarely use.  The bank sent me one so I carry it around.  

SO and I have Capital One VISA cards we use for everything. We collect a lot of points by using it for everything.  Those points provide some compensation for the costs of a vacation or whatever.  Cash doesn't pay you points.  We pay off our balances monthly.

On a related topic, does anyone still use travelers checks on vacation?


----------



## roadfix

We get a lot of tourists around here year round but I have not seen a travelers' check in over 20 years...?


----------



## Just Cooking

GotGarlic said:


> We use credit cards because debit cards are like cash - if you lose it and you don't discover that before someone else uses it, you're SOL for that money. Otherwise, we have the same benefits, plus points toward goods and the legal right to dispute purchases and limit our losses in case one is stolen.
> 
> I carry very little cash. Sometimes I prefer to tip in cash instead of on the bill.



4 months ago we also decided to use a credit card instead of our debit card for grocery purchases.. Best idea in a long time for all the reasons you state..

Ross


----------



## caseydog

On the venting subject, I don't have any credit cards. When I found out I had cancer 12 years ago, things happened very fast. At the time, I had great credit, and I took care of cancer treatment deductibles and copays by tossing down my credit cards. 

I got a call one day from MBNA, which is now Bank of America, and they asked about all the  medical charges on my card, and I made the mistake of answering truthfully -- that I was going through cancer treatment. 

They cut me off at the knees, jacked my interest rates and trashed my credit rating. My other credit card companies immediately followed MBNA and stabbed me in the back, too. 

My credit went from stellar to lousy bum, just for getting sick. I did not miss a single payment, I just got sick. 

Now, I have a debit card, paid cash for my car, and the only debt I have is a 70K mortgage on a 240K home. The only inconvenience is that I use one of my dad's credit cards to reserve rental cars, and then pay the rentals on my debit card when I turn the car in. I rent about a hundred cars a year from Hertz, so they are very accommodating. 

Now, don't get me started on Budget Rent-A-Car. 

Bottom line, I just do not want to EVER have another credit card. To me, that would be like going back to an abusive spouse, and asking them to take me back. 

CD


----------



## dragnlaw

Casey, same thing has happened to my daughter.  She had a lumpectomy 7 years ago. Clean since, and now cannot get any insurance.  Edmonton, Alberta, Canada....  

Welcome to the real world.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> I have a double sink, so the dish drainer lives in one.



I don't have that luxury! One single small sink here.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> I'm going to tell the next idiot customer who hands me folded money to unfold it before handing over the money.



Almost sounds like the joke money you find on the ground, pick it up, open it only to discover the other half of that bill is blank. 

You could ask if that bill is counterfeit before accepting it. They will open it fast enough to show that it isn't.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*casey*, in my opinion, Bank of America has to be one of the worst banks to deal with. We had an account there when our son was a student at Arizona State U in the early 2000s. We got an account for the sole purpose of moving money to his account so that we did not have to do a wire transfer through our credit union and pay a transfer fee. As soon as he moved back home to OH, we closed that account. I had more headaches working with BofA over three or four years than I've had in the 30 years we've had a Discover credit card. Discover problems? Zero. If you want to be able to get your own credit card so that you don't have to play the shuffle with your Dad's card, maybe you could call Discover. We're also big believers of Credit Unions. Set up our account with one when we moved to MA in 2000, and won't go back to a commercial bank whenif we move back home.




GotGarlic said:


> We use credit cards...points toward goods and the legal right to dispute purchases and limit our losses in case one is stolen.
> 
> I carry very little cash. Sometimes I prefer to tip in cash instead of on the bill.


Love the cash back feature. Discover lets you redeem your points for gift cards. I just went on a BB&B spending spree today and got three new trinkets for my kitchen and it cost me...zero. Free is good.


----------



## CakePoet

I only have debit card ( I can pay with in store, some places online)  and my husband have  debit/credit card, it is great thing, it acts like a credit card but  it only does so with the money  you have. So you can rent car, buy stuff online but it doesnt put you debt, since you can only use the money you have.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Some of us "use the money we have" when using a credit card, *CP*. It's and old-fashioned way of shopping, but we never buy unless we know we will pay the bill in full each month. We haven't paid interest on a credit card for decades and decades. Probably have paid it once or twice in our lives, though, due to an "oops" when a payment date is missed (I'm looking at YOU, Himself...).


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> Some of us "use the money we have" when using a credit card, *CP*. It's and old-fashioned way of shopping, but we never buy unless we know we will pay the bill in full each month. We haven't paid interest on a credit card for decades and decades. Probably have paid it once or twice in our lives, though, due to an "oops" when a payment date is missed (I'm looking at YOU, Himself...).


That's right - we also pay the bill in full each month. It's just a convenience to get the points and therefore free goods [emoji2]

As I understand it, unless you have a certain type of debit card, someone who had stolen a debit card could wipe out the amount in the account connected to the card but if it's a credit card, the owner might be out $50 at most. Plus you have the right to dispute purchases. Much safer.


----------



## Andy M.

CakePoet said:


> ...but it doesnt put you debt, since you can only use the money you have.



Credit cards don't put you in debt. YOU put yourself in debt. 

Certainly, if overspending is an issue, using only a debit card is a good solution.

BTW, most debit cards can be used two ways: 1. enter your pin at the card machine or 2. have the store process it as a credit card and the bank will still handle it properly.

with option #1, your bank account is more exposed and you don't have the same protections from the bank.  With option #2, the protections of a VISA or MC are extended to the debit card and your account is protected.


----------



## medtran49

CharlieD said:


> The only thing I buy with cash are the cigarettes, so DW wouldn't see the CC bill and would not know. Started smoking again recently.
> 
> Otherwise I never have cash. Direct deposit, no reason to even go to bank.



I'd be surprised if she doesn't know.  Our SIL tried that with our DD.  The smell clings to your hair and clothes even if you smoke in a well ventilated area, even more so with facial hair.


----------



## GotGarlic

medtran49 said:


> I'd be surprised if she doesn't know.  Our SIL tried that with our DD.  The smell clings to your hair and clothes even if you smoke in a well ventilated area, even more so with facial hair.


Not to mention the breath and mouth. Nothing like kissing an ashtray  

Sorry, Charlie. This brought up bad memories.


----------



## roadfix

Cooking Goddess said:


> ... in my opinion, Bank of America has to be one of the worst banks to deal with....



I've only banked with B of A since my early college days and never had a negative experience with them.    In fact, my current no-fee checking account has been active with them since 1975.    I had a business account with them for several years as well.  
I've also had several CC's with them over the years, plus a 15-yr mortgage and an home equity line of credit.    I have no debts and I only carry one CC and it's a B of A Rewards Visa.     No complaints.


----------



## Addie

I have never had an account with a 'bank'. I have only been with a credit union. I started with the one associated with the company I was working at. Direct deposit or I mail any checks in. When I settled my daughters estate, I received a six figure check. I had to go in town to the CU to deposit it. The teller was so excited to see me that she started to call everyone over. 605 is here, 605 is here! My account number. About six folks came running over to see and greet me. I used the mails for all my transactions when it came to deposits. Withdrawals, any ATM fees, the credit union reimbursed me. 

Then that CU closed when the company went down to just a few offices. My account was sent to another CU somewhere. When that CU had problems again my account was transferred. I have lost track of how many times my account has been transferred. But I have NEVER had one problem with my account. No fees, an overdrawn account for free, and all the other benefits that banks offer, all for free. Including having my checks for free. My only complaint is that everyone of the CUs that my account has gone to, there is never an office close to where I live. But I have never had a question or problem that couldn't be handled over the phone. 

Every CU I have been a member of, is a Federal one. The rules are a lot more stringent and strict!


----------



## Just Cooking

roadfix said:


> I've only banked with B of A since my early college days and never had a negative experience with them.    In fact, my current no-fee checking account has been active with them since 1975.    I had a business account with them for several years as well.
> I've also had several CC's with them over the years, plus a 15-yr mortgage and an home equity line of credit.    I have no debts and I only carry one CC and it's a B of A Rewards Visa.     No complaints.




Me also... Started with BofA in 72 and have been with them every move out of state and many areas of Cali..  I do have 2 other CC's but no debt..


----------



## Chef Munky

We had a CC recently used by someone else in L.A.
Stupid criminals..
If your going to steal a #, don't be dumb enough to buy food that's going to be delivered to your home address.
Just sayin'


----------



## Just Cooking

OK...A Petty Vent...

I subscribe to a few food blogs.. Some are enjoyable and educational..

One I have been following a while announced a live on facebook tutorial on using leftovers.. Seemingly something I'd enjoy...

Welp... A very good written blogger turns out (in my opinion) to be an airhead and totally unprepared for a live show..

Honestly... I'm in a good mood..but.. This lady is an airhead.. 

Rant over....


----------



## roadfix

This blogger lady needs to hire a director for her live shows....


----------



## dragnlaw

There is a world of difference between blogging and "live".  You can edit your written word to the 'nth degree...  but "live" doesn't let you.

sometime, while posting a reply, by the time I've finished, three other replies have been posted...


----------



## taxlady

Chef Munky said:


> We had a CC recently used by someone else in L.A.
> Stupid criminals..
> If your going to steal a #, don't be dumb enough to buy food that's going to be delivered to your home address.
> Just sayin'



Well, a lot of the time they wouldn't be crooks if they weren't stupid.


----------



## roadfix

I couldn't stand these allergic reactions (hives & swollen lips) I've been getting almost nightly from I don't know what so I finally emailed my primary doc at Kaiser this morning and a couple of hours later I received a call from their allergy dept and booked an appointment to see an allergist a few days from now to see what the heck I'm allergic to.


----------



## Just Cooking

@ roadfix..  Yup.. She needs some kinda help..

@dragnlaw...  very true.. I'm in your category and still have to edit...


----------



## CakePoet

roadfix: My brother had  hives and swollen lips, they found out he was allergic to his detergent, but  he only reacted when it  got in contact with his face.


----------



## Just Cooking

roadfix said:


> I couldn't stand these allergic reactions (hives & swollen lips) I've been getting almost nightly from I don't know what so I finally emailed my primary doc at Kaiser this morning and a couple of hours later I received a call from their allergy dept and booked an appointment to see an allergist a few days from now to see what the heck I'm allergic to.




Bummer...  In all my years I've not been harassed by allergies while seeing friends and family suffer through them.. Hope you get it figured out soon...


----------



## taxlady

CakePoet said:


> roadfix: My brother had  hives and swollen lips, they found out he was allergic to his detergent, but  he only reacted when it  got in contact with his face.


I was thinking it might be detergent because night time is when your face is in contact with pillows and any detergent that didn't rinse out of the pillow cases. Also, that's when you breathe in any fumes from the leftover detergent.


----------



## CakePoet

Or   the mites that exist in beds and beddings, not  bed bugs the other ones.


----------



## roadfix

Thanks!
Besides food, detergent and mites are suspect too.    In fact, I switched brands of laundry detergent recently before these attacks began so that's highly suspect.    I might even take a small sample of the detergent to the allergist if that'll help.


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> Thanks!
> Besides food, detergent and mites are suspect too.    In fact, I switched brands of laundry detergent recently before these attacks began so that's highly suspect.    I might even take a small sample of the detergent to the allergist if that'll help.



Detergent sounds like a key suspect. I only use the ones that have no scents or colors added, because I've had detergent issues in the past. 

CD


----------



## Farmer Jon

Most of you know my son has many allergies. Although he has outgrown most of them we still use ALL free and clear. Even at his worst he never had a reaction to that.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Wish there was a way that you could have blood work done without having a horrid bruise when they TRIED to get the blood AND where they ENDED UP getting the blood from.


----------



## GotGarlic

cjmmytunes said:


> Wish there was a way that you could have blood work done without having a horrid bruise when they TRIED to get the blood AND where they ENDED UP getting the blood from.


There is, but it involves minor surgery


----------



## Just Cooking

Not a vent...A wish perhaps...

I'd like a "like" button such as Facebook has.. I often read an interesting comment but, would rather not "quote and comment".. I know there is a thank button but sometimes  I'd just like the poster to know that I thought his/her post was interesting/enjoyable..

Oh heck... I just know that someone is going to point out a button and I will have another "Duh on me" moment..


----------



## Andy M.

Just Cooking said:


> Not a vent...A wish perhaps...
> 
> I'd like a "like" button such as Facebook has.. I often read an interesting comment but, would rather not "quote and comment".. I know there is a thank button but sometimes  I'd just like the poster to know that I thought his/her post was interesting/enjoyable..
> 
> Oh heck... I just know that someone is going to point out a button and I will have another "Duh on me" moment..



Many of us agree with you.  The THANKS button is cumbersome to use.  A like button could work with one click and you're done.


----------



## Just Cooking

Case in point, Andy M... I'd click 'like' on that post....


----------



## taxlady

So, we end up doing stuff like this:
+++1


----------



## Addie

I don't know of anyone here who uses the "Thanks" button. Seems rather useless to me. Maybe it could be replaced with a +1 or some such button.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I don't know of anyone here who uses the "Thanks" button. Seems rather useless to me. Maybe it could be replaced with a +1 or some such button.


How would you know if people are using the thanks button, unless they thank you? It sends a private message to the person.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> How would you know if people are using the thanks button, unless they thank you? It sends a private message to the person.


+1 [emoji38]


----------



## Just Cooking

Yup... Not knowing my way around the forum, I accidently came across a place which had 2 thanks for posts I'd made.. I thought, "hmmm..how would I'd have known if not by accident?"  :O)


----------



## Andy M.

Just Cooking said:


> Yup... Not knowing my way around the forum, I accidently came across a place which had 2 thanks for posts I'd made.. I thought, "hmmm..how would I'd have known if not by accident?"  :O)



There is a menu item called "User CP" in the blue bar at the top of the page.


----------



## Just Cooking

Andy M. said:


> There is a menu item called "User CP" in the blue bar at the top of the page.




Thank you Andy...  That's how I found the "Thanks" messages.. I spent a bit of time clicking on everything in "User CP"...   I've always been of the opinion that directions should be read AFTER a messup...   

Ross


----------



## Cooking Goddess

If all else fails, read the directions. Right, *Ross*?  That's how we roll in our house.




Addie said:


> I don't know of anyone here who uses the "Thanks" button. Seems rather useless to me. Maybe it could be replaced with a +1 or some such button.


I use it often, but not as a just a "click". Since a "compose" line opens when you click "Thanks", I use it as a quick way to send a few words to that member instead of going into Personal Messages and write something lengthy. If the receiver wants to continue a conversation, they then send a reply to me. If they don't, that's fine. Sometimes a quicky thought doesn't need to be posted as an in-thread comment and clutter it up.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> If all else fails, read the directions. Right, *Ross*?  That's how we roll in our house.
> 
> 
> 
> I think I stopped reading directions when I was 20 and knew it all....
> 
> 
> Ross


----------



## cjmmytunes

GotGarlic said:


> There is, but it involves minor surgery



No, thanks - I'll deal with the sticks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cjmmytunes said:


> Wish there was a way that you could have blood work done without having a horrid bruise when they TRIED to get the blood AND where they ENDED UP getting the blood from.



Drink plenty of water before a blood draw.  This will make sure you are well hydrated and get fewer pokes trying to find a vein that will give.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Drink plenty of water before a blood draw.  This will make sure you are well hydrated and get fewer pokes trying to find a vein that will give.



Thanks for the reminder. I have an appointment Monday and I just know Dracula is going to want his due. I am so bad when it comes to water. For me it is coffee, coffee, coffee.


----------



## Chef Munky

If my memory serves me correctly.The coffee jolt hasn't really kicked in yet.

Anyways RE: the Thanks button.It was implemented years ago after a member here Timothy requested it.He has since passed away.
People were all for it at the time.

Personally the +1's can drive me crazy.It gets to be too repetitive.
I'm not a Fake book fan, never will be.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Thanks for the reminder. I have an appointment Monday and I just know Dracula is going to want his due. I am so bad when it comes to water. For me it is coffee, coffee, coffee.



Remember, for every cup of coffee, you have to drink 1 and 1/2 cups of water to replace fluids that are lost.  Coffee has a diuretic effect. 

I like it when my patients drink plenty of water, means I don't have to go looking and drilling for a gusher.  3 pokes, no joy and I am out, someone else has to do the draw, by then the patient and I have lost confidence in my ability to do a blood draw. Patients need to do their part and be well hydrated so the healthcare worker can do their job efficiently and effectively.


----------



## roadfix

I always need to face away with my eyes closed when having my blood drawn.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> I always need to face away with my eyes closed when having my blood drawn.



That's okay...I'm the one that has to know what I am doing...


----------



## roadfix

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's okay...I'm the one that has to know what I am doing...


Yes, thanks.    I'm sure you come across patients who can't stand the sight of needles and blood.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

roadfix said:


> Yes, thanks.    I'm sure you come across patients who can't stand the sight of needles and blood.



Quite often.  Usually they are too busy laughing at my sad jokes and stories to notice I've poked them and am done.


----------



## CakePoet

Princess: I promise you will never have to draw my blood,   my arms refuse to give any blood so it has to be down in the hand, which a child size needle and even that   might not work.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh, I hate doing the hands...that hurts.  I know from experience, too many nurses go for the hands before other less painful options.


----------



## Kayelle

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh, I hate doing the hands...that hurts.  I know from experience, too many nurses go for the hands before other less painful options.



When I request (demand) a draw from my hand with a butterfly needle, I'm always up for an argument about it. Through my lifetime, I've had countless people try my arms and everyone has failed their promise for a painless draw because they are an "expert".  For me, the slight pain from a butterfly hand draw is nothing in comparison.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wish it was just slight pain when my hands are used. Would rather be hit with a bat. 

I always ask my patient where they want their blood draw done and always use a butterfly.  Elder veins burst when the vacuum tubes are used.  Patient preference first, then on to other sites if unable to use the first choice.


----------



## Kayelle

PF, I'll admit an IV in the hand with a regular needle is pretty brutal, but I have no problem with a butterfly needle for a hand draw.
It may be worth a try for others.


----------



## Dawgluver

Not sure I have any veins.  I always explain to the phlebotomist that I need a child-sized or butterfly needle, and am always reassured that they know what they're doing.  No they don't.  

The only ones who seemed to hit it right every time were the nurses through the wellness program at work.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sorry I can't give blood for all you guys, but I have great veins. Doesnt mean I don't feel a poke or prick  because that depends on the skill of the vampire. But all the have to do is get the tip of the needle near my arm and the vials fill lickity split. I know I didn't get my veins from my Mom, since hers would deflate as soon as the needle found a vein - and finding one was an adventure all of its own.




Just Cooking said:


> ...I think I stopped reading directions when I was 20 and knew it all...


Then you turned 40 and found out the truth.  Or had kids and had them tell you how dumb you were...until you weren't. The best words our kids have ever said to me were "I'm glad you're my Mom, I learned so much from you".


----------



## CakePoet

PrincessFiona, actually  when done right the hands dont hurt more then the arms.


----------



## taxlady

I have large, easy to find veins. I don't want doctors, except residents, to draw my blood. They always leave a bruise (except my doctor when I remind her that she is the only doctor allowed to draw my blood). I find lab techs are the best at drawing blood. Never a problem or a bruise. I'm the opposite of Roadfix. I want to see what they are doing. I don't like when someone sticks me with a needle when I'm not watching.


----------



## GotGarlic

CakePoet said:


> PrincessFiona, actually  when done right the hands dont hurt more then the arms.


Maybe not for you, but most people don't experience it that way. As a nurse who draws blood regularly, I think the Princess has a lot more experience seeing people's reactions than the rest of us. 

The wrist is the absolute worst, though.


----------



## CakePoet

Got Garlic, as person who  has chronic disease and part of support groups and we tend to talk, not  judge each other.  We all been told by nurses that the hand hurts so much, but it doesn't to us, being jabbed 5 times in the arm is bloody painful, compared to one time in the hand.  Under the foot is even worse, if you ever wonder.

When a competent  nurse uses a butterfly needle, with the correct heating pad in the hand, it doesnt hurt that much at all. It is short sharp pain and then gone.  If it done  incorrectly, yes it hurts because a needle shouldn't  go through the hand ( yeap had that happening to me).


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CakePoet said:


> PrincessFiona, actually  when done right the hands dont hurt more then the arms.



I disagree. They hurt me, way more than the arms.  Pain is subjective, some feel it more than others.  

There is no "right way" to poke a piece of metal into someone's body.  The "poker"  must have empathy and care about not hurting their patients needlessly.


----------



## CakePoet

PrincessFiona: stabbing right into it, isnt the right way.  Trust me.   
My nurse Gull ( means cutie or golden, not bird) train people to do it right in  hand,  she uses me from time to time as test subject, or more as show and tell. 
Yes  pain is subjective, but tell people before hand this will hurt a lot, only make people tense and then it hurt more then it should.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CakePoet said:


> PrincessFiona: stabbing right into it, isnt the right way.  Trust me.
> My nurse Gull ( means cutie or golden, not bird) train people to do it right in  hand,  she uses me from time to time as test subject, or more as show and tell.
> Yes  pain is subjective, but tell people before hand this will hurt a lot, only make people tense and then it hurt more then it should.



Ummm...I've been a successful nurse for 20 years, now.  I think I know how to do my job.  I don't stab anyone, I do proper blood draws.  

I do not like having my hands done, IT HURTS, no matter how gentle and caring the person poking tries to be.  NONE of the tricks of the trade work for me and my hands.  I understand MY pain. Enough said on this subject.


----------



## Dawgluver

Next time I have draws, I'm flying PF here.  She knows from whence she speaks, unlike the butchers here.


----------



## GotGarlic

CakePoet said:


> Got Garlic, as person who  has chronic disease and part of support groups and we tend to talk, not  judge each other.  We all been told by nurses that the hand hurts so much, but it doesn't to us, being jabbed 5 times in the arm is bloody painful, compared to one time in the hand.  Under the foot is even worse, if you ever wonder.
> 
> When a competent  nurse uses a butterfly needle, with the correct heating pad in the hand, it doesnt hurt that much at all. It is short sharp pain and then gone.  If it done  incorrectly, yes it hurts because a needle shouldn't  go through the hand ( yeap had that happening to me).


I don't have to wonder. I have several chronic illnesses myself, and I have had an attempt in my foot. Unbearable. 

The thing is that most people don't have serious chronic illness to that extent and that's what Princess Fiona is speaking to.


----------



## CakePoet

PrincessFiona, I had a guy stabbing right through my hand just because he didnt like doing in hands. I dont know how he  thought he would get blood from the chair underneath...


----------



## cjmmytunes

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Drink plenty of water before a blood draw.  This will make sure you are well hydrated and get fewer pokes trying to find a vein that will give.



I'll remember that next time, thanks.


----------



## cjmmytunes

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Wish it was just slight pain when my hands are used. Would rather be hit with a bat.
> 
> I always ask my patient where they want their blood draw done and always use a butterfly.  Elder veins burst when the vacuum tubes are used.  Patient preference first, then on to other sites if unable to use the first choice.



I love the butterfly needles - and I forgot to mention that the girl who did my blood work Friday mentioned, as I was getting ready to leave, that I was her first unsupervised blood draw.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Drink plenty of water before a blood draw.  This will make sure you are well hydrated and get fewer pokes trying to find a vein that will give.



I have to do fasting blood draws.  So I go first thing in the morning.  No time to rehydrate but it's usually not a problem.  I definitely makes a difference who's doing the blood draw.  They always draw from the crook of my elbow.


----------



## cjmmytunes

CakePoet said:


> When a competent  nurse uses a butterfly needle, with the correct heating pad in the hand, it doesnt hurt that much at all. It is short sharp pain and then gone.  If it done  incorrectly, yes it hurts because a needle shouldn't  go through the hand ( yeap had that happening to me).



Heating pad in the hand?  I've never heard of that.  What does it accomplish?  You had a needle actually go THROUGH your hand?  How on earth did that happen?


----------



## GotGarlic

cjmmytunes said:


> Heating pad in the hand?  I've never heard of that.  What does it accomplish?



I've had that done. The warmth expands the blood vessels and helps make them more visible. It's only necessary with people who have had lots of blood draws, so the usual places are scarred, and the veins that can be used are small.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cjmmytunes said:


> I love the butterfly needles - and I forgot to mention that the girl who did my blood work Friday mentioned, as I was getting ready to leave, that I was her first unsupervised blood draw.



Someone always has to be the first  Thank you for giving her her first experience on her own and how nice it was successful.


----------



## ixamnis

Here's my "Petty Vent":  

Passwords for websites.

I tend to like to use just a few passwords for the websites and email addresses I use. This keeps memorization to a minimum.  That worked for quite a few years. But then, websites started getting more strict on what was allowed and not allowed and what was required. You have to use special characters on this one but you can't on that one. This one has to be 11 characters at a minimum, that one has a maximum of 8.  So, now I have to keep a spreadsheet of all my user IDs and passwords.

And, now, a lot of websites won't let you use actual words in your password. So, before, I would use a word that has meaning to me, but wouldn't be something anyone else would necessarily think of.  (For a while, I was using the word "Incremental" in my passwords, and then adding a number, just because that word popped into my head when I was trying to come up with a password.)  Nope, can't use it in a lot of passwords now. It's found in the dictionary, so it's off-limits.

Now, you have to read a whole litany of instructions to even pick a password:  "You must use one uppercase letter, two lowercase letters, a number, a special character, a haiku, a hieroglyph, two gang signs and the blood of a virgin....."


----------



## Dawgluver

I know.  I'm running out of sources for virgin blood, and continually have to brush up on my hieroglyphics.


----------



## CakePoet

cjmmytunes: I dont know  but trust me, it didnt  help my fear needles at all.


----------



## blissful

Dawgluver said:


> I know.  I'm running out of sources for virgin blood, and continually have to brush up on my hieroglyphics.



 

The longest term solution that seems to work the best is to get a 3x5 inch spiral notebook, one for each computer/person in the family. Write down the login name and password, labeling it for each site. As you change passwords later, cross off the old and put in the new one. Keep the notebook out of sight of the computer and if you travel carry it in a separate place from your laptop. This is what we did for those at our company and this is what we do at home too. Someone besides the owner of the spiral notebook should know it exists, if for no other reason, in case the owner dies, so that the accts can be closed.

I have a notebook for this that is 5 years old, half the accounts are crossed out, don't use them anymore. It's about time to get a new one, putting the most used accts at the beginning and the phone numbers at the end.


----------



## GotGarlic

The best solution of all is to get password management software. I've been using Roboform for many years, on my PCs, tablets and phones. It synchronizes among all of them and generates random passwords with parameters you specify. It's encrypted and you access all your saved passwords (and credit cards and contact information, if you like) with one master password. It can even fill in online forms and submit them for you. Highly recommended.


----------



## Addie

My coffee maker, the stove, bread maker, and other items in my home that have a control panel. The background is grey and the numbers are black. I wish they would put the background white with black numbers. Or put a light in the background. Something to make the numbers standout. I keep my mini flashlight in the kitchen so I can read the numbers. Grrrrr!


----------



## dragnlaw

All your needle stories... 
Once while hospitalized a young intern/nurse/someone in a white coat was trying to insert an IV into the back of my hand.  That big ole vein just kept bouncing away from the needle.  The poor guy was having such a hard time I could tell he was getting nervous and worried about hurting me.  

It didn't help I was being a backseat driver...  'push a little to the left, no - no - go ahead, more - more, you're gonna get it!'  I, in my stupidity 
 innocence, I thought I was helping and didn't realize I was making it worse for him til I looked up and saw how clammy white his face was.

I never saw him again while I was there...  wonder if he decided he just wasn't cut out for the medical world.


----------



## Dawgluver

dragnlaw said:


> All your needle stories...
> 
> Once while hospitalized a young intern/nurse/someone in a white coat was trying to insert an IV into the back of my hand.  That big ole vein just kept bouncing away from the needle.  The poor guy was having such a hard time I could tell he was getting nervous and worried about hurting me.
> 
> 
> 
> It didn't help I was being a backseat driver...  'push a little to the left, no - no - go ahead, more - more, you're gonna get it!'  I, in my stupidity
> 
> innocence, I thought I was helping and didn't realize I was making it worse for him til I looked up and saw how clammy white his face was.
> 
> 
> 
> I never saw him again while I was there...  wonder if he decided he just wasn't cut out for the medical world.




Ha!  The one and only time I was ever hospitalized, years ago, for arm pain that I thought might be a heart attack, four nurses and two doctors couldn't find a vein.  They kept digging and blowing them out.  They finally called a pro off the golf course to come in.  I should have asked him if he washed his hands, I don't think he did.


----------



## Addie

Okay. You asked for it.

The EMT like  you had trouble finding a vein. While the vehicle was going over pot holes galore. But he found one in the back of my hand. I got into the Emergency Room and the nurse came over to finish admitting me. She looked at the IV and stated, "I don't like the looks of that IV or where they placed it." It felt fine to me. I told her my skin has lost all its collagen and was very fragile. She proceeded to just RIP the whole thing off my hand, not only taking the needle with it, but a hunk of flesh. I refused to let her finish. I screamed for a supervisor or doctor. That hole where my flesh had been, bled for three days. I considered filing a formal complaint with the hospital, but changed my mind. Just keep that nurse away from me. The hospital contacted me about a month later letting me know that after a review, the nurse was dismissed. 

I have a very white scar over that vein now and the vein has been reduced to being useless.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> The best solution of all is to get password management software. I've been using Roboform for many years, on my PCs, tablets and phones. It synchronizes among all of them and generates random passwords with parameters you specify. It's encrypted and you access all your saved passwords (and credit cards and contact information, if you like) with one master password. It can even fill in online forms and submit them for you. Highly recommended.


I was going to suggest password management software. I use PasswordSafe. Like Roboform, it will generate passwords with the parameters you specify and you can store notes and other info along with the password. I usually list any security questions and the answers. It has a field to store the URL of the site where the password will be used.  It can sync to other devices, but I haven't tried that. The master password is so long that I don't want to try entering it on my phone. 

And if you do get a password manager, don't forget to back up the file with the passwords in it.


----------



## taxlady

I have a very funny meme about the annoyance of the rules for making up a password. I would post it, but it has some foul language. If anyone wants it, let me know and I'll send it as a PM.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I have a very funny meme about the annoyance of the rules for making up a password. I would post it, but it has some foul language. If anyone wants it, let me know and I'll send it as a PM.



Like:
Your password must be so many eight to ten figures or letters long. It must contain 5 numbers, and 4 symbols such as !@#$%^&*() along with one upper case letter and one lower case. 

I have a bad habit of reading the rules after they reject my first try.


----------



## Caslon

f





Addie said:


> Like:
> Your password must be so many eight to ten figures or letters long. It must contain 5 numbers, and 4 symbols such as !@#$%^&*() along with one upper case letter and one lower case.
> 
> I have a bad habit of reading the rules after they reject my first try.



I have one of those  6"x 5"  $1.99 spiral notebooks you can buy anywhere and I jot down that kind of info in it.  That little notebook is probably more valuable than anything I own. There's some sensitive info in that little spiral notebook.


----------



## CharlieD

I'm not going to tell how many times I've terrorized by idiots in white coats to the point that I fainted. Nowadays I tell them right away what's going on and they still full around.


----------



## Caslon

exactly


----------



## CakePoet

Why,  oh why must this area be famous for  baked goods with  baking ammonia?
My sinuses are now  clear , my eyes sting and  I smell weird.  Ugh, oh well customers got happy at least.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Talking about blood draws - my DSis has veins so small they have to use the top of the foot if she is in the hospital for a procedure.  Does fine with butterfly needles for just blood draws.


----------



## Chef Munky

This isn't really a vent. Maybe it is. Oh, just go with it.

I felt as though I was unjustly judged yesterday.
The comment made to me "You dissed us" was really uncalled for.Cheap shot! I bit my cheek to keep the peace, said nothing.Took the high road.
At that point I couldn't help ignorance.

Long story short. If Mr.Munky had felt he needed me to go to all of his Therapy sessions he would tell me so. I'd be more than happy to do what it takes for his stroke recovery. Our youngest son has been taking him.

I stayed home doing things that I can't do when Mr Munk is home.
Like yard work a lot of it to. Making sure the house is kept up all around.
Prepping his meals in advance so on and so on.

Yeah, I'm a lazy wife that sits around all day watching tv.

Glad that pretty soon we won't have to be dealing   with all of these supposed "Professionals" with their own axes to grind attitudes.
Nazi's!


----------



## Addie

I feel like I can speak for so many of the members here when I say that we remember the fight you put up for Mr. Munky. There is a reason you have the name of Honey Badger under your name. If it hadn't been for your love of your husband, and the fight you put up for his well being, it is just possible that he would not be here with his family today. 

Lazy? I hardly think so. Trips back and forth to the hospital. In the meantime you had a home and children to clean and cook for. 

Lazy? I doubt it very much. All the time and effort gave to learn his medical needs when he was released. And then while still taking care of your home and children. 

Lazy? Someone must be out of their mind if they think that. Taking care of a very ill husband, taking over all the responsibilities that once were his. Plus still doing a great job of caring for him, your home and your children.

Is there anyone in this forum who would like to try and do what you have been through these past months and still be standing? I doubt it. I used to get exhausted just reading about your days when DH was so desperately ill. I am so glad that he is doing so well. I can now catch my breath and get some rest. 

One for DH  and one for you!  You both deserve an angel who is looking down on you with love and care.


----------



## CharlieD

CakePoet said:


> Why,  oh why must this area be famous for  baked goods with  baking ammonia?
> .




What is baking ammonia?


----------



## ixamnis

For passwords, I keep a spreadsheet on Google Drive (thus, it's not stored on my own hard drive) with user names, passwords, and other important information (security questions, etc). It's not as good as the password management software, but I've done it this way for about 10 years or more (I actually transferred it to Google drive from an excel spreadsheet that I would update and email to myself so that I had "cloud" backup).  I need to upgrade to a more secure process, like a password management system, but this is working for me, so far.


----------



## GotGarlic

ixamnis said:


> For passwords, I keep a spreadsheet on Google Drive (thus, it's not stored on my own hard drive) with user names, passwords, and other important information (security questions, etc). It's not as good as the password management software, but I've done it this way for about 10 years or more (I actually transferred it to Google drive from an excel spreadsheet that I would update and email to myself so that I had "cloud" backup).  I need to upgrade to a more secure process, like a password management system, but this is working for me, so far.


It works till it's intercepted... That whole idea scares me.


----------



## taxlady

This password management software is free: Password Safe | Free Security & Utilities software downloads at SourceForge.net


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> This password management software is free: Password Safe | Free Security & Utilities software downloads at SourceForge.net


(like)  SourceForge is well known for good quality software.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chef Munky said:


> This isn't really a vent. Maybe it is. Oh, just go with it.
> 
> I felt as though I was unjustly judged yesterday.
> The comment made to me "You dissed us" was really uncalled for.Cheap shot! I bit my cheek to keep the peace, said nothing.Took the high road.
> At that point I couldn't help ignorance.
> 
> Long story short. If Mr.Munky had felt he needed me to go to all of his Therapy sessions he would tell me so. I'd be more than happy to do what it takes for his stroke recovery. Our youngest son has been taking him.
> 
> I stayed home doing things that I can't do when Mr Munk is home.
> Like yard work a lot of it to. Making sure the house is kept up all around.
> Prepping his meals in advance so on and so on.
> 
> Yeah, I'm a lazy wife that sits around all day watching tv.
> 
> Glad that pretty soon we won't have to be dealing   with all of these supposed "Professionals" with their own axes to grind attitudes.
> Nazi's!



Oh Munky Badger, let me at them.  Inconsiderate jerks, the lot of them.  Family are allowed the time it takes to recharge and get something else done while caretaking.  You have done a fantastic job and deserve the time for yourself while Mr. Munky is at therapy.

You have my vote for "Hero of the Year"!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Oh Munky Badger, let me at them.  Inconsiderate jerks, the lot of them.  Family are allowed the time it takes to recharge and get something else done while caretaking.  You have done a fantastic job and deserve the time for yourself while Mr. Munky is at therapy.
> 
> You have my vote for "Hero of the Year"!


+1 Well said.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> +1 Well said.



+2. Don't let them get you down. You are a remarkable woman. Could anyone here go through what you have been through? I do not think so.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> +2. Don't let them get you down. You are a remarkable woman. Could anyone here go through what you have been through? I do not think so.


Munky has done an amazing job of taking care of her husband, but she is not the only one. Chief Longwind, for example, took great care of his wife when she had a health crisis. CWS is doing working hard for her parents, too. And while my DH is not a member here, he spent many days in the hospital with me when I was very sick and then had major surgery two years ago. 

It's beautiful to see what people do for the ones they love, and it's everywhere [emoji813]


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> Munky has done an amazing job of taking care of her husband, but she is not the only one. Chief Longwind, for example, took great care of his wife when she had a health crisis. CWS is doing working hard for her parents, too. And while my DH is not a member here, he spent many days in the hospital with me when I was very sick and then had major surgery two years ago.
> 
> It's beautiful to see what people do for the ones they love, and it's everywhere [emoji813]




+1.  We have many here who have, and continue, to take good care of loved ones.


----------



## Just Cooking

+2..


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Munky has done an amazing job of taking care of her husband, but she is not the only one. Chief Longwind, for example, took great care of his wife when she had a health crisis. CWS is doing working hard for her parents, too. And while my DH is not a member here, he spent many days in the hospital with me when I was very sick and then had major surgery two years ago.
> 
> It's beautiful to see what people do for the ones they love, and it's everywhere [emoji813]



Every time I see a post from CLW, my mind automatically goes to his wife. I would love to ask him how she is doing, but I don't want to intrude.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*PF *and *GG*, you are both so correct about what you said that I got nuthin'. Thanks for saving me the challenge of putting my thoughts into the right words. 

*Munky*, I think many of us would have your back. If you want a contingent of DC members brandishing meat forks and chefs' knives, just put out a call.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Caregiving, whether it is for parents, spouses, children, or as a profession, is a something that takes a very special and caring person to do.  I see that specialness in PF and GG and others on here, I saw it in my mom when was taking care of my grandmother during her last years, and I saw it in all the professionals who cared or my mom during her aneurysm and recovery.

I'm the one doing the caregiving now.  Granted, it's not to the point where she is bedridden but I have to help her dress some days, I do the housework, the financial, and the business things that need to be taken care of.  Some nights I wonder if I can do it all and give 100% to each.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cjmmytunes said:


> Caregiving, whether it is for parents, spouses, children, or as a profession, is a something that takes a very special and caring person to do.  I see that specialness in PF and GG and others on here, I saw it in my mom when was taking care of my grandmother during her last years, and I saw it in all the professionals who cared or my mom during her aneurysm and recovery.
> 
> I'm the one doing the caregiving now.  Granted, it's not to the point where she is bedridden but I have to help her dress some days, I do the housework, the financial, and the business things that need to be taken care of.  Some nights I wonder if I can do it all and give 100% to each.



Thank you, you are a dear person.  Just remember to take time for yourself, even if it's for a hour wander through the mall or a couple hours in the library.  Take yourself out for lunch and do not be afraid to look/ask for help. You are a star in your Mother's life and an inspiration in mine.


----------



## ixamnis

taxlady said:


> This password management software is free: Password Safe | Free Security & Utilities software downloads at SourceForge.net



Thank you for this link!  

I can't seem to find on their website whether (and how) this works for multiple devices and multiple users.  I have a mac at home, a (personal) mac at work, four PCs at work that I regularly use, one PC at home, an iPhone and an iPad. Can I download this to each device, sign in with one user name/ID and store all of my passwords and have them updated simultaneously to each device?


----------



## GotGarlic

ixamnis said:


> Thank you for this link!
> 
> I can't seem to find on their website whether (and how) this works for multiple devices and multiple users.  I have a mac at home, a (personal) mac at work, four PCs at work that I regularly use, one PC at home, an iPhone and an iPad. Can I download this to each device, sign in with one user name/ID and store all of my passwords and have them updated simultaneously to each device?


This is the website of the developer. If you can't find the answer here, you can email the developer or check the discussion forum for the software. 

https://pwsafe.org


----------



## taxlady

I don't know if Password Safe works for Mac Os. I know there is an app to sync from phone or tablet to PC, but I haven't used it.


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> Caregiving, whether it is for parents, spouses, children, or as a profession, is a something that takes a very special and caring person to do.  I see that specialness in PF and GG and others on here, I saw it in my mom when was taking care of my grandmother during her last years, and I saw it in all the professionals who cared or my mom during her aneurysm and recovery.
> 
> I'm the one doing the caregiving now.  Granted, it's not to the point where she is bedridden but I have to help her dress some days, I do the housework, the financial, and the business things that need to be taken care of.  Some nights I wonder if I can do it all and give 100% to each.



I see such caregiving every time I go to Winthrop. The majority of the patients in the day room are Alzheimer patients. Sometimes these patients can become a handful to care for. Not once, not every have I ever seen any member of the staff lose their temper with a patient that was being difficult. Sometimes I am amazed with the care they give them. Every day they are served lunch. The menu is posted on a big board so it can be seen from the next county. If there is something on that menu they don't care for, they are given an option from a list for a foods to replace it. This organization goes out of their way to really give loving care to those that they are responsible for.

What really surprise me was on Thursday, every seat in that room is taken. There isn't always enough regular staff to do all the chores that are needed at lunch time. That is when everyone leaves their offices and comes out to help pass out the plates, cut up the patients food, or any other needed service. Social workers, Dieticians, etc. They all pitch in. And there are three such locations through out in this organization to care for our elderly. 

Each week our local newspaper highlights a member of the staff. Mostly the lower paid ones that do most of the physical and mental work.


----------



## CWS4322

I absolutely hate those "donut" spare tires that are in cars. I had some errands to run to prepare for my return to Ontario next week, one of which was to get a new SIM card for my unlocked cell phone. Much to my dismay, my Dad's car had a flat tire. Rather than attempt to change it in the middle of downtown, I limped to the nearest gas station (2 blocks away) hoping they could repair it. Nope, instead I had to have the donut tire put one (thankfully, I wasn't enroute back to the Elders). Whose bright idea was it that you can't replace one tire on a 4-wd, AW drive Subaru? Fortunately, the tire place (where I knew my Dad bought his tires) had a used one--same brand, same height, same tread depth. Otherwise, I would have had to put 4 new tires on. $30 instead of $635. Good thing is that I had thawed pork chops and my Dad cooked those, broccoli and wild rice so I didn't have to cook supper when I got home (although I had to coach him through the cooking process from the tire place). My other pet peeve with tires are the ones that are stored underneath the car. Really? Try living on a dirt road and remove that if you haven't dropped it every few months to clean it and lubricate the cables, etc.


----------



## roadfix

Many new cars now don't even come with spares.   Now, that really sucks as a DIY'er....


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> Many new cars now don't even come with spares.   Now, that really sucks as a DIY'er....



Huh?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That really sucks, *CW*. As bad as it all was, I suppose it could have been worse...four new tires, your Dad didn't fix supper, etc... Still, you need a (hug).



CWS4322 said:


> ...My other pet peeve with tires are the ones that are stored underneath the car. Really? Try living on a dirt road and remove that if you haven't dropped it every few months to clean it and lubricate the cables, etc.


I would like to get my hands on the brainiac who decided putting the spare under the floor of the trunk is better than end-on at the side. Every time we go somewhere I fear we'll have a flat with the trunk completely stuffed with stuff. Fortunately, no flat. Sure hope it stays that way!


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> Huh?





http://blog.caranddriver.com/disappearing-donuts-one-third-of-new-cars-dont-come-with-a-spare-tire/


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> Disappearing Donuts: One-Third of New Cars Don’t Come With a Spare Tire – News – Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog



I had no idea!

Excuse me, I have to run out to my car for a second. . .


----------



## cjmmytunes

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thank you, you are a dear person.  Just remember to take time for yourself, even if it's for a hour wander through the mall or a couple hours in the library.  Take yourself out for lunch and do not be afraid to look/ask for help. You are a star in your Mother's life and an inspiration in mine.



Thank you so much, she always tells me she doesn't know what she would do without me.

I try to get a walk around the perimeter of our neighborhood every day or two or the exercise, but days I have to go to the grocery store or run errands I don't worry about it too much.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I had no idea!
> 
> Excuse me, I have to run out to my car for a second. . .



Did Andy every get back inside? Or did he lock himself out? 

You Hoo, Andy, are you all right? Do you have to go buy a tire?


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> What really surprise me was on Thursday, every seat in that room is taken. There isn't always enough regular staff to do all the chores that are needed at lunch time. That is when everyone leaves their offices and comes out to help pass out the plates, cut up the patients food, or any other needed service. Social workers, Dieticians, etc. They all pitch in. And there are three such locations through out in this organization to care for our elderly.



Addie, when Mom was first in rehab for the aneurysm I was there from 8am to 6pm 7 days a week, helping her eat, helping her CNA give her a bath, making sure she stayed dry and clean.  There were 2 days that I went in the afternoon instead because I had to pay bills and run other errands each month.  As she got further along in her rehab, I was able to leave after lunch most days and even go after lunch and just eat supper with her.  At all 3 meals, I would see every single per who worked there was helping out with patients who needed help - even the director herself!


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> Addie, when Mom was first in rehab for the aneurysm I was there from 8am to 6pm 7 days a week, helping her eat, helping her CNA give her a bath, making sure she stayed dry and clean.  There were 2 days that I went in the afternoon instead because I had to pay bills and run other errands each month.  As she got further along in her rehab, I was able to leave after lunch most days and even go after lunch and just eat supper with her.  At all 3 meals, I would see every single per who worked there was helping out with patients who needed help - even the director herself!



Yup, it is what they do. They, like Princess does, dedicate themselves to caring for the elderly. A lot of time a thankless job. My medical plan is all inclusive. Meaning it is Part D of Medicare. The only difference is that I live in my own home, but should I need anything, I have it. I am presently in the midst of my six month checkup. That means the folks from each department come to my home to see how I am doing. If I should need any help, it is here within hours. They have aides that are in the building 24 hours a day. They make sure that patients of theirs that live here get this meds taken on time, get up out of bed, fed breakfast, washed and dressed and ready for day care. The van comes and brings them to the center. Fortunately, I don't need the services of the aides yet. 

I don't need all of their services. But if the day comes when and if I do, I know that they will take care of me. Every six month the folks from OT, PT, Social worker and the dietician come to my home to make sure I can do all the things I say I can. Can I get in and out of the tub safely, can I use the stove and prepare my meals safely, do I have any needs that I want, but do not presently have. There are times when I feel they are too invasive into my life. But I am grateful for their presence. And so are my kids. And I did ask for a stool, not the bench they gave me 10 years ago for the tub. Standing in the shower creates a lot of pain in my legs. So I sit down on the edge of the tub for a few minutes. That was yesterday I asked for the stool, it will be here today at 2 p.m. No questions asked.


----------



## CWS4322

Cooking Goddess said:


> That really sucks, *CW*. As bad as it all was, I suppose it could have been worse...four new tires, your Dad didn't fix supper, etc... Still, you need a (hug).
> 
> 
> I would like to get my hands on the brainiac who decided putting the spare under the floor of the trunk is better than end-on at the side. Every time we go somewhere I fear we'll have a flat with the trunk completely stuffed with stuff. Fortunately, no flat. Sure hope it stays that way!


Thanks for the hug. I have no idea to which school those industrial designers/engineers went, but go on a 3000-mile road trip in remote terrain and then see how practical it is to have the spare stuffed up where and last only how many miles? REALLY???? Oh, not to mention the flat tire's lug nuts are so frigging tight you need to carry an extra piece of 2-ft, 1-inch pipe (that rattles and clanks every time you cross the railroad tracks) and a gorilla to pounce on it to loosen them. Good luck with finding a motel/hotel room that allows a gorilla, even a sort-of small one. It is hard enough to find places to stay in the back of beyond that allow a small dog, never mind the gorilla you bring along to help change a flat tire.


----------



## CWS4322

Andy M. said:


> I had no idea!
> 
> Excuse me, I have to run out to my car for a second. . .


Frig, it gets better. I guess if you don't get the donut tire, you won't need the gorilla to help change it.


----------



## roadfix

Since I've owned my car I had to change out a flat twice on the side of the road, at night.    I drive an old Honda Cr-V with a full spare tire mounted exterior on the tail gate.    I love that.


----------



## CWS4322

roadfix said:


> Since I've owned my car I had to change out a flat twice on the side of the road, at night.    I drive an old Honda Cr-V with a full spare tire mounted exterior on the tail gate.    I love that.


I do that with my Volvo but it is behind the passenger's seat--never have anyone in the backseat (maybe that''s where I could teach the gorilla to ride). Screw that donut tire. It is still there, I think, just in case.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> Yup, it is what they do. They, like Princess does, dedicate themselves to caring for the elderly. A lot of time a thankless job. My medical plan is all inclusive. Meaning it is Part D of Medicare. The only difference is that I live in my own home, but should I need anything, I have it. I am presently in the midst of my six month checkup. That means the folks from each department come to my home to see how I am doing. If I should need any help, it is here within hours. They have aides that are in the building 24 hours a day. They make sure that patients of theirs that live here get this meds taken on time, get up out of bed, fed breakfast, washed and dressed and ready for day care. The van comes and brings them to the center. Fortunately, I don't need the services of the aides yet.
> 
> I don't need all of their services. But if the day comes when and if I do, I know that they will take care of me. Every six month the folks from OT, PT, Social worker and the dietician come to my home to make sure I can do all the things I say I can. Can I get in and out of the tub safely, can I use the stove and prepare my meals safely, do I have any needs that I want, but do not presently have. There are times when I feel they are too invasive into my life. But I am grateful for their presence. And so are my kids. And I did ask for a stool, not the bench they gave me 10 years ago for the tub. Standing in the shower creates a lot of pain in my legs. So I sit down on the edge of the tub for a few minutes. That was yesterday I asked for the stool, it will be here today at 2 p.m. No questions asked.



That is so good to hear, Addie.  We're thinking about having our bathroom remodeled so that we can get one of those tubs that have the door that opens and such.  Mom still has such a hard time getting in and out o the tub that she washes up using the sink in the bathroom.  I also am having a hard time getting in and out of the tub to shower but not as hard as mom.


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> That is so good to hear, Addie.  We're thinking about having our bathroom remodeled so that we can get one of those tubs that have the door that opens and such.  Mom still has such a hard time getting in and out o the tub that she washes up using the sink in the bathroom.  I also am having a hard time getting in and out of the tub to shower but not as hard as mom.



My son installed one of these for me in my tub. The shower head slides up and down to adjust to height of whoever is using the shower. 

Delta 2-Spray Slide Bar Hand Shower in White-51521-WHB - The Home Depot

Then he also installed a small grab bar right outside the tub for me. 

Croydex 15 in. Small Hand Rail in Chrome-QA103541YW - The Home Depot

My medical plan is paying for me one of these. It should be here today.

https://www.amazon.com/NOVA-Medical...981590&sr=8-2&keywords=small+stool+for+shower

Poo is a (or was before becoming disabled) plumber. He has gone on so many repair call for the walk in tub. 

1. They tend to spring leaks very easily. Very difficult and expensive to repair. 
2. You have to sit there naked until the tub fills once you close the door.
3. After you take your nice warm bath, you again have to sit there until the tub drains.
4. Two serious times for an elderly to become chilled very easily. 

Those tubs are very expensive to install. Can be as much as over $10,000.00. And you also have the addition of paying for the removal and disposal of the old tub. So please give it some serious thought. Consider installing a standup shower for her with the items I showed you that Spike installed for me. She will still need that grab bar for when she comes out of the shower. Make sure you measure where she would place her hand as she steps out. Too high or too low will not serve her.


----------



## CakePoet

Rather have a shower then a tub, it is easier for you to help her shower in the future. 
There are many form of shower stools , so she can sit down and do her cleaning and with a hand held shower head you can  help her out more. 

None slip  flooring is a good idea, same with grab bar and even a grab bar by the toilet. You need to make this home elderly safe.


----------



## Addie

I ran out of 'edit' time. Sure it is great to sit in a nice hot tub relaxing. But sooner or later it becomes close to impossible to sit down in that tub and try to get out without assistance. When I moved into this apartment, I thought "Oh good! I have a bathtub I can relax in." It had been years since I lived in an apartment that had a tub. They even put grab bars along the length of the wall. Those bars are useless in trying to get yourself out of the tub. They are placed way to high up to reach from a sitting position. It took me twenty minutes before I could pull myself up. They are there to grab in case you start to fall. It sounds like both you and your Mom would benefit most with a standup shower. They comes in different sizes.  Some folks feel claustrophobic in a small shower. Take Mom with you and try "on" showers. If you should decide to go this route, you will need grab bars right next to where she sits at the right height so she can pull herself up as well as one outside the shower so she feels secure. She needs to feel the security of those grab bars. 

I have a girlfriend whose father is in his 90's. They work together in the same office. She complained to me one day that he was beginning to smell. She didn't have the heart to say anything to him. I mentioned the grab bars and the possibility of not feeling secure enough to stand in the shower anymore. We had the same conversation I have written to you here. She got on it right away and had her handyman install grab bars the same day. Her father took a shower as soon as he left the house. Good luck! Let me know what you decide.

Give some thought to what I have said to you. I wish you and your mother the best.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> I would like to get my hands on the brainiac who decided putting the spare under the floor of the trunk is better than end-on at the side. Every time we go somewhere I fear we'll have a flat with the trunk completely stuffed with stuff. Fortunately, no flat. Sure hope it stays that way!



My MINI CooperS doesn't have a spare tire. It came from the factory with run-flats, which we car enthusiasts call "run rocks," because they ride and handle like Flintstones tires. I don't have those anymore. 

If I get a flat, I either have to plug it on the side of the road, or if it isn't roadside repairable, call a tow truck. So far, it hasn't happened. 

CD


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie & Cake Poet, thank you both or your input.  Like I said, it was just a thought - albeit a fleeting one now that we think about everything that you two fine ladies pointed out.  I will do much more research before deciding anything for sure.


----------



## CakePoet

Oh if I could only remember the web site for  handicap and elder care, they have great ideas for bathroom and it is in English too.


----------



## GotGarlic

CakePoet said:


> Oh if I could only remember the web site for  handicap and elder care, they have great ideas for bathroom and it is in English too.


There are lots of sites like that. Here's one: http://ageinplace.com/at-home/aging-in-place-home-ideas/bathrooms/


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> My MINI CooperS doesn't have a spare tire. It came from the factory with run-flats, which we car enthusiasts call "run rocks," because they ride and handle like Flintstones tires. I don't have those anymore.
> 
> If I get a flat, I either have to plug it on the side of the road, or if it isn't roadside repairable, *call a tow truck.* So far, it hasn't happened.
> 
> CD



I have the sneaky feeling that no longer providing a spare as part of the purchase price was started by AAA.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> I have the sneaky feeling that no longer providing a spare as part of the purchase price was started by AAA.



Addie, the theory is this:

Automakers are forced by law to increase their average fleet MPG significantly over the next decade.  Electric and dual fuel cars go a long way towards doing that.  Another major factor is weight reduction.  A lighter car can achieve higher MPG than a heavier car, all other things being equal.  Eliminating the tire and jack is a significant weight reduction.

I don't think AAA has the clout to get that done in the auto industry.


----------



## roadfix

A spare can also take up a lot of space in small cars.


----------



## Dawgluver

My spares have been in a well in the trunks of my current Honda, and my previous Fords, covered by the trunk mat.  When/if I get another new/used car, I'll have to make sure there's a spare.  I've had to use them a few times over the years.


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## roadfix

I've had luck using those pressurized flat tire repair canisters for quick sealing of slow leaks and small punctures.    They'll partially inflate and seal the puncture just enough to get you home.


----------



## Dawgluver

I found out the hard way that using FixaFlat voids your tire warrenty.


----------



## roadfix

Dawgluver said:


> I found out the hard way that using FixaFlat voids your tire warrenty.


This is true.     I've only used FixaFlats on tires with tons of mileage on them where they were more prone to damage.


----------



## Caslon

I live in an area with very hard water. How come they don't make laundry detergent pods with a little water softener in them? There's almost zero sudsing. I'm going to buy some Calgon and add it before the wash. It seems to me some company could just add a little water softener to their laundry detergent pods and promote them as such for use in hard water areas.


----------



## caseydog

Addie said:


> I have the sneaky feeling that no longer providing a spare as part of the purchase price was started by AAA.



Nope, it just doesn't fit in the car. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Andy M. said:


> Addie, the theory is this:
> 
> Automakers are forced by law to increase their average fleet MPG significantly over the next decade.  Electric and dual fuel cars go a long way towards doing that.  Another major factor is weight reduction.  A lighter car can achieve higher MPG than a heavier car, all other things being equal.  Eliminating the tire and jack is a significant weight reduction.
> 
> I don't think AAA has the clout to get that done in the auto industry.



Nope, it just doesn't fit in the car. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> a spare can also take up a lot of space in small cars.



Bingo!


----------



## Andy M.

caseydog said:


> Nope, it just doesn't fit in the car.
> 
> CD



So, do you think they designed a car and forgot to make room for a spare so they decided to leave it out?



Your Next Car May Not Have a Spare Tire - Consumer Reports News


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> I live in an area with very hard water. How come they don't make laundry detergent pods with a little water softener in them? There's almost zero sudsing. I'm going to buy some Calgon and add it before the wash. It seems to me some company could just add a little water softener to their laundry detergent pods and promote them as such for use in hard water areas.



Today's detergents no longer produce suds. Once automatic washers hit the market, folks found that the suds were leaving soap scum on the inside of the machine. So they changed the formula. I remember when they changed it, the TV ads stated how good they were for your machine. "Your washing machine's life will increase two fold." 

I also remember when I had my Whirpool, I used to have to lift up the whole top to scrub the scum off with a Brillo pad. The Calgon should help. But you really don't want suds. It will lessen the life of your machine.


----------



## caseydog

Andy M. said:


> So, do you think they designed a car and forgot to make room for a spare so they decided to leave it out?



Some MINIs have spares, but not the CooperS, which is the "hot rod" of the family. The base model MINI Coopers have spares hanging underneath the car, in front of the back bumper, but the more performance oriented suspension and exhaust system on the CooperS makes that impossible. The base MINI donut spare also wouldn't clear the larger brakes on the CooperS. 

There are a couple of companies that make compact spares for the CooperS, but you have to stow them in the small cargo area behind the back seat -- a PITA. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Today's detergents no longer produce suds. Once automatic washers hit the market, folks found that the suds were leaving soap scum on the inside of the machine. So they changed the formula. I remember when they changed it, the TV ads stated how good they were for your machine. "Your washing machine's life will increase two fold."



What? That's weird. My washer and detergent make suds. What are you talking about?


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Some MINIs have spares, but not the CooperS, which is the "hot rod" of the family. The base model MINI Coopers have spares hanging underneath the car, in front of the back bumper, but the more performance oriented suspension and exhaust system on the CooperS makes that impossible. The base MINI donut spare also wouldn't clear the larger brakes on the CooperS.
> 
> There are a couple of companies that make compact spares for the CooperS, but you have to stow them in the small cargo area behind the back seat -- a PITA.
> 
> CD


So you're only talking about the make and model car you have? You should make that clear.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> So you're only talking about the make and model car you have? You should make that clear.



Looking back...

_"My MINI CooperS doesn't have a spare tire."_ 

Where did I lose you? 

CD


----------



## Caslon

GotGarlic said:


> What? That's weird. My washer and detergent make suds. What are you talking about?



When I said I see almost zero suds, I meant zero sudsing going on...none!  I'm gonna add some Calgon next wash and see if notice even a tiny bit of suds.  

I emailed Tide and suggested they develop a pod with some water softener in it and target it to their customers with hard water.    

No reply from Tide yet.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> When I said I see almost zero suds, I meant zero sudsing going on...none!  I'm gonna add some Calgon next wash and see if notice even a tiny bit of suds.
> 
> I emailed Tide and suggested they develop a pod with some water softener in it and target it to their customers with hard water.
> 
> No reply from Tide yet.



I think you just may be onto something if they use your suggestion. I hope they feel generous with their pockets for your suggestion and use it.

I switch between Gain and Tide. I used to have an internet friend that was a Chemical Engineer for Tide. She is the one that told me about the scum problem. So that is when Tide and a few other makers changed their formula.

She also told the group that I was in, that Tide is harder, due to the chemicals in the product, on your clothes. When they were working on a new formula, the word came down from the front office to make it strong. She made the smart remark, "Strong enough to melt the corpse so there is no evidence?" She almost got fired for saying that. 

When I washed laundry in Texas, the water was real hard. It left rust marks on all my laundry. That is when I started to take it to the local laundry mart because they had a water softener in their system. No more rust marks. 

I hope something comes of your brilliant suggestion to Tide.


----------



## Caslon

Here's a link to a site showing hard water areas across the US.  85% of the US has hard water, to a degree.

A Map of Hard Water Across the US

Addie, I'll sit back and wait till some company has them. It'll happen.  I like detergent pods. They don't ruin dark jeans.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have "Very Hard" water, from an artesian spring...the stuff people pay good money for in bottles.


----------



## taxlady

caseydog said:


> Nope, it just doesn't fit in the car.
> 
> CD





caseydog said:


> Nope, it just doesn't fit in the car.
> 
> CD





caseydog said:


> Looking back...
> 
> _"My MINI CooperS doesn't have a spare tire."_
> 
> Where did I lose you?
> 
> CD


You lost me when you replied to both Addie and Andy saying that it doesn't fit. Neither one of them was talking about your car in particular.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*GG* and *taxy*, had you caught *caseydog*'s earlier reply to me you would have seen that he specifically mentioned the car and model he drives. 

*CD*, blame "no spare" on the issue that you drive a clown car.  Now imagine that car with two fully grown, active weimaraners in the back seat. That's how our older niece looks when driving her car.  Funnier than a car full of clowns!


----------



## caseydog

My previous cars were three Audis, a Volvo and a Mercedes. My "clown car" is more fun to drive than any of them. After years of car payments, I wanted a car I could pay cash for, and every time I saw a MINI Cooper on the road, it caught my attention. They just looked so cool. 

I drove one, and brought it home -- five years ago. I've never owned a car that long before. My family and friends are amazed. I lost count of the cars I've owned at forty-something. I guess I finally met my automotive soulmate. 

CD

.


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Looking back...
> 
> _"My MINI CooperS doesn't have a spare tire."_
> 
> Where did I lose you?
> 
> CD


You corrected Andy and Addie when the conversation changed to a general discussion of cars without spare tires.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> *GG* and *taxy*, had you caught *caseydog*'s earlier reply to me you would have seen that he specifically mentioned the car and model he drives.



No, I saw that. Andy and Addie started speaking more generally about cars without spares. They weren't talking about his car.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> No, I saw that. Andy and Addie started speaking more generally about cars without spares. They weren't talking about his car.


Exactly


----------



## Caslon

Detergent pods with water softener added.  There aren't any yet.

More spare tire talk?


----------



## cjmmytunes

GotGarlic said:


> There are lots of sites like that. Here's one: Aging in Place Bathrooms | Home Ideas for Eldery Seniors



Thanks for the link, GG.  I bookmarked it and will go through it thoroughly when I get a chance this evening.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Went through the drive through at a fast food place for lunch. The screwed up 3 things on the order. One I over look. 2 ok maybe it the guys first day. But 3 things? Morons.


----------



## Addie

*I deal with idiots!*

As part of my six month checkups, a person from each department comes to my home and makes sure I am all right and can take care of myself.

Last Monday, March 27, the RN was supposed to show up at 1 p.m. No show. No phone call. No email with an explanation of any kind. I didn't even register a complaint. I just notified the office that they needed to set up another appointment with a different nurse. 

I get a notice about four days ago that a different nurse was scheduled to show up today at 1 p.m. No show, no phone call, no email with any explanation. But I did get a call from some new department setting up an appointment for 4/11 to  talk about some of the new services that are now being offered and would I be interested in any of them. I tried to tell her I was doing fine and didn't need a housekeeper, to send my laundry out, etc. I told her very politely that I can still do all my own cooking, housework, laundry, etc. Only it takes me a little longer than it used to when I was 20 y.o. She was persistent. So we set up an appointment for April 11th. Let's see if she shows up. 

In the meantime, should I file a formal complaint? I don't want a black mark to go on her record. I have to go in this Thursday for my monthly vitals check. And take care of some other things. Do I mention it to the Head Nurse? Hmmmm. Is she the one who set up the appointments for both nurses that turned out to be no-shows? 

When I joined ESP, it was a new program and only available to East Boston residents. That was more than ten years ago. Well they have exploded to where their central operations are still located here, but they are serving more than 10 communities. They are no longer providing the service like it was at the beginning. I think I may have to start looking at an alternative program. And I still have to decide what to do about the two no-show nurses.


----------



## CakePoet

You should fail a complain because not showing could be a danger to their carer. 
 My husband works with elders, delivers food , it is important that if he does a not show some calls in or a person starves but he is also the person that check if the food has been picked up or that people open the door, otherwise he has to call an emergency number.


----------



## Addie

CakePoet said:


> You should fail a complain because not showing could be a danger to their carer.
> My husband works with elders, delivers food , it is important that if he does a not show some calls in or a person starves but he is also the person that check if the food has been picked up or that people open the door, otherwise he has to call an emergency number.



We call that a "wellness check." Most of the time I do my laundry at night and check my mailbox at the same time. As a result, The residents don't see much of me. So when it has been a long time between sightings, one or two of the residents will knock on my door. Also, the mail folks who deliver the mail, if they see that someone is not picking up their mail for a few days, they will alert the manager and she will do a wellness check also. 

Mail delivery folks all across the country are trained to do this. They all have a 911 number to call. Now with GPS, once that call reaches the authorities, the exact location  and who is calling shows up on their screens. All the caller has to do let the dispatcher know what the emergency is. Fire, police or ambulance. While the dispatcher is gathering the information, they have already notified the department to dispatch. When they answer the call, the first thing they say is "911, what is your emergency?" All the time staying calm while the caller is screaming. 

From personal experience, I know how stressful that job is. I lasted for two years. The pay was fantastic, but I found I was taking the stress home with me at the end of my shift. 

911E has become the "law of the land." The "E" stands for Enhanced. Every town, hamlet or city now has it.


----------



## CakePoet

Any one who works with elders here do wellness  checks, it part of the job but sometimes it fail. And since there are  most often 2 or 4 people  who will notice, if one miss then  next one should see it.  Doesnt always work.
But you should file a complain,  who knows how many people that person has failed to see.


----------



## dragnlaw

Addie, whether the person was a 'no-show' of her own calling or if she was called off by her boss and sent somewhere else or even if she got lost and couldn't find you or your address - it doesn't matter! * the point is that no one advised YOU.* 

That is what you need to report.  There is an obvious glitch in their system and you are the one to suffer from it.  Not reporting it is not helping them nor the people they are servicing.


----------



## CakePoet

The person could also  say  they have been at your place  but off  doing something else, they get paid and you  dont get the help you need.


----------



## Addie

Excellent points Cake Poet and dragnlaw. 

I have this tendency to see the good side of folks. But the fact that there was no phone call cancelling is what really set me off. I already called the head nurse. Am still waiting for her to call me back. Will give you an update. And yes I am going to file a formal complaint. State law states that when a complaint has been filed against a State license holder that has been issued by the State, then that complaint has to be answered and responded to within 30 days. 

If this offense is a chronic problem with either one or both, they will lose their job. When I had the Noro Virus a couple of years ago, my son called Winthrop to let them know I was very sick. He described what was wrong. The nurse determined that by the symptoms described what I had. There was a bad epidemic going through Boston. But to make sure, they wanted the visiting nurse to come and collect a sample. That nurse did show up. And she instructed my son in how to scrub his hands, gave him a box of gloves, a pile of masks, and a large container of hospital strength Clorox Wipes. She spent more than an hour with him. Now that is one visiting nurse who was doing her job. Not like these last two slackers. 

This epidemic was so wide spread, that Winthrop closed down their daycare program for one week. And for the elderly, it could prove to be deadly. In a matter of just a couple of  hours, the patient could become severely dehydrated and deceased. Fortunately for me, it was not my time to become a statistic.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Always report a no call/no show.  That is considered neglect and they may be endangering others folks, who cannot report, who need the help more than you.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Always report a no call/no show.  That is considered neglect and they may be endangering others folks, who cannot report, who need the help more than you.


+1. Many years ago at one job I had, I talked to a co-worker about how bad I felt about telling the president - in response to a direct question - that I had not put marketing information about a new product on the website because the marketing guy had not given it to me yet. I got it the next day. 

She told me that the president can't correct problems if he doesn't know about them. And that was just about a digital projector, not people's well-being and lives. That advice has stuck with me.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Always report a no call/no show.  That is considered neglect and they may be endangering others folks, who cannot report, who need the help more than you.



Thank you PF. I have already typed up my complaint to hand in and to be attached to the formal complaint. I have to go in to Winthrop for my monthly vitals checkup. They will have 30 days to investigate and respond. You make a valid point. There have been a couple of times when I really needed to have the visiting nurse come. One was when I had the Noro Virus. The other was when I fell in the kitchen when my apartment got flooded. I caught my arm right on the corner of the cabinet and tore the whole bottom of my arm. It is really hard to bandage yourself with one hand and still try to keep the field sterile. The nurse showed Pirate how to bandage my arm daily and do it properly.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Plantains*

I've not really done very much with plantains but I have had a couple of great success'...  and a couple of disasters...

I guess you could call this one a disaster, sigh...
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





I thought it was ripening but it was really just "desiccating!"


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Always report a no call/no show.  That is considered neglect and they may be endangering others folks, who cannot report, who need the help more than you.



I turned in my formal complaint. And my nurse also asked me if any of the nurses had communicated with me. Nope! Neither nurse. She even used the two words "unforgiveable" and "unprofessionable." Two words I never thought I would hear from another nurse. 

So the good news is that when I talked to her on Tuesday about the no-shows, she herself filed a formal complaint also. Now they have two people filing one. 

Nicole also explained to me that the visiting nurses yearly home visits are not scheduled by ESP. But that when it is time for an evaluation, ESP sends a request to them to schedule a home visit once a year. When I let her know about the no-show of the first one, she sent them a second request. This time for a change, the problem is not with ESP, but someone else. 

And my blood pressure has gone down. At least for today. When they first checked it this morning, it was sky high. The nurse told me calm down, take some deep breaths and she would be back in a minute or so. I followed her advice, BP back to normal.


----------



## Caslon

Petty vent.  At $9.99 a lb.  flank steak has gotten awfully fatty lately. I'm not talking about the fat on the outside that you can trim off, but rather how many more lines of fat run thruout the inside that you can't remove.  There used to be less lines of fat inside.


----------



## GilliAnne

About spare tyres, here in the UK there are lots of cars without one. You get a tyre repair kit with your new car. The kit consists of a tube of special glue, which ends up ruining the tyre. Hubby and I know that from experience. He ended up buying a spare tyre.

Gillian


----------



## Farmer Jon

Lower 30s tonight and rain rain rain. Come on mother nature this is enough. We need to get in the fields soon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Crappity. I guess I bounced something off the screen of my cellphone while cooking - I had it on the kitchen counter while listening to the baseball game so I can have the volume turned low enough so Himself doesn't hear it in the living room. Normally this is not a problem. Today? Well, let's just say if we can't find a tech that can replace the screen on a Samsung S5 phone I'm gonna need a new one.  On the plus side, I hadn't gotten around to setting up the personal ringtones for my favorite people...


----------



## taxlady

Bummer CG. I hope you can get a new screen.


----------



## dragnlaw

Ow CG, that is a bummer!  It went right thru your screen saver?  Can you at least read/see/hear anything?


----------



## dragnlaw

I have a problem...   I can't seem to leave the house and come back without having spent about $300. or more.  

I have no self-control...   Dentist can't be helped, $185.00 and that was just the visit and cleaning and no, I don't have insurance, darling ex cancelled it.

Then I went to the grocer...   $140.++.  When all I really  needed was about $40 worth.  

Remember I mentioned I needed one of those ankle bracelets that set off an alarm should I go into a grocer? 

Now *some* of the groceries are for supper on Fri when the grandkids, etal, are coming for Easter dinner so that's OK, Grandparental rights to spoil.  (Ex happens to be coming too...  hmmm, wonder what I can hide a Ghost Pepper in.)


----------



## taxlady

Grrr. Racists have been translating "joik" or "jojk" in Swedish into "joke" and "jerk" and "jail" in Google Translate. Joik is the traditional Sámi way of singing. I know this was from racists because all the translations of words and phrases are from volunteers. I was tired, so instead of reading an article in Swedish, I had Google translate it into English for me and found those translations of the word "jojk". I'm working on letting Google know that this is unacceptable.

Here's Sofia Jannok joiking and singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPqKAuzo0tk


----------



## Addie

Across the street *WAS* a beautiful Weeping Willow Tree. At least three stories high. I always loved watching it when we would get a high wind storm. The branches just seemed to be growing sideways. Unfortunately that tree was doing more damage to their property than enhancing it. During the last windy storm, one of the branches that was hovering over the roof, the tip got caught under a shingle and took off some of the shingles. Last year one of the really low branches got caught in the fence and took out the fence with it when the wind changed direction, and after every storm there was always broken branches laying in the street creating a driving hazard. There was more damage to property and tree over the years. Little by little as I watched it, I knew its demise was coming. This year was the year. 

But I am still sad to see that beautiful old lady go. The top branches were totally dead. It was time for her to go. Now the residents have full light coming into their home. They hung on to the old girl as long as they could.

Can you tell I am a tree hunger?


----------



## caseydog

Addie said:


> Across the street *WAS* a beautiful Weeping Willow Tree. At least three stories high. I always loved watching it when we would get a high wind storm. The branches just seemed to be growing sideways. Unfortunately that tree was doing more damage to their property than enhancing it. During the last windy storm, one of the branches that was hovering over the roof, the tip got caught under a shingle and took off some of the shingles. Last year one of the really low branches got caught in the fence and took out the fence with it when the wind changed direction, and after every storm there was always broken branches laying in the street creating a driving hazard. There was more damage to property and tree over the years. Little by little as I watched it, I knew its demise was coming. This year was the year.
> 
> But I am still sad to see that beautiful old lady go. The top branches were totally dead. It was time for her to go. Now the residents have full light coming into their home. They hung on to the old girl as long as they could.
> 
> Can you tell I am a tree hunger?



I love trees, too. I love the shade on a hot day, the sound of the wind blowing through them, and seeing birds and squirrels and other wildlife in them -- and they just look good, IMO. 

Weeping willows don't last long, relatively speaking -- especially here in North Texas. 

I have a beautiful Live Oak in my backyard, and a very nice Cedar Elm in the front yard. They are both native to North Texas, and should be around longer than I am around. I have them professionally pruned every winter to keep them storm-ready. 

CD


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> I love trees, too. I love the shade on a hot day, the sound of the wind blowing through them, and seeing birds and squirrels and other wildlife in them -- and they just look good, IMO.
> 
> Weeping willows don't last long, relatively speaking -- especially here in North Texas.
> 
> I have a beautiful Live Oak in my backyard, and a very nice Cedar Elm in the front yard. They are both native to North Texas, and should be around longer than I am around. I have them professionally pruned every winter to keep them storm-ready.
> 
> CD



There is another old oak tree right across the street, growing up from the narrow sidewalk. The branch on the very bottom of the tree, instead of growing up reaching for the sun, it has grown out beyond the branches above it. The branch is old and gnarly. You have to either try to duck under it or step out into the street to get by. Fortunately for the tree, the neighbors have been successful over the year in preventing the city from chopping the branch off. 

The tree is now so old, that it has become historical. So the city can't chop it down or harm it in any way. It is full of birds nests. And even though there are hundreds of squirrels living in this part of the city, they stay away from that tree and leave the birds alone. Most of them are chickadees. Our State bird. 

Whenever I am feel low, I look out at the window at that tree and it always lifts me up. If it can last as long as it has, I too can keep going.


----------



## rodentraiser

In December, I had a vitreous separation of the macula, which left large floaters in my left eye. Yesterday I was in to the ophthalmologist again for the same thing with the same result, only for the right eye this time, and it's a little bit worse. GAH! Now I feel like I'm looking through dirty glasses all day long.


----------



## taxlady

rodentraiser said:


> In December, I had a vitreous separation of the macula, which left large floaters in my left eye. Yesterday I was in to the ophthalmologist again for the same thing with the same result, only for the right eye this time, and it's a little bit worse. GAH! Now I feel like I'm looking through dirty glasses all day long.



Does that run in your family? I hope it gets better quickly. It sounds scary.


----------



## LPBeier

Every place we look at to buy seems to be bought from underneath us. This last one today there were no other offers when we saw it, we were at the end of the open house, our realtor never mentioned we would be writing an offer and he put it in right at the time specified. They didn't even look at it apparently (and it was a strong offer). They took another one.

The other one we liked today had 12 families (including us) go through the open house in the first half hour of a 2 hour showing. There will be another one on Monday with offers taken Tuesday night at 7 pm. We will have to have a subject to get our dog approved and even though we are willing to go well over the asking price, the fact that we have any subjects will probably kill it. 

And it is 6 blocks further out from where we currently live. We want to live closer to TB's family and his work.

The stress is starting to come out physically in the way of (even more) pain for me.


----------



## caseydog

LPBeier said:


> The stress is starting to come out physically in the way of (even more) pain for me.



In addition to glutten, dairy, sugar, fat and caffeine free, I hope you didn't go alcohol free, because it sounds like you could use a drink. 

I hope you find a new place, soon.

CD


----------



## rodentraiser

taxlady said:


> Does that run in your family? I hope it gets better quickly. It sounds scary.



Not as far as I know. My mother is 87, she hasn't even had her glassed changed in 20 years and she's always making fun of how bad my eyes are. Of course, she doesn't look at a computer screen all day, either. 

It's nothing bad - my understanding is it happens to people as they age. It's just very, very annoying.


----------



## LPBeier

caseydog said:


> In addition to glutten, dairy, sugar, fat and caffeine free, I hope you didn't go alcohol free, because it sounds like you could use a drink.
> 
> I hope you find a new place, soon.
> 
> CD



Thanks, CD for the laugh. I actually went alcohol-free first! It reacts with all the pain meds. But you are right. A drink would be nice at times like this.

And thanks, I hope we find something soon as well...or we might be bunking in with the in-laws.


----------



## dragnlaw

rodentraiser said:


> In December, I had a vitreous separation of the macula, which left large floaters in my left eye. Yesterday I was in to the ophthalmologist again for the same thing with the same result, only for the right eye this time, and it's a little bit worse. GAH! Now I feel like I'm looking through dirty glasses all day long.



So sorry to hear this. Here's hoping that it won't get worse.  Take care and be sure to go back asap if there is any other signals. 

Darn Easter Rabbit must have stowed some of his floaters with you while he went hopping around. Not much chance but let's hope he comes back and takes'em home with him.


----------



## Farmer Jon

My son that is a senior in high school had an interview for scholarship  Saturday in a town 3 hours away. So my cousin rode along and we made a  day of it. 6 hour round trip and he didn't get it. A little  disappointing but that's life I guess. I let the kid drive home and I  don't know what he was thinking but he passed someone over a solid line.  It wasn't solid when he started to pass but quickly ran out of room. I  was in the passenger seat yelling at him no no no. Well he got a nice  little a$$ chewing from me and my cousin in the back seat. Then sunday  he went to town and came back with my old 82 chevy pickup all muddy. Oh we went down some  minimum maintenance roads. I have to wash your truck. Hes been driving  my old pickup to school since he wreaked his car. Twice in 2 days hes  proven he cant be resopnsable to drive my vehicles.  Hes going to be be  riding the bus to school for a while.

Then last night I moved my juvenile chicks in with the adults. They are about 3 months old.  They have been in the same pen for a few days and seemed to get along fine. I started putting them in the coop. They dont know they are suppose to go in there at night. Well my big rooster attacked them. So we had little confrontation and he in in solitary confinement for a while. Until everyone else gets use to each other. Then he can come out. If he keeps it up he will be soup.


----------



## Addie

Well, it doesn't sound like yesterday was your day. Today is going to be better. I am rooting for an American to win the Marathon today. 

Yesterday, I had a very quiet day. I thought my daughter would send me a small plate of her ham dinner. No such luck. I had a dish of FF and a small burger. No Easter candy for me. I kept taking small naps throughout the day. Ten minutes here, 15 minutes later on. So today I am full of spit and vinegar. I just cleaned the kitchen AGAIN, washed all the floors, and dusted. So much for any excitement in my life.

Yesterday late in the afternoon, I took a walk downstairs to the Community Room. I try to give my legs some use every so often. A case of use it or lose it. I saw the building gossip sitting there and I walked in. I walked in to a private party. I didn't see those folks there from the doorway. It seems the party was for the gossiper. For the past three years since her husband died, her whole family now comes here to spend the holidays with her. She told me  that no one in her family has a home large enough for all of them to get together at the same time. But the Community Room can hold about 50 folks. And that room is ours for the using. You just have to make the reservation for it so none of the residents like me walk in on them. But she was gracious about it. It seems that my kids grew up with her kids. They all played together. I called Pirate to come down and meet up with his school friends. 

So my day turned out pretty good. No complaints from this department.


----------



## Just Cooking

I see that ibkiss has started a thread about 'picky eaters'... The discussion is about children.. I'm so old that I can't remember if my kids were picky eaters or not...   I don't want to hijack her thread so... Here is a petty vent...

I get so frustrated with friends our age.. We don't have a huge circle of friends we get together with frequently.. Two couples we dine with often.. Our place, their place, out to a restaurant.. Invariably one of them won't eat this, hates that, got sick at that restaurant, was insulted at that place...

Not talking about allergies, foods that medications don't get along with, etc...

What the hell people??  Were you always like this?? Did growing old make you a pain in the butt??  Love you but for goodness sake, its food, don't be so damned negative...


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> Yesterday, I had a very quiet day. I thought my daughter would send me a small plate of her ham dinner. No such luck. I had a dish of FF and a small burger. No Easter candy for me. I kept taking small naps throughout the day. Ten minutes here, 15 minutes later on. So today I am full of spit and vinegar. I just cleaned the kitchen AGAIN, washed all the floors, and dusted. So much for any excitement in my life.



Addie, so sorry you didn't get a proper Easter dinner.  If you had lived closer to Mom and me, I would have invited you and whoever your +1 would have been to come have Easter lunch with us.  We had ham, potato salad, deviled eggs, and green beans.  We didn't do a dessert because we're both diabetic.


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> Addie, so sorry you didn't get a proper Easter dinner.  If you had lived closer to Mom and me, I would have invited you and whoever your +1 would have been to come have Easter lunch with us.  We had ham, potato salad, deviled eggs, and green beans.  We didn't do a dessert because we're both diabetic.



Thanks for the offer. All the foods I like. I grew up on simple American foods. And I am not adventurous when it come to eating foreign dishes. 

I used to like Chinese food, but they cook about all their foods in a wok with oil. The last time I had some I ended up in the ER and getting prep for surgery. I had to cough and that dislodge the gall bladder stone. So that is definitely on my No, No list. I do miss it though. 

I think for today I am going to pig out on a big bowl of broccoli. One of my favorite veggies. Either that or it will be green beans with a squirt of olive oil and some Italian seasonings. 

Maybe next year, I can fly out to share a happy holiday with you and Mom. The two of us can compare all our aches and pains. Then we can swap stories about our kids when they were small. While doing that we can watch your face turn red with embarrassment. Thanks again for the offer. You are a very thoughtful person.


----------



## Chef Munky

Just Cooking said:


> I see that ibkiss has started a thread about 'picky eaters'... The discussion is about children.. I'm so old that I can't remember if my kids were picky eaters or not...   I don't want to hijack her thread so... Here is a petty vent...
> 
> I get so frustrated with friends our age.. We don't have a huge circle of friends we get together with frequently.. Two couples we dine with often.. Our place, their place, out to a restaurant.. Invariably one of them won't eat this, hates that, got sick at that restaurant, was insulted at that place...
> 
> Not talking about allergies, foods that medications don't get along with, etc...
> 
> What the hell people??  Were you always like this?? Did growing old make you a pain in the butt??  Love you but for goodness sake, its food, don't be so damned negative...



Great post!
Some adults behave more rudely that the kids do.That's      why I prefer to sit at the kiddie table.   They're      more fun.

Betcha $10.00 at home they eat Stoufers frozen dinners. Alone!


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> Thanks for the offer. All the foods I like. I grew up on simple American foods. And I am not adventurous when it come to eating foreign dishes.
> 
> Maybe next year, I can fly out to share a happy holiday with you and Mom. The two of us can compare all our aches and pains. Then we can swap stories about our kids when they were small. While doing that we can watch your face turn red with embarrassment. Thanks again for the offer. You are a very thoughtful person.



You're very welcome, Addie.  I don't do lots of off-the-wall things either.  Mom and I may get a small thing of shrimp fried rice every other when we're out paying bill or something like that.  More often we hit a subway.  Getting together sounds good, but we'll see how everybody's health is closer to the date, and we may have kidlets next Easter too.  My DD worked this Easter so she's off next Easter.


----------



## Addie

Chef Munky said:


> Great post!
> Some adults behave more rudely that the kids do.That's      why I prefer to sit at the kiddie table.   They're more fun.
> 
> Betcha $10.00 at home they eat Stoufers frozen dinners. Alone!



I love the adults who try to rewrite the whole menu. "Instead of this, can I have that with this? Will it cost as much if I don't get that with it?" My daughter and I often go to the favorite restaurant of this part of Boston for lunch. And so do others of my age. We hear this all the time. It is written in BIG letters right across the top right under the title.  In fact, the whole meu is printed on their special paper that says right on the top, *"Today's Luncheon Specials"*. And right underneath are the words, *"We are sorry, there are no substitutions for the luncheon special." *.

A lot of the specials are taken from the main menu. If you want to make substitutions, then order from the main menu. It will cost you extra. 

Yeh, you are right Munky. The kids table is definitely more fun. Every restaurant should have a kids table only. I am short enough to sit at it. And if they want to throw their food, I would let them. Food fights can be fun.


----------



## rodentraiser

I don't get that myself. I consider myself to be a picky eater and I can always find something to eat on any menu without remaking it over. For instance, if I don't like the veggies they serve, I just ask for extra fries or potato and if that can't be done, I take the meal the way it's served and just don't eat the veggies. I've been a server in a restaurant before and it's amazing to me how people expect the chefs to be their own personal cooks.


----------



## rodentraiser

dragnlaw said:


> So sorry to hear this. Here's hoping that it won't get worse.  Take care and be sure to go back asap if there is any other signals.
> 
> Darn Easter Rabbit must have stowed some of his floaters with you while he went hopping around. Not much chance but let's hope he comes back and takes'em home with him.



Thanks - I think this is as bad as it will get. Still, it's much better than having my retinas detach.

I have an appointment already scheduled for June - or is it July? I Have to check. Anyway, they might be able to break the floaters up with a laser treatment, but it's a lead cinch bet that my insurance won't pay for that. And I know I can't right now either. *sigh*


----------



## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> I don't get that myself. I consider myself to be a picky eater and I can always find something to eat on any menu without remaking it over. For instance, if I don't like the veggies they serve, I just ask for extra fries or potato and if that can't be done, I take the meal the way it's served and just don't eat the veggies. I've been a server in a restaurant before and it's amazing to me how *people expect the chefs to be their own personal cooks.*



One of the women who waitresses at the restaurant is a close friend of mine. She told me that she just stands there and lets everyone give their order. With all their requested substitutions. Then when they are done, she quietly tells them "No substitutions." If they start to argue, she tells them to look at the top of the menu. Then she gives them the options of ordering from the more expensive items from the regular menu. They take a quick look at those items, look at the luncheon menu and decide to stick with the luncheon menu. She doesn't argue with them. And she talks in a very low soft voice to them. She told me that they think she is giving them very special attention. After all the SS ladies do not want the whole restaurant to know that they can't afford to eat out. 

But the real fun starts when it is time for the check. She is smart enough to write out each order separately. Even though they fail to ask for it at the beginning. They each get their own check. Then comes the tip time. Sometimes they ask what is the amount they should leave. She tells them 15%-20%, but for the luncheon, it is only 10%. Some leave that ten percent, and some a little more. None has never left no tip. These elderly ladies are there around the third of every month without fail. I guess it is their monthly treat to themselves. Their SS checks come on the third of each month. And they go through the same scenario every time. 

I guess it doesn't hurt to try and get a bargain. My girlfriend finds them very amusing.


----------



## Just Cooking

Reading the thread "what is everyone reading now?" brought up a frustrating situation and this petty vent.....

I read on a Kindle... Main reason is that I read 2 to 3 books a week and its just easier with Ebooks..

What frustrates me is that I no longer retain much of what I read.. My short term memory is shot.. I will read a book or an author I really enjoy and I can't tell you, a week later, what book or author it was.. I can remember authors and books I read 20 years ago but, not last week.. I can make a 20 year old dish but have to look at the recipe for anything recent.. Getting old is not for sissy's..  My daughter tells me to make a list for reference.. Good idea but, other than being a bit frustrating, it doesn't really bother me until someone asks me about a book or recipe..

I'm in really good health for the life I've lived but little things like this are a pain...  

Vent over and I probably won't remember I wrote it...  

Ross


----------



## Addie

Just Cooking said:


> Reading the thread "what is everyone reading now?" brought up a frustrating situation and this petty vent.....
> 
> I read on a Kindle... Main reason is that I read 2 to 3 books a week and its just easier with Ebooks..
> 
> What frustrates me is that I no longer retain much of what I read.. My short term memory is shot.. I will read a book or an author I really enjoy and I can't tell you, a week later, what book or author it was.. I can remember authors and books I read 20 years ago but, not last week.. I can make a 20 year old dish but have to look at the recipe for anything recent.. Getting old is not for sissy's..  My daughter tells me to make a list for reference.. Good idea but, other than being a bit frustrating, it doesn't really bother me until someone asks me about a book or recipe..
> 
> I'm in really good health for the life I've lived but little things like this are a pain...
> 
> Vent over and I probably won't remember I wrote it...
> 
> Ross



A lot of the meds we take love to play games with our memories.


----------



## caseydog

Just Cooking said:


> I see that ibkiss has started a thread about 'picky eaters'... The discussion is about children.. I'm so old that I can't remember if my kids were picky eaters or not...   I don't want to hijack her thread so... Here is a petty vent...
> 
> I get so frustrated with friends our age.. We don't have a huge circle of friends we get together with frequently.. Two couples we dine with often.. Our place, their place, out to a restaurant.. Invariably one of them won't eat this, hates that, got sick at that restaurant, was insulted at that place...
> 
> Not talking about allergies, foods that medications don't get along with, etc...
> 
> What the hell people??  Were you always like this?? Did growing old make you a pain in the butt??  Love you but for goodness sake, its food, don't be so damned negative...



I'm 55, and when my friends my age and I talk, we catch ourselves talking about this or that pain, or what we can't eat anymore, or some such thing -- pause, and break out laughing at ourselves.

CD


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Just Cooking said:


> Reading the thread "what is everyone reading now?" brought up a frustrating situation and this petty vent.....
> 
> I read on a Kindle... Main reason is that I read 2 to 3 books a week and its just easier with Ebooks..
> 
> What frustrates me is that I no longer retain much of what I read.. My short term memory is shot.. I will read a book or an author I really enjoy and I can't tell you, a week later, what book or author it was.. I can remember authors and books I read 20 years ago but, not last week.. I can make a 20 year old dish but have to look at the recipe for anything recent.. Getting old is not for sissy's.. My daughter tells me to make a list for reference.. Good idea but, other than being a bit frustrating, it doesn't really bother me until someone asks me about a book or recipe..
> 
> I'm in really good health for the life I've lived but little things like this are a pain...
> 
> Vent over and I probably won't remember I wrote it...
> 
> Ross


 
But...think of all the "New" books you own already...well they will be "New" again.  Sorry, I had to throw that in, we have to laugh at our infirmities or cry...I'd rather laugh.  I will soon be an inmate resident at my facility...I just hope to be the worst patient, yet.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Just Cooking said:


> ...Vent over and I probably won't remember I wrote it...


Actually, that's not a bad thing. Just think how nice the world our country this forum our own lives would be if we could just vent and *then forget it*. No harboring grudges, no dredging up old complaints. Nice.

My dear Mom had a good memory, then had an "oops" when she had triple (or was it quad?) by-pass surgery. Just like that, short-term memory loss. Bothered her, bothered us...until she finally was able to remember to ask "have I mentioned this before???" at the start of a subject. Made it easier on all of us. Funny thing was, she never lost track of what she was cooking, even when she would go into the living room to watch TV while something cooked and had to remember to check on it...three rooms back into the house! Amazing how our minds work.


----------



## Whiskadoodle

Pfft. If I can't remember how a book ended, it is considered fair  game to read again.  

I think it is a good idea to put stuff away as soon as one is done using it.  That may not be a short term memory thing as much as a long time strategy that things just get put away by themselves.  This should go double if it's someone else's stuff.    I am looking at a scissors that I pulled out awhile ago (yesterday) and they need to walk back to the drawer I  got them from.  

Right now neither of us can find her grill/ probe thermometer that hasn't been used since last summer.  We accuse each other, somewhat jokingly, of misplacing or storing it in the wrong place. I say the only way to  find  it is when we buy a new one,  then it will magically re-appear.


----------



## taxlady

Whiskadoodle said:


> Pfft. If I can't remember how a book ended, it is considered fair  game to read again.
> 
> I think it is a good idea to put stuff away as soon as one is done using it.  That may not be a short term memory thing as much as a long time strategy that things just get put away by themselves.  This should go double if it's someone else's stuff.    I am looking at a scissors that I pulled out awhile ago (yesterday) and they need to walk back to the drawer I  got them from.
> 
> Right now neither of us can find her grill/ probe thermometer that hasn't been used since last summer.  We accuse each other, somewhat jokingly, of misplacing or storing it in the wrong place. *I say the only way to  find  it is when we buy a new one,  then it will magically re-appear.*


You too, eh?


----------



## milford

My petty vent? The word "Organic."  Come on. Have you ever seen a dozen in-organic eggs or an in-organic head of lettuce? My wool sweater is organic. A tree is organic. You are organic.  And every time that word is used, the price goes up $2.00.


----------



## CharlieD

Just Cooking said:


> .  ........My short term memory is shot..


join the club.  I know how you feel. Unless I make a least of what I need to do I can't remember anything. But the I forget to look at the least.  Terrible.


----------



## Just Cooking

Great responses to my petty vent...  Wisdom and humor make life a joy..

Thanks to all...


----------



## CarolPa

I have developed a very scary and dangerous habit.  I put things on to cook and forget about them...until the smoke detector starts to beep.  So I started a new habit.  Set the timer for 10-20 minutes depending on what the item is, even if I'm just boiling water for something, and the check it every time the timer goes off.  The worst part is, I used to get so angry when my mother did that and was always burning her pots and pans.  We all know what payback is.....

The bad part about setting the timer, if DH is in the room and I am not, he turns off the stove when the timer goes off, whether the item is done or not.  Timer goes off, it must be done!  LOL


----------



## Just Cooking

CarolPa said:


> I have developed a very scary and dangerous habit.  I put things on to cook and forget about them...until the smoke detector starts to beep.  So I started a new habit.  Set the timer for 10-20 minutes depending on what the item is, even if I'm just boiling water for something, and the check it every time the timer goes off.  The worst part is, I used to get so angry when my mother did that and was always burning her pots and pans.  We all know what payback is.....
> 
> *The bad part about setting the timer, if DH is in the room and I am not, he turns off the stove when the timer goes off, whether the item is done or not.  Timer goes off, it must be done!*  LOL



He might be related to my wife.. When we got together, the deal was I cook, she cleans.. I finally had to ban her from the kitchen because, I'd prep something, turn to do something else and she would wash whatever I used.. I'd turn around and, no knife, no bowl or whatever I'd just used.. She wanted to help...  

Ross


----------



## Andy M.

Just Cooking said:


> . . . I finally had to ban her from the kitchen because, I'd prep something, turn to do something else and she would wash whatever I used.. I'd turn around and, no knife, no bowl or whatever I'd just used.. She wanted to help...
> 
> Ross



My SO is her sister!  You described her to a "T".


----------



## Just Cooking




----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> My SO is her sister!  You described her to a "T".


DH was like that, but I trained him to ask me first...


----------



## cjmmytunes

Just Cooking said:


> What frustrates me is that I no longer retain much of what I read.. My short term memory is shot.. I will read a book or an author I really enjoy and I can't tell you, a week later, what book or author it was.. I can remember authors and books I read 20 years ago but, not last week.. I can make a 20 year old dish but have to look at the recipe for anything recent.. Getting old is not for sissy's..  My daughter tells me to make a list for reference.. Good idea but, other than being a bit frustrating, it doesn't really bother me until someone asks me about a book or recipe..
> 
> Ross



Ross, sorry to hear you are having memory retention problems.  My mom is also having short-term memory problems, but hers is a result of the aneurysm that she had in June.  But, she always looks at it on the bright side - she can re-read all the books she has and they seem like new each time.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> DH was like that, but I trained him to ask me first...



After years of effort, SO will usually ask, "Are you done with this?" before giving in to her urges.  But it's not a perfect world.  On the whole, I benefit from her efforts so I'm not complaining.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> After years of effort, SO will usually ask, "Are you done with this?" before giving in to her urges.  But it's not a perfect world.  On the whole, I benefit from her efforts so I'm not complaining.


Same here. I was j/k


----------



## Just Cooking

cjmmytunes said:


> Ross, sorry to hear you are having memory retention problems.  My mom is also having short-term memory problems, but hers is a result of the aneurysm that she had in June.  But, she always looks at it on the bright side - she can re-read all the books she has and they seem like new each time.




Thank you...  

According to doctors, I'm of sound mind and body so, its a irritant rather than a real problem.. I kinda think that meds may have a part to play, as Addie suggested..

My daughter teases me about "every book is a new book"...  

Ross


----------



## Just Cooking

Andy M. said:


> After years of effort, SO will usually ask, "Are you done with this?" before giving in to her urges.  But it's not a perfect world.  On the whole, I benefit from her efforts so I'm not complaining.




Exactly...  We kid about it now.. I enjoy that after 25 years, Jeannie is still enthused about cleaning up behind me...


----------



## Addie

Just Cooking said:


> Thank you...
> 
> According to doctors, I'm of sound mind and body so, its a irritant rather than a real problem.. I kinda think that meds may have a part to play, as Addie suggested..
> 
> My daughter teases me about "every book is a new book"...
> 
> Ross



I was on a list of enough meds to kill a horse. I got so sick of taking them out each day, for four different hours of the day. So I sat down and looked up every med I have on my list. There has been some changes in the list, some added, some deleted. Time for me to look all of them up again. I did find out that the statins seem to be the biggest offender when it comes to memory retention. I even went so far as to print out the page for each med. Time to do it again. 

That is going to be my project for today.


----------



## taxlady

I do that to myself, that clean it up when you still need it thing.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I do that to myself, that clean it up when you still need it thing.



It took me several years to get Winthrop to listen to me when it came to my meds. Being so small, doctors have to prescribe meds for me like they do for a child. It took a heart/blood pressure emergency to get them to listen. Two episodes of errors with my meds almost killing me, put me on alert. I no longer trust any meds prescribed for me. 

At our age(s) we have to be our own ombudsman. I look up every single medication that is prescribed for me. Including all the side effects.


----------



## dragnlaw

Addie said:


> I look up every single medication that is prescribed for me. Including all the side effects.



Here in Quebec, when you start a new med, the pharmacist takes you aside and give you a sheet of paper with all that on it.  Why you are taking it, what it does (supposedly), and also all the side effects.  

They also double check that your meds don't interfere with each other.  That if you have prescriptions from different doctors, and one has no clue as to what the other has prescribed.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> I was on a list of enough meds to kill a horse. I got so sick of taking them out each day, for four different hours of the day. So I sat down and looked up every med I have on my list. There has been some changes in the list, some added, some deleted. Time for me to look all of them up again. I did find out that the statins seem to be the biggest offender when it comes to memory retention. I even went so far as to print out the page for each med. Time to do it again.
> 
> That is going to be my project for today.



I do that or my mom, too.  In fact, that is what I need to do Monday because she has a checkup on Tuesday.


----------



## GotGarlic

Anyone who takes a lot of medications each day should get something like this. Lay out all your pills for the upcoming week and you can also see when you're getting low and need a refill. Makes life much easier.


----------



## Just Cooking

GotGarlic said:


> Anyone who takes a lot of medications each day should get something like this. Lay out all your pills for the upcoming week and you can also see when you're getting low and need a refill. Makes life much easier.
> View attachment 26715



I agree... I've been using that same dispenser for a long time.. 

Ross


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Anyone who takes a lot of medications each day should get something like this. Lay out all your pills for the upcoming week and you can also see when you're getting low and need a refill. Makes life much easier.
> View attachment 26715



SO has these.  I fill them for her every two weeks. Part of that process is to then order refills where needed.

I only take meds twice a day so use the simpler seven day sleeves, one for AM and one for PM.  I fill those every other week and reorder as needed.

Pill filling is a Saturday morning ritual alternating between her pills and mine.

I also have four alarms set on her phone to remind her to take her pills.  That works sometimes.


----------



## GotGarlic

My aunt, who had Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, diagnosed at age 6, and a kidney transplant, gave me the one I have [emoji813]


----------



## Addie

Just Cooking said:


> I agree... I've been using that same dispenser for a long time..
> 
> Ross



Every month I get all my meds in what are labeled MOTs. *Medicines on Time. *There are five rows with seven windows in each row. I get each month's supply on the day before the last day of the month. The pharmacy that is associated and owned by Winthrop fills them each month for me. They also are color coded. Yellow are for morning meds, white for noontime, and dark blue for bedtime. There are also other colors for other times of the day. I only take them three times a day. Every six months when I go in for my biannual checkup, we go over all my meds. I report any side effects I may be having. Sometimes if the side effects are more than I can tolerate, I take myself off the medication. 

A few years back I was having trouble with my heart racing and waking me out of a sound sleep. My heart doctor put me on Ranexa. I was taking two at a time. It took care of the problem almost over night. Then I started to have a reaction to them. So I cut myself back to one pill at a time. I was still having the same problem, but not as severe. Then one day I had a really severe reaction to the medication while I was at the hairdresser's. Scared the bejesus out of everyone there. I stopped taking it immediately. No more reaction, and no heart problems. The medication had done the job. No more heart racing while I slept. And am still good to this day. My heart doctor approved of my reactions to taking care of the problem myself. 

I would never recommend that anyone do what I did. *Do not stop taking your prescribed medications*. But I looked up the side effects and the recommended steps to take should a patients experience side effects. I have two things going for me when it comes to understanding the medical language. I took Latin is school and I have worked in medical facilities with patients and passing out non narcotic medications. So I knew what I was doing. I read what is meant for the doctors to read, not the patient. "Should the patient report that ......., then you should do the following." And that is what I did. I weaned myself off the medication. To this day, I still have some side effects from the medication. But not as bad as it was at first.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> SO has these.  I fill them for her every two weeks. Part of that process is to then order refills where needed.
> 
> I only take meds twice a day so use the simpler seven day sleeves, one for AM and one for PM.  I fill those every other week and reorder as needed.
> 
> Pill filling is a Saturday morning ritual alternating between her pills and mine.
> 
> I also have four alarms set on her phone to remind her to take her pills.  That works sometimes.



I have two little glass green cups from a child's play set. They were popular during the 30/40's. I start out putting my morning meds in one, and my noontime ones in the other. When I take my morning ones, I then put my bedtime ones in the one I just emptied. I take 15 different meds. I used to take more than 25.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Every month I get all my meds in what are labeled MOTs. *Medicines on Time. *There are five rows with seven windows in each row. I get each month's supply on the day before the last day of the month. The pharmacy that is associated and owned by Winthrop fills them each month for me. They also are color coded. Yellow are for morning meds, white for noontime, and dark blue for bedtime. There are also other colors for other times of the day. I only take them three times a day. Every six months when I go in for my biannual checkup, we go over all my meds. I report any side effects I may be having. Sometimes if the side effects are more than I can tolerate, I take myself off the medication.



Winthrop does all that but they don't give you patient information sheets for each med? That seems strange. I get one every time I get a refill. In fact, I thought it was a federal requirement. 



Addie said:


> I was on a list of enough meds to kill a horse. I got so sick of taking them out each day, for four different hours of the day. So I sat down and looked up every med I have on my list. There has been some changes in the list, some added, some deleted. Time for me to look all of them up again. I did find out that the statins seem to be the biggest offender when it comes to memory retention. I even went so far as to print out the page for each med. Time to do it again.
> 
> That is going to be my project for today.


----------



## dragnlaw

GotGarlic said:


> Winthrop does all that.....



What or who is Winthrop?  I'm guessing a pharmacy?


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> What or who is Winthrop?  I'm guessing a pharmacy?


It's a health center where Addie gets her medical care and medications. I don't know for sure, but I think it's part of the Boston Medical Center.


----------



## dragnlaw

Aha..  Thanks GG


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> What or who is Winthrop?  I'm guessing a pharmacy?



Winthrop is the town next to where I live and I go there once a month to have my vitals checked. It is where my doctor and all my medical staff are located. It is a medical facility.


----------



## cjmmytunes

GotGarlic said:


> Anyone who takes a lot of medications each day should get something like this. Lay out all your pills for the upcoming week and you can also see when you're getting low and need a refill. Makes life much easier.
> View attachment 26715



Mom and I use ones similar - Mom does meds 4x a day, and each time of day box is a different color.  I only do meds 2x a day, and insulin 2x a day.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Andy M. said:


> Pill filling is a Saturday morning ritual alternating between her pills and mine.



I do ours on Saturday nights.  The pharmacy where Mom gets her Rx's refilled has a system where you can call at any time and fill Rx's using a system to type in info on the phone.  Unfortunately, the clinic I use doesn't have that.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> I have two little glass green cups from a child's play set. They were popular during the 30/40's. I start out putting my morning meds in one, and my noontime ones in the other. When I take my morning ones, I then put my bedtime ones in the one I just emptied. I take 15 different meds. I used to take more than 25.



Oh my goodness - I thought Mom and I took a lot of meds.  Are they all prescription meds or a combination of prescription and OTC meds?


----------



## taxlady

Got into an argument on FB with someone about an article I shared. Then after several back and forths, I realized she hadn't read the article.


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> Oh my goodness - I thought Mom and I took a lot of meds.  Are they all prescription meds or a combination of prescription and OTC meds?



They are all prescriptions. I have a separate sheet showing all the meds that I have in the house that are sent to me from Winthrop. Like Bacitracin, Liquid Antacid, Silverdine, etc. That is the sheet I give to the Paramedics if I have to call for the ambulance. There is no way I can tell them all of what I take. All scripts are listed first, then the non scripts. 

I am very fortunate in that anything (and I mean *Anything*) in medical supplies I need, they give me. From meds, dressings, to OTC products or band aids.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> They are all prescriptions. I have a separate sheet showing all the meds that I have in the house that are sent to me from Winthrop. Like Bacitracin, Liquid Antacid, Silverdine, etc. That is the sheet I give to the Paramedics if I have to call for the ambulance. There is no way I can tell them all of what I take. All scripts are listed first, then the non scripts.
> 
> I am very fortunate in that anything (and I mean *Anything*) in medical supplies I need, they give me. From meds, dressings, to OTC products or band aids.



Yes, I have to say that you are very fortunate.  I keep a sheet printed out to give to anyone who might need it.


----------



## Addie

My health plan is Part C of Medicare. It is all inclusive. You have to be 55 (here) to join and is directed to keeping the elderly in their home as long as possible. It is a concept that has been spreading across the country. Our elderly are going to be outnumbering the next generation. And they are all at work. They don't have the time or resources to care for their parents. Plus  their parents do not want to be a burden on them either. 

This  program started here in the Boston area about 20 years ago and cities have been sending their representatives here to study how it works and is financed. First Medicare is billed, if they don't pay all of the cost, the Mass Health (Medicaid) kicks in, and what they don't cover then the Elder Service Plan picks up the rest. They get their money from Medicare and Mass Health. 

Some of the side benefits are: they provide all transportation to wherever I need to go. Shopping, all medical appointments, special events like a concert or function for just the elderly, getting to voting polls, (mine is right downstairs in the Community Room) home visits from an RN, an in house aide to assist with getting a patient up and dressed for any of their appointments, (we have one in this building 24/7), they also make sure they have breakfast, sending out your laundry, housekeeping services and so many more than I can remember. I know these services are there if I need them. 

But I am still functional and can do my own housework and take care of myself. There are financial limits to belonging. But should you be over their income limit, you pay a minimal fee each month. It is so miniscule, that you don't even miss it. I am fortunate in that I am not in that bracket. 

In other words they provide all the services that parents provided for their kids as they were growing up. Only now, it is the parents who need the help. 

So when I hear someone spout about how we are now living off the taxpayer, they forget that everyone, including myself, paid into Medicare. When I shop and pay state taxes, then the Mass Health part includes my contribution. I am not exempt to taxes just because of my age.


----------



## CraigC

Not so sure this is actually petty! We have been getting BA mag since the early '90s. I have seen over the years that the ads have increased and the recipes have decreased in number and quality. You used to look at the recipe index and it generally was spread over two pages. Now it may or may not cover one page! We are up for renewal, which is highly unlikely to happen. Another example of something that used to be great and looked forward to, which is now the pits.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie, your state sounds like a wonderful place for the older generation to live.  I wish all states cared for the older generation like that.


----------



## Andy M.

CraigC said:


> Not so sure this is actually petty! We have been getting BA mag since the early '90s. I have seen over the years that the ads have increased and the recipes have decreased in number and quality. You used to look at the recipe index and it generally was spread over two pages. Now it may or may not cover one page! We are up for renewal, which is highly unlikely to happen. Another example of something that used to be great and looked forward to, which is now the pits.



I stopped food magazines some time ago for that very reason.  It's all on their websites for free.


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> Addie, your state sounds like a wonderful place for the older generation to live.  I wish all states cared for the older generation like that.



Thank you. Mass is on a building boom. We have a waterfront here in Eastie. They are putting up condos right along the waterfront. But they can't be over a certain height. We won that battle. Then we fought to be able to have access to the waterfront. The builder got so frustrated with us that he gave up and decided to build elsewhere. But out of that we got a waterfront park. 

This part of Boston has changed so much since I was a kid. There are so many services for the residents and we have a voice in what changes we want and where they will go. Other than the side walks, I hardly recognize the city I grew up in. One of the major changes was the airport. I live just two blocks from it, but on the service end. When jets came into the airport, you literally couldn't hear yourself think. We fought the airport and now if you live under a flight path, they airport has to install soundproof windows. Ah peace and quiet. I never hear a plane unless I am outside.

Remember, senior citizens are beginning to outnumber the younger generation. And we are the ones who always vote. So our voice is finally being heard.


----------



## roadfix

My wife's Medicare plan (Part C) is also through a private insurer (Kaiser Senior Advantage) and there is that standard monthly Medicare charge (Parts A&B) plus any co-pays for doc's visits, lab work, and meds from Kaiser Permanente.   I think her maximum out-of-pocket is around 4 grand a year.


----------



## Andy M.

Medicare Part C is an alternative to Medicare Parts A&B.

With A&B (hospitals and doctors), the Feds charge you $104 a month (usually deducted from your social security payment) for Parts A&B coverage and you go out and buy a supplement to cover what Medicare doesn't.  

With Medicare Part C, The Feds don't charge you any money for Medicare. Instead, you go to an approved private insurer for the same level of coverage as A&B plus a supplement.  This option can be cheaper than A&B and a supplement.

You can buy Part D coverage (Drug coverage) with either option.

All this info is available on Medicare.gov.


----------



## roadfix

I guess it's a bit different out here where we are.   
My wife's Senior Advantage provider/insurer (Kaiser Permanente) does not charge her a monthly premium but does require her monthly payments to the Feds for A&B.


----------



## Just Cooking

roadfix said:


> I guess it's a bit different out here where we are.
> My wife's Senior Advantage provider/insurer (Kaiser Permanente) does not charge her a monthly premium but does require her monthly payments to the Feds for A&B.




We had Kaiser in a different locale and were pretty pleased with it..
Kaiser isn't available in our county so we have a quasi HMO company named Aspire we scribe to.. We like it but it costs $95 and Kaiser was/is a no cost HMO... Of course we still pay the Fed fees...

Ross


----------



## Just Cooking

Petty Rant....

I had hoped I didn't need to play the "frail old man" card but... I cannot find the "New Thread" button... I have searched everywhere and it eludes me.. I sent a message through channels for help but, I don't think the message went through...  

Help an old man out...   

Ross


----------



## Dawgluver

OK.  Let's see.  If you are on the DC app, you will need to go to the regular website in order to post a recipe.  Otherwise, go to the main menu, let's say "General Cooking."  Hit that.  You should be able to post.


----------



## Just Cooking

Dawgluver said:


> OK.  Let's see.  If you are on the DC app, you will need to go to the regular website in order to post a recipe.  Otherwise, go to the main menu, let's say "General Cooking."  Hit that.  You should be able to post.




Thank you... 

I did receive a reply from tech support... I should be ok now...

The other forums I go to have the button on the home page... I just get sooooooo confused...


----------



## cjmmytunes

I have to agree with you Addie.  Senior citizens ALWAYS vote.  In 11/15, our city had local elections.  Mom thought she wasn't going to be able to vote because she was in rehab for her hip replacement.  Someone from the BOE came out and everyone that wanted to vote she had them fill out a form and she filed them that afternoon.


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> I have to agree with you Addie.  Senior citizens ALWAYS vote.  In 11/15, our city had local elections.  Mom thought she wasn't going to be able to vote because she was in rehab for her hip replacement.  Someone from the BOE came out and everyone that wanted to vote she had them fill out a form and she filed them that afternoon.



You are so right. Even with her brace she wore due to childhood polio, my mother made sure she got across the street to vote.

We have 40 apartments in this building. Some apartments have two people living in them. Our polling place is downstairs in the Community Room. It opens at seven a.m. At 6:55 a.m. you will find the majority of the residents in the TV room waiting for them to let us vote. The rest will come down in the next hour. But at the end of the day, 99% of the residents have cast their vote. Even if there is only one person on the ballot. Our former mayor loved "his senior citizens" as he referred to them. That's why he was mayor for 64 years. He would still be if he hadn't contracted cancer. It is because of him that we have about six buildings that have been rehabbed for seniors to live in, in this part of Boston. Otherwise we would be screwed.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Y...Our former mayor loved "his senior citizens" as he referred to them. That's why *he was mayor for 64 years*...


Not 64 years, *Addie*. That would have been quite a feat since he lived to 71 years of age.  He was mayor for 20 years after having served in the council the previous ten.

Here is a link to the Wiki page, in case anyone is interested: *Thomas Menino*


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Not 64 years, *Addie*. That would have been quite a feat since he lived to 71 years of age.  He was mayor for 20 years after having served in the council the previous ten.
> 
> Here is a link to the Wiki page, in case anyone is interested: *Thomas Menino*



I keep telling you math is not my strong point. In fact I am pointless and brainless when it comes to math. But I knew there was a six in there somewhere. My math skills are the joke of my whole family and anyone who knows me. Now spelling, well I am the go to in the family for correct spelling.

And thank you for the correction.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You might have read my little story of happiness from my post on the Last thing that made you smile thread. Well, today when I was cleaning off my little work table in the kitchen (AKA, the Dump Spot) I spied the receipt from last night's transaction. I noticed for the first time that the cash received by the cashier was "$10".  $10? But I was sure I saw a $20. Hmm. Told Himself about this, saying that I could have been wrong but I swore it was a $20. When he said "I saw a $20, too"...well, that just sucked a little bit of the joy from last night. 

I tucked the receipt into my wallet. I'm considering whether or not to bring this to the attention of the store manager. If this cashier short-changed this transaction, no idea what his cash drawer might look like at the end of the night.


----------



## dragnlaw

CG, must have made you steam! 

I worked for a while as a cashier...  we were not allowed to have any pockets on our jackets - and usually when your shift was done you balanced your cash under the eye of the Head Cashier.  Of course, back then it was rare for a guy to be a cashier. I can see where now their pants provide plenty of pockets.

What a sad comment on a beautiful gesture.


----------



## Addie

I would let the Manager know. If this cashier is doing this on a regular basis, who knows how many other customers are being ripped off. And if it was an honest mistake, then it is a lesson the manager can teach the cashier. 

Either way, you should get the rest of your change back and hopefully a free meal the next time you are in the area. At least give them a chance to correct an error.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Addie*, I wasn't looking for "change back" since I had told the grocery store cashier to use the rest of that gift bill towards the purchase of the next shopper that was coming up to the register as we were leaving. And why should I expect a free meal when my issue was in a grocery store??? 




dragnlaw said:


> CG, must have made you steam!...What a sad comment on a beautiful gesture.


Not so much steamed as disappointed in the actions of the cashier. Sure did take the shine off the "beautiful gesture". 

I told Himself that the generous young man might have gone home to his roommate/SO/dog and said to them "I met this sweet old couple at the grocery store tonight...".


----------



## CharlieD

Just Cooking said:


> He might be related to my wife.. When we got together, the deal was I cook, she cleans.. I finally had to ban her from the kitchen because, I'd prep something, turn to do something else and she would wash whatever I used.. I'd turn around and, no knife, no bowl or whatever I'd just used.. She wanted to help...
> 
> Ross





Same here LOL.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Allergies*

Ugh, it's that time of year again. I never had allergies until I got pregnant. You would think that the kids and/or doctor would have cleaned them out at delivery, but no.  Back home in Cleveland it was just grass pollen. Except for a four to six week stretch in late spring, I cruised through the year with no problems.

Flash forward to MA. It seems I have issues from when vegetation starts to bud in early spring until everything is totally killed by a hard freeze. For years I just sniffled and blew my nose. Got bad enough to start with OTC generic stuff, just 1/2 tablet, in the morning. The last two years I've had to add the second 1/2 tablet before bed by mid-summer. Well, just started up with the meds not quite two weeks ago...and I had to start with the second 1/2 tablet last night. Actually, it was in the wee hours of the morning. After trying to go to sleep for at least 1 1/2 hours, needing to sit up and reach for a tissue every time I laid down, I got up for the 1/2 tab. 15 minutes later I was breathing clearly...and sleeping like a baby.

Guess who's going to take that 1/2 tablet when she's getting ready for bed tonight?


----------



## Just Cooking

Bummer CG... I hope you can stay on top of it....


----------



## Andy M.

I bit the bullet decades ago and took the injection regimen for a number of years to desensitize me to allergens.  Now I'm glad I did.  Any hay fever type reactions are minimal.

Now there is a replacement therapy of drops under the tongue.  Much easier.


----------



## Addie

I have been very fortunate in that I have never suffered with spring/summer allergies. But I do have problems with keeping the wind from blowing into my ear and creating the grounds for an ear infection. In the winter I wear a hat all the time outside. But in the summer, it does look silly. So I found the solution a couple of years ago. Let my hair grow and hold it back with a head band while covering my ears.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> I bit the bullet decades ago and took the injection regimen for a number of years to desensitize me to allergens.  Now I'm glad I did.  Any hay fever type reactions are minimal...


That doesn't work for everyone, though. My SIL had very bad bronchitis when they lived in OH. When they were moving to FL in October of 1979 she thought she was done with that since she was moving to a warmer climate. Not only did she still get bouts of bronchitis, she then developed allergies to pine pollen, mangrove plants...a number of native plants she had never come in contact with in OH. She went through the shot therapy, got some relief, but still went for a monthly booster. When they moved to MA in 2006...still had allergies and added a few more for good measure. 30+ years after first taking allergy shots she STILL gets a monthly booster, takes an OTC med each morning - and when things kick into high gear she adds another pill at night. All of this is OK'd by her doctor, who pretty much feels you do what you gotta do as long as it doesn't harm.

I don't have it anywhere near bad enough to worry about shots. So far, the most I've ever needed to feel good is two, 1/2 tablet doses a day, taken for less than 1/2 of the calendar year. And only up here in MA. Back home in OH in the summer it's just the half-tablet in the morning and I'm good. And no matter where else we travel (mostly south), I'm not snotty enough to take any! I think I'm allergic to MA.  For me, it's not as serious of a medical issue as it is just plain annoying.


----------



## dragnlaw

Trying to convince my son it is time to pack a bag of essentials and head for the hills ...  either myself or my ex. we are both on high ground.  

My son and his two small boys are near the river.  The road at the end of his street runs right along the river and is underwater since yesterday. 

There is only one other road to get out of there. If there is a power failure I'm afraid he will get tangled in traffic with everyone else trying to leave too.


----------



## Just Cooking

dragnlaw said:


> Trying to convince my son it is time to pack a bag of essentials and head for the hills ...  either myself or my ex. we are both on high ground.
> 
> My son and his two small boys are near the river.  The road at the end of his street runs right along the river and is underwater since yesterday.
> 
> There is only one other road to get out of there. If there is a power failure I'm afraid he will get tangled in traffic with everyone else trying to leave too.



I hope he pays attention to your concerns... Rising water is dangerous..

Ross


----------



## Farmer Jon

Air conditioner in the camper quit last weekend. I called the dealer. Its either a $9 compactor or its just completely shot costing $600 plus installing.


----------



## Just Cooking

Farmer Jon said:


> Air conditioner in the camper quit last weekend. I called the dealer. Its either a $9 compactor or its just completely shot costing $600 plus installing.




I'd choose the $9 compactor...   

Ross


----------



## Farmer Jon

Even if it is that I bet I dont get out of there for under $100. Find out a week from Tuesday when I take it in.


----------



## caseydog

The AC unit in my teardrop camper was a $99 "window shaker" from Lowe's. It was completely hidden, which had some people scratching their heads. 

Best part is, if it rolled craps, my maximum repair cost was 99-bucks and sales tax. 

CD


----------



## Mad Cook

*Grrr!*

Spent an hour and a half looking for something I need in a large "home wares" store. 

Where are all the shops that sell you what *you *want to buy, not what *they * tell you to buy?

The coffee was (_fill in any unmentionable epithet_) in the cafe, too.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> Spent an hour and a half looking for something I need in a large "home wares" store.
> 
> Where are all the shops that sell you what *you *want to buy, not what *they * tell you to buy?
> 
> The coffee was (_fill in any unmentionable epithet_) in the cafe, too.



There was and still is a small neighborhood hardware shop right around the corner from where I used to live. Then Home Depot (big box store) moved into the next town over. The owner of the small hardware was worried about what it would do to his business. 

He still sells those thingamagigs or whatjamacallits. If they aren't upstairs on the floor, then he has it down in the cellar. And he sells a lot of them. You can walk in, tell the owner or his son what your problem is, they can tell you what part you need and if it still doesn't work, bring it back. They even will draw a diagram for you. And if they still don't have what you need or want, he will order it just for you. You don't get that at Home Depot. In fact you are lucky if you can find someone to tell you where it might be.


----------



## CharlieD

I think this is not even petty, it is a full blown vent, well, here it is.

   Yesterday as I was pulling out of the development/neighborhood, standing on the stop sign, I saw a dog running in the middle of the cross street, it is actually considered a High way. Traffic is pretty decent, I was afraid dog is going to get hit by some idiot who doesn't pay attention to the road. My daughter says, "Look dog has the collar". I get out of the car and start calling to the dog. She came immediately. She was very friendly and obviously in distress, you could see how upset she was being lost. She kind of jumped on me, I dropped my glasses, she stepped on the glasses, they broke of course, she was not a small dog. Anyway, I open the back door and she immediately jumped in.

I pulled to the side of the road.  Checked her tags and called the owner. A woman answered told me where she lives, only few house down the street, so I said that I’ll bring the dog home if somebody is there. She told me her husband was home and she would call him immediately, she did say thank you. That was the end of conversation. When I pulled to the house the guy came out I opened the door of the car, made the dog come out kind of holding her by the collar and the guy took her said almost not audible thank you and walked away.

  Wouldn’t you call somebody to say thank you again, maybe after work, in the evening. We only live maybe 10 houses apart. I don’t know, stop by drop a thank you note, bring my a bottle of beer? Am I wrong to think that I deserve thank you? I don’t need anything from them, but I would definitely try to show my gratitude to people if they were find my dog in similar situation. I did not do it for some reward, but isn’t reward something normal person would consider giving? 

Class? Etiquette? Is there certain behavior that is expected from people in this situation? 

On the other hand why am I fuming? I am a dog peoples, I know how dogs act, I saw how scared the dog got when that guy took by the collar. I bet he is not only classless, he is abusive too. Should have just kept the dog.


----------



## Andy M.

Charlie, you did what you did for the dog, not the owners.  Be happy you kept the dog from being run over.  

As far as getting another thank you, don't hold your breath.


----------



## Addie

The dog was saved from the possibility of being seriously injured due to your actions. And that is what matters most. If you hadn't been there, who knows what might of happened to that poor dog. God knows you did the right thing. And if they didn't thank you then let me along with every member here. And  you know how we all love our pets. to you a big
THANK YOU!


----------



## roadfix

Obviously that dog has more class than its owners.


----------



## CharlieD

Thank you, thank you. Indeed I did it for the dog. Was not thinking about any kind of thanks at the moment. I just hope this is not indicative of today's twenty something.


----------



## dragnlaw

Now you know what to do next time. The dog will say Thank You every morning as you feed her/him.


----------



## CharlieD

GRRRRR, so mad at myself. I was making few pans of lasagna, one of them was supposed to be for a friend who is gluten free. I had gluten free noodles, but totally spaced out and instead of marinara sauce, I spread the Bechamel. Ok, it is edible and all, but not for her.


----------



## Addie

I am getting very perturb with myself. I have never had an allergy outside of medical ones. Like certain seafoods and medicine. 

So all of a sudden I have developed a cough for no reason. No phlegm is apparent. But I think I have developed an allergy. The cough comes only when I go near my open window or am outside. I know it is the start of allergy season. But I have always ignored any warnings or information about them. It just has never been part of my world. 

Just one more thing to write on my medical record. Dang. Can I get anything else wrong with me?!!!


----------



## rodentraiser

Addie, I had to add a new one to my list a couple months ago. After going to the ER and having a cut covered with butterfly stitches, I found out I'm allergic to the glue on all those bandages. The cut was healing fine, but my skin was blistering under the bandages. My mother said, "Only you."


My whole day has been a petty vent. I was going to make some Chantilly potatoes for supper, but I decided it was going to be too hot to mess with all that. So I put a potato in the oven to bake it for just a stuffed potato. Forgot to turn the oven on. 

So now, in the hottest part of my day (and it's been warm here the last two days), I am baking potatoes. I also got through frying up some bacon. I guess I could have just made the Chantilly potatoes after all.

And will someone explain to me why, every time I put a measuring spoon in the sink and then turn on the faucet, the &*%$# water hits the measuring spoon and makes it arc out of the sink, usually all over me? 

Tomorrow is bound to be better and it can get here any time now.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ...Can I get anything else wrong with me?!!!


Well...you could stop breathing.    I say as long as you have enough breath to complain with, things aren't as bad as they could be.


----------



## Dawgluver

Hope your cut heals quickly, RR.

DH, ever the long winded one,  has been on his phone nonstop since 11 am.  Jeebus, that man can yack about nothing for hours.  I think he called every friend and relative he has.  Then he hands me his phone with no explanation.  It was his parents.  OK, I got this.  We talk gardening and such.  But it would have been nice to know who I was talking to in the first place!


----------



## rodentraiser

Thanks, DL. It's healed now.


----------



## caseydog

rodentraiser said:


> Addie, I had to add a new one to my list a couple months ago. After going to the ER and having a cut covered with butterfly stitches, I found out I'm allergic to the glue on all those bandages. The cut was healing fine, but my skin was blistering under the bandages. My mother said, "Only you."
> 
> 
> My whole day has been a petty vent. I was going to make some Chantilly potatoes for supper, but I decided it was going to be too hot to mess with all that. So I put a potato in the oven to bake it for just a stuffed potato. Forgot to turn the oven on.
> 
> So now, in the hottest part of my day (and it's been warm here the last two days), I am baking potatoes. I also got through frying up some bacon. I guess I could have just made the Chantilly potatoes after all.
> 
> And will someone explain to me why, every time I put a measuring spoon in the sink and then turn on the faucet, the &*%$# water hits the measuring spoon and makes it arc out of the sink, usually all over me?
> 
> Tomorrow is bound to be better and it can get here any time now.



When life get's me down, I always turn to Monty Python for philosophical guidance...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7I6NYuJVCo

CD


----------



## Farmer Jon

Ok so, this is probably going to be one long run on sentence but here we go.  So a couple months ago the kid wreaks his car. Nobody hurt. Insurance paid so no big deal but this is where it starts. He starts driving my old pickup. A month ago or so he has a flat. Tire is shot. Got a used set for $100. Then I notice a wheel bearing is bad. Take it in. A good friend is the mechanic so I know he don't screw me. $600. Need bearings and lock outs for the 4x4. Fine. Then graduation, that cost a few hundred bucks. I have 40 acres of beans to plant then I'm done and can put everything away but it won't stop raining.  Air conditioner quits in the camper $200 then run out of propane ( my fault) loses a window. My fault again. And now the wifes car is chewing up Its tires. Struts are shot. $800 plus alignment. My pickup is on the camper because I need to be able to move it around. Kid is still driving my old one. Wife car in the shop so she gets to drive my bosses caddilic. I think she likes it too much.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Farmer Jon said:


> Ok so, this is probably going to be one long run on sentence but here we go.  So a couple months ago the kid wreaks his car. Nobody hurt. Insurance paid so no big deal but this is where it starts. He starts driving my old pickup. A month ago or so he has a flat. Tire is shot. Got a used set for $100. Then I notice a wheel bearing is bad. Take it in. A good friend is the mechanic so I know he don't screw me. $600. Need bearings and lock outs for the 4x4. Fine. Then graduation, that cost a few hundred bucks. I have 40 acres of beans to plant then I'm done and can put everything away but it won't stop raining.  Air conditioner quits in the camper $200 then run out of propane ( my fault) loses a window. My fault again. And now the wifes car is chewing up Its tires. Struts are shot. $800 plus alignment. My pickup is on the camper because I need to be able to move it around. Kid is still driving my old one. Wife car in the shop so she gets to drive my bosses caddilic. I think she likes it too much.



Jon, This has the makings of a great country song!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Forget beans, Farmer Jon, you need to plant money trees!


----------



## Addie

Well, other than all that, you are living a charmed life. Good Grief!

Aunt B, here is the first line

*The was a man named Farmer John*

Any one want to add another line or two?


----------



## dragnlaw

who showed us some pictures of a quilted barn.

(oh boy, that's really lame)


----------



## dragnlaw

Farmer Jon showed us pictures of his...

....................... quilted barn.

(musical pause there between the lines.


----------



## caseydog

Aunt Bea said:


> Jon, This has the makings of a great country song!!!



You are right about that. You just have to get booze, prison and a train into that story, to make it a hit (David Allan Coe joke). 

CD


----------



## Dawgluver

You forgot rain and a pickup truck, CD.


----------



## caseydog

Dawgluver said:


> You forgot rain and a pickup truck, CD.



Farmer Jon already had the rain and pickup truck covered in his story. Go back and re-read it. 

CD


----------



## Dawgluver

caseydog said:


> Farmer Jon already had the rain and pickup truck covered in his story. Go back and re-read it.
> 
> 
> 
> CD




True.  Momma's not in there though.


----------



## dragnlaw

Jon, you'd better buy a big cowboy hat and some sun glasses - you's about to become famous!!!!   LOL


----------



## cjmmytunes

Then he went with his Momma to get some yarn.


----------



## CraigC

We just received our last issue of BA mag, June 2017. After months of an E-mail and letter hounding to renew, I wrote them an explanation as to why we aren't renewing. Doubt they will ever read it, but I did. 

My explanation, was simply suggesting that they look at the "Recipe Index" from the issue we just received to that of one I randomly pulled from a pile, which happened to be from June 2008. The index from June 2008 was a full page and the one from June 2017 was not even a 1/2 page.


----------



## roadfix

Aside from your one time only pain or antibiotic prescriptions I've never taken any long term meds in my entire life until, bang, all of a sudden, over night,  I'm on 4 long term meds now!    And now I'm shopping for pill boxes on Amazon?  This is crazy.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> Aside from your one time only pain or antibiotic prescriptions I've never taken any long term meds in my entire life until, bang, all of a sudden, over night,  I'm on 4 long term meds now!    And now I'm shopping for pill boxes on Amazon?  This is crazy.



The relation that you need medicine to keep living a  'normal' life in your senior years is a bitter pill to swallow but it's better than the alternative.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> The relation that you need medicine to keep living a  'normal' life in your senior years is a bitter pill to swallow but it's better than the alternative.



Oh, absolutely.  I see that with both my parents, both in their early nineties.

But, hopefully, eventually, I can get off most of my meds with a drastic change in my diet.


----------



## Addie

Do any of you look up your meds on Drugs.com or WebMD? At one time I was on 25 pills a day. So I looked up every one and also the side effects. I also printed out the picture of them and the list of side effects. One med had three pages of side effects. 

I then took the list to my doctor with the side effects and we spent an hour going over them. Today I am somewhere around ten. A lot of them were multiple for the same problem. Like three of them for blood pressure. Taking three of them at the same time, dang near killed me. My blood pressure dropped so low that the doctor couldn't get a reading. The last words I heard him say was "Do we have a crash cart?" as they rushed me to the ER. 

When it comes to putting chemicals into your body, you have to be your own advocate.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Do any of you look up your meds on Drugs.com or WebMD? At one time I was on 25 pills a day. So I looked up every one and also the side effects. I also printed out the picture of them and the list of side effects. One med had three pages of side effects.
> 
> I then took the list to my doctor with the side effects and we spent an hour going over them. Today I am somewhere around ten. A lot of them were multiple for the same problem. Like three of them for blood pressure. Taking three of them at the same time, dang near killed me. My blood pressure dropped so low that the doctor couldn't get a reading. The last words I heard him say was "Do we have a crash cart?" as they rushed me to the ER.
> 
> When it comes to putting chemicals into your body, you have to be your own advocate.


With the integrated health care you have, I find it exceedingly strange that your primary doctor did not know about every medication you were taking. At every visit, all my doctors' offices provide me with a printed list of all the meds their system says I'm taking and ask me to verify it. 

The lists of potential side effects associated with prescription drugs must include every adverse reaction reported by patients, regardless of whether it has been shown to be related to the medication. The doctor's job is to evaluate your medical history and determine what your specific needs are, taking risks and benefits into account. If they're not doing that, I'd look for a new doctor. 

I keep a spreadsheet of my meds with the purpose, dosage and frequency of each one in my phone for easy reference at the doctor's office. My major medical procedures are also listed.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> With the integrated health care you have, I find it exceedingly strange that your primary doctor did not know about every medication you were taking. At every visit, all my doctors' offices provide me with a printed list of all the meds their system says I'm taking and ask me to verify it.
> 
> The lists of potential side effects associated with prescription drugs must include every adverse reaction reported by patients, regardless of whether it has been shown to be related to the medication. The doctor's job is to evaluate your medical history and determine what your specific needs are, taking risks and benefits into account. If they're not doing that, I'd look for a new doctor.
> 
> I keep a spreadsheet of my meds with the purpose, dosage and frequency of each one in my phone for easy reference at the doctor's office. My major medical procedures are also listed.



Most of the medicines for repeat health problems happen in the hospital. I too have a complete list of all meds I am on and it goes to the hospital with me. But the problem lies with the doctors at the hospital. They don't bother to even look at that list and they also have complete access to my files at Winthrop. But they can't be bothered with that either. So they enter a new script for a health problem I am already on medicine for. So now I play Dumb Dora when I go to the hospital. When they ask me what is the problem, I tell them I don't know. I just feel sick. Then they ask me what meds I am on, and I tell them they have to read my file in the computer. The list is three pages long and I can't pronounce them all. One hospital doctor told me he can't be bothered doing that. My reply to him was, "Then perhaps you are not the doctor for me. If you wish to continue being my doctor, you need to look at my med list and medical problems. Don't come back until you do." I no longer accept any prescription the hospital writes for me. I clear it with Winthrop first. Sure enough, more often than not, I am already on a med that is similar and the same dosage. So they cancel it. 

It has been a long haul, but Winthrop now knows to trust me. And if it is something I am not sure of, they are the first ones I call. I have a nurse NP that keeps her eye on what meds I am on. So there are times when she feels that I don't need a med any long or can go on a smaller dose. Like taking me off the pills for diabetes. I had my sugar under control and the pill were dropping it too low far too often. Now I control it by diet alone. She is the one that caught that. I see my doctor twice a year. Sick or well. That is when we go over my med list again. Even though my NP keeps an eye on it.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Most of the medicines for repeat health problems happen in the hospital. I too have a complete list of all meds I am on and it goes to the hospital with me. But the problem lies with the doctors at the hospital. They don't bother to even look at that list and they also have complete access to my files at Winthrop. But they can't be bothered with that either. So they enter a new script for a health problem I am already on medicine for. So now I play Dumb Dora when I go to the hospital. When they ask me what is the problem, I tell them I don't know. I just feel sick. Then they ask me what meds I am on, and I tell them they have to read my file in the computer. The list is three pages long and I can't pronounce them all. One hospital doctor told me he can't be bothered doing that.



That's malpractice. You should report him to the state medical board.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> That's malpractice. You should report him to the state medical board.



I am not in the habit of ruining someone's career. Medical School costs too much. As long as I keep my eye on things, I am doing fine. I have a son who is my advocate. He practices medicine in the ER. So I report every thing to him. 

I reported a doctor once. It cost him his career. And my son agreed with my decision. That was enough for me. My son has more knowledge on the subject than I do. I let him make the final decision on reporting anyone.


----------



## Caslon

There for the grace of all goes Addie.  Hehe.


----------



## cjmmytunes

roadfix said:


> Aside from your one time only pain or antibiotic prescriptions I've never taken any long term meds in my entire life until, bang, all of a sudden, over night,  I'm on 4 long term meds now!    And now I'm shopping for pill boxes on Amazon?  This is crazy.



I'm on 5 long-term meds and vitamins and also allergy meds at night, roadfix.  You can find a pill box at Walmart cheaper than you can at Amazon.  My mom and I both got our pill boxes at Walmart.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I am not in the habit of ruining someone's career. Medical School costs too much. As long as I keep my eye on things, I am doing fine. I have a son who is my advocate. He practices medicine in the ER. So I report every thing to him.
> 
> I reported a doctor once. It cost him his career. And my son agreed with my decision. That was enough for me. My son has more knowledge on the subject than I do. I let him make the final decision on reporting anyone.


Blows me away that you would rather let a medical professional ruin people's health through malpractice than make an effort to stop them  You're not his only patient, you know.


----------



## Caslon

Medicine is an art.  Therefore you won't hear a dentist or doctor bashing one another. At least, that's what I've noticed.


----------



## Andy M.

Caslon said:


> Medicine is an art.  Therefore you won't hear a dentist or doctor bashing one another. At least, that's what I've noticed.



My PCP has no issue telling me to seek another specialist or if a doctor is not a good choice.  It's his job to do so.


----------



## roadfix

cjmmytunes said:


> I'm on 5 long-term meds and vitamins and also allergy meds at night, roadfix.  You can find a pill box at Walmart cheaper than you can at Amazon.  My mom and I both got our pill boxes at Walmart.



My dad had a couple of extras he picked up at a dollar store a few years back.   I'm using that now and I feel so "organized" as I've never done this before....


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> Medicine is an art.  Therefore you won't hear a dentist or doctor bashing one another. At least, that's what I've noticed.


Medicine is both an art and a science. Neither has anything to do with your second sentence. That's a non sequitur.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> Blows me away that you would rather let a medical professional ruin people's health through malpractice than make an effort to stop them  You're not his only patient, you know.



I am not responsible for making decisions regarding other patients. My primary concern is my own health. If I feel that my care has been compromised, I notify my son and he finds out who his superior is and will talk to him. He has the means of finding out the name quickly. Something I would have difficulty with. My son is my medical advocate and I leave the final decision with him. He has a lot more ability and medical knowledge than I do. Caring for patients in the ER has given him knowledge far beyond what any young doctor who is on a rotation. ER medicine is my son's specialty. He sees things in the ER that would horrify an average person. So far he has not let me down. 

As I stated before, I strongly believe that every person should be their own advocate. And if that is not possible, then they need to have one appointed. Preferably a close family member. I am also aware of the Privacy Act for Releasing a Patient's Medical Information. I don't have the right to interfere or even worry about the care of other patients. That is the patient's family responsibility.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> My PCP has no issue telling me to seek another specialist or if a doctor is not a good choice.  It's his job to do so.



As any good caring doctor would do. It is not just his job, but his compassion for his patient's health as well. Thank you Andy.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> I am not responsible for making decisions regarding other patients. My primary concern is my own health. If I feel that my care has been compromised, I notify my son and he finds out who his superior is and will talk to him. He has the means of finding out the name quickly. Something I would have difficulty with. My son is my medical advocate and I leave the final decision with him. He has a lot more ability and medical knowledge than I do. *Caring for patients in the ER has given him knowledge far beyond what any young doctor who is on a rotation.* ER medicine is my son's specialty. He sees things in the ER that would horrify an average person. So far he has not let me down....


 
Curious, Addie....you've mentioned your son and his medical training often. Is he a doctor or P.A., or maybe an RN?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I am not in the habit of ruining someone's career. Medical School costs too much. As long as I keep my eye on things, I am doing fine. I have a son who is my advocate. He practices medicine in the ER. So I report every thing to him...





Addie said:


> I am not responsible for making decisions regarding other patients. My primary concern is my own health....As I stated before, I strongly believe that every person should be their own advocate...


It isn't *advocating* for another patient. It is making sure that a doctor who could have made a serious medical error in your case is prevented from making a serious medical error for another patient - another patient who may not have the luxury of a child who works in the medical field. If it is a new resident who is learning, how will they find out they are making mistakes if no one in a position to re-teach them is aware of your situation. Just because YOU have a personal health care advocate in your son does not mean everyone does. Geez, Addie, that next patient could very well experience a serious medical issue because the doctor did not learn the correct way when they made their first mistake with you.

It's not being someone else's advocate. It's being a little concerned with the next patient down the line that could end up with serious medical issues and no advocate. Think of that next guy in line...


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I am not responsible for making decisions regarding other patients.



Who said you were? The point is that a doctor who doesn't read a patient's medical record or review medications is committing malpractice. Which is illegal. If you care at all about the well-being of other human beings, you would report someone whose conduct could cause serious health problems for another person. 



Addie said:


> As I stated before, I strongly believe that every person should be their own advocate. And if that is not possible, then they need to have one appointed. Preferably a close family member.



That is completely irrelevant. 



Addie said:


> I am also aware of the Privacy Act for Releasing a Patient's Medical Information. I don't have the right to interfere or even worry about the care of other patients. That is the patient's family responsibility.



Honestly. No one is suggesting that you have anything to do with any other patient. You know of a medical professional who is breaking the law whose conduct could cause serious health problems for other people and you refuse to do anything about it because medical school is expensive  Wow.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cheryl J said:


> Curious, Addie....you've mentioned your son and his medical training often. Is he a doctor or P.A., or maybe an RN?


He's a PA.


----------



## Cheryl J

+1 CG, and GG.... 

Most (good) doctors review the scheduled patient's records and review the reason that they're there, before they even walk into the examining room to see that patient.


----------



## Addie

GotGarlic said:


> He's a PA.



My son works in the hospital at Springfield, VT. He is a partner as well as working in the ER. The ER is staffed only by P.A.s and the hospital is owned by about four doctors. There is always a doctor on call if one is needed. The doctors interviewed many PAs for this position. When they approached Yale and asked them to recommend someone who was graduating the University gave them only my son's name. 

This hospital receives all the broken bones and accidents that come in from the slopes as well as patients from the community. It is a small hospital, but it is the only hospital that serves all surrounding towns. He is licensed to perform minor surgery and other procedures that he has trained for. He gets all the blood and gore patients. He took off a year to go to the Boston University School of Medicine to take the position as Head Professor to write the program for P.A.s. and how to teach the practice of medicine to doctors. The University wanted to expand their teaching programs. He has also been published three times in the New England Journal of Medicine. He also as a researcher helped to develop a new small pox vaccine in a record time. Even though the disease is just about eradicated, there was a small outbreak in Africa at the time and the CDC sought him out and asked him to come and help. He did this work while he was studying at Yale. He was able to find time to do the research and still keep up with his studies. He graduated from Yale Cume Laude. (The computer will not accept the proper spelling for the first part of Laude.) 

So you see, he is well qualified in his field. In fact he is over qualified. But he loves his work. Now you know why I trust his judgement over any doctor that may be treating me. 

By the way, how is your child doing?


----------



## Kayelle

All of this is assuming this is an "Addie true story".......hmmm...



> Then they ask me what meds I am on, and I tell them they have to read my  file in the computer. The list is three pages long and I can't  pronounce them all. One hospital doctor told me he can't be bothered  doing that.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> My son works in the hospital at Springfield, VT. He is a partner as well as working in the ER. The ER is staffed only by P.A.s and the hospital is owned by about four doctors. There is always a doctor on call if one is needed. The doctors interviewed many PAs for this position. When they approached Yale and asked them to recommend someone who was graduating the University gave them only my son's name.
> 
> This hospital receives all the broken bones and accidents that come in from the slopes as well as patients from the community. It is a small hospital, but it is the only hospital that serves all surrounding towns. He is licensed to perform minor surgery and other procedures that he has trained for. He gets all the blood and gore patients. He took off a year to go to the Boston University School of Medicine to take the position as Head Professor to write the program for P.A.s. and how to teach the practice of medicine to doctors. The University wanted to expand their teaching programs. He has also been published three times in the New England Journal of Medicine. He also as a researcher helped to develop a new small pox vaccine in a record time. Even though the disease is just about eradicated, there was a small outbreak in Africa at the time and the CDC sought him out and asked him to come and help. He did this work while he was studying at Yale. He was able to find time to do the research and still keep up with his studies. He graduated from Yale Cume Laude. (The computer will not accept the proper spelling for the first part of Laude.)
> 
> So you see, he is well qualified in his field. In fact he is over qualified. But he loves his work. Now you know why I trust his judgement over any doctor that may be treating me.
> 
> By the way, how is your child doing?


Did I ask for a dissertation on your son's life? Way way off topic, Addie.


----------



## cjmmytunes

roadfix said:


> My dad had a couple of extras he picked up at a dollar store a few years back.   I'm using that now and I feel so "organized" as I've never done this before....



Dollar Store, huh?  Never thought about doing that.  Although they are good for lots of things, that's one I never looked for.


----------



## rodentraiser

A friend of mine gave me a couple of glass jars and I thought it would be cute to store the baking soda and baking powder in them. So that's what I did. Problem is, now I can't tell which one is which.


----------



## dragnlaw

rodentraiser said:


> A friend of mine gave me a couple of glass jars and I thought it would be cute to store the baking soda and baking powder in them. So that's what I did. Problem is, now I can't tell which one is which.



I did the same when I bought the powders at Bulk Barn. I only marked the sku nbr. for the cashier. Of course, by the time I got home...  

But the are different in texture too.  I luckily enough, had some in the original containers so I could at least compare!   

Poor you! 

I think that it is the baking powder that has the corn starch in it. You should be able to tell by that.


----------



## medtran49

rodentraiser said:


> A friend of mine gave me a couple of glass jars and I thought it would be cute to store the baking soda and baking powder in them. So that's what I did. Problem is, now I can't tell which one is which.



baking soda and vinegar will bubble and steam.  I'm pretty sure baking powder doesn't.


----------



## sparrowgrass

Baking powder should bubble when you add a bit of plain water to it, baking soda will not.  Baking soda will bubble with vinegar. I think baking powder will, too.

So--take a spoonful of one container.  Add water.  If it bubbles, it is baking powder.  If it doesn't bubble at all, it is probably baking soda.  (Or old baking powder, but it has to be pretty darned old before it doesn't work.)

Sharpies are a cook's best friend.  Work on glass or plastic or plastic bags.


----------



## GotGarlic

sparrowgrass said:


> Sharpies are a cook's best friend.  Work on glass or plastic or plastic bags.


I keep Sharpies, Post-Its and tape in a kitchen drawer for just this purpose.


----------



## rodentraiser

What's worse is I found an etching tool in with all my miniatures. I could have just etched the names on the jars and had no problems. Or I could have used a sharpie, as you say, and just written on masking tape and attached that to the jar.

Live and learn, except I'm so tired of living and living and never seeming to learn anything.


----------



## dragnlaw

rodentraiser said:


> Live and learn, except I'm so tired of living and living and never seeming to learn anything.



I hear yuh, rodentraiser!  Loud and clear! My sentiments exactly. I keep saying I will but I keep making the same errors. But  the alternatives are not an option as far as I'm concerned.


----------



## cjmmytunes

GotGarlic said:


> I keep Sharpies, Post-Its and tape in a kitchen drawer for just this purpose.



Same here, and I also keep old bread twist ties in a ziplock baggie.  Never know when you need them.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> I keep Sharpies, Post-Its and tape in a kitchen drawer for just this purpose.





cjmmytunes said:


> Same here, and I also keep old bread twist ties in a ziplock baggie.  Never know when you need them.



This is what junk drawers are for. . .


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> This is what junk drawers are for. . .


I have junk drawers. These particular items are in the silverware drawer because it's in the peninsula on the side where I prep items to be stored in the fridge, freezer or cupboards, so I don't have to go around to the other side of the kitchen to get them.


----------



## dragnlaw

I have 3 "snack size" baggies.  One with twist ties, one with elastics, and one with the plastic bread closures.

Very handy. Just did this recently and can't believe I never did it before!


----------



## cjmmytunes

Our junk drawer is actually next to our silverware drawer, and it has one the the silverware dividers in it also for pencils, ink pens, and other such things.  At the end of the drawer closest to the pull handle is where the zip bag is.


----------



## JoAnn L.

I have been watching an Iris plant getting ready to bloom when I looked at it this morning all the flower buds but one were gone. It looks like a rabbit ate them and alot of the leaves on the stem. I was so disappointed.


----------



## GotGarlic

JoAnn L. said:


> I have been watching an Iris plant getting ready to bloom when I looked at it this morning all the flower buds but one were gone. It looks like a rabbit ate them and alot of the leaves on the stem. I was so disappointed.


Aw, that's annoying


----------



## taxlady

JoAnn L. said:


> I have been watching an Iris plant getting ready to bloom when I looked at it this morning all the flower buds but one were gone. It looks like a rabbit ate them and alot of the leaves on the stem. I was so disappointed.


Oh no!


----------



## Cheryl J

Aww, I'm sorry to hear that, JoAnn.  Irises are sooo pretty, too.


----------



## Dawgluver

Bummer, JoAnn.  My bunnies drive me crazy here too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Too hot to weed and by the time it cools down, too dark.  I can't seem to get moving early in the morning on my days off, tend to sleep until it gets hot.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I have trouble getting around to doing anything the day after I've done something, *PF*. I hate to admit I just might be getting a wee bit old.  

*JoAnn*, I'm sorry you had bunny issues with your iris flowers. I'm lucky - I have intact iris in the front yard while Bun-Bun stays out back mowing down the weeds.



I'm just sitting around thinking of all the work I could have gotten done had I not sat around a good part of the day. Eh, whatever.


----------



## JoAnn L.

I guess I should be glad the rabbit left me one flower. They also nibble on certain ones of my hostas. I have learned to put fences around those.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Some people are so rude!  I was in Walmart, getting ready to get get the last package of Bibb lettuce on the shelf.  A teenager reached in front of me and knocked my hand away so he could get it.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I had a duck sitting on a nest for the past month. Now she is just gone. No sign of her no sign of her eggs. They should have hatched. Another duck had a nice nest started. Whole bunch of eggs in it. Its gone too. Every time they get a good pile going they dissappear. I don't know what the heck is going on.


----------



## taxlady

cjmmytunes said:


> Some people are so rude!  I was in Walmart, getting ready to get get the last package of Bibb lettuce on the shelf.  A teenager reached in front of me and knocked my hand away so he could get it.


 That is rude. Sorry to read that that happened to you.


----------



## taxlady

Farmer Jon said:


> I had a duck sitting on a nest for the past month. Now she is just gone. No sign of her no sign of her eggs. They should have hatched. Another duck had a nice nest started. Whole bunch of eggs in it. Its gone too. Every time they get a good pile going they dissappear. I don't know what the heck is going on.


Well that sucks lemons. Keep us up to date on this mystery.


----------



## dragnlaw

I hear yuh, *Jon*!  I've lost geese/goslings/eggs - eggs to rats, goslings to  racoons/fox and full grown geese to fox and coyotes.  Luckily I have not had weasels.  

The worst was the half grown goslings, the last surviving two from the year before, were gone in the morning when I went to let them all out.  Found 1 (one!) leg and nothing else.  Finally figured a fox was squeezing in between the bottom-half door and the top-half. A tight squeeze and how he jumped up and squeezed back with a gosling is beyond me, not just once but twice. Could have been a pair.


----------



## cjmmytunes

taxlady said:


> That is rude. Sorry to read that that happened to you.



Thank you.  I went back about 10 minutes later and was able to get one - and noticed a manager was watching the produce section very closely.  Wonder if the rascal did something similar to someone else and they complained to management.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

**#!!?%* mosquito*

Vicious little vampire, I had one zipping and buzzing around me last night. Tried to kill it when it landed on my arm...gave myself a red mark that lasted about an hour. Then I heard her buzzing around my head - kept making sweeping gestures over my head, trying to send it off in Himself's direction. Nope, still buzzing. Then I see and hear it going past my face, raise my hand quickly to swat it...and plow my thumbnail straight into my lower lip.   Dang, the lip wouldn't stop bleeding. Held a paper towel with ice cubes wrapped inside to it for about 10-15 minutes. The bleeding stopped, but I thought I had given myself frostbite. Today, I look like I got into a fight, what with my swollen lower lip. Anyone say anything to me and I'll have to reply "So, you should have seen the OTHER guy!"

About that other "guy", AKA mosquito. Dang her, she ended up getting two bites out of me.  Pardon my while I go scratch the bumps...


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Vicious little vampire, I had one zipping and buzzing around me last night. Tried to kill it when it landed on my arm...gave myself a red mark that lasted about an hour. Then I heard her buzzing around my head - kept making sweeping gestures over my head, trying to send it off in Himself's direction. Nope, still buzzing. Then I see and hear it going past my face, raise my hand quickly to swat it...and plow my thumbnail straight into my lower lip.   Dang, the lip wouldn't stop bleeding. Held a paper towel with ice cubes wrapped inside to it for about 10-15 minutes. The bleeding stopped, but I thought I had given myself frostbite. Today, I look like I got into a fight, what with my swollen lower lip. Anyone say anything to me and I'll have to reply "So, you should have seen the OTHER guy!"
> 
> About that other "guy", AKA mosquito. Dang her, she ended up getting two bites out of me.  Pardon my while I go scratch the bumps...



Next time get a dryer sheet and rub your exposed skin with it. Bugs do not like those little sheets. I have a paper giving me a whole long list of what those sheets are good for.


----------



## Dawgluver

I looked down at my pinky toe this morning.  It looks like Frankentoe, like it was sewn back on with bloody stitches.  I'm thinking, how the heck did I do that?  Figured it out.  I rammed my toe into the corner of the chest in front of my chair this morning.  Oh, appears that I did the same thing last night.  Doesn't hurt, but looks pretty cool.


----------



## dragnlaw

Went to the freezer today, dug out the bag with pork chops. Was hankering for some devine by brine. Then also thought I would also dig out some chicken of some sort and let defrost while I browsed some recipes for Sat. 

Got some out of the main bag, closed it up shut the door, and looked around for my chop...  no where to be seen...  looked at the dog and thought, hmmm...  walked around but then thought, there was no way she had time to scarf it up.  She didn't leave the area, just lying there waiting for me to do...  whatever!  

I was starting to get rather upset. Opened the freezer and started poking around on the different shelves (it's an upright)...   nope...  nada..  so went back to the bag of chops and...    there it was!  

So why oh why, on this little green earth, did I put that chop back in there!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!


----------



## cjmmytunes

Cooking Goddess said:


> still buzzing. Then I see and hear it going past my face, raise my hand quickly to swat it...and plow my thumbnail straight into my lower lip.   Dang, the lip wouldn't stop bleeding. Held a paper towel with ice cubes wrapped inside to it for about 10-15 minutes. The bleeding stopped, but I thought I had given myself frostbite. Today, I look like I got into a fight, what with my swollen lower lip. Anyone say anything to me and I'll have to reply "So, you should have seen the OTHER guy!"



Oh no!  Hope your lip looks better this morning.  At least you didn't have to have stitches in your lip - I hope.


----------



## Mad Cook

Farmer Jon said:


> I had a duck sitting on a nest for the past month. Now she is just gone. No sign of her no sign of her eggs. They should have hatched. Another duck had a nice nest started. Whole bunch of eggs in it. Its gone too. Every time they get a good pile going they dissappear. I don't know what the heck is going on.


Could the ducks have gone because the eggs have been stolen? Could the thief be rats? They have been known to take whole eggs away (my grandmother was a farmer's daughter and not given to telling me "porkies")


----------



## Caslon

It's 3:00 AM in the morning.  The wired smoke detector in the hall starts beeping LOUD every 30 seconds. The hard wired smoke detector demands a 9v battery as back up.  You don't have a 9 volt battery to shut it up. You almost want to tear the smoke detector off the ceiling. You have to make a trip to the store to buy a 9V battery to stop the beeping.

It's meant to saves lives,  no doubt.  3:00 AM in the morning every 30 seconds. BEEP!  No 9V battery in the house!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Mad Cook said:


> Could the ducks have gone because the eggs have been stolen? Could the thief be rats? They have been known to take whole eggs away (my grandmother was a farmer's daughter and not given to telling me "porkies")


I don't think so. They are Just gone. I moved them into a new coop with a decent fence. One of the hens I have left already made a nest. Maybe I will get something yet.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Caslon said:


> It's 3:00 AM in the morning.  The wired smoke detector in the hall starts beeping LOUD every 30 seconds. The hard wired smoke detector demands a 9v battery as back up.  You don't have a 9 volt battery to shut it up. You almost want to tear the smoke detector off the ceiling. You have to make a trip to the store to buy a 9V battery to stop the beeping.
> 
> It's meant to saves lives,  no doubt.  3:00 AM in the morning every 30 seconds. BEEP!  No 9V battery in the house!


What a pain, *Caslon*. We have smoke detectors that have battery back-up, but to change the battery Himself has to detach the unit from the ceiling. It connects with a bayonet mounting to the ceiling, and when he drops it down to change the battery he also has access to the clip that connects the wires into the electrical wiring. All he has to do is squeeze on the clip and pull gently and *tada* the smoke detector is in his hand and mercifully silenced.

Bet you keep a back-up 9V battery or two in the house from now on...


----------



## Caslon

What's weird /stupid about my wired detector is you have to put the backup 9V battery facing backwards and hope it connects up right when you close the battery drawer shut.  There's not even an indicator on the battery drawer showing you the correct polarity.


----------



## Addie

We have a dual detector in our apartments. Which think is a waste of money. Carbon dioxide does not rise, it settles down while the smoke rises. The one we have has been telling us to press the reset button. Every five days this happens. Pirate has to climb the kitchen stool and press the dang thing. Our manager has been attending company classes. When she comes back I am demanding a new one. We even put in a new battery. This detector has been in since I moved here more than ten years. This brand is supposed to be replaced every five years. This happens when you go for the lowest bidder. You get what you ask for.


----------



## dragnlaw

Caslon, I finally threw the breaker off - mine would chirp when there was high humidity then sound off when it was raining, if I boiled water, made toast, ...  plus being hardwired it would sound all the others in the house at the same time.

I'll never allow another hardwired again.


----------



## Just Cooking

Our landlord just installed new alarms.. The batteries are good for 10 years... Saves me from changing them yearly plus, he pays for them.. The units cost $150 each but, he says that they are well worth it as, they are tied into his phone and he is alerted if/when one goes off..

Ross


----------



## cjmmytunes

I just tried the Tiramisu Greek yogurt - too much coffee flavor & not enough chocolate flavor.  Any suggestions?


----------



## Snip 13

cjmmytunes said:


> I just tried the Tiramisu Greek yogurt - too much coffee flavor & not enough chocolate flavor.  Any suggestions?



Add some milk, choc powder and blend. And then don't buy it again.
I mix most of my yogurt with milk to make it drinking yogurt. I find most to be too sweet.


----------



## Addie

Just Cooking said:


> Our landlord just installed new alarms.. The batteries are good for 10 years... Saves me from changing them yearly plus, he pays for them.. The units cost $150 each but, he says that they are well worth it as, they are tied into his phone and he is alerted if/when one goes off..
> Ross



The law in this state requires only hardwire alarms. None that can be removed and take with you. And they have to have AA batteries in case the power is lost. The landlord is responsible for checking it once a year and that the tenant has not removed the batteries because they need them for personal use. Less and less you hear of anyone being killed in a fire due to no alarm in the apartments or houses. And the law covers privately owned homes also. 

When I lived in Everett, the landlord put a hardwire in each of the three apartments and in the front and back hallway on the first floor in case of a cellar fire. The girl on the first floor lit the BBQ grill outside in the yard, but right next to the open back door. She completely forgot about it and the back hall fill with smoke. Set off all the alarms in the building. I suggested of taking classes in finances, she enroll in culinary school. The fireman started to laugh and agreed with me.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie, we live in "this state", have approved detectors, and ours take 9 Volt batteries. We've never bothered to look for the circuit breaker because if one starts chirping Himself can unplug it from its electrical source. We have to have working smoke detectors in all the proper places when we go to list our house, and if they aren't there when we vacate we'd be in trouble. And if you watched the news, you would know people are still dying in house/apartment fires...unless good neighbors pound on doors to alert people or risk their lives to rush in and save them before the firemen arrive.


----------



## Addie

Unfortunately there are folks who will take the battery out when they don't feel like making a run to the store. And there are landlords who still haven't put in a hardwire detector. They need to be reported by their tenants. And they can't be evicted for six months for putting in a complaint. The landlord cannot take any action against a tenant for reporting something to the authorities.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Snip 13 said:


> Add some milk, choc powder and blend. And then don't buy it again.
> I mix most of my yogurt with milk to make it drinking yogurt. I find most to be too sweet.



Scared the milk will add to many carbs to it, but I WILL try the chocolate powder the next time I eat it.


----------



## GotGarlic

cjmmytunes said:


> Scared the milk will add to many carbs to it, but I WILL try the chocolate powder the next time I eat it.


You could get plain yogurt and add your own flavorings. I do that and add vanilla extract, honey, Penzeys Pie Spice and some nuts. You can also add fresh fruit or jam. Yogurt and milk both have lots of protein, which slows down absorption of the carbs.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cj, there are good carbs and bad carbs. I found a good article that briefly explains the differences: http://ejgh.org/component/content/article?id=512:good-carb-bad-carb-the-truth-about-carbohydrates

Also, what GG said about buying plain yogurt. I buy plain Greek yogurt by the 1 quart or 1 kilo, then add cut up fresh fruit, or walnuts and honey to that serving. So much tastier than the pre-mixed stuff. Watch the serving size, though. While the quart or kilo says approximately 4 serving, you can easily get 6 or 7 servings equivalent to the single serving cups.


----------



## Themommychef

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cj, there are good carbs and bad carbs. I found a good article that briefly explains the differences: EJGH
> 
> Also, what GG said about buying plain yogurt. I buy plain Greek yogurt by the 1 quart or 1 kilo, then add cut up fresh fruit, or walnuts and honey to that serving. So much tastier than the pre-mixed stuff. Watch the serving size, though. While the quart or kilo says approximately 4 serving, you can easily get 6 or 7 servings equivalent to the single serving cups.




Thanks for sharing


----------



## Dawgluver

For some odd reason, my state has decided to legalize and sell fireworks locally.  Used to be you got to see pros who know what they're doing shoot off lovely displays from barges on the river.  Now anyone can buy them.  What a great idea!  Not.  The first known casualty was a teen who was taken to the ER after blowing his hand off, they weren't able to reattach it.  I expect to hear of more injuries coming soon, along with burned roofs and property.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Awright Dawg! *glad to see they took my advice....


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*dragn*, Himself and I refer to that as "just thinning the herd".


----------



## Dawgluver

Hm.  Apparently that includes the poor dogs and the veterans with PTSD too.


----------



## dragnlaw

NEVER Dawg...  that statement was for imbecilic politicians, not ones that had no choice!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Dawg*, is your comment in reference to fireworks, or removing labels? As far as vets and dogs, I think anyone who has issues with loud, sudden noises should be able to get a sign from their town/city hall to put in their yard identifying them as having PTSD and asking for a little kindness. I know if Himself had issues with fireworks I would have strangled the neighbor who always puts on a show every 4th of July...and Memorial Day...and Labor Day...and Father's Day...

Meanwhile, people with skittish dogs just need to do what works for them. See my neighbor comment above.


----------



## Dawgluver

The guys buying fireworks, I wouldn't trust with a Bic lighter.  And now the season extends from the end of June to mid January.


----------



## dragnlaw

The* best* neighbours are the ones who come/send around, about a week before and tell you that they are going to have a BIG (stick in the word "very noisy") party on such'n such a date and that you are more than welcome to come and join them...  and even better are the ones who say the party will be ending at a specific time. 

But I agree, too many fireworks, nope...  have some discretion/appreciation/empathy for those who do not like/want fireworks! 

On the other hand, if you know of a situation like that - become involved - or involve some authority to help!  Perhaps they could pay for a ticket for them to go somewhere if they absolutely must celebrate.

At the same time perhaps lobby or push for your local bylaws to limit such celebrations to once/twice a year....  and be sure to specify that it is within a certain area.


----------



## Dawgluver

My neighbors I can talk to, they're not the culprits.  It's the townies who will have the problems.  Sure hope no-one gets hurt, loses their dogs, or won't be able to get their babies back to sleep!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ditto that, *Dawg*.

Heh, *dragn*, private fireworks are against the law in MA. Didn't stop our neighbor. He is a jerk, and his wife is a witch. And no one we would party with. We got into the habit of going somewhere on any day we thought could be a problem. He hasn't done much with the fireworks lately - he hasn't bought/shot off much ever since the cops came and took away about $200 of them...and he still  had more in the house. 

I have to admit, since he was hauled off to jail in handcuffs about a year and a half ago, and then couldn't move back home for months (I'm guessing he had to go through some sort of husband re-edumacation training...), things have been better next door.


----------



## Caslon

California being a tinder dry state in the summer allows only the most "Safe and Sane" fireworks. They are boring. On the other hand, local professionally done 4th of July fireworks makes up for that.  A lot of people get injured annually trying to accomplish such a show.

I used to live on the east coast USA where you can still buy 4th of July fireworks that are more risky than California's Safe and Sane fireworks.  I still have all my appendages.


----------



## CakePoet

I lost a friend due to malfunction incorrectly packaged  Chinese fire work.  They found out after  that the people injured was using the same fire works from the same company, they tested the  left over "cakes" and found out  fuse problems and  also much more  gunpowder then allowed. Some had twice the charge on what was said on the box.

We have now stricter rules fire works, but that wont give my friend his head back.


----------



## cjmmytunes

GotGarlic said:


> You could get plain yogurt and add your own flavorings. I do that and add vanilla extract, honey, Penzeys Pie Spice and some nuts. You can also add fresh fruit or jam. Yogurt and milk both have lots of protein, which slows down absorption of the carbs.



That's something I never thought about - I may do that sometime.  Thanks for the suggestion.  Someone told me something similar on one of my diabetes forums, but they add the individually packaged drink mixes.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> I used to live on the east coast USA where you can still buy 4th of July fireworks that are more risky than California's Safe and Sane fireworks.  I still have all my appendages.



Depends on where you are on the east coast. Fireworks are illegal in Virginia, but not in North Carolina.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cj, there are good carbs and bad carbs. I found a good article that briefly explains the differences: EJGH
> 
> Also, what GG said about buying plain yogurt. I buy plain Greek yogurt by the 1 quart or 1 kilo, then add cut up fresh fruit, or walnuts and honey to that serving. So much tastier than the pre-mixed stuff. Watch the serving size, though. While the quart or kilo says approximately 4 serving, you can easily get 6 or 7 servings equivalent to the single serving cups.



I've noticed that the single serving containers are 5.9 oz. instead of 8 oz.  Maybe it's because of the fruits and stuff that are in them, where as the plain in the big containers just has the yogurt itself for carb count.


----------



## GotGarlic

cjmmytunes said:


> That's something I never thought about - I may do that sometime.  Thanks for the suggestion.  Someone told me something similar on one of my diabetes forums, but they add the individually packaged drink mixes.


Cool  Drink mixes? That sounds weird to me. I first had yogurt this way when I was in Turkey. It was so delicious  We have it for dessert sometimes and I mix in chocolate and peanut butter chips.


----------



## cjmmytunes

GotGarlic said:


> Cool  Drink mixes? That sounds weird to me. I first had yogurt this way when I was in Turkey. It was so delicious  We have it for dessert sometimes and I mix in chocolate and peanut butter chips.



That's another thing I will have to try - I also have heard o mixing the drink mixes in with a cheese cake batter and making low-carb mini cheesecake muffins.  I'll have to find the link and post it.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Ditto that, *Dawg*.
> 
> Heh, *dragn*, private fireworks *are against the law in MA*. Didn't stop our neighbor. He is a jerk, and his wife is a witch. And no one we would party with. We got into the habit of going somewhere on any day we thought could be a problem. He hasn't done much with the fireworks lately - he hasn't bought/shot off much ever since the cops came and took away about $200 of them...and he still  had more in the house.
> 
> I have to admit, since he was hauled off to jail in handcuffs about a year and a half ago, and then couldn't move back home for months (I'm guessing he had to go through some sort of husband re-edumacation training...), things have been better next door.



But trust me, the closer you live in MA to NH the more firecrackers you hear. The neighbors that live across the street from this building (for the elderly), the police do not respond to complaints. And you can be sure most of the folks in this building have called every year. Personally, it doesn't bother me. They only do it on July 4th every year and put on quite a show. But I am concerned that they will land on a roof and cause a fire. 

When Poo was growing up, he best friend had a briefcase full of firecrackers from NH. The Juvenile Police Officer knew of his previous activities from previous years with firecrackers. So he stopped Poo and his friend. I just happened to be outside in the front yard when I saw the police car stop. He was talking to Poo and Sven. And he was putting them in his car. I got up there in a hurry. Identified myself and that Poo was my child. We talked for a few minutes and told him to take Poo down to the station. That I would be down in about 30 minutes or so to rescue him. That scared the bejesus out of my son. Thirty minutes was just long enough to breakup the friendship with Sven. Poo thought for sure I was not coming down for him. And he never wanted to be around any kid ever that had illegal fireworks again.


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> I've noticed that the single serving containers are 5.9 oz. instead of 8 oz.  Maybe it's because of the fruits and stuff that are in them, where as the plain in the big containers just has the yogurt itself for carb count.



All products are now downsized. And it is always some odd size or weight that makes it more difficult for a diabetic to keep track of their intake of carbs.


----------



## Kayelle

Caslon said:


> California being a tinder dry state in the summer allows only the most "Safe and Sane" fireworks. They are boring. On the other hand, local professionally done 4th of July fireworks makes up for that.  A lot of people get injured annually trying to accomplish such a show.
> 
> I used to live on the east coast USA where you can still buy 4th of July fireworks that are more risky than California's Safe and Sane fireworks.  I still have all my appendages.



Caslon, California's "safe and sane" fireworks are a tragic joke. There are *NO* "safe and sane" fireworks if *fire* is involved. All towns here in Ventura County are prohibited from selling them except for one little town near us, and they sell thousands of dollars worth every year. They are only legal to be sold and used in that town (Fillmore) but we all know how that goes.
There just isn't enough police force to do much about it. They *all *should be put out of business for the safety of everyone!!


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> We have a dual detector in our apartments. Which think is a waste of money. Carbon dioxide does not rise, it settles down while the smoke rises. The one we have has been telling us to press the reset button. Every five days this happens. Pirate has to climb the kitchen stool and press the dang thing. Our manager has been attending company classes. When she comes back I am demanding a new one. We even put in a new battery. This detector has been in since I moved here more than ten years. This brand is supposed to be replaced every five years. This happens when you go for the lowest bidder. You get what you ask for.


Carbon dioxide detectors are not a waste of money. They save lives. I worked for several years on the gas emergency service over here and if you'd had to send as many engineers to fatalities due to carbon monoxide poisoning and had to deal with the paperwork because there were no CO monitors on site, as I have, you wouldn't quibble.

I have them in the rooms I have gas fires or the ch boiler and the cooker and wouldn't be without them. £35 per detector is cheap compared to the cost of a funeral.

Yours is probably due for replacement. Over hear ours have a 5 year life-span


----------



## Andy M.

CO detectors usually come with instructions to mount them 2ft.-3ft. off the floor.

Our neighbors' lives were saved by CO detectors a few years ago. Husband, wife and two children.

MA requires one on every level.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Caslon, California's "safe and sane" fireworks are a tragic joke. There are *NO* "safe and sane" fireworks if *fire* is involved. All towns here in Ventura County are prohibited from selling them except for one little town near us, and they sell thousands of dollars worth every year. They are only legal to be sold and used in that town (Fillmore) but we all know how that goes.
> There just isn't enough police force to do much about it. They *all *should be put out of business for the safety of everyone!!



Sounds like NH having all the MASS folks making their yearly trip over the border. On some days there are State Troopers on the Mass side stopping every car and searching them for fireworks. The fireworks are confiscated and then they get a very expensive ticket for bring illegal items into the state over the border. The next day you read letters in The Boston Globe from irate citizens about the cost of the ticket. But they will be back next year doing the same thing.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> CO detectors usually come with instructions to mount them 2ft.-3ft. off the floor.
> 
> Our neighbors' lives were saved by CO detectors a few years ago. Husband, wife and two children.
> 
> MA requires one on every level.



You and I know that Andy, but the idiots that run this place are more interested in saving money, than safety. We have five HUGE gas burners on the first floor for forced hot air heating. If one of them or even all of them become dysfunctional the fumes will come right into the apartments. We are screwed.

But I will give management some credit. They did respond quickly and put in a new one.


----------



## dragnlaw

Very true* Andy*...   assuming one reads the instructions.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> All products are now downsized. And it is always some odd size or weight that makes it more difficult for a diabetic to keep track of their intake of carbs.



I know, Addie - I have an app on my phone that I can type something in and it will give me the nutrition info.  I also have a web site on the PC that I use to store my notes (meds, bs readings, and meals) and can print them out if I want to for Dr appointments.


----------



## Addie

cjmmytunes said:


> I know, Addie - I have an app on my phone that I can type something in and it will give me the nutrition info.  I also have a web site on the PC that I use to store my notes (meds, bs readings, and meals) and can print them out if I want to for Dr appointments.



I am terrible at taking my sugar readings. I do them when there is a commercial on regarding a diabetic product. Or someone mentions it. (Be right back, have to do a sugar reading.) 

I am back. 137. Not bad considering I just ate some scrambled eggs with some caramelized Vidalia onions for breakfast. When I get around to it, I enter my numbers into a Windows Calc program. Then print it out whenever I have an appointment for Winthrop. I have just one column for "Date Last Printed." That way I am not wasting paper printing the whole thing every time. Winthrop has given up trying to get me to test my sugar more often and on a regular basis. Two or three times a week is enough for me. And they accept that. 

I have a program that when I plug my glucometer in, it reads all my readings and all the other information pertinent to what Winthrop needs to know. But it doesn't show in figures my information. It is in all charts. So I don't use it at all.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie, I guess that because I'm on insulin I feel like I need to be more detailed in my readings and such.  On my next appointment my PCP and I have some things to discuss.  I want to switch from a pre-mixed insulin to a long acting and rapid acting separately.  I tend to be high in the mornings and low in the evenings.  I'm going to print out things from the last 3 months and show them to her and maybe it will help illustrate why I want to switch.


----------



## GotGarlic

cjmmytunes said:


> Addie, I guess that because I'm on insulin I feel like I need to be more detailed in my readings and such.  On my next appointment my PCP and I have some things to discuss.  I want to switch from a pre-mixed insulin to a long acting and rapid acting separately.  I tend to be high in the mornings and low in the evenings.  I'm going to print out things from the last 3 months and show them to her and maybe it will help illustrate why I want to switch.


You're doing the right thing. My aunt had Type 1 diabetes and she checked her sugar four or five times a day. She lived much longer than her doctors expected because she was so diligent about it.


----------



## Caslon

Andy M. said:


> CO detectors usually come with instructions to mount them 2ft.-3ft. off the floor.
> 
> Our neighbors' lives were saved by CO detectors a few years ago. Husband, wife and two children.
> 
> MA requires one on every level.



 keep a 9v battery around, just to stop the beep... ...the beep!


----------



## Andy M.

More than a dozen years ago, MA made CO detectors mandatory.  I went out and bought three, one for each level of the home.

They are set up so that, after 10 years in place, a beeping starts that cannot be stopped.  It appears the useful life is 10 years and you HAVE TO replace the devices.


----------



## Caslon

Andy M. said:


> More than a dozen years ago, MA made CO detectors mandatory.  I went out and bought three, one for each level of the home.
> 
> They are set up so that, after 10 years in place, a beeping starts that cannot be stopped.  It appears the useful life is 10 years and you HAVE TO replace the devices.



My hard wired Smoke/CO detector with battery backup will beep when it itself is on it's last legs?   I should say so!


----------



## Andy M.

Caslon said:


> My hard wired Smoke/CO detector with battery backup will beep when it itself is on it's last legs?   I should say so!



We have hard wired smoke detectors but there's no battery backup and they are silent unless I'm cooking!


----------



## Just Cooking

Andy M. said:


> We have hard wired smoke detectors but there's no battery backup and they are silent unless I'm cooking!


   Before using my stove top grill (no outside grill) I have to close the hall door or noise ensues...  

Ross


----------



## Caslon

Andy M. said:


> More than a dozen years ago, MA made CO detectors mandatory.  I went out and bought three, one for each level of the home.
> 
> They are set up so that, after 10 years in place, a beeping starts that cannot be stopped.  It appears the useful life is 10 years and you HAVE TO replace the devices.



Interesting.  So...even hard wired smoke detectors have a lifespan.   They should make it talk when they're done.  "Replace me"   "Replace me."


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> Interesting.  So...even hard wired smoke detectors have a lifespan.   They should make it talk when they're done.  "Replace me"   "Replace me."



They do talk to you. And they won't shut up until you replace them. No matter how many times you change the battery. Or even press the reset button. They will do that for about five days, then constantly. No shutting them up then. Do you have a record of when you installed yours?


----------



## Andy M.

Caslon said:


> Interesting.  So...even hard wired smoke detectors have a lifespan.   They should make it talk when they're done.  "Replace me"   "Replace me."



My smoke detectors are hard wired and only beep when there's smoke.

My CO detectors are battery operated and chirp.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Just Cooking said:


> Before using my stove top grill (no outside grill) I have to close the hall door or noise ensues...
> 
> Ross



Do you have a fan over your stove top that you can turn on when you are using the grill?


----------



## Just Cooking

cjmmytunes said:


> Do you have a fan over your stove top that you can turn on when you are using the grill?





No fan...  The apartment, while very nice, was built in the 50's and none of the kitchens (8 units) have fans..  I have to clean walls and cabinets frequently which is ok..

Ross


----------



## cjmmytunes

Just Cooking said:


> No fan...  The apartment, while very nice, was built in the 50's and none of the kitchens (8 units) have fans..  I have to clean walls and cabinets frequently which is ok..
> 
> Ross



I'm sorry.  I wouldn't give up my stove fan for a pretty penny.


----------



## Caslon

If a wired smoke detector beeps to remind you the back up battery needs replacing, what does the smoke detector do when the unit itself needs replacing?  Beep some more?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Caslon said:


> If a wired smoke detector beeps to remind you the back up battery needs replacing, what does the smoke detector do when the unit itself needs replacing?  Beep some more?



Is this a trick question?


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> If a wired smoke detector beeps to remind you the back up battery needs replacing, what does the smoke detector do when the unit itself needs replacing?  Beep some more?



No. It talks to you. Replace! Replace  your unit. Over and over and over. Until you disconnect it and put up a new one. At least ours do talk. I guess most of them just keep beeping. 

We have folks who love to cook with smoke. Or so it seems. Usually the detector in the apartment goes off. And if the smoke gets out into the hall, it sets off the hideous main alarm that hurts everyone's ears. If it is a false alarm as it usually is, there is a $300 fine for any false ones after the first three. That doesn't make management happy. 

One tenant started to cook supper for her and her mother. Then they decided to go out and eat instead. Forgot what was cooking in the oven. That disaster turned to flames in the oven and smoke throughout the whole building. So much fun living here.


----------



## Caslon

Addie said:


> No. It talks to you. Replace! Replace  your unit. Over and over and over. Until you disconnect it and put up a new one. At least ours do talk. I guess most of them just keep beeping.



 I suppose if you replace the back up battery correctly, the unit will last forever? 
I've not Googled the life expectancy of wired smoke detectors.  Smoke detectors have  some kind of radioactive element in them.  Maybe they last decades, if powered.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> I suppose if you replace the back up battery correctly, the unit will last forever?
> I've not Googled the life expectancy of wired smoke detectors.  Smoke detectors have  some kind of radioactive element in them.  Maybe they last decades, if powered.



I forget which is which, but one is good for ten years and the other for five. And even if they are hard wired, when the time is up, it will beep constantly. Even if you insert the batteries correctly. They are not designed to last forever. There is no profit for the makers in that idea. 

They will beep constantly. If you are hard of hearing or completely deaf, they have a light bulb attached to it and it will blink constantly and beep. In most households, not every member of the family is deaf. So both are covered.


----------



## Mad Cook

I have white hair (started going that way when I was in my 40s) and often need to use a walking stick (result of too many horse-related falls). Can someone explain to me *exactly *why these two things indicate that my brain has turned to jelly? Ok, so I'm 68 but I "have all my chairs at home"  (an old Lancashire expression for being in charge of my mental faculties).

I've recently had to use my stick quite a lot. Shop assistants and other similar people have started calling me "Dear" and "Sweetheart" and offering to help me chose the right goods on the shelves (not reach them down - actually choose the one they think I should have).

Do you get a 1980s UK sit. com. called "Waiting For God"? About a couple of elderly people who create havoc in a care home? Well, the character "Diana Trent" is my heroine and role model. I'm considering buying a cattle prod to take with me when I go out!!!!


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook, I'm a year younger than you and waiting for my hair to go all white so I can dye it pink or blue or purple without having to bleach it. Just a thought.


----------



## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> I have white hair (started going that way when I was in my 40s) and often need to use a walking stick (result of too many horse-related falls). Can someone explain to me *exactly *why these two things indicate that my brain has turned to jelly? Ok, so I'm 68 but I "have all my chairs at home"  (an old Lancashire expression for being in charge of my mental faculties).
> 
> I've recently had to use my stick quite a lot. Shop assistants and other similar people have started calling me "Dear" and "Sweetheart" and offering to help me chose the right goods on the shelves (not reach them down - actually choose the one they think I should have).
> 
> Do you get a 1980s UK sit. com. called *"Waiting For God"? *About a couple of elderly people who create havoc in a care home? Well, the character "Diana Trent" is my heroine and role model. I'm considering buying a cattle prod to take with me when I go out!!!!



Yes, we used to. I never missed an episode. We had a show called "The odd Couple." Oscar was the slob. He was the hero to my three sons.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Mad Cook*, love the 'dry' British humour of their sit-coms....   think I mentioned this before, have nicknamed (but not to her face) one sister Hyacinth, another sister is Violet on the hill, and I'm either Rose or Daisy - depending on my mood.  Waiting for God, Are you being Served, a couple of others I can't think of right at the moment. 

and yes,... * go for the cattle prod!* LOL.   

I too, am often in need of walking with a cane. Mostly due to arthritis in my feet (toes) all having been broken by being stepped on by the horses.  I hear you loud and clear!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Mad Cook said:


> ...Do you get a 1980s UK sit. com. called "Waiting For God"? About a couple of elderly people who create havoc in a care home? Well, the character "Diana Trent" is my heroine and role model. I'm considering buying a cattle prod to take with me when I go out!!!!


I suggest you use a riding crop. Obviously you don't need one for a very well-behaved Horse, but it would be useful on those clerks and such. Very appropriate, too, since your cane is needed for riding related falls. 

I had not heard of "Waiting for God", so I looked it up. Sounds like a fun sit-com, so I ordered up the DVD for the first season from the library. This also reminded me that we watched a year of "Rosemary and Thyme", but never went back for the rest of the series - another two years. I think we'll be reacquainting ourselves with Rosemary and Laura after we've watched "Waiting for God". Thanks for the suggestion and the memory jog.


----------



## Mad Cook

taxlady said:


> Mad Cook, I'm a year younger than you and waiting for my hair to go all white so I can dye it pink or blue or purple without having to bleach it. Just a thought.


Oh yes, Taxlady I'm thinking of doing that, too..


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> Yes, we used to. I never missed an episode. We had a show called "The odd Couple." Oscar was the slob. He was the hero to my three sons.


Oh yes, I remember "The Odd Couple" from years back


----------



## taxlady

Mad Cook said:


> Oh yes, Taxlady I'm thinking of doing that, too..


I get the impression that older ladies with outrageous hair colours get taken more seriously by younger people. As though it makes them realize that we are keeping up with the world.


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> *Mad Cook*, love the 'dry' British humour of their sit-coms....   think I mentioned this before, have nicknamed (but not to her face) one sister* Hyacinth*, another sister is Violet on the hill, and I'm either Rose or Daisy - depending on my mood.  Waiting for God, Are you being Served, a couple of others I can't think of right at the moment.
> 
> and yes,... * go for the cattle prod!* LOL.
> 
> I too, am often in need of walking with a cane. Mostly due to arthritis in my feet (toes) all having been broken by being stepped on by the horses.  I hear you loud and clear!



My sister was the epitome of Hyacinth. She never served coffee or tea in a mug. *HORRORS!* You had to have a cup and saucer. She also felt that a table cloth was preferable, it was a lot of work to wash and iron it. So she unwilling settled for cloth placemats. And she had a teapot for her afternoon tea. Even when she was alone in the house. When I told her I had a large Brown Betty tea pot from England, she just had to have it. Gave it to her gladly. I use teabags. Which told her I was definitely not headed for heaven.


----------



## CharlieD

Can't say I blame your sister, properly brewed and served tea makes difference


----------



## Farmer Jon

taxlady said:


> I get the impression that older ladies with outrageous hair colours get taken more seriously by younger people. As though it makes them realize that we are keeping up with the world.


Maybe so but mostly they just get laughed at. Ive heard it. Haha look at that old lady thinking shes young. Grow up grandma. They are pretty cruel. Especially to the older ladies who want to wear the same styles as thier teen age daughters. 


I hope I didn't hurt any feelings. Just sharing my observations.


----------



## Merlot

Speaking of rainbow colored hair, there was a girl I work with that went viral online because of her rainbow colored hair.  Someone told her she shouldn't be working with the elderly looking like that.  She's a real sweet gal.  We also have a caretaker who is probably in her 60's, she has long blond hair down to her butt.  Underneath her hair she had rainbow stripes,  looked real pretty when she brushed her hair to the side, sortive a surprise!  
I say, do whatever makes you the happiest and there are always going to be people for or against it., just keep that in mind to begin with and you will be ok!  People can be cruel.


----------



## Merlot

Farmer Jon said:


> Maybe so but mostly they just get laughed at. Ive heard it. Haha look at that old lady thinking shes young. Grow up grandma. They are pretty cruel. Especially to the older ladies who want to wear the same styles as thier teen age daughters.
> 
> 
> I hope I didn't hurt any feelings. Just sharing my observations.


some of those daughters need not be wearing what they do either, they had a work orientation and I saw two girls coming in, one had a crop top on and fitted pants (think yoga) and another's chest was literally bursting out of her top.  Now, don't get me wrong, they were killer shaped but come on gals, at work orientation?


----------



## Farmer Jon

I have a teen age daughter. I know how they dress and I dont approve. Her mother lets her dress however she wants. It was so bad one day I made her put on yoga pants because I wasn't going anywhere with her cheeks hanging out. She is 15.


----------



## Merlot

15 and beautiful I'm sure.  They don't realize the power they have!  She's trying to look pretty for the teenage boys!! All I can think about is my male coworker telling me how gross teen boys are.  He said you just don't even want to know what goes through their minds lol.  I have a 13 year old boy.... I don't know which is worse a teen girl or boy... scary little human beings &#55357;&#56883; The things they could do!


----------



## Farmer Jon

I was a teenager in the 80s and early 90s when the short shorts and short skirts were in style. Before the big baggy pants. I remember what it was like.


----------



## GotGarlic

Farmer Jon said:


> Maybe so but mostly they just get laughed at. Ive heard it. Haha look at that old lady thinking shes young. Grow up grandma. They are pretty cruel. Especially to the older ladies who want to wear the same styles as thier teen age daughters.
> 
> 
> I hope I didn't hurt any feelings. Just sharing my observations.


I don't know about mostly. Maybe where you are, but here it's pretty common. I have red and violet highlights and I love it  I have a friend who has all-white hair with a burst of fuchsia. She was a teacher so she's not going to be taking any guff from teenage girls [emoji38]

Here's how we of a mature age deal with the whipper snappers (warning: adult material ahead) : https://warningcurvesahead.com/2016/06/04/24-things-women-over-30-should-wear/


----------



## Merlot

Lol you must be about my age then, I'm 44.  Sounds like my era!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Small towns and rural communities and a lot different than citys. I personally don't care how someone dresses. I am last person that would criticize anyone. Especially the way I dress sometimes.


----------



## GotGarlic

Merlot said:


> Lol you must be about my age then, I'm 44.  Sounds like my era!


I've got a decade on you, sweetie


----------



## Farmer Jon

Merlot said:


> Lol you must be about my age then, I'm 44.  Sounds like my era!


Yep I'm 44 also.


----------



## Merlot

Haha!  I love it!!  (The website GG). My phone went wacky and didn't quote)


----------



## Merlot

A decade means nothing, I have friends of all ages!!


----------



## Merlot

Farmer Jon said:


> Yep I'm 44 also.


I knew it! Lol


----------



## Farmer Jon

Yep I had a mullet. It was almost down to my butt when I cut it.

All business up front and a party in the back! LMAO


----------



## Merlot

Farmer Jon said:


> Yep I had a mullet. It was almost down to my butt when I cut it.
> 
> All business up front and a party in the back! LMAO



LMAO!  You had the dream hair!  My hair would never get real high.  I proofed and sprayed and it only got so far!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Needed more aqua net!


----------



## GotGarlic

Merlot said:


> A decade means nothing, I have friends of all ages!!



   I went to my book club meeting last night - my friend who invited me is your age and everyone else is younger. Great fun!


----------



## Merlot

Farmer Jon said:


> Needed more aqua net!


I know, sigh... if only I knew then what I know now!!!


----------



## Merlot

GotGarlic said:


> I went to my book club meeting last night - my friend who invited me is your age and everyone else is younger. Great fun!



I wish I had a book club to go to, I love books as much as I love food things lol


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I read the other article on what women over 30 should not wear...Graphic Tees???  I would have to get all new tops.  Love my superhero T-Shirts.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I read the other article on what women over 30 should not wear...Graphic Tees???  I would have to get all new tops.  Love my superhero T-Shirts.


Such nonsense.

I tried to find a wonderful article about what older women should and shouldn't wear. It stuff like, "Wear clothes you love." "Wear comfortable clothing." I wish I could remember more of it.


----------



## Merlot

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I read the other article on what women over 30 should not wear...Graphic Tees???  I would have to get all new tops.  Love my superhero T-Shirts.



Oh my gosh, I think I read that same article because I thought that was ridiculous!  It also said not wearing sweatpants with words across the rear, like... juicy lol lol, (just for the record I don't lol)and short skirts... hoop earrings which I love, leopard print... to name a few


----------



## Just Cooking

Of course I'm a guy and have my own views but, I'll go with Jeannies thoughts on apparel...

Wear age and body type appropriate clothing... 
Now... Who decides what is age and body type appropriate??  


Ross


----------



## Souschef

Merlot said:


> I wish I had a book club to go to, I love books as much as I love food things lol


If you have a Kindle or a Nook, there are a number of sites with free or low cost e-books.


----------



## Merlot

Souschef said:


> If you have a Kindle or a Nook, there are a number of sites with free or low cost e-books.


Oh ty . I am overflowing with books, I would just enjoy the socialization!!


----------



## Merlot

Here's some tasteful, colorful hair for you ladies that are wanting the look!


----------



## Just Cooking

Souschef said:


> If you have a Kindle or a Nook, there are a number of sites with free or low cost e-books.




 I borrow books online through my library for my Kindle.. A pretty good system...  

Ross


----------



## Merlot

Just Cooking said:


> I borrow books online through my library for my Kindle.. A pretty good system...
> 
> Ross



I used to do that but truthfully I kind of forgot about it.  I get the kindle free pick every month and I have gotten some goods ones from that!  I would show you my nightstand, it's piled high with books and cooking magazines to read but I'd be way too embarrassed lol... I also have several online waiting!


----------



## Just Cooking

Merlot said:


> I used to do that but truthfully I kind of forgot about it.  I get the kindle free pick every month and I have gotten some goods ones from that!  I would show you my nightstand, it's piled high with books and cooking magazines to read but I'd be way too embarrassed lol... I also have several online waiting!




I am no longer a Prime member, mainly because of the library access.. I read from 2 to 4 books a week and found it easier, for me, to use the library.. 

I allowed my Prime account to lapse as I didn't purchase much from Amazon..

Ross


----------



## Merlot

Just Cooking said:


> I am no longer a Prime member, mainly because of the library access.. I read from 2 to 4 books a week and found it easier, for me, to use the library..
> 
> I allowed my Prime account to lapse as I didn't purchase much from Amazon..
> 
> Ross


 
I buy everything from amazon.. I also like Jet, they have great customer service and funny "waiting" messages even if it does get repetitive... ok it was funny the first time I called 
Susan


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Well, it's better than the alternative...*



taxlady said:


> ...what older women should and shouldn't wear. It stuff like, "Wear clothes you love." "Wear comfortable clothing." I wish I could remember more of it...


I wish I could wear comfortable feet.  Met with a podiatrist today. She's a very nice doctor, but no miracle suggestions. My only consolation is she kept saying "oh, this isn't too bad" and offered all sorts of suggestions and help to relieve things. Best yet, she isn't a doctor who is eager to do surgery - not that it would help for the mass of born spurs all across the top of the arch area. Doc told me it's just wear-and-tear and arthritis. I've teased Himself that I've worn myself out before I'm old enough to die for a while, but little did I know how true that is!


----------



## Kayelle

Well, all the recent talk about what's an "appropriate look" this *rebel old lady* had a change made at the hairdresser today!


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Well, all the recent talk about what's an "appropriate look" this *rebel old lady* had a change made at the hairdresser today!


Love it!


----------



## taxlady

Kayelle said:


> Well, all the recent talk about what's an "appropriate look" this *rebel old lady* had a change made at the hairdresser today!


I love it too.


----------



## medtran49

Kayelle said:


> Well, all the recent talk about what's an "appropriate look" this *rebel old lady* had a change made at the hairdresser today!



Cool.  I'm still salt and pepper, though quickly heading toward the salt side.  DD bleaches strands of her hair, it's even darker than mine, nearly blue-black, and colors it, but I'm not going to mess with bleach, will wait until  I'm more salty.


----------



## Merlot

Kayelle said:


> Well, all the recent talk about what's an "appropriate look" this *rebel old lady* had a change made at the hairdresser today!



Well, how pretty!  I adore your sunglasses too!!


----------



## Kayelle

Thanks all!! Souschef was doing an Angel Flight mission today and I wonder what he will say when he gets home!!


----------



## roadfix

Kayelle said:


> Thanks all!! Souschef was doing an Angel Flight mission today and I wonder what he will say when he gets home!!


"Someone spill wine on your hair?"  

Actually, that turned out nice.  Nice accent shade...


----------



## Dawgluver

Super cute, Kay!


----------



## CharlieD

Merlot said:


> Here's some tasteful, colorful hair for you ladies that are wanting the look!





The last picture is how my wife's hair look. Maybe a bit shorter


----------



## Just Cooking

Kayelle said:


> Well, all the recent talk about what's an "appropriate look" this *rebel old lady* had a change made at the hairdresser today!


My hair is about the shade of your hair....  hmmm...  I wonder what Jeannie would think if I did that???...   

Ross


----------



## Andy M.

Hot!


----------



## Merlot

CharlieD said:


> The last picture is how my wife's hair look. Maybe a bit shorter


I bet it's really pretty!  My fiancé would die if I put blue or pink in my hair, I mean he says do what you want but he's all farmer, country.  I know he likes me best au natural   poor guy


----------



## Souschef

Kayelle said:


> Thanks all!! Souschef was doing an Angel Flight mission today and I wonder what he will say when he gets home!!


I said,"Let me see your Cindy Lauper imitation"


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well, *Sous*, you know what they say: Girls just want to have fu-un. 

Looks very nice, *Kayelle*. I'm still a lot heavy on the "pepper". My "salt" is hiding along my hairline. If I wanted to color it up, I'd have to pull my hair up. Then I'd look like a colorful Bride of Frankenstein! 



roadfix said:


> "Someone spill wine on your hair?"  ...


Himself's remark was "she has wine leaking out of her head". BTW, he didn't know you're a white wine kinda girl, *Kay*.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> Well, all the recent talk about what's an "appropriate look" this *rebel old lady* had a change made at the hairdresser today!



Fantastic KL!  That's what I want done but with a lavender color.


----------



## dragnlaw

My High-Speed Internet is via radio waves - so I must be within view of one of the towers.  Been with them 10 years...  and the trees have grown.  this is the first time I've been able to get on-line for several days!  We've been having a lot of rain and with the rain it weighs down the tree(s) and blocks my signal. 

Next month they are "supposed" to be running a 'fibre optics' line (?) ...  we still have a lot of rain coming our way - I'm going to go nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Caslon

dragnlaw said:


> My High-Speed Internet is via radio waves - so I must be within view of one of the towers.  Been with them 10 years...  and the trees have grown.  this is the first time I've been able to get on-line for several days!  We've been having a lot of rain and with the rain it weighs down the tree(s) and blocks my signal.
> 
> Next month they are "supposed" to be running a 'fibre optics' line (?) ...  we still have a lot of rain coming our way - I'm going to go nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Reminds  of  1999,  when we finally  got fiber optic cable  in our neighborhood.  It was a big deal with me.  Net speed skyrocketed.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> Reminds  of  1999,  when we finally  got fiber optic cable  in our neighborhood.  It was a big deal with me.  Net speed skyrocketed.



Our former mayor locked us into a contract that leaves no room for fiber optics. Well, finally the contract has expired and for the past year the phone company has been busy bringing fiber optics to our city. Of course because my section of Boston is across the harbor and not directly connected to the main part of the city, we will be the last to get the service. 

Then there is the problem of buildings like ours. They are wired only for cable. This is a fairly large building and is going to be costly to bring fiber optics to us.


----------



## Farmer Jon

We will never have fiber optics. We live out in the country. The phone company said there's not enough people out there so its not cost effective.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> ...Then there is the problem of buildings like ours. They are wired only for cable. This is a fairly large building and is going to be costly to bring fiber optics to us.



Addie, buildings do not get rewired.  The fiber optics are outside, up to your building then they connect to what's already there.




Farmer Jon said:


> We will never have fiber optics. We live out in the country. The phone company said there's not enough people out there so its not cost effective.



Jon, fiber optics are not the be all and end all.  I switched from fiber optics back to regular cable recently and my internet speed is faster.  It's all a matter of what your provider wants to pass through.  They give you some speed and charge you extra for more speed.  It's just a flip of the switch.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Addie, *buildings do not get rewired*.  The fiber optics are outside, up to your building then they connect to what's already there.



Well, that is good news. If and when FO ever reach us, I still don't know enough about it to really want it. I just resent that Mennino took that option away from us without any input from the citizens. Just like he did with RCN.


----------



## taxlady

Farmer Jon said:


> We will never have fiber optics. We live out in the country. The phone company said there's not enough people out there so its not cost effective.


Have you seen this? The farmer who built her own broadband - BBC News


----------



## CharlieD

Merlot said:


> I bet it's really pretty!  My fiancé would die if I put blue or pink in my hair, I mean he says do what you want but he's all farmer, country.  I know he likes me best au natural   poor guy





Farmer county, huh-huh, I am, we are religious, ultra Orthodox Jews, this way pass farmer country. If he loves you, he should encourage you.


----------



## Merlot

CharlieD said:


> Farmer county, huh-huh, I am, we are religious, ultra Orthodox Jews, this way pass farmer country. If he loves you, he should encourage you.


Isn't that the truth!  I don't think I'll ever find a man who doesn't want to stomp out "my light". Isn't it that is what attracts a man in the first place, what makes you, you.... I sware I attract jealous people like crazy.  I hate jealousy.  I don't get jealous.  But in all honesty I do what I want and he can say whatever he wants!


----------



## CakePoet

Merlot, my husband married me because I am what is say on the tin, he loved me for me, not what he can change or mold. He wants me  100%.   
Hence I have him and Mr  Right,  because my light is love and oh I can dye my hair what ever colour.  Last night he was  saying I should try Fenix hair... yeah except my hair would die from it.

And it isnt  what you attract, actually it what you look for and something in the jealous people is what attract you.  I took a long thought about it and realized my ex husband and my then  current boyfriend had the same things and I didnt like that  so I looked for the opposite and found my husband.


----------



## GotGarlic

Merlot said:


> Isn't that the truth!  I don't think I'll ever find a man who doesn't want to stomp out "my light". Isn't it that is what attracts a man in the first place, what makes you, you.... I sware I attract jealous people like crazy.  I hate jealousy.  I don't get jealous.  But in all honesty I do what I want and he can say whatever he wants!


What attracts a man to you isn't necessarily in your best interest  What attracts you to men who tend to be jealous? 

I had a boyfriend once who was frequently jealous. I thought it was flattering at first, but then I realized it was more controlling. Left him far behind. My husband of 33 years is loving and protective, but not jealous and limiting.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Well, that is good news. If and when FO ever reach us, I still don't know enough about it to really want it. I just resent that Mennino took that option away from us without any input from the citizens. Just like he did with RCN.


If it comes to your building, you don't get a choice. It will be connected to the existing cable system.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie, there is no difference for the individual for fiber optics vs. traditional cable. Picture quality is no different, internet speed is no different.  The benefit of a new service is that they offer great prices to suck you in so you can save some money.


----------



## GotGarlic

Fiber optics (transmission of computer signals via light energy, i.e., at the speed of light) actually has a much higher capacity than copper cable. So the company can offer higher download speeds, which can be especially important to carriers that sell bandwidth to large institutions. And it can increase speeds in areas that are less concentrated than large metropolitan areas like Boston.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cable-vs-fiber-internet-comparison/


----------



## CharlieD

Merlot said:


> Isn't that the truth!  I don't think I'll ever find a man who doesn't want to stomp out "my light". Isn't it that is what attracts a man in the first place, what makes you, you.... I sware I attract jealous people like crazy.  I hate jealousy.  I don't get jealous.  But in all honesty I do what I want and he can say whatever he wants!





Be yourself.


----------



## CharlieD

GotGarlic said:


> What attracts a man to you isn't necessarily in your best interest  What attracts you to men who tend to be jealous?
> 
> I had a boyfriend once who was frequently jealous. I thought it was flattering at first, but then I realized it was more controlling. Left him far behind. My husband of 33 years is loving and protective, but not jealous and limiting.





My ex used to provoke me, used to make me jealous. Thank G-d she is ex. My wife of 25 + 2(shh don't tell anybody, we lived in sin for 2 years). Doesn't provoke jealousy. Only love.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Fiber optics (transmission of computer signals via light energy, i.e., at the speed of light) actually has a much higher capacity than copper cable. So the company can offer higher download speeds, which can be especially important to carriers that sell bandwidth to large institutions. And it can increase speeds in areas that are less concentrated than large metropolitan areas like Boston.
> 
> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cable-vs-fiber-internet-comparison/





While this is technically true, speeds available to you are more governed by what you are willing to spend as Internet/tv providers charge more for higher speeds because they can. 

I have twice the speed from Comcast that I had from Verizon simply because Comcast offered it at no extra cost. I had adequate speed either way.


----------



## Merlot

CakePoet said:


> Merlot, my husband married me because I am what is say on the tin, he loved me for me, not what he can change or mold. He wants me  100%.
> Hence I have him and Mr  Right,  because my light is love and oh I can dye my hair what ever colour.  Last night he was  saying I should try Fenix hair... yeah except my hair would die from it.
> 
> And it isnt  what you attract, actually it what you look for and something in the jealous people is what attract you.  I took a long thought about it and realized my ex husband and my then  current boyfriend had the same things and I didnt like that  so I looked for the opposite and found my husband.



What is Fenix hair?


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> Well, all the recent talk about what's an "appropriate look" this *rebel old lady* had a change made at the hairdresser today!


 
Still catching up after being on vacation...
That little sweep of pink looks *great*, Kay!  I love it!


----------



## Merlot

I think you all have a point.  All of my boyfriends and ex husband were jealous, so it must be me! 
Honestly the fiancé I have now is so good to me and he would never tell me not to get pink or blue in my hair, he just probably wouldn't find it super attractive  when I go to the hairdresser I always tell him ( my stylist) to do what he wants.  So he's taking me lighter for now.  The fiancé loves my hair dark but he never complains!  He's also more protective than anything.  Our town is one big drug hole now.  You can't even go to the store without watching your purse.  We had a bunch of women robbed recently at 4 different stores.  You can't keep anything in the back of your truck (someone just stole a generator out of one).  So the fiancé offers to go with me or take my gun (he bought me one)! I miss the days where you could leave everything unlocked.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> While this is technically true, speeds available to you are more governed by what you are willing to spend as Internet/tv providers charge more for higher speeds because they can.
> 
> I have twice the speed from Comcast that I had from Verizon simply because Comcast offered it at no extra cost. I had adequate speed either way.


You said:



Andy M. said:


> Addie, there is no difference for the individual for fiber optics vs. traditional cable. Picture quality is no different, internet speed is no different.  The benefit of a new service is that they offer great prices to suck you in so you can save some money.



But as I said, you can get a higher speed. Of course you'll often pay extra for it, but that's a choice that consumers didn't have before. Whether it's adequate depends on your needs. People who do a lot of internet gaming, or who move large files (video or high-resolution photography) need higher bandwidth to display and upload/download high-resolution graphics. You don't have that need, but others do. 

Fiber optic is also less likely to produce "noise," doesn't corrode like copper cable can, and doesn't attenuate with distance, causing distorted video and sound.


----------



## rodentraiser

My cable bill just went up $10. Blech!

Had the worst 4th ever. There were no VFW fireworks this year and I missed the fireworks off the bridge last Monday. No problem, thinks I, I'll go sit on top of the cemetery and watch everyone's fireworks from there. The cemetery is on a hill and you can see the fireworks for miles. I've been doing this for 10 years.

Last night Deputy Dog in his Security truck ran everyone off. He said no one was allowed in the cemetery after dark, but there's no signage or anything of that matter. So my guess is they just don't want people up there on July 4th. I was going to ask him how he intended to eject the ghosts, but I was too upset. Besides, he was one of those who was all full of himself and I didn't want any trouble.

So I went to visit friends and got home about 11. Forgot my regular glasses in my car and went back down to get them. I was holding my keys in my hand and when the elevator door opened, I dropped the keys. And they slithered right down the crack between the elevator and the floor. 

I still needed my glasses, so I got management to let me into my room and I got a spare car key so I could still retrieve my regular glasses (leaving the door ajar with a box). Problem is, when I went downstairs, I forgot to leave the entry door ajar (we need a chip to get that door open and it was on my key ring). So now I'm locked out of the building at midnight and not able to get to the phone. Fortunately, someone was arriving home at that point and they let me in.

The only good piece of news was I had a spare car key which I had made in case I ever locked my keys in my car. I didn't have it programed for the chip, so it wasn't supposed to be able to start my car. But for kicks and giggles, I tried it anyway. It started my car. At least I know I can start my car up now if I lose my keys.

What a night. I need a vacation from myself.

Best news is Jim, our maintenance guy, was able to retrieve my keys. Note to self: HANG ON TO KEYS AROUND ELEVATORS!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

rodentraiser said:


> ... Note to self: HANG ON TO KEYS AROUND ELEVATORS!


Or maybe you should hang your keys around your neck!


----------



## rodentraiser

You gotta be kidding me! What if I had dropped them hanging on that? I would have had to have stood there all night to keep the elevator doors from closing or I would have been very short of breath.


----------



## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> You gotta be kidding me! What if I had dropped them hanging on that? I would have had to have stood there all night to keep the elevator doors from closing or I would have been very short of breath. [emoji38]


How can you drop them if they're attached to you?


----------



## Just Cooking

GotGarlic said:


> How can you drop them if they're attached to you?



Just a wild guess but, I think he meant that as a joke...   

Ross


----------



## Farmer Jon

We got home from vacation and my truck was acting up the whole way home. I was bund and determined to get home and not have a repair bill on the road. I had to stop several times a day and unhook the batteries to get it out of limp mode. We got home and I ran the codes.  I need a new turbo. So I figure I just as well delete all the emissions and straight pipe the exaust. Let the girl breathe. Get better milage and more power. So I Called a couple shops and visited the dealer. The first shop quoted me $6500. The second shop quoted me $4500. They said everything the first shop said they would do was not necessary. The dealee said to keep it factory would be all of $4000 and then some. And that dont even include the glow plugs that are bad. I forgot to mention that to the dealer. So no matter what I'm about to drop some serious cash.


----------



## Merlot

Farmer Jon said:


> We got home from vacation and my truck was acting up the whole way home. I was bund and determined to get home and not have a repair bill on the road. I had to stop several times a day and unhook the batteries to get it out of limp mode. We got home and I ran the codes. I need a new turbo. So I figure I just as well delete all the emissions and straight pipe the exaust. Let the girl breathe. Get better milage and more power. So I Called a couple shops and visited the dealer. The first shop quoted me $6500. The second shop quoted me $4500. They said everything the first shop said they would do was not necessary. The dealee said to keep it factory would be all of $4000 and then some. And that dont even include the glow plugs that are bad. I forgot to mention that to the dealer. So no matter what I'm about to drop some serious cash.


 Oh no!  I'm so sorry!  It really is terrible when you have to drop cash for unexpected things!


----------



## Merlot

Petty Vent for the day is dieting and eating out.  We went out to stop by Rural King and we had a choice between Cracker Barrel, Wendy/s, McDonalds.... so not much of a choice.  We chose Cracker Barrel.... because I am trying to eat healthier with the gallbladder removal I had baked chicken, a salad and a sweet potato.  The chicken had way too much breading, was dry, the salad was really plain and the sweet potato had brown sugar on it, I neglected to tell them I like it with just butter salt and pepper.  I left feeling very unsatisfied.  Should I have just ordered something I know I would really like even though it would have been higher in calories?  I hate eating out :/


----------



## Farmer Jon

Merlot said:


> Petty Vent for the day is dieting and eating out.  We went out to stop by Rural King and we had a choice between Cracker Barrel, Wendy/s, McDonalds.... so not much of a choice.  We chose Cracker Barrel.... because I am trying to eat healthier with the gallbladder removal I had baked chicken, a salad and a sweet potato.  The chicken had way too much breading, was dry, the salad was really plain and the sweet potato had brown sugar on it, I neglected to tell them I like it with just butter salt and pepper.  I left feeling very unsatisfied.  Should I have just ordered something I know I would really like even though it would have been higher in calories?  I hate eating out :/


We had HU-HOT for lunch. I gorged myself. I love it so much but I really need to avoid it. I'm not dieting but I am trying to be careful what I eat.


----------



## Merlot

Farmer Jon said:


> We had HU-HOT for lunch. I gorged myself. I love it so much but I really need to avoid it. I'm not dieting but I am trying to be careful what I eat.


What is Hu HOT?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*HuHot Mongolian Grill*, *Merlot*. 

I love my friend Google. He knows so very much more than I do...most of the time.


----------



## Caslon

GotGarlic said:


> Fiber optics (transmission of computer signals via light energy, i.e., at the speed of light) actually has a much higher capacity than copper cable.



This.  ^      Fiber offers more content than copper wires can carry.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Merlot said:


> What is Hu HOT?


It's a place where you go through like a buffet but it's all raw. Then they cook it in front of you. They have all kinds of meats and seafood. All the veggies you can think of. Put it in a bowl Them you can put on what ever sause. There must be 20 choices.  I use a little teriyaki,  garlic oil, sesame oil, and bunch of wine. It all you can eat. I always get what I know I like the first time then go back and try all kinds of different combinations. Its fun playing with all the flavors. If you ever run across one you have to go.


----------



## Merlot

Farmer Jon said:


> It's a place where you go through like a buffet but it's all raw. Then they cook it in front of you. They have all kinds of meats and seafood. All the veggies you can think of. Put it in a bowl Them you can put on what ever sause. There must be 20 choices.  I use a little teriyaki,  garlic oil, sesame oil, and bunch of wine. It all you can eat. I always get what I know I like the first time then go back and try all kinds of different combinations. Its fun playing with all the flavors. If you ever run across one you have to go.



Sounds fun and delicious, I would definitely give it a try! Thanks for the reply!


----------



## Merlot

Cooking Goddess said:


> *HuHot Mongolian Grill*, *Merlot*.
> 
> I love my friend Google. He knows so very much more than I do...most of the time.


Thank you


----------



## cjmmytunes

Sounds almost like a Shogun restaurant I went to in Jacksonville, Fl about 34 years ago.

Having half of a Subway Chicken Bacon Ranch sub for lunch, and will have the other half for supper.  Fixing spaghetti sauce later tonight for this weekend.


----------



## Dawgluver

Grumble.  Neighbor across from us continues to celebrate his July 4 fireworks.  We've found reminants from some big leaguers in the yard, and they come through our nice dry pines.  DH, not mincing words, has told them they need to stop shooting them off by 10pm, and they've complied.  Now to talk them into shooting them off in their own back yard, not into our front yard.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Grumble.  Neighbor across from us continues to celebrate his July 4 fireworks.  We've found reminants from some big leaguers in the yard, and they come through our nice dry pines.  DH, not mincing words, has told them they need to stop shooting them off by 10pm, and they've complied.  Now to talk them into shooting them off in their own back yard, not into our front yard.



Are these kind of fireworks legal in your state or town? Other than the fireworks after the Pops concert, we had a very quiet 4th here. The police have really clamped down on shooting them off. All fireworks are illegal in Mass. unless done by the town or city. 

What concerns me when they shoot off the big ones is the sparks that land on dry roofs and other dry areas. Fortunately we are having a spell of showers each day. The Pops fireworks are shot off in the middle of the Charles River. Less danger from them. 

Yeah, I would say, it is time for another conversation with them. A strong conversation. Hubby does all the talking, they do all the listening and compliance.


----------



## Dawgluver

We're out in the country, no rules.


----------



## roadfix

Aside from the professional fireworks display we had a total fireworks ban in L.A. this year.   But this year more than any other years that I can remember we had thousands of illegal fireworks happening all over the city.    It sounded like a war zone from 9pm to like 3am, non-stop...


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Aside from the professional fireworks display we had a total fireworks ban in L.A. this year.   But this year more than any other years that I can remember we had thousands of illegal fireworks happening all over the city.    It sounded like a war zone from 9pm to like 3am, non-stop...



In a big city it is almost impossible to control the illegal use of fireworks. This year we had a state trooper parked right along the border stopping every Mass. car coming back from NH. All fireworks were confiscated and they got a hefty ticket also. Maybe next year the Mass. folks will think twice about buying illegal fireworks.

We have a friend who is a state trooper. He said the folks are pretty stupid. When they stop the car to search them, the illegal stuff if right in plain view on the back seat.


----------



## Dawgluver

FW were just legalized to sell in town, and town just went nuts on them, not everyone was that enthused.  Out in the country, no rules, though now folks don't have to get them in Missouri anymore.  Neighbor across from us just bought a license and permit to sell.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> FW were just legalized to sell in town, and town just went nuts on them, not everyone was that enthused.  Out in the country, no rules, though now folks don't have to get them in Missouri anymore.  Neighbor across from us just bought a license and permit to sell.



Oh boy! Good luck with that bit of knowledge.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> In a big city it is almost impossible to control the illegal use of fireworks. This year we had a state trooper parked right along the border stopping every Mass. car coming back from NH. All fireworks were confiscated and they got a hefty ticket also. *Maybe next year the Mass. folks will think twice about buying illegal fireworks*...


OR they'll take a ride to CT instead. Not an enforcement officer of any kind to be seen anywhere. There is always a huge tent selling fireworks just over the border from us. One year they were even set up in the parking lot of the town's fire department!!!  Talk about making business for yourself.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> OR they'll take a ride to CT instead. Not an enforcement officer of any kind to be seen anywhere. There is always a huge tent selling fireworks just over the border from us. One year they were even set up in the parking lot of the town's fire department!!!  Talk about making business for yourself.



CG it was absolutely quiet on the night of the 4th up at this end. I don't know how he heard them, but Teddy started to shake when the Pops fireworks went off.


----------



## rodentraiser

They're legal here in Washington state. Or at least in this area. There are always a few pops in the days leading up to the 4th and then it sounds like a war zone on the 4th itself from about 8pm to 11. But I have to say, by midnight you could have dropped a pin in this town and heard it. I don't think I heard one pop from midnight on. The next day I heard maybe one or two pops and that's been it.

I think that's because people buy their fireworks and save them all to shoot off on the 4th. I'm beginning to wonder if the problem isn't where fireworks are illegal. People get them and shoot them off whenever and wherever they think they won't be caught.


----------



## taxlady

I grew up in a suburb of L.A. in the 50s, 60s. Private fireworks were illegal, due to fire risk. I never heard anyone using them. There were fireworks in all the parks and the fire department was always there. Everyone seemed to understand the risks. I remember getting worried when someone had sparklers at a party.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thankfully, it's quiet now out here in the 'hood.

Major disappointment:  DH brought home a couple beautiful peaches, I'm thinking they were from Missouri, so close to local.  I was salivating.

Cut off a few slices, and sadly they taste like cardboard.  Mushy, no juice, no flavor.  Guess I'll have to wait for the locally grown peaches.  A friend, who sort of lives off the grid (no phone or FB) may have some homegrown later.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Thankfully, it's quiet now out here in the 'hood.
> 
> Major disappointment:  DH brought home a couple beautiful peaches, I'm thinking they were from Missouri, so close to local.  I was salivating.
> 
> Cut off a few slices, and sadly they taste like cardboard.  Mushy, no juice, no flavor.  Guess I'll have to wait for the locally grown peaches.  A friend, who sort of lives off the grid (no phone or FB) may have some homegrown later.



I can still remember eating the peaches right off the truck that had just been picked. They were still warm from the sun. The juice ran down my arms and all over my clothes right down to the top of my shoes.  So I can understand your disappointment.


----------



## Merlot

Dawgluver said:


> Thankfully, it's quiet now out here in the 'hood.
> 
> Major disappointment:  DH brought home a couple beautiful peaches, I'm thinking they were from Missouri, so close to local.  I was salivating.
> 
> Cut off a few slices, and sadly they taste like cardboard.  Mushy, no juice, no flavor.  Guess I'll have to wait for the locally grown peaches.  A friend, who sort of lives off the grid (no phone or FB) may have some homegrown later.



I hate when you get a peach and it just doesn't taste like what it looks like it was supposed to!  The best peaches I ever had was on Ocracoke Island, NC. They were West Virginia peaches.  Who knew I had to travel out of my state to get a good peach from my state!


----------



## CharlieD

Merlot said:


> I hate when you get a peach and it just doesn't taste like what it looks like it was supposed to!  The best peaches I ever had was on Ocracoke Island, NC. They were West Virginia peaches.  Who knew I had to travel out of my state to get a good peach from my state!



I just got a box of Peaches. They are like a rock. Trying to ripen them in a brown bag. Will see what happens. I love peaches. But have not had a good one in years.


----------



## Dawgluver

Haven't had one in ages either.  The braeburn apples are very good right now, but they're not peaches.


----------



## Merlot

CharlieD said:


> I just got a box of Peaches. They are like a rock. Trying to ripen them in a brown bag. Will see what happens. I love peaches. But have not had a good one in years.


Except for that one instance, I can never get a good peach!  They are usually too hard but occasionally too soft... I've never tried to ripen them in a bag, let me know if it works! I love peaches too, in fact I was salivating when I walked by the peach pies at Sams but my better judgment told me to keep on walking! Heh heh!


----------



## taxlady

I almost never buy peaches because they are always disappointing. The best peaches I have ever eaten were picked in my backyard when I was a kid. People who have never picked peaches have an odd idea of what peach fuzz is like. I seem to remember it being extremely itchy and a lot fuzzier than what you get in the store. It did rub off.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I almost never buy peaches because they are always disappointing. The best peaches I have ever eaten were picked in my backyard when I was a kid. People who have never picked peaches have an odd idea of what peach fuzz is like. I seem to remember it being extremely itchy and a lot fuzzier than what you get in the store. It did rub off.



TL, when you were a kid, did you also rub off the fuzz with your hem or shirt bottom? My mother always made me wash it immediately with Kirkman or Octagon yellow soap and in cold water, so the peach stain wouldn't stay.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> TL, when you were a kid, did you also rub off the fuzz with your hem or shirt bottom? My mother always made me wash it immediately with Kirkman or Octagon yellow soap and in cold water, so the peach stain wouldn't stay.


No, it was summer and really hot, so shorts and probably a halter top. I think my mum dealt with the fuzz. If we were just eating the peaches, they were really ripe and not too hard to peel with fingers.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> No, it was summer and really hot, so shorts and probably a halter top. I think my mum dealt with the fuzz. If we were just eating the peaches, they were really ripe and not too hard to peel with fingers.



As a teenager, about 13/14 I worked at an orchard. Our job was to pick up the good pieces that fell on the ground. We weren't allowed to climb the ladders. We got paid by the full box. I ate more healthy apples that summer. I wasn't too fond of Granny Smith but loved the other types. And we kids were allowed to take home as many damaged apples we could carry home. Of course I always found the least damaged ones. Apples for pie, apple sauce, and anything else my mother could turn apples into. She would just cut out the bad part. I had to be the healthiest kid in town that summer. To this day, apple pie is my favorite dessert to make. 

Then that summer I went back to do the same for peaches. There weren't too many kids doing it by then, so I really made some serious money. And my mother got to can some great peach products. The only problem with the peaches was that their peach orchard was much smaller than the apple one. I ate my share of peaches also. That was the summer my parents sold the farm. To this day, I can still taste those peaches, still warm from the sun and the juice running down all over my arms and shoes.


----------



## Merlot

Addie said:


> As a teenager, about 13/14 I worked at an orchard. Our job was to pick up the good pieces that fell on the ground. We weren't allowed to climb the ladders. We got paid by the full box. I ate more healthy apples that summer. I wasn't too fond of Granny Smith but loved the other types. And we kids were allowed to take home as many damaged apples we could carry home. Of course I always found the least damaged ones. Apples for pie, apple sauce, and anything else my mother could turn apples into. She would just cut out the bad part. I had to be the healthiest kid in town that summer. To this day, apple pie is my favorite dessert to make.
> 
> Then that summer I went back to do the same for peaches. There weren't too many kids doing it by then, so I really made some serious money. And my mother got to can some great peach products. The only problem with the peaches was that their peach orchard was much smaller than the apple one. I ate my share of peaches also. That was the summer my parents sold the farm. To this day, I can still taste those peaches, still warm from the sun and the juice running down all over my arms and shoes.


That sounds like a wonderful memory Addie! I have many good memories of picking up the apples for my grandparents


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> That sounds like a wonderful memory Addie! I have many good memories of picking up the apples for my grandparents



I loved living on the farm. I think it was the happiest time of my whole life. 
Dawg has an apple tree that some years it produces so many apples that she has to drop them off at all her neighbors in the middle of the night. It is the only way she can get rid of the those that she can't possibly use. She would have no problem if I were her neighbor. Then all our neighbors would find apple pies on their porch in the middle of the night.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Peaches this year are in short supply and lower quality than usual because of the weather. I don't know exactly what happend but the local news had a snipet on a few weeks ago about it. I only caught a few seconds of it.

 I was just in the basement checking the cellar. I still have 10 quarts left from last year. So i'm not going to mess with peaches this year. For some reason we canned a double batch last year. Now I'm glad we did.


----------



## CraigC

Stupid fire fighter! On Thursday I went to repair a breathing air fill station in a SW Florida fire district. We had been waiting about two months for a part. I did the repair and tested the unit. Everything worked fine. My boss started calling me that evening around 8:00 pm. I don't carry my work phone, nor answer it when I'm off. He left a message which I didn't look at. He starts calling me the next morning. I called him back. He starts grilling me about the fill station, saying a fire fighter on shift the day I repaired the fill station, called the chief telling him the unit was not fixed and he couldn't fill bottles. My boss is waiting for the chief to go to that station to check the unit and will call him back. I hear nothing. Yesterday I called the head tech to see if he knew anything. The idiot fire fighter couldn't figure out how to turn the compressor on! I worked on the fill station, not the compressor, duh! I did actually run the compressor to make sure everything was good with it. This isn't the first time operator error has raised its head, but not right after I did a repair on something. I guess I should always remember what the "White Shirts" keep telling me, "After all you *ARE* dealing with fire fighters!".


----------



## CharlieD

Merlot said:


> Except for that one instance, I can never get a good peach!  They are usually too hard but occasionally too soft... I've never tried to ripen them in a bag, let me know if it works! I love peaches too, in fact I was salivating when I walked by the peach pies at Sams but my better judgment told me to keep on walking! Heh heh!




I know. So I left mine ripen. Guess what, over night they got to be too soft. Made the jelly out of them. It's still hot. Will try when cools down.


----------



## Kayelle

CraigC said:


> Stupid fire fighter! On Thursday I went to repair a breathing air fill station in a SW Florida fire district. We had been waiting about two months for a part. I did the repair and tested the unit. Everything worked fine. My boss started calling me that evening around 8:00 pm. I don't carry my work phone, nor answer it when I'm off. He left a message which I didn't look at. He starts calling me the next morning. I called him back. He starts grilling me about the fill station, saying a fire fighter on shift the day I repaired the fill station, called the chief telling him the unit was not fixed and he couldn't fill bottles. My boss is waiting for the chief to go to that station to check the unit and will call him back. I hear nothing. Yesterday I called the head tech to see if he knew anything. The idiot fire fighter couldn't figure out how to turn the compressor on! I worked on the fill station, not the compressor, duh! I did actually run the compressor to make sure everything was good with it. This isn't the first time operator error has raised its head, but not right after I did a repair on something. I guess I should always remember what the "White Shirts" keep telling me, "After all you *ARE* dealing with fire fighters!".



WOW Craig!! I think most people could do without badmouthing firefighters!  How does the saying go..."everyone loves firefighters and dolphins". Are dolphins next?


----------



## Merlot

CharlieD said:


> I know. So I left mine ripen. Guess what, over night they got to be too soft. Made the jelly out of them. It's still hot. Will try when cools down.


Oh I'm sorry!  That would happen to me! Jelly is a good plus, mm peach jelly with toast!


----------



## medtran49

Kayelle said:


> WOW Craig!! I think most people could do without badmouthing firefighters!  How does the saying go..."everyone loves firefighters and dolphins". Are dolphins next?



Ever hear the saying about walking in another's shoes before judging them?  Most people only deal with firefighters on 1 of the worst days of their lives and see them in a hero's or at least trying to be a hero's light. Dealing with them day in and day out, they are just like everybody else, good ones, bad ones, smart ones, stupid ones, honest ones, not so honest ones, etc.

This is a thread for venting.  He had a legit vent for basically getting chewed out because of  SOMEONE ELSE'S incompetance!


----------



## Addie

medtran49 said:


> Ever hear the saying about walking in another's shoes before judging them?  Most people only deal with firefighters on 1 of the worst days of their lives and see them in a hero's or at least trying to be a hero's light. Dealing with them day in and day out, they are just like everybody else, good ones, bad ones, smart ones, stupid ones, honest ones, not so honest ones, etc.
> 
> This is a thread for venting.  He had a legit vent for basically getting chewed out because of  SOMEONE ELSE'S incompetance!



My first thought was "why aren't these firefighters being properly trained and tested on the equipment they depend on?" I can readily understand Craig's frustration. After all it was his day off. I have three First Responders in my family. All three of them are only human and often complain about the stupidity of those in other jobs of saving lives. 

Vent away Craig, vent away. We are all here to listen to you.


----------



## CraigC

Kayelle said:


> WOW Craig!! I think most people could do without badmouthing firefighters!  How does the saying go..."everyone loves firefighters and dolphins". Are dolphins next?



What, does truth and reality offend you? I could go into more detail about how they don't care if they waste a municipalities money and then cry for a raise.


----------



## Just Cooking

Interesting....


----------



## Cheryl J

CraigC said:


> .......I guess I should always remember what the "White Shirts" keep telling me, *"After all you ARE dealing with fire fighters!".*


 
Well, Craig....since you took such happy pleasure lumping them all into one category that fits your story, if you ever have need for someone to put out a fire (heaven forbid) maybe you should call one of those smart guys who refill the breathing stations instead of a stupid, idiot firefighter.


----------



## Just Cooking

Kayelle said:


> WOW Craig!! I think most people could do without badmouthing firefighters!  How does the saying go..."everyone loves firefighters and dolphins". Are dolphins next?




Plus 1...

Ross


----------



## Just Cooking

Cheryl J said:


> Well, Craig....since you took such happy pleasure lumping them all into one category that fits your story, if you ever have need for someone to put out a fire (heaven forbid) maybe you should call one of those smart guys who refill the breathing stations instead of a stupid, idiot firefighter.




Plus 1..

Ross


----------



## CraigC

Addie said:


> My first thought was *"why aren't these firefighters being properly trained and tested on the equipment they depend on?"* I can readily understand Craig's frustration. After all it was his day off. I have three First Responders in my family. All three of them are only human and often complain about the stupidity of those in other jobs of saving lives.
> 
> Vent away Craig, vent away. We are all here to listen to you.



I have done training on these systems, going back several days in a row(3 total) to train each shift. Each day they brought people from other stations, that don't have these system, but come to that location to fill bottles. I was totally shocked the first time I did it. There were anywhere from 4 to 10 fire fighters at each session. Maybe 1 or 2 actually paying attention and asking me questions. The rest were out of ear shot, shooting the breeze. The shift Lt. didn't seem to be bothered by that. Just a little more truth and reality about those that some "Glorify".


----------



## Merlot

CraigC said:


> I have done training on these systems, going back several days in a row(3 total) to train each shift. Each day they brought people from other stations, that don't have these system, but come to that location to fill bottles. I was totally shocked the first time I did it. There were anywhere from 4 to 10 fire fighters at each session. Maybe 1 or 2 actually paying attention and asking me questions. The rest were out of ear shot, shooting the breeze. The shift Lt. didn't seem to be bothered by that. Just a little more truth and reality about those that some "Glorify".



Same with the medical field, some people are cruddy and don't care and then you have the ones who really try.


----------



## CraigC

Cheryl J said:


> Well, Craig....since you took such happy pleasure lumping them all into one category that fits your story, *if you ever have need for someone to put out a fire *(heaven forbid) maybe you should call one of those smart guys who refill the breathing stations instead of a stupid, idiot firefighter.



No, that was a direct quote from a Battalion Chief! Some of you folks need a good dose of reality. BTW, they know that part of the job quite well. They constantly train on that part of the job.


----------



## rodentraiser

Firefighters are only human. A captain I knew decided not to go on strike when the rest of his crew did. I remember him telling us about having an emergency and putting his boots on, only to find the striking firefighters had filled the boots with soft tomatoes.

There's good firefighters and bad ones, smart ones and dumb ones. I'll say it right now, it's not a job I could do. I remember one firefighter's wife telling me how her husband tried to give mouth to mouth to someone who had stopped breathing. The person started gagging and throwing up, while the firefighter kept spitting out the vomit and went back to mouth to mouth until the victim was breathing steadily again. That's a dedication to a person and a job I will never have.


----------



## Cheryl J

CraigC said:


> No, that was a direct quote from a Battalion Chief! *Some of you folks need a good dose of reality. *BTW, they know that part of the job quite well. They constantly train on that part of the job.



Seeing my son-in-law come home from several days in a row of fighting fires in 110 degree heat hungry, sweaty, sooty, and dog tired, is all the reality I need. I'm done with this subject.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CraigC said:


> ... There were anywhere from 4 to 10 fire fighters at each session. Maybe 1 or 2 actually paying attention and asking me questions. *The rest were out of ear shot, shooting the breeze*...


*Craig*, those people are in ALL industries, ALL organizations, ALL clubs and classrooms and ALL groups of people gathered together for a common purpose. It just so happens that in this case, it involved a fire fighter. I think what comes across is that you hate fire fighters. I'm pretty sure that's not the case. 



rodentraiser said:


> ...There's good firefighters and bad ones, smart ones and dumb ones...


The same can be said for many groups. Bad doctors, bad nurses, bad teachers, bad parents...sadly, the docs, nurses, et al like that seem to tarnish the rest of them that are good and competent.


----------



## medtran49

Exactly.  All you people who posted negative, I  dare you to put yourself in his place.  Operator error happens on average at least once a week.  That means he gets pulled off his route for the month and has to drive sometimes for HOURS because somebody either is:

A.  Too dumb to remember how to do part of his JOB, so he blames the tech.
B.  Too arrogant to pay attention and/or remember training to do part of their JOB, so they blame the tech.
C.  Just don't want to be bothered doing grunt work, i.e. part of their JOB, so he blames the tech.

Tell me, how would you feel in his place?

Let's  also remember that the comment about "remember you are dealing with firemen" came from a BATTALION CHIEF.


----------



## dragnlaw

medtran49 said:


> A.  how to do part of* his* JOB, so he blames the tech.
> B.  Too ... remember training to do* their *JOB, so they blame the tech.
> C.  Just don't want to be bothered doing grunt work, i.e. *their* JOB, so he blames the tech.
> 
> Let's  also remember that the comment about "remember you are dealing with fireman" came from a BATTALION CHIEF.



*medtran*  well said, but I think you missed the emphasis on "his", "their" and "their". 

OK guys... lighten up - it's all in the eye of the beholder!  You are all, each and every one of you, *both the pros and the cons*,_* correct*_.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I hate stories about bad nurses...cause I'm the baddest nurse out there!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I hate stories about bad nurses...cause I'm the baddest bad-ass nurse out there!!!


Fixed it for you, PF.


----------



## Merlot

, I don't think, in my opinion Craig meant all firefighters but I may have read it wrong, I just think some firefighters are shitty, some nurses are shitty, some therapists are shitty, some chefs are shitty!  Some professionals are shittybut not everyone!


----------



## CharlieD

Merlot said:


> Oh I'm sorry!  That would happen to me! Jelly is a good plus, mm peach jelly with toast!





Actually turned out quite ok. Taste really good. Smells really strange though.


----------



## dragnlaw

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I hate stories about bad nurses...cause I'm the baddest nurse out there!!!



You're such a liar!


----------



## rodentraiser

What I love about nurses (besides the fact that they put up with me) is their ghost stories.


----------



## Addie

CraigC said:


> No, that was a direct quote from a Battalion Chief! Some of you folks need a good dose of reality. BTW, they know that part of the job quite well. They constantly train on that part of the job.



Craig, I would rather you come to this forum to vent, than to take it out on your family and those that are in the room standing right next to you. The fact that it was firemen, isn't important. What is, is that you needed a place to vent. And that is what this thread is all about. 

There are some folks in this world we live in, that just have to find fault with everything and everyone they come in contact with. They live in a perfect world and if anyone should stray from their idea of that perfection, they are so ready to attack. Evidently you don't fit into their world of perfection. I personally hope I never become so perfect. Because the day I do, then I stop learning. 

Craig, you did your job. Above and beyond. When those firemen are looking for a promotion and go to take the test, remember, they are not going to be smart enough to pass it. They were too busy laughing or just not paying attention. And their chief knows it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

rodentraiser said:


> What I love about nurses (besides the fact that they put up with me) is their ghost stories.



I have a few of those...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Fixed it for you, PF.



I should have that tattoo-ed on my


----------



## CharlieD

I'd went, I really would, about my wife and my parents, but I am not even sure where to start from.


----------



## Merlot

CharlieD said:


> I'd went, I really would, about my wife and my parents, but I am not even sure where to start from.


 I like to vent about my mom but then I always feel guilty


----------



## CharlieD

I don't know why does it have to be like that. It's painful to deal with.


----------



## Merlot

CharlieD said:


> I don't know why does it have to be like that. It's painful to deal with.



Yes it can be!
Ok here's my vent, my mother is the most negative Nellie I've ever been around!  It's exhausting! 
 Now, with that off my chest... I'm sorry mom


----------



## CakePoet

Merlot, you can get mine, she constantly whistles...  with out noticing her self.  It drives  us bonkers, thank God  we seldom meet.


----------



## Merlot

CakePoet said:


> Merlot, you can get mine, she constantly whistles...  with out noticing her self.  It drives  us bonkers, thank God  we seldom meet.



 whistling or complaining hmm... gosh, I think I will dislike both of them if you don't mind


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have a few of those...



I have one that came with this apartment. You have to remember that the majority of the people who come to live here, also come here to die.

My ghost is named Margaret. She was the previous tenant and one of the first tenants to move into this building. She got very sick from what my neighbor told me, became very delusional and when they came to take her to the hospital, she put up a good fight. She ended up dying in the apartment before they could get her out the door. The medics worked on her for almost an hour to no avail. They had her on the geurney and the sheet pulled up when the finally took her out. 

So now every time anyone goes into the kitchen, it only takes about one minute, and then you have to make a mad dash for the bathroom. We think it is Margaret forcing us out of her kitchen. That is the room where she died. I have seen this happen to the maintenance workers and even the manager and the top boss when they come for the yearly inspections. You don't even have to turn the faucet on for this to happen to you. 

This has happened to my sister, daughter, grandchildren, etc. To anyone who has the audacity to go into her kitchen. Anyone want a ghost named Margaret?


----------



## medtran49

Merlot said:


> Yes it can be!
> Ok here's my vent, my mother is the most negative Nellie I've ever been around!  It's exhausting!
> Now, with that off my chest... I'm sorry mom



Hun, you just have to find a way to deal with her.  Mine did all kind of things to me, the worst being taking off with my kid and having to be threatened with me calling the cops on her to bring her back.  She also implied to people that Craig, my second husband, was bribing DD with money to keep her from telling people he was molesting her, he wasn't, was just giving her money to try to get her to like and accept him in our lives, misguided, but he was never around kids before. She also stole from me in later years, coins, other things that would be handed down because she didn't trust me to keep them supposedly.  I'm adopted, she was tall and slender, I'm not and never have been since I hit puberty.  She'd harp on me about my weight, yet kept all manner of sweets in the house because she had a sweet tooth, and always fixed me some too.  In later years, she'd complain about my cooking, housekeeping, etc., until I finally hit my limit 1 holiday and just exploded.  Told her if she so disliked the way I did things not to let the door hit her bottom (and that's NOT the word I used) on her way out and not to darken our door again.  Of course, there were some tears, as she always cried whenever she was confronted about her crap, but we just ignored her, and she never said a word to my face again.  She did bitch about me behind my back, but at least I didn't have to hear her mouth. Best thing I ever did was blowing up at her.


----------



## medtran49

Addie, DD and I both have had some odd experiences.  Craig's oldest brother had a big, bold personality.  He stayed with me and Craig for a while after a hurricane destroyed his home. After he passed, DD and her family lived in the home he purchased after the hurricane for a year or so.  We both had experiences when the houses were quiet, odd noises, seeing movement in the corner of our eyes, feeling of being watched sometimes, where we thought he was in the respective houses with us, nothing malevolent, just going about daily living.  Don't think it was a ghost, just maybe a psychic imprint?  We both thought we were going crazy until she brought it up to me 1 day and we started comparing notes.  Don't know what it was, but it was definitely something and eventually faded away.


----------



## Merlot

My mom has monitored my weight my whole life.  Either I'm too skinny or too fat.  She is also worried about what other people think.  Oh no we can't have alcohol at your reception, what would the family think.  Oh your (female) cousin married her gf but we aren't telling anyone.  If you aren't married then don't tell anyone that you live together.  Your aunt is a bitch but the next day, oh she is wonderful she did this for me... she drives me batty... I sware I don't care what you think of me.  That's ALL she cares about, is what people will say.  If I am on the phone with her, I don't care who calls, she hangs up with me... oh that's so and so calling  which is ok because she DRIVES me crazy!


----------



## taxlady

My mother was one of 12 siblings. Oh dear, they were all playing this stupid game where they got points for what their kids did. Of course they didn't admit it, but that's the best description of their gossipy, judgmental  behaviour I have heard. I think it happens in a lot of families.


----------



## Addie

Pirate is staying with me. He has neuropathy in his legs and the pain it going up his spine. All day long I hear about how his pain is worse than mine. He forgets that there is a very valid reason I have a scooter to be able to make a run to the store. There is a reason I am able to have an opioid drug prescribed for me to take three times a day. 

Yet in spite of his pain, he refuses to keep his appointments with his doctors, do what they say or take the tests and medications that are prescribed for him. He knows what he needs, they don't. He has done nothing about his housing. 

Up to this past week, I have ignored him. But not anymore. I have started to complain right along with him. He has a headache, I have a migraine. His spine hurts, my whole back is out of kilter, whatever his complaint, mine is worse. And by five this evening, he started to complain, and I spoke up. Shut the F*** UP! I yelled at him so loud, I did give myself a headache. I had a few more words for him that he didn't want to hear. Too bad. I am sick of hearing his complaints and yet refuses to do anything about it. Pirate never hears me swear. And I don't allow it in my home.

I reminded him that this is my home, not his. "Go find your own home" If he doesn't like having dirty dishes in my sink, too bad. Go get your own sink. I lit into him like I have never gone after anyone before. 

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. And without any apology.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Life is a bowl of cherries. If you enjoy the delicious fruit, you need to put up with the pits.


I have nothing to complain about. I mean, there ARE plenty of things I could complain about. But...for the third time in just two years, our son and his group of very close friends has had a close friend die. Two years ago, 45 year old Matthew lost his battle to brain cancer. Last month Michael (who was 54) died because of a heart attack. Yesterday, their friend AJ died in an auto accident - he was 41. Too many gone too young and too soon.

I have friends and family who can annoy me. I may complain about them, I may wish they did things differently, some days I wish they would just all go away. And then something happens and they are...gone.

Hold your dear ones close. There may come a day you wish you hadn't complained...


----------



## Just Cooking

Thank you CG...   

Ross


----------



## CharlieD

Cooking Goddess said:


> Hold your dear ones close. There may come a day you wish you hadn't complained...




That's the problem.


----------



## CraigC

Stupid fire fighter conclusion, yup the boy is dumber than a stump. After someone showed him how to turn the compressor on (yes you have to throw the knife switch to the "ON" position to get power to the compressor). He then told the chief he couldn't get the bottles to fill past "3000 psi" without something blowing off in the fill station. The chief went there to confirm this with 2 other fire fighters present. The chief observed that it wouldn't go past "3000 psi" without air blowing off in the fill station. I went back and adjusted the pressure to 4500 psi without issue. I called the chief and asked him if his guys knew the difference between psi and bar? The dumb ass was mistaking 300 bar for 3000 psi. 300 bar is about 4500 psi and the air blowing off was the safety relief going off, as it should, when the pressure is adjusted above 4500 psi. Stupid was looking at the wrong scale on the gauge. Thanks for wasting my time!


----------



## Addie

Sounds like the Chief deliberately sent the dumbasses that were standing at the back telling jokes instead of paying attention. 

So glad you had the last laugh Craig.


----------



## Just Cooking

Craig...

It appears that qualification levels for firefighters in your area seem lacking..
That's truly sad for the citizenry which depends on those "dumbasses" to help when tragedy strikes..

My step father was a firefighter for most of his adult life.. He was not an educated man but, knew no fear when confronted with a structure or automobile fire.. Its possible that he might not have been able to fill those bottles but, he literally pulled both live and dead bodies from buildings and autos over his long, dangerous career.. Despite his lack of education, I'd be hard pressed to call him a dumbass..  

Ross


----------



## Merlot

Oh my, I hate conflict.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CraigC said:


> Stupid fire fighter conclusion, yup the boy is dumber than a stump...Stupid was looking at the wrong scale on the gauge. Thanks for wasting my time!



My Dad used to install and repair Mass Spectrometers...so many calls for help where Dad either drove or flew to a location far away, renting a car, staying in hotels only to turn the switch to "on" or plugging it in for the fix.


----------



## CraigC

Just Cooking said:


> Craig...
> 
> It appears that qualification levels for firefighters in your area seem lacking..
> That's truly sad for the citizenry which depends on those "dumbasses" to help when tragedy strikes..
> 
> My step father was a firefighter for most of his adult life.. He was not an educated man but, knew no fear when confronted with a structure or automobile fire.. Its possible that he might not have been able to fill those bottles but, he literally pulled both live and dead bodies from buildings and autos over his long, dangerous career.. Despite his lack of education, I'd be hard pressed to call him a dumbass..
> 
> Ross



The chief told me that 20 years ago, if I were giving a training session, all ears and eyes would have been glued to me, their job depended on it. Now the union makes it almost impossible to get rid of dead weight.

BTW, this isn't common to just "my area".


----------



## Cooking Goddess

It's a shame that capable job performance gets put on the back burner. Once upon a time, someone could be dismissed for poor job performance. No one's life depended on whether the dumb worker remembered whether or not you wanted fries with that.


----------



## Addie

CraigC said:


> The chief told me that 20 years ago, if I were giving a training session, all ears and eyes would have been glued to me, their job depended on it. Now the union makes it almost impossible to get rid of dead weight.
> 
> BTW, this isn't common to just "my area".



I have a grandson who is a firefighter. When he is not on firefighting duty, he runs the town ambulance. He told his father one day, that he hated working on the ambulance, "I just want to run into burning buildings!" That sure was no consolation to his family. 

Every firefighter I have ever known in this state, even volunteer department personnel, had to go through the firefighter's academy. They graduate from there with a lot of respect for the job they are going to be assigned to. And for those that don't want to learn or listen, they get stuck with all the grunt work. 

All firefighters in this state are on the civil service list. So even though they may have applied to go to the fire department in their town, they may end up at a station in a town about 25 miles away. The Chief of that town takes a look at the list and the scores of each graduate. He makes his pick. If that person turns down three assignments in the hope that an opening will come available where he wants to be, he is removed from the list. The same goes for the police here. 

When my grandson got the call to go to the academy, he just had a brand new baby and had bought a house. It was his dream job. So the whole fam damily all pitched in for the six weeks he was away, and bought groceries, paid their mortgage payment, paid the utilities, etc. We kept his wife and new baby going. When they take the physical test in order to graduate, every would-be firefighter has to run into a smoke filled building, with flames in different areas, up a couple of flights of stairs and make a rescue. And they have to do this in FULL gear. My grandson graduated near the top of his class. For those at the bottom of the list, they get called by the small towns that pay the State minimum for civil servants. And most of these small towns have no union to fight for all of the firefighters. 

BTW, my grandson just past his exam for promotion to Lt. He studied for two years for that exam. 

And the proper name for all of them is "*Firefighter*. Not firemen. Firemen take care of heating boilers, and other major plumbing problems relating to heating systems. 

*Firefighters* fight fires and save lives. Even those of little kittens and puppies.


----------



## Just Cooking

CraigC said:


> The chief told me that 20 years ago, if I were giving a training session, all ears and eyes would have been glued to me, their job depended on it. Now the union makes it almost impossible to get rid of dead weight.
> 
> BTW, this isn't common to just "my area".




In retrospect, I can agree with what you say above.. I try to not be negative but, facts are that with all "our" faults 40, 50 60, years ago, doing the best job possible was a strength to be proud of.. 

I have to believe that my step father would be disappointed with what has followed him into a job he cherished..

Thank you for pointing that out...

Ross


----------



## Farmer Jon

I was a volunteer firefighter for a few years before I moved out to the farm. I've met and worked with full time paid fire personnel. In craigs defence some of these guys are so dumb its a good thing their boots don't have laces because they would never make it to the fire. On the other hand most of them are very intelegent people but every station has that one guy that screws up everything.


----------



## roadfix

I guess all these things can be said about most any other profession, whether they involve savings lives or not.


----------



## CraigC

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My Dad used to install and repair Mass Spectrometers...so many calls for help where Dad either drove or flew to a location far away, renting a car, staying in hotels only to turn the switch to "on" or plugging it in for the fix.



Ha! That is exactly the type of waste of a municipalities money I was referring to when I said some fire fighters lack of "knowledge" cause that waste and yet they cry about raises. The guy in my vent, just cost his fire district about $500.00 and me the lose of time from my service route. I have been sent from the east coast of FL to the west coast of FL to replace a $10.00 part that only requires a screw driver. Travel time and labor, $300.00.

Maybe I shouldn't say municipalities money, but what it really is, *TAX PAYERS* money!


----------



## BlueMoods

CharlieD said:


> I just got a box of Peaches. They are like a rock. Trying to ripen them in a brown bag. Will see what happens. I love peaches. But have not had a good one in years.



Peached do not ripen once picked, the SOFTEN but do not gain any more sugar or ripeness. Best uses for hard ones are poached, grilled or preserves. Add sugar or a sweet sauce or syrup as needed. That's why a good peach in a store is rare. 

Where I live, I have to grow my own to get really good ones for eating raw, store bought is okay for cooking with.


----------



## Addie

CraigC said:


> Ha! That is exactly the type of waste of a municipalities money I was referring to when I said some fire fighters lack of "knowledge" cause that waste and yet they cry about raises. The guy in my vent, just cost his fire district about $500.00 and me the lose of time from my service route. I have been sent from the east coast of FL to the west coast of FL to replace a $10.00 part that only requires a screw driver. Travel time and labor, $300.00.
> 
> Maybe I shouldn't say municipalities money, but what it really is, *TAX PAYERS* money!



Craig, when Pirate was doing plumbing, he got some really stupid calls. But the best one was "I can't get any hot water from my faucet." So he went and it was around seven at night. He was tired and just wanted to relax. It was a single handle faucet. She kept turning the handle to the right for cold water. Pirate had to teach her how the faucet works. She had never seen a faucet like that. She had just had the faucet installed that day. He billed her for the call. And she paid it. 

I asked him if she was married. "Oh yeah. And her husband was sitting in the living room watching TV." Not once did he take his eyes off that screen.


----------



## Caslon

California supermarkets and many other US stores are now charging 10 cents for each  plastic bag at the checkout.  This is in order to encourage customers bringing in their own bag of some kind.  Good luck with that.  Do the math.  I buy $50 worth of groceries requiring 3 ten cent bags.  30 cents is what percentage of $50?


----------



## dragnlaw

*Caslon* our grocery stores have been doing that for a couple of years now.  But they only charge .05$ and not all of them do. 

I have noticed that they now have slightly bigger bags but they are more fragile to tearing - they always were fragile but seem to be more so.


----------



## Just Cooking

Discouraging use of and banning plastic bags has been going on for a long time here.. Charging for paper bags for a year or so..

At first we thought it an inconvenience but, as we collected an assortment of reusable cloth bags we got into it.. It does help the environment, landfill problems, sea life here at the coast, etc..

This is just another part of recycling, etc.. I'm not a real "green guy" but I see the need for and the results of doing these things..

On another food forum there was a lot of controversy about reusable bags.. Too much hassle, keeping them clean, etc. Like anything else in a changing world, we adjust and makes it work..

I can't imagine not going into a store without my cloth bags.. For those times when Jeannie pops into a store and finds something she wants, she has a compact bag in her purse to use or, she will pop for the 10 cents and use that bag for trash at home..

Ross


----------



## GotGarlic

Just Cooking said:


> Discouraging use of and banning plastic bags has been going on for a long time here.. Charging for paper bags for a year or so..
> 
> At first we thought it an inconvenience but, as we collected an assortment of reusable cloth bags we got into it.. It does help the environment, landfill problems, sea life here at the coast, etc..
> 
> This is just another part of recycling, etc.. I'm not a real "green guy" but I see the need for and the results of doing these things..
> 
> On another food forum there was a lot of controversy about reusable bags.. Too much hassle, keeping them clean, etc. Like anything else in a changing world, we adjust and makes it work..
> 
> I can't imagine not going into a store without my cloth bags.. For those times when Jeannie pops into a store and finds something she wants, she has a compact bag in her purse to use or, she will pop for the 10 cents and use that bag for trash at home..
> 
> Ross



My store offers a credit of 10 cents per bag you bring with you. DH goes to conferences regularly, so we've accumulated quite a few very sturdy canvas bags that I use for shopping. I throw them in the laundry every so often. No big deal, just a bit of an adjustment. And we still get plastic bags sometimes, to line trash cans and clean the litter box.


----------



## Just Cooking

GotGarlic said:


> *My store offers a credit of 10 cents per bag you bring with you.* DH goes to conferences regularly, so we've accumulated quite a few very sturdy canvas bags that I use for shopping. I throw them in the laundry every so often. No big deal, just a bit of an adjustment. And we still get plastic bags sometimes, to line trash cans and clean the litter box.



Yes on that in bold... I forgot to mention that...  

Actually, yes on the entire post...  

Ross


----------



## Dawgluver

I've seen a small part of what plastic bags can do to the ocean.  They account for a lot of garbage that washes up, some even come from across the ocean.  They don't disintegrate.  Turtles, fish, and birds mistake them for jellyfish, eat them, and starve to death.

I use cloth bags whenever possible.  As GG said, it's no big deal to wash them every so often.


----------



## Mad Cook

Will someone please strangle the next "TV Chef" who says "charred" when s/he means "burnt"?


----------



## Mad Cook

Caslon said:


> California supermarkets and many other US stores are now charging 10 cents for each  plastic bag at the checkout.  This is in order to encourage customers bringing in their own bag of some kind.  Good luck with that.  Do the math.  I buy $50 worth of groceries requiring 3 ten cent bags.  30 cents is what percentage of $50?


 What a brilliant idea. Over here shops now, by law,  have to charge 5 pence for supplying a plastic carrier bag. It's cut down the bag usage considerably. The 5 pence goes to charities.

I've always used a wicker basket since I was young and frequently got laughed at in the past. I am now looked on with awe and receive questions of "Where did you get that basket?"


----------



## skilletlicker

Most of the time I carry groceries home in a backpack plus, if necessary, a tote bag. Cheaper than a gym membership. Still, those plastic bags accumulate and it doesn't take long for them to fill an 18-gallon kitchen trash bag. And I'm just one old man. Imagine how much room all our bags are taking up in landfills.


----------



## dragnlaw

Just Cooking said:


> Discouraging use of and banning plastic bags has been going on for a long time here.. Charging for paper bags for a year or so..
> 
> I can't imagine not going into a store without my cloth bags.. For those times when Jeannie pops into a store and finds something she wants, she has a compact bag in her purse to use or, she will pop for the 10 cents and use that bag for trash at home..
> 
> Ross


*
I also carry a compact bag in my purse.* 



GotGarlic said:


> My store offers a credit of 10 cents per bag you bring with you.  And we still get plastic bags sometimes, to line trash cans and clean the litter box.



Way back, gads, more than 20 years, they used to give you credit for bringing in your paper bags. They didn't charge you but you did get a credit for re-using them.  They didn't even have plastic bags at that time (other than the smaller ones for meat & vegies)

The times I have forgotten to take them in (I keep them in the car) I just have them load the groceries back in the basket, wheel it out to the car, and bag them there! 

You could also get them boxed, convenient to go to the cottage.  But now they collapse them and send to recycle. If you want boxes to move or one year I made a nursery for chicks and goslings out of the huge boxes for paper towels, etc. you have to go in and ask for them to be kept aside at least a week earlier.  AND if you don't pick them up when you say you will - their gone!!


----------



## roadfix

The checkers think my oversized, heavy canvas bag is so cool...    I think so too.  I like anything made of canvas.


----------



## Dawgluver

I have a big insulated canvas one from Costco.  Great for out of town trips.


----------



## taxlady

When I moved to Denmark in 1969, all the grocery stores charged for strong, reusable plastic bags. We quickly got used to doing what other people did - brought them grocery shopping to put our groceries in. I have been a regular user of cloth bags since the 80s. At least people don't think I'm weird now.

edit: People don't think I'm weird for bring my own cloth bags. Lots of people still think I'm weird.


----------



## Kayelle

In all the many years I've shopped at Trader Joe's, they've never used plastic bags, only nice double paper ones with handles. They have always sold really cute inexpensive reusable bags that nearly everyone uses these days, and also an inexpensive insulated canvas bag I use often. Although it's only a 20 mile round trip, it sure comes in handy if I have other stops to make.

I sooooo agree with this Dawg!


> I've seen a small part of what plastic bags can do to the ocean.  They  account for a lot of garbage that washes up, some even come from across  the ocean.  They don't disintegrate.  Turtles, fish, and birds mistake  them for jellyfish, eat them, and starve to death.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> I have a big insulated canvas one from Costco.  Great for out of town trips.


Forgot to mention, I also have two large insulated bags from Nahunta Pork Center in North Carolina, where Vivian Howard of Chef and the Farmer get their pork. I have two because we forgot to bring with us the one we bought there last year


----------



## skilletlicker

My tote bags mostly have the names of Insurance Companies on them and I got them from free health fairs for the homeless and indigent.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I've seen a small part of what plastic bags can do to the ocean.  They account for a lot of garbage that washes up, some even come from across the ocean.  They don't disintegrate.  Turtles, fish, and birds mistake them for jellyfish, eat them, and starve to death.
> 
> I use cloth bags whenever possible.  As GG said, it's no big deal to wash them every so often.



Dawg, out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, there is a very large island made up of garbage that people have tossed overboard from their boats, got caught up in waves coming on shore, etc. There is also one in the Pacific. 

Giant Ocean-Trash Vortex Attracts Explorers

In Massachusetts, the town across the Charles (Cambridge) has banned all plastic bags. I think it should be state wide. I have two large ones that I bring with me when grocery shopping. I know I can get more and I am going to. I use all my plastic bags for my trash baskets in my home. But I can find something else if need be for them.


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> When I moved to Denmark in 1969, all the grocery stores charged for strong, reusable plastic bags. We quickly got used to doing what other people did - brought them grocery shopping to put our groceries in. I have been a regular user of cloth bags since the 80s. At least people don't think I'm weird now.
> 
> edit: People don't think I'm weird for bring my own cloth bags. Lots of people still think I'm weird.



When we moved to Germany in the mid-50's they didn't have paper bags or plastic ones.  Everyone had a sort of knitted bag that would expand amazingly. In those days you shopped perhaps twice a week...  you walked to the grocers and there were no big box stores. There was a green grocer, a butcher, a baker... etc. If it had to be wrapped it was in butcher paper.
You asked at the counter for your butter, "One pound of butter, please."  I don't remember how we got our milk - think it was door to door.

and taxy, I don't think you're weird! (At least not THAT weird.)


----------



## Merlot

dragnlaw said:


> When we moved to Germany in the mid-50's they didn't have paper bags or plastic ones.  Everyone had a sort of knitted bag that would expand amazingly. In those days you shopped perhaps twice a week...  you walked to the grocers and there were no big box stores. There was a green grocer, a butcher, a baker... etc. If it had to be wrapped it was in butcher paper.
> You asked at the counter for your butter, "One pound of butter, please."  I don't remember how we got our milk - think it was door to door.
> 
> and taxy, I don't think you're weird! (At least not THAT weird.)


When I was a teenager, I remember my cousin telling me stories of shopping in Germany.  She was waiting in line for peanut butter.  I thought that was the weirdest thing that you just couldn't go grab a jar.


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> When we moved to Germany in the mid-50's they didn't have paper bags or plastic ones.  Everyone had a sort of knitted bag that would expand amazingly. In those days you shopped perhaps twice a week...  you walked to the grocers and there were no big box stores. There was a green grocer, a butcher, a baker... etc. If it had to be wrapped it was in butcher paper.
> You asked at the counter for your butter, "One pound of butter, please."  I don't remember how we got our milk - think it was door to door.
> 
> and taxy, *I don't think you're weird! *(At least not THAT weird.)



 Well I don't know about that. Anybody who enjoys taxes, has to be weird! Really weird!!! But we still love her. That just goes to show how weird we are. We love the tax lady!


----------



## Merlot

Addie said:


> Well I don't know about that. Anybody who enjoys taxes, has to be weird! Really weird!!! But we still love her. That just goes to show how weird we are. We love the tax lady!


lol that's true, she_may _ be weird but so are we


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I've taken bags back to stores for ages. In OH in the early '90s, most grocery stores offered 5 or 10 cents for each bag you reused. I always reused because if I'm nothing else, I'm cheap frugal. With the advent of store-logo'd bags, I've collected from stores we stop at that are out of our region...along with my Ohio State bag. (Go Bucks!) No one by us charges for plastic/paper yet, and do use the good bags for my under-sink garbage, but I take any with tears or holes back to the stores. It's not like it's hard to find a bin - most stores have them somewhere near the entrance of the store. In FL, Publix has three boxes outside the store: one for plastic bags, one for clean styrofoam, and one for cardboard egg cartons. I wish our stores up here were that eco-friendly.





dragnlaw said:


> ...a sort of knitted bag that would expand amazingly...


I have two of these, one in blue, the other light orange. I keep them in Himself's car so I have them handy when we're out and about and run across a farm stand, or make an impromptu stop at Aldi.


----------



## taxlady

That's what I meant by a string bag.

We don't bother taking plastic bags back to the store to recycle them. We are allowed to put them in with the other recycling that gets picked up by the city.


----------



## skilletlicker

Please forgive another stoopid question. Do the grocery stores accept any ole plastic bag in those return bins at the entrance? I ask because most of my bags are from other sources.

Of course, those bins aren't guarded, but that's not where I want to sacrifice my honor.


----------



## dragnlaw

LOL, *skillet,* plastic is plastic. If it is for recycling they will accept it.  If not they will soon post a sign to say what is and is not,...

and ps...  there is no such thing as a stupid question...  there may be a stupid answer, but not a stupid question...    think about it...


----------



## skilletlicker

dragnlaw said:


> ...and ps...  there is no such thing as a stupid question...  there may be a stupid answer, but not a stupid question...    think about it...



Well Dragn, I been thinkin' about that for a long time. Heard a lot of stupid questions; asked a lot of them too. Worst of all gave a lot more stupid answers than I'd like to admit to.


----------



## Addie

I use all my plastic bags to line my trash cans. I do not have the standard 30 gallon trash cans. More like the 15 gallon ones. And the grocery bags fits in them perfectly. In a sense they are being recycled, and I don't have to buy any more plastic for them. About every three months, I end up with more plastic bags than I will ever use. So I check all the extras and then gather them up and give them to the church for their food bank groceries on Saturdays. 

A couple of months ago, Spike found on a job in a store he was working at doing a clean out, about 300 rolls of small bags just the right size for my little basket that I keep beside my bed and the one in the bathroom. There are about 15 liners on each roll. I also donated about ten rolls of  these bags to the church. They use them for fresh produce. 

I am not happy that I am adding to the problem of adding plastic to our environment, but for now it is the best I can do. When I go grocery shopping, I come home with 20-40 plastic bags full of groceries. I blame the store partly. So often there is just one item in a bag. The three dozen eggs could all go into one bag. The bread could sit on top of those eggs. One piece of meat per bag? They could place the boxed hot dogs at the bottom, and another piece of meat on top. Every piece of meat does not each need its own bag. I cannot afford to replace those 20-40 plastic bags with cloth store bags. 

At least when they used to ask, paper or plastic, I had a choice. I would gladly choose paper.


----------



## Caslon

Biodegradable shopping bags. That's the way all plastics need to go.  A shopping bag made out of rice paper.  The bag is not only biodegradable, but a food source.


----------



## rodentraiser

For those who don't know what to do with their plastic bags, check in at the nearest food bank. Often times they need bags for their clients to carry their food in. I always bring mine to the local food bank in my town and they're very grateful.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I use all my plastic bags to line my trash cans. I do not have the standard 30 gallon trash cans. More like the 15 gallon ones. And the grocery bags fits in them perfectly. In a sense they are being recycled, and I don't have to buy any more plastic for them. About every three months, I end up with more plastic bags than I will ever use. So I check all the extras and then gather them up and give them to the church for their food bank groceries on Saturdays.
> 
> A couple of months ago, Spike found on a job in a store he was working at doing a clean out, about 300 rolls of small bags just the right size for my little basket that I keep beside my bed and the one in the bathroom. There are about 15 liners on each roll. I also donated about ten rolls of  these bags to the church. They use them for fresh produce.
> 
> I am not happy that I am adding to the problem of adding plastic to our environment, but for now it is the best I can do. When I go grocery shopping, I come home with 20-40 plastic bags full of groceries. I blame the store partly. So often there is just one item in a bag. The three dozen eggs could all go into one bag. The bread could sit on top of those eggs. One piece of meat per bag? They could place the boxed hot dogs at the bottom, and another piece of meat on top. Every piece of meat does not each need its own bag. I cannot afford to replace those 20-40 plastic bags with cloth store bags.
> 
> At least when they used to ask, paper or plastic, I had a choice. I would gladly choose paper.



When you bring reusable bags, they actually overfill them. They seem to think they can only use your bags [emoji38] I have to tell them that if everything doesn't fit, it's okay to use a couple plastic bags. 

Since they're already giving you way too many plastic bags, you won't need to replace 20-40 bags. Just get two or three at a time till you have enough. Supplement with plastic and use them for trash bags.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> Biodegradable shopping bags. That's the way all plastics need to go.  A shopping bag made out of rice paper.  The bag is not only biodegradable, but a food source.



But can I carry a 20 pound turkey into the house safely?


----------



## Rparrny

I am a 57 year old PA who works in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy medicine.  I tend not to moan about my aches a pains but about 5 years ago, a friend who is an orthopedic surgeon saw my limp and said "you need a hip replacement".  I responded "Lou, when I can't walk anymore, you can replace my hips".  Fast forward to this past May when I meet our new Chief on a rainy day and he says "so what's up with the limp?".  I told him I probably need a hip replacement and he says it's time to get an MRI.  So I get the MRI and it was so much worse than anyone expected...every radiologist, doctor and surgeon that has seen the films say they can't believe I can even walk.  So I make an appointment to see Lou, get all my medical clearances and schedule a double hip replacement for the 17th of July.  Now knowing the pain was getting worse, I got the best medical plan Aetna offers through my work.  Two weeks before surgery, Atena refuses the surgery saying I should go through 3 months of physical therapy first.  Lou challenges it and it gets bounced to their consult company Evicore for a peer to peer review...Evicore gets an Orthopod to talk to Lou and Lou tells him to look at the films, the hips are bone on bone, the cartilage is torn on both sides and PT is not going to help it...and I am now in severe pain.  The Evicore doc agrees but says it is Aetna's policy and he should file an appeal.  A week before surgery now...we file an expedited appeal, I get a PT consult that says...in a nutshell...she can't walk you morons, how can she do PT?  Wednesday his nurse calls to see where the appeal is and is told there has been no appeal filed.  She is on the phone most of the day and they finally find the appeal but state it was not expedited so it can take 30 days.  I am now using a walker and stopped working as of last Monday.  Knowing I am good friends with Lou, Janine, his nurse his practically having a breakdown trying to get this approved.  I called her Thursday morning and told her to take a load off...give me all the reference numbers and I would take over.  My surgery is scheduled for Monday.
Six hours on the phone, Aetna approves the appeal but Evicore must sign off on it and no one has.  I call Evicore and they tell me they are waiting for the reversal letter from Aetna, Aetna tells me no, Evicore needs info from my surgeon...they are still blaming each other on Friday and the OR has now cancelled my surgery for Monday.  I spend the week on the phone with them both and finally on Thursday, I get a three way call with both Evicore and Aetna about what is needed.  Aetna now admits the screw up and promises to email the letter of reversal to Evicore within 24 hours.  On Friday, 25 hours later, I call Evicore...they received nothing.  I do another three way at first Aetna tries saying my surgery was denied!  Luckily I had the approval reference number and after 30 minutes she found a screen on her computer that showed the approval.  To Evicore's credit, because of all of the screw ups, they took a verbal and gave me an authorization number for the surgery.  So today I should get a new date for my surgery.  Now I am a medical professional, used to dealing with insurance companies...but three weeks????  And I know what I'm doing and what to ask, what does the average person do?  No doctors office can spend the amount of time needed to get these things accomplished in a reasonable time frame.  I think they are screwing up on purpose...after all this surgery will be in the six figures.
Obama care has done this....I miss the old days...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

How about a month and a half for Shrek to have a bladder mass removed...meanwhile blood and urine and a non-compliant Ogre that I want to strangle most days?  And this was just the doctor runaround.


----------



## GotGarlic

Rparrny said:


> Obama care has done this....I miss the old days...



I'm sorry about your troubles, but since you have insurance through your employer, I don't understand how you can blame it on the Affordable Care Act, which is about extending access to health insurance to people who didn't have it at all before. The fact that your insurance company doesn't want to pay for expensive surgery is not due to the law. 

I sure don't miss the old days, when I felt locked into my job because I have pre-existing conditions that started when I was 12 years old. I was lucky that my insurance didn't have annual or lifetime caps or I wouldn't be here today. I have a friend whose cousin developed AIDS in the old days. When he got too sick to work, he lost his job and his insurance and died because emergency rooms don't provide care for chronic health issues. The old days were pretty brutal for a lot of people.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> LOL, *skillet,* plastic is plastic. If it is for recycling they will accept it.  If not they will soon post a sign to say what is and is not,...
> 
> and ps...  there is no such thing as a stupid question...  there may be a stupid answer, but not a stupid question...    think about it...



Actually, there are several kinds of plastics and not all of them are recyclable everywhere. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic


----------



## Rparrny

GotGarlic said:


> I'm sorry about your troubles, but since you have insurance through your employer, I don't understand how you can blame it on the Affordable Care Act, which is about extending access to health insurance to people who didn't have it at all before. The fact that your insurance company doesn't want to pay for expensive surgery is not due to the law.
> 
> I sure don't miss the old days, when I felt locked into my job because I have pre-existing conditions that started when I was 12 years old. I was lucky that my insurance didn't have annual or lifetime caps or I wouldn't be here today. I have a friend whose cousin developed AIDS in the old days. When he got too sick to work, he lost his job and his insurance and died because emergency rooms don't provide care for chronic health issues. The old days were pretty brutal for a lot of people.


All businesses that have more than ten employees must get there health insurance from the Affordable Health Care Act.  So 99% of people that have insurance fall under this category.  Because companies like Aetna, have to abide by the AHCA guidelines, many have closed shop (in fact Aetna was threatening to do so less than six months ago), or severely cut services and increased premiums.  My premiums have increased by 100% in three years.  I've been in healthcare for 28 years and the only people I see benefiting from this disaster are those with no jobs and no money.  What really upsets me is people of modest income who can't afford these new "affordable care" premiums.  So by the time I see them, they are paying out of pocket for an office visit...need such extensive care they will never be able to afford...most of them diabetics with foot ulcers that are now looking at amputations.  So they lose their jobs, go on welfare and THEN and ONLY then can they get the care they need.  Was the preexisting condition a fault in the system? Yes, but other than that, I see no advantage for working class people with this system.


----------



## Rparrny

PrincessFiona60 said:


> How about a month and a half for Shrek to have a bladder mass removed...meanwhile blood and urine and a non-compliant Ogre that I want to strangle most days?  And this was just the doctor runaround.


If you are still waiting for this, send me a private message and I will show you how to get things moving.  Most people don't know that they have every right to intervene with the insurance companies...doctor's offices can't possible dedicate the time required to get things done.  Once I realized that Aetna and Evicore were giving different stories about what was needed, I decided to tape record the conversation for my own accuracy and a legal record.  When I informed Aetna I was taping them I was told I could not.
"Why, your taping ME?"
"It's our policy"
"There is no such policy in my contract...what is the reference number of this policy or, the name of the policy manual and page number"
"Are you recording this conversation?"
"I want to know why I CANT record this conversation"
"It's our policy"
This went on for 30 minutes and then he hung up on me.  I found out later that NY is a one party consent state when it comes to tape recordings, not only do I not need their permission, I don't even have to tell them I'm taping them.  I have taped every conversation since.
If I can help I am happy to do so.


----------



## GotGarlic

Rparrny said:


> All businesses that have more than ten employees must get there health insurance from the Affordable Health Care Act.  So 99% of people that have insurance fall under this category.



No. All businesses that have more than ten employees must provide insurance to their employees. The ACA does not provide insurance. It regulates the insurance market, requires that essential benefits be covered, encourages cost-saving measures like electronic medical records, and provides subsidies to help poor people afford coverage. It is not an insurance provider. 



Rparrny said:


> Because companies like Aetna, have to abide by the AHCA guidelines, many have closed shop (in fact Aetna was threatening to do so less than six months ago), or severely cut services and increased premiums.  My premiums have increased by 100% in three years.  I've been in healthcare for 28 years and the only people I see benefiting from this disaster are those with no jobs and no money.  What really upsets me is people of modest income who can't afford these new "affordable care" premiums.  So by the time I see them, they are paying out of pocket for an office visit...need such extensive care they will never be able to afford...most of them diabetics with foot ulcers that are now looking at amputations.  So they lose their jobs, go on welfare and THEN and ONLY then can they get the care they need.  Was the preexisting condition a fault in the system? Yes, but other than that, I see no advantage for working class people with this system.



The AHCA is one of the new laws they're trying to pass. It's not what we're operating under now. 

There are lots of advantages for working people with this system. You have to look at the whole picture, not just a few individual situations. Premium costs were going up by 20-30 or more percent per year before the ACA. That's on the insurance companies, not the law. 

Junk insurance where people found out when they needed help it wasn't covered was common "before." Millions of people who couldn't afford it before now have it and it actually covers a range of benefits that people need. I am no longer a working person; I am a disabled person on my working husband's health insurance. If an annual and/or lifetime cap is placed on our insurance, I will be in big trouble. Like life-threatening trouble. So the ACA provides a huge benefit to us and others like me. 

A lot of the problems with the ACA are because some members of the party that believes health care is a privilege reserved for those who can pay for it have done a lot to sabotage it.


----------



## Rparrny

GotGarlic said:


> No. All businesses that have more than ten employees must provide insurance to their employees. The ACA does not provide insurance. It regulates the insurance market, requires that essential benefits be covered, encourages cost-saving measures like electronic medical records, and provides subsidies to help poor people afford coverage. It is not an insurance provider.
> 
> 
> 
> The AHCA is one of the new laws they're trying to pass. It's not what we're operating under now.
> 
> There are lots of advantages for working people with this system. You have to look at the whole picture, not just a few individual situations. Premium costs were going up by 20-30 or more percent per year before the ACA. That's on the insurance companies, not the law.
> 
> Junk insurance where people found out when they needed help it wasn't covered was common "before." Millions of people who couldn't afford it before now have it and it actually covers a range of benefits that people need. I am no longer a working person; I am a disabled person on my working husband's health insurance. If an annual and/or lifetime cap is placed on our insurance, I will be in big trouble. Like life-threatening trouble. So the ACA provides a huge benefit to us and others like me.
> 
> A lot of the problems with the ACA are because some members of the party that believes health care is a privilege reserved for those who can pay for it have done a lot to sabotage it.



Sorry but your mistaken.  Here's a quote directly from the Obama Care fact page:
ObamaCare health insurance rules dictate the minimum standards of all health insurance plans sold off and on the exchange.

I've been dealing with this as a medical professional and a consumer...health care has NEVER been this bad.  I left a prestigious hospital job because I watched patients die because the hospitals were trying to save money as a result of the poor reimbursement and regulations of Obama care.


----------



## GotGarlic

Rparrny said:


> Sorry but your mistaken.  Here's a quote directly from the Obama Care fact page:
> ObamaCare health insurance rules dictate the minimum standards of all health insurance plans sold off and on the exchange.



What am I mistaken about? I said the ACA *regulates* health insurance. That's what the minimum standards are: regulations. You said the ACA *provides* health insurance. It does not. Health insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid do that.


----------



## GotGarlic

Rparrny said:


> I've been dealing with this as a medical professional and a consumer...health care has NEVER been this bad.  I left a prestigious hospital job because I watched patients die because the hospitals were trying to save money as a result of the poor reimbursement and regulations of Obama care.



Your experience does not mean that other people cannot be knowledgeable about the same topic. What your experience missed is all the people who sickened and died from untreated chronic illness before the ACA was passed because they never saw a doctor or went into the hospital to begin with. Doctors and hospitals were poorly reimbursed by Medicaid long before the ACA.


----------



## Rparrny

GotGarlic said:


> What am I mistaken about? I said the ACA *regulates* health insurance. That's what the minimum standards are: regulations. You said the ACA *provides* health insurance. It does not. Health insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid do that.



All insurance is regulated by Obama care.  They call the shots, they make the rules.  They own them lock stock and barrel.  If you want to mince words, they don't provide the care, they just dictate the care you get and how much it will cost because of that regulation.  Medicare and Medicaid are hundreds of billions in debt and unsustainable because the government is in charge and there is no incentive to streamline.  Private insurance (if done correctly not with the big three companies calling the shots but true competition) creates competition in both price and service.  
I'm sure the party you were bashing was either the republicans or conservatives, I have no party affiliation...I call it like I see it.
The reason most docs won't take Medicare or Medicaid is that they can't afford to.  The reimbursement is so low it won't cover malpractice, office space, staff ect...
If just once, the government could demonstrate that they could effectively manage ANY large funded social services program...Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Food Stamps, Social Security...they might have a valid argument.  But not ONE of these programs are sustainable or well managed. ALL of these programs are in massive debt. 
I'm also a veteran who has submitted an initiative to my state senator to get Vets with PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury) properly diagnosed and treated so DON'T even get me started on the VA cause the corruption and incompetence in that government entity is beyond belief.
I did not vote for Trump, but he is now my commander in chief and I want him to succeed.  The reason he got elected is because even the least educated American can clearly see that the government is incompetent when it comes to social services and they are hoping an outsider experienced in business will do a better job and have better ideas.  Will it work?  I don't know, but I think we have given the government enough decades to prove if they could do it... and they can't.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Well ladies...you have placed yourselves directly in the political arena with the last few posts...how about we shake hands and back off or you can always take it to private messaging.  Thanks!

Rparrny, thanks for the offer of assist.  Shrek is getting his surgery tomorrow, insurance was never a problem. Getting the doctors to stop ordering expensive testing and do a cystoscopy as I requested to begin with, this would have been over with two weeks ago.


----------



## Rparrny

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Well ladies...you have placed yourselves directly in the political arena with the last few posts...how about we shake hands and back off or you can always take it to private messaging.  Thanks!
> 
> Rparrny, thanks for the offer of assist.  Shrek is getting his surgery tomorrow, insurance was never a problem. Getting the doctors to stop ordering expensive testing and do a cystoscopy as I requested to begin with, this would have been over with two weeks ago.



My best wishes for his speedy recovery.  Shocked that a cysto was not one of the first procedures done once the mass was identified.  You sound like you have some medical experience but if you have any questions about the surgery or recovery period, feel free...I would be honored to help.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rparrny said:


> My best wishes for his speedy recovery.  Shocked that a cysto was not one of the first procedures done once the mass was identified.  You sound like you have some medical experience but if you have any questions about the surgery or recovery period, feel free...I would be honored to help.



The cysto should have been part of the diagnostic process, especially since this a re-occurring mass. RN for 19 years...I specialize in Geriatrics and "End-of-Life".  I'm halfway to Dementia myself Thanks!


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Well ladies...you have placed yourselves directly in the political arena with the last few posts...how about we shake hands and back off or you can always take it to private messaging.  Thanks!
> 
> Rparrny, thanks for the offer of assist.  Shrek is getting his surgery tomorrow, insurance was never a problem. Getting the doctors to stop ordering expensive testing and do a cystoscopy as I requested to begin with, this would have been over with two weeks ago.



Was trying to have a discussion without it getting political. Oh well [emoji2]

I'm glad you're getting things straight with Shrek [emoji813]


----------



## CubsGal

Addie said:


> I am not happy that I am adding to the problem of adding plastic to our environment, but for now it is the best I can do. When I go grocery shopping, I come home with 20-40 plastic bags full of groceries. I blame the store partly. So often there is just one item in a bag. The three dozen eggs could all go into one bag. The bread could sit on top of those eggs. One piece of meat per bag? They could place the boxed hot dogs at the bottom, and another piece of meat on top. Every piece of meat does not each need its own bag. I cannot afford to replace those 20-40 plastic bags with cloth store bags.
> 
> At least when they used to ask, paper or plastic, I had a choice. I would gladly choose paper.



Reusable bags hold way more than plastic, so you wouldn't need 20-40. They never put just one item in a reusable bag, so that won't be an issue any longer. The contents of 3-4 plastic bags will fit in one reusable bag. And they only cost $1 each at most places. If that is too heavy for you, they'll pack them lighter upon request. 

Also, even though most stores no longer ask if you want paper or plastic, you can still request paper. I'm not sure about where you live, but I've never been to a store that didn't have paper as an option when requested. 

And if you choose to continue to get plastic, many stores accept the empty bags back for recycling. Many grocery store chains here have bins outside specifically for recycling plastic bags. I believe Kohl's does as well.

I wish my state would pass a law like California and ban the use of plastic bags. I wish they all would.


----------



## roadfix

All this talk of grocery bags reminds me of a scene from this classic film....

https://youtu.be/PSxihhBzCjk


----------



## Merlot

I don't think it's a petty vent but my brothers white blood count is low, they wouldn't give him chemo today and I'm just discouraged.  I normally feel optimistic about stuff, I don't.. I feel like he's going to die and I'm so discouraged and sad.


----------



## Just Cooking

Merlot said:


> I don't think it's a petty vent but my brothers white blood count is low, they wouldn't give him chemo today and I'm just discouraged.  I normally feel optimistic about stuff, I don't.. I feel like he's going to die and I'm so discouraged and sad.



Stay strong, Merlot... Many of us have been there and he needs you..  

Ross


----------



## GotGarlic

Merlot said:


> I don't think it's a petty vent but my brothers white blood count is low, they wouldn't give him chemo today and I'm just discouraged.  I normally feel optimistic about stuff, I don't.. I feel like he's going to die and I'm so discouraged and sad.


I'm sorry, Merlot. It's an awful situation to be in. Just do what you can to make him comfortable and hope for the best [emoji813]


----------



## Dawgluver

{{{{hugs}}}}Merlot.


----------



## Rparrny

Merlot said:


> I don't think it's a petty vent but my brothers white blood count is low, they wouldn't give him chemo today and I'm just discouraged.  I normally feel optimistic about stuff, I don't.. I feel like he's going to die and I'm so discouraged and sad.


So sorry about your brother.  I do hyperbaric medicine and we have a lot of stage 3 and 4 cancer patients.  Have your brother research a ketogenic diet.  Lots of info on the web.  It's no miracle cure but it has slowed the process and given the patients a much higher quality of life.  Many of our patients are also on metformin, he might want to ask his oncologist about it.  Seems it reduces the sugar that feeds the tumor.


----------



## dragnlaw

Hugs Merlot!  As said, a lot of us have been there! Hard to do just try to keep a positive attitude around him but let him vent and mostly...  hold his hand.  Some days my brother just wouldn't let go.  

Sending some dragonettes with extra hugs for both you and him.


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> I don't think it's a petty vent but my brothers white blood count is low, they wouldn't give him chemo today and I'm just discouraged.  I normally feel optimistic about stuff, I don't.. I feel like he's going to die and I'm so discouraged and sad.



First my son-in-law and then my daughter. They both made it and are alive today. So hang in there. Prayer can work wonders!


----------



## Katie H

Merlot said:


> I don't think it's a petty vent but my brothers white blood count is low, they wouldn't give him chemo today and I'm just discouraged.  I normally feel optimistic about stuff, I don't.. I feel like he's going to die and I'm so discouraged and sad.



I can understand your concern, Merlot.  I have first-hand experience with chemo and low blood counts.  I, too, was at a point or two when the chemo administration was questionable due to low white blood count.

Chin up and best wishes for a good outcome for your brother.  I'm still here, so there's hope for your brother, too.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

More hugs on the way, *Merlot*. As much as you can, be strong for him. You have us to use as shoulders to cry on.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Rparrny said:


> Many of our patients are also on metformin, he might want to ask his oncologist about it.  Seems it reduces the sugar that feeds the tumor.



I never knew that about metformin, I always thought that metformin increased the muscles sensitivity to the sugar or to the insulin to help reduce the sugar floating around in the blood.


----------



## Rparrny

cjmmytunes said:


> I never knew that about metformin, I always thought that metformin increased the muscles sensitivity to the sugar or to the insulin to help reduce the sugar floating around in the blood.



I don't do oncology but pretty much all of our stage 3 and 4 cancer patients are on it.  When I went recently to my primary MD for surgical clearance, he discussed putting me on it as a preventative for cancer!  I declined but there must be a valid study out there somewhere if so many are jumping on the bandwagon.  That's why I suggested he ask his doctor about it.


----------



## Merlot

I so appreciate each and every comment, I think I have to have a mental breakdown at least every two weeks and I apologize.  
I really really appreciate the diet suggestions but unfortunately he has esophageal cancer and can't eat a lot.  I'm mostly worried that he pours boost into his feeding tube, sounds like sugar to me but I dunno.  He came to my house and I offered to make him absolutely anything he wants, he said no... nothing tastes good.  I offered a low sodium v 8, no it doesn't taste good.   I ransacked my house to get rid of everything possible to have a sale for him.  I just can't stand it but who am I to complain?  I don't have cancer.


----------



## GotGarlic

Merlot said:


> I so appreciate each and every comment, I think I have to have a mental breakdown at least every two weeks and I apologize.
> I really really appreciate the diet suggestions but unfortunately he has esophageal cancer and can't eat a lot.  I'm mostly worried that he pours boost into his feeding tube, sounds like sugar to me but I dunno.  He came to my house and I offered to make him absolutely anything he wants, he said no... nothing tastes good.  I offered a low sodium v 8, no it doesn't taste good.   I ransacked my house to get rid of everything possible to have a sale for him.  I just can't stand it but who am I to complain?  I don't have cancer.


Boost is a very good alternative for people who have difficulty eating. It has lots of vitamins and minerals; the high protein variety would be especially good for him as protein is necessary for healing.


----------



## medtran49

Merlot said:


> I so appreciate each and every comment, I think I have to have a mental breakdown at least every two weeks and I apologize.
> I really really appreciate the diet suggestions but unfortunately he has esophageal cancer and can't eat a lot.  I'm mostly worried that he pours boost into his feeding tube, sounds like sugar to me but I dunno.  He came to my house and I offered to make him absolutely anything he wants, he said no... nothing tastes good.  I offered a low sodium v 8, no it doesn't taste good.   I ransacked my house to get rid of everything possible to have a sale for him.  I just can't stand it but who am I to complain?  I don't have cancer.



Doesn't his doctor have him on feeding tube mixtures like Jevity, ProSource, Fibersource, etc?  As I understand it, they don't taste so great going through your mouth, but are perfectly fine for feeding tubes and would be a lot better than Boost.  About the same cost I believe, but they have more vitamins, minerals, etc.


----------



## Addie

Merlot, you know we are all here for you. If you feel like you have to have a breakdown every two weeks or so, go for it. Then you can grab those boot straps and pull yourself back up. Sometimes in order to be strong for the other person, we have to give everything we have in ourselves. And then you feel so empty inside, that you have to have that mental breakdown. And if that breakdown doesn't do it for you, have yourself one heck of a good deep sobbing cry. It can work wonders. 

There are prayers on the way. For both and your brother to see the both of you through this most difficult time. I have been there, so I know.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Sorry Merlot, I'm still here with best wishes, etc. for you and your brother.


----------



## rodentraiser

Hoping things improve, Merlot. It's hard to stay positive when things like this happen.


I don't want to post a petty vent now. Compared to what Merlot is going through, everything in my life is petty.


----------



## Merlot

I feel guilty for posting here.  I so appreciate every word and virtual hug and every good thought yet I feel bad that you have to comfort me, is that ridiculous or what.  I thank each and everyone of you.  Me.. like you.. I'm a foodie so I research stuff and I'm thinking to him.. eat black raspberries!  It's great for esophageal cancer.  Yet he won't touch them.  I eat like a champ.  I eat all those super foods that everyone else (in my life ) hates and yet I can't help him.  It sucks to say the least and I know.  I have one power that decides if he stays here or not so.... I'll try to be calmer.  Please don't sto your petty vents, I'm a silly gal who doesn't know where to post and I love to hear everyone's stories!


----------



## Addie

I am getting very irritated. I have been on Vicodin for more than ten years. They are for the pain in my hips and spine. The dosage is supposed to be "take two, three times a day. 5-325 mg. I am not sure if that is the total dose of two or just one. I have never asked. I usually take only one. Most of the time that calms down my hips and spine. The only time I may take the two of them together is if I was walking too much outside. 

There are some days I don't need to take any. And there are days when I am so grateful I have them. The problem is for some folks, they make them sleepy. So I take one, the second one later if I feel I still need it. For me, they give me energy you wouldn't believe. Every time I take the two, the family joke is, "There she goes, up on the roof to scrub it on her hands and knees." 

I took two Wednesday and was up for 36 hours straight. Then when I fell asleep, it was from pure exhaustion. And of course I fell asleep through my timed Gabapentin doses. 

Well, now the neuropathy from the diabetes that I knew would hit me sooner or later, has arrived. Winthrop has informed me that I can take the Vicodin with the Gabapentin if the pain is too unbearable. But that I should continue to stick to my regular times of dosage if I can. Use my own judgement. Am I addicted to them? That would be a resounding "No!" A couple of years ago I asked to have the amount I receive every month reduced since I don't always need that many. So unless the pain from my hips has gone into my spine, I don't want it. Or if the neuropathy pain is so bad that the Gabapentin is just not doing the job. I waited too long to take them. Trying to get back on my regular dosage schedule. 

They work with great with the Gabapentin. They stop the neuropathy pain and any pain I might have in my hips and spine. But I stay up for hours on end, and then collapse into oblivion. Missing all the regular timed dosages for my other meds. And that concerns me. Because I am missing my heart, neuropathy and thyroid medications. Along with some of the many other meds I take. Not take the Vicodin and learn to live with the pain from two incurable problems that are only getting worse with age and time, or take them and stay up for hours on end and then collapse into such a deep sleep that I miss my other very important meds.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Save me from sick Ogres...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Save me from sick Ogres...



He will get better. He is in the very best pair of capable hands. I wanted to put "loving" hands in there. But from the tone of your voice, I don't think that would be the right word at this time. Maybe tomorrow. I will check back.  Just for you. Well earned and deserved.


----------



## dragnlaw

aww Princess...  I feel for you....


----------



## dragnlaw

But he'll be better soon ....   and you can let him out.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Long rant about dis-service, Magazines(GH in this one), Sodium, Research*

Good Housekeeping Magazine,  August 2011
Listed Under…  
Goodhealth….    Healthy in a Hurry   (key titles here!)

Shrimp & Mango Skewers…  yada yada…  grilled low fat shrimp (just 80 calories per 4-ounce serving). More yada yada yada…  

They neglect to mention in the ‘Ingredients’ – ¼ tsp each salt & pepper. Granted this was 6 years ago but if they are on the “healthy” kick then they already know that salt is an issue for many Americans.   “Healthy” doesn’t just mean calories, carbs, fat, cholesterol and ‘sugars’.  It certainly does however, include sodium, even back then.

So back to their first statement… Just 80 calories per (4 ounce) serving.  That is a gross mis-service. Your average dieter is going only see 80 cal per serving ,  where-as they were really referring to the shrimp only, not the entire dish.  They do list the entire dish as 410 calories per serving. I think anything under the 500 mark is good. About the only good point I can applaud. 
Then the shocker is down the list you hit sodium at 890 mg per serving!  
Now bear with me…  the “upper” limit listed by the American Heart Assoc. for sodium ‘used to be' 2,300 mg per day… which translates to about 1 tsp…   ergo ¼ tsp is (2,300 divided by 4 =) 575 mg of sodium. Keep working with this guys ….  Granted that there is natural sodium in the other ingredients but it just does not calculate – if you take the ¼ tsp of sodium that is 575 mg of sodium for the whole dish and divide that by 4 for the total servings, you are now at approx. 144 mg of sodium per serving.  So why are they saying that there is a total of 890 mg per serving!!!!????

So who does the proof-reading/calculations/nutritional calcs/fact findings/etc/etc…  just to sell a magazine…  let the buyer/reader/believer beware!

Granted again…  this is from a 2011 magazine and it is now 2017 – but in case anyone is interested:-

Because of Americans obsession with salt  (bad phrasing, I know, GG please put it in better words for me) the Heart Association has now lowered the daily recommendation of sodium to (I think) 1,500 mg a day.

There are many more issues here and this is just one of them. It boggles my mind and I cannot encompass even half of the injustices wrought.  For big companies that pay lawyers HUGE fees to avoid lawsuits…   but then the little guy hardly ever has the time much less the money…

OK  - rant over


----------



## Cooking Goddess

The Mayo Clinic supports the DASH Diet. They offer two levels of daily sodium limits, 2,300 and 1,500. I suppose if you don't have high BP or it is well managed, 2,300 is still fine. If you need to get your BP reduced, 1,300 is the better level.

If you don't use processed foods, or very few, I would think sodium isn't much of a worry. I check package ingredients regularly and would guess that we are significantly under 2,300 every day. Just not today, with ham being on the menu...


----------



## rodentraiser

Merlot said:


> I feel guilty for posting here.  I so appreciate every word and virtual hug and every good thought yet I feel bad that you have to comfort me, is that ridiculous or what.  I thank each and everyone of you.  Me.. like you.. I'm a foodie so I research stuff and I'm thinking to him.. eat black raspberries!  It's great for esophageal cancer.  Yet he won't touch them.  I eat like a champ.  I eat all those super foods that everyone else (in my life ) hates and yet I can't help him.  It sucks to say the least and I know.  I have one power that decides if he stays here or not so.... I'll try to be calmer.  Please don't sto your petty vents, I'm a silly gal who doesn't know where to post and I love to hear everyone's stories!



Don't feel guilty! I've been on a lot of different forums and the one thing they all have in common is that people share with each other. We might start out wanting nothing more than a cooking forum, but you can't have a forum for any length of time before people start to get to know each other and are friends with each other. So when life hits us in the solar plexus, we automatically turn to our friends. And that's the way it should be.

If we couldn't share with each other, what would be the point of having a forum?

Besides, my petty vent got taken care of today when I saw what the temps are going to do next week. Originally I was going to complain about the huge, long list of items I had to buy at the store when I went shopping next Thursday, but I ain't a-shoppin' in no 90 degree weather and that's that. So shopping list be da...well, forget the shopping list.

I'm going to go out on Monday and get hot weather food: salad, salad, and more salad, because I'm not cooking until next Friday.


----------



## dragnlaw

Yes, CG, you are right - I have the Dash Diet book, good book and explains a lot.  I also check a lot of things thru the Mayo clinic (John Hopkins and Duke are also good sources). 

My rant was on the mis-leading title and how on earth they came up with the total sodium based on what was used. Their math sucks!

Also according to the CDC "The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that Americans consume less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium each day as part of a healthy eating pattern. The average daily sodium intake for Americans aged 2 years and older is more than 3,400 mg. 
Feb 29, 2016"

and yes, my sodium intake is probably hideously high...


----------



## Rparrny

Addie said:


> I am getting very irritated. I have been on Vicodin for more than ten years. They are for the pain in my hips and spine. The dosage is supposed to be "take two, three times a day. 5-325 mg. I am not sure if that is the total dose of two or just one. I have never asked. I usually take only one. Most of the time that calms down my hips and spine. The only time I may take the two of them together is if I was walking too much outside.
> 
> There are some days I don't need to take any. And there are days when I am so grateful I have them. The problem is for some folks, they make them sleepy. So I take one, the second one later if I feel I still need it. For me, they give me energy you wouldn't believe. Every time I take the two, the family joke is, "There she goes, up on the roof to scrub it on her hands and knees."
> 
> I took two Wednesday and was up for 36 hours straight. Then when I fell asleep, it was from pure exhaustion. And of course I fell asleep through my timed Gabapentin doses.
> 
> Well, now the neuropathy from the diabetes that I knew would hit me sooner or later, has arrived. Winthrop has informed me that I can take the Vicodin with the Gabapentin if the pain is too unbearable. But that I should continue to stick to my regular times of dosage if I can. Use my own judgement. Am I addicted to them? That would be a resounding "No!" A couple of years ago I asked to have the amount I receive every month reduced since I don't always need that many. So unless the pain from my hips has gone into my spine, I don't want it. Or if the neuropathy pain is so bad that the Gabapentin is just not doing the job. I waited too long to take them. Trying to get back on my regular dosage schedule.
> 
> They work with great with the Gabapentin. They stop the neuropathy pain and any pain I might have in my hips and spine. But I stay up for hours on end, and then collapse into oblivion. Missing all the regular timed dosages for my other meds. And that concerns me. Because I am missing my heart, neuropathy and thyroid medications. Along with some of the many other meds I take. Not take the Vicodin and learn to live with the pain from two incurable problems that are only getting worse with age and time, or take them and stay up for hours on end and then collapse into such a deep sleep that I miss my other very important meds.



I have hatred of all opioids for some personal reasons that I won't get into...now that I'm doing Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) medicine, I have a lot of chronic pain patients on opioids.  They look like zombies, pale with dark circles under their eyes and major intestinal issues...mind you these are people who have been on very high doses for a very long time.
New York recently legalized medical marijuana and I've watched as these patients changed to Cannabidiol Oil (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in various ratios. The CBD is great for inflammation, the THC great for pain.  I watched every single patient get off of opioids within a month or so...color back in their faces, no dark circles under their eyes.
When my idiot insurance company denied the surgery, it cancelled my OR date of July 17th.  I had been toughing out the pain waiting for that date...and when it was cancelled until a future unknown date (at that time), I decided to discuss it with a local D.O. who is certified in dispensing.
She promised me the doses she prescribed would not get me high and would improve my pain.  At that point I was using a walker and my feet were like balloons...okay, not really that bad but I've never had swollen feet before.
It took nine days for the paperwork to go through, but I got my card and went to the dispensary on Thursday.  The pharmacist gave me a good 40 minute consult, she felt that the 1:1 ratio my doctor had written for was too low, even if I was opioid naïve (someone who has not taken any opioids for their pain), and recommended doubling the dose if the first dose didn't help.

So Thursday late afternoon I took a single dose...nothing much happened.  After 30 minutes as the pharmacist suggested, I took a second dose.  I very quickly got exhausted, most likely from the lack of pain.  If I wasn't on my feet I was pain free.  As she promised, it did not get me high but I did have an odd ringing in my ears similar to the ringing I get with a high fever.  Did not take a dose before bed.
Next morning...getting out of bed is a bear and the worst moment of the day...usually compounded by getting only 3 hours sleep.  This morning...still no fun but I would say a decrease in pain about 30%.  Six hours of sleep...hadn't seen THAT in awhile.  I have not used the walker or cane to get to the kitchen...that's different.  I take a double dose of the 1:1 ratio and I will say that although walking is still painful, it's manageable and I have not used a walker or cane since Thursday.  I am by no means walking normal...but I'm getting to my destination independently which is a welcomed ability.  I would say I have tripled the amount of walking I can do since Friday.

For those with chronic pain on opioids, if your state is legal, there are other options.  Not covered by insurance but every person at the dispensary that day qualified for financial need and didn't pay a cent....everyone but me that is, but I did get a veteran discount!
I am planning on bringing it to the hospital and use it instead of the pain pump opioids.  We will see how it goes...


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> The Mayo Clinic supports the DASH Diet. They offer two levels of daily sodium limits, 2,300 and 1,500. I suppose if you don't have high BP or it is well managed, 2,300 is still fine. If you need to get your BP reduced, 1,300 is the better level.
> 
> If you don't use processed foods, or very few, I would think sodium isn't much of a worry. I check package ingredients regularly and would guess that we are significantly under 2,300 every day. Just not today, with ham being on the menu...



You would think that with all the health problems I have developed over the past 20 years, at least one doctor would have told my to limit my salt intake. Nope. Has yet to happen. Fortunately for me, I am not nor ever have been a big salt user. There have been a few times when it has been difficult to even get a BP reading. I am just grateful that high blood pressure is one problem I don't have. And it is not to any conscience effort on my part.


----------



## dragnlaw

As much as I ranted on GH's calculations of salt for a 'healthy' recipe - I made it last night and it was absolutely DELISH!  Of course I did not use their salt. I did one 1/4 turn on the grinder. 

Shrimp and Mango Skewers:   I'll post the recipe...


----------



## Merlot

So my fiancé dad has apparently lost it, he is accusing my fiancé of stealing all of his stuff.  He is ranting about getting warrants and my fiancé is really hurt/ mad.  The sister told him about it so I suggested he call his dad himself.  Yep, dad still ranting.  Well obviously he hasn't taken anything.  The last time we were there we took him a knife that we bought at a dog hunting show.  Anywho, fiancé has temper and called the dad, said he was dead to him and they had blowout.  I'm trying to explain to him that his dad has dementia for sure, not to take it personally but no avail....


----------



## dragnlaw

That's a real 'bummer' Merlot.  Hang in there!


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> So my fiancé dad has apparently lost it, he is accusing my fiancé of stealing all of his stuff.  He is ranting about getting warrants and my fiancé is really hurt/ mad.  The sister told him about it so I suggested he call his dad himself.  Yep, dad still ranting.  Well obviously he hasn't taken anything.  The last time we were there we took him a knife that we bought at a dog hunting show.  Anywho, fiancé has temper and called the dad, said he was dead to him and they had blowout.  I'm trying to explain to him that his dad has dementia for sure, not to take it personally but no avail....



This is a time when your patience is going to be tested to your limits. Hang in there. Your fiancé is going to need your support more than ever right now. Try to talk to him when he is calmer. After a few days have gone by and he has had time to think it over. Perhaps then he will be more willing to listen to reason.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Merlot said:


> So my fiancé dad has apparently lost it, he is accusing my fiancé of stealing all of his stuff.  He is ranting about getting warrants and my fiancé is really hurt/ mad.  The sister told him about it so I suggested he call his dad himself.  Yep, dad still ranting.  Well obviously he hasn't taken anything.  The last time we were there we took him a knife that we bought at a dog hunting show.  Anywho, fiancé has temper and called the dad, said he was dead to him and they had blowout.  I'm trying to explain to him that his dad has dementia for sure, not to take it personally but no avail....



Have him read up on Dementia, those personal buttons hurt.  It will take some time for your fiance to understand that it is NOT his Dad that has said this.  Especially in phone conversations, folks with Dementia can think that it is someone else on the phone, not their loved one. Good thoughts and hugs for you both.


----------



## taxlady

The first time I saw my mother after her dementia got worse than "very mild", she wouldn't believe I was her daughter. She was convinced I was an imposter. That was very disconcerting, but convincing.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> The first time I saw my mother after her dementia got worse than "very mild", she wouldn't believe I was her daughter. She was convinced I was an imposter. That was very disconcerting, but convincing.



Spike would go to see his father. His father would yell that he wanted to see Spike. So Spike would leave, go outside for a cigarette, come back in and say "Hi Dad." His father would yell at him for being so late and wanted to know where he had been. This happened every time until he no longer knew anyone. He also had cancer of the throat with a tube in his stomach for feeding. So he didn't last long with the Alzheimer.


----------



## dragnlaw

got a 6 to 7 hour drive tomorrow.  going to my sisters to pick-up a china cabinet of one of our grandmothers.  She wants to sell it and I said NEVER it is a family heirloom.  Neither of her sons want it, my son does. So before they sell/toss it (she's moving) I have to get there and rescue it.  

BTW, Dear Sister: 
I understand you're under a great deal of stress - going from a huge home to one less than a 1/4 of the size.  But... don't get snippity with me! Tarnation! I just spent a day'n a half trying to arrange care of the farm, with the goslings priority. Plus the horses, cats, etc... PLUS preparing a full meal for when I arrive. You ain't the only one with stress, sweet cheeks! Having problems with installation dates of the fibreoptics, the reno's on the bathroom, patio being reset and guy gettin very sick...  Wild Parsnip taking over the place...  give me a break - but I'm *not* snippity with the folks who are *not* part of the problem! at least not until now! you were brought up better than that, try using a little self control instead of giving in.  Yeah, sure! I rant and rave and cry and scream...  BUT IN PRIVATE! nobody undeserving  takes the brunt of my anger, frustration.

Except of course, the poor listeners at Discuss Cooking....   thanks guys


----------



## Addie

Glad to be here for you dragnlaw. Vent all you want. You wouldn't be the first one. 

I have decided to limit myself to two Vicodin a day. There are some days I don't need it at all. Today was one of those days. It is just a matter of trying to stay off my feet as much as I can.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*I hate clothes shopping.*

1 1/2 hours in Kohl's, four items: 1 pair capri jeans, three summer tops. All on sale -- plus a 15% off coupon. Total spent: $27.and change.

1 hour in Target, one item: 1 summer-into-fall top, not on sale, $25. But it IS cute!

Still, *I hate clothes shopping.*


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> *I hate clothes shopping.*
> 
> 1 1/2 hours in Kohl's, four items: 1 pair capri jeans, three summer tops. All on sale -- plus a 15% off coupon. Total spent: $27.and change.
> 
> 1 hour in Target, one item: 1 summer-into-fall top, not on sale, $25. But it IS cute!
> 
> Still, *I hate clothes shopping.*



Losing all the weight was fine. It gave me a waistline again. My daughter took me shopping for a whole new wardrobe. We had the whole day out going from store to store. Now this past year, even though I am holding at the same weight, my body has decided to play games with me. My whole shape is changing. The only thing that really still fits me is the Spring coat she bought. But I had to get the belt cut down and re-sewn. All the pants and slacks are falling down. So I bought a belt. Even that is now too big now. Not enough holes. And to punch a couple of more holes makes the belt look too long. Everything from the skin out is too big. 

So each month now, I go on line and buy one or two items starting from the skin out. September I will be getting all new tops. I definitely went down a couple of sizes on them. And this month I bought a couple of bottoms. One slacks and one shorts. Down one size. 

This has become a "be careful what your wish for, you just might get it" item. I have a closet full of clothes that I love and that are falling off me.


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## CakePoet

Cooking Goddess, Im fat in Sweden, I can seldom find anything, Im american size 20 and that is most often the biggest size you can find in store  if you are lucky, most end at 18. Yeah, I cant buy a tshirt for 25 USD when the same one in size 18 is only 12 USD..

I am also short so HM is a no go, there plus size is  made for amazons, not humans.


----------



## Addie

CakePoet said:


> Cooking Goddess, Im fat in Sweden, I can seldom find anything, Im american size 20 and that is most often the biggest size you can find in store  if you are lucky, most end at 18. Yeah, I cant buy a tshirt for 25 USD when the same one in size 18 is only 12 USD..
> 
> *I am also short *so HM is a no go, there plus size is  made for amazons, not humans.



I only stand at 4'6" tall. I have to hem *everything*. And if I buy a long sleeve top, I have to hem the sleeves also. If it is a button cuff, I just move the button over far enough so that the sleeve doesn't come down over my hand. But there have been a few times when I have had to remove the cuff entirely, and just hem the edge of the sleeve. Otherwise I take it to the tailors and have them do it for me. It depends if it is a dress top or just for casual wear. If I could get a breast reduction back to a size A cup, I could buy children's clothing. Then all my clothing problems would be solved.


----------



## CakePoet

Oh I have long legs, but short torso, how ever  HM clothes are made for  giants not humans.


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## Addie

CakePoet said:


> Oh I have long legs, but short torso, how ever  HM clothes are made for  giants not humans.



Every clothes maker for women's clothing have their own idea of what size 10 is. From that size, they determine what all the rest of their sizes are. I had a landlord that worked for Pricilla Wedding Gowns here in Boston as a sticher. They were a BIG name in wedding gowns until the designer died and they closed down. She is the one who told me about determining sizes. We had two White House weddings and both brides wore a Pricilla Gown. 

Most models are a size 10. Not every model could work for every designer. What is a size 10 for one designer is a size 6 for another. And you expect to win when you go clothes shopping????


----------



## medtran49

Addie said:


> Every clothes maker for women's clothing have their own idea of what size 10 is. From that size, they determine what all the rest of their sizes are. I had a landlord that worked for Pricilla Wedding Gowns here in Boston as a sticher. They were a BIG name in wedding gowns until the designer died and they closed down. She is the one who told me about determining sizes. We had two White House weddings and both brides wore a Pricilla Gown.
> 
> Most models are a size 10. Not every model could work for every designer. What is a size 10 for one designer is a size 6 for another. And you expect to win when you go clothes shopping????



If you are talking about runway models, I'm pretty sure hardly any are a size 10.  I think anything above 10 or 12 is considered plus size any more in the designer world.  I doubt even most print models for regular clothes are a size 10 anymore.  Maybe a long, long time ago, but ever since Twiggy, nope.


----------



## Addie

medtran49 said:


> If you are talking about runway models, I'm pretty sure hardly any are a size 10.  I think anything above 10 or 12 is considered plus size any more in the designer world.  I doubt even most print models for regular clothes are a size 10 anymore.  Maybe a long, long time ago, but ever since Twiggy, nope.



No, I am talking about "off the rack" clothing. Not Christain Dior, Kors, etc. Not Big Name Designer clothes. What the average housewife would look for and buy. But even the "off the rack" designers have their own idea of what size 10 is. Then if they should get lucky enough to go to work for a big name outfit, they learn real quick what size 0 is and who is going to be buying it. Also, for the big name outfits, all clothing is made to order for the buyer. Not the racks.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> No, I am talking about "off the rack" clothing. Not Christain Dior, Kors, etc. Not Big Name Designer clothes. What the average housewife would look for and buy. But even the "off the rack" designers have their own idea of what size 10 is. Then if they should get lucky enough to go to work for a big name outfit, they learn real quick what size 0 is and who is going to be buying it. Also, for the big name outfits, all clothing is made to order for the buyer. Not the racks.


You said:



Addie said:


> Most models are a size 10. Not every model could work for every designer. What is a size 10 for one designer is a size 6 for another.



As medtran said, most models are not a size 10. I think your information is decades out of date, as we've often seen.


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## CakePoet

I am a seamstress, what  the problem is with HM most of there clothes are  not made  to be larger, but just the same pattern made bigger.  So instead of  the normal measurement of a back, they take that and  make it longer, when fat people are wider not taller.

Most models are 6  and size  10 is the average for plus size model, most humans are around 10.

They are banns in for extremely underweight models, you must be at a healthy weight  with muscles and fat.

I do have few  model friends in my past.


----------



## CakePoet

And oh there used to be standardized sizing chart, used by all but that is gone.  Now they pondering to do one here that covers EU.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well you guys sure took my vent sideways in a New York minute.   Did I say anything about sizing? Don't think so. No, I hate clothes shopping because once I'm dressed for the day, that should be it. I know which size shirt to pull off the rack. I try it on to make sure the color goes good with my complexion and that the cut looks good on me. I know which manufacturer makes jeans that fit my bottom nicely, so I take only that brand into the changing room...where I have to change out of the clothes I put on and try on all the others to make sure I like the way they look on me. It's the mechanics of shopping - and the sticker shock at the register - that make it an ordeal for me. And makeup. I gotta put makeup on so I don't scare other shoppers!


----------



## roadfix

My wife shops for and buys my clothes.


----------



## Andy M.

I've been buying my own clothes since I left my mother's side.  Some would say that was a mistake.  Years of buying suits, shirts and ties (that occasionally matched), etc. Then casual clothing was easy.  Whatever you could wear with jeans, khakis or shorts was OK with me.


----------



## rodentraiser

I hate clothes buying so much I'll wear slacks with holes in them and the butt worn out before I go buy any more. 

Hey, Roadfix, I don't suppose your wife would go out and buy my clothes, too, would she? I'd pay her.


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## PrincessFiona60

Every time I am in Wal-mart I hit the clearance racks.  If I'm looking for something specific I go to Goodwill first.  I hate clothes shopping, too!


----------



## dragnlaw

I join the ranks here of hating to clothes shop...  Most of my clothes are either thread bare, stained on the front (even the brand new ones within a day),  just plain holey, plus I have some that so old... 30 years plus, but I love them - they're comfy and they still fit!

Once I was picking up one of my daughters in the parking lot of a shopping centre. She saw me at a distance and thought 'Wow, I was right in style with the deliberately torn clothes' but then when she got closer she did the 'walk on by, I don't know you.' and out of the side of her mouth she said, "I'll just keep on walking, pick me up in the next aisle and don't get out of the car" - all this just because my shirt was really tattered and it was obvious close up. 

Gimme a break! I didn't know I was going to have to get out of the car to wave at her to find me!   LOL.  Aw, I just like to keep them on their toes.  But she's a whiz at finding the right thing on the $5 dollar rack at Walmart and Joe Fresh! 

She's also the one who, while we were shopping in Walmart, hollered from 5 aisle's away "PUT THAT DOWN" when she saw me holding a whole Beef Tenderloin for $90.


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## CakePoet

Oh my clothes are mended, cared for, I refuse to look "poor", I am that but I try to keep my self neat and tidy.  
I am so happy that make up isnt a must in Sweden, we are used to bare faces so they do not look out of place.  

I know which brand  hold my size of jeans and trousers, but guess what, that isnt always true, the black slacks, which I bought before, is now so narrow at the feet I cant my foot in, it is about inch smaller.   Also because something fit in one colour it might not be true for any other colour. I bought a pine coloured bra, tried it one, grab the black same size and cup and same model and it was 1 inch shorter around the chest.  Black clothes are often smaller then coloured, why I do not know.


----------



## roadfix

I only dress up for 2 occasions:  weddings and funerals.
I've been self-employed most my life and I've only worn jeans, shorts, tees, and tank tops.  I still look like a kid in shorts, tank top, and flip flops.   That's what they tell me.


----------



## Kayelle

Good grief, am I the only one who buys clothes online? I detest store shopping but refuse to wear anything tattered. There are brands of pants and tops that fit me well, and they're so easy to order online.


----------



## CakePoet

Kayelle, that is what I most often do, but  it hard because as soon you find a sort of good pair of jeans, they cost a fortune.  Finding jeans or trouser in my size and I am 22- 24 will set me back  40-  60 dollar  normally.


----------



## CakePoet

My scale just died... I cant make my cake with out it.... Oh well 3 cakes made.. I guess the fourth will not happen


----------



## dragnlaw

Kayelle, I know several people who buy clothes on line but they are all "petites'. 

I have several different sizes on my body. Can't be bothered to purchase and find out it is - too big up here - too small down there - too tight around that - too whatever else you can think of. 

Living alone and on a farm I don't really care what I wear, it will probably get torn or stained anyhow.  Plus I don't see anyone for days at a time.  I do have clothes that I can wear to weddings and funerals - believe it or not I'm very conscious of my styling. Takes me forever to choose just the right accessories to match the occasion, the clothes, the time of year, the time of day.  But once on and out the door - never give it a second thought.
Grocery shopping, etc. Yes, of course I wear clean clothes, might be worn a little bit but not ragged.  

LOL - come to think of it - I often change clothes about 3 times a day!


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Good grief, am I the only one who buys clothes online? I detest store shopping but refuse to wear anything tattered. There are brands of pants and tops that fit me well, and they're so easy to order online.


Apparently. I've tried it a couple times but it didn't work out for me. Since I gained and lost a significant amount of weight several years ago, due to medical complications, I typically shop at thrift stores or at TJ Maxx. The Kroger Marketplace where we do most of our food shopping also has pretty good deals on clothes, so I can do that while I'm food shopping. Works for me [emoji2]


----------



## medtran49

I buy online and also shop for mine and Craig's clothes.  I've  got to get some new pants soon and I'm dreading that.  I can buy tops without trying on.  Pants, not so much.


----------



## Addie

This past week I had to get dressed to go somewhere. So I pull out my favorite slacks that my daughter bought me a year or so ago. I started to notice last week that my body was changing due to all the weight I lost. I have absolutely no backside left. It is so flat. Now the slacks look really baggy on me. Oh well, I wore them anyway. So then I get out a top. It has a scoop neckline. But not too low. I put it on and it was falling off my shoulders and the front was showing the top half of my bra. That went into the bag for the Yellow Box up the street. Today I pulled down the three shoe boxes on the closet shelf. One pair has never been worn outside. They are "go to a wedding" type shoe. I walked right out of them. Into the bag they went also. All three pairs. I hated giving up the black pair. They cost me more than $100 and I love them. Only wore them once. 

I hated giving up that top. I have a diamond necklace in a broken heart shape with a diamond tear drop hanging on the bottom. It fit perfectly into the scoop on the top. Every time I leave the house, I wear it for my daughter. It is like having her with me wherever I go. Now I will have to find a top with the same neckline so the heart hangs in just the right spot. 

I know your body changes when you lose weight. But I thought I was past that about six months ago. 

I order all my unmentionabls on line. But for all other clothes, I always have to go into a store and try everything on. Not my favorite thing to do.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We know, *Addie*, that you used to be a bowling ball, and now you're a candlepin. 




Kayelle said:


> Good grief, am I the only one who buys clothes online? I detest store shopping but refuse to wear anything tattered. There are brands of pants and tops that fit me well, and they're so easy to order online.


Himself found the joy of shopping online when he was working, and never looked back. Me? I'm a touchy-feely kind of shopper. I want to know the quality of the fabric before I part with money. So many manufacturers are reducing the quality of the fabric or stitching in order to continue selling at a certain price and make a better profit. I don't want to keep sending stuff back and deal with refunds.

Touchy-feely is another reason I could never order fresh foods online. I must squeeze hams (to determine fat content inside the ham), sniff fruits, check every inch of veggies, look over fat and marbling on beef...nope, can't let someone else shop for me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I only buy my uniforms online.  I buy the same brand of pants, in the same colors.  Then I can top shop.  I know what brands run big or small.   I wear anything from Large to 2X depending on the brand.


----------



## Kayelle

I don't really know where to put this, but I have a BIG vent about AAA.

The bottom line is, we broke down on our way back home today, and it took over *three hours* to get a tow truck! Yep, you read that right..over three hours, in the hot sun on the side of the road, after at least 6 heated phone calls to AAA, with lies and empty promises. 
The good news is, a total of 15 young people stopped and took pity with offers of assistance for people who look like their grandparents. That honestly warmed our hearts.  A police cruiser finally pulled up behind us to literally guard our behind from traffic until the AAA tow truck arrived, an hour after that. What a nice officer he was, and very concerned for our safety. 
Believe me, after being members of AAA for nearly a lifetime, they will get an ear full on Monday morning.


----------



## cjmmytunes

I buy my underclothes and pajama's or nightgowns (depending on what I'm in the mood for) at Walmart.  I have pants and shorts that looked brand new (tags still on) that I got at thrift stores for $1 a piece, same for tops.  I have a couple of nice outfits that were splurged on for my HS 30th reunion, I keep them for special occasions.

Shoes, however, are the bane of my existence.  I HATE shopping for them.


----------



## Rocklobster

Kayelle said:


> I don't really know where to put this, but I have a BIG vent about AAA.
> 
> The bottom line is, we broke down on our way back home today, and it took over *three hours* to get a tow truck! Yep, you read that right..over three hours, in the hot sun on the side of the road, after at least 6 heated phone calls to AAA, with lies and empty promises.
> The good news is, a total of 15 young people stopped and took pity with offers of assistance for people who look like their grandparents. That honestly warmed our hearts.  A police cruiser finally pulled up behind us to literally guard our behind from traffic until the AAA tow truck arrived, an hour after that. What a nice officer he was, and very concerned for our safety.
> Believe me, after being members of AAA for nearly a lifetime, they will get an ear full on Monday morning.



They seem to have cut way back on many services...with our membership, we used to get towing up to 250 kilometers..now, they will only tow 15 kilometers...thankfully I have never needed a tow, but when I noticed that I started to read just what they were offering and it seemed like hardly anything at all...I never renewed my membership this year after 20 years...
As far as your situation goes, it may not be their fault..they probably contacted a tow truck driver in that area and figured they would go immediately..it may be the truck drivers fault that it took so long to get there. I would consider calling them and giving them the name of the company that towed you..they may issue an inquiry and/or warn him to get his act together..


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## PrincessFiona60

Depending on your Auto Insurance, they offer towing services.  I've never worried about tows with Farmers Insurance.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I only buy my uniforms online.  I buy the same brand of pants, in the same colors.  Then I can top shop.  I know what brands run big or small.   I wear anything from Large to 2X depending on the brand.



Princess many years ago, getting capped at graduation was the highlight of nursing school. Each school had their own style of cap. In Boston you knew which school a nurse graduated from. Today nurses do not wear a cap. So is there any other highlight of the graduation ceremony other than receiving their diploma?


----------



## Kayelle

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Depending on your Auto Insurance, they offer towing services. * I've never worried about tows with Farmers Insurance.*



I never had cause to not trust AAA either. Like most services, they all work fine until they don't.


----------



## Cheryl J

OMGosh, how frustrating for you both, Kay!  I'd have probably keeled over from heat stroke had that happened out here in the desert.  Glad you and SC are OK, and I'm hoping that your car is back on the road very soon - if not already.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> OMGosh, how frustrating for you both, Kay!  I'd have probably keeled over from heat stroke had that happened out here in the desert.  Glad you and SC are OK, and I'm hoping that your car is back on the road very soon - if not already.



Cheryl, sitting there, I actually thought of you in the same situation. Oh it could have been so much worse! It was pretty uncomfortable heat but it wasn't going to kill us, and we had water. They towed the car the 5 miles home to our local mechanic who's closed on the weekend so who knows what's wrong with it at this point. SC's co pilot brought us home and by that time we were were WHINING for Wine!!!


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> Cheryl, sitting there, I actually thought of you in the same situation. Oh it could have been so much worse! It was pretty uncomfortable heat but it wasn't going to kill us, and we had water. They towed the car the 5 miles home to our local mechanic who's closed on the weekend so who knows what's wrong with it at this point. *SC's co pilot brought us home and by that time we were were WHINING for Wine!!! *


 
I bet!   Thank goodness for SC's co pilot - and also meant to say how nice it was that so many folks stopped to offer help.   Good thing you had water, too.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> I bet!   Thank goodness for SC's co pilot - and also meant to say how nice it was that so many folks stopped to offer help.   Good thing you had water, too.



The water was a good thing, but a place for output wasn't!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> I don't really know where to put this, but I have a BIG vent about AAA.
> 
> The bottom line is, we broke down on our way back home today, and it took over *three hours* to get a tow truck!...


Geez, *Kayelle*, what a pain. I can understand delays like that up here-in the winter-when everyone is told to stay inside but they don't. We've been lucky - in the 17 years we've had AAA I called for service once, and they showed up in just over half an hour, having made determinations on two other calls that came in the same time ours did and servicing them first. And second. We were just chillin' our heels in the parking lot of the local donut shop...that was, fortunately, closed.  I know I'm interesting in what comes of your phone call to AAA on Monday.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Princess many years ago, getting capped at graduation was the highlight of nursing school. Each school had their own style of cap. In Boston you knew which school a nurse graduated from. Today nurses do not wear a cap. So is there any other highlight of the graduation ceremony other than receiving their diploma?



We get a ten gallon bladder and roller skates.


----------



## Addie

I placed an online order from ATK early in the morning on the 11th of this month. It was sent to FedEx on the same day. I received a notice that a shipping number had been assigned to my order. Two days letter that is as far as my order had gotten. I sent an email to ATK complaining. When could I possibly hope to receive my order. And answer "they would look into the matter" was sent back as their answer. The notice from FedEx still said that the shipping number had been assigned. So I sent another notice to ATK asking where is my order and when could I expect to receive it. In what year? Answer: They are looking into it. 

Here it is the 15th of the month and I finally received a notice that it was being shipped out on an overnight delivery. We will see today. ATK should have just mailed it to me. I would have gotten it a lot sooner. I will never order anything from ATK again.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> We get a ten gallon bladder and roller skates.



Good one Princess.


----------



## Caslon

Not to tangent on, but my petty vent is about dentist's idea of what a tooth cleaning is now. It used to be you got a good going over by your dental hygienist. Nowadays, that is called "Deep Cleaning." You now pay extra for that.  That "Deep Cleaning" doesn't require an antithetic and is what we all used to get...a thorough cleaning.

"Shall we set you up for a "Deep Cleaning" appointment?"  Deep Cleaning appointment...wth? 

It's not even a Root Planing (which requires an antithetic).  It's just a more thorough cleaning...which is what you used to get before.

Now it's called a "Deep Cleaning" and costs extra, but it's how we've always had our teeth cleaned.  Now it costs extra. 

LOL...it's called "Deep Cleaning".   

No wonder my last "Regular" cleaning was so pleasantly painless and superficial.

"Shall we set you up for a "Deep Cleaning" appointment?"

Hell, a regular thorough cleaning used to be that.


----------



## skilletlicker

Addie said:


> I placed an online order from ATK ...



ATK - America's Test Kitchen?


----------



## jd_1138

dragnlaw said:


> got a 6 to 7 hour drive tomorrow.  going to my sisters to pick-up a china cabinet of one of our grandmothers.  She wants to sell it and I said NEVER it is a family heirloom.  Neither of her sons want it, my son does. So before they sell/toss it (she's moving) I have to get there and rescue it.
> 
> BTW, Dear Sister:
> I understand you're under a great deal of stress - going from a huge home to one less than a 1/4 of the size.  But... don't get snippity with me! Tarnation! I just spent a day'n a half trying to arrange care of the farm, with the goslings priority. Plus the horses, cats, etc... PLUS preparing a full meal for when I arrive. You ain't the only one with stress, sweet cheeks! Having problems with installation dates of the fibreoptics, the reno's on the bathroom, patio being reset and guy gettin very sick...  Wild Parsnip taking over the place...  give me a break - but I'm *not* snippity with the folks who are *not* part of the problem! at least not until now! you were brought up better than that, try using a little self control instead of giving in.  Yeah, sure! I rant and rave and cry and scream...  BUT IN PRIVATE! nobody undeserving  takes the brunt of my anger, frustration.
> 
> Except of course, the poor listeners at Discuss Cooking....   thanks guys



Sounds like my knuckleheaded sister.  lol.


----------



## Addie

skilletlicker said:


> ATK - America's Test Kitchen?



Yes. 

I finally received my Kitchen Hacks book today. Nine days later. Pony Express was faster than that. So much for that overnight delivery. Today is the 19th of the month. Nine days for it to reach my address.

I thought I was getting a pamphlet. Not at all. It has close to 400 hundred pages and printed on beautiful shiny heavy stock. A well written book that should be in every kitchen. 

As much as I love the book, I still think their delivery service stinks! I will think twice before I even considering anything from ATK again.


----------



## skilletlicker

*Equifax marketing strategy?*

Just curious. Does anyone else's ear ache when they hear Equifax using their own security breach to market their own identity theft protection business?


----------



## Addie

skilletlicker said:


> Just curious. Does anyone else's ear ache when they hear Equifax using their own security breach to market their own identity theft protection business?



Yeah. What was that all about? On my income, if anyone tries to use my information, they are in for a shock. Other than my SS number, there is nothing there of value to anyone.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Someone with exceptionally sharp hearing should not live with someone who is having hearing issues...but won't get his ears checked.


----------



## roadfix

Cooking Goddess said:


> Someone with exceptionally sharp hearing should not live with someone who is having hearing issues...but won't get his ears checked.


Is the TV volume way too high?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Yup!


----------



## Addie

When you talk to the other person, do it in a whisper. Just stand there and do it over and over. Sooner or later they get the idea on their own. Make like you are yelling, but still do it in a whisper. 

When I was three months old, I had a massive infection in both ears. It took surgery on both ears with removal of the mastoids to clear up the problem. As a result it left me with somewhat of a small hearing loss. Out of habit, I tend to turn my head and tilt it so I can hear out of my good ear. Even though I have hearing still in both ears. 

I too tend to have the TV loud. And I am unaware of it. But I get a reminder when Pirate whispers to me. Of course I sit there going, "Huh? Huh"? over and over. I get the idea a lot faster now. I turn down the TV and he just says "Thank you" in a voice loud enough so I can hear it. 

By next year I will need a hearing aid in my bad ear.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> When you talk to the other person, do it in a whisper. Just stand there and do it over and over. Sooner or later they get the idea on their own. Make like you are yelling, but still do it in a whisper...



I'd guess the "other person' knows he's losing his hearing. Playing games with him will only be annoying and anger him.  I know it would anger me.


----------



## rodentraiser

My body can't decide whether it wants to be a teenager or an old lady, and my face is caught right in the middle. I'm pulling hairs out of moles while I treat acne on my nose. What gives, anyway?


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I'd guess the "other person' knows he's losing his hearing. Playing games with him will only be annoying and anger him.  I know it would anger me.



Constant nagging does not work. It only creates feelings of anger. Calling attention to his obvious disability does. But it has to be done in a not so obvious way. Nobody wants to admit to having a disability. Visible or not. And when you are up there in years, it is even harder. You are beginning to have to face your own mortality. 

"Asking" him has not worked so far. So CG needs another avenue to consider. Most folks are considerate to everyone except for close family members. Family member are just taken for granted that they will put up with all of those irritating habits. So she needs to take a course that perhaps one of his friends would use. 

But even if his friends were to adjust to his disability, sooner or later they get tired of it and little by little his friends stop including him in conversation. And the patience of the family begins to wear thin. Hearing loss is a disability that is not visible. Not like an amputated limb would be. For those types of disabilities, the person HAS to face it. And they have to work hard to overcome it. You find that everyone around them bend over backwards to be of help and heap praise for every single accomplishment. But not for the person who loses his hearing and refuses to admit it. That person sooner or later is going to hear his family and friends yelling at him to go and get a hearing aid. And if that doesn't work, then perhaps CG could go and get some professional help on ways to convince Himself that he needs a hearing aid. 

When a person has a an invisible disability, they feel like they have been set aside from others. And it doesn't have to be that way. If only he would face the truth about his hearing.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I'm pretty sure this thread title is "Petty Vents" and not "I'm asking for advice", but let me check. _*looks up*checks title*shakes head*_ Yup, still "Petty Vents".

*Addie*, I'm not looking for advice. And the LAST thing I would do would be whisper. Gah, that just seems like a mean thing to do. Honestly is the best policy. And, honestly, I wasn't looking for your advice.

Himself has been aware of his poor hearing in one ear since he had a firecracker go off in his hand when he was 8. Fortunately, he still has all of his finger.  However, when he was pounding away in the kitchen cabinet installing the nice pull-out tray he made for my large pots, he did a number on his ears. Slowly, very slowly, it's been improving. He's pretty sure he won't get back to where he was, though. Most of the time he will wear headphones so that he can keep the volume low and I don't hear the show. If I'm in the kitchen listening to something online, I don't even notice the sounds from the living room for some shows. Except for those dam sitcoms. The characters speak in whispers, then the fake laugh track sound level practically breaks an eardrum. It was extra annoying tonight. Still, it was less annoying than what it would be like to whisper to someone as if you were talking at a normal volume. 



Andy M. said:


> I'd guess the "other person' knows he's losing his hearing. Playing games with him will only be annoying and anger him.  I know it would anger me.


You, me, and the guy in my living room chair.


----------



## GilliAnne

My son gets told off at work for not hearing what people say to him. You’d think it was a crime. He doesn’t like the idea that he could be deaf at 31, but has an appointment with an audiologist next Saturday.

Gillian


----------



## dragnlaw

Mine is with myself!  I have super sensitive hearing as well but I'll be darned if I can understand what they mumble/whisper/say on TV.  

They have so much loud background noises it blocks out their speech.   I don't care if they are imitating 'real life' - I want to hear what is being said! I am not really there in 'real life' - I am sitting in a chair in a room far, far away, trying to be entertained.  So please feel free to take poetic license with these shows.


----------



## Kayelle

Cooking Goddess said:


> Someone with exceptionally sharp hearing should not live with someone who is having hearing issues...but won't get his ears checked.



Ha, here's a story you'll enjoy CG.

_Hubby complains to the Dr. that his wife needs to be convinced she's hard of hearing. Dr. tells him to test her hearing by talking to her at different places in the house. Hubby goes home and at the door he says "Hi Honey, whats for dinner?", no answer. He yells from the living room "hey Honey, what's for dinner", no answer. He goes into the kitchen, "hey Honey, what's for dinner?" she replies, "For the third time, it's chicken." _

SC has been wearing two hearing aids for a couple of years now. Apparently, without two aids, a person can't tell where the sound is coming from. He sees his audiologist every six months, for fine custom  tuning. Too many people never do that, and the aids end up in a drawer with the claim they are worthless. The expert audiologist even fine tuned them to my normal speaking voice. They best part is he now says I no longer mumble. Funny I've never been told by anyone else that I mumble.  He's very happy with them, and so am I!! Now he can no longer claim he didn't hear me, but only that he wasn't listening. 

He takes them out in the evening, and watches TV with "TV Ears", a wonderful device. My hearing is ok but TV had become a problem for me before we purchased a speaker called Bose Sound Bar that can enhance the dialog spoken. What a difference!


----------



## caseydog

Kayelle said:


> Ha, here's a story you'll enjoy CG.
> 
> _Hubby complains to the Dr. that his wife needs to be convinced she's hard of hearing. Dr. tells him to test her hearing by talking to her at different places in the house. Hubby goes home and at the door he says "Hi Honey, whats for dinner?", no answer. He yells from the living room "hey Honey, what's for dinner", no answer. He goes into the kitchen, "hey Honey, what's for dinner?" she replies, "For the third time, it's chicken." _



My dad got hearing aids, and my mom later started to suspect that he was turning them off to ignore her... until she got hearing aids. 

CD


----------



## roadfix

I have slight hearing loss but as I have gotten older very loud noise bothers me for some reason.   I cover my ears every time an ambulance, fire truck, or a Harley passes by.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I have slight hearing loss but as I have gotten older very loud noise bothers me for some reason.   I cover my ears every time an ambulance, fire truck, or a Harley passes by.


I get it. For the past ten years I won't go to a movie theatre. The commercials at the beginning drive me absolutely buggy. The noise is so loud that I'm in pain even with my fingers in my ears.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> Ha, here's a story you'll enjoy CG.
> 
> _Hubby complains to the Dr. that his wife needs to be convinced she's hard of hearing. Dr. tells him to test her hearing by talking to her at different places in the house. Hubby goes home and at the door he says "Hi Honey, whats for dinner?", no answer. He yells from the living room "hey Honey, what's for dinner", no answer. He goes into the kitchen, "hey Honey, what's for dinner?" she replies, "For the third time, it's chicken." _...


That was cute, Kayelle, thank you! Another cute story: when our kids were little, I thought our son has a hearing problem since he didn't seem to hear me when I spoke to him. Our pediatrician suggested an M&M test: have a bowl of M&Ms on the kitchen counter, then drop one or two back into the bowl as if you were getting some for yourself (OR actually get some for yourself!). If he has no hearing problem, he'll come into the kitchen for some M&Ms. Sure enough, both kids had great hearing. Our son only had a listening problem. 

Anyway, thanks so much for the suggestion about the Bose soundbar. Dialog in shows is an issue in this house. Maybe if we had that he could make out what the characters are saying. It's not a problem when we're watching TV together, but Himself watches way more TV shows than I do. Maybe I need a Mom Cave.


----------



## rodentraiser

I lost a lot of my hearing when I had an inner ear infection decades ago. Along with not being able to hear a lot, I also have non-stop ringing in my ears. I usually get along OK, but sometimes I have to tell people I'm hard of hearing and ask them to please speak up. Some people are very soft spoken.

I'm also a little ticked. If I had known I was going to lose my hearing so early in life and from an infection yet, I would have cranked the rock 'n' roll up a lot louder when I was younger.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

What?


----------



## roadfix

What did the drill sergeant say to the audiologist?

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”


----------



## Caslon

How many of you use up an entire bag of 8 hamburger or onion buns before they get tossed?  Buns should be sold in 4 paks too, not just 8 paks.  Hot dog buns are slightly different in that I usually use them up. Not so with large burger and onion buns.  I buy the onion buns for when I cook up a roast. Thin beef slices, with Swiss cheese, mashed avocado, lettuce, onions, tomato slices, mayo and a little mustard...all on an onion bun. 

With 8 onion buns in a pak, they just don't last until I want to make that sandwich again. The same goes with 8 paks of large hamburger buns.  Unless you plan on having  a family BBQ and use up all the buns, they go moldy.  Yes, I've wrapped two onion buns and two large hamburger buns and placed them in the freezer.  Hell, they always thaw out shrunken.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Caslon said:


> How many of you use up an entire bag of 8 hamburger or onion buns before they get tossed?  Buns should be sold in 4 paks too, not just 8 paks.  Hot dog buns are slightly different in that I usually use them up. Not so with large burger and onion buns.  I buy the onion buns for when I cook up a roast. Thin beef slices, with Swiss cheese, mashed avocado, lettuce, onions, tomato slices, mayo and a little mustard...all on an onion bun.
> 
> With 8 onion buns in a pak, they just don't last until I want to make that sandwich again. The same goes with 8 paks of large hamburger buns.  Unless you plan on having  a family BBQ and use up all the buns, they go moldy.  Yes, I've wrapped two onion buns and two large hamburger buns and placed them in the freezer.  Hell, they always thaw out shrunken.



Try wrapping the frozen rolls in a paper towel and zapping them in the microwave for approx. 20 seconds.  It will require a little experimentation to find the exact time for your microwave and brand of rolls.  I wrap and zap frozen Arnold sandwich thins for 12 seconds and they are perfect every time.

Good luck!


----------



## Caslon

Will do. I knew to wrap them in foil after wrapping them in plastic wrap.  

I still say we're gonna see a 60 minutes expose about the bakery industry before long.

That is one powerful entity.  Free Masons like.


----------



## Andy M.

I freeze burger and hot dog buns and deli rolls.  When I need one, I wrap it in a dampened paper towel and microwave it for 20-25 seconds. It is soft and warm and ready to go.


----------



## Just Cooking

Andy M. said:


> I freeze burger and hot dog buns and deli rolls.  When I need one, I wrap it in a dampened paper towel and microwave it for 20-25 seconds. It is soft and warm and ready to go.




Exactly...  

Ross


----------



## rodentraiser

It's bad enough I have to dust my room. Today I had to dust the TV, the etagere, and the floors of the shadowbox so I could measure it for curtains. I hate housework, even in miniature.

I think this is what's called a first world problem.


----------



## Caslon

Dead skin cells.  That's what makes up a lot of "dust."


----------



## Kayelle

We buy individual buns from the fresh bakery at the supermarket. That way we can buy the number we need at the time, and they're better too. Bread products take up far too much room in our freezer.


----------



## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> It's bad enough I have to dust my room. Today I had to dust the TV, the etagere, and the floors of the shadowbox so I could measure it for curtains. I hate housework, even in miniature.
> 
> I think this is what's called a first world problem.



Thank you for the laugh. I really needed it about this time of day. I will call the UN for you and see if they could hire a housekeeper for you. Will you also need a Nanny?


----------



## Kayelle

I'm not a baseball fan. I think it's about as exciting as watching paint dry most of the time. By the time the pitchers and batters waste all that time spitting, adjusting hats, shoes, gloves and crotches I'm about to doze off. (I hope you'll still like me CG..)

My Daddy was a big Dodger fan and he died in 1988, the last time they were in the World Series, so in honor of him I'll have to watch at least some of it.
We've had wind and heat around 100 degrees in So. Cal today, so the fans and players will be dang hot with the game starting at 5pm tomorrow.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I love baseball, *Kayelle*, and I won't watch it either. Unless I need a nap, that is. Then I fall asleep quickly. Instead, I like listening to the radio (phone/tablet, actually). The play-by-play guys for my team (Indians) are very entertaining and fill in the player "adjustment time" with little bits of human interest stories about players from the teams. Besides, listening on the "radio" gives me the freedom to move around. I get a lot of kitchen work done when listening to sports onine.


----------



## Kayelle

Come to think of it CG, my Daddy always listened to the Dodger games too. Gosh I still miss him.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> I love baseball, *Kayelle*, and I won't watch it either. Unless I need a nap, that is. Then I fall asleep quickly. Instead, I like listening to the radio (phone/tablet, actually). *The play-by-play guys for my team (Indians) are very entertaining* and fill in the player "adjustment time" with little bits of human interest stories about players from the teams. Besides, listening on the "radio" gives me the freedom to move around. I get a lot of kitchen work done when listening to sports onine.



That Harry Doyle and... what's his name, sure are funny. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> That Harry Doyle and...


OMG, Harry Doyle!  Bob Uecker is still doing some play-by-play innings for his hometown Milwaukee Brewers games. When the Indians play the Brewers (what, once every three years or so?), I try to catch his calls. Heck, on a day off for the Indians, I'll just go ahead and tune in to a Brewers game to listen to ol' Har...I mean, Bob. Funny guy! 

I think my Indians could have used Ricky Vaughn in the bullpen this past season.


----------



## rodentraiser

Caslon said:


> Dead skin cells.  That's what makes up a lot of "dust."



Dead, my a$$. They're alive and they multiply like crazy.



Addie said:


> Thank you for the laugh. I really needed it about this time of day. I will call the UN for you and see if they could hire a housekeeper for you. Will you also need a Nanny?



I need a nanny, but for me, not the dollhouse. Can you also swing a maid and a cook?


----------



## roadfix

It'll be a traffic nightmare for me as I head home from work in a few minutes.    I live less than a mile away from Dodger Stadium.


----------



## Just Cooking

yup... Good luck and be safe, roadfix..

Ross


----------



## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> Dead, my a$$. They're alive and they multiply like crazy.
> 
> I need a nanny, but for me, not the dollhouse. Can you also swing a maid and a cook?



I will see what I can do for you. And a personal butler to serve you around the clock.


----------



## Cheryl J

roadfix said:


> It'll be a traffic nightmare for me as I head home from work in a few minutes. *I live less than a mile away from Dodger Stadium.*


 
Holy cow, RF.  Hope you're home safe and sound.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> It'll be a traffic nightmare for me as I head home from work in a few minutes.    I live less than a mile away from Dodger Stadium.



The DOT removed all the toll booths for the tunnels and Pike. The traffic jams are unbelievable here in Eastie. We have two tunnels here and trying to get in line to get into Boston is a nightmare. The city is redesigning the road to enter the main tunnel. So with the construction going on at the entrance and all the traffic from three North Shore towns trying to get in there, well, everyone ends up late for work. All any of them have to do is head over to Chelsea and use the bridge. The bridge has the shortest lines. And they get through faster. More lanes, more license readers, etc. The tunnel has only two lanes. And depending where you are going, you *have* to get into the right lane from the beginning.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Boston traffic has been horrid for as long as we know. It was hellacious the first time we visited in, maybe, 1976? It's only gotten worse. LA is bad, too, but at least they have way more lanes, and real signage.

*****

I feel like someone ran me over - kinda like I have side effects from the flu shot without getting the shot. Had to cancel my dental check-up for today, and can't see my hygienist for three months! (I have a favorite. Apparently she is everybody's favorite.) Hope I feel human enough to see my stylist on Thursday. I won't have a real chance to go for a trim before we head out for our next road trip if I miss this appointment. I know, I know, first world problems.


----------



## Andy M.

Traffic in the Boston suburbs has gotten worse as well.  Yo can be in stop-and-go in the middle of a weekday on some of the highways surrounding the city.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Traffic in the Boston suburbs has gotten worse as well.  Yo can be in stop-and-go in the middle of a weekday on some of the highways surrounding the city.



I personal think building the Big Dig made traffic worse instead of better. The only people it helps are the folks who don't live here and are taking a flight out of Boston.


----------



## roadfix

Traffic here has gotten worse ever since the State started issuing drivers’ licenses to EVERYONE a couple years back


----------



## caseydog

My property tax invoice arrived last week. I've been avoiding looking at it. I just took the plunge. Ouch! 

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

One of the pleasures of owning property.  Just got mine too, here in SoCal.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Traffic here has gotten worse ever since the State started issuing drivers’ licenses to EVERYONE a couple years back



Don't you have an age minimum? In this state if you attend a state approved driving school, kids can get their license at 161/2. But with restrictions. Otherwise they have to wait until they are 17. And restrictions apply to them also. No driving between dusk and dawn and no other kids in the car. If you have a certificate then the insurance is lower. 

My great granddaughter turned 16 last week. On her birthday, she raced to the bank to take out her money for driving school. That was one of the requirements her parents put on her. She had to pay for driving school out of her own money. Of course, you know what comes next. She has already started to save for her own car.


----------



## caseydog

Cheryl J said:


> One of the pleasures of owning property.  Just got mine too, here in SoCal.



Toyota is moving their US headquarters from LA to about ten miles from my house, and the LA transplants are going nuts here. To them, a house like mine for 250K is a steal. It would be worth at least a million bucks in LA. My house is worth 100K more than it was a few years ago. Good news if I want to move, but bad news on my property taxes. My property tax rates haven't gone up, but the taxable value of my house has gone up by 100-grand. Have I said, "OUCH," yet?

CD


----------



## caseydog

Addie said:


> Don't you have an age minimum? In this state if you attend a state approved driving school, kids can get their license at 161/2. But with restrictions. Otherwise they have to wait until they are 17. And restrictions apply to them also. No driving between dusk and dawn and no other kids in the car. If you have a certificate then the insurance is lower.
> 
> My great granddaughter turned 16 last week. On her birthday, she raced to the bank to take out her money for driving school. That was one of the requirements her parents put on her. She had to pay for driving school out of her own money. Of course, you know what comes next. She has already started to save for her own car.



I don't think he is referring to age. Just guessing. 

CD


----------



## rodentraiser

Addie, he's talking about the state issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Washington does the same thing so they'll be legal to drive in the eastern part of the state for the apple growers.


----------



## Farmer Jon

My petty vent for today is that tap talk keeps logging me out of my forums. Grrrr. Then won't let me in. I haven't been able to get in for a few days. I know I put on my pass word correctly. Then today first try. Irritating.[emoji35]


----------



## Farmer Jon

roadfix said:


> It'll be a traffic nightmare for me as I head home from work in a few minutes.    I live less than a mile away from Dodger Stadium.


When I was trucking long haul I had to bring a load in from  Los Angeles to Boston. I must have had to go through 4 round a bouts. This poor ole farm boy never seen a traffic circle before. I was so lost. 

https://youtu.be/qDxVJ471hyg


----------



## Addie

rodentraiser said:


> Addie, he's talking about the state issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Washington does the same thing so they'll be legal to drive in the eastern part of the state for the apple growers.



Aha! I see said the blind carpenter as he picked up his hammer and saw.


----------



## roadfix

caseydog said:


> My property tax invoice arrived last week. I've been avoiding looking at it. I just took the plunge. Ouch!
> 
> CD



Although I'm mortgage free the prop tax makes me feel like I'm paying rent to live in my own home.    When I retire the majority of my SS check would be going towards paying the prop tax.    I need to move out of LA.


----------



## blissful

roadfix said:


> Although I'm mortgage free the prop tax makes me feel like I'm paying rent to live in my own home.    When I retire the majority of my SS check would be going towards paying the prop tax.    I need to move out of LA.


When I was a child, my parents explained to me that their mortgage was $200 per month, every month, for 30 years, as it was. They explained that as time went on, the property bill would get bigger until finally at about 30 years, the property taxes would be $200 per month, even though the mortgage was done being paid. So even though it is a big bill to pay, it is made with money that has less power. Now, they owned the house, and still own it, for 53 years, and the property tax bill is about $300 per month. If they wanted to rent, they would be paying 2 to 3 times that much per month, essentially paying the property owners mortgage and property tax. Unless you are squatting on land, there's no way around it.

The down payment on a house is about the cost of a brand new vehicle. Some things never change. Oh to live on some land where there are no property taxes!


----------



## Vinylhanger

Caslon said:


> How many of you use up an entire bag of 8 hamburger or onion buns before they get tossed?  Buns should be sold in 4 paks too, not just 8 paks.  Hot dog buns are slightly different in that I usually use them up. Not so with large burger and onion buns.  I buy the onion buns for when I cook up a roast. Thin beef slices, with Swiss cheese, mashed avocado, lettuce, onions, tomato slices, mayo and a little mustard...all on an onion bun.
> 
> With 8 onion buns in a pak, they just don't last until I want to make that sandwich again. The same goes with 8 paks of large hamburger buns.  Unless you plan on having  a family BBQ and use up all the buns, they go moldy.  Yes, I've wrapped two onion buns and two large hamburger buns and placed them in the freezer.  Hell, they always thaw out shrunken.


Heck, I eat 8 burgers at a time when we grill.  They need 10 packs for me.


----------



## roadfix

Sandwich and burger buns freeze well for future use.


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> Although I'm mortgage free the prop tax makes me feel like I'm paying rent to live in my own home.    When I retire the majority of my SS check would be going towards paying the prop tax.    I need to move out of LA.



Back in the 50's/60's the banks here would take out of your checking or savings account the monies for your taxes, insurance and water bills. They would hold it and had also notified the city/town of what bank your mortgage was in. 

Then one couple had paid off their mortgage and wanted this practice to stop. The bank refused. They took them to court and won. The courts said that what the banks were doing was illegal. And if you had a 30 year mortgage and had only one year to go, the bank had to pay interest to the homeowner at a certain percentage set by the courts for all those years. A lot of folks got some very big checks. Including my sister. The courts stated that what the banks were doing was taking a loan from the customer's money and should pay interest like any one who has a loan. My sister never told her husband about the check she received.


----------



## Cheryl J

roadfix said:


> Although I'm mortgage free the prop tax makes me feel like I'm paying rent to live in my own home. When I retire the majority of my SS check would be going towards paying the prop tax. I need to move out of LA.


 
I hear ya, RF. I'm mortgage free too, and can't really complain too much when compared to other areas. The property taxes down there in L.A. County are *MUCH* higher than here in Kern County.  I cringe when my daughter in Valencia mentions her property tax bill.


----------



## rodentraiser

I'm looking at property to buy now and some nice lots are only taxed at $150/year. I cringe when I see that, because it sounds so good and I know as soon as a house goes on the land, that amount will shoot up to $750/year or more. Probably more.


----------



## rodentraiser

Farmer Jon said:


> When I was trucking long haul I had to bring a load in from  Los Angeles to Boston. I must have had to go through 4 round a bouts. This poor ole farm boy never seen a traffic circle before. I was so lost.
> 
> https://youtu.be/qDxVJ471hyg




They built one of their first traffic circles here a couple of years ago. Then they had to tear it apart and redo it because it was on a main road to get to all the local businesses and the circle was so tight, large trucks with trailers couldn't get around it. Our tax dollars at work. 



And you should see Malfunction Junction!


----------



## roadfix

Cheryl J said:


> I hear ya, RF. I'm mortgage free too, and can't really complain too much when compared to other areas. The property taxes down there in L.A. County are *MUCH* higher than here in Kern County.  I cringe when my daughter in Valencia mentions her property tax bill.





My brother moved back out here to LA a couple of years ago from Long Island and was telling me he was paying over 2x in prop tax over there for a similarly sized lot and house.  That was like a cost of a brand new SUV or something......  That’s insane.   I told him the mob must be running that county.


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> When I was trucking long haul I had to bring a load in from  Los Angeles to Boston. I must have had to go through 4 round a bouts. This poor ole farm boy never seen a traffic circle before. I was so lost.
> 
> https://youtu.be/qDxVJ471hyg



Jon my heart go out to you. For the most part, when a Mass. driver sees an out of state plate approaching a rotary (round about) we pretty much let them have the right of way. Then we sit in our vehicles and laugh at them trying to figure it all out. But we do understand.


----------



## GotGarlic

Farmer Jon said:


> When I was trucking long haul I had to bring a load in from  Los Angeles to Boston. I must have had to go through 4 round a bouts. This poor ole farm boy never seen a traffic circle before. I was so lost.



The first time we encountered a traffic circle, we were driving in Ireland. It was hard enough for DH driving on the other side of the road, and sitting on the other side of the car [emoji38] Of course, we went the wrong way around the circle at first. The Irish are very friendly and appreciate their tourists, though, so they just smiled with understanding at us


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Okay, I need to vent!

Earlier this week, DH and I went down to Southern Arizona to see some of our doctors.  There's a very inexpensive motel there that we've been staying at for, what, since last May when we moved up here to "the gateway to The Grand Canyon".
It's not the worst, and in the same token not the best either and it's CHEAP!

Well!
As we drove home after two nights there, I started to feel some pretty wicked itching on my back.
By the time we got home I had these welts on my arms, back and a few on my lower legs.  
DH insisted that I contact my doc and let her know that the flu shot that I had at her office had an adverse reaction.

HMMM

I thought more about what I was looking at, and ya know, I've had this before when we stayed another cheap motel in North Carolina some time back.  We didn't have a GP at the time so I went to the CVS to check it out and they said dermatitis but the Dermatologist said more like .... 

BED BUGS!!


Needless to say, we're NOT going to stay at this place in S.AZ again!


----------



## Andy M.

Yikes!


----------



## msmofet

Farmer Jon said:


> When I was trucking long haul I had to bring a load in from Los Angeles to Boston. I must have had to go through 4 round a bouts. This poor ole farm boy never seen a traffic circle before. I was so lost.
> 
> https://youtu.be/qDxVJ471hyg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh66kDox4R0


----------



## taxlady

Sorry to hear about the bed bugs. Shudder. At least you figured it out before contaminating your house.


----------



## rodentraiser

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Okay, I need to vent!
> 
> Earlier this week, DH and I went down to Southern Arizona to see some of our doctors.  There's a very inexpensive motel there that we've been staying at for, what, since last May when we moved up here to "the gateway to The Grand Canyon".
> It's not the worst, and in the same token not the best either and it's CHEAP!
> 
> Well!
> As we drove home after two nights there, I started to feel some pretty wicked itching on my back.
> By the time we got home I had these welts on my arms, back and a few on my lower legs.
> DH insisted that I contact my doc and let her know that the flu shot that I had at her office had an adverse reaction.
> 
> HMMM
> 
> I thought more about what I was looking at, and ya know, I've had this before when we stayed another cheap motel in North Carolina some time back.  We didn't have a GP at the time so I went to the CVS to check it out and they said dermatitis but the Dermatologist said more like ....
> 
> BED BUGS!!
> View attachment 28274
> 
> Needless to say, we're NOT going to stay at this place in S.AZ again!



Welcome to the club. I live in subsidized housing where we've had to spray for bedbugs at least once every year. 

It's one thing to spray the rooms, but you have to spray all along baseboards and into electrical outlets and it's worse if you have a lot of books and magazines. These suckers can get in between the pages and also into electronics that can't be sprayed. It's a nightmare and I can sure sympathize with you on this.

This is a warning to everyone no matter what kind of motel or hotel you stay at: before you bring in your luggage, ALWAYS check for bedbugs first! Check EVERYTHING you buy or bring home from Goodwill or an antiques shop, flea market or second hand shop, eBay, Etsy, or Craig's List, especially clothing. Flip through the pages of your library books before you bring them into the house as well.


----------



## Addie

Also, if on a road trip, check the seams and around the buttons if tufted of the mattress before you put your suitcase on it. A favorite hiding place for them.


----------



## caseydog

rodentraiser said:


> I'm looking at property to buy now and some nice lots are only taxed at $150/year. I cringe when I see that, because it sounds so good and I know as soon as a house goes on the land, that amount will shoot up to $750/year or more. Probably more.



I'd love to pay $750 a year. Mine are $4,000 this year, up from $3,600 last year. I can deduct that from my Federal Taxes now, but congress is debating getting rid of that deduction. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Farmer Jon said:


> When I was trucking long haul I had to bring a load in from  Los Angeles to Boston. I must have had to go through 4 round a bouts. This poor ole farm boy never seen a traffic circle before. I was so lost.
> 
> https://youtu.be/qDxVJ471hyg



I love roundabouts/traffic circles. Once you get the hang of them, they really work great. I picked up a rental car in downtown London once. There were roundabouts everywhere there. Oh, and the rental car had a manual gearbox. That was my first time shifting with my left hand. Also not too bad, once I got used to it. Scared the daylights out of my wife. Sitting on the left side of a car with no steering wheel in front of you is much worse than driving a car from the right side - especially on narrow old European roads. She was working both the invisible brakes and the invisible steering wheel. 

CD


----------



## msmofet

caseydog said:


> I love roundabouts/traffic circles. Once you get the hang of them, they really work great. I picked up a rental car in downtown London once. There were roundabouts everywhere there. Oh, and the rental car had a manual gearbox. That was my first time shifting with my left hand. Also not too bad, once I got used to it. Scared the daylights out of my wife. Sitting on the left side of a car with no steering wheel in front of you is much worse than driving a car from the right side - especially on narrow old European roads. She was working both the invisible brakes and the invisible steering wheel.
> 
> CD


 
Here in NJ we used to have LOTS of traffic circles. The ones on the highway were the worst because you had to merge into the fast lane and nobody would slow to let you in. You just had to gun it which was very unnerving. Now most if not all Highway circles are gone. There are still some on side roads.


----------



## rodentraiser

caseydog said:


> I'd love to pay $750 a year. Mine are $4,000 this year, up from $3,600 last year. I can deduct that from my Federal Taxes now, but congress is debating getting rid of that deduction.
> 
> CD



But I bet your house is a lot nicer than mine will be. If I can't move a trailer onto the property, I'm hoping to put up a Tuff Shed first and maybe live in that.


----------



## Kayelle

I *hate* the fall time change! Is anyone else affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (_SAD_)? It sure does a mental number on me every year. SC bought me a special light for it a few years ago, but truth be told, it doesn't do much good.


----------



## roadfix

Kayelle said:


> I *hate* the fall time change! Is anyone else affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (_SAD_)? It sure does a mental number on me every year. SC bought me a special light for it a few years ago, but truth be told, it doesn't do much good.


The fall time change does not affect me as much the spring time change.   I always feel very sluggish lasting a few days after springing forward.
I wish they would just do away with Daylight Savings all together.   I'd prefer Standard Time year round.


----------



## Andy M.

Massachusetts just agreed to switch to Atlantic time year-round (equivalent to being on DST all year).  It will be implemented when the rest of the East Coast states also make the switch.

I prefer DST to standard time.  I tend to rise late so the amount of daylight in the early hours isn't important to me. On the other hand, I prefer it get dark later.


----------



## roadfix

I prefer Standard Time as sunrise and sunset seem 'more balanced' throughout the year for me.


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> I *hate* the fall time change! Is anyone else affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (_SAD_)? It sure does a mental number on me every year. SC bought me a special light for it a few years ago, but truth be told, it doesn't do much good.


 
Not a fan here, either. It's such a radical change and makes evenings seem soooo long. 

When I lived in Washington state for a few years, it was even worse.  Daylight hours in the dead of winter were pretty much 8AM - 4PM, give or take a few. Maybe RR will chime in.


----------



## blissful

I have been using these or fluorescent full spectrum lights now for, let's see, since 2005 and they do help. They help SAD because they are light 'like the sun', and they reset your sleep clock by creating a light like the sun, in your eyes, even when the sun is not shining. Use them from 8 am to 8 pm, like the sun, if you had that much sun. I only use them in the family room.  I also had them at work. By resetting your sleep clock, you get tired at a regular time, your sleep is not as disrupted. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018OS06S/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have no financial interests in these, or stock or whatever. They just seem to help.


----------



## Addie

blissful said:


> I have been using these or fluorescent full spectrum lights now for, let's see, since 2005 and they do help. They help SAD because they are light 'like the sun', and they reset your sleep clock by creating a light like the sun, in your eyes, even when the sun is not shining. Use them from 8 am to 8 pm, like the sun, if you had that much sun. I only use them in the family room.  I also had them at work. By resetting your sleep clock, you get tired at a regular time, your sleep is not as disrupted. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018OS06S/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
> I have no financial interests in these, or stock or whatever. They just seem to help.



Spike finally set my clock back yesterday. I don't think I have ever had SAD. 

I had a big blowout with Winthrop yesterday. I came back home really upset to the point it raised the level of pain on my leg. Pirate is sick with a very bad cold or a mild case of the flu. I betting on the flu. You don't get the chills or get a fever of 101ºF. with just a bad cold.  

This apartment need a good cleaning. I just don't have the energy yesterday and it looks like today also. Pirate is of no help. I guess I will just have to pull myself together and at least get it started. So much for trying to stay off my leg.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Andy M. said:


> Massachusetts just agreed to switch to Atlantic time year-round (equivalent to being on DST all year).  It will be implemented when the rest of the East Coast states also make the switch.
> 
> I prefer DST to standard time.  I tend to rise late so the amount of daylight in the early hours isn't important to me. On the other hand, I prefer it get dark later.



Do you think the rest of the EC states will agree to being on Atlantic time year round?  I haven't heard anything about NC or VA doing it.  GG, have you heard anything about VA doing this?


----------



## GotGarlic

cjmmytunes said:


> Do you think the rest of the EC states will agree to being on Atlantic time year round?  I haven't heard anything about NC or VA doing it.  GG, have you heard anything about VA doing this?


No, this is the first time I've heard about it. DH hates the time change - it messes up his exercise schedule after work. It doesn't bother me so much, so I could flow with it [emoji38]


----------



## Addie

The northern most eastern coast of Maine is already on Atlantic time. And then there is Greenwich time. I wish the world would stop playing with the time. What time is Hawaii on? 

I am so confused.


----------



## Andy M.

cjmmytunes said:


> Do you think the rest of the EC states will agree to being on Atlantic time year round?  I haven't heard anything about NC or VA doing it.  GG, have you heard anything about VA doing this?



No clue what the other states are thinking.  MA apparently has little else to do so they addressed the issue.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Amen, Andy. It's not like there are more pressing problems in this state. I prefer DST, too. We still haven't adjusted to an earlier sunrise. The sun rises and sets 40 minutes earlier here than it does back in Ohio. I still miss late June 9:00 P.M. sunsets...



cjmmytunes said:


> Do you think the rest of the EC states will agree to being on Atlantic time year round?  I haven't heard anything about NC or VA doing it.  GG, have you heard anything about VA doing this?


It's  not all east coast states, just New England. If you look at a map, New England hangs out further into the Atlantic Ocean. I figure this won't ever happen - the other states probably think it's silly.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Amen, Andy. It's not like there are more pressing problems in this state. I prefer DST, too. We still haven't adjusted to an earlier sunrise. The sun rises and sets 40 minutes earlier here than it does back in Ohio. I still miss late June 9:00 P.M. sunsets...
> 
> 
> It's  not all east coast states, just New England. If you look at a map, New England hangs out further into the Atlantic Ocean. I figure this won't ever happen - *the other states probably think it's silly.*



No we don't...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PF, are you talking about daylight savings time? Or about New England switching to the Atlantic time zone? If it did, people in CA would be getting back to work from lunch just as New England workers were getting out for the day. Crazy long work day across the nation.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> PF, are you talking about daylight savings time? Or about New England switching to the Atlantic time zone? If it did, people in CA would be getting back to work from lunch just as New England workers were getting out for the day. Crazy long work day across the nation.


Well, in Canada we have one more time zone east of Atlantic time: Newfoundland time, half an hour earlier than Atlantic time.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

My BIL traveled there for work often before he retired. We always thought that it must be so confusing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> PF, are you talking about daylight savings time? Or about New England switching to the Atlantic time zone? If it did, people in CA would be getting back to work from lunch just as New England workers were getting out for the day. Crazy long work day across the nation.



Talking about the time changes.  Now those are silly.


----------



## Caslon

Wasn't daylight savings time set differently to save energy?

Stats so far say it isn't saving energy.  

Can we at least  go back to the old day light savings time?


----------



## CraigC

Stupid firefighter Redux! Imagine that, same fire district! About two weeks ago the boss calls me to chew me out about my bad attitude by the firefighters at that same station. Again reported to him by the same District Chief. All I could think of was my laughing at the idiot from my last time being there 3 months ago. The truth then comes out that it was a couple days earlier. Problem was I hadn't been to that district yet on my route! Think I got an apology from the District Chief? Not.


----------



## Just Cooking

*No follow through..*

We have a "Neighborhood" forum consisting of about 300 members out of about 1200 possible area homes. Topics pertinent to our area are discussed, including yard, furniture and auto sales.
As part of my impending move, we are selling or donating most of our household goods.

I selected 5 small appliances, priced them as fairly as possible and placed an ad on the forum.
I immediately had 3 responses, asking me to PM them. I messaged the first person, asking her to set a time she could come see the items. I also messaged the other 2 ladies, explaining that if the 1st fell through I would message them. 
The first person failed to respond so, after 2 days, I messaged the 2nd lady. She responded, saying that she thought the items would not be available (because of the 1st lady) so she purchased 2 of the most expensive items she wanted, in a retail store.

I messaged the 3rd lady and she responded, telling me she wanted the items. I messaged her with my phone number and address, asking her to let me know when would be a good time for her. She responded, giving me her phone number. I called and she told me (this was Sunday evening) that she could come by Monday evening or Tuesday daytime. I asked her to call 1/2 hour before coming so, that I'd be certain to be home.

Monday evening, no call.. All day Tuesday no call. 

Does no one follow through anymore? I am donating these, very good, appliances now.
To hell with people..  

Ross


----------



## roadfix

^^^^   Lots of people who respond to ads are flakes...    I've dealt with people like that when I placed items for sale on CL.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, most of them are flakes.  I had the same experience with one person getting very irate, when she didn't show up for the item I called the second person.  It was a teapot...not the Mona Lisa.


----------



## Andy M.

This past Summer I sold an olde iPhone on Facebook Marketplace.  I posted it with a photo and a fixed price of $100.  Got a lot of responses. I was going to sell it to the first person who responded.

One later buyer said they wanted it and offer $70.  I said no thanks that I already had a buyer at $100. His response was to up his bid to $90.  ??????  Flakes.


----------



## Cheryl J

I've never sold anything on any kind of social media.  Come to think of it, I've never advertised anything for sale on paper print, either.  I just don't want strangers having my phone number and address, not to mention negotiating with them about price - even if they're non-flakes.  

I don't have yard sales either, for the same reason.  I do have some things I would like to get rid of after the first of the year - my daughter said she would handle that for me.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Just Cooking said:


> ...Does no one follow through anymore?...


I'm sorry for your aggravation. I'm beginning to think that few people bother being polite anymore. I hope your actual move goes off better than your attempt to lighten your load.


----------



## rodentraiser

I tried to sell my sofa on Craig's List once. Now I've bought off Craig's List often, but this was my first time selling. I got nothing but scam replies, the ones that wanted to send a mover to pick up the sofa, give me a check (for more than the amount of money), have me cash the check and send them the difference (or keep the difference, whatever).

It got so bad I finally added to the ad:

"I am here to sell a sofa. First person with CASH in hand gets it. I am not going to run around to a bank, cash checks, wire money anywhere, deal with any movers, or allow the sofa out of my house without first getting paid in CASH."

Did that stop the scammers? Oh, heck, no...

I still have the sofa.


----------



## rodentraiser

I'm not sure if I have a petty vent or a real vent tonight. I suppose it's a petty vent, since it's such a first world problem. 

I got a new computer after 12 years and I was ready to throw it out the window before I had it under control. Why do they make these things so difficult?

My techie friend (whom I called for help) told me a lot of it was because I had jumped so much technology and that basically it was like I was going from vinyl records to Blu-Ray in one fell swoop. OK, fine, I understand that, but why couldn't they have just upgraded good old XP?

I had hundreds of photos that needed to go up on Photobucket, then I couldn't download my browser with Microsoft Edge and had to call tech (they told me to download IE to download my browser and eventually I had 4 browsers downloaded on this new computer), then the new browser didn't bring over my bookmarks, so I had to disconnect the new computer, reconnect the old one, save the bookmarks on a thumb drive, reconnect the new computer and download all the bookmarks, then I had to write down all of my saved passwords (all 35 of them and those DON'T include the ones I never save from banking, Paypal, etc), and now no site is asking me to save passwords so I'm not being automatically logged in anymore, and to top it off, since I close down and turn off my computer every night, now it's asking me to log in every time I reopen it, which I never had to do before! My tech friend said be glad because if he didn't have any activity on his computer for 10 minutes, he had to sign in and that meant he signed in all day long.

I'm not happy with Windows 10 at all, but I guess I'll learn to live with it. 

The best thing is the speed this thing performs at and the fact that I was able to set my icons up again above my URL bar and _get rid of those stupid tabs!_ I hate tabs.

Then I was finally able to find an app that enlarged the icons so I could read them. I can't wait till all computer programmers get old and need to have large icons in order to read them. Serve them right for making such small print and icons.

The worst thing so far is Yahoo mail is not working well with my now updated browser. So I get to open Edge and read my email there, but that's not as big a deal as I feared.

And as a final small petty vent, nothing loads to the desktop anymore. All my downloads go into some stupid folder called Downloads on my "File Explorer" now. *mutter, mutter, mutter*


----------



## dragnlaw

rodent...  I hear yuh!  My computer would send me a message all day long urging me to try Windows 10...  until finally my finger accidentally clicked on the download button while it was traveling over it for the the X.  Tarnation! it took forever to download.  and of course my son said "Oh Mother!  

There is a way to bypass the log in.  My 'go to guru' did it via Team Viewer so I don't know how to tell you to do it. 

There are things here I have no idea how to do.  But the worst ...  computers (laptops anyhow) cannot read discs anymore. They don't even have the tray/slot. Everything has to go to a thumbdrive.   Guess where all my recipes and photos are saved?  I don't know it I have the energy to move them all over.  Besides which those thumbdrives are EXPENSIVE!


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> But the worst ...  computers (laptops anyhow) cannot read discs anymore. They don't even have the tray/slot. Everything has to go to a thumbdrive.   Guess where all my recipes and photos are saved?  I don't know it I have the energy to move them all over.  Besides which those thumbdrives are EXPENSIVE!



You can buy an external CD/DVD drive that connects to a USB port for $20-30.


----------



## Andy M.

rodentraiser said:


> I tried to sell my sofa on Craig's List once. Now I've bought off Craig's List often, but this was my first time selling. I got nothing but scam replies, the ones that wanted to send a mover to pick up the sofa, give me a check (for more than the amount of money), have me cash the check and send them the difference (or keep the difference, whatever).
> 
> It got so bad I finally added to the ad:
> 
> "I am here to sell a sofa. First person with CASH in hand gets it. I am not going to run around to a bank, cash checks, wire money anywhere, deal with any movers, or allow the sofa out of my house without first getting paid in CASH."
> 
> Did that stop the scammers? Oh, heck, no...
> 
> I still have the sofa.



Try Facebook Marketplace.  There are local groups you can broadcast your sale item to so you can keep it within 20 miles, etc.  It's all through FB Messenger so no phone numbers or emails are shared.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> Try Facebook Marketplace.  There are local groups you can broadcast your sale item to so you can keep it within 20 miles, etc.  It's all through FB Messenger so no phone numbers or emails are shared.


We sold our old small freezer through a local sales group on Facebook. It worked very well.


----------



## msmofet

rodentraiser said:


> I'm not sure if I have a petty vent or a real vent tonight. I suppose it's a petty vent, since it's such a first world problem.
> 
> I got a new computer after 12 years and I was ready to throw it out the window before I had it under control. Why do they make these things so difficult?
> 
> My techie friend (whom I called for help) told me a lot of it was because I had jumped so much technology and that basically it was like I was going from vinyl records to Blu-Ray in one fell swoop. OK, fine, I understand that, but why couldn't they have just upgraded good old XP?
> 
> I had hundreds of photos that needed to go up on Photobucket, then I couldn't download my browser with Microsoft Edge and had to call tech (they told me to download IE to download my browser and eventually I had 4 browsers downloaded on this new computer), then the new browser didn't bring over my bookmarks, so I had to disconnect the new computer, reconnect the old one, save the bookmarks on a thumb drive, reconnect the new computer and download all the bookmarks, then I had to write down all of my saved passwords (all 35 of them and those DON'T include the ones I never save from banking, Paypal, etc), and now no site is asking me to save passwords so I'm not being automatically logged in anymore, and to top it off, since I close down and turn off my computer every night, now it's asking me to log in every time I reopen it, which I never had to do before! My tech friend said be glad because if he didn't have any activity on his computer for 10 minutes, he had to sign in and that meant he signed in all day long.
> 
> I'm not happy with Windows 10 at all, but I guess I'll learn to live with it.
> 
> The best thing is the speed this thing performs at and the fact that I was able to set my icons up again above my URL bar and _get rid of those stupid tabs!_ I hate tabs.
> 
> Then I was finally able to find an app that enlarged the icons so I could read them. I can't wait till all computer programmers get old and need to have large icons in order to read them. Serve them right for making such small print and icons.
> 
> The worst thing so far is Yahoo mail is not working well with my now updated browser. So I get to open Edge and read my email there, but that's not as big a deal as I feared.
> 
> *And as a final small petty vent, nothing loads to the desktop anymore. All my downloads go into some stupid folder called Downloads on my "File Explorer" now. *mutter, mutter, mutter**


 
You can set it to send downloads to your desktop. I have done that.


----------



## GotGarlic

msmofet said:


> You can set it to send downloads to your desktop. I have done that.


To add to this, dragnlaw, just about any default setting can be changed. Just write your question - in simple terms, with no grumpy language  - into a Google search box and see what comes up. Lots of people wanted to change Windows 10 default settings to something else.


----------



## dragnlaw

GotGarlic said:


> You can buy an external CD/DVD drive that connects to a USB port for $20-30.



Thanks GG, and yes, I knew that, what I didn't realize, was how cheap they are. 



GotGarlic said:


> *** just about any default setting can be changed. ***.



That's why I got my guru to do it for me. I've looked up many things but there always seems to be just one term or one step that doesn't match for me. Or a term that means nothing to me but that others understand easily.  I'm just not technical and get bogged down or end up in a loop (I hate those!).  
Far better for me to let someone else do it, with my luck I end up changing things for the worse.


----------



## dragnlaw

*ARGHHH!*  They've changed things AGAIN!!!  Went to download some photos from my phone and they have completely changed the format!  They should not be allowed to do this to "sweet little old ladies" who take forever to figure it out....   Not even sure my pictures are there....  or anywhere!

Where do you want to put them?   Wha?  where ever you used to put them! I don't know what it's called!   

Choose the photos you want.   Wha??   Where did all those commercial photo's suddenly come from??  on my phone?? WT**!!!  I did not take them!


----------



## rodentraiser

dragnlaw said:


> There are things here I have no idea how to do.  But the worst ...   computers (laptops anyhow) cannot read discs anymore. They don't even  have the tray/slot. Everything has to go to a thumbdrive.   Guess where  all my recipes and photos are saved?  I don't know it I have the energy  to move them all over.  Besides which those thumbdrives are  EXPENSIVE!



That's why I got my computer now. It's a  desktop and I made triple dog sure that it had a CD and DVD reader and  writer. I was afraid if I waited a couple more years, those would be  obsolete.

I didn't think the thumb drives were that expensive, though, compared to the $30 DVDs I wanted to buy. I  paid almost $20 for a thumb drive about 10 years ago and I think it held 10 songs. The  ones I just got are *16 GB* and I only paid $7.99 for each one (I got two).

Which actually brings me to something funny. I was going to buy the DVDs and download a couple movies on them, but at 16 GB, the thumbs were more than up to that job (and so much cheaper), so I decided to use those instead. I found out why people use DVDs though. I barely got home and lost one thumb already and I hadn't even taken it out of the package yet!

I did find it later. I was sitting on it, package and all.




msmofet said:


> You can set it to send downloads to your desktop. I have done that.



I tried that. But on Windows 10 there is now a folder called 'Desktop' and when you set your downloads to save to the desktop, that folder is where they end up in. And the Desktop folder is right next to the Download folder in the computer file. 

I suppose I could move the desktop folder to like, the _actual desktop_ and delete it in my computer file, but ...why? Is there really a computer programmer somewhere that's being paid millions of dollars to put in a folder called Desktop _when we already have a real desktop on the monitor???_


----------



## GotGarlic

rodentraiser said:


> I tried that. But on Windows 10 there is now a folder called 'Desktop' and when you set your downloads to save to the desktop, that folder is where they end up in. And the Desktop folder is right next to the Download folder in the computer file.
> 
> I suppose I could move the desktop folder to like, the _actual desktop_ and delete it in my computer file, but ...why? Is there really a computer programmer somewhere that's being paid millions of dollars to put in a folder called Desktop _when we already have a real desktop on the monitor???_


There has always been a folder called Desktop. Whenever you save anything to a computer or laptop, it has to go into a folder somewhere. 

I have never understood why anyone would want to clutter up the desktop with downloaded files anyway. It's not difficult to create a shortcut on the desktop to the Downloads folder if you really can't find it. And the search function works well, too.


----------



## Andy M.

I download all files to my desktop as a staging area to deal with a file then file it in it's appropriate folder.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> I download all files to my desktop as a staging area to deal with a file then file it in it's appropriate folder.


You're a very organized person, Andy. I've seen computer desktops covered with icons for downloaded files etc. I don't know how a person finds anything.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> You're a very organized person, Andy. I've seen computer desktops covered with icons for downloaded files etc. I don't know how a person finds anything.



Drives me crazy.  I'm OCD enough to have to have a clean desktop.  It forces me to deal with things.


----------



## Just Cooking

I am totally OCD with my desktop too... 
I save files there first but as quickly as possible, find their proper place.. If I could find a way to get rid of the Recycle Bin, I'd be pleased...  

Ross


----------



## rodentraiser

GotGarlic said:


> There has always been a folder called Desktop.  Whenever you save anything to a computer or laptop, it has to go into a  folder somewhere.



True, but in the past, when I've wanted to save a download to my actual desktop, that's where it went. On my desktop, _not_ into a folder marked Desktop or Downloads.

I  don't keep my downloads on my desktop anyway, unless they're TV shows  or movies. I just want them there so I can access them quickly once  they're downloaded. Once I check them out, I sort them to their  respective folders. 

In fact, I am pretty much OCD when it comes  to my desktop, my email, and especially Photobucket. Right now I have more than 6300 pictures sorted into albums and I even alphabetized the bazillion  smilies I collect in their albums. Check it out if you want:

Just type in photobucket.com/rodentraiser





Just Cooking said:


> If I could find a way to get rid of the Recycle Bin, I'd be pleased...
> 
> Ross



In XP, there was a way to replace the recycle bin with an alternate icon. I used a small star when it was empty and a larger star when I put anything into it. I'm still looking for that on Windows 10. But at least I can rename the recycle bin on Windows 10. I had a hard time doing that on XP.

Come to think of it, there was a way to replace a lot of icons on XP. I remember replacing the My Computer folder with a computer icon and something else with a tiny briefcase.


----------



## blissful

My desktop. On the left, some programs I use. On the right side, some adblocker, rkill, malware bytes, adaware, anything anti crap programs. In the middle, all kinds of junk. I could delete everything in the middle to the recycle bin, temporary pictures, things I MIGHT like, things people send me, just junk.


----------



## rodentraiser

Ross, it's not much, but I did find a way to replace the trash bin on the desktop AND remove the name from under it. I found two matching folders, one closed and one with a paper in it. The closed one is replacing the trash when it's empty and as soon as I put something into the trash, the folder shows the paper inside it.

If you're using Windows 10 and want to delete the Recycle Bin name (not just change it), first right click on it, go to RENAME and back the name out. Then press ALT 255. Lift up and press ENTER. The Recycle Bin name will be gone. And no, I don't know how to get it back.


----------



## Just Cooking

rodentraiser said:


> Ross, it's not much, but I did find a way to replace the trash bin on the desktop AND remove the name from under it. I found two matching folders, one closed and one with a paper in it. The closed one is replacing the trash when it's empty and as soon as I put something into the trash, the folder shows the paper inside it.
> 
> If you're using Windows 10 and want to delete the Recycle Bin name (not just change it), first right click on it, go to RENAME and back the name out. Then press ALT 255. Lift up and press ENTER. The Recycle Bin name will be gone. And no, I don't know how to get it back.



Thank you...  

I have Windows 7... 

Ross


----------



## Addie

Any computer problems I may have in using or understanding, I have Spike!


----------



## Steve Kroll

rodentraiser said:


> If you're using Windows 10 and want to delete the Recycle Bin name (not just change it), first right click on it, go to RENAME and back the name out. Then press ALT 255. Lift up and press ENTER. The Recycle Bin name will be gone. And no, I don't know how to get it back.



Just click on the Recycle Bin icon, so it's highlighted, then press F2, which is the rename shortcut key. Then you can rename it to anything you like.


----------



## rodentraiser

I didn't want to rename it, though, I wanted to get rid of the name completely. 

I did finally get into the settings and turned off the one that wanted me to sign in every freaking time I turned on the computer. So that's one thing solved. And, I found the temp files. Now I have to figure out if I'm still supposed to defrag Windows 10, cause I still haven't found that yet. Yeesh.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I really got a taste of what its like to have a couple of employees.  With my bosses stroke I had to hire a couple of guys to help out. Number  1 hit and bent the heck out of the stacks on 2 trucks. Got too close  with the grain cart. Put his cigar out on our new tractor and melted a  nice round spot in the plastic fender.  I don't even know where you have  to be in your brain to even think about putting a cigar out on painted  surface. Let alone on the side of a couple hundred thousand dollar  tractor. That he knew darn will is plastic! A couple days after he went  back to his regular job I found about a dozen half smoked cigars in the  floor drain in the shop. Why? Just Why?  On the up side he was early  every day. Stayed late and never complained. If we ever bring him back  there will be a strict no smoking policy. We all quit smoking and none  of us can stand to be around it anymore anyway. 

Then my  Peterbuilt broke down. We couldn't get it on the low boy trailer. Had to borrow a  gas powered air compressor to strap on the back. Connected it to the  air system on the truck and towed it 40 miles to a shop. My arms were  sore that night. No power steering. 

Then our service truck went down. You turn the  key and everything works but the engine wont turn over. No click no  nothing. Pulled the started and solenoid. They checked out good. Found  the trigger wire is not getting juice. Now I have to find a short  someplace or maybe the switch is bad. I don't know. 

The Case pay  loader broke down for the hundredth time. We just got in the pickup and  went straight to John Deere in Sioux City and traded it off. We have  had that thing for 10 years and it has been POS from day one. And that's  not even half of whats going down around here. I will be glad when the  weekend comes!


----------



## medtran49

I'd say those were all more than petty vents, but put together?  Geeze Louise!!


----------



## Andy M.

Jon, sorry to hear of all your problems.  I'm sure things will turn positive soon.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Quite the handful, Jon!  But, it sounds like you are handling things beautifully. I'm sure your boss appreciates all your hard work.  I know Shrek and I find your situation admirable, inspiring, heroic and wish you the best.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Quite the handful, Jon!  But, it sounds like you are handling things beautifully. I'm sure your boss appreciates all your hard work.  I know Shrek and I find *your situation admirable, inspiring, heroic and wish you the best*.



Ditto here!
Jon, you have had your hands full. I can understand your frustrations. Dealing with "stupid" saps a lot of your energy. 

Farmer Jon, you have what it takes to be one of those folks who keep America eating. And I applaud you for all your efforts. Thank you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow, *Jon*, it sounds like you ended up with a year's work of problems in just one week. I hope your run of trouble is over and that the business is running smoothly soon. Hang in there. It can only get better from here, right?


----------



## Farmer Jon

I'm trying to buy another semi so were not beating up the good ones. There is a lot of trashy trucks to sort through. I don't need anything too nice but there is a lot of junk out there. 
Yesterday was pretty good. Now its the weekend. I can either relax or catch up on stuff around the house Ive been putting off during harvest. If I clean out the chicken coop but take a break every 15 minutes to enjoy an adult beverage. Its not really work. Is it?

This song came on the radio yesterday and really cheered me up. Especially the part when he said I might go get me a new tattoo. I just happen to be getting one today. To cover up the one I got at a party in my 20s. 

https://youtu.be/d4tSE2w53ts


----------



## Just Cooking

*"If I clean out the chicken coop but take a break every 15 minutes to enjoy an adult beverage. Its not really work. Is it?"*

From what we read here, you deserve a break AND an adult beverage whenever you can squeeze one in... 

I admire your work ethic...  

Ross


----------



## JoAnn L.

*Social Security Benefits*

Just got our new Social Security benefits notice for 2018 and they went down by almost $10. I thought we were going to get a raise. Bummer!


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> I'm trying to buy another semi so were not beating up the good ones. There is a lot of trashy trucks to sort through. I don't need anything too nice but there is a lot of junk out there.
> Yesterday was pretty good. Now its the weekend. I can either relax or catch up on stuff around the house I've been putting off during harvest. If I clean out the chicken coop but take a break every 15 minutes to enjoy an adult beverage. Its not really work. Is it?
> 
> This song came on the radio yesterday and really cheered me up. Especially the part when he said* I might go get me a new tattoo. I just happen to be getting one today. To cover up the one I got at a party in my 20s.
> 
> *https://youtu.be/d4tSE2w53ts



 You wild one! Walking on the wild side are you?


----------



## CharlieD

Craziness. Everything is going up in price and they cutting down SS. Absolute craziness


----------



## roadfix

I'm a SS newbie, just started getting benefits this year.   I'm supposedly getting a COL increase beginning 2018.


----------



## roadfix

My Roku box died last night.   I think these things are designed to malfunction after so many thousand hours of use so you'll buy another to replace......like light bulbs.    I'm ok with that.


----------



## blissful

roadfix said:


> My Roku box died last night.   I think these things are designed to malfunction after so many thousand hours of use so you'll buy another to replace......like light bulbs.    I'm ok with that.



I don't know how long they should last. Every once in a while we unplug it and clear the buffer (if that is what happens when you unplug it), then we can run it more without any slowdowns. We bought the roku stick, back in 2013, still running, then another stick in 2015 for another tv, and the third tv has an amazon fire (but that stick won't let us view vudu movies in the cloud). 

Anyways, when we were buying our stick, my son kept insisting we buy a box roku and that a stick was only part of streaming movies. Actually the stick is a low cost streaming device, it and its remote, and it has fewer features than a roku box, but we never found a need for the box, so we never bought one. I just remember my son insisting, 'mom that won't work for streaming movies', ha ha, well, yes it does. We wait for a sale, and get it for around $35 each.


----------



## caseydog

CharlieD said:


> Craziness. Everything is going up in price and they cutting down SS. Absolute craziness



It is going to get worse. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> I'm a SS newbie, just started getting benefits this year.   I'm supposedly getting a COL increase beginning 2018.



The check is in the mail. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Airplane seats! My butt is numb, and my legs are tingling. Arrgh!

CD


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> Thanks GG, and yes, I knew that, what I didn't realize, was how cheap they are.
> 
> 
> 
> That's why I got my guru to do it for me. I've looked up many things but there always seems to be just one term or one step that doesn't match for me. Or a term that *means nothing to me but that others understand easily*.  I'm just not technical and get bogged down or end up in a loop (I hate those!).
> Far better for me to let someone else do it, with my luck I end up changing things for the worse.



And that is why I let Spike do all my computer. I am quite happy just entering and deleting. I make no effort to learn anything new. Much to Spike's chagrin.


----------



## CarolPa

roadfix said:


> I'm a SS newbie, just started getting benefits this year.   I'm supposedly getting a COL increase beginning 2018.



The problem with that is the deduction for Medicare usually goes up more than the COLA, so your check is still smaller......


----------



## Addie

CarolPa said:


> The problem with that is the deduction for Medicare usually goes up more than the COLA, so your check is still smaller......



I am very fortunate in that MassHealth pays for my Medicare payment. I have no idea what it may be. Never have. MassHealth has been paying it since day one. I started to collect at age 62 and worked part time. But for those three years I was covered by Massachusetts BC/BS Master Plan. Again at no cost to me. But that all changed on the day I turned 65. BC/BS ceased and Medicare and MassHealth took over.


----------



## Caslon

I can't make split pea soup.  Andersen's Split Pea soup is famous.  I think they had restaurants.

They only can it in creamy form now.  Huh?


----------



## Cheryl J

Caslon said:


> *I can't make split pea soup.* Andersen's Split Pea soup is famous. I think they had restaurants.
> 
> They only can it in creamy form now. Huh?


 
Hi, Caslon.   Why can't you make split pea soup?  Just wondering, because it's so delicious and *easy*. A far cry better than (shudder) Andersen's canned.  

What are your issues with making your own?


----------



## Caslon

I don't have a ham bone.


----------



## Cheryl J

OK then....I just deleted my post that was in response to the not so nice post *you* deleted. Holy cow....


----------



## Aunt Bea

Caslon said:


> I don't have a ham bone.



The folks at Anderson's don't have a ham bone either. 

https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/soup/vegetable-soup/split-pea-soup-andersens-original-recipe.html

I think the creamy velvety texture comes from a high speed blender that removes any traces of texture from the soup.


----------



## Caslon

I mean...come on.  A company famous for its "split pea" soup now makes it in creamy only?   Times have changed.

Cheryl...try and remember I'm retarded.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Caslon said:


> I don't have a ham bone.


When I have that problem, I buy a smoked ham hock. Not much meat but lots of smoky good flavor. This Serious Eats article has other suggestions, too, like smoked neck bones or turkey wings.

*The Nasty Bits: Using Smoked Meats in Soups*


----------



## Caslon

I don't belong here.  Andersen's no longer sells their famous split green pea canned soup other than creamy.

They had restaurants !


----------



## msmofet

I use a smoked ham steak to make my pea soup. I brown the steak in the soup pot first, then remove and chop the steak. I add the ham to the soup pot and leave the little bone in the soup while it's cooking.


----------



## Just Cooking

+1 msmofet... Simple and delicious...  

Ross


----------



## CraigC

Could you not use a smoked ham hock for split pea soup?


----------



## Caslon

I am an absolute newb at making soups, but I much admire soup making efforts here by others.  Really do.


----------



## Addie

Hey God! Yeah, you up there. Can you give me a break please? Now You send down a case of pleurisy on me. Well, I am somewhat grateful. After all it could have been a full blown case of pneumonia. At least I know from past experiences this will only last 24 hrs. at the most.


----------



## Kayelle

Calson, go to a Honey Baked Ham store and buy a $9 ham bone. It's worth every penny and has at least two cups of ham on it. Cut the ham off so you can chop it and add it to the soup at the end of cooking so it doesn't get over cooked. Boil up the bone with the peas, add some grated onion and carrot if you want and simmer it till the peas disappear. There's not an easier or more delicious soup to make.

Anderson's Pea Soup is nuclear waste in a can.


----------



## msmofet

Kayelle said:


> Calson, go to a Honey Baked Ham store and buy a $9 ham bone. It's worth every penny and has at least two cups of ham on it. Cut the ham off so you can chop it and add it to the soup at the end of cooking so it doesn't get over cooked. Boil up the bone with the peas, add some grated onion and carrot if you want and simmer it till the peas disappear. There's not an easier or more delicious soup to make.
> 
> Anderson's Pea Soup is nuclear waste in a can.


 Honey Baked Ham store?


----------



## Kayelle

msmofet said:


> Honey Baked Ham store?


Yup there are stores all over the country, and we have one near us. Here's a store locator..http://locator.honeybaked.com/
I don't buy their overly expensive spiral cut hams, but I do buy their ham bones, and their store hand made to order ham sandwiches that are a lunch bargain at $5 with two sides.


----------



## msmofet

Kayelle said:


> Yup there are stores all over the country, and we have one near us. Here's a store locator..http://locator.honeybaked.com/
> I don't buy their overly expensive spiral cut hams, but I do buy their ham bones, and their store hand made to order ham sandwiches that are a lunch bargain at $5 with two sides.


The closest one to NJ is Ohio. Oh well. The online store doesn't have ham bones.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I love love love the honey baked ham store!


----------



## Farmer Jon

This is more of a rant then a petty vent. Nothing petty about it.

Thursday night the boss went to town and  go so drunk he didn't know were he was or where his car was.  His buddies put him in his car and sent him home. I get all these phone  calls yesterday morning. Did he make it home? I haven't been that mad in  a long time. I just told everyone if it happens again I will come get  him. I can not  believe they just let him go!

He has no  family to answer to. Its just us. He wont listen. He gets mad and says  nobody tells me what to do! He was raised an only child spoiled rich kid  and throws a fit when he don't get what he wants. Especially after the  stroke. His brains are still scrambled. Ive caught him drinking at 3:30  in the afternoon. The neighbors have found him passed out in his vehicle  a few miles from home. I don't know what to do. From what I understand  there is not much I can do until he gets caught or worse. He has been driving his personal car but wants his farm pickup  back. I still have the fuel cart hooked to it from harvest. I don't  want him driving drunk in a company vehicle so I haven't unhooked it  yet. Not looking forward to the conversation we need to have when he  does get his pickup back. Explain no drinking a company vehicle, to the  owner of the farm! He made my brother and I partners. If he is drunk  and hurts or kills someone in a company vehicle we could loose  everything. These are conversations I should be having with my teenagers not my 70 year old boss. Except my teenagers has more sense than that!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Oh and I still have to get my wife something for Christmas. I got her an air fryer like she wanted and some new clothes but she wont let me wrap them. I want her to have something to open Christmas morning too. Shes always good getting me little things that mean a lot. She says get me something from the heart. With everything going on I haven't put much thought into Christmas. The weather has been fantastic. We have working some long hours in the fields hauling manure. That's not going to stop anytime soon. Its suppose to be winter! WE are suppose to be taking it easy this time of year! Texas got more snow than we did. I planned on doing nothing today. I guess I'm going shopping.


----------



## Caslon

Farmer Jon said:


> I love love love the honey baked ham store!



Yes, I think they are a nation wide chain, not sure.  That's basically all the do is hams of all kinds.  Their specialty is spiral cut smoked ham with bone in.  My mom would save the bone for split pea soup. No doubt they do a good deal of business around the holidays, enough to keep them popular, and in business.


----------



## Kayelle

Caslon...did you read what I said several posts back??




Kayelle said:


> Calson, go to a Honey Baked Ham store and buy a $9 ham bone. It's worth every penny and has at least two cups of ham on it. Cut the ham off so you can chop it and add it to the soup at the end of cooking so it doesn't get over cooked. Boil up the bone with the peas, add some grated onion and carrot if you want and simmer it till the peas disappear. There's not an easier or more delicious soup to make.
> 
> Anderson's Pea Soup is nuclear waste in a can.


----------



## Caslon

No.  I've not gotten to the level of making my own soup.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Caslon*, if you can read, you can make soup. Seriously. My SIL was a certifiable Kitchen Idiot years ago. I told here that "if you can read, you can cook". She can now cook wonderful meals and, on her good days, can out-flake me on pie crust. Just try. My Mom's Ham and Bean soup recipe is simple - takes a bit of time, but it is easy enough to follow...or not follow to the letter. Besides, her recipe calls for bacon. Bacon makes EVERYTHING good!

*Mom's Ham and Bean Soup*

Pay special attention to my comment to *rodentraiser*, number 17. (Hey, *rr*, where are ya? Haven't heard from you lately...). She was worried about following the recipe to the letter. You don't have to do that. It is a very forgiving recipe. If you like soft beans in your soup, you really can't overcook this soup. If you want to try it, feel free to ask me any questions you want. My PM folder is always kept cleaned out.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Caslon*, if you can read, you can make soup. Seriously. My SIL was a certifiable Kitchen Idiot years ago. I told here that "if you can read, you can cook".



One caveat. If you can read *and follow directions*, you can cook 

I had a friend who constantly overcooked her roasts because when she took them out to rest, they didn't look done enough, so she put them back in. Of course they came out overcooked and dry. There were a lot of other simple procedures she skipped, thinking they weren't necessary, so her food often didn't turn out well.


----------



## Addie

*Honey Of A Ham* is a national franchise business. I don't know about the rest of the country, but the one here in Saugus, also makes a roast beef along with the Ham at Christmas time. My daughter orders a ham at Easter time, and the Roast Beef for Christmas. Both meats are to die for. The beef one is so juicy and moist to the last bite. It also comes with sides. But for either holiday you have to get your order in *at least *a month ahead of the holiday.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> *Honey Of A Ham* is a national franchise business. I don't know about the rest of the country, but the one here in Saugus, also makes a roast beef along with the Ham at Christmas time. My daughter orders a ham at Easter time, and the Roast Beef for Christmas. Both meats are to die for. The beef one is so juicy and moist to the last bite. It also comes with sides. But for either holiday you have to get your order in *at least *a month ahead of the holiday.



"Honey Of a Ham" isn't a national franchise business Addie..but a Honeybaked Ham store is located in Saugus, Ma. They don't offer roast beef.
https://myhoneybakedstore.com/saugus/7006/home/index.asp


----------



## msmofet

GotGarlic said:


> One caveat. If you can read *and follow directions*, you can cook
> 
> I had a friend who constantly overcooked her roasts because when she took them out to rest, they didn't look done enough, so she put them back in. Of course they came out overcooked and dry. There were a lot of other simple procedures she skipped, thinking they weren't necessary, so her food often didn't turn out well.


 
I always try to take my roasts out when very rare. If someone doesn't think it is cooked enough after the rest they can place the meat in the hot gravy to cook a bit more. OR (shudder) microwave it. I ruined to many roasts trying to make the "well done" people happy. Now if anything I under cook because it can always be cooked more.


----------



## Just Cooking

Kayelle said:


> "Honey Of a Ham" isn't a national franchise business Addie..but a Honeybaked Ham store is located in Saugus, Ma. They don't offer roast beef.
> https://myhoneybakedstore.com/saugus/7006/home/index.asp



Perhaps Addie buys from this store in Saugus, MA..

https://shophoneybaked.com


Hmmmm... same street address.. my link shows beef...

Ross


----------



## Caslon

Petty vent not cooking related.  Every "crew neck" T-Shirt or sweatshirt that I shop for these days have collars that are stretched out, to the point of ridiculousness.  I found one store nearby that had Russell brand crewneck sweatshirts.  They made the mistake of hanging them on hangars rather than folding them. The crewneck opening was big enuff to fit a cantelope thru.  "Crewneck" term implies that the neck opening isn't wide, but rather somewhat snug.  Not these days. These days you put on "crew neck" t-shirts or sweatshirts and they practically expose your clavicles.  Fashion designers can be really dumb with "clothing styles" these days.  
End of petty vent.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm content with just the clavicles showing.  I have to wear a 2X top so it will fit in the shoulders, the neckline must be covered and or pinned so I don't get arrested.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I need to find those types of crew shirts, *Caslon*. I've taken to buying only v-neck t-shirts lately since every crew neck I've found feels like it's strangling me. I'm always pulling on the neckline to stretch it out! It's not like I have a fat neck.


----------



## Caslon

Cooking Goddess said:


> I need to find those types of crew shirts, *Caslon*. I've taken to buying only v-neck t-shirts lately since every crew neck I've found feels like it's strangling me. I'm always pulling on the neckline to stretch it out! It's not like I have a fat neck.



"Undershirts" can be neck strangling. I still see only big neck holes on T-shirts and sweatshirts these last 8 years. I don't mind the loosening of the collar, but do they have to go overboard?  Collar neck holes now look as if you were playing pickup football and someone tackled you by grabbing your vintage crewneck collar and stretching it out 5 inches.   

Fashion is wierd.


----------



## dragnlaw

I'm not sure if we have Honey Baked up here but it reminds me of when my BIL was doing weekly runs to Florida. At Christmas he wold always pick up a Spiral Ham to bring home. 

The family has gone all over the country now and he has stopped doing those runs.  No more big hams and soup after.  My SIL couldn't boil hot dogs without splitting them to pieces BUT she could make a damn fine soup from that bone!


----------



## JoAnn L.

Our phone just rang and it was my husbands brothers phone number on the caller ID. When he answered the phone it was a credit card company. How do they do that? This is so aggravating.


----------



## Andy M.

JoAnn L. said:


> Our phone just rang and it was my husbands brothers phone number on the caller ID. When he answered the phone it was a credit card company. How do they do that? This is so aggravating.



Apparently they can have any number show on caller ID.  I have gotten several calls when the caller ID showed it was me calling.


----------



## Caslon

I now have finally memorized my 16  digit credit card number and 3 digit security code number, finally.

This after my credit card company said my card was used suspiciously and they're sending me a new credit card and number. I was buying a new computer from scratch and made lots of purchases and returns.  That, apparently was all they needed to void my present card and issue me another.  Very annoying having to change all the sites that stored the  old number.


----------



## caseydog

The right hand shift key on my bluetooth keyboard is stuck. 

cD


----------



## Just Cooking

1st world problems...


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Okay, so ...
DH and I have discovered that having my Mother, 
whom we both love to pieces, 
REALLY should not  stay with us for _an entire month!!!_


----------



## roadfix

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Okay, so ...
> DH and I have discovered that having my Mother,
> whom we both love to pieces,
> REALLY should not  stay with us for _an entire month!!!_



I agree.   You can't have two women in the kitchen.   Tensions can flare.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

roadfix said:


> I agree.   *You can't have two women in the kitchen.   Tensions can flare*.




Very True!!!
But in this household, one of them doesn't cook! 
Mom sets the table and clears it, that's her job and
DH has to load and unload the dishwasher...
I do the rest 
Mom's getting mightily fat and sassy (mostly sassy though that's the rub )


----------



## buckytom

roadfix said:


> I agree.   You can't have two women in the kitchen.   Tensions can flare.




Wow, roadfix, you like to skate on thin ice, huh?


----------



## caseydog

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Okay, so ...
> DH and I have discovered that having my Mother,
> whom we both love to pieces,
> REALLY should not  stay with us for _an entire month!!!_



A month??? I spent five days with my mom last week, and that was a few days too long. 

CD


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

The rolls have reversed, as they say they would.

Mom is now acting sassy, talking back and being very smart. (which I would NEVER have done when I was a kid, I wouldn't have gotten away with it)

Where, I now am the parent and scolding her.
Mom: (in a very loud voice) Ohmygosh! Look at that girl (another older woman)! What was she thinking?! She shouldn't be wearing THAT!
Me: Mom, ssshhhh! That's not very nice of you.

_AND_ she's been talking back to DH alot this past week, very sassy indeed!
Thank you God for such a patient and tolerant husband.


----------



## Kayelle

I can sympathize Kgirl as I personally hate to be a house guest, and don't like being a house hostess either. It's just unnatural unless you have a house with guest wings, and hired help like a Queen. I always lived near my Mom who I also adored, but she used to say that fish and house guests are just alike, after three days they both begin to stink.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Oh my, K-Girl.  ~~~ I hope that thought isn't going through Lovely's mind right now.


----------



## Caslon

roadfix said:


> I agree.   You can't have two women in the kitchen.   Tensions can flare.



If the home body is the one that's cooking, she/he may want to take advice, but  others should respect that this is his/her domain, no  matter how the meal turns out.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

I don't mind being the house hostess so much.
Having lived in Hawaii all of my life and also having had in-laws that lived on the East Coast that came to visit, ALOT, I'm use to it.
DH's much younger sister and her three, yes I said 3 young children came to stay with us for THREE MONTHS one Summer while her husband was deployed with the military in the Middle East after 911.
But my own Mother has been the real challenge, I have to say.
We take her home in two days, thanking you Lord!!!


----------



## roadfix

I'm generalizing, but it's usually the MIL-DIL combo that do not get along well ....


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> Oh my, K-Girl.  ~~~ I hope that thought isn't going through Lovely's mind right now. [emoji38]


A month is a *really* long time to visit. And Loverly is working part of the time, right? It's more difficult when you're spending all day every day together.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Mom and Dad are down the street...they still drive me bats when we go shopping.  Now I know how they felt when we kids wandered off in the store.


----------



## dragnlaw

I have to say I was very nervous when my daughter came to stay for 3 months but it went extremely well!  I needed her because of my shoulder being operated on and in the end we pretty much had different habits and stayed out of each others way.  

Actually I was a bit frustrated because she doesn't like to cook, couldn't care less and didn't even like or want to have the proposed dishes I was eager to make. 

I had to sleep in the den (due to the shoulder) and she slept upstairs - so we didn't even disturb with our different hours.  

Worked out very well. or it could just have been I'm a tyrant and even my daughter's in their 50's don't cross me!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Well, we just got back from driving Mom back to California
after her months stay with us here in the middle of the desert.
Both DH and I said to each other as we drove back home, 
never never never never
will we do this again!
Neither of us think that she enjoyed herself, at all!
And we know that she was just too cold, no matter
what I set the heat at, along with an electric blanket
on her bed.  
I bundled her up in coats, scarfs, hats and gloves
whenever we left the house, which wasn't often.
We'd get to where we were going, be there for about
a half hour and ask, "So are we done now?"


----------



## Kayelle

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Well, we just got back from driving Mom back to California
> after her months stay with us here in the middle of the desert.
> Both DH and I said to each other as we drove back home,
> never never never never
> will we do this again!
> Neither of us think that she enjoyed herself, at all!
> And we know that she was just too cold, no matter
> what I set the heat at, along with an electric blanket
> on her bed.
> I bundled her up in coats, scarfs, hats and gloves
> whenever we left the house, which wasn't often.
> We'd get to where we were going, be there for about
> a half hour and ask, "So are we done now?"



I'm sooo sorry to hear this Kgirl, as I know you were really looking forward to her visit. Was she like this the last time she came, or is this behavior something new? Maybe you can find out more now that's she's home and the two of you can talk on the phone in private. Is there someone she's close to at home that could tell you about any obvious changes in her personality?
I hope you get to the bottom of the problem as it's clear how important she is to you. Hugs...


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> I'm sooo sorry to hear this Kgirl, as I know you were really looking forward to her visit. Was she like this the last time she came, or is this behavior something new? Maybe you can find out more now that's she's home and the two of you can talk on the phone in private. Is there someone she's close to at home that could tell you about any obvious changes in her personality?
> I hope you get to the bottom of the problem as it's clear how important she is to you. Hugs...


Low thyroid hormone levels can cause fatigue and problems with regulating body temperature, as well as personality changes. It might be a good idea to suggest that she have that checked.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kayelle said:


> I'm sooo sorry to hear this Kgirl, as I know you were really looking forward to her visit. Was she like this the last time she came, or is this behavior something new? Maybe you can find out more now that's she's home and the two of you can talk on the phone in private. Is there someone she's close to at home that could tell you about any obvious changes in her personality?
> I hope you get to the bottom of the problem as it's clear how important she is to you. Hugs...



You're so sweet K, thank you.
Mom has never been to this house, she moved to California about 5 years ago and we have been just going out there to visit with her there.
As to her personality, that's really no different than before, sadly.
I think it was she was not on her own home playing field.



GotGarlic said:


> Low thyroid hormone levels can cause fatigue and problems with regulating body temperature, as well as personality changes. It might be a good idea to suggest that she have that checked.



GG, Mom has her annual wellness check and is in tip-top shape.
The doctor's have run all kinds of tests on her over the years and there is absolutely nothing wrong with her!  
"You're how old and don't take ANY medications?"
She's been told that she will live a long and healthy life, as most of her relatives have, and she's not too happy about that.  She thinks that she should have kicked long ago  Me, I know that I'm living a long life and intend to life it to the fullest.
This is a great life lesson learned for me.
Keep your mind and body active through out your life, as my doc in Hawaii told me, "Use it or loss it".


----------



## GotGarlic

Good to know, K'girl. I'm sorry your visit with her was so difficult. I can relate.


----------



## Kayelle

> I think it was she was not on her own home playing field.



It could be just as simple as that Kgirl. I mentioned before that I hate being a house guest also. I adept well to hotels but but not to spending more than a few hours at a time in someone's home. When we are older and set in our own routine, it gets harder to adapt and "go with the flow" like we did in our youth. 
Hope you're feeling better friend.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sorry to hear that your Mom-time wasn't everything you were looking forward to, *K-Gir*l. I'd say "maybe next time", but I guess that won't happen unless you stay at HER house.



Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...She's been told that she will live a long and healthy life, as most of her relatives have, and she's not too happy about that...


As Himself said when told your Mom wishes she wasn't living so long: "Here, let me help you!".


----------



## dragnlaw

Hey Guys! I know you all meant well from the depths of your hearts...  but...  this thread is called ""*petty*"" vents.  
This is a place to let off steam, where we can all sympathize and laugh in the knowledge that we have all 'been there - done that'.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> Hey Guys! I know you all meant well from the depths of your hearts...  but...  this thread is called ""*petty*"" vents.
> This is a place to let off steam, where we can all sympathize and laugh in the knowledge that we have all 'been there - done that'.



I don't think it's for you to decide what people want when they post here. Some want to blow off steam, some want comfort, some want suggestions. They will let us know if responses aren't helpful.


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> Hey Guys! I know you all meant well from the depths of your hearts...  but...  this thread is called ""*petty*"" vents.
> This is a place to let off steam, where we can all sympathize and laugh in the knowledge that we have all 'been there - done that'.



On a kinder note, we used to have a thread called "Venting". But it got lost in the mayhem along the way. So now all venting seems to appear in this thread. Just like there are some "vents" and some "petty vents", there are some kinder folks and some that are not.


----------



## Caslon

I have to vent somewhere and this is a good a place as any.  The USA grown lamb for stew being sold in reputable supermarket chains isn't lamb anymore, it's just like beef. I do NOT like the packaged lamb from New Zealand that is very gamey tasting. The package looks unappealing too (blood soaked).  I used to get USA lamb for stew that was more grass fed, about 20 years ago (at Albertsons).  It was tedious as hell to remove all the sinew and fat from the stew meat, but it was worth the time.  Todays USA lamb is so grain fed that when you bite into a stewed piece of it, it immediately breaks up in your mouth with a  beef like fiberous texture, which is fine if making beef stew.  It's not lamb now. It's a hybrid.

The cost of land and water these days no doubtidly factors into this unfortunate situation.

P.S.  US grown lamb in chops and such have a little better texture and taste, but do you know how expensive it would be to cut up 1/2" cubes from shoulder chops to make 2.5 lbs. of stew meat for my lamb curry recipe?  About $70+.


----------



## buckytom

I'm curious, Cas, what cuts of lamb do you use for stew?
In my experience, using boney cuts like shoulder or neck are fantastic for stew.

Do you really need uniform cubes?


----------



## Andy M.

When I'm after a rack of lamb, which isn't often, I go for the Australian lamb at Costco.  Australian lamb is from a smaller animal so the rack is smaller.  It's more grass fed vs. grain fed in the USA so it actually tastes like lamb rather than beef.  I buy lamb because I want the taste of lamb.


----------



## Kayelle

I don't buy lamb that isn't from Costco. IMO their Australian lamb is far superior to any American lamb I've tasted. Like Andy said, it tastes like lamb. 
I do admit I have to block out the memory of bottle feeding a wee lamb in Australia.


----------



## msmofet

*2018 Edition - No Vent too big or small Venting thread*

Got a gripe, peeve, annoyance that you want to voice. Here is the place.

My vent is - Who the hell gave insurance companies the right to play God?

My doctor has been practicing medicine for years and when he gives me an RX I should be able to go to a drug store and get it filled. No questions or hoops to jump through. What right does the insurance company have to *NOT* approve an RX for a diabetes med?


----------



## Steve Kroll

I agree MsM. Even worse, my HSA has now taken up the same practice. It used to be that when I went in to pick up anything medical related, I could use my HSA money with no questions asked. Now they've come out with a list of allowed items. If it's not on the list, I can't pay for it with HSA funds.

Considering that the money going into it is MY money funded by MY salary, I should be able to use it as needed.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Do we REALLY need another "venting" thread?*

It's a shame that the "Petty Vents" and the "Venting" thread aren't enough. 

Too bad the "Last thing that made you smile" and "The Thankfulness Club" don't get the same kind of traffic.

Actress and animal activist Betty White turned 96 - *96!* - this week. You want to know what she attributes her long like to? *"Positivity"* That, and vodka and hot dogs.  As much as we all have things to complain about, and rightly so, maybe we should also cultivate more positive mental attitudes. And drink more vodka. If you ever go to Savannah, GA, I highly recommend a tour of Ghost Coast Distillery...and their vodka.


----------



## Kayelle

CG...I've only posted a few times on the currant venting threads but just one thread should be enough me thinks. My vent is it's a real turn off when someone declares rules for venting or responding, as has recently happened.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> CG...I've only posted a few times on the currant venting threads but just one thread should be enough me thinks. My vent is it's a real turn off *when someone declares rules *for venting or responding, as has recently happened.



That is why we have moderators. And they do an excellent job. 

Sometimes we have a major vent at "that" moment. But we aren't near the computer. So we continue to do what we were doing. By the time we get to sit at the computer, that major vent has become a petty vent and sometimes even laughable. So that simple Major vent has turned into a Petty vent without any direction or statement of their own rules from any member.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> It's a shame that the "Petty Vents" and the "Venting" thread aren't enough.
> 
> Too bad the "Last thing that made you smile" and "The Thankfulness Club" don't get the same kind of traffic.



Venting threads merged.  We really only need one.  If you come across rude responses, report the post.  The Mod Team can't fix it if we don't know it's broke.


----------



## buckytom

What about the panty vents thread?


----------



## Addie

I really needed one of the moments where someone is knocking on your head for something stupid you did.

I had an 11 a.m. appointment with my lawyer today. I also had a 10:30 a.m. appointment for the nurse to change my dressing. So there is a knock on my door and I am thinking it is the nurse. The knock and my phone ringing woke me out of a sound sleep. I yell "come in."  So this lovely young woman comes in, takes off her coat and I am cutting off my dressing. "Anything I can do to help?" I point to the large shopping bag with all the medical supplies in  it. "Well, I am going to need 5x5's, 2x2's, sterile water and sterile saline solution, etc." Then comes another knock on the door. Before I can yell to come in, she does. Then I recognize her. It is "the Nurse". Here's here where you need to use that hammer on my head. I thought the first one was a new nurse. It was my lawyer. I gave you a very profuse apology before she left and she was able to see for herself just how bad my open wounds on my leg are. But she stood there and watched every thing the nurse did to my leg and what I am going through. 

I have only met my lawyer once and for a very short time. And it is a daily surprise as to what nurse I am going to have today. In fact I got a different nurse for the afternoon dressing change. So you can understand why I was so confused. 

Boing! Boing! Boing! If anyone wants to join in, feel free! Just bring your own hammer.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

buckytom said:


> What about the panty vents thread?



don't pull on it, it will unravel, leaving you with just the elastic.


----------



## buckytom

Lol, OK. Don't want to ruin this nice silk. They fit so well...


----------



## roadfix

One vent thread is good enough for me.   Easy to navigate to, and if I have anything say, regardless of the magnitude of the vent, I know exactly where to go.


----------



## Andy M.

roadfix said:


> One vent thread is good enough for me.   Easy to navigate to, and if I have anything say, regardless of the magnitude of the vent, I know exactly where to go.



...and if you don't, I'll happily tell you where to go!


----------



## Caslon

Andy M. said:


> When I'm after a rack of lamb, which isn't often, I go for the Australian lamb at Costco.  Australian lamb is from a smaller animal so the rack is smaller.  It's more grass fed vs. grain fed in the USA so it actually tastes like lamb rather than beef.  I buy lamb because I want the taste of lamb.



I don't have a Costco card but will get one and check their lamb to make my lamb curry.  I've been making this dish since the 70's with mostly good luck, that is, up until about 7 years ago when US lamb raisers changed the way they feed their stock. It used to be that US lamb was fed grass feed up until near slaughtering time when they switched to hay feed. Nowadays, US lamb growers start feeding hay feed right off the bat (I've read). This results in US lamb that  hardly needs any hand trimming of fat and sinew. It also results in lamb that has no lamby taste and stews up with a fibrous like texture that's just like beef. Properly raised lamb has a non-stringy non-fiberous texture when stewed up, which is what I loved about the lamb I used to buy for stew. It has simply come down to the prohibitively high cost of properly raising US lamb now.  As far as going to a private butcher store to buy lamb, wow...they charge way too much for lamb.   I'll check out Costco's lamb and maybe even buy shoulder chops (if not priced too high) and cut them up for my lamb curry stew. 

P.S.  What part of the lamb do they use for stew meat packages?  I ask this because my local Albertsons carries Superior Farms (USA) lamb cuts. Their shoulder chops DO have a pretty good lamb flavor and texture, but their packages of lamb for stew are just awful. They're just big chunks of what looks like beef cubes (hardly any fat or sinew on them).  Please excuse my long post.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> P.S.  What part of the lamb do they use for stew meat packages?  I ask this because my local Albertsons carries Superior Farms (USA) lamb cuts. Their shoulder chops DO have a pretty good lamb flavor and texture, but their packages of lamb for stew are just awful. They're just big chunks of what looks like beef cubes (hardly any fat or sinew on them).  Please excuse my long post.



I never buy pre-cut "stew meat" of any type because it's generally scraps of mixed cuts that are not necessarily the best for stewing. Buy neck and shoulder cuts and cut them up yourself. It's worth it as an occasional treat.


----------



## Caslon

GotGarlic said:


> It's worth it as an occasional treat.



That's what bums me out.  It used to be relatively inexpensive to make my lamb curry stew. Now it's gonna be an expensive treat (as you implied) to make up a big batch and freeze into portions. It didn't used to be like that. A decade ago, I could buy "lamb-for-stew"at Albertsons that took me a long time to trim off the fat and sinew, but it was worth it with how it stewed up.  To get 2.5 lbs. of  lamb stew pieces, it took me a good 45 minutes to trim the lamb stew pieces of sinew and fat (back then).  I didn't mind, it was well worth the time with how my lamb curry stew tasted like *lamb* curry stew.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

This is just something that I want to say out loud, somewhere, to the Universe and this is as good as any...

It's not just housing. Honolulu also has the nation's priciest g - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

This article was in the Hawaii news this morning.
52% higher for groceries in Hawaii than the Nations average...
199% higher in housing than the Nations average ...
Then let's talk about how dang crowded its become... 
There's about ONE MILLON people on that small Island of 180 miles around.
OH MY GAWD!!!
DH is constantly saying he wants to move back to Kaneohe, 
ARE YOU INSANE? 
As one of my theme songs goes ... "Let it go, let it go ..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk

Ok, I'm done now, thank you all for listening.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That's nuts, *K-Girl*. I will never complain about house prices around here again. Maybe.


----------



## caseydog

Caslon said:


> I don't have a Costco card but will get one and check their lamb to make my lamb curry.  I've been making this dish since the 70's with mostly good luck, that is, up until about 7 years ago when US lamb raisers changed the way they feed their stock. It used to be that US lamb was fed grass feed up until near slaughtering time when they switched to hay feed. Nowadays, US lamb growers start feeding hay feed right off the bat (I've read). This results in US lamb that  hardly needs any hand trimming of fat and sinew. It also results in lamb that has no lamby taste and stews up with a fibrous like texture that's just like beef. Properly raised lamb has a non-stringy non-fiberous texture when stewed up, which is what I loved about the lamb I used to buy for stew. It has simply come down to the prohibitively high cost of properly raising US lamb now.  As far as going to a private butcher store to buy lamb, wow...they charge way too much for lamb.   I'll check out Costco's lamb and maybe even buy shoulder chops (if not priced too high) and cut them up for my lamb curry stew.
> 
> P.S.  What part of the lamb do they use for stew meat packages?  I ask this because my local Albertsons carries Superior Farms (USA) lamb cuts. Their shoulder chops DO have a pretty good lamb flavor and texture, but their packages of lamb for stew are just awful. They're just big chunks of what looks like beef cubes (hardly any fat or sinew on them).  Please excuse my long post.



I can back up the opinion that COSTCO has good lamb. I usually by chops, but sometimes by a rack of chops. Basically the same thing, different form. 

You can definitely tell it is lamb. No confusing it with beef. But, it is not too gamey, either. 

I like to sous vide the chops, and hit them hard with the Searsall for a nice crust, while maintaining that red-rare color inside. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

About 15 minutes ago, I started sneezing, and my nose started running. I have no idea why. I haven't been outside for hours, and haven't done anything to change my interior environment. My petty vent is that I hate it when stuff like this happens for no apparent reason. I'm pretty good at solving problems, but how do you solve a problem when you don't have any clues about what is causing the problem? 

CD


----------



## buckytom

Did you happen to eat any prawns? You might be allergic.

Try replacing them with shrimp. Food and Wine says you won't have the same reaction since they're a different animal.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> That's nuts, *K-Girl*. I will never complain about house prices around here again. Maybe.



What folks forget though is that almost all of its' lumber, produce for food, and now pineapples, are imported. Utilities? Imported oil from the mainland. The only thing I can think of at this moment that is local, are the coconuts.


----------



## tinlizzie

Petty vent - Hurricane Irma messed with my well, so I'm buying bottled water.  Some grocery store plastic bottles are flimsy plus filled to the very top.  If held tightly enough to unscrew the cap, water overflows.  Grrrr.


----------



## Just Cooking

tinlizzie said:


> Petty vent - Hurricane Irma messed with my well, so I'm buying bottled water. * Some grocery store plastic bottles are flimsy plus filled to the very top.*  If held tightly enough to unscrew the cap, water overflows.  Grrrr.


Jeannie and I have been irritated by that also...  

Ross


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Addie said:


> What folks forget though is that almost all of its' lumber, produce for food, and now pineapples, are imported. Utilities? Imported oil from the mainland. *The only thing I can think of at this moment that is local, are the coconuts.*



Addie, over the past, oh, maybe 15-20 years or so (at least on Oahu) there has been a big push to grow, buy, eat local.  Here's the grocery store that I frequented (still do when we go home):
https://www.foodland.com/elt
I like going to the farmer's markets as well when on Oahu, in particular the KCC Farmers Market!  Saturday mornings at KCC are a blast and there's even a shuttle you can take from town rather than fight the traffic and hunt for a parking spot.






We went last time the day after we arrived.  We rent a condo not far from KCC and could get there very easily.  The best Avocado I've ever had!  And the plate lunch was ONO (delicious)!!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Addie, over the past, oh, maybe 15-20 years or so (at least on Oahu) there has been a big push to grow, buy, eat local.  Here's the grocery store that I frequented (still do when we go home):
> https://www.foodland.com/elt
> I like going to the farmer's markets as well when on Oahu, in particular the KCC Farmers Market!  Saturday mornings at KCC are a blast and there's even a shuttle you can take from town rather than fight the traffic and hunt for a parking spot...
> 
> We went last time the day after we arrived.  We rent a condo not far from KCC and could get there very easily.  The best Avocado I've ever had!  And the plate lunch was ONO (delicious)!!!



I imagine there's a lot of local fish and seafood, in addition to several crops, including pineapple.



> Sugar cane and pineapples are Hawaii's most valuable crops.
> 
> Hawaii also produces large quantities of flowers, much for export.
> 
> Coffee, macadamia nuts, avocados, bananas, guavas, papayas, tomatoes and other fruits are grown.



http://www.netstate.com/economy/hi_economy.htm


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Well GG, even Hawaii's local seafood is exported.
Granted, there are some local restaurants that get their fish at the auction, but the cost you a bundle to eat there!
On our trip back in 2012, we got up at the crack of dawn to go to the Fish Auction at the Piers...







DH only made til about 8am and went out to the car to go back to sleep!
We had a lovely breakfast later of fresh fish over a bowl of hot rice, MMM!


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Did you happen to eat any prawns? You might be allergic.
> 
> Try replacing them with shrimp. Food and Wine says you won't have the same reaction since they're a different animal.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koFWh25eIuw

CD


----------



## Addie

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Addie, over the past, oh, maybe 15-20 years or so (at least on Oahu) there has been a big push to grow, buy, eat local.  Here's the grocery store that I frequented (still do when we go home):
> https://www.foodland.com/elt
> I like going to the farmer's markets as well when on Oahu, in particular the KCC Farmers Market!  Saturday mornings at KCC are a blast and there's even a shuttle you can take from town rather than fight the traffic and hunt for a parking spot.
> View attachment 28967
> 
> View attachment 28968
> 
> View attachment 28969
> 
> We went last time the day after we arrived.  We rent a condo not far from KCC and could get there very easily.  The best Avocado I've ever had!  And the plate lunch was ONO (delicious)!!!



At one time there was a place called Parker Ranch. Is it still in existence? They supplied most of the meat for the islands. I still swear that one day I bought a piece from there and the dang thing kept mooing all the way home. I wanted to take it back to Parker Ranch and cook it over an open fire out on the range.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Addie, Parker Ranch, one of the largest Cattle Ranches in the United States, is still in operation.
http://parkerranch.com/
As to where our Beef comes from, it's mostly shipped in from elsewhere.


----------



## caseydog

tinlizzie said:


> Petty vent - Hurricane Irma messed with my well, so I'm buying bottled water.  Some grocery store plastic bottles are flimsy plus filled to the very top.  If held tightly enough to unscrew the cap, water overflows.  Grrrr.



Here is one for you to ponder. 

Last summer, my dad walked into one of the six bathrooms in their house, and the floor and rug were soaking wet. He naturally assumed there was a leak in the nearby sink plumbing. 

Upon further investigation, he found a collapsed gallon water jug, capped, in a cabinet under the sink. None of us can think of how the water got out of the jug, and my dad is an engineer. 

BTW, my parents live in Hurricane country, too, so they always have jugs of water stored up during hurricane season, just in case. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Addie, Parker Ranch, one of the largest Cattle Ranches in the United States, is still in operation.
> http://parkerranch.com/
> As to where our Beef comes from, it's mostly shipped in from elsewhere.



250,000 acres? Pfffffft. About one-third the size of the King Ranch in Texas. 

CD


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

That may be so (figure of speech), but we've gotcha beat by 6 years in oldest.
Parker Ranch is ONE of the largest cattle ranches in America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Ranch
I was looking again the the top 10, but lost it ...
And have you had a steak in Kamuela? OMGawd! 
Most of their Beef is bought up by the high-end restaurants and then the rest is exported.


----------



## caseydog

I have been to the Big Island, but don't recall eating any steak there. Living where I live, if I am in the middle of an ocean, I'm going to eat as much fish as I can. 

I do recall eating poi... something I'd rather forget. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Here is one for you to ponder.
> 
> Last summer, my dad walked into one of the six bathrooms in their house, and the floor and rug were soaking wet. He naturally assumed there was a leak in the nearby sink plumbing.
> 
> Upon further investigation, he found a collapsed gallon water jug, capped, in a cabinet under the sink. None of us can think of how the water got out of the jug, and my dad is an engineer.
> 
> BTW, my parents live in Hurricane country, too, so they always have jugs of water stored up during hurricane season, just in case.
> 
> CD


We've kept gallon jugs of water for hurricane season as well, in the attic, since it won't flood. Plastic does break down over time. We've found several-year-old empty water jugs up there. The plastic develops a leak and, in the dry heat of the attic, the water evaporates. If the environment is more humid, obviously the water won't evaporate.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> We've kept gallon jugs of water for hurricane season as well, in the attic, since it won't flood. Plastic does break down over time. We've found several-year-old empty water jugs up there. The plastic develops a leak and, in the dry heat of the attic, the water evaporates. If the environment is more humid, obviously the water won't evaporate.



This was in the climate controlled house, and it didn't evaporate, the water ended up on the floor, and the bottle was collapsed. Really, really weird. 

If the bottle had a tiny hole in it, I would expect a very slow trickle of water, but at some point, air would have to bubble up from the hole, and through the water to replace the exiting water, or the hole would stop leaking. There would be a vacuum that would prevent water from exiting the hole. If the cap was loose, that would let air in. But, it kept leaking, and the bottle collapsed, indicating no air entered the bottle to replace the water. 

I would love to toss this one out to Neil deGrasse Tyson. There has to be a scientific reason for this, but I can't figure it out. 

CD


----------



## Andy M.

caseydog said:


> ...If the bottle had a tiny hole in it, I would expect a very slow trickle of water, but at some point, air would have to bubble up from the hole, and through the water to replace the exiting water, or the hole would stop leaking...
> 
> CD



I'm thinking the opposite. Air doesn't bubble up into the hole and the bottle collapses as a result of the vacuum created by the leakage. As the bottle collapses, it keeps pressure on the water to leak out. Its continuing collapse keeps the vacuum effect to a minimum.  Just enough to collapse the plastic but not enough to hold the water in.


----------



## roadfix

Andy M. said:


> I'm thinking the opposite. Air doesn't bubble up into the hole and the bottle collapses as a result of the vacuum created by the leakage. As the bottle collapses, it keeps pressure on the water to leak out. Its continuing collapse keeps the vacuum effect to a minimum.  Just enough to collapse the plastic but not enough to hold the water in.



I think this is what happened if the cap was airtight and the container pliable enough to collapse.    ....something similar to what happens to an IV bag as fluid slowly drips out.


----------



## Caslon

How soon is it to start buying 25 year dehydrated foods?  Just add water.


----------



## Addie

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Addie, Parker Ranch, one of the largest Cattle Ranches in the United States, is still in operation.
> http://parkerranch.com/
> As to where our Beef comes from, it's mostly shipped in from elsewhere.



Then where the heck is Parker Ranch shipping their meat now? It is too bad that the residents of Hawaii are able to enjoy the meat year round. With the cost of everything in Hawaii, I wouldn't want to eat at a high end restaurant. I  preferred the native food except for Poi!


----------



## buckytom

They're grinding it teally fine and selling it to the Impossible Foods company...


----------



## caseydog

Another toilet flush valve bites the dust. With three toilets in my house, it seems like I am always repairing a toilet. Grrrrrr. 

CD

Is that petty enough?


----------



## Just Cooking

caseydog said:


> Another toilet flush valve bites the dust. With three toilets in my house, it seems like I am always repairing a toilet. Grrrrrr.
> 
> CD
> 
> Is that petty enough?



This post, obviously, can be viewed as a post open for many, many funny comments, by someone... 

Not me, of course...   

Ross


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Please Indulge Me, This A Bit Long, Sorry*

In our new Community, they have a “closed social media”, where authorized members may join in and post various recommendations, for sale & free, events, crime & safety, lost & found and of course general comments.
I had made inquires as to a Spring Craft & Bake Sale to our HOA management rep’s and they confirmed that yes, they would be hosting another one at our Community Center and sent out a mass email to the Community.  
Our closed social media is not connected to the HOA management, so I did a ‘copy&paste’ of the email to our closed social media events calendar, just as a courtesy to the residents that may not be receiving those mass emails for some reason.  This also encourages folks to participate/attend these events.  The Fall Sale was a huge hit, loads of participants and folks from all over came, even from outside.  This is why we’re having another.

Ok, on to my rant…

I have been receiving Private Messages via this closed social media site from a woman that I do not know:

_*“  PM #1 …just an fyi, not everyone is glad to have a crafter next door, which could very well be in violation of Homeowner Assoc CCR's....running a business out of the home, a health, noise issue, or possible nuisance to fellow homeowners adjacent....

PM #2  …(Or odorous fumes!)

PM # 3  …residents, running a business out of their homes, creating items to sell, giving lessons to others, bringing traffic to their home, creating noise/odor/smoke and or fumes, etc...need to read the Association CCR's...which were, or should have been presented to the buyer at purchase of their home or townhome. I am only passing this on as an fyi...many who move here, have no idea of what our  CCR's contain.

PM # 4 …And furthermore, events open to the general public should not be held at the Community Center.

PM # 5 …we had an unpleasant experience during our first two years living here...we have now been here two and a half years. I need to keep the experience to myself...the HOA has taken care of it. I'm sorry for venting, but it was definitely an issue.”*_

I take this as harassment; DH is very upset and wants me to message this woman back, telling her off … “It’s not *your* event, what’s wrong with her? Let me tell her to knock it off.”
NOOOOO!!!
She knows my name, she knows where I live.  You have to show your REAL name and the street you live on, etc.  This is a “neighbor” and I don’t want to make any enemies.
But oh my gosh, lady, leave me the heck alone!!!  
It’s a dang community event, sponsored by the HOA management company, folks make stuff that they like and sell it for whatever,  you have no clue as to what we do!  I could be donating my proceeds to charity for all you know!  I may not even be making a profit at all.  Not to mention the fact that all I did was post it, didn’t say that I’d be participating, nothing!!!
GEEEZZZZ!!!


----------



## caseydog

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> In our new Community, they have a “closed social media”, where authorized members may join in and post various recommendations, for sale & free, events, crime & safety, lost & found and of course general comments.
> I had made inquires as to a Spring Craft & Bake Sale to our HOA management rep’s and they confirmed that yes, they would be hosting another one at our Community Center and sent out a mass email to the Community.
> Our closed social media is not connected to the HOA management, so I did a ‘copy&paste’ of the email to our closed social media events calendar, just as a courtesy to the residents that may not be receiving those mass emails for some reason.  This also encourages folks to participate/attend these events.  The Fall Sale was a huge hit, loads of participants and folks from all over came, even from outside.  This is why we’re having another.
> 
> Ok, on to my rant…
> 
> I have been receiving Private Messages via this closed social media site from a woman that I do not know:
> 
> _*“  PM #1 …just an fyi, not everyone is glad to have a crafter next door, which could very well be in violation of Homeowner Assoc CCR's....running a business out of the home, a health, noise issue, or possible nuisance to fellow homeowners adjacent....
> 
> PM #2  …(Or odorous fumes!)
> 
> PM # 3  …residents, running a business out of their homes, creating items to sell, giving lessons to others, bringing traffic to their home, creating noise/odor/smoke and or fumes, etc...need to read the Association CCR's...which were, or should have been presented to the buyer at purchase of their home or townhome. I am only passing this on as an fyi...many who move here, have no idea of what our  CCR's contain.
> 
> PM # 4 …And furthermore, events open to the general public should not be held at the Community Center.
> 
> PM # 5 …we had an unpleasant experience during our first two years living here...we have now been here two and a half years. I need to keep the experience to myself...the HOA has taken care of it. I'm sorry for venting, but it was definitely an issue.”*_
> 
> I take this as harassment; DH is very upset and wants me to message this woman back, telling her off … “It’s not *your* event, what’s wrong with her? Let me tell her to knock it off.”
> NOOOOO!!!
> She knows my name, she knows where I live.  You have to show your REAL name and the street you live on, etc.  This is a “neighbor” and I don’t want to make any enemies.
> But oh my gosh, lady, leave me the heck alone!!!
> It’s a dang community event, sponsored by the HOA management company, folks make stuff that they like and sell it for whatever,  you have no clue as to what we do!  I could be donating my proceeds to charity for all you know!  I may not even be making a profit at all.  Not to mention the fact that all I did was post it, didn’t say that I’d be participating, nothing!!!
> GEEEZZZZ!!!



Take a deep breath, and count to ten -- or have a stiff drink. 

I've lived in my house for 17 years. I was on the HOA board for 8 of those years, and was President for 3 years. When I was on the board, we were a pretty laid back group. We enforced deed restrictions, as needed, but we didn't go on a power trip. If people wanted to change the paint color on their homes, they had to submit it for our approval. We never once denied a request. As long as they didn't want to do something tacky, like pink, we were cool. Luckily, nobody ever hit us with a questionable request. 

On the other hand, at least once a year, I had a homeowner come to my house and rip me a new one over something stupid -- kinda like that person sending you the PMs on your neighborhood network. 

Some people just have nothing better to do than complain. Don't let them get under your skin. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well *somebody* pooped in your neighbor's cereal, *K-Girl*.  I have a few questions, a few comments.

1) HAVE you read the HOA's CCRs? Just wondering.
2) Is the "closed social media" an option for anyone in that development as long as they ask to opt-in? It isn't all clique-ish and keeps undesirables out right?
3) It is the HOA that is sponsoring the Spring thing? If so, apparently they do not have a problem with this sort of event (unlike your neighbor).
4) Is the development Community Center available for rental to non-residents? If not, is it OK for a resident to rent the facility for use by a non-resident?

Our last home was in a development with a Community Center, pool, and tennis courts. As long as a resident in the neighborhood had not rented the center, anyone credible could rent it for a fee - a higher fee than a resident would pay. As long as the group holding an event in the community center has the permission of the HOA, this neighbor has nothing to complain about.

If I were you, I'd check with someone in charge of the HOA and make sure this isn't an issue - and let them clear up any misunderstandings with ol' Crabby Guts email lady.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well *somebody* pooped in your neighbor's cereal, *K-Girl*.  I have a few questions, a few comments.
> 
> *1) HAVE you read the HOA's CCRs? Just wondering.
> *
> 
> Yes, we have a copy of the CC&R's, granted they are illegible.
> The thing is that none of us who participate in these events are professionals, nor are we selling anything from our homes, well except for this one gal, but that's none of my bees-wax.  See that there? It's none of my business and this annoying Mrs. Kravitz obviously is making this her business.
> 
> 
> *2) Is the "closed social media" an option for anyone in that development as long as they ask to opt-in? It isn't all clique-ish and keeps undesirables out right?*
> 
> Yes, the social media site is called Next Door.  Anyone in the development is welcome to join, or not.  I have spoken to a few of our immediate neighbors who told me that this sort of thing happens all of the time, and it's most the same CRABBY folks; most of our neighbors have opted-out, DH has and I may do the same.
> 
> 
> *3) It is the HOA that is sponsoring the Spring thing? If so, apparently they do not have a problem with this sort of event (unlike your neighbor).
> *
> 
> 
> Yes, the HOA management company is the sponsor and does so for many events through out the year.  It's open to the public free of entrance, but also to purchase a table to sell their crafts and baked goods.
> 
> 
> *4) Is the development Community Center available for rental to non-residents? If not, is it OK for a resident to rent the facility for use by a non-resident?*
> *
> Our last home was in a development with a Community Center, pool, and tennis courts. As long as a resident in the neighborhood had not rented the center, anyone credible could rent it for a fee - a higher fee than a resident would pay. As long as the group holding an event in the community center has the permission of the HOA, this neighbor has nothing to complain about.
> *
> 
> If I were you, I'd check with someone in charge of the HOA and make sure this isn't an issue - and let them clear up any misunderstandings with ol' Crabby Guts email lady.




Yes, the Community Center is lovely and open to anyone to rent for any sort of event.  We too, have tennis, basketball, Pickleball courts, Pool, Hot tub, Kiddie Play Pool,outdoor gas grills, Horseshoes and Volleyball sand lots, several halls and a full kitchen for caterers to use. They rent it out several times a year to folks to hold their Wedding Receptions, High School Graduation Parties, Birthday Parties, etc.
As far as for Mrs. Kravitz, I'm sure that the HOA Boards members as well as the management company are well aware of her and her shenanigans. 
I just don't want to make a fuss myself over her and give her any sort of satisfaction.  I'm ignoring her and both DH and I feel that this is eating away at her that I have not responded to her multiple Private Messages to me.
Now, I just hope that she does not approach me at the event!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Yes, the Community Center is lovely and open to anyone to rent for any sort of event.  We too, have tennis, basketball, Pickleball courts, Pool, Hot tub, Kiddie Play Pool,outdoor gas grills, Horseshoes and Volleyball sand lots, several halls and a full kitchen for caterers to use. They rent it out several times a year to folks to hold their Wedding Receptions, High School Graduation Parties, Birthday Parties, etc.
> As far as for Mrs. Kravitz, I'm sure that the HOA Boards members as well as the management company are well aware of her and her shenanigans.
> I just don't want to make a fuss myself over her and give her any sort of satisfaction.  I'm ignoring her and both DH and I feel that this is eating away at her that I have not responded to her multiple Private Messages to me.
> Now, I just hope that she does not approach me at the event!!
> [emoji38]


Just FYI, Next Door is not completely closed and it's not exclusive to your community. It's available nationwide. You have to live in a certain neighborhood to join, but it's also connected to your city. You can make posts, events, sales, etc., available to just people in your neighborhood/community, or to the entire city.

You're not the shrinking violet type, K'girl  If you view this as harassment, as you said initially, I don't understand why you put up with it. Just tell her you can't do anything about her concerns so she should take them to the association, which btw is sponsoring the event (it seems she doesn't know that).


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

GotGarlic said:


> Just FYI, Next Door is not completely closed and it's not exclusive to your community. It's available nationwide. You have to live in a certain neighborhood to join, but it's also connected to your city. You can make posts, events, sales, etc., available to just people in your neighborhood/community, or to the entire city.
> 
> You're not the shrinking violet type, K'girl  If you view this as harassment, as you said initially, I don't understand why you put up with it. Just tell her you can't do anything about her concerns so she should take them to the association, which btw is sponsoring the event (it seems she doesn't know that).




Right you are GG!  Our Next Door is closed to anyone outside of our "neighborhood", which actually is 5 different communities, but not outside of that.
As to me not being a shrinking violet, you are correct my friend.  
But when it comes to something so 'close to home' I really don't want to rock the boat.  
This Mrs. Kravitz knows where I live and could easily make my life difficult in a very small town.


----------



## caseydog

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Right you are GG!  Our Next Door is closed to anyone outside of our "neighborhood", which actually is 5 different communities, but not outside of that.
> 
> As to me not being *a shrinking violet*, you are correct my friend.
> 
> But when it comes to something so 'close to home' I really don't want to rock the boat.
> This Mrs. Kravitz knows where I live and could easily make my life difficult in a very small town.



Ignoring her is not a sign of weakness. 

I don't see any point in confronting Mrs. Kravitz. You are probably not going to change her mind, and like you already said, she is probably just itching for a fight. In the end, the craft event will probably happen, which means you win without going into battle. 

CD

CD


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

caseydog said:


> *Ignoring her is not a sign of weakness.
> *
> I don't see any point in confronting Mrs. Kravitz. You are probably not going to change her mind, and like you already said, she is probably just itching for a fight. In the end, the craft event will probably happen, which means you win without going into battle.
> 
> CD
> 
> CD



Indeed Casey!  I feel that ignoring Mrs. Kravitz is just eating her alive!
The show WILL go on, as they say.  
I think that's what's pissing her off, more!
but I have no control over that;
 if I get just ONE MORE PM from her, 
I'll report her, to be sure, to the HOA management company, 
the HOA Board Members and to the social media group, they should ban her!  She's made a real nuisance of herself it seems.  And not just to me.  So sad.
Like *CC* said, somebody must've pooped in her cereal!


----------



## caseydog

Petty vent: One-post-wonders. I'm not sure why they do it, but I think it has something to do with SEO. It shouldn't bother me, but it does. It feels like we are being used. 

Sure, I had my first post on DC, but I responded to the replies I got, and joined the party. Tonight, I got "reprimanded" by a fellow member that I really like and respect, over an honest post I made to someone who may very well turn out to be a one-post-wonder. I'm fine with disagreements, but I don't want to argue with a friend over something posted by someone who may have no interest at all in being a part of the DC community. 

I know there is nothing we can do about it, but it still chaps my... 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Petty vent: One-post-wonders. I'm not sure why they do it, but I think it has something to do with SEO. It shouldn't bother me, but it does. It feels like we are being used.
> 
> Sure, I had my first post on DC, but I responded to the replies I got, and joined the party. Tonight, I got "reprimanded" by a fellow member that I really like and respect, over an honest post I made to someone who may very well turn out to be a one-post-wonder. I'm fine with disagreements, but I don't want to argue with a friend over something posted by someone who may have no interest at all in being a part of the DC community.
> 
> I know there is nothing we can do about it, but it still chaps my @$$.



Sometimes people just want an answer to a question, not a commitment. You can always decline to reply. But answering with "why do that when you can do it my way" doesn't encourage newcomers to hang around.


----------



## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> Petty vent: *One-post-wonders.* I'm not sure why they do it, but I think it has something to do with *SEO*. It shouldn't bother me, but it does. *It feels like we are being used.*
> 
> Sure, I had my first post on DC, but I responded to the replies I got, and joined the party. Tonight, I got *"reprimanded"* by a fellow member that I really like and respect, over an honest post I made to someone *who may very well turn out to be a one-post-wonder. *I'm fine with disagreements, but I don't want to argue with a friend over something posted by someone who may have no interest at all in being a part of the DC community.
> 
> I know there is nothing we can do about it, but it still chaps my @$$.
> 
> CD


 
Hi Casey.  Not sure what *SEO* means....and I don't understand why you feel like we are being 'used'...? This is a huge and well respected cooking forum.  Sometimes someone out there googles a question, this site comes up, they register, ask for an answer, get it, and leave.  It's always nice to get a reply, but that doesn't always happen. It's also not a given that the OP wants to continue to join in and share personal info and stories of their life.  Sometimes they just want an answer to their question.  

I get the feeling that *I'm* the one who you feel 'reprimanded' you on a new post. Not so. It was only a matter of opinion, and to be fair I think you should give this new person time to reply. 

This should answer the PM you sent me.


----------



## buckytom

I think I just slipped into a parallel universe.

Cheryl wasn't her usual sweetheart self.?

GG says " my input is a mere opinion", and be nice about it?


Next thing ypu know, Andy will ask about boiling eggs...

OH...MY...GOD!

I did cross over, didn't I?


----------



## caseydog

Cheryl J said:


> Hi Casey.  Not sure what *SEO* means....and I don't understand why you feel like we are being 'used'...? This is a huge and well respected cooking forum.  Sometimes someone out there googles a question, this site comes up, they register, ask for an answer, get it, and leave.  It's always nice to get a reply, but that doesn't always happen. It's also not a given that the OP wants to continue to join in and share personal info and stories of their life.  Sometimes they just want an answer to their question.
> 
> I get the feeling that *I'm* the one who you feel 'reprimanded' you on a new post. Not so. It was only a matter of opinion, and to be fair I think you should give this new person time to reply.
> 
> This should answer the PM you sent me.



I completely stand by my reply to the OP. And it really does bug me that we are arguing over a member with one post, given the history of one-post members we have here.

CD


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> I think I just slipped into a parallel universe.
> 
> Cheryl wasn't her usual sweetheart self.?
> 
> GG says " my input is a mere opinion", and be nice about it?
> 
> 
> Next thing ypu know, Andy will ask about boiling eggs...
> 
> OH...MY...GOD!
> 
> I did cross over, didn't I?



Dude, you took the red pill. Big mistake. 

CD


----------



## buckytom

Oh, I tried to smoke it.

My bad.


----------



## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> *I completely stand by my reply to the OP.* *And it really does bug me that* *we are arguing over a member with one post, given the history of one-post members we have here.*
> 
> CD



Your reply was a valid one and worth posting. It wasn't an argument until you made it one.

Goodnight, all.


----------



## buckytom

Casey, Cheryl's right on this one purely from logistics and experience. No one has ever been more kind to everyone who have asked a question than her.

OK, lol, until just now... good job. (I'm kidding)

Over the years, lots and lots of folks use the forum purely like a living dictionary with no thought as to the humanity of the responders. It's just a part of today's ill mannered, overly stimulated, hyper connected society.


----------



## caseydog

C'mon Cheryl, you did scold me just a bit.   

CD


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Casey, Cheryl's right on this one purely from logistics and experience. No one has ever been more kind to everyone who have asked a question than her.
> 
> OK, lol, *until just now... good job*. (I'm kidding)
> 
> Over the years, lots and lots of folks use the forum purely like a living dictionary with no thought as to the humanity of the responders. It's just a part of today's ill mannered, overly stimulated, hyper connected society.



Each of us has his own special calling. 

CD


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Casey, I do have to agree with you on the point of folks trying to position themselves on the `net.  I don't agree with that tactic, but I'm an honest person.  I self-promote only when called for 
But ya gotta move on in life, there's loads of one-post-wonders here on DC and any other forum, and I'm sure you know it, and yeah - it can aggravate  anybody's saddle-soars, but it is what it is.


----------



## caseydog

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Casey, I do have to agree with you on the point of folks trying to position themselves on the `net.  I don't agree with that tactic, but I'm an honest person.  I self-promote only when called for
> But ya gotta move on in life, there's loads of one-post-wonders here on DC and any other forum, and I'm sure you know it, and yeah - it can aggravate  anybody's saddle-soars, but it is what it is.



Thanks K-Girl. I know in my head that it is silly for me to let this get under my skin. But it does. But, I do get over it pretty quickly. I guess I was over-sensitive tonight because it created some friction between me and someone I like. 

If that one-post member becomes a regular contributing member, I welcome him/her with open arms. If not, well, thanks for nothing. 

CD


----------



## roadfix

WTF was that National Anthem all about sung before the All Star basketball game this evening?   Anyone else see that?


----------



## Kayelle

I don't mind helping out if someone comes here to simply ask a question if it leads to an interesting discussion from the membership. Not responding to the efforts we all made to help by simply saying thank you is just plain rude, and that gets under my skin.
Not everybody wants to play in our sandbox and that's fine by me. .


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Didn't see the game, so I had to Google this, *roadfix*. I made the mistake of listening to the Youtube clip.  The best tweet I saw came from ESPN writer Molly Knight. She referred to it being sung in the key of "Happy Birthday Mr. President".  Oddly enough, I get the feeling from subsequent posts by her that she meant it in a complimentary way.


----------



## Kayelle

roadfix said:


> WTF was that National Anthem all about sung before the All Star basketball game this evening?   Anyone else see that?



Holy Cow, I found it on youtube RF. *Now I wish I could un-see/hear it!!*
Somebody should have cut off her mic and tackled her. Woops, wrong game.
Unbelievable!!! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5cOvyDpWfM


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Here ya go, *Kayelle*. Nothing like a little Whitney Houston rendition to clean that last National Anthem out of your ears. For all of her flaws, Whitney posessed one enormous talent. RIP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lCmBvYMRs


----------



## dragnlaw

WOW!  Thanks CG - I'm not even American but Whitney's rendition stirred me! 

and that other one...  how embarrassing..  I wonder if the organizers are going to start to check and hear future singers renditions first! LOL


----------



## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> Thanks K-Girl. I know in my head that it is silly for me to let this get under my skin. But it does. But, I do get over it pretty quickly. I guess I was over-sensitive tonight because it created some friction between me and *someone I like.*
> 
> If that one-post member becomes a regular contributing member, I welcome him/her with open arms. If not, well, thanks for nothing.
> 
> CD



Back atcha, Casey.  I hope you have a wonderful day!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

roadfix said:


> WTF was that National Anthem all about sung before the All Star basketball game this evening?   Anyone else see that?



OH MY GAWD!!!
We did not watch that, but thanks to *Kayelle* for posting the YouTube version of it.

I _HAD_ to turn it off after less than 30 seconds of that, that, that 

DH came from the other room, "WTH is that noise?"
Me : Fergie singing The Star Spangled Banner at the basketball game last night.
DH : Oh. Francis Scott Key has GOT to be rolling in his grave!! GEEZ!!


----------



## Kayelle

*Thank God for Whitney cleaning Fergie out of my ears!*

Maybe she was drunk and/or stupid. 
What red blooded American wants to see/hear our National Anthem performed with such disrespect? 
The look on the faces of the players said it all.
Geeze Louise......


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> I don't mind helping out if someone comes here to simply ask a question if it leads to an interesting discussion from the membership. Not responding to the efforts we all made to help by simply saying thank you is just plain rude, and that gets under my skin.
> Not everybody wants to play in our sandbox and that's fine by me. .


 
Yes!  This. ^


----------



## Andy M.

“Bone Broth”!  Why do we need a new term to describe something that’s  been around since forever.  Let’s just continue to call it “stock”.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> “Bone Broth”!  Why do we need a new term to describe something that’s  been around since forever.  Let’s just continue to call it “stock”.


Because the kiddos who have recently discovered this miracle food need to give it hipster name [emoji38] I completely agree with you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It costs us more to call it "Bone Broth" and the technique is a bit different than just stock.
Vinegar is added and the stock/broth is cooked for much longer periods, up to 48 hours for beef bones.


----------



## dragnlaw

To me the difference was always - stock was unseasoned (as in salt) - broth was stock that had now been seasoned and could be used in many ways including drunk as a consomme.

according to one source I looked up - when refridgerated a good 'broth' goes gelatinous with the collagen that has been extracted.

LOL - my chicken 'broth' always does!  I don't often make beef broth so really couldn't say.

I also saw no mention of vinegar being added???


----------



## PrincessFiona60

dragnlaw said:


> To me the difference was always - stock was unseasoned (as in salt) - broth was stock that had now been seasoned and could be used in many ways including drunk as a consomme.
> 
> according to one source I looked up - when refridgerated a good 'broth' goes gelatinous with the collagen that has been extracted.
> 
> LOL - my chicken 'broth' always does!  I don't often make beef broth so really couldn't say.
> 
> I also saw no mention of vinegar being added???



Bone Broth recipes use the vinegar to extract more minerals, not just the collagen, from the bones.  Bone Broth has replaced my multivitamin.  I only intake dietary calcium, so I need to get it from my diet.  I use the bone broth for everything and it helps settle an upset stomach, better than an antacid.


----------



## dragnlaw

Oh my...  looks like I'm going to have to get some bones - as soon as this ice storm is over. 

Oft times I don't make beef stock as the bones are too expensive -  cheaper to buy premade considering the quantity I can use.  

I have made stock from bone marrow - that which up here is called soup bones - but I take it that has not got the same collagen content.  Could/can you still get the minerals you want from these soup bones?

and when do you add the vinegar?  White, 4%, 7%, cider?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

dragnlaw said:


> Oh my...  looks like I'm going to have to get some bones - as soon as this ice storm is over.
> 
> Oft times I don't make beef stock as the bones are too expensive -  cheaper to buy premade considering the quantity I can use.
> 
> I have made stock from bone marrow - that which up here is called soup bones - but I take it that has not got the same collagen content. * Could/can you still get the minerals you want from these soup bones?*
> 
> and when do you add the vinegar?  White, 4%, 7%, cider?



Absolutely, save the bones up from roasts, steaks, etc.  Use Cider vinegar and add it when you add the water.  Chicken bones are done in 24 hours, beef take 48 hours.

If you get meat on the bones, you can take it off the bones at the usual time you would for stock.  Save it for soup made with the finished bone broth.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Bone Broth recipes use the vinegar to extract more minerals, not just the collagen, from the bones.  Bone Broth has replaced my multivitamin.  I only intake dietary calcium, so I need to get it from my diet.  I use the bone broth for everything and it helps settle an upset stomach, better than an antacid.



Unfortunately, there is no reliable research that this is true. A little bit of vinegar in a big pot of stock is a very weak acid that doesn't really extract more minerals, nor are minerals from bone broth a good source of the building blocks needed to build bone in people.

From https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/bone-broth-calcium/


> It makes logical sense that bone broth would be an excellent source of calcium. After all, about fifty percent of bones consist of minerals, with the largest store by far being calcium phosphate, a combination of calcium and phosphorous arranged in a formation called hydroxyapatite. Bone also contains small amounts of magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfur and other trace minerals.
> 
> Even so, only small amounts of these minerals end up in the broth, even when properly made with vinegar or wine to help pull them from the bones.



and from https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...ng-stock-of-bone-broth-sorry-no-cure-all-here


> "Since we don't absorb collagen whole, the idea that eating collagen somehow promotes bone growth is just wishful thinking," Percy [associate professor at the University of South Dakota's Sanford School of Medicine] says. Instead, he says, the digestive system will break down the collagen into amino acids, and the body will use these building blocks wherever they're needed.
> 
> Kantha Shelke has a different take. She's a food scientist and spokesperson for the Institute of Food Technologists, and a principal with the food science and research firm Corvus Blue LLC.
> 
> She says that if you want to build collagen, you need more than bone broth.
> 
> "Eating a diet rich in leafy green vegetables is ideal," she says. "Plants offer richer sources in collagen building blocks and, in addition, provide nutrients not found in sufficient quantities in meats or broth."
> 
> What's more, bone broth may provide vitamins and enzymes, but they get denatured from heat as the broth cooks, rendering them less useful to the body, according to Shelke.


----------



## dragnlaw

Well Princess, I will definitely try it. Sounds scrumptious and every* little bit *helps.


----------



## blissful

kill joy. Next you will say that Santa doesn't exist! <wink>
I'm going to keep the bone broth discussion in mind the next time I invite people over to chew on raw bones and eat lettuce with me.

Bone broth gives me a sense of humor and there are no food technologists that can tell me otherwise.


----------



## GotGarlic

blissful said:


> kill joy. Next you will say that Santa doesn't exist! <wink>



Sorry to ruin your fun, but as someone who has permanent damage of multiple organs due to real malnutrition from chronic illness, I take this subject rather seriously.


----------



## blissful

I'm so sorry for your loss.


----------



## dragnlaw

GG, I'm sure most of us will never know what you go thru and I'm truly sorry for your loss and pain.  Now if this was a medical forum I believe we would take it with the utmost seriousness.  

However, this is a cooking forum and suggestions here are hopefully for a better way of cooking that might help in some small way - not cures.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> GG, I'm sure most of us will never know what you go thru and I'm truly sorry for your loss and pain.  Now if this was a medical forum I believe we would take it with the utmost seriousness.
> 
> However,* this is a cooking forum and suggestions here are hopefully for a better way of cooking that might help in some small way - not cures*.



You see it that way; I see it differently. I speak up when I do because there are so many people (sometimes on this forum, sometimes just in general) who forego medicines and other treatments they need because they believe the lies, exaggerations and pseudoscience around food and nutrition that is so prevalent today. It's not a joke. "Bone broth" should not be promoted as a substitute for a multivitamin for anybody.

And you know as well as I do that we get into serious off-topic discussions here all the time.


----------



## GotGarlic

Also, some people here like to laugh at me when I speak up about these topics. Because I've suffered from malnutrition of one thing or another for about 20 years, I have a special interest in it and have made a special effort to learn as much about it as I can. I became a Master Food Volunteer, I bought and read the textbook of the American Dietetics Association, and my doctors are professors at the medical school where I used to work; they educate me on these topics every time I see them. I have deliberately developed some expertise; one of my doctors has joked that I could probably pass the exam to become a physician assistant, and he teaches some of the courses for that  

Anyway, thanks for your sympathy.


----------



## buckytom

I'm sorry you're not well, I had no idea, but aren't you the one who regularly says that this is just  a cooking forum and people shouldn't be looking for expert advice here? Except how to cook?


----------



## dragnlaw

GG, you are absolutely right but we cannot control how others think.  We can try to suggest and educate them - gently.   It is incredible the number of emails I get from friends who want to "warn" me about ...  whatever...  but all they've ever looked at is the headlines.   But there are an awful lot of people out there - that for all the preaching - will never get it.

Preaching with humour - with humour people are more apt to remember and because of that perhaps slowly start to believe.


----------



## GotGarlic

buckytom said:


> I'm sorry you're not well, I had no idea, but aren't you the one who regularly says that this is just  a cooking forum and people shouldn't be looking for expert advice here? Except how to cook?



Yes, I have said that, and I believe it. I'm not claiming to be an expert, nor am I giving advice. I'm offering reliable information for people to consider when a topic that's important to me comes up and I'm not going to stop because you think I'm a know-it-all.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> GG, you are absolutely right but we cannot control how others think.  We can try to suggest and educate them - gently.   It is incredible the number of emails I get from friends who want to "warn" me about ...  whatever...  but all they've ever looked at is the headlines.   But there are an awful lot of people out there - that for all the preaching - will never get it.
> 
> Preaching with humour - with humour people are more apt to remember and because of that perhaps slowly start to believe.



Where have I said I can control anyone's thinking? Honestly, stop attributing to me things I have not said.


----------



## buckytom

Fair enough. But you know the adage about honey and vinegar.


----------



## GotGarlic

buckytom said:


> Fair enough. But you know the adage about honey and vinegar.



The last three years have been especially difficult for me and I'm not naturally a jokester. But I will try.


----------



## buckytom

I am humbled. Thank you. I know you have so much good info to offer.


----------



## GotGarlic

buckytom said:


> I am humbled. Thank you. I know you have so much good info to offer.



Thank you


----------



## PrincessFiona60

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Bone Broth recipes use the vinegar to extract more minerals, not just the collagen, from the bones.  *Bone Broth has replaced my multivitamin*.  I only intake dietary calcium, so I need to get it from my diet.  I use the bone broth for everything and it helps settle an upset stomach, better than an antacid.



Nowhere did I suggest others toss their multivitamins, I have tossed mine.  I do think I should have said bone broth settles *my* upset stomach.  As for all the other vitamins mixed up in a multivitamin, most are sub-optimal for excellent or even better than just good health.  So I choose to take my supplements at optimal doses and not as supplements to my Supplement.  

You really don't want me to go into vitamins A, D3, E, K2-MK7 and minerals Sodium, Magnesium, Chloride etc. that are needed just for bone health, let alone all the rest of the processes they are needed for. (and really don't want me to spout off about Coconut Oil - it's a miracle!) Between Dad and I, Mom says we sound like a National Enquirer headline with our statements.

I can tell you, that health-wise, I feel better than I have in years and have gone off a few medications for my diabetes and blood pressure by taking the supplements and my diet changes.  I am in no way trying to change anyone, I'm reporting my experiences and if anyone is interested I can give you the book titles I've been reading in a PM.  I don't find a need to prove myself to the Internet.



GotGarlic said:


> Unfortunately, there is no reliable research that this is true. A little bit of vinegar in a big pot of stock is a very weak acid that doesn't really extract more minerals, nor are minerals from bone broth a good source of the building blocks needed to build bone in people.
> 
> From https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/bone-broth-calcium/
> 
> 
> and from https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...ng-stock-of-bone-broth-sorry-no-cure-all-here



Nope, it's not a cure-all, you still have to eat right.  There is no magic pill or substance that will fix all our ills.



GotGarlic said:


> The last three years have been especially difficult for me and I'm not naturally a jokester. But I will try.



I am  aware of and am sorry that you go through the health challenges you have.  Here's a joke to help:

A Nurse goes to write a check at the grocery store, she pulls a thermometer from behind her ear and remarks, "Hey some a**hole has my pen!"

I love you and you know it...so there!


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Nowhere did I suggest others toss their multivitamins, I have tossed mine.  I do think I should have said bone broth settles *my* upset stomach.  As for all the other vitamins mixed up in a multivitamin, most are sub-optimal for excellent or even better than just good health.  So I choose to take my supplements at optimal doses and not as supplements to my Supplement.



I know, but you know how people are ... 



PrincessFiona60 said:


> You really don't want me to go into vitamins A, D3, E, K2-MK7 and minerals Sodium, Magnesium, Chloride etc. that are needed just for bone health, let alone all the rest of the processes they are needed for. (and really don't want me to spout off about Coconut Oil - it's a miracle!) Between Dad and I, Mom says we sound like a National Enquirer headline with our statements.



Ha, my doctors have already gone into that for me  One laughed at me when I said I wanted to go sky-diving with our exchange student in 2007, when I was in the hospital with a protein level of about 2 and my vitamin D was undetectable.



PrincessFiona60 said:


> I can tell you, that health-wise, I feel better than I have in years and have gone off a few medications for my diabetes and blood pressure by taking the supplements and my diet changes.  I am in no way trying to change anyone, I'm reporting my experiences and if anyone is interested I can give you the book titles I've been reading in a PM.  I don't find a need to prove myself to the Internet.
> 
> Nope, it's not a cure-all, you still have to eat right.  There is no magic pill or substance that will fix all our ills.
> 
> I am aware of and am sorry that you go through the health challenges you have. Here's a joke to help:
> 
> A Nurse goes to write a check at the grocery store, she pulls a thermometer from behind her ear and remarks, "Hey some a**hole has my pen!"
> 
> I love you and you know it...so there!



I love you, too


----------



## Cooking Goddess

#*/#!! potholder shifted when I was taking our sheetpan dinner out of a 425 degree oven.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> #*/#!! potholder shifted when I was taking our sheetpan dinner out of a 425 degree oven.


One of my favorite things... Happens too frequently to me.. 

Ross


----------



## buckytom

When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad...

You guys have odd feelings about favorite things.


----------



## Mad Cook

Hi, Princess F.

Glad to hear you're feeling well. Can't remember exactly where you moved to a while back but it's obviously doing you good.

MC


----------



## Caslon

My latest petty vent is that, today, inexpensive PC printers are more reliable than ever.  Paper loads more reliably, they do more automatic maintenance than ever before to insure print heads don't clog up. 

I bought one for $89 on sale.  My Canon Pixma inkjet printer can print onto a DVD. Pretty cool for $89. 

The thing is...replacement ink.  Nowadays, with three purchases of replacement ink cartridges, it ends up being the cost of the printer.

I still like the way today's printers have improved in loading paper and not just trying and failing. Automatic maintenance cleaning of ink jet heads is a huge improvement. With all these welcomed improvements,  ink replacement costs are still ridiculous.  It's  way out of proportion compared to the cost of the printer.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Caslon said:


> My latest petty vent is that, today, inexpensive PC printers are more reliable than ever.  Paper loads more reliably, they do more automatic maintenance than ever before to insure print heads don't clog up.
> 
> I bought one for $89 on sale.  My Canon Pixma inkjet printer can print onto a DVD. Pretty cool for $89.
> 
> The thing is...*replacement ink.  Nowadays, with three purchases of replacement ink cartridges, it ends up being the cost of the printer*.
> 
> I still like the way today's printers have improved in loading paper and not just trying and failing. Automatic maintenance cleaning of ink jet heads is a huge improvement. With all these welcomed improvements,  ink replacement costs are still ridiculous.  It's  way out of proportion compared to the cost of the printer.



Caslon, I wanted to share with you:
(not sure if you have a Costco near you but...)
DH and I were standing Costco, looking at the Ink for our HP printer when this gal came up behind us and handed us two of these odd looking do-hickeys.
She said that Costco has a service now to refill your ink cartridges, rather than buying brand new ones. Just put your empty cartridges into these things and bring them in, they'll fill them and put them but into those do-hickeys that insure they wont dry out.
For a Canon inkjet cartridge refill is $7.49 - $10.49, depending on your particular size.  As I look the price list, it's the same for Epson, HP and Brother.


----------



## roadfix

The printer itself is usually a giveaway.   They make their money on replacement cartridges.

My last two printers have been black-ink only printers, the current one being a Canon I got off Amazon for $49 a couple of years ago.    Replacement generic black ink cartridges are cheap on Ebay.   That's where I get them.


----------



## Andy M.

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Caslon, I wanted to share with you:
> (not sure if you have a Costco near you but...)
> DH and I were standing Costco, looking at the Ink for our HP printer when this gal came up behind us and handed us two of these odd looking do-hickeys.
> She said that Costco has a service now to refill your ink cartridges, rather than buying brand new ones. Just put your empty cartridges into these things and bring them in, they'll fill them and put them but into those do-hickeys that insure they wont dry out.
> For a Canon inkjet cartridge refill is $7.49 - $10.49, depending on your particular size.  As I look the price list, it's the same for Epson, HP and Brother.



Our Costco does this at the photo center.  I've filled three cartridges so far, a black and two colors. I see no difference in quality. 

I received a notice Costco would be closing the photo center's in this store.  Not sure if that means no more ink refills.


----------



## Caslon

roadfix said:


> The printer itself is usually a giveaway.



You mean costlier printers are more efficient at dispensing ink? I'm not sure about that. I'm just saying...inexpensive printers nowadays are pretty damn good at what used to go wrong with ALL printers just 10 years ago. If they could just bring down the high cost of cartridges.  Is it an obvious ploy by printer makers charging $15  for small cartridges?  Do you think it's almost a conspiracy or just capitolism being capitolism?  Printers truly have gotten much more reliable, but damn, the ink still runs out too fast.

I don't mean to go into this too much further, but years ago, I bought refillable cartridges and pint containers of inks off eBay. You had to make sure the sellers cartridges had a chip on them so that your printer would accept them. What happened was that even tho the ink was highly touted by them, the cartridge ink would dry out over time resulting in clogged printer heads. This happened if you used your printer infrequently, like I did. However, today's printers go thru a much more thorough setup and cleaning of print heads before printing.  That is a huge improvement, along with more reliable paper pick up.  I may go back to filling my own cartridges again.  

Also, thanks for the heads up about the Costco cartridge refill thing.


----------



## buckytom

No, Cas. They sell you the printer cheap so you then have to buy their proprietary expensive ink.

It's like a drug dealer that gives you the crack pipe and a litlle rock for a dollar, but more rocks get very expensive.


----------



## Caslon

buckytom said:


> No, Cas. They sell you the printer cheap so you then have to buy their proprietary expensive ink.
> 
> It's like a drug dealer that gives you the crack pipe and a litlle rock for a dollar, but more rocks get very expensive.



That seems unethical, but then again, Pharma Bro legally raised the price of his cancer drug 5,000 %.  This saying goes without saying: "Capitolism has its real advantages, and its real faults too."


----------



## buckytom

Caveat emptor.

This isn't a new thing if there's an age-old Latin expression for the same idea.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*THE 10 MOST EXPENSIVE LIQUIDS IN THE WORLD

5/19/16
WRITTEN BY: Alexi Melvin
... snipped ...
8. Black Printer Ink $2,700 per gallon

No matter the price of your printer itself, the printer’s ink always costs far more, and the manufacturer for each printer and its corresponding ink is the one and the same.*


----------



## Caslon

In other words, printer makers COULD charge you $375 for their $89 printer and your cartridges would cost $6.50 instead of $12.75?  
The business world of offset costs is funny.


----------



## msmofet

I LOVE my Epson Eco Tank printer. Going on 1 1/2 years with the original filled ink tanks that came with the printer. I print a lot of recipes and such each week. The printer came with 2 sets of ink tanks. So it may be 3 years before I need to buy more ink.


----------



## Caslon

msmofet said:


> I LOVE my Epson Eco Tank printer. Going on 1 1/2 years with the original filled ink tanks that came with the printer. I print a lot of recipes and such each week. The printer came with 2 sets of ink tanks. So it may be 3 years before I need to buy more ink.



The key thing is...you print a lot. That's what kept your printer heads from clogging up. Today's printers have solved the issue of users who don't print a lot and got clogged printer heads due to lack of use and old ink. That's a welcomed improvement by me, along with the improvement of paper pick up.  That used to be my number one complaint, paper not getting picked up by the printer. That issue has been dramatically improved.


----------



## Andy M.

*It's NOT An Ingredient, It's a Cookie!*

I'm really tired of Oreo cookie flavored everything.

Oreos are great with ice cold milk.  Isn't that enough?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Yes! They had a display of the latest concoction at the register. I turned to the employee (a woman in her 50's, I'd guess) and said "nothing better than the original". We then started to complain about all the various versions of Oreos. However, a 40-something friend of mine thinks most of them are great. *shrug*


----------



## roadfix

Seat belt buckles.   Why do they bury them deep down between the seat and the center console?     I'm looking at getting some rigid extenders.    I must be getting old...


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

andy m. said:


> i'm really tired of oreo cookie flavored everything.
> 
> Oreos are great with ice cold milk.  Isn't that enough?





cooking goddess said:


> yes! They had a display of the latest concoction at the register. I turned to the employee (a woman in her 50's, i'd guess) and said "nothing better than the original". We then started to complain about all the various versions of oreos. However, a 40-something friend of mine thinks most of them are great. *shrug*


----------



## Caslon

Fave cookies turned into a candy bars is pushing it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Mad Cook said:


> Hi, Princess F.
> 
> Glad to hear you're feeling well. Can't remember exactly where you moved to a while back but it's obviously doing you good.
> 
> MC



Hi Mad Cook!  So good to see you.  Health-wise I am very good, less stress and back up for my "crazy" nutrition ideas.  Unfortunately it has been a bad year for me as my Loving Shrek died last month after a battle with bladder cancer.  I have my good emotion days and my bad.  Today is about mid range.

Thanks for thinking about me.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I'm really tired of Oreo cookie flavored everything.
> 
> Oreos are great with ice cold milk.  Isn't that enough?


I don't even like them as a cookie. When we go to a resto for supper, I'm appalled by how many of the desserts involve Oreos.


----------



## dragnlaw

Recipes that call for an ingredient but don't specify as to which "type". 

As in Marsala wine - accidentally add the sweet one when it should have been the 'dry' - throw it out and start again ....  *IF* you can afford to! 

This happened to me quite a while ago and you can gag on it.  I never even knew there was 2 types   do now so automatically grab the dry - it can work for either but not the other way around. 

(having deja vu? did I post this before? I must have cabin fever)


----------



## Andy M.

dragnlaw said:


> Recipes that call for an ingredient but don't specify as to which "type".
> 
> As in Marsala wine - accidentally add the sweet one when it should have been the 'dry' - throw it out and start again ....  *IF* you can afford to!
> ...



That's a poorly written recipe. Dry for savory dishes and sweet for desserts. However, folks do make veal/chicken marsala with sweet marsala


----------



## dragnlaw

LOL - Well Andy, someone dumped the egg carton over my head.  Set out to give you a few examples and duh...  found only ONE that did not reference and guess where that was from ...  Alrecipes... duh...

Very surprised at how many specify sweet! 

It was so long ago, I do not remember the recipe where I used the sweet other than it was awful. At that time, as mentioned, I did not even know there were two kinds.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Pistachio muffins?*

Himself loves pistachio muffins, so I picked up a box at the grocery store today. I guess you don't need to include anything pistachio in order to label it "Pistachio Muffins"? Note to baking staff: walnuts are NOT pistachios. And using green food coloring isn't working on this girl either. 

Taking these back Saturday. It will be interesting to see what their answer is...


----------



## taxlady

Maybe the natural and artificial flavor is pistachio?


----------



## medtran49

Or maybe somebody who didn't know the difference packaged them?


----------



## dragnlaw

*Pistachio Muffins*

I would call that FRAUD!  GASTROMIC FRAUD! 

It would be funny if it wasn't so annoying.  You are not only deprived of enjoying a purchased, you are now tasked with going to the trouble of taking them back.  If they are "made in store" they have some explaining to do. If outsourced well, hmmm - who knows what they will say.


----------



## CakePoet

This started 10 years ago when  I was at a get together with people from a forum, a idiot with social skills of a dead toad walked up and  grabbed my boobs and said " now when I have my hand on  your boobs already, you need to kiss me". NOPE , NO WAY and HECK NO.  Well he did get a telling off and that was it. 

He tried yesterday to tell my husband, I was secretly in love with him.. yeah because had apparently we made out 10 year ago and that means I need to divorce me husband, which I been married to for 8 years...   I am baffled and pissed off, my husband is confused and pissed off.

How?

I cant get the logic in this one to work...


----------



## dragnlaw

CakePoet said:


> This started 10 years ago when  I was at a get together with people from a forum, a idiot *with social skills of a dead toad
> *
> I cant get the logic in this one to work...



You've already answered your logic -  this is sort of why computer forums work so well.  Admin chastises the toad and if not reformed he gets banned and buried.  social skills apply to internet forums as well actual meetings.


----------



## CakePoet

It is getting weirder, trust me on that when it comes to the  toad boy..  today has been a day when several people has started  to wonder how his logic trains arrives at the stations it does.  But at least he has  for now dropped the  idea I love him, we think .


----------



## taxlady

Sounds like toad boy needs some mental health care.


----------



## CakePoet

Yeah, he sure needs help,  but we cant give it we can only nudge or see if any one closer to him can.  How ever,  he is doing more and that might end up at the police and they can help.


----------



## taxlady

CakePoet said:


> Yeah, he sure needs help,  but we cant give it we can only nudge or see if any one closer to him can.  How ever,  he is doing more and that might end up at the police and they can help.


That's what I was thinking.


----------



## buckytom

If a guy walked up to my wife and grabbed her boobs against her will, ex or not, he'd be swallowing a few teeth.


----------



## dragnlaw

Actually here, I believe we call it molesting or harrassment and it is punishable by law.


----------



## buckytom

Or husbands. Or sons. Or strong women.

Jus sayin.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Holy crap CP, I was just thinking along the lines of Tom...
I (with a very strong accent on I) would have nailed him!
How dare he!
And I agree with dragn, that's molestation!! 
NO ONE and I mean No one has the right to do that to anyone!
OH MY GAWD!! 
If he's still keeping his shenanigans up on or off the forum, 
a) Make sure the adimn as well as mods on this site know about him
b) report him to the police
If he hasn't got enough sense and none has clued him in, 
TOUGH, well, you know what!!!

edit: DH just chimed in, 
DH: WHAT THE HELL!!! That's called Sex Assalt!


----------



## dragnlaw

the guy seriously has a mental health problem and you can't force him to seek help - but I would hope your system, starting with the police and the courts, probably could. 

You would really be doing him a favour by reporting him - it is possible you are not the only recipient of his "affectional delusions" and another person might do him serious personal harm.

Not to mention *that* person might end up in the courts for assault!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> Maybe the natural and artificial flavor is pistachio?


It's possible. Himself decided that he would rather have a muffin *now* (as in at breakfast "now") rather than bother to swap it at the grocery store. Since the muffins were for him anyway, I didn't care. He said in spite of their appearance and labeling, they did taste like pistachio. Whatever. I had my little loaf of Irish soda bread for me. 



medtran49 said:


> Or maybe somebody who didn't know the difference packaged them?


Perhaps, but the fact that "pistachio" never shows up in the ingredients list makes me go "huh".  After all, they were labeled "Pistachio muffins".


----------



## CakePoet

It happened 10 years ago, 1 year before I met my husband.   Swedes are not that violent,  but he got telling off and was throw out from the party.  That was it, he was behaving  sort of normal / ignoring me after that. 

He been mildly annoying on and off  and last  year it started escalated to this and then few other things.   My husband is calm, he  said the logic train of toad boy derailed a long time ago .  It looks like the police will be connected, not by me but some one else, since what happened to me is to old and pre new rape laws.


----------



## Andy M.

Cadbury Mini Eggs. Delectable morsels of milk chocolate with a vanilla infused hard candy shell. A simple treat. Most people prefer dark chocolate, as do I. It’s really just an enhanced oversized M&M. It’s not top shelf chocolate or a particularly complex gourmet creation. 

So why am I addicted to them. SO bought me a giant bag. I can’t stop eating them. I have to physically place them out of reach so I don’t empty the entire dish in a sitting.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I feel your pain, Andy, but this is my tripping stone:






IMO, Reese's Pieces can't hold a candle to the peanut butter they put in M&M products.


----------



## GotGarlic

A few years ago, my MIL gave us a goody basket that included yogurt-covered pretzels. Sweet, salty, crunchy OMG so good. I ate the whole (big) bag in two days. 


Jeez, now I've found a recipe   https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Yogurt-Covered-Pretzels


----------



## Just Cooking

GotGarlic said:


> A few years ago, my MIL gave us a goody basket that included yogurt-covered pretzels. Sweet, salty, crunchy OMG so good. I ate the whole (big) bag in two days.
> View attachment 29514
> 
> Jeez, now I've found a recipe   https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Yogurt-Covered-Pretzels


Those are really good...  

Ross


----------



## CakePoet

I destroyed my tummy on  Spanish Pear drops,  those are heaven and they come bigger and egg shaped at Easter.


----------



## Chef Munky

*The sophisticated Robo Calls*

I hate those things.
Some woman just called.Once she knew an actual person was on the line.
She asked if she could talk to my Mommy? I told her "sure if your into talking to the dead." Good luck. 

What really gets me is the people are using a prerecorded message.
Every time they ask me for money I say no and the reason why.

They over ride my answer with a "But if you could just send $20.00 to the Women's research for breast cancer.They could really use the the money for their daily care medical or other needs." As she put it.So which is it?
Research or other needs?

Frankly I think they are exploiting women's breast cancer.
Men get it th, I forgot it's the forget men movement now.They are nothing!Gender neutrality is the in thing! Not in my book.

My answer to that. I could really use the money to help my disabled husband with his daily needs.I have yet to ask anyone for money!
It's called holding your own.It's        a wife's duty.I'm happy to help.

Asked to have my #taken off the DNC list. I won't have a problem filing a complaint with the FCC.She hung up on me as the prerecorded message was still playing.

Badger.


----------



## Kayelle

I don't say a word and just hang up the phone with calls like that.

The calls I *detest* is when they act like they *know you personally*. 

Cheerful voice.."Hi Kayelle, I'm so glad to finally get to talk you. You're a hard one to track down. Have you got a minute?" 

GRRRRRRR


----------



## Chef Munky

Kayelle said:


> I don't say a word and just hang up the phone with calls like that.
> 
> The calls I *detest* is when they act like they *know you personally*.
> 
> Cheerful voice.."Hi Kayelle, I'm so glad to finally get to talk you. You're a hard one to track down. Have you got a minute?"
> 
> GRRRRRRR



She did that to.
*Scam warning went off in my mind*
Really don't bother me before I've had a cup of coffee first.

My name isn't Rachel.


----------



## roadfix

The moment I suspect tele-marketing I hang up.


----------



## Chef Munky

roadfix said:


> The moment I suspect tele-marketing I hang up.



I've tried that. Even let the machine take the call if I'm busy.
They don't stop until you actually answer.
5 Robo calls from the same # in 1 day I think is harassment.


----------



## Andy M.

When I get a call I answer and hang up to stop the ringing.  It's just a matter of pressing two buttons.  We do get repeat calls occasionally. I don't pay a lot of attention to the caller ID as sometimes it displays my name.


----------



## buckytom

I tell them that I AM very interested in whatever they're selling, be it an extended warranty on my car, or to pay off my college loan, or how I won a cruise because of a fictitious recent stay in some hotel, but then I ask them to hold on for a moment, then just for another moment, then again. They eventually catch on and hang up.

One guy kept calling me after that so I asked about the extended warranty on my 16 year old truck with 250,000 miles on it. He hung up.

Another guy called me back to talk about my college loans. I told him I graduated from Harvard and was in terrible debt. I told him that it's extremely expensive to go through the full course at the Harvard Driving School to get my driver's license. He hung up too.


----------



## blissful

I have never been good at hanging up on people, ever, no matter why or what, I just wasn't raised to hang up or be impolite in any way. So during the divorce my ex, for about 10 years, he was horrible and would threaten me or tell me he wouldn't follow the court order and how he would hurt our kids to get his way...I would get so weak and try not to show the boys that I was hurt by what was said. One day my teenage boy took me aside. This was when we had land lines with sturdy phones. He said, 'Look at this, when dad is dad, you SLAM SLAM SLAM the phone against the wall with all your might, THEN you hang up.' The next time it happened, I did, and I felt much better and the boys felt better too because I was handling the stress much better. Then we all kind of giggled and life was a little better. I'm not nearly as weak now. I shut down phone calls within seconds and never feel a pinch of guilt at being impolite.


----------



## Rocklobster

We get two or three calls a day at the deli for various things..I make fart sounds with my mouth until they hang up..may as well get some fun out of it


----------



## blissful

rocklobster, PM me your phone number. I just want to hear.


----------



## Rocklobster

blissful said:


> rocklobster, PM me your phone number. I just want to hear.


lol...I got caught one day by two ladies that were sitting in the deli..It was mid afternoon during the quiet time and I thought the place was empty..thankfully, they just shook their heads..kind of like gf does to me every day...


----------



## taxlady

Back in the days when we got obscene phone calls, I kept a whistle near the phone. Are those even a thing anymore, now that people are sending obscene pix?


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> Back in the days when we got obscene phone calls, I kept a whistle near the phone. Are those even a thing anymore, now that people are sending obscene pix?



"Back in the day" yup, well before cell phones,  I would just put the phone down and walk away.  These calls usually happened at night and therefore had go problem leaving the phone off the hook.  I did not hang up, just put the phone down and walked away. 

Doing so tied up their phone and they could not use it.  
as most of these calls were by kids - I envisioned the parent either trying to call home or even just trying to use the phone. 

That no longer happens now as there is a cut off timer but I loved it! Once, in my studio where I had two lines, I left the line open all weekend, only hanging it up on Monday morning!   I'll bet those kids got blistered!  The only way they could get their phones back on line was to get in touch with Bell and convince them to disconnect it from....  me


----------



## Cooking Goddess

With no caller ID on our land line, I had to hang up on many a spam call. Haven't had to do that in about four years, since we have only cell phones now. When my phone rings, my display will show the name of a caller if they're in my contact list. No name? No pick-up. I'll let the call roll to voicemail. I'll google the number to see if there are any reports on that number, then add them to my automatic reject list on my phone. I appreciate not having a land line the most during election cycles. No candidate calls, no issues calls - no problem. Sure keeps my blood pressure down.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Just as soon as I think my 2 oldest boys are pulling their heads out of their butts they shove them back up there again! 
The 21 year old quit his job and is now going to work under the table for cash. Because he decided he can cheat the system and not pay child support. We have explained his flawed thinking and but he gets mad and storms off. When asked what he is going to do when they take his drivers license he replied that he just wont turn it in. We tried to explain that is not how this works but he is right and we are all wrong. So I will just let him figure it out on his own.
The 19 year old got a pretty decent job and moved in with some girls. That is until he got drunk and crashed one of the girls cars. The only car for the whole house. He got DWI and is getting sued by the girls insurance company. They threw him out of the house so he had to back to live with his mother. Thank god nobody got hurt. Frankly I was surprised they didn't find and drugs on him. Dang kids just wont listen to anything. 

Here is where the real rant starts!

Then people say oh Jon your boys are just like you! Really? Really? From the time I turned 16 I was pretty much on my own! I had 3 jobs in high school. I bought my own cars. I paid my own bills. I never did drugs. I did drink and I got in a little trouble. Ok I tried pot a couple times didn't agree with me. I was never in jail. I got custody of my kids until I let them go live with their mother. I have never wreaked a car. Son number one has totaled out 2 and ruined several buy just beating on them. Son number 2 just got is second at fault accident. Totaled out one car and be lucky if this one is not totaled.
But yea they are JUST LIKE ME. When people say that I just want tell them off!


----------



## blissful

> But yea they are JUST LIKE ME. When people say that I just want tell them off!


 Jon, they sound like the kind of person that deserves to be told off. They clearly didn't know you at all.

Kids, when they get to those ages, make mistakes, and they will learn whether they want to or not because society will give them consequences. It's hard being a parent even after they leave the nest. Don't be an enabler of bad behavior and give yourself a pat on the back for setting a good example.


----------



## Rocklobster

Hang in there, Jon..your boys are adults now and have to live with the consequences of *their* choices...you did your job by getting them to this age. Not much more you can do....just worry about making yourself happy..you've only got one life...


----------



## dragnlaw

Pop Up Ads are a fact of life for the privilege of viewing free sites.  But when they are so big you can hardly see the contents....    

I go red all over ...


----------



## dragnlaw

and want to...


----------



## roadfix

The most amusing calls are scam calls.    I usually play along with these types of calls.    I don't hang up on these guys.    With a heavy foreign accent I get a call at my place of business and the guy identifies himself as someone from the utility company and tells me that if I don't pay my past due balance my electricity will be turned off by the end of the day.    So I play along, I don't ask for info on the account, and I just ask him how much I owe.   And this is where it gets bizzare.    He instructs me to go to Target and purchase a gift card, ($200, for example) and gives me a special call back number.    So I tell him ok, I'll do that asap, and I hang up.    I think IRS scammers operate in the same manner, but I haven't gotten a call from them yet.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> Pop Up Ads are a fact of life for the privilege of viewing free sites.  But when they are so big you can hardly see the contents....
> 
> I go red all over ...



Not if you use an ad blocker.


----------



## GotGarlic

I don't bother playing games with phone jerks who just want to waste my time. Most of the time, I never even know they called because I use an app called Should I Answer? It uses a crowdsourced database of numbers associated with spam, nuisance and other unwanted calls that I can add to. If someone is legit, they can leave a message.


----------



## Kayelle

Farmer Jon said:


> Just as soon as I think my 2 oldest boys are pulling their heads out of their butts they shove them back up there again!
> The 21 year old quit his job and is now going to work under the table for cash. Because he decided he can cheat the system and not pay child support. We have explained his flawed thinking and but he gets mad and storms off. When asked what he is going to do when they take his drivers license he replied that he just wont turn it in. We tried to explain that is not how this works but he is right and we are all wrong. So I will just let him figure it out on his own.
> The 19 year old got a pretty decent job and moved in with some girls. That is until he got drunk and crashed one of the girls cars. The only car for the whole house. He got DWI and is getting sued by the girls insurance company. They threw him out of the house so he had to back to live with his mother. Thank god nobody got hurt. Frankly I was surprised they didn't find and drugs on him. Dang kids just wont listen to anything.
> 
> Here is where the real rant starts!
> 
> Then people say oh Jon your boys are just like you! Really? Really? From the time I turned 16 I was pretty much on my own! I had 3 jobs in high school. I bought my own cars. I paid my own bills. I never did drugs. I did drink and I got in a little trouble. Ok I tried pot a couple times didn't agree with me. I was never in jail. I got custody of my kids until I let them go live with their mother. I have never wreaked a car. Son number one has totaled out 2 and ruined several buy just beating on them. Son number 2 just got is second at fault accident. Totaled out one car and be lucky if this one is not totaled.
> But yea they are JUST LIKE ME. When people say that I just want tell them off!



Jon, your story is like so many other parents with adult kids making bad choices, so you're not alone in that. I know that's no comfort at all and I really feel for you. I personally know of so many really good folks having broken hearts because of their kids and it's shocking and unfair. To those who say the kids are just like you..set them straight!! Don't be quiet about it. You deserve support, not criticism.


----------



## msmofet

Tell the spam callers to DNC you. Sometimes it works.


----------



## dragnlaw

msmofet said:


> Tell the spam callers to DNC you. Sometimes it works.



OK...  I'll be the first to ask...  what is DNC?


----------



## Kayelle

Do not call?


----------



## msmofet

dragnlaw said:


> OK... I'll be the first to ask... what is DNC?


 


Kayelle said:


> Do not call?


 Yes, Do Not Call list.


----------



## taxlady

I have a feeling that US companies don't need to pay attention to the DNC list, when the number they are calling is in Canada.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Here's what I do when a call comes through with either no ID or I don't have them on my contact list, I say in a loud whisper:
"It's done!  But there's so much blood, what do I do now?"
 
CLICK ... BUZZZZZZZZZZ
That number NEVER calls back again


----------



## dragnlaw

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ... in a loud whisper:
> "It's done!  But there's so much blood, what do I do now?"...



I sent that same cartoon to my son (policeman) and he didn't get it...  what a balloon buster.  I know he really did but he just likes to burst my bubbles sometimes..


----------



## dragnlaw

I don't have a land line but when I did I got on the DNC list and it seemed to work, at the time.  Now on the cell I get calls from 1-800 nbrs but they originate from overseas.  You won a free trip "down the river".  LOL! 

I just don't answer 1-800 nbrs - if it's important they can leave a message - no message - no number - no call back.


----------



## Just Cooking

dragnlaw said:


> I don't have a land line but when I did I got on the DNC list and it seemed to work, at the time.  Now on the cell I get calls from 1-800 nbrs but they originate from overseas.  You won a free trip "down the river".  LOL!
> 
> *I just don't answer* 1-800 nbrs -* if it's important they can leave a message - no message - no number - no call back.*



I do this with all incoming calls I do not recognize... 

Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

It used to be you could set your phones (land or cell) to ring however many times you wished.  I used to set them for 5 or 6 rings then they go to voice mail.  Gave me time to get to the phone.  I do NOT carry my phone around with me. There are 2/3 places in the house where I put my phone and my hips nor ears aren't them.  

Now phones (cell) only ring 3 times before going to voice mail - and you cannot change it.  
That's not very long to put down the load without throwing everything helter skelter and make it across the room over the dog between the cats who all jump up at the same time and either bounce around barking "Yah! let's play" or casually follow you in front of your feet. (how do they do that?)

Actually you do have a choice, there is an option my brother chose.  Either 3 rings and then voice mail.  Or NO voice mail at all - and the phone keeps ringing til you answer or they hang up.  But you cannot have both.

My brother chooses this with the philosophy - they'll call back if it's important. - they'll stay on the line until I get there and answer.

It's amazing how many people hang up after only 3 rings! They don't leave a message and then complain how hard you are to reach!

Last but not least - if I miss the call by seconds and call them right away -  they'll ask "Have I started to "screen" my calls?"  My answer is "No, I've "always" screened my calls.


----------



## blissful

There are new technologies that have prevented the DNC list from working. If you search around the internet you can find out more about why it doesn't work in the past couple of years. Here is news report from the middle of last year about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJeZ2pweY90


----------



## roadfix

For my cell phone I use one ringtone for people on my contact list.   
For all other incoming calls I have them set under a different ringtone so I know not to answers those.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> It used to be you could set your phones (land or cell) to ring however many times you wished.  I used to set them for 5 or 6 rings then they go to voice mail.  Gave me time to get to the phone.  I do NOT carry my phone around with me. There are 2/3 places in the house where I put my phone and my hips nor ears aren't them.
> 
> Now phones (cell) only ring 3 times before going to voice mail - and you cannot change it.



You can change it. How you do that depends on which carrier you are using. Do a Google search for this, look for yours and follow the instructions:

how to increase number of rings on smartphone


----------



## GotGarlic

GotGarlic said:


> I don't bother playing games with phone jerks who just want to waste my time. *Most of the time, I never even know they called because I use an app called Should I Answer?* It uses a crowdsourced database of numbers associated with spam, nuisance and other unwanted calls that I can add to. If someone is legit, they can leave a message.



This really does work. It's blocked thousands of calls for me.

I went looking for something like this because I kept getting calls from a fax machine.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Hi Mad Cook!  So good to see you.  Health-wise I am very good, less stress and back up for my "crazy" nutrition ideas.  Unfortunately it has been a bad year for me as my Loving Shrek died last month after a battle with bladder cancer.  I have my good emotion days and my bad.  Today is about mid range.
> 
> Thanks for thinking about me.



Hi Princess. I am so ever sorry to hear about your loss of your beloved Shrek. My heart is breaking for you. 

I know what you are going through emotionally as I went through it when my daughter was murdered. It does get better and easier as time passes. My family finally reached the stage where they could talk about her and laugh about some of the crazy things she did. And this will happen with you also. You will be able to talk about his music. 

We all love you Princess. You are indeed a very special person for all of us here at Discuss Cooking.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thank you, Addie.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Every darn time I get on this site on my computer it slows way down. I have to exit then it takes a good 5 minutes for my computer to recover and speed back up. I get back on here and it immediately slows back to a crawl. Whats going on here??


----------



## Chef Munky

*Crazy Lady Is At It Again*

That woman is so going to get the bill for half of this fence that's now being put up.Plus what were paying for the help.

We were going to give her a break.Forget it now. I'm pissed!
Didn't wake up that way.Tired yes,cranky no.

Yesterday my sons and I got everything prepared. I soaked all the posts.
Cleaned up the yard, patio, while my sons made that long trip to Home Depot for materials.
The entire fence has rotted out.

This morning our adopted son, his dad, my sons all got to work on the fence.

Nut Job came outside and had the nerve to ask my sons if they would take things to the Science Center,and to take and clean out things from her back yard while they were working anyways.
Her exact words were "You have 3 trucks out anyways"
WHAT!???

She's the one who had someone prop up 2 sliding glass doors on the fence.Along with a huge window panel that weighs over 200 Lbs.

I can expect her to come over and ask me to make her Hind ass dinner tonight.

Just out of spite,I'm on the way out of hell anyways. I'm going to fire up my smoker.Brisket sounds good for dinner. And all of around here know low and slow is the way to go.

Munky.


----------



## blissful

Chef Munky said:


> I can expect her to come over and ask me to make her Hind ass dinner tonight.


Maybe something like mud pies? The bill should probably start with 'hiring a crew to move those sliding glass windows, etc' $500.


----------



## Chef Munky

blissful said:


> Maybe something like mud pies? The bill should probably start with 'hiring a crew to move those sliding glass windows, etc' $500.



Nice idea Bliss, love it.You bad girl you. Got a recipe?

That woman is a hoarder. She has a boat,an old truck and an RV rotting to the point the next storm that comes through it's going to tip over.
I couldn't believe all the other junk she has back there.

A tetanus shot wouldn't be a bad idea.

I'm going out to take pics.

Munky.


----------



## blissful

> Nice idea Bliss, love it.You bad girl you. Got a recipe?



Yah, I know, I'm the baddest good girl you'll ever meet! I don't really have a good mud pie recipe but if you substitute fecal matter for the mud, it almost sounds better. In the movie, The Dress Maker, she (one of the characters) made a pie with her own **** in it, and people ate it and loved it and it was oh just so gross but terribly funny, to me.


----------



## Andy M.

Farmer Jon said:


> Every darn time I get on this site on my computer it slows way down. I have to exit then it takes a good 5 minutes for my computer to recover and speed back up. I get back on here and it immediately slows back to a crawl. Whats going on here??



FJ, I recommend reporting this to the tech team for DC to see if they have any suggestions.


----------



## medtran49

Chef Munky said:


> Nice idea Bliss, love it.You bad girl you. Got a recipe?
> 
> That woman is a hoarder. She has a boat,an old truck and an RV rotting to the point the next storm that comes through it's going to tip over.
> I couldn't believe all the other junk she has back there.
> 
> A tetanus shot wouldn't be a bad idea.
> 
> I'm going out to take pics.
> 
> Munky.



Why don't you call the building code office.  A lot of places have laws against that. If you live in a homeowner's association community, I'm sure they have rules against that.  I'd be worried about rats, mice and other critters with all that junk.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

blissful said:


> ...In the movie, The Dress Maker, she (one of the characters) made a pie with her own **** in it, and people ate it and loved it and it was oh just so gross but terribly funny, to me.


I've never seen a movie called The Dress Maker, but I remember Octavia Spencer's character Minny Jackson making that kind of "special" pie in "The Help". Wonderful book, great movie. I cried through each of them...when I wasn't laughing.


----------



## blissful

Cooking Goddess said:


> I've never seen a movie called The Dress Maker, but I remember Octavia Spencer's character Minny Jackson making that kind of "special" pie in "The Help". Wonderful book, great movie. I cried through each of them...when I wasn't laughing.



I could be mistaken, so sorry. Haven't taken the time to verify my memory. I do remember 'The Help' and the 'special pie'...but in either case...both excellent stories.


----------



## Addie

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Here's what I do when a call comes through with either no ID or I don't have them on my contact list, I say in a loud whisper:
> "It's done!  But there's so much blood, what do I do now?"
> 
> CLICK ... BUZZZZZZZZZZ
> That number NEVER calls back again



I answer with sounding very sickly, "Are you my hospice nurse calling me? I hope so, I am having a very bad day." They hang up real quick. Who wants to talk to a dying person?


----------



## Cheryl J

I guess I'm one of the few who don't bother with spamming the spam callers - if I don't know who's calling, I don't answer. If it's legit, they'll leave a msg and a call back number.  

--------------
Munky...bet you'll be glad to get away from THAT neighbor!  Yikes...the noive of some people...


----------



## buckytom

Addie said:


> I answer with sounding very sickly, "Are you my hospice nurse calling me? I hope so, I am having a very bad day." They hang up real quick. Who wants to talk to a dying person?



Lol, good one.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> *I guess I'm one of the few who don't bother with spamming the spam callers - *if I don't know who's calling, I don't answer. If it's legit, they'll leave a msg and a call back number.
> 
> --------------
> Munky...bet you'll be glad to get away from THAT neighbor!  Yikes...the noive of some people...



I'm in your camp too Cheryl and I don't mess with them at all.

It's sure not the job of anyone's dreams and personally, I think it's too bad they need such a crappy job.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> I'm in your camp too Cheryl and I don't mess with them at all.
> 
> It's sure not the job of anyone's dreams and personally, I think it's too bad they need such a crappy job.


Count me in this camp as well.


----------



## Andy M.

It's a waste of my time to do any more than just hang up on them.


----------



## buckytom

I used to just hang up, but the same 4 numbers call me back every day, day after day. I've asked them many times to be put on the DNC list, but they call back.
When I block their number, the same people call back from another set of numbers. I know it's the same people because I've spoken to them enough to recognize their vioces, and the scams. They even called my wife's and son's phones once or twice.

So the war us on.


----------



## roadfix

No landline here.    But on my cell phone I assign a distinct (almost inaudible) ringtone to those not on my contact list.   I just don't bother answering those.    The problem is once you pick up the phone they know there's a live person answering so it's best not to answer in the first place.    Unwanted calls on my cell phone have been dramatically reduced simply by not answering.


----------



## Cheryl J

I was a little freaked out the other day when I got a call on my cell phone from my own number.   I didn't answer, of course.  Come to think of it, it's been so long now that I can't remember the last time I got a telemarketer call from a real human.  I don't know what would happen if someone fell for a robocall - I suppose if they stayed on the line a real person would intervene...

It wasn't all that long ago when cell phones seemed to be 'immune' from such calls.  Annoying that they figured out how to invade those now, too.  Ugh...


----------



## taxlady

I think there are fewer marketing calls for cell phones because most people don't have their cell phone number in the phone book. With robo calling, they can just keep trying numbers until they get an answer.


----------



## blissful

Munky, I fried up some bacon and onions, then chicken livers with some red wine and thyme, s&p, butter of course. Chicken livers took about 9 minutes. Then I blended it in the food processor with some cream. Chicken Liver pate. I bet you can't guess how good that looked. ha ha, it tasted great. It looked like chocolate and it looked like ______. I was thinking how your neighbor needed to be my neighbor and how I could share this with them.


----------



## dragnlaw

blissful... that is hysterical!  Thank you!

If anyone ever has cause to do this - please video it!


----------



## blissful

dragnlaw said:


> blissful... that is hysterical!  Thank you!
> 
> If anyone ever has cause to do this - please video it!


I suggest it should be someone that does cake decorating. So they can pipe realistic logs on celery, place it all carefully in a carrying container, for drop off.


----------



## medtran49

blissful said:


> I suggest it should be someone that does cake decorating. So they can pipe realistic logs on celery, place it all carefully in a carrying container, for drop off.



you don't need to be a cake decorator, just put some in a quart bag, snip off a small piece of corner and pipe your logs.


----------



## CakePoet

I have fallen .... sadly it was to the ground and it left me bruised and hurt, so I went back to my husband .

And then I fell again. So I have   a bruise on one hip and a strech tendon on the other...


----------



## Chef Munky

blissful said:


> Munky, I fried up some bacon and onions, then chicken livers with some red wine and thyme, s&p, butter of course. Chicken livers took about 9 minutes. Then I blended it in the food processor with some cream. Chicken Liver pate. I bet you can't guess how good that looked. ha ha, it tasted great. It looked like chocolate and it looked like ______. I was thinking how your neighbor needed to be my neighbor and how I could share this with them.



Bliss, are we related?
Naughtyyyyy...I can see you looking with innocent eyes (Did I do that?)

I could leave it on her front steps for her to trip over like she did with me a few years back.9 bags of trash was left at my door step. Again "You are going to the dump anyways, take my stuff to."

The fence is up.Looks great. She hid out from everyone yesterday.

Unlike the day before where she was trying hard to not accept responsibility that her heavy glass doors and windows on on my fence contributed to the problem.


When she called to ask what she owed us, my husband told her we paid for the help.Took back unneeded materials, some we weren't charged for. The man at Home Depot was shocked that my son refused a store credit for something that he didn't pay for.

So today I can expect a visit from her.Oh Joy.

Munky.


----------



## taxlady

CakePoet said:


> I have fallen .... sadly it was to the ground and it left me bruised and hurt, so I went back to my husband .
> 
> And then I fell again. So I have   a bruise on one hip and a strech tendon on the other...


Oh no! God bedring. (For the rest of you, that means good bettering in Danish.)


----------



## roadfix

My local Home Depot self-checkout stands no longer accept cash.   I hate this when I want to pay cash for a 79 cent bag of wood screws.    Either I use my CC for such a petty purchase or stand and wait in line at the regular checkout.
I always pay by cash on petty purchases.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Shop Lowe's if you have them near you. They actually have someone manning the self-serve are and will ring you out if it's just you. At least that's how the Lowe's by us does it.


----------



## CakePoet

And I slipped again and now sporting a bruise on my butt and I got a mudmask on my face too...  I should stay in and hide.


----------



## Addie

CakePoet said:


> And I slipped again and now sporting a bruise on my butt and I got a mudmask on my face too...  I should stay in and hide.



Why are you falling so frequently?


----------



## dragnlaw

I was thinking the same as Addie.  You should perhaps try to figure out why you are slipping so often.  If you can you might then be able to prevent a few more bruises to your poor body!  

Poor you!  You have my sympathy and wishes.  

I slipped on the stairs last week. My foot was barely on the step and just slid right off.  If I hadn't been hanging on to the railing rungs I might not be here in any condition to type or do otherwise.  I have a very long and steep stairs.


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> I was thinking the same as Addie.  You should perhaps try to figure out why you are slipping so often.  If you can you might then be able to prevent a few more bruises to your poor body!
> 
> Poor you!  You have my sympathy and wishes.
> 
> I slipped on the stairs last week. My foot was barely on the step and just slid right off.  If I hadn't been hanging on to the railing rungs I might not be here in any condition to type or do otherwise.  I have a very long and steep stairs.



There is a reason for every thing that goes wrong in your body. Why are you having these seizures? If your doctor doesn't know the answer, then you need to get to a specialist in a hurry. Ask him to recommend one. If he refuses, then there are agencies that have a listing of every doctor in your country. They can recommend a specialist close to where you live. 

Sometimes doctors will refuse to admit the "I don't know." It is their pride getting in the way of your good health. There is medications that can control these seizures. Sounds like you need to be on one until the specialist can find the cause.


----------



## CakePoet

First we had quick freeze so it was nearly pure ice everywhere and well I found a spot not sanded and went flying.

Second, well there was wet patch in our stairwell I didnt see and went again. 

Third: we had thaw and everything turned  to mud and well  only the top was mud, the underside was ice at least the patch I found so I and the patch went flying and  I got the whole lump of mud  in my face and my arse on the ground.


----------



## Addie

CakePoet said:


> First we had quick freeze so it was nearly pure ice everywhere and well I found a spot not sanded and went flying.
> 
> Second, well there was wet patch in our stairwell I didnt see and went again.
> 
> Third: we had thaw and everything turned  to mud and well  only the top was mud, the underside was ice at least the patch I found so I and the patch went flying and  I got the whole lump of mud  in my face and my arse on the ground.



You do know that there are better trips you can take. Like a trip around the world, visit the Pyramids in Egypt, etc. You get the idea.


----------



## CakePoet

I do, but aparently I have fallen for the ground hard and it  very hard to break up with MR Ground, he just seams to come back for me , every where I walk.


----------



## roadfix

When my dad tripped the last time I asked him if it came with a brochure... 

In the past couple of years I've installed hand rails in their bathrooms and additional handrails in the stairwells.   At 93 and 90 their use of stairs are becoming increasingly difficult in their tri-level town house.


----------



## blissful

CakePoet said:


> I do, but aparently I have fallen for the ground hard and it  very hard to break up with MR Ground, he just seams to come back for me , every where I walk.



 Mr Ground is stalking you.


----------



## CakePoet

I dont think I will report  him to the police... we have one of the better mental hospital here and I think I will get have  nice lay in if I do.  *LOL*


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> When my dad tripped the last time I asked him if it came with a brochure...
> 
> In the past couple of years I've installed hand rails in their bathrooms and additional handrails in the stairwells.   At 93 and 90 their use of stairs are becoming increasingly difficult in their tri-level town house.



Have you considered rearranging their home to the first floor level? My health plan hired some professional movers to do such a thing for two of their patients. The couple love the arrangement. Because they are no longer exhausted from climbing the stairs each day, they have energy to go for a short walk. He is 100 yrs. old and she is 98. And they are always holding hands when they walk.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Woke up with a pain in my back that was worse than anything I experienced having my babies or recovering afterwards.  I was afraid I had blown a disc out, but as I went through the checklist of things that were wrong when Himself had back issues, I realized that all I had was that one painful spot. After a couple hours of crying, yelping, letting out a primal scream that must have scared most of it out of me, and some very amusing episodes of trying to walk around (amusing for anyone that might have seem me, that is), I finally think I'm out of the woods. Still hurts when I breath deeply or cough, but I think I'm going to live.


----------



## Kayelle

Cooking Goddess said:


> Woke up with a pain in my back that was worse than anything I experienced having my babies or recovering afterwards.  I was afraid I had blown a disc out, but as I went through the checklist of things that were wrong when Himself had back issues, I realized that all I had was that one painful spot. After a couple hours of crying, yelping, letting out a primal scream that must have scared most of it out of me, and some very amusing episodes of trying to walk around (amusing for anyone that might have seem me, that is), I finally think I'm out of the woods. Still hurts when I breath deeply or cough, but I think I'm going to live.



Good grief girl...that sound really serious...could you be passing a kidney stone with that kind of pain? How are you feeling now??


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Good grief girl...that sound really serious...could you be passing a kidney stone with that kind of pain? How are you feeling now??


Good thought, Kayelle. CG, remember that women often experience heart issues very differently from men. Maybe you should have this checked out.


----------



## dragnlaw

Cooking Goddess said:


> Woke up with a pain ... all I had was that one painful spot. After a couple hours of crying, yelping, letting out a primal scream that must have scared most of it out of me, and some very amusing episodes of trying to walk around (amusing for anyone that might have seem me, that is), ...   but I think I'm going to live.



 I'm laughing for you and crying with you too...  WELCOME TO MY WORLD! 

From never taking pills in all my younger years, I have officially joined the club of "Don't hesitate - Just medicate".

Missed GG's and Kayelle's posts - and I certainly don't disagree with them.  Judgement call!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ladies, I'm no medical professional, but I'm pretty sure this is no more than a kink in my back. When Himself was going through back issues the same time his sis would visit, she'd get the guest bed and I'd sleep on the futon in the den. Turns out sleeping on the futon eliminated my nightly legs cramps almost completely. The futon became my nightly bed for sleeping. Now I maybe get them at night if I've been on my feet for hours on end during the day. Every once in a while I'll wake up with a kink in my back. Usually works its way out by the end of the day. This one isn't the first, but it sure is the worst.  With any luck, it will be all gone when I get out of bed on Saturday. I hope. Getting up from a laying-down position is a bit challenging right now.


----------



## Kayelle

Cooking Goddess said:


> Ladies, I'm no medical professional, but I'm pretty sure this is no more than a kink in my back. When Himself was going through back issues the same time his sis would visit, she'd get the guest bed and I'd sleep on the futon in the den. Turns out sleeping on the futon eliminated my nightly legs cramps almost completely. The futon became my nightly bed for sleeping. Now I maybe get them at night if I've been on my feet for hours on end during the day. Every once in a while I'll wake up with a kink in my back. Usually works its way out by the end of the day. This one isn't the first, but it sure is the worst.  With any luck, it will be all gone when I get out of bed on Saturday. I hope. Getting up from a laying-down position is a bit challenging right now.



CG, I've found that getting out of bed takes some awareness on my part these days.
I need to do it slowly, and not just pop out like I used to.  If I forget to take it slow, my back will be outawack all day long. It really sucks when stuff wears out.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I've been doing some stretching exercises before I get out of bed lately too, *Kayelle*. Now I'm adding one that Himself has done to stretch his back before he crawls out. To those of you who were concerned, I feel almost human again today.  Still a little twinge in the sore spot, but no yelling or crying when I walk. Just don't make me laugh! That, and coughing, still hurts a lot.


----------



## Cheryl J

I'm glad today is better for you, CG...and hoping tomorrow is *MUCH* better.


----------



## dragnlaw

OMG... 

 where are my animal friends when I need them? 

I only really need them here for moral support...  (and to pick up my body after)

Tomorrow I have to "vent check" my goose.  Easy to separate the ganders out the gate and keep the goose in to do the "job"...  not so easy to corner her,  pin her, without getting beaten to a pulp by her wings (believe me- that REALLY hurts).

then after all this I have to get up off my knees - so hopefully I will be near a wall to help pull me up as I cannot get up without some sort of assistance. 

Little biology lesson here for you non-farm folks.  Fowl have only one 'vent'. Humans have 3.  Fowl do "everything" thru one place. 

I'm afraid my sweet Gracie is "stopped-up" and is blocked by an egg which she cannot expel.  these eggs are usually "shell-less" making them too soft for her to push out.  So she gets stopped-up and with more eggs coming on down, with poop and pee backing-up, she will become septic and die.

The egg will be right at the vent and easy to break and get out - and as much as I hate the job - I'm hoping it is the answer - because if not...  there is something else wrong that I don't know about and for sure - I'm gonna loose her.


----------



## CakePoet

*hugs*
Dragnlaw, I know how  horrid a  blocked vent is,  my summer goose  Big fart ( I was kid, naming wasnt one of my  strenght )  got blocked up.  The vet came and  they gave  her sometime and suddenly  it was  trail of poop/pee, broken eggs and  slime.   She got  blocked  one more time,  saldy it was over night and we lost her.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Woke up with a pain in my back that was worse than anything I experienced having my babies or recovering afterwards.  I was afraid I had blown a disc out, but as I went through the checklist of things that were wrong when Himself had back issues, I realized that all I had was that one painful spot. After a couple hours of crying, yelping, letting out a primal scream that must have scared most of it out of me, and some very amusing episodes of trying to walk around (amusing for anyone that might have seem me, that is), I finally think I'm out of the woods. Still hurts when I breath deeply or cough, *but I think I'm going to live.*



Well, I for one am glad to hear that. I would hate to lose you.


----------



## dragnlaw

finally stopped procrastinating and went out and did the deed.  

Poor thing, other than an initial squawk to get away she didn't struggle at all.  That was as sad as anything - being so docile is just not normal.  

Worse - no egg jammed. Nothing, nada, zero, zilch...  so...  she'll either get better on her own - or I will lose her.  Not looking good. 

Thanks CakeP, around here Vets only do horses and cows.  For fowl it is a 4 hour round trip and they won't do much more than what I did. Other than that they would have to do a necropsy - no thanks.

addendum - the name of this thread "petty vents" for these few posts could carry the name "stinky vents"  (have to have some humour in a sad situation or I'll cry)


----------



## CakePoet

dragnlaw:  Nearest vet was normally 4 hours away but we where lucky, there was bird specialist  near by looking at  peregrine falcons ( yes this was  back when they where  critically indangered in Sweden).  Big fart only ever laid one egg and it was very thin shelled, like paper.  There must have been something wrong with that bird.


----------



## Caslon

Petty wishes for those like me who don't like caffeine.  I might buy Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper if it didn't have caffeine in it. It can be had, but not easily.  Drive thrus hardly have any "sodas" that are caffeine free, besides Sprite.


----------



## msmofet

I wish drive thrus had "diet" ALL soda/beverages IE diet root beer, diet ginger ale etc. NOT just cola and lemon lime products.


----------



## Caslon

Caffeine Free Mountain Dew. Is there such a thing?  Same with Dr.Pepper.  Not sure.  Not in drive thru's.


----------



## taxlady

Ginger ale


----------



## dragnlaw

Fanta  

usually  Root Beer  as it is not really in there - but now-a-days you gotta check the labels - they've been adding it!  for what-ever-g-forsaken reason!


----------



## Addie

Orange Soda. Any lemon flavored drink. Any fruit flavored drink. Check out grape soda. Nehi Grape Soda (Radar!) If you have a Dunkin's out west, they have caffeine free ice coffee. At least they have it here on the East Coast.


----------



## Caslon

Root beer too, I guess.  Don't know why Dr. Pepper has to have caffeine in its prune flavored soda, but it does.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> Root beer too, I guess.  Don't know why Dr. Pepper has to have caffeine in its prune flavored soda, but it does.



Because caffeine is addictive. That's why folks just *HAVE* to have that first cup of coffee in the morning to start their day.


----------



## medtran49

I just called a brokerage company regarding a rollover distribution of my 401K.  I was initially transferred to an automated system through no choice of my own, answered all the questions, and then was transferred to a person to complete the transaction, who proceeded to ask me every single one of the same questions again, and I had to listen to the same automated blurb again about taxes.  This has happened before with multiple different companies and not just in the finance realm.  Why, do companies do this?  Don't they realize how annoying that is?


----------



## Andy M.

medtran49 said:


> I just called a brokerage company regarding a rollover distribution of my 401K.  I was initially transferred to an automated system through no choice of my own, answered all the questions, and then was transferred to a person to complete the transaction, who proceeded to ask me every single one of the same questions again, and I had to listen to the same automated blurb again about taxes.  This has happened before with multiple different companies and not just in the finance realm.  Why, do companies do this?  Don't they realize how annoying that is?



Business phone systems are a pet peeve of mine.  They seem to be universally counter-intuitive and redundant.  I'm always trying to press "0" or asking for "representative" to cut through the crap.


----------



## dragnlaw

That's what I do Andy.  I don't answer anything to a machine.  They're gonna ask you all over again anyhow.  

We want to be helpful - it's just we will not be taken advantage of... 

and they are by being completely inconsiderate.


----------



## taxlady

Medtran, that's one of my pet peeves as well.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Okay, Vent!

Dang it!
All of a sudden it hit the mid 80's here in the middle of the desert... we had freezes over night just a week or so ago, dang it!!!
I _*FINALLY*_ gave in this afternoon and turned on the AC, DANG IT !!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I just turned the heat off and opened some windows.  I'll not start cursing the heat until it's hot all night, too


----------



## Cheryl J

So far I haven't had to run the AC, but it's getting warm at night.  No likey.  The bedroom ceiling fan has been sufficient, for now...


----------



## Kayelle

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Okay, Vent!
> 
> Dang it!
> All of a sudden it hit the mid 80's here in the middle of the desert... we had freezes over night just a week or so ago, dang it!!!
> I _*FINALLY*_ gave in this afternoon and turned on the AC, DANG IT !!!



Reality check Kgirl.....be happy you have AC!!
Did you have it in Hawaii?
I've lived in this area all my life, and for the first time I have AC in this house. I'm thankful every time I need to turn it on.


----------



## caseydog

I've been going back and forth between heat and AC for weeks. It's 85 one day, and 55 the next. That, or I'll turn the AC on when I go to bed because I'm hot, and I'll wake up cold. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We'll be going from winter to summer sometime next week.

Mom Nature needs some meds quick.


----------



## Caslon

I live in an all electric condo.  Southern California.  I can't  figure for the life of me how my last 3 bills were $215 and now these last two months are $55.  I'm not doubting the electric meter or me heating up my condo in the morning during these last chilly 
 4 months, but wow, $210 to $55?   These high electrical costs happened last year too. I didn't run up electricity baking every night.  It just seems inordinate.


----------



## taxlady

Caslon said:


> I live in an all electric condo.  Southern California.  I can't  figure for the life of me how my last 3 bills were $215 and now these last two months are $55.  I'm not doubting the electric meter or me heating up my condo in the morning during these last chilly
> 4 months, but wow, $210 to $55?   These high electrical costs happened last year too. I didn't run up electricity baking every night.  It just seems inordinate.


Do they do estimated bills in between meter readings?


----------



## Caslon

taxlady said:


> Do they do estimated bills in between meter readings?



Not sure.  What a radical jump tho.  $225 for 4 months, then now $55. The overnight temps were a little low, and I cranked up the heat in the morning.  I think that's where they really hit me. It's a tier system or something. They jump me up in electrical costs during certain months each year, even tho I maintain a pretty steady electrical usage, with the exception of cranking on the HVAC heater in the mornings a bit more, heh.  Bingo!


----------



## Caslon

Nuclear fusion will mean endless cheap unlimited power. 
mmmm, endless cheap unlimited power.


----------



## Andy M.

Caslon said:


> Nuclear fusion will mean endless cheap unlimited power.
> mmmm, endless cheap unlimited power.



I don't believe nuclear power would be cheaper for the consumer.


----------



## Andy M.

Caslon said:


> Not sure.  What a radical jump tho.  $225 for 4 months, then now $55. The overnight temps were a little low, and I cranked up the heat in the morning.  I think that's where they really hit me. It's a tier system or something. They jump me up in electrical costs during certain months each year, even tho I maintain a pretty steady electrical usage, with the exception of cranking on the HVAC heater in the mornings a bit more, heh.  Bingo!



You could compare the number of kilowatt hours you've used over the last several periods to see if that explains it.  Also see if the rate/KWH has changed.

If that doesn't answer your question, call the electric company.


----------



## CakePoet

I'm to ill to prove I'm ill..  *sigh*


----------



## Farmer Jon

Lost my glasses so I went to the eye Dr to order some new ones. Just  happens that my prescription is up this month. They squeezed me in right  away. My contact prescription did not change but I officially have  bifocal lenses in my glasses now. They cost an extra $400. Oh but the  good news is because I don't have vision insurance if I bought another  pair of frames I get another set of lenses free. So I picked out a cheap  pair of frames and got prescription sun glasses. By cheap I mean $145  because all the others were near 200 bucks.


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> Lost my glasses so I went to the eye Dr to order some new ones. Just  happens that my prescription is up this month. They squeezed me in right  away. My contact prescription did not change but I officially have  bifocal lenses in my glasses now. They cost an extra $400. Oh but the  good news is because I don't have vision insurance if I bought another  pair of frames I get another set of lenses free. So I picked out a cheap  pair of frames and got prescription sun glasses. By cheap I mean $145  because all the others were near 200 bucks.



I get my eyes examined by my eye doctor every year. But I order all my frames on line. My doctor will not give you a copy of the script until you have the frames in hand. Then by law he has to give you the script if you ask for it. 

When you see the prices on line for the frames and compare them to what your doctor charges, you realize the BIG difference and saving  in price.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> I get my eyes examined by my eye doctor every year. But I order all my frames on line. *My doctor will not give you a copy of the script until you have the frames in hand. Then by law he has to give you the script if you ask for it.
> *
> When you see the prices on line for the frames and compare them to what your doctor charges, you realize the BIG difference and saving  in price.



Addie, at the time of your examination, your doctor is required by law to hand you your prescription with no strings attached. All you have to do is ask for it at the time.
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0116-prescription-glasses-and-contact-lenses


----------



## roadfix

In the past I've always had my prescription handed to me immediately after my eye exams.


----------



## GotGarlic

I've been seeing my optometrist since 1994, and he's had the same technicians - one does the testing and the other the fitting and adjusting - since then (the first one's daughter is the receptionist/office manager [emoji38]). Joyce works with me to get affordable glasses, especially since I had to quit work several years ago. They're great [emoji813] Oh, I did ask for the script once; it seemed like too much of a pain to do all that myself when they're happy to help me, so I just work with them on it.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Addie, at the time of your examination, your doctor is required by law to hand you your prescription with no strings attached. All you have to do is ask for it at the time.
> https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0116-prescription-glasses-and-contact-lenses



The law varies state to state. I prefer it this way. So many folks have no idea of how to measure their eyes. The script doesn't tell the distance between the pupils. Not every site on line have very clear explicit instructions for "how to." My eye doctor has told me that he has had at least four patients who got their glasses on line and found them to be wrong and unable to see clearly. And that was last year. I can't help but wonder how many have walked into his office this year and are wondering why they can't see. 

Also my eye doctor has the facilities on site to make up the lens within three days. A lot faster than a lot of doctors I have heard of. Some can tell you two weeks or longer before your glasses will be ready. The more expensive the frames you choose, the quicker you will get your glasses. I have been wearing glasses since I was five years old. This is the first eye doctor that actually believed me when I said that I do not use my left eye. And he is the first eye doctor that I feel I can trust.


----------



## roadfix

If I owned my own optometry shop I sure wouldn't willingly hand over the prescription.   I would be encouraging my patients to purchase my frames.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

My MA eye doc always handed me my script right after the exam, *Addie*. He runs a one-man operation, so he finds that it's easier for patients to go elsewhere then come back to make sure things are OK. He will fill the script, though...but he really isn't proficient with adjusting the frame for comfort.  If I was getting new glasses, I would get them elsewhere due to insurance requirements. Most of the time, however, I just needed new contact lenses. Those I always order from an eye doc. Now I need to find a new eye guy - my previous one isn't on my insurance doc list.



GotGarlic said:


> I've been seeing my optometrist since 1994, and he's had the same technicians - one does the testing and the other the fitting and adjusting - since then...


That's how it is back at our OH doctors' office.  I started going to the dad back in 1970. His sons took over when he semi-retired. I still stop at the office when we're in visiting the kids - they sell contact lens solution kits (wetting and cleaning solutions, lens case, half-dozen enzyme cleaners) for the same price one bottle of solution costs in a store. The office manager is still from back then, and so are the lens technician and frame guy. I love that kind of service! Just another reason to get back home...


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie....did you read the article Kay posted?  It's the *FTC website* - the* F *meaning Federal, so it applies to all states.  

Here is patient rights and prescription info from that site, in case you missed it:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0116-prescription-glasses-and-contact-lenses#violations


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Addie....did you read the article Kay posted?  It's the *FTC website* - the* F *meaning Federal, so it applies to all states.
> 
> Here is patient rights and prescription info from that site, in case you missed it:
> 
> https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0116-prescription-glasses-and-contact-lenses#violations



I think part of the reason my eye doctor can get away with the way he operates is because his whole operation is all part of the Elder Service Plan that I am covered by. Most of his patients are elderly or immigrants that do not know the law or understand English very well. He is an MD where as all of the rest of his staff are opthamologists. Most eye doctors are DO's instead of MD's. He did his full internship plus full residency, at Mass Eye and Ear. One of the most prestigious facilities for what they specialize in.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My eye doctor handed me a laminated card with the Clinic and Doctor's name, address phone on the front and my prescription on the back.  I was able to walk out with my prescription at anytime, I walked directly to the reception desk and handed it to the lady who also happens to live on the same street I do.  Took a week to get my fancy glasses...i.e no-line bifocals with Transitions and severe astigmatism correction.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> I think part of the reason my eye doctor can get away with the way he operates is because his whole operation is all part of the Elder Service Plan that I am covered by. Most of his patients are elderly or immigrants that do not know the law or understand English very well. He is an MD where as all of the rest of his staff are opthamologists. Most eye doctors are DO's instead of MD's. He did his full internship plus full residency, at Mass Eye and Ear. One of the most prestigious facilities for what they specialize in.



Yet another case of smoke and mirrors Addie.
 None of what you said has anything to do with your Doctor being required by *FEDERAL LAW* to provide you with your prescription.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ...He is an MD where as all of the rest of his staff are opthamologists. Most eye doctors are DO's instead of MD's...



*Addie*, you have your letters all mixed up! 
M.D. = Medical Doctor
D.O. = Doctor of Osteopathy

- Both are fully trained and licensed medical professionals. Either of them can specialize to become licensed Ophthalmologists. The difference between an MD and a DO lies in the philosophy in how each discipline treats the patient. *DO vs. MD: What's the difference?*

O.D. = Optometric Doctor 

- *An optometrist is an eye doctor who has earned the Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree.* Just not a specialist that is trained to perform eye surgery or some other medical procedures. They can, however, administer medicinal eye drops and provide a prescription in almost all states. All states that aren't named Massachusetts.  MA ophthalmologists must have a very strong lobbying group.

As far as "I think part of the reason my eye doctor can get away with the way he operates is because his whole operation is all part of the Elder Service Plan..."? No matter what "plan" he belongs to, or the make-up of his patient group, he is blatantly ignoring a federal law. You might want to look for a new eye doctor before this one is hauled off to jail...:


----------



## Cheryl J

^ +1...


----------



## caseydog

All I know is that the more I pay for glasses, the more likely they are to get lost or broken. 

I lost my $500 progressive glasses a few months ago. They are probably somewhere in my house, but I can't find them. But, I didn't like them, so I have mixed feelings. 

I have about five pairs of 20-dollar reading glasses -- which do the job. I lose them, too. I have left a few in rental cars -- I have to really go through rental cars at airports or I leave all kinds of stuff in them, that I will NEVER get back. Hertz #Gold Five Star get's you a free upgrade to a Mercedes, but it does not get your stuff back if you leave it in that Mercedes. 

So, I don't go to the eye doctor anymore. I just buy cheap reading glasses, and they make progressive reading glasses now, and just live with it if I lose a pair of them. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I've been known to set my glasses down in the house if I have to do something that is really close work...and then forget where I set them down. I've also been known to put my contacts in just to be able to see where my glasses are!  You can't find your glasses when you need your glasses to see where your glasses are.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> I've been known to set my glasses down in the house if I have to do something that is really close work...and then forget where I set them down. I've also been known to put my contacts in just to be able to see where my glasses are!  You can't find your glasses when you need your glasses to see where your glasses are.


That's one of the reasons I get two or more pairs of glasses. I order on line and the prices are great. I seldom put my glasses down. I try to remember to hang them from my neckline.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Addie*, you have your letters all mixed up! [emoji38]
> M.D. = Medical Doctor
> D.O. = Doctor of Osteopathy
> 
> - Both are fully trained and licensed medical professionals. Either of them can specialize to become licensed Ophthalmologists. The difference between an MD and a DO lies in the philosophy in how each discipline treats the patient. *DO vs. MD: What's the difference?*
> 
> O.D. = Optometric Doctor
> 
> - *An optometrist is an eye doctor who has earned the Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree.* Just not a specialist that is trained to perform eye surgery or some other medical procedures. They can, however, administer medicinal eye drops and provide a prescription in almost all states.



Additionally, MDs and DOs are not trained to examine eyes for the purpose of obtaining a prescription for corrective eyewear. That's a completely different education resulting in a different degree and licensure. It makes no sense for an MD or DO to study to become an optometrist. That would be like becoming a doctor and then becoming a nurse


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> Additionally, MDs and DOs are not trained to examine eyes for the purpose of obtaining a prescription for corrective eyewear. That's a completely different education resulting in a different degree and licensure. It makes no sense for an MD or DO to study to become an optometrist. *That would be like becoming a doctor and then becoming a nurse *



Two very different vocations...


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Two very different vocations...



As you well know


----------



## Andy M.

The *ONLY TIME* a package of defrosting meat leaks in the fridge is when you don't put it on a plate or pan.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> The *ONLY TIME* a package of defrosting meat leaks in the fridge is when you don't put it on a plate or pan.


But of course. Solly, Charlie.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Addie said:


> I get my eyes examined by my eye doctor every year. But I order all my frames on line. My doctor will not give you a copy of the script until you have the frames in hand. Then by law he has to give you the script if you ask for it.
> 
> When you see the prices on line for the frames and compare them to what your doctor charges, you realize the BIG difference and saving  in price.



Ordering glasses on line is all fine and dandy. But in my line of work they are apt to get broken. So I cant just walk into the internet and say here fix it like I can if I buy them at the eye Dr.
On the other hand I havent broken a pair in a long time. So maybe its something to look into. 
My Dr will give me my script if I want it. Lots of people order contacts on line.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Andy M. said:


> The *ONLY TIME* a package of defrosting meat leaks in the fridge is when you don't put it on a plate or pan.




I get yelled at for that all the time. some day I will learn.


----------



## caseydog

I don't break glasses, I lose them. I have good vision -- well, as long as I'm looking at something beyond the length of my arm. I have about six pair of dime-store reading glasses... now. The $400 prescription progressives I bought vanished into thin air. One minute I had them, fifteen minutes later, they were gone. 

CD


----------



## taxlady

I get two or three pairs of bifocals online for less than $200 including shipping. Absolutely worth it for me. Locally I haven't been able to find anything for less than $400 for one pair. Oh, and I get sunglasses clip-ons for at least one pair included in that cost.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself's and my glasses came with magnetic sunglasses. A little magnet at the cross piece connects to the metal bridge on our wire-rimmed glasses. Get the sunglasses near enough to your nose and *swoosh* attached! Still fun doing even after years of owning my glasses. [emoji16]


----------



## roadfix

Yeah, those magnetic clip-ons are the real deal.   I think they're pretty cool.


----------



## caseydog

Hiccups! I don't get them very often, but when I do, I get them big time. It is 3AM, and I have hiccups, big time. I've held my breath until almost passing out. I've gulped water and belched. 

I have to catch a plane in the morning. This sucks!

CD


----------



## taxlady

CD, do you know how to intentionally move your diaphragm? I find that the most successful way of getting rid of hiccoughs. I lift it and lower it very sharply. A few times usually gets rid of them. I have been told that hiccoughs are because there is a "wave" in the diaphragm and the sharp up and down straightens it. Give it a shot. It's worth a try.


----------



## CakePoet

Coarse salt or sugar has been prove  to disrupt the spasm of a hiccup.


----------



## buckytom

I was having a bad day until I drone over the GW bridge tonight and remembered seeing the police trying to talk someone down from jumping off the GW bridge this morning. My day wasn't *that* bad, I guess.

I was busy all last night, especially from 4:30 AM until around 11 AM, the I went home to get some sleep. When I woke up, I saw that my wife (who has a black thumb) decided to re-pot a new Princess Palm plant that I had bought recently, and specifically asked her several times not to do anything to it until it stabilizes in its new environment for a few months by the kitchen slider doors. But, she decided it was ugly without a pot, so she put it in a huge, fancy pot with no holes in the bottom for draining, and used very heavy, loamy potting soil. Exactly the 2 things you shouldn't do. So, I have to dump it out tomorrow, drill holes, and replant it with the right soil. I hope it lives.

Then, a few minutes later my son asked if he could fly this little camera drone that I bought online the other day. I told him not to fly it too high, or near any trees. He flew it for about 30 seconds, straight up into the uppermost branches of an 80 foot tree. And it's wedged in there good. So much for my new drone. 

Maybe the guy on the bridge was just looking for his drone?


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> I was having a bad day until I drone over the GW bridge tonight and remembered seeing the police trying to talk someone down from jumping off the GW bridge this morning. My day wasn't *that* bad, I guess.
> 
> I was busy all last night, especially from 4:30 AM until around 11 AM, the I went home to get some sleep. When I woke up, I saw that my wife (who has a black thumb) decided to re-pot a new Princess Palm plant that I had bought recently, and specifically asked her several times not to do anything to it until it stabilizes in its new environment for a few months by the kitchen slider doors. But, she decided it was ugly without a pot, so she put it in a huge, fancy pot with no holes in the bottom for draining, and used very heavy, loamy potting soil. Exactly the 2 things you shouldn't do. So, I have to dump it out tomorrow, drill holes, and replant it with the right soil. I hope it lives.
> 
> Then, a few minutes later my son asked if he could fly this little camera drone that I bought online the other day. I told him not to fly it too high, or near any trees. He flew it for about 30 seconds, straight up into the uppermost branches of an 80 foot tree. And it's wedged in there good. So much for my new drone.
> 
> Maybe the guy on the bridge was just looking for his drone?



About a year ago, I heard a weird "thumping" noise on the front of my house, and my dog soon went nuts at my office window. I looked out the window, and some adolescent boy was throwing rocks from my landscaping at the tree in front of my house, and the rocks were hitting my house. So far, none had hit windows. 

I ran outside, and found out they little moron was trying to knock his cheap drone out of my Elm tree. Long story short, I ended up on a ladder with a long tree pruner and got the drone down. 

I then calmly explained to this future MBA or member of congress that, throwing rocks at a tree with windows behind it was a bad idea. 

CD


----------



## buckytom

Lol, yeah, it takes time to teach a child to think beyond just what they want to accomplish at that second. Every action has consequences. 
The rise of mobile devices has made that expinentially worse.


----------



## Addie

Just how far is all this new technology going to take us? Sooner or later there is going to be a major mishap and hopefully folks will stop and think before they just have to have *that*.


----------



## Rocklobster

Long weekend up here and I have to go to work in an hour..


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> Just how far is all this new technology going to take us? Sooner or later there is going to be a major mishap and hopefully folks will stop and think before they just have to have *that*.


They're talking about *children*, Addie. This technology is pretty cool with lots of potential applications. There's always a period of adjustment and learning with any new technology. But computers have a lot of advantages over typewriters, right? Or would you rather trade yours back?


----------



## Caslon

I've had success stopping hiccups by holding my breath, but doing more than that. While in the state of holding your breath, try and go into a truly relaxed state. This requires mind over body in a way.  Do more than just hold your breath, that won't work.


----------



## dragnlaw

*re: hiccups*

My way is to swallow 10 times - without breathing in between swallows.  
LOL - I can _barely_ make it - the 10th time is a struggle - but it seems to work!

Hope you got some sleep!


----------



## msmofet

It’s 95F in here. Every damn 2 years we need to fight with Sears to fix their piece of crap air conditioner. We actually only get 1 full summer from the a/c. Every 2 years without fail on Memorial Day weekend it goes. We pay for service and it takes till July to get a new one because old one can’t be fixed! This is the 3rd replacement. One year the service guy sprayed some crap in the a/c to supposedly clean it. The result was a burned out electric socket. The house would have burned down if we weren’t here. Smoke then flames came out of socket. Hub wouldn’t sue them. This Hub finally gave in this year and let us buy another brand from Best Buy. Will be delivered and installed next Monday. Hopefully this one will last longer than 2 years.
I remember when Sears products were good. But Kenmore now sux!


----------



## Caslon

Store bought bread slices now. The smaller size is ridiculous now.  A slice of bologna dwarfs it.
One day, 60 minutes will do a segment on bread companies and how they operate.


----------



## CakePoet

In the Netherlands  bread is sold in two weights, so even if a loaf looks big, it might just be the smaller weight and mostly air.


----------



## medtran49

No, some places are definitely making smaller loaves.  We've noticed it particularly in a couple of places we go to for breakfast and lunch sammies.  I'm guessing it's so they can cut down on costs and not have to go up on price.


----------



## Caslon

If your bread packaging seems a little loose now, it's because they still use the same size packaging from days gone by when bread slices were bigger.  You're getting more but smaller sized slices now, the weight is the same as before.  See how they think? More is better. I hate how my bologna slices hang outside the bread now.  

Factoid: Ancient Roman soldiers ate 6 lbs. of bread a day. They subsisted on it.

Just 6 bakery companies control all the bread consumed these days.


----------



## roadfix

Size matters.


----------



## dragnlaw

You guys are too funny!


----------



## roadfix

Does that mean there will be 10 hot dog buns per package instead of 8?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Why is it, people learning to play the guitar always pick on "Smoke on the Water?"  Guy next door is mangling it badly, in Missoula the guy upstairs did the same thing.  Shrek finally taught the guy upstairs and then he could play it passably.  I don't have the same resource with this guy out with his electric guitar and amp.


----------



## Cheryl J

I remember back in the day, "Stairway to Heaven" was a popular go-to for many learning to play the guitar.


----------



## roadfix

.
.
.
.


----------



## Caslon

roadfix said:


> .
> .
> .
> .



Add the Eagles too.  My god how radio DJ's played their music to death. So much so that it turned me off to the Eagles, as talented a group as they were/are.  Some bands became the crutch of a radio station back then.  Therefore, they played that bands songs ad nauseam.  The Eagles are an example (some called them The Vultures).  Total overexposure, not their fault, exactly, it made them all rich.


----------



## roadfix

Caslon said:


> Add the Eagles too.  My god how radio DJ's played their music to death. So much so that it turned me off to the Eagles, as talented a group as they were/are.  Some bands became the crutch of a radio station.



Signs like this were common in guitar shops.


----------



## Cheryl J

Roadfix....!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Arggghhhhhh!


----------



## roadfix

Funny thing is, I play the Stairway to Heaven riff every time I pick up my acoustic...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have Veggie Tales _Silly Songs_ I could play back really loud...


----------



## Caslon

Those songs are kinda funny.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Now he's on to _Louie, Louie_...with the other salted in there...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm thinking about this all wrong...I have my own guitars and amps, a veritable wall of sound...I could practice, too!


----------



## roadfix

Blackbird is another banned song at most guitar shops.  I love playing that song with my grand daughter doing the vocals, at home.


----------



## buckytom

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm thinking about this all wrong...I have my own guitars and amps, a veritable wall of sound...I could practice, too!



Use a violin bow across the strings of an over amp"d electric guitar, a la Jiimmy Page. Or a power drill, a la Eddie Van Halen.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm thinking about this all wrong...I have my own guitars and amps, a veritable wall of sound...I could practice, too!


 Love it


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Caslon said:


> ...I hate how my bologna slices hang outside the bread now.


Ask if the deli has "leona bologna" in stock. It's the smaller diameter size version. Still the same filling as a bigger casing. If they look at you stupid, say "skinny bologna" while forming a small circle with your hands. 



Caslon said:


> Just 6 bakery companies control all the bread consumed these days.


You could buy bread at the grocery's in-store bakery instead of the plastic bagged one  in the "break" aisle, you know.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm thinking about this all wrong...I have my own guitars and amps, a veritable wall of sound...I could practice, too!


Maybe you could fight fire with fire-and-brimstone and rock out on gospel.  Or do folk music with the amp pushed up to 11.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Maybe you could fight fire with fire-and-brimstone and rock out on gospel.  Or do folk music with the amp pushed up to 11.




Thing is...I don't know how to play the guitar, my practice sessions would be horrendous.


----------



## Just Cooking

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thing is...I don't know how to play the guitar, my practice sessions would be horrendous.


 That would make countering the neighbor, even more effective... 
Ross


----------



## msmofet

roadfix said:


> Does that mean there will be 10 hot dog buns per package instead of 8?


 ALL hot dogs will be bun length?


----------



## roadfix

roadfix said:


> Size matters.





msmofet said:


> ALL hot dogs will be bun length?



Size doesn't matter.


----------



## Caslon

I usually end up using 6 hot dog rolls before they start to turn. 8 packs of large burger buns are another matter. There's no way I have 8 burgers before they end up needing to be replaced (they freeze lousy). I wish they made those in 4 and  6 packs.


----------



## Kayelle

*Caslon*, lately we've been buying individual  burger buns from the bakery section of the grocery store. They are better quality and they're fresh when I make the burgers with no need to take up precious freezer room for extras.


----------



## Just Cooking

Kayelle said:


> *Caslon*, lately we've been buying individual  burger buns from the bakery section of the grocery store. They are better quality and they're fresh when I make the burgers with no need to take up precious freezer room for extras.


 +1... We do the same..   
Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

Last couple of years I've been buying those "thin" buns.  

Get several uses for them.  Firstly they freeze well, toast well, make panini's OK and - especially hamburgers that don't fall thru the bottoms plus you can wrap your mouth around them when the burger is "fully loaded".


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Last couple of years I've been buying those "thin" buns.
> 
> Get several uses for them.  Firstly they freeze well, toast well, make panini's OK and - especially hamburgers that don't fall thru the bottoms plus you can wrap your mouth around them when the burger is "fully loaded".


Same here. We buy some called "One Bun". They come in whole grain.


----------



## roadfix

Caslon said:


> I usually end up using 6 hot dog rolls before they start to turn. 8 packs of large burger buns are another matter. There's no way I have 8 burgers before they end up needing to be replaced (they freeze lousy). I wish they made those in 4 and  6 packs.



I like using slider buns.   The burgers are smaller so I end up using most of the package per grilling session.


----------



## Caslon

roadfix said:


> I like using slider buns.   The burgers are smaller so I end up using most of the package per grilling session.



I may go to making 2 sliders or two "Wimpy" bun sized burgers instead of making  larger burgers on larger sized buns.  Does anyone notice that the big sized buns available at supermarkets aren't near as good as the big sized buns used by fast food drive thrus? The major burger chains have a deal with bakeries to make it their way. Nothing wrong with that.  

You can buy large better burger buns, just like theirs, you just need to order 5,000 of them.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*What Happened To Saying Thank You?*

It seems to be in my nature to want to give things to other people, be it gifts of material objects or food;  I share what I have or make.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve noticed that lots of folks don’t say thank you anymore; show no gratitude, nothing.  
This has been bothering me and I know that I shouldn’t feel this way, but --- forget this noise. 
I must stop torturing myself this way and not give anymore.  
It’s like I give a piece of me and it’s simply taken with no regard, so callously.  
I wanted to take gifts along to our large Family gathering in Virginia but my husband told me, “Why? No one will care.”  How sad.
I just needed to put that out there into the universe.


----------



## blissful

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> It seems to be in my nature to want to give things to other people, be it gifts of material objects or food;  I share what I have or make.
> Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve noticed that lots of folks don’t say thank you anymore; show no gratitude, nothing.
> This has been bothering me and I know that I shouldn’t feel this way, but --- forget this noise.
> I must stop torturing myself this way and not give anymore.
> It’s like I give a piece of me and it’s simply taken with no regard, so callously.
> I wanted to take gifts along to our large Family gathering in Virginia but my husband told me, “Why? No one will care.”  How sad.
> I just needed to put that out there into the universe.




I love to give too. Food, garden stuff, gifts we make, thoughtful little things. It's better to give than to receive. Pay attention to who says thank you, it matters, remember those people. Also you might meet people who will say thank you and then think to give you something during their abundance. That's how we make friends and do trades. Just like the colonists and the indians made friends.


I've got a long list of 'non-thankers' and I don't think of them often.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> It seems to be in my nature to want to give things to other people, be it gifts of material objects or food;  I share what I have or make.
> Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve noticed that lots of folks don’t say thank you anymore; show no gratitude, nothing.
> This has been bothering me and I know that I shouldn’t feel this way, but --- forget this noise.
> I must stop torturing myself this way and not give anymore.
> It’s like I give a piece of me and it’s simply taken with no regard, so callously.
> I wanted to take gifts along to our large Family gathering in Virginia but my husband told me, “Why? No one will care.”  How sad.
> I just needed to put that out there into the universe.


The people I know here in Virginia have better manners than that.


----------



## Kayelle

Here's just another thought to consider Kgirl. 

When someone is as generous as you are with gifts, people on the receiving end can get a little weird about being gracious. It could be they are caught off guard and embarrassed about having nothing to give in return. Too bad they end up looking like jerks instead.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Here's just another thought to consider Kgirl.
> 
> When someone is as generous as you are with gifts, people on the receiving end can get a little weird about being gracious. It could be they are caught off guard and embarrassed about having nothing to give in return. Too bad they end up looking like jerks instead.


That's a good point. K'girl, if you're giving the same people gifts over and over again, and they aren't the type to reciprocate, they might start to feel uncomfortable about it.

But your relatives won't have any such concerns [emoji2]


----------



## Caslon

Auto recording to my social security administration to fix that I can't even  log into my newly created SS web account.  Upon trying to log in, I got ..."You have been blocked, we tried 3 times to verify the information you provided us", try again in 24 hours." I filled out the original register correctly, how hard can that be?

That's not my gripe, stuff happens, especially on a huge US SS site.  

I now have to settle this mix up by showing up at my local SS office. To do that, I need to make an appointment.  I called up to do so and got the recording of how long I will have to be put on hold to be directed to the next SS rep to do so.  "One hour".

I must have called at the wrong time when things got busy there.

I might just as well show up at their office and be seated among dozens of other ppl sitting in chairs waiting to be called.

Hey,  I just want to be able to log onto my SS web account!  I cannot fix that without going to my local SS office, *sigh*


----------



## Aunt Bea

Kayelle said:


> *Caslon*, lately we've been buying individual  burger buns from the bakery section of the grocery store. They are better quality and they're fresh when I make the burgers with no need to take up precious freezer room for extras.



Me too!

I buy more and more single servings of food to help me control carbs and portions.

At first, it seemed expensive to me but over time I've found that paying more for a single item is actually cheaper because I use so much less and waste nothing.  The higher quality is a bonus!


----------



## Addie

K girl, I taught all of my kids their manners. From saying 'thank you' to the boys standing up when a woman enters the room. There are times I say thank you too much. I even  have managed to get my kids to say "Your Welcome." 

Being in this wheelchair, when my driver comes to pick me up for an appointment, he holds the door open for me to exit. One of the drivers told me I didn't have to say "Thank You" because it is his job to help me make my life easier. I in turn reminded him that good manners are never out of place. 

Being in the situation I find myself, there are days when I am in a lot of pain. I have to make a strong effort to remember my "Thank You." Pirate is my caretaker, and without even asking, he sees I need something and will jump to get it for me. A wheelchair reminds you of just how helpless you can be. So a simple "Thank You" never hurts. Even if it is your own child helping you. 

If you go empty handed this time, maybe they will get the message and hopefully learn their manners.


----------



## CakePoet

My husband  is stuck several miles away. Why, you may ask, well  the trains cant go, no problem , there will be a bus instead, oki oh we forgot to order enough buses, you have to wait for the next one.
Thank God a friend is  coming to get him,  guess what next buss, oh we didn't except there to be 2 full of buses more, you have to wait for the next one.... 

Yeah it only his surprise birthday party in 1 hour and he should have been home 4 hours ago. I guess it will be surprise when the guest of honour isnt here..


----------



## roadfix

Caslon said:


> Auto recording to my social security administration to fix that I can't even  log into my newly created SS web account.  Upon trying to log in, I got ..."You have been blocked, we tried 3 times to verify the information you provided us", try again in 24 hours." I filled out the original register correctly, how hard can that be?
> 
> That's not my gripe, stuff happens, especially on a huge US SS site.
> 
> I now have to settle this mix up by showing up at my local SS office. To do that, I need to make an appointment.  I called up to do so and got the recording of how long I will have to be put on hold to be directed to the next SS rep to do so.  "One hour".
> 
> I must have called at the wrong time when things got busy there.
> 
> I might just as well show up at their office and be seated among dozens of other ppl sitting in chairs waiting to be called.
> 
> Hey,  I just want to be able to log onto my SS web account!  I cannot fix that without going to my local SS office, *sigh*



In the past I was able to retrieve my forgotten log in info without having to physically go to SS, even with the 24-hour hold.    Maybe things are different now.
They also have extra security measures where every time you log on they'll send you a one time use passcode to complete your log on process.


----------



## CWS4322

blissful said:


> I love to give too. Food, garden stuff, gifts we make, thoughtful little things. It's better to give than to receive. Pay attention to who says thank you, it matters, remember those people. Also you might meet people who will say thank you and then think to give you something during their abundance. That's how we make friends and do trades. Just like the colonists and the indians made friends.
> 
> 
> I've got a long list of 'non-thankers' and I don't think of them often.


When my cousin inherited the family cabin, the caveat was we all could use it. I have tried to help pay maintenance and taxes he won't let me. I always make sure to being something--a case of wine, a rechargeable battery charger (cordless) for the boat, a hammock, gourmet vinegars and oils. I also always send a thank you. Of course I bring my own food, sheets, towels, etc.


----------



## CakePoet

We manage to party for 3 hours before my husband came home, people had a chance of hugging him and talking for 10 minutes before they went home...

Yay  for the rail way.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Kayelle*, *GG* and *Addie*
I appreciate your support!
I am really just not in-to mainland folks right now, 
sorry
but having been back home where we "Live Aloha"
it's been a true culture shock for me coming back to the desert.
Surprising of all, it's my family and friends that have disappointed me the most 

Case in point: I was driving DH and I to somewhere or another, and I stopped to let another drive go, DH snaps, "You don't need to be Miss Aloha here, just go!"


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *Kayelle*, *GG* and *Addie*
> I appreciate your support!
> I am really just not in-to mainland folks right now,
> sorry
> but having been back home where we "Live Aloha"
> it's been a true culture shock for me coming back to the desert.
> Surprising of all, it's my family and friends that have disappointed me the most
> 
> Case in point: I was driving DH and I to somewhere or another, and I stopped to let another drive go, DH snaps, "You don't need to be Miss Aloha here, just go!"




Don't ever stop being "Miss Aloha", we love you here and appreciate you!  Hugs and sloppy smooches on the cheek.


----------



## dragnlaw

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Don't ever stop being "Miss Aloha", we love you here and appreciate you!  Hugs and sloppy smooches on the cheek.



+....  5!


----------



## Just Cooking

Add my + to that..  
Ross


----------



## Andy M.

I was at Costco last week and thought I'd check out the vanilla. I had heard the prices were high but was not prepared for $34.99 for a 16 Oz. bottle.


----------



## Just Cooking

Andy M. said:


> I was at Costco last week and thought I'd check out the vanilla. I had heard the prices were high but was not prepared for $34.99 for a 16 Oz. bottle.




While not actively searching for vanilla, I was gathering baking products and picked up a 4oz bottle for $8.. This was at an upscale mkt (HyVee). 4oz will not last me long..  



The last 16oz bottle I bought was $18 @ Smart N Final in Cali.. I left 1/2 the bottle there.. 


Ross


----------



## CharlieD

Been in the ATT store for the last 3 freaking hours. I’m about to explode. How long is it supposed to take to buy a phone and an iPad?


----------



## roadfix

CharlieD said:


> Been in the ATT store for the last 3 freaking hours. I’m about to explode. How long is it supposed to take to buy a phone and an iPad?


Not good.    It takes less time than that to buy a new car...


----------



## CharlieD

roadfix said:


> Not good.    It takes less time than that to buy a new car...



That was exactly what I told the salesperson. If you are in Miami and need to go to ATT store, do not go to one on 41-st street. Total incompetence.
I ended up leaving without a phone or iPad. The idiot salesperson messed something up that triggered the fraud alert they suspended the whole account, then of course trouble only snowballed. 4 hours. 4 hours I spent there without the result.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Tiny Town troubles*

I live in a town small enough that the town hall and the library close down early for the Strawberry Festival. One day only. The third Thursday in June.

I had library items due today - a DVD and a book. 

I got to the library at 5:30 PM. They closed at 4:00 - said the sign on the door I was looking at at 5:30 PM. Sure they sent a reminder about it on Facebook...last week. Last Week? I can't remember what I did five minutes ago! 

I would have waited until tomorrow to return them on "Fee-Free Fridays" but they were both from other libraries. Pretty sure it would have cost me another day's penalty fee.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> I live in a town small enough that the town hall and the library close down early for the Strawberry Festival. One day only. The third Thursday in June.
> 
> I had library items due today - a DVD and a book.
> 
> I got to the library at 5:30 PM. They closed at 4:00 - said the sign on the door I was looking at at 5:30 PM. Sure they sent a reminder about it on Facebook...last week. Last Week? I can't remember what I did five minutes ago!
> 
> I would have waited until tomorrow to return them on "Fee-Free Fridays" but they were both from other libraries. Pretty sure it would have cost me another day's penalty fee.


Do they have a slot for returning books after hours?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Yup, *taxy*, one for books and the other for media, right by the entry to the library. It's kinda cool when you work/volunteer there. You don't have to go outside to empty anything, just wheel a book cart over, open the door to a small "storage" room, and grab the items from the padded bins they drop into. 

Normally, if the items are dropped after the doors have closed they are considered returned the next day. Small town, remember.

Back in OH, our city of 32,000 had a library drop box. They emptied the box first thing in the AM, about 1/2 hour before the library doors opened. They checked all of those items in as if they had been returned on time.

No big deal on the book - I think fines are 10 cents. At least our library fine is that. The book was probably from a "quarter per day" library. Still no big deal. On the DVD, though, our library is $1, but some have levied fines as high as $5 around here.  Hope it wasn't a loaner from them...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

An update on my mixed-up library day: no late fees! I guess the library director figured not everyone would know that they were going to close four hours before the normal time. So I dodged that bullet!

Now on to a silly vent. When I went to put on my make-up (Mom always called hers "war paint"  ), I noticed a scratch - about one inch in length - that started at my hairline and came down the forehead towards my left eye.  Whaaaa?????? I would have known if I had knocked my head against something, so I'm guessing that I scratched myself while sleeping?  What next? (Don't answer that)


----------



## dragnlaw

*CG*...  are you sleep-walking?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

dragnlaw said:


> *CG*...  are you sleep-walking?




My thought, too. Baby gate at the top of the stairs...


----------



## Rocklobster

Staff putting knives in the dishwasher..reach in to grab something and grab a meat saber by the blade..peeves me...


----------



## dragnlaw

hmm...  I thought growing old would take longer.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

OMG, *Roch*, that looks nasty. I bet it stings like the devil, too. If you find out which staff person did that, just slap some sense into them.


----------



## CakePoet

Ouch Roch.

I cant have my kid out in my garden playing because  of the neighbours kids,  the boy beats my daughter a lot.  She lets him play because he sometimes nice and  then he just turn nasty and last time he was trying to throw a rock at her head.  If she even  tries to push him away or defend her self,  he  scream and runs to mum or  his sister and my daughter gets a telling and is the bad guy...   rinse and repeat..


----------



## taxlady

Rocklobster said:


> Staff putting knives in the dishwasher..reach in to grab something and grab a meat saber by the blade..peeves me...


  Don't have done that. I hope it heals quickly.


----------



## Rocklobster

taxlady said:


> Don't have done that. I hope it heals quickly.


Have to play drums for 4 hours today at a Canada Day Festival..


----------



## Addie

Rocklobster said:


> Staff putting knives in the dishwasher..reach in to grab something and grab a meat saber by the blade..peeves me...



That is the main reason I would always place mine place mine laying down on the top tray.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocklobster said:


> Staff putting knives in the dishwasher..reach in to grab something and grab a meat saber by the blade..peeves me...




Ouch! is it going to need stitches?


----------



## taxlady

Rocklobster said:


> Have to play drums for 4 hours today at a Canada Day Festival..


Play quietly? Well, play carefully. I hope that goes well. Happy Canada Day.


----------



## caseydog

Hey Rock, I feel your pain. Finger cuts are a PITA. Stitches are pointless... they just have to heal, and since you use your fingers for, like, everything, they can't heal fast enough. 

BTW, I am/was a drummer. Now, I only have my _Pearl_ Cajone. It doesn't take up space, and it is actually kinda' fun. 

What kind of kit do you have? If I ever come into big money, and decide to buy a new kit, it is going to be a DW kit. As a teenager, I had a _Slingerland_ Buddy Rich kit in authentic Buddy Rich configuration and Marine Pearl finish. It was in the high-school band room when some nut-job decided to set fire to that part of the school. I wish I still had it. It would probably be worth some serious coin, today. 

CD


----------



## Rocklobster

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Ouch! is it going to need stitches?


Probably could have used a couple, but I don't really have time..it heals surprisingly fast..I just keep it clean and covered in Ozynol..getting better already..


----------



## Rocklobster

caseydog said:


> Hey Rock, I feel your pain. Finger cuts are a PITA. Stitches are pointless... they just have to heal, and since you use your fingers for, like, everything, they can't heal fast enough.
> 
> BTW, I am/was a drummer. Now, I only have my _Pearl_ Cajone. It doesn't take up space, and it is actually kinda' fun.
> 
> What kind of kit do you have? If I ever come into big money, and decide to buy a new kit, it is going to be a DW kit. As a teenager, I had a _Slingerland_ Buddy Rich kit in authentic Buddy Rich configuration and Marine Pearl finish. It was in the high-school band room when some nut-job decided to set fire to that part of the school. I wish I still had it. It would probably be worth some serious coin, today.
> 
> CD


I have a few kits..Vintage Ludwig, Rogers and a newer Gretsch, and a custom made Canadian fiberglass kit called Tempus...those Slingerland kits were beauty..I still have to try and get one, some day...


----------



## caseydog

Rocklobster said:


> I have a few kits..Vintage Ludwig, Rogers and a newer Gretsch, and a custom made Canadian fiberglass kit called Tempus...those Slingerland kits were beauty..I still have to try and get one, some day...



My second choice after DW would be Gretsch. They have a really "warm" sound to me, for lack of a better description. 

Ludwig and Slingerland were the the big names back in the day. 

Fiberglass makes me think of the old Ludwig Vistalite plastic drums. 

Hey, did you ever own any Roto Toms? 

CD


----------



## Rocklobster

caseydog said:


> My second choice after DW would be Gretsch. They have a really "warm" sound to me, for lack of a better description.
> 
> Ludwig and Slingerland were the the big names back in the day.
> 
> Fiberglass makes me think of the old Ludwig Vistalite plastic drums.
> 
> Hey, did you ever own any Roto Toms?
> 
> CD


I never owned any, but I did sing in bands with drummers who owned them..I also had a friends set in my basement for a couple of years..you would be surprised how popular they still are..not sure how many people use them, but you see them for sale all the time..


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> That is the main reason I would always place mine place mine laying down on the top tray.


 
Knives shouldn't even be put into the dishwasher in the first place. 

 Aarrgh, Roch...looks like a nasty cut....I hope that heals soon!


----------



## Rocklobster

Cheryl J said:


> Knives shouldn't even be put into the dishwasher in the first place.
> 
> Aarrgh, Roch...looks like a nasty cut....I hope that heals soon!


yeah..we don't normally put them in..but, every once and a while, one gets in there....of course, nobody owns up to it..


----------



## Caslon

Anyone find it hard to open Bread N Butter sized jar lids ?  I do.  I got tired of pounding the jar lid with a knife end.  I ordered  a jar opener from China.  $3.68 free shipping.

It was a comedy of errors trying to open one today. I pounded the hell outta that jar lid with a knife end and it still wouldn't twist open.  "Enough of hassling with that",  I said to myself. "I'll buy a jar lid opener."   It's large Bread N Butter jars that don't twist open that easily.  I remembered to take the plastic shrink wrap off before trying.


----------



## Caslon

$3.68 from China.  Free shipping ($7.99 from Walmart or BB&B).  It should do OK.  I got fed up with pounding large jar lids to get them to twist open.


----------



## taxlady

I put one of those fat elastics that you get with broccoli on the lid and that usually makes it possible to twist of the lid. The hubster looked at me like I was weird (well, I am, but that's not relevant in this case) when I told him to use a "broccoli elastic". Most of my female friends know what that is.


----------



## GotGarlic

I tap the lid gently on the counter to break the vacuum seal and it opens right up.


----------



## Caslon

I made a pretty good LBT sandwich.  I went to open a jar of sweet cucumber chips to add to the lunch and couldn't get the lid off.  I succeeded, but what a hassle.  I ordered a lid opener from China.


----------



## Kayelle

Here's how I open difficult lids...."Honey, can you open this for me?"


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Here's how I open difficult lids...."Honey, can you open this for me?"


My honey isn't always available, so I sometimes have to fend for myself [emoji38]


----------



## msmofet

If you look under the edge of the lid you will see places where the lid is pinched/pushed in. Place the edge of the bowl of a spoon under the pushed in spot and gently pry up. You will usually hear the pop when vacuum is released.


----------



## dragnlaw

I used the elastic trick plus I put a dish cloth on the counter (to act as a cushion) next to the sink, lay the jar on it sideways - with the lid over the sink and twist from that angle. 

I get better torque and better grip from my hands and wrist - works every time. 

AND I think I've only EVER had a dribble into the sink once...  but I still do it over the sink,,,   just in case!  LOL!

Then I try to remember to wash the lid and rim before putting it away!


----------



## Andy M.

When I run into a stubborn jar lid, turn the jar upside down an hit the lid squarely on the counter a couple of times. The shock seems to loosen the lid enough. I also have thin rubber disks about 6" in diameter that serves to give a great grip on the lid if needed. I'e had a tool similar to the one Caslon pictured but found it awkward to use.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I bought an oil filter wrench, it's adjustable and works like a dream.


----------



## Just Cooking

Yup... +1


Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

As a right handed person it is still the torque of twisting to the left to open a jar.  An up and down twist is much easier for me than left to right - able to get my body behind it! 

Curious if any of you try it - would like to know.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> As a right handed person it is still the torque of twisting to the left to open a jar.  An up and down twist is much easier for me than left to right - able to get my body behind it! [emoji38]
> 
> Curious if any of you try it - would like to know.


Why twist it at all? Tap the lid on the counter, break the vacuum seal et voilà! It opens easily, no force required.

My wrist still hurts after I fell and sprained it a few months ago. I injured it again trying to open something that was already open but DH had tightened it too much. I don't want to take any chances of injuring it again when I can avoid it.


----------



## msmofet

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I bought an oil filter wrench, it's adjustable and works like a dream.



For small - medium bottle caps I have an old nut cracker that opens wide and works like a dream.

I also have one of these


----------



## dragnlaw

Yes, GG I have and still do tap lids - especially new jars.  Old jars are a different story - it has nothing to do with the vacuum seal.  It is one of two things - icky sticky gunk or some macho man thinks it has to be cranked just one more turn.

My local garage is always so helpful to fill my tanks (for lawn mowers, etc) and I love the attention, having them filled and putting back in the vehicle - but I don't let them close them up - I do it! They get them so tight I can't open them.  I tighten them and they don't leak!


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> Yes, GG I have and still do tap lids - especially new jars.  Old jars are a different story - it has nothing to do with the vacuum seal.  It is one of two things - icky sticky gunk or some macho man thinks it has to be cranked just one more turn.h


Oh, I didn't realize you were referring to old jars. 

Wiping the jars occasionally helps with the icky junk thing  I can't help you with the macho man issue, though - I have enough problems with that one myself, although he's getting better [emoji38]


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Genius, *PF*!



Andy M. said:


> When I run into a stubborn jar lid, turn the jar upside down an hit the lid squarely on the counter a couple of times...


Our counters are so cheap I take the jar out to garage and hit the lid on the flat top of the railing. We have a three-step-and-landing arrangement (read: intrusion) from the garage floor up to the entry door of the house because of the yard grade. I also wear a rubber glove on the hand doing the smacking. I figure with my luck, one of these days that jar is going to break right in my hand.


----------



## Caslon

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I bought an oil filter wrench, it's adjustable and works like a dream.



They make the same thing for twisting off an oil filter, yes.  I'm thinking this opener will sit in the drawer neat and tidy.


----------



## Caslon

Caslon said:


> They make the same thing for twisting off an oil filter, yes.  I'm thinking this opener will sit in the drawer neat and tidy.



 Mt. Olive sweet pickles jar.  I could not twist that lid off.  I  pounded it with the butt end of a butter knife.


----------



## Mad Cook

GotGarlic said:


> Oh, I didn't realize you were referring to old jars.
> 
> Wiping the jars occasionally helps with the icky junk thing  I can't help you with the macho man issue, though - I have enough problems with that one myself, although he's getting better [emoji38]


Wiping the threads on the glass with a little edible oil (corn, sunflower even olive - whatever you have in the cupboard will do ) before replacing the lid helps to make opening a little easier.


----------



## Mad Cook

Caslon said:


> Mt. Olive sweet pickles jar. I could not twist that lid off. I pounded it with the butt end of a butter knife.


With an unopened jar I turn it upside down and hit the flat of the lid on the counter top. Once usually does the trick. releases the seal but doesn't spoil the lid for future use when the jar is empty ( I tend to re-use old pickle jars when I make chutneys and pickled onions.)


----------



## taxlady

I worked in hospitals in Denmark, back in the early 1970s. IV fluids came in glass bottles. The lids were on very tight and usually didn't need to be removed by care staff. But, if we needed some saline or glucose, we would open one of those bottles. There was usually a pipe wrench handy. That would often work, but not always. Another item that was common in hospitals back then was rubber tubing. It was commonly used as a tourniquet when taking blood for tests. You have probably seen a junkie use that in a movie. Well, that's the other tool we used for opening those bottles. I remember one day when several young men were making macho trying to get one of those bottles open with the pipe wrench and having no luck. I said to let me try, which of course was met with humour. I grabbed the rubber tubing, wrapped it around that bottle cap, and twisted it off, much to their astonishment. That's where I got the idea for using an elastic on lids. Rubber or something else rubbery gives you really good grip on that lid or cap.


----------



## CharlieD

How do you convince an old man to wear his hearing aid? My father just called. He can't hear anything. His hearing aid "is only for when I watch TV". In the meantime he accuses me that I speak too quietly. I am screaming into the phone already, my coworkers are wondering what is going on. If that was all I'd probably handle it, but he is verbally abusive. I don't know what to do. 
I told my kids to shot me if I am going to be like that when I am old.


----------



## Chef Munky

CharlieD said:


> How do you convince an old man to wear his hearing aid? My father just called. He can't hear anything. His hearing aid "is only for when I watch TV". In the meantime he accuses me that I speak too quietly. I am screaming into the phone already, my coworkers are wondering what is going on. If that was all I'd probably handle it, but he is verbally abusive. I don't know what to do.
> I told my kids to shot me if I am going to be like that when I am old.




You can't make him do anything.
I understand your frustration.I just got my first pair of hearing aids.Let's      not get cute here I'm not that old..It's genetic.
Your dad might be having a problem with them.Take him to an Audiologist have his hearing tested again. He might need a new pair.Or a simple adjustment.

I haven't worn mine in a few days.They have been driving me crazy.
Mine need to be toned down.Re adjusted to fit more comfortably over my ears.
 They get painful to wear all day.That could be causing his irritability.
Not that's an excuse for the verbal abuse towards you.It's      just an idea.
I've been getting irritated at people lately to.
My family has already noticed that I'm not wearing them and have asked me "Do you have your hearing aids in?"I tell them no and why."Please look at me face to face so that I can read your lips."

 As for his calling you at work.Don't      accept his calls.
 Shine him on until you can talk to him at home.


Munky.


----------



## taxlady

+1 ^^


----------



## caseydog

CharlieD said:


> How do you convince an old man to wear his hearing aid? My father just called. He can't hear anything. His hearing aid "is only for when I watch TV". In the meantime he accuses me that I speak too quietly. I am screaming into the phone already, my coworkers are wondering what is going on. If that was all I'd probably handle it, but he is verbally abusive. I don't know what to do.
> I told my kids to shot me if I am going to be like that when I am old.



Take advantage of it. Call him names and insult him... you will quickly find out if he _really_ can't hear you. 

My parents are both in their mid 80s, and both have hearing aids. It is entertaining to watch them talk to each other, and my sister and I can talk about them quietly, and they have no idea what we are saying. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Here is my vent du jour. My biggest customer is driving me crazy. They have been a customer for about 12 years, and still don't listen to me. They live in a parallel universe where anything they want to happen can magically happen -- as long as someone else is tasked with making it happen. 

I am currently dealing with one of their delusional episodes. The next few days are going to suck. I'm not going to be able to get the job done according to their plans, and then, I'm going to tell them for the umpteenth time, "I told you this was going happen." 

Oh, they are are in their 30s and make a lot of money, and like them, I knew everything in my 30s and made a lot of money. Now, at 57, I actually know a lot more than I did in my 30s, but can't get "kids" in their 30s to listen to me. 

Don't get me wrong, I love to see young people come up with new ideas and innovations. But, there is a balance to be maintained between innovation and experience. 

CD


----------



## CharlieD

Chef Munky said:


> ....
> As for his calling you at work.Don't      accept his calls.
> Shine him on until you can talk to him at home.
> 
> 
> Munky.





His fit and work just fine. He just refuses to wear them. Stubborn.


----------



## Andy M.

caseydog said:


> Here is my vent du jour. My biggest customer is driving me crazy. They have been a customer for about 12 years, and still don't listen to me. They live in a parallel universe where anything they want to happen can magically happen -- as long as someone else is tasked with making it happen.
> 
> I am currently dealing with one of their delusional episodes. The next few days are going to suck. I'm not going to be able to get the job done according to their plans, and then, I'm going to tell them for the umpteenth time, "I told you this was going happen."
> 
> Oh, they are are in their 30s and make a lot of money, and like them, I knew everything in my 30s and made a lot of money. Now, at 57, I actually know a lot more than I did in my 30s, but can't get "kids" in their 30s to listen to me.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I love to see young people come up with new ideas and innovations. But, there is a balance to be maintained between innovation and experience.
> 
> CD



Clearly you have to charge these people more for the extra effort you have to expend on their behalf. You can call it the AMF charge for "Aggravation Mitigation Fee"


----------



## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> Take advantage of it. Call him names and insult him... you will quickly find out if he _really_ can't hear you.
> 
> My parents are both in their mid 80s, and both have hearing aids. It is entertaining to watch them talk to each other, and my sister and I can talk about them quietly, and they have no idea what we are saying.
> 
> CD


 
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think this is funny.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cheryl J said:


> Maybe it's just me, but I don't think this is funny.


It's not just you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Maybe it's just me, but I don't think this is funny.


not funny


----------



## dragnlaw

Well, I for one do think it is funny - in its perspective.  Some parents will take advantage of their kids.  Calling of names or some other trick is a sure way to find out.  Are you going to tell them they are liars? or are you going to find out the truth if they don't want to or can't admit it.  

Talking about them quietly is also not bad, he didn't say they were making fun of them!


----------



## caseydog

Cheryl J said:


> Maybe it's just me, but I don't think this is funny.



Hey, I know I'm going to get there someday, if I live long enough. So yes, I think it is funny, and it will be funny when I have hearing aids. If my family and friends talk softly, and I catch them, I'm going to give them an earful.. with a smile and a chuckle. 

BTW, my parents are MY parents, and they would find it funny. They can still laugh at themselves. I hope I never lose that ability. 


CD


----------



## caseydog

dragnlaw said:


> Well, I for one do think it is funny - in its perspective.  Some parents will take advantage of their kids.  Calling of names or some other trick is a sure way to find out.  Are you going to tell them they are liars? or are you going to find out the truth if they don't want to or can't admit it.
> 
> Talking about them quietly is also not bad, he didn't say they were making fun of them!



Well, I wouldn't actually insult my parents to find out if they can hear me -- I already know that their hearing sucks. They do, too. That was a joke, that some people didn't like. I'm okay with that, too.

My sister and I do talk about my parents when they don't hear us. They are in their 80s, and mom can barely walk, and dad is going to have to give up driving at some point in the not too distant future. That's important stuff. 

Yes, we do talk softly at times, so they don't hear us. And, sometimes what we say is funny. They say funny things about each other. If my mom says, "he can't hear," my response is along the lines of, "neither can you." She would give me the hairy eyeball, but inside, she would be laughing, because she knows it is true. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

My great aunt lived with us in the late 1950's until 1969. She wore a hearing aid, the kind that looked like a transistor radio with an earplug snaking right up her chest and into her ear. When she didn't want to talk with us, she would pull the hearing aid out to the outside of her clothing (usually a house dress), purposefully turn the knob to "Off", and grin evilly when she would turn back to the TV.


----------



## Caslon

Those with a hearing problem  get used to you repeating yourself to them.  Perhaps  they like that.  Grrrr.


----------



## dragnlaw

My daughter (a Registered Massage Therapist) wears hearing aids. In response to a clients question on if a certain proceedure is painful always replies - " I don't know - I turn my hearing aids off."  

My late father thought it was pretty funny and would tell everyone about the time when he first started wearing hearing aids - I sat down to chat with him and just mouthed words with no sound - he immediately took out his aid to adjust, put it back and then I talked normally.  He loved it!


----------



## Caslon

I should just buy my brother a $700+ state of the art hearing aid and see if he likes it.
 Why not?  They probably have a return policy.  Do health insurance companies cover costs like this? He has a decent one.


----------



## Mad Cook

Cooking Goddess said:


> My great aunt lived with us in the late 1950's until 1969. She wore a hearing aid, the kind that looked like a transistor radio with an earplug snaking right up her chest and into her ear. When she didn't want to talk with us, she would pull the hearing aid out to the outside of her clothing (usually a house dress), purposefully turn the knob to "Off", and grin evilly when she would turn back to the TV.


  I had a great aunt with one of those. If she moved suddenly the hearing aid would let out a deafening shriek.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Caslon said:


> I should just buy my brother a $700+ state of the art hearing aid and see if he likes it.
> Why not?  They probably have a return policy.  Do health insurance companies cover costs like this? He has a decent one.




It all depends on what insurance he has.  When Mom got hers, her Medicare didn't cover them but her secondary insurance (Mail Handlers Benefit Plans) paid for up to $1000 per ear.  It also helped that I have a cousin who is an audiologist and the Dr's in her office agreed to accept just what insurance covered for them.  Your experience will probably be a lot different.


----------



## Kayelle

Thankfully, I don't need hearing aids but the man I love wears them so I guess I'm pretty thin skinned about "funny" hearing aid stories. Being hard of hearing is a serious disability that should be respected as such, but that's just my 2 cents.


----------



## roadfix

My dad is HOH in both ears and never had hearing aids.    He's 94, refuses to get them, says he hears fine, but says "huh?" dozens of times each day, and watches TV with the volume set at 75.    He doesn't want to feel and look "old".    In fact, until recently he used to dye his gray hair.     All this is fine with me as long as he stays safe.


----------



## Caslon

I suppose it's a vanity thing, not wanting to stick something in your ear when you can make others around you speak up louder and repeat themselves.  I'm starting to get annoyed having to do that.


----------



## Andy M.

I'm losing my hearing. I think it's a little bit, others' opinions may vary.

Generally, in a room with no competing noises I can easily carry on a conversation. However, in a room with the TV or radio playing, I have to mute that sound and ask for a repeat.

My 82 YO sister just got 2 hearing aids and her family is pleased. I never noticed she was having issues. I guess they're more sensitive to it.


----------



## caseydog

Caslon said:


> I suppose it's a vanity thing, not wanting to stick something in your ear when you can make others around you speak up louder and repeat themselves.  I'm starting to get annoyed having to do that.



I already have to ask people to repeat themselves, if there is any background noise. I know I'm going to need hearing aids at some point... as I said, if I am lucky enough to live that long. 

It is certainly going to be annoying, but I can think a _whole lot_ worse disabilities. 

CD


----------



## Caslon

I've got Tinnitus. In this day and age, who doesn't have a little ringing in their ears?


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Not sure if we talked about this before, but is has been under my skin lately.

When did sheets and blankets get shorter AND skinnier ?

I made our bed today with fresh sheets and they BARELY went over the King sized mattress that we have, let alone tucked in at the foot of the bed!

And don't get me started about the blankets too, they won't tuck in either and they're forever coming off the bed and going everywhere. 

I remember as a kid being tucked in...everything would go under the mattress and you could hardly get out in the morning


----------



## Caslon

I magic marked the top of my bottom sheet with a little UP arrow.  "This side up". "This side goes up and at the top of the mattress".  That helps me fit the bottom sheet onto my mattress.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have a clue.


----------



## Just Cooking

Caslon said:


> I magic marked the top of my bottom sheet with a little UP arrow.  "This side up". "This side goes up and at the top of the mattress".  That helps me fit the bottom sheet onto my mattress.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have a clue.


 LOL. That can be frustrating...
We, recently set up 2 bedrooms... All the sets of sheets we bought have a "Top or Bottom" label on the fitted bottom sheets.. Sure makes it easier to make the beds..


Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

You guys completely lost me...  how is it that a rectangular sheet needs directions to fit on a rectangular box/mattress?

Also *Kgirl* are you talking about sheets that you've had for a while? or brand new?  

I'm frustrated that a lot of "fitted" sheets are for newer type mattresses that have "pillow tops" so the corners are 12 or 14" deep.  Making them far too big for my old regular mattress.   I have to practically take it apart and re-make the bed every morning to get the sheet taut.


----------



## Mad Cook

dragnlaw said:


> You guys completely lost me... how is it that a rectangular sheet needs directions to fit on a rectangular box/mattress?
> 
> Also *Kgirl* are you talking about sheets that you've had for a while? or brand new?
> 
> I'm frustrated that a lot of "fitted" sheets are for newer type mattresses that have "pillow tops" so the corners are 12 or 14" deep. Making them far too big for my old regular mattress. I have to practically take it apart and re-make the bed every morning to get the sheet taut.


I always buy the deep fitted sheets because they stay put. I sleep in a double bed despite being single and I tend to thresh around a lot in my sleep. The normal depth fitted sheets are often in a crumpled mess in the middle of the bed by morning. I find that the deep ones are much better at staying in place. I use the ones that are elasticated all round rather than the ones with just elasticated corners.


----------



## Mad Cook

*Distasteful adverts*

There's a pop-up advert which keeps appearing on this site. It's for a small "attack alarm" and the advert gives an in-depth description of the murder of a girl who met a grizzly end because she didn't buy one of those alarms - yes, THAT explicit. Not satisfied with that the advert then goes on to quote what is supposed to be an interview with her distressed family. 


It is all carefully designed to make the reader believe that the scenario is true. It may or may not be a genuinely true story but it's distasteful and could be frightening to impressionable people reading it. Under UK law on advertising it would be illegal

I keep deleting it and I've made several complaints but have received no acknowledgement and all that seems to have happened is to make it appear more often with multiply copies of the ad on screen at once.

Suggestions?


----------



## Just Cooking

Mad Cook said:


> There's a pop-up advert which keeps appearing on this site. It's for a small "attack alarm" and the advert gives an in-depth description of the murder of a girl who met a grizzly end because she didn't buy one of those alarms - yes, THAT explicit. Not satisfied with that the advert then goes on to quote what is supposed to be an interview with her distressed family.
> 
> 
> It is all carefully designed to make the reader believe that the scenario is true. It may or may not be a genuinely true story but it's distasteful and could be frightening to impressionable people reading it. Under UK law on advertising it would be illegal
> 
> I keep deleting it and I've made several complaints but have received no acknowledgement and all that seems to have happened is to make it appear more often with multiply copies of the ad on screen at once.
> 
> *Suggestions?*




No idea what system you use but, I am a fan of Adblock.. I get no ads on any site unless a site will not give information if someone uses an adblocker. In that case, I find another site for information I want/need..


https://adblockplus.org/


Ross


----------



## Mad Cook

Caslon said:


> I suppose it's a vanity thing, not wanting to stick something in your ear when you can make others around you speak up louder and repeat themselves. I'm starting to get annoyed having to do that.


I know how irritating it is to others when one has to repeatedly ask them to repeat things. I have no hearing on one side (due to a fall from a horse). Unfortunately hearing aids don't help my particular problem and neither would surgery. I've had two hearing aids but the audiologist eventually told me that hearing aids were a waste of time in my case. Fortunately, I have 100% hearing in my other ear so I compensate by sitting or standing so the person speaking is on my "good" side.

My hearing aids were free at the point of need. I'd paid my (very small) compulsory NHS contributions out of salary for all my working life but even if I hadn't been in work for part or all of my adult life I still wouldn't have to pay for essential medical care. There is no limit to care that we need for illness or injury (non-essential cosmetic face-lifts and breast-improvement, etc., do not count as illness under the scheme although skin grafts, etc., after accidents or breast reduction in cases where the weight is causing other physical problems, are allowed).The NHS may have it's faults but no-one in the UK dies because they can't afford medical attention.


----------



## Mad Cook

Just Cooking said:


> No idea what system you use but, I am a fan of Adblock.. I get no ads on any site unless a site will not give information if someone uses an adblocker. In that case, I find another site for information I want/need..
> 
> 
> https://adblockplus.org/
> 
> 
> Ross


 Thanks, Ross, but that's just pushing it out of _my_ sight. This ad in this format needs zapping completely or re-writing in a less threatening style eg "This item might help if you are feeling threatened" not "You will be murdered if you don't buy this!" 

I remember going to a women's safety meeting lead by a police woman. Among the good practical advice she gave if you were in danger of having you handbag snatched or in danger of being attacked, was the advice not to shout "Help" but to shout "Fire" on the principle that people will hide behind the couch rather than answer a cry for help but most people will respond to the possibility of a bit of excitement if the cry is "Fire". Fort-unately, I've never had to put this to the test but it to seems to make sense.


----------



## taxlady

Your sheets have a top and a bottom? My fitted sheets have an inside and an outside. Is that what you mean?


----------



## Andy M.

Just Cooking said:


> LOL. That can be frustrating...
> We, recently set up 2 bedrooms... All the sets of sheets we bought have a "Top or Bottom" label on the fitted bottom sheets.. Sure makes it easier to make the beds...Ross



That's interesting. All the sheet sets we've purchased consist of a fitted sheet and a flat sheet. The fitted sheet goes on the mattress. There's only one way it will fit (both ends are the same) unless you put it on inside out. Then the flat sheet goes on.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> That's interesting. All the sheet sets we've purchased consist of a fitted sheet and a flat sheet. The fitted sheet goes on the mattress. There's only one way it will fit (both ends are the same) unless you put it on inside out. Then the flat sheet goes on.



I've been pretty confused by this whole thing, too  Looking at the seams should tell you which side of the fitted sheet is the top and which is the bottom.


----------



## Cheryl J

After thinking about this for a bit, I think I get it.  Sometimes while making the bed after the sheets have been washed, I've tucked a corner of the fitted sheet on the wrong corner of the mattress and by the time I get to the other corner, it's clear to see that I have the fitted sheet wrong and have to flip it.   The brand of sheets I buy has a spandex panel that's only on the head and foot area, so it's easier to tell which way it goes.

I have a full size pillowtop bed which is perfect since it's just me - I don't need a queen or king. I've tried lots of sheets over the years and LOVE Cannon brand. They're cotton, thick, no-pill, last a long time, and the fitted sheets have elastic all the way around. They have a depth of around 19" or so, so with the pillowtop factor, all around elastic and the depth, I don't break my back putting the fitted sheet on after they've been washed. There may be a little slack and not perfectly taut, but that's ok with me. 
https://www.amazon.com/Cannon-Threa...&qid=1532809083&sr=8-3&keywords=cannon+sheets


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Not sure if we talked about this before, but is has been under my skin lately.
> 
> _*When did sheets and blankets get shorter AND skinnier ?*_
> 
> I made our bed today with fresh sheets and they BARELY went over the King sized mattress that we have, let alone tucked in at the foot of the bed!
> 
> And don't get me started about the blankets too, they won't tuck in either and they're forever coming off the bed and going everywhere.
> 
> I remember as a kid being tucked in...everything would go under the mattress and you could hardly get out in the morning



I should elaborate here.

What I meant was that the flat sheets, as well as blankets, 
use to come over the sides of the mattress well enough to have you in the bed AND tuck them in.

Also, at the end of the bed, there was surplus flat sheet and blanket to tuck under and _not_ come out, enough with the best night-time thrasher aka DH 

Last night, after making a fresh bed, my backside was getting chilly from the lack of coverage


----------



## Just Cooking

Andy M. said:


> That's interesting. All the sheet sets we've purchased consist of a fitted sheet and a flat sheet. The fitted sheet goes on the mattress. There's only one way it will fit (both ends are the same) unless you put it on inside out. Then the flat sheet goes on.


 I obviously didn't express myself clearly.. Yes, a fitted sheet and a flat sheet per set.. The fitted sheets have a label at the short end which, by seeing it, makes us know immediately where to start.. 



Perhaps we are the only people to pick up a fitted sheet and hunt down the starting end.. In the past, I have started a corner, only to find that I was fitting the long side to the short side of the mattress..  


Ross


----------



## Just Cooking

Cheryl J said:


> After thinking about this for a bit, I think I get it.  *Sometimes while making the bed after the sheets have been washed, I've tucked a corner of the fitted sheet on the wrong corner of the mattress and by the time I get to the other corner, it's clear to see that I have the fitted sheet wrong and have to flip it. *  The brand of sheets I buy has a spandex panel that's only on the head and foot area, so it's easier to tell which way it goes.
> 
> I have a full size pillowtop bed which is perfect since it's just me - I don't need a queen or king. I've tried lots of sheets over the years and LOVE Cannon brand. They're cotton, thick, no-pill, last a long time, and the fitted sheets have elastic all the way around. They have a depth of around 19" or so, so with the pillowtop factor, all around elastic and the depth, I don't break my back putting the fitted sheet on after they've been washed. There may be a little slack and not perfectly taut, but that's ok with me.
> https://www.amazon.com/Cannon-Threa...&qid=1532809083&sr=8-3&keywords=cannon+sheets




Exactly!!!.. That's what I meant to say..  


Ross


----------



## Cheryl J

Yep, Ross!  And when the elastic goes all the way around a fitted sheet, it's even harder to find the 'right' place to start.  LOL. 

Kgirl, I get what you mean about blankets.  My daughter has mentioned the same thing - they have a CA King bed and like the blankets tucked in.  I'm the opposite - I rarely use a blanket even in winter and when I do, I have to have it un-tucked in order to let my legs and arms 'breathe' during the night - the older I get, the more the heat bothers me.  Even in winter I have the ceiling fan going.


----------



## msmofet

I'm the same. I use a sheet all year. Has to be really cold for a blanket. AND I always have a fan on.

And with all these cats I don't need a blanket. LOL Not even on a 3 cat night!


----------



## dragnlaw

I was starting to 'multi-quote' but there were so many I gave up. 

Yes, I too, have a set of fitted sheets that have the elastic all around. More often than not I start off doing it the wrong way.

My top sheets are easy as they have the larger boarder and just looking at the seam tells you which side should be up.  Unless you have a set like my daughter bought which was two designs.  Then you just have to make a choice as to which design you want to mix and match.

But the best set I ever had I bought when I first moved here 12 years ago.  I got it on sale from Sears and for a double size bed, even then it was a hefty 90$ (at least for me anyhow!)  But it was also Egyptian Cotton 800 thread count. 
I've never found any again and they finally wore completely through in spots.  I loved them so much I was still using them and just tried not to put my foot through.  My daughter visited and that was the end of that! How did I raise such a bossy brat?

I've been looking and although I've found 800 Thread count in Egyptian Cotton they have all been Queen and King.  I have a double!!- it is the only size bed I could get up the narrow stairs in this 200 year old house!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...the flat sheets, as well as blankets,
> use to come over the sides of the mattress well enough to have you in the bed AND tuck them in.
> 
> Also, at the end of the bed, there was surplus flat sheet and blanket to tuck under and _not_ come out...


I know exactly what you mean! We bought our first king sized bed in 1977. I *still* have two top sheets from the original sets - and one is in regular rotation right now. The old sheets are so much bigger than the top sheet from the newest set. Now they make sheets smaller and cheaper. No way you'd get 40 years from a sheet these days!

I suppose in the case of double (full) or queen beds, one could buy separate top and bottom sheets. Then you could always buy the next size up for the top sheet - and the blanket, too.


----------



## CakePoet

A double  bed in Sweden is 2x90, so a  180 cm bed and I love it,  IKEA bed of course and I still have fitted sheets from 25 years back.. sadly no older due to my ex husband.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Grr, we found out at 2:00 AM that we had no water in the house. Yes, we've paid our most recent bill!  Stopped by the town hall police station on our way back from a water run to the 24-hour grocery. They had been calling people in the water department since the first report this morning. Still no water. I'm going to miss my shower tonight...


----------



## JustJoel

All this talk about sheets reminded me of that old tongue twister. Dare I type it? It’s quite innocent g-rated. Well maybe PG-13, as there’s a small amount of violence in it:
I slit a sheet, a sheet I slit; I sit upon a slitted sheet.

Juvenile, I know, but still funny sometimes!


----------



## JustJoel

Cooking Goddess said:


> Grr, we found out at 2:00 AM that we had no water in the house. Yes, we've paid our most recent bill!  Stopped by the town hall police station on our way back from a water run to the 24-hour grocery. They had been calling people in the water department since the first report this morning. Still no water. I'm going to miss my shower tonight...


Oh dear! Hope you have some reserves? Has anyone made an announcement as to when it will be over?


----------



## Kayelle

Here's a hint about fitted bottom sheets.
 I always start at the left hand top corner of the bed. That's the pocket where I have previously placed a safety pin to mark it from the first correct fitting. If you always start at the top left corner, they'll never be wrong.


----------



## taxlady

It bugs me that the only place I have found that sells fitted sheets not in a set is IKEA.  We don't use top sheets. We use duvets with duvet covers. I keep thinking that I should make extra pillow cases or duvet covers out of them, but I have never gotten around to that project. [emoji102] (that is the closest I could find to an eye roll emoji.)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

JustJoel said:


> Oh dear! Hope you have some reserves? Has anyone made an announcement as to when it will be over?


We always have a sealed gallon of "spring water" in the basement for just in case. And considering this issue was just discovered in the wee hours of Sunday morning, I really wasn't expecting any kind of announcement until later in the morning. Himself and I ended up hitting the sack about 5:00 AM. Each time I woke during the night I'd check the town's Facebook postings for updates. When I got up around noon, a neighbor at the top (literally, he is uphill from us) of our street had posted about half an hour earlier that they had water again. So, we pretty much slept through the entire episode.  Worked for us!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> Grr, we found out at 2:00 AM that we had no water in the house. Yes, we've paid our most recent bill!  Stopped by the town hall police station on our way back from a water run to the 24-hour grocery. They had been calling people in the water department since the first report this morning. Still no water. I'm going to miss my shower tonight...



And what were you two kids doing up AND out at 2 o'clock in the morning, HMMMMMM ? with my eyebrow arched as high as it'll go ...


----------



## Kayelle

taxlady said:


> *It bugs me that the only place I have found that sells fitted sheets not in a set is IKEA. * We don't use top sheets. We use duvets with duvet covers. I keep thinking that I should make extra pillow cases or duvet covers out of them, but I have never gotten around to that project. [emoji102] (that is the closest I could find to an eye roll emoji.)




Here ya go *Taxi.* I love percale sheets from the Company Store and they sell individual fitted sheets..
Classic Percale Solid Fitted Sheets - The Company Store


----------



## taxlady

Kayelle said:


> Here ya go *Taxi.* I love percale sheets from the Company Store and they sell individual fitted sheets..
> Classic Percale Solid Fitted Sheets - The Company Store


Thanks, I have saved the link. It's nice that they are solid colours. That will be easy to match to patterned duvet covers.


----------



## dragnlaw

I've always been a fan of Duvets since first meeting them in Germany back in the 50's.  I flnd them warm in winter and actually pretty cool in summer.   The duvet is in a slipcover but there were still always top sheets.


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> I've always been a fan of Duvets since first meeting them in Germany back in the 50's.  I flnd them warm in winter and actually pretty cool in summer.   The duvet is in a slipcover but there were still always top sheets.


I have met Canadians who put a top sheet with a duvet, but I never saw that in Denmark. One person did it because he only had one duvet cover and didn't want to get it dirty. I am used to changing the duvet covers when I change the sheet and pillow cases.


----------



## JustJoel

dragnlaw said:


> I've always been a fan of Duvets since first meeting them in Germany back in the 50's.  I flnd them warm in winter and actually pretty cool in summer.   The duvet is in a slipcover but there were still always top sheets.


Give me a nice, heavy _kakebuton_ everytime, although duvets are a good substitute.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> And what were you two kids doing up AND out at 2 o'clock in the morning, HMMMMMM ? with my eyebrow arched as high as it'll go ...


Well, since we're basically on "Hawaiian Time", we ran to the all night grocery store to get gallon bottles of water. Had to beat the morning rush of all the early birds around here. Had we known they would find and fix the leak by the time we got up, we could have made due with the one emergency gallon of water I always have in the basement.

We closed the bars and drove home slowly so that a cop didn't stop us.  

Let me make this clear: We NEVER drink and drive. That is just plain stoopid.


----------



## Kayelle

We are two sleepers who absolutely must have a top sheet no matter what is on top of it.



On our travels outside of the USA, it's common for the beds to only have a duvet and they often don't know what I'm talking about requesting a top sheet. If we're too hot under a duvet, we want to use the top sheet for a cover. Seems reasonable to me, but I've gotten really frustrated so many times trying to explain it to housekeeping out of the country. The kicker is when they give us a fitted sheet to use because they don't have any flat ones. Grrrr.


----------



## taxlady

Kayelle said:


> We are two sleepers who absolutely must have a top sheet no matter what is on top of it.
> 
> 
> 
> On our travels outside of the USA, it's common for the beds to only have a duvet and they often don't know what I'm talking about requesting a top sheet. If we're too hot under a duvet, we want to use the top sheet for a cover. Seems reasonable to me, but I've gotten really frustrated so many times trying to explain it to housekeeping out of the country. The kicker is when they give us a fitted sheet to use because they don't have any flat ones. Grrrr.


Instead of asking for a top sheet, what about asking for extra duvet covers? I find an empty duvet cover works really well when it's too warm.


----------



## Kayelle

Great idea Taxi. Thanks.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We're two-sheet people in our house, too. Our problem has been I'm a "top sheet MUST be tucked in so that the Toe Monster can't get me" person while Himself is a "Toes Free, as free as the wind blows" kind of guy. When we shared the king bed, I would set it and that top sheet was tucked good. As long as Himself didn't kick my side out when he'd start to wiggle his side free, I was OK with that.

Since our "Sleep Divorce", we can each have our sheets as we like, the room as dark or cold or quiet as we like, and wake up feeling better than all those years we shared that king sized bed. It started slowly, with me moving to the guest bed when his back was bothering him and every move I made in bed hurt him - at least when he was in bed and not laying on the living room floor. Back I went after the back surgery, but wandered down the hall when he broke his collar bone. Back to our shared bed when that healed, then back on to the futon in the den since SIL was visiting from FL right after he broke his other collar bone. That's when I found out I wasn't experiencing charlie horses in my legs when I was on the futon. Honestly, I can't remember the last time we slept together. At least we haven't resorted to adjoining hotel rooms when we travel. 

As a side note, every gay couple I know (which is just a few, honestly) has separate bedrooms. It got to the point when I figured why should they have quality sleep nights, yet we were still doing the shared bed thing. Now as we age, though, I sometimes worry what would happen if one of us needed the other to call EMS right away...


----------



## dragnlaw

Too funny the differences!  JustJoel, if I remember correctly, quality kakebuton's are stuffed with a fluff of silk? - or something like that.  Duvet's are stuffed with down feathers.  Spoke with my sister last night and she remembers same as I, Holland as well as Norway, duvet's had top sheets.  Neither of us remember what they were like in France or Spain but then I remembered we were camping in Spain, not using hotels!   Fast forward time travel to the here and now, as much as I would love, my budget doesn't run to down-filled, so polyester it is.


----------



## Just Cooking

I use a duvet cover but, just so the bed looks nice in the daytime.. It comes off at night and I have just a top sheet and very light blanket, summer or winter.. Jeannie likes it a bit warmer, even in summer, so she uses top sheet, blanket(s) and a light quilt.. 



Separate bedrooms are perfect for us..


Ross


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well, since we're basically on "Hawaiian Time", we ran to the all night grocery store to get gallon bottles of water. Had to beat the morning rush of all the early birds around here. Had we known they would find and fix the leak by the time we got up, we could have made due with the one emergency gallon of water I always have in the basement.
> *
> We closed the bars and drove home slowly so that a cop didn't stop us.*
> 
> Let me make this clear: We NEVER drink and drive. That is just plain stoopid.




Um... Up until we were in our early 40's my first wife and I did that more frequently than I like to admit..  We were true party animals..   



We grew up by the time we hit 40 and now I won't even have a beer if we are out to dinner and I'm driving.. 


Ross


----------



## Kayelle

Just Cooking said:


> Um... *Up until we were in our early 40's my first wife and I did that more frequently than I like to admit..  We were true party animals..
> *
> 
> 
> *We grew up by the time we hit 40 and now I won't even have a beer if we are out to dinner and I'm driving..
> 
> *
> Ross




That's true for many of us Ross. 

Thankfully the social views of driving drunk began to change in 1980 with the dawn of MADD and continues saving lives today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving


----------



## Just Cooking

Kayelle said:


> That's true for many of us Ross.
> 
> Thankfully the *social views of driving drunk began to change in 1980* with the dawn of MADD and continues saving lives today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving






Those views definitely were part of the reason we stopped late night bar sessions.. 



Ross


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Just before I was old enough to start driving, a co-worker and friend of my Dad was killed by a drunk driver. Joe was on his way in to work in the wee hours of the morning (like Dad, he drove a bread route and would take a pre-shift delivery to a wholesaler before his route started to make extra $$ for his family), when a seriously drunk jerk hit Joe's car and killed him. I saw the devastation on that family first-hand and swore I would never drive drunk. I was probably right on the edge of impaired once or twice, but I made sure I paid extra attention coming home and probably drove too slow! City streets, of course, not the highway.

I understand the difficulty of trying to control a disease like alcoholism. What I don't get, though, is why all of these repeat offenders keep driving and driving. I don't know how many news stories I've heard lately of "this was his 11th OUI in the last seven years" or "so-and-so had his license revoked in 20??" and yet they get released out into the wild to offend again. Chronically serious offenders need to do some meaningful jail time.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> Chronically serious offenders need to do some meaningful jail time.




I, totally agree...


Ross


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well, since we're basically on "Hawaiian Time", we ran to the all night grocery store to get gallon bottles of water. Had to beat the morning rush of all the early birds around here. Had we known they would find and fix the leak by the time we got up, we could have made due with the one emergency gallon of water I always have in the basement.
> 
> We closed the bars and drove home slowly so that a cop didn't stop us.
> 
> Let me make this clear: We NEVER drink and drive. That is just plain stoopid.



I drink more than I should, but when I go out, I limit myself. 

For one thing, I can't afford a DUI. That can cost 10-grand or more in Texas. 

But, the biggest thing is that I couldn't live with myself if I killed someone because I was driving drunk. 

I like to go listen to my college friends play classic rock at a bar near me, but I nurse a beer or two over a few hours. I know I can drive home safely with that amount of consumption. 

CD


----------



## Caslon

Petty vent: Packaged Swiss cheese slices available at my supermarkets these days are rather bland tasting. There's just not very much aged Swiss cheese taste to them at all. I'm going to check the  more expensive specialty cheese counter instead of the deli section and maybe find some truly aged Swiss Cheese in solid bulk form and slice it myself. Even Sargento brand is bland tasting, along with Kraft, Borden and the other brands of deli type Swiss cheese slices. I made an avocado, onion, lettuce and Swiss cheese sandwich and couldn't taste the Swiss cheese at all!


----------



## blissful

Caslon said:


> Petty vent: Packaged Swiss cheese slices available at my supermarkets these days are rather bland tasting. There's just not very much aged Swiss cheese taste to them at all. I'm going to check the  more expensive specialty cheese counter instead of the deli section and maybe find some truly aged Swiss Cheese in solid bulk form and slice it myself. Even Sargento brand is bland tasting, along with Kraft, Borden and the other brands of deli type Swiss cheese slices. I made an avocado, onion, lettuce and Swiss cheese sandwich and couldn't taste the Swiss cheese at all!




That's right and you aren't alone. Swiss cheese consumption is down in the US since the regulations started regulating hole size. It's graded A B or C. The big companies are in a hurry to make it and sell it, so it isn't aged long, just 60 days. Since we started making our own swiss, we haven't bought any from the store. The longer aging stuff tastes oh so much stronger and delicious. Also, Americans eat about 33 lbs of cheese per person per year, only 1 lb of swiss out of all consumed per year/per person. The regulations started in 2000 and it's been a complaint and makes the news yearly.


----------



## dragnlaw

But the funny part is that in Europe there is no such thing as "Swiss" cheese per se.  They know what it is but should you ask for it they will, in turn, ask you "Which one?"  Swiss cheese is a generic name.  Gruyere, Appenzeller, and especially Emmental with the holes.


----------



## caseydog

blissful said:


> That's right and you aren't alone. Swiss cheese consumption is down in the US since the regulations started regulating hole size. It's graded A B or C. The big companies are in a hurry to make it and sell it, so it isn't aged long, just 60 days. Since we started making our own swiss, we haven't bought any from the store. The longer aging stuff tastes oh so much stronger and delicious. Also, Americans eat about 33 lbs of cheese per person per year, only 1 lb of swiss out of all consumed per year/per person. The regulations started in 2000 and it's been a complaint and makes the news yearly.



I buy Swiss cheese from the deli counter, and usually go with _Boar's Head_. 

I used to cold smoke cheeses in the winter, and Swiss was a good one to cold smoke. Probably my favorite. 

CD


----------



## Caslon

blissful said:


> Swiss cheese consumption is down in the US since the regulations started regulating hole size. It's graded A B or C.



None of the four packaged brands of "Swiss Cheese" at the cold cuts section even had holes in them like they used to. I was wondering about that.


----------



## dragnlaw

I also remember reading somewhere that the holes are not as many or as large, don't remember which.  And this is supposedly from the foods the cows eat which is waht produces the holes


----------



## JustJoel

dragnlaw said:


> I also remember reading somewhere that the holes are not as many or as large, don't remember which.  And this is supposedly from the foods the cows eat which is waht produces the holes


From Wikipedia:


> Three types of bacteria are used in the production of Emmental cheese: Streptococcus salivarius subspecies thermophilus, Lactobacillus (Lactobacillus helveticus or Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus), and Propionibacterium (Propionibacterium freudenreichii subspecies shermani).[2] In a late stage of cheese production, the propionibacteria consume the lactic acid excreted by the other bacteria and release acetate, propionic acid, and carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide slowly forms the bubbles that develop the "eyes".[3] The acetate and propionic acid give Swiss its nutty and sweet flavor.[4] A hypothesis proposed by Swiss researchers in 2015 notes that particulate matter may also play a role in the holes' development and that modern sanitation eliminated debris such as hay dust in the milk played a role in reduced hole size in Swiss cheeses, or even "blind cheese".[5][6] Historically, the holes were seen as a sign of imperfection and cheese makers originally tried to avoid them by pressing during production. In modern times, the holes have become an identifier of the cheese.


----------



## dragnlaw

JustJoel said:


> From Wikipedia:



AHA!  I finally waded through the indecipherable scienticfic gobbledy-gook to the part I was remembering in layman's english. 

_.[4] A hypothesis proposed by Swiss researchers in 2015 notes that particulate matter may also play a role in the holes' development and that modern sanitation eliminated debris such as hay dust in the milk played a role in reduced hole size in Swiss cheeses, or even "blind cheese"._

So do "they" give a reason as to WHY they feel it important to regulate the size of the holes? As stated 'Swiss Cheese' is a generic name of quite a few types of cheese originating from the Alps - of which only a couple have holes.  If you taste both Emmental and American Swiss the similarities are really rather vague.

_[5][6] Historically, the holes were seen as a sign of imperfection and cheese makers originally tried to avoid them by pressing during production. In modern times, the holes have become an identifier of the cheese._


----------



## Caslon

I just wanna be able to buy packaged Swiss Cheese slices at the cold cuts section like I used to. It had a sharper obvious flavor to it, and holes.


----------



## Mad Cook

dragnlaw said:


> But _the funny part_ is that in Europe there is no such thing as "Swiss" cheese per se. They know what it is but should you ask for it they will, in turn, ask you "Which one?" Swiss cheese is a generic name. Gruyere, Appenzeller, and especially Emmental with the holes.


Not funny at all. "Swiss cheese" in America seems to be any cheese of a particular texture with holes in it but the actual Swiss varieties you mention above are different in flavour. I'm sure if you looked in the right places you'd find imported cheeses from the various Swiss regions. Any cheese seller worth his/her salt will let you try a little nibble to decide which you like best. If they don't then walk away.

In the UK we have a lot of different local cheeses - Cheshire, Cheddar, Double Gloucester, Lancashire (2 sorts depending on the ageing), Derbyshire (and Sage Derbyshire) and many others. Most of these are made in bulk in factories using milk from many farms but if labelled "Farmhouse....." it must have been made on the farm premises with milk only from that farm's cows.

We also have a wide range of cheeses which are protected by law. Some local cheeses have a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), such as these below.

Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire 
Buxton Blue 
Dovedale 
Swaledale 
Swaledale ewes' cheese
Single Gloucester
Staffordshire Cheese
and three other cheeses have PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) 

Dorset Blue
Exmoor Blue 
Teviotdale
Do try them if you come across them.

If you are ever in the UK don't be lured by the common or garden "cheddar cheese" on the supermarket slab. Unlike Stilton which can only be made in a very limited area of the country under strict legal regulations, the "farmhouse" makers of Cheddar cheese missed out on regularising the making of it so all sorts of rubbish from all over the world finds it's way into the shops under that name. "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar" is one of the few "farmhouse" Cheddars that have got into the Supermarkets. Try that one and you'll never willingly eat factory-produced "Cheddar" again!

Factories strive to produce cheeses to a strict sameness, whereas the flavour of "Farmhouse" cheese may vary, batch to batch, according to things like the mix of grasses the cows had been eating that week, how the weather has affected the grass, and all sorts of other issues, which is what makes the cheeses so interesting.

The supermarket companies over here are getting used to the idea that customers don't always want what the store says they have to have and even the "budget" end such as Aldi and Lidl are getting their act together with more interesting goods in all departments, not just with their cheeses.

I know from watching Ina Garten that there are farmhouse (aka "artisan") cheese-makers in the US. They may seem expensive but as my widowed Grandmother, who brought up 5 children on very little money in the "hungry '30s", used to say -"Buy better - buy less". In other words if something tastes good and is good quality, you don't need as much. 

Sorry about going on about this but I care a lot about "proper" food and tend to get a bit over-heated about it. It's very much a case of "use it or lose it".


----------



## GotGarlic

Mad Cook said:


> Not funny at all. "Swiss cheese" in America seems to be any cheese of a particular texture with holes in it but the actual Swiss varieties you mention above are different in flavour. I'm sure if you looked in the right places you'd find imported cheeses from the various Swiss regions.



Emmentaler is what's known in the United States as Swiss cheese. Just about any good grocery store has a cheese counter in the deli area and a case of packaged refrigerated cheeses in the refrigerated section. Caslon is buying his in the refrigerated area, where lesser quality but less expensive cheeses are available. Not everyone has the means or desire to do things the way you do.


----------



## dragnlaw

Caslon, go to the cheese counter and get a couple of slices each of Jarlsberg (of Norwegian origin) and Emmentaler.   See which you prefer and just forget about the "Swiss".  Start with these two, then...

You could also ask the counter person for another similar cheese.  But don't get too many to test at any one time or it might start to get confusing for your taste buds.


----------



## Caslon

dragnlaw said:


> Caslon, go to the cheese counter and get a couple of slices each of Jarlsberg (of Norwegian origin) and Emmentaler.   See which you prefer and just forget about the "Swiss".  Start with these two, then...
> 
> You could also ask the counter person for another similar cheese.  But don't get too many to test at any one time or it might start to get confusing for your taste buds.



Okay, I'm making note of what the term Swiss cheese is, it's not one thing.  In my supermarket cold cuts section, Swiss cheese is one thing...bland. As of the past few years? Very less tasteful, if you ask me.


----------



## CakePoet

American cheese in Sweden is those plastic covered slices.  
Cheese is lovely, my Scottish nephew was over and we found the same Scottish cheddar here as there, with one difference, the one in Sweden had a saltire and Made in Scotland , while in Scotland it now marked made in Britain and with  Union Jack. His favourite cheese which he hadnt had since  the" if it the union Jack, it goes back"thing happened, so I bought it and well it gone now.


----------



## blissful

dragnlaw said:


> So do "they" give a reason as to WHY they feel it important to regulate the size of the holes? As stated 'Swiss Cheese' is a generic name of quite a few types of cheese originating from the Alps - of which only a couple have holes.  If you taste both Emmental and American Swiss the similarities are really rather vague.




The size of the holes was regulated so that the swiss cheese could be easily put through an automatic deli or factory slicer. The larger holes made the slices unstable/feathery and jammed the machines. The more stable slices, the one's with small and few holes let the cheese be sliced up to 1000 slices per minute.


We've only made four types of swiss. Emmentaler and Jarlsburg, in addition to using propionic shermanii culture, has an aging period at room temperature for a number of weeks, to grow the holes, the entire cheese expands during that time, then it is aged at 55 degrees F after that. Gruyere and Raclette, don't have a warm aging period and don't generally grow the holes.


----------



## Andy M.

blissful said:


> ...We've only made four types of swiss. Emmentaler and Jarlsburg,...




Isn't Jarlsberg from one of the Scandinavian countries?


----------



## blissful

Yep, and I didn't know that.


> Norway
> 
> It was named for a *Norwegian* nobleman Count Wedel Jarlsberg (or the eponymous county) who owned land near *Oslo*  in an area where an earlier version of the cheese was produced in the  early 1800s. The recipe was developed from formulae originating with *Swiss* cheesemakers who moved to *Norway* in that time.


----------



## CakePoet

I love  Jarlsberg! It so good and I hope  when the heat wave is over the cheese store can get back in stock again.


----------



## dragnlaw

Raclette is another name being changed by the public and stores.  Originally a type of cheese, now you are starting to see in the stores other cheeses being sold for USE as a cheese to be melted on your raclette devise.


----------



## Mad Cook

GotGarlic said:


> Emmentaler is what's known in the United States as Swiss cheese. Just about any good grocery store has a cheese counter in the deli area and a case of packaged refrigerated cheeses in the refrigerated section. Caslon is buying his in the refrigerated area, where lesser quality but less expensive cheeses are available. Not everyone has the means or desire to do things the way you do.


And I don't have the means to do it any other way. (The combined jaw of "Discuss Cooking" would drop to the floor if it knew how small my pension is!) I obviously had a better domestic economy education than some of you. 

Why should the refridgerated area automatically have poor or dubious quality items in it? Doesn't that contravene your food standards legislation? Here factory pre-packed goods are more expensive than goods sold "loose" and the quality is carefully regulated


----------



## GotGarlic

Mad Cook said:


> And I don't have the means to do it any other way. (The combined jaw of "Discuss Cooking" would drop to the floor if it knew how small my pension is!) I obviously had a better domestic economy education than some of you.



Obviously you did. Congratulations. Your contempt for people who didn't have that education is rather off-putting, though. 



Mad Cook said:


> Why should the refridgerated area automatically have poor or dubious quality items in it? Doesn't that contravene your food standards legislation? Here factory pre-packed goods are more expensive than goods sold "loose" and the quality is carefully regulated



By quality I meant, for example, the cheese isn't aged as long so it costs less and doesn't taste as good. There is nothing unhealthful about it.


----------



## blissful

I'm so proud of those people that know how to budget and really try to save money when they shop. Don't let anyone shame you for having your own particular money situation, the common sense, and smarts besides. Your budget is your budget, you go and you can do it!


I've got dozens of smart friends that make it their business to shop within their budget even when their budget is small. I admire them and learn from them. Be glad you have more sense than dollars.


----------



## Mad Cook

GotGarlic said:


> Emmentaler is what's known in the United States as Swiss cheese. Just about any good grocery store has a cheese counter in the deli area and a case of packaged refrigerated cheeses in the refrigerated section. Caslon is buying his in the refrigerated area, where lesser quality but less expensive cheeses are available. Not everyone has the means or desire to do things the way you do.


 
If all want is 50 grammes of, say, Cheshire cheese, I can get it at the deli counter. If I went to the pre-packed department in the supermarket I'd have to buy a lot more that that - probably 250 grammes and as I live alone I'd either be eating it for a week or more whether I wanted it or not or it would get stale before I could use it and that is waste both of cheese and of money.

And, Got Garlic, I've been thinking for some time that you need to practise some good manners both in your dealings with me and with others on this forum.


----------



## Caslon

I learned maybe more than I wanted to about "Swiss cheese."   All good.   I'll not be buying packaged so called deli "Swiss cheese" slices anymore.  It used to taste like Swiss cheese years ago, not anymore.


----------



## Andy M.

*I Know, I Know. I'm Just A Grumpy Old Man!*

Our 11 YO grandson is staying with us for a few days. As today was supposed to be rainy, we planned to take him to the movies this afternoon with the young girl next door. He chose an age appropriate movie, Incredibles2.

Now, SO and are not moviegoers. It's been a dozen years since we were at a movie theater. I went online to buy tickets last night. It appears that you can now choose your seats when you pre-order. So I ordered two child tickets and two senior tickets (a slight discount from normal. Same price as the kids tickets). When I began the payment process, I noticed a $7 "Convenience Fee" tacked onto the bill for the four tickets. Basically reversing the discounts for kids and seniors and getting the ticket price back to standard $11. each. Total bill $45 and change.

Off to the theater for the 12:15 movie! We arrived around Noon and I stopped at the cashier to ask if the convenience charge was applied to tickets purchased at the theater. It was not. So I was charged $7 for THEIR convenience.

On to the refreshment stand! Each child ordered a small popcorn and drink. That's two small popcorns and two small drinks. Care to guess how much that cost? Go ahead, give it a shot. Not even close. It cost $29.04!

We finally escaped into the theater about 12:05. Fantastic comfy leather-like easy chairs that recline. Wide aisles so people can get by and you don't have to stand up. Lay back and watch the movie.

Not so fast! First there are interminable commercials, one after another. Many of them the same ones we see at home on TV. Then there are previews, one after another. Then there's a short subject film about a woman who made a child out of a steamed dumpling then ate him when he disobeyed!?!?

FINALLY! at 12:47 the 12:15 movie started. It was a kids' animated feature. Then we left.

Wanna guess how long before we go to the movies again?

As I said at the top, I'm just a grumpy old man and it was my turn to vent.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Andy*, if outrageous movie theatre prices are all that is needed to qualify as "grumpy", count me in.  I can remember the last time I saw a movie in a theatre - "Chicago", sometime in the early part of 2003. I don't miss going because I have a comfy recliner in my living room, don't have to shush people talking or texting near me, and have the ability to ask Himself to pause the movie if I want to take a quick trip to the kitchen...or the "library". If I'm sitting in a theatre seat, it had better be a live show at the front of the house.


----------



## caseydog

Hey Caslon, put bacon on it. 

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, Andy...that's definitely a legit vent!  The sneaky 'convenience' fee alone for pre-ordering would be enough to turn me off, not to mention the price of the snacks.  I'm sure the kids loved it, but I get you not wanting to go back for another decade or so, if ever.   

Our rather small town movie theater has (I think) 7 movies playing at any given time. The general admission is $10.75. Children, seniors, military, and matinees are $8.75.  Snack prices are ridiculous.  

When there's a new movie I *really* want to see, I like going to a weekday matinee by myself. (Just not during summer break when school's out). It's just a treat that I enjoy, especially because the theater is almost always empty and I kind of feel like I'm enjoying a private viewing.    I kick back in the back row with a large bottled water I bring in myself, and the ticket taker overlooks it and waves me on through.


----------



## roadfix

I don't do movie theaters either, haven't been in one since 2007.
My wife takes our three little grand kids to see movies.    I take them on hikes and to the park, which I enjoy doing....  and it's free.


----------



## GotGarlic

Mad Cook said:


> And, Got Garlic, I've been thinking for some time that you need to practise some good manners both in your dealings with me and with others on this forum.



No doubt. Some teachers hate to be challenged or corrected.


----------



## Caslon

caseydog said:


> Hey Caslon, put bacon on it.
> 
> CD



Heheh, ya. My avocado, onion, chopped lettuce and Swiss cheese sandwich.  Add bacon!

Speaking of bacon, I found that if I  vacuum pack my opened package of bacon into a vacuum bag, using my Reynolds Handi-Vac, the bacon stays fresh for quite a while. It doesn't start turning brown.  I'm stoked because,  bacon is very expensive these days.


----------



## Andy M.

Caslon said:


> Heheh, ya. My avocado, onion, chopped lettuce and Swiss cheese sandwich.  Add bacon!
> 
> Speaking of bacon, I found that if I  vacuum pack my opened package of bacon into a vacuum bag, using my Reynolds Handi-Vac, the bacon stays fresh for quite a while. It doesn't start turning brown.  I'm stoked because,  bacon is very expensive these days.



We've had good luck freezing cooked bacon. I cook two pounds at a time and freeze the unused slices rolled up in a long strip of paper towels in a ziplock bag. Then we only have cleanup once and bacon ready to go with a quick zap in the microwave. I also keep the strained bacon fat in a plastic tub for cooking eggs and such.


----------



## caseydog

Caslon said:


> Heheh, ya. My avocado, onion, chopped lettuce and Swiss cheese sandwich.  Add bacon!
> 
> Speaking of bacon, I found that if I  vacuum pack my opened package of bacon into a vacuum bag, using my Reynolds Handi-Vac, the bacon stays fresh for quite a while. It doesn't start turning brown.  I'm stoked because,  bacon is very expensive these days.



I vacuum seal bacon, too, and it does keep much longer in the fridge, and freezes fine, too. 

CD


----------



## Just Cooking

Cheryl J said:


> Wow, Andy...that's definitely a legit vent!  The sneaky 'convenience' fee alone for pre-ordering would be enough to turn me off, not to mention the price of the snacks.  I'm sure the kids loved it, but I get you not wanting to go back for another decade or so, if ever.
> 
> Our rather small town movie theater has (I think) 7 movies playing at any given time. The general admission is $10.75. Children, seniors, military, and matinees are $8.75.  Snack prices are ridiculous.
> 
> When there's a new movie I *really* want to see, I like going to a weekday matinee by myself. (Just not during summer break when school's out). It's just a treat that I enjoy, especially because the theater is almost always empty and I kind of feel like I'm enjoying a private viewing.    I kick back in the back row with a large bottled water I bring in myself, and the ticket taker overlooks it and waves me on through.




I posted a comment in the movie thread about going to see Mama Mia 2 last week.. I was pleased that tickets were $4.89 + tax.. The only price list I had seen was Senior tickets @ $10.69..

Come to find out that the theater has what they call $5 Tuesdays..
We had not been to the theater in about 2 years.. With $5 Tuesdays, I can see us going more often..
Even for that popular movie, there were not too many people at the early showing.. We don't buy snacks and sneaky Jeannie takes a bottle of water in her purse.. She is such a rebel..  


Ross


----------



## Cheryl J

Just Cooking said:


> I posted a comment in the movie thread about going to see Mama Mia 2 last week.. I was pleased that tickets were $4.89 + tax.. The only price list I had seen was Senior tickets @ $10.69..
> 
> Come to find out that the theater has what they call $5 Tuesdays..
> We had not been to the theater in about 2 years.. With $5 Tuesdays, I can see us going more often..
> Even for that popular movie, there were not too many people at the early showing.. We don't buy snacks and sneaky Jeannie takes a bottle of water in her purse.. *She is such a rebel..*
> 
> 
> Ross


 
 Good for Jeannie! I don't buy the theater snacks either - I'm not into candy, hot dogs, or popcorn.  Once in a while a ziplock of mixed nuts or something from home will jump into my purse before I leave, though. Shhhh...

Our theater is under new management and has also started offering a few deals.  They now have a family pack of popcorn and drinks which may work out better than single buying for a family of 4 or more, and certain days of the week they now have $5 showings as well.  For seniors, they offered a "buy one ticket, get one half price", but several seniors, including me, are single and enjoy going to the movie theater alone sometimes, so they started offering weekday deals on that, too.  

I enjoy watching a movie in my own living room, but occasionally I love to go see something on the big screen. Once my ears get used to the incredibly high volume they use, that is....


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> ...Once in a while a ziplock of mixed nuts or something from home will jump into my purse before I leave, though. Shhhh......


At least that's a normal snack food. I've been known to drain an entire can of black olives and put those into a zipped sandwich bag so my SIL and I can munch on them through a movie - the original M.A.S.H., as a matter of fact.


----------



## caseydog

I would think that movie theaters would be dialing back on prices, since you can get a similar movie experience at home these days... with a pause button. I have big flat screen TV, 7.1 surround, DTS --  and a kitchen downstairs at home. 

Okay, I have to wait to see the newest releases, but then I can rent them online for five-or-six bucks, and use AppleTV to watch them in my own "home theater." 

I can wait. 

Movie theaters are either going to have to lower prices, or up their game, or they will join video stores like _Blockbuster_ into the history books of businesses. 

CD


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Yeah, we don't go to the movie theaters either.
In fact the only time in I don't know how many years, 
we went to the movies every other Sunday about 3 years ago
for maybe 3 months.
We had put our home in Southern Arizona up for sale and
or agent had open house, so we had to find somewhere else to
be for about 4 hours.
We were fortunate that our local cinema had specials on Sunday
afternoons, $4 each for Seniors with a small bag of popcorn thrown in.

But I agree with you Cheryl, the volume was way too loud!

I also agree with Casey, I do prefer to watch what I want, when I want
on our large set at home with any sort of snacks we like, pause, rewind (for those "what did he say" moments)
AND have TWO comfy sofa to recline on to boot!


----------



## GotGarlic

Cheryl J said:


> I enjoy watching a movie in my own living room, but occasionally I love to go see something on the big screen. Once my ears get used to the incredibly high volume they use, that is....



We like seeing a movie occasionally on the big screen, too. The only theater we go to anymore is the beautifully restored Art Deco theater in our city's downtown. Tickets are $10 and they serve dinner or snacks, including beer and wine, during the show.

http://www.commodoretheatre.com/index.php

Usually, though, we watch movies at home for the same reasons as everyone else. Theaters definitely need to adapt.


----------



## CakePoet

My husband just lost his job...  it was supposed to be for 6 months but  no it was only when people was on vacation.


----------



## dragnlaw

So sorry, CakePoet.  Keep your chin up.  Something should turn up soon. thinking that maybe there will be a lot of help needed while people clean up from all the fires going on?


----------



## Cheryl J

Sure wish we had one of those Commodore Theaters here, GG! I would totally get into that. 

As it is, I'll still enjoy the theater that we have when a movie seems worthy of the *big* screen. While I'm thinking of it, I'm pretty sure most of us here remember drive-in theaters.  We still had one here when my youngest was little - we'd pack a bunch of sleeping bags and pillows in the bed of the truck, back it up, and have a great movie evening under the stars.


----------



## Cheryl J

CakePoet said:


> My husband just lost his job... it was supposed to be for 6 months but no it was only when people was on vacation.


 
Oh nooo, CakePoet.  I'm really sorry to hear that.


----------



## JustJoel

CakePoet said:


> My husband just lost his job...  it was supposed to be for 6 months but  no it was only when people was on vacation.


How stressful for you and your husband, CakePoet! I’m sure something will turn up for him soon! What line of work is he in, if I may ask?


----------



## GotGarlic

Cheryl J said:


> Sure wish we had one of those Commodore Theaters here, GG! I would totally get into that.



Cheryl, if there are any buildings in your town that might be suitable for renovating into a movie theater, the owner of the Commodore has consulted on doing that all over the country.


----------



## GotGarlic

CakePoet said:


> My husband just lost his job...  it was supposed to be for 6 months but  no it was only when people was on vacation.


I'm sorry to hear that, CakePoet. I hope he finds something else soon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

CakePoet said:


> My husband just lost his job...


Like everyone else has said, I'm sorry to read this, *CP*. Hoping he finds a job and is back to work really quick.


----------



## CharlieD

This doesn't require response. I'm just venting. Again it is my father. He got one of those mailers, you know, one of many where you "win", this time $25000.00. This time from car dealership. And he even called them and of course assured him that all he has to do is come to dealership, speak to a sales person and his winnings are on the way. I of course threw the darn paper away, so now he is accusing me that I still the money. What the f***. How stupid can person be. It's been time after time. He gets this idiotic papers that I tell him to throw away and trying to explain that it is all fake. None of that is true. Incidentally he keeps buying crap from TV advertisements and then of course nothing works and yet he still does it. i just don't have it in me to keep up with this. But this last accusation just really made me upset. I can't even think about talking to him again. I wish i did not have to. It sucks being the only child.


----------



## jd_1138

CharlieD said:


> This doesn't require response. I'm just venting. Again it is my father. He got one of those mailers, you know, one of many where you "win", this time $25000.00. This time from car dealership. And he even called them and of course assured him that all he has to do is come to dealership, speak to a sales person and his winnings are on the way. I of course threw the darn paper away, so now he is accusing me that I still the money. What the f***. How stupid can person be. It's been time after time. He gets this idiotic papers that I tell him to throw away and trying to explain that it is all fake. None of that is true. Incidentally he keeps buying crap from TV advertisements and then of course nothing works and yet he still does it. i just don't have it in me to keep up with this. But this last accusation just really made me upset. I can't even think about talking to him again. I wish i did not have to. It sucks being the only child.



How old is your dad?  Sadly, when people get older a lot of them start getting suspicious, paranoid, forgetful.  So they start wrongly accusing their loved ones of taking their stuff, money while at the same time they may get talked into giving their money to a scam artist.

My 80 year old grandmother gave away all her savings ($60k) to scam artists for lottery pyramid schemes, over paying for unneeded repairs from door to door shady contractors, etc..

It's hard to mitigate these problems because if you take their money away from them to protect it, they then get their feelings hurt, may call the police on you for theft.  lol.  Wow, it's bad.  Or other siblings may accuse the one sibling (who removed the money from the senile parent to protect it) of "trying to steal dad's money!"


----------



## Kayelle

Venting...sitting here without my morning coffee. Grrr Nothing at all since midnight.
I'm scheduled for an 11:00 am semi annual sonogram for checking on an aortic aneurysm discovered a couple years ago. 



I guess it's better for me to crab about not getting my morning coffee.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kayelle said:


> Venting...sitting here without my morning coffee. Grrr Nothing at all since midnight.
> I'm scheduled for an 11:00 am semi annual sonogram for checking on an aortic aneurysm discovered a couple years ago.
> 
> 
> 
> I guess it's better for me to crab about not getting my morning coffee.



DH hears ya K-L!!
He's in that boat with you, he has an abdominal aortic aneurysm... but if I may … he's had his tests done now for the past, oh, maybe 2010, and it has not changed in size, so he now has a pass, for a whiles anyways... not sure when they want to look at it again really.  So, fingers crossed for you as well


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> I drink more than I should, but when I go out, I limit myself.
> 
> For one thing, I can't afford a DUI. That can cost 10-grand or more in Texas.
> 
> But, the biggest thing is that *I couldn't live with myself *if I killed someone because I was driving drunk.
> 
> I like to go listen to my college friends play classic rock at a bar near me, but I nurse a beer or two over a few hours. I know I can drive home safely with that amount of consumption.
> 
> CD


 Yeah, I hear you loud and clear. I was with my BIL on the way back to my house. The driver in front of us wiped out the car in front of him. 

"Lou, stop, we have to help the driver."
"I don't have any medical knowledge."

"Well I have some, at least I can do something. Let me out of the car." You get any info regarding the car that hit him for the cops.

I managed to get the injured driver to lay across the front seat. So much easier for the paramedics to remove the driver. I also grabbed the end of my dress, tore off a large piece and placed some pressure on an open wound. The driver was bleeding profusely. 

My BIL was able to garner enough information for the few seconds the driver stayed there, that one cop car took off and grabbed the driver that caused the accident further down the road. I don' know how but he even got the colors of his eyes. 

Because I had the sense to put pressure on his open wound, about two weeks later his wife contacted me and told me I most likely saved his life, according to what the doctors told her. 

That was my first encounter with a serious accident. The second one happened right in front of my house. Some kids were racing on my street. They hit a woman hard and she ended up with a compound fracture in her shoulder and elbow. Too dangerous to move her. So I found a pen in her car on the floor. Made a quick release tourniquet and released it every 30 seconds. Kept a close eye on the color of her fingertips. 

She also had in her purse, more than three thousand dollars. She had been out collecting and delivering to her makeup customers. She was more worried about that than the accident. I found a piece of paper and another pen in her car to write down my name, phone, and address. About a week later, her husband showed up at my door. I got her purse out of my linen closet and handed it him. The coffee table was clear and I informed him he could use it to count out the money. "No, I trust you. Thank you so much." He was clutching a bunch of photos. He broke down into some of the deepest sobs I have ever heard. I took the pictures from his hand and let him have a really good cry. OMG!!! The steering wheel had pushed the back of her bench type front seat all the way back into the seat of the back seat. 

One a drunk driver, the other a bunch of teens clowning around with a lethal weapon. A car. Both accidents in the early 70's. Nobody had been wearing seat belts. Were they even in cars then? 

So far my prayers have been answered. I never want to be witness to a serious accident again.


----------



## taxlady

I almost never go to regular movie theatres anymore. For that price I shouldn't have to be subjected to that many commercials at a volume that is painful with my fingers in my ears. We have a movie theatre called "Dollar Cinema". They have put the price up to $2 + tax. The snacks are a buck or two as well. They get movies a month or three after they premiere. No commercials, occasionally a trailer for another movie. Also, reasonable volume. If I want to see a movie on a big screen, that's where I go. I am tired of the BS, including those "convenience fees".


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> I almost never go to regular movie theatres anymore. For that price I shouldn't have to be subjected to that many commercials at a volume that is painful *with my fingers in my ears.* We have a movie theatre called "Dollar Cinema". They have put the price up to $2 + tax. The snacks are a buck or two as well. They get movies a month or three after they premiere. No commercials, occasionally a trailer for another movie. Also, reasonable volume. If I want to see a movie on a big screen, that's where I go. I am tired of the BS, including those "convenience fees".



My daughter and I had plans to go on Senior Citizen Wednesday to see _Mama Mia Two._The day came and she reminded me of the ear plugs. "Did I still have mine. That nixed that plan. So when she can she will go to the theatre and see if they have the CD available yet. I have the first one and  when we can sit down and watch both of them in sequence, we will. I may even make it a double movie night for the building.


----------



## Kayelle

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> DH hears ya K-L!!
> He's in that boat with you, he has an* abdominal aortic aneurysm.*.. but if I may … he's had his tests done now for the past, oh, maybe 2010, and it has not changed in size, so he now has a pass, for a whiles anyways... not sure when they want to look at it again really.  So, fingers crossed for you as well




I got my coffee......!!! It's iced in a nice tall glass here. 


Kgirl, his should be followed more often in my opinion. I try not to think about mine until it's time to check it out again, every 6 months. It can be a ticking time bomb as it was for Lucille Ball, Albert Einstein and more recently, John Ritter.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> This doesn't require response. I'm just venting. Again it is my father. He got one of those mailers, you know, one of many where you "win", this time $25000.00. This time from car dealership. And he even called them and of course assured him that all he has to do is come to dealership, speak to a sales person and his winnings are on the way. I of course threw the darn paper away, so now he is accusing me that I still the money. What the f***. How stupid can person be. It's been time after time. He gets this idiotic papers that I tell him to throw away and trying to explain that it is all fake. None of that is true. Incidentally he keeps buying crap from TV advertisements and then of course nothing works and yet he still does it. i just don't have it in me to keep up with this. But this last accusation just really made me upset. I can't even think about talking to him again. I wish i did not have to. It sucks being the only child.



Charlie, you can get a change of address from the post office to your home address. Go through his mail, toss what you know is scam and other crap, like from "_Help Feed The Starving Children of Slovbovia_ You can also notify the senders of these mailings to take him off their mailing list. Give them any feasible reason you want. He is now feeble minded, Lost his sight due to old age, etc. You get the idea. 

I had a neighbor many, many years ago who did just this when his mother was doing the same thing with her money. And lastly there is a place where you can register his name and address that will notify these sender of junk mail and let them know that they are to stop sending mail to this address. I do not remember the address, but you can ask at the post office. 

For me, I don't mind getting junk mail. When I go down to get my mail, the junk stuff tells me that this is new mail from what I received yesterday, so the mailman came today. And it can be just another means of bitching about junk mail for me. 

Type up a letter and make many copies. You can send it to all the junk mail senders. Talk to the supervisor at the P.O. Tell them about how many scams he has received and responded to. There is help out there. You just have  seek it out.
And if the sender violates the order from the P.O. now they are dealing with a Federal Law violation. No one wants that on their record!


----------



## roadfix

My parents look forward to daily junk mail.    They love them and get a lot of them.   If I divert their mail they will notice and I'll be on their shet list and cut me off as beneficiary.  I don't want that.


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> Charlie, you can get a change of address from the post office to your home address. Go through his mail, toss what you know is scam and other crap, like from "_Help Feed The Starving Children of Slovbovia_ You can also notify the senders of these mailings to take him off their mailing list. Give them any feasible reason you want. He is now feeble minded, Lost his sight due to old age, etc. You get the idea.
> 
> I had a neighbor many, many years ago who did just this when his mother was doing the same thing with her money. *And lastly there is a place where you can register his name and address that will notify these sender of junk mail and let them know that they are to stop sending mail to this address. I do not remember the address, but you can ask at the post office.
> *
> For me, I don't mind getting junk mail. When I go down to get my mail, the junk stuff tells me that this is new mail from what I received yesterday, so the mailman came today. And it can be just another means of bitching about junk mail for me.
> 
> *Type up a letter and make many copies. You can send it to all the junk mail senders. Talk to the supervisor at the P.O. Tell them about how many scams he has received and responded to. There is help out there. You just have  seek it out.*
> And if the sender violates the order from the P.O. now they are dealing with a Federal Law violation. No one wants that on their record!




Ohhh yeah, that will work just dandy Addie. 
BTW, how's your class action suit against telephone solicitors going?


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Ohhh yeah, that will work just dandy Addie.
> BTW, how's your class action suit against telephone solicitors going?



I haven't heard anything from the lawyers at all, but all the calls have STOPPED!


----------



## Addie

What a headache I am having.

Last Saturday it all started. The are putting on a new roof on this building. This was a school building for grades K-6. Two classes per grade. So you can imagine a very large building.

Saturday, the cranes moved in and lifted all the equipment and supplies to the roof. BANG! BANG! They were just dropping each load. Don't bother to put it down quietly, if possible. Then on the next Monday, bang, bang, feet stomping across the roof all day from seven a.m. to three p.m. Then the banging constantly as they were removing some damaged parts of the roof, and repairing it. 

But today has been the worst. My head is pounding. And it is not like there is somewhere to get away. Now it is all the construction trucks picking up all the refuse. Why don't they make those trucks with plastic and cloth lining?


----------



## Caslon

Concrete chunks being loaded into an empty metal bed dump truck.  Kaboom!  Sounds like a bomb going off.  At least it did when someone tossed their toilet into an empty metal dumpster at my quiet condo area. Kaboom!


----------



## cjmmytunes

Why does someone say they love another person "till death do us part", then end up seeing another person and working with them to kill the person they supposedly loved? Is that what "till death do us part" is supposed to mean?


----------



## Andy M.

Maybe I'm being petty, but why is it assumed that a butcher is automatically an expert on which cuts to grill and how to cook different cuts of meat?

A butcher's training is specific to animal anatomy and the best way to make smaller pieces out of bigger pieces. I respect that. But cooking was never part of their training.

Just like the rest of us, they may have picked up that knowledge informally but should it be assumed. You can be a great butcher and a lousy cook. I know I'm a better cook than I am a butcher.


----------



## dragnlaw

Andy - I assume that butchers know which cuts are tougher than others.  

But I agree - they don't necessarily know how to cook them.


----------



## Kayelle

Andy M. said:


> Maybe I'm being petty, but why is it assumed that a butcher is automatically an expert on which cuts to grill and how to cook different cuts of meat?
> 
> A butcher's training is specific to animal anatomy and the best way to make smaller pieces out of bigger pieces. I respect that. But cooking was never part of their training.
> 
> Just like the rest of us, they may have picked up that knowledge informally but should it be assumed. You can be a great butcher and a lousy cook. I know I'm a better cook than I am a butcher.




I understand your point Andy, but butchers now days are not often what they once were. I'm remembering my Dad who was a "behind the counter butcher" of another era. He not only advised about the cuts and tenderness of meat, but the options for cooking them well as he was also a good cook. I do agree that not every butcher is both.


----------



## taxlady

I assume that part of butcher training would be theoretical knowledge of which cuts are good for what. The type of butcher Kayelle described also gets feedback from customers.


----------



## Andy M.

Kayelle, no disrespect to your dad or others who offer their first hand knowledge to customers and others. My petty vent is at the automatic assumption that any butcher would know best just because he’s a butcher.


----------



## CharlieD

This is probably more of a full blown mad vent. i was flying from Miami home. We are not vary famous here for having kosher food. i always bring something from my travels. This time it was French chocolate pudding. very yummy treat. I bought a whole box. Tapped it really well, Quadruple bagged it and made sure to set it safely in my suite case. The flipping TSA, ripped the bags, even though they were simple grocery bags not tapped, not tide, nothing. All they had to do is take the box out of the bag. Then they proceed to cut the tape and brake the box, not on the top, but on the side. Literally break, rip a part of it, where they could have simply cut nicely. Ok, I understand they have to check. But they did not bother closing the box, did not bother taping it back, did not bother wrapping it in a grocery bags. Of course box got all smashed up, pudding got all over, well, you see what i mean. The thing that bothers me the most not the fact that everything inside the suitcase got dirty, but the fact that a whole bunch of pudding went into garbage. First of all it is a treat we cannot get here, second of all it is expensive, third of all it is simply one of those cases "not my job".


----------



## Mad Cook

CharlieD said:


> This is probably more of a full blown mad vent. i was flying from Miami home. We are not vary famous here for having kosher food. i always bring something from my travels. This time it was French chocolate pudding. very yummy treat. I bought a whole box. Tapped it really well, Quadruple bagged it and made sure to set it safely in my suite case. The flipping TSA, ripped the bags, even though they were simple grocery bags not tapped, not tide, nothing. All they had to do is take the box out of the bag. Then they proceed to cut the tape and brake the box, not on the top, but on the side. Literally break, rip a part of it, where they could have simply cut nicely. Ok, I understand they have to check. But they did not bother closing the box, did not bother taping it back, did not bother wrapping it in a grocery bags. Of course box got all smashed up, pudding got all over, well, you see what i mean. The thing that bothers me the most not the fact that everything inside the suitcase got dirty, but the fact that a whole bunch of pudding went into garbage. First of all it is a treat we cannot get here, second of all it is expensive, third of all it is simply one of those cases "not my job".


A mixture of arrogance and rudeness and "I've got a uniform and a big gun and I can do as I like because no-one will report me". Did you get his ID? Stern letter to the TSA's boss or the company which owns/administers the airport and a copy to the press. It'll make you feel better and it might (I did say "might") mean it won't happen again. These yobs forget that they are public servants, when all's said and done.


----------



## caseydog

CharlieD said:


> This is probably more of a full blown mad vent. i was flying from Miami home. We are not vary famous here for having kosher food. i always bring something from my travels. This time it was French chocolate pudding. very yummy treat. I bought a whole box. Tapped it really well, Quadruple bagged it and made sure to set it safely in my suite case. The flipping TSA, ripped the bags, even though they were simple grocery bags not tapped, not tide, nothing. All they had to do is take the box out of the bag. Then they proceed to cut the tape and brake the box, not on the top, but on the side. Literally break, rip a part of it, where they could have simply cut nicely. Ok, I understand they have to check. But they did not bother closing the box, did not bother taping it back, did not bother wrapping it in a grocery bags. Of course box got all smashed up, pudding got all over, well, you see what i mean. The thing that bothers me the most not the fact that everything inside the suitcase got dirty, but the fact that a whole bunch of pudding went into garbage. First of all it is a treat we cannot get here, second of all it is expensive, third of all it is simply one of those cases "not my job".



I absolutely *HATE* the Miami Airport with a passion. I have had so many bad experiences there. It seems like the goal at that airport is to see just how many people they can mess with. I wouldn't be surprised if the TSA employees who messed up your pudding were laughing the whole time they did it. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Mad Cook said:


> A mixture of arrogance and rudeness and "I've got a uniform and a big gun and I can do as I like because no-one will report me". Did you get his ID? Stern letter to the TSA's boss or the company which owns/administers the airport and a copy to the press. It'll make you feel better and it might (I did say "might") mean it won't happen again. These yobs forget that they are public servants, when all's said and done.



It sounds like the pudding was in checked baggage, so there is no way to know who did it. They just leave a little piece of paper in your checked bag saying they searched it. No names or numbers. 

CD


----------



## Dawgluver

I think TSA has a new-ish rule in place that they don't want you transporting any powder-like substances, like dry chocolate pudding, but I was thinking it was for carry-on bags. Maybe they expanded to checked luggage. Sorry it happened, Charlie. Maybe you can file a claim with the airline for ruined clothes and cost of the pudding.


----------



## CharlieD

caseydog said:


> It sounds like the pudding was in checked baggage, so there is no way to know who did it. They just leave a little piece of paper in your checked bag saying they searched it. No names or numbers.
> 
> CD




exactly.

the thing is, I so do not trust these people I do not want to even send complain. To send a complain I'd have to provide my name. They are going to flag me and next time I'd be traveling they throw a strip search or worse, who knows. Ok, maybe I am being a bit paranoid. But after this incident I just think anything can happen.

I've always supported TSA, always thought that they are great. Boy, was I wrong.


----------



## Addie

I am so glad I do not travel anymore. One less aggravation in my life. The last time I flew was down south and it is necessary for me to have to use their wheelchair services. I was grateful for it, but it was embarassing at the same time. They wheeled me out onto the runway and had to load me up on a lift. It held the plane up for a few minutes. 

The one thing I hate about airport is the distance you have to go to get to your gate. A distance I have not been able to walk for a number of years. And now with just one leg, if I choose to travel, I will have to wear a diaper. Would you want to sit next to a person who has to sit in a dirty diaper the whole trip? Np thanks, I will stay home.


----------



## Addie

CharlieD said:


> exactly.
> 
> the thing is, I so do not trust these people I do not want to even send complain. To send a complain I'd have to provide my name. They are going to flag me and next time I'd be traveling they throw a strip search or worse, who knows. Ok, maybe I am being a bit paranoid. But after this incident I just think anything can happen.
> 
> I've always supported TSA, always thought that they are great. Boy, was I wrong.



Charlie have you considered ordering some kosher foods online?


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> Charlie have you considered ordering some kosher foods online?



Of course and I have. Not everything make sense to order, not everything is available.


----------



## Addie

My grandson is getting married next summer. He told me that he wants to dance with me. I told him I now am the owner of just one leg. That is going to be very difficult to do. 

"Don't worry Grandma. If I have to carry you on my back, I will." I love this child and don't want to ruin his wedding. But I don't want to be embarrassed at the same time. I don't want everyone staring at me. I suppose he could push me around in my wheelchair. But there will still be staring going on when the see only one leg protruding on the one foot rest. The first dance with be with his bride. And he wants to have the second one with me, then his mother. 

How do I get out of this gracefully? He is not accepting "No" for an answer.


----------



## dragnlaw

Addie, I think it is wonderful that he wants to dance with you.  The fact that he asked means he knows you are/will be up to it! 

I also think you are wrong about what people will think.  Why on earth would you be embarrassed?  You did not lose your leg on purpose!  It is a fact of life.  Look at all your brave soldiers who are struggling to overcome injuries as well.  You are a wonderful example to show them and everyone at the wedding that it doesn't matter the handicap - Life can and is still lived to the fullest. 

YOU GO GIRL!!


----------



## Just Cooking

I wholeheartedly agree with dragnlaw..


There is, or should be, absolutely no shame in a physical impairment.. 



This will be a happy day for grandson and his bride. Please consider making them even more happy by proudly accepting his dance request.


You have a long time to work out the "how" details and I'm certain you will have the encouragement of both families.. 



Take joy when it occurs please..  


My Jeannie has a blind daughter with a lovely grown child with Downs Syndrome.. They each find joy in all kinds of family and social situations..


Ross


----------



## JustJoel

Are you and your grandson close, geographically? If you are, maybe you could take a dance class with him. You’d have to find a studio that teaches ballroom dance to injured and disabled people. It shouldn’t be difficult to find one. You’d be sharing some valuable time with your grandson and expanding your limitations. Learning a “wheelchair waltz” will also give you confidence in other areas of your life.


----------



## Addie

JustJoel said:


> Are you and your grandson close, geographically? If you are, maybe you could take a dance class with him. You’d have to find a studio that teaches ballroom dance to injured and disabled people. It shouldn’t be difficult to find one. You’d be sharing some valuable time with your grandson and expanding your limitations. Learning a “wheelchair waltz” will also give you confidence in other areas of your life.



No. He lives up by the border near NH. I live north of Boston Proper. I have only since him and his children once in the past two years. His job has crazy hours and it is hard for him to get time off. He is the General Manager of a Gambling Casino in NH.


----------



## CharlieD

Addie said:


> ... He is not accepting "No" for an answer.



And you know what, Good for him. He is Da Man! And you should not be embarrassed. You did not choose to have health problem. Worry not about starring, or whispers. Those will be whispers and starring of approval. Friends of ours had brought their grandfather to the granddaughters wedding in the wheel chair. Everybody were starring and whispering and crying because that was beautiful when she swing him around in hos wheel chair. Everybody approved. And you should not deny your grand child this moment of happiness. Moment he will cherish for the rest of this life. I wish my grandmothers could have been at my wedding even in wheel chair, oh how I missed them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I think you have your answer Addie, but I will still add my 2 cents.


We have monthly dances at our facility, most every one are in wheelchairs and we, the staff, love to dance with them. Those residents who are still ambulatory, love to dance with their co-residents in wheelchairs.  We have videos and pictures of our residents in wheelchairs dancing.  It is a sight to behold.


Besides, this is their day, all eyes will be on the lovely (loving) couple.  And if you have a long enough dress on, no one will notice. See if you can get the shoes half price! LOL!


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> My grandson is getting married next summer. He told me that he wants to dance with me. I told him I now am the owner of just one leg. That is going to be very difficult to do.
> 
> "Don't worry Grandma. If I have to carry you on my back,* I love this child and don't want to ruin his wedding. But I don't want to be embarrassed at the same time. I don't want everyone staring at me. *I suppose he could push me around in my wheelchair. But there will still be staring going on when the see only one leg protruding on the one foot rest. The first dance with be with his bride. And he wants to have the second one with me, then his mother.
> 
> How do I get out of this gracefully? He is not accepting "No" for an answer.




Addie, the bottom line is this isn't about you, it's about him. Isn't that what love is all about? Enjoy giving the love of a grandmother with grace and smiles.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Addie, the bottom line is this isn't about you, it's about him. Isn't that what love is all about? Enjoy giving the love of a grandmother with grace and smiles.



Right now I am still sensitive about losing my leg. I still have nine months to adjust to the loss. My social worker told me that I am still in the mourning stage regarding the loss. 

I ran into the jerk who asked me "Can I see your stump? I have never seen one." On day two of coming home from the hospital. Fortunately, he lives on the third floor and me on two. So unless I have to get on the elevator with him, it will be pretty easy to avoid him. I will just wait for him to go to his destination, then call for the elevator after I know he is off.


----------



## Kayelle

I understand that Addie. 

My comment only pertained to your grandson's wedding, and nothing more.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> I understand that Addie.
> 
> My comment only pertained to your grandson's wedding, and nothing more.



PF brought up an old and forgotten teenage time when our church choirs went to a State Hospital and danced with the patients in wheelchairs. I had forgotten about that. I will be dancing in my wheelchair. Or hopefully have my new leg by then. Either way, we will have the whole floor to ourselves.


----------



## Caslon

Petty vents off topic sick room all in one.  Small biting insects too small to see that bite you. Yes, they exist.  What bothers me is...like I said... YOU CANT SEE THEM, THEY'RE TOO TINY!  

Oh Golly gee, Great!  Now I have to do the following:"Bag  all your clothes for a month" (not likely) "wash clothes in 60F or lower if possible (will try that, may add ice cubes).

I don't mean to open a thread about biting critters, so don't go there for forum sake.
Fleas, bed bugs, whaterver, you can see them.

Biting mites you can't even see with the naked eye? huh?  what?  !!!!   No fair nature, no fair.


----------



## GotGarlic

I'm tired of seeing the image of someone's cut finger every time I open this post, so I'm changing it.


----------



## Caslon

I'm not gonna kill the little tiny spider I saw the other day. Maybe in that world, that kind preys on biting mites I can't even see.


----------



## Mad Cook

Caslon said:


> Petty vents off topic sick room all in one.  Small biting insects too small to see that bite you. Yes, they exist.  What bothers me is...like I said... YOU CANT SEE THEM, THEY'RE TOO TINY!
> 
> Oh Golly gee, Great!  Now I have to do the following:"Bag  all your clothes for a month" (not likely) "wash clothes in 60F or lower if possible (will try that, may add ice cubes).
> 
> I don't mean to open a thread about biting critters, so don't go there for forum sake.
> Fleas, bed bugs, whaterver, you can see them.
> 
> Biting mites you can't even see with the naked eye? huh?  what?  !!!!   No fair nature, no fair.



"They" say that if you suspect that you have had moths, etc., at your woollies you should wash the garment (if suitable) and, when dry, put them in sealed poly bags and stash them in the freezer  for a couple of weeks or so. Apparently, the cold kills the eggs and larvae as well as any lingering adults.

I'm not in the (wasteful) habit of washing my jumpers, etc., after every wearing but I don't put them away without washing them if they need it.

When I first moved back into my parents (20th century) house I was made away with moths but my former home was  relatively un-modernised Victorian cottage - in the 30 years I lived in the latter I never saw a single moth or the evidence that one had visited. In this house I resorted to spraying liberal amounts of flying insect spray in the bedroom every morning for two or three summers. Now I rarely see moths but woe betide any that do sneak in!

Incidentally, it is said (and I have no proof that either method actually works but my mother swore by them) that oak furniture will deter insects as will lining your drawers with newspaper. Both are old recommendations and modern newsprint may not be toxic to the nasties.


----------



## caseydog

Mad Cook said:


> "They" say that if you suspect that you have had moths, etc., at your woollies you should wash the garment (if suitable) and, when dry, put them in sealed poly bags and stash them in the freezer  for a couple of weeks or so. Apparently, the cold kills the eggs and larvae as well as any lingering adults.
> 
> I'm not in the (wasteful) habit of washing my jumpers, etc., after every wearing but I don't put them away without washing them if they need it.
> 
> When I first moved back into my parents (20th century) house I was made away with moths but my former home was  relatively un-modernised Victorian cottage - in the 30 years I lived in the latter I never saw a single moth or the evidence that one had visited. In this house I resorted to spraying liberal amounts of flying insect spray in the bedroom every morning for two or three summers. Now I rarely see moths but woe betide any that do sneak in!
> 
> Incidentally, it is said (and I have no proof that either method actually works but my mother swore by them) that oak furniture will deter insects as will lining your drawers with newspaper. Both are old recommendations and modern newsprint may not be toxic to the nasties.



It is not the moths, but the moth larvae that eat your wool clothing. I keep my woolens in the closet in moth-proof hanging bags. If you keep the moths from laying eggs in your woolens, you are good to go. 

It is cedar, not oak, that you use to line closets or build drawers with to deter moths. You can even put small blocks of cedar into your drawers or bags to deter moths. Nature's moth balls. 

BTW, freezing will kill moth eggs and larvae, but the best plan is to keep the eggs from being laid. 

CD


----------



## Caslon

How bout I put a bunch of ice cubes  in my a cold water washes for a month?

(micro spiders, do your thing, eat those biting mites too small to see.).


----------



## taxlady

I remember reading the results of a test. It wasn't the cedar or the oak that kept away the moths. It was that cedar and oak chests were usually of high quality and close tightly enough to keep the moths and larva out.


----------



## Caslon

I drank too many rum and cokes recently.  If they bit me around that time, they got more than they bargained for.


----------



## caseydog

Caslon said:


> I drank too many rum and cokes recently.  If they bit me around that time, they got more than they bargained for.



Maybe they were Cuban gnats. Cuba Libre!

CD


----------



## Chef Munky

Not impressed with the update Samsung did with my phone.
That update almost fried it.       Wasn't able to charge it up until it cooled down.
They changed all of my icons.Basically took over my phone.

Today I get a message from someone who used my real name telling me to "put this on my phone so I can send you a quick video message"It's a marcopolovideo.com.What is that?

I looked up the #.The txt came in from Kentucky.It's         not on my contacts list.

 Any ideas? I have my own.


Munky.


----------



## dragnlaw

good heavens Chef Munky...  why would you even keep it on your phone - dump the hacker!  the sooner the better..


----------



## Chef Munky

dragnlaw said:


> good heavens Chef Munky...  why would you even keep it on your phone - dump the hacker!  the sooner the better..




what is it?
I don't dare click on it.


----------



## GotGarlic

It's a "video walkie talkie" app. I would never click on a link or install anything from a random source. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/marco-polo-app-how-to-use-tips-and-tricks-photos-2017-1


----------



## taxlady

I saw a complaint by a Reddit user of the app that the Marco Polo video app had spammed all of his contacts. But, Munky said it wasn't from one of her contacts.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I saw a complaint by a Reddit user of the app that the Marco Polo video app had spammed all of his contacts. But, Munky said it wasn't from one of her contacts.


Installing an app like this requires giving it access to your contacts. That's how you could have a walkie-talkie conversation with them.


----------



## caseydog

I don't install ANY apps on my iPhone unless they come from the Apple appStore. Apple does very serious testing and screening. Does Samsung have a similar service?  

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> I don't install ANY apps on my iPhone unless they come from the Apple appStore. Apple does very serious testing and screening. Does Samsung have a similar service?
> 
> CD


All apps for Android phones are installed from the Google Store. The link Munky gave went to the download page for it in Google Store, which automatically opens in the app if it's installed.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> All apps for Android phones are installed from the Google Store. The link Munky gave went to the download page for it in Google Store, which automatically opens in the app if it's installed.



Does Google test and screen apps in Google Store? 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Does Google test and screen apps in Google Store?
> 
> CD


To some extent, I think. That's why most of them are free.


----------



## dragnlaw

Chef Munky said:


> what is it?
> I don't dare click on it.



same rules as you would apply to your computer goes especially for your phone.  Who cares what it is -* you did not ask for it - so dump it. 
*



caseydog said:


> I don't install ANY apps on my iPhone unless they come from the Apple appStore. Apple does very serious testing and screening. Does Samsung have a similar service?
> 
> CD



To answer your question, a short yes or no answer is....  * no*


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> To answer your question, a short yes or no answer is....  * no*




The apps available through the Google Store are vetted. It used to be practically automatic that app developers submitted an app and it was published. Now, there's a stricter process. From 2015:

"According to*Purnima Kochikar, Director of Business Development for Google Play, Google has been working to implement the new app review system for over half a year. The idea, she says, was to figure out a way to catch*policy*offenders earlier in the process, without adding friction and delays to the app publishing process. To that end, Google has been successful, it seems – the new system actually went live a couple of months ago, and there have been no complaints.*Today, Android apps are approved in hours, not days, despite the addition of human reviewers.

“We started reviewing all apps and games before they’re published – it’s rolled out 100%,” says Kochikcar. “And developers haven’t noticed the change.”

https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/17/a...ewed-by-staff-will-include-age-based-ratings/


----------



## CharlieD

Not sure if this is the right place, but I don’t know where to put this. It’s not really a vent either. My father past away after battling pancreatic cancer. The suffering is over.


----------



## dragnlaw

Charlie, most sincere condolences.  I'm glad the suffering is over. You will think of him often as I do my brother who suffered the same cancer.  {{Hugs}}


----------



## Andy M.

CharlieD said:


> Not sure if this is the right place, but I don’t know where to put this. It’s not really a vent either. My father past away after battling pancreatic cancer. The suffering is over.



So sorry, Charlie. Our thoughts are with you and your family.


----------



## Just Cooking

CharlieD said:


> Not sure if this is the right place, but I don’t know where to put this. It’s not really a vent either. My father past away after battling pancreatic cancer. *The suffering is over*.


 To many of us, the solace is in the end of a loved ones suffering..


Sorry that you have lost your father..


Ross


----------



## GotGarlic

I'm so sorry for your loss, Charlie.


----------



## taxlady

Condolences on the loss of your father Charlie.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sorry for your loss, Charlie. Take peace in knowing that he is no longer suffering.


----------



## JustJoel

So very sorry for your loss, Charlie. Take joy in your memories, and know that the love never dies.


----------



## blissful

CharlieD said:


> Not sure if this is the right place, but I don’t know where to put this. It’s not really a vent either. My father past away after battling pancreatic cancer. The suffering is over.




I'm so sorry for your loss. Our family on my father's side lost my uncle and my dad (4 years ago) to pancreatic cancer. Also our grandmother to breast cancer which spread, and an aunt is currently fighting breast cancer that has spread. 



We are now (that generation and my generation and eventually my children's generation) will be getting genetic testing for mutations which may cause these cancers. The geneticist says it is possible all of these cancers are the result of the same mutation, possible, and there are other mutations that can be at work here too.


I bring this up to you, because catching it early and being aware can possibly help your family as it is helping ours. 



Through color.com tests (other companies too) can be run to test for these mutations. Once a first degree relative has a mutation, insurance companies do at times pay for the genetic testing on the relatives. When my father died, a vial of blood was frozen, and now can be tested. Then our generation will get tested if it is a possibility.


Again, sorry for your loss. Grief can be so difficult. God Bless you and yours.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Charlie, my condolences on the death of your father.


----------



## CharlieD

blissful said:


> I'm so sorry for your loss. Our family on my father's side lost my uncle and my dad (4 years ago) to pancreatic cancer. Also our grandmother to breast cancer which spread, and an aunt is currently fighting breast cancer that has spread.
> 
> 
> 
> We are now (that generation and my generation and eventually my children's generation) will be getting genetic testing for mutations which may cause these cancers. The geneticist says it is possible all of these cancers are the result of the same mutation, possible, and there are other mutations that can be at work here too.
> 
> 
> I bring this up to you, because catching it early and being aware can possibly help your family as it is helping ours.
> 
> 
> 
> Through color.com tests (other companies too) can be run to test for these mutations. Once a first degree relative has a mutation, insurance companies do at times pay for the genetic testing on the relatives. When my father died, a vial of blood was frozen, and now can be tested. Then our generation will get tested if it is a possibility.
> 
> 
> Again, sorry for your loss. Grief can be so difficult. God Bless you and yours.





Thank you. I appreciate that tip. I actually was thinking about that.


----------



## Mad Cook

CharlieD said:


> Not sure if this is the right place, but I don’t know where to put this. It’s not really a vent either. My father past away after battling pancreatic cancer. The suffering is over.


I'm so sorry for you and your family. It's a bit of a cliche to say that he is out of his suffering now but it's true. 

I'm going to Church on Sunday (I don't go very often) so I'll slip a prayer in for your Dad and your family. I know you aren't Christian but it's the same God when all is said and done.


----------



## Addie

Charlie, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Losing a parent is a very difficult time.


----------



## Caslon

This is the petty vents thread...right?  

I  bought some Sai Baba Nag Champa insense sticks online.  The worlds favorite.  Anyways, there's lots of knock offs being sold. I fell for such. (Chinese knockoff). eBay bought.

Side Note: There's a key plant additive that's just not available now in the making of Nag Champa... for all those who say Sai Baba Nag Champa is not the same anymore, it's not that. It's just that that plant additive is too rare now.  Current  authentic Sai Baba Nag Champa is still better than the Chinese knock off sticks I received. I got burned. The box looks authentic and all, but the sticks are thin and aren't very aromatic. They go out half way down the stick. I received  Chinese counterfeit merchandise, the eBay price was too good to pass up.


----------



## Kayelle

Right now, my rant is about *F bombs *in movies.  Ok, every now and then an occasional F bomb, but when it's used dozens of times in the dialog it's distracting and just stupid. Don't writers get it? The shock value is gone. I'm no prude and have been known to rarely use the word, but to use it constantly as an adjective is beyond ridiculous. Come on people!! Grrrrrr


----------



## Andy M.

Kayelle said:


> Right now, my rant is about *F bombs *in movies.  Ok, every now and then an occasional F bomb, but when it's used dozens of times in the dialog it's distracting and just stupid. Don't writers get it? The shock value is gone. I'm no prude and have been known to rarely use the word, but to use it constantly as an adjective is beyond ridiculous. Come on people!! Grrrrrr



Sadly, Kayelle, there are people who talk like that. We just don't hang around in those circles.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> Sadly, Kayelle, there are people who talk like that. We just don't hang around in those circles.


I once worked next to a guy who talked like that All. The. Time. Every other word was s---, f---, d--- or h---. And he spent a lot of time on the phone talking like that to someone (it was a defense contractor job and we didn't have a lot to do; I only stayed four months). I hated it, complained several times and was basically ignored.


----------



## taxlady

Too many f-bombs is boring. Can't the writer think of any better adjectives?


----------



## medtran49

We were sitting next to a couple of young women 2 weeks ago when we went out for lunch.  One of them talked nearly nonstop (I an NOT exaggerating) and the F-bomb was very frequently used.

Craig looked at me once when her babbling got a bit loud with sort of an arched eyebrow look.  I quietly said she sounds just like a Valley Girl.  He snorted and said he was thinking exactly the same thing but they used less F-bombs.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> Right now, my rant is about *F bombs *in movies....


And it's not like it's a new thing, either. I remember when Himself and I went to see Eddie Murphy's "Beverly Hills Cop". Had to look it up - it was released in 1984. When we walked out I said to him "if they hadn't included all of those F-bombs, the movie would have been half an hour shorter".



taxlady said:


> Too many f-bombs is boring. Can't the writer think of any better adjectives?


One of Himself's high school English teachers told the class that there was no reason to use any sort of vulgar word, considering that the English language offered over 170,000 other words one could pick from.  Pretty sure he probably told the class to not end a sentence with a preposition either...


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> And it's not like it's a new thing, either. I remember when Himself and I went to see Eddie Murphy's "Beverly Hills Cop". Had to look it up - it was released in 1984. When we walked out I said to him "if they hadn't included all of those F-bombs, the movie would have been half an hour shorter".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One of Himself's high school English teachers told the class that there was no reason to use any sort of vulgar word, considering that the English language offered over 170,000 other words one could pick from.  Pretty sure he probably told the class to not end a sentence with a preposition either...




It was never a need.  It’s a choice.


----------



## medtran49

Cooking Goddess said:


> And it's not like it's a new thing, either. I remember when Himself and I went to see Eddie Murphy's "Beverly Hills Cop". Had to look it up - it was released in 1984. When we walked out I said to him "if they hadn't included all of those F-bombs, the movie would have been half an hour shorter".
> 
> 
> One of Himself's high school English teachers told the class that there was no reason to use any sort of vulgar word, considering that the English language offered over 170,000 other words one could pick from.  Pretty sure he probably told the class to not end a sentence with a preposition either...



That's easy to fix "from one could pick," though sounds kind of formal.


----------



## taxlady

medtran49 said:


> That's easy to fix "from one could pick," though sounds kind of formal.


It does. So does changing "Who are you talking about?" to "About whom are you talking?" My favourite fix was credited to Winston Churchill, when he was criticized for ending a sentence with a preposition. It's probably not true that he said it. "This is nonsense up with which I will not put."


----------



## Cheryl J

Andy M. said:


> Sadly, Kayelle, there are people who talk like that. We just don't hang around in those circles.


 
Sometimes it's hard to avoid.  I stopped in a local mini mart out on the highway a couple of weeks ago for a soda, and this little teen gal in front of me was on her phone and used language that would have made my sailor dad cringe back in the day. 

The sad part was not so much the language, I can deal with that.  It was the fact that she was so completely absorbed in her phone call and oblivious to everything around her.   She continued her rant on her phone at the register, plopped a few bucks on the counter, accepted her change as correct, gathered her purchase, turned around and ran smack into me, and left the store.  She had no clue of her surroundings.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Too many f-bombs is boring. Can't the writer think of any better adjectives?



Of course not. They lack even one iota of talent in the writing department.


----------



## JustJoel

PUNCTUATION!

Commas save lives!

“Let’s eat Grandma!”
vs
“Let’s eat, Grandma!”


----------



## caseydog

I sure do miss _The West Wing_. What a great TV show. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Check your library, *Casey*. I can get all the DVDs through the library system - all seven seasons. Winter binge watching, if winter ever shows up for you. I bet it will!


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Check your library, *Casey*. I can get all the DVDs through the library system - all seven seasons. Winter binge watching, if winter ever shows up for you. I bet it will!



I want NEW shows like that!

I'd like a real President Bartlett, too.



CD


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Sometimes it's hard to avoid.  I stopped in a local mini mart out on the highway a couple of weeks ago for a soda, and this little teen gal in front of me was on her phone and used language that would have made my sailor dad cringe back in the day.
> 
> The sad part was not so much the language, I can deal with that.  It was the fact that she was so completely absorbed in her phone call and oblivious to everything around her.   She continued her rant on her phone at the register, plopped a few bucks on the counter, accepted her change as correct, gathered her purchase, turned around and ran smack into me, and left the store.  She had no clue of her surroundings.




 I told a fella the other day that his language in front of young children was atrocious. While I could handle it, the family unit with three under 6 years, should not have been subjected to it in a family restaurant.  He changed his language and was a bit more subdued.  He used his "inside" voice and nary a profane word was dropped.  The father of the young children thanked me.


Second part: Why the heck didn't the father speak up on his children's behalf?  Are people so afraid of offending someone that they will not speak up for themselves and their own?


----------



## medtran49

The father was probably afraid the other guy would get belligerent.  It was probably better coming from you as a woman because _most_ men will take something like that better from a woman than they will another man.  I don't mean to sound sexist, but all of you know it's true.  Kind of like a man asking for directions from another man thing.


----------



## Just Cooking

I have a health care rant... Maybe the "Sick Room" forum???


Anyway...


Growing up we had a family physician.. He took out my tonsils @ age 7, appendix @ 10, set broken bones, wrapped bad sprains, set broken noses, delivered my first child.. Basically, "Call Dr. Cusenza for everything"..


Now I have an HMO CPC whom I see for 1/2 hour, twice a year.. 

Need something else, he must refer me.. Something happens?? Go to Urgent Care or ER..


All my now doctors, nurses and most of office staff are great at what they do... BUT.. I sure miss medical treatment received back then..


Rant over...


Ross


----------



## GotGarlic

Just Cooking said:


> I have a health care rant... Maybe the "Sick Room" forum???
> 
> 
> Anyway...
> 
> 
> Growing up we had a family physician.. He took out my tonsils @ age 7, appendix @ 10, set broken bones, wrapped bad sprains, set broken noses, delivered my first child.. Basically, "Call Dr. Cusenza for everything"..
> 
> 
> Now I have an HMO CPC whom I see for 1/2 hour, twice a year..
> 
> Need something else, he must refer me.. Something happens?? Go to Urgent Care or ER..
> 
> 
> All my now doctors, nurses and most of office staff are great at what they do... BUT.. I sure miss medical treatment received back then..
> 
> 
> Rant over...
> 
> 
> Ross


I didn't need the specialized care when I was growing up that I need now. I'm grateful to have a family doctor, aka my PCP, who knows when he's out of his depth and will refer me to a specialist. Even though my insurance doesn't require it, if I need a new specialist, I ask him to recommend someone because he knows me so well.


----------



## roadfix

Yeah, unlike my parent's medical insurance where they're sent all over town to see this doc for that and that doc for this, my wife and I have plans where everything is done in the same facility, under one roof.
I've been trying to talk them into switching their medicare plan to something similar to what we have....


----------



## Chef Munky

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I told a fella the other day that his language in front of young children was atrocious. While I could handle it, the family unit with three under 6 years, should not have been subjected to it in a family restaurant.  He changed his language and was a bit more subdued.  He used his "inside" voice and nary a profane word was dropped.  The father of the young children thanked me.
> 
> 
> Second part: Why the heck didn't the father speak up on his children's behalf?  Are people so afraid of offending someone that they will not speak up for themselves and their own?




I've had to lay down the law like.It was actually over due.
What you say to me is one thing.What you say in front of my young impressionable sons at the time was another.I was very calm about it.The look in my eyes said another.Watch your step.Last chance.


As for the swearing.I'm not innocent.My halo broke off when hubby was being abused.It's not often that I do.That day it was the only thing those supposed professionals could understand.


Munky.


----------



## roadfix

Dang baseball traffic....   Day game ended during evening rush hour, it took me 3x longer to get home last night.


----------



## caseydog

This is a (not so) petty vent, and many f-bombs were dropped in the thick of it. 

2AM: The time when smoke alarms are programed to malfunction. 

"Chirp" (very loud, BTW)

"Chirp"

"Chirp"

First F-bomb dropped. 

Go to the garage, get a step-ladder (my ceilings are all at least ten feet).

Replace back-up battery (my smoke alarms are hard wired).

Go back to bed...

"Chirp"

"Chirp"

"Chirp"

Barrage of F-bombs. 

Take the battery out, deciding to deal with the problem during the day. 

"Chirp"

"Chirp"

"Chirp"

Seriously??? F-bomb Armageddon! 

But, you can now say that you know what a smoke alarm looks like when run over multiple times by a MINI Cooper. 

It has chirped it's last "Chirp."

CD

.


----------



## JustJoel

caseydog said:


> This is a (not so) petty vent, and many f-bombs were dropped in the thick of it.
> 
> 2AM: The time when smoke alarms are programed to malfunction.
> 
> "Chirp" (very loud, BTW)
> 
> "Chirp"
> 
> "Chirp"
> 
> First F-bomb dropped.
> 
> Go to the garage, get a step-ladder (my ceilings are all at least ten feet).
> 
> Replace back-up battery (my smoke alarms are hard wired).
> 
> Go back to bed...
> 
> "Chirp"
> 
> "Chirp"
> 
> "Chirp"
> 
> Barrage of F-bombs.
> 
> Take the battery out, deciding to deal with the problem during the day.
> 
> "Chirp"
> 
> "Chirp"
> 
> "Chirp"
> 
> Seriously??? F-bomb Armageddon!
> 
> But, you can now say that you know what a smoke alarm looks like when run over multiple times by a MINI Cooper.
> 
> It has chirped it's last "Chirp."
> 
> CD
> 
> .


_Phoebe’s Smoke Alarm_


----------



## taxlady

My smoke detectors are not hard wired. They have reset buttons. I know where the reset button is. I have to use it when the toast gets a little dark.


----------



## Andy M.

My stove hood has its limitations. I try to open a window to create a cross draft to minimize the possibility of smoke but sometimes I forget. The closest SD is at the foot of the stairs. I can step up to the second step and reach the SD to disconnect it. Then I have to remember to reconnect it.


----------



## dragnlaw

I built a house in 2000.  Regulations state all alarms must be hardwired - when one goes off they all go off. 

This thing went off with burnt toast, the kettle boiling, rain storms - but not after I threw the breaker.  Never turned it back on til I sold the house.

I had a battery one installed for safety - it never went off when I burnt the toast, when I boiled the kettle or water bathed jams, nor rain storms at 3 AM. 

It did chirp when the battery was low.

Here in this house I can grab a broom and hit the reset button when needed.


----------



## JustJoel

taxlady said:


> My smoke detectors are not hard wired. They have reset buttons. I know where the reset button is. I have to use it when the toast gets a little dark.


I’ve long wondered why they don’t make a smoke alarm that you can shut off for, say, half an hour, after which it resets itself automatically.


----------



## caseydog

JustJoel said:


> _Phoebe’s Smoke Alarm_



LOL! She should have run over it with a car. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

dragnlaw said:


> I built a house in 2000.  Regulations state all alarms must be hardwired - when one goes off they all go off.
> 
> This thing went off with burnt toast, the kettle boiling, rain storms - but not after I threw the breaker.  Never turned it back on til I sold the house.
> 
> I had a battery one installed for safety - it never went off when I burnt the toast, when I boiled the kettle or water bathed jams, nor rain storms at 3 AM.
> 
> It did chirp when the battery was low.
> 
> Here in this house I can grab a broom and hit the reset button when needed.



That is code here, too. The reset button does not do anything with a malfunctioning SD. One at a time, all of mine have gone out, and the manufacturer went out of business. I have a house full of dangling wires where SDs used to be. 

I do have a battery powered smoke and CO detector in my bedroom. That is all I really need. 

CD


----------



## taxlady

JustJoel said:


> I’ve long wondered why they don’t make a smoke alarm that you can shut off for, say, half an hour, after which it resets itself automatically.


When I hit the reset button, it stays off for about 10 minutes and then switches back on by itself. I guess it's more of a "shush" button than "reset".


----------



## Caslon

taxlady said:


> When I hit the reset button, it stays off for about 10 minutes and then switches back on by itself. I guess it's more of a "shush" button than "reset".



Many have ripped the unit off the ceiling to make a smoke alarm stop beeping (ones without a cancel button). I only hope they reattached it afterwards.


----------



## taxlady

Caslon said:


> Many have ripped the unit off the ceiling to make a smoke alarm stop beeping (ones without a cancel button). I only hope they reattached it afterwards.


Yeah, that's what we used to do before we could get the ones with the "shush" button.


----------



## caseydog

Caslon said:


> Many have ripped the unit off the ceiling to make a smoke alarm stop beeping (ones without a cancel button). I only hope they reattached it afterwards.



That could get them in big trouble with the smoke alarm cops -- a division of the phone cops. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTPzTG1Lx60

CD


----------



## Andy M.

WKRP was one of the best ever!


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> WKRP was one of the best ever!


I agree. Another good one from that era was Barney Miller.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Most times I will just keep my mouth shut because, well I don't have a very good filter. I am the guy that will say what everyone else is thinking. Good or bad. 





PrincessFiona60 said:


> I told a fella the other day that his language in front of young children was atrocious. While I could handle it, the family unit with three under 6 years, should not have been subjected to it in a family restaurant.  He changed his language and was a bit more subdued.  He used his "inside" voice and nary a profane word was dropped.  The father of the young children thanked me.
> 
> 
> Second part: Why the heck didn't the father speak up on his children's behalf?  Are people so afraid of offending someone that they will not speak up for themselves and their own?


----------



## Addie

I think teenagers are the worst when it comes to using bad language in public. I am afraid that I am not as polite as PF when it comes to speaking up.

If it is a male I ask them if they are a pimp. "Of course not. What would make you even ask that?"

If a girl, I ask if they are a prostitute. I get the same reaction. 

My answer to both of them is that the language they use made me think that they were in that profession. All of a sudden, they are working on cleaning up their language. I always give them a "Thank you" before I leave their presence. 

I know my kids are noted for using bad language. But for some strange reason, not in my presence. If a word should slip out, I get an apology instantly. 

When you work in a professional setting, you know that kind of language is never accepted. In some offices you can get fired for using it. specially if it is an important client in the area. Then you never adopt the foul language.  

As a result I have created my own dictionary of cuss words. Gol Durn is my favorite.  Dag Nab It also gets a lot of use. And Fam Damily is another one.


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I told a fella the other day that his language in front of young children was atrocious. While I could handle it, the family unit with three under 6 years, should not have been subjected to it in a family restaurant.  He changed his language and was a bit more subdued.  He used his "inside" voice and nary a profane word was dropped.  The father of the young children thanked me.
> 
> 
> *Second part: Why the heck didn't the father speak up on his children's behalf?  Are people so afraid of offending someone that they will not speak up for themselves and their own?*



In today's world speaking up can get you shot!

Be careful PF!!!


----------



## Andy M.

I don't like ice cold salad. As a result, I don't order salads in restaurants. At home, SO makes salads in the afternoon and refrigerates them. Often, I take my salad out of the fridge and microwave it for a short time to get it to room temperature.


----------



## Addie

My kitchen faucet is out of commission. So we have to go into the bathroom for water.

I have two wash basins that I have brought home from a couple of inpatient time in the hospital. They sure are handy under the sink Pull it out and get what you need. 

Well, we also at this time have a sinkful of dishes. I suppose Pirate could do them in the bathroom sink or bathtub. But he is burning up with a fever 104. He has a form of pneumonia. So I take everything out from under the sink. Discover that there is a leak way in the back. Oh well, I can't do anything about that.

So I took the two basins and scrubbed them furiously. One for washing and one for rinsing the dishes. When you are sitting in a wheelchair, the job is a lot harder. I now have to find a place to put the basins and figure out how to get hot water in them. If I put them in the tub for filling, I won't be able to lift them. So I am going to take my two quart pot and make trips back and forth with the wheelchair and fill the basins with that. I'm sure getting my workout today. Where is maintenance when you need them.


----------



## CharlieD

Andy M. said:


> I don't like ice cold salad. As a result, I don't order salads in restaurants. At home, SO makes salads in the afternoon and refrigerates them. Often, I take my salad out of the fridge and microwave it for a short time to get it to room temperature.




Both vegetables and fruits must be room temperature in my book.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

OH MY GAWD!!!!

On Friday, I spent an hour and a half at our local pharmacy, TRYING to fill a new prescription my doctor gave me.
The Pharm Tech kept going around that proverbial mulberry bush saying that my insurance claimed that it was too early to fill ….
THIS IS A BRAND NEW DRUG FOR ME!!!!  When did I fill it before? 
So I stepped away from the "mile long" line also waiting to fill their new prescriptions and called to my insurance company back in Hawaii.

Hawaii Rep:"No Missus, we've already logged an over ride for your local pharmacy to fill it and we'll cover it."
Local Pharm:"I don't have enough of this drug to fill a 90 count. Come back tomorrow and I'll have it all ready for you and covered under your drug plan."

Following day, I go back to our local drug store and I'm told that it's too early to fill and we don't have enough of that drug.  Come back on Monday.

Here we are, Monday morning, and I get a text from the drug store, "Too early to fill" … are you kidding me?

I call to my Hawaii Rep yet again, spent 55 minutes on the phone, with them going back and forth, yet again that it's too early to fill, that I've picked this drug not so long ago AND that a Pharm Tech had called me on Saturday to tell to come pick up my drug … WHAT?! 
Nobody called me, and to add insult to injury, the local Pharmacist said that it's the same drug that I had previously and he won't fill it, I still have some...   Who are you to tell me that I can't have a drug that my doctor has prescribed to me? REALLY?  
Some bad words REALLY wanted to come out of my mouth! 
DH is beside himself and wants to speak to the Pharmacist, and give him what for... NOPE!  I reached back out to our Hawaii Rep and God Bless her, she over rode everything and got it taken care of 

BUT WAIT!!!

This pharmacy is so understaffed, I have to wait TWO DAYS for them to fill my prescription … 

It's a VERY good thing that I asked my doctor's MA to give me a 30 day emergency back up for this new drug, knowing what hops I was going to have to jump through … Thank God for giving me such patience and a calm demeaner!


----------



## Just Cooking

I'd change pharmacy's, if there is another close by..


Ross


----------



## GotGarlic

Just Cooking said:


> I'd change pharmacy's, if there is another close by..
> 
> 
> Ross


I'd have done that last week.


----------



## taxlady

Just Cooking said:


> I'd change pharmacy's, if there is another close by..
> 
> 
> Ross





GotGarlic said:


> I'd have done that last week.


Yup, as soon as I went back, *on the day they told me to come back on*, and they didn't have it, I would change pharmacy.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I don't like ice cold salad. As a result, I don't order salads in restaurants. At home, SO makes salads in the afternoon and refrigerates them. Often, I take my salad out of the fridge and microwave it for a short time to get it to room temperature.


I hear ya. I don't usually find the salads to be very cold in restos. I have done that microwave the salad thing, about 20 seconds on 30% power. I do that with fruit out of the fridge too.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> I think teenagers are the worst when it comes to using bad language in public....As a result I have created my own dictionary of cuss words. Gol Durn is my favorite.  Dag Nab It also gets a lot of use. And Fam Damily is another one.


My Mom always told me that Grandma's theory was that you were still swearing, even if you were using "cute" words. Grandma would say "Don't be a hypocrite. Either talk like a lady or just use the swear word".  Mom swore freely.  I pretty much stick to low-level swear words (the livelier versions of "darn it" and "shoot"). Still doesn't mean I'm a "lady"...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> I don't like ice cold salad. As a result, I don't order salads in restaurants. At home, SO makes salads in the afternoon and refrigerates them. Often, I take my salad out of the fridge and microwave it for a short time to get it to room temperature.


By the time I'm done making a salad, there isn't anything cold about the ingredients anymore!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...On Friday, I spent an hour and a half at our local pharmacy, TRYING to fill a new prescription my doctor gave me...


I sure hope it wasn't for a blood pressure medicine...

You might need one now, though.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Just Cooking said:


> I'd change pharmacy's, if there is another close by..
> 
> 
> Ross



We've looked at that before, but we can only go to very specific pharmacy's on our drug plan.
DH and I did a Google Search for maybe a better one within the chain that's within a reasonable distance, FAT CHANCE !!!   They're all poorly rated!



GotGarlic said:


> I'd have done that last week.







taxlady said:


> Yup, as soon as I went back, *on the day they told me to come back on*, and they didn't have it, I would change pharmacy.







Cooking Goddess said:


> I sure hope it wasn't for a blood pressure medicine...
> 
> You might need one now, though.



No, *CG*, I have all good numbers other than my dang thyroid... hereditary dontcha know ... I take after my Mother with excellent health, other than that, and will live to well over 100 years of age, as most folks in her family have, on both sides.  Thankfully, the only thing I got from my Father is very little gray hair and much later in life as well.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> OH MY GAWD!!!!
> 
> On Friday, I spent an hour and a half at our local pharmacy, TRYING to fill a new prescription my doctor gave me.
> ..... snipped ....



*UPDATE*

I've received THREE text messages from our pharmacy saying that my prescription is ready for pick up.
The smart gal that I am, I called to confirm this, each time!
"Oh no Missus... we're still working on it ..."


----------



## taxlady

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *UPDATE*
> 
> I've received THREE text messages from our pharmacy saying that my prescription is ready for pick up.
> The smart gal that I am, I called to confirm this, each time!
> "Oh no Missus... we're still working on it ..."


 This would be me:


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

taxlady said:


> this would be me:


----------



## GotGarlic

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> We've looked at that before, but we can only go to very specific pharmacy's on our drug plan.
> DH and I did a Google Search for maybe a better one within the chain that's within a reasonable distance, FAT CHANCE !!! [emoji38]  They're all poorly rated!



One thing to consider: people who have a bad experience are more likely to complain about it than people who have a positive experience are to post about it. I wouldn't base my choice on just that.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> One thing to consider: people who have a bad experience are more likely to complain about it than people who have a positive experience are to post about it. I wouldn't base my choice on just that.


Truth. Someone did a survey. ~8 out of 10 people will tell friends and family about a bad experience. ~3 out 10 will tell friends and family about a good experience.


----------



## buckytom

Pessimists suck.

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

All true guys!

I'm the kind of person where if I receive poor customer service, 
no matter the business, I will seek out the owner/manager/supervisor
and make my concerns known and allow them to correct them.
If I return and they have not done so, everyone will _*then*_ hear about them.

In the positive aspect, I'll give praise where praise is due.
I'm an equal opportunist. 
Treat me right and I tell all my friends, treat me poorly and I still tell all my friends-but I'll give you one shot to correct it first.
(Did I say that I worked in Hospitality/Customer Service the most of my life )


----------



## Kayelle

*Kgirl,* I'd be back on the phone with your insurance rep post haste and tell her you want to order your thyroid prescription, or any other recurring prescription by mail from now on. She will give you the instructions on how to do that. Every insurance company I've ever had offers that option, and you'll never have to deal with that pharmacy again.


----------



## Addie

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *UPDATE*
> 
> I've received THREE text messages from our pharmacy saying that my prescription is ready for pick up.
> The smart gal that I am, I called to confirm this, each time!
> "Oh no Missus... we're still working on it ..."



Last week I call my pharmacy to see if my script was out for delivery. Nope. The girl that answered the phone looked into her computer and couldn't find my name. So she went to the pharmacist and according to her, he never heard of me either. Eleven years that man has bee filling my scripts.

I filed a formal two page complaint. So far I have received three letters of apology.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kayelle said:


> *Kgirl,* I'd be back on the phone with your insurance rep post haste and tell her you want to order your thyroid prescription, or any other recurring *prescription by mail* from now on. She will give you the instructions on how to do that. Every insurance company I've ever had offers that option, and you'll never have to deal with that pharmacy again.



KL, I was doing that for a while, but they were worse!
Our mail order meds come from Hawaii and are _never_ timely.
I now keep a 30 day "emergency backup" count of my meds, 
just in case and it's a good thing that I do!  
Once the local pharmacy has their "stuff" together, I can 
pick up what I need within a few days for refills, also at any affiliate
across the US.  We won't mention any names to protect 
the innocent but it's a large company using three alphabet letters


----------



## taxlady

I'm glad our insurance is nice about that. We can use any pharmacy we want. I actually never heard of restrictions on which pharmacy, here in Canada. If we didn't have Rx insurance through my husband's job, we would be on the provincial plan and that's at any pharmacy too.


----------



## roadfix

For refills I log on to my plan's website and mail order them.    I always get them within 3 days in the mail.


----------



## JustJoel

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> KL, I was doing that for a while, but they were worse!
> Our mail order meds come from Hawaii and are _never_ timely.
> I now keep a 30 day "emergency backup" count of my meds,
> just in case and it's a good thing that I do!
> Once the local pharmacy has their "stuff" together, I can
> pick up what I need within a few days for refills, also at any affiliate
> across the US.  We won't mention any names to protect
> the innocent but it's a large company using three alphabet letters


Were you aware that your three letter pharmacy just bought an insurance giant with a Greek name?


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

JustJoel said:


> Were you aware that your three letter pharmacy just bought an insurance giant with a Greek name?




GREAT!!!    That oughta help


----------



## caseydog

Being self-employed, I get my insurance through the Healthcare.gov marketplace. I picked a BCBS of Texas plan that meats my needs, as best as anything available. I get my prescriptions filled at my favorite Kroger. 

My sister and parents are forced to get their prescriptions by mail. Wow, the hoops they jump through are ridiculous. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I'm glad our insurance is nice about that. We can use any pharmacy we want. I actually never heard of restrictions on which pharmacy, here in Canada. If we didn't have Rx insurance through my husband's job, we would be on the provincial plan and that's at any pharmacy too.


I've never heard of having to use a specific pharmacy or chain, either, except for some very expensive specialty meds that are delivered by mail. Several months ago, I had to get a refill of one med which requires a large quantity of pills (I take six per day and it's a 3-month Rx). The Kroger pharmacy didn't have enough, so they called around to other local pharmacies to find one that did and I got them there. They just transferred the Rx and the next month, transferred it back. 

We used to go to an independent pharmacy in the next city over, but the owner sold it and service went way down. So as I needed refills, I moved them over to Kroger - no problem.


----------



## Andy M.

I like the convenience of mail order. Log in to the website from the comfort of my home, my Visa is charged and the Rx are delivered to my mailbox.


----------



## taxlady

I just phone my pharmacy and get them delivered to my door. I can order them online. It works better for pickup. I only tried getting them delivered once that way, and they didn't show up. I had to phone, but then they came the same day. Also, if I phone, I can get other stuff they sell in the store delivered with my 'scripts.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> *I've never heard of having to use a specific pharmacy or chain, either,* except for some very expensive specialty meds that are delivered by mail. Several months ago, I had to get a refill of one med which requires a large quantity of pills (I take six per day and it's a 3-month Rx). The Kroger pharmacy didn't have enough, so they called around to other local pharmacies to find one that did and I got them there. They just transferred the Rx and the next month, transferred it back.
> 
> We used to go to an independent pharmacy in the next city over, but the owner sold it and service went way down. So as I needed refills, I moved them over to Kroger - no problem.



My parents and sister _*can*_ choose their own pharmacy, but will not pay the same deductible. My parents have Medicare supplemental supplied as part of my dad's pension plan. They require him to use mail order, or pay more for prescriptions (which he could easily do, but he's cheap). My sister get's her insurance from her employer (a hospital, of all things), and has to use CVS, either local or by mail. Her insurance company has an agreement with CVS. 

CVS and Amazon are both wanting to acquire pharmacies and insurance companies, so this practice will probably grow. 

CD


----------



## buckytom

The only problem that I see with mail order prescriptions are that some medicines are susceptible to being affected by temperature. So, if it's 110° out, or maybe 30° below, your medicine sitting for hours in a mailbox or doorstep is a bad thing.


----------



## Andy M.

buckytom said:


> The only problem that I see with mail order prescriptions are that some medicines are susceptible to being affected by temperature. So, if it's 110° out, or maybe 30° below, your medicine sitting for hours in a mailbox or doorstep is a bad thing.



There's no guarantee medications delivered to your local pharmacy didn't experience the same exposures somewhere along the way.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Our Rx plan is provided by DH's former employer, so we don't get much of a choice.
It has changed, oh, I'd say 4 or 5 times since retiring 11 years ago.
You MUST do mail order...
Go where you like ...
You MUST go to this retail pharmacy to pick up your drugs ...
You choice how you like, but your out-of-pocket price will differ ...
You MUST do mail order from Hawaii, ONLY!!!
Now, it's up to you either mail order or retail pick up, same price, BUT, it must be from XYZ! (again, protecting the innocent : ) 

GEEZ! I guess that's SIX TIMES  
We've run the gambit, and I'm sure it'll change again and probably SOON!

But I must say, thank you very much former employer of DH for your wonderful coverage (I got a lump sum retirement and no lifelong coverage), our out-of-pocket costs are so low on any drug that we need, SO FAR 

But really, we do feel fortunate to have prescription coverage at all.
So many folks don't have anything.

My younger sister just got laid off after working, loyally, for this company for almost 20 years with no compensation what so ever.
It was simply, don't let the door hit in the ... head on the way out


----------



## GotGarlic

buckytom said:


> The only problem that I see with mail order prescriptions are that some medicines are susceptible to being affected by temperature. So, if it's 110° out, or maybe 30° below, your medicine sitting for hours in a mailbox or doorstep is a bad thing.


I take three Rx that need to be refrigerated. Two come in insulated Styrofoam boxes inside cardboard boxes with ice packs, so they stay at the right temperature.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> There's no guarantee medications delivered to your local pharmacy didn't experience the same exposures somewhere along the way.


In my experience, meds that have to be refrigerated usually are required to be delivered from a specialty pharmacy directly to the patient. I imagine they're delivered to the specialty pharmacy (or sometimes they're compounded at the pharmacy) in refrigerated trucks. 

I do have one liquid Rx that has to be refrigerated that I get at the Kroger pharmacy. They have a refrigerator in the pharmacy to keep it at the right temperature.


----------



## Addie

My health providers have a contract with that three letter pharmacy. Fine, so far. But should I go to the ER on the weekend or late evenings, and there is no three letter place open, all other pharmacies will refuse to fill it. Even if I tell them I am willing to pay for it. They will tell me to wait until morning and bring it to the three letter store. 

The pharmacy that sends me all my meds right into my hand, is owned by my health plan. They do not fill scripts from the general public. And I am the only one who can sign for them. I get three separated doses of gabapentin a day. Since that drug has been declared a "street drug" now, it is in the same class as any other narcotic. At least in this state. 

Pirate and myself know the two folks that make my deliveries. So they let him sign my name. Even though the instructions clearly state "to be signed ONLY by the patient these medicines are intended for." A lot of times I am sleeping when the delivery is made, and Pirate will not wake me up for the sole purpose of signing my name while I am half asleep. 

The nice thing about my health plan, I get anything I want from them. Including OTC cold remedies and Eucerin Damaged Skin Cream. Products I could easily buy at any drugstore in the nation.


----------



## Addie

BTW, how many of you know what those three letters stand for?


----------



## Just Cooking

Addie said:


> BTW, how many of you know what those three letters stand for?


 CVS Pharmacy used to be a subsidiary of Melville Corporation, where its full name was initially *Consumer Value Stores*. Melville later changed its name to CVS Corporation in 1996 after Melville sold off many of its non-pharmacy stores.


https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-CVS-in-CVS-Pharmacy-stand-for
Ross


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CVS also owns the company that delivers the meds to the facility...so many problems with them that I can't even begin to count.


----------



## Addie

We have 42 residents here. The majority of them get their scripts through the mail. The mail boxes are right next to the door. If I am down stairs and see a box, I know there are scripts in it. There have been a few times, that when the door is opened to let someone in or out, some dastardly drug addicts walk in as if they live here. Snatch the box of pills and off they go.

So now when I see a box sitting there, I grab it and bring it to the apartment. Some residents will bring it into the manager's office.


----------



## roadfix

Drug store ownership changes make no difference to me as long as I can still get Thrifty's Black Cherry ice cream at Rite Aid.


----------



## Kayelle

roadfix said:


> *Drug store ownership changes make no difference to me as long as I can still get Thrifty's Black Cherry ice cream at Rite Aid.*




I'm with you there, except my choice for decades has been rainbow sherbet. 

We have only two big drug stores in town and after lots of trouble with CVS we switched to Rite Aid. The rainbow sherbet is a bonus.


----------



## JustJoel

I don’t think I’ve had sherbet since I repatriated. The last time I remember was at a very upscale French restaurant in Japan; grapefruit sherbet served as a palate cleanser between courses. 

I’ll have to get some!


----------



## Kayelle

JustJoel said:


> I don’t think I’ve had sherbet since I repatriated. The last time I remember was at a very upscale French restaurant in Japan; grapefruit sherbet served as a palate cleanser between courses.
> 
> I’ll have to get some!




Joel, I know this is completely off topic, but I need to tell you about a wonderful smoothie blended with buttermilk and sherbet. Even if you don't like buttermilk you'll love it. I like the lime flavor best for this.


Ok folks, back to your regular programing.


----------



## JustJoel

Kayelle said:


> Joel, I know this is completely off topic, but I need to tell you about a wonderful smoothie blended with buttermilk and sherbet. Even if you don't like buttermilk you'll love it. I like the lime flavor best for this.
> 
> 
> Ok folks, back to your regular programing.


Sounds lovely! Bittermilk, sherbet, and what else?


----------



## Kayelle

JustJoel said:


> Sounds lovely! Bittermilk, sherbet, and what else?




Nothing else Joel. I'd say the ratio is about 1/3 sherbet to 2/3 buttermilk, or the thickness you'd like. I'm glad it sounds good to you because it really really is!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Grrrr....*

Totally P.O.'d right now. Drove past Himself's sis's house at the top of our street as I was coming home from running errands. Do you think she and her hubby could have given us a call before they put the danged For Sale sign in their yard?  Do you think they'd let us know before every friggin' neighbor at the top of the street knew?  It's days like this that make the very happy I'm an only child...


----------



## taxlady

I shared something on Facebook. A family member argued with it. He used totally made up information. I was going to ignore it, because I know he invents facts. But, I don't want anyone to think it's true. So, I just asked where he got that number. There is no point in arguing because,


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Totally P.O.'d right now. Drove past Himself's sis's house at the top of our street as I was coming home from running errands. Do you think she and her hubby could have given us a call before they put the danged For Sale sign in their yard?  Do you think they'd let us know before every friggin' neighbor at the top of the street knew?  It's days like this that make the very happy I'm an only child...




Yeah, you'd think they might mention the possibility before it happens.  I have a sister like that.  See her one day and everything is fine, next day she's on the move to another town.  Very wearing on a person.


----------



## dragnlaw

lol - been there too.  Best response is no response, if they bring the subject up - don't comment - don't react - change the subject...


----------



## roadfix

I deactivated my FB account back in July.   It feels so good.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Totally P.O.'d right now. Drove past Himself's sis's house at the top of our street as I was coming home from running errands. Do you think she and her hubby could have given us a call before they put the danged For Sale sign in their yard?  Do you think they'd let us know before every friggin' neighbor at the top of the street knew?  It's days like this that make the very happy I'm an only child...



Sounds like they are hoping for a quick sale and then sneak out of town in the middle of the night. Better hurry up and say your good bys now.


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> Sounds like they are hoping for a quick sale and then sneak out of town in the middle of the night. Better hurry up and say your good bys now.



Perhaps they left town already with their lottery winning.   The house could be empty.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*No more "Grrrr"*



Cooking Goddess said:


> Totally P.O.'d right now. Drove past Himself's sis's house at the top of our street as I was coming home from running errands. Do you think she and her hubby could have given us a call before they put the danged For Sale sign in their yard?...



Got a call from my SIL tonight. We're all good. If you want the full story, I posted it in the Thankfulness Club. After all, I'm very thankful that she wasn't mad at me and just wanted to slink out of town.


----------



## roadfix

Cooking Goddess said:


> Got a call from my SIL tonight. We're all good. If you want the full story, I posted it in the Thankfulness Club. After all, I'm very thankful that she wasn't mad at me and just wanted to slink out of town.




Your SIL would have a hard time closing sale of their home if it was contingent on them purchasing their new home.
We went through that about 25 years ago....  it didn't turn out so well at the end...  I ended up with 2 mortgages.


----------



## GotGarlic

roadfix said:


> Your SIL would have a hard time closing sale of their home if it was contingent on them purchasing their new home.
> We went through that about 25 years ago....  it didn't turn out so well at the end...  I ended up with 2 mortgages.


It depends on the market. If people really want a house and houses are selling quickly, the buyer can generally get what they want.


----------



## Addie

I am getting so fed up with trying to gain weight. I can only eat small amounts at a time, wait a couple of hours, then snack again. I have been munching on dry Cheerios all day yesterday and today. 

At today's weigh-in, I lost a pound. I know I will never be back where I was. I am missing 3/4 of a leg. But I would be happy if I could get up to at least 80 pounds. I look like a walking skeleton. 

Today I looked in the mirror. OMG! I look so American Native. High cheekbones, small eyes, and short like the rest of the tribe, from what I have seen in pictures. And none of them were very skinny like I presently am. I need to gain weight!!!


----------



## roadfix

Addie said:


> I am getting so fed up with trying to gain weight. I can only eat small amounts at a time, wait a couple of hours, then snack again.




Marijuana = Munchies


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> Marijuana = Munchies



Helps one deal with pain, too. Addie, I assume you don't have to drive, or operate a forklift. Just a thought. 

CD


----------



## taxlady

caseydog said:


> Helps one deal with pain, too. Addie, I assume you don't have to drive, or operate a forklift. Just a thought.
> 
> CD


She operates an electric scooter on occasion.


----------



## Caslon

Addie said:


> I am getting so fed up with trying to gain weight. I can only eat small amounts at a time, wait a couple of hours, then snack again. I have been munching on dry Cheerios all day yesterday and today.
> 
> At today's weigh-in, I lost a pound. I know I will never be back where I was. I am missing 3/4 of a leg. But I would be happy if I could get up to at least 80 pounds. I look like a walking skeleton.



Appetite and hunger are related to each other. You might feel your stomach is getting hungry and telling you you need calories , but a lack of appetite can suppress that natural desire of hunger telling you to eat.  Understandable.  

The lack of desire to plan out and make meals as before is also understandable as you don't do as much activity as before (and other factors), and therefore don't burn off calories that give you both hunger and appetite. I myself have gotten sedentary lately and therefore my breakfast meal seems to last 7 hours  before I feel appetite or hunger again.

"Ensure Plus" brand is the best tasting nutritional drink shake, bar none.  My favorite flavor is Strawberry.  I've even had that as a desert type thing.  The other nutritional brand shakes are like drinking muscle man weight gaining powder mixed into a liquid. Very gritty.  Walmart has 6 packs of Ensure Plus that are at least $4 cheaper than supermarkets per 6 pack. Strawberry flavor is often sold out.


----------



## CharlieD

Addi, you just need to move in with me, I'll fatten you up on all those fatty  Russian/Ukrainian foods.


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> Helps one deal with pain, too. Addie, I assume you don't have to drive, or operate a forklift. Just a thought.
> 
> CD



No, I never learned to drive a car. But I can plow up a straight row with the tractor. 

You know, I have the feeling that I am not going to be one of the folks with a lot of ghost pain. What little I do have is very short lived, and I tend to chock it up to old age. I seem to fail to recognize it for what it is. And that is a good thing.


----------



## taxlady

I posted on Facebook that I am doing a test of eliminating nightshade vegis from my diet, since it may help with osteoarthritis. Now, I have people trying to convince me to eliminate more stuff from my diet. I know they mean well, but crikey, one test at a time. Also, I want science, or at least personal experience. One person said I should look up the Autoimmune Protocol Diet. Yikes! That diet cuts out a LOT of foods. I don't have an autoimmune disease, so, no thank you. And after spending an hour looking for reasonable sites with info on that, I hadn't found any. I have other people telling me that the keto diet helps. Well, it might and I might try that, but not until I finish testing the nightshades. But, I am curious why keto might help arthritis, other than losing weight is generally a good idea with arthritis.


Thanks for reading my rant.


----------



## Cheryl J

Taxy, I hope that you find a diet that works for your osteoarthritis. It sounds like a long process eliminating certain foods, and I wish you the best.


----------



## taxlady

Thanks Cheryl


----------



## Addie

TL, when it comes to my health, I turn to the medical field. People mean well, but they are not the ones with the problem. Personally, I think you are looking for a means to solve your food problems the right way. Eliminate a food, one at a time. The only advice I can offer is, go to see a dietician. They know which food can create problems for certain health problems.  

Good luck. Hope  you find the solution soon.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> TL, when it comes to my health, I turn to the medical field. People mean well, but they are not the ones with the problem. Personally, I think you are looking for a means to solve your food problems the right way. Eliminate a food, one at a time. The only advice I can offer is, go to see a dietician. They know which food can create problems for certain health problems.
> 
> Good luck. Hope  you find the solution soon.


 Thanks Addie. That's my point, I really only want to hear science or from people who have the *same problem* and it helped them. If the people with the same problem won't or can't provide links to the science, I will hunt for it.

I'm  not having issues with food. I am testing to see if certain foods seem to be making my osteoarthritis worse by causing inflammation. I will be talking to a rheumatologist, then _possibly_ a dietitian.


----------



## JustJoel

I spent hours preparing a Thanksgiving Day feast for two yesterday. Mark took a Zanax about one o’clock, promptly fell asleep, and was out til nearly 11. The feast is still intact in the refrigerator, and instead of trying some of my creations for lunch, decided to make ham and Swiss sliders with the Hawaiian King rolls I bought.

I’m hurt, a little insulted, and pretty PO’d. He said he was “waiting for me,” but that’s NEVER stopped him before.


----------



## roadfix

I wish people would use common sense and be considerate when parking.
Yesterday I left a note on a car window that was parked in front of my house.   The curb is just long enough for 2 vehicles to park but this dude parks in the middle, between 2 driveways, preventing another vehicle to park either in front or behind him.    
Being Thanksgiving Day I knew the street would be packed with parked cars, including my guests' which were arriving later in the day.


----------



## GotGarlic

JustJoel said:


> I spent hours preparing a Thanksgiving Day feast for two yesterday. Mark took a Zanax about one o’clock, promptly fell asleep, and was out til nearly 11. The feast is still intact in the refrigerator, and instead of trying some of my creations for lunch, decided to make ham and Swiss sliders with the Hawaiian King rolls I bought.
> 
> I’m hurt, a little insulted, and pretty PO’d. He said he was “waiting for me,” but that’s NEVER stopped him before.


How is his recovery coming along? He may have been feeling unwell and hoping the Xanax would help.

I'm sorry you're upset. I can't tell you how many holidays we've had where I felt like I disappointed my husband. He's been amazingly understanding when I can't follow through on my plans. I'm very lucky.


----------



## caseydog

I am so angry right now!!! I took a _*United Airlines*_ flight from Denver to Hartford, and checked a suitcase that was too big to go as carry-on. When I got to the _Hertz_ lot Hartford, and went to get my Garmin Nav system out of my checked bag, it was gone -- along with anything else of value. 

So, I basically worked for minimum wage, or less, today, once you subtract my losses. 

Self-employment giveth, and self-employment taketh away. 

CD


----------



## taxlady

caseydog said:


> I am so angry right now!!! I took a _*United Airlines*_ flight from Denver to Hartford, and checked a suitcase that was too big to go as carry-on. When I got to the _Hertz_ lot Hartford, and went to get my Garmin Nav system out of my checked bag, it was gone -- along with anything else of value.
> 
> So, I basically worked for minimum wage, or less, today, once you subtract my losses.
> 
> Self-employment giveth, and self-employment taketh away.
> 
> CD


Well, that's a bummer. Won't insurance cover it?


----------



## caseydog

taxlady said:


> Well, that's a bummer. Won't insurance cover it?



No, not the stuff stolen. All of my camera and computer equipment is listed on my business insurance policy, but the stuff in that luggage was personal stuff. 

I'm going to pursue it with United Airlines, but I doubt I'll get anything out of it. They will want me to prove that the missing stuff was actually in the checked baggage, and how would I do that? 

CD


----------



## CharlieD

caseydog said:


> No, not the stuff stolen. All of my camera and computer equipment is listed on my business insurance policy, but the stuff in that luggage was personal stuff.
> 
> I'm going to pursue it with United Airlines, but I doubt I'll get anything out of it. They will want me to prove that the missing stuff was actually in the checked baggage, and how would I do that?
> 
> CD



i am so sorry that happen to you. I had similar situation. Not to that extent. i did not have anything that expensive. But these people will take anything they can get their hands on. 
imagine they took bunch of traveling utencils from my bag. Cheap garbage. But it is just horrible. Again, I am very sorry.


----------



## Cheryl J

Ugh, Casey, I'm so sorry to hear this.  Can't stand thieves!


----------



## Andy M.

caseydog said:


> I am so angry right now!!! I took a _*United Airlines*_ flight from Denver to Hartford, and checked a suitcase that was too big to go as carry-on. When I got to the _Hertz_ lot Hartford, and went to get my Garmin Nav system out of my checked bag, it was gone -- along with anything else of value.
> 
> So, I basically worked for minimum wage, or less, today, once you subtract my losses.
> 
> Self-employment giveth, and self-employment taketh away.
> 
> CD



Casey, sorry to hear that happened to you. Really stinks.


----------



## caseydog

Thanks for the comments. I really needed to "vent." 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Vent? I'd be wanting to put a hurt on anyone that touched my bag at the airport. 



caseydog said:


> I am so angry right now!!! I took a _*United Airlines*_ flight from Denver to Hartford, and checked a suitcase that was too big to go as carry-on. When I got to the _Hertz_ lot Hartford, and went to get my Garmin Nav system out of my checked bag, it was gone -- along with anything else of value...


I hope you are somehow able to get some sort of restitution for this. I doubt it would work, but maybe you could take a photo of your open suitcase and the agent at the gate when you check in? Then, if the contents don't look exactly like they did in the photo when you recheck it (at the airport, I would think, and not wait until you get to your rental car), find someone to strangle right then and there.


----------



## Caslon

caseydog said:


> No, not the stuff stolen. All of my camera and computer equipment is listed on my business insurance policy, but the stuff in that luggage was personal stuff.
> 
> I'm going to pursue it with United Airlines, but I doubt I'll get anything out of it. They will want me to prove that the missing stuff was actually in the checked baggage, and how would I do that?
> 
> CD



Airline terminals should have as many cameras as a Vegas gambling joints do, 3000 of them.


----------



## Just Cooking

This is 1/2 a petty vent with a lesson I learned long ago..


I do a lot of online shopping.. Rarely have a problem..


I ordered a Christmas gift item on Amazon for my granddaughter-in-law..


Order confirmed and shipped.. Day of delivery, I received a "delay in shipment" notice.. 4 days since delivery date, no updates..


The good thing is that I am early enough to get a refund and to reorder the item.. Hoping nothing else goes wrong with the new order..


Be careful folks.. Allow time for others to mess things up..  


Ross


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Vent? I'd be wanting to put a hurt on anyone that touched my bag at the airport.
> 
> 
> I hope you are somehow able to get some sort of restitution for this. I doubt it would work, but maybe you could take a photo of your open suitcase and the agent at the gate when you check in? Then, if the contents don't look exactly like they did in the photo when you recheck it (at the airport, I would think, and not wait until you get to your rental car), find someone to strangle right then and there.



Unfortunately, some suitcases are searched before they are loaded onto the plane. Even if you have a lock on it. That just raises suspicion. They will just break the lock and put a preprinted notice in your suitcase notifying you of the search. 

One time I was flying to Atlanta. I was going to be baking a special chocolate cake for the holiday dinner. It required a special cake pan that my hostess didn't own. So I packed mine. I would have loved to seen the face of the searcher when they came across that. As many times as I have flown and had my suitcase searched, I have never had anything missing. Not even that stupid cake pan that I still own. But I do wish the searchers would fold the items neatly, the way they found them.


----------



## Andy M.

When we were going to Aruba every year, I’d pack kitchen knives and other stuff. On average my bag would get searched every other year. Never a problem, always got a notice.


----------



## caseydog

Caslon said:


> Airline terminals should have as many cameras as a Vegas gambling joints do, 3000 of them.



My first thought was, "How does someone steal from baggage at an airport?" 

CD


----------



## Andy M.

caseydog said:


> My first thought was, "How does someone steal from baggage at an airport?"
> 
> 
> 
> CD





First, you get a job as a baggage handler working behind the scenes...


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> First, you get a job as a baggage handler working behind the scenes...


Sadly, I think you hit the nail on the head.


----------



## Addie

When Pirate was a teenager, he had a job at Logan Airport as a baggage handler. He loaded the luggage inside the plane.

According to him, it was quite common for the handlers to open an expensive suitcase and see if there was anything of value. Of course that was way long before 9/11. Today, you go through the tortures of hell to get a job there. You would think with the airport right in our backyard, they would hire more Eastie residents. Not so anymore. Definitely no one under 18 years of age.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Sadly, I think you hit the nail on the head.



Yep. And it's so convenient that you can't lock them anymore either. Here, help yourself...


----------



## Addie

Recently my health plan expanded big time. They have built a state of the art new building to included all inclusive in-house care and clinical. And I am being transferred from Winthrop to Lewis Mall facility for all my medical needs. Great! I can even get on a bus with my wheelchair and go there is need be by myself. 

The problem, I may have to resort to just that. What was "Elderly Service Plan" is now PACE. "Progressive All-inclusive Care for Elderly". Their transportation system is falling apart. This week I had an appointment with the dentist. It is located right in the heart of Winthrop. I have a heavy winter coat and put it on after the call was made to send a van to pick me up. One hour, coat still on. One and a half hour goes by. I finally took off the coat. Sure enough the van pulled up. I just grabbed my coat and braved the wind and cold while being transferred on the lift to the van. Didn't even put my coat on. 

This has become the norm for the transportation department. The drivers do not answer their calls on the radio to pick up a wheelchair patient. All their vehicles have lifts for wheelchair patients. Or the dispatcher forgets to even put out a call and try to find a ride for the patient. My typical wait period for pickup to go home from any appointment is two hours or more now. I am seriously considering cancelling all my intown appointments. I do not want to get stuck there. One time, the clinic in town was closing and the secretary had to call the Boston Police to pick me up and bring me home. 

Last Thursday I had company coming at noon. I had to go to Winthrop to  have my Coumadin levels checked. Five minutes at the most. That was at 10:30 a.m. It wasn't until 12:45 that a van became available to bring me back home. It seems that* all *the drivers were at their lunch time at the very same time. Has no one ever heard of staggering lunch breaks?  

They need more drivers and vans. And a new DISPATCHER!!! 
She is one step below useless.


----------



## Caslon

Me thinking about unlimited energy. We think we're in the modern age.  Think again.


----------



## Caslon

Petty vent. Shopping for sneakers/running shoes as everyday apparel.   They are all so weird colored looking now.   Hundreds of styles...most all yukky.


----------



## roadfix

Caslon said:


> Me thinking about unlimited energy. We think we're in the modern age.  Think again.



I can live completely off-grid.   If I were single.


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> Petty vent. Shopping for sneakers/running shoes as everyday apparel.   They are all so weird colored looking now.   Hundreds of styles...most all yukky.



For my boys growing  up, black high tops. The girls and myself, Keds.


----------



## roadfix

Caslon said:


> Petty vent. Shopping for sneakers/running shoes as everyday apparel.   They are all so weird colored looking now.   Hundreds of styles...most all yukky.


I agree.   I try to look for that vintage, old school look.   They're out there.


----------



## Kayelle

*DMV*  GRRRRR...


I tried to make an appointment online but they claimed none were available for the next two weeks. I don't believe that but I needed to renew my drivers license so off I went to that hell pit. After being sent from one window to the next for 2 hrs. I finally emerged with frayed nerves, an aching back and license in hand.


----------



## roadfix

Kayelle said:


> *DMV*  GRRRRR...
> 
> 
> I tried to make an appointment online but they claimed none were available for the next two weeks. I don't believe that but I needed to renew my drivers license so off I went to that hell pit. After being sent from one window to the next for 2 hrs. I finally emerged with frayed nerves, an aching back and license in hand.



Since they started issuing DL's to practically everyone here in the State, DMV has gone to the pits.
I've been renewing my DL by mail the last 4 times, still with my 30 year-old picture on the current license.    But I'll have to do it in person on the next renewal.   I'm a AAA member so I think I can do it at one of their field offices instead.


----------



## Kayelle

roadfix said:


> Since they started issuing DL's to practically everyone here in the State, DMV has gone to the pits.
> I've been renewing my DL by mail the last 4 times, still with my 30 year-old picture on the current license.    But I'll have to do it in person on the next renewal.   I'm a AAA member so I think I can do it at one of their field offices instead.




Hmm, I had to do the written test this time, and get a new picture. Thankfully the picture is better than the last one, and the test is now on one of their computers. I scored 100% There are those who have never used a computer, so I don't know what they do. Being on my feet for so long was a painful challenge. 

I'm still fuming.


----------



## Just Cooking

Kayelle said:


> *DMV*  GRRRRR...
> 
> 
> I tried to make an appointment online but they claimed none were available for the next two weeks. I don't believe that but I needed to renew my drivers license so off I went to that hell pit. After being sent from one window to the next for 2 hrs. I finally emerged with frayed nerves, an aching back and license in hand.


 California... 


When I got to Missouri, last January, I went to DMV here in Springfield.. 2 people ahead of me.. I got my drivers license changed from Cali and registered a car.. Car registration for 2 years was $64.. I think the drivers license was $7..


I miss California..  
Ross


----------



## Addie

roadfix said:


> I agree.   I try to look for that vintage, old school look.   They're out there.



Google Keds and the type of footwear you are looking for.


----------



## Kayelle

By the way, you'd think the stupid DMV could at least have chairs for their computers but nooooo....they are standing computers for the driver test.


I'm convinced the California DMV delights in making people miserable.


----------



## JustJoel

Kayelle said:


> By the way, you'd think the stupid DMV could at least have chairs for their computers but nooooo....they are standing computers for the driver test.
> 
> 
> I'm convinced the California DMV delights in making people miserable.


Come to Nevada! I didn’t have to take any tests, just my picture. CA license to NV license. *Three and a half hours!*


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> By the way, you'd think the stupid DMV could at least have chairs for their computers but nooooo....they are standing computers for the driver test.
> 
> 
> I'm convinced the California DMV delights in making people miserable.



One more reason I am glad I never learned to drive.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well, Addie, I personally don't mind the occasional trip to the DMV (OH) or RMV (MA) to renew a license every 4 or 5 years. It gives me unlimited opportunity to drive myself anywhere I want on my schedule. BUT different strokes for different folks.



Kayelle said:


> *DMV*  GRRRRR...
> 
> 
> I tried to make an appointment online but they claimed none were available for the next two weeks. I don't believe that but I needed to renew my drivers license so off I went to that hell pit. After being sent from one window to the next for 2 hrs. I finally emerged with frayed nerves, an aching back and license in hand.


Speaking of strokes, I'm very happy that you didn't stroke out right there at the DMV. You do know they would have ignored you and let people walk all over you when their turn came up. After today's trials, you deserve a hot buttered rum or white Russian.  Just sayin'...


----------



## caseydog

Caslon said:


> Petty vent. Shopping for sneakers/running shoes as everyday apparel.   They are all so weird colored looking now.   Hundreds of styles...most all yukky.



Converse All-Stars. Nuff said. 

CD


----------



## Kayelle

Addie said:


> One more reason I am glad I never learned to drive.




Driving is one of the best things I ever learned how to do Addie. I got my first drivers license on my 16th birthday and it was one of the best days of my life. I was also given a car on that day and from then on I've been on the road without a single moving violation or accident. I'll turn 75 in a few days, and I'm still an excellent driver. I'm thankful my driving has given me the independence of a lifetime. As much as I crab about the DMV, I'm very glad I got that precious drivers license renewed once more.


----------



## Addie

Boston has an excellent transit system and it gets me where I want to go. I once took two driving lessons. I was so nervous that I knew it wasn't for me. Having spent some time in the ER as an employee, I have seen what auto wrecks can do to people. Today in this State, a family is burying a two month infant and her four year old sister. You couldn't even recognize the stroller. The folks were just waiting to cross the street. The driver is facing two separate charges of vehicle homicide. The other three people received minor injuries which included another child. The driver took a tranquillizer just before getting into her car. She fell asleep at the wheel and the car jumped the curb. 

I am very happy with our transit system. Due to the loss of my leg and my age as an elderly, I now can take _"The Ride"_. So I get private transport wherever I want to go. 

We have a few elderly residents in this building that need to turn in their license.


----------



## roadfix

I guess it all depends on where you live.

In L.A. you need a car.    In most other major cities around the U.S., (and most other countries) you can get from point A to point B without a car.


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> I guess it all depends on where you live.
> 
> In L.A. you need a car.    In most other major cities around the U.S., (and most other countries) you can get from point A to point B without a car.


It really does. I had to have a car when I lived in the country. When I moved back to Montreal, I didn't bother to replace my dead vehicle and let my driver's license go. I didn't have a driver's license for 18 years! I moved to the suburbs and got by with public transit for five years. Then I couldn't stand it anymore and got my driver's license again and bought a car. Shopping and getting home by public transit is a real PITA when the stores aren't near each other and the buses don't come often, like they do in the city.


----------



## JustJoel

roadfix said:


> I guess it all depends on where you live.
> 
> In L.A. you need a car.    In most other major cities around the U.S., (and most other countries) you can get from point A to point B without a car.


Vegas public transport pretty much sucks. Definitely a “better to have a car” city. If you’re going to play on the Strip, though, as long as you live near one of the major east/west streets that cross the Strip, better to take a bus.


----------



## Kayelle

I'd agree needing to drive depends on where you live, so I only know my own experience as I've lived here all my life and driving here is actually equal to independence.
Personally, I can't imagine needing to depend on anyone for where or when I want to go anywhere for any reason. That fantastic feeling of freedom came on my 16th birthday, and I hope I'm gone before I have to give it up.


----------



## Cheryl J

I've been doing the mail-in option with my drivers license, but in 2014 I received a notice that I had to go in to the local DMV for an eye exam to renew.  It's a small office and only took about 20 minutes start to finish, and I got a new picture at the same time.  It expires in Nov. of next year....I hope I don't have to do the written test, but it is what it is. 

Like Kay said, I only know my own experience here in a small town and love the freedom of going where I want  when I want. I've been driving for decades and will keep on keepin' on as long as I can.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I lived along a bus line with service into Cleveland when I first started working. That was good for work, but if I wanted to shop at a mall or strip center that wasn't along the line, too bad. If I wanted to head out to the ski slopes that weren't along the line, too bad. Pretty much if I wanted to be independent, I needed a car. Even though I also got my license when I turned 16, I didn't get a car until I was 20. After a few years of relying on others for rides, or busing to work, I really wanted a car. I've owned one ever since 1971, and wouldn't have had it any other way.



Addie said:


> Boston has an excellent transit system and it gets me where I want to go....
> I am very happy with our transit system. Due to the loss of my leg and my age as an elderly, I now can take _"The Ride"_. So I get private transport wherever I want to go...


Boston used to have an excellent transit system. Now it's old, poorly maintained, and breaks down often.  I hear those points brought up nearly every day on Boston news segments. Besides, the system is good only for those living along the line. For anyone outside of city center, most people need to drive into and out of Boston for work - a real adventure, from what I've heard.

Private transport is not the same as the public transit system. Be very thankful that you quality for such a privilege.


----------



## Just Cooking

I figure that its getting close to stop driving time for Jeannie and myself.. 



I do not want to be one of the so many old people I know of who insist that they drive perfectly well as they drive their fender scuffed car out of the garage which has dings on both sides of the door..


Its only my opinion but, the % of really good drivers in their 80's is small. I drove a lot when in sales, with an almost perfect driving record. I know I'm not as alert as I once was and will have no problem giving it up.


Circumstances vary but I know what we will save in the costs of car ownership, will buy a lot of professional rides..


Ross


----------



## Addie

Just Cooking said:


> I figure that its getting close to stop driving time for Jeannie and myself..
> 
> I do not want to be one of the so many old people I know of who insist that they drive perfectly well as they drive their fender scuffed car out of the garage which has dings on both sides of the door..
> 
> Its only my opinion but, the % of really good drivers in their 80's is small. I drove a lot when in sales, with an almost perfect driving record. I know I'm not as alert as I once was and will have no problem giving it up.
> 
> Circumstances vary but I know what we will save in the costs of car ownership, will buy a lot of professional rides..
> 
> Ross



My father turned in his license to the DMV on his own. He notice that he was driving way to slow for the safety of himself and others on the road. 

Here in Boston, we have "The Ride", for elderly and handicap folks in need of transportation. The charge is minimal. It will take you anywhere you want to go that the "T" goes. Outside of that, the charge goes up slightly. The City also offers free transportation to Seniors. That service is mostly for medical appointments and grocery shopping. I also can use my Senior Discount and take my wheelchair or scooter on a public bus. But it is such a pain. I would rather use The Ride. 

It appears that the nation as a whole is recognizing that Seniors are living longer and in need of services. From caregivers, health aides, transportation, etc. 

I understand the feeling of losing ones independence. And as elderly, we tend to not like change in our lives. To lose ones freedom of driving can and often does feel like we are being singled out. Not always so. For those who are still driving well into their 70's and beyond, I can only pray that they are doing it safely.


----------



## taxlady

Just Cooking said:


> I figure that its getting close to stop driving time for Jeannie and myself..
> 
> 
> 
> I do not want to be one of the so many old people I know of who insist that they drive perfectly well as they drive their fender scuffed car out of the garage which has dings on both sides of the door..
> 
> 
> Its only my opinion but, the % of really good drivers in their 80's is small. I drove a lot when in sales, with an almost perfect driving record. I know I'm not as alert as I once was and will have no problem giving it up.
> 
> 
> Circumstances vary but I know what we will save in the costs of car ownership, will buy a lot of professional rides..
> 
> 
> Ross


Bravo, that you want to keep everyone safe. I figure, that as I get older, I will ask my doctor and maybe ask a driving school to give me a practice road test. I can imagine the possibility that I might over estimate my own abilities.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Just checked, license renew next October.  Must have a car, it's 10 miles to work and almost 50 miles to decent (inexpensive) shopping.


----------



## Rascal

Here in chch you just got to watch out for Suzuki swifts. Full of old nanas, indesicive drivers. 

Russ


----------



## tenspeed

Rascal said:


> Here in chch you just got to watch out for Suzuki swifts. Full of old nanas, indesicive drivers.
> 
> Russ


 After all of the blowback you have received, you post THIS?


----------



## medtran49

tenspeed said:


> After all of the blowback you have received, you post THIS?




If he's talking about what I think he is, i.e. scooters that are just street use legal, they are called rice burners here by the weekend warrior motorcyclists (and I'm talking about people that ride a Harley or whatever the European bikes are) and it's generally old papas (i.e. old men) or, and I'm not sure how to put this nicely, quite odd or strange looking people (not of any particular ethnicity), and they are  usually indecisive or hesitant drivers.  The crotch rockets, fully powered motorcycles, which are also referred to as rice burners, are ridden almost entirely by young males of all ethnicities who tend to be very aggressive drivers.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Just Cooking said:


> I figure that its getting close to stop driving time for Jeannie and myself..
> 
> 
> 
> I do not want to be one of the so many old people I know of who insist that they drive perfectly well as they drive their fender scuffed car out of the garage which has dings on both sides of the door..
> 
> 
> Its only my opinion but, the % of really good drivers in their 80's is small. I drove a lot when in sales, with an almost perfect driving record. I know I'm not as alert as I once was and will have no problem giving it up.
> 
> 
> Circumstances vary but I know what we will save in the costs of car ownership, will buy a lot of professional rides..
> 
> 
> Ross



While you're still driving is the time to test the feasibility of getting along with alternate transportation, grocery delivery, etc...  Leave the car in the garage for a couple of months and see what if any problems you encounter. 

If you decide to give up the car I think that it's still a good idea to keep your license up to date.

Good luck!


----------



## tenspeed

medtran49 said:


> If he's talking about what I think he is, i.e. scooters that are just street use legal,


 Nope.  A Suzuki Swift is a car, and nana is a term for grandmother (it's gender specific).


----------



## medtran49

tenspeed said:


> Nope.  A Suzuki Swift is a car, and *nana is a term for grandmother* (it's gender specific).




I figured that, which is why I put old men in parentheses when referring to papas.


----------



## Caslon

Serious petty vent about recent email spam I'm getting. Take note of  the pic below and the sender and that little square. My Thunderbird will filter that particular sender, but that's all.  On my spam filter, if I backspace out all but that little square and try and make Thunderbird screen it as spam...Thunderbird can't!  I tried every possible way.  Thunderbird forums were of no help either.  What's more insidious is that that little square has zeros on top and 005 on the bottom. Spammers can change that tiny 005 to 006. Scary. I say scary because it almost demands Thunderbird update its dictionaries every day to keep up, almost like a virus scanner. I doubt Mozilla Thunderbird email wants to have to do that.


----------



## Caslon

Apparently, that terminated company duped Amazon and gave away email addresses of  customers. Amazon informed customers that that company has been terminated. However, Amazon sent out millions of email warnings for that supposedly minor error on their part. Of which they refuse to talk about further. I heard a guy got fired tho.


----------



## caseydog

A little tip... set up multiple email addresses, including some you only use when you have to enter an email address to access a web site. 

I have a personal email address, and business email address, and three "spam dump" email addresses -- one in my dog's name. If I am forced to enter a name for some discount card, like my _Kroger_ discount card, I use my dog's name, and email address. 

I don't even look at my dog's email account, because I know everything in it is junk. 

CD


----------



## buckytom

Psycho poodle gets unbelievable savings coupons, like 75% off of Gucci and Louis, but noone gets to use them because he is more of a Hermes or Ferragamo kind of dog.


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Psycho poodle gets unbelievable savings coupons, like 75% off of Gucci and Louis, but noone gets to use them because he is more of a Hermes or Ferragamo kind of dog.



He actually got a lot of home refinancing offers, but he doesn't care, since I pay for his housing... and food, medical, and everything else. 

CD


----------



## buckytom

And not a stitch to wear?

Animal abuse!


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> And not a stitch to wear?
> 
> Animal abuse!



Huh? He has a fur coat. Do you know what people pay for fur coats? 

CD


----------



## tenspeed

caseydog said:


> Huh? He has a fur coat. Do you know what people pay for fur coats?
> 
> CD


PETA protesters will be arriving soon.


----------



## caseydog

tenspeed said:


> PETA protesters will be arriving soon.



Naw, I am a member of PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals). 

CD


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek was never on my insurance, he was only ever listed as a beneficiary. Now my insurance is demanding a copy of his death certificate because I changed my beneficiary status to my brother. <spit> Like I'm not rolling in my sorrow enough at this time of year.


----------



## profnot

So funny!  I haven't run into anyone else who set up an email account in the dog's name.  I chuckle when I learn a specific bank has pre-approved my dog for a home loan.


The earlier posts about elderly drivers reminded me of this joke:

Two very senior little ladies were discussing the ravages that time had wrought on their bodies.

_Said one "My arthritis has gotten so bad I can hardly grip anything, my cataracts seem to get worse every day, I have gout in my right leg, can't bend my knee and I can't hear anything.

But thank goodness I can still drive._


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek was never on my insurance, he was only ever listed as a beneficiary. Now my insurance is demanding a copy of his death certificate because I changed my beneficiary status to my brother. <spit> Like I'm not rolling in my sorrow enough at this time of year.


  (((Hugs PF)))


 Well, phooey on that. How is that even any of their business? Aren't you allowed to change the beneficiary just because you want to?


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek was never on my insurance, he was only ever listed as a beneficiary. Now my insurance is demanding a copy of his death certificate because I changed my beneficiary status to my brother. <spit> Like I'm not rolling in my sorrow enough at this time of year.



 {{{{PF}}}} I was on DH's insurance when he died. I had no problem changing benefiary to my brother for my finances though.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

More hugs coming your way, PF. I'd call BS on them needing a death cert. Like taxy said, you should be able to make changes to suit your needs and wants. I hope this gets resolved quickly.


----------



## Cheryl J

So sorry you're having to deal with this now, PF.  More ((hugs)) coming your way.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs PF)))
> 
> 
> Well, phooey on that. How is that even any of their business? Aren't you allowed to change the beneficiary just because you want to?



Apparently there is some rule about changing from a spouse in Minnesota.



Dawgluver said:


> {{{{PF}}}} I was on DH's insurance when he died. I had no problem changing benefiary to my brother for my finances though.



My insurance for work is through Minnesota, who knows what rules are being applied or maybe the HR person is suspicious.



Cooking Goddess said:


> More hugs coming your way, PF. I'd call BS on them needing a death cert. Like taxy said, you should be able to make changes to suit your needs and wants. I hope this gets resolved quickly.



Wednesday, they get the "ANGRY" call.  This is so stupid, they won't validate any of my insurance until I send back this paperwork including a copy of the death certificate.  I enrolled the first day you could enroll and they are just now sending me this.



Cheryl J said:


> So sorry you're having to deal with this now, PF.  More ((hugs)) coming your way.



Thanks for the support, Ladies!  I just needed to vent and didn't get the e-mail until I got home from work tonight.  Odd how they picked Christmas Eve to send this out.

Rant almost over...


----------



## dragnlaw

Hugs and Hugs PF, so sorry it is at this time of year. What rotten timing.

and with sympathies comes the caveat...  

We have pretty much the same rule here under certain circumstances.  One cannot change the beneficiary without the beneficiary's acknowledgement (ergo signature).  eg..  a couple who have split up after 30 years cannot just change the beneficiary as that may or may not have been part of another deal.  Needs acknowledgement, not necessarily agreement but acknowledgement.  Weird, eh?

It is the same thing with their primary abode.  It cannot be sold without the spouse's acknowledgement (signature). It doesn't matter whether or not their name is on the deed.  This prevents a spouse coming home from work/shopping one day to find the key changed on the door and their 'other-half' gone (usually with the contents of said abode)


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Apparently there is some rule about changing from a spouse in Minnesota...




This is a fairly common requirement. If your primary beneficiary is not your spouse, you either have to provide a signed document from the spouse or a death certificate.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek was never on my insurance, he was only ever listed as a beneficiary. Now my insurance is demanding a copy of his death certificate because I changed my beneficiary status to my brother. <spit> Like I'm not rolling in my sorrow enough at this time of year.



Princess, I can understand your anger. When my daughter died, a bill collector of hers wanted to take me to court if "she was really dead." (their words) The wanted me to pay the bill, and wanted a full copy of her death certificate, not just the small one that the city releases before the autopsy is completed and the report sent to the authorities. 

I am so sorry to hear of your distress. I can so understand. Don't these people understand that grief and sorrow doesn't end with the funeral? 

My heart goes out to you. 

Love from Addie and all that know and love you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Looks like I need to dig the death certificate out of the files and fax the thing.  This trying to get everything taken care of after a death is severely taxing on the surviving spouse.


----------



## Kayelle

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Looks like I need to dig the death certificate out of the files and fax the thing. * This trying to get everything taken care of after a death is severely taxing on the surviving spouse.*




You are so right and I'm so sorry PF. I remember having to mail out many certified copies of his death certificate for various reasons. It was taxing to be sure, but I found it was less stressful to just not question the why of it.
Wishing a much better new year for you. I think of you often.


----------



## Dawgluver

In the winter, my sunroom hosts the occasional “queen wasp”, usually sluggish little girls that I just gently grab with a kleenex and transfer outside. It's always been painless, except for today. She nailed my finger through the kleenex, and dang it hurts! I resisted the urge to squish her up good in the kleenex and released her outside though.


----------



## Kayelle

Dawgluver said:


> In the winter, my sunroom hosts the occasional “queen wasp”, usually sluggish little girls that I just gently grab with a kleenex and transfer outside. It's always been painless, except for today. She nailed my finger through the kleenex, and dang it hurts! I resisted the urge to squish her up good in the kleenex and released her outside though.




You are a kind and gentle soul Dawg. 

On the other hand, I would have murdered the royal !


----------



## caseydog

There is a critter, probably a field rat, in my attic. 

I can hear it, but can't see it, and it has, so far, avoided all the glue traps I have up there. 

This has been a bad six months for my attic. First thousands of %@#$& bees, and now a &^%@# rat (although, it is not my first rat tenant). 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I suppose it could be worse, *cd*. You could have bats in your belfry.


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> There is a critter, probably a field rat, in my attic.
> 
> I can hear it, but can't see it, and it has, so far, avoided all the glue traps I have up there.
> 
> This has been a bad six months for my attic. First thousands of %@#$& bees, and now a &^%@# rat (although, it is not my first rat tenant).
> 
> CD



CD, I once had a job in an office that held all the office supplies for the business. Part of the floor was missing in that closet and there was a vent on the bottom of the door. In the winter time, the field mice would come inside and lived in that closet. Every night, my boss would put a new sticky trap under my desk. I would come in the morning and sure enough, there would be two or three mice stuck on it, some still alive. Fortunately, I did not have to touch those dang things.

So one day I hear some squeaking coming from the closet. I open the door and there just below the vent, are three tiny newborn naked mice babies. It seems the mother had put them where they could stay warm. I got my ruler and knocked them back down to their mother. Those sticky traps do work. At one point my boss placed food in the middle of the trap. It drew the mice further into he sticky trap than they really wanted to go. 

Come warm weather and springtime, the mice went back to their fields.


----------



## roadfix

My parent's townhouse had rats in the attic.   You can hear them during early morning hours.   And this went on for months.   One day I threw some rat poison up there and that seemed to take care of the problem.   Some day when I crawl up there I'm sure I'll find a bunch of mummified rats.


----------



## Addie

*Do you mind spending some time alone?*

Pirate has gone for his weekly medical appointment and I am in seventh heaven. Ever since he came to live with me, it is very hard to find some "alone time." I need to call his doctor and ask him to make it a point to see him every day for at least a couple of hours. Grrr!

roadfix, and to all others with infestation problems. The Sticky Pads are the best way to go. When you leave poison for them as food, they will eat some and then go to some place (usually inside a wall) to die and are very difficult to find until they begin to stink. Lesson learned from an exterminator.


----------



## Kayelle

roadfix said:


> My parent's townhouse had rats in the attic.   You can hear them during early morning hours.   And this went on for months.   One day I threw some rat poison up there and that seemed to take care of the problem.   Some day when I crawl up there I'm sure I'll find a bunch of mummified rats.







Addie said:


> roadfix, and to all others with infestation problems. The Sticky Pads are the best way to go. When you leave poison for them as food, they will eat some and then go to some place (usually inside a wall) to die and are very difficult to find until they begin to stink. *Lesson learned from an exterminator.*




Addie that's just an exterminator wanting business. Don't believe everything you hear. Many years ago we had rats in the crawl space and husband threw rat poison up there like roadfix.
We actually heard some fall into the wall and we never smelled a thing.
That was the end of that.


----------



## medtran49

Um, a rental we lived in while in transition waiting for our house to be built had an addition built on.  Apparently a rat and/or mouse died in the walls.  There was DEFINITELY a smell we noticed shortly after we moved in and it took months to go away.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

And then there are the stinky dead field mice in cars. One of them hopped into Himself's car when he was doing a stargazing thingy. We never found it, but the smell sure found our noses. I ended up challenging our mechanic to find and remove it. He did...to the tune of about $75 for the labor. Worth EVERY penny!


----------



## buckytom

Addie's right about the glue traps, or knowing the location of any trap so that it can be removed.

We have lots of mice and rats in our building (at work, I mean) since we are an entire city block that goes several floors below ground. Plus, there's a huge professional kitchen on one of those subterranean floors that not only cooks for the employees in our building but also does some catering.

Our building maintenance guys are constantly trying to exterminate stuff, from huge cockroaches to rats the size of a puppy.

They used to use poisons, but like Addie said, the mice and rats would run off and when they died, the smell was disgusting as they slowly dessicated. It's a very distinctive smell not unlike a morgue.

Not to mention that you later are breathing in the dust of what was once them.


----------



## Kayelle

Ha, maybe we were just lucky with no dead rat smell in the walls, but I was a smoker back then although the kids never noticed either.


----------



## Caslon

medtran49 said:


> Um, a rental we lived in while in transition waiting for our house to be built had an addition built on.  Apparently a rat and/or mouse died in the walls.  There was DEFINITELY a smell we noticed shortly after we moved in and it took months to go away.



Classic recall by me...this one guy whose small cheap old house had mice. He was a gun shooter and loaded his own ammo. He loaded a lesser charge just for them mice. He said he sat at the kitchen table one night until one of them popped in, then shot him dead in order to avoid the stink of them dying under the floor (by poisoned bait).  I asked him if the gun shot was loud. He said he  had the TV turned up loud.


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Addie's right about the glue traps, or knowing the location of any trap so that it can be removed.
> 
> We have lots of mice and rats in our building (at work, I mean) since we are an entire city block that goes several floors below ground. Plus, there's a huge professional kitchen on one of those subterranean floors that not only cooks for the employees in our building but also does some catering.
> 
> Our building maintenance guys are constantly trying to exterminate stuff, from huge cockroaches to rats the size of a puppy.
> 
> They used to use poisons, but like Addie said, the mice and rats would run off and when they died, the smell was disgusting as they slowly dessicated. It's a very distinctive smell not unlike a morgue.
> 
> Not to mention that you later are breathing in the dust of what was once them.



I definitely do not use poison, for the reasons mentioned. Dead rats in the walls ruin the smell of the house for weeks. 

I have always had good results with glue traps. You just have to place them where mice and rats like to travel. 

Where I live is kind of weird. It is the burbs, and houses here are expensive, but we have lots of critters -- rats, are the most annoying. The coyotes, bobcats and tarantulas are really no big deal. They leave us alone, and don't do any damage. 

F--ng rats! They get into the house, and chew on stuff that isn't even food. They chew on wires -- that isn't food!!!

I love nature. I have no problem with wild animals -- as long as they stay outside of my house!!! They stay outside -- we live in peace. 

If the critters decide to move into my house, I have a checkbook, and I will use it. 

CD


----------



## Addie

My son Spike was here and I told him about the rat problem. He mentioned "moth balls." 

I had completely forgotten about them. That is one smell wild life hates. As a kid, my mother placed them all around the perimeter of the kitchen garden. Not one animal ever got into the little plot. One night we watched out the window as two deer approached the garden and all of a sudden took off like a bat out of hell. We ran outside and watched them head back into the woods at the back of our property.


----------



## buckytom

Moth balls?

You must need a lot of them to make any appreciable smell, they're so tiny...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Not really, *bt*. I had to have the fan motor replaced in a previous car because of a nesting mouse. Our mechanic told me to put a couple of moth balls in the engine compartment.   Nope, didn't want to have to remove them whenever I fired the van up. Instead, I scattered a couple underneath the cars, put one my each potential entryway into the garage, and rolled a few across the top of the foundation sill. Haven't had a mouse in the garage since...except for the one that hopped into  Himself's car when he was doing his astronomer bit down at a farm. The mechanic figured it got stuck and couldn't get out and died in place.


----------



## Cheryl J

_I see what you did there, bucky...lol_

Ugh....we have field mice, rats, and rabbits around here, too.  That's pretty much why I swore off growing my own container tomatoes on the patio a couple of years ago.  They started coming into my back yard in the dead of night and eating all of the tomatoes.  Ripe or unripe...they don't care. I had three nice sized patio containers of tomatoes one day, the next morning they were gone. 

Last week I opened the blinds on the slider in the early morning and there was a hawk feasting on a rabbit on the lawn.   There are more houses going up around here, and I'm pretty sure the critters are getting their food where they can.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Not really, *bt*.





CG, Bucky is referring to a different kind of moth balls. You know, the real ones.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy, I was talking about those spheres made from napthalene and paradichlorobenzene. Anything else ..


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Not really, *bt*. I had to have the fan motor replaced in a previous car because of a nesting mouse. Our mechanic told me to put a couple of moth balls in the engine compartment.   Nope, didn't want to have to remove them whenever I fired the van up. Instead, I scattered a couple underneath the cars, put one my each potential entryway into the garage, and rolled a few across the top of the foundation sill. Haven't had a mouse in the garage since...except for the one that hopped into  Himself's car when he was doing his astronomer bit down at a farm. The mechanic figured it got stuck and couldn't get out and died in place.



I bought a Ford Explorer (AKA: Exploder) that a mouse had died in. I got it for a great price. After a couple of months in the sun with the windows open, I sold it for a profit -- once the smell was gone. I know a lot about cars, and had pros for friends. We never found that dead rodent. I just had to wait for it to dry out and stop smelling. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Oh, BTW, I am still hearing the sound of a critter in the attic. If I don't get results by Monday, I may have to call in a pro -- _and pay a lot of money for a few minutes of work._ 

Oh, wait, that's what I do for a living. 

*Money well spent!*

CD


----------



## Addie

*Know I know!*

So I went to PT Thursday and she had me do exercise for my stump. Oh Dear God! If you are really there, stop this pain. We talked about getting a prosthetic for me. Part of the talk including the need to build up the muscles in my stump. It is going to be doing most of the work. I swear folks who go into PT work, spend at least one full month studying "Means and Ways To Torture". 

So next Thursday I will go back and she has asked for a professional worker who builds and works with patients who need a prosthetic equipment to come down from NH and explain everything to me. For that I am grateful. But if he gives me movements like I did this week, I swear I will kick him in the shin. 

They want me to have a muscle like a man who has been working out all his life. They want that one muscle to be HARD. Ha! I know what they really want. They want to see me cry out in horrible pain. Well, I will show them. That muscle will be so hard, it will take any abuse they want to inflict on it. I'll show them I am not made of fluff. 

Have to go and take my gabapentin for the pain. I did my morning workout. OUCH! I have to remember to take the gabapentin before I start to exercise. Right now I just want to go and strangle that PT worker. There is no easy way out of all of this. Bite my lip and keep my mouth shut. Just do what I am told to do. That is almost harder to do the than the exercises. GRRRR!


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> Moth balls?
> 
> You must need a lot of them to make any appreciable smell, they're so tiny...



bt, you have to remember that most wild life have a much stronger sense of smell than do humans. And most of them can interpret what they are smelling.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

I am furious!!  

Two communities up from us, I found this in the closed Social Media site:

_IONS Meeting on Ho'oponopono_

_Tuesday, January 29th, 6pm to 7:30pm

Ho’oponopono is an easy, effective, Hawaian self-help method for problem-solving, calming anxiety, releasing anger and finding forgiveness. It brings all and everything back into harmony. We’ll be learning a short-form practice that is easy to incorporate into daily affairs. Ho’oponopono can clear difficult, long-standing issues. Hoʻoponopono techniques were traditionally used to create a cooperative relationship among the three parts of the self, subconscious, conscious and super-conscious, which is fundamental to our revolutionary work with The Hidden Brain.

Meeting is free. 

INSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES ("IONS")
www.noetic.org
IONS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individual and collective transformation through consciousness research, transformative learning, and engaging a global community in the realization of our human potential. We conduct, advance, and broaden the science of what connects us, reaching new understandings about the nature of reality and our extended capacities. From what we learn, we create real-world tools that empower people to apply conscious awareness in their personal lives, and in healthcare, education, and business. _

This rubs me wrong in so many ways! 

*Hoʻoponopono
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
Hoʻoponopono (IPA [ho.ʔo.po.no.po.no]) is a Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. The Hawaiian word translates into English simply as correction, with the synonyms manage or supervise, and the antonym careless.[1][2] Similar forgiveness practices are performed on islands throughout the South Pacific, including Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti and New Zealand. Traditional Hoʻoponopono is practiced by Indigenous Hawaiian healers, often within the extended family by a family member. There is also a New Age practice that goes by the same name.*

I am offended DEEPLY!!

I want so much to say something on this site, but DH is strongly against this.  He said that we have always been very low key and we continue to "fly under the radar" so to speak.  
But this is just too much!
How DARE these people, these "Ions" even think to align themselves with my culture and practices, that they know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about!

I need to find a way to release this anger and get past it !!


----------



## Rascal

Addie said:


> So I went to PT Thursday and she had me do exercise for my stump. Oh Dear God! If you are really there, stop this pain. We talked about getting a prosthetic for me. Part of the talk including the need to build up the muscles in my stump. It is going to be doing most of the work. I swear folks who go into PT work, spend at least one full month studying "Means and Ways To Torture".
> 
> So next Thursday I will go back and she has asked for a professional worker who builds and works with patients who need a prosthetic equipment to come down from NH and explain everything to me. For that I am grateful. But if he gives me movements like I did this week, I swear I will kick him in the shin.
> 
> They want me to have a muscle like a man who has been working out all his life. They want that one muscle to be HARD. Ha! I know what they really want. They want to see me cry out in horrible pain. Well, I will show them. That muscle will be so hard, it will take any abuse they want to inflict on it. I'll show them I am not made of fluff.
> 
> Have to go and take my gabapentin for the pain. I did my morning workout. OUCH! I have to remember to take the gabapentin before I start to exercise. Right now I just want to go and strangle that PT worker. There is no easy way out of all of this. Bite my lip and keep my mouth shut. Just do what I am told to do. That is almost harder to do the than the exercises. GRRRR!



I too take gabapentin, one a day. I couldn't function without it. Good luck with the pt.

Russ


----------



## taxlady

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I am furious!!
> 
> Two communities up from us, I found this in the closed Social Media site:
> 
> _IONS Meeting on Ho'oponopono_
> 
> _Tuesday, January 29th, 6pm to 7:30pm
> 
> Ho’oponopono is an easy, effective, Hawaian self-help method for problem-solving, calming anxiety, releasing anger and finding forgiveness. It brings all and everything back into harmony. We’ll be learning a short-form practice that is easy to incorporate into daily affairs. Ho’oponopono can clear difficult, long-standing issues. Hoʻoponopono techniques were traditionally used to create a cooperative relationship among the three parts of the self, subconscious, conscious and super-conscious, which is fundamental to our revolutionary work with The Hidden Brain.
> 
> Meeting is free.
> 
> INSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES ("IONS")
> www.noetic.org
> IONS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individual and collective transformation through consciousness research, transformative learning, and engaging a global community in the realization of our human potential. We conduct, advance, and broaden the science of what connects us, reaching new understandings about the nature of reality and our extended capacities. From what we learn, we create real-world tools that empower people to apply conscious awareness in their personal lives, and in healthcare, education, and business. _
> 
> This rubs me wrong in so many ways!
> 
> *Hoʻoponopono
> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> Jump to navigationJump to search
> Hoʻoponopono (IPA [ho.ʔo.po.no.po.no]) is a Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. The Hawaiian word translates into English simply as correction, with the synonyms manage or supervise, and the antonym careless.[1][2] Similar forgiveness practices are performed on islands throughout the South Pacific, including Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti and New Zealand. Traditional Hoʻoponopono is practiced by Indigenous Hawaiian healers, often within the extended family by a family member. There is also a New Age practice that goes by the same name.*
> 
> I am offended DEEPLY!!
> 
> I want so much to say something on this site, but DH is strongly against this.  He said that we have always been very low key and we continue to "fly under the radar" so to speak.
> But this is just too much!
> How DARE these people, these "Ions" even think to align themselves with my culture and practices, that they know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about!
> 
> I need to find a way to release this anger and get past it !!


(((Hugs Kgirl))) Breathe. That is unacceptable. Some people feel entitled to steal indigenous culture. I am angry about this too. I'm so tired of this kind of cultural appropriation. I better shut up now before I say something that gets me banned from DC for being too political.


----------



## caseydog

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I am offended DEEPLY!!
> 
> I want so much to say something on this site, but DH is strongly against this.  He said that we have always been very low key and we continue to "fly under the radar" so to speak.
> But this is just too much!
> How DARE these people, these "Ions" even think to align themselves with my culture and practices, that they know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about!
> 
> *I need to find a way to release this anger and get past it !!*



How dare they. No animal sacrifices? I understand that you Hawaiians take your animal sacrifices seriously, and your practices should not be trivialized by "IONS."

Seriously, don't let the internet idiots drag you down to their level. 

BTW, should I cook Monk Seal hot and fast, or low and slow? 

CD


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

taxlady said:


> (((Hugs Kgirl))) Breathe. That is unacceptable. Some people feel entitled to steal indigenous culture. I am angry about this too. I'm so tired of this kind of cultural appropriation. I better shut up now before I say something that gets me banned from DC for being too political.



Mahalo, thank you Taxy!
I have been so angry all evening, but I have to let this go.
Part of my culture is letting go
THAT'S the REAL ho'oponopono, let go ... admit to fault, look for absolution, move on!  It has NOTHING to do with ones self, but your community, your family, your OHANA!! 
I WILL NOT let this sh## affect my family, period.
We have other stuff to deal with... move on! 
BREATHE!
EXHALE!
I'm good now, thank you


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

caseydog said:


> How dare they. No animal sacrifices? I understand that you Hawaiians take your animal sacrifices seriously, and your practices should not be trivialized by "IONS."
> 
> Seriously, don't let the internet idiots drag you down to their level.
> 
> BTW, should I cook *Monk Seal* hot and fast, or low and slow?
> 
> CD



OH MY GAWD!!!

Monk Seals are on the CRITICALLY endangered list now ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_monk_seal

GREAT!! 
You just depressed me even more!


----------



## caseydog

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> OH MY GAWD!!!
> 
> Monk Seals are on the CRITICALLY endangered list now ...
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_monk_seal
> 
> GREAT!!
> You just depressed me even more!



Oh, my bad. Seriously, I was hoping to make you laugh, but I missed that target by a few inches... actually, several feet. 

I am honestly sorry. If we ever meet, you have my permission to smack me upside the head. Then, we should have a drink... first round is on me. 

BTW, thanks for the link. I tossed that monk seal comment out there knowing nothing about them. I learned something new today. I love it when that happens. 


CD


----------



## Addie

Rascal said:


> I too take gabapentin, one a day. I couldn't function without it. Good luck with the pt.
> 
> Russ



I take 50 mg. three times a day. Two capsules at a time. It is mostly now for the ghost pain I get. Did you know that gabapentin is now considered a "Street" drug? Here in Boston, you have to show your ID and sign for it.


----------



## Caslon

Yahoo News is funny. They're often behind by a day reporting news. Here's a typical funny front page news I captured.

Western Digital Corp: Shares rise, Shares fall.   







I can't see how that giant company ever came up with their name. It's a popular Japanese made chocolate drink!


----------



## buckytom

Hmm, I don;t find that all that odd. 

I check the markets when they open in the morning as I'm winding down to try to go to sleep, then often get up just before the markets close for the day. 

In years past, your screenshot would have been big news. Today, as volatile intra-day as the market has been, *anyone's* guess is as good as the other's.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

I stopped reading anything from Yahoo years ago.
And now with all of the FAKE NEWS!!!


----------



## roadfix

I should stop checking the markets several times every day.    Bad habit.


----------



## buckytom

It'll make you crazy, rf.

More.


----------



## roadfix

buckytom said:


> It'll make you crazy, rf.
> 
> More.



Yeah, I wish I can just buy and hold and just forget about it....


----------



## Cheryl J

I haven't checked it in a few days, and am trying not to do that multiple times a day.  I'm going to continue to stick with it and ride it out.


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> Yeah, I wish I can just buy and hold and just forget about it....



You can. Look at Warren Buffet, he is a big believer in buying stocks in good companies, and holding those stocks. He hasn't done too bad.

CD


----------



## taxlady

roadfix said:


> Yeah, I wish I can just buy and hold and just forget about it....





caseydog said:


> You can. Look at Warren Buffet, he is a big believer in buying stocks in good companies, and holding those stocks. He hasn't done too bad.
> 
> CD


I used to think that was a good idea. I had shares in Corel, the software company. Thank goodness I had only invested as much as I was willing to lose (advice from Art Linkletter). The company went private and my shares were sold out from under me at a huge loss. Screw that nonsense.


----------



## caseydog

taxlady said:


> I used to think that was a good idea. I had shares in Corel, the software company. Thank goodness I had only invested as much as I was willing to lose (advice from Art Linkletter). The company went private and my shares were sold out from under me at a huge loss. Screw that nonsense.



I worked in the software industry when _Corel_ was a "hot" company. They were never going to make it big. The company I worked for was hot at the time, but never was going to make it big like _Apple_ or _Adobe_. _Adobe_ destroyed Corel in their market. There was a lot of speculating in the early years of the personal computer boom. I learned a lot as an insider. I didn't buy any stock in the companies I worked for or in partnership with back in those days. There were just too many companies fighting for the same small pie. _Corel_ was definitely one of the companies I knew was going to lose in their market space. They were not a good company. 

CD


----------



## roadfix

caseydog said:


> You can. Look at Warren Buffet, he is a big believer in buying stocks in good companies, and holding those stocks. He hasn't done too bad.
> 
> CD




Well, yeah...     Only had I not sold a coupe of hundred shares of Amazon about 20 years ago for a measly gain.   But they only sold books back then so who knew...
But of course, I could say that about a lot of other stocks I sold waaay prematurely....   Holding on is hard to do...


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> Well, yeah...     Only had I not sold a coupe of hundred shares of Amazon about 20 years ago for a measly gain.   But they only sold books back then so who knew...
> But of course, I could say that about a lot of other stocks I sold waaay prematurely....   Holding on is hard to do...



You, just like me, would be billionaires if we had time machines. Back in the day, there were stocks I sold way too soon... but, there are others I thank my lucky stars I sold before they tanked. 

CD


----------



## Addie

When I worked for a pharmaceutical company, the first thing that would come up on the screen when you turned your computer on, was the stock for the company. If it had gone down, everyone was a nervous wreck thinking the company was going to fold that day.


----------



## roadfix

caseydog said:


> You, just like me, would be billionaires if we had time machines. Back in the day, there were stocks I sold way too soon... but, there are others I thank my lucky stars I sold before they tanked.
> 
> 
> 
> CD





  I wasn’t so lucky with Blue Apron.  I was dumb enough to ride that POS all the way to the bottom.


----------



## Kayelle

SC looks out for me now. I don't even want to remember my "investment" with Martha!!!


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> SC looks out for me now. I don't even want to remember my "investment" with Martha!!!



I am assuming you are referring to Martha Stewart. I can't stand her. She is a self proclaimed expert in everything. Years ago when she was first on the air, she constantly handled her hair and then the food. And you never see her taste her own cooking. Or anyone else's. 

I do wish someone would pick out her clothing. The only reason I do watch her is I do get some ideas from her that I can twist to my liking. BTW, because she is so difficult to work with, she has been tossed of every major network. PBS is her last chance.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

The other day I went to our local Frys/Krogers and found this in the Asian Aisle


(sorry for the sideways photo, it won't turn for me)
WHOAH NELLIE!  I thought to myself, that's expensive! $4.39 ??

Hawaiian Coconut Pudding (Haupia) (4 oz) - Noh Foods of Hawaii

I was right!
I buy a lot of Noh Foods of Hawaii and stash them away (aka hoard) 
A family friend's family owns this company and I'm sure the markup is just for S&H from Hawaii.
So I showed this to my husband, because everytime time we go home to Oahu, I bring back an entire suitcase FULL of foods from Hawaii.
He said he won't get on me any more


----------



## Caslon

TV ads these days, wow.  "It's not delivery, it's Digiorno's" !   Gimme a break, please!

How about..."It's not delivery, it's 15 chemical ingredients you can't even pronounce." (?)

I like how that company is now trying to take on freshly made pizza from pizza parlors, in their ads.
The bigger the lie, the more that people just might buy into it.

Nice try, Digiorno advertising people, pathetic..but nice try. Having your frozen pizza ads  sounding better than pizza from pizza parlors.


----------



## GotGarlic

Caslon said:


> How about..."It's not delivery, it's 15 chemical ingredients you can't even pronounce." (?)



I studied French Spanish and Greek & Latin Root Words. I can pronounce just about anything. Does that mean they're better for me than for you?


----------



## Addie

I will take a freshly made pizza from any one of the local pizza shops that deliver in my neighborhood. And I too took two years of Latin and can pronounce the words without any hesitation. Just because I can pronounce the words, doesn't mean the ingredients are what I want in my system.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I will take a freshly made pizza from any one of the local pizza shops that deliver in my neighborhood. And I too took two years of Latin and can pronounce the words without any hesitation. Just because I can pronounce the words, doesn't mean the ingredients are what I want in my system.


By the same token, just because someone can't pronounce them, or doesn't know what they are, doesn't mean there's something bad about them. We all use flavor enhancers, emulsifiers, etc., in our food. We just don't call them by their scientific names.

The avalanche of misinformation about food these days is a huge pet peeve of mine, in case no one has noticed [emoji38]


----------



## taxlady

One of the main reasons I tend to avoid prepared foods with lists of ingredients that contain a lot of long chemical names is flavour. Often, they are only in the food to make it possible to use lower quality ingredients. A prime example of that is ice cream. The cheaper ice creams are full of all sorts of gums, so they will have the right mouth feel with less cream or lower fat cream. The better tasting, more expensive ice creams have fewer or no gums or other non-food, chemical additives.

Some of those long chemical names are preservatives and some of those have unpleasant flavours, e.g., in most bottled, reconstituted lemon juice.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> One of the main reasons I tend to avoid prepared foods with lists of ingredients that contain a lot of long chemical names is flavour. Often, they are only in the food to make it possible to use lower quality ingredients. A prime example of that is ice cream. The cheaper ice creams are full of all sorts of gums, so they will have the right mouth feel with less cream or lower fat cream. The better tasting, more expensive ice creams have fewer or no gums or other non-food, chemical additives.
> 
> Some of those long chemical names are preservatives and some of those have unpleasant flavours, e.g., in most bottled, reconstituted lemon juice.


I'm not promoting prepared foods as a regular diet. I'm just saying eating a frozen pizza or using a packet or jar of gravy occasionally isn't going to poison anyone. Btw, the additives are generally chemicals that occur naturally in food. They're standardized and purified and used in specific ways for specific purposes, like the way we use baking powder or salt or fish sauce. So I don't think it's accurate to say they're "non-food." 

Curious, what's wrong with preservatives? They inhibit the growth of pathogens like mold and prevent people from getting sick, which is why they were added in the first place. That's a good thing, imo.

Depends on how you're using the lemon juice. I wouldn't use it for something where it's a primary ingredient, but it's recommended in canning because the acidity level is standard and known to be safe. 

I had a neighbor once who thought preservatives prevented the body from breaking down food, leading to some sort of intestinal compaction. No, that's not how it works. Too many people who repeat negative information about food don't understand in detail how digestion works.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I'm not promoting prepared foods as a regular diet. I'm just saying eating a frozen pizza or using a packet or jar of gravy occasionally isn't going to poison anyone. Btw, the additives are generally chemicals that occur naturally in food. They're standardized and purified and used in specific ways for specific purposes, like the way we use baking powder or salt or fish sauce. So I don't think it's accurate to say they're "non-food."
> 
> Curious, what's wrong with preservatives? They inhibit the growth of pathogens like mold and prevent people from getting sick, which is why they were added in the first place. That's a good thing, imo.
> 
> Depends on how you're using the lemon juice. I wouldn't use it for something where it's a primary ingredient, but it's recommended in canning because the acidity level is standard and known to be safe.
> 
> I had a neighbor once who thought preservatives prevented the body from breaking down food, leading to some sort of intestinal compaction. No, that's not how it works. Too many people who repeat negative information about food don't understand in detail how digestion works.


I wasn't saying that there is necessarily anything wrong with preservatives or implying that those chemicals are poisoning the food. I started my comment with the fact that I find that food which has fewer of those additives usually tastes better.

As to the lemon juice, I buy a bottled, organic lemon juice that tastes good enough that I can use anywhere I would use fresh lemons. It actually works out cheaper for me than trying to have lemons on hand all the time. YMMV


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I wasn't saying that there is necessarily anything wrong with preservatives or implying that those chemicals are poisoning the food. I started my comment with the fact that I find that food which has fewer of those additives usually tastes better.
> 
> As to the lemon juice, I buy a bottled, organic lemon juice that tastes good enough that I can use anywhere I would use fresh lemons. It actually works out cheaper for me than trying to have lemons on hand all the time. YMMV


My comments were about the way a lot of people in general think about these things lately, not you specifically, except about the preservatives. People are constantly going on about how chemicals are dangerous, prepared food is terrible for you, etc., etc. 

I try to keep everyone in mind when I think about the food system - people without a lot of time or money or interest in cooking still need to eat. My peeve is that people who are doing the best they can with what they have are made to feel like they're poisoning their families if they're not buying organic everything and making everything from scratch.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> My comments were about the way a lot of people in general think about these things lately, not you specifically, except about the preservatives. People are constantly going on about how chemicals are dangerous, prepared food is terrible for you, etc., etc.
> 
> I try to keep everyone in mind when I think about the food system - people without a lot of time or money or interest in cooking still need to eat. *My peeve is that people who are doing the best they can with what they have are made to feel like they're poisoning their families if they're not buying organic everything and making everything from scratch.*


We are certainly on the same page about that.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> We are certainly on the same page about that.


[emoji813]


----------



## roadfix

Including what happened today, that's 3 Amazon delivery screw-ups so far in the last month.  
I've never had issues with Amazon since I started using them but I think they've gotten so big that the delivery personnel are so overwhelmed by the huge volume of packages they have to deliver.


----------



## Addie

I am a label reader. Mostly because I have a few food allergies. Ninety-nine percent of my cooking is from scratch. And the word "organic is being applied to a lot of food that is most likely not organic. 

My first concern on the label is the sodium content. Too  high, I look at another product with less sodium. Also using fresh ingredients means more effort to cook what I am making. Example: Dinty's Moore's Beef Stew or make my own. Fortunately I love to cook, so it is never a chore for me. And I have more carrots, celery and other produce left for another meal. I don't have to concern myself with what chemicals have been added to my food.


----------



## taxlady

So, yesterday the water heater broke and flooded the basement. DH called the company we rent the water heater from and they sent two guys today and they replaced it. It was a bit of a production making sure there was enough space for the guys to work. We had been planning on asking for a new water heater next this month, so we had already cleared a lot of stuff out of the way.

 But, there's still water in the industrial carpet on the office side of the basement. We will need to have professionals come in and deal with that. We'll need the furniture and stuff removed to storage before the pros can remove the water. I am usually the one who does all the calling for something like this. But, I just wasn't up for it. I am so relieved that DH took care of the phone calls. He called the insurance company today. When the insurance company said that it was covered by our condo insurance and not our home owner's insurance, he phoned our condo rep to get that phone number. It turns out that if we had an "apartment condo", it would be covered by the condo insurance, but since we have a townhouse and the water heater is our responsibility, not part of the building, it isn't covered by the condo insurance. The condo insurance takes care of stuff like a foundation leaking or if something happened to an exterior wall or when stuff happens to the common areas like the garages or the swimming pool. DH will contact the insurance guy again tomorrow. Apparently he was really nice. 

 And, my laptop needs repair or replacement. There is a bulge in front of the keyboard. It's been getting worse, and today the touch pad has become unreliable. I don't want to have to deal with that while I'm dealing with the water in the basement. I am about to do another backup of my data. I have been pretty good about backups since I first noticed the laptop was behaving less than optimally. If I'm lucky, it's still covered by the extended warranty. Yeah, I should have taken it to the computer store when I first noticed, but I have been having mobility issues and it's just all too much. But, I guess I gotta deal with it now, hopefully before I can't use it at all.

Thanks for reading. Getting that off my chest has already made me feel a bit less stressed.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*taxy*, you made me forget all about my little problem. You need a big hug...or a big margarita. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I hope all of these problems are resolved quickly. That laptop bulge sounds serious.


----------



## medtran49

Taxy, please get your laptop looked at.  I'm worried it has to do with your battery and you don't want it exploding and possibly causing a fire!

Sorry to hear about the WH issues too.


----------



## roadfix

Tax, better get that laptop looked at ASAP.   I had the same thing happen with mine.   I ended up removing the bulging battery out myself.  Never replaced with a new battery so it’s just plugged in all the time.


----------



## buckytom

Yes, Taxy, put that thing in a safe (fire safe)place and don't plug it in.

It could be the battery or capacitors in the power supply bulging.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> ...And, my laptop needs repair or replacement. There is a bulge in front of the keyboard. It's been getting worse, and today the touch pad has become unreliable. I don't want to have to deal with that while I'm dealing with the water in the basement. I am about to do another backup of my data. I have been pretty good about backups since I first noticed the laptop was behaving less than optimally. If I'm lucky, it's still covered by the extended warranty. Yeah, I should have taken it to the computer store when I first noticed, but I have been having mobility issues and it's just all too much. But, I guess I gotta deal with it now, hopefully before I can't use it at all.
> 
> Thanks for reading. Getting that off my chest has already made me feel a bit less stressed.



I had the same problem with an old Mac. When the battery gets old it starts swelling and since it's under the touchpad it makes the touchpad unreliable. I'd take it in right away and get the battery replaced.


----------



## Addie

Well, you have the word from those in the "know". Get thee to the repair shop pronto.

Then sit down with a nice big glass on your favorite drink. You certainly deserve it. Let hubby take over and make your world right again. 

By this coming Wednesday, things should be looking up for you. At least I hope so. This is not the time of year for everything to be falling apart. Not with the temps being in the minus column for days on end. And if that drink doesn't make your world look better, than go into the kitchen and cook up one of the delicious meals you are known for. 

Good luck!  Here's an angel to be looking out for you.


----------



## taxlady

Thanks for the heads up about the battery folks. I will get to it very soon.

Thanks for the hug CG.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> ...
> Good luck!  Here's an angel to be looking out for you.


Thanks Addie


----------



## Caslon

Here's hoping my LCD TV power board replacement does the trick.


----------



## caseydog

Sooo, I thought I had a rat in my attic. I put some glue traps up there, and nothing got stuck in them. 

Turns out I have squirrel somewhere, not quite in my attic, but inside my house. It took me weeks, but I finally found the squirrel hole. One of the few places on my house that isn't covered in brick, and You can't see it unless you climb onto the roof. 

So now, it is "game on." I can't get to the hole without a 30-foot ladder, and I can't rent one and bring it home on my MINI Cooper. So, time to call on my friends with trucks. Replace that area of wood with HardyPlank. Cement board that looks like wood. Files those squirrel teeth down in a hurry. 

Like I have said before, I love nature, as long as it stays the f--k out of my house! 

Seriously, I'd be happy to feed the critters, if they would just stop moving into my house. 

CD


----------



## buckytom

Hardie board is tricky stuff to work with if you live in a place that gets a decent amount of rain. I'm not sure about where you live, Case.

It's a cement board that's only finished on one side, so if it's not flashed or sealed correctly, the water will get to the unfinished side and it will rot.

You also need to use the correct caulk, or it looks like pigeon poop all over the siding.

We looked into having our house done in Hardie board but the price was ridiculous if you do it the right way with all of the joint flashings and corners.


----------



## Rocklobster

caseydog said:


> Sooo, I thought I had a rat in my attic. I put some glue traps up there, and nothing got stuck in them.
> 
> Turns out I have squirrel somewhere, not quite in my attic, but inside my house. It took me weeks, but I finally found the squirrel hole. One of the few places on my house that isn't covered in brick, and You can't see it unless you climb onto the roof.
> 
> So now, it is "game on." I can't get to the hole without a 30-foot ladder, and I can't rent one and bring it home on my MINI Cooper. So, time to call on my friends with trucks. Replace that area of wood with HardyPlank. Cement board that looks like wood. Files those squirrel teeth down in a hurry.
> 
> Like I have said before, I love nature, as long as it stays the f--k out of my house!
> 
> Seriously, I'd be happy to feed the critters, if they would just stop moving into my house.
> 
> CD


We get squirrels here often..we have lots of trees in our neighborhood and especially the patch of trees across the street is infested with them..at any given time you can look out the window and see two or three..they get in the attic here from time to time and I have figured out a solution..If I hear one, I bang on the ceiling and walls (where I hear them scratching) with my open hand for about 5 minutes and do this periodically every hour or so for a couple of days..they are nervous little buggers and usually take off. I haven't had any back in a year or so..sounds primitive, but it works..


----------



## Kayelle

Rocklobster said:


> We get squirrels here often..we have lots of trees in our neighborhood and especially the patch of trees across the street is infested with them..at any given time you can look out the window and see two or three..they get in the attic here from time to time and I have figured out a solution..If I hear one, I bang on the ceiling and walls (where I hear them scratching) *with my open hand for about 5 minutes *and do this periodically every hour or so for a couple of days..they are nervous little buggers and usually take off. I haven't had any back in a year or so..sounds primitive, but it works..





> *with my open hand for about 5 minutes *


I bet you'd have more fun with your drumsticks.


----------



## Rocklobster

Kayelle said:


> I bet you'd have more fun with your drumsticks.


That leaves marks on the wall..gf would kill me..


----------



## Kayelle




----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Not so much a vent as an "I'm disappointed"*

I'm not much of a seamstress, but I do know how to sew a straight(ish) seam. In spite of our thermopane windows being pretty good, there isn't anything that doesn't make you shiver when stepping out of the shower *right next to a window* when it's single digits or colder outside. I got a bright idea to make a rustic window shade with batting between two layers of fabric. Got my box of fabric out, pulled two bundles (one a tiny print, the other plain muslin), measured, cut, pinned. I was ready to go! I hadn't used the sewing machine for about a decade  , so I dusted and pulled apart and cleaned. Well, the motor runs, the belt seems to be doing its thing, but the rod powered by the motor isn't moving up and down to operate the needle's movement. Himself was heading off to bed when I noticed. He'll be doing the handyman impression sometime today - I hope. Maybe all the machine needs is for him to sneeze a bit more dust off of the mechanics! 

Not sure this 1966 vintage Sears sewing machine (in a cabinet, no less) is worth a pricey repair. I wonder if Jo-Ann has some nice, reasonably prices refurbs in their store...


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm not much of a seamstress, but I do know how to sew a straight(ish) seam...



You're not much of a seamstress if you can't mend straight.


----------



## Caslon

Comedy relief post.  I know that the Publishers Clearing House has an upcoming $5,000 a week Grand prize.  I ask this question. When I go to enter the 2.5 billion chance of winning, their entry page to enter the contest just keeps referring me back to the "Enter to Win" site page.  

I know this contest is a rip off, but damn...PCH site puts me into a continuous loop when I try and enter the contest. 2.5 billion odds.   I can't even get entered into the contest.  I keep getting looped back to the main PCH page. It won't let me enter!  

For laughs, someone try it.  See if you can get entered into PCH's grand prize of $5000 a week for life.  I tried and couldn't even be among the 2.5 billion to 1 odds of winning.

I know I know it's impossible odds.  But that site is so devious, it prevents one from entering the contest.  Try it.  Endless loop.

You'll never get to the page where it says "you are officially entered into this sweepstakes."


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Hardie board is tricky stuff to work with if you live in a place that gets a decent amount of rain. I'm not sure about where you live, Case.
> 
> It's a cement board that's only finished on one side, so if it's not flashed or sealed correctly, the water will get to the unfinished side and it will rot.
> 
> You also need to use the correct caulk, or it looks like pigeon poop all over the siding.
> 
> We looked into having our house done in Hardie board but the price was ridiculous if you do it the right way with all of the joint flashings and corners.



I've worked with Hardie products. They can't actually "rot." They can transfer water to wood. But, if you caulk and paint properly, it is not a problem. The exterior products are generally pre-primed, as well. 

My house is 90-percent brick. Most of the non-brick stuff is soffits and trim. Squirrels usually go after the trim. On my house, they usually hit either metal flashing or brick if they get through the trim. This one place , the squirrel hit flashing, but moved up and over it and got in. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Rocklobster said:


> We get squirrels here often..we have lots of trees in our neighborhood and especially the patch of trees across the street is infested with them..at any given time you can look out the window and see two or three..they get in the attic here from time to time and I have figured out a solution..If I hear one, I bang on the ceiling and walls (where I hear them scratching) with my open hand for about 5 minutes and do this periodically every hour or so for a couple of days..they are nervous little buggers and usually take off. I haven't had any back in a year or so..sounds primitive, but it works..



The little bugger is in my living room ceiling. Vaulted ceiling... 24 feet high. 

I have a long pole I am going to use to chase the squirrel outside before I close up the hole. I don't want it to die inside the house, and stink. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm not much of a seamstress, but I do know how to sew a straight(ish) seam. In spite of our thermopane windows being pretty good, there isn't anything that doesn't make you shiver when stepping out of the shower *right next to a window* when it's single digits or colder outside. I got a bright idea to make a rustic window shade with batting between two layers of fabric. Got my box of fabric out, pulled two bundles (one a tiny print, the other plain muslin), measured, cut, pinned. I was ready to go! I hadn't used the sewing machine for about a decade  , so I dusted and pulled apart and cleaned. Well, the motor runs, the belt seems to be doing its thing, but the rod powered by the motor isn't moving up and down to operate the needle's movement. Himself was heading off to bed when I noticed. He'll be doing the handyman impression sometime today - I hope. Maybe all the machine needs is for him to sneeze a bit more dust off of the mechanics!
> 
> Not sure this 1966 vintage Sears sewing machine (in a cabinet, no less) is worth a pricey repair. I wonder if Jo-Ann has some nice, reasonably prices refurbs in their store...



Go to JoAnn, and tell them you are shopping for a new machine, and ask to "test drive" some of their demo machines on this little project, so you can see which one you like.  

Not going to say how I know about this. 

CD


----------



## Addie

Caslon said:


> Comedy relief post.  I know that the Publishers Clearing House has an upcoming $5,000 a week Grand prize.  I ask this question. When I go to enter the 2.5 billion chance of winning, their entry page to enter the contest just keeps referring me back to the "Enter to Win" site page.
> 
> I know this contest is a rip off, but damn...PCH site puts me into a continuous loop when I try and enter the contest. 2.5 billion odds.   I can't even get entered into the contest.  I keep getting looped back to the main PCH page. It won't let me enter!
> 
> For laughs, someone try it.  See if you can get entered into PCH's grand prize of $5000 a week for life.  I tried and couldn't even be among the 2.5 billion to 1 odds of winning.
> 
> I know I know it's impossible odds.  But that site is so devious, it prevents one from entering the contest.  Try it.  Endless loop.
> 
> You'll never get to the page where it says "you are officially entered into this sweepstakes."



Many, many moons ago,(1960) PCH would not pay out to any winner if no one claimed it. So he Federal Govt. ruled that they HAD to keep drawing names until someone won. They used to publish a list of winners. I haven't check recently.


----------



## Caslon

Addie said:


> Many, many moons ago,(1960) PCH would not pay out to any winner if no one claimed it. So he Federal Govt. ruled that they HAD to keep drawing names until someone won. They used to publish a list of winners. I haven't check recently.



Lawyers and accountants.   Highly paid.  They make it happen.  

If only I could enter my 2.1 billion to one chance. Their site won't even let me.

It revolves into a continuous loop.  Try.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> Go to JoAnn, and tell them you are shopping for a new machine, and ask to "test drive" some of their demo machines on this little project, so you can see which one you like.
> 
> Not going to say how I know about this.
> 
> CD


 You'll be glad to know, *cd*, that I don't need to resort to such chicanery. Himself worked away at the machine, watched a few Youtube videos, and did a little more work. Let's just say there isn't much that can't be fixed with WD-40.  Now I need to carve out some time to sew that window shade - after I make sure there isn't any stray oil or grease than can mess up the fabric.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I should be working on that window shade (or at least readjusting my sewing machine after Himself got it running), but I'm a bit of a mess today. Tweaked a butt muscle yesterday - that, or my hip is about to break off. Woke with a headache today due to the impending wind storm we'll be getting later. Maybe I'll moan my way up the steps later today, but right now I'm rather enjoying my personal pity party.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> I should be working on that window shade (or at least readjusting my sewing machine after Himself got it running), but I'm a bit of a mess today. *Tweaked a butt muscle yesterday - that, or my hip is about to break off.* Woke with a headache today due to the impending wind storm we'll be getting later. Maybe I'll moan my way up the steps later today, but right now I'm rather enjoying my personal pity party.


If it doesn't get better soon, go see your doctor. That sounds like the first symptoms I had for the "severe osteoarthritis" in my left hip. I thought I had pulled a muscle.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> You'll be glad to know, *cd*, that I don't need to resort to such chicanery. Himself worked away at the machine, *watched a few Youtube videos*, and did a little more work. Let's just say there isn't much that can't be fixed with WD-40.  Now I need to carve out some time to sew that window shade - after I make sure there isn't any stray oil or grease than can mess up the fabric.



YouTube and Google have taught me more practical things 
than I ever learned in school


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> If it doesn't get better soon, go see your doctor. That sounds like the first symptoms I had for the "severe osteoarthritis" in my left hip. I thought I had pulled a muscle.


I'll be fine, *taxy*, but thanks for caring.  I had this same twitch about three or four years ago. I went for x-rays then; since then I've also had a bone density scan. I'm in pretty decent shape for an old lady, according to those tests. What I need to do is get moved to a house with everything on one floor. This up-and-down from the basement to the second floor is gonna kill me one of these days! 

Meanwhile, in the continuing saga of "Tales from a Sewing Machine", Himself had it all fixed right! I did have to put the shuttle assembly back together, which is really annoying. Then, when I threaded everything up and started to do a test run on scrap fabric, I managed to jam up the needle in the "down" position.  It was then that I remembered I was supposed to pull the bobbin thread up from below before I actually started sewing.

I never was a seamstress, so I'm not surprised that I can't remember a thing after, um, about 15 years since the last time my sewing machine and I played together. I hope we can un-jam things without breaking the needle...


----------



## caseydog

I'm pissed! You may or may not see my post because I made the mistake of letting my customer book my hotel room "just this one time" instead of booking it myself. I can't send emails, the internet is sketchy all-around, and there is an f--ing elephant in the room above me. I'm too old for Econo-Lodge. 

Seriously, you may never see this post. The internet connection is that bad.

I always book my own hotel rooms. I always get my own rental car... but this job caught my off guard. They told me they made all the arrangements, and I didn't have time to do my own travel planning. 

I am also working side-by-side with some of their company employees, and don't like to crap on them with a better hotel and personal car rental, although I now know that they are all more than okay with it, since I do more than I have to on these assignments (including picking up bar tabs). 

Lucky for me/us, the owner of the cars knows the guys who send us to do the hard work. One of those guys is coming tomorrow to "make sure everything is getting done." The owner of the cars is a cool guy, and he's going to run blocker for us, so we can do what we need to done. 

I'm getting too old for this s$-t. 

CD


----------



## JustJoel

This should probably be posted in a thread entitled “don’t you hate it when...” but we don’t have one...

Got a couple of bean and cheese burritos, two for one, at Del Toxic, with extra cheese on both.

I HATE it when all of the cheese is at one end of the burrito. Why can’t they evenly distribute the cheese??? It’s not rocket surgery or brain science!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

caseydog said:


> I'm pissed! You may or may not see my post because I made the mistake of letting my customer book my hotel room "just this one time" instead of booking it myself. I can't send emails, the internet is sketchy all-around, and there is an f--ing elephant in the room above me. I'm too old for Econo-Lodge.
> 
> Seriously, you may never see this post. The internet connection is that bad.
> 
> *I always book my own hotel rooms.* I always get my own rental car... but this job caught my off guard. They told me they made all the arrangements, and I didn't have time to do my own travel planning.
> 
> I am also working side-by-side with some of their company employees, and don't like to crap on them with a better hotel and personal car rental, although I now know that they are all more than okay with it, since I do more than I have to on these assignments (including picking up bar tabs).
> 
> Lucky for me/us, the owner of the cars knows the guys who send us to do the hard work. One of those guys is coming tomorrow to "make sure everything is getting done." The owner of the cars is a cool guy, and he's going to run blocker for us, so we can do what we need to done.
> 
> I'm getting too old for this s$-t.
> 
> CD



*Casey*, I feel ya man!
After traveling with ALL of DH's family, and his older brother claiming himself the Grand PoohBah; he made all of the arrangements for all _TWENTY FIVE OF US_ and it wasn't a good thing 
*NEVER* again!!!


----------



## Addie

Due to all my travels around the country, I have friends in so many states. When I was healthy enough, I would plan to visit at least one friend each year. But for some unknown reason to me, they all have been kind enough to let me stay in their home during my visit. I never stayed more than four days. They would drive me back to the airport, and I couldn't have had more gracious hosts. So why oh why, did I always feel guilty by the time I got back home?  I always arrived home feeling as if I had put my hosts through a lot of extra work to make my visits very pleasant. 

I never said anything to any of them about these feelings of guilt. I have just learned to live with it. As I mentioned earlier, I have a friend in Georgia and I have gone to stay at her home on more than one occasion. So when she called me back last night to let me know she was safe along with her family, she once again asked me to come for a visit. Due to my leg, I had to turn her invite down. Now I am feeling guilty about having to turn down her invite. Maybe by this time next year I will try to visit her again. Now I just have to learn how to get rid of the guilt I will come home with. I know she will go out of her way to make me feel more than welcome. 

I hate having feelings of senseless guilt. I bring it on myself. Will I ever learn?


----------



## caseydog

I'm not 100-percent sure, but I am pretty sure the squirrel that got into my ceiling/wall/attic has died -- inside the house. There is a smell that I remember from when a mouse died in the ductwork of my Ford Explorer years ago. 

Problem is, I don't know exactly what a dead animal in the ceiling/wall/attic smells like. I just know my house smells like it should smell like, and I remember that same smell from the Explorer dead rodent. 

If I am right, the smell will eventually go away, as it did with my Explorer. But, a squirrel is bigger than a mouse, so it may take a while. 

CD


----------



## roadfix

My Amazon delivery is only 2 blocks and 7 stops away.    But that can still take a couple of hours before I see the white Amazon van pull up in front of my shop.    I sometimes spend all day watching the stupid real-time package tracking map on my laptop.   I need to get a life.


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> My Amazon delivery is only 2 blocks and 7 stops away.    But that can still take a couple of hours before I see the white Amazon van pull up in front of my shop.    I sometimes spend all day watching the stupid real-time package tracking map on my laptop.   I need to get a life.View attachment 33899



Yeah, you may be just a wee bit too focused on that delivery. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

roadfix said:


> My Amazon delivery is only 2 blocks and 7 stops away.    But that can still take a couple of hours before I see the white Amazon van pull up in front of my shop.    I sometimes spend all day watching the stupid real-time package tracking map on my laptop.   I need to get a life.View attachment 33899


You live in Los Angeles. Why does that surprise you?


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Petty Vent*

DH's buddy came to visit with us for two or three days.
Now mind you, I'm perfectly okay with friends coming to stay, but this guy 
DOESN'T STOP TALKING!
No kidding!
He got here today at 10am and hasn't stopped talking yet!!!
AND he's the only one talking... 
I had to slip away to the master bedroom with my tablet to escape the chatter, its only a bit after 9pm


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*K-Girl*, I feel for ya. When our Loverly was little, she just wouldn't shut up. It got to the point where I either had to recruit Goober into playing along with me so I could call out "quiet contest starts NOW"* or, if he wasn't around, just tell Loverly that my ears were tired and could she take a talking break. BTW, Mack's silicone ear plugs work pretty good. 

* "Quiet Contest" meant the first kid that talked first lost, the winner got a prize. Truth be told, they both ended up with a treat like ice cream or something...


----------



## Kayelle

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> DH's buddy came to visit with us for two or three days.
> Now mind you, I'm perfectly okay with friends coming to stay, but this guy
> DOESN'T STOP TALKING!
> No kidding!
> He got here today at 10am and hasn't stopped talking yet!!!
> AND he's the only one talking...
> I had to slip away to the master bedroom with my tablet to escape the chatter, its only a bit after 9pm




Ykies Kgirl !! I really feel for you.


----------



## JustJoel

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> DH's buddy came to visit with us for two or three days.
> Now mind you, I'm perfectly okay with friends coming to stay, but this guy
> DOESN'T STOP TALKING!
> No kidding!
> He got here today at 10am and hasn't stopped talking yet!!!
> AND he's the only one talking...
> I had to slip away to the master bedroom with my tablet to escape the chatter, its only a bit after 9pm


I empathize. Now, imagine having to deal with that, 24/7, _for the rest of your life!_ you start hoping for a mild heart attack, so you can spend a few days in the hospital, in a relatively quiet environment!


----------



## roadfix

Yeah, we get motormouth customers from time to time and I can't stand them.   I usually step outside til they're gone.


----------



## Kayelle

Just my opinion, but I think there's something fundamentally wrong with "motor mouth people". I think they are so wrapped up in themselves that they don't have a clue how they are perceived by others, nor do they care. Conversation with them is out of the question even if you can get a word in, as they are concentrating on what they will say next and you've wasted your breath. It's best to just walk away.


----------



## msmofet




----------



## Cooking Goddess

*msm*, that's hilarious! Would probably get me sued...



Kayelle said:


> Just my opinion, but I think there's something fundamentally wrong with "motor mouth people". I think they are so wrapped up in themselves that they don't have a clue how they are perceived by others, nor do they care...It's best to just walk away.


Agreed. My dear Mom, who was never accused of being a lady, would say that those people have diarrhea of the mouth. 

The same can be said of people who post and post and never really have much to contribute to the topic at hand. I suppose most of us stray off topic on occasion, but when the topic is mostly about themselves, well then I kinda have to scroll along.


----------



## Linda0818

Petty Vent of the Day:

My boss is a pain in the  and makes me want to go jump off a cliff.

Thank you.


----------



## Addie

Linda0818 said:


> Petty Vent of the Day:
> 
> My boss is a pain in the  and makes me want to go jump off a cliff.
> 
> Thank you.



One day a friend told me "Love your enemy, it will drive them crazy. Smile a lot and shower with Thank you's. I didn't know that."  

About six months down the road, it will dawn on your boss that you had the upper hand all along and was just humoring him.


----------



## Linda0818

Addie said:


> One day a friend told me "Love your enemy, it will drive them crazy. Smile a lot and shower with Thank you's. I didn't know that."
> 
> About six months down the road, it will dawn on your boss that you had the upper hand all along and was just humoring him.



I don't know if I'd have the strength to smile at him 

Nah, he's a good guy, for the most part. He'd give me the shirt off his back if I needed it. But he also happens to be the most annoying, aggravating human being I've ever met.


----------



## dragnlaw

People who have Motor Mouth, etc. could also be extremely insecure and cover it by talking talking talking...   personal experience...

OMG - my post actually went thru!  I'm in complete shock...  it has been literally months since I locked myself out - I could read but not post...


----------



## Andy M.

It could be that people who talk a lot are lonely and don't have much opportunity to socialize.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

So that's why I haven't seen you much *Dragn*!!! 

I like that nick-name for DH's buddy, Mister Motor-Mouth 

I agree with ya folks, I think he talks and talks and talks about himself... going back to when we was in his 20's, always when he was in his 20's... 
HE'S 70 NOW!!! 
You can't get a word in edge wise other than ah-ha, yup and nod your head and smile. 

We went out to eat linner yesterday as well as today, and it takes him FOREVER to eat his meal, `CUZ HE DOESN'T SHUT UP!!!
Today DH was getting annoyed and just kept saying under his breath, hurry up let's go!!! I think DH's had enough too


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

... but yeah, I think he's lonely, insecure, self-centered, and YES, 
there IS something wrong with him!!!


----------



## Cheryl J

Good to see you back, Dragn!  I wondered where ya were....


----------



## Linda0818

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> So that's why I haven't seen you much *Dragn*!!!
> 
> I like that nick-name for DH's buddy, Mister Motor-Mouth
> 
> I agree with ya folks, I think he talks and talks and talks about himself... going back to when we was in his 20's, always when he was in his 20's...
> HE'S 70 NOW!!!
> You can't get a word in edge wise other than ah-ha, yup and nod your head and smile.
> 
> We went out to eat linner yesterday as well as today, and it takes him FOREVER to eat his meal, `CUZ HE DOESN'T SHUT UP!!!
> Today DH was getting annoyed and just kept saying under his breath, hurry up let's go!!! I think DH's had enough too



Speaking of my boss, that's exactly how he is. He talks. And talks. And talks. And talks. Like he can't help himself. I can NOT stand getting on the phone with him about work-related issues because he starts going off in left field about other things and won't stop. And sometimes we'll go out to lunch together and he goes on and on and on and on, even after the meal is over. And I hate lingering at tables. I start getting nervous when our server keeps peeking around the corner to see if we've left yet.

He can't keep his mouth shut for more than 5 minutes. And 5 minutes would be a record.


----------



## caseydog

You need a good laugh, K-Girl... I think you will really like the clips starting at 3:57 into the video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMaUBeaiHnQ&t=120s

Ah Shaddap!!

CD


----------



## Kayelle

It could be that "motormouth people"* became *insecure, lonely and rejected because they never learned how to interact normally with anyone. They are certainly lonely because they have a serious social problem and most people reject them because they are so unpleasant to be around. Simple as that.


----------



## Linda0818

Kayelle said:


> It could be that "motormouth people"* became *insecure, lonely and rejected because they never learned how to interact normally with anyone. They are certainly lonely because they have a serious social problem and most people reject them because they are so unpleasant to be around. Simple as that.



Good theory. My cousin Karen, for example, is a serious motormouth. It's constant, incessant rambling about whatever she wants to talk about and it's hard to get a word in with her. I love my cousin, we've been best friends since we were kids and still communicate on a daily basis. However, unless we have our occasional lunch outing, I limit my communication with her to email. If her and I get on the phone, it could go on for what seems like forever and I HATE talking on the phone.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kayelle said:


> It could be that "motormouth people"* became *insecure, lonely and rejected because they never learned how to interact normally with anyone. They are certainly lonely because they have a serious social problem and most people reject them because they are so unpleasant to be around. Simple as that.



*K-L*, you're so right on all points when it comes to Mister Motor-Mouth!
He has no one, except for DH who IMHO is one of most patient and tolerant people I think I know.  And with that said, that's why Mr.M-M likes to come here to visit 2-3 times a year and DH feels sorry for him, so we put up with him for a few days.

** Side note: I ran down to the corner store get a bottle of wine to calm my nerves only to find out ... 
HE WENT HOME!!! 

I should say YAY!!! but yay! 



And ... 
*Casey*, thanks for the giggle


----------



## Rascal

Talking is good compared to a friend of mine, he had his big boss here in nz and he wanted to watch a rugby game on tv. My friend took him to a pub, he spent 70 mins of the 80 min game on his phone on Facebook.
Being a salesman I talk a lot, but I know when to shut up.

Russ


----------



## Kayelle

wooo hooo....now you can use that bottle of vino to celebrate!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Now I remember why I don't make meatloaf often. It gives me some serious heartburn. [emoji20]


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kittens lost my mouse while I was gone.  I have a couple of new ones, they were on sale at Staples.  I'm still hoping to find my old mouse, it was purple with flowers and I really like it.  The kittens also turned off the lights in the bedroom...from the ceiling fan.  

In all, my trip to Casper went well.  I didn't sleep, but I knew that would happen. I got my certification and am looking forward to getting my Administrator's  license.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Kittens lost my mouse while I was gone.  I have a couple of new ones, they were on sale at Staples.  I'm still hoping to find my old mouse, it was purple with flowers and I really like it.  The kittens also turned off the lights in the bedroom...from the ceiling fan.
> 
> In all, my trip to Casper went well.  I didn't sleep, but I knew that would happen. I got my certification and am looking forward to getting my Administrator's  license.



That's great, PF! Not about the cats but your certification and plans. Don't get me started about cats...


----------



## Just Cooking

Well done, PF...  

Ross


----------



## taxlady

PF, glad to read the trip went well. Danged cats.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Now I remember why I don't make meatloaf often. It gives me some serious heartburn. [emoji20]



Could it be the seasoning you are placing in the mixture that is causing the heart*burn*? 

Try to find a recipe that both of you will like and not create that problem.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ...I got my certification and am looking forward to getting my Administrator's  license.


Congrats, *PF*! Good work, kitty issues and all.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> Could it be the seasoning you are placing in the mixture that is causing the heartburn?...


What, salt and pepper? More likely my body just doesn't process beef like it used to, what with all of the chicken, pork, and seafood we eat anymore.


----------



## Dawgluver

Way to go, PF!


----------



## Kayelle

*PF,* I guess the kitties wanted to play with the mouse in the dark. 

Congrats and hope you had time for just a little fun in Casper.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> What, salt and pepper? More likely my body just doesn't process beef like it used to, what with all of the chicken, pork, and seafood we eat anymore.



I can relate to that. I too am losing my taste for beef lately. Am on a veggie and seafood kick.


----------



## bethzaring

PF, congratulations!!!!


----------



## dragnlaw

Way to go Princess!  Congrats!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ...I too am losing my taste for beef lately...


I'm not losing my taste for beef, *Addie*. 'Nuff said! Best we don't go into details...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> *PF,* I guess the kitties wanted to play with the mouse in the dark.
> 
> Congrats and hope you had time for just a little fun in Casper.



Got a chance to remind myself why I don't have cable TV.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, every one!


----------



## taxlady

We had a tiny power glitch early this afternoon. It seems to have fried something in the computer we use as a gateway router. We are without regular internet until DH builds a replacement. He is pretty sure that we have the parts. The reason I can still get here to post is because my tablet has a SIM card, so I connect over the cell network. I hate how limiting it is to use a tablet for the intertubes.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Bummer, *taxy*. I hope Stirling can fix your system up quickly. I prefer my laptop for all but the quickest functions, too.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Bummer, *taxy*. I hope Stirling can fix your system up quickly. I prefer my laptop for all but the quickest functions, too.


 All fixed this afternoon.  
I had some stuff to catch up on and then I had to deal with my online grocery orders. We are really low on milk and cream. But, that should arrive tomorrow afternoon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Stirling is a computer god! Glad to see you're up and running in  high gear, *taxy*.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Stirling is a computer god! Glad to see you're up and running in  high gear, *taxy*.


 He sure is. 

There was a bit of swearing. He says he got into software because he isn't good at manipulating physical things, so having to deal with the innards of computers isn't his favourite. He does it a fair bit though.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sometimes you just need to use the right swear words to make something work.


----------



## Caslon

Minor vent. You know how net news sites are increasingly  bringing up a window telling you to either turn off Ad Blocker or subscribe in order to read an article?  I just found out by accident that when that rude window comes up, all I have to do is hit the reload button on my browser and the article can be read without a window popping up telling me to turn off ad blocker or subscribe.  I just thought I'd pass that along.


----------



## dragnlaw

Rarely happens to me but still nice to know!  Thanks 
!


----------



## Caslon

USA Today.com does that now, didn't use to.  NYDaily News.com  didn't used to do it, but then started doing it, then backed off probably due to reduced viewership.  Some sites which mention a link also do it when you go there (turn off adblocker or subscribe). I refuse to turn off Adblocker or subscribe. Other sites are more gracious and merely ask that you do it, and not demand it.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Sometimes you just need to use the right swear words to make something work.



I know all those words. But they don't always work for me.   that I am.


----------



## taxlady

Caslon said:


> Minor vent. You know how net news sites are increasingly  bringing up a window telling you to either turn off Ad Blocker or subscribe in order to read an article?  I just found out by accident that when that rude window comes up, all I have to do is hit the reload button on my browser and the article can be read without a window popping up telling me to turn off ad blocker or subscribe.  I just thought I'd pass that along.



I'll give that a try. I find that turning off ALL my tracking protection usually works. Often, there are 35 or more trackers on those pages. I have three separate things blocking trackers.


----------



## Just Cooking

Private browsing works for me..

Ross


----------



## Caslon

Just Cooking said:


> Private browsing works for me..
> 
> Ross



Never thought of that.  Going incognito. Chrome allows you to do that.


----------



## taxlady

Just Cooking said:


> Private browsing works for me..
> 
> Ross



That works some of the time for me. Private browsing is one of the first things I think of when I have issues with a site.


----------



## Just Cooking

This is a tongue-in-cheek petty vent..

I shop Aldi's for most food items.. I'd prefer TJ's but, there ya go..

Last week I went to Aldi to replenish baking staples.. Found everything but corn starch.. Was going to stop @ Price Cutter for it but forgot..

Friday I went back to Aldi.. Nope, still no corn starch..

I hunted down a manager and asked about it.. I was told.. get this.. Corn starch is a "seasonal" item!!!  

Seriously??  

I'm having a Tee Shirt made with "Happy Corn Starch Season", on the front.. 

Ross


----------



## msmofet

Just Cooking said:


> This is a tongue-in-cheek petty vent..
> 
> I shop Aldi's for most food items.. I'd prefer TJ's but, there ya go..
> 
> Last week I went to Aldi to replenish baking staples.. Found everything but corn starch.. Was going to stop @ Price Cutter for it but forgot..
> 
> Friday I went back to Aldi.. Nope, still no corn starch..
> 
> I hunted down a manager and asked about it.. I was told.. get this.. Corn starch is a "seasonal" item!!!
> 
> Seriously??
> 
> I'm having a Tee Shirt made with "Happy Corn Starch Season", on the front..
> 
> Ross


----------



## roadfix

The Sam's Club I frequent has been out of celery for the longest time.   Next time I'll ask the produce guy there.    I don't know if they're seasonal or not but all other supermarkets around here always have them.


----------



## Addie

Let's see. We could have some fun with this.

Summer is coming. Beach weather. Salt water. Does that make salt seasonal also?


----------



## Cheryl J

Just Cooking said:


> This is a tongue-in-cheek petty vent..
> 
> I shop Aldi's for most food items.. I'd prefer TJ's but, there ya go..
> 
> Last week I went to Aldi to replenish baking staples.. Found everything but corn starch.. Was going to stop @ Price Cutter for it but forgot..
> 
> Friday I went back to Aldi.. Nope, still no corn starch..
> 
> *I hunted down a manager and asked about it.. I was told.. get this.. Corn starch is a "seasonal" item!!! *
> 
> *Seriously?? *
> 
> I'm having a Tee Shirt made with "Happy Corn Starch Season", on the front..
> 
> Ross


 
I've *never* heard that about corn starch either, Ross. 
LOL at the TShirt idea, though!


----------



## Kayelle

> *I hunted down a manager and asked about it.. I was told.. get this.. Corn starch is a "seasonal" item!!!  *




 The first thing a no nothing manager learns is "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS." Did you ask if they carry flour this time of year?


----------



## Just Cooking

Kayelle said:


> The first thing a no nothing manager learns is "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS." Did you ask if they carry flour this time of year?



LOL... I just smiled broadly.. 

*Cheryl*.. I'll order a shirt for you too...    

Ross


----------



## caseydog

Hey Ross, you should have said, "How am I going to iron my shirts without corn starch?" Then watch the manager's eye's glaze over.

CD


----------



## Just Cooking

caseydog said:


> Hey Ross, you should have said, "How am I going to iron my shirts without corn starch?" Then watch the manager's eye's glaze over.
> 
> CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*The Sewing Machine and I*

I don't know why I persist, but dangit, I'm going to get this window shade made yet!

So far, after Himself finally got my sewing machine working again, I have:

- Jammed the thread in the bobbin to the point I had to disassemble and reassemble the bobbin assembly.

- Managed to lay my two layers of fabric plus one layer of batting in the wrong arrangement. The result? The "filling" is on the outside of the shade, while the backing fabric ended up in the middle.  Why don't I just unstitch the thing and reassemble? Um, I had already trimmed the seams and there isn't enough fabric. Besides, I do not want to unstitch about 7 feet of machine stitching.

- After deciding to just finish it off even though the batting is on the outside of the thing (no one will see it), I kept breaking threads. Must have been a weak stretch in the spool of thread. Once I got past that point, things were working just fine...until I broke the needle. My last needle.

- When moving the machine back closer to the wall, the left rear leg fell clean out of the cabinet housing.  I just can't make this stuff up! Anyway, it was an easy fix for Himself, since nothing in the cabinet construction was broken. Now all four legs have freshly tightened screws holding all the legs in place firmly.

Can't cause anymore mayhem until at least Friday night. We plan on making a Jo-Ann Fabrics, etc run by then.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> I don't know why I persist, but dangit, I'm going to get this window shade made yet!
> 
> So far, after Himself finally got my sewing machine working again, I have:
> 
> - Jammed the thread in the bobbin to the point I had to disassemble and reassemble the bobbin assembly.
> 
> - Managed to lay my two layers of fabric plus one layer of batting in the wrong arrangement. The result? The "filling" is on the outside of the shade, while the backing fabric ended up in the middle.  Why don't I just unstitch the thing and reassemble? Um, I had already trimmed the seams and there isn't enough fabric. *Besides, I do not want to unstitch about 7 feet of machine stitching.*
> 
> - After deciding to just finish it off even though the batting is on the outside of the thing (no one will see it), I kept breaking threads. Must have been a weak stretch in the spool of thread. Once I got past that point, things were working just fine...until I broke the needle. My last needle.
> 
> - When moving the machine back closer to the wall, the left rear leg fell clean out of the cabinet housing.  I just can't make this stuff up! Anyway, it was an easy fix for Himself, since nothing in the cabinet construction was broken. Now all four legs have freshly tightened screws holding all the legs in place firmly.
> 
> Can't cause anymore mayhem until at least Friday night. We plan on making a Jo-Ann Fabrics, etc run by then.



While you are at the fabric store, pick up one or two of these seam rippers, if you don't already own any. Really makes taking apart seams easy.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*taxy*, I have a fine array of seam rippers.  I just don't like using the danged things. I swear when I did cross stitch I pulled out more "x"s than I put in! No one but me will see this thing, and the side I will look at is pretty. It will eventually be a throw-away anyway. At least I'm getting lots of practice troubleshooting problems before I work on anything important.


----------



## Addie

Sounds like you are using old thread, according to my seventh grade sewing teacher. We had to bring a spool of thread from home. Mine and several other kids had the same problem as I did. My thread kept breaking or tangling, etc. The teacher told us we needed NEW thread. 

Sure enough, once I brought in a spool of brand spanking new thread, all my problems stopped. 

For that leg that fell out, sounds like you could use Gorilla Glue . 

Don't give up. I don't know if it just age related, but I now shake whenever I try to thread a needle. So I got a big bag of needle threaders and also bought self threading needles. Now I need to get back to my cross stitch embroidery. Thanks for reminding me.


----------



## dragnlaw

Along with Addie's suggestion - here are two more hints about breaking thread. 

When I took my machine in for a tune up I was told two things could do it -

cheap thread and the tension on the bobbin.  

Not the tension usually found above, that should be done for various sewing things.  

On my machine I can't adjust the lower tension for the bobbin plus I was told not to anyhow.  I used to repair horse blankets for my boarders and was always putting it out of whack.  Normally it should never really need it other than in an overhaul.  LOL which I needed frequently.  

Haven't done any sewing for a long time.  I should get back to it - just as soon as I shovel off the garbage piled on top of the machine.


----------



## Kayelle

There was a time I sewed a lot.....(shirts for husband, clothes for the kids and me) and I can't imagine ever being able to do it without one of those *seam rippers*. Besides scissors, needles and thread they are the most important tool to own.


----------



## caseydog

eBay has become a joke!!! How to get ripped off, 101. 

I just sold camera on eBay -- actually, I thought I did. I got three emails from the "buyer." None of them were the buyer. The real buyer was also a fraud. They apparently make money off of stupid people. 

_"My dad had a stroke, so I'm moving to his house, can you ship the camera there instead of my listed address?"_ Um, no... you didn't win the auction, a--hole. 

_"I just deposited $1,060 into your PayPal account, please ship the camera FedEx overnight to this address."_ Um, no, a--hole. Did you think I wouldn't check to see if the money was in my PayPal account?

CD


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> eBay has become a joke!!! How to get ripped off, 101.
> 
> I just sold camera on eBay -- actually, I thought I did. I got three emails from the "buyer." None of them were the buyer. The real buyer was also a fraud. They apparently make money off of stupid people.
> 
> _"My dad had a stroke, so I'm moving to his house, can you ship the camera there instead of my listed address?"_ Um, no... you didn't win the auction, a--hole.
> 
> _"I just deposited $1,060 into your PayPal account, please ship the camera FedEx overnight to this address."_ Um, no, a--hole. Did you think I wouldn't check to see if the money was in my PayPal account?
> CD



I know your answer is polite here in DC, and I hope you spelled it out for the a--hole in full. You were more polite than I would have been. You need to let ebay know about these a--holes and the scam they are trying to pull.


----------



## Just Cooking

Over 20 years ago I was encouraged to bid on an item.. I won the bid, went through all the steps and found it to be a scam.. I contacted Ebay and was told there was nothing that could be done..

I know that people have great success buying on Ebay but, I never looked at them again..

Ross


----------



## Addie

Just Cooking said:


> Over 20 years ago I was encouraged to bid on an item.. I won the bid, went through all the steps and found it to be a scam.. I contacted Ebay and was told there was nothing that could be done..
> 
> I know that people have great success buying on Ebay but, I never looked at them again..
> 
> Ross



Letting the payment go through PayPal, at least they stand behind you. If it turns out to be a scam, you can get your money back. It has happened twice to Pirate and both times he was refunded by PayPal. PayPal has a list of scammers. They will notify you if they refuse payment because that particular seller is on their scammer list. Never deal though ebay alone. *Remember the old adage*: "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is."


----------



## Mad Cook

dragnlaw said:


> Along with Addie's suggestion - here are two more hints about breaking thread.
> 
> When I took my machine in for a tune up I was told two things could do it -
> 
> cheap thread and the tension on the bobbin.
> 
> Not the tension usually found above, that should be done for various sewing things.
> 
> On my machine I can't adjust the lower tension for the bobbin plus I was told not to anyhow.  I used to repair horse blankets for my boarders and was always putting it out of whack.  Normally it should never really need it other than in an overhaul.  LOL which I needed frequently.
> 
> Haven't done any sewing for a long time.  I should get back to it - just as soon as I shovel off the garbage piled on top of the machine.


Hi, Dragonlaw. 

"I used to repair horse blankets for my boarders" made me laugh. 

I know what you mean but I was amused by the above sentence. Over here "boarders" can mean pupils in a boarding school (ie where the pupils live in at school during term time) or lodgers/paying guests in your house. I had a picture of your (human) lodgers being forced to sleep in the attic under smelly, hairy horse rugs!


----------



## dragnlaw

LOL - I can visualize sleeping under a horse blanket and scratching/itching all night - "horse hair shirt".

We 'kennel' a dog or cat but generally that too is referred to as boarding.  So the animal is 'boarded' whereas the human 'owner' is the boarder

Here a horse could also be referred to as being 'stabled'. But the owner is not a stabler!  In french it is - pension cheval and pensionnaire.


Come to think of it a few oowners could never be referred to as being stabler! but certainly neurotic & 'unstable' would fit the bill better.  LOL

So what is the preferred term in Britain?


----------



## caseydog

I got an email from eBay telling me the winner of my auction is a fraud. Gee, do ya' think? Grrrrr. 

Ross, I've sold about 60 things on eBay over the years, and this is only the second one that was a problem. But, this was a pretty big one. 

CD


----------



## JustJoel

*“Tori” means CHICKEN!*

I just saw a recipe online for “king trumpet yakitori.” King trumpet mushrooms skewered and grilled, with a teriyaki glaze. Looked kinda good actually, but the thing is this: THERE WAS NO CHICKEN. You can skewer and grill whatever you like, but if it doesn’t include chicken, IT’S NOT YAKITORI! That’s because “tori” MEANS chicken. Call it kushiyaki. Call it kebab! Anything but “yakitori!”


----------



## Just Cooking

Interesting... 

A Google search brought pages of "king trumpet yakitori" or "mushroom yakitori", none of which had chicken as an ingredient..

Many did refer to their recipe as vegetarian or vegan...

I'm unable to discover why yakitori should be referred to anything but grilled chicken..

Ross


----------



## Andy M.

JustJoel said:


> I just saw a recipe online for “king trumpet yakitori.” King trumpet mushrooms skewered and grilled, with a teriyaki glaze. Looked kinda good actually, but the thing is this: THERE WAS NO CHICKEN. You can skewer and grill whatever you like, but if it doesn’t include chicken, IT’S NOT YAKITORI! That’s because “tori” MEANS chicken. Call it kushiyaki. Call it kebab! Anything but “yakitori!”



I guess 'skewered mushrooms' just doesn't have the same panache.

It's not uncommon for people to appropriate food names for their own purposes. The fact that they have no idea of the dish's origins or the actual meaning of the food name just makes it more amusing for the rest of us.


----------



## dragnlaw

Well, I guess,  if 'tuna' is the 'chicken' of the sea perhaps 'king trumpets' are the 'chicken' of mushrooms.

Perhaps they are trying to make "yakikinoko"

although my google translates it as  "Kinoko no guriru"

or better as "Kushiyaki kinoko-yaki"

Gotta love it!


----------



## roadfix

JustJoel said:


> I just saw a recipe online for “king trumpet yakitori.” King trumpet mushrooms skewered and grilled, with a teriyaki glaze. Looked kinda good actually, but the thing is this: THERE WAS NO CHICKEN. You can skewer and grill whatever you like, but if it doesn’t include chicken, IT’S NOT YAKITORI! That’s because “tori” MEANS chicken. Call it kushiyaki. Call it kebab! Anything but “yakitori!”



Well, technically, you're right.   They should be called kushiyaki.
But "yakitori" has been so loosely and generically used it can refer to just about anything grilled on those little 4" bamboo skewers.     Japanese yakitori joints should technically be called kushiyaki-ya to cover all bases.    Also, yakitori-ya just sounds more appealing to me.


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> Well, technically, you're right.   They should be called kushiyaki.
> But *"yakitori" has been so loosely and generically used it can refer to just about anything grilled on those little 4" bamboo skewers.*     Japanese yakitori joints should technically be called kushiyaki-ya to cover all bases.    Also, yakitori-ya just sounds more appealing to me.



It is kind like chicken fajitas, or "chicken skirt steak." 

CD


----------



## JustJoel

roadfix said:


> Well, technically, you're right.   They should be called kushiyaki.
> But "yakitori" has been so loosely and generically used it can refer to just about anything grilled on those little 4" bamboo skewers.     Japanese yakitori joints should technically be called kushiyaki-ya to cover all bases.    Also, yakitori-ya just sounds more appealing to me.


When I lived in Osaka, yakitori stands pretty much served only chicken (and veggies). _Izakaya_ and _robata-ya_ had all sorts of kushiyaki and kushi-age, including chicken, and also usually vast assortments of little plates. And then there were restaurants that specialized solely in kushiyaki and kushiage. They were my favorite, as they offered an _omakase_ course. The chef would just keep feeding you until you said “stop!” Then they’d count the sticks, and that’d be the price of your bill.


----------



## roadfix

I dig yakitori.   Have you seen episode 10 of Samurai Gourmet on Netflix?


----------



## JustJoel

roadfix said:


> I dig yakitori.   Have you seen episode 10 of Samurai Gourmet on Netflix?


I haven’t. I’ll have to check it out tonight!


----------



## roadfix

Speaking of street foods of Osaka, I really miss okonomiyaki and takoyaki.


----------



## caseydog

roadfix said:


> I dig yakitori.   Have you seen episode 10 of Samurai Gourmet on Netflix?



Great memories... I sure miss John Belushi. 

CD


----------



## roadfix

caseydog said:


> Great memories... I sure miss John Belushi.
> 
> 
> 
> CD


----------



## JustJoel

Oh my, okonomiyaki would be sooooo good right now!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I have blood work in the morning. 8:00 frickin' AM, to be exact. The doctor wants a "morning" reading of what the level of my blood pressure medicine is. I argued my case, told him I'm a night owl, that I don't go to bed until 4:00 AM. Told him I take that pill right before going to bed, so when I get up around noon it's been in my system 8 hours. So "noon" IS morning in my little world. He didn't buy it.  I've been taking the pill around midnight for about a week so that at least IT is on schedule for an 8:00 AM blood draw. Going to be good and go to bed now - at least I'm two hours ahead of my schedule.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> I have blood work in the morning. 8:00 frickin' AM, to be exact. The doctor wants a "morning" reading of what the level of my blood pressure medicine is. I argued my case, told him I'm a night owl, that I don't go to bed until 4:00 AM. Told him I take that pill right before going to bed, so when I get up around noon it's been in my system 8 hours. So "noon" IS morning in my little world. He didn't buy it.  I've been taking the pill around midnight for about a week so that at least IT is on schedule for an 8:00 AM blood draw. Going to be good and go to bed now - at least I'm two hours ahead of my schedule.



Drink about 5 cups of Dark Roast Coffee before your blood draw. Doctors need to learn that they work for us -- we don't work for them. It took me a good ten years to train my doctor. 

CD


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> Drink about 5 cups of Dark Roast Coffee before your blood draw. Doctors need to learn that *they work for us *-- we don't work for them. It took me a good ten years to train my doctor.
> 
> CD



I too have finally found a doctor that listens to me. She really bends over backwards to do as I ask. And if that is not possible, I receive a believable and reasonable answer from her as to the reason why. Even my nurse listens to me. Medically, the best thing that ever happened to me was being transferred to Lewis Mall (LM) and away from Winthrop. 

If my request is not feasible, a "we cannot/will not do that" is never said. They give me a sensible and reasonable answer.

BTW, while I was in the ER, I got a call on my cellphone from LM. Just to let me know someone was thinking of me and looking forward to seeing me next Monday for my regular weekly visit. 

My next big adventure is getting my leg this coming week on Wednesday.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> I have blood work in the morning. 8:00 frickin' AM, to be exact. The doctor wants a "morning" reading of what the level of my blood pressure medicine is. I argued my case, told him I'm a night owl, that I don't go to bed until 4:00 AM. Told him I take that pill right before going to bed, so when I get up around noon it's been in my system 8 hours. So "noon" IS morning in my little world. He didn't buy it.  I've been taking the pill around midnight for about a week so that at least IT is on schedule for an 8:00 AM blood draw. Going to be good and go to bed now - at least I'm two hours ahead of my schedule.



I try to make all my medical *in town* appointments in the afternoon. And I never make two in the same day. At my age, it does a number on me and leaves me exhausted. Takes me two full days to recover. 

I personally think an eight a.m. appointment is was too early. Doesn't your doctor  have morning rounds at that hour he could be doing at a hospital far away?


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I personally think an eight a.m. appointment is was too early. Doesn't your doctor  have morning rounds at that hour he could be doing at a hospital far away?



I doubt the doctor will be doing the blood draw.


----------



## roadfix

I frequently take my step mother to the closest Lab Corp for her blood work.   And depending on the time of day it could be anywhere from no waiting to upwards of close to an hour.   Mornings are always busy with people who've fasted from the night before.
You also have an option of making an appointment as well, which we never make.


----------



## Addie

At BMC I usually go for blood work immediately after my visit to the doctor. Never a waiting period. They have six (that I counted) stalls just for drawing blood. That is all they do all day. There is one female that is an absolute gem when it comes to drawing blood. You NEVER feel the needle penetrating the skin. For any other test, I make an appointment for an afternoon.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> At BMC I usually go for blood work immediately after my visit to the doctor. Never a waiting period. They have six (that I counted) stalls just for drawing blood. That is all they do all day. There is one female that is an absolute gem when it comes to drawing blood. You NEVER feel the needle penetrating the skin. For any other test, I make an appointment for an afternoon.


For people who see a doctor less frequently than you do, it makes more sense to have blood tests done before an appointment, so the doctor can discuss the results.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> Drink about 5 cups of Dark Roast Coffee before your blood draw. Doctors need to learn that they work for us -- we don't work for them. It took me a good ten years to train my doctor...:


That would have required getting up early enough to do that much drinking!  As it was, I crawled out of bed at 7:20, put a little make-up* on while my tea water boiled and the tea steeped, and was at the hospital to see the vampire at 8:02 AM.  I rock! BTW, I briefly considered moving to London. I could have slept in until noon; a 1:00 PM blood draw in London would have been 8:00 AM in MA.

* A small courtesy to anyway having to look at me. Without a dusting of powder and a spot of blusher I'm afraid someone might call for the undertaker.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ...I personally think an eight a.m. appointment is was too early. Doesn't your doctor  have morning rounds at that hour he could be doing at a hospital far away?


*Addie*, it wasn't a doctor appointment. It was a blood draw before my *2:30 PM* doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Due to my low blood serum sodium levels, the doc wanted to get a reading of a certain hormone level in my blood at 8:00 AM to see if my current medication is doing its job. It was that specific test that needs a morning reading to get an accurate number.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Addie*, it wasn't a doctor appointment. It was a blood draw before my *2:30 PM* doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Due to my low blood serum sodium levels, the doc wanted to get a reading of a certain hormone level in my blood at 8:00 AM to see if my current medication is doing its job. It was that specific test that needs a morning reading to get an accurate number.



Did he have the results in time for  your p.m. appointment? At least the doctor's appointment is at a reasonable hour.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*sigh* *Addie*, reading comprehension.  My doctor's appointment isn't until Tuesday of next week, April 16th, at 2:30 PM.



Cooking Goddess said:


> *Addie*, it wasn't a doctor appointment. It was a blood draw before *my 2:30 PM doctor's appointment on Tuesday*...



I don't want to have to repeat myself again. I do enough of that when I'm conversing with Himself.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> *sigh* *Addie*, reading comprehension.  My doctor's appointment isn't until Tuesday of next week, April 16th, at 2:30 PM.
> 
> 
> 
> *I don't want to have to repeat myself again. I do enough of that when I'm conversing with Himself.*



 I think that Jeannie's favorite word is "huh?"  

Ross


----------



## Farmer Jon

I am sick and tired of people who can't thier dang dogs at home. 2 Neighbors 3 dogs. Over here all the time chaseing my animals. The sheriff said SSS. Shoot Shovel Shut up. I don't want to do that. I don't want to be that guy. But I can't stand by and be disrespected like this. I have had conversations with both dog owners multiple times yet they do nothing. I get the same ole oh I'm so sorry. 
The German Shepard is a known killer. He has killed calves and a pig. Not ours thankfully. He has also growled at my employee. We simply can't have this menace around.
The other 2 are a black lab and blue healer. Been here 5 times in the past couple months. Day before yesterday they were here again. I called the owner. Her dogs took after my dog right in front of her. I politely yet very firmly told her that we can not have these dogs here anymore.


----------



## Andy M.

No one wants to go around killing dogs. But you have your livelihood, your and family/employee safety to consider. Your employee could easily sue you for not providing protection from a known threat if that dog bites him.  Also, you have young children to protect. I would consider the sheriff's advice.


----------



## dragnlaw

Jon, not saying you have to use it and do it but next time they come to collect their dog - which hopefully you might have been able to pen...

 loop your rifle thru the crook in your arm 

and just hint politely you almost thought it was a fox/coyote/wolf/dingo(wha!). 
Goes along with the ol' "Oh I'm so sorry."

I believe you have the right to protect your livestock.  You could/should remind them of that. 

If they growled at your kids I think you might actually use.

Matter of fact - here, the police would shoot the dog, return it to the owner for positve identification.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Just Cooking said:


> I think that Jeannie's favorite word is "huh?"
> 
> Ross


I guess we speak the same foreign language.  I get that from Himself often.


----------



## Addie

I am having a serious hearing problem myself. Fortunately I have a second appointment for another hearing test and the possibility of needing a hearing aid. 

I keep telling Pirate, that when you go into another room and talk to me, all I can here is a lot of mumbles. And sometimes not even that. "Huh? What did you say? Come out here and tell me again." It has become my mantra.  

He seems to be very dense when it comes to my hearing.


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> Jon, not saying you have to use it and do it but next time they come to collect their dog - which hopefully you might have been able to pen...
> 
> loop your rifle thru the crook in your arm
> 
> and just hint politely you almost thought it was a fox/coyote/wolf/dingo(wha!).
> Goes along with the ol' "Oh I'm so sorry."
> 
> I believe you have the right to protect your livestock.  You could/should remind them of that.
> 
> If they growled at your kids I think you might actually use.
> 
> Matter of fact - here, the police would shoot the dog, return it to the owner for positve identification.



Great advice from dragnlaw. Don't wait until one of them bites on of your children. I would suggest following the Sheriff's advice. Excellent wise words from him. 

I understand your reluctance to shoot them, but it sure beats watching one of those dogs gnawing on one of you children.


----------



## Addie

The front door to this building is hooked up to our telephones. Land line or mobile. About six weeks ago my phone was hacked along with Pirates. We are on the same program together. So we ended up getting new phones and numbers. And I reported the new number to the office downstairs. The company that is *supposed* to serve the door, kept promising to come the next day, and the next day, and the next day. As a result I missed having my medications for my heart being delivered on time. It was because of that action that I ended up with an A Fib event. Well the next day never arrived. Grrr! So I called HUD. 

Aha!!! I don't know what HUD said, but it is officially in working order. Pirate just went downstairs to check it out. Gee HUD works fast. I guess the phone company didn't want to lose that lucrative contract. Or HUD didn't want to find themselves in court over my medical problems.


----------



## CharlieD

This is not even a went, just an annoyance. You know on Yahoo they have those "Sponsored" links that supposedly have something interesting or useful (I wish) to look at, pictures, info, etc. 
So I clicked on one today, because it promised to explain the meaning of the little diamond on the measuring tape. Guess what I went thru all 30 or sometime pictures, and the darn link is slow, and they did not even have the diamond explanation. Gosh that made  me mad. What a waste of time.


----------



## Andy M.

CharlieD said:


> ...So I clicked on one today, because it promised to explain the meaning of the little diamond on the measuring tape...




Here's the answer, Charlie.

Black Diamonds on Tape Measure - Triangles on Tape Measure - Truss Layouts - asktooltalk.com


----------



## Addie

Thanks Andy for that reference point.

Charlie, the second I see one of those "to continue, click here" I click on another site. I still don't know what Doris Day looks like today. And I guess I never will. Just come to DC and some here will give you the answer. All of us are filled with often times, useless knowledge. 

Great knowledge if you are going to a cocktail party and need to start a conversation.


----------



## Addie

Within five minutes I had the pizza delivery at the door, the dog barking his head off, Pirate took another bad fall in the kitchen, someone is at my front door, And Spike wanted to go shopping early tomorrow morning. TOO LATE! I forgot to make the reservation for The Ride to get us to the store. Oh yeah. I almost forgot. The nurse from LM wants to come to my home early in the morning to make sure I am all right. And you know what? I am not ALL RIGHT! All I ask for is some peace and quiet. So around six in the morning I have to get up, get the house in order with Pirate's help, make the reservations for The Ride, call Spike to set up another date with him for when he will be free for grocery shopping, take a look at my calendar and see if my free days will coincide with Spike's. I have an appointment on the 9th with Pirate in tow to go and do some serious learning with my new leg. So no grocery shopping on May 9th. Every Thursday is already spoken for until the very end of December for PT. 

Well grocery shopping is now set for 9 a.m. Sunday. In the meantime I guess we will starve or Pirate will have to go to the corner store for a loaf of bread.  I have made a huge sign and it is sitting right next to my bed to remember to make the reservations for The Ride. One problem solved. Now if only I could get back those two inches I lost this month in height. Then I would be tall enough to knock the stuffing out of everyone who dares to talk to me.  

Calgon, take me away! 

VENT OVER!!


----------



## caseydog

I am soooo tired of all the phone scams going wild. I get the "health Insurance" scam call five times a day, and they use fake caller ID so you can't block them. 

I got the new "Sierra Leone" scam call three time in the middle of the night. I was able to block that one. BTW, do NOT answer a call from Sierra Leone, and do NOT call it back. If you connect with them, they will load your phone bill up with bogus charges. 

CD


----------



## Andy M.

I don't even answer those calls. If I don't recognize the number or it's a caller ID that's not already connected to me, I just hang up. I never answer so I never know who's calling for which scam.

I recently got a call with a caller ID of "Scam Call". and "Anonymous" is a regular caller.


----------



## Cheryl J

Andy M. said:


> I don't even answer those calls. If I don't recognize the number or it's a caller ID that's not already connected to me, I just hang up. I never answer so I never know who's calling for which scam.
> 
> I recently got a call with a caller ID of "Scam Call". and "Anonymous" is a regular caller.



Same here.  I never answer a call from a number I don't recognize.  I surely would not call an unrecognized # back, especially if there is no msg or the msg is suspicious. 

 I turn the sound off on my cell phone when I go to bed.  Close family members have my land line number if there's an emergency.  So far, I haven't gotten any middle-of-the-night scam calls on my land line.


----------



## caseydog

Andy M. said:


> I don't even answer those calls. If I don't recognize the number or it's a caller ID that's not already connected to me, I just hang up. I never answer so I never know who's calling for which scam.
> 
> I recently got a call with a caller ID of "Scam Call". and "Anonymous" is a regular caller.



I don't answer, either, but I end up with a bunch of robo-call voice mails I have to clean out. 

CD


----------



## Addie

When I get one of these calls, I will often just play with the caller. It goes something like this for a free trip on a cruise.

Do you have some money you can send me so I can take the bus to where the ship is tied up? 

I am 102 y.o. Is there going to be any young men I can molest on the trip?

Can I be buried at sea if I die on the boat?

Do you mind if I report you to the Federal Govt. for violating the "No Call Law?"

A BIG LOUD "*CLICK* . 

You get the idea. I get a lot of stuttering from the other end of the conversation. 

I am probably doing dishes or developing a new skill while standing on one leg and I need a break for fun.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> When I get one of these calls, I will often just play with the caller. It goes something like this for a free trip on a cruise.
> 
> Do you have some money you can send me so I can take the bus to where the ship is tied up?
> 
> I am 102 y.o. Is there going to be any young men I can molest on the trip?
> 
> Can I be buried at sea if I die on the boat?
> 
> Do you mind if I report you to the Federal Govt. for violating the "No Call Law?"
> 
> A BIG LOUD "*CLICK* .
> 
> *You get the idea.* *I get a lot of stuttering from the other end of the conversation. *
> 
> I am probably doing dishes or developing a new skill while standing on one leg and I need a break for fun.



We're talking *ROBO* calls here, Addie.  I can't even remember the last time I (or anyone else I know) got a spam call from a *real* person.  Do you seriously still get those and continue to play with them like that?? 

I never had time or inclination for that nonsense, even *back when they were real humans.*


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> I don't answer, either, but I end up with a bunch of robo-call voice mails I have to clean out.
> 
> CD



When I got my new phone with a new number, I never set up my voice mail. And I intend to keep it that way. My kids and anyone who knows me, sends me a message instead. The only message that I get that is not from a known person is my phone company thanking me for my monthly payment. Even though it is on automatic payment. 

Just being in the hospital for three days, I came home to more than 200 emails that I had to clean out.


----------



## Kayelle

This is a major vent.


When our driver delivered us home from our cruise, we opened the front door to the most* PUTRID SMELL *in our house!! We're always careful to have all the trash emptied and lemons run down the garbage disposal before we leave. The fridge and bottom freezer smelled fine but the smell in the whole house was way beyond polite description. We threw all doors and windows open and turned on all ceiling fans along with the vent over the stove, as the stink hunt went on. 

We have a 6 cu ft. freezer in the guest bedroom, and it seemed to be fine too until we noticed a bag of shrimp next to it on the carpet that had fallen out and obviously been there for nearly two weeks.! OMG...we removed it and slammed the door.
For the last few days on the carpet, we've used baking soda, vinegar powder, and more baking soda and vinegar powder. Today Amazon delivered a spray can of something called "RMR extreme odor eliminator" and after several applications it seems to be somewhat working .The next step is a carpet cleaning professional, or have the carpet replaced. Any other ideas are welcome.
 The bottom line is we don't have a taste for shrimp on the menu anytime soon. 

 Grrr.


----------



## taxlady

Oh dear KL. That sounds awful. You get home from vacation and just want to relax, but you have to switch into high gear, fix-this-now mode. (((Hugs)))


----------



## caseydog

At least your house wasn't full of bees. 

Smells are often a result of bacteria. Kill the bacteria first, then clean the carpet. I use isopropyl alcohol. I dump it on heavy to soak the carpet and carpet pad, right down to what's under the carpet and pad. 

Then, I can clean the carpet -- or have it cleaned. 

I use alcohol, because it doesn't hurt the carpet. 

Good luck!

CD


----------



## Kayelle

Thanks for the hugs Taxi. 

Casey, thanks for the hint. We'll try the isopropyl alcohol when we open the guest room door tomorrow. Needless to say, we won't be hosting guests till the problem is solved. I don't like house guests anyway, but we need the freezer stash in there.
ACK!!!!


----------



## Andy M.

I understand your pain.

We had a similar problem when SO left a bag of shrimp on top of the freezer in the basement. We discovered it before it got as bad as yours.


----------



## dragnlaw

Oh dear Kayelle, I'm sure many have had similar of ...  AWKK's!/OMG nooo! GAG! 

I once came home after 2 weeks during a very hot summer. My walk-up apartment on the 3rd floor had been tightly closed up.  I entered the kitchen and there sitting on the counter was a 1 lb package of ground beef. 

I stood very still and sniffed the air.  No smell.  But I knew as soon as I were to move it the stench would be gut wrenching.  I opened the front door, went down the hall to the garbage drop, propped it open. Went back, snatched it up and ran like the devil.  

Not too bad.  LOL!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> This is a major vent.
> 
> 
> When our driver delivered us home from our cruise, we opened the front door to the most* PUTRID SMELL *in our house!!...we noticed a bag of shrimp next to it on the carpet that had fallen out and obviously been there for nearly two weeks.! OMG...we removed it and slammed the door...


Oh Yuck, *Kayelle*!  I hope you manage to get rid of the smell completely without having to spend much money.


----------



## Kayelle

*Update:* WOOO HOO..this stuff really did the trick after several applications and I plan on writing a glowing review for the product. Phew!!!


https://www.rmrsolutions.com/products/rmr-odor-x-extreme-odor-eliminator


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> *Update:* WOOO HOO..this stuff really did the trick after several applications and I plan on writing a glowing review for the product. Phew!!!
> 
> 
> https://www.rmrsolutions.com/products/rmr-odor-x-extreme-odor-eliminator


Glad to hear that worked. What a horrible thing to come home to.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Great news, *Kayelle*!


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> *Update:* WOOO HOO..this stuff really did the trick after several applications and I plan on writing a glowing review for the product. Phew!!!
> 
> 
> https://www.rmrsolutions.com/products/rmr-odor-x-extreme-odor-eliminator



Out of absolute need, due to needing a commode (apologize for the description)  right next to my bed, I will be purchasing this product. The odor caused from the need of this, has been a constant source of unbearable tolerance. Anytime I have had to have any medical personnel come for a visit, I can see the discomfort they have to endure. I have become somewhat immune to it. (The family joke is that I could have my head stuck into the city sewer and not smell it.) Even when Pirate empties it constantly. 

Thank you so much for bringing this product to my attention.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> *Update:* WOOO HOO..this stuff really did the trick after several applications and I plan on writing a glowing review for the product. Phew!!!
> 
> 
> https://www.rmrsolutions.com/products/rmr-odor-x-extreme-odor-eliminator



I did a search. There is one  place right here in Mass. not too far from where I live. And if I can't order it from there, I can also order it right on line from Amazon Prime. Two cans of this spray will be ordered today. One great BIG thank you! 

Febreze just doesn't cut it anymore.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Same here.  I never answer a call from a number I don't recognize.  I surely would not call an unrecognized # back, especially if there is no msg or the msg is suspicious.
> 
> I turn the sound off on my cell phone when I go to bed.  Close family members have my land line number if there's an emergency.  So far, I haven't gotten any middle-of-the-night scam calls on my land line.



I have been on the *Do Not Call Registry* for a number of years. But that doesn't stop the phone calls. So Pirate set up my phone to where if the name is not on my contact list, the call never rings my phone. It goes right into the spam folder. Sure enough, I take a peek into there every so often, and I do not recognize one number. Then I empty that folder. I also do not have my voicemail set up. If there is a message from someone and I missed it, it shows up on my missed calls from someone who is on my contact list. It is usually from Lewis Mall regarding an upcoming appointment.


----------



## Addie

Addie said:


> I did a search. There is one  place right here in Mass. not too far from where I live. And if I can't order it from there, I can also order it right on line from Amazon Prime. Two cans of this spray will be ordered today. One great BIG thank you!
> 
> Febreze just doesn't cut it anymore.



*A huge THANK YOU* Kayelle. My can arrived today. We put it to the test with the commode. Absolutely no odor. We even left the lid up for a couple of hours. And believe me, there was plenty in there to create an odor. Will be ordering another can long before this can runs out. Thank you so much.


----------



## Cheryl J




----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Let me preface my statement, which may or may not be lengthy, by saying I LOVE HAWAII, I love coming home to where is was born, raised and spent the largest chunk of my life.

Okay, here I go…

We have been renting this condo in Honolulu for the last five years and it is spectacular!  Great price, fantastic location, reasonably priced, free parking in a secured building, 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 700+ square feet end unit, large lanai that overlooks Diamond Head and Queen’s Beach from the twin La-Z-Boy recliners, walking distance to Waikiki, easy access out of town to anywhere on the Island (Oahu) that we want to go, everything that we need is within 2 miles…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFTKtZtbXTA&list=UUmpkgLqI1q8UAGWZc61a7hQ&index=29

I really shouldn’t complain … but I must!

When we arrived this year to the apartment, it had *not* been cleaned very well, I had to dust AND vacuum!  
The dishes in the cupboard were NOT CLEAN, AGH!  I ran all of the dishes, glasses, coffee mugs, EVERYTHING through the dishwasher on sanitize.  
I then felt that the bathroom probably hadn’t been cleaned well either, and I was right!
I stripped the bed and washed the sheets and the bath towels before we used any of them.

Each year that we stay here, I bring all sorts of cooking extras such as spices, herbs and other ingredients to use and I leave some in the pantry for the next occupants.  Usually, they are replaced, but not on this visit.  

In a vacation rental, which this is, if you use something up, you buy more for the next guest, that’s the way it works.  This year, I found very little to NO basic supplies, such as TP, Paper Towels, Shampoo, Bath Soap, Dish Soap, Sponges, Laundry Soap … I’ll stop there, but you get the idea.

We owned a Vacation Rental for many years and at the beginning we supplied ALL of the start-up basics and it was a common courtesy to leave in-kind what you used… not here as of late!

I’m very, very disappointed in the decline of this property and I wanted to tell the property manager, but my husband feels that I shouldn’t.

I’ve already started to look for another rental in a different part of the Island, but unfortunately the County has proposed a new tax on vacation rentals that could easily push out many of the affordable places available today.


----------



## dragnlaw

That is certainly a valid vent! Kgirl that really is bad.  

But I don't agree that you should not say anything.  Two reasons.

It could have just been a bad previous renter in so far as the supplies are concerned.  Some people just assume that they've "paid" for all those necessities and take them. 

and/or 

perhaps the company that rents out hired a new cleaning service whose standards are not up to previous. 
Although I find it hard to believe that they didn't/don't check on who they hire. 

or the rental property has new owners/management who just don't know.

I say give them the benefit of the doubt.  Tell them and give them a chance to redeem/explain themselves.  (of course don't stop looking anew either)

I'm sorry your arrival was so spoiled and hope you had a good 'rest of your vacation' despite the nasty greeting.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

If they don't know, Auntie Doni, they can't fix it.


----------



## dragnlaw

PrincessFiona60 said:


> If they don't know, Auntie Doni, they can't fix it.



one little sentence against my long blabber -  LOL - you win Princess!  Well said.


----------



## Kayelle

> I’m very, very disappointed in the decline of this property and I wanted  to tell the property manager, but *my husband feels that I shouldn’t.*




Why shouldn't they be told Kgirl? I don't understand the reasoning.


----------



## Addie

Sounds like you have been informed of what you should do. And I agree with all the others.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sorry to hear that you had to clean house before you could relax, *K-Girl*. *PF* has it right - if you don't tell the management company there was a problem, they won't know there was a problem. It sounds like you're still figuring on returning to the same place next year. If you do, I would head to the management office right after unlocking the unit's door and finding a mess, if that is the case.



Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...In a vacation rental, which this is, if you use something up, you buy more for the next guest, that’s the way it works.  This year, I found very little to NO basic supplies, such as TP, Paper Towels, Shampoo, Bath Soap, Dish Soap, Sponges, Laundry Soap … I’ll stop there, but you get the idea...


Over the past two decades, we've stayed at numerous timeshares. I suppose that would be the same as a "vacation rental"? The norm among every single one has been that the resort management has supplied a small "starter" amount of basics: dish detergent for sink and machine, paper towels, TP, filters for their particular coffee maker. Maybe salt and pepper, but never sugar - ant issues. :erm: But we've never found any other supply of what we would consider basics. Maybe you've just been lucky all of these years.


----------



## caseydog

PrincessFiona60 said:


> If they don't know, Auntie Doni, they can't fix it.



+1

You can let the management know in a civil manner. You don't have to make it a "rant." 

Management may not be able to do anything about renters not replacing what they use, but cleanliness is id definitely within their control, and it is their responsibility. 

CD


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

All of the above, TRUE!  I will … 

and did I say I'm exhausted? 
Trying to get back from Hawaii to Arizona
was grueling; now trying to adjust to the 
elevation difference AND trying to get 
the household in order, laundry, grocery shopping … 
I'm getting too old for this s#!| …  I HATE to fly
any more.  We mostly take road trips and that's a blast!
But, did I say that I'm exhausted?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Two gripes; Someone stole my 20 year old bdy and replaced it with this faulty 63 year old body.  2nd gripe' no one seems to have tasted, or heard of my favorite brand of hot dog, which I think tastes better, and has a better texture out of the many hot dogs I've tasted - Cher-Make, out of Wisconsin.  These even beat out Volworths, and Koegles, all with natural casings.  There used to be a meat market in Pickford, MI where they made their own hod dogs.  These were more like a Kielbasa in texture.  Sadly, the owner retired.  They were the best.  Now that we have a store, where the deli section sells Mortadella, I can't eat the stuff (no sausages, heavy, heavy sigh).  I wan't my 20 year old body back!  Whoever took it, I want it back.  It was an amazing, and powerful thing.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Chief Longwind - that gang of thieves operates in a large area - Michigan to Quebec.  Wonder if it's the same gang or a branch.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*I'm REALLY P.O.'d*



My husband is still recovering from surgery 2 days ago.
I had turned off both of our phones, so as not to 
disturb him... he's having a difficult time sleeping.
I also hid his phone so that he wouldn't even 
think about it 

Here's the rub:
We have a Mentally Challenged grand-nephew who is now 18
years old and thinks that he can do whatever he wants to,
which includes calling Uncle EVERY DAY!!
I told him that Uncle is having surgery, his parents know this as well,
so how do I tell them or the boy *STOP!!!* Leave Uncle alone for
crying in the beer!!!  He's such a PITA!!! 

My first mistake was I gave Mr. K~Girl his phone early today
so that he could at least see who had wished him well,
but I forgot to commandeer it and turn it back off.
He agreed that it wasn't a good idea to talk or text with
anyone right yet, the pain meds make him a bit loopy 
He FINALLY fell asleep maybe an hour ago,
and what do you think happened?
YUP!
Grand-nephew calls: "I want to tell you about my day..."
 (you know I'd love to use some profanity, but I won't)

I was talking to my Mother to update her after DH's surgery and she
told me to talk to the boy's Mother and let her know that
Uncle is not taking calls at this time, but he's
so dang stubborn, he doesn't listen to ANYONE!!
I'm not really sure how to tell her nicely, to control her son.

DANG IT!!! 

GREAT! Now DH is wide awake, asking for his phone again.
I loving told him that we don't need any aggravation right now, 
so it's put away.  My phone is on, if someone really needs us
for something, and that's the number that the doctor has, 
SO … 
 GRRRR!!!


----------



## Addie

Have you considered blocking nephew's phone number on DH's and your phone?

I have a few folks blocked on my phone including my grandson's wife. Real nasty personality. I hate talking to her. And so does the rest of the family.


----------



## caseydog

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Two gripes; Someone stole my 20 year old bdy and replaced it with this faulty 63 year old body.  2nd gripe' no one seems to have tasted, or heard of my favorite brand of hot dog, which I think tastes better, and has a better texture out of the many hot dogs I've tasted - Cher-Make, out of Wisconsin.  These even beat out Volworths, and Koegles, all with natural casings.  There used to be a meat market in Pickford, MI where they made their own hod dogs.  These were more like a Kielbasa in texture.  Sadly, the owner retired.  They were the best.  Now that we have a store, where the deli section sells Mortadella, I can't eat the stuff (no sausages, heavy, heavy sigh).  I wan't my 20 year old body back!  Whoever took it, I want it back.  It was an amazing, and powerful thing.
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



When I was 28, I could eat five pounds of food, and not gain a single pound of bodyweight. When I was 18, I actually tried to gain weight, and couldn't. 

At 58, I can smell good food and gain two pounds. 

CD


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Addie said:


> Have you considered blocking nephew's phone number on DH's and your phone?
> 
> I have a few folks blocked on my phone including my grandson's wife. Real nasty personality. I hate talking to her. And so does the rest of the family.




Ya'know Addie, we have but DH is such a sweet soul, 
he said that no one else in the family will deal with him
because he's such a PITA.
He's very difficult, stubborn … 
He's Autistic, he has Asperger's Disorder, but no one will 
say the words, other than
his teachers (yes, he still goes to public school) and his
doctors.
His Mother thinks he's going to College … he can't read!!!! 
I'm sure that I've vented about him before.
His level of development is only 7 years of ago.
So there's that … 
I'm just so frustrated right this minute!!!
Thanks for listening *Addie*.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*K-Girl*, that sounds like such a tough situation. Your DH is an angel for listening to Nephew. Big (((hugs))) to both of you.  Well, you hang on to the one for DH until his arm is healed. 



caseydog said:


> When I was 28, I could eat five pounds of food, and not gain a single pound of bodyweight. When I was 18, I actually tried to gain weight, and couldn't.
> 
> At 58, I can smell good food and gain two pounds.
> 
> CD


When I was little kid, I was so skinny that the doctor suggested Mom give me Troph-Iron to stimulate my appetite.  Got so chubby I cried whenever I went shopping for clothes until about high school age. Then, with as busy as I was in high school and beyond, I got thin again. Ate like I had a hollow leg. Mom always told me it would catch up with me. Like I'd get out of bed one day and wonder where those extra 10 or 20 pounds came from. Mom was a fortune teller. Now if she could only have picked Lottery numbers with as much accuracy.


----------



## Addie

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Ya'know Addie, we have but DH is such a sweet soul,
> he said that no one else in the family will deal with him
> because he's such a PITA.
> He's very difficult, stubborn …
> He's Autistic, he has Asperger's Disorder, but no one will
> say the words, other than
> his teachers (yes, he still goes to public school) and his
> doctors.
> His Mother thinks he's going to College … he can't read!!!!
> I'm sure that I've vented about him before.
> His level of development is only 7 years of ago.
> So there's that …
> I'm just so frustrated right this minute!!!
> Thanks for listening *Addie*.



Glad to be here when you needed someone to listen. Like I said we have one in this family. Now I don't have the greatest family in the world. But my grandson's wife seems to have forgotten where she started out. She deliberately got pregnant at 16 so my grandson would rescue her and she could get out of one of the worst projects in Boston. And God Bless him he did exactly that. He had just graduated from H.S. and the next day he married her without any of his family there. That was her idea. And then now that his father-in-law has died, she just couldn't be nastier. Scott was the only one who would stand up to her. I have just kept my mouth shut over the years and never associate with her. 

There always seems to one in every family.


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> When I was 28, I could eat five pounds of food, and not gain a single pound of bodyweight. When I was 18, I actually tried to gain weight, and couldn't.
> 
> At 58, I can smell good food and gain two pounds.
> 
> CD



Be careful what you wish for. I went from 168 pounds to 69 pounds when I had my leg amputated. Now I am trying so hard to get back up to at least 100 pounds. And I have to force myself to eat. I did manage to make it to 79 pounds. Then with losing Scott, I swear he took my appetite with him. I am now back down to 71 pounds. I have to force myself to eat. Then when I do, I have to make sure I don't toss it. An ongoing constant battle with food.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Businesses that don't run like businesses*

Himself's back has been cranky for a couple of months. My knees and ankles have been problems for years. Add in my paranoia of ticks...well, the yard looks very neglected. This is the year it is getting fixed. Except that it has been near impossible getting a response from a business! I've sent emails, or contacted a business through their contact form on their site. One business responded immediately the day after I sent my inquiry, in the wee hours of the night, of course.  A second business responded two days later, with an apology from the wife for missing the email when it first came in. Too bad her husband isn't as professional, since he promised an estimate when he left after he had been here, then promised it again when I called and emailed his business. Still no bid.

Long story short: about a dozen emails sent, two people out to assess our mess, and one bid received. Thankfully, he was my second choice when we had regrading done in our yard to alleviate water leaking into the basement. The guy I hired for the regrade had more experience with that type of work, along with building stone walls (had that done, too), and laying patios (ditto). For pure landscaping, though, I think Jim will do a great job.

Honestly, though, if a business doesn't want to respond to contacts through their website, they should just shut the danged things down.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Ya know *CG*, I think that's how most businesses today operate.
The same has happened to us over the past coupla years.
DH said, "Well, I guess that just don't want any business".


----------



## Cooking Goddess

True dat, *K-Girl*. Your DH is a smart guy. (Of course he is, he married you!)


----------



## dragnlaw

I feel that if they are just too busy to take on new work - Post it! and at least reply to emails - even if to say "sorry can't take on any more for now"  

people will remember the politeness hopefully more than they remember the rudeness.

or as said - take down the ads.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Himself's back has been cranky for a couple of months. My knees and ankles have been problems for years. Add in my paranoia of ticks...well, the yard looks very neglected. This is the year it is getting fixed. Except that it has been near impossible getting a response from a business! I've sent emails, or contacted a business through their contact form on their site. One business responded immediately the day after I sent my inquiry, in the wee hours of the night, of course.  A second business responded two days later, with an apology from the wife for missing the email when it first came in. Too bad her husband isn't as professional, since he promised an estimate when he left after he had been here, then promised it again when I called and emailed his business. Still no bid.
> 
> Long story short: about a dozen emails sent, two people out to assess our mess, and one bid received. Thankfully, he was my second choice when we had regrading done in our yard to alleviate water leaking into the basement. The guy I hired for the regrade had more experience with that type of work, along with building stone walls (had that done, too), and laying patios (ditto). For pure landscaping, though, I think Jim will do a great job.
> 
> Honestly, though, if a business doesn't want to respond to contacts through their website, they should just shut the danged things down.



Here is the upside to Mexican immigration here in Texas -- some of it legal, some of it not. I can go to a gas station/convenience store parking lot a couple miles from my house, and get laborers willing to work very hard, for 15-bucks an hour. If they work all day, I usually buy them lunch, too. 

These guys are demonized by a small minority of Americans who always turn out to vote, but here in Texas, they are always ready -- and eager -- to work. 

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> Here is the upside to Mexican immigration here in Texas -- some of it legal, some of it not. I can go to a gas station/convenience store parking lot a couple miles from my house, and get laborers willing to work very hard, for 15-bucks an hour. If they work all day, I usually buy them lunch, too.
> 
> These guys are demonized by a small minority of Americans who always turn out to vote, but here in Texas, they are always ready -- and eager -- to work.
> 
> CD




The big downside to that is if they aren't licensed by the state and  screw up and and bust through a water or gas line or do other damage, the homeowner eats it. I don't hire anyone who isn't licensed.


----------



## taxlady

CG, I don't have any personal, recent experience with this, but a friend of mine has been ranting about the non-responses from companies on FB a whole lot. It seems to be lots of companies nowadays. Some of them, when contacted by phone, said, "Oh, we don't bother to look at the website." Sheesh, why put a contact form, when all it will do is annoy potential clients?


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> Here is the upside to Mexican immigration here in Texas -- some of it legal, some of it not. I can go to a gas station/convenience store parking lot a couple miles from my house, and get laborers willing to work very hard, for 15-bucks an hour. If they work all day, I usually buy them lunch, too.
> 
> These guys are demonized by a small minority of Americans who always turn out to vote, but here in Texas, they are always ready -- and eager -- to work.
> 
> CD



YaY!! If it weren't for the immigrants who work in the fields for long days, and low pay, there would be less fresh produce on your tables. And in Texas where CD lives, there are still huge cotton fields. That crop is very hard and painful to pick. I know, I tried to get that cotton ball out. Got a lot of bleeding for my effort. So I took a whole branch, (with permission) and when I came back home gave it to my daughter's fourth grade teacher who just happen to be black. I warned her on how to handle it with care. She used it until her retirement when teaching about the Civil War. When I invited her to supper a few times, she told me with tears in her eyes, that her ancestors were cotton picking slaves. So that little branch had a lot of meaning to her.


----------



## Addie

There is a landscaper here located a couple of towns away from here in Everett. He is always busy and he responds to all his phone calls. He doesn't have a site. He has several trucks out there on the road. And you see them all the time. All over the map.

My granddaughter called, the owner came out, gave her an estimate and told her his crew would be there in two weeks. Gave her a date alone with his business card. Sure enough the truck pulled up, the workers unloaded their equipment and went to work. GD happened to be at work at the time and when she got home, they were just finishing up. Did a beautiful and professional job. She wrote out the balance due. And the landscaping is what sold the house for her. Everyone who came to look at the property were totally impressed with how it looked. 

That man knows how to do business. She found out that he also does major snow removal in the winter. He keeps his workers busy year round.


----------



## caseydog

Cheryl J said:


> The big downside to that is if they aren't licensed by the state and  screw up and and bust through a water or gas line or do other damage, the homeowner eats it. I don't hire anyone who isn't licensed.



Um, I'm talking about yard work, not building something. As far as I know, there isn't any license for yard work. 

If I need something substantial done, such as when I had my water heater replacedI get a licensed contractor and a building permit. That way, my homeowner's insurance covers it if something happens down the road. 

I had my house painted by Mexican immigrants. It's paint, not construction. They did a great job, for a reasonable price. And, they did it on my timetable. Around here, you hire some "white guys," it could take six months before the job is done, and if it isn't done right, too bad. Plus, you will pay more for the inferior work. It is an attitude thing. I pick up some day laborers, tell them what to do, and they go to work. 

I bought a new garage door opener from Home Depot, and had it installed by a "licensed contractor." By the time he was done, I wanted to punch him in the face. Any request I had was answered with "NO." It was his way, or the highway. My garage is separate from my house. I wanted the button in the house. It was already wired!!! He said "NO." He put the button inside the garage. What good is that?! 

In his mind, I was privileged to pay him 120 bucks to do the install. To a Mexican immigrant laborer, it is a privilege to work for you. 

CG wants her yard cleaned up. No license needed for that job. 

CD


----------



## Addie

CD, I am curious. Do they have their own equipment when you hire these workers? Such as ladders for painting a building. Mowers for doing the yard work, etc.


----------



## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> Um, I'm talking about yard work, not building something. As far as I know, there isn't any license for yard work.
> 
> If I need something substantial done, such as when I had my water heater replacedI get a licensed contractor and a building permit. That way, my homeowner's insurance covers it if something happens down the road.
> 
> I had my house painted by Mexican immigrants. It's paint, not construction. They did a great job, for a reasonable price. And, they did it on my timetable. Around here, you hire some "white guys," it could take six months before the job is done, and if it isn't done right, too bad. Plus, you will pay more for the inferior work. It is an attitude thing. I pick up some day laborers, tell them what to do, and they go to work.
> 
> I bought a new garage door opener from Home Depot, and had it installed by a "licensed contractor." By the time he was done, I wanted to punch him in the face. Any request I had was answered with "NO." It was his way, or the highway. My garage is separate from my house. I wanted the button in the house. It was already wired!!! He said "NO." He put the button inside the garage. What good is that?!
> 
> In his mind, I was privileged to pay him 120 bucks to do the install. To a Mexican immigrant laborer, it is a privilege to work for you.
> 
> CG wants her yard cleaned up. No license needed for that job.
> 
> CD




Gotcha.


----------



## caseydog

Addie said:


> CD, I am curious. Do they have their own equipment when you hire these workers? Such as ladders for painting a building. Mowers for doing the yard work, etc.



Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. It depends on the job. The guys who painted my house are guys I have known and worked with for years. They had their own gear, including a power-washer and ladders. The guy I hired to dig fence post holes for me was somebody I never met. I supplied the shovel and post hole digger. I just needed a young, strong body to do that job. I'm too old for it. It only took him a couple of hours, at 15 bucks an hour, but I gave him 50 bucks. 

CD


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. It depends on the job. The guys who painted my house are guys I have known and worked with for years. They had their own gear, including a power-washer and ladders. The guy I hired to dig fence post holes for me was somebody I never met. I supplied the shovel and post hole digger. I just needed a young, strong body to do that job. I'm too old for it. It only took him a couple of hours, at 15 bucks an hour, but I gave him 50 bucks.
> 
> CD



I am glad to hear you give these men employment so they can feed their families. Fifty bucks sound like a well earned amount. You don't need the heart attack or sore bones and muscles. Getting old is hard enough work as it is.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Time: Eight O'Way Too Early To Be Calling On A Sunday Morning A.M.*

What the 
Okay look, it's Sunday morning and DH and I 
just barely awake, lounging in bed trying to decide
whether or not to get out of bed.
THE PHONE RINGS!!! 
Are you really truly kidding me?
Who on God's green Earth even MAKES 
phones at this hour? 
OH WAIT! I know …
We have a Mentally Challenged Nephew who
is 18 years old and his parents do not supervise him.

I answered the phone, and just as I was 
about to say, "... do you know what … "
DH took the phone and gently spoke with him.

DH: You can't scold him, he doesn't understand
Me: But he needs correction
DH: That's useless and you know it


----------



## Just Cooking

Jeannie has a 20 year old granddaughter with Downs..

Wouldn't dream of scolding her.. Everything she does comes from love and a desire to be included.. Inconvenienced at times?.. Perhaps but, not enough to be concerned about..

Ross


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Ross and Jeannie, please don't get me wrong, I love our
(actually Grand) Nephew to pieces.
He has Asperger's Syndrome and Hydrocephalus, he's 
very high functioning.
Both my Mother and Sister had careers as Special Ed teachers in Hawaii,
and I pitched in as a volunteer for their classes and outings a lot over the years.
Our Nephew and his wife (the parents) will not admit to the fact that their son is disabled and has never gotten the help that he should have gotten.
His behavior has gotten worse along with his age, to the point where
none of the rest of the family will have much to do with him.
Really, it's only Uncle and Auntie; he's a good kid but needs help,
desperately and Uncle is so upset at this point with his Nephew for
allowing his son to flounder in life, when he could be a contributing 
good citizen.


----------



## dragnlaw

Kgirl, my son has a child with Downs but that doesn't mean he isn't corrected when he does something wrong. 

Bless DH for his patience but that trait should be corrected.  To me a call that early in the morning (for non working people) usually means an emergency.  

I don't know how "challanged" this child is but I'm sure they wouldn't let him go out the front door, into the street and stand in front of on coming cars just to say "good morning".

If he can learn that then he can learn rules to govern when he can and cannot use the phone.  If he can't learn that step then perhaps he should be taught to ask if he can use the phone.

I also understand your frustration in not being able to teach his teachers! LOL

You posted just as I was finishing.  I'm so sorry his parents are like that.  We too are dealing with one parent of the Downs who swears up and down the rules are being followed but the obvious sad consecquences show it is false.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

dragnlaw said:


> Kgirl, my son has a child with Downs but that doesn't mean he isn't corrected when he does something wrong.
> 
> Bless DH for his patience but that trait should be corrected.  *To me a call that early in the morning (for non working people) usually means an emergency*.
> 
> I don't know how "challanged" this child is but I'm sure they wouldn't let him go out the front door, into the street and stand in front of on coming cars just to say "good morning".
> 
> If he can learn that then he can learn rules to govern when he can and cannot use the phone.  If he can't learn that step then perhaps he should be taught to ask if he can use the phone.
> 
> I also understand your frustration in not being able to teach his teachers! LOL



Exactly *dragn*!
I didn't mention that part in my earlier rant, I mean petty vent. 
DH's older Sister back in Hawaii is going through some very 
serious medical issues and we're all on edge, waiting to hear 
further news, and he knows this.

When he was younger, he did need to ask first before calling 
anyone, because he doesn't understand "time difference" nor
WHERE someone lives.  

Not too long ago, he was not allowed to call one of his friends
who had moved to Hawaii.  He called her at something like 3am
on a school night and couldn't understand why her Dad came on
the phone, yelling at him.  Her Dad was our Nephew's former 
commander, that did not go well the next day at work.

Spaces and time, along with other things, baffle him.  
I even bought him a big map of the USA with the time zones
and put colored pins in each State of each family member to help him
better understand.  
He flat out refused to even try to learn something "new".


----------



## Cooking Goddess

My vent is certainly petty when it comes to all of you that have family dealing with special needs kids. God love you all.


My laptop no longer wants to talk to the internet via WiFi. Instead, I have to pack up everything I need/want when I'm going to be using it, then head down the basement to connect "George" to the internet with a cable - all old-school like.  Thankfully, it is summer and the basement is nice and cool, I have what Himself refers to as my Mom Cave set up with a desk, TV, nice little table lamp all set up to hide from the world. Still will be nice when he gets around to replacing my laptop, though. Or gets me a mini-fridge for snacks and beverages in the basement.


----------



## bbqcoder

Cooking Goddess said:


> My laptop no longer wants to talk to the internet via WiFi.



My wife had issue with her laptop being unable to connect to Wifi periodically last year and you had to reboot to resolve it. I tried updating the driver, but still happened.  Was able to resolve it by getting this device for $15.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019SRBUNG

WiFi USB adapter.  It also has the bonus of supporting the latest AC protocol when the built-in Wifi only did N.  No issues with the WiFi since then. 

Maybe something similar can help you?


----------



## jd_1138

Cooking Goddess said:


> My vent is certainly petty when it comes to all of you that have family dealing with special needs kids. God love you all.
> 
> 
> My laptop no longer wants to talk to the internet via WiFi. Instead, I have to pack up everything I need/want when I'm going to be using it, then head down the basement to connect "George" to the internet with a cable - all old-school like.  Thankfully, it is summer and the basement is nice and cool, I have what Himself refers to as my Mom Cave set up with a desk, TV, nice little table lamp all set up to hide from the world. Still will be nice when he gets around to replacing my laptop, though. Or gets me a mini-fridge for snacks and beverages in the basement.



I'd reinstall Windows; it should fix the problem with the internal wi-fi adapter.  If not, get a $20 USB wi-fi adapter from your local Best Buy that plugs into a USB port; that should solve the problem.  (or get what bbqcoder above suggests).

But if the laptop is old, may as well just replace it.  For like $150 or so you can buy a refurbished laptop off ebay that will be faster than your old one.  My Lenovo N23 laptop was all of $95 on ebay, and it has a touchscreen.  I've been using it for 2 years.  I gave my old one to my niece.


----------



## dragnlaw

I have enuf problems with a new computer much less thinking of someone elses' hidden problems.  A lemon is a lemon.  

With all the thunder storms here power outages are just another hiccup to muddle thru.  Last night the hiccup was from 7 to midnight.  Came on just in time for me to lie in bed and wonder if all the lights (not on the generator grid) were turned off.


----------



## Andy M.

Computer/smart phone problems really suck because you become so dependent on them.

I recently had a problem with not being able to back up my laptop to an external hard drive. I contacted Apple Support and they advised me to reinstall MacOS. They sent me a link with the instructions. I started the process and got a message that there wasn't enough room on my hard drive. I was 2GB short. So I went into the details of my hard drive and deleted about 8GB of unneeded data. Tried the reinstall again and got the same message. 

I set the problem aside for a week or so planning to re-contact Apple Support. Before I called again I gave the reinstall one more try and it worked! Back to normal and I can now back up weekly with no issues.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bbqcoder said:


> My wife had issue with her laptop being unable to connect to Wifi periodically last year and you had to reboot to resolve it...Was able to resolve it by getting this device for $15...WiFi USB adapter....


Yup, I did the reboot thing for a while, too. As soon as I started to read your post to Himself, who worked IT for nearly four decades, he chimed in with "yes, that should do it!" Now he's trying to think of what else he needs/wants from Amazon. We don't have Prime. [emoji38]


----------



## taxlady

A guy showed up to plaster the walls in the basement. He showed up at 08h30. I let him in even though we had no warning he was coming. We have been dealing with the insurance about this basement repair since the water heater broke in January. I want this done ASAP. I checked my email. The email telling us that he would come today between 0900 and 1000 has a time stamp of 0651 today. Grrr


----------



## bbqcoder

Cooking Goddess said:


> Now he's trying to think of what else he needs/wants from Amazon. We don't have Prime. [emoji38]



Do you like to watch movies/TV Shows?  I think Prime is a great value when you get free shipping and movies/shows to watch. I can order stuff and not have to worry that it's only $10 instead of trying to hit the free shipping minimum.  I also share the subscription with my parents so they can watch shows on their TV in FL.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bbq, we aren't much TV watchers. We did watch stuff on our TV from various websites when our tower computer was working. It died a while ago. Himself hasn't bothered fixing it because I don't watch online and he's happy enough with his big tablet.

Himself is like a Scout - always prepared.. He pulled this from his inventory:


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Let's try this photo thing again...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Yay, that little plug-in WiFi USB works!


----------



## skilletlicker

*Happy Independence Day*

This morning I prayed for grace to be uplifted and inspired by exhortations and celebrations of patriotism,

strength to resist appeals and temptations to tribalism and nationalism,

and wisdom to tell the difference.


----------



## bbqcoder

Cooking Goddess said:


> Yay, that little plug-in WiFi USB works!



Nice! Hope it continues working reliably for you!


----------



## dragnlaw

Would have been OK 'cept I heard the horses thumping down in the lower paddock , of course I had to go see.  Was nothing.

Had been doing the goose pond so had no hat - big mistake. 

We have a heat warning with humidex at 40.  

and now I CAN'T FIND the ruddy remote for the Lennox!

How are yuh hanging in there *taxy*?  Must be worse in town.


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Would have been OK 'cept I heard the horses thumping down in the lower paddock , of course I had to go see.  Was nothing.
> 
> Had been doing the goose pond so had no hat - big mistake.
> 
> We have a heat warning with humidex at 40.
> 
> and now I CAN'T FIND the ruddy remote for the Lennox!
> 
> How are yuh hanging in there *taxy*?  Must be worse in town.



It's probably worse in town, but it's about the same out here in the 'burbs as you have. The air conditioner is having a hard time, but doing well enough.


----------



## caseydog

So, I went to WalMart to pick up a couple of things, because it is really close. I'm walking in the door, and the greeter is asking a black customer for a receipt, and checking his bags. I've never seen a customer asked for a receipt at the WalMart in my suburban city. 

When I went to leave, there was a bottleneck at the door while the same greeter checking the receipt of a hispanic family against two carts full of groceries. She then checked the receipt of a middle eastern looking guy. 

When it was my turn, she waved me right through. She then waved through the other white guy in line behind me. 

I passed the hispanic family in the parking lot, and they were talking and laughing at the experience as they loaded their groceries into their very nice, fairly new car. 

I hope that greeter gets fired -- soon. That was profiling. 

If I send my story to WalMart, do you think anything will happen?

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sure sounds like profiling, *CD*, but your complaint will probably fall on deaf ears.  FWIW, I'm obviously white, old, and move slowly. Not a threat to stealing since any security person could outrun me. I got stopped at our local Wally World last time I shopped. After I did the receipt thing, I asked the clerk what would happen if I just waved and kept walking after he asked, flipping "I paid for it all" over my shoulder. He said he could do nothing, but then explained their policy. Did any of the people before you have items that were not in bags? And were all of your items in bags? He said that the policy is to stop anyone leaving with un-bagged merchandise as a check against the cashiers. Some cashiers have a habit of "missing" merchandise that is in the cart. Most likely done as a favor for a friend. It might be that they're more intent on catching shady cashiers that let their friends walk out with bonus merchandise than catching the random shoplifter.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Sure sounds like profiling, *CD*, but your complaint will probably fall on deaf ears.  FWIW, I'm obviously white, old, and move slowly. Not a threat to stealing since any security person could outrun me. I got stopped at our local Wally World last time I shopped. After I did the receipt thing, I asked the clerk what would happen if I just waved and kept walking after he asked, flipping "I paid for it all" over my shoulder. He said he could do nothing, but then explained their policy. Did any of the people before you have items that were not in bags? And were all of your items in bags? He said that the policy is to stop anyone leaving with un-bagged merchandise as a check against the cashiers. Some cashiers have a habit of "missing" merchandise that is in the cart. Most likely done as a favor for a friend. It might be that they're more intent on catching shady cashiers that let their friends walk out with bonus merchandise than catching the random shoplifter.



I bring my own IKEA insulated grocery bags into ever grocery store. They have a zipper on top. I had it over my shoulder, zipped shut, so there is no way the greeter could have any idea what was in it, and whether I paid for it. 

So, no, I do not think it was a case of catching a shady cashier. This was a clear case of profiling, IMO. 

That WalMart is in one of the wealthiest zip codes in Texas. My next door neighbors are black, and own a bigger house than mine, and a Mercedes E-Class. Thats a $60,000 car. That is not unusual in my town. 

So, I was completely caught off guard when this greeter was stopping customers who weren't white. Like I said, I've never seen this before at this store. This greeter was clearly acting on her own. She needs to go. 

CD


----------



## dragnlaw

What about going directly to the manager?  Believe it when letter can be answered but never acted on.  Yet if you ALSO see the manager and mention a letter has gone out, something will be done.  

I'd like to think someone would believe in bettering the situation by retraining and watching over her.


----------



## dragnlaw

last night cut my finger on the mandolin 

Right index, just the tip.  Took 2 paper towels and alot of pressure to stem the blood flow lomg enuf to get a proper bandage on. then still had to wrap another paper towel over that and hog tie it with packing tape.

Can't type, can't hold the dremel, can't drain quail eggs, can't garden, cam't cook...  but I can swear tho!  Thank goodness no one lives within very loud swear hearing distance.


----------



## bbqcoder

I rarely go to Walmart because there are none near me.  Near means the same town or surrounding town. The few times I have shopped in one (Mass and NH), I don’t recall seeing a bag checker at the exit.

They do have a receipt checker at the BJs I go to.  Never understood the point of their job.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was recently stopped at Wal-Mart in Nebraska to have my receipt checked.  Surprised me.  I did have several unbagged items.  I see no reason to waste a bag on Items that are large and contained in their own box or bag.


----------



## Andy M.

bbqcoder said:


> ...They do have a receipt checker at the BJs I go to.  Never understood the point of their job.



They have a receipt checker at Costco too. They tell you it's to make sure you got everything in the carriage that you paid for but I'm pretty sure they're looking for unpaid items.


----------



## skilletlicker

Couple times in my life, the '60s and oughts, hair grew to my lower back and beard to belly. Didn't notice receipt checkers but some places an armed guard would overtly follow me around the store.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> They have a receipt checker at Costco too. They tell you it's to make sure you got everything in the carriage that you paid for but I'm pretty sure they're looking for unpaid items.



I have heard that "reason" too, at Costco. It would be more convincing if they ever noticed when an item was missing from the cart as you are leaving.


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> What about going directly to the manager?  Believe it when letter can be answered but never acted on.  Yet if you ALSO see the manager and mention a letter has gone out, something will be done.
> 
> I'd like to think someone would believe in *bettering the situation by retraining and watching over her.*



I think that would be lovely. All of us have various unconscious biases. This person may not have been aware that they were racially profiling the customers.


----------



## caseydog

dragnlaw said:


> last night cut my finger on the mandolin
> 
> Right index, just the tip.  Took 2 paper towels and alot of pressure to stem the blood flow lomg enuf to get a proper bandage on. then still had to wrap another paper towel over that and hog tie it with packing tape.
> 
> Can't type, can't hold the dremel, can't drain quail eggs, can't garden, cam't cook...  but I can swear tho!  Thank goodness no one lives within very loud swear hearing distance.



Been there, done that... twice. Much profanity followed. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Andy M. said:


> They have a receipt checker at Costco too. They tell you it's to make sure you got everything in the carriage that you paid for but I'm pretty sure they're looking for unpaid items.



Yes, but they check everybody, not just "certain" people. 

CD


----------



## dragnlaw

caseydog said:


> Been there, done that... twice. Much profanity followed.
> 
> CD



I guess I should post this in the Thankfulness Thread.  This time it wasn't the whole side of my finger almost down to the bone   like I did the first time. LOL  that was a doozy! 

So it will be sensitive but already down to just one bandage.


----------



## Kayelle

*Dragn and Casey*...
  After my *first* bad injury I got these safety gloves...
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=cut+proof+gloves+kitchen


----------



## caseydog

Kayelle said:


> *Dragn and Casey*...
> After my *first* bad injury I got these safety gloves...
> https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=cut+proof+gloves+kitchen



After the second finger incident, which required a visit to doc-in-a-box, because the bleeding wouldn't stop, I threw away my mandolin. There was some profanity involved with that, too. 

The doctor cauterized the wound, with no novocaine. Ibuprofen wasn't getting the job done, so I had to get vodka off the bench. 

CD


----------



## taxlady

Kayelle said:


> *Dragn and Casey*...
> After my *first* bad injury I got these safety gloves...
> https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=cut+proof+gloves+kitchen



I've got cut resistant gloves too. Makes me feel a lot safer. I often wear them when I am shredding or grating vegis.


----------



## dragnlaw

I probably should too (get gloves).  Don't you find them awkward? do they fit snug, or are they loose.  Can they go over arthritic joints but still be snug?
I guess I'm just looking at it as another inconvenient step while prepping.  Yeah, yeah, I know, I know- inconvenient to put on a glove or wait several days (or weeks) to heal.

I guess I should this in "today's Funny"  but think about it.  You have a huge bandage on your right hand and the left wrist is in a metal supported elastic wrap that could probably give an elephant a headache.   and you have to go potty.


----------



## Andy M.

Doesn't anyone use the tool (food safety holder according to Amazon) that comes with mandolins and V-Slicers to keep your fingers out of harms way?


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> Doesn't anyone use the tool (food safety holder according to Amazon) that comes with mandolins and V-Slicers to keep your fingers out of harms way?


I do, *and* I have a glove. I haven't had any injuries as long as I use the tool. Then I chop the nub that's left with a knife.

Dragnlaw, the glove fits very snugly and the material is very soft and flexible, so it shouldn't hurt your fingers to put it on and wear it. And as Taxy said, it protects your fingers while grating things, too.


----------



## taxlady

Well, other than the chain mail gloves for butchers, I think the safety gloves are all stretchy. I really think they will fit fine over arthritic hands, but have no experience with that.

I will admit that it might be a good idea to use them when I'm chopping, but I can't usually be arsed to do that. To me, the nuisance part is remembering to put the glove on and washing it afterwards. No, washing it isn't hard or tedious, but I have to find a place to stand the glove up to dry.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Doesn't anyone use the tool (food safety holder according to Amazon) that comes with mandolins and V-Slicers to keep your fingers out of harms way?



Yes, I use that pusher tool with my V-slicer. But, not when I want carrot rounds or celery slices or shredded cabbage. I don't bother taking out the V-slicer for celery or carrot unless going to do a lot. If I'm doing something else with it anyways, I will use it for those too, even if it's only smaller amounts. I usually put on the glove even if I'm going to use the pusher for everything. That way I won't forget and have a oops.


----------



## Andy M.

I guess you all use a slicer more frequently than I do. I only use it when I have large quantities of an item that need some uniformity such as onions for onion soup or lyonnaise potatoes. I do just about all the rest with a chef's knife.


----------



## dragnlaw

I generally use a chef's knife for most of my slicing and dicing. I use the mandolin when I need really uniform thin slices.  I can slice pretty thin but not uniformly like the mando. 

My oopsy's always happen a nano second before I finish the thought "it is time to switch to the safety holder thingy". 

Although the big oopsy was because the sleeping cat fell off the kitchen chair, landed on the sleeping dog, who was directly behind me....


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> I guess you all use a slicer more frequently than I do. I only use it when I have large quantities of an item that need some uniformity such as onions for onion soup or lyonnaise potatoes. I do just about all the rest with a chef's knife.


Does it? I probably use it three or four times a month. I do most of my chopping with my chef's knife, but when I use the slicer, I always use the glove. And dragn, I just throw it in the laundry basket.


----------



## Kayelle

GotGarlic said:


> Does it? I probably use it three or four times a month. I do most of my chopping with my chef's knife, but when I use the slicer, I always use the glove. *And dragn, I just throw it in the laundry basket.*




In addition, the gloves are for either hand, and you don't need both at once.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> In addition, the gloves are for either hand, and you don't need both at once.


+1..


----------



## rodentraiser

I suppose this could be considered a full vent, but I couldn't find the thread for it. So here I am.

Been trying to sell that trailer I bought. 

One person emailed me. Then crickets.

Someone else texted me. Then crickets.

Another person texted me and asked a ton of questions until I finally asked him if he had seen the ad. He asked me to send a link. I did. Then crickets. But I still want to know how he got my number if he had never seen the ad.

Anyhoo, the next person called me and wanted to see the trailer and was very excited about it. He let me know that he was flying into Seattle and could he get a bus over here. ??? Well, there is actually an Airporter that could drop him off nearby and I could pick him up to see the trailer, but then I asked him how he was going to get it home. He said, "This isn't an RV?" *facepalm* Not only does the ad start with "5th Wheel for Sale..." but I have literally 4 pictures of the outside of it in the ad. How you could miss that...? So he said he'd think it over and call me if his situation changes...

Then I get a call from the father of the person who emailed me. Gave him all the info, he said he would give it to his son, and crickets.

Then the person who originally texted me texts me again. He said he had been "resting". ??? So now he wants to see the trailer on Sunday. Great, says I, I am going up there myself on Sunday. Want to meet up in nearest town and follow me to it?

Sure, says he, and wants to know how far it is from (town on other side of bridge). I ask him if he can call me because it would be easier to explain the directions. He says OK and then crickets. I texted him yesterday and even called this morning before I left to ask if he still wanted to see the trailer today. Crickets.

And the reason I was going up to my lot was because the guy who was going to put the water in was going to meet me there. Besides putting in the water, I wanted to let him know what trees he can take. So that was Thursday. I drive up to my lot today and....he never showed. That is the second time this happened. Last time I called him and he "forgot". This time I just waited half an hour and having received no call or text, I just left. And unless he calls me back, that will be our last contact. Seriously, if you don't want to do the job, just tell me! My little feelers would not be hurt. Really!

At this point, I'm totally frustrated with both the water and trying to sell that trailer. I've decided I'm going to get someone else to put the water in and I'm thinking of setting the trailer on fire (not really. Well, maybe). 

This water thing has been going on for over a year now and I need it in before I can do anything else. So I'm seriously thinking about staying where I am for another year and saving up some more money and trying to get that (*^& trailer sold. I also want to get the lot bulldozed and terraced a bit and that will cost some money (a lot). Staying here would be the smart thing to do and if the trailer doesn't sell in a couple of weeks, that's what I'll do. 

But I may cut off the computer next month to save a little more money. We'll have to see how that goes. 

So my vent for today is - PEOPLE! BAH!


----------



## bbqcoder

rodentraiser said:


> I suppose this could be considered a full vent, but I couldn't find the thread for it. So here I am.



Yeah, there are a lot of flakes out there on Craigslist, LetGo.  I've found Facebook Marketplace to have less flaky people.  I always make a point of letting sellers know "Thanks, but I'm not interested".

I also don't hold any item I'm selling for anyone.  First person with the money gets it.  Too bad if it sold and you're on your way to my place.  That's life.  It's all because people who said they were coming and then bailed.


----------



## Andy M.

I also have had really good results with Facebook marketplace. You can localize your search to your area. Also there are special interest groups on FB and you can post for sales on those sites. I sold a timeshare week by going to a SI group for the resort. Posted the wee and it was sold in five hours.


----------



## rodentraiser

Thanks, but I don't have a Facebook account. I did and I was in the  middle of getting everything together when they send me a message saying  my account had been deleted because of it being a fake account during  one of their account purges. Who knows how they decide stuff like that?

But I wasn't going to argue with them about it. Anyway, I'm relisting the trailer again today.


----------



## Kayelle

RT, I don't know if you're brave or foolish, but there's no way I'd meet a stranger in a remote area to show that trailer. Ykies!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> RT, I don't know if you're brave or foolish, but there's no way I'd meet a stranger in a remote area to show that trailer. Ykies!!


Me, too. We've been watching "Criminal Minds" a lot lately, though  Seriously, I wouldn't meet a stranger alone in remote place, either, much less offer him a ride there.


----------



## skilletlicker

*!@#$*



rodentraiser said:


> Thanks, but I don't have a Facebook account. I did and I was in the  middle of getting everything together when they send me a message saying  my account had been deleted because of it being a fake account during  one of their account purges. Who knows how they decide stuff like that?
> 
> But I wasn't going to argue with them about it. Anyway, I'm relisting the trailer again today.



I'm just jealous!

When I follow all the instructions to cancel Facebook account, instantly get a message saying someone requests it NOT be canceled.


----------



## caseydog

I'm mad at the whole tech giant world. I work my arse off to deliver a quality product to my customers, and Apple, Spectrum, Adobe, and all the other high tech leaches take my money and tell me it is my fault if their stuff doesn't work. Even worse, they tell me their stuff will work fine if I give them some more money. The tech giants are like Lucy holding a football for Charlie Brown to kick, and I'm Charlie Brown. 

Grrrrrr!

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> ...take my money...


Arg, they're all alike, CB...I mean *CD*. Let me tell you about our appliance story:

When I went to set the timer on the range (circa 11-2007) control panel, I noticed a few small cracks in the face. I noticed it because I could run the timer up only until 11 minutes, then it stopped counting up. Hmm. I pulled out the owner's manual for Himself - totally useless. (The manual, although Himself is on the bubble most of the time, too.) He went online to see if he could get a replacement part. Why yes, he could. For $300 plus shipping and tax! The problem is that a while ago you could buy just the screen. Now, the only way they sell the display is as a package - screen and all the electronics behind it. He said that they probably sell it that way now because they weren't making enough money selling just the cover panel.  I'm not willing to spend $300+ on an almost 12-year-old stove with chips in the surface, paint wear on the trim strip at the bottom of the oven door, and what seems to be a less-than-tight seal on said door. Plus, it's the only non-black appliance in the kitchen.

New black range getting delivered Thursday afternoon.  Not a stove I will love, but the hope is that it won't be mine for long. At least it will not carry the air of something that has been rode hard and put away wet. 

We HAVE to get out of this house before we need to replace anything else when it breaks!!!


----------



## caseydog

rodentraiser said:


> Thanks, but I don't have a Facebook account. I did and I was in the  middle of getting everything together when they send me a message saying  my account had been deleted because of it being a fake account during  one of their account purges. Who knows how they decide stuff like that?
> 
> But I wasn't going to argue with them about it. Anyway, I'm relisting the trailer again today.



I got "purged" too. FB wanted me to send them all kinds of personal documentation to prove I was a real person. Then, they would do a complete background check, and maybe let me have a new FB account. 

I read their notice, and gave it the single finger salute. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> We HAVE to get out of this house before we need to replace anything else when it breaks!!!



I completely understand. If I were to put my house on the market, I'd probably have to do 20K in fixing stuff -- of buy a home warranty for the buyer. 

But, my house has doubled in value, and I have about 180K in equity in it. So, I have some wiggle room to negotiate if I decide to sell. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*"What part of 'after NOON' is confusing to you???"*

That's pretty much what I've told the delivery service the last two nights. When I bought the new range on Tuesday, the saleswoman asked it I wanted an AM or PM delivery. I said PM. She advised me that I would get a phone call Wednesday evening telling me what 4-hour window in the afternoon I could expect my delivery. When the delivery service called on Wednesday, they said I could expect my range between 8 and noon.  Um, no, I asked for AFTER noon. I told the woman I would be OK with pushing the day back to a Friday delivery if it would help with getting me an afternoon delivery. No problem, they'd have someone call me on Thursday night with a Friday delivery time...which turned out to be between 10 AM and 2 PM.  In the spirit of "third time's the charm", I'm trying for a Saturday delivery between noon and 5.  Also going to bed earlier tonight so I can actually be UP before noon Friday in anticipation that I'll still be getting a 10-2 delivery slot on Saturday.


----------



## CWS4322

It has been a heck of a week. Broke a molar. Not fun. The morning caregiver didn't show up all week, so it was ME. Dad was in a rage. Finally, he is away for a weekend of respite but I have had the lawn boys here (the owner of the company that comes three/four times a summer got Lyme disease, so the list is 20 items long), someone's stray black lab showed up (nice boy, but I was afraid he'd get hit by a car on the road, so now he is the garage and the owner's away for the weekend). Having said-black lab on the lawn all day drove my Dad's poodle crazy. A neighbor is coming to take him to his "home" and put him in his kennel and will make sure he has water and food for the weekend. Supposedly the "kids" let him out instead of putting him in his kennel. Lost my phone (long story). The "lawn boy" weed wacked my pepper plants. But, Mom and I are having a girls' weekend. Just a typical week in the life of the only child caring for the Elders.


----------



## Just Cooking

Perhaps a nice bottle (or 2) of wine is in order, CW..   

Ross


----------



## taxlady

Aw CWS, (((great big, smooshy hugs)))


----------



## CWS4322

Forgot to mention Dad fell off his riding lawnmower and broke two ribs. Yeah, heck of a great week.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Truck died and no one around here can see it for 3-4 weeks.  Dad is lending me enough to get a run around car that is more economical than the truck and I'll have something to drive while waiting to get the truck fixed.  Meanwhile, been on vacation...stuck in Lingle for a week, yippee!


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Truck died and no one around here can see it for 3-4 weeks.  Dad is lending me enough to get a run around car that is more economical than the truck and I'll have something to drive while waiting to get the truck fixed.  Meanwhile, been on vacation...stuck in Lingle for a week, yippee!


Glad you are vacy and having a good time!


----------



## skilletlicker

PrincessFiona60 said:


> ... Meanwhile, been on vacation...stuck in Lingle for a week, yippee!


Sorry about your truck troubles. Thinkin' there are way worse places to be stuck though. Looked up, Lingle. Improbably, this snip is from a page called the Lingle Wyoming Big Map.

For some reason reminded me of this.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LOL!  I've been saying. If it wasn't for Mom and Dad I would have gone nuts this past week.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Truck died and no one around here can see it for 3-4 weeks.  Dad is lending me enough to get a run around car that is more economical than the truck and I'll have something to drive while waiting to get the truck fixed.  Meanwhile, been on vacation...stuck in Lingle for a week, yippee!



3-4 weeks! Well that is definitely suboptimal. Glad to hear that you won't be stuck with no vehicle.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> LOL!  I've been saying. If it wasn't for Mom and Dad I would have gone nuts this past week.


If it weren't for my Mom and Dad, I wouldn't have gone nuts this past week!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Truck died and no one around here can see it for 3-4 weeks.  Dad is lending me enough to get a run around car that is more economical than the truck and I'll have something to drive while waiting to get the truck fixed.  Meanwhile, been on vacation...stuck in Lingle for a week, yippee!



Bummer about your truck, PF. Sorry that your vacation wasn't exactly like you wanted. I know that there are worse places to be stuck than at home and close to family.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Truck died and no one around here can see it for 3-4 weeks.  Dad is lending me enough to get a run around car that is more economical than the truck and I'll have something to drive while waiting to get the truck fixed.  Meanwhile, been on vacation...stuck in Lingle for a week, yippee!



That stinks! Too bad you couldn't cancel your vacation and save it for later.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Bummer about your truck, PF. Sorry that your vacation wasn't exactly like you wanted. I know that there are worse places to be stuck than at home and close to family.



True, I could have been stuck out of town and far away.



Andy M. said:


> That stinks! Too bad you couldn't cancel your vacation and save it for later.



I would not have been able to get to work anyway.  Town is ten miles away.  I got to watch movies and sleep in as much as the animals would let me.  A couple of days spent with Mom and Dad, I am happy.  Just wish I hadn't had to buy a used car to get me back to work on Tuesday. This vacation cost me more than most.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hope life back to work is treating you better than your truck has, *PF*.


----------



## caseydog

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I would not have been able to get to work anyway.  Town is ten miles away.  I got to watch movies and sleep in as much as the animals would let me.  A couple of days spent with Mom and Dad, I am happy. * Just wish I hadn't had to buy a used car to get me back to work on Tuesday*. This vacation cost me more than most.



Um, just curious. You can't rent cars in Wyoming? How about UBER?  A ride from a neighbor? 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*If they tell you your order will be delivered by XPO Last Mile, cancel the order.*



Cooking Goddess said:


> ...New black range getting delivered Thursday afternoon...


No, it wasn't. And as you can see in my post from last Thursday, it wasn't going to be delivered on Friday. It could have been delivered Saturday...if I was willing to be up and dressed before 7:30 AM.  Oh fer cluck's sake, is there no way I can get this delivery company to honor an afternoon delivery request? Another attempt to get slotted in the PM, another automatic call telling me Monday's delivery would be here between 8 and noon.  I declined that time, and said I would hope for Monday's night's call to come through with a Tuesday afternoon time - or even the 10 to 2 that was slotted for the second try. Well, no call at all on Monday, and no sign of a delivery by 5:00 PM today. We left for the family owned appliance store up in Worcester, ordered the same stove (that was priced $20 than Lowe's), and have it in a delayed order submission file so that it will be processed on Saturday - this weekend in MA is tax-free! It's like we're NH for two days, but not really.  Our delivery isn't free, and the old appliance removal fee is $5 higher than Lowe's, but at least we've been assured that delivery will be in the afternoon and will be handled properly. If everything goes as smoothly as we figure, it will be worth the overall $30 difference between the two stores.

When we went to Lowe's to cancel the order, the front end manager had no problems with our cancellation. It seems like this has become a seriously regular thing with a customer canceling an order due to delivery problems. Lowe's had better straighten out their problem quickly since it seems to be a serious enough issue to affect their bottom line.


----------



## bbqcoder

Cooking Goddess said:


> We left for the family owned appliance store up in Worcester, ordered the same stove (that was priced $20 than Lowe's), and have it in a delayed order submission file so that it will be processed on Saturday



This reminds me of a story.  We ate at this Korean restaurant in the next town over from us a couple of months ago. It's a small operation, almost like eating in this Korean Mom's kitchen.  Anyway, the owner (old Korean lady) was chatting with us, telling us her tale of woe in getting a new freezer.  Hers was broken and she had ordered a new one from Home Depot.  It was suppose to have been delivered but they messed up the address.  They were trying to deliver to XYZ Maynard St instead of XYZ Main St, Maynard.

I was surprised that she did not order her freezer from the local appliance store in the same town, less than 1/2 block away.  Sure, she likely would have to pay a few dollars more but the delivery wouldn't get messed up.  As a business owner, I think it's more critical that things are correct or fixed right away than try to save a few dollars.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Maynard, huh? You must be not too far from Benson's Ice Cream in Boxford. Really good ice cream. Really far away from us. We've been there only twice - once by happenstance, once on a Saturday drive with Himself's sis and BIL when they still lived up here.


We do try to shop at Lowe's whenever we need something that they sell because our daughter has worked at a Lowe's in OH for about a decade. We try to support her employer when we can. However, we've decided that, unless it's a cash-and-carry purchase, we'll just shop at small, family stores. It's not worth the extra money to run our blood pressures up - after all, I've got mine managed the best I have in a long time (122/76) .


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Maynard, huh? You must be not too far from Benson's Ice Cream in Boxford. Really good ice cream. Really far away from us. We've been there only twice - once by happenstance, once on a Saturday drive with Himself's sis and BIL when they still lived up here.
> 
> 
> We do try to shop at Lowe's whenever we need something that they sell because our daughter has worked at a Lowe's in OH for about a decade. We try to support her employer when we can. However, we've decided that, unless it's a cash-and-carry purchase, we'll just shop at small, family stores. It's not worth the extra money to run our blood pressures up - after all, I've got mine managed the best I have in a long time (122/76) .



I have had really good experiences with _Lowe's_ deliveries. My washer and dryer came from them. Of course, different cities in different states. I live in a very competitive market for furniture and appliances, so they all fight each other for customers. They all price match, and some will toss in free stuff, even delivery, just to make the sale. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Casey, we never had problems with deliveries from Lowe's in the past. Our most recent was our dryer in April, 2016. Since then they've changed to this XPO service. It looks like Home Depot and Amazon have been using them too. Thankfully, anything Himself orders from Amazon can come via USPS. I guess Amazon is starting to do their own deliveries. Probably got tired of customer complaints about lousy delivery service.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Casey, we never had problems with deliveries from Lowe's in the past. Our most recent was our dryer in April, 2016. Since then they've changed to this XPO service. It looks like Home Depot and Amazon have been using them too. Thankfully, anything Himself orders from Amazon can come via USPS. *I guess Amazon is starting to do their own deliveries. Probably got tired of customer complaints about lousy delivery service*.



Amazon started doing their own deliveries to make money -- pure and simple. They are in a big pissing contest with FedEx. 

I use USPS to ship most things to my customers. About 50 percent of politicians and their supporters want to kill USPS (read that any way you want), I get consistently good service for a reasonable price from USPS. 

Amazon delivery drivers are underpaid, and from my experience, the least professional delivery drivers. UPS drivers are the ones who seem to take their work the most seriously. Then again, I have had the same USPS mail carrier for over ten years, and we he is the only one I buy a bottle of Patron tequila for at Christmas every year. He actually knows who my biggest customers are, and can spot a check, and will knock on my door when he spots a potential big check, instead of leaving it in the mailbox. That is a true professional. 

CD


----------



## dragnlaw

*Delivery's and Dish Racks*

I got the best price for my all-gas range in Ottawa, 120 klics from me.  Delivery would not be free and rather expensive but it was the range I wanted. 

Luckily, for the past 20+ years, I have Grand Caravans, of which I have always remove the middle seat(s).  I asked for the measurements of the boxed range.  Drove to their warehouse, they slid the range in the side door, I drove home, slid the range out.  
It was awkward, not heavy.

So although I had to wait 1/2 hour for my neighbour to help me carry it in the house  -  I had same day delivery!  

Installation was another story! 

*Dish Rack* -  I replaced my stainless steel dish rack last year because it was starting to show signs of rust here and there, difficult to clean, wasn't much but still.  I had purchased it in year 2000.  Comparatively speaking it was on the expensive side but it last almost 18 years so I figured it did me well.

I bought a another stainless steel rack, it is not even 2 years old and showing multiple spots of rust!   

Think I'll go out to the barn and dig out the other one!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Hope life back to work is treating you better than your truck has, *PF*.



Work is no problem, just lots of catching up.  



caseydog said:


> Um, just curious. You can't rent cars in Wyoming? How about UBER?  A ride from a neighbor?
> 
> CD



Nearest car rental is an hour away and _very_ expensive.  No such thing as UBER in my edge of the state.  My parents offered me the Mini Cooper...but I thought a month was too much to ask for.  I was looking into getting a runaround car anyway, this episode forced my hand.


----------



## bbqcoder

Cooking Goddess said:


> Maynard, huh? You must be not too far from Benson's Ice Cream in Boxford. Really good ice cream. Really far away from us. We've been there only twice - once by happenstance, once on a Saturday drive with Himself's sis and BIL when they still lived up here.



Closer than you but it's still far from me.  Almost an hour away as it's the North Shore.  I'm wondering if you were thinking of Boxboro which is next to my town of Acton.  We almost never go to the North Shore but perhaps we should change it up?

Our usual IC places are Kimball's (Carlisle) and Erickson's (Maynard).  We've also done Bedford Farms (Bedford/Concord), and Rancatore (Lexington).  I would be interested in other recommendations that people have.


----------



## roadfix

The only issue I have with the USPS is their 'last mile' delivery contract they have with Amazon.    As a Prime member I usually get next day or second day deliveries and some of them fall on a Sunday.    And Sunday deliveries are almost always made by the USPS.
My gripe is that the USPS will tag the delivery as "delivery attempted, cannot access premise", or something like that.   This happens every time.    I am physically there expecting my delivery and when I check tracking info I get that message.    I realize that USPS isn't making a dime on these Sunday deliveries, but geez, then drop the Sunday deliveries.


----------



## msmofet

roadfix said:


> The only issue I have with the USPS is their 'last mile' delivery contract they have with Amazon. As a Prime member I usually get next day or second day deliveries and some of them fall on a Sunday. And Sunday deliveries are almost always made by the USPS.
> My gripe is that the USPS will tag the delivery as "delivery attempted, cannot access premise", or something like that. This happens every time. I am physically there expecting my delivery and when I check tracking info I get that message. I realize that USPS isn't making a dime on these Sunday deliveries, but geez, then drop the Sunday deliveries.


 We have had that happen also and I agree with you.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I just spent about 5 hours putting ini information about avocadoes, aand great recipes to use them in, in my blog.  Somehow, I accidently erased all of it when trying to publish.  i have o write that  one all over again tomorrow.  Very heavy sih,  At least I know what recipes I'll be using, and the idea of the text.  It should go a little faster.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I just spent about 5 hours putting ini information about avocadoes, aand great recipes to use them in, in my blog.  Somehow, I accidently erased all of it when trying to publish.  i have o write that  one all over again tomorrow.  Very heavy sih,  At least I know what recipes I'll be using, and the idea of the text.  It should go a little faster.
> 
> Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


That's so frustrating. You could type your post into Word, so you'll have it saved, and then copy & paste it into your blog post when it's done. Just remember to save it every few minutes  I got into that habit after losing a lot of typing on something many years ago.


----------



## bbqcoder

GotGarlic said:


> That's so frustrating. You could type your post into Word, so you'll have it saved, and then copy & paste it into your blog post when it's done. Just remember to save it every few minutes  I got into that habit after losing a lot of typing on something many years ago.



I think if you use Office365, it's auto-saved.  Or maybe when it's saved to OneDrive.  Good feature, in my opinion.  Even if you don't save it and the computer crashes, there's usually a recovery file that has most of your content.


----------



## GotGarlic

bbqcoder said:


> I think if you use Office365, it's auto-saved.  Or maybe when it's saved to OneDrive.  Good feature, in my opinion.  Even if you don't save it and the computer crashes, there's usually a recovery file that has most of your content.


You're right, I forgot about that. I don't think that's the only version of Word/Office that does that. It's a habit I developed a long time ago [emoji2]


----------



## taxlady

I use LibreOffice, and it saves automagically. It's not the same as actually saving, but if the computer crashes, it uses that auto-saved copy when you next open L.O. and asks if you want to recover the document. I like that better. Sometimes I make a big enough oops, that I would rather go back to the previous version that I intentionally saved.


----------



## bbqcoder

I use Office365 where I purchase the family plan or about $80 year.  It has 6 seats.  Each account gets Office365 plus 1TB of OneDrive storage.  It’s like getting Office for free and you get a good rate for cloud storage. Cheaper than iCloud or Google.  If you store your office documents in OneDrive, you will get auto backups with revisions.  

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mic...-onedrive-version-history-support-file-types/


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bbqcoder said:


> Closer than you but it's still far from me.  Almost an hour away as it's the North Shore.  I'm wondering if you were thinking of Boxboro which is next to my town of Acton.  We almost never go to the North Shore but perhaps we should change it up?
> 
> Our usual IC places are Kimball's (Carlisle) and Erickson's (Maynard).  We've also done Bedford Farms (Bedford/Concord), and Rancatore (Lexington).  I would be interested in other recommendations that people have.


Benson's is in Boxford. (181 Washington St, Boxford, MA 01921). I hear you on the hour-long drive, though. Anything up that way is a long drive, even if you're going only 5-10 miles! If you're more to heading west, have you tried Rota Springs in Sterling? They have wonderful ice cream, huge portions, and on the good days you're upwind while watching the herd of cows that provided the cream.  So Very Good!

We have a place just over the state line, Bogey's Ice Cream at Thompson Speedway. There's also a golf course down that way. I keep telling Himself we should go to Bogey's since they're the only place we've found around here that sells his favorite. In OH it's called "Whitehouse". It's vanilla ice cream with maraschino cherries, whereas cherry-vanilla ice cream he's seen up here has bing cherries.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> I use LibreOffice, and it saves automagically. It's not the same as actually saving, but if the computer crashes, it uses that auto-saved copy when you next open L.O. and asks if you want to recover the document. I like that better. Sometimes I make a big enough oops, that I would rather go back to the previous version that I intentionally saved.


2I use LibreOffice, too, now that I have been forced into retirement.


----------



## bbqcoder

Cooking Goddess said:


> have you tried Rota Springs in Sterling? They have wonderful ice cream, huge portions, and on the good days you're upwind while watching the herd of cows that provided the cream.  So Very Good!



I will have to check out this place.  It’s not too bad of a drive.



Cooking Goddess said:


> We have a place just over the state line, Bogey's Ice Cream at Thompson Speedway.



Interesting.  I think that might be where my friend is going to drive his car next  Monday.  Either there or somewhere else in CT.  I’ll have to ask him again which location.  He has a high powered Mercedes coupe and likes to go to a track to be able to drive 120+mph.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

GotGarlic said:


> That's so frustrating. You could type your post into Word, so you'll have it saved, and then copy & paste it into your blog post when it's done. Just remember to save it every few minutes  I got into that habit after losing a lot of typing on something many years ago.



Yes, when using Word, I used to save every 15 minutes.  But since using Libre, I got out of the habit.  It saves automatically every fifteen minutes or so.
 Wordpress doesn't have an auto-save feature in it, and so, if I goof it up and lose it, then it's lost.  I thought of the same thing you just posted; type it into my Libre tet editor, then copy and paste it into the wordpress blog post.  It works, and I won't be losing anymore posts.  Great minds (or is that like minds) think alike.

Thanks.  Now if only I could make far fewer typo's.  It wouldn't take me an hour to polish enough to publish.

Oh, by the way, the last four posts in my blog have been about using less used veggies, if you're interested.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Andy M.

I have an antique version of MS Office (circa 2008). I turned off the auto save feature a long time ago and just got into he habit of saving periodically as I type. Honestly, computers don't crash all that often anymore so it's probably not an issue.

When typing longer posts etc., I often type into WORD, edit, then cut and paste to the website.

The Apple store told me you can no longer buy MS Office to download to your computer. You pay for a license to use it online. 

I hav the Apple version of MS Office and I think I'll take a look at LibreOffice as a backup.


----------



## taxlady

One of the things I like about Libre Office is that it can read and save in other formats. I also have the habit of saving, even when there is autosave. But, honestly, for a long post here or on Facebook, I'm more likely to use Edit Pad (similar to, but more functional than Note Pad). It's small enough that I have it open all the time.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> One of the things I like about Libre Office is that it can read and save in other formats. I also have the habit of saving, even when there is autosave.


MS Word does the same. 



taxlady said:


> But, honestly, for a long post here or on Facebook, I'm more likely to use Edit Pad (similar to, but more functional than Note Pad). It's small enough that I have it open all the time.


I sometimes use Evernote, especially for answers to common questions  I'm usually on my tablet rather than my laptop, so it's nice to use something that is available on all my devices.


----------



## CWS4322

As a researcher, editor, and writer for 30+ years working remotely for clients, I got in the habit of saving at the end of every page.


----------



## caseydog

In my profession, everyone uses Macs. Many of us have gone out of our way not to have any Microsloth software on our Macs. As a magazine art director, it used to annoy me to no end when somebody told me they did design work in MS Word. You don't do professional design work with a word processor. Advertisers would send me ads created in Word, and I would have to spend hours recreating their ads. 

Since Steve Jobs died, using a Mac is not what it used to be. That would be my "petty vent."  Yeah, I've read the stories, and he was an SOB, but his products worked. Now, I spend about the same amount of time that Windoze users spend just making my computer do what I need it to do. 

CD


----------



## bbqcoder

bbqcoder said:


> Interesting.  I think that might be where my friend is going to drive his car next  Monday.



Yup, that's where he drives.  Thompson Speedway.



Cooking Goddess said:


> Benson's is in Boxford.  If you're more to heading west, have you tried Rota Springs in Sterling?
> 
> We have a place just over the state line, Bogey's Ice Cream at Thompson Speedway.



I don't know if you had Kimball's but how do these places compare to it?  I like the big portions that Kimball's gives so we just share the kid size between the two of us.  Also, why is Benson's at the top of your list over Rota Springs or Bogey's?  

The only negative that I have about Kimball's is that they don't have as many unique flavors like Erickson's (Maynard). 



Andy M. said:


> The Apple store told me you can no longer buy MS Office to download to your computer. You pay for a license to use it online.



The Apple store is wrong. You can still buy Office.  You just need to get Office 2019 (or whatever is the current year) instead of Office365.

I keep telling people that Office365 is the way to go though unless you don't believe in cloud storage.  I get 1TB of cloud storage for ~$20/year where I backup my photos and important documents.  Office 365 is free.



GotGarlic said:


> I sometimes use Evernote, especially for answers to common questions  I'm usually on my tablet rather than my laptop, so it's nice to use something that is available on all my devices.



I use to use Evernote but made the switch to OneNote which is free.  I dislike that Evernote's free version restrict you to two devices and you can only access it offline via desktop.


----------



## GotGarlic

bbqcoder said:


> I use to use Evernote but made the switch to OneNote which is free.  I dislike that Evernote's free version restrict you to two devices and you can only access it offline via desktop.



I have a thing about not putting all my eggs in one manufacturer's basket. I've been using Evernote for so long, I'm happy to pay for it, so I have it on all three of my devices.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I have a thing about not putting all my eggs in one manufacturer's basket. I've been using Evernote for so long, I'm happy to pay for it, so I have it on all three of my devices.



Not having everything in one company's basket sounds very reasonable to me. If one company were to go under or be badly cyber attacked, it would be good not to lose everything.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> I have a thing about not putting all my eggs in one manufacturer's basket. I've been using Evernote for so long, I'm happy to pay for it, so I have it on all three of my devices.



I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. All my 'eggs' and in the Apple basket. SO and I have iPhones, and iPad and a MacBook Air. 

Over the years I've used both Apple and Windows PCs at different jobs. I must say my experience with Apple products has been super and much easier to use than Windows products. I know this is just my opinion and it will differ from others'.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself always tells me that people who prefer fidgeting with their devices favor Windows/Android devices. Apple people prefer factory-set-and-forget. Different strokes for different folks, right?

I have tech support in-house, so I like what he likes.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. All my 'eggs' and in the Apple basket. SO and I have iPhones, and iPad and a MacBook Air.
> 
> Over the years I've used both Apple and Windows PCs at different jobs. I must say my experience with Apple products has been super and much easier to use than Windows products. I know this is just my opinion and it will differ from others'.





Cooking Goddess said:


> Himself always tells me that people who prefer fidgeting with their devices favor Windows/Android devices. Apple people prefer factory-set-and-forget. Different strokes for different folks, right?
> 
> I have tech support in-house, so I like what he likes. [emoji38]



I started working with Windows/WordPerfect/Lotus 1-2-3/ Presentations in the late '80s, and I used Paintshop Pro for image editing and WordPerfect for publication design before Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign existed. (I worked for a nonprofit and yes, it was a struggle [emoji38].) I started doing Windows tech support as part of my job in the early '90s, then became a network administrator and website designer, developer and manager. I am my own tech support.

I used a Mac in a product design class once and hated it [emoji38] I found it the least intuitive interface I had ever encountered.

I bought an Android phone because I was familiar with Windows and because so many iPhone apps cost money.


----------



## caseydog

All my computers are Macs. That's what my customers use, and expect me to use. 

Adobe is trying to get everyone moved to their "Creative Cloud" for a monthly fee. Adobe CC looks way different than previous standalone CS software. I don't really want to relearn my software. Plus, it won't run on my oldest Mac -- but Apple will gladly sell me a new Mac (that won't run my old software.

CD


----------



## bbqcoder

Andy M. said:


> I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. All my 'eggs' and in the Apple basket. SO and I have iPhones, and iPad and a MacBook Air.
> 
> Over the years I've used both Apple and Windows PCs at different jobs. I must say my experience with Apple products has been super and much easier to use than Windows products. I know this is just my opinion and it will differ from others'.



I agree that Apple has a good user experience.  I had one of the first Macs when I was in college but when I started working, there were no Macs in the professional world.  It was all Unix & PCs.  So I had to switch to PCs and been using them ever since.  I'm sure if I wanted to, I could go back to a Mac.  There are lots more people using them in the corporate world now than 10+ years ago.

I use iPad/iPhone and Windows desktops. I did use a Windows phone for 4 years to be different (still was always using iPad).  But support dwindled over time and I switched to iPhone. I like how the phone rarely crashes and the iOS app experience is very good.  So yes, $1200 was a lot to drop on the iPhone XS Max but I'm happy with it.



GotGarlic said:


> I used a Mac in a product design class once and hated it [emoji38] I found it the least intuitive interface I had ever encountered.
> 
> I bought an Android phone because I was familiar with Windows and because so many iPhone apps cost money.



I think once you got use to a Mac, you would find it intuitive.  Using it in a class would not give you enough experience.  You have to use it day-in/day-out. 

Not sure how Android is similar to Windows.  Can you elaborate?  I think it's closer to iOS than Windows phone/desktop.  Yes, you can get a launcher/widget so you can have that Windows phone look if desired.

Also, apps generally cost about the same on iOS/android.


----------



## GotGarlic

bbqcoder said:


> I think once you got use to a Mac, you would find it intuitive.  Using it in a class would not give you enough experience.  You have to use it day-in/day-out.



One major problem was that the same symbol you use to minimize an app in Windows closed it on the Mac. You can imagine how frustrating that was. It really turned me off the software altogether. 



bbqcoder said:


> Not sure how Android is similar to Windows.  Can you elaborate?  I think it's closer to iOS than Windows phone/desktop.  Yes, you can get a launcher/widget so you can have that Windows phone look if desired.
> 
> Also, apps generally cost about the same on iOS/android.



I honestly can't remember, but when I was looking for a smartphone for the first time, the Android seemed more familiar. I don't even know what a Windows phone looks like.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bbqcoder said:


> I don't know if you had Kimball's but how do these places compare to it?  I like the big portions that Kimball's gives so we just share the kid size between the two of us.  Also, why is Benson's at the top of your list over Rota Springs or Bogey's?
> 
> The only negative that I have about Kimball's is that they don't have as many unique flavors like Erickson's (Maynard)...


We've gone to Benson's twice. It's 75 miles from our house and getting there involves So Much Traffic. The most recent was at least five years ago. I know we went there specifically the second time because the 1) make their own ice cream and 2) use in-season produce. I really wanted a scoop of red raspberry, and we knew they had it.  It was a huge scoop, it was delicious, and IIRC it cost almost $6. Worth every penny, but definitely in the "rare treat" column. Rota's, on the other hand, is just as delicious, just as generous, and a lot better priced. Bogey's...haven't been there for years, but I do want to go back so Himself can enjoy some Whitehouse cherry. There are also two "Ronnie's Seafood" stands close to us. They each have ice cream available, it is from some dairy since they don't make their own, and it is good. 

However, even with all these great places to go, whether near or far, it's gotten to the point where I just stock up on pints of Graeter's Ice Cream when they're on sale. And by "stock up" I buy one to dole out between the two of us for two or (usually) three servings each (it's that rich) Or when they actually have salted caramel in stock, I buy two cartons - a caramel for me, and a black raspeberry chocolate chip for himself. Their ice cream is so very rich that, when we each have our own carton, I am perfectly happy taking my carton out of the freezer, scooping up a soup spoon's worth of ice cream, and putting the ice cream back into the freezer for another time...and not in five minutes.  I mean a day or three later. It is so rich, but pricey when not on sale. Still worth the $$ when it's not, but I'm cheap.


----------



## bbqcoder

@CookingGoddess


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ah, looks like someone got to Rota Springs Ice Cream. Am I right, *bbq*? I hope it was all I hyped it up to be.

And now I remember that we haven't gotten down to Bogey's for ice cream. Where has this summer gone???


----------



## bbqcoder

Yup, you’re correct. It was a bit further than I thought it would be but still worth the trip.  I was in my way to Rindge NH and decided to pick up ice cream as my way of contributing to dinner.  Got two quarts: pumpkin Oreo and Java Lava.  They were both tasty.  

That area of Sterling is scenic.  Also bought some corn and apples at a farm stand down the road from Rota Springs.

Here are some more pictures:


----------



## bbqcoder

It seems that I’m only able to attach one photo at a time on iOS.


----------



## bbqcoder

One last photo of the cows.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

bbqcoder said:


> ...That area of Sterling is scenic...


Yes, it is. And you get to see a lot of that scenery while you drive the winding roads, trying to find your way back to where you need to be!  One of our gripes about this part of the country is so many roads-so little signage. *sigh*


----------



## GilliAnne

This vent isn't entirely off topic, but it's still a vent. Cooking oil sprays frustrate me. They may be a wonderful invention, but their spray function only works intermittently and I don't know how to make it work when it won't. 

Any tips?

Thanks,

Gillian


----------



## Just Cooking

hmmm..  I've not had that problem with the Pam brand I've used for years.. I do make certain that I shake well before using..

Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

I found that the spray with "flour" in it would clog up or actually just clog up around the nozzle itself and make a mess.  Shaking and wiping well lhelps but I also don't buy the type with the flour in it anymore.


----------



## Andy M.

GilliAnne said:


> This vent isn't entirely off topic, but it's still a vent. Cooking oil sprays frustrate me. They may be a wonderful invention, but their spray function only works intermittently and I don't know how to make it work when it won't.
> 
> Any tips?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Gillian





Just Cooking said:


> hmmm..  I've not had that problem with the Pam brand I've used for years.. I do make certain that I shake well before using..
> 
> Ross



I use the Pam brand as well and don't have a problem with the spray. The nozzle on the Pam can has to be turned in a specific direction. The spray side has to align with the red dot on the top of the can. 

SO uses Baker's Joy and has had no issues with it.


----------



## cookieee

Here is a petty vent.  DH when you get up in the morning before me, please do not talk endlessly to me when I first get up until I have had at least 1 cup of coffee.  Thank you.
(for further details, see breakfast thread) lol


----------



## taxlady

I just remembered something about spray paint that might apply. When you are done spray painting, turn the can upside down and spray to get the paint out of the nozzle before it dries. That might help with the cooking spray to clear the nozzle before it gums up.


----------



## roadfix

taxlady said:


> I just remembered something about spray paint that might apply. When you are done spray painting, turn the can upside down and spray to get the paint out of the nozzle before it dries. That might help with the cooking spray to clear the nozzle before it gums up.





This


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> I just remembered something about spray paint that might apply. When you are done spray painting, turn the can upside down and spray to get the paint out of the nozzle before it dries. That might help with the cooking spray to clear the nozzle before it gums up.



This could help BUT depending on how often you use the can, you can run out of propellant.  I have.

Also take note at the angle you are using the can.  If you are tilting it a great deal, you could be shifting the contents higher than the tube carrying the oil up.


----------



## taxlady

I was woken a bit after 7 this morning by the sounds of construction and people walking on the roof. It's loud. I couldn't get back to sleep. It has taken me this long to be sort of awake. I'm not a morning person. The best we can figure, is the neighbour is having emergency roof repair. I'm glad it's not raining in my bedroom. Been there; done that; do not recommend.


----------



## Farmer Jon

taxlady said:


> I was woken a bit after 7 this morning by the sounds of construction and people walking on the roof. It's loud. I couldn't get back to sleep. It has taken me this long to be sort of awake. I'm not a morning person. The best we can figure, is the neighbour is having emergency roof repair. I'm glad it's not raining in my bedroom. Been there; done that; do not recommend.


I wish I could sleep till 7. I'm up a 4 every day.


----------



## taxlady

My neighbour phoned. She had just gotten home. She parked her car in the basement garage, so she entered her home through the basement. Her basement door is in the same corridor as mine. This is what she saw outside my basement door. It's the garbage that the carpet installers left behind, without telling us. And to make it worse, someone tore open all three bags. I would have had no idea what it was, if I hadn't recognized the carpet scraps. I haven't been driving, so we haven't been going out through the basement door. 

The reason that there is a bicycle in the picture is because we found Stirling's missing bicycle just sitting, out in the open, in the garage. We're lucky that no one stole it. We had asked the company handling the repairs where the bicycle was and gotten no answer. I'm spitting angry. The insurance company is getting a call on Monday.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Over did it yesterday
  By bedtime, my left foot was saying bad things to me.  I made two batches of cookies, cream cheese frsting, divided colored and flavored the daughter frostongs with cinamon, maple, and hazlent.  Lrft the majority of it as cream cheese frosting.  Frosted the cookies
  Washed a load of dishes, and all of the sharp knives.  Honed the knives as well
  All of this was done before DW ever got out of bed.  She got up and stated that we had a lot to do.  I showed her what I'd already done, from a wheelchair
  O asked her to make me some scrambled eggs.  She onstead had me oder a grocery delivery from Meijer
  I didn't get any food unti after 5 pm.  She said that I missed some items on rhe shopping order and tried to order them on her tablet
  It took forever and never got finished.  The oven was still on as I was going to bake bread loaves, and sandwich rolls and buns.  I made the bread dough, divrded it into 5 loaf-sized portions, with leftover dough for torpedo buns.  I then went to bed at about midnight.  DW was going to stay up and bake bread. I got up this morning and was told that the oven quit workin.  She finished the one loaf in the countrtop convection oven.  The hot surface igniter in the gas oven went bad.  I can get 5 times the work done without DW's help as I can with it.  So that's what I'n venting about.  Maybe if I could have used yhe gas oven in a timely manner, it would still be working
  (heavy sigh)

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cheryl J

So sorry Taxi and Chief....yikes. This is not the time of year to have vents such as those, but I guess it's never a 'good' time.  Hope it gets better....


----------



## taxlady

Thanks Cheryl.

And sorry to hear that Chief. I hope the foot is feeling better soon and you figure out how to get stuff done.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I just need to find the part number for my stove.  Then I can purchase a new hot surface igniter.  That will fix the oven.  I also need to purchase a nee ovem light bulb.  As always, I will survube.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

It's pffical.  There will beno Christmas at my house this year.   Cant't even get the fake tree up.  The cookies I made, the wife ate half of them, after complaining about the frosting I used on them.  She and Youngest son started fighting again, over trivial things, such that he wants nothing to do with or home, or his mother.  I'm tired of the drama, and no one wanting to find solutions.  Each just wants there way, and put me i the middle.  No matter what i say, I'm wrong to one of them.  It'ss not bad enough that the oven quit working, i'm going to wound care and sitting in a wheelchair, and have failed kidneys.  Nope, that's not enough.  They have to up  the stress ust that much more, each insisting that i'm wrong for supporting the other.l  The sad part is that I can't toss either of them out on their ears.  He's my son, and she's my dependent wife.

Ok, I'm done venting for now.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwindf the North


----------



## taxlady

Aw Chief, that's a shame. I'm sending some positive vibes.


----------



## dragnlaw

I believe we have all vented about this before and I'm pretty sure I have but I need to vent again.  

1.  What is with bloggers (particularly food types) that everything is in pale grey or blue type?  I can hardly read a word.  My eyes ache from squinting! Printing their recipes is also in the same pale colour. 

2.   Many do not have a "jump to recipe" spot.  Meaning you have to scroll down for absolutely ages to find it.  This is particularly important when you are returning to a blog. You've already read all their oohs, ahhs, best ever, trust me..., even the picky kids will...  I just want to check something in the recipe!

3.   The same picture at least half a dozen times.  I love to see the food and the preps but not the same picture at different angles and size.  

4.   Ads on their web-site that takes up more than half the screens.  

Thank you for listening...  and if you're a blogger, pick up your socks.


----------



## msmofet

dragnlaw said:


> I believe we have all vented about this before and I'm pretty sure I have but I need to vent again.
> 
> 1. What is with bloggers (particularly food types) that everything is in pale grey or blue type? I can hardly read a word. My eyes ache from squinting! Printing their recipes is also in the same pale colour.
> 
> 2. Many do not have a "jump to recipe" spot. Meaning you have to scroll down for absolutely ages to find it. This is particularly important when you are returning to a blog. You've already read all their oohs, ahhs, best ever, trust me..., even the picky kids will... I just want to check something in the recipe!
> 
> 3. The same picture at least half a dozen times. I love to see the food and the preps but not the same picture at different angles and size.
> 
> 4. Ads on their web-site that takes up more than half the screens.
> 
> Thank you for listening... and if you're a blogger, pick up your socks.


 I have the same problem with font color/size. 

Two things I do:

From phone or computer: 
I use the Copy Me That app. You can use it on your phone or desktop browser. All recipes carry over/sync to both. You can just click the Copy Me That Icon button at top of the page (no scrolling needed, just be sure to click show more if necessary so whole recipe is open ) and it goes to the app in a standard font and black color. You can also download all the recipes to your computer.

*OR*

From computer browser: 
Copy the recipe text and paste it into a New Notepad page. It goes to the Notepad in a standard font and black color. Print from there


----------



## Just Cooking

msmofet said:


> I have the same problem with font color/size.
> 
> 
> 
> From computer browser:
> Copy the recipe text and paste it into a New Notepad page. It goes to the Notepad in a standard font and black color. Print from there



That's what I do for recipes I want...

I tried to get Copy Me That on my new laptop and for some reason it didn't work.. I know its a "me" glitch and I'll figure it out someday..

Ross


----------



## taxlady

Just Cooking said:


> That's what I do for recipes I want...
> 
> I tried to get Copy Me That on my new laptop and for some reason it didn't work.. I know its a "me" glitch and I'll figure it out someday..
> 
> Ross



What browser are you using? I couldn't get it to work in FireFox for a while, but it was working fine in Chrome. I eventually figured it out. FF has built in tracking protection. Many of the food sites have tracking that FF protects you from. If I turn off tracking protection, I can get Copy Me That to work with those sites.

Since I want to have the tracking protection, I have to remember to turn it back on once the recipe is copied. I wish they would let me turn it off for "just this one time", so it would switch back on when I close the tab.


----------



## dragnlaw

A lot of the 'print' functions for these recipes print in a manner I do not wish.  I copy and paste into Word and format from there, save to my recipe file.  

BUT... this is only for recipes that I want to keep.  Certainly not for all the recipes I read.  It is the reading to figure out if I even want to keep the recipe in the first place that the frustrations occur.

The few that format their printed recipe in a manner acceptable to me are almost always one that are in pale print, which I cannot change in the print function.  The others do not include the picture of the dish, which is pretty mandatory for me.  (I tell people I'm from Missouri - "Show Me") (LOL - and not too many people get it)


----------



## Just Cooking

taxlady said:


> What browser are you using? I couldn't get it to work in FireFox for a while, but it was working fine in Chrome. I eventually figured it out. FF has built in tracking protection. Many of the food sites have tracking that FF protects you from. If I turn off tracking protection, I can get Copy Me That to work with those sites.
> 
> Since I want to have the tracking protection, I have to remember to turn it back on once the recipe is copied. I wish they would let me turn it off for "just this one time", so it would switch back on when I close the tab.



Well heck... I do use FF and I also have Adblock Plus... 

I think I'll just pass then as the protections keep my blood pressure down and I like that...  

Thank you for the information... 

Ross


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dragn, I've gotten to the point in my life where I figure if a food blog isn't user friendly to me, the recipes can't be all that good. [emoji16] I just move along. I get really annoyed by those with videos that cover a third of my phone screen and are darned near impossible to close. Instead, when you tap on the "x", it opens up to full screen! Grrrrr...


----------



## cookieee

Hi, just wondering if I am doing everything right. I know I don't post pictures with my recipes, but is everything else ok?

Meaning of course, if I post recipes that anyone likes enough to copy. lol


----------



## taxlady

Just Cooking said:


> Well heck... I do use FF and I also have Adblock Plus...
> 
> I think I'll just pass then as the protections keep my blood pressure down and I like that...
> 
> Thank you for the information...
> 
> Ross



You could just open it in Chrome and grab the recipe. Then you close Chrome and they won't be able to track you. It's only when you go to other websites that they can track you.   Well, I suppose the cookie is still there the next time you open Chrome, but if you don't do anything important like shopping, banking, or use any sites where you give any personal info, I don't think it's an issue. You could also clear the cookies, but that's as much effort as I go through switching the tracking protection back on.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> A lot of the 'print' functions for these recipes print in a manner I do not wish.  I copy and paste into Word and format from there, save to my recipe file.
> 
> BUT... this is only for recipes that I want to keep.  Certainly not for all the recipes I read.  It is the reading to figure out if I even want to keep the recipe in the first place that the frustrations occur.
> 
> The few that format their printed recipe in a manner acceptable to me are almost always one that are in pale print, which I cannot change in the print function.  The others do not include the picture of the dish, which is pretty mandatory for me.  (I tell people I'm from Missouri - "Show Me") (LOL - and not too many people get it)


The print function has a setting where you can tell it to print in black and white. Select this and the text will print in black.

While reading, if you highlight the text with your mouse, it will be more readable.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> The print function has a setting where you can tell it to print in black and white. Select this and the text will print in black.
> 
> While reading, if you highlight the text with your mouse, it will be more readable.



^^This


----------



## msmofet

GotGarlic said:


> The print function has a setting where you can tell it to print in black and white. Select this and the text will print in black.
> 
> *While reading, if you highlight the text with your mouse, it will be more readable*.


+2  Yes I do this also.


----------



## dragnlaw

Yes my print function has that setting - but I can't separate from the picture - it will be all in black with grey tone picture or pale print with colour pic. 

Thanks for the tip to highlight...  I'll give that a try. 

CG - yup, like you I'm quick to  dump a page that's annoying, too bad, so sad, bye bye!


----------



## bbqcoder

cookieee said:


> Hi, just wondering if I am doing everything right. I know I don't post pictures with my recipes, but is everything else ok?



No issues from me!


----------



## GilliAnne

Regarding oil sprays, I'm in the UK where I don't think we have the Pam brand. The problem happens whether the container is full or almost empty despite shaking. It's quite random - will spray fine once  - next time nothing. 

Occasionally I have taken the lid off the spray container and just poured the oil over the frying pan, but that's impossible with one particular container.

Gillian


----------



## bbqcoder

I don't have this problem. I guess you should try a different brand.  I've used Pam but currently I use BJ's Wholesale house brand of cooking spray.  I wonder if you're using the kind with flour?  I would think that might be more prone to clogging.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

You know, I joined this forum long ago, after a similar forum from FooNetwork was closing.  I believe it was BuckyTom who introduceed me to DiscussCooking..  I saw a good number of great people come and go.  I left for a while, but came back, and for the most part, have enjoyed interacting with everyone.

My petty gripe is this:  Sometimes I feel irrelevant here, like I'm just a ghost flitting through that no one can see.  Now I know thatg some of my posts can be long, as I try to explain things, and give solid information in detail.  Sometimes, I just get wordy, hence BuckyTom's name for  me, Chief Longwind. (By the way, I miss seeing Buck all over the threads)   But I really do try to share information that is valuable to others, information that can expand their culinary universe, either through cooking, the tools and techniques of cooking, or introducing new foods and ideas with everyone.  There are some on this site that are extraordinary cooks, who have an availability of ingredients, tools, techniques, and knowledge of their own  so as to make them virtually experts (I son't name any names here as I don't want to leave any deserving person out of that group, right Andy?).

A couple weeks back, or maybe a week back, I began a post about cheese.  I put a good deal of effort into it, hoping to give new knowledge and ideas to those less experienced with cheese.  I know that I am not the be-alll, end-all of cheese knowledge.  But I was hoping to get a response, and see how others would expand on that thread.  Know one has even looked at it.

i don't know why this is a gripe for me, but for some reason, it is, at least for right now.  I guess I just don't want to be taken for granted.  Life is a challenge right now, and DC is part of what keeps my spirits up, and keeps me going.  I love to share what I know, and learn new things, and just hash around ideas. 

Sometimes, trivial threads that have nothing to do with cooking show views in the thousands, while other threads that are serious cooking related topics get now views at all.  I try to respond to cooking threads where I can be of help to someone.  I may not always get things right, but when I don't, I learn something that improves my own skills.

So that's it; that's my petty gripe.  And now I'm going to quit whining and find a thread where I can help someone, or learn something new.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Andy M.

Chief, that happens from time to time. Others aren't always ready for the information you offer. Maybe they missed it. Who knows.

The important thing to keep in mind is that your information is there forever and someone you never met will come along one day, read it and remember it.

Hang in there, you're a valuable member of this community.


----------



## Just Cooking

I agree with Andy, especially this, *"Hang in there, you're a valuable member of this community."*

I, for one, am not as attentive as I used to be or should be.. I don't cook as I used to and I don't respond as I once did.. 

That does not mean that I don't read and enjoy other's adventures and advice..

I enjoy your offerings, Chief, and I do hope that you don't become discouraged.. I also miss BT and other's who have left us for whatever reason..

Ross


----------



## cookieee

Dear Chief

'My petty gripe is this: Sometimes I feel irrelevant here, like I'm just a ghost flitting through that no one can see."

Believe me, I know how you feel!!!!  But this is not about me now. I just want you to know that someone else loves cheese also (DH) and appreciates your post AND all of your other posts.


----------



## taxlady

Chief, that particular thread about cheese seemed so inclusive that it didn't seem like there was much to add.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> Chief, that particular thread about cheese seemed so inclusive that it didn't seem like there was much to add.



Oh, there's so much more that I didn't touch from the cheee world.  There are all of the wash-rind cheeses, and the creamy-ripened cheeses, and the Spanish cheeses.  I only touched the many different Italian and French cheeses.  Andall cheeses from Sout of the U.S brder, I didn't get into them aYou helped.  I feel a bit better now.t all either.  So,, what shall we explore next, the wide world of sausagees?

Oh, and thanks everyone.  

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cookieee

cookieee said:


> Dear Chief
> 
> 'My petty gripe is this: Sometimes I feel irrelevant here, like I'm just a ghost flitting through that no one can see."
> 
> Believe me, I know how you feel!!!!  But this is not about me now. I just want you to know that someone else loves cheese also (DH) and appreciates your post AND all of your other posts.



See what I mean?   Like I'm not even here.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Cookieee, I saw your post, and when I said thanks to everyone, you were definitely among those I was thinking about.

You' not a ghost to me.  The same goes for you, Taxi, and you, andy, and everyone else who helped me feel a bit better.

I went back and re-read my post.  I saw a major typo in it that nearly makes it impossible to understamd when I eas tryong to express my thanks.  It seems my thumb got too close to the touch-pad and moved the cursor while I was typing.  I proofread only part of it
  I should have proofed all of it
  Sorry 'bout that.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Josie1945

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Oh, there's so much more that I didn't touch from the cheee world.  There are all of the wash-rind cheeses, and the creamy-ripened cheeses, and the Spanish cheeses.  I only touched the many different Italian and French cheeses.  Andall cheeses from Sout of the U.S brder, I didn't get into them aYou helped.  I feel a bit better now.t all either.  So,, what shall we explore next, the wide world of sausagees?
> 
> Oh, and thanks everyone.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Chief I have always thought you were great.
   I would love a in dept discussion on sausage,
 Different kinds ,where to find, and most of all
making your own.
  I know how you feel about being ignored. I have 
been on this board for 10 years welcoming new poster's
and wishing all the regulars happy birthday. But for the
 last two years no one here has said happy birthday to me.
    We all need to do a better job. There are a lot of people
here that could use kind word. I have a wonderful Hubby and
family, not every one has. But I care about the people on this 
board also.

Josie


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I'm sorry if you feel left out, *Josie*. While I had been rather regular with posting birthdays over the years, I now use my phone for most of my activity on Discuss Cooking or Facebook. There is no way I can see the birthday list on either the phone or tablet. I can only hope someone else catches any important birthdays that I miss. If it means anything, there have been a couple of years when no one posted a birthday thread for me - and I was not going to start one for myself! 



Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> ...My petty gripe is this:  Sometimes I feel irrelevant here, like I'm just a ghost flitting through that no one can see....A couple weeks back, or maybe a week back, I began a post about cheese...But I was hoping to get a response, and see how others would expand on that thread.  *Know one has even looked at it.*...


*Chief,* don't think that no one has read your thread. I did. In fact, as of right now, the view count for it is 134 people. As *taxy* said, it seemed so complete there was little any of us could add. I think many of us feel invisible here at DC at times. We all get our chance at being ignored. Don't take it to heart. Figure that we're all digesting the info you share and don't have much to add. Your contributions are certainly appreciated, even if we don't acknowledge them.


----------



## Just Cooking

Is there a birthday alert?.. I never know until someone posts a mention of their or someones day..

Ross


----------



## cjmmytunes

Chief, I'm so sorry you feel left out.  I read everyone's post and most times yours are so good and comprehensive I can't think of anything else to add.  Other times, I have to go do something for Mom and get distracted from what I'm doing on the computer.


PS - I've been to your web site also.


----------



## Josie1945

Just Cooking said:


> Is there a birthday alert?.. I never know until someone posts a mention of their or someones day..
> 
> Ross



Ross , Click on calendar.

Josie


----------



## Just Cooking

Josie1945 said:


> Ross , Click on calendar.
> 
> Josie



Well, that's interesting... Thank you, Josie..  

Ross


----------



## cookieee

I know lots of times I don't comment on a thread because I feel like certain people could't care less what I think. And there are some threads that I like and appreciate and I like to post them a thank you.  Just like what Ross did to Josie.  Good going Ross!!!

I sure hate to see what this world will be like when we all completely stop saying PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

Just because we are not talking face to face does not mean we can be rude.  Just remember your manners that your mother taught you.


----------



## Josie1945

[I know lots of times I don't comment on a thread because I feel like certain people could't care less what I think. And there are some threads that I like and appreciate and I like to post them a thank you.  Just like what Ross did to Josie.  Good going Ross!!!

I sure hate to see what this world will be like when we all completely stop saying PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

Just because we are not talking face to face does not mean we can be rude.  Just remember your manners that your mother taught you.[/QUOTE]

  So true cookiee. 
      Josie


----------



## cookieee

Josie1945 said:


> [I know lots of times I don't comment on a thread because I feel like certain people could't care less what I think. And there are some threads that I like and appreciate and I like to post them a thank you.  Just like what Ross did to Josie.  Good going Ross!!!
> 
> I sure hate to see what this world will be like when we all completely stop saying PLEASE AND THANK YOU.
> 
> Just because we are not talking face to face does not mean we can be rude.  Just remember your manners that your mother taught you.



  So true cookiee. 
      Josie[/QUOTE]
Thanks Josie

Enjoying the cool weather? Nice for a change.


----------



## taxlady

Just Cooking said:


> Is there a birthday alert?.. I never know until someone posts a mention of their or someones day..
> 
> Ross





Josie1945 said:


> Ross , Click on calendar.
> 
> Josie



There is another way to see them. If you click "search", one of the items on the pull down menu is "power users". There is a list of today's birthdays in the right hand column, near the top. There's other interesting stuff too. Also, there's other interesting stuff in the search pull down menu.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> There is another way to see them. If you click "search", one of the items on the pull down menu is "power users". There is a list of today's birthdays in the right hand column, near the top. There's other interesting stuff too. Also, there's other interesting stuff in the search pull down menu.


Also, if you're on a computer, go to the home page and scroll all the way to the bottom. There's a list of today's birthdays right there.


----------



## Andy M.

If you go to the 'Cooking Forums' page (just click on the Discuss Cooking logo at the top of the page), scroll down to the end of the forum listings and you will see a 'Today's Birthdays' section.

No one should take a missed birthday as a slight. I don't believe it's ever intentional.  There is no notification process so every day someone has to remember to go look for today's birthdays. With all that's going on in our lives outside of DC, there are no guarantees.


----------



## GotGarlic

Josie1945 said:


> [I know lots of times I don't comment on a thread because I feel like certain people could't care less what I think.


I know for certain there are some people who couldn't care less what I think. I sure don't let that stop me from participating. It doesn't matter what they think.


----------



## cookieee

GotGarlic said:


> I know for certain there are some people who couldn't care less what I think. I sure don't let that stop me from participating. It doesn't matter what they think.



Thanks GG, that was me that said that. I think there are some of us that may feel like no matter what we say or do, we just don't feel like we are welcomed on this site.  I sometimes feel like an intruder trying to fit in with the popular kids in school. lol   I know some of you have been on this site a long time and you have gotten to know each other pretty good. Maybe you all are not aware of how you make others feel sometimes. Not intentionally, I believe. And this is not meant for you GG, sorry,  just got on a rant, or maybe just having a pity party. lol


----------



## Just Cooking

Good methods to check birthdays.. Thank you all..  

Now I just have to remember to check..  

Ross


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> I know for certain there are some people who couldn't care less what I think. I sure don't let that stop me from participating. It doesn't matter what they think.


Same here. I share if I think I have something useful to say - and often just to share. [emoji38] That being said, I find it easier to limit my online time by using my phone rather than my laptop. Doing that also limits what I can view from the full website. I know I can get into DC through a webpage rather than the app, but then that defeats my "less time online" plan.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Same here. I share if I think I have something useful to say - and often just to share. [emoji38] That being said, I find it easier to limit my online time by using my phone rather than my laptop. Doing that also limits what I can view from the full website. I know I can get into DC through a webpage rather than the app, but then that defeats my "less time online" plan.



If I'm using my phone with the web page, I usually don't feel like spending much time here with the tiny letters and ads.


----------



## cookieee

testing


----------



## cookieee

Why isn't this thread showing up?


----------



## cookieee

Click on "new Posts" and it still does not  show up


----------



## taxlady

cookieee said:


> Why isn't this thread showing up?





cookieee said:


> Click on "new Posts" and it still does not  show up



Well, it isn't new once you have seen it. I can't find see it in recent posts. I came here from an email notification.


----------



## cookieee

taxlady said:


> Well, it isn't new once you have seen it. I can't find see it in recent posts. I came here from an email notification.



Once I type this and hit submit reply, this should show up on new posts.


----------



## cookieee

It only shows up on the "latest forum topic" list.


----------



## Kayelle

Cookie, "Power User" is your friend found in the *search drop down menu*, on that drop down menu you can also see "view all your posts" to see if anything has been added to the last post.
It's worked well for me for many years. Try it.


----------



## bbqcoder

Chief, I do enjoy reading your posts but I’m wondering if there is anything that can be done about the typos. It’s not just 1 or 2 but many. It makes it very difficult to understand what you really meant to say.  So if it’s a long post with lots of typos, I’ll just give up on it.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

bbqcoder said:


> Chief, I do enjoy reading your posts but I’m wondering if there is anything that can be done about the typos. It’s not just 1 or 2 but many. It makes it very difficult to understand what you really meant to say.  So if it’s a long post with lots of typos, I’ll just give up on it.



I know that typos have been a problem.  For the past couple of weeks, I have been proofreading my posts all the way through, trying to correct the typos before submiting.  I believe my posts are easier to read now.  I know that when trying to quickly respond to something before I am called away, i sometimes don't proofreaad.  Also, my touchpad on my laptop can cause typos as my thumbs can get too close to it while I'm typing.  That' where most of my errors come from
  I will continue to exercise due dillegence in corecting my posts so as to make sensible.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind


----------



## msmofet

cookieee said:


> It only shows up on the "latest forum topic" list.


 I just go to my "User Control Panel" and any thread I have posted in that has a new post shows up there. I click the green square with the check mark in it and it takes me to the first unread post in that thread.


----------



## cookieee

Kayelle said:


> Cookie, "Power User" is your friend found in the *search drop down menu*, on that drop down menu you can also see "view all your posts" to see if anything has been added to the last post.
> It's worked well for me for many years. Try it.



Thanks, I can find my posts,  I was just wondering why sometimes other peoples threads that I post on never show up until much later.


----------



## cookieee

msmofet said:


> I just go to my "User Control Panel" and any thread I have posted in that has a new post shows up there. I click the green square with the check mark in it and it takes me to the first unread post in that thread.
> 
> View attachment 38486


Hi, thanks, I saw again the pretty welcome from you.


Maybe one of these days I will learn my way around. lol


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Yeh, I was recently  again disgusted by my cat.  He was originally name 
gizmo, for as a kitten, he looked very much like the cute little gremlin by the same name, in the movie - Gremlins.  Then, the daughter who obtained them moved out, and left him with us, after we told her she couldn't get a cat.  She found out that she's allergic to them.

We shortened his name to Mo.  I call him "Mo trouble than he's worth".
He lived upt to his title yet again by leaving a pile just  outside of my bedroom doorway, where it was hard to see, but easy to smell.  While exiting the room in my wheelchair, I, of course ran over the pile of cat feces and ended up with it on one wheel, and on my hand.  I cleaned it all up, and sprayed the carpet, and my wheel chair wheel with disinfectant spray.  I washed my hands in hot, soapy water for at least 5 minutes.

Now, I would never purposely mistreat an animal, and Mo is no different.  I even let him sit on my lap as I scratch his head, neck, and under his chin.  Suffice it to say though, I never wanted a cat, and wish  i did't have a cat in my home.  I will let him stay here though, defalcating and throwing up on my carpets, waking me up in the middle of the night because he wants something to eat, etc.

I made fried chicken fingers for D.W., and a fried chicken thigh for me tonight.  He has plenty of craned cat food in his bowl.  He smells the chicken though, and won't touch his own food.  He wants ours.  That is D.W.s fault as she regularly gives him treats from her plate.

Tonight, he's just not on my good side.  There will be no scratching for Mo.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Just Cooking

Unsure if DC has been hacked or what..

Received this in my email..  

emay @ Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums admfox4899@gmail.com via criticalimpactinc.com 

Did not open..

Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

mine was for a pizza coupon...LOL


----------



## Just Cooking

dragnlaw said:


> mine was for a pizza coupon...LOL



That's what mine said but, I wouldn't click on the link..

I may be wrong but, I doubt DC would be sending email with pizza offers.. 

If someone has access to forum members email addresses, I'd consider that a breach of some kind..

Ross


----------



## msmofet

That's a spam troll. I got that from 2 different names (other name was Bridgett P. Cortez) same pizza thingie. PF has taken care of them.


You will get emails if you have notifications enabled in your profile options.


----------



## dragnlaw

no, of course I din't open it.

I have actually deleted legitimate e-mails due to sender using different  addresses that I don't recognize.


----------



## taxlady

Just Cooking said:


> Unsure if DC has been hacked or what..
> 
> Received this in my email..
> 
> emay @ Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums admfox4899@gmail.com via criticalimpactinc.com
> 
> Did not open..
> 
> Ross



I got something as well. See my next post.


----------



## taxlady

Like JustCooking, I got something odd in my email.

I got some stuff from DC in email that at first glance seemed to be sent by Discuss Cooking. This is what was in the email. The email was sent to an email address that I only use for Discuss Cooking. So, I too wonder if DC got hacked.


> This is a message from Bridgett P. Cortez at Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums ( http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/ ). The Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums owners cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of the email.
> 
> To email Bridgett P. Cortez, you can use this online form:
> http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/sendmessage.php?do=mailmember&u=63369
> 
> OR, by email:
> mailto:manboh91@gmail.com
> 
> This is the message:
> 
> Get a Pizza Gift Card
> http://bit.ly/30VVdEK


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Those few of you who have emails set as get email from members in your User CP, I just emailed you from it. It did not give me your email address.  Please see http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f29/comment-spammers-103872.html I have taken care of the two that have hit us so far.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Those few of you who have emails set as get email from members in your User CP, I just emailed you from it. It did not give me your email address.  Please see http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f29/comment-spammers-103872.html I have taken care of the two that have hit us so far.



I was wondering if it was actually sent by Discuss Cooking because it looked like "Discuss Cooking" was just a part of the return address that could have been a spoof.

emay @ Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums - admfox4899@gmail.com

I just got the email from you PF. It was from:

PrincessFiona60 @ Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums - ejyo567860@gmail.com

So, I guess DC has a bunch of gmail email addresses that it uses for this. The fact that the "From" address was a gmail address was why I was skeptical. They are usually from support@discusscooking.com


----------



## Just Cooking

taxlady said:


> I was wondering if it was actually sent by Discuss Cooking because it looked like "Discuss Cooking" was just a part of the return address that could have been a spoof.
> 
> emay @ Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums - admfox4899@gmail.com
> 
> I just got the email from you PF. It was from:
> 
> PrincessFiona60 @ Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums - ejyo567860@gmail.com
> 
> So, I guess DC has a bunch of gmail email addresses that it uses for this. The fact that the "From" address was a gmail address was why I was skeptical. They are usually from support@discusscooking.com


Same with me except, for some reason, PF's email was in the junk file.. She must has a reputation..  

Ross


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I was wondering if it was actually sent by Discuss Cooking because it looked like "Discuss Cooking" was just a part of the return address that could have been a spoof.
> 
> emay @ Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums - admfox4899@gmail.com
> 
> I just got the email from you PF. It was from:
> 
> PrincessFiona60 @ Discuss Cooking - Cooking Forums - ejyo567860@gmail.com
> 
> So, I guess DC has a bunch of gmail email addresses that it uses for this. The fact that the "From" address was a gmail address was why I was skeptical. They are usually from support@discusscooking.com



Nope, that is my email...I just added some digits so it's not available to a bot.



Just Cooking said:


> Same with me except, for some reason, PF's email was in the junk file.. She must has a reputation..
> 
> Ross



I has good junk.


----------



## Just Cooking

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Nope, that is my email...I just added some digits so it's not available to a bot.
> 
> 
> 
> I has good junk.



Princess junk...  

Ross


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Just Cooking said:


> Princess junk...
> 
> Ross



Also known as Fat Butt Syndrome...


----------



## Just Cooking

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Also known as Fat Butt Syndrome...


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Today, after dialysis, I requested Dail-A-Ride service.  I'm still in a wheelchair the until my left foot is completely healed in about 4 more weeks.  The chair is strapped to the floor, much like aircraft tied town to the padeyes on a hangar bar on an aircraft carrier.  My chair was tied down in the back of the vehicle.  We entered the round-about, a vehicle sped into the traffic, right in out path.  The bus driver had to slam on the breaks.  It was sudden and very fast.  I was thrown out of my wheelchair and did a face-plant on the floor.  I am basically ok, but did get a bloody nose, a minor cut on the bridge f my nswe, and a little bit of a fat upper lip.  My Petty vent is that people take unseeded , and dangerous risks while driving, and put other people's well being in question.  Courtesy on the road is even more important than common courtesy between people.  That's my vent.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dcSaute

even the shuttle buses at airports have seatbelts that restrain passengers in their locked down chair....  might want to suggest that to the transit company.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, there should have been a seat belt for you, too.


----------



## taxlady

Sorry to read that happened Chief. I get really annoyed with inconsiderate drivers who don't consider the safety of other people on the road.


----------



## cookieee

Chief, hope your not hurting too bad. Please, get better real quick.


----------



## cjmmytunes

So sorry to hear that, Chief.  Hope you get better soon.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Thanks everyone.  I'm fine as far as getting banged up goes.   I'll be batching it for this month as DW arrived in El Cajon, CA. today.  My MIL is a very sweet lady who I love.  However, her body is giving up and she won't last much longer.  i couldn't go due to medical issues of my own.  I just hope DW will hold up during this very difficult time.  My challenge is to find a replacement vehicle as she crunched the one we had last Dec.  I thought I found the right truck, a Toyota Tacoma with an off-road package.  However, the thing is factory built beast.  It is too high off of the ground for this old body  to easily climb into, and is terrible in the snow.  The suspension is very stiff.  Even little  bumps rattle the bones.  This truck is made for off-roading, and climbing hills, not commuting from here to there.  DW thinks it's wonderful.  With our age, and her reflexes as they are, it's an accident waiting ot happen.  I'd have loved it 20 years ago.

I think I'm going to start a thread where we can all jsut be us, and get to know each other.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Oh my gosh Chief!
I hope that the driver or that transport company will be putting in passenger restraints soon.  Face planting out of a wheel chair isn't pleasant.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Chief, so sorry to hear about your MIL.  Hope her last days are peaceful, and that your wife is able to do whatever she can to help her.  Prayers for you all.


Also, your idea for a new thread sounds excellent.


----------



## CWS4322

I have been dealing with my brother's sudden death in 2016 without a will. Cared for my Mom (would do that all again). BUT I have another brother who didn't send a card, visit his Mom, etc. My Dad, in his words, is "loaded." He upped my MIA brother's percentage after my Mom died. (When I called the MIA brother to tell him our brother died, he said to me "how much money did he leave me and can I have his bike"). The excuse he gave my uncle, my Dad's younger brother, why he couldn't visit his Mom while she was dying was because it would be too stressful. I, obviously, can handle stress and, gee, after finding my life friend, my brother dead, he'd been dead for three weeks, and all I wanted to do was curl up in the fetal position in a corner, but I didn't get that option. Instead I had to deal with the funeral home, etc., all alone. In Canada, with the few family members I have living in the US. 

So the gal who has been 'doing housekeeping for ~10 years said to me on Friday "you can out lawyer him." Ha! She said "you can contest the percentage your Dad has left him if you outlive your Dad." I never thought of that, and yes, I can out lawyer him. What I would rather see happen is my Dad write a check and a "sign off" document. Because, I know, he never sent a card, flowers, or visited my Mom, but I can guarantee you he will be on the door step wanting to know "how much money did he leave me and can I have his...fill in the blank....generator, car, ladder." Ha! I can out lawyer him. Meanwhile, going through stuff. Seeing my cousins again next week--taking grandma's mink jacket to be sent of to be made into memorial teddy bears and my Mom's Shirley Temple doll to one of my cousin's daughters. Makes my heart sing to give these things to the cousins. "How much money did he leave me, and can I have his bike." Death brings out the ugliest in people. BTW, I gave my brother's bike to my cousin's son.

Any DCers who don't have a will--get one. Any who are, like I am, all alone in life, get rid of stuff--don't make someone else do that. And, make sure you have a contact person you touch base with. Don't make someone do a welfare check on you. I can't sleep in the dark--gotta have a light on. I still see my brother's body. He had died 3 weeks before I did the welfare check. Don't do that to someone. Don't give them nightmares that never end. 

Got a dog/cat/parrot, make sure you have made plans for that animal's care and don't expect your dog/cat/parrot to be able to call the sheriff, coroner, dr., funeral home. 

Rant over.


----------



## Just Cooking

I am truly sorry that you are going through that, after losing loved ones.. 

Makes me, one again, thankful for my family..

Ross


----------



## CWS4322

Just Cooking said:


> I am truly sorry that you are going through that, after losing loved ones..
> 
> Makes me, one again, thankful for my family..
> 
> Ross


Count them as blessings every day. And make sure your affairs are in order.


----------



## Just Cooking

CWS4322 said:


> Count them as blessings every day. And make sure your affairs are in order.



I do and they are..  

Ross


----------



## taxlady

(((Hugs))) CWS


----------



## CWS4322

Today it was my fault that the 20+ year old fridge died. I didn't know I had that kind of power to kill an appliance. My super power!!!!!! What is that plea--Lord, come take me now? The car acts up--my fault. The fridge dies--my fault. I didn't know I could do such things. Where is my cape????


----------



## CWS4322

Just Cooking said:


> I do and they are..
> 
> Ross


+1 Today I was told that if I hadn't been in Ontario taking care of my brother's stuff and gathering my roten Faden, my Mom would still be alive. I am not willing to carry that guilt.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> +1 Today I was told that if I hadn't been in Ontario taking care of my brother's stuff and gathering my roten Faden, my Mom would still be alive. I am not willing to carry that guilt.



Sweetheart, get out of there as soon as you can. Your father is beating you up.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sweetheart, get out of there as soon as you can. Your father is beating you up.



I concur.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Sweetheart, get out of there as soon as you can. Your father is beating you up.


Huh! You think! If I didn't have that canning jar of my Mom's ashes in my closet, she'd be rolling in her grave. Sad thing is that I gave up everything and I am homeless, I have no place to go.


----------



## cjmmytunes

CWS, I wish I could do something to help.  Sadly, all I can do is offer to be a sounding board if you need someone to talk with or vent to.


My Mom and I went over her will and POA before she had her hip replacement surgery.  I have her POA because I am closest to her (my sister lives about an hour away and also has a husband that is ill), and one of my cousins who is an accountant will be the Executor.  Of course, that may all change.


----------



## CWS4322

No super power! I can't make appliances die. The appliance guy came out this morning--the relay switch died. In the meantime, I had taken everything out of the fridge and freezer and put them in Rubbermaid bins that I buried in the snow. Luckily for my Dad, the repair bill was only $170. The cost of a new fridge would have been around $1500 because of it being an off-size, etc. I had said to my Dad that at the age of 88 and with the fact he is considering selling the house and most people will replace appliances, to buy a used one. "I don't buy used. I could take the fridge with me." The question is, where? I keep telling him he better start investigating how big of a U-haul he needs pulled behind the hearse.


----------



## CWS4322

cjmmytunes said:


> CWS, I wish I could do something to help.  Sadly, all I can do is offer to be a sounding board if you need someone to talk with or vent to.
> 
> 
> My Mom and I went over her will and POA before she had her hip replacement surgery.  I have her POA because I am closest to her (my sister lives about an hour away and also has a husband that is ill), and one of my cousins who is an accountant will be the Executor.  Of course, that may all change.


I have POA for my Dad, and I got to pick who would help me--I picked my godfather, even though his brother is a CPA. I want someone who will be on my side. Now my Dad is threatening to rewrite the will so my MIA brother gets 50%. I don't care.

I had five male cousins who were older than I am--one died from brain cancer, so now there are four. There were no girls in the family except for me. They spoilt me rotten. These four men have stepped up to the plate. I am so blessed to have them, their children, and their grandchildren, not to mention their Mom, still in my life. I get to go see my aunt and two of my cousins and their wives on Wednesday when Dad takes his taxes up to the cousin who is a CPA. Two of them are out fishing on LOW today to catch me some walleye.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

CWS4322 said:


> Huh! You think! If I didn't have that canning jar of my Mom's ashes in my closet, she'd be rolling in her grave. Sad thing is that I gave up everything and I am homeless, *I have no place to go*.



*CWS*, don't you still have the Lake House that's in your name alone?
Can't you go there?
I agree with *PF*, GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE!!!!!!!  That is not a healthy place, at all!


----------



## taxlady

Not really a big deal, just a bit annoying. I had some groceries delivered today. They were probably out of the brand of sour cream that I like. So, they substituted another brand. It doesn't taste as nice and has a bunch of weird ingredients:

Skim milk, Cream, Modified milk ingredients, Modified corn starch, Bacterial culture, Carrageenan, Guar gum, Locust bean gum, Sodium citrate.

Liberté, the brand I like has this list of ingredients for their sour cream:

Milk, cream, skim milk powder, bacterial cultures, microbial, enzymes.

Okay, end of rant. That'll teach me. I'll put a note next time I order sour cream.


----------



## Andy M.

The same thing happens to most of us. I see a lot of ads for hearing aids and jeans because that’s what I looked up recently. It gets really crazy around Christmas.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> The same thing happens to most of us. I see a lot of ads for hearing aids and jeans because that’s what I looked up recently. It gets really crazy around Christmas.



Firefox has tracking protection. I also use Privacy Badger, an add on for browsers and DuckDuckGo's privacy essentials, another add on. I also use DuckDuckGo as my default search engine, because they don't track or sell your data.

It's shocking how many trackers there are on some websites.


----------



## Alix

My petty vent started yesterday but has continued into today. I stood on a kitchen chair (instead of the stool I usually use) to get at a recipe file and the chair tipped with me on it and I surfed it down to the floor. Did minimal damage to myself and the chair but knocked down my recipe box and a pile of really old recipe books (circa 1929) all over the floor! I’ve been resorting and repairing off and on all weekend darn it! AND I didn’t find the recipe I wanted!

Vent done. Thank you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Hi Alix!  You know you are not supposed to do that!  So glad you were not hurt!


----------



## taxlady

What PF said. Glad you only did minimal damage to yourself, Alix.


----------



## CWS4322

So, since my Mom died and since my brother is dead, I am left picking up the pieces. Not only that, I am trying to figure out how to live without either of them and find the new dynamic between the two of us. The other morning when I came up the stairs (I live in the bat cave--a/k/a the walk-out basement). He met me at the top of the stairs and said, "Oh, hi! You're still here?" "Yeah, Dad, I am still here." "I thought you left." "Nooooooo…." later he tried to hang his jacket in the broom closet. "Dad, what are you doing?" "Hanging up my jacket, what does it look like I'm doing?" "Which closet is that?" "Oh, wrong closet." Yeah, and he thinks he can live alone...

My Mom gave my deceased brother my Dad's Rolex watch. I brought it back when my brother died. The other night my Dad woke me up at 2:00 a.m.--couldn't find his Rolex. ""Help me find my Rolex.""I gave it back to you." "I know you did, I just can't find it.""Dad, it is 2:00 a.m." "I need it now." "You probably [if you had any sense--my cartoon bubble said] put it in the safety deposit box." In the meantime, until 4:00 a.m., we had to empty all his dresser drawers, the closet, check his shaving kit, etc., etc. The next morning, he went to the SD, he looked, it is not there. He brought back my Mom's pearl necklace. "I have no idea where your Mom got this." I was with him when he bought that for her Christmas present one year. "I never bought her that." He "thinks" he hid his watch in the basement, but he can't remember where. "Why would you hide it in the basement when you have a SD box?" "So you wouldn't steal it." "Excuse me, I brought it back and gave it to you. Why would I steal it--I could have told you I didn't find it when I cleaned out my brother's apartment [except Mom didn't give my brother the certificate--he wanted to sell it and get another one, but without the certificate, he didn't think he could get away with that]." Is this dementia or paranoia? As if "stealing" my Dad's $5K watch was first and foremost on my mind.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Paranoia comes with Dementia, it's not going to get better. "Losing" things is normal, unfortunately. Is your Dad still driving?  Maybe have one of his friends pick him up.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Paranoia comes with Dementia, it's not going to get better. "Losing" things is normal, unfortunately. Is your Dad still driving?  Maybe have one of his friends pick him up.


You're preaching to the choir, PF. I know it won't get better. I've been down this road, I recognize the landmarks and the curves along the way. I know it will only get worse and I am torn--I want my life back, but I don't want to leave him. Hiding things is also part of it. I remember finding things in odd places as my Mom's mind slipped away and she was still mobile. After her stroke in 2016, we were blessed she was non-ambulatory--she couldn't get out of bed and wander. He is still driving--most of the time, I go with him. He had to go to Fargo a couple of weeks ago, he had a VA volunteer driver. I am encouraging him to prevail on that service. I have been down this road. Only this time, I don't have to convince my brother and my Dad. I am the one who is struggling with the signs. Still wondering what he did with his Rolex. I know I don't have it, nor have I seen it since May 29, 2016 when I took it off my wrist and gave it back to him. I probably should have left it in my SD box. He's already fretting that he won't be able to get his license renewed in October. He lives in the middle of nowhere-17 miles from town on 23 acres. Thank goodness, he has signed his medical directive and I will have power of attorney if he is no longer able to handle his affairs, I just don't want to have to take it to court. I dreamt my Mom visited me the other night--I could feel her hand holding mine, I swear I felt her hand brush the hair away from my forehead. "Honey bunny. you'll be okay."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> You're preaching to the choir, PF. I know it won't get better. I've been down this road, I recognize the landmarks and the curves along the way. I know it will only get worse and I am torn--I want my life back, but I don't want to leave him. Hiding things is also part of it. I remember finding things in odd places as my Mom's mind slipped away and she was still mobile. After her stroke in 2016, we were blessed she was non-ambulatory--she couldn't get out of bed and wander. He is still driving--most of the time, I go with him. He had to go to Fargo a couple of weeks ago, he had a VA volunteer driver. I am encouraging him to prevail on that service. I have been down this road. Only this time, I don't have to convince my brother and my Dad. I am the one who is struggling with the signs. Still wondering what he did with his Rolex. I know I don't have it, nor have I seen it since May 29, 2016 when I took it off my wrist and gave it back to him. I probably should have left it in my SD box. He's already fretting that he won't be able to get his license renewed in October. He lives in the middle of nowhere-17 miles from town on 23 acres. Thank goodness, he has signed his medical directive and I will have power of attorney if he is no longer able to handle his affairs, I just don't want to have to take it to court.* I dreamt my Mom visited me the other night--I could feel her hand holding mine, I swear I felt her hand brush the hair away from my forehead. "Honey bunny. you'll be okay."*



How comforting. I too, wish you to be happy and not so stressed. I wish there was something I could do for you, instead of being a sounding board for things you already know. Hugs, Love You!


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> How comforting. I too, wish you to be happy and not so stressed. I wish there was something I could do for you, instead of being a sounding board for things you already know. Hugs, Love You!


Love you back to the north side of heaven. Being a sounding board is good, PF. Need that.


----------



## CWS4322

Did I mention my new super power? I can break gaskets on kitchen sinks! When I cleaned under the kitchen sink last night, something I do regularly, I noticed that there was moisture on the pipe above the trap. So, being the ever conscientious daughter, I placed a cup underneath to see if it was my imagination or if the sink was dripping it was. So I pointed this out to my Dad and when I touched the part that comes down from the drain to the trap, it came apart. Who knew I had such super powers. Normal people would have gasket material and silicon/plumber's paste in the house. Not my Dad. No, call a plumber to fix it. Dad, we can fix this. No, you broke it. Right, I have those kind of super powers. WHERE THE DEVIL IS MY CAPE???  Oops, it's in Ontario, darn. Oh and the reason? Because I have been filling the sink with water and washing the dishes instead of using the DW. I didn't go to kindergarten, so I must have missed that kitchen sinks aren't meant to be filled with water? Hello!


----------



## Alix

cws4322, you are having a TIME! 

Keep venting, it will keep you sane. I've been there and this phase is most unpleasant. I'm now nearing the end of that long road with Mom. She's been in assisted living for some time and we are just now on the waiting list for higher level care. Somewhere around the 5 year mark the nasty went away and the sweetness returned. Sure didn't erase those years of "F---y---!" though. 

Sending you hugs and a couple of angels. One for patience and one for peace.


----------



## CWS4322

Alix said:


> cws4322, you are having a TIME!
> 
> Keep venting, it will keep you sane. I've been there and this phase is most unpleasant. I'm now nearing the end of that long road with Mom. She's been in assisted living for some time and we are just now on the waiting list for higher level care. Somewhere around the 5 year mark the nasty went away and the sweetness returned. Sure didn't erase those years of "F---y---!" though.
> 
> Sending you hugs and a couple of angels. One for patience and one for peace.


Most unpleasant is one of saying it. A friend asked me why are you giving up your life? My answer was because I love them more. I have a band of angels behind me--I couldn't do this without my cousins who make sure I get out fishing when at LOW and prop me up when I fall. Maybe those 4" stilettos aren't the shoes I should wear when I go out in public. Forget the cape--where the bleep is my halo?


----------



## CWS4322

Organizing my Mom's memorial has been stressful. I have to meet with the vicar today. I have my Mom's nursing cap and her pin. Gotta take the nursing cap to the drycleaner to get it starched and shaped, taking her pin to my friend who is a jeweler to get it all shined up. Back in those days, the pins were sterling. I have her red hat, her mink cap, and her golf hat. Those are going on the table in front of pictures of her. I was going to wear her red hat, a black dress, and purple (my Dad hates purple) shoes, but maybe just the black dress and purple shoes...and I won't be wearing mascara--Mom always told me if you know you are gonna cry, don't wear mascara.


----------



## CWS4322

While I met with the vicar (doesn't that sound like a sentence out of an English mystery novel?) my Dad was curling in the "old geezer league." I have been waiting for him to fall on the ice. Well, today was the day. Just got back from ER. He had a CT scan and blood work, no signs of a bleed yet--CHI. Of course, had there been signs of a brain bleed, we would have had to put a straight-jacket on him to stay overnight for observation. Never a dull moment. Fortunately, the surgeon for whom my Mom worked also curls in that league. My Dad got immediate medical attention. When I got there, Dr. T. gave me hand signals from the ice (he was still curling) to drive Dad to ER and get him checked out. Getting Dad to agree to that was a bit of a struggle--he wanted to pick up a few things at Walmart. Excuse me, your head is bleeding. We are going to the ER. I think they (the ER admitting folks) should have another color of bracelet--a separate color to indicate STUBBORN OLD GOAT.


----------



## taxlady

CWS, it never stops, eh? I hope your dad is okay.


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> CWS, it never stops, eh? I hope your dad is okay.


So far, he is. There is NO way I am letting him go to the base (GF) tomorrow by himself (approx. 5 hr R/T). It will stop someday, not looking forward to that day.


----------



## roadfix

Costco was out of toilet paper, again.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> While I met with the vicar (doesn't that sound like a sentence out of an English mystery novel?) my Dad was curling in the "old geezer league." I have been waiting for him to fall on the ice. Well, today was the day. Just got back from ER. He had a CT scan and blood work, no signs of a bleed yet--CHI. Of course, had there been signs of a brain bleed, we would have had to put a straight-jacket on him to stay overnight for observation. Never a dull moment. Fortunately, the surgeon for whom my Mom worked also curls in that league. My Dad got immediate medical attention. When I got there, Dr. T. gave me hand signals from the ice (he was still curling) to drive Dad to ER and get him checked out. Getting Dad to agree to that was a bit of a struggle--he wanted to pick up a few things at Walmart. Excuse me, your head is bleeding. We are going to the ER. I think they (the ER admitting folks) should have another color of bracelet--a separate color to indicate STUBBORN OLD GOAT.



We have a Stubborn Old Goat, too. He fell and broke his neck and has to wear a cervical collar for the rest of his life.  When we caution him to use his walker, he says, "What's the worse that can happen? I fall down and break my neck?"  Aside from trying to keep the collar on him, he also has dementia.

Just think, my office is located on the Alzheimer's Unit. It is a real circus most days.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Tell me this...is it okay if I sit in my house and start barking back at the dog next door when he has been going on for three hours?  Asking for a friend...


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Tell me this...is it okay if I sit in my house and start barking back at the dog next door when he has been going on for three hours?  Asking for a friend...



Of course it is. I just don't recommend it. Most dogs will just be encouraged to bark back more.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Of course it is. I just don't recommend it. Most dogs will just be encouraged to bark back more.



But, he's already keeping me awake and no sign of the owners so I can have a chat with them. No animal control in my little town and county won't come out for a barking dog.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> But, he's already keeping me awake and no sign of the owners so I can have a chat with them. No animal control in my little town and county won't come out for a barking dog.


Spray it with the hose.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GotGarlic said:


> Spray it with the hose.



LOL, that's the side with the 6 foot privacy fence! Hard to plead not guilty from the top of a ladder.


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> We have a Stubborn Old Goat, too. He fell and broke his neck and has to wear a cervical collar for the rest of his life.  When we caution him to use his walker, he says, "What's the worse that can happen? I fall down and break my neck?"  Aside from trying to keep the collar on him, he also has dementia.
> 
> Just think, my office is located on the Alzheimer's Unit. It is a real circus most days.


And to think, they are not even your monkeys. What color wrist band does your unit use for SOGs? We are off to the base in GF, ND. I normally let him go by himself so I can have a quiet, uneventful day at home. Not today. Some of the old geezers from the curling league called to check in with him last night. I thought that was nice of them.


----------



## roadfix

Most ridiculous thing I’ve seen ...
More than a quarter mile long line of people just to get into Costco prior to opening this morning .


----------



## msmofet

I just don't understand toilet paper hoarding!!!


----------



## HeyItsSara

I don't either.  During Hurricane Sandy, everyone stocked up on water.  Not TP.


----------



## taxlady

Maybe some people are stocking up on TP, because it's usually cheaper than tissue. I saw a comment from one person in a similar discussion about "why TP?" comment that they were getting a bidet.


----------



## Kayelle

I don't get it either...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

CWS4322 said:


> And to think, *they are not even your monkeys*. What color wrist band does your unit use for SOGs? We are off to the base in GF, ND. I normally let him go by himself so I can have a quiet, uneventful day at home. Not today. Some of the old geezers from the curling league called to check in with him last night. I thought that was nice of them.



We have fun most days anyway!  No wristbands, just gotta know who you are letting in and out. One of these days, I will forget the code to open the door and they will just make a bed for me.

I'm glad he's not gping alone and that his friends called.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> LOL, that's the side with the 6 foot privacy fence! Hard to plead not guilty from the top of a ladder.[emoji38]


 We have a chain-link fence between our house and the barky neighbors'


----------



## CWS4322

PrincessFiona60 said:


> We have fun most days anyway!  No wristbands, just gotta know who you are letting in and out. One of these days, I will forget the code to open the door and they will just make a bed for me.
> 
> I'm glad he's not gping alone and that his friends called.


I only got to the gate. I was not allowed on the base because I don't have a military ID and with the coronavirus "scare" he wasn't allowed to be my sponsor. Needless to say, today was not a good day and I had a PTSD breakdown. But, I was in the car with him R/T. Stopped myself from throwing myself in the river and walked about 15 miles before he drove by, turned around, and picked me up. Not a good day.


----------



## taxlady

CWS, aw sweetie, (((hugs)))


----------



## CWS4322

taxlady said:


> CWS, aw sweetie, (((hugs)))


Really bad day. He was on the base, with his head injury, neither one of us have cell phones, they wouldn't go get him and I couldn't cross. He had told me his vision was fuzzy and he had a headache. I told him to leave me at the gate--he had to get 8 'scripts. And then I fell to pieces. Really bad day. I figured I could either walk or hitchhike into GF and find a shelter or church that take me in. When I saw his car drive by after walking for hours (sorta surprised they didn't hold me at the gate given the state I was I in), I was really happy to see he turned around at the next exit and came back. Surprised he even was watching for me walking in the ditch on the Interstate. I was tired of walking and crying.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I just spent ten minutes griping about DW, who isn't very D right now.   It's not right to cut down your S.O., in my case, spouse, in public.  I deleted everything.  I'm just not a happy man right now.  I'll leave it at that.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Sort of funny story. DH went out today to get some brown basmati rice at Singh Farm Grocery. I asked him to get two 10 lb bags, if there were plenty and that wasn't being greedy. We are pretty stocked up other than that. Got our prescriptions filled for two months yesterday. Anyhoo, he got to the store and looked at the big "wall of rice" and there was only a single bag left. It was a 50 lb bag of some kind of white rice. Then he turned around and the shelving on the other side was full, with smaller bags of rice. He got the two bags I wanted. I guess the run on rice had been families who use a lot more rice than us, since it was only the 50 lb bags that had been emptied off the shelves.


----------



## taxlady

Do we have, or should we have a thread with corona-virus concerns, etc.?


----------



## GilliAnne

bbqcoder said:


> I don't have this problem. I guess you should try a different brand.  I've used Pam but currently I use BJ's Wholesale house brand of cooking spray.  I wonder if you're using the kind with flour?  I would think that might be more prone to clogging.



I am in the UK, where the choice of cooking sprays is limited. I should check next time I'm in one of the local supermarkets here what is available, but I am only aware of two brands, one of which is that supermarket's own brand. That one doesn't give its ingredients and the other brand lists xanthan gum as a thickener. 

I often give up on the spray, take the top off and just pour some of the oil into whatever piece of cooking equipment I'm using.

Gillian


----------



## GotGarlic

GilliAnne said:


> I often give up on the spray, take the top off and just pour some of the oil into whatever piece of cooking equipment I'm using.


That's what I did before there were cooking sprays available [emoji38] Take a piece of kitchen paper, pour oil onto it and wipe it on your cooking surface.


----------



## dragnlaw

GilliAnne said:


> I often give up on the spray, take the top off and just pour some of the oil into whatever piece of cooking equipment I'm using.
> 
> Gillian



Aerosol cans are pressurized so I'm going to assume you mean oil in spritzer type bottles.  

I don't use hair spray very often but once in a blue moon I do.  I have a spritzer type bottle and as I rarely use it the nozzle gets clogged/dried and all one gets is a stream instead of a mist.  I solved that by rinsing the nozzle in hot water after I use it.  Never had a problem since. 

maybe this would work with your oil - I would use a soapy cloth and then dry with paper towel.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Life is full of a more difficult challenges than it is smooth, beautiful harbors.  It seems that even though it's me spending the money, money that I earned as the only worker in our home, that everyone else gets to benefit from my purchases except me.

I found a good buy on a Toyota Tacoma Off Road truck and purchased it.  It is in great shape  will go just about anywhere.  However, it is not really a vehicle suited to everyday driving.  It is a very sturdy and capable backwoods truck, made to go through two-tracks, and dusty gavel, and mud.  It behaves badly on snow, and ice while in two-wheel drive.  Now when I was a thirty-something, this would have been a great second vehicle.  But as a primary vehicle, both my youngest son and I agree that this isn't the right truck for DW and  me.  

So, DW loves the idea of owning a rugged, ready to tackle the elements truck.  She can barely climb into it.  I can barely get into it with a step-stool, with some difficulty.  But we finally get her to agree to a different truck, one that will better suit our needs.

After much searching, I found a truck abouBut DW has her heart set on us getting a truck so that she can again have a vehicle to drive, which is kind of a dicey thing IMO.  I call a friend and he is willing to go with my son, DW, and me so that he can drive it home av]fter we purchase it.  It's a long drive and I don't think either DW, or I are up to it.  So I tell her this, and she is all upset and wants nothing to do with me, or my son.  She's throwing another of her quiet little temper tantrums because she doen't get to drive it home.  She admitedly suffers from narcolepsy, and catolepsi, and frequently gets very, very sleepy around 2 to 3 p.m.  But she states that a 5-hour energy will take care of that.

She won't face the face that at 66 years of age, she has limitations.  She thinks she can do everything she used to do when she was 20.

i am so tired of the hassels, and headaches, and her unwillingess to bedn, even a little.  I don't want a truck.  I would rather have a smeall SUV that I can get in and out of, and that doesn't ride like a truck.  I don't ride dirt bikes anymore.  I don't jump off of 25 foot cliffs to feel the free-fall like I did ads a teen.  I don't climb mountain faces anymore.  I don't even own a snowmobile anymore.  I can't do what I could even in my 40's and 50's.  And she is in at least as rough shape as I am, worse mentaly.

Even with all of this, with thirty years of extreme behavior by DW, If I had to do it over again, I would, as I really love the children I have.  But I think I would treat her differently than I did.  She would not get every little thing her heart desired.

Ok,, I am going ot quit now.  I've vented, and shouldn't have.  

Oh, and for the recoerd, this Corna virus is a terrible thing, and is really shaking things up, world wide.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the Nrth


----------



## GotGarlic

I'm so sorry, Chief, I can imagine how difficult that is [emoji813] So many people have difficulty accepting the limitations that often come with age and disability. It's okay to vent, especially during these uncertain times. We all need to. Hugs and love to you [emoji177]


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> I'm so sorry, Chief, I can imagine how difficult that is [emoji813] So many people have difficulty accepting the limitations that often come with age and disability. It's okay to vent, especially during these uncertain times. We all need to. Hugs and love to you [emoji177]


+1 I can't say it any better than *GG* did. I'll keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers, *Chief*.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> I'm so sorry, Chief, I can imagine how difficult that is [emoji813] So many people have difficulty accepting the limitations that often come with age and disability. It's okay to vent, especially during these uncertain times. We all need to. Hugs and love to you [emoji177]





Cooking Goddess said:


> +1 I can't say it any better than *GG* did. I'll keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers, *Chief*.



I agree with CG & GG. I can't say it better than those two ladies. (((Hugs Chief)))


----------



## taxlady

I was expecting three delivery of three orders, placed online to arrive today. Two grocery orders that didn't show up and an order for vaping supplies that didn't show up. Canada Post says they are verifying my address. 

I'm sure my stuff will show up, eventually. The groceries better show up soon. One place seems to think I got the delivery. The other place phoned and apologized that they got excessively busy and my order will arrive tomorrow morning. I guess these places need to work on their websites to get them up too snuff. I think there are some IT people looking for work right now. Oh yeah, the hubster just found out that he is on temporary layoff starting tomorrow. 

I do understand that these companies are under a lot of pressure with all the extra customers and orders they are having to deal with, so I'm just a bit annoyed, not angry. Thanks for letting me vent.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

This cortona virus thing is desroying lives, and tanking ecomonomies.  i've spoken to a few health professionals about it, and ifor healthy adults and childrenm ut;s nothing worse than a bad cold or flue.  But people are being laid off, fired, and are losing prescious income that pays the bills.  For people like me, and DW, it is dangerous, as is the flu.  I need to stay in, and not mingle with people.  But I am retired, and have an income not reliant on working every day.

The media has got everone in multiple nations almost hysterically afraid of this thing, all so that they can make their profits on people's fear.  It's sickening.


corporations can[t afford to keep people on as there is not enough demand for ther products during this scare.  And non-productive workers cant remain workers.  The corporations will run out of money very quickly, and go bankrupt.  When the scare is over, if companies can stay afloat, workers will have jobs to go back to.  If companies fold, where will the workers go?  And yet, workers feel the brunt of this as they are having a difficult time making ends meet.  It's a viscious cycle.  And I still blame the media for their part in creating fear,.  They are ruining lives.

That;s my opinion on this.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

*My 2 rants*

Rant #1
My monthly pills, one a day, have over time become uneven quantities in the bottles, due primarily bad counting at the pharmacy. 

Last month when I reordered my pills I asked them to give me a certain number of pills for each prescription - to even them out so that I run out of them at the same time.  They said "Sure, no problem. We do this all the time."
And they did - they got the correct amount.  I was very pleased.

This month, I'm filling out my daily bottles and realized that they have given me the same adjusted amounts as last month. 

And Yes, I understand that these amounts were entered into their computer and they just followed what they saw there...  but if you tell me that "we do it all the time"  are they saying that every time someone asks for an adjustment they will have to go back in several days later to have it re-adjusted again. They really need to be able to put in TEMPORARY NOTES on their computer.  

This now means another trip into town, wait at the door while an employee asks me 10 questions about whether or not I've been out of the country, have a cough, a fever, etc. and please sanitize my hands, (this from the girl who asked me last time and also knows me) then try to patiently explain to the girl at the pharmacy counter, then re-explain to the pharmacist, then sit and wait while it is refilled.  All this while trying not to burst into angry frustrated tears of the stupidity of the whole system.

Rant #2
Don't you just love those signs up everywhere in official offices/hospitals/etc that announce *Verbal Abuse will not be Tolerated*.  Well, how about the abuse and disrespect to the customer/client/patients (us!) receive having to wait 4 hours for a 10 minute consult and then told "Oh, you were given the wrong papers. Go to blah, blah blah - wait another 4 hours...  etc. etc.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

AAArgh!  I've given up on trying to get all my meds at the same time, luckily I drive by the pharmacy twice a day.


----------



## GotGarlic

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> This corona virus thing is desroying lives, and tanking ecomonomies.  i've spoken to a few health professionals about it, and ifor healthy adults and childrenm ut;s nothing worse than a bad cold or flue.  But people are being laid off, fired, and are losing prescious income that pays the bills.  For people like me, and DW, it is dangerous, as is the flu.  I need to stay in, and not mingle with people.  But I am retired, and have an income not reliant on working every day.



My GI doctor said public health experts expect *half* of the US population to become infected. We don't have any immunity or vaccine for the coronavirus, like we do for the flu, and there will be no vaccine for at least a year. While many younger people don't have serious complications, being infected can leave them with permanent lung damage, and some do die from it. A big part of the urgency to isolate ourselves is to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed by the number of people needing care, whether it's from coronavirus or something else, like heart attacks, accidents, etc. 


The Senate and the White House have just finished an economy-support bill that provides financial support for individuals who have to stay home and businesses that have to close. 



Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> The media has got everone in multiple nations almost hysterically afraid of this thing, all so that they can make their profits on people's fear.  It's sickening.


The "media" is not one big monolithic entity all working in concert to scare people. Except for Fox News and the like, they are reporting facts about the spread of the virus based on information from doctors, epidemiologists, public health experts, emergency management experts and others. They're not making it up. 



Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> corporations can[t afford to keep people on as there is not enough demand for ther products during this scare.  And non-productive workers cant remain workers.  The corporations will run out of money very quickly, and go bankrupt.  When the scare is over, if companies can stay afloat, workers will have jobs to go back to.  If companies fold, where will the workers go?  And yet, workers feel the brunt of this as they are having a difficult time making ends meet.  It's a viscious cycle.  And I still blame the media for their part in creating fear,.  They are ruining lives.


As I said, the federal government is stepping in to help keep businesses and workers afloat. This is a very difficult time, for sure. It's a serious problem that requires some sacrifice from all of us. Acting as though it's all exaggerated isn't helpful. 

There are lots of sources of information other than "the media." Find speeches and news conferences from governors, state health officials and Dr. Anthony Fauci. 


Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> That;s my opinion on this.


Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it should be based on facts.


----------



## msmofet

A bit of a vent here. Both DD's work in online shopping at a supermarket. Customers whether in the store or on the phone (when they need to be called) are VERY abusive AND rude to them. Hub works in produce dept. in same supermarket chain but different location and getting treated the same. Customers just DON'T want to accept that there isn't a product and they don't know when the items will come in. (AND customers DON'T want to accept that there are item limits at the moment) They are getting screamed AND cursed at!

They don't deserve that treatment! They are still at work taking the real risk of DYING (they aren't allowed to wear masks because it may scare the customers) to get these people what they need. It's not their fault there are shortages. If the greedy pigs would stop hoarding there would be plenty for everyone!!


End of vent for now.


----------



## dragnlaw

msmofet said:


> They are still at work taking the real risk of DYING (they aren't allowed to wear masks *because it may scare the customers)* to get these people what they need.
> 
> End of vent for now.



Sounds like that supermarket should and possible could, be held responsible for irresponsible and dangerous guidelines to their employees.  

FYI  only certain masks can help to prevent you from inhaling airborne particles.  Rather when you wear a mask you are aiding in the prevention of breathing out airborne particles. 

So it works both ways.  

a few things happening around here are:-

All stores I've been in lately have an employee at the door - who stops you at a 6 foot distance to question you on your recent health/activity/whereabouts/etc. and then tell you to wash your hands. 

All unessential stores have been forced closed, also included are clubs/library (and their drop boxes) etc. 

Most of our big chain supermarkets only allow a certain number of customers in the store at a time.  There are numbered tags on the carts to help.  

Another market had installed large clear plastic shields at the checkouts between the customer and the cashier.

And another market is paying all their employees a extra $20 per week (no matter their hours) and an extra per hour pay (can't remember how much but $2 rings a bell) until the this is over. They've named it "Hero Pay"


----------



## msmofet

I have 3 N95 masks I bought awhile back. Those are supposed to be the good ones.


----------



## roadfix

At least around here the supermarkets seem to be getting back to normal as far as the crowds go. ....even less than normal number of people shopping.   But of course, TP and sanitizers are still out.   Those who overstocked on those essential items won’t be buying them for a long while...


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

roadfix said:


> At least around here the supermarkets seem to be getting back to normal as far as the crowds go. ....even less than normal number of people shopping.   But of course, TP and sanitizers are still out.   Those who overstocked on those essential items won’t be buying them for a long while...



The sad thing for me is that in the mass ignorance exhibited by people, we are still doing it wrong.  I have spoken with numerous health professionals who tell me not to purchase anti-bacterial soaps, as they can breed super-germs that then resist antibiotics.  Ordinary soap and water removes 99% of the germs and bacteria from skin.  And yet, even the medical facility buildings put anti-bacterial soap in hte soap dispensers.  The med-pros tell me that it's crazy.  Anti-bacterial soap is a juggernaut that is doing harm to septic systems, the environment, and us.  I refuse to purchase it.  And to in my opinion, it's just another way that manufacturers dictate our lifestyles and choices, all for their profit.  It doesn't matter to them that they are causing harm.  They only seem to care about making a profit.

Pthers ,ay disagree with me on this.  Again, I have spoken to numerous health pros who have told me this.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Others ,may disagree with me on this.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Well Chief, I for one happen to agree with you.  Have not bought anti-bact.. for a long time.  Plain soap and water is good enuf for me...  and my dishes.


----------



## msmofet

Ivory soap!


----------



## dragnlaw

msmofet said:


> Ivory soap!



I intensely dislike that stuff -  dries my skin out so much I'd get secondary infections in the cracks.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

just got a letter from the health insurance company I had before retiring.  It states that back in 2018, they overpaid on one of my medical bills to the tune of about $450, and they want it back$450 takes a good bit out of my monthly income.  In my mind, they made the mistake, and should pay the consequences for that mistake, not burden me because of it.  But big companies, even our government does this kind of thing all the time.  And who pays for their mistakes?  We do, and usually when we ca least afford it.  I don't feel like I should have to pahy for their mistakes.  But I will send the money back to them, but  not today.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> just got a letter from the health insurance company I had before retiring.  It states that back in 2018, they overpaid on one of my medical bills to the tune of about $450, and they want it back$450 takes a good bit out of my monthly income.  In my mind, they made the mistake, and should pay the consequences for that mistake, not burden me because of it.  But big companies, even our government does this kind of thing all the time.  And who pays for their mistakes?  We do, and usually when we ca least afford it.  I don't feel like I should have to pahy for their mistakes.  But I will send the money back to them, but  not today.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Send it back in $20 installments.


----------



## medtran49

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Send it back in $20 installments.




agree, I'd even go as low as $10.  You are making the effort so there's nothing they can do, especially now.


----------



## dragnlaw

It took them 2 years to discover the error.  

That's 24 months. 

$450 / 24 = $18.75 .

I would send them $18.75 a month for 2 years.  

I hope they provided proof that they actually did overpay for exactly which bill?


----------



## Andy M.

Tell the insurance company to go after the doctor/hospital they overpaid.


----------



## Just Cooking

Andy M. said:


> Tell the insurance company to go after the doctor/hospital they overpaid.



+1

Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

I'll change my reply and go with that one too!  

+2


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Make that +3
They're not suppose to be doing that, I don't think anyways.
If there was an error, they should be going after the practice 
they incorrectly paid, not to mention, wouldn't that be considered
fraud on that practice/facility for keeping the over payment? 
Just sayin'


----------



## dragnlaw

Here I am ...  rethinking...  

The job is quoted at 100$  for which the insurance will pay 80$.  

If you go ahead and have the job done and the insurance gives *you* 90$ instead of 80, then you have to pay back.  

BUT, (to my way of thinking) if the insurance company pays the doctor/hospital the 90$ and you pay only 10$-  then they should go after the hospital for the over payment.   But that also means the hospital can come back to you for their lost 10$.   

guess it all comes down to the same thing - but I believe the insurance should suck it up and accept responsibility for its own employees mistakes.  You did not mis-represent your claim (I assume).


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Same type of problem at work today. I get a call from an insurance company telling me the patient had an 18 day stay in the hospital and that he has overextended his 100 day benefit by 14 days at this time. The insurance company has given me pre-authorization through next Friday and they tell me I should have caught this. Nope, I have the authorizations and it is not MY problem, but theirs. They are the ones that have been telling me I can treat.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Andy, I followed your advise.  I called the insurance company and told them that the check wasn't sent to me, but to the hospital/service provider.  They checked their records and found that the check had been sent to the hospital, and that their accounting department sent the bill to me by accident.  They will now correct the problem and bill the hospital for the overdependent instead of me.  

Thanks everyone.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Andy, I followed your advise.  I called the insurance company and told them that the check wasn't sent to me, but to the hospital/service provider.  They checked their records and found that the check had been sent to the hospital, and that their accounting department sent the bill to me by accident.  They will now correct the problem and bill the hospital for the overdependent instead of me.
> 
> Thanks everyone.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Just Cooking

taxlady said:


>



+1.. 

Ross


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Andy, I followed your advise.  I called the insurance company and told them that the check wasn't sent to me, but to the hospital/service provider.  They checked their records and found that the check had been sent to the hospital, and that their accounting department sent the bill to me by accident.  They will now correct the problem and bill the hospital for the overdependent instead of me.
> 
> Thanks everyone.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




+3


----------



## Andy M.

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Andy, I followed your advise.  I called the insurance company and told them that the check wasn't sent to me, but to the hospital/service provider.  They checked their records and found that the check had been sent to the hospital, and that their accounting department sent the bill to me by accident.  They will now correct the problem and bill the hospital for the overdependent instead of me.
> 
> Thanks everyone.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




That's great Chief! I'm glad you had a simple resolution.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm done.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm done.



Are you okay?

(((Hugs)))


----------



## PrincessFiona60

no!!


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm done.





taxlady said:


> Are you okay?
> 
> (((Hugs)))





PrincessFiona60 said:


> no!!


What's going on? Can we help? {{{hugs}}}


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> What's going on? Can we help? {{{hugs}}}



Yeah, can we help?


----------



## GotGarlic

I see the problem (taxy, look at the "What I'm listening to" thread).

PF, I understand what you mean. That kind of casual passive-aggressive "I didn't mean what I clearly said" insult is infuriating. I'm sorry you have to deal with that {{{more hugs}}}


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I shouldn't have posted. Thanks


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nope, you need to post, PF. You shouldn't feel like you need to keep things bottled up when you think you're getting the short end of the stick. Maybe if people see that you do have feelings, too, they'll think about how they are saying what they want to say.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Andy, I followed your advise.  I called the insurance company and told them that the check wasn't sent to me, but to the hospital/service provider.  They checked their records and found that the check had been sent to the hospital, and that their accounting department sent the bill to me by accident.  They will now correct the problem and bill the hospital for the overdependent instead of me.
> 
> Thanks everyone.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


Just catching up with your now-resolved problem, Chief. I'm glad it's working out in your favor.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Nope, you need to post, PF. You shouldn't feel like you need to keep things bottled up when you think you're getting the short end of the stick. Maybe if people see that you do have feelings, too, they'll think about how they are saying what they want to say.



I'm taking daily abuse from families that want to visit their loved ones, but...I didn't and the facility didn't make the damn rules. The Federal Government has blocked visitor access to the nursing homes all over the country.  

Come home to relax and get my mind off it...then BAM! It's Fiona's fault that someone does not post what they want.  Not Admin, not moderators, ME, Fiona, it's my fault.

I don't want this to be a pity party, I knew I was going to take a certain amount of malarkey from folks when I agreed to this gig. But today, last straw...camel's back...


----------



## taxlady

(((More hugs))) PF.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I'm taking daily abuse from families that want to visit their loved ones, but...I didn't and the facility didn't make the damn rules. The Federal Government has blocked visitor access to the nursing homes all over the country.
> 
> Come home to relax and get my mind off it...then BAM! It's Fiona's fault that someone does not post what they want.  Not Admin, not moderators, ME, Fiona, it's my fault.
> 
> I don't want this to be a pity party, I knew I was going to take a certain amount of malarkey from folks when I agreed to this gig. But today, last straw...camel's back...




We don't say it enough.  When things are funning smoothly, we just keep rolling on.  When they aren't, we expect people like your to get things rolling smoothly again.  So I'm going to say it, right here, right now, for everyone to see.

I, Chief Longwind of the North, appreciate all you do for all of us here on DC.  You have your own life challenges to bear, and still, you assist all of us.  You are one in a million, and I'm thankful for your efforts.

PriFi, my life is made richer by your support.  So let me offer my support to you.  If you ever need to just talk, to unload, send me a PM.  I can listen, and maybe even help.

Just know that you are appreciated by me.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Just Cooking

+1...

Ross


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> We don't say it enough.  When things are funning smoothly, we just keep rolling on.  When they aren't, we expect people like your to get things rolling smoothly again.  So I'm going to say it, right here, right now, for everyone to see.
> 
> I, Chief Longwind of the North, appreciate all you do for all of us here on DC.  You have your own life challenges to bear, and still, you assist all of us.  You are one in a million, and I'm thankful for your efforts.
> 
> PriFi, my life is made richer by your support.  So let me offer my support to you.  If you ever need to just talk, to unload, send me a PM.  I can listen, and maybe even help.
> 
> Just know that you are appreciated by me.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Thank you!  



Just Cooking said:


> +1...
> 
> Ross



Thank You!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

PriFi, I just noticed the tag line at the bottom of your post, the Albert Einstein quote.  Great minds think alike.  I just used that quote in a church talk I gave last Sunday.  If I recall correctly, Albert thought everything was a miracle.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I'm griping about the quality of mass produced cheese.  you see, I've had some of the best.  Balderson Heritage.& 7 year aged cheddar,Extra, Artison 5 year cheddar from a friend in Wisconsin who made small batch cheese that was outstanding, Williams Extra Sharp Pinconning, 4 year aged Swiss Cheese, Some really good 1000 day old Ghouda, along with excellent Havarti, and other fine cheeses.

I just purchased 8 oz. each of Kerrygold Cheddar, Black Creek 3 year aged cheddar, Emi Gruy,ere, queso Blanco, and Queso Cotija.  The 3 year aged cheddar wasn't exciting at all.  It was too creamy for an aged cheddar, and way salty, with none of the little calcium crystals that normaly start to form afterf 2 years of aging.  The others were all very mild, with the queso cheesees almost flavorless, like alll of the baby swiss out there.  I wish I could drive again to SSM Ont for some Balderson, or could afford to go online to Igourmet for good racelet cheeses, or Beeman's Ghouoda, or any of he fine cheeses they have there.

When Kraft Cracker Barrel is the best cheese available in your local supermarkets, ya just have to grin and bear it.  I;m tired of companies making poor to mediocre products to enhance the bottom line, at our expense.  I kind of wish I had been an adult through the 40's, 50's and 60's, when companies took pride in their products.  But then, I would't have gotten drafted, because I would have joined the Navy back then as well.

zi;m just tired of mediocre, in clothing, shoes, food, restaurants, everything.  We have a society designed to reward those who take advantage of others.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

To the stupid, reckless woman wandering around Market Basket with no mask today: You had better hope that you weren't spraying Covid-19 death bombs each time you sneezed today.  Because of you, I came home without the collard greens I wanted since you were right by them for one of those sneezes. I hope I also came home without your germs. If either Himself or I get sick, I will hunt you down...


----------



## taxlady

Chief, I hear ya. I am tired of mediocrity too.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> To the stupid, reckless woman wandering around Market Basket with no mask today: You had better hope that you weren't spraying Covid-19 death bombs each time you sneezed today.  Because of you, I came home without the collard greens I wanted since you were right by them for one of those sneezes. I hope I also came home without your germs. If either Himself or I get sick, I will hunt you down...


Yikes. 
This pandemic really is showing us a lot of people who have no consideration for the health, even lives, of other people. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.


----------



## Farmer Jon

We better buckle up and get ready for a bumpy ride come this fall. There will be food shortages. Packing plants are shutting down or running at 30% less capacity because of sick workers. I live in Nebraska and I am a farmer. I know this to be a fact. Hog farmers are giving away pigs for free. Some  euthanized thier pigs because the packers can't take them. One of my neighbors has pens of fat cattle ready for market. The cattle buyers flat said they don't want any more cattle. 
Don't think you vegans are safe. I've read several articles about vegetable farmers plowing under entire crops because there are no workers to harvest the crop. 
You can't buy a freezer anywhere around here. They are all sold out. 
I made an appointment at our local locker to have a hog and a beef processed. It's usually a week or so wait. My appointment for the hog is late August. The beef late September. 
I don't scare easy. I'm use to volatile markets. But this has me a little spooked. We are just beginning to feel the effects of this virus. 
If you have the means to plant a garden I suggest you do so.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Farmer Jon said:


> We better buckle up and get ready for a bumpy ride come this fall. There will be food shortages. Packing plants are shutting down or running at 30% less capacity because of sick workers. I live in Nebraska and I am a farmer. I know this to be a fact. Hog farmers are giving away pigs for free. Some  euthanized thier pigs because the packers can't take them. One of my neighbors has pens of fat cattle ready for market. The cattle buyers flat said they don't want any more cattle.
> Don't think you vegans are safe. I've read several articles about vegetable farmers plowing under entire crops because there are no workers to harvest the crop.
> You can't buy a freezer anywhere around here. They are all sold out.
> I made an appointment at our local locker to have a hog and a beef processed. It's usually a week or so wait. My appointment for the hog is late August. The beef late September.
> I don't scare easy. I'm use to volatile markets. But this has me a little spooked. We are just beginning to feel the effects of this virus.
> If you have the means to plant a garden I suggest you do so.



*Jon*, I've seen some vlog posts in regards to the packing houses and I'm keeping my deep freeze filled.  I do not have the lad for a garden, but I've been considering planting in the Community Garden, $50 w/ $25 refundable at the end of the season once you clean up your plot.
But y'know, I got the impression that the shortage was starting sooner than this Fall, no?


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Farmer Jon said:


> We better buckle up and get ready for a bumpy ride come this fall. ... snipped ...



Here's an article I just read in regards to food shortages : 

https://theconservativetreehouse.co...on-act-for-u-s-food-supply-chain/#more-190307


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## Farmer Jon

I would guess we will feel the effects sooner rather than later.


----------



## taxlady

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but goodness gracious, I'm glad I live in Canada.


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## msmofet

taxlady said:


> I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but goodness gracious, I'm glad I live in Canada.


 ??????????????????????????


----------



## taxlady

msmofet said:


> ??????????????????????????



We aren't having that sort of food chain problem. Well, at least not yet.


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## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> We aren't having that sort of food chain problem. Well, at least not yet.


Does Canada do a lot of its own meat processing and packing, or is it imported?


----------



## GotGarlic

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Here's an article I just read in regards to food shortages :
> 
> https://theconservativetreehouse.co...on-act-for-u-s-food-supply-chain/#more-190307


The bottom line is that some meat-packing plants closed or are operating at reduced capacity because workers became ill; one or two have even become hot spots. The government understandably wants them to reopen, but from my reading, they have not made arrangements for the workers to have protective equipment to avoid contracting the virus and will more or less force these workers to go back to work or lose their unemployment benefits. It's a difficult dilemma.


----------



## Farmer Jon

taxlady said:


> I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but goodness gracious, I'm glad I live in Canada.


My Canada friends are in the same boat as we are. Maybe you live in a different part of Canada.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Does Canada do a lot of its own meat processing and packing, or is it imported?



Yes, we raise a lot of beef and pork in Canada and process a lot here. We also import meat, mostly from the US.



Farmer Jon said:


> My Canada friends are in the same boat as we are. Maybe you live in a different part of Canada.



Yes, some farmers have had to dump milk. And yes, I probably do live in a different part of Canada than your Canadian friends. I live in Quebec. 

I suppose I should have said that I was glad that I get most of my food from a plethora of smaller farms. Some have onsite abattoirs (slaughtering facilities) and processing.

I guess I had just been reading about the possibility of meat packing plants being forced to reopen in the US. I would rather not have to choose between eating meat and my personal ethics.


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## Farmer Jon

They live in Alberta. There's a farmer in Sask. With a you tube channel that I enjoy watching. 
Anyway, I think it's ridiculous they are trying to force packers to stay open. I worked in a packing house for a short time as a young man. Say for example there's five people that know how to do one certain job. When those  people are out sick who is going to do it?


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## dragnlaw

taxy, even if you are lucky enough to source from locals - be prepared to endure the same as the rest of Canada - there *will* be shortages as several major slaughterhouses out west have closed.  These houses supply a goodly portion of Canadian market.    That will mean people will source out your favourite suppliers, snatch them up causing shortages to you and in all probability much higher prices.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North

I believe my marriage is over.  I'm tired of being the only one who doesn't want to continuously complain about life, about woe is me.  I'm tired of sticking up for her bad behavior to my children, to my friends.  I'm tire of the continuing stress that she brings into my life, every day.  I'm tired of the fact that she has alienated herself from all four of our children, who all get along with me, and want to have me around, and she's not willing to do anything to mend fences with any of them.  I'm sick of her victim mentality and that she thinks that every problem is everyone else's fault.

After a battle yesterday, where she said that our marriage was over, I talked her into trying to make it work.  I said that we needed counseling as what we were doing wasn't working.  She won't agree to that.  So she continued fighting with me.  i told her that I would do anything to make things work within our family, anything.  If I had problems with the relationships I have with my children, I would do whatever it would take to fix it, including counseling.  I said that if she really loved any of us, she should be willing to do the same.  She is not willing, and blames the relationship issues on the kids.  It souldn't be that she's doing something wrong, not in her eyes.

Last nikght, after my son returened home, after I let him use the truck I purchzased, she stated to me that he was to never use our truck again.  I said to her in no uncertain language that I paid for the truck, every penny of it.  And I said that I would be the one to make the decision about who gets to use it, and when.  She said that her name was on the title too.  I had her name added to the title so that myu osn couldn't argue that she didn't have the right to drive it.  But I still paid for it.  I have 99% ownership of the truck, and so she doesn't get to dictate to me who can or cannot use it.


This morning, I woke her up ikn  tome to take me to dialysis, something I have to havew to live.  She refued to take me.  My son will tke me.  And she's on the warpath beause I woulodn't let her again dictate my actions.  She's willing to put my life at risk because I won'[t let her have her own way.  I'm done.  When I move away, and that will be as soon as I can reasonable do so after taking care of bills, and responsibilities, she's going to find it a challenge to pay for her won medical bills, the utilities, and upkeep that come with owning a house, buying her own food, etc.  She wants to burn that bridge with me, then she will be on her own.  She hasn't
 worked a day and paid into social security for 43 years.  The only reason she gets anything is because I did pay into SS for for over 50 years.  When I'm not there to support her anymore, life is going to get much more difficult for her.  But, that's her choice.  I'm no longer willing to let her drive me into the grave.

Of course you are hearing just my side of the story.  So look at this as my gripe.  She is basically computer illiterate, except for her abilith to purchase things we don't need.  So she can't give he side of the story.

All I ever wanted was to have a family where we all loved and supported each other, and enjoyed each other's company.  I have that with all of mu children and grand children.  She has it with none of them.  Seh sill be lonely.  But that's not my fault.

Seeeeua; Cheif Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Aww Chief, hugs and more hugs.    there comes a time for hard decisions.


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## Kayelle

{{{{Chief}}}} I'm nearly speechless, except to say my heart goes out to you.


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## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Aww Chief, hugs and more hugs.    there comes a time for hard decisions.





Kayelle said:


> {{{{Chief}}}} I'm nearly speechless, except to say my heart goes out to you.



+1 
I couldn't say it better. (((Hugs)))


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## cookieee

Chief, I think you just have a bad case of CABIN FEVER!!!!!!!!  Please, this is not the time to make major decisions like you have.  Trust me, you are not alone in the way you feel. I think after this mess is over, we will see a very high divorce rate. How sad!!!


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## Chef Munky

Chief,
Trust me on this one. I know exactly where your coming from.
I'm shocked  and saddened for your situation.
Were both in the same boat.Sad but true.

Keep in mind that you have a family here at DC.
And to remind you of something so very thoughtful that you did for me many years ago that you've probably have forgotten about. hopefully it will lift your spirits up.

I was sick at the time (Thanksgiving) I was having trouble making a pie crust .You took the time to write out in detail how to make one. We followed it to the letter. It took us my sons an I 3 ppl to get it done but we did it!
To this day we laugh and joke about it, boy did we mess up the kitchen. My guys now only want pumpkin pie made in a square pan.They say that was the best pie they ever had. So thank you Chief.



Munky.


----------



## Just Cooking

cookieee said:


> Chief, I think you just have a bad case of CABIN FEVER!!!!!!!!  Please, this is not the time to make major decisions like you have.  Trust me, you are not alone in the way you feel. *I think after this mess is over, we will see a very high divorce rate. *How sad!!!



How sad, indeed.. 

I suppose I'm naive but, I can't wrap my mind around a pleasant marriage ending because a couple has to quarantine together.. I have to think that there must be (have been) major marital problems before shelter in place together..

Sometimes its just time to move on..

Ross


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## GotGarlic

I'm so very sorry to hear this, Chief. My heart is broken for you [emoji174] I can't imagine how difficult this decision must be for you. Take good care of yourself. {{{hugs}}}


----------



## GotGarlic

cookieee said:


> Chief, I think you just have a bad case of CABIN FEVER!!!!!!!!  Please, this is not the time to make major decisions like you have.  Trust me, you are not alone in the way you feel. I think after this mess is over, we will see a very high divorce rate. How sad!!!


cookieee, you don't know the Chief and his situation as well as those of us who have been here for many years. He's not giving up on a 40-year marriage because of cabin fever. And I agree with Ross that a strong, successful marriage should be able to survive this.


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## taxlady

I betcha this quarantine is putting stress on a lot of relationships.


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## Just Cooking

taxlady said:


> I betcha this quarantine is putting stress on a lot of relationships.



Uh huh... Jeannie has no problem now, telling me its my turn to transfer the wash to the dryer..   

Ross


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## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I betcha this quarantine is putting stress on a lot of relationships.


I'm sure you're right. But stress can flex or it can cause a fracture, depending on the strength of the underlying relationship and what other stressors are present.


----------



## Kayelle

You're sure right there *GG*. The Souschef and I aren't spending more time together now than we usually do. When we got back from that epic 31 day cruise around South America a few years ago without killing each other in that small no privacy room, we knew we could make it together forever. 
He is such an easy person to live with and keeps me laughing every day. I'm ever so thankful to have his company during this time as I really feel for so many people who live alone.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> {{{{Chief}}}} I'm nearly speechless, except to say my heart goes out to you.[emoji813]


All I can add is my ((hug)) to you, Chief. Tace care of yourself.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Here's another {{{hug}}} Chief! 

Your new journey may be difficult, but 
I'm certain that you'll be happier.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Thanks everyone.  I wish my relationship with my wife could be different.  I don't want to call it quits.  But that is up to her.  I;m willing to get counselling to save our relationship.  She isn't, and had estranged herself from all of her family, and mine, including our children.  She has to make some effort.  I won't give her a divorce.  And I hope she is willing to get the help she needs.  I can't force her to get that help.  That's jsut the way it is.  She's setting herself up for a very lonely remainder of her life.  I can'
t help that.  If she does decide to get the help she needs, I am willking to support her.  

Thanks everyone for your well wishes.  I'm not trying to get anyone to take sides.  None of you know my wife, and are only hearing my side of he story.  For those who believe in a greeter power, prayers are certainly welcome.  And you don't need to say anything about it in this forum.  If you feell so inclined, please keep it private, and personal. Thank all of your for your support.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

May 8 and it's snowing outside.  I saw flowers 2 days ago in my yard.  It's supposed to e warming up.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

It was snowing here too.  At least, it isn't accumulating, yet.


----------



## dragnlaw

snow accumulated for about 20 minutes when it was snowing hard..  but it's gone now - 30 minutes later!


----------



## bbqcoder

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> *She hasn't
> worked a day and paid into social security for 43 years.*  The only reason she gets anything is because I did pay into SS for for over 50 years.  When I'm not there to support her anymore, life is going to get much more difficult for her.  But, that's her choice.  I'm no longer willing to let her drive me into the grave.



I do hope that you are able to either salvage the relationship or able to work out a divorce that is fair to both. 

 The only objection I have is the “haven’t worked a day “ comment because she probably stayed home to raise the children and that does count as a job.  It’s not an easy job and it’s hard to enter the workforce after many years and having to start over.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

No, she was bed-ridden and not anle to help with raising the kids for twenty years.  I was the one to play with then, disciplune them, go to P TO meetings, take them to extra curucular activities, teach them moral values, accountability, took them to scouting activities, and all the rest of it.  If you could talk to my children and ask them who raised them, they all say that I did it, and all while taking care of their mom, going to school, and working.  I wish she could have remained the woman she was for the first 5 years of our marriage.  But she wasn't.  

She now has agreed to counciling, and causing less stress, but this has happened before.  We shall see.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the Northn


----------



## bbqcoder

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> No, she was bed-ridden and not anle to help with raising the kids for twenty years.  I was the one to play with then, disciplune them, go to P TO meetings, take them to extra curucular activities, teach them moral values, accountability, took them to scouting activities, and all the rest of it.  If you could talk to my children and ask them who raised them, they all say that I did it, and all while taking care of their mom, going to school, and working.  I wish she could have remained the woman she was for the first 5 years of our marriage.  But she wasn't.
> 
> She now has agreed to counciling, and causing less stress, but this has happened before.  We shall see.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the Northn



I'm sorry to hear that she wasn't able to help with the family.  It's tough enough raising kids with your partner, let alone by yourself.  I can't imagine what that was like.

Glad to hear that the two of you are seeking counseling.  Hope that better days are soon to be had.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I have always loved children.  I kept my younger siblings, and even younger cousins. and neighborhood children entertained as I loved to see little ones laugh, and learn, and enjoy life.  The parents knew that if I was around, their kids were safe.

So when I became a parent, I started teaching, loving, and playing with them from the day they were born, and loved almost every minute of it.  Raising my kids wasn't a chore.  It was a pleasure.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kayelle

Since this thread is called "Petty vents"...here's mine and it's pretty petty.
I'm sitting here at 11 am in my nightgown just because I'm sure nobody is coming to see me, and SC likes this nightgown, so why should I be in a hurry to get dressed and ready for the day? I've been bored this morning, so I went shopping for 2 pairs of new sandals. They are quite cute but after I ordered them I got to thinking of just where I was going to wear them because of this SIP situation. Even if I could wear the new sandles somewhere, I haven't had my usual monthly professional pedicure in more than two months! My toenails are so long, I could climb a fence like a cat. I guess I have to do something about that.


----------



## dragnlaw

LOL  *Kayelle* - I relate!  Since I've developed the neuropathy NOBODY, BUT NOBODY can touch my feet.  I certainly know when it is time to soak them for as long as possible and then hack away. 

Can't wait for sandal season where they can grow as long as they want and I'm not crippled with shoes.  I just gob on lots of nail polish.  Works for me


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Since this thread is called "Petty vents"...here's mine and it's pretty petty.
> I'm sitting here at 11 am in my nightgown just because I'm sure nobody is coming to see me, and SC likes this nightgown, so why should I be in a hurry to get dressed and ready for the day? I've been bored this morning, so I went shopping for 2 pairs of new sandals. They are quite cute but after I ordered them I got to thinking of just where I was going to wear them because of this SIP situation. Even if I could wear the new sandles somewhere, I haven't had my usual monthly professional pedicure in more than two months! My toenails are so long, I could climb a fence like a cat. I guess I have to do something about that.


You'll have to wear your cute sandals on your front porch with a glass of wine in your hand and Sous Chef by your side


----------



## Kayelle

Good idea* GG!*! 

Do you remember when *PF *thought it said*  Panty Vents *and* Alix* made this post?
 Souschef and I were in France 8 yrs. ago but I snorted wine out my nose when I got home and read it. 

https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/panty-vents-81714.html


----------



## DaveSoMD

Kayelle said:


> Good idea* GG!*!
> 
> Do you remember when *PF *thought it said*  Panty Vents *and* Alix* made this post?
> Souschef and I were in France 8 yrs. ago but I snorted wine out my nose when I got home and read it.
> 
> https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/panty-vents-81714.html


[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]


----------



## Cooking Goddess

How have I not stumbled upon this thread in all of these years?



Kayelle said:


> ...Do you remember when *PF *thought it said*  Panty Vents *and* Alix* made this post?
> Souschef and I were in France 8 yrs. ago but I snorted wine out my nose when I got home and read it.
> 
> https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/panty-vents-81714.html



It's bittersweet when I read through old threads. There is always one or two old souls that are no longer with us who had posted in one and I get wistful. Then there are some who used to be regulars but just stopped coming around. For some of those people I wonder what happened and if they'll ever return. For others my first thought is "I wonder if they got banned?". : 

Thanks for the good laugh, Kayelle. Now I'll be looking at my laundry with new eyes the next time I do undies.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> Good idea* GG!*!
> 
> Do you remember when *PF *thought it said*  Panty Vents *and* Alix* made this post?
> Souschef and I were in France 8 yrs. ago but I snorted wine out my nose when I got home and read it.
> 
> https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/panty-vents-81714.html



Who'd uv thunk we could get 4 pages of laughs out of my poor eyesight?


----------



## Kayelle

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Who'd uv thunk we could get 4 pages of laughs out of my poor eyesight?




Those were really "the good ole days"  Goofy good fun!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Who'd uv thunk we could get 4 pages of laughs out of my poor eyesight?


Speaking of poor eyesight - but this is more along the lines of reading kompreehenshun - I used the Forum Jump drop-down menu at the bottom of the page so I could click on "Subscriptions". While scrolling up the page, my eyes read one entry as "glutton free".   Then my brain caught up. It's actually a sub-forum for "gluten free".


----------



## GilliAnne

GotGarlic said:


> That's what I did before there were cooking sprays available [emoji38] Take a piece of kitchen paper, pour oil onto it and wipe it on your cooking surface.



Now there's an idea.

Thanks!

Gillian


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> That's what I did before there were cooking sprays available [emoji38] Take a piece of kitchen paper, pour oil onto it and wipe it on your cooking surface.





GilliAnne said:


> Now there's an idea.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Gillian


In the 1960s, we were taught to do that with a wad of waxed paper. Works for buttering a pan too. Now I use a silicon pastry brush. I prefer not having to throw out a piece of paper towel or waxed paper.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> In the 1960s, we were taught to do that with a wad of waxed paper. Works for buttering a pan too. Now I use a silicon pastry brush. I prefer not having to throw out a piece of paper towel or waxed paper.



I use my fingers. Also, I use butter rather than oil.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Andy M. said:


> I use my fingers. Also, I use butter rather than oil.



+1, and I use a pastry brush as well.

Seeeeya+ Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kayelle

taxlady said:


> In the 1960s, we were taught to do that with a wad of waxed paper. Works for buttering a pan too. *Now I use a silicon pastry brush. I prefer not having to throw out a piece of paper towel or waxed paper.*




I really like that idea Taxi. I'm always thinking about waste also, and I don't like using my fingers to spread oil or butter.  



> Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty,  prudent or economical in the consumption of consumable resources such as  food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance. It is not the same thing as being cheap/miserly/stingy/tight..


My Mom was so "smart frugal" and would never make do with anything but real butter, even back in the day. I thought she was pretty smart for saving the paper wraps from sticks of butter in a container to use when needed.
 There's just enough butter on the paper to do the job. Now that is sure "smart frugal" and now that old memory popped into my head, I'll do it too.
I also just ordered a dozen cloth napkins from Amazon. She never ever used paper napkins, not only because of the waste but because she just had too much "class" to use paper.  She was always my hero and I still miss her daily.


----------



## dragnlaw

I've always had a block of lard or shortening in the cupboard and have always used either a piece of the parchment paper from the wrappings or wax paper.  I don't throw it out, keep it in the box for the next use. It becomes better with use, almost like a piece of cloth.  I do throw it out only when I start to get more on my fingers than the pan.   I don't think I would call that being wasteful. 

I do have sprays but don't use them for baking. Did when sprays first came out but for some reason didn't care for it. Don't really think I can say why, just don't. 
Mostly use sprays for roasting pans and their racks. Also for frying pans, quick coat then whatever type of oil the recipe calls for. Less sticking and easier clean up.

I only use butter for certain bakes such as Madelaines. Most of our butters, here come in foil wraps now.  There are probably some still with paper but I haven't come across them.  Because of the shape of the Madelaine pans I get a much faster, neater and better coverage to use my fingers.


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> I've always had a block of lard or shortening in the cupboard and have always used either a piece of the parchment paper from the wrappings or wax paper.  *I don't throw it out, keep it in the box for the next use. It becomes better with use, almost like a piece of cloth.  I do throw it out only when I start to get more on my fingers than the pan.   I don't think I would call that being wasteful. *
> 
> I do have sprays but don't use them for baking. Did when sprays first came out but for some reason didn't care for it. Don't really think I can say why, just don't.
> Mostly use sprays for roasting pans and their racks. Also for frying pans, quick coat then whatever type of oil the recipe calls for. Less sticking and easier clean up.
> 
> I only use butter for certain bakes such as Madelaines. Most of our butters, here come in foil wraps now.  There are probably some still with paper but I haven't come across them.  Because of the shape of the Madelaine pans I get a much faster, neater and better coverage to use my fingers.



I never thought of reusing that paper.


----------



## Kayelle

dragnlaw said:


> I've always had a block of lard or shortening in the cupboard and have always used either a piece of the parchment paper from the wrappings or wax paper.  I don't throw it out, keep it in the box for the next use. It becomes better with use, almost like a piece of cloth.  I do throw it out only when I start to get more on my fingers than the pan.   I don't think I would call that being wasteful.
> 
> *I do have sprays but don't use them for baking. Did when sprays first came out but for some reason didn't care for it. Don't really think I can say why, just don't.
> Mostly use sprays for roasting pans and their racks. Also for frying pans, quick coat then whatever type of oil the recipe calls for. Less sticking and easier clean up.*
> 
> I only use butter for certain bakes such as Madelaines. Most of our butters, here come in foil wraps now.  There are probably some still with paper but I haven't come across them.  Because of the shape of the Madelaine pans I get a much faster, neater and better coverage to use my fingers.



I know why I don't like sprays...that oil gets all over everything, even though you can't see it. My very smart and talented *Sous Chef* takes the roasting pans (I hardly bake) out on the porch to spray them. *BRILLIANT 
*
For now, I'm done saying how great he is lest his swollen head blows up.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

I still save all of the paper wrappers from the sticks of Butter in a zip bag for lubing up pans.  Butter makes everything better! 
I only use Baker's Joy spray, the one with the Flour in the oil AND I learned a trick for better usage of said spray... 
1) wait to spray until your ready to pour/place the batter/bread what have you into the pan and straight into the oven.
2) I use said spray into the pan while holding it over the sink


----------



## Andy M.

I also spray over the sink.


----------



## GotGarlic

I spray over the lower rack of the dishwasher.


----------



## dragnlaw

GotGarlic said:


> I spray over the lower rack of the dishwasher.



I like that idea GG.  I'll be letting my friends with dishwashers know.  

for me the lower rack of my dishwasher are belly, knees and feet.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> I like that idea GG.  I'll be letting my friends with dishwashers know.
> 
> for me the lower rack of my dishwasher are belly, knees and feet.


----------



## taxlady

Our AC just conked out. It made a horrible noise. This is a terrible time for that to happen. We are starting a heat wave. It's 35°C (95°F) and feels like 41°C (106°F).


----------



## dragnlaw

oh taxy - that's terrible.  Just survive into the evening please - things will be better!


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> oh taxy - that's terrible.  Just survive into the evening please - things will be better!



We're still waiting for it to cool off a bit more and the windows will get opened and fans turned on. I'm drinking plenty of water, well, club soda.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Taxy, find a swimming hole with a dock.  Go out and take off your shoes, and dangle your feet in the cool water.  That will cool you off.  In the home, until you get a new air conditioner, make a homemade swamp cooler,  Simply drape a wet towel over your fan and let evaporation cool the blowing air.  The foot dangle in water trick worked for me..Of course the water was never warmer than 63' F.  It came from Lake Superior, through the Saint Mary's River, past our our house on its way to Lake Huron.  Of course as a child, we'd be swimming in it the first part of June, when the water reached the balmy temp of about 58' F.  I remember bubble gum going rock-hard in my mouth after diving in, and getting a headache, and mom making us get out of the water because we were tuning blue.  Cold water will make you forget the heat. Cool bath anyone?

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Taxy, find a swimming hole with a dock.  Go out and take off your shoes, and dangle your feet in the cool water.  That will cool you off.  In the home, until you get a new air conditioner, make a homemade swamp cooler,  Simply drape a wet towel over your fan and let evaporation cool the blowing air.  The foot dangle in water trick worked for me..Of course the water was never warmer than 63' F.  It came from Lake Superior, through the Saint Mary's River, past our our house on its way to Lake Huron.  Of course as a child, we'd be swimming in it the first part of June, when the water reached the balmy temp of about 58' F.  I remember bubble gum going rock-hard in my mouth after diving in, and getting a headache, and mom making us get out of the water because we were tuning blue.  Cold water will make you forget the heat. Cool bath anyone?
> 
> Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Good suggestions, but I think I will dangle my feet in a bucket or in the bathtub. My car isn't working and I'm not really sure where there is a dock. I do live in an island, about 1.5 km from the river to the north and about 5.5 km from the river to the south. That's part of the reason we have so much humidity.

I sure hope I don't have to replace the AC. It's only about 7 years old. It's a form of central AC. I really, really don't want to pay several thousand dollars to replace it. I'm already bracing myself for the cost of repairs.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*taxy*, sorry to hear about your A/C abandoning you in your time of need. I hope it's a quick, inexpensive fix.


----------



## Chef Munky

taxlady said:


> Good suggestions, but I think I will dangle my feet in a bucket or in the bathtub. My car isn't working and I'm not really sure where there is a dock. I do live in an island, about 1.5 km from the river to the north and about 5.5 km from the river to the south. That's part of the reason we have so much humidity.
> 
> I sure hope I don't have to replace the AC. It's only about 7 years old. It's a form of central AC. I really, really don't want to pay several thousand dollars to replace it. I'm already bracing myself for the cost of repairs.




Taxy,
Try to trouble shoot the problem before you call in a repairman.
Get the make and if possible serial# if it has one.   Search online.
 A lot of times, I've done this myself with my oven,and other things it's usually a simple fix. Kinda like tell the "Docta the the news"
 When my oven went I was able to find the part on Ebay. It was way cheaper, more than half the price. 

    Getting a repairman out here would have cost me $150.00 just to look at it. Find the problem then wait 2 weeks for the part. I had it fixed in 2 days.
 You could also try You tube to help you along.


Munky.


----------



## taxlady

Chef Munky said:


> Taxy,
> Try to trouble shoot the problem before you call in a repairman.
> Get the make and if possible serial# if it has one.   Search online.
> A lot of times, I've done this myself with my oven,and other things it's usually a simple fix. Kinda like tell the "Docta the the news"
> When my oven went I was able to find the part on Ebay. It was way cheaper, more than half the price.
> 
> Getting a repairman out here would have cost me $150.00 just to look at it. Find the problem then wait 2 weeks for the part. I had it fixed in 2 days.
> You could also try You tube to help you along.
> 
> 
> Munky.



That's an excellent idea. There's a problem though, the location of the "head" of the AC. It's at the top of a flight of stairs. We can't actually do anything with it. We would need a long ladder and it would be scary. So, we are definitely letting pros do the job. But, I might trouble shoot it anyways.

We're still having a heat wave. The website of the place that installed our AC (seven years ago) said the phones are extremely busy, so please contact them by email. DH did send email. I guess there are people all over the city having AC problems.


----------



## Chef Munky

taxlady said:


> That's an excellent idea. There's a problem though, the location of the "head" of the AC. It's at the top of a flight of stairs. We can't actually do anything with it. We would need a long ladder and it would be scary. So, we are definitely letting pros do the job. But, I might trouble shoot it anyways.
> 
> We're still having a heat wave. The website of the place that installed our AC (seven years ago) said the phones are extremely busy, so please contact them by email. DH did send email. I guess there are people all over the city having AC problems.




I see the delema. Yeah stay off the ladder.
Is it still under warranty? 

Were just getting out of the heatwave, today should be it. 

Rain on Saturday? Really?
Try to keep cool as best you can.


Munky.


----------



## taxlady

Chef Munky said:


> I see the delema. Yeah stay off the ladder.
> Is it still under warranty?
> 
> Were just getting out of the heatwave, today should be it.
> 
> Rain on Saturday? Really?
> Try to keep cool as best you can.
> 
> 
> Munky.



We don't even own a ladder long enough .

Nope, not under warranty. Bought it seven years ago. It was a five year warranty. Yesterday, I dug out the documentation and had a look.

Yup, rain forecast for Saturday, also risk of thunder storm tonight and tomorrow night. Cool weekend with a risk of frost on Sunday. 

It's not nearly as bad today. Not as hot and not as humid. We have windows open and a fan going.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Neighbors...*

Earlier this summer the next door neighbor cleared out most of the trees from his backyard. Not my style, but not my yard. Flash to yesterday and last night. Starting mid-afternoon and going until nearly 4 AM today, it looked like they were trying to burn off all the firewood those trees gave up.  It was finally nice enough to turn of the A/C and open windows, but we didn't. I didn't want the entire house to smell like a campground. I sure hope they don't reprise their party again tonight.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> Earlier this summer the next door neighbor cleared out most of the trees from his backyard. Not my style, but not my yard. Flash to yesterday and last night. Starting mid-afternoon and going until nearly 4 AM today, it looked like they were trying to burn off all the firewood those trees gave up.  It was finally nice enough to turn of the A/C and open windows, but we didn't. *I didn't want the entire house to smell like a campground.* I sure hope they don't reprise their party again tonight.



No bueno!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Isn't that just how it goes sometimes?

I went online this afternoon to order my favorite clothing items from two different companies. 
Some of my tee shirts, shorts and intimate apparel were looking a bit worst for the wear, time to replace them.
BOTH companies that I order from _*no longer*_ make my longtime favorite items that I have ordered for many, many years, dang it all!  

I do not like to go shopping for any sort clothing, at all! 

Now, you plunk me down in a food store and I'm as happy as a clam and could stay there for hours, most times.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

my petty vent: I was born with two serious ailments, aging, and mortality.  In my head, I can wade streams and push my way through bogs and tangles, with nettle grabbing your pant legs with every step, all the while fighting ridiculous swarms of biting, blood sucking bugs, all for the excitement of catching those wild and beautiful brookies.

In my mind, I can climb rock faces in wet tennis shoes with a fishing pole in one hand to get back to a trail.  I can canoe against a 5 mph current, and avoid thousand foot lake freighter while crossing a river with a tarp, a hatchet, and frying pan, and a couple of matches to camp out for a weekend in the wilderness.   I can run for miles, and bicycle all day.  And roller skating, is as easy as walking.

the reality; can
t got too far away from a bathroom.  Need a nap by mid-afternoon.  Cant enjoy a whole bunch of foods that I used to lover, and used to love to cook.  There will be no more races on plastic toboggans against kids on steep, snowy slopes  I can no longer shovel through 5 feet of snow, banking the snow into eight-foot high walls in a ten foot circle, making a snow table, complete with snow chairs, so that I can have hot cocoa outside with a three year old (she was so cute that she absolutely captured your heart.  I didn't have a chance).  I can't go dirt biking with my  kids anymore.  No more climbing hair-raisingly steep hills with the back wheel of the bike dancing on the loose gravel, or dusty clay.  i used to do everything, even bombing a ski slope in a straight line, from top to bottom (very fast ride on well waxed skis).  And now, the most excitement I can have is to teach others the wonder and beauty of a perfect bow shot, feeling the relaxation of the fingers, letting tj\he string tension pull tje bowstring out of the tree-finger grip, knowing that the arrow knock was anchored just right, the left arm out and rigid, with the fleshy portion of the forearm pining toward th e ground, feet positioned properly, and witching the arrow sink into the bulls eye from 60 yards.   I teach them how to line up the bead in the V of open sights on a pellet rifle, or how to cast with a fly rod.  My excitement now is passing the memories, and trying to inspire the youth to have adventures, and to live life to the fullest, to explore, to learn, to experience, and to appreciate everything from the fractal patterns of snow flakes, to the math that explains them, to the wonderful complexity of a caterpillar, to showing how a bit of trig knowledge can help them set guy lines for tents, and hammocks.  I teach them knots that will be useful to them.  I teach them how to cook.  In short, I am living vicariously through them.

I want my 22 year old body back, so that I can again do all of those things with them, my grand children, mu child friends, and my adult children.  

Seeeeeya; 
Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Chief, at least you have the memories. You did a lot of stuff. When you get bored waiting for something, you can relive those moments and enjoy them again. (((hugs)))


----------



## bbqcoder

Cooking Goddess said:


> Starting mid-afternoon and going until nearly 4 AM today, it looked like they were trying to burn off all the firewood those trees gave up.



In my town, the burn season is from Jan until May 1st. Maybe there is a similar regulation in your town?

Looks like this is true for all towns in Mass unless you are burning to cook.
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/open-burning-safety


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well, I read through that. Pretty straightforward for a government read! The neighbora are burning logs in the fire pit. I'm pretty sure they aren't cooking weinies or s'mores, so that should make their burn against regs. That, and the fact that they had the flames rising about 10 feet high!

Needless to say, these aren't our favorite neighbors...


----------



## msmofet

OK. A/C Update:
So I first called Best Buy on Sunday 7/19/20 and was told I would get a call on Mon. 7/20/20 from the service/repair company that handles A/C units by 4 pm. I never got the call. Was told by Best Buy call repair company (gave me number) tomorrow during business hours on Tues. 7/21/20.
I called. Left message. Got call back 5 hours later and was told first available appointment was Wed. 7/29/20.
They came on 7/29/20 told me I needed a "cord". They ordered it (ETA 7/31/20) and would let me know when it came in and make an appointment.
8/4/20 part still not in.
8/12/20 got call saying part came in and set appointment for next day.
8/13/20 They came at 12:30 pm. Took 2 minutes and said they were sent the wrong part. 3 weeks of blasting heat and wrong part was sent!
One of the guys says, "You have a Home Depot close around here?".
I say "yes 5 minutes up the road".
He says, "We'll be back". And they leave.
1 1/2 hours later they came back. NOT with a cord BUT the plug that goes in the outlet. Stupid me thought the whole cord needed to be removed and replaced! It took all of MAYBE 15 minutes for them to cut and strip the wires and attach to new plug. Job done!! A/C works!! Thank you lord it's cold again and I can breathe easy again.

BUT WHY THE HELL COULDN'T THEY go to Home Depot 3 weeks ago and fix it during the first service call (1 week after it crappy out)?

OK rant over for now.


----------



## GotGarlic

{{{Cooking Goddess}}}

{{{Chief}}}

{{{msmofet}}}


----------



## dragnlaw

GotGarlic said:


> {{{Cooking Goddess}}}
> 
> {{{Chief}}}
> 
> {{{msmofet}}}



ditto 

ditto

ditto


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> ...I want my 22 year old body back...


*Chief*, I agree with *taxy*, that you have a lot of wonderful memories to fall back on. Some people don't have half of those experiences by the time they are your age. My Mom, who had her own share of medical issues throughout her 82 years of living, used to tell me that "you're born, you die. The more years and experiences between those two dates are what counts". It sounds like you have a lot of experience since your "born on" date. Make the best of the rest of your years even though you can't feel 22.



msmofet said:


> OK. A/C Update:...BUT WHY THE HELL COULDN'T THEY go to Home Depot 3 weeks ago and fix it during the first service call (1 week after it crappy out)?
> 
> OK rant over for now.


Wow, *msm*, I would have been hot waiting for the A/C to be fixed even if the weather hadn't been hellish. I'm glad it's working now. I guess you're personally responsible for the cooler weather that has moved in, so thank you! 

And as far as the last repair crew that did fix the issue, Himself guesses that those guys took pity on you, went completely off the Best Buy manual, and decided to do that on their own. He's also guessing that when they turned in the "work complete" on your job, they may not have been paid for the work. Depends on how strict Best Buy is about playing by the rules. Those guys were on the Good Guys team.


----------



## Andy M.

Why is it that every photo or video of an animal “talking” has them talking with poor grammar and mispronunciations? I find it extremely annoying.


----------



## Kathleen

Andy M. said:


> Why is it that every photo or video of an animal “talking” has them talking with poor grammar and mispronunciations? I find it extremely annoying.



But...what about CATurday???


----------



## dragnlaw

Andy M. said:


> Why is it that every photo or video of an animal “talking” has them talking with poor grammar and mispronunciations? I find it extremely annoying.



Because in my province they rescinded the law forcing them to school due to an example coming from the south. Simply put -
The revocation 
of their education
to prevent a second indignation
of the embarkation
leading to the inauguration
and elevation
for the habitation
of their highest ....  office


----------



## Kathleen

dragnlaw said:


> Because in my province they rescinded the law forcing them to school due to an example coming from the south. Simply put -
> The revocation
> of their education
> to prevent a second indignation
> of the embarkation
> leading to the inauguration
> and elevation
> for the habitation
> of their highest ....  office


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My cats and dog talk gooder than most people I know.


----------



## taxlady

I spent about an hour and a half on the phone with Tyler at my bank. I tried renewing my mortgage on line, but couldn't complete it, because of technical problems at the bank. I tried a bunch of times yesterday and once today. Tyler couldn't get it to work for me. He created the documents, so he could email them to me. They didn't arrive - to three different email addresses. Then, he tried sending email to his personal account and it didn't arrive. He is working from home and his girl friend lives downstairs and does the same job at the bank. She tried sending it and I finally got it, about an hour later. It turns out that a lot of people are having trouble with the bank's email today.

He will call me back at 16:00 to make sure that it all works. My husband and I have to print and sign the document. Then I have to scan it and send it back to the bank, using their secure webmail system. I hope that is working. This has been far too stressful. It needs to get done by 23:59 tonight. It's an early renewal and the mortgage renews tomorrow. If I don't get this in on time, it will automagically renew to a 6 month, open mortgage with a rate just over 6%. 

Update: We printed and signed the form. I scanned the form and have it on my computer, ready to attach to a message on the bank's secure webmail. All I can find is "Send a secure message". There is nowhere to attach a file. grrr. I phoned the bank to see if they can tell me how to access the secure webmail that allows me to attach a file. I'm waiting for a call back.


----------



## taxlady

Update to the mortgage renewal adventures: I finally found out how to send a secure message to the bank that allows me to attach a file. They use Cisco Registered Envelope Service. It encrypts the email, so it can't be read if it is intercepted in transit. It would have been nice if that explanation had come with the document that we had to sign. I had to register to the service. 

It's a good idea. I do have one quibble. I mentioned it when Tyler called me back. The Cisco service is located in the US. It is under US jurisdiction and subject to US laws. Canada has a privacy law. IIRC, personal info is supposed to stay in Canada and under Canadian jurisdiction and laws. Before I retired, I had a Canadian encrypted email service, so I could communicate with my clients securely about their tax info. I had them send me their government income slips that way and I sent copies of their tax returns that way.


----------



## Kali-Ann G

*Do restaurants care what them give customers??*

Jah bless, me hope you day blessed with peace!

So me just go out for a few thing at the shops and me see quite a crowd outside a local Caribbean restaurant and man them vexed! It used mostly by Rastafari and occasional Muslim people. 
So me go to see what all fussing about, me ask what happen. A neighbour tell me one of the bin the restaurant use fall over and Lard buckets fall out!!!! As all will know Lard pig fat!! 
Rastafari and Muslim people not allowed to eat pig products. Some one call the council and them say if them not break hygiene rules then them do nothing!!! I come home feeling sick man my family use this place, how long we been eating this?  Me tell my husband and man he furious!! No body find the owner may be good thing for him man, them black people them should know better man! Me tell you me feel dirty inside man! My husband say they probably use it as it cheaper than coconut oil and other natural oil. 
Me over 60 now and me NEVER eat any thing of a pig, me never even touch it man!!! My husband wonder where else this happen, cheesam, what next man? Me no drink much alcohol but me having big rum and coke now, it like me can taste it in my mouth. Me tell you man no body round here use them again now. Jah forgive me but me hope them go out of business. 

Sorry to rant on man but me feel disgusted and insulted. 


Jah bless,

Kali-Ann


----------



## dragnlaw

ohh Kali-Ann -  I'm so sorry this happened to you!  How very very sad. You were tricked and lied to, I'm sure that Jah will cleanse and forgive.


----------



## Kali-Ann G

dragnlaw said:


> ohh Kali-Ann -  I'm so sorry this happened to you!  How very very sad. You were tricked and lied to, I'm sure that Jah will cleanse and forgive.



Jah bless you dragnlaw,

Jah know we do not do it wilful he overstand everything man. It just to be deceived when them what we are! Jah give all the choice to live good some choose the other path man. Rastafari peaceful people man but if the owner have any sense he stay away, there Bobo Ashanti Rastafari here also they no as forgiving as Nyahbinghi. 
The problem is this man this is not only insult to Rastafari this also insult to Jah!!! I wish him no harm but he should not have done that man.


Jah bless, me hope you have peaceful day.

Kali-Ann


----------



## taxlady

Oh no Kali-Ann. That's awful. I'm sorry you had this shock.

Is there a chance that someone else put those buckets in the bin? Another resto or maybe someone who wanted to start trouble?


----------



## Kali-Ann G

Jah bless you Taxlady me hope you day blessed,

These thing happen man, Rastafari generally treated with indifference by some even some other black people dislike us man because we hold on to Zion. Me tell my children we African never forget it, other mothers call me mad. Our dreads to them look at as 'quaint' at best. 
Me no think this accident or some one else doing badness there only four other restaurant in area two Chinese, Indian and Greek we use none of them. 
Most of the family in our street are Rastafari, some Nyahbinghi, some Bobo Ashanti and a few Twelve tribes of Israel, it tight knit community man. there some Somali around but them stay away from us. To some all Rastafari look same but Nyahbinghi women we wear silver and gold clamps in our dreads, our dreads are also much longer, mine to my knees man. 
We use this place because we thought the food was Ital it always busy at weekend man, we sit eat, play domino and talk it like the centre of our people in the area and we treated like this man!!! Them may not overstand us man but there no reason to disrespect us so bad. Them just wanted our money. 
To us this an attack on every thing we believe man, the young Bobo Ashanti men are so angry man me pray to Jah them do nothing stupid. 
Our way of life may be difficult for other to overstand man. My way is very important for me, me lived as Jah say all my life as has my husband and me grateful my children also, me never felt so hurt man! 

Jah bless,

Kali-Ann


----------



## Andy M.

SO is in Florida visiting an ill relative. She is not tech savvy at all and is having constant issues with her iPad. She calls several times a day because she has an issue. Recently it's repeated issues with her AppleID. I find it very difficult to provide tech support over the phone. I'm not a professional. 

This morning she was trying to access some medical data and decided to change her USERNAME!

Compound that with trying to get her to simply tell me what's on her screen so I'll know what to do next. It drives me crazy. 

I guess I shouldn't complain, my 85 YO sister is ten times worse.


----------



## taxlady

Andy, I hear ya. I have done this with clients and with my sister. It was years ago, but incredibly frustrating. "No, the top right corner of the screen." "Did you just hit enter? I heard it."


----------



## dragnlaw

Poor you Andy!   But one man's bane is another's balm.  

Copied and sent your vent to my son hoping it makes him feel better.  He has to not only deal with me but his father and his Uncle. Phones, computers and TV's.  But I don't think any of us have changed our UserNames!


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Andy, I hear ya. I have done this with clients and with my sister. It was years ago, but incredibly frustrating. "No, the top right corner of the screen." "Did you just hit enter? I heard it."





dragnlaw said:


> Poor you Andy!   But one man's bane is another's balm.
> 
> Copied and sent your vent to my son hoping it makes him feel better.  He has to not only deal with me but his father and his Uncle. Phones, computers and TV's.  But I don't think any of us have changed our UserNames!



I see you understand. I don't mind it when she's here. It's just super frustrating when I have to do it over the phone.

My sister got a new home phone. Cordless with an answering machine. She was moaning about issues over the phone to me. I asked her to read me the model number. That was an adventure. "where can I find it?" It's not there." OK then, look in this spot." With the brand and model I was able to download a manual online and read it so I could tell her what to do.

Then I get frustrated and raise my voice and that complicates the issue. "Why are you yelling at me!" "I'm not Im just frustrated."


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I sympathize, Shrek used to call me at work to tell me he was having problems with his computer...had to remind him a few times I was a nurse, not IT.  I kinda miss those calls.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I sympathize, Shrek used to call me at work to tell me he was having problems with his computer...had to remind him a few times I was a nurse, not IT.  I kinda miss those calls.



I understand. I would miss them too.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I must have the dumbest neighbor in the country.  We're going through a very dry period precipitation-wise right now. Little snow this winter, very little rain in the past five weeks - conditions are pretty dry. Towns are cautioning people to be watchful and cautious. And the jackass next door has spent the last five days cutting up all the trees he fell last year, splitting them into firewood chunks, and burning off the waste while he's cutting and splitting. For the last five days there has been such a haze in the sky it looks like fire season in the west - not to mention that the smoke is so thick we can actually smell it in the house even though the windows are closed. And while I sit here in our sun room reading and such, he's busy doing a dance around the fire pit getting it to flame higher by using his leaf blower like a fireplace bellows! At least he's outside looking at it. There have been numerous times this weekend when he left the fire blazing away while he disappeared into the house for hours...

I. Just. Can't.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> I must have the dumbest neighbor in the country.  We're going through a very dry period precipitation-wise right now. Little snow this winter, very little rain in the past five weeks - conditions are pretty dry. Towns are cautioning people to be watchful and cautious. And the jackass next door has spent the last five days cutting up all the trees he fell last year, splitting them into firewood chunks, and burning off the waste while he's cutting and splitting. For the last five days there has been such a haze in the sky it looks like fire season in the west - not to mention that the smoke is so thick we can actually smell it in the house even though the windows are closed. And while I sit here in our sun room reading and such, he's busy doing a dance around the fire pit getting it to flame higher by using his leaf blower like a fireplace bellows! At least he's outside looking at it. There have been numerous times this weekend when he left the fire blazing away while he disappeared into the house for hours...
> 
> I. Just. Can't.



Good grief! Is that even legal?

I would be livid. I would be calling the city. (((hugs)))


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> I must have the dumbest neighbor in the country.   ... snipped ...
> 
> I. Just. Can't.



*CG*, isn't this the neighbor that smoked you folks out a whiles back?
I'd be checking with the authorities, like *Taxy* said, is this legal?


----------



## dragnlaw

I agree with both taxy and k-girl.  You really should check in with the authorities.  

He honestly sounds like an "accident" waiting to happen.  

And the biggest loser in this accident just might be you! 

Please be careful and safe!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> Good grief! Is that even legal?
> 
> I would be livid. I would be calling the city. (((hugs)))


His fire pit is up to code. Dang! But he's supposed to keep the smoke signals down.


Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *CG*, isn't this the neighbor that smoked you folks out a whiles back?
> I'd be checking with the authorities, like *Taxy* said, is this legal?


Same people. Not the easiest to deal with. I've really got to get us out of this house. 



dragnlaw said:


> I agree with both taxy and k-girl.  You really should check in with the authorities.
> 
> He honestly sounds like an "accident" waiting to happen.
> 
> And the biggest loser in this accident just might be you!
> 
> Please be careful and safe!


We have large lots - 100 feet wide. He's working on the far side from our lot line, with no trees or vegetation between his fire pit and our lot, just bare dirt. It would take a major oops for anything to harm our property, but the smoke is driving me crazy.

I did call the fire department yesterday. They sent someone from the station around. He called back to let me know that the pit is within code. The smoke is coming from the fact that the neighbor is stripping and burning all the bark from the trees he cut down last year. We've listened to a LOT of chainsaw and log splitter noises over the past week, with smoke signals being sent up whenever he's out there. I sure hope he runs out of wood to cut up soon!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> I've really got to get us out of this house.




YUP!


----------



## Andy M.

I don't understand the American Public's fascination with anything related to the British royal family.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I don't understand the American Public's fascination with anything related to the British royal family.



I don't get it either.


----------



## roadfix

I don’t either, but I’ve been watching The Crown on Netflix these past few days....   lol


----------



## KatyCooks

Andy M. said:


> I don't understand the American Public's fascination with anything related to the British royal family.



Beats me too.   The saturation coverage on British TV has been ridiculous.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

We don't have TV any longer so ...


----------



## KatyCooks

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> We don't have TV any longer so ...



An American without TV?  That's like a Brit who doesn't support the monarchy...   mind blown!


----------



## roadfix

You really don’t need a tv if you have tablet or a smartphone....


----------



## KatyCooks

roadfix said:


> You really don’t need a tv if you have tablet or a smartphone....



You are kidding!   OMG who knew!?!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

KatyCooks said:


> *An American without TV?* That's like a Brit who doesn't support the monarchy...   mind blown!





Yup, *Katy* we "cut the cord" a few years back.  
I just couldn't justify paying OVER $100/ month for NOTHING any longer!
They give you hundreds of channels and we really only watched maybe one or two programs a day, _maybe_!

My husband kept threatening to throw a brick through the TV some day, so there was that too.  

We "stream" what we want to watch, on our TV via the Internet, the subject matter, content, etc, when we want.
We read our News online (we haven't 'taken a paper' in decades) and then we can "watch" more about it if we like.
I find YouTube (the free one btw, not YouTubeTV ) much more interesting than the ABC's as they're referred to as, or even the "cable programing" too.

And the Royals do absolutely nothing for me!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

American - no tv for the last three years.


----------



## roadfix

KatyCooks said:


> You are kidding!   OMG who knew!?!





Believe it or not, a lot of people don’t know this, including my parents...


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

roadfix said:


> Believe it or not, a lot of people don’t know this, including my parents...



I'm a 'Boomer' (so I'm not exactly a youngster ) and it took me quite some time of research before
a) I understood what the _HECK_ "cutting the cord" meant
b) how it worked
c) how to finally make it happen in our house!  

Our neighbor two doors down wants me to help her do the same


----------



## KatyCooks

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Yup, *Katy* we "cut the cord" a few years back.
> I just couldn't justify paying OVER $100/ month for NOTHING any longer!
> They give you hundreds of channels and we really only watched maybe one or two programs a day, _maybe_!
> 
> My husband kept threatening to throw a brick through the TV some day, so there was that too.
> 
> We "stream" what we want to watch, on our TV via the Internet, the subject matter, content, etc, when we want.
> We read our News online (we haven't 'taken a paper' in decades) and then we can "watch" more about it if we like.
> I find YouTube (the free one btw, not YouTubeTV ) much more interesting than the ABC's as they're referred to as, or even the "cable programing" too.
> 
> And the Royals do absolutely nothing for me!



If you want to watch television (in any format) in the UK, you have to pay a licence fee of £175 a year.   So if you watched any of the terrestrial stations it would apply.   If you buy a television (online or instore) you have to give your name and address - so that they can make sure they send you a bill for the TV licence.   It is exempt it you only have a black and white TV.   And there are "block" discounts for students or people in old peoples's homes.  Everyone else has to pay the licence (let's just call it a tax?)     If you have no television at all in your home but watch TV channels on your laptop or other device - you are still in need of a TV licence.


----------



## taxlady

KatyCooks said:


> If you want to watch television (in any format) in the UK, you have to pay a licence fee of £175 a year.   So if you watched any of the terrestrial stations it would apply.   If you buy a television (online or instore) you have to give your name and address - so that they can make sure they send you a bill for the TV licence.   It is exempt it you only have a black and white TV.   And there are "block" discounts for students or people in old peoples's homes.  Everyone else has to pay the licence (let's just call it a tax?)     If you have no television at all in your home but watch TV channels on your laptop or other device - you are still in need of a TV licence.



What if you only watch TV that wasn't made in the UK? Would they want you to pay the license to watch a Sveriges Television (Swedish Television, state owned) documentary or TV show on the internet?


----------



## dragnlaw

KatyCooks said:


> An American without TV?  That's like a Brit who doesn't support the monarchy...   mind blown!



I think you may be a bit behind the times....  there are _many Brits who do not _support the monarchy.

Just to keep the air clear...  I'm a Canadian, living in a Commonwealth country and I DO support the monarchy, but I also support the modernization of it.  So... what can I say... 

Can't go into details because then it becomes political and so we can't discuss American politics either...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Royals, schmoyals. The only good Royal was RC Cola...



Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> We don't have TV any longer so ...


Ahem, Yes, you do. 


Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...We "stream" what we want to watch, *on our TV* via the Internet...


To be technical, what you do not have is a cable or dish connection. Probably no actual TV antenna, either, since you probably could not get a basic network signal out where you live in Cowboyville. But you are watching the shows you stream on that TV. 



KatyCooks said:


> An American without TV?...


While we have a physical television, we have not had anything but a roof antenna (actually mounted in the attic of all three of our houses) that receives TV signals from the local, free television networks. We cut the cord from cable back in 1988 when our kids were so involved in sports and scouts and extra-curricular activities that we had no time to watch TV. We pretty much watch network shows when they're shown, or just miss those episodes if we miss them. We do watch some things via optional means like Roku, Amazon Prime, or Disney+ (those last two thanks to piggy-backing on our daughter's account), but it works for us.


----------



## expatgirl

I keep up with lots of gossip/news out there and this includes what's going on across the pond   Don't approve of some of the antics out there, however, though I think the queen has done an admiral job given her challenges......some of her offspring and outlaws not so much...........


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I swear that the models in the Botox commercials are 12. Who needs Botox when they're 12?


----------



## Just Cooking

Our Walmart and CVS has moved to, mostly, self checkout. Sunday, neither store had cash register clerks by 10 AM.

While I don't mind self checkout, for small purchases, I don't appreciate not having a choice.  

Ross


----------



## Lee Vining

Just Cooking said:


> Our Walmart and CVS has moved to, mostly, self checkout. Sunday, neither store had cash register clerks by 10 AM.
> 
> While I don't mind self checkout, for small purchases, I don't appreciate not having a choice.
> 
> Ross



I feel the same way. 
Walmart check out was bad enough to begin with.

In Cali you can't buy booze or tobacco at the self check outs either.
We don't smoke and the wifie doesn't want alcohol in the house so we're ok there too.

Common saying around these parts:
_"Well, you know how Walmart is"_


----------



## Andy M.

If there are no lines, I usually go to a regular register. When SO and I are shopping together, she'll head for the self-checkout.

Common saying around these parts: I don't work for Wal-mart.


----------



## Rocklobster

We do self check out at our local grocery store because there is never a line up..they have restricted them to 20 items or less..we rarely buy more than around 10 at the most because we live just a couple of minutes from our grocer store. I'm not crazy about Walmart and don't go there if I don't have to..


----------



## Lee Vining

Cooking Goddess said:


> I swear that the models in the Botox commercials are 12. Who needs Botox when they're 12?



Remember _COSMO_ magazine?

My sisters all subscribed and I remember  my sisters mentioning a news article they read claiming the average age COSMO non-famous cover girl was 13.

My wife and her GF's loves BOTOX.
For her 39 is the new 29.
For me 60 is the new 80.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

While I do remember Cosmopolitan magazine, I'll admit that I never bought it either, *Lee*. Not much of a fashionista, but I can glam it up if absolutely necessary. I never knew that nugget about the age of the cover models.

I'm the kind of person who figures there is no sin in actually looking your chronological age. I've earned every wrinkle and gray hair. I stopped coloring my hair in my early 50s and have never regretted it. I've actually enjoyed seeing how many people who did color their hair, then haven't been able to get to their stylist for maintenance during Covid, have decided to stay with their natural hair. We'll see how long that lasts, though. 

As far as Botox and other treatments go, if it makes your wife happy - well, Happy Wife, Happy Life! I find the character lines in the faces of people like Jamie Lee Curtis (62) and Helen Mirren (75) far more interesting than a maintained face like that of Jane Fonda (83). On the other hand, Himself and I laughed ourselves silly watching the movie "Death Becomes Her". Maybe it's time to revisit that one...


----------



## Lee Vining

Cancer put 20 years on my face and I don’t care Im glad to be free of it. 
Wife’s vices are sleeping, Botox and  her dog. Our family dog. 
She’s never had a bad day in her life. 
A perfect definition of compassion. 
Soft spoken and kind. 

Very smart and that doesn’t  make me want to turn in my man card. 

Our marriage works because she’s never listened to anything I’ve ever said.  That’s a fact. 

If we come across any lost or injured wild animal she helps them out.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Microwave...grrrrr........*

Now is not the time for one to have an appliance break down.  While I don't actually cook in it, I do use my microwave practically every day. While using it today, something went *poof* and now all that works are the two lights that shine down on the surface of the range below. *sigh*

Now finding one somewhere in stock is my challenge. While the Big Box stores seem to be lacking supplies, the couple of local appliance shops have some things in stock. Hopefully, they have something I'm OK with...

Looks like "planned leftovers" are off the menu for a while.


----------



## dragnlaw

*appliance substitutes*

*CG*, I hear yuh!  Mine's in storage!  Hopefully, will _not_ be damaged when I do manage to dig my way to it.

I don't use my coffee maker at the moment as there is no way to re-heat without either running upstairs for the micro or using a pot on the induction burner - both of which get old VERY fast when you reheat your coffee a gazillion times a day. 

I've actually switched to instant coffee for now as I found my kettle a couple of days ago. Best part of that is the coffee is actually_ hot_ when you drink it.

Leftovers will have to retreat to foil covered in the oven? - as long as it's not too hot in your kitchen. (that's the other reason I love my micro in the summer)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

dragn, I have plenty of Pyrex and Corningwear that I use for food storage, so those can go right into the toaster oven as is. My Mom used to make foil bundles of leftovers and float them in a covered pan of simmering water. That's how I heated my leftover rice yesterday after I steamed the broccoli.


----------



## dragnlaw

Cooking Goddess said:


> My Mom used to make foil bundles of leftovers and float them in a covered pan of simmering water.



ohhh,  I LIKE that idea!  Mom's are sooo clever!


----------



## taxlady

I have been freezing single serving packets of rice in waxed paper for decades. Before I got a microwave, I used to steam the packets from frozen for serving. Surprisingly, I don't remember ever having any of the rice fell through the steamer. If the rice looks freezer burned, I still steam it. That rehydrates it while heating it and it's quick.


----------



## Andy M.

*Medical Appointment Times*

For most of my life, setting a medical appointment and getting there on time has been a simple task. You ask for an appointment, they give you a time and that's when you show up.

But we're living much more complex lives now so this process isn't quite so easy. 

Now, were are given a medical appointment time and told to arrive 15 minutes earlier. 

WHAT?

I consider this a totally unnecessary practice and my primary care doctor agrees. As he said, "Just tell me what time you want me to cross the threshold."

This is a universal practice among the medical offices SO and I frequent here in MA. Does it happen where you are too?


----------



## GotGarlic

My doctors' offices generally ask you to arrive 15 minutes early only if you're a new patient, so you can fill out the paperwork. I try to arrive at least five minutes before the appointment time to allow time to register and I'm usually called back by the nurse within a few minutes.

Doctors don't care about the administrative part, you know


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> ...Doctors don't care about the administrative part, you know



It doesn't matter that there are different components to the visit. Everyone knows you check-in, sometimes you fill out forms, someone takes your weight and BP, eventually you see the doctor. 

Just tell me what time I have to be there for the first thing that is going to happen.


----------



## dragnlaw

In the medical building I used, there was a person at the main entrance, at a table with a computer and phone. 

Do you have an appointment? With who? Your name?  What time?  (of course she's looking up all this on the computer and knows the answers before you can even reply)

 Do you have ...  symptoms? symptoms? symptoms? symptoms? ad nauseum...  
no, I don't.  no, I don't  no I don't....  arghhhh

then you go to the office....   and wait maybe 5, or max. 10 minutes.  (no complaint on this part!)

Before, I must admit that there were usually 6 or 8 people sitting around to see various personal...  now there are only 1 maybe 2 and a 3rd waaay down the hall.


----------



## Andy M.

dragnlaw said:


> In the medical building I used, there was a person at the main entrance, at a table with a computer and phone.
> 
> Do you have an appointment? With who? Your name?  What time?  (of course she's looking up all this on the computer and knows the answers before you can even reply)
> 
> Do you have ...  symptoms? symptoms? symptoms? symptoms? ad nauseum...
> no, I don't.  no, I don't  no I don't....  arghhhh
> 
> then you go to the office....   and wait maybe 5, or max. 10 minutes.  (no complaint on this part!)
> 
> Before, I must admit that there were usually 6 or 8 people sitting around to see various personal...  now there are only 1 maybe 2 and a 3rd waaay down the hall.



It's always good to see efficiency.

When you originally made the appointment did they give you an appointment time and tell you to arrive even earlier?


----------



## dragnlaw

Yes, they did and do.  And it is now so that they can question you on covid and help to keep the building emptier. 

they do NOT want you to come earlier!

Unfortunately - 1st time I went during Covid -

 a person 2 people ahead of me was having trouble finding where she needed to be - was not even at the right building.  By the time the receptionist straightened her out - I ended up being about 5 minutes late! 

I mentioned to her while passing, next time, call someone else to take care of the problem and not make the next 5 people late.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

When I saw my PCP last December, I just had to show up as scheduled the same as before Covid. The only difference were the new health protocols. I expect it to be the same when I go in two weeks.

When I was at the dentist last week, I had to call in to the receptionist before I could enter the office. I started to walk in like normal before the note on the door registered. [emoji1] What stopped me for sure, though, was there or four people sitting in the waiting room. It seemed a little too "peopley" to me.


----------



## medtran49

I went today.  Wasn't told to show up early.  If I had, would have said something because I've always had to wait 15 to 30 minutes, and that happened again today even though there was no one else in waiting room.  There was a sign saying no more than 3 people in waiting room, small as it's a single doc practice.  I had to use hand sanitizer before going back.  They all had on masks and face shields, plus surgical gowns over their clothes.  He didn't look at my throat like he usually does either, not that there was anything wrong with me, just a checkup.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Andy M. said:


> For most of my life, setting a medical appointment and getting there on time has been a simple task. You ask for an appointment, they give you a time and that's when you show up.
> 
> But we're living much more complex lives now so this process isn't quite so easy.
> 
> Now, were are given a medical appointment time and told to arrive 15 minutes earlier.
> 
> WHAT?
> 
> I consider this a totally unnecessary practice and my primary care doctor agrees. As he said, "Just tell me what time you want me to cross the threshold."
> 
> This is a universal practice among the medical offices SO and I frequent here in MA. Does it happen where you are too?




DH has his annual wellness check on Friday.
We got a text to remind & confirm his appointment 
AND
arrive THIRTY MINUTES EARLY!!!! 

WHAT!?

Mind you, he's been an established patient with Doctor for 5 years now.
There's never any surprises with this health, he's well maintained.

I would like to World to return to it's normal axis


----------



## Kayelle

*"well maintained."* If nothing else, we are that. 


We have had the same GP Dr. since 2009. He and his staff of three know us both very well, and we're never asked to come early. 

He has a single practice so there's never anyone else there in the small office. We always request the last appointment before the lunch hour and he spends nearly an hour with us so, I don't think he eats lunch. 



We sure can't complain about him not spending enough time with us! Unlike us, he looks like he doesn't eat much at all. We, on the other hand, are almost always ready to eat, so we are happy to go out for lunch in the "big city". I guess he gets a bathroom break before the next patient.


When we first started going to him (as a couple), I thought I didn't like him as he has the personality of a flea, but I guess he grew on me. I came to realize he just doesn't like to joke around about our health, and like many "brainiacs" he doesn't appreciate folks like us trying our best to entertain him.


He never claims to know all the answers, and is quick to have us referred to a specialist with our insurance. 

The bottom line, is I wish everyone could have him "orchestrate" your health care, as he and his staff do a perfect job managing our care.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> *"well maintained."* If nothing else, we are that. ...


I suppose once we all hit 70 (I'm just a month away...) that's not a bad goal to have. Better than broken down and up on blocks. 



Kayelle said:


> ..We always request the last appointment before the lunch hour and he spends nearly an hour with us so, I don't think he eats lunch.
> ...


With my most recent eye exam, my doctor said he needed to switch my right contact to a toric lens because the standard lens he first sized up didn't help my vision. In fact, my old lens worked better. (He said that's because over the years the lens formed itself to the shape of my cornea.) Well, we needed a few sessions to get things just right. I usually ask for the last appointment of the day, and because of Covid those appointments were right around dinnertime. The final trip in, I brought them a dinner bag - homemade lasagna for two, along with a nice garden salad. I could not believe how grateful they were! I like cooking, I like feeding people, so for me it wasn't a big deal. It was to them, though, and it made me feel really good inside.


----------



## Kayelle

Cooking Goddess said:


> I suppose once we all hit 70 (I'm just a month away...) that's not a bad goal to have. *Better than broken down and up on blocks.
> *
> *Boy howdy..you said it. *
> 
> 
> 
> With my most recent eye exam, my doctor said he needed to switch my right contact to a toric lens because the standard lens he first sized up didn't help my vision. In fact, my old lens worked better. (He said that's because over the years the lens formed itself to the shape of my cornea.) Well, we needed a few sessions to get things just right. I usually ask for the last appointment of the day, and because of Covid those appointments were right around dinnertime. *The final trip in, I brought them a dinner bag - homemade lasagna for two, along with a nice garden salad. I could not believe how grateful they were! I like cooking, I like feeding people, so for me it wasn't a big deal. It was to them, though, and it made me feel really good inside. *




*The ultimate goal is "to feel good inside".  Now that's great medicine to be sure. 
*


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

bahahaha!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Petty vent for the day: went to bed t midnight; woke up at 5 a.m.  Can't get back to sleep.  It's gonna be a long day.  Guess I'll have to try and think of something yummy to post.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Last week Saturday, about 5pm or so, our door bell rang and a kind passer-by informed me that we had a leak in our drip irrigation.  
That was an extreme understatement!
We had a fountain of water shooting a good 3-4 feet into the air and on to the roadway.


I ran to shut down the Rain Bird and jumped on the phone.
I called the Landscaping company that we had just contracted, and of course got their voice-mail.  I left an urgent message, I'm sure that I sound like I was in total panic mode, because I was.
Never got a call back, they are open 7 days a week 

I called another company, and again, voice-mail with no call back.
The water to our entire property has now been off and we've had high winds and temps already.

I called a company that DH's good buddy advertises for and got a live body!
I was told that it would be $150/hour plus parts.
That's SUPER high for this area!  The going rate with all other Landscaping Companies is $95/hour.  But whatya gonna do?

The guys showed up the next morning at 8:30.
Accessed the problem, fixed it, turned back on the Rain Bird and checked all of the drips, good to go.
This took all of 15 minutes, I'm not exaggerating in any way shape or form.
I received an invoice via email the following morning for $300 

SAY WHAT?

I immediately called to their offices and got voicemail, left a message with no call back!
So today, I called again and spoke with a so-called manager and was told that because of where we live, that is the minimum charge.

OH NO NO NO NO!!!

I was quoted by so-and-so that it would be $150/hour + parts, that's it.
"Hmm.  Well, that _is_ the minimum, I really _can't_ change that."

OH NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!


"Well, I guess I could honor what so-and-so quoted you, seeing as she's new here.  _Just_ for customer satisfaction." 
"How would you like to pay for that?  I can take your credit card right now."

I bet you can  *FINE!*
I paid the $150 and asked the woman on the other end of the line to please email me a receipt of paid in full.

My blood is still boiling!

DH said that there was no way that he could have handled that without blowing up.
"I honestly don't know how you stay so calm and deal with these things as well as you do." 

Now, do you think that we'll EVER call this company again for anything?


----------



## medtran49

That's BS to say the least.  I'd be leaving Google and Yelp reviews.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

medtran49 said:


> That's BS to say the least.  *I'd be leaving Google and Yelp reviews.*



You betcha *med*!
DH advised that we wait a few days so that it's not blaringly obvious where this review is coming from.
I no longer have many Social Media accounts, but I'm going to make an exception for this.

The bad words that came out of my mouth!  I tell ya!
My blood is still boiling!!!!


----------



## dragnlaw

Hit LinkedIn and Facebook as well.  

I calculate $150 per hour, 15 min = $37.50 
Plus $60 x 2 for travel (there and back)  
Plus emergency/non-customer surcharge, lets be generous, an extra 20.

$37.50 + 120 + 20 = $177.50 total 

MINUS aggravation $27.50 =  $150.00  Spot on!


----------



## Lee Vining

One of the kids used our chest freezer for a workbench. 
A fifth of Kirkland vodka turned up missing too.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

dragnlaw said:


> Hit LinkedIn and Facebook as well.
> 
> I calculate $150 per hour, 15 min = $37.50
> Plus $60 x 2 for travel (there and back)
> Plus emergency/non-customer surcharge, lets be generous, an extra 20.
> 
> $37.50 + 120 + 20 = $177.50 total
> 
> MINUS aggravation $27.50 =  $150.00  Spot on!



I dunno *dragn*.
I kinda thought that for such a miniscule job, the guys would have told the office, "Oh, the customer cancelled so no charge." *shrug*
I was told that the way that they charge customers in our area is $150 for travel time and a one hour minimum work time of $150 = $300


----------



## dragnlaw

I once had an emergency call to make, when I finally found someone to come, 4 towns away, he said "no problem' but I hope you understand, when I leave my driveway the bill starts at $120, then plus the labour and parts."

But he also, on the phone, walked me thru the different things to check. AND we solved the problem.  

No charge. 

I tried to send a bunch of dragonettes over to him with a bottle of wine but the little brats just hid behind the barn and drank it themselves.


----------



## msmofet

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I dunno *dragn*.
> I kinda thought that for such a miniscule job, the guys would have told the office, "Oh, the customer cancelled so no charge." *shrug*
> I was told that the way that they charge *customers in our area is $150* for travel time and a one hour minimum work time of $150 = $300



Hmmm Is that a form of profiling?


----------



## msmofet

I am so pissed off with Best Buy I can’t find the words at the moment to explain.


----------



## GotGarlic

msmofet said:


> Hmmm Is that a form of profiling?


I'm sure it's because of the distance they have to travel to Cowboyville


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Recently,  I've been wondering what to do with my health care $250. benefits card. I could use it for a spare set of contact lenses,  or prescription sunglasses...

 ...well crap. Looks like I will be using it for a dental crown.  Just broke off a chunk of a rebuild tooth.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I thought the heel on my left foot was finally heeled.  I've had no pain in it, and have been able to walk on it for 2 weeks now.  There are no open wound on the foot.  Today, foot is swollen, and painful.  I've made an appointment with a podiatrist for next Wednesday.   I'm hopping that I just over did it, and that there is no leftover infection.  It took 6 months to get it cleated up before.  I want my 20 year old body back!

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I thought the heel on my left foot was finally heeled.  I've had no pain in it, and have been able to walk on it for 2 weeks now.  There are no open wound on the foot.  Today, foot is swollen, and painful.  I've made an appointment with a podiatrist for next Wednesday.   I'm hopping that I just over did it, and that there is no leftover infection.  It took 6 months to get it cleated up before.  I want my 20 year old body back!
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



(((Hugs))) and hoping it's nothing serious.

I think we would all like our 20 year old bodies back.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Kind Of Petty But Really I'm P.O'd!*

We had two graduations in our extended family recently, 
our youngest Niece _finally_ finished College (our family 
goes for the extra long College-Life ).
And then our youngest Grand-Nephew graduated from High School.
They are both part of my husband's family, not mine, so
I let him take care of any cards and/or gifts to them.
He mailed each of them $100 CASH! 
(I told him that I did not think that wise, but ...)

Here we are *TWO MONTHS* later and we have yet to receive any sort of acknowledgment from the girl ... and only today did we get a very impersonal card from the boy  
This is nothing new!  I told DH looooong ago that I will not send any of those offspring ANY THING!  
My reasonings are fair, I think:
a) we never know if they even got our gift
b) we rarely get a thank you of any sort
c) DH is FAR TOO GENERIOUS!!! 

HALLELUJAH DH has finally seen the light!

When I gave him the card from the boy, he gave a huge HARUMPH and said, "well geez, that was nice of him don't you think?  That's it, I'm DONE!"


----------



## Just Cooking

Its a different world than that in which I was raised.

I suppose that's both good and bad.


Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

I must say that my sons are making sure that their kids send hand written Thank You's for gifts received from out-of-town'ers, which most of the relatives are.  

When they receive money, if it is a substantial amount, it goes to savings.  

But if it is a small amount it does not have to be put away but can be spent when they decide they just have to have that certain toy.... 

or "let's go get some ice-cream!"


----------



## Termy

Petty vents ? Well I watch Star Trek and I don't hear "He's dead Jim". I watch Dragnet and I don't hear "Just the facts ma'am. 

T


----------



## dragnlaw

"All we want are the facts, ma'am"  close enough for me!  

Catch phrase was shortened for ease of expression.

and...  

According to Mark Clark's Star Trek FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the First Voyages of the Starship Enterprise,...

 Bones says "He's dead, Jim" *approximately 20 times*, occasionally varying the line to say instead "The man is dead!"

There...  does that ease your angst?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Cooking enough tempura shrimp for 5 people isn't as easy as it once was.  And these were deveined, raw, ez peel shrimp.  I didn't even take the step of slicing part way though the belly so that the wouldn't curl.  Maybe not as pretty, but they tasted great.  I'm tired..  But everyone enjoyed them..

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Cooking enough tempura shrimp for 5 people isn't as easy as it once was.  And these were deveined, raw, ez peel shrimp.  I didn't even take the step of slicing part way though the belly so that the wouldn't curl.  Maybe not as pretty, but *they tasted great*.  I'm tired..  But everyone enjoyed them..
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

DH convinced me that we needed a new car, 
it's been 10 years since our last purchase.
Our car is just a little more than two weeks old 
and we got our first road ding in it


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> DH convinced me that we needed a new car,
> it's been 10 years since our last purchase.
> Our car is just a little more than two weeks old
> and we got our first road ding in it



So frustrating.  Can the road ding be repaired at home?  It can make the vehicle rust more quickly.
''
Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

*I hear yuh Kgirl! * Same happened to me. so my most heartfelt condolences. 

Brand-new, 1 week, backed into a black pole in my blind spot.  Dinged the bumper, albeit very small, still a tiny crack.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

We've been having pretty violent Monsoon Storms for the past,
oh, maybe week.
The winds have been gusting in some cases 80 MPH!
Don't get me wrong, we need the rain.

I went to take shower yesterday morning ... NO HOT WATER!!! *WTH!* 
So I took a cold shower, very quickly, got dressed and went to check on the problem.
I tired three times to light the pilot ... no go.  
I called to the plumbing company that put it in the Water Heater in our new home not quite 5 years ago, and they showed up this morning at 9am 
The tech said that they've had alot of calls like this, that the winds have been blowing out the pilots and the manufacture's manual says _nothing_ about a reset button  

That was an expensive lesson learned ... $60 ... but now I know, damit!!


----------



## skilletlicker

Really tired of hearing about billionaire rocket ship rides.

More of a comment than a rant, I guess.


----------



## Andy M.

Hard to relate to a guy spending billions to fulfill a childhood fantasy.


----------



## Just Cooking

Promoting the US without contributing to the US tax base.

Ross


----------



## skilletlicker

*Report this all you want*

I live in Shelby County, Tennessee where 55% of the residents qualified for covid vaccination have refused to get one. I am sick of excuses. With the exception of compromised immunity, the explanations I've heard in the elevator every day are just excuses for cussedness. Lest anyone mistake my use of that word for grumpy eccentricity, I mean selfishness,  maliciousness, viciousness, cruelty, hatefulness, and malevolence. 

Synonyms of cussedness; Thesaurus dot com.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I'm sick of every time I turn around they're changing things. If you got the shot you don't need a mask. Oh wait Yes you do. You can't get the virus if you got the shot. Oh never mind I guess you can. Mask Nazis can shove them where the sun don't shine.


----------



## CharlieD

Farmer Jon said:


> I'm sick of every time I turn around they're changing things. If you got the shot you don't need a mask. Oh wait Yes you do. You can't get the virus if you got the shot. Oh never mind I guess you can. Mask Nazis can shove them where the sun don't shine.



Thing is, they don't know. Thing is, they are learning as they go. They are trying to prevent the spread of Covid. But like any other disease that have emerge throughout the history, they are pocking in the dark. It's going to take them years to figure out exactly what is going on. And in the end it sounds like that we are going to be wearing masks, and will be vaccinating every year, just like a flue. And yes, masks are annoying. But better safe than sorry. 
And yeah, you can get virus after the shot, I did. But it was in very mild form, and my wife who did not get shot is still suffering from it 4 month latter.


----------



## Andy M.

Farmer Jon said:


> I'm sick of every time I turn around they're changing things. If you got the shot you don't need a mask. Oh wait Yes you do. You can't get the virus if you got the shot. Oh never mind I guess you can. Mask Nazis can shove them where the sun don't shine.



When circumstances change, the medial community has to change their recommendations to deal with the new conditions. I take these changes as a positive sign. COVID is new so we are learning more and more about it as it develops. 

I much prefer this to making a decision early on and stubbornly sticking to it regardless of circumstances.


----------



## taxlady

CharlieD said:


> Thing is, they don't know. Thing is, they are learning as they go. They are trying to prevent the spread of Covid. But like any other disease that have emerge throughout the history, they are pocking in the dark. It's going to take them years to figure out exactly what is going on. And in the end it sounds like that we are going to be wearing masks, and will be vaccinating every year, just like a flue. And yes, masks are annoying. But better safe than sorry.
> And yeah, you can get virus after the shot, I did. But it was in very mild form, and my wife who did not get shot is still suffering from it 4 month latter.



I agree.

Also, the virus keeps mutating. I wish it didn't, but that's what happens. We can't expect the scientist to know as much about the variants as they know about the original virus, because they haven't had as long to study them yet.


----------



## CharlieD

taxlady said:


> I agree.
> 
> Also, the virus keeps mutating. I wish it didn't, but that's what happens. We can't expect the scientist to know as much about the variants as they know about the original virus, because they haven't had as long to study them yet.



Exactly. And the more people get sick, the more virus can mutate. I bet at some point when doctors told people to wash their hands, or only drink boiled water, people called them nazis too, or even worse.


----------



## msmofet

taxlady said:


> I agree.
> 
> Also, the virus keeps mutating. I wish it didn't, but that's what happens. We can't expect the scientist to know as much about the variants as they know about the original virus, because they haven't had as long to study them yet.



IMO from what I have heard it’s the fools who refuse to get vaccinated that are at fault. The bug is going into the unvaccinated and mutating to a strain that isn’t immune to the vaccine. We won’t have a cure until EVERYONE is vaccinated. As soon as the can vaccinate young children it should be mandatory to go to school. Just like all the other vaccines against mumps, polio, measles, whooping cough, chicken pox etc. No vaccine no school. They can do that now for high school and universities. Just IMHO.


----------



## taxlady

It's going to be a long time before I don't wear a mask in public. I'm fully vaxed. I understand that, as they have been telling us, the mRNA vaccines are ninety something percent effective, not 100%. I understand that it just gives me a very much better chance of not getting C-19 or at least not getting very sick from it. This disease is not going away in the foreseeable future. We are going to have to learn how to live with it.


----------



## taxlady

My petty vent for today. We were expecting a grocery delivery between 16:00 and 18:00. So, we ordered sandwiches from Dagwoods. We can order them ahead of time and eat them when we have time. DH has a virtual role playing game tonight, which starts at 19:00. So, timing of supper is kinda important and I might be too tired to cook after the grocery delivery. At 18:00 we decided to eat supper and if the groceries arrived while we were eating, we would deal with getting them in the house and with the fridge and freezer stuff and then finish our sandwiches.

Well, at 18:08 I got an automated call that said my groceries might be delayed by up to 60 minutes. Then I got another one at 18:24, but this time it asked if I wanted to reschedule the delivery. I did. It's much easier to deal with the groceries when we both do it. It was a giant, stupid rigmarole to get it rescheduled. I was eating supper when they called. The machine transferred me to a menu and I had to go through several layers of that to get a rep, "Thank you for calling, can I help you?" Of course, they wanted my order number. I had to run upstairs to the computer to find it. It is re-scheduled for tomorrow between 14:00 and 16:00. Well, at least if they are late tomorrow, I should still have time to make supper.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Petty Vent:
I just spent 3 hours working o my son's fly rod, as a give-away for his business.  It will be very nice when completed.  I just got my new power wrapper for wrapping o guides, and drying the epoxy wrap coatings.  it works great, but took some time to set it up; and of course there's a learning curve to getting the thread wraps to lay down perfectly smooth.  I had to redo one side of a snake guide foot.  My gripes - lost my China marker, can't find it anywhere.  My back hurts from bending close to see the thread wrap progression, ad inspect them when done.  And I call this an enjoyable hobby.  Oh to have my body from just 20 years back.  it did so many things so well.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Petty Vent:
> I just spent 3 hours working o my son's fly rod, as a give-away for his business.  It will be very nice when completed.  I just got my new power wrapper for wrapping o guides, and drying the epoxy wrap coatings.  it works great, but took some time to set it up; and of course there's a learning curve to getting the thread wraps to lay down perfectly smooth.  I had to redo one side of a snake guide foot.  My gripes - lost my China marker, can't find it anywhere.  My back hurts from bending close to see the thread wrap progression, ad inspect them when done.  And I call this an enjoyable hobby.  Oh to have my body from just 20 years back.  it did so many things so well.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Yes *Chief*, all well and good to have that younger version of you, 
_but_
with age comes knowledge or is it wisdom ... whichever, you know what I mean


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Yes *Chief*, all well and good to have that younger version of you,
> _but_
> with age comes knowledge or is it wisdom ... whichever, you know what I mean



But I want both.  I just hope there are fun things to do in the next life.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

Well, my groceries arrived, barely, on time today. However, there was stuff missing: two cans of frozen o.j., one bag of frozen Asian vegi mix, and one jar of pickles. Two frozen and one refrigerator item, I think the driver missed a bag. He wasn't the shiniest penny in the wallet. He didn't seem to grasp the concept of doorbell, when I asked him why he hadn't used it. He also put most of the groceries in our tiny entrance hall. That means that DH couldn't get to the conveniently stored cash that we put there specifically for giving tips. Guess who didn't get a tip.

No, they won't be delivering the missing items later. I'll be getting a refund.  I'm waiting until I'm less annoyed to fill in the survey asking me what I thought of this shopping experience. The email for that was waiting for me when I got to my computer after the delivery.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> But I want both.  I just *hope there are fun things to do in the next life.
> *
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Always *Chief*!
IMHO, each of our life's inter-twine in some way, just sayin'


----------



## Cooking Goddess

No house internet since 9:30 Thursday morning. I know the time because that's when my neighbor sent a text to find out if our power went out - it had, for about 10 minutes. The power surge when electricity came back on fried our modem. Himself already has one waiting for him at our service provider's store, which he'll pick up in the afternoon.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Cooking Goddess said:


> No house internet since 9:30 Thursday morning. I know the time because that's when my neighbor sent a text to find out if our power went out - it had, for about 10 minutes. The power surge when electricity came back on fried our modem. Himself already has one waiting for him at our service provider's store, which he'll pick up in the afternoon.




Was the power loss from a storm or from rolling blackouts?  We've been getting flickers on and off here during this horrid heat.


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> No, they won't be delivering the missing items later. I'll be getting a refund.  *I'm waiting until I'm less annoyed to fill in the survey *asking me what I thought of this shopping experience. The email for that was waiting for me when I got to my computer after the delivery.



I don't know why you are waiting! Should be done at the time! While the steam is still hot! 
* taxy,* I'm a little surprised you are still using the home delivery.  I think you (with proper care) would be safe to do your own now.  The hit and miss I keep hearing from you would drive me crazy! 



Cooking Goddess said:


> *No house internet since 9:30 Thursday* morning. I know the time because that's when my neighbor sent a text to find out if our power went out - it had, for about 10 minutes. The power surge when electricity came back on fried our modem. Himself already has one waiting for him at our service provider's store, which he'll pick up in the afternoon.



CG, my sympathies!  Again I would go nuts! LOL.  

On the farm with the Generac generator, I would only feel a little blip when power went off.  Many times I never even knew when it came back, with out going to the window to listen for the generator. 
Not having a house/generator anymore and living in a town which regularly loses power every time a crow flies by is also driving me nuts. My son does have a gas generator in the garage, but the power doesn't seem to go off long enough to bring it out.  When he is here - that is fine, but when I am alone I gnash my teeth.  Thinking of getting a Generac, my expense , installed.  Prices have tripled since I got my original.  but still thinking about it, and the fence is leaning very heavily on the generator. They are no big deal to install, no huge major things to change.


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> I don't know why you are waiting! Should be done at the time! While the steam is still hot!
> * taxy,* I'm a little surprised you are still using the home delivery.  I think you (with proper care) would be safe to do your own now.  The hit and miss I keep hearing from you would drive me crazy!
> 
> ...



I was using home delivery services before the pandemic. I park the car in an underground garage. That means that just about everything has to be schlepped up from the basement to the ground floor. When they deliver, it arrives on the ground floor.

Keep hearing about hit or miss? I posted about this particular event two days in a row. Sometimes they are a *little* late. That's no big deal. The previous mess up that I remember was near the beginning of the pandemic. That was when suddenly everyone wanted home delivery. It arrived the next day. That happened with my produce basket from Lufa and with IGA. So, not even the same store. IGA forgot an item once and they brought it to me later that day.


----------



## dragnlaw

You're right taxy, I stand corrected, you had mentioned using it before the pandemic mainly because of your car.  

My DIL uses on-line orders a lot, especially since pandemic.  But they pick-up.

Anyway - funny story - One day they placed in the order for Mushrooms.  Quantity 1....  

 they sent 1 mushroom in a paper bag!


----------



## taxlady

One mushroom, bahaha. I once got a single tiny beet instead of celeriac. Metro emails you a receipt with exact amounts, weights of items, etc. I had been very curious about the 37¢ celeriac.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

cjmmytunes said:


> Was the power loss from a storm or from rolling blackouts?  We've been getting flickers on and off here during this horrid heat.


cj, it was proactive work on National Grid's part. Shocking, yes. [emoji16] In anticipation of the extreme heat, they did some tweaking to prevent arching...or something like that.


BTW, Himself thinks that restoring power was the last surge the power pack on the old router could take. Instead of feeding 15amps of power to the router, it was pushing 40. Mr. Wonderful is currently hooking up the new modem. [emoji813]


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

It's been a very stressful month, with more to come.
DH and I find ourselves VERY tired lately.
I normally do not take naps, but I have been either doing so in the late afternoons or sleeping well past our regular naturally centered morning alarms, aka that auto-reveille in your brain.   
We had an appointment this morning and barely made it!
Busy busy busy!


----------



## Lee Vining

I saw these venting notes on the side of our community mailboxes.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Cooking Goddess said:


> cj, it was proactive work on National Grid's part. Shocking, yes. [emoji16] In anticipation of the extreme heat, they did some tweaking to prevent arching...or something like that.
> 
> 
> BTW, Himself thinks that restoring power was the last surge the power pack on the old router could take. Instead of feeding 15amps of power to the router, it was pushing 40. Mr. Wonderful is currently hooking up the new modem. [emoji813]



Typically, the load determines the current draw.  Where I = current, V= voltage, and R= resistance. Ohms law is I- E/R.  Since the current is what will destroy components, and the resistance. or more accurately, Impedance (a function of resistance, and reactance) remains constant in your modem, that spike in power you describe (Watts), is caused by voltage spikes in the electric grid.  This can be handled by a surge suppressor, or a small UPS (uninterruptible power supply).  These devices are placed between the outlet, and sensitive electronic devices, and will stop voltage spikes.  The UPS will also provide safe power to you device if there is a power outage.  

At sea. ship's power was so dirty (full of voltage spikes), that our electronic work stations required a very powerful UPS that changed ships power to DC, filtered it, ant the converted back to AC, giving us clean, uninterrupted voltage.  At my last job, we had thee banks of deep-cycle batteries, with  each bank wired in parallel to give us -48 VDC, which is what our phone system ran off of.  The voltage was again converted bu a UPS into DC voltage to eliminate commercial power grid spikes from getting to or network.

Yor power protection needs can be satisfied by something like this - https://www.techhive.com/article/3281455/apc-surgearrest-performance-p12u2-review.html.  

APC is a trusted name in both UPS and surge protection.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Chief, the modem was nearly ten years old. Dying was a good thing. Besides, Himself has our system well protected; he worked in IT for nearly 40 years.


----------



## Farmer Jon

This has been seen in more than one of my canning groups on Facebook. My question is what do they think we are too prepared for? What do they know we don't? I'm mean I have a couple dozen quarts of tomato juice. I am prepared for a lot of tomato beers. I have a few jars of canned pork. I'm prepared for pulled pork sandwiches.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Jon*,  Armageddon comes to mind.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*ARGH*

I ordered new Patio Furniture at the beginning of April, 
that I paid for, in full, big bucks I might add.
There has been nothing but delays.
I understand that this past 2 years has been very
difficult for businesses, but ... 
I have had to be the one following up on my order,
rather than that company contacting me.
August 30th, I *FINALLY* get an email that my order is
being shipped via UPS Ground Freight-curbside delivery-no extra charge.
When I went to the UPS.com website, it is to be delivered sometime
this next Tuesday.
Something in the back of my head screamed, check with UPS again...
It's an hour away from our home, 
RIGHT NOW!!!

I went to UPS's live chat site and asked if I was going to receive 
a phone call to set up our delivery ... 
_NOPE!_
I was told that I need to watch the website for a "scan-out for delivery" which would include a date and time 

I'm super P.O.'d


----------



## GinnyPNW

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *ARGH*
> 
> 
> <<I went to UPS's live chat site and asked if I was going to receive
> a phone call to set up our delivery ...
> _NOPE!_
> I was told that I need to watch the website for a "scan-out for delivery" which would include a date and time >>



You should be able to sign up for email or text updates.  That way, you needn't keep checking.  I do that all the time.


----------



## taxlady

When I am expecting a delivery and I have a tracking number, I bookmark the page with the tracking number and put that right at the beginning of my bookmarks tool bar. Then I can easily check whenever I think of it. I also sign up for notifications.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Here's my vent: Crazy, reckless drivers!  Folks weaving in & out, driving like they are in the Indy 500 or something?  A few days back, on the freeway, a lady swerved from behind us, and then cut us off and almost hit the big rig in front of us in the process.  Sheesh!  We were just moving with the speed of traffic.  

Anyway, I guess it is our way of brushing it off or trying to take the stress out of the situation...we've come up with a remark, he/she/they "must really have to go poop!"


----------



## Andy M.

Poor packaging!

Whoever designed the packaging for  bricks of cream cheese should be shot. the foil wrapping with the "open here" designation is a joke. They're probably laughing at consumers who try to "open here"?


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

GinnyPNW said:


> You should be able to *sign up for email or text updates*.  That way, you needn't keep checking.  I do that all the time.





taxlady said:


> When I am expecting a delivery and I have a tracking number, I *bookmark the page with the tracking number* and put that right at the beginning of my bookmarks tool bar. Then I can easily check whenever I think of it. I also sign up for notifications.



Check and check gals.
The text as well email notifications aren't working, so I'm forced to follow up on my own.


----------



## Katie H

My vent...oh please.  Do people think the turn signal device is a decorative thing on their car?  Hello, Dolly, it would be nice to see which direction you wish to proceed.

Perhaps some people have cobwebs on their turn signal devices because they so rarely use them.

Off my soapbox now!


----------



## pepperhead212

*Katie H*  You didn't know that turn signals are optional on many cars these days?


----------



## Termy

GinnyPNW said:


> Here's my vent: Crazy, reckless drivers!  Folks weaving in & out, driving like they are in the Indy 500 or something?  A few days back, on the freeway, a lady swerved from behind us, and then cut us off and almost hit the big rig in front of us in the process.  Sheesh!  We were just moving with the speed of traffic.
> 
> Anyway, I guess it is our way of brushing it off or trying to take the stress out of the situation...we've come up with a remark, he/she/they "must really have to go poop!"



Don't even tell me about it. When I went to work in Willowick, about 30 miles away, I got into the proper lane miles early. 

I sped, but I handled it. So I am in the proper lane and EVERY day it looks like there was a wreck. This is people changing lanes. 

See they have to slow down, then the people behind them have to slow down until it make a big parking lot. EVERY DAY I dealt with this. I took a closer job at $3 less per hour. 

That was a job. Got Ma a two grand Sony for like $300. They would get me Women, wine and weed. Took mostly whatever I wanted that wasn't too expensive. I took home an amp, Pioneer. Told the boss "I am taking this" his response was "Do you have enough speaker wire ? I got that amp so hot, I had to put a box fan on it. Running into 2.33 ohms. It dimmed the lights. 

T


----------



## GinnyPNW

pepperhead212 said:


> *Katie H*  You didn't know that turn signals are optional on many cars these days?



We call that the "fooled you" move!  I say to my DH, "Bet they fooled you, huh?  You thought they were going straight!"


----------



## pepperhead212

GinnyPNW said:


> We call that the "fooled you" move!  I say to my DH, "Bet they fooled you, huh?  You thought they were going straight!"


I usually say something like "Oh, you just remembered where you live!"

Obviously, a number of us are annoyed by these people.


----------



## dragnlaw

and then there are the ones who, for whatever reason, don't turn them off.  

Ever wonder why I _don't_ pull out in front of when someone indicates they are turning, because they sometimes _don't_! 

So I wait to see if they really are going to.


----------



## GinnyPNW

dragnlaw said:


> and then there are the ones who, for whatever reason, don't turn them off.
> 
> Ever wonder why I _don't_ pull out in front of when someone indicates they are turning, because they sometimes _don't_!
> 
> So I wait to see if they really are going to.



Agreed!  And sometimes they turn the opposite of their signal!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I was in a full sized van, at a 3-way stop light, with wife and kids in the van, windows up, and air cinditioner runnig.  I had my side mirrors set to see te [he lanes to the right and left of the lane I was in, using the rear view mirror to see what's behind me.  It eliminates all blind spots when set up correctly.

Anyway, the light was red, and I was going to make a right hand turn, as to the right of me was a gravel shoulder, and then a ditch.  Just before I put my foot on the gas pedal, I heard a noise.  Seconds before, I'd checked both mirrors, and all was clear.  I glanced at the right hand mirror again and saw some fool kid on a dirt bike pop up from the ditch, and onto the shoulder, right at the rear of my van.  He hit the throttle hard, and passed me on the right, failing to yield right of way.  Had I not heard him because of the vehicle, passenger, or If I'd have had the radio on, I would have turned and he would have collided with me.  He was a very fortunate young man that day.  

Another crazy encounter:
Driving in a 30 mph zone, on a 4 lane city street, with street parking, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a young teen running on the sidewalk to the right of me, and a little ways ahead.  There were three other boys chasing him, and it was obvious that the first boy was running from the the other three.  The feeling struck me that the first boy was going to dart out into the street at a full run, from between parked cars.  I slowed dow, just in case.  Sure enough, not ten feet in front of me, he shot between cars and into the street.  I was easily able to stop, while at the same time blocking the traffic from behind me.

The moral of this, and many other similar experiences I've had, is to know what's going on around you when driving.  Expect the unexpected, and for others to do stupid things.  If you are watching, and prepared, it can save a lot of pain.  I can't tell you how many times that someone has pulled out right in front of me from side streets, and I had to take emergency tactics, on icy roads, to avoid a collision, just to see them turn off a block or so further down the street, usually, with no vehicles behind me.  Had they waited another 5 seconds, there would have been no issues.  

I expect people to do stupid things.  If they drive intelligently, then they have my respect.  If they do the stupid thing, I'm ready.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kinda my vent, but really more so DH's ... 

My Mother is now living with us and it's been two weeks.
I mostly cook three squares a day and just about everything goes
into the automatic dishwasher.
One of DH's "household chores" is to empty and put away the clean dishes.
He's been none too happy about that `cuz it's been needing to
be done every other day now 

DH: HEH! How come I have to do this? 
Moi: Because that's your job Dear
DH: Nah, I think you should do it every other time

Moi: Okay then, you can cook every other meal
DH: Now, where does this dish go? 


(I don't want Mom doing that because she has such bad
arthritis in her hands, it would just aggravate it)


----------



## GinnyPNW

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Kinda my vent, but really more so DH's ...
> 
> My Mother is now living with us and it's been two weeks.
> I mostly cook three squares a day and just about everything goes
> into the automatic dishwasher.
> One of DH's "household chores" is to empty and put away the clean dishes.
> He's been none too happy about that `cuz it's been needing to
> be done every other day now
> 
> DH: HEH! How come I have to do this?
> Moi: Because that's your job Dear
> DH: Nah, I think you should do it every other time
> 
> Moi: Okay then, you can cook every other meal
> DH: Now, where does this dish go?
> 
> 
> (I don't want Mom doing that because she has such bad
> arthritis in her hands, it would just aggravate it)



We have a similar system.  I cook, DH deals with the dishes, any which way he chooses.  Except, if he isn't 100% sure where something goes, he just sets it on the cooktop.  Well, theoretically, that's the way it is supposed to work.  Hey, we've been in the house since January 2012, one would think he would have learned where everything goes by now?  Sigh.


----------



## taxlady

I do most of the cooking and almost all of the dishwashing, though DH puts most of it away. When we were both working, it was shared a little more evenly. When DH retires (I'm already retired), it will be dishwashing for the person who didn't cook.


----------



## GinnyPNW

taxlady said:


> I do most of the cooking and almost all of the dishwashing, though DH puts most of it away. When we were both working, it was shared a little more evenly. When DH retires (I'm already retired), it will be dishwashing for the person who didn't cook.



Certainly seems more than fair to me!

That said, my personal observation is that relationships are really NOT 50/50.  And, to have them work well, we need to embrace that.  Some days it might be 50/50...other days it will be 80/20 or 100/0 and then it goes the other way, 0/100, 30/70...does that make sense?  I guess, I'm saying, if you don't expect 50/50 and are willing to go 100/0, chances are you'll get some very happy surprises and life will be good.  

Ugh.  Too philosophical!  Ha, ha.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

It seems like in our house Himself's job is to rest for me. [emoji1] I cook, I clean up from cooking, I do all the prep work. And all shopping. And laundry. And housework. At least Himself does the outdoor grilling and taking the garbage out. Basically, Himself is just a larger version of one of our dearly departed kitties. [emoji38]


----------



## taxlady

GinnyPNW said:


> Certainly seems more than fair to me!
> 
> That said, my personal observation is that relationships are really NOT 50/50.  And, to have them work well, we need to embrace that.  Some days it might be 50/50...other days it will be 80/20 or 100/0 and then it goes the other way, 0/100, 30/70...does that make sense?  I guess, I'm saying, if you don't expect 50/50 and are willing to go 100/0, chances are you'll get some very happy surprises and life will be good.
> 
> Ugh.  Too philosophical!  Ha, ha.



Definitely needs flexibility. But, remembering to try to keep it at around 50/50 is a good idea. When I was bedridden with a bad back, it was definitely 0/100. Poor man was working full time, cooking, washing the dishes, and waiting on me hand and foot. Okay, there were a LOT of delivery meals, but I didn't have to do anything but help choose. Everything had to be brought upstairs, so I could eat in bed. That lasted a few weeks.

Now, there are often days when it depends on who is feeling good. One of us is very low on spoons, or has an arthritis flare, or a migraine, or whatever, then the other one puts in more effort. If you like your buddy, then you want it to be as fair as possible and if both of you do, then you can work it out.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *ARGH*
> 
> I ordered new Patio Furniture at the beginning of April,
> that I paid for, in full, big bucks I might add.
> There has been nothing but delays.
> I understand that this past 2 years has been very
> difficult for businesses, but ...
> I have had to be the one following up on my order,
> rather than that company contacting me.
> August 30th, I *FINALLY* get an email that my order is
> being shipped via UPS Ground Freight-curbside delivery-no extra charge.
> When I went to the UPS.com website, it is to be delivered sometime
> this next Tuesday.
> Something in the back of my head screamed, check with UPS again...
> It's an hour away from our home,
> RIGHT NOW!!!
> 
> I went to UPS's live chat site and asked if I was going to receive
> a phone call to set up our delivery ...
> _NOPE!_
> I was told that I need to watch the website for a "scan-out for delivery" which would include a date and time
> 
> I'm super P.O.'d



So our Patio Furniture was delivered late this afternoon ... 
I had my mental check list (we ordered from this company before)
1) did we get the correct number of boxes - check
2) are all of the parts present and accounted for - check

Let's assemble then!


Side Table went together in nothing flat - yay!
I get the first chair put together all the way to the last screw ...
There's no pilot hole, I can't get that last screw in - AT ALL!!!
Both chairs that we ordered came the same way - design flaw?

Of course, the delivery came after the company's phone lines closed for the day, of course!
I knew, just knew that something would go wrong and it did!
I'm so very, upset, disappointed, angry and most all tired... I didn't sleep at all last night
a) not knowing what time the delivery would be so I was up and atam well before me usual 
b) it's so bleedin' hot and mosquito-y that we have the buggers in the house!!!


----------



## GinnyPNW

So sorry!!


----------



## pepperhead212

I hate when that happens!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well THAT sucks, *K-Girl*. Sure hope they can give you some sort of compensation to make up for your trouble. Meanwhile, do you have a drill and bit you can use to start your own tiny pilot hole?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My gripe, It's only 9 p.m., and I'm worn out.  I'm tired of being worn out.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well THAT sucks, *K-Girl*. Sure hope they can give you some sort of compensation to make up for your trouble. Meanwhile, do you have a drill and bit you can use to start your own tiny pilot hole?



*CG*, that was my first thought of drilling my own pilot, but these are made of a very hard plastic from recycled milk jugs and I felt that I may damage the arm.

I just finished up a live chat with their Customer Service and I was told not to attempt the drilling, that they would manufacture 4 new arms for us and expedite that 'warranty order'.
As to compensation, I asked four different ways and each time was knocked down.
That's unfortunate, I was going place another order for more matching furniture, but you know that ain't gonna happen now!
This is my second order with this company and you would think that they would have at least approved a credit towards a future order... 

Ya know, I worked in Customer Service for many years and I would never had handled that situation in that way, *NEVER!*


----------



## Silversage

GinnyPNW said:


> We have a similar system.  I cook, DH deals with the dishes, any which way he chooses.  Except, if he isn't 100% sure where something goes, he just sets it on the cooktop.  Well, theoretically, that's the way it is supposed to work.  Hey, we've been in the house since January 2012, one would think he would have learned where everything goes by now?  Sigh.




My DW does dishes and puts them away.  Our rule is - if you can't reach it, just leave it on the counter and I'll  get it.  She seems to be getting shorter and shorter.....


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Silversage said:


> My DW does dishes and puts them away.  Our rule is - if you can't reach it, just leave it on the counter and I'll  get it.  She seems to be getting shorter and shorter.....



BAHAHA!
That's happening here as well.
If DH sees me getting out the tall step stool, he panics!
"I'll do that!  If you can't reach it, ask me, I'll get it for you."
DH is a good foot taller than myself


----------



## Andy M.

FADS make me crazy. Once someone finds a good thing it ends up everywhere to the point of madness.

For example, Oreos are NOT an ingredient! They're a cookie. Eat them with milk. End of story.

However, this time of year brings a special kind of hell. Pumpkin spice. ARRGHH!

There are only two things that should be pumpkin flavored:


----------



## GinnyPNW

I'm kinda with you on tht Andy, but I do like to decorate with them in the Fall.  I have a lot of pumpkin decorations and sometimes I buy the live, mini pumpkins too.  When Stanley was just a puppy, I gave him one to play with and caught the action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OFomY0JJeo&t=47s


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

The pre-teen, tanager years.  Children begin to feel that they are adult enough to make decisions.  Those decisions are often wrong, due to inexperience, being naïve, not enough life experience, and peer pressure, not to mention the intense desire to expand into what is perceived as a more fulfilling life.  As parents/grandparents, we try to guide, and help the pre-teen/teen adjust their behaviors, desires, to give them the best chance of life success, growth, while maintaining their personal safety.  They argue with false, and ineffective logic, all the time believing that they are correct, and that we are just behind the times, not understanding that what we have experienced in life is pretty much what they are now experiencing.  

It is a necessary period, but can be frustrating for both the  parents, and children.  I often wish there was an easier way.  But when it's over, if the parent has done their job, usually you end up with a bond between children, and parents that is amazing, and so worth the effort put in.

And yes, I am a believer in the traditional family, with both husband and wife.  Both the mother, and father have something to give the child, which gives that child the benefit of two loving parents, and two experienced perspectives.  

I know that this isn't always possible, and sometimes the mother, or father become the sole parent, and can successfully raise children.  And I applaud those parents.  

My other gripe is seeing parents who do nothing but scream at their children, instead of trying to teach them, and build the child's sense of self worth.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Hmmm...I'll add to that, I'm totally unnerved by the parents that bring small children to public places and let them scream their heads off, while they are oblivious to the sound.  That was not acceptable, years ago.  

The last time I remember anyone doing anything about the racket, was in a small restaurant in L.A..  A movie star and her friend were having lunch at the table next to us.  Next to their table, a couple brought their toddler along and let him scream.  The movie star went and said something to the waiter and presto, the couple with screaming child were asked to leave.  That was back around 1980.  Different these days.


----------



## Andy M.

GinnyPNW said:


> I'm kinda with you on tht Andy, but I do like to decorate with them in the Fall.  I have a lot of pumpkin decorations and sometimes I buy the live, mini pumpkins too.  When Stanley was just a puppy, I gave him one to play with and caught the action...



You pup is cute with that pumpkin. I have no issue with pumpkin decorations.


----------



## Andy M.

GinnyPNW said:


> Hmmm...I'll add to that, I'm totally unnerved by the parents that bring small children to public places and let them scream their heads off, while they are oblivious to the sound.  That was not acceptable, years ago.
> 
> The last time I remember anyone doing anything about the racket, was in a small restaurant in L.A..  A movie star and her friend were having lunch at the table next to us.  Next to their table, a couple brought their toddler along and let him scream.  The movie star went and said something to the waiter and presto, the couple with screaming child were asked to leave.  That was back around 1980.  Different these days.



When one of my girls was fussy in a restaurant when they had not yet reached the age when you can reason with them, I took her outside and we walked around. People go to restaurants for an enjoyable experience, not to listen to other peoples' kids. Parents need to be responsible.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Andy M. said:


> FADS make me crazy. Once someone finds a good thing it ends up everywhere to the point of madness.
> 
> For example, Oreos are NOT an ingredient! They're a cookie. Eat them with milk. End of story.
> 
> However, this time of year brings a special kind of hell. Pumpkin spice. ARRGHH!
> 
> There are only two things that should be pumpkin flavored:
> 
> 
> View attachment 48785
> 
> View attachment 48784



I used to purchase mini pumpkins, remove the top, and seeds, cut jack-o-lantern faces in them, then rub butter, pumpkin pie spice (my blend), and sugar inside, then bake them..  Each of my children got their own pumpkin pie flavored pumpkin, which was a great way to get them to eat this nourishing winter squash.  I've also done this for friends when sharing a Halloween meal.  It's always a hit.

I've also turned excess pumpkin pie filling into waffle batter by adding egg, flour, and baking powder.  That also goes over well, especially with whipped cream

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Andy M. said:


> FADS make me crazy. Once someone finds a good thing it ends up everywhere to the point of madness.
> 
> For example, Oreos are NOT an ingredient! They're a cookie. Eat them with milk. End of story.
> 
> However, this time of year brings a special kind of hell. Pumpkin spice. ARRGHH!
> 
> There are only two things that should be pumpkin flavored:
> 
> 
> View attachment 48785
> 
> View attachment 48784



+3 Andy! 
good example....  cauliflower belongs on the vegie dish - NOT under a pizza!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

dragnlaw said:


> +3 Andy!
> good example....  cauliflower belongs on the vegie dish - NOT under a pizza!



In Andy's case cauliflower belongs nowhere...


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> In Andy's case cauliflower belongs nowhere...



You got that right!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Add me to that list!
I do not care for Cauliflower any way you give it to me, I won't eat it


----------



## Andy M.

Actually, I make ONE exception for cauliflower. Pickles. My parents used to make gallon jars of mixed vegetable pickles every Fall. Cauliflower was the most wanted veggie. My sister and I used to fight over it. Then, when I made pickles, my kids fought over the cauliflower. They actually campaigned for all cauliflower pickles.


----------



## taxlady

I agree that cauliflower pickles are good. My favourite way to eat cauliflower is raw.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Petty vent - last night was rough.  Today, at 6 a.m., I feel a tough nauseated, and I haven't even gone to dialysis yet, and I have a sour throat from vomiting last night.  I hate feeling so lousy.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

*Chief,* rooting for you!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

dragnlaw said:


> *Chief,* rooting for you!



I want to go to Manadalar, a hot mineral lake in one of my novels, a place where dragons go to soak and heal.  The mineral content of the water refreshes the body, is antiseptic, and cleans wounds, and enhances the immune system.

In my novel, dragons and rocs are mortal enemies, each attempting to control the skies, both being powerful, but with different strengths.  Manandalar is a magical place for dragons, its location carefully guarded.

I would enjoy some of the healing devices available in that novel.  Ah, but it's only fantasy.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Believe Chief, believe!   

Long ago, while practicing my first flames, I foolishly injured myself.  My ancient mentor took me there to heal.  

Believe.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Sending prayers for strength and visualizing you in the lake at Manandalar!


----------



## taxlady

Sorry to read that you are feeling lousy, Chief. God bedring (Danish for good bettering).


----------



## GotGarlic

I hope you feel better soon, Chief. Hugs.


----------



## Andy M.

Hang in, Chief. You'll feel better soon.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

You got this *Chief*!!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Feeling somewhat better tonight.  Slept 2 hours on dialysis, and then another5 hour nap when I got home.  Now, my lower abdomen just needs to cooperate with my desires.  

Dragon, Have you ever met Trok at Manandolar.  As the Mother of dragons, she's fearsome when protecting dragons, but loving and gentle with her children.  Eventually, she and the most powerful roc, Melna Tor Kara develop a truce between them, and with the humans.  Trok is pretty amazing.

Oh, and did you know that dragons come to me for my Raging Bull Salsa.  It's where They get their fire.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## cjmmytunes

Sorry you were feeling so lousy yesterday.  Hope you feel better today.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I hope you woke up feeling better today, Chief. I can't imagine all the medical trials you go through.

If you want to keep us updated on how you feel, don't forget that we have the "Sick Room" thread. Nausea plays much better there. 

https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98955


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I'm trying to send mail throgh USPS to a company for replacement of a bad part.  The company is in New Zealand.  I'm using the click n ship online option with a flat rate padded envelope.  So after waiding through the process, I got my mailing label printed, but it says - "Mot Valid for Proof Of Payment for US Postage" on the label, even though I just paid USPS $40 for this.  Now, I;m awaiting call back from USPS to figure out how to put proof on the envelope that this is all paid.  

Oh, and wife is officially defined as an endless money black hole.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> So our Patio Furniture was delivered late this afternoon ...
> I had my mental check list (we ordered from this company before)
> 1) did we get the correct number of boxes - check
> 2) are all of the parts present and accounted for - check
> 
> Let's assemble then!
> 
> 
> Side Table went together in nothing flat - yay!
> I get the first chair put together all the way to the last screw ...
> There's no pilot hole, I can't get that last screw in - AT ALL!!!
> Both chairs that we ordered came the same way - design flaw?
> 
> Of course, the delivery came after the company's phone lines closed for the day, of course!
> I knew, just knew that something would go wrong and it did!
> I'm so very, upset, disappointed, angry and most all tired... I didn't sleep at all last night
> a) not knowing what time the delivery would be so I was up and atam well before me usual
> b) it's so bleedin' hot and mosquito-y that we have the buggers in the house!!!






The replacement arms to our two patio chairs arrived this morning via FedEx ground.
The delivery driver simply placed a huge box on our front patio and left!
No knock, no doorbell ring, nothing!
It just so happened that DH was leaving for the post office when he saw the trucking driving away... glad he went to check.


----------



## dragnlaw

They sure look like they are worth the wait.  

Those are some comfy lookin' pillows!


----------



## taxlady

Delivery people not ringing the doorbell before they leave is one of my pet peeves. DH ordered stuff from Amazon. We only knew it had been delivered because he got some sort of confirmation of email on the computer. We went to look and there was nothing there. The confirmation included a picture of our front door and street number as well as the package. 

I placed an order with a company in Toronto. I have been dealing with them for several years. The parcel was sent using Canada Post. It needed a signature. No doorbell ringing. Just got a notification that they hadn't been able to deliver my package and that I could pick it up at the post office, starting next biz day and for 10 or 15 biz days following. If I hadn't wanted the convenience of home delivery, I would have bought the stuff locally. Actually, I suspect that the posty didn't even walk to my door. The paper version of the delivery notification was in my locked mailbox near the sidewalk. (It's a community mailbox with individual, locked mailboxes and a couple of parcel lockers.) They used to hang those notifications on my door handle.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Taxlady, might you consider a Skybell Video Doorbell or similar product (Ring, Simplisafe etc)?  Even if they don't ring it, it sends a notice to your cell phone.  If they do ring it, you can talk to them via your phone (love that commercial where the lady says she's bathing the children right now!)  You can also just look at the porch to see what's there.  

I also have USPS Informed Delivery.  I don't know if there's a similar thing in Canada.  The Informed Delivery sends me an email each morning showing me scans of what mail I'll get that day and a package ID # for any packages.  It also allows me to submit a message when I do NOT receive an item scheduled for that day.


----------



## taxlady

GinnyPNW said:


> Taxlady, might you consider a Skybell Video Doorbell or similar product (Ring, Simplisafe etc)?  Even if they don't ring it, it sends a notice to your cell phone.  If they do ring it, you can talk to them via your phone (love that commercial where the lady says she's bathing the children right now!)  You can also just look at the porch to see what's there.
> 
> I also have USPS Informed Delivery.  I don't know if there's a similar thing in Canada.  The Informed Delivery sends me an email each morning showing me scans of what mail I'll get that day and a package ID # for any packages.  It also allows me to submit a message when I do NOT receive an item scheduled for that day.



It's definitely worth considering the video camera thingee. I'll have to check how close to the door someone has to get for it to go off. I don't have a porch. I have a townhouse in a condo association. The walk way is right up to my front door and front wall. That's like having the sidewalk right up against my house. A fare number of people walk past my door in a day. I could be getting notifications quite frequently.

But, honestly, why should I have to buy something, when they are supposed to ring the doorbell? Also, there are some security concerns with those video systems that notify your cell phone.


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> Also, there are some security concerns with those video systems that notify your cell phone.




What issues?  We have one, haven't heard of any. 

UPS, etc.  never noticed if they are required to ring the bell.  Here they just drop and run!  

Many items UPS just send an email saying they "tried" to deliver today and couldn't.  But I have discovered that it has just gone straight to the Post Office and not here. 

At my box on the road at the farm - they only put a parcel notice in your box, never on your door.  Defeats the purpose of the box doesn't it.

UPS did come to the door on the farm and here as well, but here not always ringing the bell, just leaving the parcel.


----------



## GinnyPNW

taxlady said:


> It's definitely worth considering the video camera thingee. I'll have to check how close to the door someone has to get for it to go off. I don't have a porch. I have a townhouse in a condo association. The walk way is right up to my front door and front wall. That's like having the sidewalk right up against my house. A fare number of people walk past my door in a day. I could be getting notifications quite frequently.
> 
> But, honestly, why should I have to buy something, when they are supposed to ring the doorbell? Also, there are some security concerns with those video systems that notify your cell phone.



Oh, yes, that might make it a challenge to install and not have too many unwanted notifications!  You can turn off the notifications and just look, but I suppose that's not much help.  

I've heard of the hacking problems with Ring.  That's one of the reasons we got the Skybell, since it is a "professional" product and not the #1 popular product, less likely that folks will bother building a hack for it?  (Same logic for computer anti-virus software.)

OT, but kind of funny...we were out camping a couple of years ago, when a neighbor rang the home doorbell, at 6AM wearing his pj's!  By the time I bothered to get up and check who was there, he had left.  I called his wife and asked if it was "possible" that hubby came to our door in his PJ's.  She didn't know, because she was out of town too!  Turns out, he took the dog out & locked himself out, and no one was home.  Ooops!


----------



## taxlady

Dragnlaw, the video camera connects to your wifi. It has to to access the internet. It uses the internet to tell your phone about the things that are in view on the camera. As I understand it, it is an easy place to hack into your wifi network. That would give access to everything else that is connected to that network. If you want more specific info, I could ask DH, a computer engineer with a serious interest in digital security. Or someone else who knows might reply.


----------



## dragnlaw

Thanks appreciate!.  But no, not necessary as I'm certainly not too worried about it.  It will send a 'signal' but only a video/picture/sound if you ask for it.   So as said, not worried about it much more than someone hacking my messages/text.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Idiots on the roadways (again)!  Out in the country, on two lane roads (one for each direction), folks are flying at 55, 60, 65, 70 mph.  And many of them are not paying any attention...or they are paying attention to their phone instead of their driving!  They cross the line into oncoming traffic or end up in the ditches.  

In the PNW, lots of places have swales, ditches to allow the frequent rain a place to go to ground.  No sidewalks, just the ditches.

I've got a window decal that reads, "Honk if you Love Jesus.  Text if you want to Meet Him."  

'Nuff said.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Today must have been Drive Like an Idiot Day on both coasts, Ginny. Some jerk passed me on the entrance ramp (silver sedan, lots of rear window decals [emoji849]); another driver on the freeway passed me so closely they almost took my front bumper off, just so they could pass a driver in the left lane on their right (hey, pink SUV, I see you...). The rest of the idiots were so minor league they don't warrant mentioning.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Oh, dear, CG!  I'm glad you made it thru unscathed!


----------



## Katie H

I can understand.

We live in a very rural area.  Just to say...out in the country.

Having said this, there are posted speed limits.  The one that is before our house is 35 mph.

You'd never know that because there are times when I cannot even see what color the vehicle is.

Yeah, 35 mph!


----------



## skilletlicker

*Hooray for the FDA*



			
				NPR said:
			
		

> Experts Advise FDA To Authorize Pfizer COVID Booster For People 65 And Older
> September 17, 20213:45 PM ET


I live in a 9th-floor apartment. Betwixt overcrowding and no mask/improper mask use, riding the elevator is like licking a petri dish.

I'll be first in the booster line.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

skilletlicker said:


> I live in a 9th-floor apartment. Betwixt overcrowding and no mask/improper mask use, riding the elevator is like licking a petri dish.
> 
> I'll be first in the booster line.



I was first in the Covid line and am pushing for the booster to be offered to healthcare workers. Yes, offered, I do not like mandates.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Dialysis today  Had to ferry granddaughter to activity, then pick her up, then make supper.  I'm worn out.  Youngest has developed a cold.  He's not feeling the best.  I'm thinking early bedtime for everyone tonight.  Sleep will be welcome.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Dialysis today  Had to ferry granddaughter to activity, then pick her up, then make supper.  I'm worn out.  Youngest has developed a cold.  He's not feeling the best.  I'm thinking early bedtime for everyone tonight.  Sleep will be welcome.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Sleep well, CLN!  Sounds like you earned it!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Not my gripe, but I'm not happy for my son.  He, & wife went elk hunting, bringing an expensive packable boat to carry out the meat should they harvest an elk.  A bear stole their boat, and chewed on one of the backpacks.  I'm just glad that they are safe.  Montana is bear country.  They're cutting the hunt short, and will be home tonight.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

That sucks Chief.  Glad they are safe though.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Wow!  That is a scary story!!  And very glad that cutting the trip short is the worst of it?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chief, where are you in Montana?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Bears are scary. I'm glad they're safe and unharmed, Chief. A friend of ours is a thru-hiker, having completed the AT (in one very long section, then the last two states the next year) and the Continental Divide Trail. On one of his many hikes, he encountered a bear. It's a toss-up as to which of them was more surprised. Thankfully, our friend came out of that experience alive. 

Chief, if you ever have lots of time and not much to do, you might enjoy his blog. Photos of his campsite will take you back to your scouting days! 

Some of the rest of you might want to take a peek,  too. Besides excellent writing, he posts amazing photos...food for the eyes no matter who you are and what your interests are.

https://www.lbhikes.com/


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Wish I had access to chicken feet, pork trotters, and such.  They are so rich in collagen, and add so much to a good soup, or batch of beans, stews, etc.  You just simmer them low, and slow, all day, to dissolve the goodness, then remove before serving.  So much texture (mouth feel), and nourishment is given by tripe, chicken feet, trotters, etc.  Unfortunately, in the U.S., they are rarely available, unless you have an Asian market nearby.  And I don't.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Wish I had access to chicken feet, pork trotters, and such.  They are so rich in collagen, and add so much to a good soup, or batch of beans, stews, etc.  You just simmer them low, and slow, all day, to dissolve the goodness, then remove before serving.  So much texture (mouth feel), and nourishment is given by tripe, chicken feet, trotters, etc.  Unfortunately, in the U.S., they are rarely available, unless you have an Asian market nearby.  And I don't.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Oddly, I just saw chicken feet at our local Walmart, maybe a week or two ago.  They may still have them, I've not looked for them.


----------



## GinnyPNW

You know, Chief, if you have a local butcher shop, you might inquire if they can save some for you?


----------



## skilletlicker

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Wish I had access to chicken feet, pork trotters, and such.
> ...



I can usually buy fresh split pig feet at Kroger; sometimes smoked. Have you thought about asking the meat manager at any big chain grocery stores nearby if he can order them? Or if there is any ethnic diversity in the area where do immigrants shop? Soul food?

Chicken feet - Kosher or Halal grocers? Might even be worth a call to the nearest big Synagogue and Islamic Center.


----------



## Kathleen

Cooking Goddess said:


> Today must have been Drive Like an Idiot Day on both coasts, Ginny. Some jerk passed me on the entrance ramp (silver sedan, lots of rear window decals [emoji849]); another driver on the freeway passed me so closely they almost took my front bumper off, just so they could pass a driver in the left lane on their right (hey, pink SUV, I see you...). The rest of the idiots were so minor league they don't warrant mentioning.



People around here have never been good drivers but, since the pandemic, most drive like they are playing a video game.  I've started turning on my turn indicator later than usual to keep people from flooring their accelerator and prohibiting me to merge.  Scary at times.



PrincessFiona60 said:


> I was first in the Covid line and am pushing for the booster to be offered to healthcare workers. Yes, offered, I do not like mandates.



Offered is appreciated.  Currently, the job is mandating us left and right.  Draining.




Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Dialysis today  Had to ferry granddaughter to activity, then pick her up, then make supper.  I'm worn out.  Youngest has developed a cold.  He's not feeling the best.  I'm thinking early bedtime for everyone tonight.  Sleep will be welcome.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Rest well.  Take care of yourself.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kathleen said:


> Offered is appreciated.  Currently, the job is mandating us left and right.  Draining.



We are losing staff due to mandates, good staff. CMS and CDC still have us in masks. Tired of it.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Maybe the name of this thread needs to be changed?  Call it, "I have a really good reason to complain" or something?  

I'm with you guys!!


----------



## taxlady

GinnyPNW said:


> Maybe the name of this thread needs to be changed?  Call it, "I have a really good reason to complain" or something?
> 
> I'm with you guys!!



We used to have a thread called "Venting", or something like that. I can't find it. This thread was meant for lesser vents.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Chief, where are you in Montana?



I'm in Helena, Mt.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I'm in Helena, Mt.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Beautiful place!


----------



## skilletlicker

Just a test post, out of idle curiosity to find out if I've been banned.

...yet


----------



## Andy M.

skilletlicker said:


> Just a test post, out of idle curiosity to find out if I've been banned.
> 
> ...yet






Not yet!


----------



## dragnlaw

testing... testing...   yup, we can see you!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

skilletlicker said:


> Just a test post, out of idle curiosity to find out if I've been banned.
> 
> ...yet



Are you asking to be banned?


----------



## skilletlicker

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Are you asking to be banned?



Aww, princess. Of course not. :smile


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> View attachment 48848
> 
> The replacement arms to our two patio chairs arrived this morning via FedEx ground.
> The delivery driver simply placed a huge box on our front patio and left!
> No knock, no doorbell ring, nothing!
> It just so happened that DH was leaving for the post office when he saw the trucking driving away... glad he went to check.



Call us glutton's for punishment!
After much discussion, DH and I came to the conclusion that we'd bite that preverbal bullet and go ahead and order the matching Loveseat and Market Umbrella to complete our Patio Furniture Set.

Guess what?

The matching fabric is out of stock now until the ending of November 

Did I not try to convince DH to order it all one crack back in April?
At the time he felt that we should order things piece-meal and spread out the cost.
NOW ... 

Oh well, that's how the dice roll sometimes.  Dang it!


----------



## taxlady

I'm a night owl. I got to bed at around 03h30. Construction noise started not far from my bedroom window at about 08h00. I tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't. Our produce basket arrived while DH was in a work meeting. The driver couldn't find my house. I had to go outside and wave at him. Then, while the meeting was still going, our booze order arrived. I can't leave that outside my front door. So, I had to dash down the stairs again and drag in the heavy box.

Later, when I unpacked the basket, they had sent me two, not one, basil plants. (I only got charged for one.) And the young rainbow chard is huge. I have some pots in my living room, where I plant stuff like that, because it lasts much longer than in the fridge, but now I have to find more space than I had figured on. 

That was more than I wanted to deal with in a hurry, with not enough sleep. I'm exhausted. I have washed the peppers, apples, and a lemon. They are drying and I will  put them in the fridge in a little while. I still have to plant that darned basil and rainbow chard.

Okay, end of rant. I just wanted to complain.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

taxlady said:


> I'm a night owl. I got to bed at around 03h30. Construction noise started not far from my bedroom window at about 08h00. I tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't. Our produce basket arrived while DH was in a work meeting. The driver couldn't find my house. I had to go outside and wave at him. Then, while the meeting was still going, our booze order arrived. I can't leave that outside my front door. So, I had to dash down the stairs again and drag in the heavy box.
> 
> Later, when I unpacked the basket, they had sent me two, not one, basil plants. (I only got charged for one.) And the young rainbow chard is huge. I have some pots in my living room, where I plant stuff like that, because it lasts much longer than in the fridge, but now I have to find more space than I had figured on.
> 
> That was more than I wanted to deal with in a hurry, with not enough sleep. I'm exhausted. I have washed the peppers, apples, and a lemon. They are drying and I will  put them in the fridge in a little while. I still have to plant that darned basil and rainbow chard.
> 
> Okay, end of rant. I just wanted to complain.



Complain away, Taxy.  Now, if you can. drink some hot, sleepy time herbal tea, and get a much needed nap.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Annual check up for my 5-MPH bumpers today at the hospital's imaging center. I'll happily go through five minutes of serious discomfort for a year's worth of peace-of-mind - because I might not catch something the ol' scanner could catch.

Anyway, I call to pre-register on Monday. Park where I usually do - a less-often used parking lot and a door that doesn't have the TSA security arch and guard. Get to imaging just in the nick of time (road detour since last year that added time) and...find out that I have to go back to the main entrance to answer Covid-related questions. Now I don't object to the questioning, I understand I might end up in a line, but for Pete's sake (and mine), could they please advise people when they phone to pre-register that a new step has been added? Thankfully I was taken in and didn't have to reschedule my appointment.

The girl at the desk said that the new policy had been in effect for a few months. I apologized for being healthy and having no clue since I hadn't been to the hospital since a year ago. I'd rather be clueless; I don't want a Frequent Customer Card for a hospital!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

But I like the *Frequent Customer Card * I get the tenth stent _free_.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I may have just fallen victim to a phishing scam, where I got an email stating that over 300,00 was removed for annual auto-renewal of McAfee.  The instructions gave a phone number to call to cancel, and get a refund.  I felt inspired by what I believe is the Holy Ghost to avoid this and made the call.  The scammer wanted for me to install a program by which he could access my computer, and download to me a refund form.  Like a fool, I did it.  I quickly changed my mind an uninstalled it.  I also checked my financial accounts to see if the amount stated for renewal had been taken from any of them.  They haven't been touched.  I can only hope I was able to block this by uninstalling the share program.  I know better than to do this.  I'm kin of kicking myself right now.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Sorry you got 'caught' Chief...  BUT - *Congratulations *for jumping in and stopping it!


----------



## GinnyPNW

Oh, dear, Chief!  There are bad folks everywhere, it seems.  For months and months, we got the call on the home phone, the phone that we never answer, that said Microsoft was closing and we needed to call to get our refund, or pay something, I forget, so that our computer would work.  Microsoft going out of business.  Yeah, right.

When we were out camping with friends, earlier this year, our friends got a call from dad with a similar report of a caller like yours.


----------



## skilletlicker

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I may have just fallen victim to a phishing scam, where I got an email stating that over 300,00 was removed for annual auto-renewal of McAfee.
> ...



https://forums.mcafee.com/t5/Securi...be-McAfee-charging-399-99-to-your/td-p/672307


----------



## GinnyPNW

Just got back from the market.  The woman behind us...and because she was behind us, this can be a "petty vent," were I behind her, might not be so petty...LOL.  Anyway, she must have bought at least 6 boxes of every kind of pasta and rice mix they have in the store.  To each his own, but she was on the cell phone so she could only put 3-4 boxes on the belt at a time.  Just what she could grab, move and adjust on the belt with one hand.  The other was occupied holding the phone.  

Really!?  Then, when the checker asks if she wants paper or plastic, she can't even answer her.  This is a bag-you-own place, but the checker needs to know as they now have to charge for plastic bags.  Sigh.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

GinnyPNW said:


> Just got back from the market.  The woman behind us...and because she was behind us, this can be a "petty vent," were I behind her, might not be so petty...LOL.  Anyway, she must have bought at least 6 boxes of every kind of pasta and rice mix they have in the store.  To each his own, but she was on the cell phone so she could only put 3-4 boxes on the belt at a time.  Just what she could grab, move and adjust on the belt with one hand.  The other was occupied holding the phone.
> 
> Really!?  Then, when the checker asks if she wants paper or plastic, she can't even answer her.  This is a bag-you-own place, but the checker needs to know as they now have to charge for plastic bags.  Sigh.




Obviously, that shopper is the most important person on the planet, and common courtesy isn't something she needs to practice.  (this is sarcasm, just so I'm not misunderstood).  She's part of the problem with our society.  She'd be the first to complain if she was inconvenienced by someone else.  All we can really do is be courteous, and respectful of others, and hope our example helps change others for the better.  GinnyPNW, I can tell from your posts that you help make this old world a better place.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Oh, dear, Chief!  While I do try, I'm not sure I succeed each and every day! 

Can't find a blushing Smiley face...but picture it here!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

GinnyPNW said:


> Oh, dear, Chief!  While I do try, I'm not sure I succeed each and every day!
> 
> Can't find a blushing Smiley face...but picture it here!



We are not expected to be perfect in this life.  We are expected to try our best and when we falter, and fail, to try again.  As we go through mortality, we learn and grow from everything we experience.  I have to pick myself up, reevaluate myself, and try again regularly, just like everyone does.  The difference is that we keep trying to get better.  You are a class act Ginny.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Here yuh go Ginny!  You're doing great!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Disappointed with the grandkids today.  Just got home from dialysis and was planning to make a good dinner for them, as Mom and Dad will be home from work late.  Breakfast dishes, with food still on them, weren't cleaned up.  I asked if one of them would get me a package of antelope meat out of the freezer.  There are multiple small freezers in the house, all of the easy to get to, for the.  For me, it's climbing stairs, which I can do, but is a challenge if I have to carry something.  Not one of the three was willing to assist.  I called out the unwashed dishes in the kitchen and got "That's not my job.  My job is to do..."

Tonight, dinner is going to be canned, condensed tomato soup.   If they are unwilling to cooperate with me, I'm not putting out the effort to make something tasty for them.  I don't even feel like taking them to their soccer practice tonight.  I'm obligated to do that however.  There will be no desert , and the most basic meal.  That's all they deserve.

Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Disappointed with the grandkids today.  Just got home from dialysis and was planning to make a good dinner for them, as Mom and Dad will be home from work late.  Breakfast dishes, with food still on them, weren't cleaned up.  I asked if one of them would get me a package of antelope meat out of the freezer.  There are multiple small freezers in the house, all of the easy to get to, for the.  For me, it's climbing stairs, which I can do, but is a challenge if I have to carry something.  Not one of the three was willing to assist.  I called out the unwashed dishes in the kitchen and got "That's not my job.  My job is to do..."
> 
> Tonight, dinner is going to be canned, condensed tomato soup.   If they are unwilling to cooperate with me, I'm not putting out the effort to make something tasty for them.  I don't even feel like taking them to their soccer practice tonight.  I'm obligated to do that however.  There will be no desert , and the most basic meal.  That's all they deserve.
> 
> Chief Longwind of the North



Geez *Chief*, I'd say that they didn't deserve anything, 
it'd be fend for yourself kid!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Geez *Chief*, I'd say that they didn't deserve anything,
> it'd be fend for yourself kid!



Then they'd eat goodies, like Nutella and toast, or bananas, or something like chocolate milk.  Nope, they get only the simplest of foods.

Maybe I should have made them plain oatmeal, with no sweeteners or milk.  Ah, I can't be that mean.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Then they'd eat goodies, like Nutella and toast, or bananas, or something like chocolate milk.  Nope, they get only the simplest of foods.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



You're a terrific Grandpa *Chief*!


----------



## GinnyPNW

*Uh, oh...the TP shortage returns...*

Had to run out to Walmart for paper products...computer/printer paper, paper towels and TP.  It was 1PM and no TP to be found.  Well, no Charmin (regular).  They had the super strength stuff, but we're on a septic tank, so we don't want the super strong stuff.  

Sigh.  I guess we'll be getting up early and going straight to Walmart for TP tomorrow.  Although we don't let it run down as low as we used to do.  Learned our lesson the hard way and don't want to revisit that lesson!  Especially when someone (DH) in the house has Colitis!  

We noticed a lot of depleted shelving around the store.  Hmmmm....


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

This is Petty, but I'm really PO'd! 

The only Social Media that I participate in is here at DC 
and my personal blog.
I used to be on all of them, but meh, too much nonsense going on.

DH and I have not been getting on with his side of the family 
lately, and one in particular is our Niece-In-Law... we haven't 
spoken in two years, and that's fine by us.

Anyways, my Mother does have a Facebook account, and is
"friends" with her.  
From time to time I check in on Mom's account, just to be
sure that everything is copasetic.
I noticed that our NIL has been "blocking" Mom from 
a good part of her posts! 

I think that's pretty crappy, if you ask me, no one did but there it is!


----------



## GinnyPNW

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> This is Petty, but I'm really PO'd!
> 
> The only Social Media that I participate in is here at DC
> and my personal blog.
> I used to be on all of them, but meh, too much nonsense going on.
> 
> DH and I have not been getting on with his side of the family
> lately, and one in particular is our Niece-In-Law... we haven't
> spoken in two years, and that's fine by us.
> 
> Anyways, my Mother does have a Facebook account, and is
> "friends" with her.
> From time to time I check in on Mom's account, just to be
> sure that everything is copasetic.
> I noticed that our NIL has been "blocking" Mom from
> a good part of her posts!
> 
> I think that's pretty crappy, if you ask me, no one did but there it is!



I agree with you K-Girl, that is pretty crappy.  And, I'm with you on the FB thing too.  I've never had an account and don't plan to either.  And, I was really uncomfortable with a camping group when belonged to that would publicly post camping events, dates, times and who was attending!  Yikes!


----------



## karadekoolaid

Family is family, but not all families get on with each other all the time. 
If it were your son or daughter, I´d say you´d have a very good reason to be upset and try to fix the problem.
But a niece? A niece-in-law? Nah - don´t even fret about it, it´s not worth it.If you´ve made the effort to be nice and she´s rejected it, so be it - that´s her problem, not yours. 
Facebook is a "virtual" contact, not a real one, which means that anyone can block anyone at any time, for any reason. Big deal; it´s not even a face-to-face situation, which means people can appear to be brave, or cowardly, without actually having to face the REAL facts of life. 
I´ve always gone by the maxim that If you can´t control it, don´t let it bother you, so just forget about the niece because there´s nothing you can do about it. The stress isn´t worthwhile!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

GinnyPNW said:


> I agree with you K-Girl, that is pretty crappy.  And, I'm with you on the FB thing too.  I've never had an account and don't plan to either.  And, I was really uncomfortable with a camping group when belonged to that would *publicly post camping events, dates, times and who was attending!  Yikes!*



Ooh, double yikes *Ginny*!
I don't want anyone getting all loosey goosey with their "fingers" on any Social Media platform, yappin' about who, what, when or why, that includes me or my family.  That's my business. 



karadekoolaid said:


> Family is family, but not all families get on with each other all the time.
> If it were your son or daughter, I´d say you´d have a very good reason to be upset and try to fix the problem.
> But a niece? A niece-in-law? Nah - don´t even fret about it, it´s not worth it.If you´ve made the effort to be nice and she´s rejected it, so be it - that´s her problem, not yours.
> *Facebook is a "virtual" contact, not a real one*, which means that anyone can block anyone at any time, for any reason. Big deal; it´s not even a face-to-face situation, which means people can appear to be brave, or cowardly, without actually having to face the REAL facts of life.
> I´ve always gone by the maxim that If you can´t control it, don´t let it bother you, so just forget about the niece because there´s nothing you can do about it. The stress isn´t worthwhile!



Very true point about Social Media Platforms *kara*, the sad thing is is that my Mother doesn't "get it".  She thinks that my Husband's Nephew's wife is sending Mom direct, personal contacts via FB. 
I've tried to explain this to her, but she doesn't really know the difference between an email, a PM or IM or DM or even just a plain ole post on any platform! 
You should see her with her new Tracfone! 

DH had deleted all of her contacts from our phones, etc.
She is now persona non grata, period and there's no coming back from that with him, especially.
Now that I've seen what she's been doing to my Mother, who is no relation to her at all, that's the icing on the cake for me too!
I feel that's just not the right thing to do to her, at all!
I'm done with the whole lot!

And you're right *kara*, I don't let something that I have no control over bother me, I just let it roll off my back and say, oh well, their lose, not mine.
*shrug*

Just a vent, I'm good now


----------



## taxlady

K-girl, how do you know she is blocking your mother from seeing some of her posts? Are you still FB friends with the NIL? Maybe she doesn't want to upset your mum. 

I block some of my posts from many of my cousins view. I don't want to read the stupid comments I might get. Now, I'm not expecting stupid comments from all of the ones I don't let see the post, but I know they are in touch with those who would make the stupid comments and I just don't want the drama of them finding out that I didn't let them see my post.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

taxlady said:


> K-girl, *how do you know she is blocking your mother from seeing some of her posts?* Are you still FB friends with the NIL? Maybe she doesn't want to upset your mum.
> 
> I block some of my posts from many of my cousins view. I don't want to read the stupid comments I might get. Now, I'm not expecting stupid comments from all of the ones I don't let see the post, but I know they are in touch with those who would make the stupid comments and I just don't want the drama of them finding out that I didn't let them see my post.



*taxy*, the way that I know this is happening is when I'm on Mom's FB account (I no longer have an account) and I go to our NIL's page, there are certain posts that say this:
"This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted."
These are on NIL's post after our falling out with her.
NIL is excluding my Mom from her posts!  Little sh--! The posts are mostly about our Grand-Nephews, who we and my Mother had relationships with.
Like I said, I'm done with the lot!


----------



## taxlady

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *taxy*, the way that I know this is happening is when I'm on Mom's FB account (I no longer have an account) and I go to our NIL's page, there are certain posts that say this:
> *"This content isn't available right now
> When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted."*
> These are on NIL's post after our falling out with her.
> NIL is excluding my Mom from her posts!  Little sh--! The posts are mostly about our Grand-Nephews, who we and my Mother had relationships with.
> Like I said, I'm done with the lot!



No, that doesn't mean that NIL has excluded your mum. If she had blocked your mum from seeing the post, she wouldn't see anything. It means that the original post, the one that your NIL shared, has vanished or that your mum isn't in the audience that the original poster chose. As an example, a friend of mine shares a lot of posts by the police about missing people. Often, when the person is found, the police delete that post and then all you see is that message from FB. Even my friend only sees the message from FB.

Let's say you and I were friends on FB, but I wasn't friends with your mother. If I post something "friends only", then you can see it. If you share that, then your mother looked at your page, she would see that you posted something and that FB message, because she wasn't in my post's audience. It wouldn't be you blocking the message from your mum's view.

I found this out because every once in a while someone posts something in a group and some of us can see the post and some of us can only see that FB message. It always turns out that the person shared something from a friend. Sometimes they get the friend to change the audience to public, and then we can all see it.


----------



## Just Cooking

Yes, @ what taxlady said.

*"This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted."
*
That, simply means that the person posting it, did not have 'permission' to share it on her/his own page.

Nothing shady happened there.

Ross


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

HMMMM .... 

I'll go back and look again, but I was pretty sure that 
the posts originated from NIL, but I'll look again.

But I'm still PO'd at her


----------



## roadfix

Facebook is complicated.   Best thing is not be on it or think about other people’s actions.


----------



## Lee Vining

I've tried every soap scum removal product on the market with no satisfactory results. ZEP, all of them closely following instructions. Nothin'.

So, I tried the Dawn Soap and vinegar in a spray bottle trick. Soak over night then attack with with a magic eraser.
It works great. Easy.

The Dawn soap in the refill for sprayers blends much better with the vinegar. No need for baking soda.

Kids shower/bath gets a lot of use and I think bar soap leaves the most residue. Builds up fast.
I'm switching them over to body wash. Maybe that rinses cleaner and leaves less residue..


----------



## GinnyPNW

Lee Vining said:


> I've tried every soap scum removal product on the market with no satisfactory results. ZEP, all of them closely following instructions. Nothin'.
> 
> So, I tried the Dawn Soap and vinegar in a spray bottle trick. Soak over night then attack with with a magic eraser.
> It works great. Easy.
> 
> The Dawn soap in the refill for sprayers blends much better with the vinegar. No need for baking soda.
> 
> Kids shower/bath gets a lot of use and I think bar soap leaves the most residue. Builds up fast.
> I'm switching them over to body wash. Maybe that rinses cleaner and leaves less residue..



Sounds like you've found a way to deal with the soap buildup!  I don't have this problem.  That said, we use a Soap Saver under the bar soap: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/spectrum-dino-soap-saver/1010318440?skuId=10318440&enginename=bing&mcid=PS_bing_nonbrand_bath_Online&product_id=10318440&adtype=&product_channel=Online&adpos=&creative=&device=c&matchtype=e&network=s&gclid=080ab8c672381be3a8d5d94cdb923bf6&gclsrc=3p.ds&&utm_source=bingpla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=ProductType2%3Dbath%2520organizationProductType3%3Dshower%2520%26%2520bath%2520caddies&enginename=bing&msclkid=080ab8c672381be3a8d5d94cdb923bf6&creative=78271540439813&device=c&matchtype=e&gclid=080ab8c672381be3a8d5d94cdb923bf6&gclsrc=3p.ds  It keeps the soap from just sitting and soaking in water...and melting!

Also, not sure what kind of bar soap you are using...or the kids are using?  We like to use a more natural product, like Goat's Milk or Almond Milk.  The theory is it is better for our septic system?  Anyway, I find it at Natural Grocery or Whole Foods.  But, since they closed our Whole Foods, I just order it online.  

Good luck on your battle!


----------



## taxlady

We use something similar to this. One in the shower, one at the sink, and there used to be one downstairs in the washroom, but we forgot to get a new one when the washroom was renovated. When I have some spare time, I'll get a new one. They are magnetic.


----------



## GotGarlic

Lee Vining said:


> I've tried every soap scum removal product on the market with no satisfactory results. ZEP, all of them closely following instructions. Nothin'.
> 
> So, I tried the Dawn Soap and vinegar in a spray bottle trick. Soak over night then attack with with a magic eraser.
> It works great. Easy.
> 
> The Dawn soap in the refill for sprayers blends much better with the vinegar. No need for baking soda.


Vinegar and baking soda would react with, and neutralize, each other [emoji848]


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*What the what?*

For whatever the reason, I started doing a "Goggle Search" for 
all of the photographs that I have attached to my personal blog posts.

Two of them came up on Restaurant Menus,
3 different restaurants specifically. 
One of the restaurants is in my Mother's hometown!

Also, another photo is on a Sausage company's website as part of a
recipe that I know they did a copy & paste of not only the photo but 
I recipe as well!

*BUT WAIT!*

Then I found a food photo of mine on another bloggers site, with her
recipe for that dish.  Why use my photo though?  If this is your
dish, can't you post a picture of your finished product?  Oh and did I say
that this blogger is a published author? 

I've emailed to each of these sites, requesting that they either
take my photographs down or at least give me credit for them!
So far, I've only gotten responses from two of all of the above.


On a good note though, there was an article in a Hawaii Magazine
that used one of my food photos and did give my personal blog
the credit, that I was pretty proud of, but heh, maybe you 
could also have told me that was what you were doing?


----------



## msmofet

That stinks Kgrl!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My gripe -  I just spent about 4 hours making various types of calzones for dinner tonight, with my own pizza sauce, and filled with chopped black olives, sautéed freshly sliced cremini mushrooms, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and fresh mozzarella.  My upper bac is now mildly aching, along with my neck.  I kept getting interrupted by nature's call, which led to Imodium.  Granddaughter, and grandsons got home from school.  I asked if anyone was interested in assisting.  No takers.  Then, the 12 year old granddaughter pipes up - :Be sure to clean up after you're done, Grandpa.  I know, they're just kids.  but...  I feel like saving them cold, clumpy, gooey  oatmeal for dinner  Instead of carefully crafted calzones.

i put away the perishables.  That's all the cleaning I'm doing. There's only the saucepan with a couple tbs. of sauce left, and the cutting board i worked the dough on.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> My gripe -  I just spent about 4 hours making various types of calzones for dinner tonight, with my own pizza sauce, and filled with chopped black olives, sautéed freshly sliced cremini mushrooms, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and fresh mozzarella.  My upper bac is now mildly aching, along with my neck.  I kept getting interrupted by nature's call, which led to Imodium.  Granddaughter, and grandsons got home from school.  I asked if anyone was interested in assisting.  No takers.  Then, the 12 year old granddaughter pipes up - :Be sure to clean up after you're done, Grandpa.  I know, they're just kids.  but...  I feel like saving them cold, clumpy, gooey  oatmeal for dinner  Instead of carefully crafted calzones.
> 
> i put away the perishables.  That's all the cleaning I'm doing. There's only the saucepan with a couple tbs. of sauce left, and the cutting board i worked the dough on.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North




*Chief*, do you have to feed these little ingrates? 
I mean, is this part of your household responsibilities?
Do you have an agreement with your son and DIL?
If not, I'd be cooking/making meals just for myself, 
foods that I'd like to eat.

I for one would have let them fend for themselves long ago.
I'm sure that they are not too young to scratch together
their own snack after school or even a microwave single-serve
of Mac N' Cheese for supper that most youngster adore.

At the very least *Chief*, I would have a conversation with
your Son and DIL.  Maybe have the weekly grocery list 
include something they could make for themselves without your assistance. 
This could turn out to be a great life's learning opportunity for the
grands.

Me, if I _had _to feed the kids, I'd keep it super simple
and easy on me.  

I don't know, but just my 2¢
but I'm too old for that kind of c---


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *Chief*, do you have to feed these little ingrates?
> I mean, is this part of your household responsibilities?
> Do you have an agreement with your son and DIL?
> If not, I'd be cooking/making meals just for myself,
> foods that I'd like to eat.
> 
> I for one would have let them fend for themselves long ago.
> I'm sure that they are not too young to scratch together
> their own snack after school or even a microwave single-serve
> of Mac N' Cheese for supper that most youngster adore.
> 
> At the very least *Chief*, I would have a conversation with
> your Son and DIL.  Maybe have the weekly grocery list
> include something they could make for themselves without your assistance.
> This could turn out to be a great life's learning opportunity for the
> grands.
> 
> Me, if I _had _to feed the kids, I'd keep it super simple
> and easy on me.
> 
> I don't know, but just my 2¢
> but I'm too old for that kind of c---



I spoke wit my DIL.  Both she and my son have told the kids that I am to be treated with dignity, and respect.  I just had a 20+ minute talk with the grandkids.  I let them know that there will be np phones, no games, no TV, and no snacks until  al chores are done, including homework, when they get home, by rule of me, and their parents.  They seemed to understand.  We'll see hoe long it lasts.  I enjoy cooking special things for them.  I can't wrestle with them, or run with them, or teach them Judo, or many physical thigs.  Cooking them something good I can do.

Besides, I remember how bad I was at doing chores at ten years old.  I think it's hereditary.  I grew up to be highly responsible.  They will too.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Woke up today with working internet WiFi at the resort. Checked email and stuff just fine. When I was getting ready to switch to the Cleveland sports radio station *boop*, no internet. They were experiencing issues in the office too, so we figured it had something to do with the road work out front. Later, 30+ miles away at Target...no internet. The customer service clerk said that they had been having problems all day. So we tapped into mobile data on our phones. Good thing I just downloaded the next mystery book in the current series that I am reading.

See you guys whenever.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My belly is too full. I didn't even eat that much. Is that a petty vent/gripe?

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> My belly is too full. I didn't even eat that much. Is that a petty vent/gripe?
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



+1 here Chief!  After doing all the cooking I guess, I just wasn't too hungry.  It may have been that I turned the heater up for MIL.  She complains of being cold at our house.  With the heater turned up by 2 degrees and 2 ovens going, the ice water just wasn't keeping me cool.  Still too hot in here for me!  I may go out on the porch or something.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

**Rant**

I have a younger sister that is a *schmuck*! 
She calls our Mother _maybe _once every 2-3 months;
very rarely came to visit her even though she only
lived a 2 hour car ride away.

Now, do you think that the b____ could have called her
Mother on Thanksgiving?

NOPE!

AHH! But wait! 
She's been all over the different Social Media sites
patting herself on the back for making her very
first Thanksgiving meal for her family.



I'm beyond P.O'd!

Mom is still sitting there, clutching her cell phone, 
wishing that her youngest would call her.

This just breaks my heart.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Oh dear, K-girl!  I must say, I have a cousin much like your sister.  When we all lived in California, it was an unsaid rule that Thanksgiving was at my house and Christmas at hers.  I made all the traditional dishes, they brough a bottle of wine or flowers, if I was lucky.  Christmas at her house was she bought tamales...

Anyway, one year, she called me to say that her family (hubby + 3 kids) would not be attending Thanksgiving.  She hoped that her mother and her brother's family would still be invited.  I told her, sure, of course.  Then she told me, oh, good, because she'll be having FRIENDS over for Thanksgiving.  





Let's just say, when we moved, I forgot to send her our new address.


----------



## GinnyPNW

*Flashing Yellow Left-Turn Arrow*

This is a serious gripe!  I'm very concerned!  For some reason, not too long ago, they changed the way the left-turn arrows work.  It used to go from Green Arrow to Yellow Arrow and then to Red Arrow.  Folks knew that time was running out when they saw that Yellow Arrow.  Many folks seem to regard that Yellow Arrow means go now or you'll lose your turn.  

Recently, they changed them so that half way thru the Green Light for straight traffic, the Yellow Arrow starts doing a blinking arrow.  It seems that many folks aren't paying too much attention and they think Yellow means I better stomp on the gas or I'll miss my turn.  

We've had several situations where we are going straight and all of a sudden the left turn folks start turning right into the oncoming traffic (US!)!!!  OMG!  It was really close one time, in the motorhome and folks, just so you know, big rigs need more space to stop!  This is really dangerous.  I've seen cars do this in front of fuel trucks too!  It was close and DH was looking for a place to put us, so that we wouldn't be "involved" in what looked like might happen!

Today, we went to MIL's to pay her bills.  On the way back, there was a horrible accident.  Guy in a Smart Car clearly did something not so smart!  While we didn't witness the actual crash, I'm pretty sure it was a situation like I've described above.  A really bad mess.  It may have happened only a minute before we got there.  Thank goodness I stopped to show MIL some photos on my phone just before we left!  

They really, really need to get rid of the flashing yellow arrows.  People don't get it!


----------



## pepperhead212

People think the road is designed for them, and them alone!  And I swear, turn signals are optional on today's cars.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I can't tell you how many times I've had to take evasive maneuvering skills because someone pulled out of a side street when the roads wee slick with ice, even wet ice (almost no friction on wet ice) to avoid a collision.  Usually, there was no one behind me at all, and the errant driver then pulled off the main street a block sown the road.  I've even had to steer into snowbanks to avoid hitting other stupid drivers.

I'm not a big fan of cameras everywhere monitoring our every move.  However, I sometimes wish there were cameras monitoring stretches of road just to capture such illegal actions as Failure to Yield right of Way,  and police would show up ta the perpetrators home with a hefty fine.

I know that accidents will happen.  But there are just some rude, and dangerous drivers out there that should have their driving privilege's revoked.

My best example is from when I was taking my drivers test with the Secretary of State officer who would say yay, or nay to me getting my first drivers license.  My reflexes have always been fast, and i had a few years of driving snowmobiles, and dirt bikes under my belt, which further honed my skills.  I was driving uphill on a four lane busy road.  The weather was poor, rainy, and night time.  I was in the right hand lane traveling the speed limit of 35 mph.  There was a small grocery store just ahead where patrons would enter, or rxit their parking lot.  just as I approached, a driver shot out of the parking lot, and I had no time to even hit the breaks to avoid a collision.  Reflexively, i glanced left and saw the lane was clear, and shot into that lane.  I was able to avoid what the inspector thought was going to be a sure collision.  His knuckles were white as he gripped the arm rests.  He turned to me and said that i had made a few minor mistakes, but that after avoiding that accident, I passed my driving tests, and the minor mistakes were forgotten.  i responded with a thank you, and told him I couldn't have gotten into a wreck, as my older sister had let me borrow her car for the test, and if I had wrecked it, she would have killed me.

And yeh, I agree, when some new traffic signal, or process is installed, many are the people who misunderstand how to interpret them.  We had our first roundabout installed at a very busy intersection.  i saw people entering it and traveling the wrong direction on it, as they had no cue how to se it, or why there were two lanes in it.  There were even a few accidents.  And this is not anything against Canadian drivers, but it seemed travelers from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. ad more difficulty than their U.S. counterparts.  To be fair, most Michiganders had a difficult time navigating the one-way streets of downtown Soo, Ont.  I guess it's just what you're used to.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Glad you passed your test, Chief!  Thanks for sharing!


----------



## blissful

I'm not a big fan of cameras everywhere. Last year, a car pulled across a highway and my husband unavoidably hit them. It was on a highway camera because it is a busy inlet to a gas station. There, right on video no question of why or what, or who's fault it was. The other driver is in prison now, it is sad all around.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Lots of stupid drivers out there. I got a dash cam in my semi truck. 3 bad accidents involving trucks in the past couple weeks. Caused by the car running a stop sign and hitting another vehicle that slammed into a semi. Next a suv pulled out infront of the truck. The suv burned to the ground. 2 occupants life flighted. The third one caused by the car slamming on his breaks to turn with no signal. That one caused a chain reaction 3 cars one semi. One was my little cousin.  16 years old. Luckily he walked away without a scratch.


----------



## Andy M.

This is a really *petty* vent. 

We watch TV news daily, local and national. I wish the local stations and the networks would show some imagination and show a clip of anything other than someone getting a shot in the arm every time COVID is the topic. I figure I've personally seen every other person in America get a vaccination.


----------



## dragnlaw

I commonly went thru a little village with little or no traffic. It did have a school and a church. 

One day there was a wedding.  A car was parked at the corner, I could not see for on coming traffic, (it is a main thru-fare) nor kids.  I did get thru, no mishaps but on the way back, the car was still there. 

I got out and wrote a note, "Watch for a picture of your car with the corner street signs, the picture will also include your license plate.  See it on Youtube and Facebook. Maybe your boss will see it."

Stuck it in the windshield and left.


----------



## taxlady

My petty vent has been annoying more and more for a few years. It's that stores are carrying less and less whole grain pasta and bread and replacing it with gluten free stuff. This is great for people with coeliac disease or actual gluten intolerance or sensitivity. I'm happy that they can find these foods more easily now. But, I hate the marketing that is getting people to buy more expensive gluten free stuff because it's "healthier". It's only healthier for people who don't tolerate gluten.

Another one having to do with baked goods and pasta. Stop calling it whole grain, when the first ingredient is "unbleached flour" or "enriched flour". That's white flour. And don't call it 100% whole grain when it has soy flour, chickpea flour, or flax seed meal. Soy, chickpeas, and flax are not grains.


----------



## GinnyPNW

+1 on your vents, *taxlady!*  For us and our critters too!  

Although, for my dogs, I do like to avoid Corn, Wheat, Soy and Beef, but that is due to those being the most common reasons for dog food recall...and dogs just don't need corn, wheat or soy...they are fillers.  And beet pulp is just to sweeten it, it doesn't improve it.  And beef makes Stanley gassy anyway!  Clear the room gassy!  Ooops...TMI?  Sorry!


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> My petty vent has been annoying more and more for a few years. It's that stores are carrying less and less whole grain pasta and bread and replacing it with gluten free stuff. This is great for people with coeliac disease or actual gluten intolerance or sensitivity. I'm happy that they can find these foods more easily now. But, I hate the marketing that is getting people to buy more expensive gluten free stuff because it's "healthier". It's only healthier for people who don't tolerate gluten.


There are a few grocery items I like that I haven't been able to find locally, so I bought them through Amazon.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Alec Baldwin gets a news special to talk about how innocent he is? What a load of BS! If it were any "normal" person they would presumed guilty before the trial even started.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Had to go to Freddie's today.  Found ginger snaps, thank goodness, for the Christmas sauerbraten...among other things.  Relieved to be back home as there were too many people rushing...I guess they all have to poop really bad!  Glad to be home in one piece!


----------



## taxlady

My petty vent is more of a disappointment. We were supposed to be heading to Cornwall, ON to visit my m-i-l and b-i-l for the holidays. They both have cold symptoms. They are both double vaxed, but people are still getting the omicron variant of C-19, who are double vaxed. And, the symptoms of omicron are more "cold like". In a couple of studies of vaxed people who came down with omicron, over half didn't even have an elevated temperature. Well, we don't want to risk omicron. Heck, we don't even want risk of catching a cold.

So, we were thinking that maybe we could visit for New Year's. But, cases have been surging in Quebec and they will be announcing new restrictions at 18h00. The government had already announced some new restrictions a day or two ago. We will have to follow restrictions of two separate provinces, if the in-laws are feeling better soon. Sigh. I think we'll be visiting the in-laws for Easter.


----------



## msmofet

I AM LIVID!! That the ER doctor didn't give DD an antibiotic!! Her doctor said he didn't get the whole cyst, and it got so infected. What surgeon does a procedure and not prescribe antibiotics? Heck, even when you get a tooth pulled, you get a script to prevent infection. She's in so much pain.


----------



## taxlady

I'm so sorry that you and your DD are having to deal with this, especially during the holidays.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

msmofet said:


> I AM LIVID!! That the ER doctor didn't give DD an antibiotic!! Her doctor said he didn't get the whole cyst, and it got so infected. What surgeon does a procedure and not prescribe antibiotics? Heck, even when you get a tooth pulled, you get a script to prevent infection. She's in so much pain.



What is she getting for pain??  PM me if you want.


----------



## msmofet

PrincessFiona60 said:


> What is she getting for pain??  PM me if you want.



Nothing. She’s taking ibuprofen. The ER guy didn’t give her anything.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

msmofet said:


> Nothing. She’s taking ibuprofen. The ER guy didn’t give her anything.



She can take Tylenol along with the ibuprofen. Anything stronger would have to come from her doctor or the on-call doctor. Be tough to get something today, but worth the try. Once pain takes hold it's hard to get on top of it. On a scale of 1-10, if her pain is above a 5...call the doctor.


----------



## dragnlaw

I placed an order to be shipped.  It should have gone from Point A to Point B direct.  Could be done in 2 days max. (not counting holiday times)

Could someone please explain why a shipment must go from Point A to Point E to Point D, Point C and finally to Point B over an 8/9 day time line?

Gotta love the Post Office!  ...  not ...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Once again, I've been having issues with the DC app on my phone or tablet. Unless I "delete/install" it each time I want to log on, I get a "Access denied" message. I really prefer using my phone or tablet for DC and Facebook. It's easier for me to get in and get out without lingering.  Once I sit down at my laptop, it's just too danged easy to get sucked into the vortex know as the Interwebs. I have just too many things I want to get done without wasting time at a keyboard. Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me to take a break...


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> Once again, I've been having issues with the DC app on my phone or tablet. Unless I "delete/install" it each time I want to log on, I get a "Access denied" message. I really prefer using my phone or tablet for DC and Facebook. It's easier for me to get in and get out without lingering.  Once I sit down at my laptop, it's just too danged easy to get sucked into the vortex know as the Interwebs. I have just too many things I want to get done without wasting time at a keyboard. Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me to take a break...



Interesting that you post this, at this time.

For the first time, I get the same message trying to enter DC on my Android.
Has never happened before. I use my phone only because pics won't show up correctly on DC, if I load them from my phone to the laptop.

I suppose I have to delete DC from the phone.

Ross


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

My Gal Pal and I just got back from an overnight trip to THE Big City.
Before she came to pick me up for the drive down, DH told me
that I should be sure to pay for the hotel parking, since my friend
did the driving.



$38USD is a bit much, I think.
The last time that we were there is was $12


----------



## buckytom

K-girl, I pay $14 for 12 hours to park in our big city, but that's a corporate rate. It would be $21 for 12, or $40 per day otherwise. I'm on the fringe of mid-town. It's more expensive the farther in you go.

I remember parking for $5 a day when I first started working in the city in '85. Now they're talking about adding a congestion tax like London has. I'll probably have to kick in another $15 per day just to drive south of 60th street, any time of day. I get it that it's an attempt to force people to take mass transit, but crime is exploding on the subways of late. I guess they need more victims.


----------



## dragnlaw

Think I posted somewhere parking at the hospital was $21. for 3 hours.  Don't remember the maximum.

But there were *a lot* of people sitting in cars on the streets, just waiting for a call to come to the doors to pick up.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Last week the Micro-Exhaust Fan combo made the most horrific noise and would not work. 
I called my guy; he couldn't come until today.
Took the thing apart and found nothing wrong with it.
Hooked it all back up, turned it on, presto! It works fine, damn it! 
He said he has no idea what it was, but should this happen again, he said to just buy a new one. It won't be worth it fix it.
Yeah, but this visit, for nothing, cost us $72USD, damn it!!!!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

buckytom said:


> K-girl, I pay $14 for 12 hours to park in our big city, but that's a corporate rate. It would be $21 for 12, or $40 per day otherwise. I'm on the fringe of mid-town. It's more expensive the farther in you go.
> 
> I remember parking for $5 a day when I first started working in the city in '85. Now they're talking about adding a congestion tax like London has. I'll probably have to kick in another $15 per day just to drive south of 60th street, any time of day. I get it that it's an attempt to force people to take mass transit, but crime is exploding on the subways of late. I guess they need more victims.





dragnlaw said:


> Think I posted somewhere parking at the hospital was $21. for 3 hours.  Don't remember the maximum.
> 
> But there were *a lot* of people sitting in cars on the streets, just waiting for a call to come to the doors to pick up.



Mahalo, thanks guys, now I don't feel like such a dope.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Last week the Micro-Exhaust Fan combo made the most horrific noise and would not work.
> I called my guy; he couldn't come until today.
> Took the thing apart and found nothing wrong with it.
> Hooked it all back up, turned it on, presto! It works fine, damn it!
> He said he has no idea what it was, but should this happen again, he said to just buy a new one. It won't be worth it fix it.
> Yeah, but this visit, for nothing, cost us $72USD, damn it!!!!



I nuked a bowl of soup yesterday...just under 2 minutes.  It wasn't as warm as it should be and there was an odor that wasn't soup!  Immediately, I asked DH to unplug it and get it out of here!  This morning I ordered a new one.  Something different than the last one, and I just hope it fits!  

So, I feel for you *K-girl*!  Of course, I just bought a new bread machine...and I might not have done so, had I known the microwave was about to take a dump.


----------



## buckytom

I just got my car out of the lot before I got charged for another 12 hours. Here's the rates for tourists/visitors. Don't forget the 18 3/8% NYC parking tax, just so you can enjoy a little annoying math when you're being robbed.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Well, *Bucky,* I think you should have stayed the full 24 hours.  It really is the best deal.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Parking fees like that are one reason we don't go into Boston. The only time we've seen prices like that in Cleveland are for event parking. If you're away from the venues or in town on a regular night, you can usually find street or lot parking for free or cheap.


----------



## buckytom

GinnyPNW said:


> Well, *Bucky,* I think you should have stayed the full 24 hours.  It really is the best deal.





Lol, Ginny.
In my best yiddish accent, "Such a deal!"

I can park for free on my street after 7 PM, so it's cheaper, but you takes yer chances. Crime is spiking here. It's like the 70s and 80s again.


----------



## GinnyPNW

I kind of feel guilty...it is a very rare occasion that we pay for parking.  At the Farmers' Market, there is paid parking, to park closer, but it is a donation thing.  The Expo sometimes charges for parking and it is usually 6 bucks for the day.  Downtown Vancouver has parking meters in some places.  It takes quarters.


----------



## buckytom

I LOVE Vancouver. What a great city. The homeless thing is sad, but what an otherwise beautiful place with great people.

Lol, btw, I keep saying your name in my head, Ginny, like Forrest Gump.

Peas and carrots.


----------



## GinnyPNW

I believe the proper term now is "houseless".  We never had any, until 2021.  At least, we never saw any.  Now Portland, that's another story.  But I understand that Portland is "relocating" many because the houseless are getting hit by cars on the freeway.  So, some are relocating over to this side of the river.


----------



## buckytom

Yes, I heard that calling folks homeless is prejudicial. Getting the terminology seems more important than helping them, tho.

Back in the 90s and early 2000s, though, there was a big problem with people living on the streets. I remember it being a problem on many skiing trips to Whistler/Blackcomb. Being a NYer, it was nothing I've seen before, but many folks were shocked.

Maybe they got smart and moved south.

I still thing B.C. folks rock.


----------



## GinnyPNW

buckytom said:


> Yes, I heard that calling folks homeless is prejudicial. Getting the terminology seems more important than helping them, tho.
> 
> Back in the 90s and early 2000s, though, there was a big problem with people living on the streets. I remember it being a problem on many skiing trips to Whistler/Blackcomb. Being a NYer, it was nothing I've seen before, but many folks were shocked.
> 
> Maybe they got smart and moved south.
> 
> *I still thing B.C. folks rock*.



I've never been to B.C. or any other place north of the U.S. border.  I've been close to the border, but we stayed on the Washington and/or Idaho side.


----------



## dragnlaw

Why "houseless"  they could have termed it "apartmentless"  or "condoless" "townhouseless" and a few others.  

Seems like a gross mis-label.  "Home" can be a cave, a tent, etc.  

Maybe they were having a hard time coming to terms if the person said they were not "homeless" as they had a beautiful box they found behind Walmart. It fixes up real nice for their home.  

They are technically not homeless then.  Was that their problem?
If they never had a house in the first place - what does that call them?


----------



## GinnyPNW

dragnlaw said:


> Why "houseless"  they could have termed it "apartmentless"  or "condoless" "townhouseless" and a few others.
> 
> Seems like a gross mis-label.  "Home" can be a cave, a tent, etc.
> 
> Maybe they were having a hard time coming to terms if the person said they were not "homeless" as they had a beautiful *box they found behind Walmart. It fixes up real nice for their home.  *
> 
> They are technically not homeless then.  Was that their problem?
> If they never had a house in the first place - what does that call them?



I think that is exactly it.  They have a spot somewhere that they call home, but they do not have a building?


----------



## taxlady

The term I have been seeing recently is "unhomed".


----------



## dragnlaw

Bird house....    Bat house....   hmmm


----------



## roadfix

Nah….  I’ll stick to ‘homeless’ ‘illegal aliens’ ‘handicapped’ … and so on, thank you..


----------



## GinnyPNW

Well, we just got back from a trip to OHSU...taking us across the river into Portland, OR.  Whatever they are called, they certainly have NOT removed them from the sides of the freeways!  Sigh.  

The one name that I really object to is calling them "Campers".  I am a camper.  I gather up my gear, journey to a designated campground or camping area, I pack it in and pack it out.  They are NOT campers.


----------



## dragnlaw

I could make a comment on who some of those non-campers just might be - IMHO


but then that would be political and I'd probably get a rap on the knuckles.


----------



## bearcat22

*Nothing is petty*

My perspective is, too much of life is "death by a thousand cuts".  The chinese torture, not the idiotic song.


My observations:


Most people assume that bad things are inevitable, simply because they are common and longstanding.....therefore they conclude these things are impossible to change.  I strongly disagree.


Most of life is filled with small bad things, and most people are unaware of how things got that way in the first place.  Ignorance is the root of all evil.



I'm so tired of the attitude "you're the only one complaining" or "move on" or "suck it up and be a man" or "it's ONLY this, you're making too much of it" or "Can't you take a joke" or "yes, it's stupid, but that's the way we've always done it" or "failure is normal, I'm only human"


Life should be magnificent and nearly flawless in all respects, all of the time.  Accepting, tolerating even tiny insults and offenses and flaws only snowballs and makes everything worse.   Everything and everyone, under all circumstances should always be held to the highest standards with immediate and harsh accountability.


Is that idealistic?  Yes.  Is it unrealistic?  Absolutely not.  Evolution is painful and unforgiving, and culture can and should also be the same.


----------



## taxlady

I think it's time for a little more kindness and empathy. I would go on a big rant, but it would be considered political. Let's just say that I try to use the terms that marginalized people choose to be known by. There is no good reason to use terms that are hurtful.


----------



## bearcat22

taxlady said:


> I think it's time for a little more kindness and empathy. I would go on a big rant, but it would be considered political. Let's just say that I try to use the terms that marginalized people choose to be known by. There is no good reason to use terms that are hurtful.




There *is* a good reason to use any and all terms: freedom trumps feelings in importance and value.



Something is "hurtful" or "offensive" only if a person CHOOSES to be hurt or offended by it.  It is literally impossible to speak without what you say bothering SOMEONE.  



 An example:  "It's such a sunny day, how nice," is "offensive" to the person whose spouse just died from skin cancer due to too much suntanning.  



Censorship a very dangerous and slippery slope.  Manipulation of expression leads to manipulation of thought, and that leads to slavery.


----------



## taxlady

Bearcat, do you really think it's a good idea to call someone by a racial or ethnic slur? Is it okay because, fReEdoM? I'm not talking about censorship. I'm talking about lack of consideration. Most ethnic slurs are used with the clear knowledge that they will be hurtful. So are many other terms used about other marginalized people. Often those terms are used with the intention of being hurtful. There is never a good reason to use that kind of terms. That is not to say that there is a good reason to ban those terms. Heck, I don't want them banned. I want to know who the a**hats are who choose to be hurtful.


----------



## bearcat22

taxlady said:


> Bearcat, do you really think it's a good idea to call someone by a racial or ethnic slur? Is it okay because, fReEdoM? I'm not talking about censorship. I'm talking about lack of consideration. Most ethnic slurs are used with the clear knowledge that they will be hurtful. So are many other terms used about other marginalized people. Often those terms are used with the intention of being hurtful. There is never a good reason to use that kind of terms. That is not to say that there is a good reason to ban those terms. Heck, I don't want them banned. I want to know who the a**hats are who choose to be hurtful.



I don't think I can successfully help you, since you appear to be using  your emotions rather than your brain here.  However, others will  eventually read this, so, for the benefit of a hopefully calmer and more  rational posterity:



First of all, your implication is ridiculous and misleading.  I never  stated that I think it is a good idea.  I stated that freedom is a far  more important value to protect than subjective feelings.


Second, you write, "Most ethnic slurs are used with the clear knowledge  that they will be hurtful."  By saying this you ignore the axiomatic  fact that no term can do harm to anyone who does not choose to be  offended by it.


Ironically, YOU are the one demeaning your precious "marginalized  people" with the status of victim, as if they were not capable of  judging for themselves as individuals, not capable of choosing not to be  offended, whatever the intent of the term-caster.


I have no desire or need to shout down the moronic people who think that  applying labels on themselves, or claiming victim status, grants them  the right to dictate what terms I use or any other form of speech.   However, I do reserve the right to call them just what they are, and to  refuse to be cowed into paying even lip service to their absurdity.


Respect cannot be demanded, it has to be earned, on an individual basis.  It does not come as a perk of being a member of some kind of victim  class. 

It is a self evident fact that all persons are NOT equal. 


If someone made a remark that my background, Irish, consists of people  who are belligerent, violent, drunks, terrorists, that would not bother  me in the least.  Not only because I have the option of ignoring those  comments, but because I know, factually, that a great many of "my"  people DO objectively fit that description, whether I do or not. 


 If I'm bothered by that "slur" as you would put it, it's utterly absurd  and asinine to invent a "movement" to stamp out the "slur words", or to  insist on being called "IRISH AMERICAN" rather than "Mickey" or  "Paddy".   If that "slur" bothers me, it's up to me to address those  within MY cultural group to correct their ways, to stop being living  breathing proof of the negative stereotype.  But most of these  "marginalized people" you refer to aren't interested in personal  responsibility and accountability.  They just  want every unearned  privilege that victim status can get them.


 Slapping the label "Big Beautiful Woman" on herself and adopting a  snotty attitude can't negate the factual reality that obesity should be  met with revulsion in most cases, because it defies nature, it is  bluntly unhealthy. Screaming BBW isn't going to insulate you from the  factual reality of diabetes and heart disease, sorry ladies. If you don't like the label "fat" that is usually entirely in your hands.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you don't get to name yourself that.



Stereotypes  don't come out of thin air, they're based on observation of actual  behavior in the real world over time. Are they universally applicable?   Of course not.   It's called a "rule of thumb", and life would be  literally impossible without them.


When I go to  the light switch, I "pre judge" that it will cause the light to come  on, because I've observed so many times that it does so.  It's merely a  common sense conviction: Prejudice.  Will it sometimes not work that  way? Sure.  But I'm not going to let some idiot yell at me not to call a  particular brand of switch a hunk of crap when that brand  consistently breaks, because that is "offensive to the marginalized  inferior quality switch community"


 Objective Reality doesn't' care how you feel about it.


 By all means, taxlady, pour your empathy and indignation down a rat  hole.  But when you move in the direction of attempting to stifle free  speech, watch out.  I will be there to stop you.


----------



## taxlady

Bearcat, you have made yourself abundantly clear about your opinions. I don't think there is any point to further discussion of this with you.


----------



## bearcat22

taxlady said:


> Bearcat, you have made yourself abundantly clear about your opinions. I don't think there is any point to further discussion of this with you.




 On the contrary, I'd welcome calm logical refutation, if anyone can muster it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3PJF0YE-x4


----------



## dragnlaw

OK guys, you've both made your opinions abundently clear.  

Time to move on.


----------



## Just Cooking

bearcat22 said:


> Ok dragnlaw, you've made your unwelcome meddling abundantly clear.
> 
> Time to* **** off* and mind your own business.



You, a new member to DC, are actually telling established members of an established food forum to **** off?

Do you really believe that this is the forum for you?

Ross


----------



## buckytom

bearcat, while I respect your opinion about speech and freedom thereof, both in delivery and perception, that's not how it works with social media.

This is a privately owned site, and whatever you type in, upload, or otherwise offer as far as opinions, experiences, pictures, and often in our case - recipes, becomes the property of the site owners. They choose administrators to decide what is allowed on THEIR site. 

It took me a while to get used to that many years ago, but it it what it is. To put it succinctly, it's their candy store, not some American institution governed by constitutional law.

 By being a part of this community, you have to agree to abide by this, or otherwise **** off.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

[URL="https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/misc.php?do=sknetwork&page=rules"[/URL]

Please refresh yourselves on the Community Rules.  I've had enough of this "discussion."


----------



## buckytom

Apologies for the profanity, PF. It was for effect.

Anyway, getting back to squares. My car battery died again yesterday. I bought this car 3 years ago, and the first battery only lasted 2 years. This one lasted only a year.
The last time, my car was stuck in the city overnight with 2 windows half way down. I had called for roadside assistance for a jump start, but the bone-head hooked up the cables wrong causing a huge spark and ended up  blowing some fuses.
I had to keep running outside to check on it every hour or so, to make sure no one screwed with it. I  then had it towed to a dealership in Jersey the next morning to get the battery and fuses replaced.

Well, it died again, but this time I made sure the jump was done correctly, and I was able to drive it back to the dealership for a waranteed replacement.

I hope I don't have a vampire short somewhere that's draining the battery.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

I bought a boatload of Tupperware products when my DH and I first got together some 30+ years ago.
I spent that kinda of money thinking that our investment in all of those containers would be protected by their Life Time Warranty. 

WELL!

Mostly all of the lids have failed over the past year, to the point now that the ones that I use the most are down to only 2 lids that are of any use.

I have been going to Tupperware's site and/or calling for months now, and I'm getting pretty PO'd!!

"TUPPERWARE® WARRANTY
Please note that we are currently upgrading our warranty system. At this time, we’re unable to process warranty claims and we apologize for this inconvenience.

We expect to be able to begin processing warranty claims soon. Once we reopen our warranty system, you will be able to submit all claims, *including those that exist today*. "

Well now, I could say chuck it and purchase just the lids, but we're talking about a good many of them.


----------



## blissful

buckytom said:


> I hope I don't have a vampire short somewhere that's draining the battery.


My dad was a mechanic. I'd say, put some garlic in the vehicle.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Not the same thing...but, last summer DH had a dental "procedure" and required a driver to be on the premises.  I waited in the car.  It was warm.  I left the door open.  The interior light drained the battery.  Sigh.  Last thing one needs after surgery is a car that won't start.  

When we got home, I ordered a "jump box" and it resides under the driver's seat.  95 bucks is cheap insurance, in my mind.


----------



## taxlady

I used to have a car charger. It was great. The thing wouldn't switch on if the cables weren't hooked up right. It was just like getting a boost, but without the risk. It lasted about five years before it wouldn't hold a charge.


----------



## dragnlaw

Mine lasted for 1 charge and then died.  Even with the 'trickle charge' per the instructions.  Of course, this was not known til it was needed again.
$$ down the drain.


----------



## GinnyPNW

I got the idea because AAA used one to get us started again.  I got the same kind they use.


----------



## msmofet

GinnyPNW said:


> I got the idea because AAA used one to get us started again.  I got the same kind they use.


Please post a link to where I can buy one. TIA Ginny


----------



## GinnyPNW

msmofet said:


> Please post a link to where I can buy one. TIA Ginny



I got it on Amazon, but they don't have the model I purchased right now.  They have the one below it & the one above it.  So, I'm posting the Walmart listing as it is the same one I got.  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Audew-Portable-Jump-Starter-2000A-Peak-20000mAh-Auto-Battery-Jump-Starter-for-All-Gas-Engines-or-Up-To-8-5L-Diesel-Engines/414864757?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101075573&adid=22222222222517952259&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=74766939685841&wl4=pla-4578366470936803&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&wl10=Walmart&wl11=Online&wl12=414864757_10001094944&wl14=Audew%20Upgraded%20Car%20Jump%20Starters,%20Jump%20Box%202000A%20Peak%2020000mAh%20Battery%20Charger%20Automotive%20up%20to%20All%20Gas%20and%208.5L%20Diesel%20,%2012V%20Battery%20Booster%20with%203%20Modes%20LED%20Flashlight%20and%20Dual%20QC&veh=sem&msclkid=54726a5423421786e42e084d27d81428&gclid=54726a5423421786e42e084d27d81428&gclsrc=3p.ds


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Mine lasted for 1 charge and then died.  Even with the 'trickle charge' per the instructions.  Of course, this was not known til it was needed again.
> $$ down the drain.



Mine didn't have a trickle charger. It was basically for jump starting a vehicle. It was one of the Canadian Tire house brands. It was the size of a car battery, but fully encased. It had a powerful light and a cigarette lighter port. I found it useful and am not discouraged from buying another one, even though I would have hoped it would last longer. OTOH, looking at the one that Ginny got, I would probably want something that size.


----------



## taxlady

GinnyPNW said:


> I got it on Amazon, but they don't have the model I purchased right now.  They have the one below it & the one above it.  So, I'm posting the Walmart listing as it is the same one I got.  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Audew-Portable-Jump-Starter-2000A-Peak-20000mAh-Auto-Battery-Jump-Starter-for-All-Gas-Engines-or-Up-To-8-5L-Diesel-Engines/414864757?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101075573&adid=22222222222517952259&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=s&wl2=c&wl3=74766939685841&wl4=pla-4578366470936803&wl5=&wl6=&wl7=&wl10=Walmart&wl11=Online&wl12=414864757_10001094944&wl14=Audew%20Upgraded%20Car%20Jump%20Starters,%20Jump%20Box%202000A%20Peak%2020000mAh%20Battery%20Charger%20Automotive%20up%20to%20All%20Gas%20and%208.5L%20Diesel%20,%2012V%20Battery%20Booster%20with%203%20Modes%20LED%20Flashlight%20and%20Dual%20QC&veh=sem&msclkid=54726a5423421786e42e084d27d81428&gclid=54726a5423421786e42e084d27d81428&gclsrc=3p.ds



They didn't have that kind when I bought one, years ago. Does it protect your vehicle from accidentally hooking up the leads to the wrong terminals?


----------



## GinnyPNW

taxlady said:


> They didn't have that kind when I bought one, years ago. Does it protect your vehicle from accidentally hooking up the leads to the wrong terminals?



I don't know the answer to that.  Maybe someone else will chime in.  Sorry!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I bought a boatload of Tupperware products when my DH and I first got together some 30+ years ago.
> 
> I spent that kinda of money thinking that our investment in all of those containers would be protected by their Life Time Warranty.
> 
> 
> 
> WELL!
> 
> 
> 
> Mostly all of the lids have failed over the past year, to the point now that the ones that I use the most are down to only 2 lids that are of any use...
> 
> Well now, I could say chuck it and purchase just the lids, but we're talking about a good many of them.


I'm guessing that if you used the lids in the microwave, they'll say that the warranty is void. Most Tupperware is not microwave safe.

I do have a suggestion. Whether it works or not I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to try.  Many plastics will return to their original shape if warmed. Try soaking a lid in hot water - but not so hot you can't put your hand in it  - and then put the lid on its container. Let it cool completely before you take it off. I hope that works.


----------



## pepperhead212

I had an incredible amount of Tupperware when I moved into my house, in '83, which I got from my Mom, who, back in the 60s, maybe before, sold Tupperware!  This tells you how old this stuff was!  Back when the info came out about BPA being so dangerous, I got rid of most of the containers (well, I didn't actually get rid of them, but they are good for holding various junk in my workshop or shed), except the 2 large ones my flour is in.  Amazing how old those things are.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm guessing that if you used the lids in the microwave, they'll say that the warranty is void. Most Tupperware is not microwave safe.
> 
> I do have a suggestion. Whether it works or not I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to try.  Many plastics will return to their original shape if warmed. Try soaking a lid in hot water - but not so hot you can't put your hand in it  - and then put the lid on its container. Let it cool completely before you take it off. I hope that works.



Nah, the lids on most of my Tupperware have cracked, simply from alot of loving use.  I use most of my pieces for storage, flour, sugar, etc.
I have 4 that I put all of the fruit that I cut up for the `fridge.
But I've never put any of my pieces in the micro.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Just sos ya knows; tying too many flies in a day makes the muscles on either side of the cervical, and thoracic vertebrae ache.  And it's too early to go to bed.

My mouth is telling me to drink something cold and refreshing, like my Jungle Juice slushie; while m body says - no, you wat something warm and comforting, like a hot malted milk.  My belly says, I'm still full from dinner.  Don't you put anything else in me.  Woe, woe is me.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

My dishwasher went out, again, back on the 11th of this month.
I thought about having it repaired, but why?
Why not just buy a new one?

I placed an order for a Bosch 100 series with Lowes' and they couldn't give me a date, to call them in a few days.
I got a phone call today from Lowes', they have no idea when it would be available 

So I did a WWW search for appliance stores in our area and Best Buy popped up.
On their site, they had a model the model that I wanted at $200 less than what I paid Lowes'!!! 

I called to their customer service department and was told that it would be available April 24th, that it was coming straight from the Bosch factory.

DH is at the dentist, so I had to make an executive decision ... I bought it!

NOW!
Let's see what happens ...

In the mean time, I don't think that I'll be having any more dealing with Lowes'


----------



## Andy M.

K-Girl, I bought my Bosch from Best Buy after trying every other store in the region.


----------



## GinnyPNW

We've got fingers and paws crossed for you, *K-Girl*!  We had a similar situation for MIL, late last year.  We too ended up at Lowe's after trying Home Depot.  (Our favorite appliance store is no longer selling appliances...sigh...just building cabinets.)  Anyway, our saleperson ended up telling us that the computer gives a date, but they don't seem to come thru.  At that time, he blamed it on the microchip shortage.  He advised us to get something that they have in the warehouse.  We looked around and found one that we liked and they did have in stock.  Woo hoo!  Now comes the delivery and installation.  That was 2 months out!!  He blamed that on a lack of installation guys.

In the end, we went home and brought our trailer to pickup and take to MIL's.  Then we got on the schedule with our plumber for installation.  They were 2 weeks out, but much better than 2 months!  

Sadly, our dishwasher went on the fritz a few weeks back.  The repair guy was 4 weeks out, when he came, he could only diagnose and order parts.  Sigh.  So, we are another 3-4 weeks until he can come back.  We have a scheduled appt for April 15th and wait-listed for any cancellations that might come up leaving a 2 hour window for the fix.  

We do have a back-up, brand new dishwasher in the garage.  When we replaced the cooktop and oven, it came with a matching/free dishwasher.  The sales guy explained that it was a package, so we might as well take it and sell it.  Since we already had a new dishwasher and no need for a new one, we put it in the garage.  I really like the one we have and it is super quiet.  Something that is necessary with our "open concept" greatroom setup.  Necessary so we can watch TV and run the dishwasher...LOL.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Andy*, I had never thought to look at Best Buy for an sort of appliance.

*Ginny*, I too have all fingers, toes, paws, eyes ... everything crossed that we get this one!!!

When DH came home and told him about what transpired, his first question was, "Are you sure that we're going to get this one?"

Good question, we'll just have to wait and see.

Then I thought, well, maybe we could have this piece of ---- repaired in the mean time ... NOPE!!  My guy is booked out for the next 6 weeks! 

So here we are... it's going to be paper plates, plastic spoons and cups , for now.  I'm going to be washing dishes, pots, pans, glasses, cutlery, and all manor of eating/cooking utensils for ANOTHER 30+ days!  NO!
The weather is getting nicer, so I'll plan meals around the grill and that's the name of that tune!


----------



## dragnlaw

Kgirl, I feel for yuh!  But that's _really a sign of the times isn't it?_  We've had dishwashers/stoves/fridges/washers/dryers last for decades.  One of my favourite freezers was bought 2nd hand and lasted another 60 years _plus_ I sold it to a friend when I moved last year. 

Seems to me you just moved into that house and already the appliances are giving out...


----------



## GinnyPNW

Maybe we can start a new "one-pan" thread?  I'm happy to share some of our favorite meals that require only 1 skillet, pot or sheet-pan?


----------



## taxlady

GinnyPNW said:


> Maybe we can start a new "one-pan" thread?  I'm happy to share some of our favorite meals that require only 1 skillet, pot or sheet-pan?



I like that idea. But, it sounded familiar. There is already a thread for that: https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f143/wonderpots-or-one-pot-meals-91398.html

I'm glad to see that people put links to the recipes, rather than putting actual recipes in the thread. It makes it easier to find the recipes later, especially if all you remember is that you saw it on DC.


----------



## GinnyPNW

[B said:
			
		

> taxlady[/B];1675179]I like that idea. But, it sounded familiar. There is already a thread for that: https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f143/wonderpots-or-one-pot-meals-91398.html
> 
> I'm glad to see that people put links to the recipes, rather than putting actual recipes in the thread. It makes it easier to find the recipes later, especially if all you remember is that you saw it on DC.



Thanks, Taxy!  I added a couple of recipes to that thread.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

dragnlaw said:


> Kgirl, I feel for yuh!  But that's _really a sign of the times isn't it?_  We've had dishwashers/stoves/fridges/washers/dryers last for decades.  One of my favourite freezers was bought 2nd hand and lasted another 60 years _plus_ I sold it to a friend when I moved last year.
> 
> Seems to me you just moved into that house and already the appliances are giving out...



You got that right sister! 
Some many manufactured items now a days are nothing like what we had in the past, nothing! 
As to how old this piece of --- is, 6 years, that's all!!!
I was reading up on dishwashers and they say that Samsung has the most repairs, with GE, Whirlpool and Frigidaire right behind them.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

It's called "planned obsolescence" and it's been going on for ages. My BIL will kid that things are now manufactured to break down right after the warranty period - but he's really only half kidding when he says it. 

https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/planned-obsolescence-things-built-fail.html


----------



## roadfix

I’ve always washed dishes by hand so I have no idea what it’s like to not have a working dishwasher.  Every place I’ve lived had a dishwasher but I’ve never been a dishwasher kinda guy.   I got rid of the dishwasher in my current home and installed a wine cooler in its place.


----------



## Just Cooking

roadfix said:


> I’ve always washed dishes by hand so I have no idea what it’s like to not have a working dishwasher.  Every place I’ve lived had a dishwasher but I’ve never been a dishwasher kinda guy.   I got rid of the dishwasher in my current home and installed a wine cooler in its place.


At 83 years old, my Jeannie has never used a dish washer.
Since we have been together, the DW has always been a small storage unit.

Ross


----------



## rodentraiser

My petty vent today is I'm hungry. 

We get a weekly menu where I'm at and we can pick either the main meal or the alternate. I'm a picky eater but I've been getting by with some help ordering out occasionally.

I had so looked forward to today's breakfast of a cheese omelette and what do I get? A fried egg. I guess they didn't have any omelettes today. The alternative breakfast was a boiled egg. Both would gag me.

The rest of breakfast consisted of some sort of cream of cereal, wheat toast which can be subbed for white, and OJ. 

I've tried the wheat toast a couple of times and I couldn't eat it. Naturally, they didn't sub my wheat toast today for white. And the OJ looks like something is growing in it so I never drink it (my friend came to visit me once and saw the OJ and said she wouldn't touch it either and she loves OJ). We won't even talk about the cream of cereal.

So effectively I haven't had any breakfast this morning. I think they would have brought me the toast with white bread if I asked, but it's not their fault I hate fried and boiled eggs. 

Anyway, I'm going to ask for a hot chocolate and lunch is in less than an hour. Pork with gravy and buttered red potatoes which I've had before and are just divine. 

Hopefully when lunch comes I'll quit witching.


----------



## GinnyPNW

rodentraiser said:


> My petty vent today is I'm hungry.



That doesn't sound like petty vent to me!  Hunger is not fun!  Hope they feed you better and more often, sooner rather than later!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> My dishwasher went out, again, back on the 11th of this month.
> I thought about having it repaired, but why?
> Why not just buy a new one?
> 
> I placed an order for a Bosch 100 series with Lowes' and they couldn't give me a date, to call them in a few days.
> I got a phone call today from Lowes', they have no idea when it would be available
> 
> So I did a WWW search for appliance stores in our area and Best Buy popped up.
> On their site, they had a model the model that I wanted at $200 less than what I paid Lowes'!!!
> 
> I called to their customer service department and was told that it would be available April 24th, that it was coming straight from the Bosch factory.
> 
> DH is at the dentist, so I had to make an executive decision ... I bought it!
> 
> NOW!
> Let's see what happens ...
> 
> In the mean time, I don't think that I'll be having any more dealing with Lowes'



UPDATE!



BYE BYE!



Hello gorgeous!!!


----------



## GinnyPNW

LOL...*K-Girl!*  That's great news, in these days & times!  Happy for you!


----------



## rodentraiser

GinnyPNW said:


> That doesn't sound like petty vent to me!  Hunger is not fun!  Hope they feed you better and more often, sooner rather than later!



The food here isn't that bad. It's just occasionally the main meal and the alternate meal are both things I'd prefer not eating. And then sometimes I want both of them and have to make a decision, although once I pled and bled and got a grilled cheese sandwich from the alternate meal to eat with my chicken fingers and fries. lol

Plus, I could stand to lose a little (actually a lot) of weight. 

The aide brought in tons of snacks last night and I was stuffed. I still have some left over even, so it turned out OK.


----------



## Andy M.

I realize my petty vent is irrational and over the top but I can't help it.

Why is it that websites and recipe writers INSIST on calling any sauce that happens to be white in color "Alfredo"?  It's unimaginable all the different ingredients used in sauces that are inappropriately given the name Alfredo. I've seen egg, cream cheese, heavy cream, flour, garlic, sour cream, COM soup to name a few. I can't stand it!

Alfredo = butter, parm reg cheese and some pasta water. It's really not all that hard.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I realize my petty vent is irrational and over the top but I can't help it.
> 
> Why is it that websites and recipe writers INSIST on calling any sauce that happens to be white in color "Alfredo"?  It's unimaginable all the different ingredients used in sauces that are inappropriately given the name Alfredo. I've seen egg, cream cheese, heavy cream, flour, garlic, sour cream, COM soup to name a few. I can't stand it!
> 
> Alfredo = butter, parm reg cheese and some pasta water. It's really not all that hard.


I don't think it's irrational or over the top. It's very annoying. Okay, if you are shouting at people, then the reaction might be over the top. I have certainly been known to roll my eyes when I come across those kinds of recipes.


----------



## taxlady

My petty vent is about online shopping and credit cards, not in general, but specific stuff, all in the past month.

DH bought a new laptop. It worked fine. Then, he went to install something through a USB port and the new laptop couldn't read the USB stick. He checked online and found that it is a known problem with that model. Sometimes it just doesn't work from the get go. Sometimes they work for a while and then quit. So, he contacted the seller and was told to ship it back. When they have the laptop, they will issue a refund. So, he went online and bought another laptop - one that cost twice as much, but is more useful to him. That arrived a couple of days ago, but it didn't. We got a box that was about 6"x6", containing some sort of card in an envelope. No invoice. No packing slip. He got in touch with the seller. They wanted a picture, so he sent one. They tracked it down to a problem in their warehouse. The card thingee was supposed to be a surprise bonus. They have already sold and shipped the laptop DH was supposed to have and they don't have any more. It's a last year's model. Got the money credited back to the credit card a day or two after. DH has bought another laptop that should be arriving soon. At one point, we had all three laptops charged to the credit card at once. 

Then, yesterday, I ordered some socks and a polo shirt from The Bay. I got a notification from the credit card company (different credit card than the one the laptops were charged to) that there had been a charge. Fine, the amount was right. This morning, I got a notification that there has been another charge, for a smaller amount, from The Bay. It's still "pending". I hope it fixes itself very soon. I really don't want to have to deal with it.


----------



## dragnlaw

I believe I've mentioned this before but I just came across it again and it is SO ANNOYING!  

Blogs, especially food bloggers, seem to think that they need to be different and not print in good ol' black.  They choose to print in a pale blue or grey.  Why?  It is unreadable, print out the recipe and that too is so pale as to be unreadable as well. 

I used to copy, paste, correct almost every recipe from them.  Now I do use CMT and no longer have to deal with it (as much) 

but reading the blog is still such a pain!


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> I believe I've mentioned this before but I just came across it again and it is SO ANNOYING!
> 
> Blogs, especially food bloggers, seem to think that they need to be different and not print in good ol' black.  They choose to print in a pale blue or grey.  Why?  It is unreadable, print out the recipe and that too is so pale as to be unreadable as well.
> 
> I used to copy, paste, correct almost every recipe from them.  Now I do use CMT and no longer have to deal with it (as much)
> 
> but reading the blog is still such a pain!



For annoying fonts and colours, I use FireFox's Reader View. It ignores those. You access it by clicking the the striped box in the address bar. Here's a screenshot with a red arrow pointing at it.



This is what your post looks like in Reader View. 



Here, I have clicked the Aa to choose font size, background and other display choices.




And, if I want, it will read it out loud.


----------



## dragnlaw

How interesting, thanks *taxy*.  

Unfortunately I don't have that on mine. 
Maybe I'll try to find it, but it is spring and there are a few other things going on right now.


----------



## Andy M.

dragnlaw said:


> I believe I've mentioned this before but I just came across it again and it is SO ANNOYING!
> 
> Blogs, especially food bloggers, seem to think that they need to be different and not print in good ol' black.  They choose to print in a pale blue or grey.  Why?  It is unreadable, print out the recipe and that too is so pale as to be unreadable as well.
> 
> I used to copy, paste, correct almost every recipe from them.  Now I do use CMT and no longer have to deal with it (as much)
> 
> but reading the blog is still such a pain!



I found that if you highlight the text on your screen, the can help.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My petty vent is that I'm tired.  I let a particular poster ruffle my feathers, and responded ti his posts late into the evening (3:30 A.M.).  Then, I got up early this morning.  I think I need a nap.  I let my pride get in the way of better judgement.  This is why I value humility.  It allows you to learn, and not get all puffed up in yourself.  Well, it's time to pick myself up, dust off the mistakes, and stick to what I believe in, and know is right.  Just every now and again, it's beneficial to honestly self evaluate.  It's 9:25 A.M. here.  I believe a2 hour nap is in order.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> How interesting, thanks *taxy*.
> 
> Unfortunately I don't have that on mine.
> Maybe I'll try to find it, but it is spring and there are a few other things going on right now.



When you have time, check out the instructions here: http://mzl.la/1cHarCP

And I have done the same thing Andy does, highlight the text I want to be able to read more easily.


----------



## dragnlaw

Thanks *taxy*, I've made a note of it as well as Andy's suggestion.

*Chief*, I get it!  Very hard to control the feathers that are fluffing and rattling around at times. I always try to remind myself of the old adage 'count to ten' but that usually is remembered after I've opened my big mouth.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Not So Petty Of A Vent*

I could just sit down and cry at this point!

I have been trying for probably 10 years or more to get my Big City Boy on board with RV'ing.
As a small town-country gal, I've camped in all  manner of ways most of my life, well, until I met this guy.
With the onset of the Covid Pandemic, DH has realized that traveling by car and staying hotels/motels is no longer a good option, and we'd really like to get back out there.
I suggested RV'ing again a few months back and he jumped on board!
I started my search and came up with bupkis ... until the other day!
It's the floor plan that we like, it's in our price range and it's only a 3 day drive away.
WELL!
Then today happened... the market took a nose dive, dropping 1000 points, the political climate is in a shambles, interest rates went up a 1/2 point and diesel fuel is averaging $5.50/gal USD.
All cards are now off the table !!!

 crap!
I'm so (add your favorite curse word here please) P.O.'d
I just want to sit down and cry!


----------



## GinnyPNW

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> I could just sit down and cry at this point!
> 
> I have been trying for probably 10 years or more to get my Big City Boy on board with RV'ing.
> As a small town-country gal, I've camped in all  manner of ways most of my life, well, until I met this guy.
> With the onset of the Covid Pandemic, DH has realized that traveling by car and staying hotels/motels is no longer a good option, and we'd really like to get back out there.
> I suggested RV'ing again a few months back and he jumped on board!
> I started my search and came up with bupkis ... until the other day!
> It's the floor plan that we like, it's in our price range and it's only a 3 day drive away.
> WELL!
> Then today happened... the market took a nose dive, dropping 1000 points, the political climate is in a shambles, interest rates went up a 1/2 point and diesel fuel is averaging $5.50/gal USD.
> All cards are now off the table !!!
> 
> crap!
> I'm so (add your favorite curse word here please) P.O.'d
> I just want to sit down and cry!



Oh, dear, K*-Girl*!  Please know that my heart goes out to you!  As a confirmed RV girl myself, I understand where you are coming from.  That said, all of the above effects those that have an RV.  And, campgrounds are not all super friendly, these days.  Many don't have the funds to do maintenance...and others don't have any spaces available as they are all dedicated to Essential Workers.  I get it, but I sure miss the pre-pandemic days!!  Usually, at this point in the year, we would have reservations for the rest of the year...and have done a few trips already.  Now, we have only 1 trip planned, with reservations made last fall.  Haven't been to that park recently, so fingers and paws crossed that it will not have changed, much.  And, here's hoping that we are all healthy enough to make the trip too!  

What model/floor plan did you find?  It really is all about the floor plan!  Something that will work for what you want to do and what you want to bring along too.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

GinnyPNW said:


> ... snipped ...
> 
> *What model/floor plan did you find? * It really is all about the floor plan!  Something that will work for what you want to do and what you want to bring along too.



*Ginny*, I really like Leisure Travel Vans, ALOT!!!
At first I wanted a Wonder 24RTB, but I found a Unity u24RB, same floor plan, but much more of them available and less expensive with an older model... I found a 2013 Unity on the LTV Facebook site ... but that's been caboshed 
I can't keep setting myself up for disappointment!
And I can't start crying again, dang it all!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> *Ginny*, I really like Leisure Travel Vans, ALOT!!!
> At first I wanted a Wonder 24RTB, but I found a Unity u24RB, same floor plan, but much more of them available and less expensive with an older model... I found a 2013 Unity on the LTV Facebook site ... but that's been caboshed
> I can't keep setting myself up for disappointment!
> And I can't start crying again, dang it all!



Kgirl, I sincerely hope your finances bounce back so that you can realize your dream.  A prayer might help.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

We have been waiting to order a new car for some time now.  Long story, but we decided to go order one yesterday.  Drove the 30+ miles to the dealer and said, it is time!  

The computer was down.  

Drove the 30+ miles home.


----------



## taxlady

This is really minor, but it bugs me. A lot of recipe sites now offer the option of getting the recipe in US or metric units. That's nice. But, I really don't want someone to translate "one cup of flour" to 237 ml. No one who uses metric measurements measures flour by volume. It's by weight. Besides, my "bilingual" measuring cups only measure to the nearest 25 ml. Also, when I'm following a recipe that uses US units of measure, I measure flour in a dry measure cup and use a straight edge to wipe off the excess. How useful would someone using US measures find this amount - 0.42 cups? But, if I told you how many ounces of flour, that would be useful if you have a scale. Or maybe that would just be confusing, unless I specify that I mean ounces avoirdupois, not US fluid ounces.


----------



## taxlady

GinnyPNW said:


> We have been waiting to order a new car for some time now.  Long story, but we decided to go order one yesterday.  Drove the 30+ miles to the dealer and said, it is time!
> 
> The computer was down.
> 
> Drove the 30+ miles home.



What a nuisance. I guess you will phone before you go again. Did you pick out what you want and which options, on the internet?


----------



## GinnyPNW

taxlady said:


> What a nuisance. I guess you will phone before you go again. Did you pick out what you want and which options, on the internet?



Whelp, today, this dealer nearby-ish, called to say that the problem wasn't the computer but that they are no longer taking orders for 2022 models.  Instead, we need to wait a "month, or so" and order a 2023. Frankly, I'm doubtful.  Long story but we've been down this SAME road before.

So, today, we called a dealer not so nearby, but very popular, and they said they can still order 2022's, but they are taking about 4 to 6 months to build.  And, he needed to leave for the day.  Sigh.  So we'll talk again on Tuesday, when he is back.  

And, yes, we've built the car online without issues.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Kgirl, I sincerely hope your finances bounce back so that you can realize your dream.  A prayer might help.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Thanks for that *Chief*.
But'chaya know, it's not the money aspect of it, it's that DH is looking at the whole picture in front of us and it doesn't look good right now to invest that kind of money.



GinnyPNW said:


> We have been waiting to order a new car for some time now.  Long story, but we decided to go order one yesterday.  Drove the 30+ miles to the dealer and said, it is time!
> 
> The computer was down.
> 
> Drove the 30+ miles home.



Well now that's a B, *Ginny*!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

The healing of the surgery for the new fistula has now progressed to the itching stage.  It's now both painful, and itching.  I'll be so happy when it's finally healed.  At least with this one, there was no nerve damage done, and so the right hand still works 100%.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Well,* Chief*, that's good news and bad news.  Hoping the bad news goes away quickly for you.  Argh!  an itch that can't be scratched!


----------



## GinnyPNW

Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, *Chief!*  In the meantime, keep yourself as distracted as possible!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Ya know, I knew this was going to happen, I was just thinking about this yesterday. 

This morning I got a text from my sister, who I do not get along with and very rarely communicate with.  The only times I've heard from her is when she wants something from me. 

She was trying to make all nicey-nicey with me, asking me about some silly thing she noticed that I had on display in our guest room. 

I responded with a generic emoji, hoping that would end it there, NOPE!   

I got 3 more text, again, fishing for a conversation that I just do not care to have.  I know she’ll try to get into my good graces and think that she’s welcome to come to my home anytime she likes, NOPE! 

DH feels that I should cut her some slack and be nice to her.  Maybe she’s trying to make-amends and reconnect.  NOPE!  That ship sailed many, many, many years ago. 

HEH!  Wait a minute here! 

He was the very one that as soon as my sister and her husband left said, “Geez! I thought they’d never shut up.  I can’t take them!”


----------



## Andy M.

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...HEH!  Wait a minute here!
> 
> He was the very one that as soon as my sister and her husband left said, “Geez! I thought they’d never shut up.  I can’t take them!”



He may have been frustrated but I'm sure he doesn't want his feeling to effect how you relate to your sister.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Andy M. said:


> He may have been frustrated but I'm sure he doesn't want his feeling to effect how you relate to your sister.



*Andy*, I think it was more he didn't want to upset my Mother.
He's so genuinely caring of her (and me too).
He knows already how I feel about about my sister and her husband.


----------



## dragnlaw

*another downsize*

Picked up a box of tissues from the supply cupboard. Thought it felt squishy... 

So, now they have gone from 125 tissues per box down to 100.

Before that it was 128, before that was 150, before that... honestly don't remember but do remember that was when I started checking the boxes to make sure they said 150. Of course, along with that, not only the slow increase in price as well, the hidden increase in price. (or at least they _thought it _was hidden.. from who?)

If 'they' are going to reduce the contents, then 'they' should reconstruct the box. Please give us the benefit of the doubt in our inteligence to figure it out. It just makes the Marketing Departments look like moronic idiots. Of course that also reflects on the CEO's and Board of Directors that _believe_ the tripe fed them by Marketing.


----------



## Andy M.

We bought a new washer and  gas dryer. They were delivered Saturday and the washer was hooked up. A plumber and a permit were required for the dryer and that was scheduled for today.

It appears the codes for gas dryer installations have been toughened since our last purchase and they had to make some changes to stay up to code. The type of changes that cost $435.00 that we hadn't expected.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Andy M. said:


> We bought a new washer and  gas dryer. They were delivered Saturday and the washer was hooked up. A plumber and a permit were required for the dryer and that was scheduled for today.
> 
> It appears the codes for gas dryer installations have been toughened since our last purchase and they had to make some changes to stay up to code. The type of changes that cost $435.00 that we hadn't expected.



Ouch!

You know, here in the PNW, they don't want ANY GAS appliances in new construction!?


----------



## Andy M.

GinnyPNW said:


> Ouch!
> 
> You know, here in the PNW, they don't want ANY GAS appliances in new construction!?



Is that by law or is it a regional preference?


----------



## GinnyPNW

Andy M. said:


> Is that by law or is it a regional preference?



You know, I have to admit, I do not know.  I've heard the complaints from contractors, and I've overheard some things on DH's talk shows...and the fact that there are plans to close down power plants...I'll have to ask DH or otherwise look it up.  

For whatever it is worth, my house is all electric.  We don't have gas out in the countryside and hills here.  One has to have a propane tank installed, filled, etc, to have any kind of "gas" out here.  When we bought the house, I worried over that, now, I love my electric kitchen.


----------



## Just Cooking

Our entire 55+ apartment complex is gas free.
They don't trust us feeble old folk with gas.

Not a big deal except that my grilling days had to come to an end. I bought an electric grill and it is now a plant holder.

Ross


----------



## Marlingardener

People one sees only when they want something. Being asked for eggs, vegetables, herbs, even roses by people who never visit, never call to see how we are, never offer anything they might have. Entitled people are one of my pet peeves!
Fortunately, there is a complete cure for this--a firm NO works!


----------



## dragnlaw

Marlingardener - I agree, but I also found that if you suddenly start charging 
 (or raise the price) it them weeds out.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Just Cooking said:


> Our entire 55+ apartment complex is gas free...


I'm pretty sure that an apartment complex housing only people 55 and older is never, truly "gas free". : Just sayin'...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> ...the codes for gas dryer installations have been toughened since our last purchase and they had to make some changes to stay up to code. The type of changes that cost $435.00 that we hadn't expected.


Dang, *Andy*, that's a heck of a nasty surprise. Sorry that happened. We had a less expensive appliance adjustment when we moved here with our washer and dryer (both electric). When we bought the washer in OH, three-prong plugs were the "thing". By the time we moved here, we had to replace the power line with a four-prong plug. Didn't know that until our household goods were moved in - and we really wanted to wash clothes right away! Had to go out the day after moving to buy a new cord Himself could swap out, fortunately. Didn't cost us anywhere near $435, but it did take up time that we didn't have. You see, we had to turn around right after the move to MA to take our son in OH back to college in AZ. So. Much. Driving.


----------



## taxlady

When my mum was in her late 80s and still living alone in Copenhagen, she had memory problems. She once came home to fire fighters in her kitchen. She had gone out and left something on the stove with the gas burner on. The neighbours saw the smoke and called the fire department. They got there in time that there was no serious damage. But, the fire department called her social worker. The social worker arranged to have her gas cut off and have a special stove top installed. It was electric and had an automatic timer. When I went to visit, it was a real nuisance to cook on that thing.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm pretty sure that an apartment complex housing only people 55 and older is never, truly "gas free". : Just sayin'...



So, there are "laws" they have in place and more they are trying to put in place.  And, recently, Olympia passed a bill to OUTLAW gas powered motors after the (model) year 2030!  Cars, trucks, mowers, generators, and so on.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm pretty sure that an apartment complex housing only people 55 and older is never, truly "gas free". : Just sayin'...


If we could sell our gas, a cruise to the Bahamas might be possible.  [emoji6][emoji16]

Ross


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I hear you, *Ross*. If only we could drive our cars with "natural gas". 



GinnyPNW said:


> So, there are "laws" they have in place and more they are trying to put in place.  And, recently, Olympia passed a bill to OUTLAW gas powered motors after the (model) year 2030!  Cars, trucks, mowers, generators, and so on.


It wasn't cars and lawn mowers I was talking about...


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

My vent; the sound quit working on my laptop.  It will cost a minimum of $130 to get it repaired.  I reoladed all of the drivers, and updates, ran Windows diagnostics, which never helps.  It may need a new sound card.  For the hourly price of the computer repair tech, it better get figured out.   I just don't have the tools here to troubleshoot it myself
  I used to build computers, and repair aircraft electronics.  Oh to be young and strong again.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We have no water!  I made a "pit stop" after my baseball game and post-game were over, just before 12:30 AM. Everything was fine. Came back down to the kitchen, talked to Himself for about two minutes, then went into the kitchen to rinse out our little ice cream bowls. No Water!  We don't have water towers here (even though there are hills and rolling terrain), just concrete water tanks. Most of them are buried, although there is one above ground...on the ground. In fact, when there are no leaves on the trees, you can see the street lamp right by the tank outside our upstairs bathroom window a couple hundred feet away! Our pressure has never been great. We think it's 26 PSI because the number 26 is penciled in on the basement wall right above the meter. They started working on the tank closest to us the middle of May. Said it would be 2-4 weeks work. Over the last week our pressure has been great - until it became nothing. Had I remembered to reactivate my phone for the town reverse 911 system, we would have known ahead. Now we just wait, and hope that water is restored by the time we're getting ready for bed. If not, I have jugs of water in the basement!


----------



## taxlady

CG, that sucks. A warning is helpful.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well, *taxy*, I would have had a warning if I had our local reverse 911 alert active!  My fault.

On the other hand, the water started flowing again about 3:30. Bit brown, but a little running and it should get clear. Going to try and get it looking clean so I can get ready for bed.


----------



## Just Cooking

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> My vent; the sound quit working on my laptop.  It will cost a minimum of $130 to get it repaired.  I reoladed all of the drivers, and updates, ran Windows diagnostics, which never helps.  It may need a new sound card.  For the hourly price of the computer repair tech, it better get figured out.   I just don't have the tools here to troubleshoot it myself
> I used to build computers, and repair aircraft electronics.  Oh to be young and strong again.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



When our Smart TV lost its sound, we found that to repair it was more than we wanted to pay.

We bought a new TV and gave the older one to a grandson. He bought an inexpensive sound bar and its fine now.

You might check to see if a sound bar would work for your laptop.

Ross


----------



## GinnyPNW

Oh, goodness!  No water would be a big shock, *CG*!  Glad it came back on!  

Last time I found myself with "no water," was a number of years ago.  We were out camping, I was getting myself ready to return home.  DH was starting some of the outside clean up...when he decided to disconnect the water.  I was in the shower with shampoo in my hair!  Luckily, the shower is right next to the water connection & I pounded like crazy on the wall!  Water was restored within moments.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Dead Man Walking*

*Ginny*, I think you one-upped me with your "no water" story.  I was just trying to rinse dishes. You were trying to rinse...you!

************

Himself is walking on thin ice right now - which isn't easy to do when your daytime temperature almost reached 90. When I went upstairs this evening, I thought I heard water running through the pipes. I checked my bathroom sink - dry. I thought maybe the toilet tank flap wasn't sitting right - lifted the lid and all was right with that. Well, the only other place to check was Himself's bathroom. When I walked into his bathroom, the sink faucet was running slowly.  Hot water. For at least five hours! He runs it when he combs what he has as hair. Today? He forgot to turn it off before he headed downstairs.  He was lucky I didn't withhold his ice cream tonight.


----------



## taxlady

Wednesday, when I took out the garbage, I noticed that there was sticky insect trap stuck to my kitchen window sill. I thought it was odd, but didn't give it a lot of thought. I didn't have many spoons, so I left it. Last night, I noticed from inside the kitchen, that there was one stuck to the window. But, it was quite late and I didn't want to deal with it right then. I thought maybe someone had moved the one from the sill onto the window. This morning, as I was checking out my front door for any possible deliveries, I was met by a bigger surprise. There was one of those sticky traps stuck to my front door. Worse, there was something that looked sort of like vomit on my door sill and on the walkway in front of my front door. It didn't look like vomit from a person. It looked like the vomit from a cat that has been eating dry cat food. It could just have been kibble that had been soaked to a mush.

So, I swept away the "vomit" and the ants that were eating it. I'll let it dry more before sweeping it into a garbage bag. I grabbed both insect traps and put them in the garbage. These were a design I had never seen before. A foot long tube, but with a triangular cross section. They stuck to the inside of the garbage bag. PITA.

By the way. I live in a townhouse. There is no front yard. People walk past my window and door, within a few feet, all the time.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I hate pop ups on my cell phone.  I just lost twenty minutes of work, both in a thread I was pisting about how food enjoyment is enhance by proper temperature, and the, another 5 minutes worth of work in the petty vents thread.  I just started over in yhe petty vents thread.  A music video popped up, without me touching anything.  So annoying.  Any typos are going to be missed, because, as I type this, pop ups hide most of my text.  I need to use my laptop, instead of my phone.  It's a way better ecperience.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I hate pop ups on my cell phone.  I just lost twenty minutes of work, both in a thread I was pisting about how food enjoyment is enhance by proper temperature, and the, another 5 minutes worth of work in the petty vents thread.  I just started over in yhe petty vents thread.  A music video popped up, without me touching anything.  So annoying.  Any typos are going to be missed, because, as I type this, pop ups hide most of my text.  I need to use my laptop, instead of my phone.  It's a way better ecperience.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


Chief, there's a free app for smartphones that is much easier to use than the browser interface. Look for the Discuss Cooking app in the app store for the type of phone you have.


----------



## Marlingardener

Eating contests that involve vast amounts of food. There is a hot dog eating contest on July 4th and the winner gagged down 60-some hot dogs. There are chili eating contests won by someone who has absolutely no palate left. 

First, it is an insult to food, which should be enjoyed and savored, not crammed down one's gullet. Second, with the high incidence of obesity in the USA, it encourages overeating. And third, it is nauseating.
Vent over, I'll go eat a small salad now . . . .


----------



## dragnlaw

Marlin, you are absoluuutly right!  Think I made the same vent long ago. 

Along side all you've pointed out is that it is _outright dangerous_! I believe a person died (England?) in a hot chili eating contest.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

11 year old grandson argues with me every time I remind him of required chores.  I back up what I say referencing what his mother says.  He then argued that she didn't say that.  I challenged him to call his mom, as basically he's calling me a liar.  His response to my challenge, " I can't because I have to do my chores.  He has been told numerous times that he has to oney me when his Mom & Dad are at work.  If I'd have argued with my parents, or grandparents the way he does,   let's just say that I would have regreted it
  Slaps in the face, or soap in the mouth is not pleasant.  But I can't do that here as I would be overstepping my bounds.  It just gets old!   Maybe the next time he wants me to drive him somewhere, I'll just say no.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Chief, all I can do is give you   <<Hugs>>  and more <<hugs>>


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

dragnlaw said:


> Chief, all I can do is give you   <<Hugs>>  and more <<hugs>>



Thanks.  I couldn't ask for more.  On the plus side, in spite of the arguments, the chores got done.  Hooraw!

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Being an only child, my folks didn't have the opportunity to apply pressure thru siblings.  However, I was sent to spend summers with cousins in Texas.  Big families down in Texas.  Well, bigger than mine...LOL.  2 kids, 4 kids, 6 kids...and I spent time with each of them.  In the larger families, I remember that everyone was treated equal...and equally responsible too!  So, brothers and sisters made sure that everyone, including me, were doing things and getting things done, on time, etc.  Otherwise, everyone was lined up and held responsible.  Sure, the younger kids had fewer "responsibilities," I don't think they called them chores, but it was a long time ago.  And the older kids had "responsibilities" that might include caring for the younger ones.  From mealtime, to feeding livestock, to getting everyone ready for bed or ready for church on Sunday.  And we looked forward to dessert rewards or shopping trips, going to the swimming pool, and so on.  We didn't want to miss out on those things!  We helped each other!

I don't recall the ages of your grandkids and don't know how the above might apply...but I have fond memories of summertime in Texas...and it just came to mind.  

Good luck!  Having just spent a week with a 12-year-old on our camping trip, I think I get the picture!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I just spent 1.5 to 2 hours respooling my spare fly reel spare spool.  I wound the backing, fly line, leader, and tippet on for a right hand retrieve.  I retrieve left handed.  What a chore that was, with multiple bird's nests to untangle.  I need a nap! 

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I just spent 1.5 to 2 hours respooling my spare fly reel spare spool.  I wound the backing, fly line, leader, and tippet on for a right hand retrieve.  I retrieve left handed.  What a chore that was, with multiple bird's nests to untangle.  I need a nap!
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Ouch, Chief!  I hope you enjoy a nice nap!  I'm on my way to Mom's.  She says the fridge isn't making ice.  Just had that overhauled on 8/5/21 -- and it cost a pretty penny!  Sigh.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

GinnyPNW said:


> Ouch, Chief!  I hope you enjoy a nice nap!  I'm on my way to Mom's.  She says the fridge isn't making ice.  Just had that overhauled on 8/5/21 -- and it cost a pretty penny!  Sigh.



Ginny, I hope the fix on your Mom's ice maker is noth inecpendive, and essy.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Ginny, I hope the fix on your Mom's ice maker is noth inecpendive, and essy.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Thanks, Chief!  There was a big ball of ice cubes in it.  Dumped that.  It looks like everything is working.  I asked her if she might have left it ajar or something.  She says not.  She does keep her house between 74 and 77 degrees.  Knock on wood and all that, we will see?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Our freezer ice bin is in one of the fresh food doors. (We have a French door style.) The ice dumps all across the bin, but comes out the shoot in the middle. Sometimes the ice on the outside edges will get stuck, so I take the bin out of the door and give it a good shake every time that happens.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Ginny, we were both blessed today.  You Mom's freezer was an easy fix.  For me, I am happy to report that I just test cast my new Airflow 6 wt. floating line with universal taper, with a 14 size caddis dry fly tied on.  This line casts short, accurate casts, and shoots effortlessly, no double haul required.  The fly turned over beautifully, and landed like a dandelion seed.  After all the hassle, I have a dry fly, nymph setup, and a weighted streamer set up, both of which work extremely well.  And the CTS rod, well it's pure joy.  I am again a happy man.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

Cooking Goddess said:


> Our freezer ice bin is in one of the fresh food doors. (We have a French door style.) The ice dumps all across the bin, but comes out the shoot in the middle. Sometimes the ice on the outside edges will get stuck, so I take the bin out of the door and give it a good shake every time that happens.



Mom is 87.  Sigh.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Ginny, we were both blessed today.  You Mom's freezer was an easy fix.  For me, I am happy to report that I just test cast my new Airflow 6 wt. floating line with universal taper, with a 14 size caddis dry fly tied on.  This line casts short, accurate casts, and shoots effortlessly, no double haul required.  The fly turned over beautifully, and landed like a dandelion seed.  After all the hassle, I have a dry fly, nymph setup, and a weighted streamer set up, both of which work extremely well.  And the CTS rod, well it's pure joy.  I am again a happy man.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I'm so glad it works!  After all that work!!  Someone is looking out for us!


----------



## dragnlaw

Cooking Goddess said:


> Our freezer ice bin is in one of the fresh food doors. (We have a French door style.) The ice dumps all across the bin, but comes out the shoot in the middle. S*ometimes the ice on the outside edges will get stuck, so I take the bin out of the door and give it a good shake every time that happens.*



Automatic Ice Makers, especially ones with access on the front of the door, need to be used constantly.  Every couple of days ice should be removed, otherwise it jams up in the 'chute'. 

The chute is slightly warmer (duh... the door is there! ) so ice just sitting there for a long time will start to melt into each other.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I take ice out daily, dragn. I think the problem is the design of the bin. Cubes drop from the middle of the bin straight through to my cup. Because there is a bit of ice melt, the perimeter cubes are stuck together just enough so that they don't fill the empty center. There is nothing to push cubes to the center.  Hence, I do the shake-shake-shake every couple of days.  Works for me.


----------



## dragnlaw

*CG,* sorry you misuderstood me, I was quoting you as doing the _right thing_ but just putting it in other words.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Just got my order from Walmart feliveted.  It's missing yje lasagna noodles
  Npw, I'm going to have to make the sheets grom scratch. Rolling them out with a rolling pin.  Maybe I"ll make canoli instead of lasagna.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## dragnlaw

Aww, shucky darns, Chief!  How annoying!   

But, hey!  I got 2 boxes in the basement. 

Meet me down at the back garden fence in about 1/2 an hour.  Do you want just one or both?


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

dragnlaw said:


> Aww, shucky darns, Chief!  How annoying!
> 
> But, hey!  I got 2 boxes in the basement.
> 
> Meet me down at the back garden fence in about 1/2 an hour.  Do you want just one or both?



If only...

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GinnyPNW

I confess, I buy frozen lasagna sheets.  It is one of my favorite things.  All I have to do is remove the number needed and by the time I'm ready to use them, they are ready to be used.  

Sorry about your delivery *Chief!*  We had to run over to Mom's this afternoon.  On the way back traffic was bad, DH said, "We're not going to be able to stay here!  Start looking for property in Montana!"  So...you never know!  We might be neighbors, one day.  I would gladly share some frozen lasagna pasta with you!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

An absolutely sleepless night has just past.  After a talk with my son anout the state of my home in Mi., and the repairs it needs to make it safe, and up to code,  it would take more resouses than I have.  My wife livrs there, and refuses to move.  I have installed new pressure tank for the well, nrw hot water heater, new high efficeincy gas furnace, new dishwadher and stove, and more.  Àt this point, the home is an emdless money pit, in part due to my wif's behavior in past years, and her current lifestyle.  The nest option is to get her to agree to an apartment, or even a small home, and sell the house that my dad built  and I remodled.  I know that she will reguse, and as half owner of the house, I can't just force her out.  In other words, my life is in rough shape right now.  This woman spent 40,000 dollars of my inheritance in three months, on a trip to Ca. , with the kids, to stay with her mom while I eas having a 2nd story put on the house.  But I loved her, and couldn't say no.  I was also in love with the idea of marriage lasting forever.  It noe all comes back to haunt me.  There are no easy answers, though there are andwers.  It's just a wuestion if she will work with me.  I anticipate that she will fight me tooth and na to stay in that home.  I may just have to get it condemed to force her out of it.  My mind has been racing all night, complety depriving me of sleep.  It's going to be a long day, and with dyalisis.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Hugs, Chief. I wish I could be of help [emoji813]


----------



## GinnyPNW

Ditto of *GG's* post.  Is there a way for her to "buy" you out?


----------



## dragnlaw

Well Chief, you could look at it this way. 

She has a choice,  
1. buy you out.  
2. live in a condemned home that you will not repair anymore.  
3.  #2 plus wait for the city to condemn it and force her out.  
4.  Offer for the apartment or small home still stands. 

Her choice?

and yep, hugs from me too - I wish I had the perfect answer.


----------



## taxlady

Aw man, Chief, that is a sorry situation. Sending positive vibes and virtual (((hugs))).


----------



## msmofet

{{HUGS}}


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That's quite a rock and a hard place that you are stuck between, Chief. I have no answers, but I will keep you in my prayers for you to find a solution that works for you.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Learning how to use my new cellphone... 

I swear the next one will be a Jitterbug.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Learning how to use my new cellphone...
> 
> I swear the next one will be a Jitterbug.



A Jitterbug??


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Those are the simple phones that are targeted for old, non-tech smart people. I'm not that bad yet. 

The new phone and I are still in the getting-to-know-you phase. I still haven't found how to turn off all of the chirps and beeps for notifications. I do know that shouting "shut UP!" doesn't work.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Those are the simple phones that are targeted for old, non-tech smart people. I'm not that bad yet.
> 
> The new phone and I are still in the getting-to-know-you phase. I still haven't found how to turn off all of the chirps and beeps for notifications. *I do know that shouting "shut UP!" doesn't work.*



 Bahaha

My phone started talking to me. I refuse to have Google Assistant. My phone wants me to talk to it. I don't think so. If I give it permission to listen, how am I supposed to know that someone didn't get bored at work at Google and decide to listen in on random people's phones? Anyways, I shouted something rude at the phone. Nothing happened. It kept talking at me. Then, I went and typed in my rude reply. "Okay, I'll go away."


----------



## dragnlaw

taxy - that's too funny!  wish I'd thought of that.  I just used to do as CG.
Once a friend and I were discussing just how automatic phones could be and I mentioned mine was always "listening" to me. Even when I thought I had found the answer to shut it off. 

We got into how "big brother" is always spying on us and what that could and would imply...   heavy discussion, very paranoid.  When my phone, sitting on the counter, suddenly said, 

"I'm sorry, I did not catch that. Could you please repeat it?"

and CG - been a month now and have still not figured out either my phone or coputer.


----------



## Marlingardener

I loathe my flip phone. Loathe is one step above hate, and the darn thing is almost impossible to navigate. It has lots of little symbols that don't mean a thing to me. What happened to "on" and "off"? I can place a call (rare occurrence) and read left messages (even rarer). That's all I need and more than I want. 

I didn't want this phone, and was relatively happy with my old flipper. But, in its wisdom, the provider decided I needed a new one. "Big Brother, Big Manager" and I don't have a brother nor do I like being managed!
By the way, I also do not like the color of the phone.


----------



## Andy M.

I do like my smart phone. I like that it connects to my laptop and that I can take pictures with it and they transfer to my laptop automatically. I like that I can select music and it transfers from my laptop to the phone so I can listen to it. I like that I can follow DC on my phone and order e-books from the library from my phone. I could go on.

I don't like lengthy texting from my phone as my old arthritic fingers don't type well. But I can text from my computer . . .


----------



## blissful

Cooking Goddess, We only switched to a 'smart phone' recently. In settings, there are notifications for each app (a lot of apps), and a slider bar to turn off each notification. I only want notification of voicemail, phone calls, texts, and once a day weather. It turned everything else off. I hope you can make yours stop beeping/making noise.
Andy, mr bliss also does not text, but there is a button for 'voice to text', instead, and if he talks into it, it writes the text for him.....I've tried it too, it's pretty accurate and easier than texting with fingers.


----------



## Andy M.

blissful said:


> ...Andy, mr bliss also does not text, but there is a button for 'voice to text', instead, and if he talks into it, it writes the text for him.....I've tried it too, it's pretty accurate and easier than texting with fingers.



The "auto correct" feature is good but does make mistakes that you have to go back and correct. I often use voice to text but prefer to type out conversations. 

My daughter uses a modified form of typing where you slide a finger along the keyboard from letter to letter to spell a word. I have not mastered that.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Progress report: we aren't best friends yet, but our relationship is improving. This is my fourth(?) smart phone, so I'm not a novice by any means. Long ago when Himself was still working he needed to buy a new phone. Verizon, our provider at the time, had a BOGO offer. When he asked which one I wanted, I said I was getting the same model he was. That way he could figure it out and teach me. While all of my apps and everything else transferred fine,  it's just a bother to have to take all the time to make sure all settings and sounds are the way I want them. It seems everything has a default setting to "annoy". I'm also going from a Motorola phone back to a Samsung. Different manufacturer, different button placement.





taxlady said:


> [emoji38] Bahaha
> 
> 
> 
> My phone started talking to me. I refuse to have Google Assistant. My phone wants me to talk to it. I don't think so. If I give it permission to listen, how am I supposed to know that someone didn't get bored at work at Google and decide to listen in on random people's phones? Anyways, I shouted something rude at the phone. Nothing happened. It kept talking at me. Then, I went and typed in my rude reply. "Okay, I'll go away."



taxy, that is hilarious!


----------



## taxlady

I just realized it wasn't my phone talking to me. It was my tablet. But, the rest of the anecdote is accurate.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I hate  it when my brain just won't slow down and let me go to sleep.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## msmofet

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> I hate  it when my brain just won't slow down and let me go to sleep.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



I’ve been having that problem for quite a long time. It’s stress over everything going on in my life. I’ve tried so many things and nothing works. If you find a way to help this problem please share. 

Hoping you get some sleep soon. Sweet dreams.


----------



## dragnlaw

Every once in a while I take *Melatonin*.  Not often, but especially if I've been stressed and like you say, brain won't turn off. 

Trick is to take it early enough in the evening. Because otherwise I just hunker down and want to ignore the dog in the morning...  which is not a good idea! 

It does not "keep" me asleep, I still hear external noises, etc. but I can roll over and fall right back to sleep.  

In the mornings I'm not angry with myself for not getting any sleep.  

I don't take it often and I certainly like it better than other stuffs which may interfere with various meds I take.  First suggested to me while in hospital.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

What worked for me was to disengage my brain from  active thinlking, letting myself be entertained.  I first drank a glass of warm milk. That always helps.  After that, I put on the headphones and listened to a whole album of Robin Trower, folloed by Damed Yankees, and finally, Uriah Heep.  A prayer finished my night, asking for a blessing of good sleep.  I went to bed and slept like a baby.  I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GilliAnne

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Ginny*, I think you one-upped me with your "no water" story.  I was just trying to rinse dishes. You were trying to rinse...you!
> 
> ************
> 
> Himself is walking on thin ice right now - which isn't easy to do when your daytime temperature almost reached 90. When I went upstairs this evening, I thought I heard water running through the pipes. I checked my bathroom sink - dry. I thought maybe the toilet tank flap wasn't sitting right - lifted the lid and all was right with that. Well, the only other place to check was Himself's bathroom. When I walked into his bathroom, the sink faucet was running slowly.  Hot water. For at least five hours! He runs it when he combs what he has as hair. Today? He forgot to turn it off before he headed downstairs.  He was lucky I didn't withhold his ice cream tonight.



My first thought when I read this was, 'You have a bathroom each? Wow, you are privileged.' We have one bathroom between all of us - at one time 6 people, now just three most of the time.

Gillian


----------



## GotGarlic

GilliAnne said:


> My first thought when I read this was, 'You have a bathroom each? Wow, you are privileged.' We have one bathroom between all of us - at one time 6 people, now just three most of the time.
> 
> 
> 
> Gillian


It's not unusual for American homes to have two or more bathrooms, especially those built since the 1970s. I remember the first time I visited DH's house and met his parents when we were dating. His mother showed me the two bathrooms - one for the guys - DH, his dad and two brothers - and one for the girls - his mom and sister. She made sure I understood that the guys were responsible for cleaning their own bathroom and I would be wise to use the other one lol


----------



## GilliAnne

GotGarlic said:


> It's not unusual for American homes to have two or more bathrooms, especially those built since the 1970s.



Yes, I figured that.

Gillian


----------



## taxlady

About the number of bathrooms in North American homes, that's for houses. Here in Montreal, more than one bathroom is not common in apartments or flats, except in the more expensive ones.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GilliAnne said:


> My first thought when I read this was, 'You have a bathroom each? Wow, you are privileged.' We have one bathroom between all of us - at one time 6 people, now just three most of the time.
> 
> 
> 
> Gillian


GilliAnne, I  grew up in a one-bathroom house with four adults. I am both blessed and cursed to have one to myself now. When we married, the first home we bought had 1½ baths for three bedrooms and two people. After our first (and second, one minute later) children were born, we eventually moved to a larger, four bedroom/two and a half bath home. Because Himself's family all lived away, we wanted an always available guest room. When we needed to move 600 miles from home because of job relocation, we bought a smaller, 3 bedroom/2 ½ bath house again...but because it IS just the two of us most of the time, I decided to claim the main bath as my own as long as we don't have company. When we do, I share the master bath that is accessed from within the master bedroom. I'd give up this bath of my own in a heartbeat if the kids lived with us,  though. 

Bathrooms are pretty plentiful in newer construction where we've lived. Even our second apartment had a bath and a half!


----------



## taxlady

I should explain that in North America a 1/2 or 3/4 "bathroom" doesn't have a bathtub. I am used to the convention that 1/2 means there is a toilet and a sink. 3/4 means there is a toilet, a sink, and a shower. In a large part of the world, it can't be a bathroom if it doesn't have a bathtub. It is called a lavatory, a washroom, a toilet, ...


----------



## dragnlaw

taxy, LOL, never heard of a 3/4 bath - but it sounds about right.


----------



## GinnyPNW

In our area of the world, a 3/4 bath can have a shower or a tub, but doesn't have both.  And a "5 piece" bath generally means there is a double vanity...two sinks.


----------



## taxlady

Oh! I always assumed that a five-piece bathroom had a bidet. I just figured that was what they meant.


----------



## dragnlaw

I've heard 5 piece as to mean both.  I always asked.  5 piece in an ultra modern new, probably bidet.  In a reno, again depending on age of house - double sink.

If I was shopping in Europe I would assume bidet.


----------



## medtran49

When I have trouble sleeping, I play out a story, not really a fantasy, but something that is extremely unlikely to occur in real life and let that play out in my mind.  Like winning the lottery or publisher's clearing house  or getting a really super job, etc, etc  just something really, really good, a continuation of a story line in a book I like that includes me.  Works nearly every time.


----------



## Marlingardener

Football! Here in Texas football is next to church (maybe) as the most important thing in life. The high school football season started last night and there was nothing else on the local news. This morning it was a rehash of the games in local newspapers. College ball starts soon, and the NFL in a couple of weeks. 
I'll just retreat to the kitchen and hibernate until this idiocy is done.


----------



## Chef Munky

*Just irritated*

More angry right now than irritated.
As if I don't have enough to do this week, being short handed around here.
A family member had the audacity to call my sons worthless/lazy
When I stuck up for them. Said family member hung up. After I said " You know I don't knock your kids around, why do you feel the need to kick mine around? That really bothers me." 

*CLICK* 



Then that member txts me and said their phone died will txt me later.
How convenient. Tell me lies, tell me sweet lil" lies.
Dead means not working in my world, yet could txt? I don't think so!


Time for Nanny to step in and send that person to their room with NO supper! Plus an added bonus of Blocked calls.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

I hear ya Chef Munky, that's why there a couple of folks I no longer deal with.  Their numbers are no longer in my phone contact list, therefore when/if they do call me, I don't answer calls that I don't recognize the number on the Caller Id 

I want vent just a little:

This allergy season his kickin' my bum!!!
Sneezing, burning eyes and today, my nose just won't stop running off my face!  It's a good thing years ago I changed brands of facial tissue or I'd have no nose left


----------



## Marlingardener

Munky, there are some people who you just need to cut off. Gratuitous comments about your sons? Telling you lies? Just cut them off. That family member is not someone you need to deal with. I'm sorry you are being irritated by this person, but there is a simple solution.


----------



## Chef Munky

I hear you guys. Much appreciated. 

It's driving that person nuts that I haven't responded to any form of communication. That's really just too bad.
My new cell will only have 3 contacts. 2 for my sons. 1 for my Dr.
Nobody else is invited.
I really have been lately, living up to my signature.
Taking care of business.



Munky.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Let it rain, let it rain...*

Three days of rain was great! Almost 3.5 inches in that time will contribute a lot to reducing our drought in the state. I've been feeling bad for the people who rely on private wells for their water. Having said that - three days of rain, some accompanied by driving winds, uncovered the fact that we need a new roof. (Uncovered, get it?   Forgive me, I'm a bit punchy right now.) A wee bit leaky up there...

When we were selling my Mom's house, I had our realtor friends over for dinner one night so that they could go through the house and tell me where to spend money and what jobs to skip. She said that the bathroom was first, since any new buyer wouldn't want to go through the trouble of completely remodeling the bathroom when it was the only bathroom in the house. With that in mind, we'll be getting a new roof so that new owners don't have to put up with the noise. Good thing it will probably be just a one-day job.

I have been telling Himself for YEARS that we need to get out of this house before the really big, expensive jobs need doing. Well, looks like we're here for the noisy one. Serves him right. On the plus side, any listing can start with "Brand new roof!"  Gotta move before we need a new A/C.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Yikes!  Sorry about the leaks!  Glad you've got a good attitude about it!


----------



## taxlady

GinnyPNW said:


> Yikes!  Sorry about the leaks!  Glad you've got a good attitude about it!



What Ginny said.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks, ladies. What else can I do but have a good attitude? Fussing and cussing won't make it go away! LOL!


----------



## dragnlaw

WHY??

WHY??

*WHY???*

does my dog feel so compelled to drink 

...and then immediately come and place her muzzle on my lap?????


----------



## Andy M.

Oh, come on! You know why. He LOVES you.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

dragnlaw said:


> WHY??
> 
> WHY??
> 
> *WHY???*
> 
> does my dog feel so compelled to drink
> 
> ...and then immediately come and place her muzzle on my lap?????



Well now *dragn*, that's pretty obvious, to dry off her mouth, geez!


----------



## dragnlaw

Thanks *Andy.*..  but sometimes I wonder...  pay back?

*Kgirl*, that's almost exactly what my daughter said...   I'm her napkin!


----------



## Andy M.

dragnlaw said:


> Thanks *Andy.*..  but sometimes I wonder...  pay back?
> 
> 
> 
> *Kgirl*, that's almost exactly what my daughter said...   I'm her napkin!





Payback?? Why would that be payback?  Have you been doing the same thing to the dog?


----------



## medtran49

Our female pug gets her drink and then comes and licks our legs with water cascading down the leg usually, and it's almost always my leg.

And then there's the male, he drinks, gets loads of water inside his lower jaw and all over his face, and proceeds to leave a trail/puddle of water on floor.  Every. Single.  Time!


----------



## GinnyPNW

I hate change!  Add computers to that, double yuck!!!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

It's finally cooled off enough to sit outside again but the Ragweed Pollen is at HIGH!  My eyes are just BURNING!!!


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

I ate hot dinner, with a cold glass of rice milk.  Now, I feel cold, inside this warm house.   I hope I feel stronger tomorrow.  I made 2 pies, drove my grandson to his jiu jitsu practice, and cooked dinner.  I cleaned up the dishes I used.  I might just be ready to crawl into bed.  Oh how I wish I could have some creamy hot chocolate.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the  North


----------



## dragnlaw

Been without the Internet since Sun.  Couldn't take it any more and popped into the library to get my DC fix. 

I have never in my life been in such a noisy Library!  One guy is handicapped and I can handle that - but 2 others just have loud voices and I cannot believe no one, including a staff member who was being spoken to, did not say anything.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Ouch!!  Is there an ETA for the WWW to come back?  I have a "hot spot" I can use when ours goes out.  And ours goes out from time to time...sometimes more often than others.  It is a pain in the butt!


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Been without the Internet since Sun.  Couldn't take it any more and popped into the library to get my DC fix.
> 
> I have never in my life been in such a noisy Library!  One guy is handicapped and I can handle that - but 2 others just have loud voices and I cannot believe no one, including a staff member who was being spoken to, did not say anything.


That's a bummer. Do you have internet available on your phone? Do you have enough data that you could use your phone as a hotspot for your computer? I have done that, but you really have to watch how much data you are using. It's so much easier to use a lot of data on a PC, for me in any case.


----------



## dragnlaw

Yes, I did hotspot my phone to the computer but as you say - uses AN AWFUL LOT of data.  Hardest is evenings I'm pooped, I can hardly read a book as my brain has shut down.  I have to watch TV in order to stay awake long enough to go to bed!  LOL  
I usually have a movie stashed on my computer but didn't this time.  LOL I was able to stay awake because I got so angry with the situation. 
So I did download a couple of movies at the library. First one 'Made in Italy' - pretty good. Then the next night discovered I had already seen 'The Gray Man' - watched it anyhow, it's good.  A little bit of overkill but funny to my thinking.   I can only download from Netflix. not Disney nor have I figured out Prime - 

What also did NOT impress me  - I had several recipes to do and thought, 'oh boy, great time to cook'....   *not.*..  CMT is not available - knew that program had a couple of major drawbacks.
So now I save them to a PDF in my recipe file - except I can't add my private notes.  So as I make the recipes I'll convert them to Word.  I'll get there slowly but...


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> Yes, I did hotspot my phone to the computer but as you say - uses AN AWFUL LOT of data.  Hardest is evenings I'm pooped, I can hardly read a book as my brain has shut down.  I have to watch TV in order to stay awake long enough to go to bed!  LOL
> I usually have a movie stashed on my computer but didn't this time.  LOL I was able to stay awake because I got so angry with the situation.
> So I did download a couple of movies at the library. First one 'Made in Italy' - pretty good. Then the next night discovered I had already seen 'The Gray Man' - watched it anyhow, it's good.  A little bit of overkill but funny to my thinking.   I can only download from Netflix. not Disney nor have I figured out Prime -
> 
> What also did NOT impress me  - I had several recipes to do and thought, 'oh boy, great time to cook'....   *not.*..  CMT is not available - knew that program had a couple of major drawbacks.
> So now I save them to a PDF in my recipe file - except I can't add my private notes.  So as I make the recipes I'll convert them to Word.  I'll get there slowly but...


I thought CMT had a desktop version as well. 
... 
After checking the website, I guess it doesn't. That's another advantage of Paprika. It has an app and a desktop version; the desktop version doesn't require internet access to use.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> I thought CMT had a desktop version as well.
> ...
> After checking the website, I guess it doesn't. That's another advantage of Paprika. It has an app and a desktop version; the desktop version doesn't require internet access to use.


I have it on my laptop and phone. They synch.


----------



## dragnlaw

Sorry Andy, if you mentioned earlier, I've forgotten it.  Which one are you talking about? Paprika or CMT.
I have CMT on my phone and laptop. Yes, they sync. but to use them without a hook up to the internet I would need to use my data...  which is what I _don't_ want to do.
I'll have to check out Paprika  (lol, is that Chef John's choice of ??)


----------



## Andy M.

dragnlaw said:


> Sorry Andy, if you mentioned earlier, I've forgotten it.  Which one are you talking about? Paprika or CMT.
> I have CMT on my phone and laptop. Yes, they sync. but to use them without a hook up to the internet I would need to use my data...  which is what I _don't_ want to do.
> I'll have to check out Paprika  (lol, is that Chef John's choice of ??)


Sorry, I was referring to CMT. I think you'd need internet for any kind of linking.


----------



## caseydog

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> It's finally cooled off enough to sit outside again but the Ragweed Pollen is at HIGH!  My eyes are just BURNING!!!



Ragweed pollen is in full production here, too. My eyes are constantly itching, so I am using allergy eyedrops any time I come in from outside. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

Paprika doesn't just sync between the mobile and computer versions - it puts a copy of the recipes on my computer so I don't need to have internet access to use them.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Paprika doesn't just sync between the mobile and computer versions - it puts a copy of the recipes on my computer so I don't need to have internet access to use them.



CMT does that too. I copy a recipe to CMT on my phone and it appears on my laptop version of CMT as well.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> CMT does that too. I copy a recipe to CMT on my phone and it appears on my laptop version of CMT as well.


Does it actually make a copy on your computer, or does it just display the recipe from the cloud? Dragnlaw was saying she had to have internet access to display her recipes.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Does it actually make a copy on your computer, or does it just display the recipe from the cloud? Dragnlaw was saying she had to have internet access to display her recipes.


It displays the recipe fro the cloud.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Does it actually make a copy on your computer, or does it just display the recipe from the cloud? Dragnlaw was saying she had to have internet access to display her recipes.


Does it automatically download the copy to your computer? Does it update the recipe when you add notes or make changes?


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Does it automatically download the copy to your computer? Does it update the recipe when you add notes or make changes?


Ys, it's automatic.


----------



## dragnlaw

Do you have the premium version?   taxy did you get it?  think you said you were going to. 
It updates mine as well, but the phone nor the computer will not open my free version if I am not connected to the web. 

Nor will it copy or register a recipe I have in a Word format.  I have almost 4 GB of recipes in Word format that I wouldn't mind being able to access with CMT or any program,... just so long as I don't have to transfer them one at a time- that's a lot of recipes!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

caseydog said:


> Ragweed pollen is in full production here, too. My eyes are constantly itching, so I am using allergy eyedrops any time I come in from outside.
> 
> CD


Yeah, I've been doing the same.  The pollen is just starting to back off, so soon I hope we'll get relief.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Ys, it's automatic.


Andy, are you thinking of CMT or Paprika. I was asking about Paprika.


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Do you have the premium version?   taxy did you get it?  think you said you were going to.
> It updates mine as well, but the phone nor the computer will not open my free version if I am not connected to the web.
> 
> Nor will it copy or register a recipe I have in a Word format.  I have almost 4 GB of recipes in Word format that I wouldn't mind being able to access with CMT or any program,... just so long as I don't have to transfer them one at a time- that's a lot of recipes!


Yes, I have the Premium version of CMT. No, I can't access any of the recipes without an internet connection unless I specifically saved them to my computer. I don't actually mind using CMT on my tablet with my phone data, if I don't have internet. I don't think it uses a lot of data, like using a browser. When surfing the net, you are downloading, temporarily, a lot of ads from the websites with lots of ads. That really pumps up the data usage. I'm pretty sure watching videos does too.

About the uploading of files, did you have look at the instructions I mentioned? Can you bulk import into Google Drive? Yeah, you would need to use the CMT widget for each one, so it could still be a PITA.


----------



## dragnlaw

*taxy,* truth to tell, just too complicated for my simple mind.  If the program says to activate the notifications in order to straddle the bridge of the 2nd order to be in place for the last of your notifications that shows in the directory of the admin. it needs your password for the laundry room to wash but if your also want to dry perhaps it would be better to shoot yourself in the foot.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Kgirl, casey* - my dad was a big time suffer of ragweed, so I can lcertainly sympathize with you a bit.  I never did understand it and used to just sort of stare at him as his eyes swelled up and he sneezed until I thought the roof would fly off!

Huggs...


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Does it automatically download the copy to your computer? Does it update the recipe when you add notes or make changes?


Yes and yes.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Andy, are you thinking of CMT or Paprika. I was asking about Paprika.


CMT


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North

Found ulcers on the bottpms of my feet.  Not deep, thbankfully.  Will be taking oral antibiotics for the next ten days.  Will have to stock up on yogurt, and sour kraut.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Found ulcers on the bottpms of my feet.  Not deep, thbankfully.  Will be taking oral antibiotics for the next ten days.  Will have to stock up on yogurt, and sour kraut.
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


Darn, Chief, I'm sorry to hear that. Neuropathy sucks.


----------



## dragnlaw

Hugs Chief, feel for you.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Went to my favorite Green Grocer to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies ... as I passed by the meat counter, I spied thick cut Bacon on sale for $4.99/lb ... okay, I'll take a pound, I'm making Burgers on the grill and didn't take any Bacon out of the deep freeze.

I popped 6 slices into the oven to cook off and this is how much rendered fat I got

This is a one-cup ramakin ... that looks to me to be a good 1/3-1/2 cup!! 
GEEZ!!!


----------



## Marlingardener

That is a lot of fat! However, here in Texas every last drop would be used up in frying. Personally, I don't, but many Texans have a coffee can (washed out, of course) in which to store bacon fat. I think bacon fat is part of the food pyramid in Texas.


----------



## GinnyPNW

One of my old camping buddies would say it is her "secret ingredient"...


----------



## taxlady

Bacon fat is great stuff. A friend used to use it to fry eggs, especially when he was out of, or couldn't afford, actual bacon. It does add a little flavour to whats being cooked.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

It hit me today why I don't really care for commercially canned Soup ... the after taste!    It's a very chemical, tinny taste to me.  I made mention that I was starting to get heart burn this afternoon after a what I thought was a "good-quick" lunch of Progresso Soup and DH said, "what? you didn't have any homemade soup ready to go?"  NOPE!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I get that same after effect, @Kaneohegirlinaz. It's just that sometimes you have to pick between canned soup or going hungry, right?


----------



## dragnlaw

I hear yuh *Kgirl!* re the bacon.  When I buy bacon it disgusts me the way they've now changed packaging to hide the fat and meat streaks.  In the back of the pkg is 3/4 windows that still do not give you a true idea of what you are buying.
They arrange the pkgs all front up, no meat visible. I stand there and flip them all upside down so I can see.  Makes a mess of the display but I refuse to buy a 'pig in the poke'.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

@dragnlaw I'm with you!  I won't buy any Bacon that I can't see first! 
This is how Kirkland packages their Bacon

The meat is visible on both sides.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Just as an experiment, I defrosted a package of Kirkland Brand Thick Cut Bacon, and cooked off 6 slices this morning.  Some for breakfast and some for a recipe later today...

 
This is the Kirkland brand ................... this is the "on sale" grocery store brand
Both are 1 cup ramakins 
AND the taste of the Kirkland brand Bacon is far and away better, in all ways possible!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> I get that same after effect, @Kaneohegirlinaz. It's just that *sometimes you have to pick between canned soup or going hungry, right?*


That's how I was feeling the other day!
I could have waited and de-frosted some homemade soup that I always have in the deep freeze, but I had been out most of the day and didn't eat anything all day ... very hangry!!  I could almost through that bowl of canned soup, almost.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Marlingardener said:


> That is a lot of fat! However, here in Texas every last drop would be used up in frying. Personally, I don't, but many Texans have a coffee can (washed out, of course) in which to store bacon fat.* I think bacon fat is part of the food pyramid in Texas.*





GinnyPNW said:


> One of my old camping buddies would say it is her "secret ingredient"...


@GinnyPNW and here I always thought that the secret ingredient was love ...


taxlady said:


> Bacon fat is great stuff. A friend used to use it to fry eggs, especially when he was out of, or couldn't afford, actual bacon. It does add a little flavour to whats being cooked.


Agreed @taxlady !!

I keep an old plastic tub of whatever that had a good tight lid, like this ...

I use it for many different things.  The covered tub lives in the back of the `fridge, where it's the coldest.  I like to finish steamed/boiled vegetables with a small amount of Bacon grease and some S&P


----------



## GinnyPNW

I like to stay ahead of things.  I buy my Christmas cards in October.  I make sure to have them addressed and ready well before Thanksgiving, 'cuz then things start getting too hectic. 

I found some cute cards...actually, DH found them.  I was struggling to find something this year.  He found some nice cards and at a _very_ good price.  Win-win.  Earlier today, I ordered my Christmas stamps online from USPS, 'cuz the local USPS never has the stamps when I want to buy them.  

Next step is to print out the address labels.  I reviewed my Christmas List Contract file.  Edited it as needed (one person moved) and then went to Word to print out the list and it says, " You must have a" Word Program that matches the Outlook Program, or some such nonsense!  GRRRRR.  

I have a gmail account for email.  Earlier this year, Google said they are updating/changing whatever and you need to have Outlook 2016 or later to use it with gmail after X-date.  Grrrrr.  So, I searched high and low to find someone selling Outlook 2019 as a standalone program ON A DISK.  That was tricky!  And not cheap either.  

It seems like a conspiracy or something!?  I don't want a new Outlook program.  I don't want to pay for it and I don't want to have to switch and I don't want to learn a new program either.

Fortunately, I always keep a copy of the labels list.  Why?  Details.  I love details!  So, all I have to do is to change that one address and print it out again.  Sigh.  Glad I thought of it!!

We now return you to your regular programming...or something like that?


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Ya know @GinnyPNW I've been saying for years that ALL of these tech-y type of companies in for us!


----------



## Marlingardener

My husband points out that because a company has techs, the techs feel they need to change things. He is kind. Comments I point  out about techies is not for mixed company.


----------



## Silversage

It's a revenue model.  If you keep the same old software forever, they can't sell you something new.  The only way to sell you something new (and keep revenues up) is to keep the old version from working.   (I work for a software company).


----------



## GotGarlic

GinnyPNW said:


> ... Next step is to print out the address labels.  I reviewed my Christmas List Contract file.  Edited it as needed (one person moved) and then went to Word to print out the list and it says, " You must have a" Word Program that matches the Outlook Program, or some such nonsense!  GRRRRR.
> 
> I have a gmail account for email.  Earlier this year, Google said they are updating/changing whatever and you need to have Outlook 2016 or later to use it with gmail after X-date.  Grrrrr.  So, I searched high and low to find someone selling Outlook 2019 as a standalone program ON A DISK.  That was tricky!  And not cheap either.
> 
> It seems like a conspiracy or something!?  I don't want a new Outlook program.  I don't want to pay for it and I don't want to have to switch and I don't want to learn a new program either.


There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the companies don't want to provide support for old versions of software forever, so they


----------



## GotGarlic

So they what? I'm on the edge of my seat!  Seriously! I was about to write the same thing but you got to it first! Please finish the story!


----------



## GinnyPNW

Well, @Silversage and @GotGarlic, it is stinky!  Fortunately, at this point, the only time I need the 2 programs to work together is for Christmas labels.  I'll just have to deal with updating the old Word Doc and printing from that.


----------



## Andy M.

GinnyPNW said:


> . . . I'll just have to deal with updating the old Word Doc and printing from that.


That's what I used to do for labels.


----------



## Marlingardener

Daylight Savings Time! I hate it with all this switching time on clocks, getting used to being early/late because your friend forgot to adjust clocks. The worst part is trying to convince the cat that we are feeding her at the usual time. She isn't buying it.
Old Indian observation: Only the government would think cutting a foot off the top of a blanket and sewing in on the bottom of the blanket would result in a longer blanket.


----------



## Andy M.

Marlingardener said:


> Daylight Savings Time! I hate it with all this switching time on clocks, getting used to being early/late because your friend forgot to adjust clocks. The worst part is trying to convince the cat that we are feeding her at the usual time. She isn't buying it.
> Old Indian observation: Only the government would think cutting a foot off the top of a blanket and sewing in on the bottom of the blanket would result in a longer blanket.


There is a bill making its way through Congress that would make DST permanent. Although I'm not bothered by the semi-annual clock change, I'm all for it. Contact your representatives in Washington and encourage them to vote for the bill.


----------



## HeyItsSara

Why is the dental assistant so young? Why is everyone so young?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What they should do is reconfigure the time zones and move New England into the Atlantic time zone. Railroad companies developed and implemented time zones for efficiency in train travel. They didn't want to cut the country into five zones.

Himself told me once that it had been considered briefly to shift time zone lines to do just that, but office based companies argued that a five hour difference from the east to the west coasts would make conducting business difficult, so nothing got done.  While a standard time makes it possible to coordinate schedules, "working hours" have become much more fluid in recent times.


----------



## GinnyPNW

Not sure if this belongs in the "Vents" category, but it is the closest topic?  We needed to run to the grocery store for the last of the fruits, veggies and dairy items needed for Thanksgiving.  We decided to go to Freddies since they have DH's preferred Jeans there too.  Went to the Men's department and discovered that most things are now on racks with wire cables securing them in place.  No way to remove them from the rack and no one around that can help do same.  So, we had to skip new pants on this trip.  Also, noticed that the entrance now has "Security" guards.  Yes, plural...2 guards per door.  (Vancouver (WA) has not yet legalized theft, like some places!)  Some time back...maybe last holiday season...we noticed the guards and POLICE at the local mall, but grocery store guards is new, here.  Sad times.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

My vent:
If you've read my post in Going MIA, DH has been through the wringers!
His family members, who never get in contact with us, are all of a sudden ringing the phone off the hook ... this peeves me more than I can say.
In the past, we have been on the "incommunicado list" 
(other than our Grand Nephew who is Mentally and Physically challenged and thinks it's his 'job' to call Uncle EVERYDAY, that's the only way they found out!!) 
with all of them, that's fine by me, don't really want anything more to do with any of them.  
They've all treated both of us like , but Uncle tried to explain to the Grand Nephew what has happening to him and that he'd call him when he could (aka, stop calling me while I'm sick).
Now, with the other family members, it's all, "I love you, are you okay, Jake said... ."
FORGET THIS NOISE!!!  (I want to use stronger words but...)
They've also been texting me at the worst moments, STOP!!!  It's a good thing that I've put both of our cell phones on silent when needed.
I forgot to silence Uncle's phone and as he was just coming out of his last surgery, Grand Nephew called and wanted to do a "Face Time" call


----------



## taxlady

@Kaneohegirlinaz (((Hugs))) Tell them to send you email. Email is much less intrusive.


----------



## dragnlaw

Aww, Kgirl, that's a b***h.   

When my daughter's start texting at  marathon rate between each other (and myself) but for me, inappropriate times,  I just put thieir numbers on 'ignore' or 'silent'.  My problem is to remember to put them back on...  LOL.  
You could also silence all your notifications and then just check them once in a while to see if there is anything needy. 
Just plain don't answer any of the ones you don't want to.  Your frustration and anger will abate much faster.

Hugs


----------



## Andy M.

You're under no obligation to respond to texts.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

@Kaneohegirlinaz I would keep in touch with them in the same way they have kept in touch with you  - ignore, ignore, ignore.

This is why people have friends. They can be nicer to hang around with than relatives.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> @Kaneohegirlinaz I would keep in touch with them in the same way they have kept in touch with you  - ignore, ignore, ignore.
> 
> *This is why people have friends. They can be nicer to hang around with than relatives.*


This is why some of us refer to a subset of our friends as "chosen family".


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

@taxlady so very true!

@Cooking Goddess my Neighborhood Gal Pals had better manners than his relatives, they waited for me to contact them with updates.

@Andy M. that's exactly what I told DH.  I had deleted all of them from my contact list, so I had no idea who these texts were coming from.  DH said, "oh that's so-and-so, respond to them."
*NO!*
If you know who they are, you text them on YOUR phone, I'm not!
The last one I got was saying how much this person loved us both and if I wanted to talk to call her ... I haven't called you in how long now?  What makes you think that I'm going to want to share anything with you?
I deleted them all and ignore, ignore, ignore damn it!

@dragnlaw what really burned my britches was yesterday Grand Nephew, who is HF Autistic, called Uncle to tell him about his second round of Thanksgiving meal (but never asked Uncle how he was doing, that's not why he calls), when Uncle said that he had to go, GN said, "wait, my Mom wants to talk to you too."  I don't like that sneak attach approach.  I had to go outside and check on ... ummm ... how cold it was outside, yeah, that's what I had to do.

Thank you all for allowing me to vent AND supporting me, I appreciate this more than you know.


----------



## dragnlaw

and I quote:...
the literal meaning of aloha is "the presence of breath" or "the breath of life."
Aloha is a way of living and treating each other with love and respect... 

Aloha, my friend and hugs.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

dragnlaw said:


> and I quote:...
> the literal meaning of aloha is "the presence of breath" or "the breath of life."
> Aloha is a way of living and treating each other with love and respect...
> 
> Aloha, my friend and hugs.


HEH!
Yeah, what happened to our "signatures"? 

yes @dragnlaw I "Live Aloha" every day.
It's a thing in Hawaii and I want to continue that here in Cowboyville, AZ, USA.
But I gotta tell ya, that lot called DH's family, don't deserve my ALOHA, maybe that's mean but I can only turn my cheek so many times before I turn my back!


----------



## Katie H

Okay, boys and girls.  Get a load of this.

Every December we have to pay taxes on our (deemed by the state) historical 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado.  It's mint and our pride and joy, in spite of the front doors weighing as much as a battleship but, then, some of you know this.

Now the odyssey begins.

By mid-October we receive a postcard-like notice that indicates our tax on the car must be paid by such-and-such date.  No biggie.  The tax amount is noted and also has a caveat that says if we pay by check via USPS there would be an additional $2.00 fee.  Hmmmm!

Well, since I pass the payment office multiple times a month, I opt to pay there.

Drum roll now...the tax fee is 63 cents annually for our beloved Toronado.

Last year I brought them 63 pennies and a zipper bag, as I will this time.  Must be something evil in me.  Never mind!

But...

How much did it take to print and generate the original card, process the humble payment (office staff to receive it and give me my receipt), to say nothing of all the paper/electronic efforts, postage fees, then send it on to our state's coffers?

All for 63 cents!!


----------



## Marlingardener

Katie, just after we moved here to the farm, we received a notice that our property taxes were overdue and there was a penalty. The county office had not notified us of taxes due, and had sent the notice to the previous owners. We promptly paid the amount, and then I went to the county, told them they had screwed up, and the penalty should be refunded to us. I ended up talking to three bureaucrats, and finally got the penalty refunded.
The penalty was less than the time of office staff, paper work, and three offices involved. They deserved to lose money for being inefficient! 
I love the 63 cents in a bag--you are not evil, just inventive!


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## larry_stewart

HeyItsSara said:


> Why is the dental assistant so young? Why is everyone so young?


In my experience , many dental assistants use assisting as a stepping stone from high school to getting into a Hygiene program.  Its a great move on their part, but creates a revolving door for a dental practice.  Always hiring new assistants just for them to leave after a few years ( and sometimes being rehired as a hygienist, or sometimes a Dentist).


----------



## GinnyPNW

HeyItsSara said:


> Why is the dental assistant so young? Why is *everyone so young*?


It is the "authority" figures that get me!  The police ppl look like high school kids!  Once upon a time, FBI raided a neighbor (years back, down in So Cal)...and I swear they could NOT have been more than 17 or maybe 18 years old!!!  I was going to go to the market, turned around and just stayed home!


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## larry_stewart

GinnyPNW said:


> It is the "authority" figures that get me!  The police ppl look like high school kids!  Once upon a time, FBI raided a neighbor (years back, down in So Cal)...and I swear they could NOT have been more than 17 or maybe 18 years old!!!  I was going to go to the market, turned around and just stayed home!


I hear ya.  I remember going to my kids parent teacher night ( years ago, my kids are in their 20's now).  I remember being at least 10 - 15 years older than their teachers.  I also remember one of them giving me  text book, rehearsed advice on why my kid wasn't paying attention in class.  She was so young, I doubt she had any kids, let alone one school aged.  No offense to her, her education, the teaching profession .... but her advice was clearly coming from someone who didnt and never had kids of their own that age.  Also, going to a ball game and the players are my kids age ( making a zillion dollars).  

I also remember going back to visit some of my high school teachers ( after having graduated a few years prior) and looking at the students who looked way too young to be in high school.

I finally came to the conclusion that Im just getting old lol


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## dragnlaw

1.  I have _NEVER_ had the same Dental Hygienist twice...  ever!  That includes having gone to the same Dentist for over 15 years...  and now includes 3 more Dentist. 

2 I have a cold... or something.  No fever, no aches or pains (other than the normal).  
I have a runny nose.  A tingle 'up there' that a tissue cannot reach. 
My nostrils are raw. 
I have finished a box of Kleenix (144 count tissue count) a box of Royal (100 count) another 1/2 box of Royal and various other tissues while passing by. 
I have sneezing fits.  I stopped counting at 25 in a row.
I cannot walk across the room without running to get another tissue.
Please leave me alone, 
No, I do not want any soup. 
No, I do not want sympathy.
I want to be left alone. 
That goes for you as well Cats, both of you! 
Same for you dog...   just go away, no, I do not want to play, leave me alone...   
I like being miserable all by myself.


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## GinnyPNW

dragnlaw said:


> 1.  I have _NEVER_ had the same Dental Hygienist twice...  ever!  That includes having gone to the same Dentist for over 15 years...  and now includes 3 more Dentist.
> 
> 2 I have a cold... or something.  No fever, no aches or pains (other than the normal).
> I have a runny nose.  A tingle 'up there' that a tissue cannot reach.
> My nostrils are raw.
> I have finished a box of Kleenix (144 count tissue count) a box of Royal (100 count) another 1/2 box of Royal and various other tissues while passing by.
> I have sneezing fits.  I stopped counting at 25 in a row.
> I cannot walk across the room without running to get another tissue.
> Please leave me alone,
> No, I do not want any soup.
> No, I do not want sympathy.
> I want to be left alone.
> That goes for you as well Cats, both of you!
> Same for you dog...   just go away, no, I do not want to play, leave me alone...
> I like being miserable all by myself.


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## Cooking Goddess

Hope you feel better soon, @dragnlaw  Real soon - for your sake and that of all those around you. Those poor cats and dog.


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## taxlady

@dragnlaw Two words: "Lotion tissues".

God bedring (Danish for good bettering).


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## Kathleen

Get well soon, DL!


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

That's a real "B" @dragnlaw, I too hope that this passes by you very soon.
If I could suggest Ayr Nasal Gel.


			https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/ayr-saline-nasal-gel/ID=prod4998-product
		

I've used the gel as well as the spray for decades, it works!
A little dab on the end of a cotton swab, swab the inside, and outside if needed, of your nose and it'll help.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

And as to the topic of Dental Hygienists, I've only had 4 in my life and 3 of them named Lori.
In school, K-8th grade, we were all given a free cleaning and fluoride treatment.  Also, Mom took us to our family dentist twice a year.
I tried so hard to get into DH school, got excepted to Linfield University, but couldn't qualify for any student loans... certainly my parents didn't have that kind of dough ... so I went to Dental Assistant school at the local CC and did that for a number of years.
Of course, this was many, many MANY moons ago.


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## Cooking Goddess

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> ...If I could suggest Ayr Nasal Gel.
> 
> 
> https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/ayr-saline-nasal-gel/ID=prod4998-product
> 
> 
> I've used the gel as well as the spray for decades, it works!
> A little dab on the end of a cotton swab, swab the inside, and outside if needed, of your nose and it'll help.


I do a similar thing with Vaseline. I have a jar of it that has a faint smell of baby powder - no smell of axel grease like the original. I use my pinky finger to keep the inside of the nostrils moist during heating season. A thin coat just before bed avoids cracked skin (and a bloody nose) in the winter.

BTW @Kaneohegirlinaz, how is your DH feeling these days? I hope things are going well for you both.


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## pepperhead212

I feel for you, @dragnlaw, and I hope that clears quickly!  Sounds like what I got this week, starting late Tuesday, and still hanging on, but much better.   It was only in the sinuses, and maybe a little bit of a sore throat, from breathing through my mouth, and drying it out. Fortunately, the sneezing wasn't as bad as you described!  I use Bounty PTs - tissues weren't large enough, even doubled.  I use "Healing Ointment" - the main ingredient in which is Vaseline, which CG recommended, and works very well.  Taste was totally gone later on Wednesday, and started returning late yesterday, so the healing has started.  I considered myself lucky that this wasn't something that was also in my chest, like so many others seem to be coming down with.  I only ate some congee, at first, with some ginger and turmeric, plus some spice teas - not sure if they helped, but they wouldn't hurt, I figured!  
Again, get better soon, and get some rest!


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## blissful

+1, what @pepperhead212  said. Get better soon @dragnlaw .


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## Andy M.

dragnlaw said:


> 1.  I have _NEVER_ had the same Dental Hygienist twice...  ever!  That includes having gone to the same Dentist for over 15 years...  and now includes 3 more Dentist.
> 
> 2 I have a cold... or something.  No fever, no aches or pains (other than the normal).
> I have a runny nose.  A tingle 'up there' that a tissue cannot reach.
> My nostrils are raw.
> I have finished a box of Kleenix (144 count tissue count) a box of Royal (100 count) another 1/2 box of Royal and various other tissues while passing by.
> I have sneezing fits.  I stopped counting at 25 in a row.
> I cannot walk across the room without running to get another tissue.
> Please leave me alone,
> No, I do not want any soup.
> No, I do not want sympathy.
> I want to be left alone.
> That goes for you as well Cats, both of you!
> Same for you dog...   just go away, no, I do not want to play, leave me alone...
> I like being miserable all by myself.


Crawl into bed, pull the covers up over your head, drop the tissues on the floor, and try to rest.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> I do a similar thing with Vaseline. I have a jar of it that has a faint smell of baby powder - no smell of axel grease like the original. I use my pinky finger to keep the inside of the nostrils moist during heating season. A thin coat just before bed avoids cracked skin (and a bloody nose) in the winter.
> 
> BTW @Kaneohegirlinaz, how is your DH feeling these days? I hope things are going well for you both.


@Cooking Goddess I started a new thread to address DH's Journey that I'll update as we go along ...


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

It's a B!+(# getting old, ain't it!!!


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## dragnlaw

Thanks for all the wishes and tips guys!  It's appreciated!  Was much better yesterday morning, by afternoon started up again but certainly not like day 1.  Only half way thru box #3 (144 count) and hoping that should be the last, it certainly looks like it might be. 

Now I have a dilemma.  Supposed to go to my brothers (1.5 hr drive) for their family gingerbread weekend.  But they are all just getting over colds.  Will I be healthy enough _not to pass on_ a new strain to them?  and, will I be healthy enough _not to pick-up_ another strain from them!

I couldn't make it last year due to illness and now this year...  do I see a pattern emerging?


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## HeyItsSara

That's pretty funny. My daughter is a RDH.


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## GinnyPNW

Rude posts.  'Nuf said.


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## Marlingardener

GinnyPNW, I don't get it. "Rude posts"? Please explain to someone who just doesn't understand.


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## GinnyPNW

Marlingardener said:


> GinnyPNW, I don't get it. "Rude posts"? Please explain to someone who just doesn't understand.


I'll send you a link to the most recent...


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## msmofet

Marlingardener said:


> GinnyPNW, I don't get it. "Rude posts"? Please explain to someone who just doesn't understand.


Is someone being rude to you? I don't understand either. You're always so pleasant.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

Well dang it all!
In all of this hubbub-bub, I had made grilled burger patties that we had for dinner one night and then had two more leftover from that pound of meat --- in all of this chaos over the past month or more, I neglected to put those two leftover patties into the deep freezer, DAMN IT ALL!  I hate to waste food, but it was NINE DAYS since I cooked them so into the trash can they went 
Our saving grace, I had marked the container with the date - I might very well have tried to feed that possible food poisoning to us two


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## GinnyPNW

Better safe, @Kaneohegirlinaz!!


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## dragnlaw

LOl, sorry for you loss *Kgirl.*  I know how that grates on the nerves.

Well, I have a new one,..  oh wait, maybe it's not so new...   Babysat my other grandchild who was sick.
and guess who has the achy bones, chilly fever, dry hacking cough and miserable...  again! 

I should never have left the sanctity of the farm.  I could count on 1 hand how many times I have been sick in over 25 years.  Not even 2 years here and that number has been doubled.


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## taxlady

I get my mail in something called a community mailbox. We each have a little compartment with a key. I checked my mail today yesterday. I have a notice to pick up some mail. The only thing that I can imagine it is, is the stamps that I ordered online from Canada Post. It's three packets, less than a total of 30 stamps. They would fit in the danged compartment. I am livid. I'm a senior. Why are they making me go to the post office to pick up my danged stamps? If I wanted to go to the post office to pick up stamps, I would have just gone to the effing post office and bought them then and there. I do not want to mingle with the unmasked masses more than absolutely necessary. (Oops, forgot to hit post yesterday. Found this sitting here, unposted, today.)


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## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> LOl, sorry for you loss *Kgirl.*  I know how that grates on the nerves.
> 
> Well, I have a new one,..  oh wait, maybe it's not so new...   Babysat my other grandchild who was sick.
> and guess who has the achy bones, chilly fever, dry hacking cough and miserable...  again!
> 
> I should never have left the sanctity of the farm.  I could count on 1 hand how many times I have been sick in over 25 years.  Not even 2 years here and that number has been doubled.


Kids are little bags of germs.

God bedring (Danish for good bettering).


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## dragnlaw

Be interesting to hear what it is *taxy.*  I've had a mailbox 3 times and each of them had two larger ones (one slightly bigger than the other) on the bottom row.  It is amazing what would fit in there.
Only things I had to go and pick up was the Food Processor and a picture that was 2'x4'.   Books, large size fit in them, even with all the cardboard around.

Mange tak, taxy.  Rather have that runny nose than this. Body worked before, it's having a hard time coping right now.


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## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Be interesting to hear what it is *taxy.*  I've had a mailbox 3 times and each of them had two larger ones (one slightly bigger than the other) on the bottom row.  It is amazing what would fit in there.
> Only things I had to go and pick up was the Food Processor and a picture that was 2'x4'.   Books, large size fit in them, even with all the cardboard around.
> 
> Mange tak, taxy.  Rather have that runny nose than this. Body worked before, it's having a hard time coping right now.


Yeah, our community mailbox has two large lockers too. We get stuff in there. I haven't ordered anything recently, other than those stamps, that hasn't already been delivered.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

I got a 10% off coupon in the mail from a new home décor shop in town.
I went shopping for tchotchkes for Mom's apartment and found this adorable statue.

It's maybe a foot tall and Mom is in love with gnomes.
Before I wrapped it up for her b-day present, I removed the price sticker...

Under that was ANOTHER price ... lower!!!
I was peeved!! 

I WON'T be shopping there again!!!


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## Cooking Goddess

I hate when that happens, @Kaneohegirlinaz.  It's not uncommon in retail, though.


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## dragnlaw

But if the manager had any smarts he would ensure that the previous price is removed.
Do they think we don't remove price tags when we get home? Of course we do, and did.  All that they've accomplished was to tick off potential customers who will not be coming back again.
I would send them a letter....   always makes me feel better.

BUT...   at least you know your Mom will love it - so there's that....


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

Another Petty Vent:

I make up what we call "Snack Plates" alot to replace a meal, be it lunch or dinner.
They normally consist of cheese, a meat of some sort - salami -  fresh veg like carrots, celery, tomatoes or cucumber, olives, crackers, fruit maybe fresh or dried, maybe some Nuts, you know the type ... anyways ... I saw this in the supermarket today and just about chocked!



ARE YOU CRAZY?!
NO!!


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## taxlady

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Another Petty Vent:
> 
> I make up what we call "Snack Plates" alot to replace a meal, be it lunch or dinner.
> They normally consist of cheese, a meat of some sort - salami -  fresh veg like carrots, celery, tomatoes or cucumber, olives, crackers, fruit maybe fresh or dried, maybe some Nuts, you know the type ... anyways ... I saw this in the supermarket today and just about chocked!
> View attachment 62840
> 
> 
> ARE YOU CRAZY?!
> NO!!


I assume you think this is overpriced. I wouldn't be peeved. I just wouldn't buy it. It might be really handy for someone with no fridge or who wants a cheap lunch to bring somewhere and they don't have all of those ingredients at home. I have learned that a lot of the overpriced convenience foods that seem to serve no purpose are actually useful to some people. The example that comes to mind is peeled, hard boiled eggs. It turns out that these are really helpful to some people, e.g., people who don't have the dexterity to peel an egg. Also, if you are homeless or living in a room and have no way to boil an egg, it's handy.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

True @taxlady , I simply wouldn't buy that ... and you're right, for someone other than myself, it may be worth it.


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## dragnlaw

But the part that makes me agree more with *Kgirl* on the outrageous price, is the punishment meted out for those who cannot use a whole salami (or cheese, or bunch of grapes, or... , or...  ) and have to pay a premium price.  

ex. What is cheaper?  A whole cantaloupe for $5.00? of which you throw away $3.00 worth?  Or 1/4 cantaloupe for $5.00 which gets wholly eaten, but you've still paid for the lost $3.00 worth of cantaloupe. 

Drives me nuts. Off my box now.


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## Marlingardener

I rarely buy "convenience" foods, but I do check the prices (mostly so I can feel smug about not buying them!). I'm amazed at what people will pay to not have to cut up a fruit or cheese or . . . .
I also dislike looking through the poultry for "chicken stripped backs" which are  perfect to make stock. I don't dislike the looking, but being told by another shopper that there is stock in little boxes. Hey lady, mind your own business and pay premium for stock that you can make yourself that is much better!
Off my box now.


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## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> But the part that makes me agree more with *Kgirl* on the outrageous price, is the punishment meted out for those who cannot use a whole salami (or cheese, or bunch of grapes, or... , or...  ) and have to pay a premium price.
> 
> ex. What is cheaper?  A whole cantaloupe for $5.00? of which you throw away $3.00 worth?  Or 1/4 cantaloupe for $5.00 which gets wholly eaten, but you've still paid for the lost $3.00 worth of cantaloupe.
> 
> Drives me nuts. Off my box now.


Yeah, I agree that the convenience penalty is very often much to high. And thinking of the cantaloupe example, I'm sure that is often a convenience for the store. What can they do with a cantaloupe with a bad spot? Cut it into pieces; throw out the bad bits; and raise the price.


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## Andy M.

I'm really annoyed! SO has been sick with a cough (no fever, no nothing else). This morning I woke up with the same. Tomorrow I have two appointments I'd rather not miss, a haircut (minor issue) and the annual dinner for the condo board (1st time since 2019). Bad enough but I'll be really really ticked off if this impact our Christmas plans.


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## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I'm really annoyed! SO has been sick with a cough (no fever, no nothing else). This morning I woke up with the same. Tomorrow I have two appointments I'd rather not miss, a haircut (minor issue) and the annual dinner for the condo board (1st time since 2019). Bad enough but I'll be really really ticked off if this impact our Christmas plans.


Sorry to read that. That really is a nuisance. God bedring (Danish for good bettering).


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## GinnyPNW

+1 @Andy M. - hoping it is a 24-hour bug or something!  Get well quickly!


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## dragnlaw

Andy, hate to be the bearer of bad news.  But that cough, in this household, has been going on for a couple of weeks now. Just the cough.  Baby finally did develop a fever, and the whole thing keeps going in a vicious circle.
May I suggest?  Get a cough suppressant and a decongestant (you may not feel stuffy but it's there!).  I finally went to the doc and he said not much he could do, my lungs were clear, just have to wade thru it. 

I said,  "OK, so I'm dying, but it's alright 'cause I'm healthy."  He burst out laughing and said "Exactly!"


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## Chef Munky

I  miss having an oven...
When I bought this house, not only did I buy Home Insurance I also bought Appliance Insurance. Coves everything.
The day the oven died I called the insurance Company. To get the ball rolling I was charged $85.00. Less than 24 hrs later I got an email saying they couldn't find an appliance specialist in my area to come out and have a look, repair. Go home!
That I was on my own to find someone. But they had to submit paperwork proving that yes the oven was a non op.
Every place that I called told me they don't come out this far. The one who did never showed up.
The insurance company (Spoke Jerk) suggested that I pull the oven out of the wall myself to get the model #....What!?
So Xmas dinner was a bust. So were we. The flu bug cancelled out all plans. Got people put on my naughty list until April!
Still waiting for my refund for doing nothing back. It's late!

Munky.


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## dragnlaw

Aww, hugs *Munky.  *
Ovens aren't really all that difficult to pull out.  They are not heavy.  Just open the oven door a fraction in order to grab hold inside (preferably _not_ the door itself) and pull!


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## Chef Munky

dragnlaw said:


> Aww, hugs *Munky.  *
> Ovens aren't really all that difficult to pull out.  They are not heavy.  Just open the oven door a fraction in order to grab hold inside (preferably _not_ the door itself) and pull!


Have you ever pulled an electric wall unit out of a wall?
Mine outweighs me and it's taller to. It's the original oven from when this house was built.
So I'm supposed to unscrew it from the wall. Cut the power and pull and possibly write down a stupid serial# for it at the same time?
I'll also have to hire an Electrician at my expense.


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## GinnyPNW

Oh, dear!  My heart goes out to you, @Chef Munky!  And, yes, some ovens are very, very heavy.  I've had ones that required TWO big guys to lift and install...and they struggled.  

Is there any counterspace to use a countertop oven, at least for the time being?  They do come in handy when doing big meals, later too.  These days, there are a number of choices that do other things too.  Airfry, microwave, convection, combo, etc.  Short of that, there are crock pots that have "oven" modes, or "roasters" are handy...even a pressure cooker/multi-pot???

Hang in there!  Keep good thoughts for you!


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## dragnlaw

Gosh, sorry *Munky,* didn't realize it was a wall unit!
Well, my response to the insurance was they knew my address when they accpted to insure me.  They cannot now say "Oh, we can't do that...  you're too far away "
then the _simple solution for them and you is that they pay for a counter top toaster oven.  _ (ps, get the biggest one that will take a chicken)


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## taxlady

Sorry to read about the FUBAR situation and the lousy handling by the insurance company. I hope you can figure out something. I was thinking something along the same lines as Ginny's suggestions. Sending positive vibes that the situation works out well.


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## dcSaute

classic reaction to rip off appliance "insurance" schemes.
save the money - you'll come out way ahead.

as they say, Las Vegas was not built on winners.  
the House wins - the insurance companies don't pay their overhead by doling out claims.


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## taxlady

I had appliance insurance on a portable dishwasher for many years. They came and fixed the dishwasher a few times. I didn't have problem with them at all. It was through Sears. I think it even came with some maintenance. If I hadn't had that appliance insurance, it would have cost me more. I can't say how other appliance insurance works, but we were pleased with it.


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## Chef Munky

The House won.
I bought and paid for a years worth of worthless insurance.


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## GinnyPNW

Chef Munky said:


> The House won.
> I bought and paid for a years worth of worthless insurance.


I'm pretty sure there must be someone that you could "report" them to, about this issue.  If you can find out who that might be, telling the Insurance company you will report them to them, may be enough to get your cost refunded.  Better something than nothing?

I say this because, once upon a time, I was in a similar situation with a vehicle.  I found out that the dealer never sent the money to the insurance place.  I was told that the DMV would come and close their doors for such activities...I mentioned that I was planning to report them to the DMV, and I got a refund check the next day!  

Just saying...


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## medtran49

If you still have the policy paperwork, pull it out and look through it.  When we purchased the new oven,  we initially declined the insurance, but then they sent an offer via email and it a) was more reasonable in cost and b) there was a clause in there that if you didn't use it, they would refund all but about $20-25.  We haven't hit expiration of policy yet, as it was for 2 years and didn't kick in until after the 1 year manufacturer warranty so i don't know what, if any, obstacles they will try and throw up.  I'm sure they also hope that people will either overlook that clause or simply forget about it over time, but i put the expiration date in my phone calendar so...  Anyway, it's worth checking out.


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## Chef Munky

medtran49 said:


> If you still have the policy paperwork, pull it out and look through it.  When we purchased the new oven,  we initially declined the insurance, but then they sent an offer via email and it a) was more reasonable in cost and b) there was a clause in there that if you didn't use it, they would refund all but about $20-25.  We haven't hit expiration of policy yet, as it was for 2 years and didn't kick in until after the 1 year manufacturer warranty so i don't know what, if any, obstacles they will try and throw up.  I'm sure they also hope that people will either overlook that clause or simply forget about it over time, but i put the expiration date in my phone calendar so...  Anyway, it's worth checking out.


I have the original policy paperwork.
Oh boy. This company is dirty/low beyond low. Very sleazy.
How much trouble would I get into if I write a review of their sleazy ways? That's all I can think of to rectify this situation. Call them out! I didn't go looking for trouble. I was just another D...A.., that thought buying a safety net was a good idea.
It seems to me their looking for more ways to throw a wrench into the spokes while not providing the services to their customers.
"I'm sorry" just isn't cutting it with me.


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## GinnyPNW

Post on Yelp.


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## Cooking Goddess

What a PITA, Munky. 

1) Did you use a credit card to pay for it? Contact them and see if they can help.

2) complain to your state Attorney General. They handle consumer complaints.

3) complain to the FTC. It looks like the insurance company is committing fraud.

Keep copies of everything.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

@Chef Munky I'd be blastin' both barrels at `em!
If they're as sleezeball it appears they are, go at `em!


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## medtran49

Contact the BBB where they are located and see if they have had any luck resolving complaints.

If you leave a Yelp or Google review,  just state the facts of your case.  In fact, i would go to email for any future correspondence if possible.


----------

